Abstract: A traffic information system which is directly accessed by individual subscribers by telephone, mobile telephone or computer wherein the subscriber will have the option of receiving reports of updated information by way of telephone, mobile telephone, personal computer or personalized pager. The system provides information concerning the current status of traffic conditions along specific commuter routings and/or other information which may be of interest to a subscriber including airline flight and related travel and stock information, generalized routing information as in the form of directions to particular locations, stock activity and the like. Upon the subscriber's demand, the system continuously monitors selected routings or other information and automatically provides the subscriber with updated information concerning changes in status or conditions.

Abstract: A Galerkin analysis of microstrip circuits of arbitrary planar geometry enclosed in a rectangular conducting box is described. The technique entails a time-harmonic electromagnetic analysis evaluating all fields and surface currents. This analysis is suitable for the accurate verification of microstrip designs prior to fabrication. A computer program implementing the analysis has been written in Pascal on a personal computer. Agreement with measurements of several microstrip structures suggests a high degree of accuracy.

Abstract: The copy protection of personal computer (PC) software distributed on diskettes is assisted by providing a unique identification (ID) stored in read only memory (ROM) of a personal computer in which software on a diskette is to be used. This ID is accessible to the user of the computer. A vendor who wishes to protect his diskette-distributed software from illegal copying or use provides a source ID on the diskette. The personal computer ID is used with the source ID on the distributed diskette to produce an encoded check word, using any available encryption modality. The check word is generated and written onto the distributed diskette during installation and copied onto all backup versions made by the user's personal computer. Prior to each use of the program, the software on the diskette uses the personal computer and the source IDs and check word to verify that the software is being used on the same personal computer on which it was installed.

Abstract: A pulmonary diagnostic apparatus includes a personal computer including a memory for storing expected values, each representing a predicted normal level for a pulmonary function. A parameter limit file stores abnormality limits, each related to one of the expected values. A configuration file contains a plurality of degree of severity labels and numerical breakpoints between severity degrees. Finally, a statement data file contains a plurality of textual statements concerning lung functions and diseases or conditions. The three files are operatively associated with the computer. Lung function measuring equipment also is connected to the computer, whereby measured values are compared with the expected values. Based on the comparison, the computer generates an output identifying certain measured values as abnormal, and the degree of abnormality. Also, appropriate statements from the statement data file are generated as output, based upon the comparison. By selectively editing the parameter limit, configuration and statement files, the operator can cause the computer to generate an output corresponding to the operator's preferred analytical approach and syntax.

Abstract: An auxiliary unit is used in conjunction with a personal computer based work station for interconnecting the work station to an audio-visual communications network. The auxiliary unit includes a CRT, a camera, a speaker phone circuit, and a CPU for interfacing these elements with each other and with the communications network to permit the transmission and reception of voice, video and computer graphics information.

Abstract: The Guide system is a successful commercial product that originally came out of some ideas of a research project Unlike many other hypertext systems, Guide is aimed at naive users and authors in the personal computer market This paper evaluates the basic principles of Guide, and describes the interplay between the product and the continuing hypertext research programme

Abstract: This invention is an interface arrangement which interconnects a business communication system with a telephone station set. This interface is implemented in a personal computer which serves to control the operation of the associated telephone station set and also provide business communication services. All signaling from the business communication system is received by the personal computer, interpreted, and appropriate control signals are then forwarded under control of the software resident on the personal computer to activate the digital telephone station set. The signals from the digital telephone station set are intercepted by the personal computer, interpreted, modified and appropriate control messages and signaling are then forwarded by the personal computer to the business communication system. This arrangement enables a user to create software on the personal computer to control the operation of the telephone station set associated with the personal computer. The user can implement new features and services independent of the operation of the business communication system.

Abstract: Image data having a predetermined pixel density, and output from a personal computer, is supplied to an image-resolution conversion apparatus connected to a printer having a pixel density different from the above predetermined pixel density. In the image resolution conversion apparatus, the pixel density of the input image data is converted, by a pixel converter, to a pixel density matching that of the printer, according to a conversion ratio set by a pixel-density conversion ratio setter for setting a ratio of pixel-density conversion, from the pixel density of the personal computer to that of the printer. The pixel-density converted image data is then supplied to and printed by the printer.

Abstract: Over the last five years, the average personal computer has changed radically in both power and typical peripherals. The command interpreters on these machines have not changed to reflect this. The following paper describes a command interpreter designed for a modern personal computer, with a high speed 16/32 bit processor, a megabyte or more of memory, a medium resolution bitmapped display, and a pointing device.

Abstract: A compact and economical probe unit has projecting electrodes for sensing minute voltage variations at spaced apart locations on a persons skin or other surface. Internal circuits generate serial form digital signals indicative of the voltage variations for transmission to a personal computer where an electrocardiogram or other data presentation may be displayed. The probe includes a digital type of optical isolator through which the serial signals are transmitted, the output circuit of the isolator being energized by voltage taken from the computer and the input circuit being independently energized from a battery within the probe and thus there is no electrically conductive path between the computer and the electrodes. Among other uses, the probe enables unskilled persons to monitor their own heart activity as it is economical, safe and easily operated and makes use of a common computer for display rather than a costly electrocardiograph.

