Abstract: A jetting hose is conveyed downhole retracted on the end of a tubing string (coiled tubing) for jetting lateral boreholes from a main wellbore. The apparatus allows the operator to sense the speed at which the jetting hose and nozzle are penetrating the formation and adjust the coiled tubing feed-in rate accordingly, optimizing both the direction and length of the lateral borehole relative to the main wellbore.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for improving control over the milling force applied to a milling bit that is turned through a rotary drive to form a hole in a wellbore casing. A bit-weighting sub is applied between the tubing used to lower the rotary drive's motor into the wellbore and the rotary drive itself, the sub serving to take the weight of the tubing off the rotary drive when the motor lands in operative connection with the drive, and further serving to apply a known milling force to the drive (and thus to the bit) independent of the weight of the tubing. In a preferred form the sub includes a spring that is compressed against the drive when the tubing and motor are landed.

Abstract: A pre-cast siding panel for mortarless application to a building structure is disclosed, which includes a structure for capturing and draining infiltrated water away from the building structure. In a preferred embodiment, the siding panel includes a cast facing panel made of settable material and having a front face exposed in an installed condition of the panel and top, bottom and side edges for engagement with like panels positioned adjacent thereto; and a supporting spacer partially embedded in the rear surface of the facing panel, the spacer including a mounting portion for fastening the siding panel to the building structure and a water management portion for managing infiltrated water away from the building structure, by capturing infiltrated water which has seeped past the front face along one or more of the edges and draining the captured infiltrated water away from the building structure.

Abstract: A wall panel for retaining masonry units is provided. The panel has a front face provided with a plurality of tabs for supporting the lower lateral face of the masonry units and a plurality of resilient clips for resiliently biasing the upper lateral face of the units against the tabs. In an embodiment, the clips include a frontward curved hook with a downwardly pointing edge to bit on the upper face of the masonry unit and an inverted U-shaped cut-out including the curved hook and providing resiliency. In another embodiment, the clips include at least one downward resilient wing having a longitudinal axis parallel to the plane of the panel. The masonry unit is maintained in place on the panel against the tabs partly by a resilient force applied by the wing and partly by friction of the wing against the upper lateral face of the masonry unit.

Abstract: A jetting hose is conveyed downhole retracted within a tubing string for jetting lateral boreholes from a main wellbore, is released at the jetting depth and pumped from the tubing string and into a lateral borehole with jetting fluid. A piston is secured to the upper end of the jetting hose, and the pumped jetting fluid drives the piston. A speed control regulates the penetration rate of the jetting hose into the formation independent of the tubing string weight.

Abstract: The present invention concerns a masonry wall panel assembly comprising a panel and a plurality of bricks. The panel is provided with a plurality of horizontally extending contiguous channels bounded by upper and lower protruding ribs, for fitting a row of bricks. Each channel is also fitted with a plurality of compressible retaining tabs positioned along the upper rib of each channel for retaining bricks inserted therein. The bricks are provided with at least one cavity and at least one compression area so that when a brick is inserted into a channel of the panel, the brick is positioned between the ribs such that the cavity of the brick faces one or more of the tabs located on the channel so that the tabs protrude into the cavity of the brick while at the same time compressing the compression area, thereby retaining the brick within the channel.

Abstract: A jetting hose is conveyed downhole retracted on the end of a tubing string (coiled tubing) for jetting lateral boreholes from a main wellbore. The apparatus allows the operator to sense the speed at which the jetting hose and nozzle are penetrating the formation and adjust the coiled tubing feed-in rate accordingly, optimizing both the direction and length of the lateral borehole relative to the main wellbore.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for testing luggage screening equipment operators is provides. A sequence of images of contents of luggage items derived from a device that scans the luggage items with penetrating radiation are received. The image generation device is characterized by introducing a certain distortion into these images of contents of luggage items. A display device is caused to display images derived from this sequence of images. Occasionally, the display device is caused to show a simulated threat in a luggage item by displaying a combined image derived based at least in part on an image in the sequence of images and a distorted threat image. The distorted threat image was derived by applying a distortion insertion process to a reference threat image wherein the distortion insertion process tends to approximate the certain distortion introduced in the images of contents of luggage items by the device that scans the luggage items with penetrating radiation.

Abstract: A method for providing a combined theft detection and proximity detection system is disclosed. The method comprises the step of providing a vehicle unit having a transmitter and a receiver to transmit and receive an RF signal such that a user of the vehicle unit can inform other vehicle units of presence of the vehicle unit, and can be informed of the presence of other such vehicle units by detecting the RF signal emitted by the other vehicle units located in the range. The receiver further provides an alarm signal to warn of this presence. The method also comprises the step of providing a portable unit adapted to receive the RF signal from the vehicle unit to inform a driver that his vehicle is no longer in range.

Abstract: The present invention concerns a masonry wall system consisting of a plurality of panels and artificial masonry units. The panels are provided with channels sized to receive the artificial masonry units and delimited by protruding ribs. The protruding ribs have a predetermined width w and also have notches uniformly spaced along the ribs. The artificial masonry units have protuberances devised and positioned on the masonry units to be fitted in the notches of the protruding ribs so that the masonry units are equally spaced-apart from each other by a predetermined gap (g).

