Abstract: A machine which inflates and seals pillows in packaging is compact in overall size, can be conveniently operated to produce varied lengths of strips of inflated pillow-type packaging as needed, can begin production of inflated pillow-type strip packaging immediately after being held out of a production cycle for some period of time, and applies a heated sealing element directly to and in sliding contact with a web of film to securely seal the inlet port of an inflated pillow while the pillow is under pressure and as the web of film is continuously and uninterruptedly advanced through the machine.

Abstract: Memory cell having a floating gate with lateral edges which are aligned directly above edges of the active area in the substrate, a control gate positioned directly above the floating gate, and a select gate spaced laterally from the control gate. The floating gate has a bottom wall and side walls which face corresponding walls of the control gate in capacitive coupling relationship, with the height of the side walls being on the order of 80 to 160 percent of the width of the bottom wall. In some embodiments, the floating gate is wider than the overlying control gate and has projecting portions which overlie the shallow and deep diffusion regions of the stack transistor.

Abstract: Metal detector and method in which soil mineralization effects and responses to other undesired materials are eliminated. A periodic excitation signal is transmitted into an area where a target is to be detected, and signals returned by the target are processed to provide an output signal corresponding to the target. A plurality of signals are extracted from the output signal during different phase intervals in the period of the excitation signal and processed to provide signals which are free from ferrite response and/or response to other undesired materials. The signals which are free from response to ferrite and/or other undesired materials are then compared to identify the target.

Abstract: A machine which inflates and seals pillows in packaging is compact in overall size, can be conveniently operated to produce varied lengths of strips of inflated pillow-type packaging as needed, can begin production of inflated pillow-type strip packaging immediately after being held out of a production cycle for some period of time, and applies a heated sealing element directly to and in sliding contact with a web of film to securely seal the inlet port of an inflated pillow while the pillow is under pressure and as the web of film is continuously and uninterruptedly advanced through the machine.

Abstract: String of packing cushions formed by two superposed layers of flexible plastic film sealed together along transversely extending lines to form a series of closed chambers, loose fill packing material in the chambers, and perforations in the film between the chambers defining tear lines by which the cushions can be separated. In certain disclosed embodiments, the string of cushions is made by positioning an elongated length of flexible plastic tubing about a chute, drawing a section of the tubing from the chute, introducing loose fill packing material through the chute into the section of the tubing which has been drawn from the chute, sealing the walls of the tubing together along a transversely extending seal line above the loose fill packing material to close the section and form a cushion, perforating the tubing along a transversely extending tear line above the cushion, and repeating the process to form successive cushions separated by tear lines.

Abstract: Inertial rate sensor and method in which a drive signal is applied to a rate sensing element, a pickup circuit is coupled to the rate sensing element for providing an output signal corresponding to movement of the rate sensing element, digital logic calibrates the rate sensor and detects the occurrence of faults in the rate sensor, the rate sensing element is utilized as a frequency reference for providing a system clock signal for the digital logic, a fixed phase relationship is maintained between vibration of the rate sensing element and the system clock signal, the system clock signal is filtered to eliminate responses to spurious transitions during a period following application of operating power to the sensor, and the digital logic is reset in synchronization with the system clock signal.

Abstract: Retractable hitching post for bicycles having a casing which is mounted in the ground, a post which is telescopically mounted in the casing for movement between a retracted position in which the post is below ground level and an extended position in which a substantial portion of the post is above ground level. The post can be secured in the extended position, and a bicycle can be locked to the post. In some disclosed embodiments, the post is cushioned by air damping as it returns to its retracted position.

Abstract: System for delivering air-filled packing cushions to a point of use in which a continuous string of the cushions is fed into an elongated duct with the string extending longitudinally of the duct, and an air flow is established in the duct to convey the string of cushions through the duct. In one disclosed embodiment, the air flow is created by a blower mounted externally of the duct, with a baffle plate inside the duct directing the air flow in a longitudinal direction. In a self-contained system in which the cushions are made at the point of use, the duct extends vertically, and the cushions are fed directly into the lower end of the duct by a machine which makes them. The string of cushions is discharged from the upper end of the duct into a bin from which they can be withdrawn as needed for use in cartons supported by a stand positioned beneath the bin.

