Abstract: A fiber optic access architecture consisting of a remote terminal for receiving broadband asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) traffic from a broadband switching system is disclosed. The broadband traffic is delivered over a pair of OC-12 links to common elements of the remote terminal. The common elements deliver the traffic to one of two high speed ATM buses. The ATM buses deliver the ATM traffic to one of a plurality of line cards that interface with the customer drop to the customer premise equipment. The line cards can include POTS (plain old telephone service) line cards and special line cards as are known to provide the traditional voice and special service. In addition to the standard line cards, the system includes the fiber line cards of the invention for delivering high speed, broadband traffic to the customer premise. The fiber line cards include 16 bit cell-based UTOPIA-2 bus interface for receiving traffic from each of the ATM buses.

Abstract: The specification describes a metallization system for barium nanotitanate substrates that provides a combination of high dielectric properties and excellent metal adhesion. It comprises Ti, Pd or Ti/Pd alloy, and copper.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of expanding a string of one or more digits to form a verbal equivalent using weighted finite state transducers. The method provides a grammatical description that expands the string into a numeric concept represented by a sum of powers of a base number system, compiles the grammatical description into a first weighted finite state transducer, provides a language specific grammatical description for verbally expressing the numeric concept, compiles the language specific grammatical description into a second weighted finite state transducer, composes the first and second finite state transducers to form a third weighted finite state transducer from which the verbal equivalent of the string can be synthesized, and synthesizes the verbal equivalent from the third weighted finite state transducer.

Abstract: Embedding one or a plurality of wireless switches into a switching system. The wireless switches are both physically and logically integrated into the switching system. The switching system performs the complex switching operations. Physically, each wireless switch emulates link interfaces in its connections to the switching system's communications control and data media. Logically, each of the wireless switch units communicates with a control processor controlling the operations of the switching system as if each of the wireless switches was a set of individual station sets. Each wireless switch is assigned a set of wireless sets. Each of the wireless sets has a unique telephone number which the control processor of the switching system identifies with a physical position on the communication media.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for the perceptual coding of audio signals in which perceptual noise shaping is achieved in the time domain by performing a (linear) prediction (i.e., filtering) in the frequency domain. As a result, the temporal spread of quantization noise is reduced. Specifically, according to one illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a method comprises decomposition of the audio signal into a plurality of spectral component signals; generating a prediction signal representative of a prediction of one of said spectral component signals, said prediction based on one or more other ones of said spectral component signals; comparing the prediction signal with said one of said spectral component signals to generate a prediction error signal; coding said one of said spectral component signals based on the prediction error signal to generate a coded spectral component signal; and generating the encoded signal based on the coded spectral component signal.

Abstract: This invention is predicated on the discovery by the present applicants that boric acid in conventional nickel plating baths is responsible for excessive lateral growth in the electroplating of nickel on nickel ferrite substrates. While nickel baths without boric acid do not yield acceptable electrodeposits, the boric acid interacts with the ferrite substrate to cause excessive lateral growth. Applicants further discovered that by eliminating the boric acid and adding another acidic plating buffer such as citric acid, one can obtain isotropic nickel plating and produce a wire-bondable surface.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the field of manipulation aids, in particular, to a manipulation aid or pointing stick that attaches to a user's hand for pressing keys on a keyboard, turning pages or the like. In one embodiment of the inventions, a strap is adapted to engage the hand of a user. A cone, having a base and an apex, is mounted at its base to the strap. An actuator is mounted to the apex of the cone. The actuator includes a tip which can be seen by the user and can be used to press keys of a keyboard, turn pages of a book, etc. The manipulation aid is designed to collapse under a predetermined load to prevent unacceptably high forces from being delivered to the user's hand.

Abstract: A multi-media messaging system (106) provides multi-media message access capability to non-subscriber message recipients (126) who lack multi-media message-reception capability. When a message originator (100) who is a subscriber requests a message to be sent to a recipient's address, the messaging system determines whether the recipient is able to receive at this address all of the media in which the message is expressed. If not, the messaging system saves the message for the recipient, assigns an identifier/password to the message, and creates a substitute message containing any components of the original message that are expressed in media which the recipient is able to receive at the address, along with the password and instructions on how to log into the sending messaging system. The messaging system then sends this substitute message to the recipient's address.

Abstract: Allowing for pre-location of authentication information to a switching node before a mobile telephone starts to register on that switching node. Where the switching node is part of a mobile telecommunication system having a plurality of switching nodes. The pre-location of authentication information allows the authentication information to be distributed to switching nodes in a distributed telecommunication switching system before peak traffic conditions arise. A user of a mobile telephone can directly specify the time and place for the pre-location of authentication information, or the switching node to which the mobile telephone is assigned can statistically determine the other switching nodes to which authentication information will be pre-located and the day and time of the pre-location.

