Abstract: Computer apparatus provides distribution of processing among a plurality of loci of control. Specific loci of control include an origination point, an entry point to a recipient's mailbox, in a recipient's mailbox, an exit point from a recipient's mailbox and a completion point after a last recipient. Processing is performed in a foreground or background task, and interactively or non-interactively at each desired loci of control. Processing includes invocation of an application automatically upon receipt of subject data at a focus of control or upon manual command by the recipient at the locus of control. Pre-existing applications are invoked through a common interface between the present invention apparatus and pre-existing applications. A data update routine records recipient's modification of the data during recipient editing in multiple sessions at a locus. A recovery routine insures that at most the last editing session is lost in a system crash.

Abstract: A footnote utility manages lengthy footnotes which extend beyond the body text page where they are first mentioned. Certain first and second style requirements are used for assembling body and footnote text into a final document. Each page contains at least one line of body text and portions of the text of each footnote referenced in that text.

Abstract: Gate speed evaluation circuitry evaluates the operating speed of gates of a calibration network and adjusts the length of a tapped delay network on the same chip to provide uniform delay in a signal.

Abstract: Apparatus for delivering and receiving mail using a computer system with a mail directory file thereon. Each mail directory file in the mail delivery system having a user entry for mail recipients. The apparatus having a directory extract and update capability so that user directory entries may be changed on different mail computer systems.

Abstract: An electrographic system comprises a graphics surface assembly having a graphics surface integrally coupled to a memory device which contains calibration data designated for the graphics surface. During manufacturing, the memory device is mounted onto an interface board which is attached to the graphics surface through a flex cable. A calibration procedure is performed on the graphics surface whereby calibration data is generated and stored in the memory device. The memory device, loaded with the calibration data, is thereafter linked to its associated graphics surface.

Abstract: An I/O structure for use in a digital data processing system of the type in which system components including a processor and a system memory are connected by a system bus. The I/O structure includes a system bus interface connected to the system bus, a synchronous satellite processing unit (SPU) bus connected to the system bus interface, one or more satellite processing units (SPUs) connected to the SPU bus, and peripheral devices attached to the satellite processing units. Each SPU has three main components: control logic including a microprocessor for controlling the SPU, a device adapter specific to the peripheral device for controlling the peripheral device and transferring data between the peripheral device and the SPU, and an interface unit connected to the control logic and the device adapter for providing I/O communications to the SPU bus and responding to I/O communications on the SPU bus. The I/O communications fall into two classes: communications to SPUs and communications to system components.

Abstract: A system having a CPU, a main memory and a bus. A cache memory couples the CPU to the bus and is provided with circuitry to indicate the status of a data unit stored within the cache memory. One status indication indicates whether the contents of a storage position have been modified (dirty) since those contents were received from main memory. Another status indication indicates whether the contents of the storage position exist within another cache memory (shared). Each cache includes a bus monitor that monitors bus transactions. When data is read from system memory by a first cache a second cache determines if the data is shared. If yes, the second cache asserts a bus hold line and determines if the shared data is dirty. If yes, the second cache drives the corresponding data to the bus for storage within the first cache. For a system memory write, the second cache latches the data and determines if the data is shared. If yes, the second cache replaces its copy of the data with that latched from the bus.

Abstract: In a data processing system having a relational database, novel relational operator means is provided that accepts a cursor defined against a database target. The system retrieves record occurrences from the target as defined by the cursor; the means accepts predefined display format signals and defines a stored screen image responsive to the format signals and the retrieved record occurrences. The screen image is displayed to a user on the system display, and is modified in response to enumerating signals input by the user through the system keyboard during such display. The operator means derives from the modified screen image and the cursor, output signals defining a result relation, membership in which is defined enumeratively and interactively through the keyboard. Alternatively, using other format signals for the display, characterizing signals are input by the user, and a result relation, membership in which is defined in terms of attributes in the target, is defined interactively.

Abstract: A mounting arm is disclosed on one end of which a piece of electronic or other equipment is mounted and the other end of which is detachably fastened to the edge of a supporting surface. The arm has three moving joints that permit the equipment fastened thereto to be moved with multiple degrees of freedom for desired positioning of the equipment. One joint utilizes a friction washer assembly and a preloaded torsion spring counterbalancing the weight of the equipment. The torsion spring tension is adjustable to compensate for differing weights of equipment on the one end of the arm. Another joint utilizes a friction ball joint arrangement having double concentric friction ball surfaces in an assembly that permits multiple degrees of freedom of motion and is easily removed from the remainder of the arm without disassembling the ball joint.

Abstract: For use in an information processing system 10, the system including a system bus 16 having a system address bus 16a and a system data bus 16b and at least two data processors 12 and 14 coupled to the system bus, emulation apparatus for enabling a first one of the data processors to execute, in conjunction with a second one of the data processors, a program requiring access to predetermined address locations associated with a specific type of device, typically an I/O device. The specific type of device is either not resident within the system or is resident at different address locations. The emulation apparatus includes circuitry 30 for detecting an occurrence of an access cycle by the first data processor to the predetermined address location, circuitry 50 for halting the first data processor before completion of the access cycle and circuitry 50 for notifying the second data processor that the first data processor is halted.

