Abstract: A robot suitable for micro-surgical application is formed by a robot arm having a position adjustable free end on which are mounted with their respective stators in fixed relationship a master and a slave robot. The position and actuation of the moving element of the master (master floater) and the moving element of the slave (slave floater) are used to couple their moment such that the master floater motion and forces are scaled down and followed by the slave and the slave floater motion and forces are scaled up and followed by the master. The sensed environment forces on the slave floater and sensed hand (environment) forces on the master can be used to improve the coordination between the master and the slave.

Abstract: A closable tray is provided by a bottom tray having upwardly and outwardly flaring pairs of mutually perpendicular side walls. The side walls of one such pair is longer than the side walls of the other pair and is provided with tongue receiving slots positioned spaced from the bottom wall a distance substantially equal to the spacing of supporting surfaces provided along the top edge of the walls of the other pair of opposed walls. A cooperating cover is formed by a planer top member, two pairs of mutually opposed tongues projecting in opposite directions therefrom. The planer top member preferably is slightly convex on each of its sides and each of tongue members extend from the widest portion of its respective side of the top member. The tray and cover are dimensional so that one pair of opposed tongue member cooperates with the tongue slots and the other pair of tongue members are supported on the support surfaces of the bottom tray when the cover member closes the bottom tray.

Abstract: A platform is mounted by bellows, at least one for each degree of freedom (DOF) of the platform. The bellows may provide either an active or a passive mounting for the platform. By arranging a suitable number of such bellows in supporting relationship a platform or floater for example six degrees freedom can be provided. Using pneumatic bellows in opposed pairs, one pair for each degree of freedom and by controlling the pressure in (and flow to) the bellows selected forces may be applied to the platform to accurately position the platform or to provide feedback for a sensory control e.g. as reflected force applied to the joystick. The position and orientation of the platform, i.e. movement of the platform, may be used to generate signals for example as in a joystick. Sensing the pressure in each of the bellows of each of the pairs permits the forces being applied by or to the platform to be monitored.

Abstract: A composite wood product made from discrete wood particles secured together by a cured bisphenol A formaldehyde resin cured from an A-stage bisphenol A formaldehyde resin having an A-stage bisphenol A to formaldehyde mole ratio of 1 to between 2.5 and 4 and between 3 and 11% of caustic measured as sodium hydroxide based on the weight of resin solids. Preferably the resin will include 2 to 10% urea based on the resin solids. The cured bisphenol A formaldehyde resin secures the wood particles together to form a composite wood product having light colored glue lines that substantially corresponds in color with the wood so that the glue lines tend to be unnoticeable.

Abstract: The amount of coating applied by an applicator is locally adjusted by locally disturbing the flow to the metering outlet, for example, by locally bleeding selected amounts of coating from the metering chamber of the coater to thereby controllably profile the amount of coating applied.

Abstract: A method of bleaching a chemical pulp by adjusting the pH of the pulp to 1.5-3.5, chelating the pulp and then treating the pulp in an N stage with nitric oxide (NO) in the amount of at least 1.5% by weight of the oven dried pulp at a consistency of between 30 and 55% and further treating the pulp in a Z stage with ozone to produce a bleach pulp having a higher viscosity for a given permanganate number compared with a similar pulp bleached without using the N stage.

Abstract: A method of bleaching a chemical pulp with a gaseous bleaching agent by uniformly impregnating the pulp with a solvent for lignin and that is fully miscible with water but does not significantly swell cellulose so that the availability, of lignin to the bleaching agent is significantly improved, then subjecting the impregnated pulp to the action of the bleaching agent to preferentially attack the lignin for its subsequent solubilization and separation from the pulp.

Abstract: A hydraulic system incorporating a double acting piston and cylinder and a bi-directional pump/motor derives energy from a drive system when operating in the pump mode and delivers energy to the drive system when in the pump mode and includes a circulation valve for supplementing fluid flow to and from and fluid supply in accordance with the unequal demands of the chambers driving the hydraulic actuator in one direction or the other by circulating fluid between the chambers.

Abstract: A method of determining the noise content of a video signal by digitizing a frame based on the video signal to provide a digitized signal which is then filtered via a high pass filter. The filtered image is then divided into a plurality of subimages and the noise signal in each of the subimages is determined from a selected number of subimages having the lowest noise signal are further processed to determine the average noise in the selected subimages and the signal-to-noise ratio determined. The carrier-to-noise ratio may also be determined if desired.

Abstract: Hydrogen gas is generated in a fluidized bed reactor by reacting gases namely steam and a hydrocarbon gas such as methane or natural gas in a fluidized bed of particulate catalytic material. The catalytic material is fluidized by injecting the mixture of the reacting gases at the bottom of the bed. Hydrogen generated within the bed is removed via a selectively permeable membrane that extends through the bed and through a freeboard area above the bed. The reaction is endothermic and therefore heat to maintain the bed at the desired temperature is added as required. Preferably a separator separates particulate catalytic material entrained in the gases in the freeboard area and delivers the particulate material separated from the gas back into the bed.

Abstract: A strand preorienter is formed by a plurality of spaced parallel preorienter shafts each having a plurality of preorienter discs mounted thereon in axially spaced relationship. The preorienter discs on adjacent shafts overlap and form preorienter partition walls which defined opposite sides of preorienter passages through which the strands fall onto an orienter having orienter passages that align the strands as required. The preorienter passages are significantly wider than the orienter passages and have their outlets positioned immediately above the orienter.