Abstract: An apparatus and method for improving control over the milling force applied to a milling bit that is turned through a rotary drive to form a hole in a wellbore casing. A bit-weighting sub is applied between the tubing used to lower the rotary drive's motor into the wellbore and the rotary drive itself, the sub serving to take the weight of the tubing off the rotary drive when the motor lands in operative connection with the drive, and further serving to apply a known milling force to the drive (and thus to the bit) independent of the weight of the tubing. In a preferred form the sub includes a spring that is compressed against the drive when the tubing and motor are landed.

Abstract: A fuel management system for a motor vehicle has a means for shutting down the engine when the accelerator is released and the vehicle slows down, as measured by the engine's deceleration sensor. Moreover, when the transmission is put to park, or in the case of a manual transmission, when the parking brake is engaged, the engine shuts off.

Abstract: A method, an apparatus and a system are provided for assessing at a security checkpoint the threat status of a liquid product, where the liquid product is comprised of a bottle at least partially filled with liquid. In accordance with a broad aspect, the level of fill is used as a factor in the determination of the threat status of the liquid product. In accordance with another broad aspect, an X-ray image of the liquid product is obtained and processed to derive a level of fill of the bottle and the threat status of the liquid product is determined at least in part based on the level of fill of the bottle. In accordance with yet another broad aspect, an X-ray image of the liquid product is processed to derive location information associated with a meniscus formed by the liquid in the bottle. An estimated length of a path followed by X-rays through the liquid held in the bottle is derived in part based on the location information and is used to determine the threat status of the liquid product.

Abstract: The present application is directed to an apparatus for forming one or more holes in a wellbore casing, the apparatus comprising a deflector assembly and a drive assembly to drive said deflector assembly, wherein the deflector assembly may be optionally assembled at a surface of the wellbore prior to casing hole formation, and to methods employing the apparatus.

Abstract: The present application is directed an apparatus for installing boreholes in the formation surrounding a main wellbore, the apparatus comprising an indexing tool comprising an indexing deflector and a deflector shoe; the deflector shoe comprising an opening therethrough configured to receive a borehole forming member; wherein the indexing deflector is configured to direct the deflector shoe from a first setting to at least a second setting for the installation of boreholes at each setting through said opening; to methods employing the apparatus, and methods for using the indexing tool to locate and access boreholes.

Abstract: An artificial masonry unit suitable for use with a panel made of a compressible material having masonry unit receiving depressions in a front face thereof and protruding ribs defining and bordering the depressions. The depressions are sized to receive respective artificial masonry units in a close-fitting relationship. The artificial masonry unit comprises a body bounded by a front face, a back face, and a lateral face providing a thickness to the unit, and a back peripheral edge joining the back face and the lateral face. A tooth projection is projecting from the lateral face next to and parallel to the back peripheral edge for thrusting into the protruding rib when the masonry unit is inserted in a respective depression. Thanks to the tooth projection that is thrusting into the rib of a respective depression and that helps retaining the masonry unit within the depression prior to mortaring the wall, there is no need for using a mixture of cement to temporarily retain the masonry units within the depression.

Abstract: A security screening system to determine if an item of luggage carries an object posing a security threat. The security screening system may comprise an input for receiving image data derived from an apparatus that subjects the item of luggage to penetrating radiation, the image data conveying an image of the item of luggage. The security screening system may also comprise a processing module for processing the image data to identify in the image a plurality of regions of interest, the regions of interest manifesting a higher probability of depicting an object posing a security threat than portions of the image outside the regions of interest.

Abstract: A jetting hose is conveyed downhole retracted within a tubing string for jetting lateral boreholes from a main wellbore, is released at the jetting depth and pumped from the tubing string and into a lateral borehole with jetting fluid. A piston is secured to the upper end of the jetting hose, and the pumped jetting fluid drives the piston. A speed control regulates the penetration rate of the jetting hose into the formation independent of the tubing string weight.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for testing luggage screening equipment operators is provides. A sequence of images of contents of luggage items derived from a device that scans the luggage items with penetrating radiation are received. The image generation device is characterized by introducing a certain distortion into these images of contents of luggage items. A display device is caused to display images derived from this sequence of images. Occasionally, the display device is caused to show a simulated threat in a luggage item by displaying a combined image derived based at least in part on an image in the sequence of images and a distorted threat image. The distorted threat image was derived by applying a distortion insertion process to a reference threat image wherein the distortion insertion process tends to approximate the certain distortion introduced in the images of contents of luggage items by the device that scans the luggage items with penetrating radiation.

Abstract: An apparatus, method and system for facilitating visual identification of a threat in an image during security screening are provided. Data derived from an apparatus that scans the receptacle with penetrating radiation conveying an image of the contents of a receptacle is received. The data conveying the image of the contents of the receptacle is processed to derive an area of interest in the image, the area of interest potentially containing a threat. First threat information conveying the area of interest in the image is then displayed on a display device while the area of interest in the image is processed to derive second threat information associated to the receptacle. The second threat information is then displayed on the display device such that the second threat information is displayed subsequently to the displaying of the first threat information.