Abstract: A conveyor system for transporting articles up a steep gradient and having a continuous belt having article engaging lugs projecting from only the outer belt face. Conventional flat idler rollers are employed for turning the direction of the belt between the transport path and a return flight. A conventional flat drive roller is provided in the return flight between the first and second idler rollers with first and second segmented idler rollers directing the belt under tension in a wrap around the drive roller which engages only the back face of the belt with the lugs passing between segments of the segmented idler rollers.

Abstract: In the active pneumatic mount disclosed herein, a bellows or other flexible sealing means is utilized for containing a volume of pressurized gas which supports the weight of the equipment which is to be isolated. Within the pressurized volume is a means defining a chamber having an opening for receiving an acoustic transducer. An acoustic transducer is mounted in that opening for generating, in the pressurized volume, oscillatory pressure variations which reduce dynamic pressure variations induced by the vibrations which are to be blocked. The space within the chamber is vented to the pressurized volume, thereby to equalize the static pressure in the space.

Abstract: A spread spectrum interference canceller includes a downconverter for amplifying and translating the received signal from the radio frequency band to baseband, said signal comprising multiple direct sequence-spread spectrum signals and multiple narrowband interferers; a digital adaptive transversal filter for processing the downconverter output signal to suppress the narrowband interferers, and for regulating the amplitude of the resulting signal; an upconverter for translating the filter output from baseband to the radio frequency band, so that the resulting interference canceller output can be processed by a spread spectrum receiver.

Abstract: The computer system disclosed herein provides an aggregated directory facility which can encompass the file contents of a large number of high capacity storage devices such as CD ROMS and which enables a user to deal those files as though they were in a single physical volume. An age based caching system facilitates access to the most frequently used portions of the aggregated directory.

Abstract: The electromagnetic force generator disclosed herein employs first and second elongate magnetic cores having transversely facing pole faces at each end, the cores being essentially parallel with pole faces aligned and facing. Between each pair of aligned pole faces is a relatively moveable core. A suspension provides a compliant mechanical connection between the moveable and elongate cores. The moveable cores are polarized by a permanent magnet mounted between the elongate cores and polarized along an axis paralleling the length of the elongate cores. Respective windings are provided around the elongate cores. A.c. energization of the windings creates a corresponding vibratory force between the movable cores and the elongate cores.

Abstract: The dispensing system disclosed herein is adapted to dispense T-shirt type plastic film bags of the type having an openable mouth and loop handles extending upward on either side of the mouth, the handles being linked at their upper ends by a tearaway strip extending between them. The stack of bags are retained in a cartridge formed of a stiff web member which is folded to provide front and back panels enclosing the upper ends of the handles and the tearaway strips. The back panel has a tongue which is folded under the tearaway strips and which then extends upward parallel to the front panel. The upwardly extending portion of the tongue also holds a retaining strip provided at the upper end of a resilient apron-like member which extends downwardly covering the mouths of the bags so that a user is directed to extract a bag by grasping its bottom rather than the mouth which can cause several bags to be removed unintentionally. The apron carries advertising text and preferably, also a pad of discount coupons.

Abstract: The speech recognition system disclosed herein obtains improved recognition accuracy by employing recognition models which are discriminatively trained from a data base comprising training data from different sources, e.g., both male and female voices. A linear discriminant analysis is performed on the training data using expanded matrices in which sources are identified or labelled. The linear discriminant analysis yields respective transforms for the different sources which however map the different sources onto a common vector space in which the vocabulary models are defined.

Abstract: In the hydraulically assisted steering system disclosed herein, a hydraulic pump for powering a steering servo is in turn driven either from the vehicle's engine, through an electrically controlled clutch, or by an electric motor which can drive the pump independently of the vehicle's engine. A signal is provided which varies as a function of vehicle's speed and disengagement of the clutch is enabled for vehicle speeds above a predetermable threshold, thereby to reduce energy consumption. The clutch is engaged, independently of vehicle speed, under high load, e.g. emergency situations.

Abstract: A stack of T-shirt type plastic film bags having handles extending from an openable mouth are formed into a pack by bonding together bridging strips extending between the handles. A dispensing rack includes a frame providing an upper horizontal edge over which the bag handles are draped. The bridging strips are hooked over and retained by a relatively wide tongue extending rearward from a point on the frame below the horizontal edge.

Abstract: The baking system disclosed herein employs a wire rack frame which carries, between a pair of parallel side bars, a plurality of transverse bars the ends of which slidably engage the side bars. The spacing between the transverse bars may thus be manually adjusted. The system also involves a plurality of each of several differently sized pans with each of the pans being provided, on opposed sides thereof, with hook means adapted to engage a respective one of the slidable bars. Accordingly, a freely selectable group of pans can be supported on the rack during baking by appropriately spacing the transverse bars.

Abstract: An input utterance is converted to a sequence of standard or prototype data frames which are compared with word models which are represented by respective sequences of standard or prototype probability states, there being a pre-calculable distance metric representing the degree of match between each prototype data frame and each prototype model state. Only distance measurements better than a calculated threshold are considered meaningful and those meaningful metrics are stored in a packed list. Also stored is an address array of offsets for locating particular meaningful metrics in the list, the address array being accessed by the corresponding frame and state indices. Also stored is an array for distinguishing meaningful and non-meaningful metrics. Accordingly, an input utterance can be evaluated by locating meaningful metrics in the packed list using the address array and by utilizing a default value for any non-meaningful metric.

Abstract: The server disclosed herein incorporates first and second relatively rigid elements joined by an elongate hinge. The elements are essentially complimentary in shape and each provides a half handle portion and, extending from the half handle portion, a flat half blade portion, the half handle portions and the half blade portions being joined by respective sections of the hinge. The two rigid elements are moveable between a first position in which the blade portions are essentially coplanar, where they can be used to lift a food-stuff such as a slice of pizza from a pan, and a second position in which the blade portions form a shallow V-shape to retain the foodstuff. The elements can be moved from the first position to the second position by a user squeezing the handle portions together.

Abstract: In the dispensing system disclosed herein, an aligned stack of T-shirt type bags are assembled within a disposable tubular cartridge with the loop handles and a significant portion of the bottoms of the bags extending beyond the ends of the tubular cartridge. The central portions of the bag mouths are releasably attached to an adjacent portion of the cartridge and a rack is provided for supporting the cartridge essentially horizontally with the handles and the bottom portions of the bags hanging freely therefrom. Accordingly, the top bag in the stack can be removed by grasping the exposed bottom portion and pulling the remainder through the tubular cartridge, tearing the mouth of the bag free from the attachment.

Abstract: The food preparation utensil disclosed herein facilitates both the pressing and slicing of a foodstuff such as cloves of garlic. A first handle member provides a pressing cavity having an apertured or screen-like bottom and a slicing cavity having a series of parallel blades. A second handle member is pivotally joined to the first handle member and provides first and second plunger members for pressing a foodstuff placed in the respective cavity. A cover member is attached to the first handle member between the bottoms of the two cavities and is adapted to selectively close either the pressing apertures or the blades, the side of the cover member facing the first cavity carrying a plurality of pins which can project through and clear the pressing apertures.

Abstract: The pizza crisper disclosed herein is formed of aluminum sheet metal and comprises a bottom portion and an annular rim which rises above the bottom portion. The bottom portion is perforate and comprises a succession of annular lands separated by annular grooves which can be substantially bridged by pizza dough thereby to facilitate air circulation and the venting of moisture.