Abstract: A minitype alcohol excessive warning device includes a detecting circuit consisting of a power circuit, a delay circuit, and a sensing circuit. The detecting circuit is mounted in a housing having a simple structure, thereby constructing a miniature alcohol excessive warning device. In such a manner, the minitype alcohol excessive warning device has a low cost, can be used easily and conveniently, and is portable.

Abstract: A multipurpose flashlight is constructed to include a barrel holding a battery, a lamp head connected to one end of the barrel and holding a lamp bulb, a controller formed of a microprocessor, a PNP transistor and a MOS field effect transistor and adapted to regulate the intensity of light of the lamp bulb installed therein, a selector switch adapted to drive the controller to regulate the intensity of light of the lamp bulb, and a trigger switch adapted to drive the microprocessor to flash the lamp bulb.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for accessing an experience journal which includes unstructured text items relating to a topic, such as a medical condition. The method is implemented in a computer system including a processor, a storage device, a video display unit having a display screen, and a user interface. The unstructured text items are stored in the storage device. Similarities among the unstructured text items are determined, and icons, one corresponding to each of the unstructured text items, are displayed on the display screen. The icons are positioned on the display screen relative to each other, such that the distances between icons are representative of the determined similarities among the unstructured text items. In response to user selection of one of the icons, the corresponding unstructured text item is displayed on the display screen.

Abstract: A computer network guarantees timeliness to distributed real-time applicans by allowing an application to specify its timeliness requirements and by ensuring that a data source can meet the specified requirements. A reflective memory area is established by either a data source or an application. A data source maps onto this reflective memory area and writes data into it. In order to receive data from this data source, an application requests attachment to the reflective memory area to which the data source is mapped and specifies timeliness requirements. The application may specify that it needs data either periodically or upon occurrence of some condition. The application allocates buffers at its local node to receive data. The data source then establishes a data push agent thread at its local node, and a virtual channel over the computer network between the data push agent thread and the application attached to its reflective memory area.

Abstract: An asynchronous transfer mode computer network system in which a first coter executes a first plurality of application programs, and a second computer executes a second plurality of application programs. The asynchronous transfer mode network connects the first computer to the second computer, for supporting communication between application programs on the first computer and application programs on the second computer. An application program on the first computer and an application program on the second computer are assigned an application channel having a period, a message size and a deadline. A plurality of application channels are assigned to a single virtual channel on the asynchronous transfer mode network, wherein the virtual channel has a bandwidth determined as a function of a sum of the message sizes of the application channels and the larger deadline of the application channels. Messages with an earliest deadline are transmitted firstover their assigned virtual channel.

Abstract: A switch for digital communication networks includes a queuing system cape of implementing a broad class of scheduling algorithms for many different applications and purposes, with the queuing system including both a tag-based primary queue which contain ATM cells organized by priority and a secondary queue which contains ATM cells which are not yet scheduled for transmission and which are organized by virtual channel. A queuing decision module is provided to determine in which queue an incoming ATM cell should be deposited. A requeuing module operates when an event occurs that unblocks a particular virtual channel. The requeuing module, on occurrence of such an event, accesses the secondary queue to obtain another cell, to assign it priority and to move it to the primary queue. The queuing decision module, along with a virtual channel table, can be used easily to block virtual channels when necessary. The combination of queues also allows for round robin scheduling.

Abstract: High resolution modular large screen displays which can require tens of minutes to display or "paint" an image are updated in real time through the use of active modules, each having its own display device, display driver, processor, memory and interfacing. Communication channels are provided between modules themselves as well as between the modules and a network interface that distributes the video source material in parallel to the modules. The modular approach coupled with the use of active modules permits significant communication reduction that in turn permits real time image production across large areas due to the use of parallel data paths to the display memory distributed across the modules, and through the transmission of structured data, including compressed images, compressed video, sampled data and graphics primitives, permitted by the provision in each module of a processor which converts structured data to images.

Abstract: A switch for digital communication networks includes a queuing system capable of implementing a broad class of scheduling algorithms for many different applications and purposes, with the queueing system including means for providing numerical tags to incoming cells or packets, the values of the tags being calculated when incoming cells or packets arrive at the switch. A queue and search module is provided to select cells or packets for transmission based on these tags. The combination of the tags and the queue and search module enables simple and fast implementations of a wide variety of scheduling algorithms, including algorithms for supporting communication traffic with real time requirements, continuous media such as audio and video, and traffic requiring very fast response. Furthermore, multiple classes of traffic are supported in a single network switch, each class having its own scheduling algorithm and policy.