Abstract: An on-line moisture analyzer and method of analyzing the moisture content of an ore concentrate. A sample conveyor moves a sample of the concentrate to be analyzed to an aluminum pan that receives and holds the sample of the concentrate. A horizontal linear slide having a pneumatic vertical lift mounted to rotary arm is detachably connected to the aluminum pan by gripping fingers that detachably engage the pan. A scale is accessible by the conveyance member for weighing the sample. An oven also accessible by the conveyance member has a door that has a complimentary shape relative to a cross section of the sample container and conveyance member is used for heating the sample. A programmable logic controller controls the conveyance member and the oven door. A data processing unit receives data from the scale and determines a moisture content based on the data.

Abstract: A database server supports weighted and unweighted sampling of records or tuples in accordance with desired sampling semantics such as with replacement (WR), without replacement (WoR), or independent coin flips (CF) semantics, for example. The database server may perform such sampling sequentially not only to sample non-materialized records, such as those produced as a stream by a pipeline in a query tree for example, but also to sample records, whether materialized or not, in a single pass. The database server also supports sampling over a join of two relations of records or tuples without requiring the computation of the full join and without requiring the materialization of both relations and/or indexes on the join attribute values of both relations.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a cholesteric liquid crystal display that includes a homogeneous alignment surface effective to provide increased brightness, low focal conic reflectance and/or reflected light treat is to a significant degree circularly polarized. The homogeneous alignment surface substantially homogeneously aligns the liquid crystal director adjacent thereto. The homogeneous alignment surface may be disposed on one or both sides of a cell of the display. In the case of a cell in which the homogeneous alignment surface is disposed on only one side, the substrate with the inhomogeneous alignment surface may be upstream or downstream of the substrate with the homogeneous alignment surface relative to a direction of incident light. Also included especially in the case of a cell that has the homogeneous alignment surface on both sides is the use of a polarizer to provide very good brightness and low focal conic reflectance.

Abstract: A system for providing dunnage to packages as the packages are formed is disclosed. The system includes a dunnage forming machine having a work station for inflating and sealing plastic pouches to form dunnage units. An accumulator is positioned below the station for receiving and collecting such units as they are formed. The accumulator includes an outlet opening laterally offset from the station. A pair of counter rotating brushes having axes journaled in spaced relationship are mounted at the outlet. Each of the brushes includes circumferentially spaced bristle sets defining unit receiving spaces between adjacent sets. A motor drive is operably connected to the brushes for causing counter rotation. A unit volume sensor is provided for emitting a machine start signal when the volume of units in the accumulator reaches a predetermined low volume. A process for providing dunnage in packages being formed is also disclosed.

Abstract: A process of making ceramic spheroids by firing clay spheroids comprising by weight percent: FeO (3.22-5.21), Fe3O4 (3.40-5.11), SiO2 (52.49-59.42), CaO (1.99-7.96), MgO (2.81-4.69), Al2O3 (12.05-17.65), TlO2 (0.58-0.71), MnO (0.07-0.19), Na2O (0.47-0.86), K2O (1.70-2.37), P2O3 (0.13-0.19), S (0.03-0.29), CO2 (0.90-8.23), Organic C (0.22-1.04), H2O+ (4.14-7.28), H2O− (2.12-5.48) in contact with a particulate parting agent selected from aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide, and their precursors at a sufficiently high temperature and for a sufficiently long time to form a shell. Preferably, the clay spheroids are obtained from a deposit located at Hallock in Kittson County Minn., U.S.A.

Abstract: In a database system, a method for determining a set of essential statistics. A set of potentially relevant, but unconstructed, statistics for a user query comprising a plurality of operators is compiled. A first value is assigned to the unconstructed statistics and a first projected query cost is computed for the query wherein the unconstructed statistics have the first value. A second value is assigned to the unconstructed statistics and a second projected query cost is computed for the query wherein the unconstructed statistics have the second value. The first and second projected query costs are compared and the determination of essential statistics is discontinued if the first and second projected query costs are equivalent. If the first and second projected query costs are not equivalent, an unconstructed statistic is selected to build and process is repeated until the first and second projected query costs are equivalent or all the unconstructed potentially relevant statistics have been constructed.

