Abstract: A roll baler includes upper and lower bale forming devices that cooperate with each other to define a bale starting zone, and a pickup device to deliver crop material toward the bale starting zone. The upper bale forming device preferably constitutes a series of belts extending around a plurality of guide members, one of which is an indexing guide member located in a home position to dispose the upper bale forming device proximate to the lower bale forming device at the rear of the bale starting zone. The baler further includes a pair of disks for moving the indexing guide member from its home position in a substantially circular path of travel generally about the periphery of a roll bale that was started in the bale starting zone.

Abstract: A method is provided for forming roll bales of crop material in a roll baler having upper and lower bale forming devices that cooperate with each other to define a bale starting zone. The upper bale forming device extends around an indexing guide member which has a home position for disposing the upper bale forming device proximate to the lower bale forming device at the rear of the bale starting zone. The indexing guide member is held in its home position while a roll bale is started in the bale starting zone. When the roll bale reaches a predetermined diameter, the indexing guide member is moved in a substantially circular path of travel generally about the periphery of the roll bale. The indexing guide member is subsequently returned to its home position and is held there again while the first-mentioned roll bale is disengaged from the baler and another roll bale is simultaneously started in the bale starting zone.

Abstract: A pneumatic system for automatically controlling the height of a crop harvesting header on a combine is disclosed wherein the pneumatic system includes a cylinder which receives compressed air through pneumatic directional valves mounted on the crop harvesting header and actuated through ground sensors positioned under the header. The flow of compressed air from the directional valves operates a pneumatic cylinder, which in turn drives a hydraulic valve controlling the hydraulic header lift mechanism to move the header relative to the frame of the combine to maintain the relative position of the header to the ground. The pneumatic cylinder is also actuated to effect a raising of the crop harvesting header by another pneumatic directional valve connected to a control lever for shifting the primary drive of the combine to a reverse direction, thereby automatically raising the header when the combine is moved in a reverse direction.

Abstract: A video display control circuit, for an intelligent terminal, includes a large cost efficient Random-Access Memory (RAM). A portion of the RAM memory is utilized as a high speed character generator instead of employing a dedicated Read Only Memory (ROM). Novel timing and memory control circuits are provided which permit characters to be generated witout any delay or change of real character timing. The characters in RAM may be modified or changed which is not possible with dedicated Read Only Memories.

Abstract: A high speed system utilizing programmably controlled ranks of multiplexers for reformatting data from programmably selected first formats to second formats is described. Interleaved input data is utilized to optimize reformatting rates. The reformatting system provides field selection and justification together with the capability of complementing and magnitude generation of the selected fields. Floating-point operands in two different floating-point formats can be unpacked, that is the characteristic separated from the mantissa and properly aligned, and can be packed by positioning and recombining the characteristic with that associated mantissa. Throughout the entire reformatting process, parity for selected bit groupings is maintained, thereby allowing through checking of reformatting operations. The reformatting system includes programmably selectable constant generation.

Abstract: A stroke writing character generator pauses between the generation of vectors, which may meet at sharp corners, so as to reduce deflection bandwidth. A stroke state machine having a plurality of states controls the generation of the vectors. The plurality of states includes a time pause state. A vector length counter provides an end of vector signal that causes the stroke state machine to enter the time pause state for inserting a time pause between the generation of the vectors. The video of the CRT on which the vectors are written is blanked in coincidence with the time pause.

Abstract: An apparatus for sensing acceleration utilizes a multimode input optical fiber to provide an output of light which passes through a grating, and is collimated by a grinrod lens. The collimated light is reflected from a double faceted reflecting surface in two beams. Absent acceleration, the two beams are focussed by the grinrod lens onto portions of the grating covering, respectively, the input faces of two multimode output optical fibers, and provide 1/2 the maximum possible amount of light to each of the output optical fibers, with a balanced output. In response to acceleration, the reflection surface tilts, the beams move, and the outputs of the output optical fibers change, representing the acceleration.

Abstract: A binary division circuit for use in a large data processing system is disclosed which performs division with floating or fixed point numbers. It includes a multiplier unit which is modified to produce the higher precision calculation necessary to the division operation. This modification includes an augmented multiplier circuit which is combined with a quotient correction technique to provide a binary division circuit which produces identical quotients to those obtained by restoring or non-restoring divide techniques in less time than is required by other divide techniques.

Abstract: A torque sensing variable diameter power transfer assembly is disclosed wherein the cam members are provided with an asymmetrical cam surface pattern having first and second cam surfaces meeting the base of the cam at different angles. The opposing first cam surfaces meet the corresponding base members at approximately 45.degree. and interengage to effectively transmit torque between the opposing cam members during normal operating conditions. The opposing second cam surfaces meet the corresponding case member at approximately 30.degree. and interengage to effectively transmit torque between the respective cam members during reverse power conditions, wherein the normally driven sheave temporarily becomes the drive sheave. The asymmetrical cam surfaces generally eliminate belt slippage during reverse power conditions and permit the engine to brake the power delivered by the normally driven sheave.

