Abstract: Methods and systems are described herein for an article of manufacture for use in a weapon sight wherein the article of manufacture comprises a passively charged photoluminescent material. When installed in a weapon sight, the passively charged photoluminescent material provides light to a fiber optic of the weapon sight during low light conditions to illuminate a reticle pattern of the weapon sight.

Abstract: An apparatus performs a data caching operation responsive to a channel change event which reduces channel change times. According to an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus includes a cache memory operative to cache an incoming data stream responsive to a channel change command. A processor is operative to find program specific information included within the incoming data stream. A decoder is operative to decode the cached data stream responsive to the processor finding the program specific information.

Abstract: Methods and systems are described herein for an article of manufacture for use in a weapon sight wherein the article of manufacture comprises a passively charged photoluminescent material. When installed in a weapon sight, the passively charged photoluminescent material provides light to a fiber optic of the weapon sight during low light conditions to illuminate a reticle pattern of the weapon sight.

Abstract: Methods and systems are described herein for an article of manufacture for use in a weapon sight wherein the article of manufacture comprises a passively charged photoluminescent material. When installed in a weapon sight, the passively charged photoluminescent material provides light to a fiber optic of the weapon sight during low light conditions to illuminate a reticle pattern of the weapon sight.

Abstract: Methods and systems are described herein for an article of manufacture for use in a weapon sight wherein the article of manufacture comprises a passively charged photoluminescent material. When installed in a weapon sight, the passively charged photoluminescent material provides light to a fiber optic of the weapon sight during low light conditions to illuminate a reticle pattern of the weapon sight.

Abstract: In an AC magnetic tracker one or more multi-axis field sources, each operating at a different frequency, or frequency set, are detected and tracked in three-dimensional space, even when wireless or otherwise not physically connected to the tracking system. Multiple sources can be tracked simultaneously as they each operate with their own unique detectable set of parameters. The invention not only provides the ability to uniquely identify one or more sources by their frequencies, but also to synchronize with these frequencies in order to measure signals that then allow tracking the position and orientation (P&O) of the source(s). Further, these sources need not be present at the time of system start-up but can come and go while being detected, discriminated and tracked. It also should be noted that application of such systems in multiples with more sensors not synchronized to a source or sources also could be employed to give the reverse appearance of a known source phase and incoherency with the sensors.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus using a system level clocking scheme to remove jitter from multi-media packets distributed over an asynchronous network. The present invention overcomes the problems associated with jitter introduced in an asynchronous network by using various time stamps to synchronize a client device clock to a headend clock and to control the data flow in the client device to match the rate that the data is received by a broadband receiver coupled to the headend. The present invention allows the client device to synchronize to a selected one of a plurality of headend clock by including a clock adjustment factor along with the time stamps. The time stamps are added at the physical layer so that the time stamps correspond to the time the data packets are placed onto and received from the asynchronous network.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for recovering a second transport stream included within a first transport stream and reducing timing anomaly imparted to the second transport stream within the context of a front-end device subject to random access via a data bus, illustratively a PCI bus. A first transport stream is received from a transport medium, the first transport stream having disposed therein packets associated with a second transport stream. The first medium tending to impart jitter to the first transport stream. Those packets associated with the second transport stream are extracted from the first transport stream and adapted to reduce jitter, and launched via a second transport medium, the launched adapted packets forming a jitter-reduced second transport stream.

Abstract: Self-calibrating AC magnetic tracking systems and combination “outside-in” and “inside-out” architectures offer unique motion tracking capabilities. More area is covered with minimal distortion using the tracking system itself to determine overall P&O based on the P&O of an initial, reference marker. The output as anticipated and needed by the user is output without confusion and without costly and time-consuming metrology while covering a large region when distance from the reference may be great. A method according to the invention includes the steps of positioning a plurality of stationary AC magnetic “markers” in a tracking volume and moving a mobile AC magnetic marker proximate to a first one of the stationary markers designated as a reference marker. The position and orientation (P&O) of the mobile marker is determined relative to the reference marker, then moved so as to be proximate to a second one of the stationary markers.

Abstract: A small, lightweight field source acts as a “pseudo-sensor” in an AC magnetic tracking system, facilitating wireless operation. Upon activation, the source sends out three continuous low-power magnetic signals, a separate frequency from each of three resonant orthogonal coils, without the need for switching to a receive mode or detecting a synchronizing signal to start the three signals simultaneously. This simple structure allows the source to be kept small and consume little power so that it can operate for over one hour before needing to be re-charged. This design approach thus allows a user or object being tracked to move about freely with no restricting cabling to a base station or even to a body-mounted electronics module and bulky battery. A family of frequencies can be used for each of several such pseudo-sensor sources in order for the base station sensors and electronics to track multiple sources.