Abstract: A connector provides alignment between an electro-optic device and an optical fiber of a optical fiber cable. The connector employs a holding member for removably retaining the working end of the optical fiber and an electro-optic device aligned with each other for communication therebetween. The holding member has a cavity in one side wall in which the device is removably retained, and a channel, from an opposite side wall to the base of the cavity, in which the optical fiber is positioned. The channel is of varying diameter, and includes a cavity facing end having a diameter which is sufficient to accomodate the optical fiber but which is smaller than the outer diameter optical fiber cable. The cavity facing end of the channel ensures alignment of the optical fiber with the device retained in the cavity. A clamp member comprising spreadable prongs secures the optical fiber cable in position in the larger diameter region of the channel of the holding member.

Abstract: Apparatus for determining priority of access to a bus by nodes in a group of nodes attached to the bus. For purposes of determining priority, the apparatus arranges the nodes in a circular configuration and selects one of the nodes as the "anchor node". The anchor node has the highest priority and the priorities of the other nodes are determined by their positions in the circle relative to the anchor node. Each node includes a presettable counter for indicating a number of times that a node may access the bus before the highest priority is rotated to another node. After a device represented by one of the nodes accesses the bus for a predetermined number of accesses the current anchor node ceases being the anchor node and the next node in the circle becomes the new anchor node. The priorities of the nodes change to reflect the new location of the anchor node.

Abstract: A device for controlling a cursor on a data terminal display screen. The device is in the form of a headset and includes an orientation sensor which provides an electrical signal related to the orientation of the device without it being adjacent to any fixed surface. The orientation sensor includes a hollow spherical housing having at least one light source/detector pair mounted opposingly in the inner wall, along an axis extending through the center point of the housing. The housing is half-filled with a transparent liquid having a specified viscosity and index of refraction and half-filled with air. Light beams emitted from the sources are refracted upon passsing through the boundary between the air and the liquid. As the orientation sensor rotates with respect to the vertical axis, the changing refraction angle of the light beam causes the detector to sense changing intensities of light, which are representative of the angle of rotation.

Abstract: Instruction prefetching apparatus particularly adapted to executing an EXECUTE instruction specifiying a single subject instruction. The apparatus includes a first and second separately-controllable instruction syllable register and control apparatus. Under control of the control apparatus, the first instruction syllable register receives only the first syllable of the prefetched instruction; the second instruction syllable register receives all other syllables. The instruction syllable registers may be loaded either directly from memory or from a data register internal to the CPU. In the first case, the address of the instruction syllable to be prefetched is contained in a special instruction address register which is incremented each time an instruction syllable register is loaded. In the second case, the loading does not affect the value of the instruction address register.

Abstract: An information processing system includes a first data processing device 10 and a second data processing device 12 each of which is capable if independent instruction execution during instruction cycles having a period which is a multiple of a periodic unit clock signal period. The devices are disclosed to be an arithmetic unit and a central processor which are coupled together by an interface 14. Each of the data processing devices include a clock generation device 180 having an input coupled to the unit clock signal for generating an associated instruction cycle clock signal which has a period which is a multiple of the unit clock signal period. The clock generation device is further operable for suspending the generation of the instruction cycle clock signal and for beginning a next instruction cycle clock signal in synchronism with a transition of the unit clock signal.

Abstract: A controller for transferring data between a plurality of data storage and retrieval devices and a plurality of computer workstations, and which is especially applicable to transferring bit-mapped image data. The controller responds to requests from a plurality of ports on the controller, connected to computers or similar devices, for connection to selected ones of a plurality of channels connected to the data retrieval devices. The connect request is decoded by the controller, and if the requested channel is available, the controller will interconnect the two devices. The controller allows simultaneous access by any of the ports to any of the channels not being used by another port. The device is in modular form so that a single design can be configured to efficiently operate in different applications. The controller is cascadable to allow larger numbers of devices to be connected.

Abstract: A data processing system provides a desk view which serves as a graphical user interface to the system. The desk view displays detailed miniaturized images of all documents possessed by the user. The compressed document images are user stackable and are automatically stacked when the images overlap by a predefined amount. The predefined amount is user settable. The desk view also displays icons of operations for mailing, stapling, copying and printing of documents. User activation of these operations occurs upon the removal of a stylus end from a surface after the electronic stylus has positioned a document image and icon relative to each other. Some operations include a screen view enabling user establishment of parametes of the operation after activation. Some icons are displayed with automatic uncovering when a stamp is positioned over it.

Abstract: An improved intermediate spreadsheet structure for representing n-dimensional spreadsheets being interchanged among spreadsheet programs. The intermediate spreadsheet structure represents a spreadsheet as a set of nested segments. Each non-empty cell of the spreadsheet is represented by a cell segment. All of the cells belonging to a first-dimensional element of the spreadsheet such as a row are contained in a vector segment representing the row; All of the vector segments representing elements of a second-dimensional element such as a matrix are contained in a vector segment representing the second-dimensional element. The same type of nesting is used with all higher-dimensional elements. Each segment further contains descriptors which define certain aspects of the segment's content. The cell segments may further contain an expression control and descriptors belonging to the expression control which define an expression.