Patents Examined by Jin F. Ng
  • Patent number: 5259028
    Abstract: A telephone holder which can be secured to either the vertically extending side wall of a conveniently located item or a horizontally extending upwardly facing wall thereof, on which a telephone can be held for easy reach by a user. The holder includes a base plate on which the telephone is secured, an elongated vertically extending mounting plate integrally joined to the base plate along a side edge and extending substantially normal thereto, a pair of spaced apart horizontally extending mounting plates integrally joined to the base plate along its lower edge and extending substantially normal to the base plate in one direction therefrom, and another horizontally extending mounting plate integrally joined to the base plate along its lower edge in the space between the pair of spaced apart horizontally extending mounting plates, also extending substantially normal to the base plate but in the opposite direction therefrom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1991
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1993
    Inventor: William S. Westbrook
  • Patent number: 5258661
    Abstract: This invention contemplates the provision of a noise immune integrated circuit receiver in which the voltage reference to one side of an emitter-coupled current switch moves in response to the input signal, in a direction opposite the input signal. This provides the gate with a threshold hysteresis, making it immune to noise without requiring a large swing in input signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1993
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Dennis C. Banker, Jack A. Dorler, Walter S. Klara, Francesco M. Masci
  • Patent number: 5259020
    Abstract: A portable-to-portable call transfer system for cordless telephone. The base unit is connected with a portable unit over a radio channel. The call-transfer requesting signal relay responds to a transfer requesting signal from a calling portable unit to hold an incoming call while also transmitting both the transfer requesting signal and the channel number of a talk channel to a called portable unit over a control channel. The portable-to-portable line setting section transmits the off-hook signal to the calling portable unit over the talk channel and connects the receiver output of a transmitter-receiver to the transmitter input of the transmitter-receiver so as to enable the calling portable unit to send a voice message to the called portable unit upon reception of an off-hook signal from the called portable unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1993
    Assignees: Pioneer Electronic Corporation, Pioneer Communications Corporation
    Inventor: Masahiro Hirano
  • Patent number: 5259018
    Abstract: A cellular radio telephone system comprises a mobile cellular telephone (1) adapted to have a hand portable telephone (2) containing a number assignment module, i.e. a NAM (7), removably connected thereto. The mobile telephone (1) has a microprocessor (4) which can access the information stored in the NAM (7) of the hand portable telephone (2) either directly or via a memory 16 whereby the mobile automatically assumes the telephone number of the hand portable telephone when the two telephones are connected together. Hence a subscriber need only have a single billing account for both telephones. Also, the same mobile telephone may be used as a host at different times by any number of subscribers having their own hand portable telephones. Each subscriber will be able to receive his own calls and the charges for using the system can be levied to the appropriate subscriber's account.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1993
    Assignee: Technophone Limited
    Inventors: Alan C. Grimmett, N. E. Martensson
  • Patent number: 5257312
    Abstract: A receiver having a signal path incorporating a tuner, a demodulator circuit for supplying a stereo multiplex signal having a baseband stereo sum signal (L+R), a 19 kHz stereo pilot and a stereo difference signal (L-R) which is double sideband amplitude-modulated on a suppressed 38 kHz subcarrier, a sampler for converting an analog signal into a time-discrete signal and a stereo decoder for time-division multiplex decoding of a time-discrete stereo multiplex signal into time-discrete left and right stereo signals. In order to realize an effective selection of the stereo multiplex signal by an easily integrable low-pass filter, the stereo decoder includes a time-discrete halfband low-pass filter circuit having a finite impulse response, with a transition band which is substantially located in the frequency range of said modulated stereo difference signal and with a half-value transfer which is located at the frequency of said 38 kHz stereo subcarrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1993
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corporation
    Inventors: Dieter E. M. Therssen, Johan K. J. Van Ginderdeuren
  • Patent number: 5256980
    Abstract: A frequency synthesizer for producing an output whose phase and/or frequency can be finely adjusted under digital control. The synthesizer utilizes a phase lock loop including a phase detector responsive to a prescale divide-by-N frequency divider and a feedback divide-by-M frequency divider to product an output signal F.sub.OUT. The phase of F.sub.OUT can be shifted by a small increment by slightly adjusting the values of the divisors M and N.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1993
    Assignee: PairGain Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Benedict A. Itri
  • Patent number: 5257099
    Abstract: A network of local area audience response systems is coupled together at a central audience response processing station by a satellite communication system for real time audience response analysis, nationally or internationally. Each local area station and each response unit may be identified and verified by allocation of specific time slots for response preferably synchronously related to a TV picture program transmission carrying the audience questions to be answered. Wireless transmission of the question and answer signals in digital format of beeps of a single frequency keeps transmission channels narrow. The system may be operated in conjunction with TV broadcasting or independently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1993
    Assignee: TV Answer, Inc.
