Patents Assigned to Sperry Rand Corporation
  • Patent number: 4334287
    Abstract: A buffer memory arrangement for use in conjunction with a controller and a plurality of peripheral units and/or subsystems of a data processing system. The arrangement includes a dynamic RAM buffer memory for receiving and storing information from the peripheral units or subsystems and for supplying stored information to such units, an address pointer memory for storing buffer memory addresses identifying locations in buffer memory from which information is to be read or into which information is to be stored, and an encoder responsive to a request signal from a peripheral unit or subsystem for supplying an identity signal to the address pointer memory, which signal identifies the requesting peripheral unit or subsystem and specifies location in the address pointer memory containing buffer memory addresses which are to be applied to the buffer memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1979
    Date of Patent: June 8, 1982
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventors: Gregory B. Wiedenman, Phillip W. Marsh
  • Patent number: 4326291
    Abstract: In a throughput error detection system, a redundant logic unit is provided along with a required logic unit for simultaneous operation therewith. The required logic unit and redundant logic unit both produce output data which, it is desired, will be the same. The output data from the required logic unit is supplied to a data bus and the output data of the redundant logic unit is supplied to a parity check digit generator. From the data received from the redundant logic unit, the parity check digit generator generates a parity check digit which is applied to the data bus along wih the data from the required logic unit. A parity checking circuit receives the data and the parity check digit from the data bus and a calculation is made by the circuit to determine if parity is correct. If parity is not correct, the checking circuit produces an alarm signal to alert a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 1979
    Date of Patent: April 20, 1982
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventors: Phillip W. Marsh, Gregory B. Wiedenman
  • Patent number: 4300017
    Abstract: An improved shielded ribbon cable arranged to expedite termination of the shield for grounding the shield. There is an isolator strip placed during fabrication of the cable between the conductor array and the shield; the isolator strip prevents flow of plasticized insulating material between the cover sheet and the conductor array, which usually occurs through the interstices in the shield, so that the shield can be readily separated from the conductor array to permit termination of the shield without jeopardizing the integrity of the insulation on the conductor array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1979
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1981
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventors: Bernard A. Segretto, Roman J. Burkacki
  • Patent number: 4295192
    Abstract: There is described a map memory system with a time-multiplexed memory address bus wherein the mapping function is performed on the high order address bits in parallel with the output of the low order address bits on the time multiplex bus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1979
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1981
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventor: Brewster J. Porcella
  • Patent number: 4282582
    Abstract: There is provided a circuit and method for subtracting floating point numbers which are represented by binary bits. In this circuit, the smaller number (minuend) in one register is arranged so that the complement thereof is denormalized and added to the subtrahend (i.e. larger number) and the result of the addition is returned to the original register. At that time, the signal stored in the register is renormalized. In this circuit, the number of guard bits required to guarantee round off accuracy is only two.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1979
    Date of Patent: August 4, 1981
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventor: Wilson T. Wong
  • Patent number: 4276607
    Abstract: This invention is directed at an apparatus and method for detecting zero operand information and which also serves to detect trailing zeros. This circuit has application in computer circuitry, systems or the like wherein elongated information trains represented by multiple words of multiple bits are multiplied by equally long information trains. In many cases, the trains comprise a plurality of trailing zeros which, in accordance with the operation of this circuit, can be detected whereby the multiplication operation can be significantly speeded by avoiding unnecessary multiplication by zeros without loss of accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 1979
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1981
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventor: Wilson T. Wong
  • Patent number: 4268905
    Abstract: A disk drive control system incorporating an internal microprocessor and internal testing capabilities. The disk drive control system is capable of simulating drive operation without carriage motion so as to test substantially all functional subsystems of the disk drive. The test technique comprises the exercising of subsystems and a diagnosis of operations according to a hierarchy of interdependence of subsystem operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1978
    Date of Patent: May 19, 1981
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventors: Donald F. Johann, Charles E. Mendenhall
  • Patent number: 4266204
    Abstract: A signal amplitude equalizer circuit, having linear phase, for reforming high density magnetically recorded read-back signals to remove peak shift and the resulting errors caused thereby. The equalizer circuit employs series balanced differential amplifier circuits in connection with properly terminated delay lines across the amplifier output terminals to provide an adjustable transfer function that transforms the readhead signal, that follows an exponential frequency spectra curve, into a cosine power frequency spectra curve which, in the time domain, possesses a sufficiently narrow base to eliminate peak shift and its resulting amplitude decay.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 1979
