Abstract: A method of operating a gas turbine engine including an engine core including a turbine, compressor, combustor to combust a fuel, and core shaft connecting the turbine and compressor; a fan upstream of the engine core; a fan shaft; a gearbox that receives an input from the core shaft and outputs drive to the fan via the fan shaft; a primary oil loop system to supply oil to the gearbox; and a heat exchange system. The method includes controlling the heat exchange system to adjust fuel viscosity to be lower than or equal to 0.58 mm2/s on entry to the combustor at cruise conditions.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for optimizing selling environments. A method in a data processing system comprises collecting criteria from at least one buyer and segmenting the criteria into a buyer profile. Next, buyer metrics are retrieved from a memory to analyze the buyer profile. An environment is manipulated in response to the analysis of the buyer profile. An apparatus for enhancing a transaction between a buyer and a seller comprises a transmitter operative with a criteria of the buyer. A receiver associated with the transmitter is configured to communicate the criteria. A processor which is in communication with the receiver has a compilation program which statistically analyzes the criteria. A controller then manipulates an environment in response to a signal from the processor wherein the environment changes to attract at least one of the senses of the buyer.

Abstract: A method of acquiring a communications signal is provided. The method includes the steps of storing a forward chirp sync segment (106) of an auto-correlating forward chirp sync (102) and storing a reverse chirp sync segment (108) of a symmetric auto-correlating reverse chirp sync (104). A header comprising of either a forward chirp sync FCS (102) or a reverse chirp sync RCS (104), a predetermined number of data blocks comprising a data frame (308), and the symmetric auto-correlating trailer is received. The header, the data blocks, and the symmetric trailer are susceptible to frequency error. The method correlates the FCS segment (106) with the auto-correlating FCS (102) to provide a FCS correlation signal (312) and correlates the RCS segment (104) with the auto-correlating RCS (108) to provide a RCS correlation signal (314). The method determines the frequency error, symbol timing, and frame timing based upon the FCS correlation signal (312) and the RCS correlation signal (314).

Abstract: An orthogonal pilot tone servo controller provides a servo control loop for each tap in a delay line processor where each servo acquires its independence from the other tap's servos utilizing an orthogonal code set modulated on top of the existing tap values. The orthogonal codes are attenuated in amplitude such that the code sets are transparent to the processed signals of interest, but the code's length enables each tap's servo controller to independently recover the tap's state from the aggregate of signals and codes through processing gain realized in each loop's recovery circuit. A plurality of taps can be thus be servo controlled simultaneously, providing for extremely wide bandwidth processes which can be performed accurately with digital controls.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method and apparatus for classifying or sorting objects by projecting and irradiating an object through an irradiation zone and then examining the radiation emitted by the object to determine its class, the irradiating zone having a length in a vertical plane greater than its width where its length to width ratio is greater than 5:1.

Abstract: In order to provide secure and simple detection of diamonds when prospecting, a rock sample is reduced to powder particles which are automatically checked to see if they contain diamond particles (30) by processing an image of X-radiation transmitted through a layer of the particles. The image may be processed by comparing it with a further image of visible light transmitted by the layer of particles.

Abstract: In order to examine an object with radiation and measure the intensity of radiation used to illuminate the object, radiation is directed onto a wavelength selective mirror (31). In a first position, the mirror (31) reflects the illuminating radiation to a beam splitter (30) which passes the radiation to a detector (34). In a second position the mirror (31) directs the radiation to an object (33), radiation of the selected wavelength emanating from the object being reflected by the mirror via beam splitter (30) to the detector (34). The mirror (31) is rotated between the first and second position. In order to classify a diamond as natural or synthetic, a first signal is derived dependent upon the intensity of ultra-violet radiation transmitted by the diamond at 254 nm, and a second signal is derived dependent upon the intensity of radiation transmitted by the diamond at 365 nm and the diamond is classified as being definitely natural if the first signal is substantially greater than the second signal.

Abstract: In order to sort ore from associated mineral material, a method and apparatus of classifying an object is provided, the method including feeding the object along a feed path, irradiating the object with infra-red radiation of a first wavelength, the radiation of the first wavelength being focussed onto an irradiation zone intersecting the feed path, the irradiation zone having a length in the vertical plane substantially greater than its width in the vertical plane. The intensity of radiation emitted by the object at at least one second wavelength different from the first wavelength is examined, the second wavelength being characteristic of a first class of object or the ore to be sorted from the mineral, whereby the classification of the object may be derived.

