Abstract: An elevated support beam has a boom arm and two cam arms that pivot in opposite directions between a lower loading position and an elevated operating position. A passenger carriage is suspended from the cam arms and is releasably attached to the boom arm. When the passenger carriage is released from the boom arm with the cam arms locked in the operating position, it swings back and forth but is elevated safely from the ground because of the elevated cam arms. Alternative embodiments include separately pivotal boom and cam arms, a support arm sufficiently thick that the cam arms are not required, and movable solid or fluid counterweights. A method of swinging a passenger includes pivoting the boom arm and the cam arms to the operating position, locking the cam arms in the operating position, and permitting the carriage to swing from the cam arms safely above the ground.

Abstract: Drums 56 wind and unwind cables 18 connected to a passenger carriage 14 of an amusement ride 12 in response to winding and unwinding of tethers 48 about an axle 46. The tethers 48 are connected to elastic members 44 that store energy, and a lock 32 is releasable to permit the carriage 14 to travel under the force of the stored energy. The drums 56 have a diameter that is greater than a diameter of the axle, thereby providing a mechanical advantage to launch and accelerate the carriage 14 to a high velocity and/or to provide a dampening effect on the motion of the carriage. Alternative embodiments include ramps with loops, corkscrew sections, and/or inclined sections for carrying the carriage, safety cables strung through attachment members connected to the tethers, and telescopic spring devices with concentric coil springs.

Abstract: A voltage sag and over-voltage compensation device for an AC electric power distribution system employing cascaded switching devices and a pulse width modulated autotransformer. The autotransformer typically includes lower, center, and upper poles or taps with cascaded switching devices for selectively connecting the voltage source (i.e., a phase of the distribution line) between the lower pole and the center or upper poles. Each stage of the cascaded switching device includes a switching element located within a full-bridge rectifier circuit to allow bi-directional switching through each switching element (i.e., switching through the same switching element during the positive and negative portions of the AC voltage cycle).

Abstract: An interrupter switch mechanism 18, an actuator mechanism 20 for operating the switch mechanism 18, an engagement arm 30 such as a whip, a first resistor 22, a second resistor 26, a drive mechanism 64 for pivoting the engagement arm 30 into contact with the resistors 22 and 26, and a drive shaft 62. The drive mechanism 64 has a first hub 82, a second hub 84 that is biased relative to the first hub 82, and a pivotal latch member 66 that is biased towards an engaged position with the second hub 94. The drive shaft 62 sequentially operates the drive mechanism 64 to introduce the first resistor 22 and then the second resistor 26, and then operates the actuator 20 to close the switch mechanism 18, for reducing electrical disturbances when switching a capacitor bank 12 into an electric power circuit 16.

Abstract: An adjustable-width spring-operated roller shade that maintains proper orthogonal tracking at all available widths within the shade's range of width adjustment. The adjustable-width roller shade utilizes two overlapping window shades and a telescoping roller to provide a shade that is repeatedly width-adjustable within its original range of width adjustment. To keep the shade sufficiently perpendicular to the roller as the shade winds onto the roller, orthogonal tracking spacers, such as continuous, pliable strips constructed from the same material as the shades, are attached to non-overlapped portions of the shade material to compensate for the extra layers of material existing at the overlapped portion of the shades. Thus, the roller shade maintains proper orthogonal tracking of the shade at all available widths within the shade's range of width adjustment.

Abstract: An elevated support beam has a boom arm and two cam arms that pivot between a lower loading position and an elevated operating position. A passenger carriage is suspended from the cam arms and is releasably attached to the boom arm. When the passenger carriage is released from the boom arm with the cam arms locked in the operating position, it swings back and forth but is elevated safely from the ground because of the elevated cam arms. Alternative embodiments include separately pivotal boom and cam arms, a support arm sufficiently thick that the cam arms are not required, and movable solid or fluid counterweights. A method of swinging a passenger includes pivoting the boom arm and the cam arms to the operating position, locking the cam arms in the operating position, and permitting the carriage to swing from the cam arms safely above the ground.

