Abstract: An apparatus for detecting the passage of superposed sheets along a feed path includes first and second cooperating rollers (12, 14), the second roller (14) being movable away from the first roller (12) in response to the passage of a single or multiple sheet between the rollers (12, 14). The first roller (12) has a diameter twice that of the second roller (14). Voltage generating means (42) produces an output voltage which varies linearly with movement of the axis of the second roller relative to the axis of the first roller (12). This voltage is integrated over one complete revolution of the first roller (12) first with no sheet present and then with a single or multiple sheet passing between the rollers (12, 14) to produce first and second values respectively. The first value is subtracted from the second value to produce a third value on the basis of which the number of sheets corresponding to the second value is determined.

Abstract: A manually operated release mechanism includes a spring actuated latch mechanism for latching a cash drawer within an enclosure upon movement of the cash drawer to a closed position. A rod member rotatably mounted adjacent the latch mechanism extends to a position adjacent the front edge of the enclosure. A drive member located adjacent the front edge of the enclosure has two cam surfaces, one of which is positioned adjacent one end of the rod member. When the cash drawer is in the closed position, a key actuated locking assembly on the cash drawer moves the drive member to an actuated position which engages and rocks the rod member to a position releasing the latching mechanism from engagement with the cash drawer. A depending tab portion of the cash drawer engages and slides the drive member to a home position upon opening of the drawer. The locking member disables the cash drawer from being operated by a solenoid mounted within the enclosure structure when moved to a locking position.

Abstract: A multiple mode switching device is disclosed which is capable of interconnecting either one of a first or second apparatus, such as a controller, to a third apparatus such as a modem or a business terminal, and which is capable of operating in a first mode in which either the first apparatus or the second apparatus can be manually selected for connection to the third apparatus; in a second mode in which either the first apparatus or the second apparatus can request connection to the third apparatus and will retain such connection as long as needed; and in a third mode in which a selected one of the first apparatus and the second apparatus has priority and will always obtain and retain connection to the third apparatus when needed. First and second manually controlled switches are provided for selecting the mode and the desired apparatus in the manual mode. Logic circuitry is provided for controlling the operation of the switching device in the second and third modes of operation.

Abstract: A security device (10) for protecting sensitive data stored in a resettable memory (110) includes a housing (11) formed of six ceramic plates (P1-P6) each having provided thereon a pair of thin film conductive path segments arranged in a meandering configuration. The thin film conductive path segments are joined together by interconnection devices (30) each including a pair of ceramic studs (e.g. K9, K10) having conductive areas (34, 38) thereon connected by an interconnect block (e.g. N5), thereby forming two complete thin film conductive paths (WMA, WMB) which meander in a closely spaced, parallel manner over the entire inner surface of the housing (11). Interrupting or short circuiting the thin film conductive paths (WMA, WMB) causes reset means (130) to reset the resettable memory (110) thereby erasing the data stored therein.

Abstract: A cryogenic vessel for cooling electronic components, wherein the cryogenic vessel includes a pair of vessel portions, each vessel portion having an outer wall and an interior immersion chamber. A membrane member is located between the vessel portions for separating the mentioned immersion chambers. The membrane member includes openings for providing fluid transfer between the immersion chambers of the vessel portions and a portion extending from between the vessel portions to a point exterior of the vessel portions. Sealing members are located between the membrane member and each of the vessel portions for providing a fluid tight seal of the immersion chambers. An electronic component mounting socket is located on a portion of the membrane member within the immersion chambers for mounting an electronic component to be cooled. A supply conduit through the outer wall of one of the vessel portions introduces cryogenic fluid into the immersion chambers.

Abstract: Apparatus for separating a thermal transfer ribbon from a recording medium includes an elongated member which is positioned adjacent the ribbon and is movable to a position in contact with the ribbon for stripping the ribbon from the recording medium after a printing operation. The elongated member may take the shape and form of a blade or the member may be a wire for stripping the ribbon from the medium.

