A movable-vehicle security system includes a facial-recognition system including a scanner such as a television or infrared camera directed at the face of a person in the driver's seat, which system produces output control signals that are applied to enable or disable operation of the vehicle, with or without a key or other supplemental security system. In a particular embodiment, the system includes a camera mounted on the "third taillight" assembly (which is preferably mounted below the roof a...

An exchange system for facilitating the purchase of new cars is described. The system is coupled, in one embodiment, to a communications link. Potential car purchasers and sellers may access the exchange system via the network, and submit offers and/or pricing requests to such system. In response to the requests, the system processor retrieves the stored data from the respective databases, and causes such data to be transmitted to the local site for display. The exchange systems also executes ce...

A method for producing elongated strip, wire or cable, a portion or all of which is defined by electrically metallic superconducting material. In one form, a substrate in the form of a strip, wire or cable, is formed by extrusion, rolling, drawing, casting or a combination of two or more of such processes, of a metal, combination of metals, metal compound, non-metallic material or a combination of such materials, and is controllably driven through a reaction chamber while the material thereof, o...

A plurality of water- and oil-porous sacks are partially filled with a number of generally toroidal bodies of a polymer material that entraps oil and including mesh fragments scattered throughout the bodies. Each sack is sewn with a perimeter stiffening ring, to retain a flat profile, and has a netting that closes to help inhibit outflow of the oil when the sack is retrieved. When deployed from ship or by air onto a spill, the sacks spread into a pancake shape and the polymer matter forms a sing...

An electronic mail file access system (100) and associated methods permit a person (102) who originates or maintains a file to allow a person (198) authorized to view or edit a file to access the file by transmitting an electronic message to the file accessor. The file manager can conveniently select whether the file accessor will be able to modify the file or just view it. A file manager can grant one or more accessors viewing or editing access to a file (or multiple files) through transmission...

A method for transacting an advertisement transfer is disclosed which facilitates expressing the rate structure for the individual advertisement as a function of a profile of the individual potential customer; and which is directed to the creation of a mechanism from the vantage of an Internet site that is being visited. It should be appreciated that this must include the participation of other entities in the Internet (such as distributors, clients, intermediary agencies, etc.). The method is f...

A descriptive-profile mercantile method, for use at a juncture in a data-communications topology having associated therewith a maintained databank of partial profiles, is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: from a user, receiving a transaction having therein a first partial profile; using the first partial profile, searching a databank having a plurality of second partial profiles, wherein is included in said databank at least one null profile so that said searching will always yield at...

A parallel associative processor is formed from a DRAM circuit whose storage positions are organized into words, which are further subdivided into columns. Each column is associated with a sense amplifier, which is used to perform data refreshing. Comparators are coupled to the sense amplifiers to permit logical operations, including comparisions with external data placed on a bus, to be performed on data addressed and read from the storage positions, including during refresh operations. A latch...

A threaded, dual needle system is securely attached to a modified subcutaneous venous access port having an internal reservoir, used for intravenous drug therapy particularly in human cancer treatment. A hollow outer needle is paired with a removable, male-threaded solid inner point and inserted through the patient's tissue and through the port's protective, self-sealing silicon septum, and the solid inner needle is then removed, while the outer needle is left in place. Next, a hollow inner need...

Assemblies and methods for interconnecting integrated circuits, particularly prepackaged ones, are disclosed. A multi-level electrical assembly--composed of a pin carrier, a set of pads, such as for receiving a surface-mounted integrated circuit, and a set of conductive pathways coupling the pads and the pins--can connect one or more integrated circuits to the socket or other attachment area of a circuit board. The pathways pass through a multi-layered interconnect board, which can be configured...