What I claim is my invention is:
1. A method for digitally measuring the time-varying information density of digitized analogue signals, comprising the steps of
a) providing hardware for digital data input and output, memory and processing,
b) inputting data representing an analogue signal sampled at a constant sampling rate,
c) performing a line search on the data,
wherein the line searched for is the lowest accepted time-varying sampling rate,
wherein the acceptability of a trial rate is tested through a predetermined acceptability test, and
d) outputting said lowest acceptable time-varying sampling rate,
whereby said lowest acceptable time-varying sampling rate represents a measure of a time-varying characteristic of the signal, namely its time-varying information density, which is useful for technical and medical diagnostic purposes.
2. The method of claim 1) wherein said acceptability test consists in testing whether an alternating weighted sum of samples taken at the trial rate is consistently essentially zero.
3. The method of claim 1) wherein said acceptability test consists in testing whether the numerical reconstruction of the signal by using a predetermined reconstruction kernel G(t,tn) meets a predetermined precision.
4. The method of claim 1) wherein said acceptability test consists in testing whether the numerical reconstruction of the signal by using the reconstruction kernel
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with predetermined definition of the tn meets a predetermined precision.
5. A method for compression of digitized analogue signals by
a) using the method of 1),
whereby said lowest acceptable time-varying sampling rate is found,
b) numerically resampling said signal at the time-varying sampling rate, and
c) outputting the data representing the samples taken at said rate, together with the data representing said lowest acceptable time-varying sampling rate,
whereby these output data constitute the compressed signal.
6. A method for compression of digitized analogue signals by
a) using the method of 2),
whereby said lowest acceptable time-varying sampling rate is found,
b) numerically resampling the signal at the time-varying sampling rate, and
c) outputting the data representing the samples taken at this rate, together with the data representing said lowest acceptable time-varying sampling rate,
whereby these output data constitute the compressed signal.
7. A method for compression of digitized analogue signals by
a) using the method of 3),
whereby said lowest acceptable time-varying sampling rate is found,
b) numerically resampling the signal at the time-varying sampling rate, and
c) outputting the data representing the samples taken at this rate, together with the data representing said lowest acceptable time-varying sampling rate,
whereby these output data constitute the compressed signal.
8. A method for compression of digitized analogue signals by
a) using the method of 4),
whereby said lowest acceptable time-varying sampling rate is found,
b) numerically resampling the signal at the time-varying sampling rate, and
c) outputting the data representing the samples taken at this rate, together with the data representing said lowest acceptable time-varying sampling rate,
whereby these output data constitute the compressed signal.
9. A method for compression of digitized analogue signals by
a) applying the method of 7) iteratively to the difference between the signal and its reconstruction,
whereby the achievable compression can be optimized by applying in the iteration successively stringent predetermined acceptance tests,
b) outputting the data representing the samples taken at this rate, together with the data representing said lowest acceptable time-varying sampling rate, for each step of the iteration,
whereby these output data constitute the compressed signal.
10. A method for compression of digitized analogue signals by
a) applying the method of 8) iteratively to the difference between the signal and its reconstruction,
whereby the achievable compression can be optimized by applying in the iteration successively stringent predetermined acceptance tests,
b) outputting the data representing the samples taken at this rate, together with the data representing said lowest acceptable timevarying sampling rate, for each step of the iteration,
whereby these output data constitute the compressed signal.
11. A method for the decompression of signals from their nonequidistantly spaced samples to equidistantly spaced samples, by
a) providing hardware for digital data input and output, memory and processing,
b) inputting data representing an analog signal’s samples f(tn) at nonequidistantly spaced times tn,
c) numerically resampling the signal at predetermined equidistantly spaced times by using the formula f(t)n G(t,tn)f(tn) where G is a predetermined function, and
d) outputting the equidistantly spaced samples,
whereby said equidistantly spaced samples constitute the decompressed signal.
12. The decompression method of 11, wherein said sampling kernel G(t,tn) is
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13. A method for decompression of signals which were compressed by resampling at time-varying sampling rates iteratively for successive differences between the original and the reconstructed signal, by
a) providing hardware for digital data input and output, memory and processing,
b) inputting the compressed signal data,
c) numerically resampling each step of the iteration from its varying sampling rate to a predetermined constant sampling rate, utilizing a predetermined sampling kernel G,
d) adding up the iteratively obtained amplitudes,
e) outputting the equidistantly spaced samples,
whereby the equidistant samples of the original signal are the decompressed signal.
