Abstract: The upper surface of a mouse pad is formed with grooves of width substantially smaller than the diameter of the mouse ball, whereby particles that fall in the grooves do not adhere to the mouse ball when the mouse is moved over the mouse pad.

Abstract: An innerspring unit for a mattress is manufactured by inserting a resilient element into the passage between each two adjacent rows of springs of the innerspring unit. The height dimension of the resilient element is greater than the distance between the upper and lower spring retainer structures of the innerspring unit, whereby the resilient element remains partially compressed heightwise between the spring retainer structures.

Abstract: Air laden with biodegradable volatile organic compounds is passed sequentially through a first filter bed containing a biologically inert filter media and a second filter bed containing a biologically active filter media. Water is present in the biologically active filter media and the biologically inert filter media. Water that drains from the second filter bed is collected and supplied to the first filter bed.

Abstract: A PALC panel which includes a layer of insulating material over the plasma electrodes and in which the cover sheet is spaced from the layer of insulating material at a distance of less than about 50 &mgr;m.

Abstract: A Diesel engine in which a boiler is installed to extract heat from cylinder and air cooling systems as well as exhaust gases to generate steam at a rate proportional to the fuel flow and in which means are provided for introduction of the steam into the cylinder close to top dead center separately from the fuel, before during and after combustion, so that the steam injection does not disturb the ignition but actively modifies the combustion and afterburning process. The ratio of the steam to the fuel mass is preferably 1:1 to 3:1 and the steam temperature and pressure is as high as allowed by the properties of the materials used in the steam generating equipment. The steam system is adaptable to large Diesel engines and results in strongly reduced fuel consumption and very low pollutant emissions.

Abstract: A ship includes a space inward of its outer wall and provided with a balcony outward of the outer wall. The balcony has a load-bearing floor element supported by a bracket attached to the ship.

Abstract: A digital storage oscilloscope includes first and second memory modules each including a data input section for receiving an input stream of digital data words and generating a sequence of address words, an acquisition memory which is addressed utilizing the address words for storing the data words, and a trigger input section for receiving a discrete input trigger and supplying the discrete input trigger to the data input section for initiating termination of an acquisition. The data input section of the first memory module passes the stream of digital data words to the data input section of the second memory module and supplies a discrete trigger to the trigger input section of the second memory module.

Abstract: A first door closer unit and a first swing arm close a first door leaf of a pair of door leaves arid a second door closer unit and a second swing arm close the second door leaf of the pair. A guide rail supported by a door frame guides the distal ends of the swing arms. A closure sequence controller includes a control member in the guide rail between the distal ends of the swing arms and movable against the force of a spring, a support element stationarily supported by the guide rail, and a movable blocking member. The closure sequence controller is arranged in cooperation with the distal ends of the swing arms at the end phase of the closing movement of the door leaves so that the blocking member prevents movement in the guide rail of the distal end of the second swing arm until the distal end of the first swing arm acts on the blocking member through the control member go that the blocking member allows closing of the second door leaf.

Abstract: A trim piece for installing at a drywall external right angle corner which is provided with a bullnose corner bead includes an intermediate portion which wraps over the convexly curved portion of the bullnose corner bead and has two edges extending parallel to the edges of the flanges of the corner bead. Two leaves are attached to the intermediate portion of the trim piece at the two edges respectively. The intermediate portion of the trim piece has an interior surface at a first end matching closely the exterior surface of the corner bead and an exterior surface which is convexly curved at the first end and is right-angled at the opposite second end and provides a transition from the convex curve to the right angle between the first and second ends.

Abstract: A flexible strip of resiliently deformable material is of substantially uniform cross sectional form. At one side, the strip has an interior cavity which opens at that side of the strip, the cavity being wider than the opening; and the strip is substantially complementary at the other side.

Abstract: An injection valve arrangement which is to be connected with a common rail of a fuel feeding system of a combustion engine comprises a valve body. A first valve needle and a first piston arrangement functionally coupled thereto and a second valve needle and a second piston arrangement functionally coupled thereto are inside the valve body. The needle valves are arranged operationally in series so that the first needle valve is connected to feed pressure of the common rail and is arranged to open always first. The second needle valve controls the injection of the fuel into a cylinder of the engine.

Abstract: Concentricity of an optical fiber segment is determined by positioning the fiber segment with its central axis substantially coinciding with an axis of rotation, the fiber segment being in a first angular position about the axis of rotation, imaging the end face of the fiber on a detector, and measuring the location of the image of the center of the core relative to the location of the image of the center of the cladding in the first angular position. The fiber segment is then rotated about the axis of rotation to a second angular position and the location of the image of the center of the core relative to the location of the image of the center of the cladding in the second angular position is measured. The fiber segment is again rotated about the axis of rotation to a third angular position and the location of the image of the center of the core relative to the image of the center of the cladding in the third angular position is measured.

