Abstract: The invention is a method of plating a nonmetallic substrate comprising the steps of depositing an adhesion enhancing film on the substrate, treating the adhesion enhancing film to make the film catalytic, and forming an outer coating and passivating plate on the adhesion enhancing film. The resulting plated, nonmetallic substrates may comprise any number of materials used as an inner substrate such as compounds of oxide, nitride, phosphide, carbide, glass, ceramic, and mixtures thereof. In use, the resulting substrate may find application in any number of data storage and retrieval application.

Abstract: TDMA communication system having forward channel communications and corresponding reverse channel communications between mobile users and a zone manager in an arbitrarily large broadcaster zone established by a broadcaster. The users are located within the broadcaster zone and the collectors are distributed in proximity to the broadcaster zone. The zone manager operates to control the selection of users to form user groups and for selecting collectors to form collector groups such that the difference between the propagation times from broadcaster to user to collector among users active with the same collector does not exceed a synchronization error such that user reverse channel signals at the collector are isolated from each other. Users are selected such that each of the users in the user group are located at a distance from each of said other users in the user group not greater than a distance UR.sub.max.

Abstract: An edge strengthened substrate of a data storage disk and a method for fabricating same is disclosed. A strengthening agent is preferably applied to selected portions of a disk-shaped glass substrate to increase the overall strength of the glass substrate. In one embodiment, a strengthening agent is preferably applied along an inner diameter portion of a disk-shaped glass substrate. A binder is preferably mixed with the strengthening agent to limit the mobility of the strengthening agent to the selected inner diameter portion of the substrate during the strengthening process. The glass substrate is then heated to a diffusion temperature for a sufficient duration of time to permit diffusion of the strengthening agent into the glass substrate. Selective application of a strengthening agent to an outer diameter portion of the glass substrate may be performed to further strengthen the glass substrate.

Abstract: A cellular communications system that includes forward channel communications to users and corresponding reverse channel communications from mobile users. The users travel from one area to another area over one or more zones. The forward channel communications are broadcast directly to users in a broadcaster zone. The reverse channel communications from users are not returned directly but are first collected at locations arrayed over the broadcaster zone. After collection, the reverse channel communications are forwarded to complete the full duplex communications. The forward channel communications are point to multipoint while the the reverse channel communications are multipoint to point. The communication system separately handles the point to multipoint forward path as a direct broadcast and the multipoint to point reverse path using multiple collection points. Since the forward and reverse paths are separately configured, the present invention optimizes both the forward and reverse paths.

Abstract: A cardiac pacer, which generates pacing pulses at a predetermined basic pacing rate, includes a device for sensing physical activity and for generating a control signal dependent thereon, a device for varying the predetermined basic pacing rate independent on the control signal and a device for forcing the pacing rate back to a lower rate if the pacing rate runs at or above a predetermined high rate for a predetermined time period.

Abstract: A cardiac pacer, which generates pacing pulses at a predetermined basic pacing rate, includes a multiplicity of body activity sensors for sensing body activity dependent on different physiological variables and monitors for generating a corresponding body activity output signal dependent thereon. The predetermined basic pacing rate is then varied dependent on the body activity output signals.