Abstract: An optical image processor includes a nonlinear active gain medium for recording an interference pattern that corresponds to the Fourier transform of an input image or the multiplicative product of the Fourier transforms of two respective input images.

Abstract: A facility is provided for allowing a caller to place a telephone call by merely uttering a label identifying a desired called destination and to charge the telephone call to a particular billing account by merely uttering a label identifying that account. Alternatively, the caller may place the call by dialing or uttering the telephone number of the called destination or by entering a speed dial code associated with that telephone number. The facility includes a speaker verification system which employs cohort normalized scoring. Cohort normalized scoring provides a dynamic threshold for the verification process making the process more robust to variation in training and verification utterences. Such variation may be caused by, e.g., changes in communication channel characteristics or speaker loudness level.

Abstract: Methods for achieving eye-to-eye contact in a video-conferencing system use a controller to calculate eye contours, radius profiles, and positions from images stored in memory. Once the contours and radius profiles are generated, an eye image can be "shifted" to achieve eye-to-eye contact.

Abstract: Signal processing involves accruing signal charge at photosensors, accumulating samples of the content of several adjacent photosensors in individual potential wells of a CCD according to a predetermined pattern, shifting them into individual stages of a first group of registers, and shifting the contents of the first group of registers into a second register to create a linear filtering operation. Accumulating the samples averages the content of adjacent pixels.

Abstract: The functions of a paging device and the calling card or any other type of credit card having integrated into one unit which is referred to as a smartcard and has approximately the dimensions of a standard credit card. The smartcard not only receives the number of the caller from the paging center but automatically dials and transmits billing information when inserted into a pay telephone. The user can through the use of switches on the smartcard return all of the calls for the telephone numbers that were received from the paging service. In addition, the smartcard allows for the storage of commonly-dialed numbers used by the user that can also be automatically dialed when the smartcard is inserted into a pay telephone. Also, if the name of the caller is transmitted rather than the telephone number from the paging center, the smartcard searches the commonly-dialed numbers to find the telephone number associated with that name.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for rate allocation within the individual switches of a communications network implementing a rate-based congestion control approach for best-effort traffic. The methodology of the invention centers on a new rate allocation algorithm which performs its allocation functions independently of the number of connections sharing a network link and therefore performs an allocation in .THETA.(1) complexity. With that implementation simplicity, the algorithm is particularly advantageous for implementation in ATM switches carrying a large number of virtual channels. The algorithm operates on bandwidth information supplied from the source of a connection in special cells or packet headers, such as ATM Resource Management cells. By storing parameter values for other connections sharing a network link, the algorithm requires a constant number of simple computations for each request from a connection for a bandwidth allocation.

Abstract: An integrated ringing signal detector sufficiently small for implementation on a single PCMCIA card. The detector has a DC-blocking capacitor 28 disposed between the telephone line and a bridge rectifier 27. The output 29 of the rectifier 27 connects to a voltage detector 23 which detects when the ringing signal exceeds a predetermined voltage. Output 30 of the voltage detector 23 triggers thyristor switch 24 into conduction. Switch 24 remains conductive until current flowing therein falls below the holding current of the thyristor switch 24. Current limiter 25 limits the current flowing therein to a substantially fixed predetermined amount of current, sufficient for the adequate operation of the LED in the opto-coupler transducer 22. The transducer 22 is shown here as an opto-coupler having an LED transmitter and a phototransistor receiver to provide galvanic (high-voltage) isolation between the telephone line and the utilization device, here a modem.

Abstract: In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a liquid crystal display driver for driving liquid crystal display electrodes, comprises: a voltage signal generator adapted to provide a predetermined voltage signal to the liquid crystal display electrodes, the voltage signal generator being further adapted to be activated when the voltage signal level of said electrodes is outside a predetermined dead zone region, the voltage signal generator being deactivated when the voltage signal level of the electrodes is substantially within the predetermined dead zone region; and a switch adapted to couple the voltage signal generator to at least one of said liquid crystal display electrodes.

Abstract: A verification system to determine unknown input speech contains a recognized keyword or consists of speech or other sounds that do not contain any of the keywords. The verification system is designed to operate on the subword level, so that the verification process is advantageously vocabulary independent. Such a vocabulary-independent verifier is achieved by a two-stage verification process comprising subword level verification followed by string level verification. The subword level verification stage verifies each subword segment in the input speech as determined by an Hidden Markov Model recognizer to determine if that segment consists of the sound corresponding to the subword that the HMM recognizer assigned to that segment. The string level verification stage combines the results of the subword level verification to make the rejection decision for the whole keyword.

Abstract: An analog-to-digital converter includes first current sources, second current sources, current regulators, and conductive channels, with each conductive channel coupled to a respective first current source, second current source, and current regulator. An analog input is split into the first current sources. Each second current source is associated with a unique reference current. At each channel where the first current source couples a larger current than the reference current, the current regulator couples a difference current to allow the second current source to couple the reference current. Alternatively, at each channel where the first current source couples a smaller current than the reference current, the current regulator does not couple a difference current, and the second current source couples the same current as the first current source.

