Did You Know...
...that several people are credited with the invention of the flush toilet? Most people have heard of Thomas Crapper (1837-1910), the sanitary engineer who invented the valve-and-siphon arrangement that made the modern toilet possible. Another claimant to "the throne" was British inventor Alexander Cumming who patented a toilet in 1775. Then there's a nameless Minoan (a native of ancient Crete) who lived 4,000 years ago who supposedly was ahead of his time and created the first flush toilet!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6389072 | Motion analysis based buffer regulation scheme A method and apparatus for processing and encoding video data is presented that allocates available bandwidth, and hence image quality, in dependence upon the relative speed of motion of objects in a sequence of images forming the video data. Fast moving ... | 05/14/2002 |
| 6381613 | Distributed database access via virtual environment browser A data processing apparatus configured as a browser (70) is described for use with a distributed database management utility (72) which handles the accessing of data defining virtual environments via the Internet/World Wide Web (74). Both browser (70) and... | 04/30/2002 |
| 6356288 | Diversion agent uses cinematographic techniques to mask latency A software agent is a functional part of a user-interactive software application running on a data processing system. The agent creates a user-perceptible effect in order to mask latency present in delivery of data to the user. The agent creates the effec... | 03/12/2002 |
| 6349307 | Cooperative topical servers with automatic prefiltering and routing An information organization and retrieval system that efficiently organizes documents for rapid and efficient search and retrieval based upon topical content is presented. The information organization and retrieval system is optimized for the organization... | 02/19/2002 |
| 6339779 | Reference counting mechanism for garbage collectors A method of garbage collection and data processing apparatus embodying the same. Within a heap memory, data objects are accessed via respective pointers carried by memory stacks; the memory is periodically swept to mark, for each object, a count of the nu... | 01/15/2002 |
| 6338073 | Finalization in incremental garbage collectors A data processing method and apparatus are described for mark-sweep garbage collection through stored data structures defined by data objects in a multi threading environment supporting the handling of finalisers. Pipelining of the marking (MA) and sweepi... | 01/08/2002 |
| 6314459 | Home-network autoconfiguration Two PC's are automatically configured in a network in order to share resources registered at the individual PC's. Services and resources local to one PC are registered with the other PC and vice versa. The registry hides whether a service or resource is r... | 11/06/2001 |
| 6314436 | Space-limited marking structure for tracing garbage collectors A data processing method and apparatus are described for tracing paths through stored data structures defined by data objects coupled by identifying pointers and within a contiguous area of memory. A fixed sized marking stack or queue builds up a list of ... | 11/06/2001 |
| 6308241 | On-chip cache file register for minimizing CPU idle cycles during cache refills A CPU has an execution unit for operating on data under instruction control. A cache and a buffer register are coupled in parallel to an input of the execution unit. The buffer register supplies an information item, such as data or an instruction, to the ... | 10/23/2001 |
| 6304840 | Fingerless glove for interacting with data processing system A data glove is used for enabling ten-finger-typing with a virtual keyboard. The angle at which the user's; finger bends at the proximal interphalangeal joint is used to decode a particular row of the keyboard. Each finger controls one or more columns. Di... | 10/16/2001 |
| 6301641 | Method for reducing the frequency of cache misses in a computer A score is computed of how many cache misses occur for the execution of each of a number of blocks. The score is used as a heuristic in a local search in which an original selection is iteratively replaced each time by a selection that differs from the or... | 10/09/2001 |
| 6256633 | Context-based and user-profile driven information retrieval A user is enabled to navigate through an electronic data base in a personalized manner. A context is created based on a profile of the user, the profile being at least partly formed in advance. Candidate data is selected from the data base under control o... | 07/03/2001 |
| 6256696 | Information processing system comprising at least two processors A data processing system comprises multiple modules interconnected via an inter-module bus. Each module comprises a processor connected to local peripherals via a local bus. The system enables the processor of a specific module to directly access the peri... | 07/03/2001 |
| 6252982 | Image processing system for handling depth information An image processing system creates a 2-dimensional output image with enhanced depth sensation by operating on a 2-dimensional input image. The system processes the input image non-uniformly by selecting an area in the input image according to a predetermi... | 06/26/2001 |
| 6230130 | Scalable mixing for speech streaming A speech processing system receives multiple streams of speech frames. The system selects among concurrent ones of the frames a subset of those frames that are the most relevant, based on pre-assigned stream priorities and energy content of the frames. Th... | 05/08/2001 |
| 6216144 | Data processing system with means for display of reduced images and method for the reduction of images In a data processing system a large number of reduced images of documents are shown simultaneously on the screen of a visual display unit. The images are reduced in a two-step process. The first step includes performing a run-length algorithm on an origin... | 04/10/2001 |
| 6208341 | GUI of remote control facilitates user-friendly editing of macros A remote control device for a home theater has a macro creation/editing mode with authoring tools on the remote's GUI. One of the editing tools lets the user move a selected macro step visibly up or down the list of steps on the GUI.... | 03/27/2001 |
| 6199136 | Method and apparatus for a low data-rate network to be represented on and controllable by high data-rate home audio/video interoperability (HAVi) network A PC-based home automation system uses a low data-rate transport layer and COM-based software components for control of devices in a home automation network. The home automation system is merged with a messaging-based HAVi-network that uses IEEE 1394 as a... | 03/06/2001 |
