Abstract: An entry controlled ribbon core engager for a recorder having an interior space accessible through a selectively movable cover when in an open position during which providing or removing of a ribbon cassette with a supply ribbon thereon may be effected. The ribbon core engager has a rotatable drive hub portion and a rotatable and axially movable positioning hub portion that are selectively rotatable about a hub axis to engage and correspondingly force rotation of a ribbon core when said drive hub portion is rotated. A motion converter connected to both said cover and said positioning hub permits movement of said positioning hub portion axially back and forth along said hub axis when said cover is correspondingly moved between said open and closed positions therefor.

Abstract: An integrated circuit package, and a method for forming the integrated circuit package, including a single layer or multilayer substrate in which interconnection vias are formed is described. Laser energy is swept across a surface of a mask in which holes have been formed. Laser energy passing through the holes of the mask forms vias in a substrate held in place below the mask. The laser energy is swept at such a speed and is maintained at such an energy level that the laser energy forms vias in the substrate, but does not penetrate a set of leads attached to the substrate. Vias may be formed in this way by either a mask imaging, contact mask or conformal mask technique. The laser energy is emitted from a non-thermal (e.g., excimer) laser. The substrate is formed of an organic (e.g., epoxy) resin. The resin may include reinforcing fibers (e.g., aramid fibers). Substrates may be formed on one or both sides of the set of leads.

Abstract: To reduce the level of noise and to reduce distortion, an input audio signal is equally divided between a pair of VCAs. Each VCA receives an equal portion of the audio signal's current and has its gain controlled by a common control voltage. The outputs of the VCAs are summed together and are applied to an inverting input terminal of an op-amp. The gain of the VCAs is set at 6 dB and the gain of the op-amp is set at -6 dB. Since the op-amp sums audio signals at 6 dB and sums noise and broadband signals at 3 dB, the signal to noise ratio in the output signal is increased and the noise level, the total harmonic distortion, the intermodulation distortion, and the DC feed through are all reduced in comparison to the input signal.

Abstract: Patient monitoring apparatus for use in an environment which includes a communications network and a plurality of sensors. The apparatus provides collection and display of patient data signals collected from a medical patient using the sensors. The apparatus comprises a portable monitor coupled to a plurality of data acquisition modules, which are in turn coupled to the sensors. The data acquisition modules include cartridges, which mount on the portable monitor, and independently positionable pods. The pods reduce the number of cables extending between the patient's bed and the portable monitor by combining signals from many sensors into a single output signal for transmission to the monitor. The modules collect patient data in analog form from the sensors and provide digital data signals to the monitor. The portable monitor includes: a display device for displaying the patient data, and storage for the patient data. The portable monitor is coupled to the docking station.

Abstract: Methods are provided for generating a square wave of variable duty cycle using a microprocessor and an interval timer. The duty cycle can be changed without changing the period. The duty cycle is changed on a rising or a falling edge of the signal as desired.

Abstract: A bus-controlled signal processing system includes a serial data bus having first and second bus lines for coupling various slave processors to a master control processor. The slave devices require more than one data bus protocol. Each slave device has a bus clock terminal and a bus data terminal. The slave devices dedicated to one protocol have their clock terminals connected to the first bus line and their data terminals connected to the second bus line. The slave devices dedicated to the other protocol have their data terminals connected to the first bus line and their clock terminals connected to the second bus line. The control processor changes the protocol being used to generate bus transmissions as required, and changes the function of the two bus lines when switching between bus protocols to prevent certain bus conflict conditions from occurring.

Abstract: Motion and direction sensors for end of train (EOT) telemetry equipment employ a piezoelectric film as the sensing element. The motion sensor has a mechanical design which is optimized for detecting vibration on a railroad car. The electrical circuitry of the motion sensor generates output pulses to the EOT microprocessor which are processed according to an algorithm to make a determination of train motion based on detected vibration levels and rates of occurrence. Also, the EOT microprocessor dynamically adjusts the sensitivity of the motion sensor as a function of detected motion. The direction sensor uses a pendulum aligned with the axis of train motion to stress the piezoelectric film and, like the motion sensor, generates output pulses to the EOT microprocessor. These pulses are processed by a direction sensing algorithm implemented on the EOT microprocessor to determine the direction of train motion.

Abstract: A telecine system for converting motion picture film to video contains a pulldown mechanism and a rotating shutter. The telecine system creates a 3-2 film frame to video frame conversion. The pulldown mechanism transports the film and the rotating shutter exposes the film to a video camera. The pulldown mechanism contains a film aperture and a pin registration system. The film is transported over the film aperture during a pulldown period, and the pin registration system provides precise placement of the film frame over the film aperture. The pulldown periods occur during constant intervals. During a register period of the telecine system, the single film frame is held steady over the film aperture. A rotating shutter contains five apertures wherein each aperture is used to expose a film frame to the camera.