Abstract: Apparatus for optical inspection of particulate material such as diamond abrasive comprises a body (1), an open sample container (25) which can rise and fall in the body, a reference member (71) above the container, mounted in a removable compaction head (9) of which the height relative to the body is fixed, and an optical inspection head (11) mountable on the body in place of composition head. The container is raised into contact with the reference member so that the surface of the sample is levelled and placed at a predetermined height. The compaction head is then removed and replaced by the optical inspection head. Consequently, the sample surface is always presented to the optical inspection head in a predetermined relationship and in particular at a predetermined height.

Abstract: In order to sort diamond-bearing ore particles conveyed on a wide belt, exciting radiation strikes the belt along an extended line. Diamonds are detected by passing the emitted radiation through a narrow band pass filter and sensing the Raman radiation with a photo-multiplier tube. Only axial-parallel rays passing through the filter reach the photo-multiplier tube. An array of side-by-side converging lenses can be used, the lenses being of rectangular shape as seen looking along the optical axis with their long axes at right angles to the line of radiation. The ore particles are in the plane of the foci of the lenses, so that radiation emitted by each particle is passed in parallel rays through the filter. In order to stop rays having an angle of incidence greater than the maximum permitted, to avoid identifying non-diamond material as diamond, a further converging lens is used to focus the rays at the plane of a telecentric stop. The stop stops rays having too great an angle of incidence.

Abstract: In order to sort diamond-bearing ore particles conveyed on a wide belt, exciting radiation strikes the belt along an extended line. Diamonds are detected by passing the emitted radiation through a narrow band pass filter and sensing the Raman radiation with a photo-multiplier tube. Only axial-parallel rays passing through the filter reach the photo-multiplier tube. An array of side-by-side converging lenses can be used, the lenses being of rectangular shape as seen looking along the optical axis with their long axes at right angles to the line of radiation. The ore particles are in the plane of the foci of the lenses, so that radiation emitted by each particle is passed in parallel rays through the filter. In order to stop rays having an angle of incidence greater than the maximum permitted, to avoid identifying non-diamond material as diamond, a further converging lens is used to focus the rays at the plane of a telecentric stop. The stop stops rays having too great an angle of incidence.

Abstract: In order to determine the external profile of a diamond, particularly a large diamond which has re-entrant features, an elongate and thin beam is projected onto the diamond while the diamond is rotated about an axis normal to the beam; an imaging system is used to image from one side the line along which the beam strikes the diamond, this image being formed on a diffraction grating which is tilted in accordance with the Scheimpflug condition and in order to employ the first order beam of the diffraction grating. The image on the diffraction grating is viewed with a second imaging system. Furthermore, there may be a substantial improvement in light capture. The arrangement is applicable to systems other than those for determining profile.

Abstract: Objects are dropped in succession through a viewing zone, where they are viewed in bright field illumination by three viewers along mutually orthogonal axes, using radiation of different wave-lengths (or viewing in rapid succession). The viewers sense the presented area. The presented areas are compared in a microprocessor in order to obtain a rough determination of the shape of the object. The presented areas can, for example, be summated to obtain a rough determination of the size of the object.

Abstract: The apparatus measures the transmission of light in successive falling objects. A beam is projected, wide enough to bathe all the facing surface of the object. An integrating sphere is on the other side of the object and its inlet and outlet apertures provide cut-offs so that only a hollow cone of flux scattered from the object is trapped in the integrating sphere, this flux being measured by a detector. The detector is connected to a micro-processor whose output is a measure of the clarity of the object. When the object is not in the beam, the beam falls on a detector so that the reduction in flux sensed by the detector is a measure of the projected area of the object. The micro-processor divides the signal from the detector by the reduction in flux, thereby making the output substantially independent of the size of the object.

Abstract: In order to color sort objects such as peas or sweets, they are dropped in succession through two integrating spheres. In the first sphere, the object absorbs infra-red radiation and the peak reduction in infra-red flux is detected in order to provide a signal responsive to the size of the object. In the second sphere, the object is illuminated with white light and the peak reduction in flux is detected by at least three detectors for three colors determined by filters. To make the illumination more uniform in the sphere, there is a step around the sphere almost half way down, with light sources equi-spaced around the step. The size signal is divided into the respective color signal in a micro-processor to produce a size-corrected color signal.