Abstract: A device (10) for protecting stored sensitive data includes a housing (12) formed by six plates P1-P6 inclusive each carrying a conductive path segment formed by thick film deposition techniques and each having a winding configuration covering substantially the entire inner surface of the plate. The four side plates P2-P5 inclusive are mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB 14) which is mounted on the base plate (P6). The conductive path segments on the side and base plates (P2-P6 inclusive) are interconnected to form a wire mesh by conductive epoxy material connecting the path segments on the side and base plates (P2-P6 inclusive) with conductive tracks on the PCB (14). The conductive path segment on the top plate (P1) is connected by conductive wires (58, 60), which extend through plated through holes (B9, B10) in the PCB (14).

Abstract: A circuit for maintaining copies of original index registers and copies of modified index registers such that in the event original copies of the index registers are needed, they may be restored. The circuit is for use in a fault tolerant system wherein in the event of a rollback, original copies of the index registers may be restored to a processor, even if some of the index registers were modified in the previous execution of a command by the processor.

Abstract: A vehicle odometer system for counting pulses representing translation and storing in nonvolatile form binary data representing the decimal values of the odometer data. The architecture of the circuit is structured to use the data in the more significant digit positions of the odometer count as pointers for the nonvolatile storage addresses used to store data for the less significant digit positions. This arrangement ensures that the endurance capabilities of the nonvolatile memory array are taken into account while apportioning degradation in relation to the significance of the odometer data to be stored. Furthermore, electronic manipulation of the odometer data is prevented by inclusion of a write only high odometer value flag which cannot be removed and is redundantly detected.

Abstract: A business machine assembly such as a cash register includes a plurality of hook members secured to the lower surface of the cash register positioned within corresponding slots in a support member. A cash drawer is slidably mounted within the support member between a open and closed position. The cash register further includes a pair of depending stop members secured to the lower surface of the cash register and positioned adjacent the rear edge of the cash drawer when the cash drawer is in a closed position blocking movement of the cash register on the support member thereby preventing the hook members from being disengaged from the slots when the cash drawer is in a closed position.

Abstract: The system and method of the invention operates upon a serial bit stream of speech encoded data by reading the data in fixed length frames. Each frame is classified as to whether the frame represents voiced, unvoiced, or a silence condition. For a voiced frame, the pitches are detected. The bits of the voiced frame are then compared with the bits of prior received voiced frames, on a pitch basis, so as to detect repetition. When repetition is detected, the repetition count, the pitch period, and the one set of the repetitive pitch bits are stored ready for transmission. The compressed data is reconstructed by utilizing a decoder which interprets the stored information and causes reinsertion of the repetitions.

Abstract: A double walled vessel having a styrofoam filling between the double walls internally supports a semiconductor circuit to which is attached at least one flat ribbon cable. The semiconductor circuit is immersed in liquid nitrogen with at least one flat ribbon cable extending to the top lip of the vessel. Carbon conductors are connected to each conductor of the flat ribbon cable and extend to the outer wall of the vessel. Another flat ribbon cable is connected to the carbon conductors and to an electrical connector. A double walled top having a styrofoam filling is secured to the vessel such that the carbon conductors are sealed between the styrofoam filling of the top and the double walled vessel thereby preventing the formation of frost on the flat ribbon cable and connector that is external to the sealed vessel. Various tubings are inserted through the double walled vessel to permit the insertion of liquid nitrogen and the drawing off of gaseous nitrogen.

Abstract: A grabber mechanism for use in a badge rader having a pivoted lever bar with a solenoid attached to one end and a grabber foot assembly attached to the other. When the solenoid is energized, the lever bar is pivoted such that the grabber foot assembly is moved away from a fixed partition which defines a throat in the badge reader, allowing a card to be inserted into the throat. When the solenoid is de-energized, the grabber foot assembly is urged by a spring into contact with the card, trapping the card between a rubber foot of the grabber assembly and the fixed partition sot that the card may be read by the badge reader.

