Author: claimsbot

1. A method for characterizing movement of an object having at least one feature, the method comprising:
identifying data indicative of a plurality of pixels defining an apparent shape, apparent size and apparent position of the at least one feature from data indicative of a pixilated image of the object;
classifying the at least one feature into one of a plurality of predetermined feature classes based on the apparent shape of the at least one feature;
estimating an actual size of the at least one feature based on the classification; and
determining a speed of the object based on the estimated actual size of the at least one feature, the apparent size of the at least one feature, a frame to frame change in the apparent size and the apparent position of the at least one feature, and a time between two frames.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the data indicative of the plurality of pixels further defines an apparent position of the at least one feature and wherein the determined speed of the object is further based on a change in the apparent position of the at least one feature.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the determined speed of the object is further based on a change in the apparent shape of the at least one feature.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying a representation of the determined speed with a pixilated image of the object.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining whether the object is moving.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a speed of the object includes determining whether the object is rotating.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one feature comprises an outline of the object.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one feature comprises an outline of a portion of the object.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein classifying the at least one feature into one of a plurality of predetermined feature classes based on the apparent shape of the at least one feature includes comparing the apparent shape of the at least one feature with a plurality of shapes corresponding to the predetermined feature classes.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of predetermined feature classes comprises a plurality of predetermined geometric shapes.
11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having information stored thereon for directing a computer to perform the method of claim 1.
12. A system for characterizing movement of an object having at least one feature, the system comprising:
a computing machine configured to
receive input indicative of a pixilated image of the object,
identify data indicative of a plurality of pixels defining an apparent shape, apparent size and apparent position of the at least one feature from the input indicative of the pixilated image of the object,
classify the at least one feature into one of a plurality of predetermined feature classes based on the apparent shape of the at least one feature,
estimate an actual size of the at least one feature based on the classification,
determine a speed of the object based on the estimated actual size of the at least one feature, the apparent size of the at least one feature, a frame to frame change in the apparent size and the apparent position of the at least one feature, and a time between two frames, and
provide output indicative of the determined speed.
13. The system of claim 12 wherein the data indicative of the plurality of pixels further defines an apparent position of the at least one feature and wherein the determined speed of the object is further based on a change in the apparent position of the at least one feature.
14. The system of claim 12 wherein the determined speed of the object is further based on a change in the apparent shape of the at least one feature.
15. The system of claim 12 wherein the computing machine is further configured to display a representation of the determined speed with a pixilated image of the object.
16. The system of claim 12 wherein the computing machine is further configured to determine whether the object is moving.
17. The system of claim 12 wherein determining a speed of the object includes determining whether the object is rotating.
18. The system of claim 12 wherein the at least one feature comprises an outline of the object.
19. The system of claim 12 wherein the at least one feature comprises an outline of a portion of the object.
20. The system of claim 12 wherein classifying the at least one feature into one of a plurality of predetermined feature classes based on the apparent shape of the at least one feature includes comparing the apparent shape of the at least one feature with a plurality of shapes corresponding to the predetermined feature classes.
21. The system of claim 12 wherein the plurality of predetermined feature classes comprises a plurality of predetermined geometric shapes.
22. A system for analyzing movement of an object having at least one feature, the system comprising:
a processing unit configured to
receive a plurality of pixilated images of the object,
extract an outline of the at least one feature from each of the plurality of pixilated images of the object,
determine an apparent position of the at least one feature within each of the plurality of pixilated images of the object,
determine an apparent size of the at least one feature for each of the plurality of pixilated images of the object,
estimate an actual size of the at least one feature based on at least one of the outlines, and
determine a speed of the object based on the estimated actual size of the at least one feature, frame to frame changes in the apparent size of the at least one feature, at least one of (i) the outlines of the at least one feature or (ii) frame to frame changes in the apparent position of the at least one feature, and a time between two frames.