Abstract: A windshear warning apparatus which separately compares a plurality of signals derived from horizontal and vertical inertial acceleration and air mass acceleration components to indicate incipient windshear. The compared signals are substantially equal under normal wind conditions but are significantly different under windshear conditions. A signal proportional to the product of the magnitude and rate of change of the total or resultant inertial acceleration of the aircraft is used to provide a warning of a significant windshear condition.

Abstract: An improved masked arithmetic logic unit is disclosed which incorporates at least three principle unique features to optimize implementation in a high speed environment. These features are (1) the inclusion of a mask operand to facilitate mask compares and mask substitute operations without adding logic levels to the arithmetic logic unit; (2) the inclusion of a sum minus one network to speed up system performance by minimizing the delay usually associated with group borrow input to final sum output and (3) the inclusion of a mode control register internal to the arithmetic logic unit to minimize or camouflage the delay always found in the mode switching control of contemporary arithmetic logic units.

Abstract: An input/output (I/O) system and method for coupling a host computer to a plurality of peripheral devices in which data destined for peripheral devices is transferred to an output data buffer whose locations are paired with output channel addresses stored in an output device table. A microcomputer performs any processing required on data stored in the output data buffer by reading the address and a function code in the output device table then distributes processed data to an output device block whose locations are addresses of output channels. An input data buffer and input device table similarly arranged, collects and processes input data continuously, which input data buffer can be transferred to the host computer, on command, in a high speed burst.

Abstract: In an improvement to the Selective Non-Anodizing Process (SNAP) an anodizable layer, nominally 100 nm of aluminum, is deposited on top of a 300 nm niobium--6 nm silicon--30 nm niobium tri-layer upon a substrate of oxidized silicon. The structure is then masked with photoresist and etched with an (aluminum) etchant, nominally phosphoric plus acetic plus nitric acid, which is selective to etch aluminum but not niobium. The structure, now containing a hard layer of aluminum plus an uppermost layer of photoresist over the regions where Josephson junctions will be formed, is then anodized by voltage ramping from 0 to 50 volts each 10 seconds in a saturate solution of ammonium penta borate in an equal solution of ethylene glycol and water. Both the uppermost niobium of the tri-layer and the aluminum are anodized save where protected by the photoresist.

Abstract: Each of two sensor loop patterns on a cylindrical substrate produces one of, specifically B.sub.zz and B.sub.yz, of the five independent magnetic tensor gradiometer outputs as pure terms, meaning respectively dependent only upon g.sub.zz and g.sub.yz, with no admixture of other gradient terms, specifically without admixture of g.sub.xx. Such magnetic tensor gradiometer outputs are received at a current sensor device, nominally a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). Each of the two sensor loop patterns is of ten segments, and is a continuous closed-loop superconducting path save only for the single break point at which the current sensor device is coupled.

Abstract: An aircraft speed control system for use with an automatic throttle position control system and automatic flight control system permits capturing and maintaining a commanded airspeed during the capturing of a desired altitude from either climbing or descending flight. The system manipulates the throttles at a variable rate dependent on the difference between the actual thrust of the aircraft and the desired cruising thrust at the selected airspeed and inversely proportional to the actual altitude rate. A signal derived from thrust error and altitude rate signals is utilized to generate a limiter control signal which is combined with an engine pressure ratio signal to generate a drive signal for urging the aircraft to capture precisely the commanded airspeed.

Abstract: A novel high speed gallium arsenide depletion mode field effect transistor logic circuit is provided. One logic input is connected to the source electrode of the switching transistor and draws current when a low level input voltage is provided. Other logic inputs are connected to the gate electrode of the switching transistor and supplies current when a high or low level input voltage is provided. The novel logic output from the source electrode of the switching transistor is a complex OR function which may be employed for a logic family having fewer stages of logic than prior art gallium arsenide circuits.

Abstract: A hermetically sealed quasi-planar integrated circuit suitable for millimeter-wave transmission. The circuit is enclosed within a module having a metal frame soldered to a quartz window. Active elements, such as beam-lead diodes, are mounted on a conductive layer housed within the frame. The assembly is evacuated and may be filled with an inert gas to avoid condensation in humid operating conditions. The invention is particularly adaptable to use in a cross-bar signal mixer at frequencies up to 140 GHz. The structure is adaptable to cooling to reduce circuit losses and improve performance and operating efficiency. Resonant cavities are provided to permit tuning the mixer to fixed frequencies.

Abstract: A maintenance exerciser makes requests of certain inoperative and malfunctioning storage memory bank portions of a large scale storage memory unit concurrently that normal system requestors do request of remaining, correctly functional, storage memory bank portions of such storage memory unit. All requests are collectively prioritized in a priority network which, save for the circuit of the present invention, will not advance to successive prioritizations until each currently prioritized request is positively acknowledged by the requested storage memory bank.