Abstract: An optical fiber ramp management system provides a system, device and method for organizing, managing and storing optical fiber during and after the production of an opto-electronic assembly. Opto-electronic components are arranged on a substrate located at a first level so as to define a space between the components. The space defines an optical fiber pathway along the surface of the substrate through which optical fibers formed as fiber bundle travel. A ramp supports the fiber bundle as it extends from the substrate to a storage tray located at a second level. The optical fibers are retained on the storage tray as a plurality of unconstrained loops. The pathway, ramp and tray are formed to maintain the radius of curvature of the optical fiber at or above the minimum bend radius of the fiber.

Abstract: An optical fiber ramp management system provides a system, device and method for organizing, managing and storing optical fiber during and after the production of an opto-electronic assembly. Opto-electronic components are arranged on a substrate located at a first level so as to define a space between the components. The space defines an optical fiber pathway along the surface of the substrate through which optical fibers formed as fiber bundle travel. A ramp supports the fiber bundle as it extends from the substrate to a storage tray located at a second level. The optical fibers are retained on the storage tray as a plurality of unconstrained loops. The pathway, ramp and tray are formed to maintain the radius of curvature of the optical fiber at or above the minimum bend radius of the fiber.

Abstract: Combining one or more spatio-temporal sensors with a personal digital assistant or similar small electronic device and with sliding window (roaming and stabilization) software and memory management and user interface functions, to enable a user to see documents and objects that appear to be fixed in space. This may allow the user to navigate using his or her eidetic memory. Navigation of images, documents or other objects substantially bigger than the display is made easier and faster. Using the invention, the user scrolls and views larger documents or objects as if they were affixed in space to a selected viewing platform. The viewing platform can correspond to, for example, the ground, a building, a wall, an arbitrary reference point, or any other suitable fixed or substantially fixed position or object. The invention uses and adjusts for the body-arm-hand-finger motion of the user so that the imagery appears affixed to the selected reference platform.

Abstract: A display system that can be calibrated and re-calibrated with a minimal amount of manual intervention. To accomplish this, one or more cameras are provided to capture an image of the display screen. The resulting captured image is processed to identify any non-desirable characteristics, including visible artifacts such as seams, bands, rings, etc. Once the non-desirable characteristics are identified, an appropriate transformation function is determined. The transformation function is used to pre-warp the input video signal that is provided to the display such that the non-desirable characteristics are reduced or eliminated from the display. The transformation function preferably compensates for spatial non-uniformity, color non-uniformity, luminance non-uniformity, and other visible artifacts.

Abstract: Improved steel rule for use in a cutting die for cutting fixed patterns in a single or plurality of stacked material layers according to the shape of the steel rule. The improvement in the rule assists in the removal of small pieces of scrap material through the bottom of the die. The rule is undercut so that the gap between adjacent cavities is tapered. The tapered gap between adjacent cavities creates a vertical passageway that becomes wider toward the bottom of the passageway. This greatly facilitates removal of scrap material through the bottom of the die. By allowing scrap material to escape through the die, the operators are not required to stop periodically to clean the die, and the likelihood of scrap material becoming trapped in the die is minimized. Thus, the speed of the cutting operation is increased and life of the die may be prolonged.

Abstract: A display for producing a seamless composite image from at least two discrete images. The display includes one or more projectors for projecting each of the discrete images separately onto a screen such that at least one of the discrete images overlaps at least one other of the discrete images by more than 25 percent. The amount of overlap that is required to reduce the seams of the composite image to an acceptable level over a predetermined viewing angle depends on a number of factors including the field-of-view and aperture size of the projectors, the screen gain profile, etc. For rear-projection screens and some front projection screens, an overlap of more than 25 percent is acceptable.