Abstract: The invention relates to objective arrangements for use in projection systems such as overhead projectors. An objective arrangement 10 provides a tilted image plane. The arrangement 10 is rotationally asymmetric by virtue of the third element 16 having a principal optical axis 22 which is displaced to one side, but parallel with the principal optical axes 20 of the first and second elements 12,14. This asymmetry has been found to correct aberrations introduced by a tilted Fresnel lens used in the projection arrangement.

Abstract: Determining a degree of relative similarity between event types in event sequences by examining the context of the event types facilitates similarity analysis of large sets of event sequences. A method for determining the similarity between event types in event sequences by examining the data log of the event sequence. A context set of event types is compiled for each event type. The context sets are then compared to determine a degree of similarity between their corresponding event types. The context sets may be compiled by recording the event types which happen within a predetermined time period of the event type in question. The context sets may then be transformed into vectors and a distance calculated between the vectors. The distance indicates a degree of relative similarity between the event types which correspond to the vectors.

Abstract: A process for stripping a photoresist layer after exposure to an ion implantation process. The process includes subjecting a substrate having the ion implanted photoresist layer thereon to a UV radiation exposure and subsequently removing the ion implanted photoresist by conventional stripping processes.

Abstract: High strength steel tube is made from a full hard, cold rolled steel sheet having a chemistry compliant to S.A.E. J 403 grade 1026. The high strength of the tube is a result of specified thermal-mechanical processing of hot rolled sheet followed by controlled percent cold rolled reduction, and does not require post-welding thermal heat treatment and/or cold drawing processing.

Abstract: A ratchet wrench is disclosed. The wrench includes a handle including a head and an elongate grippable portion. The head includes toothed walls defining a palm socket receiving aperture. The handle carries a manually actuatable spring biased lever having a latching portion projecting into the aperture in a normal position and an external actuating portion spaced from the latching portion for manual actuation against the spring bias to shift the latching portion from its normal position to a release position at least partially within a lever recess in the handle. A palm ratchet is disclosed which has a toothed perimeteral portion insertable into the aperture when the latching portion is in its release position. The perimeteral portion includes a surface defining a latching recess for receiving the latching portion when the latching portion is in the normal position thereby maintaining the handle and palm ratchet in a connected condition.

Abstract: An index and materialized view selection wizard produces a fast and reasonable recommendation for a configuration of indexes, materialized views, and indexes on materialized views which are beneficial given a specified workload for a given database and database server. Candidate materialized views and indexes are obtained, and a joint enumeration of the combined materialized views and indexes is performed to obtain a recommended configuration. The configuration includes indexes, materialized views and indexes on materialized views. Candidate materialized views are obtained by first determining subsets of tables are referenced in queries in the workload and then finding interesting table subsets. Next, interesting subsets are considered on a per query basis to determine which are syntactically relevant for a query. Materialized views which are likely to be used for the workload are then generated along with a set of merged materialized views.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating a plasma in a gas using a thermal source and a heat source in a common reaction zone. A process gas is flowed to a reaction zone and heated with a thermal energy source. Within the same reaction zone, a current is passed in the gas to generate a plasma within the gas. The plasma is directed to a substrate for treatment. The substrate may be a silicon wafer as part of an etching, ashing, wafer cleaning, and chemical vapor deposition.

Abstract: An over the highway vehicle having a forwardly pivotal cab mounted on a frame is disclosed. A latch assembly is interposed between the frame and the cab. The latch assembly includes coacting subassemblies including a catch for releasable retention by a latch. One of the subassemblies is connected to the frame and the other of the subassemblies is connected to the cab. The cab connected subassembly includes an impact absorbing yieldable element for normally maintaining a connected cab in a latched position. The element is extensible upon such vehicle experiencing a collision to allow controlled and limited forward tilting of the cab occasioned by the force of such a collision while maintaining the cab in a latched condition. A process of absorbing collision forces is also disclosed.