14. The method for decompression of 13),
wherein the sampling kernel G is G
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e) outputting the equidistantly spaced samples,
whereby the equidistant samples of the original signal constitute the decompressed signal.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A wind-powered machine system comprising:
a base station comprising:
a machine for performing work; and
a crankshaft operatively coupled to said machine, wherein rotation of said crankshaft drives said machine to perform work;
a first airfoil operatively coupled to said crankshaft;
a second airfoil operatively coupled to said crankshaft; and
a system controller configured to selectively alter at least one of the altitude and in-flight orientation of the first and second airfoils,
wherein, in a first stage, a wind-driven movement of said first airfoil in a first direction away from said base station causes said crankshaft to rotate, said rotation of said crankshaft causing a movement of said second airfoil in a second direction generally opposite to said first direction and toward said base station, and
wherein, in a second stage, a wind-driven movement of said second airfoil in the first direction away from said base station causes said crankshaft to rotate, said rotation of said crankshaft causing a movement of said first airfoil in the second direction toward said base station.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein said machine comprises an electrical generator.
3. The system of claim 1, further comprising first and second rocker arms each having a first and a second arm,
wherein said first airfoil is operatively coupled to said first arm of said first rocker arm and said second airfoil is operatively coupled to said first arm of said second rocker arm,
wherein said second arms of said first and second rocker arms are operatively coupled to said crankshaft, and
wherein wind-driven movements of said first and second airfoils cause said first and second rocker arms to cause the rotation of said crankshaft.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein said first and second airfoils are operatively coupled to said first and second rocker arms via first and second tension cables, respectively.
5. The system of claim 1, further comprising an aerostat operatively coupled to said first and second airfoils to maintain said first and second airfoils at a given altitude.
6. The system of claim 5, further comprising an altitude controller operatively coupled to said aerostat, said altitude controller configured to vary the altitude of said aerostat and said first and second airfoils.
7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a gearbox operatively coupled to said crankshaft and said machine, said gearbox being configured to convert relatively slow rotation of said crankshaft into a relatively faster rotation for said machine.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein said first and second airfoils are configured to have a variable altitude relative to said base station.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein said system controller is responsive to at least one of the position of the crankshaft and the first and second airfoils and configured to output control signals for altering at least one of the altitude and in-flight orientation of the first and second airfoils.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the system controller is configured to provide autonomous control of the first and second airfoils.
11. The system of claim 9, further comprising at least one airfoil controller in communication with said system controller, said airfoil controller coupled to the first and second airfoils via a plurality of steering lines and configured to vary the in-flight orientation of said first and second airfoils.
12. The system of claim 6, further comprising:
a first airfoil controller coupled to said first tension cable, configured to control steerage lines to control the flight pattern of said first airfoil; and
a second airfoil controller coupled to said second tension cable, configured to control steerage lines to control the flight pattern of said first airfoil,
wherein said altitude controller is coupled to said first airfoil controller and said second airfoil controller by first and second communication and power cables, respectively.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein said aerostat is coupled to said base station by a tether cable, said altitude controller is coupled to said tether cable, and said tether cable includes power and communication lines to said altitude controller and said first and second communication and power lines.
14. A wind-powered machine system comprising:
a base station comprising:
a machine for performing work; and
a crankshaft operatively coupled to said machine, wherein rotation of said crankshaft drives said machine to perform work;
a first airfoil operatively coupled to said crankshaft;
a second airfoil operatively coupled to said crankshaft;
a first steering element operatively connected to the first airfoil for selectively altering the lift generated by the first airfoil,
wherein a second steering element operatively connected to the second airfoil for selectively altering the lift generated by the second airfoil, in a first stage the lift generated by the second airfoil is reduced by the second steering element, and a wind-driven movement of said first airfoil in a first direction away from said base station causes said crankshaft to rotate, said rotation of said crankshaft causing a movement of said second airfoil in a second direction generally opposite to said first direction and toward said base station, and
wherein, in a second stage the lift generated by the first airfoil is reduced by the first steering element, and a wind-driven movement of said second airfoil in the first direction away from said base station causes said crankshaft to rotate, said rotation of said crankshaft causing a movement of said first airfoil in the second direction toward said base station.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein each of the steering first and second elements comprises a plurality of steering lines.
16. A wind-powered machine system comprising:
a base station comprising:
a machine for performing work; and
a crankshaft operatively coupled to said machine, wherein rotation of said crankshaft drives said machine to perform work; and
a first airfoil operatively coupled to said crankshaft via a first rocker arm and a first tension cable; and
a second airfoil operatively coupled to said crankshaft via a second rocker arm and second tension cable,
wherein, in a first stage, a wind-driven movement of said first airfoil in a first direction away from said base station causes said crankshaft to rotate, said rotation of said crankshaft causing a movement of said second airfoil in a second direction generally opposite to said first direction and toward said base station, and
wherein, in a second stage, a wind-driven movement of said second airfoil in the first direction away from said base station causes said crankshaft to rotate, said rotation of said crankshaft causing a movement of said first airfoil in the second direction toward said base station.