Abstract: A modular railing system is disclosed which is based on commercially available tubing, which is connected into a railing by especially designed fittings, which connect to each other and the rails and posts of the railing system to allow all possible standard rail configuration. All connections are thereby held together by mechanical connections, instead of welded connections.

Abstract: A series of optical elements is used to produce multiple simultaneous adjoining images on a single image plane. A first, intermediate, image is produced using the first telecentric imaging lens. This intermediate image is produced at a plane coincident with an adjustable-size rectangular field stop. The rectangular field stop is mounted in a sub-housing that allows its free rotation. A second telecentric lens collimates the light from the intermediate image. This collimated light is next passed through an optical splitting means, which uses the principal of refraction to separate the light into multiple components. The optical splitting means is mounted in a sub-housing that allows its free rotation. From here, the light next passes through a third and final lens, which produces a second, final, image on a single, planar detection device. The final image consists of a plurality of identical copies of the intermediate image.

Abstract: A seat position sensor rail device is disclosed, comprising an upper rail body to partially support a seat, a lower rail body which slidably engages the upper rail body, a position sensor device mounted on the upper rail body, and a contact plate member secured to the lower rail body. The position sensor device comprises a pivotal contact lever device having a magnet member and a magnetic field sensor device. The contact lever device gets in contact with the contact plate member, angularly displacing the magnetic field generated by the magnet member. The angular magnitude of the magnetic field is detected and the data is utilized in controlling deployment of an airbag system.

Abstract: Stand-alone or assistive pattern recognition system and process enabling error free classification of all objects in a training set and application to unclassified objects. Parameters and/or features of the data objects in a training set are selected and measured, from which discriminants are computed. The measured data is plotted in discriminant space and decision boundaries or thresholds determined, preferably such that at least one object from one class is isolated from the remaining objects, removed from the training set, and the process repeated until an acceptable number of unclassified objects remain. The system can be applied sequentially to classify all the members of the training set belonging to one class and then applied to objects in other classes. Fuzzy quantifiable determinations of an object's likelihood of class membership can be made. Objects' positions and classifications are obtainable in an optical system using Fourier techniques without limitation to linearly discriminable problems.

Abstract: A profiler system is preferably mounted to a conventional roller conveyor frame rail used primarily in mail handling applications. The profiler system contains an array of photo sensors strategically placed to sense the height and length of a mail tray. The sensors are operably connected to a controller that is capable of filtering false signals and accommodating varying conveyor speeds. The controller classifies the object as one of the several types of mail trays or as an unknown object based upon blocked photo sensors. The tray type is reported to a higher-level control system via an industry standard controller communication bus for further processing downstream.

Abstract: An electrical circuit having one or more dielectric layers formed of latex; and one or more layers of electrically conductive material, such as copper, patterned to form multiple electrical interconnects, with each such layer placed on top of one of said dielectric layers. The dielectric and conductive layers can be used to connect multiple chips in a multichip module. The latex layers can be formed to have a top surface that contains peaks and valleys, and the conductive layers can be formed of a first metal that substantially fills such valleys, so as to increase the adherence of the metal to the latex surface. The layers of conductive metal can contain particles of a second metal between said peaks and valleys of the latex layer that were used as a catalytic seed particles to promote the deposition of the metal layer onto the top surface of the latex.

Abstract: Haptic rendering of three-dimensional soft bodied objects for virtual interactions implemented by forming a three dimensional occupancy map of voxels, forming the surface of and bounding an object, forming a multi-dimensional coordinate system, defining minimum and maximums distances of one voxel neighboring voxels defining multi-dimensional maximum offsets that an occupied point can maintain relative to its center, detecting when the minimums or maximums of distance and/or offsets are violated, and in response thereto adjusting to satisfy minimum and maximum for distance and offsets, and repeating the detecting and adjustment steps for the entire occupancy map until there are essentially no violations.

Abstract: The combination of the antihypertensive calcium channel blocker amlodipine and lipid-lowering agent atorvastatin inhibits free cholesterol crystallization in atherosclerotic-like membranes. In addition, treatment with a combination of amlodipine and atorvastatin results in a synergistic effect on the release of NO from rabbit aorta endothelial cells.

Abstract: A system and method for detecting bio-hazardous particulates in mail handling systems includes an air intake hood 20 that connects to a biohazard sensing suite 24 which, in turn, connects through an outlet duct 26 to a filter, adsorber, or scrubber 28 that removes any bio-hazardous material prior to exhausting the air. An air mover 30 is located in the outlet duct 26 and moves the air into the air intake hood 20 into the biohazard sensing suite 24. The biohazard sensing suite 24 detects the presence of any undesired bio-hazardous material.

Abstract: A system and method for detecting hazardous materials inside containers includes an air distribution plate 20 that defines an air plenum AP with a series of openings 22 that function to distribute a flow of air. An air input port 26 and an air output port 28 are provided to allow connection to an air recirculation and sensor system 30 including an air mover 32 having an inlet duct 34 that is selectively connectable to the air outlet port 28 and an outlet duct 36 that is selectively connectable to the air inlet port 26 of the semi-trailer 10. Upon the creation of a recirculation air flow, the air recirculation and sensor system 30 functions to detect the presence of hazardous materials with in the containment.