Abstract: A packaging web is disclosed. The web is an elongate, flattened plastic tube having face and back sides delineating the faces and backs of a set of side by side bags. The tube includes an elongated top section and spaced sets of side seals each extending transversely from the bottom to a location near the top section. The side seals of each set delineate sides of adjacent bags such that the sides and bottoms delineate the perimeters of a set of open top bags. The top section is essentially a bottom open tube for providing bag support when the web is fed into a bag loading machine. The web includes superposed, spaced lines of weakness in each of the face and back sides delineating tops of the bags. Each such spaced line of weakness extends substantially across an associated bag top and terminates in spaced relationship with an associate one of the spaced lines of weakness to leave solid sections in the face and back sides.

Abstract: A capacitive, operator-sensing circuit for mobile power equipment includes a charge-transfer touch sensor that is electrically coupled to at least one sensing electrode mounted on a gripping surface of the mobile power equipment. The charge-transfer touch sensor is preferably a digital integrated circuit that operates to change an output voltage between two levels or states (logic high and logic low) depending upon a quantity of charge sensed on the at least one sensing electrode, the sensed charge on the at least one sensing electrode changing with the presence or absence of an operator's hand on the at least one sensing electrode. The charge-transfer touch sensor outputs a DC voltage signal, maintaining a given output voltage level until the sensor senses a predetermined change in sensed charge on the sensing electrode. The capacitive operator-sensing circuit additionally includes coupling circuitry coupled between the charge-transfer touch sensor and a component of the equipment.

Abstract: A keyboard and mouse support includes a keyboard support body and a mouse support. The keyboard support body includes a throughpassage that passes through the support body and opens on opposite sides of the support body. The keyboard support body also defines a support surface configured to accommodate a keyboard such as a keyboard for inputting alphanumeric symbols to a personal computer. The moveable mouse support fits within a portion of the throughpassage of the support and extends outwardly from the support to define a mouse support surface having a region that extends in front of a front edge of a keyboard with the keyboard resting the support surface. Although the term “mouse” has become almost universally used for the rolling input device used to move an arrow on the display screen and “pick” functions or data values, other terms such as “trackball” can be used interchangeably with the term “mouse”.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for displaying and navigating data organized in the form of a graph structure (hierarchy or network) is presented. The invention has application for displaying a system of interconnected nodes such as a graph, a network, an organizational chart, a flowchart etc. wherein data or information is associated with nodes of the system. A user interface is implemented as an ActiveX control having a viewer component for displaying and navigating graph structur (for example a data mining model over data records or a directory structure over a set of files). The viewer component updates the contents of related windows that display different aspects of the components (nodes) of the data structure. A thumbnail window presents the user with an overview of the data structure. A layout window presents a more detailed view of part of the graph structure. Other windows display context and detailed properties associated with particular selected nodes.

Abstract: A method for determining an endpoint for an oxygen free plasma stripping process for use in semiconductor wafer processing. The method comprises exciting a gas composition containing a nitrogen gas and a reactive gas to form the oxygen free plasma. The oxygen free plasma reacts with a substrate having a photoresist and/or residues thereon to produce emitted light signals corresponding to an oxygen free reaction product. The endpoint is determined by optically measuring a primary emission signal of the oxygen free reaction product at a wavelength of about 387 nm. The endpoint is determined when the plasma no longer reacts with the photoresist and/or residues on the substrate to produce the emitted light at about 387 nm, an indication that the photoresist and/or residues have been removed from the wafer. Secondary emission signals of the oxygen free reaction product at about 358 nm and 431 nm can also be monitored for determining the endpoint.