    Inventor: Fernando Morales-Garza
  • Patent number: 5257307
    Abstract: A radio pager system and pager terminal apparatus used in the system are disclosed. A pager signal to be transmitted includes destination information and message specifying information for specifying a message to be transmitted. The pager terminal apparatus includes a receiver for receiving an incoming pager signal, a detector for detecting that the received pager signal is a signal destined for the pager terminal apparatus, an extracting circuit for extracting message specifying information from the pager signal transmitted to the pager terminal apparatus and message displaying apparatus responsive to the extracted message specifying information for displaying a message corresponding to the extracted message specifying information in a visually recognizable manner. The radio pager system includes the above pager terminal apparatus, a station for transmitting via radio a pager signal, and transmission terminal apparatus for supplying the destination information and the message information to the station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1993
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masahiro Ise
  • Patent number: 5256981
    Abstract: A digital error corrected Fractional-N synthesizer having a reference frequency generator for providing a reference frequency signal and a voltage controlled oscillator for providing an output signal having a frequency equal to a fractional multiple of said reference frequency signal. The output signal of the Fractional-N synthesizer includes a residual error signal. An error signal compensation circuit is provided for generating a correction signal to cancel the residual error signal. In a preferred embodiment, the reference frequency signal is delivered to a loop phase detector which provides an error voltage proportional to a phase difference between the reference frequency signal and a feedback signal. The frequency of the output signal, which is a fractional multiple of the reference frequency signal and proportional to the error voltage, is operated upon by a plurality of divisors of a loop divider circuit to provide the feedback signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1993
    Assignee: Hughes Aircraft Company
    Inventor: Erik C. Fountain
  • Patent number: 5257306
    Abstract: A video teleconferencing system includes a plurality of terminals, a server including a storage for storing input information, and a network coupling the terminals to the server, where the input information is supplied from each terminal to other terminals from the server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1993
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventor: Satoru Watanabe
  • Patent number: 5257022
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for following a vehicle are disclosed by which the distance from a vehicle to a preceding target vehicle running ahead thereof can be exactly measured and, based on the thus measured distance, an appropriate vehicle following window can be automatically set with respect to a target image of the preceding vehicle at the start of vehicle following. Images of objects including the preceding vehicle are taken from two different points. The distance to the preceding vehicle is measured based on the images thus taken from the two points. On the basis of the measured distance, the size of an image-following window to be set within an image area displayed on a screen of a display is determined for following the preceding vehicle. The image of the preceding vehicle is found among various images of objects in the image area on the screen, and the position of the window on the screen is properly set and then temporarily stored in a memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1993
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki K.K.
    Inventor: Tatsuji Irie
  • Patent number: 5257315
    Abstract: An in-the-ear hearing aid comprises a housing having a face plate that has a first opening for a battery compartment and a second opening connected to the first opening. A lamina is constructed as a carrier for a hearing aid component and is introduced into this second opening, and the lamina is secured in this second opening, even when the battery is removed from the battery compartment, and is, nonetheless, removable from the hearing aid without exertion of great force. To accomplish these goals, a holding arrangement is formed in a portion of the edges of the lamina and the second opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1993
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Christof Haertl, Jochen Mueller
  • Patent number: 5254891
    Abstract: CMOSFETs control the power in a bipolar logic gate to regulate its operating speed and hence its delay. In a specific embodiment of the invention, an n-channel CMOSFET controls the constant current through an emitter-coupled current switch, comprised of a pair of bipolar integrated circuit transistors. A p-channel CMOSFET, in series with each collector of the switch pair, establishes the collector voltage so as to maintain constant the output swing of the gate as the power through the gate is varied in order to regulate the gate delay. An error signal, indicative of factors that can cause variations in gate delay and the inverse of the error signal are generated by an on-chip circuit. The error signal is coupled to the n-channel CMOSFET and the inverse of the error signal is coupled to the p-channel CMOSFET. Thus, as the switch current is decreased in order to increase the gate delay, the collector impedance is simultaneously increased so the collector voltage, and hence the gate swing, remains constant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1993
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jack A. Dorler, Francesco M. Masci
  • Patent number: 5255312
    Abstract: A facsimile machine which is coupled to a telephone line and a telephone set, where the facsimile machine connects the telephone set to the telephone line in a telephone mode and disconnects the telephone set from the telephone line in a facsimile mode so as to use the telephone line as a communication line for a facsimile communication, and the facsimile machine is connectable to a communication equipment via an interface unit which is designed exclusively for the communication equipment. The facsimile machine includes a single connector including signal lines for receiving and transmitting signals for coupling the facsimile machine to the interface unit, a single switch coupled to the connector for arbitrarily selecting the communication line to the telephone line in a first mode and to the communication equipment in a second mode, and a communication part for making a facsimile communication using the communication line which is selected by the switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1993
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Takaho Koshiishi
  • Patent number: 5255322
    Abstract: A multi-zone audio distribution amplifier system includes positions for several stereo amplifiers which may be used as modular and cascadable amplifier units. The system is enclosed in a housing having a front panel with windows for exposing a set of led display circuits on the front side of the housing and easy access to the modular units on the rear side of the housing. Each modular amplifier unit includes a printed circuit board for an amplification circuit, a heat sink, and a loop-back port for cascading the amplifier units. An interface board includes support for the display and edge-connector receptacles for receiving each printed circuit board edge and for providing power to each of the amplifier units. Each amplifier unit is operable independent of the others, and the desired amplification may be selected by electrically cascading the amplifier units via the loop-back ports.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1993
    Assignee: Square D Co.
