Abstract: A blanket is disclosed including a soft woven fabric with a waterproof backing layer which can be folded, rolled and/or stuffed into an attached water-resistant storage bag. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the blanket can be constructed of two rectangular layers: the first a soft woven natural or synthetic textile and, the second, a waterproof or water-resistant woven natural or synthetic textile. The two layers are joined by means of sewing or heat welding along the edges and several linear seams or heat welds along the longitudinal and/or transverse axis to indicate suggested folding patterns and to keep the layers co-planar when cleaned in a washing machine/dryer or by other methods. The edges of the blanket are finished by means of a seam, such as a French seam, or an additional binding element of similar material to the waterproof layer. The edges of the blanket are radiused to allow for the easy manufacture should a binding element be employed.

Abstract: A micromechanical, dithered device comprising a substrate, a movable mass connected to the substrate by a suspension, a position sensor, a dither signal generator, a dither force transducer connected between the substrate and the movable mass, the input of the dither force transducer being connected to the output of the dither signal generator and a calculator taking as inputs at least the position sensor output and the dither signal generator output. In one embodiment of the invention, the dithered device includes an electrostatic force transducer for applying feedback. In this embodiment, dither force may be directly applied to the mechanical proof-mass utilizing electrostatic structures similar to electrostatic structures used for feedback. The electrostatic dithering structures provide good matching between the feedback and dither electrodes, enabling the use of simple logic for subtraction of the dither signal from the accelerometer output.

Abstract: A design tool for integrated circuits includes a placement tool which places logic gates and interconnect components concurrently. Probabilistic interconnect models are used to represent the collection of possible interconnect routings that provide acceptable circuit performance and routing area.

Abstract: An apparatus for cleaning a surface of a pool submerged in a liquid. The apparatus comprises an elongated cleaning body adapted to migrate across said surface and having a top portion and a bottom portion, a track positioned at the top of the cleaning body, and a ball bearing weight member sealed in the track and having the ability to roll from the first end of the track to the second end of the track.

Abstract: A data processing system is disclosed that can be used to conduct a modified auction. A minimum value is determined for an item to be auctioned. Potential bidders are provided the opportunity to buy the rights to bid on the item. When the total proceeds from selling the rights to bid on the item become equal to or greater than the minimum value for the item, an auction is performed for the item. In one embodiment, only those entities that purchased the rights to bid may participate in the auction, and the auction is designed to prevent the auction price from becoming too high.

Abstract: A suction control regulator for a suction cleaner, comprising: a y-shaped housing having an inlet and an outlet, and a regulator section; a valve mount positioned in the regulator section; a valve having a stem adapted to be received in the valve mount; a window in the regulator section; and a cap having a tapered bore engaging the valve, and a threads adapted to engage the regulator section such that rotation of the cap seals or opens the window and the tapered bore.

Abstract: A server machine transfers a version of an e-mail for presentation by a client machine. The version includes a user-understandable descriptor of an attachment to the e-mail but does not include the attachment. The server receives a request from the client to transfer the attachment for rendering. In response, the server obtains an output version of the attachment and transfers the output version to a rendering device, causing the rendering device to produce a rendered version of the attachment. The client machine can have a display, and the user-understandable descriptor can be visible on the display. The descriptor can be a selectable item; in response to selection of the descriptor, the server can transfer options to the client, including options that involve rendering an attachment. For an image attachment, the rendering options can include printing, sending to a copy shop, and sending to a fax machine.

Abstract: A system is disclosed that can determine the distance a baseball would have traveled after being hit if its path was not interrupted. Thus, when a player hits a home run and the ball collides with an obstruction such as the seating area of a stadium or a wall, the present invention can determine how far the ball would have traveled had the ball not hit the stadium or the wall. The present invention can also be used to determine information about the path of objects other than a baseball.

Abstract: A system is disclosed that can determine the speed of an object and report that speed in a format suitable for use on a television broadcast, a radio broadcast, the Internet or another medium. One example of a suitable use for the present invention includes determining the speed that a baseball player swings a bat. Another use of the present invention is to measure the speed of a moving ball. In one embodiment, the system includes a set of radars positioned behind and pointed toward the batter. Data from all of the radars is collected and sent to a computer which can determine the start of a pitch, when a ball was hit, the speed of the ball and the speed of the bat.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a microfabricated device. The device includes a substrate that is etched to define mechanical structures at least some of which are anchored laterally to the remainder of the substrate. Electrical isolation at points where mechanical structures are attached to the substrate is provided by filled isolation trenches. Filled trenches may also be used to electrically isolate structure elements from each other at points where mechanical attachment of structure elements is desired. The performance of microelectromechanical devices is improved by 1) having a high-aspect-ratio between vertical and lateral dimensions of the mechanical elements, 2) integrating electronics on the same substrate as the mechanical elements, 3) good electrical isolation among mechanical elements and circuits except where electrical interconnection is desired.

Abstract: A three-dimensional model is created to represent an environment to be captured on video. A camera is fitted with pan, tilt and/or zoom sensors. An operator selects a location in the environment. The three-dimensional model is used to determine the three-dimensional coordinates of the location selected by the operator. Information from the pan, tilt and/or zoom sensors is used to transform the three-dimensional coordinates to a two-dimensional position in the video from the camera. Using the two-dimensional position of the video, a graphic is properly added to the video such that the graphic appears to be at the selected location in the environment.

Abstract: A graphic and video are blended by controlling the relative transparency of corresponding pixels in the graphic and the video through the use of blending coefficients. One example of a blending coefficient is an alpha signal used in conjunction with a keyer. The value of a blending coefficient for a pixel in the graphic is based on the luminance and chrominance characteristics of a neighborhood of pixels in the video. Inclusions and exclusions are set up which define how the neighborhood of pixels is used to create or change a particular blending characteristic.