Abstract: Ideographic keyboard and method in which an array of characters are printed on one side of a panel and optically readable data corresponding to the characters is recorded on the other side of the panel. A character selector is moved about the first side the panel for selective alignment with the characters, and an optical reader is linked to the character selector for movement about the recorded data in concert with the character selector. The data corresponding to a selected character is read, and a coded signal for the selected character is output in response to the data which is read. In one disclosed embodiment, the data is recorded in the form of bar coding, and the reader is a bar code reader. Precise alignment of the reader with the data for the selected character is assured by reading data from a region larger than the data field itself and extracting the character data in software.

Abstract: System and method for conveying air-filled cushions in which a continuous string of the cushions is fed into an elongated duct with the string extending longitudinally of the duct, and an air flow is established in the duct to convey the string of cushions through the duct to a bin. In some embodiments, the bin is mounted on wheels to facilitate movement between different locations, and in others, it is suspended from a trolley which runs on an overhead track.

Abstract: Inertial rate sensor and method in which a drive signal consisting initially of a square wave and thereafter a sine wave is applied to a vibratory rate sensing element, a pickup circuit is coupled to the rate sensing element for providing an output signal corresponding to movement of the rate sensing element, the magnitude of the drive signals is adjusted to set a scale factor which determines the sensitivity to movement of the rate sensing element, and a signal in the drive circuit is monitored to detect a failure.

Abstract: Photometric detector assembly which includes a housing, means for passing an optical beam along a path through the housing to a detector, a NIST traceable calibration filter enclosed within the housing, and means operable externally of the housing for moving the filter into and out of the beam path between calibration and normal operating positions.

Abstract: A low power, frequency-mode magnetometer. The magnetometer includes an LC oscillator, a bias resistor and a polarity switch. The LC oscillator produces an output signal having a variable frequency indicative of both a magnitude and a polarity of a magnetic field. The LC oscillator includes an inverting amplifier and a Pi network including an inductor and two capacitors. The inductor is realized as a coil wound about a high permeability, low hysteresis, core material that has been longitudinally cut. The inductor is coupled between an input node and an output node, as is the inverting amplifier. The inverting amplifier has a first trigger voltage and a second trigger voltage, which are symmetrically located with respect to one half of a DC bias voltage. The bias resistor is coupled between the input node of the LC oscillator and a first node and controls the DC bias current to the inductor. The polarity switch switches the first node between ground and the bias DC voltage.

Abstract: Air conditioning system and method in which a refrigerant from a compressor is circulated through a cooling element within a hermetically sealed, thermally insulated cooling compartment, and cooled air from the compartment is delivered to a space to be cooled. In one disclosed embodiment, the cooling compartment is located at the center of a solid cube of insulative material and is heavily insulated from the ambient conditions outside the cube.

Abstract: Vibratory tuning fork having a body of piezoelectric material with a base and a pair of tapered tines which extend from the base and decrease in lateral dimension from the base toward the tips of the tines. A crotch section at the base of the tines has an inner pair of faces which lie in crystallographic planes of the piezoelectric material and an outer pair of faces which lie in additional crystallographic planes of the material and extend between the inner pair of faces and the tines. An isolation slot is formed in the base adjacent to the crotch, with enlarged cut-outs at the ends of the slot to prevent the formation of facets and membranes across the slot.

Abstract: Memory cell array and process of fabrication in which a floating gate is formed on a substrate for each of a plurality of memory cells, a control gate is formed above and in vertical alignment with each of the floating gates, source regions are formed in the substrate between and partially overlapped by first edge portions of the floating gates in adjacent ones of the cells, bit lines are formed in the substrate midway between second edge portions of the floating gates in adjacent ones of the cells, and a select gate is formed across the control gates, the floating gates, the bit lines and the source regions.

Abstract: Electrostatic clamp structure having a pedestal in which the normal hard insulator surface facing the wafer for a conventional electrostatic clamp is replaced by resilient layer(s) adjacent to the wafer. In this structure the layer(s) adjacent to the wafer permit the “bumps” on the facing wafer surface to “sink into” the resilient layer of the chuck so that a substantial part of the bumpy wafer surface is in good thermal contact with the resilient layers. Such resilient layers are bonded to an underlying metal pedestal. These layers are adequate conductors of heat and are in good thermal contact with an underlying pedestal structure which may be actively cooled by conventional means.