23. A system for analyzing movement of an object, the system comprising:
a processing unit configured to
receive image input indicative of a plurality of frames of pixilated images of the object and size input indicative of an estimated size of the object;
determine a speed of the object based on the size input, frame to frame changes in an apparent size and position of the image, and a time between two frames; and
provide output indicative of the determined speed of the object.

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. An integrated circuit (IC) having components for providing a first programmable output, the IC comprising:
an accumulator circuit that receives a programmable input N and generates an overflow indication and a remainder R left in the accumulator circuit when an overflow indication is made, wherein the accumulator circuit is coupled to receive a first clock signal having a first frequency;
means for computing a quotient (RN) as the remainder R divided by the programmable input N; and
means for providing an output signal driven by a second clock signal, wherein the output signal is determined from the overflow indication of the accumulator circuit as adjusted by an amount determined using the quotient RN and, wherein a second frequency of the second clock signal is greater than the first frequency to enable desired delay increments, the means for providing an output signal generates a stream of \u201c0s\u201d and \u201c1s\u201d defining the output signal, wherein the means for providing an output signal adds or subtracts \u201c0s\u201d or \u201c1s\u201d to the stream of \u201c0s\u201d and \u201c1s\u201d to adjust a frequency of the output signal;
wherein the means for providing an output signal comprises a repetitive structure having incremental delay elements;
wherein delay provided by the incremental delay elements of the repetitive structure is calibrated under current temperature and supply voltage conditions during operation of the IC; and
wherein a measurement of the number of incremental delay elements equal to one accumulator clock period can be performed under the current temperature and supply voltage conditions.
2. The IC of claim 1 wherein the means for computing the quotient RN comprises a multiplier.
3. The IC of claim 2 wherein an inverse of the programmable input N (1N) is pre-computed and then multiplied by the remainder R in the multiplier.
4. The IC of claim 1 wherein the means for computing the quotient RN comprises a divider.
5. The IC of claim 1, wherein the means for providing an output signal further comprises:
a means for delaying an output edge caused by the overflow indication.
6. The IC of claim 1, wherein the means for providing an output operates at a higher frequency than the accumulator circuit.
7. The IC of claim 1, wherein the means for providing an output signal further provides a serial to parallel conversion to generate a parallel output signal.
8. The IC of claim 1, wherein the means for providing an output comprises a multi-gigabit transceiver.
9. The IC of claim 1, wherein a calibration of the incremental delay elements of the repetitive structure is periodically performed.
10. The IC of claim 1 wherein the accumulator circuit further comprises:
a register; and
an adder having a first input for receiving the programmable input N and a second input for receiving an output feedback from the register, wherein the register provides a first output indicating the remainder R and a second output indicating the when the overflow occurs.
11. An integrated circuit (IC) having components for providing a programmable frequency output, the IC comprising:
an accumulator comprising an adder and a register, wherein the adder comprises a first input for receiving a programmable input N and a second input for receiving an output from the register, and wherein the register indicates an overflow and provides a remainder R occurring at overflow of the register, wherein the register is clocked using a first clock signal having a first frequency;
a multiplier connected with the accumulator to receive the remainder R at overflow, the multiplier for computing a quotient (RN) as the remainder R divided by the programmable input N; and
conversion logic receiving the multiplier quotient RN and a second clock signal having a second frequency which is a higher frequency than the first frequency, wherein the conversion logic provides a jitter-reduced output as adjusted dependent upon the quotient RN, the conversion logic generating a stream of \u201c0s\u201d and \u201c1s\u201d defining the jitter-reduced output, wherein the conversion logic adds or subtracts \u201c0s\u201d or \u201c1s\u201d to the stream of \u201c0s\u201d and \u201c1s\u201d to adjust a frequency of the jitter-reduced output;
wherein the conversion logic comprises a repetitive structure having incremental delay elements;
wherein delay provided by the incremental delay elements of the repetitive structure are calibrated under current temperature and supply voltage conditions during operation of the IC; and
wherein a measurement of the number of incremental delay elements equal to one accumulator clock period can be performed under the current temperature and voltage conditions.
