Abstract: A Pedal mechanism for a bicycle or similar piece of exercise equipment is disclosed which allows one to apply a forward force to the drive wheel by simultaneously pressing down on both pedals of the bicycle. The pedals are positioned parallel to one another extending in the same direction from the pedal shaft. The pedalling motion of the invention can be performed with the pedals positioned pointing towards the front of the bicycle or with the pedals pointing towards the rear of the bicycle. The pedalling motions are referred to as a hopping or kangaroo stroke.

Abstract: A re-closable parallelepiped carton formed from a unitary sheet of creased and folded laminar material comprises a front panel, opposed side panels and a rear panel all equal in height, a bottom panel, and a lid formed by a top panel hingedly attached to an upper edge of the rear panel. The lid has integral front and side skirt members depending from front and side edges, respectively, of the top panel to extend outside the respective front and side panels for a relatively short part of said height. A front web member extends between an upper edge of the front panel and a lower edge portion of the front skirt member. The front web member comprises a longitudinal linear frangible zone, and upper and lower web portions above and below, respectively, the frangible zone. The upper web portion is formed from an outwardly and downwardly folded extension of the front panel.

Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus comprises means of supplying the microwave, a reaction chamber having a microwave lead-in opening, a microwave window for introducing the microwave provided by the microwave supply means into the reaction chamber through the microwave lead-in opening, and a supporting member having beams for supporting the microwave window. The apparatus has its microwave window divided in correspondence to areas of the supporting member divided by the beams. The apparatus can have a larger microwave window which is reinforced by the beams against the pressure at plasma generation, and is capable of processing large semiconductor substrates and glass substrates for liquid crystal display panels stably and uniformly.

Abstract: A sealing arrangement for a glass-carrying window frame comprises sealing profiles of an elastomeric material placed between the inner side of the insulating glass pane (1) and planes on the frame members facing the said inner side. A first sealing profile (8) is placed on the side members (2a) of the frame, and has a drainage channel (15a) facing the light aperture of the window. A second sealing profile (16) is placed in contact with the inner side of the insulating glass pane and together with the insulating glass pane (1) forms a substantially V-shaped drainage channel (22).

Abstract: Call pacing method in which agent availability and call answers are based on probability statistics and the allowable maximum abandon rate. A weight is assigned each agent engaged in a call or in after-call work. This weight is a function of how long an agent has been engaged in a call or in after-call work, the duration of a time window for which a prediction that the agent will be free is made, and the maximum allowable abandon call rate. The sum of the weights is the predicted number of engaged agents that will become free. The time window is independent of the interval between the dial of a call and when the call is expected to be answered and is automatically adjusted by the system; lengthened when the abandon call ratio falls below the acceptable ratio and shortened when the ratio rises above the acceptable ratio.

Abstract: An interactive television system in which the television program and a computer program are integrated to provide a viewer-friendly environment in which the viewer can participate on a real time basis with other viewers. The programmed computer system receives inputs from viewers in response to the television program content. A programmed interactive computer system processes the viewer inputs in accordance with parameters and algorithms correlated with the transmitted television program material. The system processes, for each participating viewer, his or her results based on the algorithm for the broadcast television program and the inputs of the other participating viewers. This individual data is stored and is made accessible to the viewer; in the preferred embodiment via a voice synthesizer to the participating viewer who initiates a call to the system.

Abstract: A single transistor capacitor stacked memory cell utilizing precharge voltage and spacial format to miximize storage per unit of area.

Abstract: A vehicle navigation apparatus for producing navigation information about a set of road maps, the starting position, current position and destination of a vehicle, a first optimum travel route having the vehicle travel to the destination from the starting position with a shortest driving time interval, and a second optimum travel route having the vehicle travel to the destination from the current position with a shortest driving time interval. The second optimum travel route includes a return travel route having a leading route end junction connected to the first optimum travel route and a trailing end point representative of the current position, and a detour travel route having a detour starting point where the vehicle starts to detour from the first optimum travel route and a detour ending point where the vehicle returns to the first optimum travel route.

Abstract: A hypertext editor captures general textual descriptions of various aspects of applications in a domain. A reference requirements editor lists (optional and required) input and output parameters for program functions in the domain. A "thing" editor lists services provided and required by "things" in the domain. A scenario editor lists high-level steps and a description of those steps to be performed by an application program in the domain. A domain dictionary records definitions of key terms and phrases used in the lists and descriptions of the reference requirements, "thing", and scenario editors.

Abstract: A transportable assembly of composite reinforcing sleeves for reinforcing a support column includes a plurality of sleeves defining a discontinuity at lateral edges, wherein each sleeve comprises a plurality of first high tensile strength filaments extending parallel to one another, a plurality of second high tensile strength filaments extending parallel to one another at an angle to the first filaments, and a matrix of fully cured resin in which the first and second filaments are embedded. The sleeves are arranged concentrically and held together by the matrix, with a release film interposed between adjacent sleeves. Each sleeve terminates in edges which are spaced from one another to define a gap in said sleeve, the gaps of said sleeves being in alignment with one another.