Abstract: Reactive gas cluster ion beam processing using gas cluster ions comprising a mixture of gases cleans and/or etches the bottoms of electrical interconnect vias and/or trenches in integrated circuits to produce interconnect structures with lower contact resistances and better reliability than was previously achieved with conventional processes. In one embodiment, an electrical interconnect via structure uses a dielectric or high resistivity diffusion barrier material.

Abstract: A method of processing the surface of a workpiece using an adaptive gas cluster ion beam is disclosed. The invention provides a method of reducing the surface roughness and/or improving the surface smoothing of a workpiece by etching at various etch rates. The workpiece is initially processed with a gas cluster ion beam having an initial etch rate and then the beam is adjusted so that the workpiece is processed with one or more lower etch rates. The advantages are minimum required processing time, minimum remaining roughness of the final surface, and minimum material removal in order to attain a desired level of smoothness.

Abstract: A system and method for mobile platform real-time collection, transmission, and processing of an array of environmental and vehicle-related data in the context of an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) network. The system and method provide enhanced in-vehicle data collection, enhanced communications capability between the vehicle and the ITS system, and enhanced ITS implementation functionality to provide real-time incident reporting to ITS users.

Abstract: A non-lethal method and devices for dispersing nuisance birds from a preselected area. Such nuisance birds disrupt many activities such as the steady flow of safely moving aircraft on runways and adjacent thereto, growing crops on farmland, playing golf and the use of the interior of large open buildings. The present method utilizes a series of bright light sources that are positioned adjacent the area from which the birds are to be dispersed. The light sources are activated to produce one or more beams of bright light that are moved in such a manner to produce a pattern of bright light in the vicinity of the birds to be dispersed. This action causes the birds to become sufficiently startled and disoriented so as to disperse these nuisance birds from the area to be cleared.

Abstract: A system and method for detecting contaminants in or on objects, having a movably mounted container for holding objects and having a plurality of perforations and an entrance opening through which objects may be placed into the container. A housing encloses the container and forms a barrier to ambient air. There is a sealable opening for inserting and removing objects from the container. A drive assembly moves the container within the housing to move objects therein for emitting particles which are in or on such object. There is an air stream for moving air through the housing and container to entrain any emitted particles into the air stream and a sensor for sensing contaminants in the air stream and providing a signal when a contaminant is sensed. The container can be a rotatable cage or a vibrating box. In the method, there is a chamber provided which may be sealed with respect to ambient air to create an enclosed atmosphere.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to the use of deposited thin films for chemical or biological analysis. The invention further relates to the use of these thin films in separation adherence and detection of chemical of biological samples. Applications of these thin films include desorption-ionization mass spectroscopy, electrical contacts for organic thin films and molecules, optical coupling of light energy for analysis, biological materials manipulation, chromatographic separation, head space adsorbance media, media for atomic molecular adsorbance or attachment, and substrates for cell attachment.

Abstract: A mail processing apparatus, includes an enclosure adapted for receiving deposited mail articles, a depository port adapted for passing deposited mail articles into the enclosure, and a sealing apparatus operatively associated with the depository port and adapted to seal deposited mail articles that pass through the depository port. The sealing apparatus may be a laminator adapted to apply a layer of plastic material to opposing sides of deposited mail articles.

Abstract: An optical assembly for architectural illumination which includes a quasi point source surrounded by a collimating ring lens designed to radially project collimated beams. A segmented, off axis, parabolic reflector to collect and reflect light (not gathered by the collimating ring lens) as collimated beams and a ring reflector, the segments of which designed to gather beams from both the collimating ring lens and the off axis reflector and the direct them in substantially the same direction.

Abstract: Methods and systems for calibrating and aligning Time Delay Integration (TDI) Charge Coupled Device (CCD) sensors. A TDI sensor for linear imaging (line sensor) is calibrated by generating a two dimensional image from the line sensor, analyzing the two dimensional image, and calibrating the line sensor based on the analysis. An alignment correction can then be generated, the correction applied to the line sensor placement and the line sensor re-tested. A calibration system includes means for generating a two dimensional image from the TDI line sensor, means for analyzing the two dimensional image, and means for calibrating the line sensor based on the analysis of the two dimensional image.

Abstract: Reflow solder oven gas management system introduces an inert gas into and removes contaminated gas from a reflow oven tunnel (42) at predetermined points (6, 8) to influence the oven tunnel gas flow and to dilute and expel excess oxygen. The contaminated gas is ducted to a flux separation system (34) to be cleaned, for example remove flux vapors, and returned in part to the tunnel (42) for recirculation and with the remainder routed to end baffle boxes (54) for tunnel end pressurization and exhaust. The system has sufficient pressure to supply end baffle boxes (54) with clean gas to create a gas barrier to effectively seal off the tunnel ends from air infiltration or migration into the tunnel making the system insensitive to external pressure and/or temperature variations. The invention also includes alternative embodiments, low flow oxygen bleed valves (72) to maintain low oxygen content in the oven process tunnel.