    Inventors: Robert P. Farinelli, Shelton R. Rose, Michael Morgan
  • Patent number: 5255307
    Abstract: In a cellular mobile telephone system wherein a mobile station is provided with a status indicator which provides a HOME indication when the mobile station communicates with a base station in its home system and a ROAM indication when the mobile station communicates with a base station in a "visited" system, the particular indication that is provided by the mobile station is dependent upon the system identification data (SID) that is received from the base station with which the mobile station communicates. The mobile station also includes a status order control message sensor for sensing an indicator status order control message transmitted by the base station which serves to selectively activate or deactivate the status indicator at the mobile station, notwithstanding that the indicator had been activated previously by the received SID.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1993
    Assignee: Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Semyon Mizikovsky
  • Patent number: 5255328
    Abstract: The invention relates to a supporting structure of a diaphragm of a dynamic microphone. A viscous liquid is filled in the inside of the peripheral edge portion of the edge portion of the diaphragm, thereby supporting the diaphragm to the casing through the viscous liquid. On the other hand, the peripheral edge portion of the diaphragm is fixed to the casing by a fixed ring and the viscous liquid is filled between the fixed ring and the front and rear surfaces of the peripheral edge portion of the edge portion of the diaphragm. With the above structure, by supporting the diaphragm to the casing through the viscous liquid, the liquid also moves in accordance with the vibration of the diaphragm without blocking the vibration of the diaphragm. Therefore, it is possible to certainly prevent the occurrence of the resonance at a special frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1993
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Audio-Technica
    Inventors: Yoshio Akiniwa, Yoshio Kikuti
  • Patent number: 5255311
    Abstract: A data communication apparatus operates in a first switching mode in order to switch over between data communication and speech communication depending upon whether or not a signal indicating data communication mode is received within a predetermined period of time; a as well as second switching mode which switches over between data communication and speech communication depending upon whether or not a response signal to a procedure signal is received within a predetermined period of time. The apparatus has a detector that detects a state of the apparatus, and it selects one of the first and second switching modes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1993
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takehiro Yoshida
  • Patent number: 5255306
    Abstract: A cellular-based electronic house arrest monitoring (EHAM) system (10) electronically monitors parolees, or other personnel, required to remain at a house arrest location (12) or to report in at the house arrest location during certain hours. Monitoring occurs automatically under control of a host computer (50) at a central monitoring location remote from the house arrest location, regardless of whether conventional telephone service is available at the house arrest location. Tamper detect circuitry detects any attempt to tamper with the components of the system. The EHAM system includes an electronic tag (14) worn by the person being monitored that periodically transmits a unique identifying (ID) signal (16). The ID signal is transmitted at low power, and is receivable only over a limited range, e.g., 150 feet. A field monitoring device (FMD) (20) placed within the house arrest location receives the ID signal only if the tag is within range of the receiver, i.e.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1993
    Assignee: BI Inc.
    Inventors: Donald A. Melton, Gregory A. Younger
  • Patent number: 5255320
    Abstract: A single-channel circuit for a hearing aid for persons with an impaired hearing faculty has a pre-amplifier and an output amplifier, a microphone and an earphone, as well as a full-wave rectifier circuit for producing a control voltage for a voltage-dependent attenuator connected to the pre-amplifier. In order to allow a favorable speech audibility characteristic over the entire amplification range, a voltage-controlled filter is provided for a single-dependent change in the frequency response. The control input of the filter is connected to the rectifier circuit. The filter is connected to the rectifier circuit via a time function element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1993
    Assignee: Viennatone GmbH
    Inventor: Zlatan Ribic