Abstract: A complex structure molding process for molding a complex structure including a plastic base and a plurality of terminal pins, comprising the steps of molding the plastic base to have the terminal pins partly embedded in the plastic base, storing a continuous metal material having a rim portion and a plurality of terminal pins perpendicularly extending from the rim portion, cutting the continuous metal material in a first direction parallel to the direction in which the terminal pins extend from the rim portion to form a segmented metal material, and setting the segmented metal material in the molding means in the state having the segmented metal material assume their predetermined attitudes. The continuous metal material is fed in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction to cut the continuous metal material and to set the segmented metal material for molding the plastic base to have the terminal pins partly embedded in the plastic base.

Abstract: A motion estimation method and a motion estimation apparatus for calculating a motion vector to estimate a current picture partially forming a video sequence on the basis of first and second reference pictures partially forming the video sequence. In the method and apparatus, a reference block included in the first reference picture similar to a current block included in the current picture is specified and multiplied by a first coefficient. By performing a subtraction between the multiplied reference block and the current block, a template block indicative of a difference between the multiplied reference block and the current block is obtained. On the other hand, candidate blocks are calculated by multiplying, by a second coefficient, each reference blocks included in a search window partly forming the second reference picture. Based on the candidate blocks and template block are calculated distortion values each indicative of a difference between the following interpolated blocks and current block.

Abstract: A method of and an apparatus for producing an animation having a series of road drawings to be watched from a driver's seat of a vehicle during a travel between two predetermined positions in a road map. The road drawings are formed on the basis of road data indicative of roads and obtained through three-dimensional computer graphics. Road map data indicative of the road map are stored in a road map data base device and includes node data indicative of nodes formed by intersections, corners and ends of the roads, link data indicative of links each connecting two of the nodes to define a road segment and road width data indicative of the widths of the road segments. The road map data covering a travel route between the predetermined positions are selected by a calculator from the road map data base device. The road data are calculated by the calculator on the basis of the selected road map data to produce the animation in such a manner that the roads are three-dimensionally shown in the road drawings.

Abstract: A method of photoforming a three-dimensional object, comprising the steps of transferring onto a work table a semi-hardened layer of a photohardenable resin separably supported on a base film, photoforming a hardened layer by exposing the semi-hardened layer, the hardened layer being laminated on a previously hardened layer to photoform the three-dimensional object, and when the hardened layer is photoformed, photoforming a first-region hardened layer forming the three-dimensional object and also a second region hardened layer that is adjacent to the first-region hardened layer through a predetermined space, the first-region hardened layer being supported through a portion of the semi-hardened layer by the second-region hardened layer.

Abstract: A power supply typology in which the pulse width modulated invertor switches serve two functions; conversion of the a.c. input to a d.c. rail voltage in addition to inversion of the d.c. rail voltage to a regulated a.c. output. An a.c. input ground terminal is connected to a node between two of the invertor switches and this node is also connected to the a.c. output to provide a common ground between the a.c. input and the a.c. output. A silicon control rectifier switch and one of the invertor switches connected to the ground node connect the back-up battery to the a.c. source during positive half cycles of the a.c. input in order to maintain a charge on the back-up battery.

Abstract: In a method of recovering data representing terrain height from a synthetic aperture radar system the phase data is unwrapped by a Gauss-Seidel relaxation technique applied to a least squares differential equation in a multigrid algorithm. In the multigrid algorithm the problem represented by the least squares equation is transferred to successively coarser grids to more quickly remove the low frequency components of error. The resulting interim solutions determined on the coarser grids are then transferred successively back to the finer grids to converge on the finest grid of the grid array.

Abstract: A method of photoforming a three-dimensional object, comprising the steps of transferring onto a work table a semi-hardened layer of a photohardenable resin separably supported on a base film, photoforming a hardened layer by exposing the semi-hardened layer, the hardened layer being laminated on a previously hardened layer to photoform the three-dimensional object, and when the hardened layer is photoformed, photoforming a first-region hardened layer forming the three-dimensional object and also a second region hardened layer that is adjacent to the first-region hardened layer through a predetermined space, the first-region hardened layer being supported through a portion of the semi-hardened layer by the second-region hardened layer.

Abstract: A "C" shaped adjustable watch band having a pair of opposite orientated hooks on opposite arms of the band is provided. The arms of the band may be flexed toward each other and allowed to overlap. Hooks are positioned to allow the simultaneous engagement of apertures provided on the respective overlapping arms. Because the bands attempt to spring back to their original unflexed condition, the hooks are retained within the apertures and the band is securely held together.

Abstract: The apparatus extracts from an optical transmission path bidirectionally-propagating groups of wavelength-division multiplexed optical signals, arranges the groups to propagate unidirectionally via an output port, receives a corresponding unidirectional group via an input port, sorts the corresponding unidirectional group into two groups corresponding to those extracted from the transmission path, and returns the two corresponding groups of wavelength-division multiplexed signals to the transmission path so that each group propagates in its original direction. The apparatus comprises first and second bidirectional ports for coupling in series between first and second sections of the transmission path, and a series of optical devices each comprising first, second, third and fourth ports and an optical bandpass filter or other wavelength-selective element. Each of the filters selects a different wavelength.

Abstract: An on-board chip package has a hermetically sealed connector mechanically secured to a printed wiring board and electrically connected to input/output pads on the board. Chip dies are mechanically bonded to the board and then individually encapsulated with a suitable potting material. The entire assembly is coated with an encapsulating polymer, which partially overlaps the inboard side of the hermetic connector housing and which provides a relatively smooth, crevice-free outer surface. The entire assembly is then covered, in the preferred embodiment, with a metal layer, to hermetically seal the entire chip-on-board assembly.