Comsource Systems

Gould Inc.

Controlonics Corporation

Cyplex Corporation

Modicon Div. Gould Inc.

Invisitech Corporation

Lawrence W Hill

Frederick Williams Sarles

John J Finnegan

Salvatore R Provanzano

Wilbert H Aldrich

Kincade N Webb

Michael C Nollet

Ronald D Malcolm

James Heom

Emil P Drottar

Michael B Tressler

Robert A D'Angelo

Baruch S Perlman

Richard E Morley

Thomas J Stoodley Iii

John E Van Schalkwyk

John E VanSchalkwyk

Ronald Malcolm

A personal identification system for use in security and various other types of pattern matching applications provides accurate recognition of a known person. This system uses a large quantity of course but inexpensive sensors to create a profile of a person seeking to enter the controlled space or to take other action. These sensors measure different statistically independent characteristics of the person, such as height, weight, stride, voice timbre, and time to perform various functions. The measurements so obtained may individually be of very low resolution. They are used to search a data base of patterns related to admissible individuals. Active agent methods are used to support learning and adaptation of the sensor set to address sensor drift and individual characteristic changes over time. A combination of many parameters will identify a person with very low probability of both false negative and false positive errors. The resulting low sensor resolution required allows such a system may be implemented at very low cost in comparison to other biometric systems.

Personal identification system using multiple parameters having low cross-correlation

A system utilizing adaptive frequency-hopped spread spectrum modulation to communicate over AC power lines and other noisy communications channels is described. The system employs a modulation structure in which individual packets of data are transmitted with FSK modulation using two frequencies chosen from a larger set. An error coding system is used which provides a controlling microprocessor with data on the quality of reception at each transceiver in the network; this information is used to alter the gain of the receiver, the bit rate of the transmission, and the specific frequencies employed by the network, in real time, to optimize communication error rate. Messages are organized in packets. A Master transceiver, controlling network management, transmits channel control information to other transceivers on the network, enabling system synchronization, acquisition of an existing network by new subscribers, and changes to the bit rate and frequency set in use. Each transceiver comprises a frequency controlled carrier generator, appropriate data keying for the carrier, a pair of digital detectors each having a frequency controlled bandpass filter connected thereto, appropriate microprocessors for control and broad band coupling networks for coupling the transceiver to a communications channel, which may be an AC power line, a private line, the floor loop of an automatic guided vehicle system, or the like.

Frequency hopping time-diversity communications systems and transceivers

A system for digital communication over a wire lain along the path of guided vehicles to a modem and a loop driver, the modem providing high frequency signals and the loop driver providing low frequency control signals. Instead, the modem and the loop driver are connected to one end of the wire and the other end of the wire is connected through an impedance matching network to earth ground. The impedance matching network provides an impedance approximately equal to the impedance of the wire at the frequency of the high frequency signals. The impedance matching network may conveniently comprise an inductor (choke) in parallel with a capacitor connected between the end of the wire and earth ground and a plurality of resistors connected in parallel with said inductor and capacitor. The resistors are selectively clipped to eliminate the echo bringing the impedance of the impedance matching network to approximate equality with the impedance of the wire at the frequency of the high frequency signals. Alternatively, a single loop connected in the ordinary way to the modem and loop driver, may be cut to form two separate wires and two separate impedance networks provided one at each end of the wires to earth ground.

Transmission line termination of guide-communications wire for guided

The system comprises transceivers employing identical modems, one located at a fixed position and connected to the wire and one on a vehicle guided along the wire. The transceiver's specialized modems may be connected to a central host which may be a computer, to a programmable controller, or to a communications bus as required. Additional transceivers may be connected to the communications bus for communication between the central host and additional wires. All central host signals are transmitted to all wire connected modems and sent out on all wires. All signals from vehicle modems are transmitted back to the central host. Each transceiver is adapted to employ one or more identical modem, each connected to a different wire. Communication between the wire and a vehicle is by an inductive coupler employing ferrite rods which is designed such that the transfer function from the fixed modem to the vehicle mounted modem is substantially identical to the transfer function from the vehicle modem to the fixed modem. The vehicles may be wired guided vehicles controlled by low frequency signals on the wire. In this case a special coupling circuit is employed so that no modification is required in the equipment normally used to signal along the wire for controlling the vehicle or in the modems connected to the wire. The modems employ state machines for on-off frequency keying detection, a powerful protocol for error free transmission, a specialized circuit that presents different impedances during transmission and reception, and a switching circuit for providing high damping on transmission and low damping on reception.

