Abstract: An improved instrument for measuring the total organic carbon content of water provides substantially instantaneous TOC measurements that are repetitively calibrated, provides substantially improved accuracy of results in a circuit providing improved noise rejection, allowing faster response, and provides controlled dilution of the sample stream to extent the useful range of the instrument.

Abstract: An inflatable toy comprises a simple and durable pump, comprising a bladder or other hand-operated source of air pressure, which inflates a balloon, typically shrouded in an expansible fabric, decorated with a character or the like, so that the character is distorted in an amusing manner when inflated. A first check valve allows air to pass from the bladder to the balloon when the bladder is squeezed, while a second check valve allows the bladder to refill itself while preventing air from being released from the balloon when hand pressure on the bladder is relaxed. A user-operated deflation valve allows pressure to be controllably released from the balloon. In one embodiment, the user-operated deflation valve is located such that the inflation bladder can be squeezed and the deflation valve operated without changing the position of the toy in one's hand, further increasing the user's enjoyment of the toy.

Abstract: A spinnaker pole control system for a sailboat comprises an improved rigging arrangement, whereby the pole can be raised or lowered parallel to the deck, or dipped to allow jibing, by manipulation of a single control line. Improved pole control hardware simplifies preparation for flying a spinnaker and securing it when finished, and can be employed as a line stopper elsewhere.

Abstract: A system for wind profiling comprises sondes for being borne through the atmosphere by balloons and transmitting signals enabling identifying the sondes, and received by receivers capable of determining the angle of arrival (AOA) of the signals from the sondes, so that they can be tracked. In the preferred embodiment, the signal transmitted by each sonde is a phase-shift-keyed (PSK) signal. The carrier phase difference as measured at two spaced antennas is measured to provide an accurate but ambiguous measure of the difference in distance of the path length between the sonde and receivers, and the symbol phase difference is employed to remove the ambiguity. The difference in path length is then used to determine AOA. Atmospheric data and the sonde identification are encoded using a psuedo-random sequence (PRS) of the PSK symbols.

Abstract: A modular test instrument comprises a base unit and one of a selection of application modules, neither being capable of performing end-user functions without the other. When physically assembled to one another, the base unit and application module comprise a structurally unitary device specialized for performance of application-specific end-user functions. The base unit is generic to all types of test to be provided, and comprises a display, a power supply, a user interface, and generic software to operate the display and user interface. Each application module is connected to the base unit in the same manner, so that the same base unit can be employed with a wide variety of application modules. The application modules can be readily and conveniently removed from and assembled to the base unit.

Abstract: A hybrid vehicle comprising an internal combustion engine controllably coupled to road wheels of the vehicle by a clutch, and having a turbocharger that is operated only when extra power is needed for a extended time, a traction motor coupled to road wheels of said vehicle, a starting motor coupled to the engine, both motors being operable as generators, a battery bank for providing electrical energy to and accepting energy from said motors, and a microprocessor for controlling these components, is operated in different modes, depending on its instantaneous torque requirements, the state of charge of the battery bank, and other operating parameters. The mode of operation is selected by the microprocessor in response to a control strategy.

Abstract: A body composition analyzer comprises a pair of handgrips extending laterally from either side of a housing containing other components of the device. Each handgrip comprises two electrodes positioned to make contact with a subject's hands when grasped. A source of low voltage, high frequency alternating current is connected across first electrodes on each handgrip, so as to form a circuit passing through the subject's body, and an impedance measuring instrument is connected to the second electrodes on each handgrip, to measure the impedance of the body in the circuit. The instrument also comprises a keypad for receiving data entered manually by the subject defining physical characteristics such as age, gender, height, weight, and the general physical condition of the subject. The input data is used to select one of a set of coefficients developed by regression analysis for use in an equation relating total body water to the impedance value and to the subject's total body water content.

Abstract: Wastewater streams containing tacky or sticky components and heavy metals, such as photoresist-containing streams from printed-circuit board manufacture and water streams from paint spraying processes, can be detackified and the metals simultaneously removed by addition of a metal salt, such as an iron salt, and a sulfide material. The combination of metal salts and sulfide reacting products produces a detackified metal sulfide sludge that improves the filterability of the wastewater while also removing dissolved metal ions from the wastewater.

Abstract: A hybrid vehicle comprising an an internal combustion engine controllably coupled to road wheels of the vehicle by a clutch, a traction motor coupled to road wheels of said vehicle, a starting motor coupled to the engine, both motors being operable as generators, a battery bank for providing electrical energy to and accepting energy from said motors, and a microprocessor for controlling these components is operated in different modes, depending on its instantaneous torque requirements, the state of charge of the battery bank, and other operating parameters. The mode of operation is selected by the microprocessor in response to a control strategy.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for simultaneously characterizing the disturbance of a dynamical system and the dynamic response model of the system. The disturbance is characterized by a sum of reference signals weighted by disturbance parameters. The dynamic response model is similarly characterized by a set of response parameters, which model the relationship between a set of test signals and the response to these test signals. The disturbance parameters and the response parameters are estimated jointly to provide a characterization of the dynamical system.

