Abstract: A battery has an electrode assembly that includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a layer of electrolyte between the positive electrode and the negative electrode. An electric current flow in the positive electrode is unmatched to an electric current flow in the negative electrode, thereby producing a first magnetic field. A magnetic compensation structure is adjacent to the electrode assembly and has body of electrically conductive material connected to one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode. The electric current flowing through the electrode assembly also flows through the body in a pattern that matches the pattern of unmatched electric current in the electrode assembly. As a result a second magnetic field is produced by the magnetic compensation structure that opposes the first magnetic field thereby mitigating magnetic noise from the battery.

Abstract: A battery has an electrode assembly that includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a layer of electrolyte between the positive electrode and the negative electrode. An electric current flow in the positive electrode is unmatched to an electric current flow in the negative electrode, thereby producing a first magnetic field. A magnetic compensation structure is adjacent to the electrode assembly and has body of electrically conductive material connected to one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode. The electric current flowing through the electrode assembly also flows through the body in a pattern that matches the pattern of unmatched electric current in the electrode assembly. As a result a second magnetic field is produced by the magnetic compensation structure that opposes the first magnetic field thereby mitigating magnetic noise from the battery.

Abstract: A connection verification system that provides substantially non-intrusive connection verification for an optical switch, achieved by correlating the low-frequency contents of the input and switched signals. The results of the correlation process are compared against a connection map to determine whether the switch has operated correctly and to identify, if possible, which mis-connections have taken place. The system includes a selection unit for controllably admitting individual ones of the input signals and individual ones of the switched signals and a verification unit connected to the selection unit, for controlling operation of the selection unit as a function of a connection map and performing relative-delay-dependent signal processing operations on the signals admitted by the selection unit so as to identify connections established through the switching unit and determine their consistency with the connection map.

Abstract: An electric field proximity detector capable of detecting partially conductive or conductive objects regardless of their impedance to circuit ground. The detector has a sensor with a transmitting electrode, a receiving electrode, and at least one circuit ground electrode preferably arranged in a bulls-eye configuration with the ground electrode between the transmitter and receiver electrodes. With appropriate sizing, upon the approach of an object, a signal received by the receiving electrode decreases, at least until the object is within a threshold distance of the sensor. The size and positioning of the ground electrode further reduces the effects of stray capacitance.

Abstract: Handsfree telephony continues to be an increasingly desirable feature of modern telecommunications, whether in a conference room or mobile setting. Fundamental to the user acceptability of these systems is the performance of algorithms for acoustic echo cancellation, the purpose of which are to prevent the far-end signal from being transmitted back to the far-end talker. Most speech coding algorithms are based on some variant of Linear Predictive Coding (LPC), which reduces the amount of bits sent across a channel. Instead of doing echo cancellation in the time domain, the invention involves operating an acoustic echo canceller on the LPC parameters at the receiver, before the decoding stage.

Abstract: This invention describes a loudspeaker implementation which can adaptively reduce the transmission of an acoustic signal to listeners other than the intended listener. The invention uses a dipole loudspeaker implementation with two acoustic sources, each of which is driven by a separate signal. By introducing a predetermined phase difference between the signals produced by the two acoustic sources, the null in the standard dipole spatial directivity pattern may be moved to any desired direction. Alternatively, using a microphone close to the unintended listener's ears and a suitable feedback arrangement, the null can adaptively be aligned with the direction of minimum desired sound transmission. This invention, therefore, provides a solution for applications where it is preferable to reduce the transmission of sound in particular directions while providing the listener with headphoneless audio.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for setting the level of an analog signal supplied to an electronic device having a maximum input level. The method includes computing a gain which, when applied to the analog signal, causes the amplified signal to exceed the maximum input level for a percentage of time which is greater than zero, and applying the gain to the analog signal. When clipping occurs at least part of the time, the correlation result obtained for a pair of truly correlated signals remains virtually unaffected, while there is actually a beneficial effect on the correlation result obtained for a pair of truly uncorrelated signals. To determine the amplifier gain needed to attain the desired amount of clipping, the present invention capitalizes on the availability of power measurements taken from the signal before it was amplified. Reliance on feedback from the amplifier output is not required, resulting in a simplified gain computation process.

Abstract: A connection verification system that provides substantially non-intrusive connection verification for an optical switch, achieved by correlating the low-frequency contents of the input and switched signals. The results of the correlation process are compared against a connection map to determine whether the switch has operated correctly and to identify, if possible, which mis-connections have taken place. The system includes a selection unit for controllably admitting individual ones of the input signals and individual ones of the switched signals and a verification unit connected to the selection unit, for controlling operation of the selection unit as a function of a connection map and performing relative-delay-dependent signal processing operations on the signals admitted by the selection unit so as to identify connections established through the switching unit and determine their consistency with the connection map.

Abstract: A system that selects and/or steers a directional steerable microphone system based on input from an optical transducer is described. An optical transducer, such as a video camera, provides video input to a processor that controls a steerable directional microphone (such as a microphone array) in the direction of audience members that exhibit physical cues commonly expressed by persons who are speaking or are about to speak.

Abstract: Portable wireless telephone handset with a flap movable upon a housing. In a first position the flap is close to a speaker to enable the flap to be disposed near to a user's ear for the user to receive personal low volume sound from the speaker. In a second position, the flap is further from the speaker to detract from use of the speaker near to the user's ear. In the second position of the flap, the speaker operates in loudspeaker mode. A switch is provided to change the speaker between loudspeaker and low volume sound mode, the switch operation being dependent upon flap position.

Abstract: A post assembly process for enabling a manufacturer of acoustical communications apparatus, such as telephones and the like, to conveniently trim a sensitivity characteristic of an electret microphone therein, after assembly of the apparatus, whereby a uniform performance standard may be adhered to. When the acoustical sensitivity characteristic of the electret transducer is measured to be greater than a predetermined value, the transducer is exposed to X-ray radiation until the measured sensitivity characteristic has been reduced to the predetermined value.