Abstract: The invention is embodied in a soft magnetic thin film article comprising an iron-chromium-nitrogen (Fe--Cr--N) based alloy and methods for making such article. The soft magnetic thin film article is formed using an iron-chromium-nitrogen based alloy with tantalum in one embodiment and with at least one of the elements titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), vanadium (V), molybdenum (Mo), niobium (Nb) or tungsten (W) in another embodiment. The article is formed such that the alloy has a relatively high saturation magnetization (e.g., greater than approximately 15 kG) and a relatively low coercivity (e.g., less than approximately 2.0 oersteds) in an as-deposited condition or, alternatively, with a very low temperature treatment (e.g., below approximately 150.degree. C). The inventive films are suitable for use in electromagnetic devices, for example, in microtransformer cores, inductor cores and in magnetic read-write heads.

Abstract: A system and apparatus includes a premises phone connected to a phone network along a first communication channel. A dial tone controller generates within the premises a dial tone along a second communication channel to a switch and to the premises phone. The dial tone controller receives and processes signals received from the premises phone via the switch along the second communication channel and can generate DTMF tones for establishing communication to the phone network based on generated signals received from the premises phone. The switch is operatively connected between the premises phone and the dial tone controller for switching the premises phone from communication with the phone network along the first communication channel and communication with the dial tone controller via the switch along the second communication channel so that the premises phone receives a dial tone from and sends signals to the dial tone controller.

Abstract: A method for revising at least a portion of a sequence of speech data segments recognized by an automated speech recognition system. A user is prompted to vocalize the speech data segments sequentially, one speech data segment at a time. When each speech data segment is recognized it is stored as a data element and a confirmation of recognition is issued to the user. The user may then issue a verbal command to delete the last recognized data element if the confirmation indicates that a recognition error has occurred, and then repeat the last speech data element for a second recognition attempt. The user may also issue another verbal command to delete all thus-far recognized data elements in the sequence and to restart the recognition process from the beginning. If no such verbal commands are issued by the user, then the user may continue to vocalize the next sequential speech data segment.

Abstract: Linewidth control features having integral transistors are disclosed. Optical and electrical measurements of the linewidth control feature and its associated transistor may be correlated thereby providing a method of improving production processes.

Abstract: A vacuum assisted temporary storage fixture for an optical fiber includes an elongated compartment open at one end for receipt of the fiber therein and open at the other end for coupling to a source of vacuum.

Abstract: A method of multithresholding a document image considers both local and global information in determining the number of thresholded levels contained in a gray-scale image. A gray-scale image is comprised of a plurality of pixels. Each pixel has an intensity value. Local regions of pixels having similar intensity values are identified and compiled into a global representation of the image. Intensity ranges are identified in the global representation in which the number of regions of pixels are approximately constant. An intensity value is identified within each range which represents the most constant point within the representation range. The number of threshold levels is set equal to the number of ranges in the representation.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system and method for reading and decoding distorted data, e.g., bar code label or other symbology data, by fitting a scanned signal model j(t, .theta.), using a Deterministic Expectation-Maximization (DEM) algorithm, to the measured or detected data signal y(t). The DEM algorithm, which is a novel variation of the conventional Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm, enables the system and method according to the invention to determine the values of a plurality of parameters .theta. defining the scanned signal model j(t, .theta.) as it is being fitted to the measured data signal y(t). Based on these values, characteristic information such as data elements or symbols encoded within the image data are generated using conventional signal processing techniques. The use of the DEM algorithm advantageously deblurs the signal by reducing the effects of intersymbol interference. In an alternative embodiment, the DEM algorithm is supplemented by a conventional zero crossings decoding technique.

Abstract: Two binary two's complement numbers X and Y are compared using half-adders and a parallel prefix-and circuit to find a carry bit that results from forming the sum C+S, where C is the carry word and S is the sum word of the half-adder representation of X+Y. The carry bit is used to calculate the sign of C+S and the sign is used to determine whether X<Y, or X>Y. Additionally, the circuit also indicates when X=Y.

Abstract: Cleaning of a micromimiature high-density flip-chip assembly is carried out by spinning the assembly while applying cleaning fluid to a central portion of the assembly. Confinement of the cleaning fluid to a critical interconnection space of the assembly is ensured by a centrally apertured cover that resiliently engages the top of the assembly. During spinning, cleaning fluid is introduced through the aperture in the cover and is directed into and confined to flow radially in the interconnection space.

Abstract: A new type of message component (204, 205) enables message creators to specify, inside of a message (200), how the body components (202-203) of the message are to be presented to message recipients; multiple such components enable multiple presentations to be specified for a single message. Included in the message by the message creator as one or more message components (204, 205) of type "presentation", each presentation component specifies the order, durations, and any concurrency, of presentation of the message's body components. Each presentation component is a script that, upon its invocation (300) by the message recipient, executes (302-318) on the recipient's message-presentation equipment (102, 107) and presents the message's body components to the message recipient in the order and for the durations specified, and presents concurrently any body components typically ones expressed in different media that are specified to be presented concurrently.

Abstract: Applicants have discovered a new type of optical switching and display device using an active layer comprising electrochromic protein. In essence, the device comprises a cell composed of an electroded back wall and a transparent front wall including a transparent electrode region. A film comprising electrochromic protein is disposed between the two electrodes. In the absence of voltage between the two electrodes, the film reflects light of a first color. If a voltage is applied, the color of the reflected light changes. Because the device uses reflected light rather than transmitted light, backlighting is not required, and the device is highly efficient as compared with conventional LCDs.