Abstract: A display system that can be calibrated and re-calibrated with a minimal amount of manual intervention. To accomplish this, one or more cameras are provided to capture an image of the display screen. The resulting captured image is processed to identify any non-desirable characteristics, including visible artifacts such as seams, bands, rings, etc. Once the non-desirable characteristics are identified, an appropriate transformation function is determined. The transformation function is used to pre-warp the input video signal that is provided to the display such that the non-desirable characteristics are reduced or eliminated from the display. The transformation function preferably compensates for spatial non-uniformity, color non-uniformity, luminance non-uniformity, and other visible artifacts.

Abstract: A display system that can be calibrated and re-calibrated with a minimal amount of manual intervention. To accomplish this, one or more cameras are provided to capture an image of the display screen. The resulting captured image is processed to identify any non-desirable characteristics, including visible artifacts such as seams, bands, rings, etc. Once the non-desirable characteristics are identified, an appropriate transformation function is determined. The transformation function is used to pre-warp the input video signal that is provided to the display such that the non-desirable characteristics are reduced or eliminated from the display. The transformation function preferably compensates for spatial non-uniformity, color non-uniformity, luminance non-uniformity, and other visible artifacts.

Abstract: The present invention overcomes many of the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a display that can be calibrated and re-calibrated with a minimal amount of manual intervention. To accomplish this, the present invention provides one or more cameras to capture an image that is projected on a display screen. In one embodiment, the one or more cameras are placed on the same side of the screen as the projectors. In another embodiment, an array of cameras is provided on either or both sides of the screen for capturing a number of adjacent and/or overlapping capture images of the screen. In either of these embodiments, the resulting capture images are processed to identify any non-desirable characteristics including any visible artifacts such as seams, bands, rings, etc. Once the non-desirable characteristics are identified, an appropriate transformation function is determined.

Abstract: A steel rule die for cutting cloth and synthetic materials. The cutting die includes a primary substrate and a plurality of cutting units that are removably attachable to the substrate in such a manner that they are easy to adjust, remove and replace. The cutting units include secondary substrates with lengths of steel rule attached to them to form cutting cavities. Studs mounted to the primary substrate interface with tear-drop shared holes in the secondary substrates with to restrain them against motion perpendicular to the surface of the primary substrate while permitting movement of the cutting units in a horizontal plane with respect to the primary substrate. Adjustable securing rails positioned along the peripheries of the primary substrate are moved toward the fixed securing rails to restrain the secondary substrates against lateral and longitudinal motion.

Abstract: A steel rule cutting die for cutting fixed patterns in a single or plurality of stacked material layers according to the shape of the steel rule. The invention provides for a decrease in the quantity of scrap material produced, by minimizing the amount of gap between adjacent cavities in the steel rule cutting die. Pre-sharpened steel rule is used with the cutting edge shifted to the outboard side of the cavity thus reducing the amount of compression or wedging of scrap material between adjacent cavities, and thus allowing adjacent cavities to be positioned closer to one another or to contact one another without reducing the ability to remove the scrap material after the cutting operation. Frayed scrap material can be evacuated through the base of the die by providing evacuation holes in the base substrate of the die as well as providing for evacuation of scrap material from marker notch locations along joined sections of adjacent cavities. A variety of cavity shapes can be accommodated.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing error voltage compensation in a flat panel display. Voltage errors in a column driver for a flat panel display are compensated for by first measuring the voltage level at each column during a known signal level period and comparing it against a known or reference value. This voltage error signal is then stored in an error memory according to column location. During normal operation of the flat panel display, the memory is accessed every time a particular column is scanned. The error voltage is retrieved and added to the raw video signal in order to remove any voltage offset which is introduced in the column driver electronics. This error voltage compensation substance eliminates any streaking which may appear on a display screen.

Abstract: Two controlled current gate drives are provided for driving parallel P and N channel pass devices, so that the rise time of the voltage at one gate of the pass devices overlaps with the fall time of the other to reduce capacitive signal coupling of the signal applied to an FET gate to the FET source and drain. Low-level current sources drive the gates of the pass devices with opposite polarities. A current mirror is used to control the currents provided by the gate drives to control the tradeoff between switching speed and switching noise coupling.