Abstract: In an AC magnetic tracker one or more multi-axis field sources, each operating at a different frequency, or frequency set, are detected and tracked in three-dimensional space, even when wireless or otherwise not physically connected to the tracking system. Multiple sources can be tracked simultaneously as they each operate with their own unique detectable set of parameters. The invention not only provides the ability to uniquely identify one or more sources by their frequencies, but also to synchronize with these frequencies in order to measure signals that then allow tracking the position and orientation (P&O) of the source(s). Further, these sources need not be present at the time of system start-up but can come and go while being detected, discriminated and tracked. It also should be noted that application of such systems in multiples with more sensors not synchronized to a source or sources also could be employed to give the reverse appearance of a known source phase and incoherency with the sensors.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method (200) and system (100) for performing a trick mode on a video signal containing a plurality of original pictures. The invention includes the steps of, in response to a trick mode command, selectively repeating (216) at least one of the original pictures to convert the video signal to a trick mode video signal having the original pictures and at least one repeated original picture and selectively displaying (218) at least a portion of the original picture and at least a portion of the repeated original pictures in accordance with a predetermined sequence to avoid a vibration artifact. Each original picture and each repeated original picture can contain at least two fields.

Abstract: Techniques for removing distortion in an AC magnetic tracker identify a characteristic frequency in the distortion environment which is then utilized to extract distortion components from the tracker receiver signals so that the corrected position and orientation can be calculated. A multiplicity of alternative techniques for determining this characteristic frequency are disclosed, several of which can be done during operation without interrupting system operation while others can be done off-line. The invention also allows the use of a tuned tracker transmitter since it does not need to operate at multiple frequencies. The invention differs from the prior art by treating an extended conductor characteristic as just another unknown. The position and orientation algorithm solves the 6 unknown coordinates of position and orientation plus the one more unknown—the extended conductor characteristic frequency.

Abstract: An apparatus, system, and/or method of use as described herein provide generated menu data to a display device for initial network parameter configuration data input of the apparatus. The apparatus, in one form, includes a text generator for input of initial network parameter configuration data therein. This system, apparatus and/or method require only a small amount of boot ROM to implement.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method (200) and system (100) for performing a trick mode on a video signal containing a plurality of original pictures. The invention includes the steps of, in response to a trick mode command, selectively repeating (216) at least one of the original pictures to convert the video signal to a trick mode video signal having the original pictures and at least one repeated original picture and selectively displaying (218) at least a portion of the original picture and at least a portion of the repeated original pictures in accordance with a predetermined sequence to avoid a vibration artifact. Each original picture and each repeated original picture can contain at least two fields.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus using a system level clocking scheme to remove jitter from multi-media packets distributed over an asynchronous network. The present invention overcomes the problems associated with jitter introduced in an asynchronous network by using various time stamps to synchronized a client device clock to a headend clock and to control the data flow in the client device to match the rate that the data is received by a broadband receiver coupled to the headend. The present invention allows the client device to synchronize to a selected one of a plurality of headend clock by including a clock adjustment factor along with the time stamps. The time stamps are added at the physical layer so that the time stamps correspond to the time the data packets are placed onto and received from the asynchronous network.

Abstract: A universal interface module for use between heterogeneous networks for reserving processing power of a system processor includes a physical connection block having at least two ports for making a physical connection between networks. A gating device is coupled to the connection block and distributes packets of information of different formats to appropriate networks. A packet processing device is coupled to the gating device for adding and removing data and addressing information from the packets. An application demultiplexer is coupled to the packet processing device and distributes data and control signals to applications to be run on a system processor.

Abstract: A user-side receiver system includes a gateway device, which provides an interface between a subscriber-based network, and an output device. A storage system is disposed externally from the gateway device and is coupled to the gateway device through a network interface. The storage system provides memory for storage of data streams transmitted from the network to the gateway device. The network interface links the gateway device to the storage system to cooperatively access and store data to/from the storage system in a way that limits access to the data by a user.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for recovering a second transport stream included within a first transport stream and reducing timing anomaly imparted to the second transport stream within the context of a front-end device subject to random access via a data bus, illustratively a PCI bus. A first transport stream is received from a transport medium, the first transport stream having disposed therein packets associated with a second transport stream. The first medium tending to impart jitter to the first transport stream. Those packets associated with the second transport stream are extracted from the first transport stream and adapted to reduce jitter, and launched via a second transport medium, the launched adapted packets forming a jitter-reduced second transport stream.

Abstract: 2'-Substituted-spiro[benzofuran-2(3H),1'-cycloalkanes] and methods of praparing same are described. On the aromatic portion of the benzofuran ring, there may be a substituent or substituents including halogen, amino, lower-alkyl-substituted amino, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, hydroxy and nitro. The substituents at the 2-position of the cycloalkane ring are --(CH.sub.2).sub.n NR.sup.1 R.sup.2 where n is 0, 1 or 2 and R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are each independently hydrogen and alkyl of 1-3 carbons. These compounds are useful as antidepressants and analgesics.Various other compounds which are useful as intermediates for preparing the aforementioned compounds and methods for preparing same are also described.