Abstract: Security administration in a computer system is simplified by defining a new and independent entity called an Object Access Type (OAT). OATs comprise access control specifications associating roles with permissions, and associating the roles with a set of objects, such as resources or files. Different roles may have differing permissions to objects associated with an OAT, and objects may be assigned to plural OATs. A mechanism is also presented whereby system administrators are provided with the capability to display and manipulate access designations by operating only on the independent OATS.

Abstract: An improved display for displaying in real time the temperature profile of the heat transfer medium in one or more implementations of heat engine cycles in a nuclear or fossil-fuel power plant. Clear and convenient graphic illustration of the principal operating parameters and key system status data pertaining to the power plant is provided by an Integrated Plant Iconic Display on a single computer screen. As many as four heat engine cycles are each represented by a "Process Icon", providing a graphical illustration of key measured and computed data, such that the Process Icon provides a real-time model of current operations. As each of the Process Icons appear on one display screen, their relative performance is readily observed by an operator viewing the single display on which they appear. A System Icon on the same screen shows the condition of the principal pumps and valves, and other components of the coolant systems.

Abstract: Simplified, efficient multiple-transistor power amplifiers provide high power and high impedance while avoiding the use of RF power divider and combiner circuits.The input signal is directly applied to a first transistor, amplified, and supplied to the succeeding transistor, and so on, for amplification in series. Feedback is provided between the drain of the last transistor and the gates of all the transistors. Series connection of the transistors allows their power outputs and their output impedances to be summed, such that no RF output combiner is required.In a first high voltage embodiment of the amplifier of the invention, e.g., as used for satellite transmission, bias voltage is provided in series.In a second low voltage embodiment, suitable for use in cordless telephones and other battery-powered equipment, bias voltage V.sub.ds is provided separately across the drain and source terminals of each transistor, through paired chokes.

Abstract: A portable, re-usable, battery-powered, electronic device for storing, displaying and modifying air traffic control information. The electronic flight data strip receives input data from an external data source via infrared or radio transmission, stores the data in an on-board memory device, displays selected portions of the received data for viewing by an air traffic controller, and receives and displays inputs from the air traffic controller either directly through integral switches or via aforesaid communications channels. All input and output data messages and air traffic controller commands may be stored and time tagged for later retrieval. The contents of the stored memory can also be interrogated and modified by external data processing devices. Following completion of the flight, the contents of the internal memory can be interrogated for the purpose of archiving or investigation and/or cleared for subsequent re-use on another flight.

Abstract: An improved NDIR instrument as used for measuring the carbon dioxide content of a gas sample includes an electrically modulated incandescent lamp disposed at one end of a sample cell for containing the gas to be analyzed, and a first pyroelectric detector at the other end of the cell. The intensity of modulated radiation incident on the detector is measured using paired dual-slope integrators, each integrating the signal on alternate half-cycles of the signal provided by the detector, to determine the concentration of infrared-absorptive gas in the cell. At intervals, the cell is purged by an infrared-transparent gas, and a similar measurement made, allowing correction for long-term drift in the optical characteristics of the instrument.The instrument correctly determines the concentration of CO.sub.2 despite "leakage" of the broad-band infrared radiation emitted by the lamp through the sample to be analyzed.

Abstract: A sheath for receiving an ultrasonic probe and for defining the relative position of the probe with respect to a biopsy gun or a rigid needle is used for precise placement of the biopsy gun or needle tip in a structure. The sheath may comprise a keyhole-shaped slot for placement of a rigid needle through a puncture separate from a surgical port through which the sheath itself and the probe are introduced. A flexible catheter can thus be placed in a structure, using the ultrasonic probe to monitor its placement, followed by removal of the probe sheath and surgical port, leaving the catheter in place.

Abstract: An improved anchor for securing a graft ligament in place in a bone tunnel comprises a dome portion surrounded by a flange portion. The dome portion fits into a bone tunnel and includes first and second apertures for receiving sutures located on so that the anchor is positioned stably in use, while the flange portion abuts the outer surface of the bone and supports the anchor. The cross-sectional thickness of the anchor is increased in the area of the apertures to provide adequate pull-out strength. The flange may be elliptical in plan and the dome portion asymmetric, to allow the anchor to better withstand tension.

Abstract: An improved composite ultrasonic transducer, and elements therefor, which may be made autoclavable, and a method of making these elements. A number of planar precursors comprising strips of piezoelectric ceramic material separated from one another by a polymer material are stacked one above another with the ceramic strips aligned with one another, and with electrical conductors disposed between each of the planar precursors. These precursors are then bonded to one another, to form a bonded assembly. The bonded assembly is then slit along parallel lines perpendicular to the direction of elongation of the ceramic strips, subdividing the strips into individual ceramic members and also subdividing the planar conductors, forming ribbon-like conductors extending between opposite sides of the array. The saw kerfs are filled with a hardening polymer material. The ribbon-like conductors reaching the edges of the assembly are then connected electrically in parallel, reducing the capacitance of the individual emitters.

Abstract: A workflow sequence specified by a process definition is managed by a workflow management system which enacts each segment in the order specified by that process definition. Role-based access control (RBAC) is used to define membership of individuals in groups, i.e., to assign individuals to roles, and to then activate the roles with respect to the process at appropriate points in the sequence. Any individual belonging to the active role can perform the next step in the business process. Changes in the duties and responsibilities of individuals as they change job assignments are greatly simplified, as their role memberships are simply reassigned; the workflow process is unaffected.