Abstract: A subscriber dialed common access code, e.g., pqr, such as for directory assistance (411), fire service (611), or voice mail service (222) is translated into a predetermined seven digit number, e.g., tuv-wxyz. All or part of the subscriber's directory number (DN), e.g., abc-defg, is then prefixed and/or suffixed to the translated number to provide a re-constructed number which includes all or part of the subscriber's DN. The re-constructed number takes the form of part/all of [abc-defg] and tuv-wxyz followed by part/all of [abc-defg]. Thus, the re-constructed number incorporates all or part of the subscriber's DN allowing for differentiation among various subscribers who use common access codes permitting each subscriber call to be routed on an individual basis. This permits common access codes to be used by subscribers throughout the network, while routing some subscriber calls differently from others where the same dialed digits are used.

Abstract: A loss-of-clock (LOC) detector circuit detects a clock failure substantially within a specified number of clock periods and generates a loss-of-clock signal. The LOC detector includes a frequency-to-current converter which generates a charging current substantially proportional to a frequency of an input clock. A capacitor accepts the charging current and provides a terminal voltage that changes in response to the charging current. An edge detector receives the input clock signal as an input and produces an output pulse on an edge of the input clock signal. A switch is coupled to the capacitor such that the capacitor is discharged to a reference potential when the switch is closed. The switch is controlled by the edge detector to close when the edge detector output pulse is asserted. A comparator generates a loss-of-clock signal when the voltage on the capacitor passes a trip voltage of the comparator.

Abstract: A mobile telecommunications system includes a serving system and a home location register which yields MIN-free invoke response messages authreq, asreport, and afreport if shared secret data is shared with the serving system. This is true even if the mobile identification number is required to compute an authentication response and the mobile subscriber identification in the invoking message did not include the mobile identification number.

Abstract: A portal defines a set of information requests used to gather various types of information in order to present to a user a single composite display that essentially provides the user with his or her own personal web page or view of information. A space/time portal is a particular type of portal whose set of information requests is automatically modified as a function of a specified location or a specified time or both. In one configuration, the specified location and time are themselves selected automatically to modify the space/time portal in real time based on the current location and time for the user. In another configuration, the user can manually change the selection of the specified location and/or time. The space/time portal is then automatically modified based on the new selections, and the composite display is updated in real time accordingly.

Abstract: A technology to automatically generate a command line that has values for undefined variables in the script appended as arguments to the name of the script. This technology is intended for an unsophisticated user that is unlikely to remember or know the undefined variables within a script and/or the format and order that the values for the variables must be presented as arguments appended to the name of the script. The technology will determine the undefined variables within the script and prompt the user to supply values for the variables, then the technology will automatically generate the command line on behalf of the user and provide it to a corresponding scripting-language interpreter.

Abstract: A communications service is provided for packet networks such as the Internet (herein termed “fuzzycast” service ) which provides statistical assurance that, on the average, all destinations get some percentage of offered traffic. The switch, at a router or ATM node, services a fuzzycast message by estimating the congestion on the route specified by the IP protocol header. The switch is free to temporarily drop those destinations whose routes are congested, as determined, for example, from the length of the outgoing queue. For each fuzzycast message, a subset K of the M destinations is chosen, advantageously by using a random number generator, and the message is sent to the chosen destinations, if possible.

Abstract: The downtilt angles of two (or more) variable-phase, phased-array antennas are simultaneously controlled by configuring each antenna with an integrated power-splitter/phase-shifter assembly that splits (and/or combines) power and shifts phase for signals transmitted (and/or received) by the antenna. Movable components in each of the integrated power-splitter/phase-shifter assemblies are connected to a common linkage, which is in turn configured to a common motor, which is controlled by a controller. Motion of the common motor is translated (e.g., by one or more gear boxes) into motion of the linkage, which moves the components within the integrated assemblies, thereby changing the electro-magnetic characteristics of a (e.g., microstrip) conductor within each integrated assembly to control the amount of phase shift applied to the signals.

Abstract: A method and geometry for reducing drift in an electrostatically actuated device, the electrostatically actuated device including a dielectric material, for insulating conducting sections from a ground, the conducting sections being used to generate an electric field for controlling thereby the electrostatically actuated device includes, configuring a geometry of the dielectric material such that the electric field applied to exposed dielectric material comprises a substantially homogeneous electric field.

Abstract: A system for, and method of, representing and resolving ambiguity in natural language text and a spoken dialogue system incorporating the system for representing and resolving ambiguity or the method. In one embodiment, the system for representing and resolving ambiguity includes: (1) a context tracker that places the natural language text in context to yield candidate attribute-value (AV) pairs and (2) a candidate scorer, associated with the context tracker, that adjusts a confidence associated with each candidate AV pair based on system intent.

Abstract: A system for, and method of, measuring a degree of independence of semantic classes in separate domains. In one embodiment, the system includes: (1) a cross-domain distance calculator that estimates a similarity between n-gram contexts for the semantic classes in each of the separate domains to determine domain-dependent relative entropies associated with the semantic classes and (2) a distance summer, associated with the cross-domain distance calculator, that adds the domain-dependent distances over a domain vocabulary to yield the degree of independence of the semantic classes.