Abstract: RAINS (Regional Acidification Information and Simulation) is an integrated model of acidification in Europe designed as a tool for evaluating control strategies. It is currently sulfur-based, but is being expanded to include nitrogen species. Emphasis of the model is on the transboundary aspects of the acidification problem. Model computations are performed on a personal computer. Linked submodels are available for SO2 emissions, cost of control strategies, atmospheric transport of sulfur, forest soil and groundwater acidity, lake acidification, and the direct impact of SO2 on forests. The model can be used for scenario analysis, where the user prescribes a control strategy and then examines the cost and environmental consequences of this strategy, or for optimization analysis, in which the user sets cost and deposition goals, and identifies an "optimal" sulfur-reduction strategy. Preliminary use of the model has pointed to 1. the importance of examining long-term environmental consequences of control strategies, and 2. the cost advantages of a cooperative European sulfur-reduction program.

Abstract: The network is particularly useful in office communications. The network includes a plurality of transceiver units, each of which can be used as a telephone, or as a dictation terminal, or optionally as an automatic telephone answering machine. The network includes a personal computer for performing various communications and communication control functions. Preferably, each transceiver unit includes a visual display for displaying messages. The computer stores and retrieves information regarding appointments that the users of the network may have. Daily, weekly and monthly appointment calendars are provided for every user of the network. The user is given a reminder message through the network at a predetermined time prior to the appointment. Appointment schedules for current, prior and future time periods can be viewed.

Abstract: The Speech Recognition Group at IBM Research in Yorktown Heights has developed a real-time, isolated-utterance speech recognizer for natural language based on the IBM Personal Computer AT and IBM Signal Processors. The system has recently been enhanced by expanding the vocabulary from 5,000 words to 20,000 words and by the addition of a speech workstation to support usability studies on document creation by voice. The system supports spelling and interactive personalization to augment the vocabularies. This paper describes the implementation, user interface, and comparative performance of the recognizer.

Abstract: A method of identifying the disposition of portable modular plug-in units (11) of telecommunications equipment. A bar code (15) is first placed on each plug-in unit (11). A scanner (21) or a personal computer (25) is then programmed to identify which plug-in units (11) are to be scrapped, which are to be modified, which are to be tested, and which require no action. Each bar code (15) is scanned with a scanning wand (17) and then the scanner (21) or computer (25) is read to determine what action to take regarding each plug-in unit (11).

Abstract: A personal computer is disclosed having a high speed microprocessor which executes in either a FAST mode or a SLOW mode application programs written for a slow speed microprocessor. The slow speed microprocessor contains a pre-fetch queue that is smaller than the pre-fetch queue of the high speed microprocessor. A logic means is included, responsive to a mode select signal for controlling the wait state of said high speed microprocessor when in the SLOW speed mode so that every other word accessed to said RAM memory requires two consecutive word accesses to the same memory address to obtain the contents of the addressed location thereby enabling said high speed microprocessor to execute applications programs in the SLOW mode, on the average, at substantially the same speed as the program normally runs on the slow speed microprocessor.

Abstract: A new method for the design of digital all-pass filters using Chebyshev criterion is introduced. It is based on a phase approximation algorithm for polynomial transfer functions. The algorithm exploits a scheme of iteratively linearizing the nonlinear constraints in a nonlinear programming and converges theoretically. The design method has the advantage that it finds the best uniform phase approximation to an arbitrarily specified phase response without any initial guess of the solution. Design examples of orders up to 80, obtained on an IBM-PC/XT personal computer, are given to show the practicability of the method.

Abstract: Vehicle routing optimization software has been implemented on a personal computer for Quality Stores, a chain of retail stores. Customized route generation procedures are combined with an efficient branch-and-bound procedure to obtain optimal routings and assignment of routes to trucks. Both the data base maintenance routines and optimization runs are completely menu-driven, enabling personnel with no prior exposure to computers or optimization to operate the software unaided.

Abstract: An audiographic telephone conferencing system between a plurality of parties or users either directly connected or through a piece of apparatus known as a "meet me bridge" over voice grade telephone lines Each user has a programmed personal computer which controls a programmable or "smart" modem, cassette recorder/player, and speakerphone A protocol is implemented by the software, ie the computer program, in each of the computers which puts its respective modem in a listening mode to monitor the phone line at all times The computer is further programmed and includes a memory for storing and transmitting graphics presently on hand to other user(s) via the modem during a teleconference or alternatively receive graphics from another user, or it can switch to an external graphics program to make new or modify existing graphic images However, one is unable to speak on the telephone line while a graphic is being transmitted during a teleconference due to the fact that voice alternates with graphic transmissions

