International Business Machines Corporation

Charles A Lemaire

Bryan Lester Striemer

David Arnold Luick

Andrew Henry Wottreng

Thomas Schick

A communications system includes a single transmitter and a large number of individual receivers. The transmitter broadcasts a signal over a medium a continuous stream of digitally coded text items, each carrying information as to one or more subjects described by an index term. Each receiver includes a demodulator for continuously receiving the broadcast signal, a profile storage tailorable by each user individually to contain a list of desired index terms, means for selecting only those items having index terms matching those in the profile storage, and a memory for storing the selected items. The user can activate the receiver to play back items in the memory and to choose among the stored items. The items chosen for playback are converted from digital text to a synthesized voice, which is sent as an audio signal to the user.

Digital broadcast system with selection of items at each receiver via individual user profiles and voice readout of selected items

A communications system has a single transmitter and a large number of portable receivers. The transmitter broadcasts a continuous stream of coded text messages, each addressed to a particular user or group of users. Each receiver demodulates all the messages, compares their addresses with a list of addresses in the receiver, and stores only those messages having one of the proper addresses. The user can activate the receiver to play back messages in the memory, and to choose among the stored messages. The messages selected for playback are converted from digital text to a synthesized voice, sent as an audio signal to the user.

Communications system for multiple individually addressed messages

A battery powered hand-held portable computer device for audible processing of messages stored at one or more remote central message facilities. A telephonic interface is included within the portable computer device. A connection between the portable computer device and the remote central message facility is automatically established in response to a connection to a telephonic network and the operation of a single switch. Thereafter, selected audio and/or digital messages from a remote central message facility are transferred to the portable computer device, digitized if necessary, and stored within random access memory or stored utilizing analog storage systems. The portable computer device preferably utilizes a limited number of tape recorder-like switches. In response to a single operation of a 'start' switch, electronic messages stored in a digital format are sequentially coupled to a text-to-speech conversion application and converted to audible speech through a speaker or headphone. In one embodiment of the present invention, the portable computer device includes a microphone and analog-to-digital conversion circuitry which permit a spoken input to be digitized, stored and subsequently transmitted to the remote central message facility. Additionally, a message may be 'scanned' or 'rewound' at higher than normal speed to access a selected portion thereof.

Portable computer device for audible processing of remotely stored

A computer system in which each of certain critical instructions, all performing multiple main storage accesses to shared data, have the appearance of executing required main storage accesses atomically with respect to a predefined set or class of instructions. The instructions in each set, referred to as relatively atomic instructions, are grouped together based on the data structure or object class they affect. The computer system comprises: (a) shared memory means; (b) a plurality of processors, coupled to said shared memory means, wherein each processor has an instruction set divided into a plurality of instruction classes; (c) means for constraining an instruction in one of said classes running on one of said plurality of processors, to run atomically relative to any instruction in said class running on any other of said plurality of processors in said system; (d) means for signalling between said processors to indicate when an instruction in one of said classes is running and for providing an indication of which particular class the instruction is a member of; and (e) means for selectively delaying the operation of all other instructions in said particular class on every other processor in said system.

Multiprocessor system having multiple classes of instructions for

Extended control word decode circuitry increases the number of simultaneous functions performed during execution of a control word in the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer system. A first field of a control word is decoded into 2.sup.n decodes for testing or specifying a first set of CPU conditions. A second field in the control word is decoded into 2.sup.m -X decodes for testing or specifying a second set of CPU conditions. The X decodes, which together with the 2.sup.n decodes of the first field test or specify multiples or pairs of a third set of CPU conditions and inhibit the 2.sup.n decodes from testing or specifying said first set of CPU conditions.

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Zumbrota, MN, United States of America

Charles A Lemaire