Abstract: A cigarette lighter which uses household current features automatic operation by manipulation of the cigarette only. The cigarette lighter includes a housing having an ashtray portion and an upper housing portion having a passage defining a chimney overlying the ashtray. A cigarette guide passage communicates with the chimney passage and an electrical resistance heating element is disposed within the chimney passage in alignment with the cigarette guide passage. An actuator is movably mounted within the cigarette guide passage for energizing the resistance heating element in response to the insertion of a cigarette into the guide passage, and for de-energizing the heating element in response to the withdrawal of the cigarette from the guide passage. An updraft caused by heat generated by the resistance heating element carries smoke upwardly through the chimney, thereby providing a visual indication that the cigarette has ignited.

Abstract: A MICR waveform analyzer for reading E-13B magnetic ink characters including a digital phase lock loop to locate the character, a Normalizer to compress data and equalize ink strength dynamic range, and a waveform amplitude analyzer to identify the magnetically read character is described.

Abstract: A low cost, high performance bar code reader is required for reading the CFC-6 character font. The character is printed in fluorescent bars which are coded by different spacing between each bar so that it can be machine readable. A special recognition logic is developed to read the font when it is data lifted by the analog front end. An error correction capability is built in to correct certain correctable errors such as a missing bar.

Abstract: A document transport for data entry and document processing for such documents as checks or credit card slips with transport means for entering the documents into a feed station, moving the documents past two read stations, wait in a hold station then return through a print station and a validator station with provision for entering data into the system and printing upon the document. The transport moves document in one direction and is reversed and moves documents in a second direction in the processing steps prior to depositing the document into a stack station.

Abstract: Magnetic ink characters on a document 1A are sensed by a single gap magnetic reading head which employs a segmented linear array having adjoining magnetic sensing elements. Each sensing element is a C-shaped laminated core with the reading head comprising an array of contiguously aligned cores where the core gaps are on an axis perpendicular to a document travel path. A pickoff coil encircles the vertical member of one arm of each laminated core and pickoff coils for juxtapositioned sensing elements are staggered on either side of the core gap so that no two coils are immediately adjacent. A chrome over copper plate about the core gaps is employed to improve the read head wear life and narrow the side-view angle of the sensing elements. The resolution and signal to noise ratio of the sensing element responses thereby is improved.

Abstract: A system for accurately merging data signals generated by two spaced apart multi-element MICR read heads is provided. Digital data signals are sampled near the signal peaks, converted to NRZ (non-return-to-zero) data and synchronized to a common fixed frequency. The digital data signals then are serialized to form two digital data streams, each of which corresponds to the responses of one of the two read heads. Phase differences between the two data streams are detected and corrected. In accordance with the invention, the data streams are interlaced to form a single digital data stream accurately representative of the information field sensed by the MICR read heads.

Abstract: A magnetic ink character reading system is provided in which multi-element read heads are positioned in a spaced apart and staggered arrangement. Data signals occurring in the analog responses of the read heads are detected, and converted to discrete logic level signals under the control of a dynamically adjustable threshold. The logic level signals of each read head are sampled in response to independent data sample signals which are phase locked to the data rate of the respective read head. NRZ (non-return-to-zero) data signals formed thereby are synchronized to a common fixed frequency, and serialized faithfully to represent the characters appearing on documents passing the read heads.

Abstract: CMC7 characters as coded by variations in spacing between vertical bars of magnetic material are automatically read as they pass a reading electron by separately sensing all magnetic materials in each of a multiplicity of side-by-side paths spanning the height of the characters and extending the length of the field on which the characters may appear to produce a like multiplicity of analog signals. Positive excursions of the signals above a predetermined amplitude level are summed as a first time amplitude function. Negative excursions of the signals above a predetermined level are summed as a second time amplitude function. A first train of pulses is generated, one pulse for each peak in the sum of the positive excursions. A second train of pulses is generated on pulse for each peak in the sum of the negative excursions.