Abstract: Embodiments of the invention relate generally to computer-based simulations and synthetic environment generation, and more particularly, to a system, a computer-readable medium, a method and an apparatus for generating synthetic environments in a distributed architecture to, among other things, introduce dynamic content.

Abstract: An improved version of a solenoid-releasable Baldwin® mortise lockset having thumb-lever actuators is provided. Components from a thumb-lever-actuated mortise lockset are combined with those of a knob-actuated mortise lock from the same manufacturer. The sheet metal of the rocking bolt-locking plate of the knob-actuated lockset and of the exterior thumb-lever actuator bracket from the other lockset are thinned in certain regions. In addition, a new vertical-to-horizontal motion converter arm has been designed and installed in the improved lockset. A rounded upper portion of the new converter arm operates on a bottom edge of the bolt-locking plate, causing it to pivot and release the latch bolt. The new converter arm retracts the latch bolt by operating on a projection on the front side, rather than on the back side thereof.

Abstract: A self-cleaning colloidal slurry and process for finishing a surface of a glass, ceramic, glass-ceramic, metal or alloy substrate for use in a data storage device, for example. The slurry comprises a carrying fluid, colloidal particles, etchant, and a surfactant adsorbed and/or precipitated onto a surface of the colloidal particles and/or substrate. The surfactant has a hydrophobic section that forms a steric hindrance barrier and substantially prevents contaminates, including colloidal particles, from bonding to the substrate surface. The slurry is applied to the surface of the substrate while a pad mechanically rubs the surface. Subsequent cleaning with standard soap solutions removes substantially all remaining contamination from the substrate surface. In an exemplary embodiment, the slurry is used to superfinish a glass disk substrate to a surface roughness of less than 2 ?, with substantially no surface contamination as seen by atomic force microscopy (AFM) after standard soap cleaning steps.

Abstract: A self-cleaning colloidal slurry and process for finishing a surface of a glass, ceramic, glass-ceramic, metal or alloy substrate for use in a data storage device, for example. The slurry comprises a carrying fluid, colloidal particles, etchant, and a surfactant adsorbed and/or precipitated onto a surface of the colloidal particles and/or substrate. The surfactant has a hydrophobic section that forms a steric hindrance barrier and substantially prevents contaminates, including colloidal particles, from bonding to the substrate surface. The slurry is applied to the surface of the substrate while a pad mechanically rubs the surface. Subsequent cleaning with standard soap solutions removes substantially all remaining contamination from the substrate surface. In an exemplary embodiment, the slurry is used to superfinish a glass disk substrate to a surface roughness of less than 2 ?, with substantially no surface contamination as seen by atomic force microscopy (AFM) after standard soap cleaning steps.

Abstract: A medical examination table has a seat section and a back section supported on a base. The seat and back sections are selectively adjustable to place a patient resting thereon in various positions for examination or the performance of medical procedures. The seat section has a relatively low profile that accommodates storing various accessories beneath the seat section while providing a high level of patient comfort and ensuring a low overall table height. In one embodiment, the seat section comprises a seat frame having a central open area, and a layer of web material extending over the open area.

Abstract: A polished glass disk is prepared for a magnetically recordable coating by texturing the surfaces with a highly abrasive material being abrasively engaged with the surfaces as the disk is rotated, thereby creating a relatively coarse texture with the abrasions concentric with the axis of rotation of the disk. Thereafter, the roughness of the texturing is reduced by abrading the surface of the disk with a polishing pad and an etchant slurry of colloidal silica. The etchant component has the property of attacking or softening the glass disk during the fine polishing with the colloidal silica slurry. As both the texturing step and the fine polishing step deposit a plurality of concentric abrasions on a glass disk, these abrasions aid in retaining the magnetically recordable coating deposited thereon to complete a magnetically recordable disk for use as a data storage member.

Abstract: A method of preparing for a disk polishing operation includes providing a polishing machine having a first and a second superposed platen. A first polishing pad is on the first platen and a second polishing pad is on the second platen. A plurality of carriers are disposed between the first and second polishing pads. Each carrier is adapted to rotate relative to the polishing pads and is adapted to carry at least one glass disk. A pressure, temperature and rotational speed of the polishing machine used during a disk polishing operation are determined. A number of diamond disks are provided. A diamond disk is placed in respective ones of the carriers. The polishing machine is operated at or near the determined pressure, temperature and rotational speed while simultaneously dressing the respective surfaces of the polishing pads using the diamond disks.

Abstract: Disk substrates are polished in a process which uses a single load of the disks to a polishing apparatus and a single polishing slurry. Preferably, the process varies at least one polishing parameter at multiple stages to achieve both a reasonable rate of removal during one stage and a smooth finished surface during another stage. Preferably, a fine grit cerium oxide slurry is used, along with a polishing pad having surface characteristics intermediate those of relatively hard pads typically used for material removal, and of relatively soft pads typically used for fine finishing. The polisher operates at high pressure and speed during a material removal stage, and then reduces speed and pressure during a finishing stage to achieve a suitable surface finish, without removing and cleaning disks between the two stages.