Abstract: A matched pair of npn transistor configured as emitter followers provide high impedance isolation for input error voltage busses in the current share circuitry used with parallel connected current programmed dc to dc converters. The matched emitter followers offer the bus isolation of buffer amplifiers but do not add the detrimental offset voltage to the input error signals. Trimmable current sinks are connected to the emitters of the transistors to guarantee equal VBE drops. Slight intentional unbalancing can be introduced using the current sources to improve stability. The current share circuitry equalizes main FET switching currents not load currents reducing FET stresses. A programmable differential amplifier is provided which can accommodate different regulator output voltages. Diagnostic circuitry monitors share circuitry operation.

Abstract: A wire feeding device is for placing wire that is restrained in troughs. The device has a housing. A wire feeding assembly is mounted to the housing. The wire feeding assembly includes a feed tube for the wire to pass through. The feed tube directs the wire for placement in a trough. The trough extends at least one axial direction and has an opening for the wire to be placed in the trough, and the trough includes a restraining mechanism positioned over the opening to the trough. A wedge is adapted to be inserted into the trough to move the restraining mechanism for placement of wire into the trough. The wedge moves the restraining mechanism from a first position to a second position, the first position being over the opening to the trough and the second position being away from first position.

Abstract: A slope compensation circuit for use with current-programmed switching DC to DC converters is provided which allows operation of the switching converters in the 1-2 MHz range. The circuit avoids feedback of an output voltage which includes the effects of a partially discharged slope capacitor without adding unnecessary delay by using a switch to bypass the discharging slope capacitor and coupling an input stage of the slope compensation circuit to an output driver. A delay in feeding back the output of the slope compensation circuit is provided to assure that the bypassing switch has settled.

Abstract: A graphics system having a beamformer operating on image data and sub-pixel or fractional address data coming from a modified image memory and graphics processor producing correctly anti-aliased data to be shown on raster displays and in particular on color mosaic active matrix displays.

Abstract: A method of feeding and restraining wire for a vehicle instrument panel includes feeding the wire into and restraining it in a system of troughs attached to a structure serving as a wiring board. Each trough has a floor and two substantially parallel side walls perpendicular to the floor and extending upwardly from the trough to an open ceiling. The system of troughs has at least two terminals disposed remotely from one another. Steps in the method include attaching one end of a first wire to a first terminal within a first trough, laying the first wire to trace the extension of the first trough, spraying the first wire at intervals with adhesive to attach the wire to the floor of the trough, cutting the first wire at the location of the second terminal, and attaching the wire to the second terminal.

Abstract: Apparatus and method are disclosed for providing a halo (background region) around selected image data in an anti-aliased image processing system. The anti-aliased image processing system applies a distribution function to an image (impulse) point so that the impulse point contributes to the display for a plurality of pixels. In order to provide a halo, a second or halo distribution function, extending beyond the anti-aliasing distribution function, is assigned to selected impulse points. For the current pixel, the pixel for which the display attributes are being determined, the contribution to the current pixel from neighboring pixels for both the anti-aliasing distribution function and the halo distribution function are determined separately. Then the contributions from each source are combined to determine the display characteristics of the currently activated pixel.

Abstract: A staging hopper for supplying packaging blanks includes a first conveyor positioned downstream of a second conveyor. The first conveyor supports and periodically transfers packaging blanks in a primary group of blanks to a blank delivery position. A second conveyor supports and intermittently transfers packaging blanks in a secondary group of blanks onto the first conveyor. The top edges of the secondary group of blanks rest at an angle against the primary group of blanks to define a longitudinal gap between the lower edges of the blanks in the primary and secondary groups. Photosensors are provided to detect the presence and absence of packaging blanks within the longitudinal gap. In addition to advancing the primary group of blanks, the first conveyor advances the forward blanks in the secondary group across the gap toward the primary group. The photosensors detect the presence of these blanks as their lower edges move across the gap.