Abstract: A wireless data network includes a wireless packet switched data network for end users that divides mobility management into local, micro, macro and global connection handover categories and minimizes handoff updates according to the handover category. The network integrates MAC handoff messages with network handoff messages. The network separately directs registration functions to a registration server and direct routing functions to inter-working function units. The network provides an intermediate XTunnel channel between a wireless hub (also called access hub AH) and an inter-working function unit (IWF unit) in a foreign network, and it provides an IXTunnel channel between an inter-working function unit in a foreign network and an inter-working function unit in a home network. The network enhances the layer two tunneling protocol (L2TP) to support a mobile end system, and it performs network layer registration before the start of a PPP communication session.

Abstract: A system for the effective resource scheduling of composite multimedia objects involves a sequence packing formulation of the composite object scheduling problem and associated efficient algorithms using techniques from pattern matching and multiprocessor scheduling. An associated method of scheduling the provision of composite multimedia objects, each comprising one or more continuous media streams of audio data, video data and other data, where the continuous media streams are of varying bandwidth requirement and duration comprise the steps of; generating composite multimedia objects from the continuous media streams and determining a run-length compressed form for each of the generated composite multimedia objects.

Abstract: A mobile switching center (MSC) in accordance with the principles of the present invention provides access to a subscribers voice message center from the subscriber's roaming mobile station. The MSC is responsive to a “RemoteFeatureRequest” Invocation by the roaming mobile station in which the subscriber's directory number is the same as the dialed digits by routing the call from the mobile station to the subscriber's voice message center. The MSC may also be responsive to a “OriginationRequest” employing the subscriber's directory number as the dialed digits by routing the roaming mobile station's call to the subscriber's voice message center.

Abstract: A tunable microlens uses a layer of photo-conducting material which results in a voltage differential between at least one of a plurality of electrodes and a droplet of conducting liquid when a light beam is incident upon the photo-conducting material. Such droplet, which forms the optics of the microlens, moves toward an electrode with higher voltage relative to other electrodes in the microlens. Thus, for example, when the light beam is misaligned with the microlens, the voltage differential causes the droplet, and hence the microlens, to realign itself with the beam.

Abstract: Circuits include at least one-odor sensitive organic transistor having a conduction channel whose conductivity changes in response to certain odors. The organic transistors are interconnected to increase their response to selected odor signals. The organic transistors may be interconnected to form a ring oscillator whose frequency of oscillation changes in response to an odor signal and in which the alternating signal applied to the gate electrodes of the organic transistors enhances their recovery and reduces their drift.

Abstract: An optical modulator having an optical modulator window coupled to a substrate and a method of manufacture thereof. In one embodiment, the optical modulator includes at least one drive electrode that adjusts a portion of the optical modulator window to attenuate light passing therethrough. The optical modulator further includes a sense element configured to measure a characteristic associated with the optical modulator window.

Abstract: Interleaving methods and apparatus are disclosed for an in-band on-channel digital audio broadcasting system. The guard periods that separate any two adjacent symbols in a conventional OFDM system can provide a mechanism for OFDM frame synchronization. The guard period of successive OFDM frames is utilized to establish one or more unique positive or negative patterns and thereby provide a mechanism for interleaver synchronization. By proper positioning of the guard period patterns, one or more particular portions of each interleaver block are identified, such as the beginning and midpoint of each interleaver block. The present invention identifies the beginning of each interleaver block, for example, by positioning the fourth negative cyclic prefix with OFDM frame zero (0). The present invention can optionally identify the midpoint of each interleaver block, for example, by positioning the fourth negative cyclic prefix with OFDM frame 206.

Abstract: Optical signal power levels for selected optical channels processed within an add/drop node in a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) system are adjusted as a function of variations in signal power in an incoming WDM signal caused by gain ripple. In particular, a “ripple fitting” method is described whereby the optical signal power of individual optical channels being added at the add/drop node are adjusted to levels that correspond to the ripple profile of other optical channels being routed through the add/drop node. In this manner, the gain ripple in the WDM signal being output from the add/drop node approximately corresponds to the gain ripple in the incoming WDM signal at the node.

Abstract: Arrangements and methods for efficiently selecting an optimum connection path that meets user specified delay requirements with enhanced efficiency. In a basic aspect, a method is implemented by one of a plurality of algorithms to meet user QoS specifications. The user not only specifies a delay threshold T for the incoming request but also specifies a delay threshold tolerance &egr; for the path delay that will satisfy him. Two implementations are disclosed. The first is termed non-iterative and sets scaling factor &tgr;=min (T, (n−1)/&egr;), where n is a number of links in a shortest path, scales all the relevant delay parameters by &tgr;/T, truncates all the scaled values to integers, and uses a dynamic programming algorithm to accumulate the total of resulting link delay parameters values for each possible shortest path. The second method, termed iterative, is similar, except that it sets &tgr;<<T.

Abstract: A method and message router that breaks up files to be transferred over a network connection within a specified deadline into fixed-sized pieces. Each piece contains enough redundant information so that a subset (but not all) of the pieces will be sufficient to construct the file at the destination. The method and router determine optimal values for the number of pieces the file should be split into and the subset of pieces required to reconstruct the full contents of the file in order to maximize the probability that the file can be reconstructed at the destination by the specified deadline. The method and router provide an expected QoS guarantee by using redundancy with a deadline rather than reservations.