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1981
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventor: George V. Jacoby
  • Patent number: 4263627
    Abstract: An electronic tachometer that includes an integrator for producing a speed signal by integrating a signal representative of acceleration of a body and a differentiator for producing a speed signal by differentiating a signal representative of the position of the body, the differentiator being formed by a passive RC circuit and operatively associated with circuitry for alternately supplying to the differentiator two signals representative of position, one of which is inverted so that signals of a single polarity are supplied to the differentiator, and further circuitry for connecting the differentiator output to the integrator feedback circuitry so as periodically to update or reset the speed signal produced by the integrator, which is formed by an operational amplifier having a capacitive feedback which is shunted by a resistor when the differentiator output is active to update the integrator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1979
    Date of Patent: April 21, 1981
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventors: Andrew M. Rose, James J. Touchton
  • Patent number: 4253182
    Abstract: There is provided an error detection and correction circuit which is optimized in terms of the operation, part count and the like. This invention includes parity generator circuitry to generate parity signals in accordance with a variation of the Hamming Code in response to the application of a plurality of input data bits. The parity signals are applied to a memory bus during a write cycle. During a read cycle, the parity generators produce a parity error signal, if appropriate, to indicate an error in parity. The error correction circuit receives the data bits from the memory (or memory bus) along with the parity error signals generated by the parity generator circuit portion. The data signals and parity error signals are gated together and supplied to Exclusive-OR gates. If an error is indicated by the level of the input signal, the Exclusive-OR gate converts the signal thereby correcting the erroneous data bit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 1979
    Date of Patent: February 24, 1981
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventor: Brewster J. Porcella
  • Patent number: 4248248
    Abstract: A rotor for an axial flow combine which is adapted to coact with conventional grate means in said combine, said rotor having on the forward end thereof interrupted infeed flight means which are spiral segments spaced both axially and circumferentially from each other, and certain of the leading ends of said flight segments in the direction of rotation of the rotor extending radially a limited distance beyond the outer edges of said segments to provide aggressive engagement of said segments with crop material being delivered to said flight from conventional elevator mechanism and the like normally employed in combines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 1979
    Date of Patent: February 3, 1981
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventors: Cyriel R. J. De Busscher, Francois Van Herpe
  • Patent number: 4237535
    Abstract: Peripheral devices of a microprocessor controlled system initiate service request signals which are sent to a system controller over a single dedicated request line. Such request signals are accepted by the system controller on a priority basis, with only one service request signal being honored at any given time. Once honored, the system controller addresses the peripheral device and accepts a vector request word therefrom. The vector request word is then used by the system controller to generate an index signal to select a microaddress of the microroutine to be used to service a peripheral device's request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 1979
    Date of Patent: December 2, 1980
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventor: Gregory B. Wiedenman
  • Patent number: 4236197
    Abstract: A voltage regulation loop for the rejection of line frequency ripple of 0-180 Hz in an inverter power supply is disclosed. The loop includes an error amplifier (E), a pulse-width modulator (P), an inverter (I), a second summing node (N.sub.2), an output filter (F), and a feedback loop back to a first summing node N.sub.1 at the error amplifier. The novel pulse-width modulator is non-linearly operated to provide an improved rejection of the power supply's line frequency ripple and an improved stability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 1979
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1980
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventor: Randolph D. W. Shelly
  • Patent number: 4234934
    Abstract: Apparatus for scaling addresses received by a memory module in a modular requestor-memory system in which standard memory modules may be of a discretely variable size and utilized in a plurality of positions in an overall contiguous memory addressing scheme. In particular, this scaling apparatus enables a modular memory which is only partially populated, i.e., only able to respond to a subset of the set of all addresses available, to be located in any one of several positions representing different addressing ranges. This is accomplished without modification of the memory module itself. The memory module knows its discrete capacity, or size, by virtue of the population of the memory array storage locations (array cards) contained therein. The memory module then uses this information to scale, or strip off, the appropriate number of bits from the gross address to allow addressing of the restricted number of memory locations present in the memory module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1978
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1980
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventor: Lee T. Thorsrud
  • Patent number: 4233666
