Abstract: A sensor system comprises a broadband light source, a birefringent sensor, a detection circuit, and a signal processing unit. The preferred detection circuit further includes a variable frequency oscillator, a modulator, and a photodetector. The modulator modulates the output of the birefringent sensor with a modulation signal from the variable frequency oscillator. The modulation produces an interference signal having a variable interference frequency. By determining the frequency of the modulation signal from the variable frequency oscillator that minimizes the interference frequency, the detection system is able to determine the difference in frequency between first and second spectral components of the output of birefringent sensor. The detector may be constructed using entirely solid state optics/electronics. The preferred fiber grating sensor comprises a birefringent optical fiber having a cladding and a core.

Abstract: A rotary blancher that is substantially sealed during operation to increase food product heating speed and efficiency. The blancher has a sealed housing, a novel substantially sealed food product inlet, and a novel substantially sealed food product outlet. A heat transfer medium, such as water or only steam, is introduced into the blancher to heat the food product inside the blancher. During operation, food products are substantially continuously introduced into the blancher through the food product inlet, processed by the blancher, and thereafter discharged from the blancher through the food product outlet. As a result, a greater amount of food products can be more quickly heated to a desired temperature using a blancher of this invention as compared to a blancher that is not sealed.

Abstract: A remote light source lighting system is provided having an illuminator assembly including a housing. Held within the housing is a high intensity light source for providing light energy to a fiber optic cable bundle connected to the housing and facing the light source. The cable bundle includes a plurality of plastic optical fibers wherein at least one of the terminal ends of the bundle is formed by molding an optical quality resin around an optically transparent ferrule that binds the exposed ends of the optical fibers. The housing further includes a separate air plenum containing a blower. The blower produces a high velocity air stream directed precisely at the terminal end of the cable adjacent the light source to cool the terminal end.

Abstract: A sensor system comprises a broadband light source, a birefringent sensor, a detection circuit, and a signal processing unit. The preferred detection circuit further includes a variable frequency oscillator, a modulator, and a photodetector. The modulator modulates the output of the birefringent sensor with a modulation signal from the variable frequency oscillator. The modulation produces an interference signal having a variable interference frequency. By determining the frequency of the modulation signal from the variable frequency oscillator that minimizes the interference frequency, the detection system is able to determine the difference in frequency between first and second spectral components of the output of birefringent sensor. The detector may be constructed using entirely solid state optics/electronics. The preferred fiber grating sensor comprises a birefringent optical fiber having a cladding and a core.

Abstract: Thermal drift and acoustic vibrations in the AFM are reduced using a probe-based detection device that references the topography measurement of the AFM to the sample surface in the proximity of the measurement probe. A differential measurement is made between the reference probe and the measurement probe for high sensitivity roughness quantification and defect detection. Multi-probe arrays may be used for large area defect detection with immunity from thermal and acoustic noise sources.

Abstract: A sample stage of a precision sample positioning system includes a sample plate supported above a base plate on a plurality of slider assemblies. Each slider assembly includes a base slider secured to a surface of the base plate and a stage slider secured to the sample plate. Each slider is made from a common material. The common material possesses the characteristic of not having a yield point, and having a sufficiently high strength so as to permit sliding without surface degradation.

Abstract: A simultaneous acquisition process of a transmission image and an emission image with a gamma camera equipped with a detector (3), the detector (3) being opposite the patient (5) who has received an injection of a first radioactive isotope emitting gamma-ray photons (&ggr;2) in a first energy range (P1), the process including the movement of a radioactive source (4) behind the patient (5), the source (4) consisting of a second isotope emitting gamma-ray photons (&ggr;1) in a second energy range (P2), and the production, during the detection of an impact of a gamma-ray photon on the detector (3) of the coordinates of the impact of the photon on the detector and information relevant to the energy of the photon during the impact, the process having the particularity that it differentiates between the photon impacts according to their energy levels and the position of the impact in relation to the position of the source (4).