12. The IC as in claim 11 wherein when the remainder R equals zero, the jitter-reduced output will not be affected by the conversion logic output.
13. The IC as in claim 11 wherein the quotient RN ranges from 0 to 1.
14. The IC of claim 11 wherein when the quotient RN is not equal to 0, the conversion logic delays an output edge of the first frequency output.
15. A method of providing a programmable frequency source in a device having programmable resources, comprising:
selecting a first programmable frequency for a first programmable frequency source by setting an input N of an accumulator implemented using the programmable resources of the device and selecting a first frequency of a first clock signal;
determining, by the programmable resources of the device, a remainder R from the accumulator at an overflow of the accumulator;
computing a quotient (RN) as the remainder R divided by the accumulator input N;
driving conversion logic with a second clock signal having a second frequency, wherein the conversion logic comprises a repetitive structure having incremental delay elements;
compensating for a timing error in a frequency of the output signal indicated by overflow of the accumulator using the quotient RN;
generating a stream of \u201c0s\u201d and \u201c1s\u201d defining the output signal at an output of the conversion logic; and
adding or subtracting \u201c0s\u201d or \u201c1s\u201d to the stream of \u201c0s\u201d and \u201c1s\u201d to adjust the frequency of the output signal,
wherein delay provided by the incremental delay elements of the repetitive structure are calibrated under current temperature and supply voltage conditions during operation of the IC; and
wherein a measurement of the number of incremental delay elements equal to one accumulator clock period can be performed under the current temperature and voltage conditions.
16. The method as in claim 15 wherein the step of computing a quotient (RN) comprises multiplying R by an inverse of the accumulator input N(1N).
17. The method as in claim 16 further comprising the step of pre-computing an inverse of the accumulator input N(1N).
18. The method as in claim 15 wherein the computing step comprises dividing the remainder R by the accumulator input N.

1. A system for managing multiple communications links that are extant between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network, comprising:
at least one base station means, located in said aircraft, for generating radio frequency communication signals to communicate with a plurality of wireless subscriber devices that are located in said aircraft;
aircraft controller means for aggregating call traffic from said plurality of wireless subscriber devices on to said multiple communication links as aggregate data streams;
traffic load means for determining an optimal configuration for aggregating said call traffic for said aircraft on to said multiple communication links as a function of at least one of: present call traffic loads on said multiple communication links, predicted future call traffic loads on said multiple communication links, present physical location of the aircraft, predicted future physical location of the aircraft, type of call traffic; and
ground controller means, responsive to said traffic load means, for communicating control instructions to said aircraft controller means to control distribution of said call traffic on said multiple communications links.
2. The system for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 1 further comprising:
a plurality of transceiver means, located in said aircraft, each communicating via at least one of said multiple communication links with said at least one terrestrial communication network;
a plurality of ground-based base station means, connected to said at least one terrestrial communication network, for communicating with said plurality of transceiver means via said aggregate data streams; and
handoff management means, responsive to initiation of a handoff of a one of said aggregate data streams from a first one of said ground-based base station means to a second one of said ground-based base station means, for redirecting transmission of said one aggregate data stream from said first ground-based base station means to said second ground-based base station means.
3. The system for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 1 wherein said traffic load means comprises:
assessment means for comparing a presently determined optimal configuration for aggregating said call traffic for said aircraft on to said multiple communication links with an existing distribution of call traffic on said multiple communication links; and
update means, responsive to said assessment means, for revising said distribution of call traffic on said multiple communications links.
4. The system for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 1 further comprising:
a plurality of transceiver means, located in said aircraft, each communicating via at least one of said multiple communication links with said at least one terrestrial communication network, said multiple communication links each being active in one of: terrestrial air-to-ground cellular network, satellite air-to-ground cellular network, terrestrial cellular network;
a plurality of ground-based base station means, connected to said at least one terrestrial communication network and each being active in a one of: terrestrial air-to-ground cellular network, satellite air-to-ground cellular network, terrestrial cellular network, for communicating with said plurality of transceiver means via said aggregate data streams; and
wherein said traffic load means comprises:
network selection means for distributing said call traffic among said terrestrial air-to-ground cellular network, said satellite air-to-ground cellular network, said terrestrial cellular network as a function of said type of call content.