Abstract: A lifting device that can effectively lift a variety of objects and enhance portability. The lifting device provides demountable portability that enables easy adaptation of the invention for objects of varying size. This adaptability provides a universality that minimizes the number of lifting devices need. The demountable nature of the invention also aids in efficient storage. Generally described, the lifting device includes a mast separable into a plurality of sections and a pulley supported by a first section of the mast. A dolly that supports the mast includes one or more transport structures for movably supporting the lifting device. An actuator is mounted on a second section of the mast. A carriage captured on the mast is configured to slide along the mast and directly or indirectly support an object to be lifted. The lifting device also includes a belt with a first end and a second end.

Abstract: An actuator mechanism that decreases the time needed to move the contacts of a circuit interrupter between a closed circuit position and an open circuit position to reduce the probability of the occurrence of restrikes. The actuator mechanism uses a toggle spring arrangement that uses a single spring to move the interrupter through both an opening stroke and a closing stroke. The interrupter is designed to connect to the circuit in parallel, so that the interrupter is not normally in the circuit when the circuit is closed. Because the interrupter is not normally in the circuit, it can be manufactured to less stringent standards than those that apply to electrical components that normally remain in the circuit. The interrupter is well adapted for use as a puffer-type interrupter in which the contacts of the interrupter are contained in an arc-extinguishing gas, such as sulphur-hexaflouride (SF6) gas to further reduce the probability of restrikes and to minimize the effect of occurring restrikes.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system for learning from and responding to regularly arriving information at once by quickly combining prior information with concurrent trial information to produce useful learned information. A parallel embodiment of the system performs can perform updating operations for memory elements of matrix through the coordinated use of parallel feature processors and a joint access memory, which contains weighted values and provision for connecting feature processors pairwise. The parallel version also performs feature function monitoring, interpretation and refinement operations promptly and in concert with concurrent operation. A non-parallel embodiment of the system uses a single processor to perform the above operations however, more slowly than the parallel embodiment, yet faster than available alternatives.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for high-speed scanning of electromagnetic emission levels includes a synchronizer for synchronizing scanning of a device under test with digitizing a output video signal from a spectrum analyzer. The synchronizer can be responsive to a synchronization signal from the device under test or can generate a synchronization signal to the device under test. Methods for calibrating the level and frequency of the video output signal are provided. Once calibrated the high-speed scanning can be used to develop single probe multifrequency/time scans yielding amplitude versus frequency and time plots, and single frequency multiple probe/time scans yielding amplitude versus space and time plots.

Abstract: A nudging device that can be used for aligning the core of a roll of paper with a caliper used for loading the roll into a roll stand. The nudging device has a nudging plate with a pivoted end and a free end. The pivoted end of the nudging plate is pivotally attached to a base by a pivot. The base can be securely maintained stationary with respect to a surface supporting a roll of paper to be nudged. The nudging device also has a means for pivoting the nudging plate from its resting position, and this means may be a pneumatic actuator (such as an air bladder), a hydraulic actuator, a ball screw actuator, or a pawl and ratchet actuator. The pivot is strategically placed on the base so that as the nudging plate is pivoted from its resting position, the free end of the nudging plate travels through an arc in a first circular direction (e.g., clockwise) while causing the roll to be nudged away from the nudging device as the roll moves in a second circular direction (e.g.

Abstract: A multi-kernel neural network computing architecture configured to learn correlations among feature values 34, 38 as the network monitors and imputes measured input values 30 and also predicts future output values 46. This computing architecture, referred to as a concurrent-learning information processor (CIP 10), includes a multi-kernel neural network array 14 with the capability to learn and predict in real time. The CIP 10 also includes a manager 16 and an input-output transducer 12 that may be used for input-output refinement. These components allow the computing capacity of the multi-kernel array 14 to be reassigned in response to measured performance or other factors. The output feature values 46 computed by the multi-kernel array 14 and processed by an output processor 44 of the transducer 12 are supplied to a response unit 18 that may be configured to perform a variety of monitoring, forecasting, and control operations in response to the computed output values.