Abstract: A refrigerating cycle with a by-pass duct 5 in which heat exchange for heating is arranged to be performed in an evaporator 4 without passing refrigerant through a condenser 2 is designed to perform an auxiliary heating mode suitable for the instantaneous conditions by controlling the amount of refrigerant circulating in response to the load and the like. A by-pass duct 5 for supplying the refrigerant from the compressor 1 to the evaporator 4 without passing it through the condenser 2 is placed in juxtaposition. Between the outlet of the evaporator 4 and the inlet of the compressor 1 an accumulator 6 for temporarily storing low-pressure refrigerant liquid is provided so that the amount of refrigerant circulating is controlled by accumulator 6 while the refrigerant circulates via by-pass duct 5 without passage through condenser 2.

Abstract: An AFM that combines an AFM Z position actuator and a self-actuated Z position cantilever (both operable in cyclical mode and contact mode), with appropriate nested feedback control circuitry to achieve high-speed imaging and accurate Z position measurements. A preferred embodiment of an AFM for analyzing a surface of a sample includes a self-actuated cantilever having a Z-positioning element integrated therewith and an oscillator that oscillates the self-actuated cantilever at a frequency generally equal to a resonant frequency of the self-actuated cantilever and at an oscillation amplitude generally equal to a setpoint value. The AFM includes a first feedback circuit nested within a second feedback circuit, wherein the first feedback circuit generates a cantilever control signal in response to vertical displacement of the self-actuated cantilever during a scanning operation, and the second feedback circuit is responsive to the cantilever control signal to generate a position control signal.

Abstract: A method of operating a probe-based instrument comprises placing a probe of the probe-based instrument in an operative state in which the probe interacts with a heated sample, measuring a parameter of probe operation indicative of a characteristic of the heated sample, and during the measuring step, maintaining interaction between the probe and the heated sample that is substantially free of influences caused by condensation on the probe. The maintaining step includes heating the probe to a temperature at which the measured parameter of probe operation is substantially free of influences caused by condensation on the probe. Heating the probe reduces or eliminates the formation of condensation on the probe from water or materials that have evaporated from the heated sample. The invention is especially useful in connection with atomic force microscopes and other probe-based instruments.

Abstract: A rotary blancher that is sealed such that it can be positively pressurized during operation to a pressure greater than the ambient pressure outside the blancher to increase food product heating speed and efficiency. The blancher has a sealed housing, a sealed food product inlet, and a sealed food product outlet all for enabling an atmosphere inside the blancher to be positively pressurized. A heat transfer medium, such as a heated gas, a heated vapor, a heated liquid, or a combination thereof is introduced into the blancher to heat the food product inside the blancher. In one preferred embodiment, steam and hot water comprise the heat transfer medium. During operation, food products are continuously or substantially continuously introduced into the blancher through the food product inlet, continuously or substantially continuously processed by the blancher, and thereafter continuously or substantially continuously discharged from the blancher through the food product outlet.

Abstract: A reciprocating power sprayer for cleaning a rotating cylindrical wastewater screen of the type formed of tubular perforate wedgewire. The spray is reciprocated on an elongated pneumatic cylinder which is arranged in parallelism along the cylinder wastewater screen. Controls are provided for automatically controlling the reciprocation of the spray.

Abstract: In a liquid infusion apparatus, an incremental linear encoder is arranged along the feeding shaft direction of the liquid infusion apparatus to directly monitor the movement and position of a carriage part which applies an action to a plunger. A detecting sensor is provided at a starting point of a remaining liquid quantity small region to recognize the absolute position at said region by using feed-back pulses from said encoder. A pressing device for pressing a flange of the plunger to a plunger receiving portion of a slider by holding arms is provided. A pressure sensor is arranged between said plunger receiving portion and the slider to detect a negative pressure applied to the plunger in such a manner that the other operation states of pressure are detected based on a detected value of pressure at which the flange is pressed to the plunger receiving portion.