5. The system for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 1 wherein said aircraft controller means comprises:
aircraft interface means for establishing communications between said plurality of wireless subscriber devices and said at least one terrestrial communications network by exchanging both subscriber traffic and at least one of network signaling and administrative data on separate concurrently available logical channels via said at least one air-to-ground communication network.
6. A system for managing multiple communications links that are extant between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network, comprising:
at least one base station means, located in said aircraft, for generating radio frequency communication signals to communicate with a plurality of wireless subscriber devices that are located in said aircraft;
a plurality of transceiver means, located in said aircraft, each communicating via at least one of said multiple communication links with said at least one terrestrial communication network;
aircraft controller means for aggregating call traffic received by said at least one base station means from said plurality of wireless subscriber devices on to said multiple communication links as aggregate data streams;
a plurality of ground-based base station means, connected to said at least one terrestrial communication network, for communicating with said plurality of transceiver means via said aggregate data streams;
traffic load means for determining an optimal configuration for aggregating said call traffic for said aircraft on to said multiple communication links as a function of at least one of: present call traffic loads on said multiple communication links, predicted future call traffic loads on said multiple communication links, present physical location of the aircraft, predicted future physical location of the aircraft, type of call content; and
ground controller means, responsive to said traffic load means, for communicating control instructions to said aircraft controller means to control distribution of said call traffic on said multiple communications links.
7. The system for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 6 further comprising:
handoff management means, responsive to initiation of a call handoff of a one of said aggregate data streams from a first one of said ground-based base station means to a second one of said ground-based base station means, for redirecting transmission of said one aggregate data stream from said first ground-based base station means to said second ground-based base station means.
8. The system for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 6 wherein said traffic load means comprises:
assessment means for comparing a presently determined optimal configuration for aggregating said call traffic for said aircraft on to said multiple communication links with an existing distribution of call traffic on said multiple communication links; and
update means, responsive to said assessment means, for revising said distribution of call traffic on said multiple communications links.
9. The system for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 6 further comprising:
wherein each of said multiple communication links are active in one of: terrestrial air-to-ground cellular network, satellite air-to-ground cellular network, terrestrial cellular network; and
wherein said traffic load means comprises:
network selection means for distributing said call traffic among said terrestrial air-to-ground cellular network, said satellite air-to-ground cellular network, said terrestrial cellular network as a function of said type of call content.
10. The system for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 6 wherein said aircraft controller means comprises:
aircraft interface means for establishing communications between said plurality of wireless subscriber devices and said at least one terrestrial communications network by exchanging both subscriber traffic and at least one of network signaling and administrative data on separate concurrently available logical channels via said at least one air-to-ground communication network.
11. A method for managing multiple communications links that are extant between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network, comprising:
generating, in at least one base station that is located in said aircraft, radio frequency communication signals to communicate with a plurality of wireless subscriber devices that are located in said aircraft;
aggregating, in an aircraft communications controller, call traffic from said plurality of wireless subscriber devices on to said multiple communication links as aggregate data streams;
determining an optimal configuration for aggregating said call traffic for said aircraft on to said multiple communication links as a function of at least one of: present call traffic loads on said multiple communication links, predicted future call traffic loads on said multiple communication links, present physical location of the aircraft, predicted future physical location of the aircraft, type of call traffic; and
communicating, in response to determining an optimal configuration for aggregating said call traffic, control instructions to said aircraft communications controller to control distribution of said call traffic on said multiple communications links.