Abstract: An expander circuit for decoding audio signals which were encoded in accordance with the BTSC multichannel sound system standard including DBX commanding is presented. A wideband expander circuit is utilized and a DBX expander can be accommodated. The wideband expander circuit is provided with a signal path having an input LPF (low pass filter), a stereo difference signal (L-R) demodulator, a second LPF, and a voltage controlled amplifier (VCA), the gain of which is controlled by a control signal derived from the demodulated difference signal which has been operated on by a bandpass filter (BPF) and an integrating peak detector. The output of the VCA is provided to a deemphasis network before being fed to a decoder matrix for combining with the sum stereo signal (L+R) for reconstructing the original L and R signals.

Abstract: Improvements relating to railroad telemetry and control system address problems in compatibility between HOT and EOT units, implement an automatic UDE location procedure, and automate calibration of EOT units. An improved two way protocol that allows EOT units having different code formats to be used with a HOT unit. A method is implemented by a HOT unit, cooperating with an EOT unit, for locating a fault which causes a UDE brake operation. An automatic calibration procedure for the EOT unit that does not require the operator to have access to the electronic circuitry.

Abstract: A dithering technique in accordance with an inventive arrangement saves two bits per sample in a wideband video signal. In accordance with this arrangement, a dither signal is added to an n-bit video signal. The adder should include a limiter to avoid overflows. The samples are truncated after the addition. In truncation, the least significant two bits are simply discarded. Usually, dither values are small positive integers which tend to increase the DC content of the signal. A dither signal which can provide significant improvement in a subsampled signal is a two frequency dither in which the higher frequency has the higher amplitude. The dither signal can have any repetitive sequence of the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3 in any order within said sequence, for example, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, . . . , etc. The quarter-frequency component is usually more objectionable than the half-frequency component, even though the quarter-frequency component has half the amplitude of the half-frequency component.

Abstract: An optical disk storage tray having a plurality of storage locations, each of which is supplied with a separate optical head and drive mechanism and with common electronics for controlling the optical heads and drive mechanisms and for interfacing them to a host device.

Abstract: A composite video input signal is delayed by a delay element and the delayed composite signal is applied to luminance and chrominance inputs of a picture processor for received signals of an NTSC format. For received signals of a PAL format, the delayed composite signal is applied only to the luminance input of the picture processor and the chrominance component of the received signal is transcoded to the NTSC format and applied, without passing through the composite signal delay element, to the chrominance input of the picture processor. The delay of the delay element for the composite video signal is selected to be equal to the transcoding delay whereby luminance and chrominance components of received signals of either NTSC or PAL format are delay compensated.

Abstract: A system for processing auxiliary video information, such as closed caption information, includes capability for detecting invalid parity errors that may be created by video signal distortion effects caused by sync suppression video signal scrambling. The sync suppression distortion does not affect the video display but may modify the parity bit of the second of two closed caption characters in each occurrence of line 21 of field 1 causing invalid parity errors. Parity errors in the first character, which is unaffected by the sync suppression distortion, indicate whether valid parity errors exist in the second character. If no parity errors occur in the first character, parity errors that occur in the second character are considered to be invalid.

Abstract: Apparatus for counterweighting a diffusion furnace cantilever arm for processing silicon wafers which has conventional slotted quartz boats for receiving silicon wafers wherein certain substitutes for said conventional quartz boats are constructed so as to be dummy loads which have the weight and dimensions of a filled quartz boat, but in which no silicon wafers are mounted. Other quartz boats have slots for a particular number of silicon wafers, but the remaining portion of the boat does not receive any wafers, and the boat has the weight and dimensions equivalent to a filled quartz boat. By combining the various boats on the cantilever arm a standard weight can be obtained.

Abstract: The present invention provides a new and improved titanium metal drum cathode for use in the production of metal foils and a novel method of making the same. The method includes the steps of welding together the ends of a strip of titanium that has been roll formed into a cylinder. During the welding operation some of the weld beads that form the weld are hot peened immediately upon solidification. Upon complete formation of the weld, the formed and welded trip of titanium is subjected to a heat treating cycle that includes a double anneal. Preferably, the strip of titanium metal and the weld metal that is used to form the weld both comprise an addition agent such as yttria.

Abstract: A current switch for high-speed and high-resolution digital to analog converters (DACs) employs MOSFET devices to control the current switch output in response to binary input signals at logic level voltages. The current switch reduces ringing of the output current that occurs when switching takes place to improve DAC high speed performance by protecting current steering MOSFET transistors against application of the full swing voltage of the binary input signal by applying lower voltage switching signals in place of the full swing logic level voltages. Furthermore, the current switch compensates for parasitic capacitances within the current steering MOSFET transistor that drives the output current.