Abstract: A panel assembly of the present invention comprises a stringer and a plurality of sheet panels each having a curved portion extending downward at one side thereof and a curved portion extending upward at the other side thereof. The stringer has on the top thereof a plurality of panel engaging portions adjacent to one another, each having upstream side convex portion, around which the curved portion of the sheet panel extending downward is hooked, a downstream side concave portion, into which the curved portion of the sheet panel extending upward Is fitted, and a planar portion extending from the upstream side convex portion to the downstream side concave portion. The planar portion of the panel engaging portion of the stringer is inclined downward from the upstream side convex portion to the downstream side concave portion. An upper portion of the concave portion of the panel engaging portion having a groove, into which a tip end of the curved portion of the sheet panel extending upward is fitted.

Abstract: A beam deflector comprising a pair of mated microprism arrays with one of the arrays comprised of a variable refractive index material capable of being selectively changed in response to a field whose magnitude or intensity is regulated by regulating voltage applied. The other array preferably is comprised of a material having a constant refractive index. A conductive layer is disposed on both sides of the variable refractive index array. A pane preferably is disposed in front and behind the arrays. Two pairs of the arrays can be arranged parallel to each other with their microprisms generally perpendicular forming a two-dimensional deflector. To achieve a deflection response time faster than 100 &mgr;s, each prism has a height no larger than about 20 &mgr;m and a width preferably no greater than about 100 &mgr;m. Preferably, each prism height is less than about 15 to about 10 &mgr;m to achieve a response time 30 &mgr;s or faster.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for still image compression, video compression and automatic target recognition are disclosed. The method of still image compression uses isomorphic singular manifold projection whereby surfaces of objects having singular manifold representations are represented by best match canonical polynomials to arrive at a model representation. The model representation is compared with the original representation to arrive at a difference. If the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold, the difference data are saved and compressed using standard lossy compression. The coefficients from the best match polynomial together with the difference data, if any, are then compressed using lossless compression. The method of motion estimation for enhanced video compression sends I frames on an "as-needed" basis, based on comparing the error between segments of a current frame and a predicted frame.

Abstract: The present invention relates to water-resistant gypsum compositions, methods of making such composition, as well as manufacturing methods and products comprising such compositions.

Abstract: An apparatus for projecting light on to a predetermined area includes a light source and a transparent element disposed adjacent the light source where in the transparent element is made from a sol-gel type glass, quartz, or other optical material. A plurality of surface micro-structures integral in a surface of the transparent element are provided which both homogenize and control directionality of light passing form the light source through the transparent element. These micro-structures produce a predetermined pattern of highly transmissive, smoothly varying, non-discontinuous light in a predetermined direction which is suitable for any number of applications wherein a sol-gel material transparent element including the diffuser surface structures are particularly well suited.

Abstract: To enable the localizing of a mobile telephone in a network of base transceiver stations, it is planned that the mobile telephone will undertake an exchange with a base transceiver station. In this exchange, this station will send it an absolute time so that the mobile telephone can temporarily locate itself with respect to this absolute time. During this exchange, the first base transceiver station furthermore sends the mobile telephone a piece of information .tau.1 on the distance between them. Then, at least two other base stations send different absolute times which are exploited by the mobile telephone to compute its position in the network by triangulation.

Abstract: A surface light shaping diffuser (LSD) is formed from a monolithic glass material by recording light shaping structures on a surface of the material during its formation. A surface LSD is produced by embossing or molding light shaping structures onto a high quality optical glass or by embossing light shaping structures on a glass film layer coated onto a substrate. A rubber submaster carrying the light shaping structures is used as the master in such diffusers control the angular spread of transmitted light while homogenizing otherwise spatially noisy light sources such as LCDs and filamented light sources and while maintaining damage thresholds consistent with any glass optical element. The surface LSD has a transmission efficiency of over 90% from the Ultraviolet wavelengths through the physical spectrum and into the near-infrared.