Abstract: A right angle connector which can be added to connector pads pre-existing on a mother board easily and inexpensively to accept a daughter board at any time for system enhancement. The right angle connection is also inexpensively manufactured and installed. The connector includes a slotted housing, a slotted elastomeric member, and a flexible circuit with numerous conductors. The flexible circuit is wrapped around the elastomeric member with its two free ends ending in the slot of the elastomeric member and these components are then inserted into the housing. The elastomeric member is a little bit larger than the enclosed volume of the housing when it is mounted by fasteners to the mother board. Thus, as the housing is fastened to the mother board, the elastomeric member is compressed causing it to make a better electrical contact between the electrical contacts of the mother board and the electrical contacts of the daughter board.

Abstract: A multilayer printed circuit board included a plurality of substrates bonded together in which the surface area of each substrate is divided into equal surface areas in which each area may contain the same number and lengths of lines of conductive elements, monitor holes, plated-through holes and circuit components. Connecting pads mounted within each substrate and intersected by a plated-through hole are positioned adjacent the conductive elements within the substrate and are connected to the elements by connecting segments. The circuit components mounted on a surface of the circuit board have their lead elements connected by bridge members to a monitor hole for testing purposes, said bridge member being severable to isolate the circuit components. A method for manufacturing such a multilayer printed circuit board is likewise disclosed.

Abstract: The structure of a pair of concentrically disposed field effect transistors responsive to a common gate electrode, and a process for the fabrication thereof. In one form, a dielectric region is surrounded by an active region of monocrystalline silicon and has situated upon the dielectric region a layer of recrystallized silicon as a second active region. A gate electrode overlies both active regions and serves as a mask to form in such respective regions self-aligned channels. The concentric placement of the active substrate monocrystalline silicon region, and inner perimeter of dielectric, and a further inner active region of recrystallized silicon situated over a dielectric region, facilitates recrystallization from seed of monocrystalline silicon irrespective of the direction of translation taken by the energy beam, and associated melt, in scanning across the structure.

Abstract: A system is disclosed for optically coupling together first and second fiber optic cables, having different or similar core diameters, to enable light to be transmitted from the first fiber optic cable to the second fiber optic cable with a minimum of light loss. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the system comprises a housing, first and second connectors, and first and second biconvex lenses. The first connector terminates the first fiber optic cable and also connects to a first housing portion of the housing to enable a first fiber end of the first fiber optic cable to protrude into the first housing portion. The second connector terminates the second fiber optic cable and also connects to a second housing portion of the housing to enable a second fiber end of the second fiber optic cable to protrude into the second housing portion.

Abstract: A device is described by this disclosure for performing memory stores in a memory of a computer system. The computer system includes a processor having a pipeline for processing commands in multiple stages; wherein the commands include a plurality of instructions, including store instructions, and virtual addresses. When the processor processes a store command, the pipeline is blocked until the associated virtual address is translated by a translation device to a real address. In the present device, if a selected store operation is processed, a check is made to see if the associated virtual address has previously been translated, and if it has, the pipeline is unblocked, thus enhancing the processing of store operations.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for control of the temperature of a thermal printing device. Thermoelectric heat pumps are used to cool a thermal print head which does not cool between cycles sufficiently below the threshold temperature for the thermal paper or thermal transfer ribbon being used, due to heat build-up, particularly during high-speed operation. A sensed thermal print head temperature is digitized and compared to a reference temperature for a determination of whether or not operation of the heat pumps should be initiated or halted.

Abstract: A compact optical scanning system comprises a portable enclosure structure having a cover portion which includes a glass enclosed aperture over which a UPC label attached to a purchased merchandise item is moved. Mounted within the enclosure below the cover portion is a laser whose output coherent light beam is reflected along a path extending in a direction parallel to the cover portion by mirrors mounted on a shelf extending between opposite side walls of enclosure. The laser beam is directed through an aperture in a collection mirror to a bifocal lens which includes a second lens for focusing the received laser beam at the aperture by directing the laser beam at a mirror mounted so as to reflect the laser beam at a six-sided multi-faceted rotating mirrored spinner mounted on the floor of the enclosure directly beneath the shelf and the bifocal lens.