Transceiver system for communication over wire laid along the path of

Messages are transmitted on pairs of frequencies that are orthogonal, that is the frequencies have no least common denominator (are prime to each other). A message is transmitted on the first of the pair of frequencies and, simultaneously, its complement is transmitted on the second of said pair of frequencies. The message is then retransmitted on another pair of orthogonal frequencies. In the second transmission, the message is remapped, such that, adjacent bits in the first transmission are not adjacent in the second transmission and the same bit in the first transmission and the second transmission are not spaced 1/120th of a second apart. Information is collected on the data error rates at each receiver. This information is periodically transmitted to a central frequency controller which collects this error information and determines the error rates on the frequencies being used. A hill-climbing technique is used to choose pairs of frequencies having the lowest current data error rates. The frequency controller transmits the identity of these frequencies to the various transceivers in each message. The transceivers comprise a frequency controlled carrier frequency generator, appropriate data keying for the carrier, a pair of digital state machines, each having a frequency controlled filter connected thereto, appropriate microprocessors for control and broad band coupling networks for coupling the transceiver to a communications channel, which may be an AC power line, a private line, the floor loop of an automatic guided vehicle system, or the like.

Spread spectrum-time diversity communications systems and transceivers

A multi-drop local area network utilizes alternating current power lines as a transmission channel. Identical transceivers are used as a master and as up to 255 slaves. Each transceiver comprises modulator and demodulator units and a microprocessor control unit which may be connected to a host. The modulator and demodulator are connected to the alternating current power line through a high pass filter comprising a split bobbin, iron core transformer having an air gap which also provides impedance matching. The demodulator includes a clipper and analog circuitry providing a band pass filter and generating a square wave corresponding to the received carrier. A state machine acting as a digital filter produces a received carrier signal only when each half cycle of the carrier square wave is of the proper duration and the carrier signal has existed for slightly more than one half of the transmitted bit duration, which is a predetermined number of carrier cycles. The microprocessors are programmed to provide for block ahead acknowledgment, alternate transmissions between master and slaves; each block message comprises an acknowledgment non-acknowledgment bit, a message sequence bit, a polling sequence bit, and a longitudinal redundancy check. The carrier frequency utilized lies in the range of 20 to 40 KHz and preferably within the range between 27 and 33 KHz for a power line transmission channel. Error free 1200 Baud transmission rates are achieved in full duplex. Higher carrier frequencies and transmission rates are possible over less noisy transmission channels such as wire pairs.

Transceiver for multi-drop local area networks

An improved programmable controller having the ability to use two different data bases while presenting to the outside world a uniform word size. The programmable controller includes pipeline processing and hardware solution of a user control program in a network node format. A memory management scheme is provided allowing for the direct addressability of one-half million words by utilization of a page register. The programmable controller can be incorporated into a network containing other programmable controllers. The programmable controller also incorporates a multi-task interrupt so that the processor can handle more than one job at any particular time. Input/output tasks are handled logically in the scan solving the user networks rather than being based upon a particular physical area of the controller memory.

Programmable controller

A small, low cost, programmable controller is described capable of solving user programs represented in networks having up to seven rows and eleven columns. A column solver is utilized to provide efficient and fast solution of the user control network. The programmable controller also solves calculate functions having multiple outputs to facilitate use of the output information in the control program. A programming panel using a CRT display shows one or more selected control networks and, in conjunction with the central processing unit of the programmable controller, provides for the insertion of networks between two existing networks. Since the networks are solved by the controller mainframe in a sequential fashion, this network insertion allows the user to optimize his or her control program when solution order of the networks is important. The output coil numbers of network rows may also be assigned by the user independent of their placement in the control program to further facilitate programming the controller. The programming panel includes a movable cursor on the CRT display which, in conjunction with a light-emitting diode (LED), allows the user to monitor the real-time power flow at any particular point in the displayed ladder diagram network. Specialized search features can also be specified by the user to simplify monitoring and de-bugging the control program.

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Arlington, MA, United States of America

Lawrence W Hill