Abstract: A polished glass disk is prepared for a magnetically recordable coating by texturing the surfaces with a highly abrasive material being abrasively engaged with the surfaces as the disk is rotated, thereby creating a relatively coarse texture with the abrasions concentric with the axis of rotation of the disk. Thereafter, the roughness of the texturing is reduced by abrading the surface of the disk with a polishing pad and an etchant slurry of colloidal silica. The etchant component has the property of attacking or softening the glass disk during the fine polishing with the colloidal silica slurry. As both the texturing step and the fine polishing step deposit a plurality of concentric abrasions on a glass disk, these abrasions aid in retaining the magnetically recordable coating deposited thereon to complete a magnetically recordable disk for use as a data storage member.

Abstract: A self-cleaning colloidal slurry and process for finishing a surface of a glass, ceramic, glass-ceramic, metal or alloy substrate for use in a data storage device, for example. The slurry comprises a carrying fluid, colloidal particles, etchant, and a surfactant adsorbed and/or precipitated onto a surface of the colloidal particles and/or substrate. The surfactant has a hydrophobic section that forms a steric hindrance barrier and substantially prevents contaminates, including colloidal particles, from bonding to the substrate surface. The slurry is applied to the surface of the substrate while a pad mechanically rubs the surface. Subsequent cleaning with standard soap solutions removes substantially all remaining contamination from the substrate surface. In an exemplary embodiment, the slurry is used to superfinish a glass disk substrate to a surface roughness of less than 2 Å, with substantially no surface contamination as seen by atomic force microscopy (AFM) after standard soap cleaning steps.

Abstract: Disk substrates are polished in a process which uses a single load of the disks to a polishing apparatus and a single polishing slurry. Preferably, the process varies at least one polishing parameter at multiple stages to achieve both a reasonable rate of removal during one stage and a smooth finished surface during another stage. Preferably, a fine grit cerium oxide slurry is used, along with a polishing pad having surface characteristics intermediate those of relatively hard pads typically used for material removal, and of relatively soft pads typically used for fine finishing. The polisher operates at high pressure and speed during a material removal stage, and then reduces speed and pressure during a finishing stage to achieve a suitable surface finish, without removing and cleaning disks between the two stages.

Abstract: A method of preparing for a disk polishing operation includes providing a polishing machine having a first and a second superposed platen. A first polishing pad is on the first platen and a second polishing pad is on the second platen. A plurality of carriers are disposed between the first and second polishing pads. Each carrier is adapted to rotate relative to the polishing pads and is adapted to carry at least one glass disk. A pressure, temperature and rotational speed of the polishing machine used during a disk polishing operation are determined. A number of diamond disks are provided. A diamond disk is placed in respective ones of the carriers. The polishing machine is operated at or near the determined pressure, temperature and rotational speed while simultaneously dressing the respective surfaces of the polishing pads using the diamond disks.

Abstract: A film cover for use in absorbent materials such as feminine care products, surgical drapes, fenestration reinforcement, absorbent pads and the like including a polymeric film having a top planar surface and a bottom planar surface and forming a plurality of apertures, at least a portion of which have an aperture region having a higher wettability than a portion of the top planar surface of the polymeric film.

Abstract: A polymeric film extrusion die having a die body with a molten polymer inlet, a molten polymer exit, and forming a molten polymer conduit providing a fluid communication between the molten polymer inlet and the molten polymer exit. The die body includes a peripheral edge at a periphery of the molten polymer exit, which peripheral edge has a thickness less than or equal to about 0.005 inches. The apparatus further includes a molten polymer exit heated gaseous fluid supply adapted to provide heated gaseous fluid proximate the molten polymer exit so as to maintain the die temperature at the molten polymer exit as low as possible without affecting the processability/integrity of the product film.

Abstract: A throttle body (61) has a first body part (62) containing an upstream portion of the through-bore (68) and a second body part (64) containing a downstream portion of the through-bore. The two body parts are joined together to register the downstream portion of the through-bore as a continuation of the upstream portion at respective confronting faces of the two body parts, capturing at least one bearing assembly (94) of a throttle mechanism between the confronting faces to thereby journal a throttle shaft (72) on opposite wall portions of the throttle body. The two body parts also contain a by-pass air passage (114). In one form (FIGS. 1 and 2) an idle air control valve (58) associates with the by-pass passage; in another (FIGS. 3 and 4), an electric motor actuator (167) associates with the passage and with the throttle shaft.

Abstract: A throttle body (11) has a through-bore (18), a circular throttle blade (20) of nominal uniform thickness is disposed within the through-bore and on a cylindrical shaft (22). The through-bore has two generally semi-circular ledges (56, 58) spaced upstream and downstream respectively from an imaginary flat plane that contains the shaft axis, each at a distance substantially equal to one-half the blade thickness. One ledge occupies essentially one semi-circumference of the through-bore for sealing with one of the opposite semi-circular perimeters of the throttle blade when the blade is closed, and the other occupies essentially an opposite semi-circumference of the through-bore for sealing with the other semi-circular perimeter of the blade when the blade is closed.

Abstract: A method corrects track misregistration attributable to out-of-plane motions of a rotating disk in a hard disk drive, and includes the steps of measuring a base plate-roll-bias angle between the rotating data storage disk and the head arm with a precision measuring device, and connecting the head arm and load beam at a roll-bias angle selected to minimize track misregistration attributable to the roll-bias. A number of connection arrangements and structures are presented in order to achieve the desired reduction in track misregistration.