Abstract: A method of reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions of a four-stroke turbo-charged piston engine by injecting water or steam into the combustion chamber of the engine, wherein the water injection is carried out at least substantially during the intake stroke of the engine. The injecting of water is initiated at the earliest when the inlet valve has moved through about 50% of the total range of its opening movement.

Abstract: A CCD has a floating diffusion for receiving charge packets to be sensed, a reset diffusion connected to a reference potential level and a reset channel region between the floating diffusion and the reset diffusion. A first reset gate is positioned over a first segment of the reset channel region for controlling the conductivity of the first segment in accordance with the potential of the first reset gate, and a second reset gate is positioned over a second segment of the reset channel region between the first reset gate and the reset diffusion for controlling the conductivity of the second segment in accordance with the potential of the second reset gate.

Abstract: A docking mechanism docks a test head having a docking plate to a machine having a docking fixture when the docking plate is in a predetermined position with respect to the docking fixture. The test head has cam blocks which are moveable with respect to the docking plate. The docking fixture includes cam followers for engaging cam slots in the cam members when the docking plate is in the predetermined position and the cam blocks are in a first position, so that when the cam blocks are moved to a second position the docking plate and the docking fixture are drawn together. At least two sensors are carried by the docking plate and spaced apart from one another. The sensors cooperate with the docking fixture and are in a first state when the docking plate is not engaged with the docking fixture and the docking plate is being brought towards, but has not attained its predetermined position, and are in a second state when the docking plate attains the predetermined position.

Abstract: First and second door leaves are pivotable with respect to a door frame and each door leaf has a hinge edge at which it is hingedly attached to the door frame. Each door leaf is provided with a door closer and a pull arm for closing the door leaf. The door frame is provided with a guide rail mounted to the door frame for guiding movement of distal ends of the pull arms longitudinally of the guide member. During closing movement of the second door leaf, the distal end of the second pull arm moves along the guide rail initially in an allowing direction, away from the hinge edge of the second door leaf, and subsequently in a blocking direction, towards the hinge edge of the second door leaf. During closing movement of the second door leaf, a blocking device allows movement of the distal end of the second pull arm past the blocking device in the allowing direction and selectively prevents return movement of the distal end of the second pull arm past the blocking device in the blocking direction.

Abstract: A PALC panel is operated by increasing the voltage between the channel electrodes to a firing voltage to create a plasma in the channel, reducing the voltage between the channel electrodes to a sustaining voltage to sustain the plasma for an interval during which a selected drive voltage is applied to the data drive electrode to establish an electric field in the layer of electro-optic material, and reducing the voltage between the channel electrodes to a bias voltage, which is insufficient to sustain the plasma but provides an electric field having a component parallel to the cover sheet in the layer of electro-optic material.

Abstract: A test head manipulator for a semiconductor integrated circuit tester includes a support frame, a vertical guide attached to the support frame, a carriage mounted on the vertical guide and movable vertically therealong, a manipulator arm attached to the carriage and projecting therefrom, a counterbalance assembly mounted to the support frame for vertical movement relative thereto, a drum mounted to the support frame for rotation about a horizontal axis, a flexible tension member trained over the drum and having one end connected to the carriage and an opposite end connected to the counterbalance assembly whereby upward movement of the carriage is accompanied by downward movement of the counterbalance assembly and downward movement of the carriage is accompanied by upward movement of the counterbalance assembly, a hand operated power input element at a fixed height relative to the drum, and a force transmission mechanism which couples the power input element to the drum for transmitting manual effort from the

Abstract: A signal acquisition instrument acquires a succession of waveform records and sequentially transfers the waveform records to a rasterizer for rasterizing the waveform records to generate respective rasterized records each composed of a set of vectors, but inhibits transfer of a current waveform record to the rasterizer until a previous waveform record has been rasterized. The maximum number of dots (M) in each vector is made as large as possible provided that the rasterizer does not complete rasterization of the previous waveform record after acquisition of the current waveform record is complete.

Abstract: A floating interface assembly provides signal paths between an integrated circuit (IC) test head and contact pads on a load board or probe card accessing an IC to be tested. Pogo pins or other contactors for contacting the contact pads are mounted on the interface assembly and linked to the test head by flexible conductors. The interface assembly is attached to the test head by springs to allow it the freedom to rotate to some extent about any axis. As the test head approaches the contact pads, alignment pins engage and orient the interface assembly so that its contactors will mate with the contact pads. As the contactors come into contact with the contact pads, the interface assembly adjusts the plane of the contactors so as to evenly distribute contact pressure over all contactor pads.