| 6163817 | Dynamically disabling and enabling of devices in consumer system with multiple communication protocols An information processing system has first and second electronic sub-systems, and control means for controlling the sub-systems. At least the first sub-system has a software representation registered with the control means. The control means changes a sta... | 12/19/2000 |
| 6128021 | Downloading image graphics with accelerated text character and line art creation An image is transferred from a sender to a receiver. The image is progressively re-created at a display of the receiver. First, a low-resolution full-color representation of the image is transferred. Then, a full-resolution limited-color representation of... | 10/03/2000 |
| 6094309 | Head-mounted display The present invention relates to a head-mounted display comprising at least one image display panel and an optical system for projecting an image in a left and right exit pupil of the head-mounted display. The optical system comprises a beam splitter, a h... | 07/25/2000 |
| 6072632 | Image display device and head-mounted display comprising such a device The present invention relates to an image display device (1) comprising a two-dimensional display (3; 19, 21; 72) and an optical system (5; 15, 17; 60). The optical system comprises a lens having a first semitransparent reflecting surface (23, 25; 9) and ... | 06/06/2000 |
| 6070226 | Memory system having magnetic disk drive implemented as cache memory and being integrated with optical disk drive in a hierarchical architecture A data processing system with an optical disk drive is provided with a magnetic disk drive as a cache. The magnetic disk drive is physically integrated with the optical disk drive. A semiconductor RAM is provided as a further cache for the magnetic disk d... | 05/30/2000 |
| 6067478 | Control system with macro creation based on recording responses A macro is created for a system that controls multiple electronic devices. Stimuli are supplied to the devices to trigger the desired responses. The responses are recorded. The macro contains a sequence of instructions. Each particular instruction request... | 05/23/2000 |
| 6047128 | System for downloading software The invention relates to a system for downloading software with a module, which includes a control circuit and a storage device for storing software, and with a loading device for delivering software to the module whose control circuit is arranged to down... | 04/04/2000 |
| 6046726 | Virtual workspace with user-programmable tactile feedback The user interacts with a virtual workspace through guiding a cursor across a display screen for visual representation of the workspace. A user-interface provides a tactile response which is user-programmable and enables specifying tactile fields at parti... | 04/04/2000 |
| 6031925 | Telescoping loudspeaker has multiple voice coils A loudspeaker has a chassis, a cone, an actuator and a sub-frame. The actuator is coupled between the chassis and the diaphragm. The sub-frame is flexibly coupled to the chassis and the diaphragm. The diaphragm is flexibly suspended from the chassis. The ... | 02/29/2000 |
| 6025801 | Video game with local updates mitigates latency effects in wide area network Multiple users share a virtual environment through an interactive software application. State changes of a specific user are transmitted to one or more other users dependent on respective relative distances in the virtual environment between the specific ... | 02/15/2000 |
| 5963957 | Bibliographic music data base with normalized musical themes An information processing system has a music data base. The music data base stores homophonic reference sequences of music notes. The reference sequences are all normalized to the same scale degree so that they can be stored lexicographically. Upon findin... | 10/05/1999 |
| 5959536 | Task-driven distributed multimedia consumer system A control system comprises multiple consumer electronics devices and task-driven control means coupled to the devices for controlling an interaction among the devices. The control means acts on respective software representations of each respective one of... | 09/28/1999 |
| 5956025 | Remote with 3D organized GUI for a home entertainment system A remote control device for a home entertainment system has a GUI with touch screen functionality. The visible part of the GUI is hierarchically organized in several control levels. All levels have consistent lay-outs with a first area for selectable item... | 09/21/1999 |
| 5917178 | Identifier token with electronic circuitry and conductor means in the token external to the circuitry for realizing an identifier code An identifier token has an electronic circuit with a bidirectional electronic interface for accessing the circuit. The circuit comprises an identifier code. The code is realized by bonding the circuit to a conductor external to the circuit as part of a no... | 06/29/1999 |
| 5903656 | Monitor has tubular loudspeaker reducing CRT's mask vibrations A loudspeaker system is physically integrated with a monitor. The monitor has a CRT. The loudspeaker system comprises an electro-acoustic transducer, a passive radiator and a tube mounted in between. The tube has a circular cross-section. The tube has an ... | 05/11/1999 |
| 5895500 | Data processing system with reduced look-up table for a function with non-uniform resolution A data processing system with a look-up table means for implementing a transfer function with non-uniform resolution comprises a memory to store a plurality of function data; an input to receive external address words for operating on the memory; and an o... | 04/20/1999 |
| 5887189 | Microcontroller system for performing operations of multiple microcontrollers A microcontroller that provides an environment to run processes developed to run on several prior or low end generation machines with the independent register, status and data space needed for execution, that is, the resources of the microcontroller are a... | 03/23/1999 |
| 5877713 | Digital programmable phase shifter and A/D converter using such a phase shifter The invention relates to a programmable phase shifter PS receiving an input signal Vin to be phase-shifted, of the form A.cos ωt, a digital control signal CM0:2N-1!, and supplying an output signal Vout of the form A'.cos (ωt-X), the phase shift value ... | 03/02/1999 |
| 5870614 | Thermostat controls dsp's temperature by effectuating the dsp switching between tasks of different compute-intensity A data processor chip has a sensor that senses the temperature of the substrate. When the sensor senses that the temperature has increased beyond a predetermined level, the sensor supplies a signal to the processor. Upon receipt of the signal, the process... | 02/09/1999 |