12. The method for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 11 further comprising:
communicating via a plurality of transceivers that are located in said aircraft, with said at least one terrestrial communication network, each of said transceivers communicating via at least one of said multiple communication links;
communicating, via a plurality of ground-based base stations that are connected to said at least one terrestrial communication network, with said plurality of transceivers via said aggregate data streams; and
redirecting, in response to initiation of a handoff of a one of said aggregate data streams from a first one of said ground-based base stations to a second one of said ground-based base stations, transmission of said one aggregate data stream from said first ground-based base station to said second ground-based base station.
13. The method for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 11 wherein said step of determining comprises:
comparing a presently determined optimal configuration for aggregating said call traffic for said aircraft on to said multiple communication links with an existing distribution of call traffic on said multiple communication links; and
revising, in response to said step of comparing said distribution of call traffic on said multiple communications links.
14. The method for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 11 further comprising:
communicating via a plurality of transceivers that are located in said aircraft, each transceiver communicating via at least one of said multiple communication links with said at least one terrestrial communication network, said multiple communication links each being active in one of: terrestrial air-to-ground cellular network, satellite air-to-ground cellular network, terrestrial cellular network;
communicating via a plurality of ground-based base stations that are connected to said at least one terrestrial communication network and each ground-based base station being active in a one of: terrestrial air-to-ground cellular network, satellite air-to-ground cellular network, terrestrial cellular network, for communicating with said plurality of transceiver means via said aggregate data streams; and
wherein said step of determining comprises:
distributing said call traffic among said terrestrial air-to-ground cellular network, said satellite air-to-ground cellular network, said terrestrial cellular network as a function of said type of call content.
15. The method for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 11 wherein said step of aggregating comprises:
establishing communications between said plurality of wireless subscriber devices and said at least one terrestrial communications network by exchanging both subscriber traffic and at least one of network signaling and administrative data on separate concurrently available logical channels via said at least one air-to-ground communication network.
16. A method for managing multiple communications links that are extant between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network, comprising:
generating radio frequency communication signals in at least one base station that is located in said aircraft, for to communicate with a plurality of wireless subscriber devices that are located in said aircraft;
communicating, via a plurality of transceivers that are located in said aircraft, each transceiver communicating via at least one of said multiple communication links with said at least one terrestrial communication network;
aggregating, in an aircraft communications controller, call traffic received by said at least one base station from said plurality of wireless subscriber devices on to said multiple communication links as aggregate data streams;
communicating via a plurality of ground-based base stations that are connected to said at least one terrestrial communication network, with said plurality of transceivers via said aggregate data streams;
determining an optimal configuration for aggregating said call traffic for said aircraft on to said multiple communication links as a function of at least one of: present call traffic loads on said multiple communication links, predicted future call traffic loads on said multiple communication links, present physical location of the aircraft, predicted future physical location of the aircraft, type of call content; and
communicating, in response to said step of determining, control instructions to said aircraft communications controller to control distribution of said call traffic on said multiple communications links.
17. The method for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 16 further comprising:
redirecting, in response to initiation of a call handoff of a one of said aggregate data streams from a first one of said ground-based base stations to a second one of said ground-based base stations, transmission of said one aggregate data stream from said first ground-based base station to said second ground-based base station.
18. The method for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 16 wherein said step of aggregating comprises:
comparing a presently determined optimal configuration for aggregating said call traffic for said aircraft on to said multiple communication links with an existing distribution of call traffic on said multiple communication links; and
revising, in response to said step of comparing, said distribution of call traffic on said multiple communications links.
19. The method for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 16 further comprising:
wherein each of said multiple communication links are active in one of:
terrestrial air-to-ground cellular network, satellite air-to-ground cellular network, terrestrial cellular network; and
wherein said step of aggregating comprises:
distributing said call traffic among said terrestrial air-to-ground cellular network, said satellite air-to-ground cellular network, said terrestrial cellular network as a function of said type of call content.
20. The method for managing multiple communications links between an aircraft and at least one terrestrial communication network of claim 16 wherein said step of aggregating comprises:
establishing communications between said plurality of wireless subscriber devices and said at least one terrestrial communications network by exchanging both subscriber traffic and at least one of network signaling and administrative data on separate concurrently available logical channels via said at least one air-to-ground communication network.