Abstract: A system which avoids the bandwidth inefficiencies of simply providing multiple separate and independent channels for distributing data services over television compatible networks by considering the multiple channels as one unit and managing them as one unit with an upstream bandwidth management unit. This bandwidth management unit dynamically assigns active users to unused bandwidth among multiple channels. To accomplish this, the bandwidth management unit records each request for channel bandwidth that is made, each request that is being actively fulfilled, and each request that has been completed. Thus, data service providers, such as multimedia services, can efficiently use multiple 6 megahertz television network compatible channels to distribute their data to many requesters/users at high rates of speed over a relatively inexpensive existing network.

Abstract: A constraining sleeve device is applied to a plastic battery casing to prevent distortion of the casing contour. A metal constraining sleeve slides onto and over a broad face or side of the plastic battery casing and provides constraining forces to maintain its contour. This sleeve is retained in place by end members at each end of the constraining sleeve device that engages structural features existing and located at opposing ends of the casing. In another embodiment a pair of constraining sleeve devices are applied to opposing broad sides of the battery casing.

Abstract: The peaking of multiple input signals applied to the inputs of two or more distinct amplifiers, and the resultant intermodulation, can be reduced, or avoided, by: a) dividing each of the input signals into components from which the original input signals can be reconstructed, e.g., by using a Butler matrix of order greater than 2.times.2; b) developing a specially constructed signal which is likewise divided into components; c)supplying a component of each of the input signals and a component of the specially constructed signal to at least one of the amplifiers; and d) constructing amplified versions of the original input signals from the outputs of the amplifiers, e.g., by using another identical Butler matrix. The specially constructed signal is generated so as to reduce: 1) peaking at the one of amplifiers whose input signal peaking results in the highest peak during a particular time period; and 2) intermodulation in the output signals.

Abstract: An enclosure for electronic circuits intended to operate at great depths beneath the sea in which the circuits are protected from stresses induced by the accumulation of mechanical tolerances during assembly, from shock during transportation, and from deformation of the enclosure at great pressure. The circuits being accessible in their final configuration during testing before insertion into the enclosure and sealing. Cable lengths within the enclosure are minimized to ensure reliability.

Abstract: A decoding method and apparatus for speech coding systems which takes into account the fact that the human auditory system is sensitive to changes in signal characteristics. For example, a sustained distortion of the spectral characteristic of reconstructed speech is usually less perceptible than an objectively smaller distortion which changes as a function of time. This property of the auditory system is advantageously exploited in the design of a speech coding system receiver in accordance with the present invention, by selecting the sequence of decoded speech parameter values on a perceptual basis. Illustratively, the sequence of decoded speech parameter values is selected so as to describe a smooth path through the sequence of Voronoi regions. The distance between successive parameter values is advantageously minimized, under the constraint that the resultant parameter values fall within, or nearly within, the appropriate Voronoi regions.

Abstract: A line card apparatus which provides soft dialtone and automated remote cross-connect capability, comprising one or more line interfaces and a switching matrix which can connect a plurality of lines to the one or more line interfaces. This switching matrix is governed by a controller which can connect each of the plurality of lines to one of the line interface units, and thus, no manual intervention is required. Also, the control unit periodically scans the lines connected to it. If the control determines that there is an offhook condition on any of the lines (whether or not that line is activated), the control notifies the host switch to provide dialtone, which the controller then connects to that line.

Abstract: A monolithically integrated laser which is rapidly tunable over a wide optical frequency range comprises a frequency router formed in a semiconductive wafer defining a tuned cavity. A control circuit applies electrical energy to predetermined controllably transmissive waveguides connecting the frequency routing device with reflective elements defined in the wafer. This tunes the laser to a desired one of a plurality of optical frequencies. Application of such electrical energy creates frequency selective pathways through the wafer able to support selected lasing frequencies. This laser is economical to construct and is useful in high capacity, high speed optical communications networks.

Abstract: A lead frame comprising an ultra-thin composite of noble metal layers on a nickel surface is disclosed. The composite ranges from 2.5 to 11 microinches in thickness and includes in succession from nickel, a 0.5 to 3.5 microinches of palladium or gold strike, a 0.5 to 5 microinches thick palladium-nickel alloy layer having 10 to 90 weight percent nickel by weight of the alloy, a 0.5 to 5 microinches thick palladium layer, and a 0 to 1 microinch thick gold layer. The gold layer is being used whenever it is desirable to achieve high speed of solder wetting, relative to the speed of solder wetting of palladium. Viable ultra-thin coatings are most effectively obtained by deposition of the layers in a reel-to-reel metal deposition process.

Abstract: A low-cost monitor includes two comparators which are adapted to form a window comparator which frames a laser transmitter's normal range of operation. An apparatus for generating an amplified back-face-monitor voltage corresponding to the laser transmitter's optical output power level is coupled to the window comparator. A reference voltage is also coupled to the window comparator which defines the upper threshold of the normal operational range. A controllable variable voltage source is coupled to the window comparator and is used to define the lower threshold of the normal operating range, where this lower threshold has two associated threshold values as described above. The lower threshold is initialized to the first threshold value which corresponds to an end-of-life operating state of the laser transmitter.