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: The present invention is directed to an integrated, reflective bistable, cholesteric liquid crystal display and solar cell assembly providing electrical energy to power display electronics. The liquid crystal display includes the layer of cholesteric liquid crystal material sandwiched between first and second transparent substrates. An inner surface of the first substrate and an inner surface of the second substrate bound the layer of liquid crystal material and the first substrate is closest to a viewer of the display. A first set of conductive electrodes is disposed on the inner surface of the first substrate and a second set of conductive electrodes is disposed on the inner surface of the second substrate. Display driver circuitry is electrically coupled to the first and the second sets of conductive electrodes for generating desired voltage differentials between electrodes of the first set of conductive electrodes and electrodes of the second set of conductive electrodes.

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: 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.

Abstract: A method of making a high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) hot rolled steel. A high-strength low-alloy steel is made by hot rolling a steel slab of a specified composition. The hot rolling step is carried out at an austenitic hot roll finishing temperature. The hot rolled steel is coiled at a temperature ranging from 1120° F. to 1180° F. The steel is characterized by a yield strength of at least 110 ksi. The steel may be further characterized by a ferrite-bainite microstructure.

Abstract: Iterative validation for efficiently determining error-tolerant frequent itemsets is disclosed. A description of the application of error-tolerant frequent itemsets to efficiently determining clusters as well as initializing clustering algorithms are also given. In one embodiment, a method determines a sample set of error-tolerant frequent itemsets (ETF's) within a uniform random sample of data within a database. This sample set of ETF's is independently validated, so that, for example, spurious ETF's and spurious dimensions within the ETF's can be removed. The validated sample set of ETF's, is added to the set of ETF's for the database. This process is repeated with additional uniform samples that are mutually exclusive from prior uniform samples, to continue building the database's set of ETF's, until no new sample sets can be found.

Abstract: A wax composition for use in investment casting having improved properties includes polyethylene terephthalate as a filler material. The amount of polyethylene terephthalate used in the wax composition ranges from about 5 to about 50 parts by weight of the total wax composition. The use of polyethylene terephthalate as the filler material is effective for controlling the expansion and contraction properties of the wax composition providing a high degree of dimensional accuracy. Polyethylene terephthalate is relatively inexpensive compared to other inert filler materials, does not react with the mold, allows the wax pattern to be readily removed from the mold with reduced tendencies for shell cracking and results in little or no appreciable ash residue upon firing.

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 that 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 method for selectively separating and recovering palladium from an aqueous palladium/tin catalyst solution. The method includes the steps of adjusting the pH of the aqueous solution to a specified pH range thereby precipitating the tin, and producing a soluble form a palladium. The solution can be either pre-filtered or settled and subsequently processed through ion exchange resin in a conventional manner, or processed in an upflow direction through an at least partially fluidized bed of ion exchange resin to remove and concentrate the palladium for recovery.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to three pole plunger switch assembly. The assembly includes a three pole plunger switch and a mating connector. The plunger switch includes a switch housing for supporting components of the plunger switch and a plunger extending into an interior region of the switch housing and being actuatable from outside the switch housing wherein the plunger adapted to move between a normal position and an actuated position. The plunger switch further includes first, second and third electrically conductive wiper contacts mounted to the plunger for movement with the plunger and first, second and third sets of terminals extending into the switch housing interior region. Respective terminals of the first and second terminal sets are substantially aligned. The terminals of the third terminal set are perpendicular to the terminals of the first and second terminal sets.

Abstract: An oil maintenance indicator for recording one or more parameters indicative of when an engine oil filter has been changed. The maintenance indicator includes a sensor that measures oil pressure of an engine at start up. A comparator compares an output provided by the sensor to known parameters to determine whether the oil filter has been changed. A recorder coupled to the comparator records one or several parameters indicative of when the oil filter has been changed.

Abstract: A burner nozzle includes a burner tube that extends along a central axis and has an inlet end portion for receiving combustible gas and air. The burner tube extends along the central axis from the inlet end portion to an outlet end portion for releasing a mixture of gas and air. A curved head with a plurality of openings and an imperforate portion is connected to the outlet end portion. The openings and imperforate portion of the curved head create a transverse flow of gas and air out of the curved head to produce a shaped flame. A burner assembly may include a combustion tube in which the burner nozzle is disposed and connected. The burner nozzle is used in a method of widening and shaping a flame.