    Abstract: In a digital information storage system or the like, start up power sequencing for independently operable machines such as disk drives each equipped with a microprocessing unit is provided through a simplified power sequencing circuit. The power sequencing circuit is operatively coupled with an independent preprogrammable micropocessing unit in each machine and to a single control line common to all disk drives. The microprocessing unit is preprogrammed to interact with the power sequencing circuit to provide Enable/Disable signals to the control line and to sense the state of the control line. In particular, the microprocessing unit executes a preprogrammed sequence of steps in interaction with the control line to sequence the start-up of each spindle motor irrespective of the number of disk drives coupled to the control line, thereby preventing electrical power overload.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 1978
    Date of Patent: November 11, 1980
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventors: Per-Erik Walberg, Donald F. Johann, Charles E. Mendenhall
  • Patent number: 4231106
    Abstract: Performance monitor apparatus is adapted to monitor various computer program events such as the length of time required to execute a particular program, the number of times a particular program or instruction sequence is executed during some predetermined period, etc. The apparatus includes a buffer for receiving an instruction data word from a data processor and for temporarily storing the data word, a register having a plurality of bistable elements each of which is adapted to produce either a first or second output signal in response to receipt of a first or second operation signal respectively and receipt of a select signal, a select logic circuit for applying a select signal to a particular bistable element identified by certain bits of the instruction data word stored in the buffer, and an operation logic circuit for supplying to the bistable elements either a first or second operation signal as determined by certain other bits of the instruction data word stored in the buffer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 1978
    Date of Patent: October 28, 1980
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventors: David L. Heap, Allen L. Kenner
  • Patent number: 4229072
    Abstract: A display system using the dispersive Faraday coefficient of a magnetic screen to obtain a color display from white light is disclosed. A beam of energy is directed upon a magnetic screen while concurrently an intensity modulated magnetic field is directed normal to the surface of the magnetic screen. The combination of the heating effect of the energy beam and the magnetic orienting effect of the intensity modulated magnetic field established localized areas of differing magnetic characteristics over the planar surface of the magnetic screen. Subsequently, a polarized beam of white light that floods the magnetic screen is, for each of several wave lengths, differently rotated upon passing through each of the areas of differing magnetic characteristics in the magnetic screen. The beamlets that are formed by the so-differently rotated areas of the polarized white light beam are then passed through an uncrossed analyzer, which beamlets appear as a multicolored projection upon the magnetic screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1978
    Date of Patent: October 21, 1980
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventors: Ernest J. Torok, David L. Fleming, Thomas R. Johansen
  • Patent number: 4227845
    Abstract: A hydraulic control system for the rolling rack of a three table bale wagon wherein the rolling rack is movable along the third table for supporting tiers of bales deposited on the third table by the second table, the control system including a single acting hydraulic cylinder for positively advancing the rolling rack to a first position wherein the third table is ready to receive tiers of bales, apparatus for selectively connecting the hydraulic cylinder with a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure for extending the hydraulic cylinder and thereby moving the rolling rack to the first position, and including a fluid flow line; selective apparatus connected with the fluid flow line for intermittent release of fluid pressure from the fluid flow line so that when mechanical pressure is exerted against the hydraulic cylinder in such a manner as to urge retraction of the cylinder, the retraction may be controlled by intermittent release of pressure from the fluid flow line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 1978
    Date of Patent: October 14, 1980
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventors: Richard A. Colby, Leo B. Parolini, L. Dennis Butler
  • Patent number: 4218866
    Abstract: In a crop roll forming machine having a reversibly rotatable bale forming means there is provided an improved drive means with tensioning means movably affixed to the frame for cooperative interaction with the drive means and the bale forming means to selectively cause the bale forming means to cease being driven in a first direction and cause it to be driven in an opposing second direction when the tensioning means is moved to a predetermined position so that a completed crop roll is ejected rearwardly from the machine onto the ground.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1979
    Date of Patent: August 26, 1980
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventor: Charles A. Parrish
  • Patent number: 4215527
    Abstract: A multi-row crop header for a forage harvester having a plurality of forwardly extending dividers to provide crop passageways therebetween, the inner ends of said dividers being adjustably connected to a transverse frame member to vary the spacings between said passageways, and a rotatable feed assist roller mounted adjacent the inner end of the outermost divider to assist in guidng down crops picked up by said dividers to the inner ends of said passageways for discharge therefrom and prevent hairpinning of said down crops from jamming said header thereby.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1979
    Date of Patent: August 5, 1980
    Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation
    Inventors: Joe E. Shriver, Curtis H. Lindblom