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 slider designed to reduce fly height sigma in a plurality of fly media, the slider comprising:
an air bearing surface;
a front shallow step pad and a rear shallow step pad that are at a first level deeper than the air bearing surface;
a first rear side pocket that is at a second level deeper than the air bearing surface, said first side pocket substantially polygon shaped; and
a second rear non-symmetrical side pocket non-symmetrical with said first rear side pocket that is at said second level deeper than the air bearing surface, said second rear non-symmetrical side pockets substantially polygon shaped wherein said second rear non-symmetrical side pocket comprises a larger volume than said first rear side pocket, wherein the first level ranges from approximately 0.05 to 0.40 microns deeper than the air bearing surface and the second level ranges from approximately 1.0 to 4.0 microns deeper than the air bearing surface.
2. The slider of claim 1, wherein the slider further comprises:
channels in front of the rear side pockets, wherein air flows through the channels then into the first and second rear side pockets.
3. The slider of claim 1 wherein said first rear side pocket is located at an inner radius side of said air bearing surface.
4. The slider of claim 1, wherein the rear side pockets are in close proximity to landing pads that are associated with the slider.
5. The slider of claim 1 wherein said air bearing surface can be used in both helium and ambient air media.
6. The slider of claim 1 wherein said first and second rear side pockets are rectangular shaped.
7. A disk drive that provides reduced fly height sigma, the disk drive comprising:
a disk; and
a slider that includes a read write head for writing data to the disk and for reading the data from the disk, wherein the slider includes:
an air bearing surface;
a front shallow step pad and a rear shallow step pad that are at a first level deeper than the air bearing surface;
a first rear side pocket that is at a second level deeper than the air bearing surface, said first side pocket substantially polygon shaped; and
a second rear non-symmetrical side pocket non-symmetrical with said first rear side pocket that is at said second level deeper than the air bearing surface, said second rear non-symmetrical side pockets substantially polygon shaped wherein said second rear non-symmetrical side pocket comprises a larger volume than said first rear side pocket, wherein the first level ranges from approximately 0.05 to 0.40 microns deeper than the air bearing surface and the second level ranges from approximately 1.0 to 4.0 microns deeper than the air bearing surface.
8. The disk drive of claim 7, wherein the slider further comprises:
channels in front of the rear side pockets, wherein air flows through the channels then into the first and second rear side pockets.
9. The disk drive of claim 7 wherein said first rear side pocket is located at an inner radius side of said air bearing surface.
10. The disk drive of claim 7, wherein the rear side pockets are in close proximity to landing pads that are associated with the slider.
11. The disk drive of claim 7 wherein said air bearing surface can be used in both helium and ambient air media.
12. The disk drive of claim 7 wherein said first and second rear side pockets are rectangular shaped.
13. A method for manufacturing a disk drive comprising:
providing an air bearing surface on a disk drive slider;
forming a front shallow step pad and forming a rear shallow step pad that are at a first level deeper than the air bearing surface;
forming a first rear side pocket that is at a second level deeper than the air bearing surface, said first side pocket substantially polygon shaped; and
forming a second rear side pocket non-symmetrical with said first rear side pocket that is at said second level deeper than the air bearing surface, said second rear non-symmetrical side pockets substantially polygon shaped wherein said second rear non-symmetrical side pocket comprises a larger volume than said first rear side pocket;
providing a helium atmosphere inside said disk drive; and
writing a servo track on a disk inside said disk drive.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein said servo track is written at a speed between 5,000 and 6,000 revolutions per minute.
15. The method of claim 13 wherein said servo track is written at a speed between 11,000 and 12,000 revolutions per minute.
16. The method of claim 13 further comprising:
replacing said helium atmosphere inside said disk drive with an ambient air atmosphere; and
operating said disk drive based on said servo track.
17. The method of claim 13 wherein said first rear side pocket is formed at an inner radius side of said air bearing surface.