Abstract: This study constructs new hedonic price indexes for electronic computers covering the period 1951-84. Regressions are estimated for four data sets, two used in previous studies by G. Chow and E. Dulberger, and two new data sets used for the first time in this study. Coverage is limited to mainframes until the late 1970s, but includes both " super-mini" computers and personal computers in the 1980s. The end result is a price index that exhibits a 1951 index number, on a base 1984 = 100, of 147,692, implying an annual rate of price change over the 33 years of -19.8 percent. Price changes for personal computer (PC) processors during the 1982-86 period appear to have been similar to those for mainframe computers during the 1977-84 period, in the range of -20 to -25 percent per year. Evidence for PC peripheral equipment is limited to 1984-86 and indicates a faster rate of price decline than for processors, particularly if the increasing availability of "clones" is taken into account. The paper places considerable emphasis on problems of weighting price indexes for computers together with price indexes for other types of "Office, Computing, and Accounting Machinery" (OCA) and other types of producers' durable equipment (PDE). The methodology used to construct the implicit price deflators in the National Income and Product Accounts, with a fixed 1982 base year, leads to a significant downward bias in the implicit OCA and PDE deflators after 1982, and an upward bias prior to 1982. A particularly disturbing aspect of the present national accounts is a spurious rise in the implicit OCA deflator of 157 percent between 1957 and 1971, despite the fact that its computer component exhibits a price decline and its non-computer component increases by only 8 percent. The paper recommends adoption of a chain-linked Laspeyres index number for any price index aggregate that includes computers. A properly weighted PDE deflator, using our computer price index, declines relative to the official implicit PDE deflator by 0.74 percent per year during 1957-72 and 0.87 percent per year during 1972-84.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for a computer-telephone interface system by which a general purpose personal computer is enabled to perform telephone functions such as dialing, answering ringing lines, and placing lines on hold without the need for a separate telephone instrument. The interface system is responsive to digital signals received from a microprocessor in the computer to implement the signalling functions utilized in a standard switched telephone network. The interface system performs dialing sequences entered either from the keyboard of the computer, a location in the computer memory, a location on a display screen associated with the computer or a location specified by a cursor used in association with the keyboard. Operation of the interface system does not interfere with the concurrent operation by the computer of an applications program.

Abstract: An environmental control system for use in a greenhouse or another structure which requires the control of an ambient condition regulating element in response to a plurality of sensed parameters The system includes a plurality of sensor elements and actuator elements, which communicate with a central control through communication interface units In an illustrated embodiment the interface units communicate over previously installed AC power lines by frequency shift keyed signals The central control unit maintains a protocol where, in response to operator inputs, addreses are assigned to different peripheral control elements to configure the system The system is configured by assigning sets of equipment to separate zones of the structure which are individually controlled All peripheral control elements are addressed in one zone before sequencing to control the next zone When a peripheral control element is addressed, a sensor responds with data corresponding to a sensed parameter and an actuator executes a command The central control executes a control program which is input by the operator for the most efficient energy use by the system The central control is embodied as a personal computer including an expansion board and a specialized communication circuit which provides data transfer between the communication interface units and the personal computer

Abstract: A computer program for photoemission data analysis which operates using the VAX computer or the Macintosh personal computer is described. It includes functions which give a summary of the data such as centroid and area, performs curve fitting for extracting chemical information from core levels, and it prepares figures for publication, as well as many other functions. A brief description of the program and its capabilities is given.

Abstract: A system of programs and routines is presented that is expressly designed to be user friendly, as much as possible, and to give the real possibility of performing all the stages of crystallographic computation on a personal computer. The package has been developed in a modular way to support adapted versions of some popular crystallographic programs, such as MULTAN, SHELX, PLUTO, ORTEP and PARST. Original facilities are provided for file and system management and molecular graphics on screen display, plotter and matrix printer. The result is a powerful menu-assisted package, which represents the first example of an independent crystallographic work station running under the MS–DOS operating system. The package has been implemented on an IBM AT and can be used without modifications on any XT/AT-compatible personal computer.

Abstract: The attitudes of 78 managers and 63 employees to telecommuting were compared. All subjects had access to a personal computer and were computer literate to some degree. The results showed th...

Abstract: A multi-channel functional electrical stimulation (FES) system for the restoration of hand function of the quadriplegic is described. The system is composed of a personal computer NEC PC-8801mkII, peripheral electronic circuits and two kinds of sensors, i.e. an analog displacement sensor for volitional control (channel 1) and a logical sensor (high pitch sound or head switch, channel 2). Combination of the two channel signals allow three major function: 1) designation of the desired prehension pattern among cylindrical grasp, key grip and parallel extension grip; 2) selection of the operation status — ‘start’, ‘proportional control’, ‘hold’, ‘stop’ — and, 3) volitional control which can be controlled by the shoulder movement. In the clinical application, Caldwell-Reswick type multistrand stainless steel percutaneous electrodes were used. In this FES system, standard multi-channel stimulation patterns were obtained from electromyographical analysis of joint movement of the upper extremities in normal subjects which gave us precise information about a role of each muscle during various kinds of motion. Such stimulation patterns have enabled us to restore motor function of the paralyzed upper extremities for activities of daily living (ADL).