Abstract: A method for reducing the effect of a composite triple beat (CTB) of a visual image is obtained by digitizing the signal for the image frame, dividing the digital signal into a plurality of stripes extending perpendicular to the horizontal lines of the image to form subpictures and determining the average intensity of the signal in each of the horizontal lines of each of the subpictures. An average value for each of the lines in each of the subpictures is then obtained and the component of the signal forming the composite triple beat signal for each line of each subpicture is estimated. Then the estimated triple beat signal is subtracted from its corresponding portion of the digitized signal to provide corrected subpictures. The corrected subpictures are then recombined to form a clean signal providing the cleaned visual image.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling the movement of an end point of an articulated arm in the x, y and z directions using a manually operated resolved motion control by controlling the component of velocity of the end point in each of the x, y and z directions to change by the same amount for a given change in the component of displacement of the manual controller in the respective x, y and z directions provided the total displacement in the selected x, y or z direction is less than a preselected displacement in the respective x, y or z direction and the end point is within a preselected work space.

Abstract: A two-way free-wheeling clutch is formed between a drive shaft and a driven shaft concentric with and encircling at least a portion of the drive shaft that is formed by axially extending substantially chord forming portions. The chord forming portions cooperate with circular bearings interposed between the portions and a circumferential surface of the encircling portion of the driven shaft to drive the driven shaft from the drive shaft. Drive of the driven shaft by the drive shaft is obtained by relatively positioning the bearings and the portions so the bearings are toward the radial extremities of their respective chord portions a driving wedge is formed with the inner circumferential surface of the driven shaft. When the portions and the bearings are shifted to relatively position the bearings closer to the centre of the chord forming portions i.e. minimum radial position on the chord free rotation of the driven shaft freewheeling of the driven shaft is permitted.

Abstract: A cable suspended chipper system includes a suspension cable for supporting a system which includes a pair of chipper drums mounted to rotate on spaced parallel axes. A tapered inlet passage directs the tree top toward the nip formed by the chipper drums as the system is lowered onto a tree top. Delimber rods are arranged around the periphery of the inlet to the tapered passage sever the limbs from the tree to facilitate chipping and feeding of the tree into the chipper drums. The drive motor or prime mover for the system is position on the side of the chipper drums opposite to that of the inlet passage from the chipper drums.

Abstract: An inverse kinematics method of determining joint variables for a manipulator is obtained by forming a model by modifying offset values of a selected arm segments of the manipulator to define a model for which it is possible to derive closed-form inverse kinematics equations for solving the joint variables for said model, developing from said closed-form inverse kinematics equations a system of not more than 3 non-linear equations in not more than 3 unknowns which when solved give an inverse kinematics solution for the model, solving the system of at most 3 non-linear equations to provide the inverse kinematic solution for said manipulator to determine its joint variables.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting residual ink in a sample by illuminating by diffused infra-red light a series of spots on a sample and examining a small area on each spot by collecting light in a video camera to form a frame for each spot, digitizing each of the frame and detecting areas in the frames having a brightness below a selected level to determine the total dark area of each frame. The number of such frames processed in a set of frames used to categorize the sample is defined when a certain minimum number of frames have been processed and when a selected degree of convergence of the data collected for the set and the data from the frame currently being processed is obtained, or after a preset maximum number of frames have been processed. The sample is characterised on the basis of the ratio of the dark area to the total area processed.

Abstract: A wood product is protectively coated while maintaining the appearance of wood without discoloration by applying to the surface of a dry wood member a sealer coating containing a cyclic epoxy and an anhydride and curing the sealer, while reacting, at least a portion of the epoxy with lignin in the wood and at least a portion of the anhydride with cellulose and lignin in the wood, to bind the sealer to the wood, and cross linking cellulose, followed by applying a protective coating over the sealer before the sealer has been cured completely to bind the protective coating to the sealer. The protective coating provides a barrier to UV penetration and increases the durability of the surface.

Abstract: Method for treating chemically treated cellulosic pulp that contains sodium ions wherein the pulp is subjected to an ion exchange with a cation (preferably calcium) having a higher valence than the sodium followed by washing of the sodium cations from the pulp and then forming the pulp containing the cations in an amount equivalent to at least 700 ppm of calcium ions into a sheet thereby to facilitate water removal and increase the production rate of the sheet forming machine.

Abstract: A method of brightening mechanical pulps by chelating and thickening to reduce the manganese content of the pulp to less than 30 parts per million and copper content less than 1 parts per million by adding ions preferably magnesium ions as magnesium sulphate MgSO.sub.4 in the amount of 400 to 3,000 ppm Mg ions retained by the pulp based on the oven dry weight of the pulp and thereafter applying a bleaching liquor composed of peroxide as hydrogen peroxide and an alkali as sodium hydroxide having a ratio of alkali to peroxide of between 1--1 and 2-1 in an amount to apply between 1 to 8 percent peroxide based on the oven dry weight of the pulp and containing no added sodium silicate. Preferably the bleaching liquor will contain magnesium sulphate in the amount of about 0.001 to 0.1% based on the oven dry weight of the pulp.