Abstract: A transmission delay system, an improvement to a transmission delay system, and a method of delaying a transmission for removing undesired content from an input media stream; for excising, recording, storing, and logging, the undesired content; and for automatically providing message alerts through a network to at least one message alert recipient that an excision event has occurred.

Abstract: In a laundry washing/drying machine involving drying by a heat pump cycle, in an initial stage of the drying operation the heat within an air circulation path is deficient and therefore it is impossible to effect quick heating of air on a drum inlet side up to a sufficiently high temperature. According to the present invention there is provided a drying unit capable of raising the drum inlet air temperature quickly up to a sufficiently high temperature in an initial stage of the drying operation and thereby shortening the drying time.

Abstract: A liquid propellant rocket engine with a propulsion chamber shutter, the rocket engine comprises a combustion chamber, a propellant injector device placed at an upstream first end of the combustion chamber, a nozzle throat disposed at a downstream second end of the combustion chamber remote from the upstream first end, and a diverging portion disposed downstream from the nozzle throat. A selective shutter device for the nozzle throat comprises an axially-symmetrical shutter member placed downstream from the nozzle throat, and axial rod for controlling the shutter member, a first short centering member for the control rod situated at the upstream first end of the combustion chamber level with the propellant injector device, a second short centering member for the control rod situated in the combustion chamber in the vicinity of the nozzle throat and upstream therefrom, and a system for returning the control rod of the selective shutter device for the nozzle throat to the closed position.

Abstract: A system and method of perceptual quality assessment for multimedia content in a communications network employing digital watermarking. A content preparer prepares content for quality assessment by embedding digital watermarks into the multimedia data, each watermark having a different level of robustness with respect to a specified type of potential degradation introduced during content transmission. A quality assessor provides an assessment of the quality of the transmitted content by attempting to detect the presence of at least one watermark, and calculating a quality assessment score based on the level(s) of robustness of the detected watermark(s) with respect to the specified type of potential degradation. The quality assessment score can be calculated based on the level of robustness of the least robust watermark whose presence was successfully detected by the quality assessor.

Abstract: A method for processing solar cells comprising: providing a vertical furnace to receive an array of mutually spaced circular semiconductor wafers for integrated circuit processing; composing a process chamber loading configuration for solar cell substrates, wherein a size of the solar cell substrates that extends along a first surface to be processed is smaller than a corresponding size of the circular semiconductor wafers, such that multiple arrays of mutually spaced solar cell substrates can be accommodated in the process chamber, loading the solar cell substrates into the process chamber; subjecting the solar cell substrates to a process in the process chamber.

Abstract: There are provided: a proton transporting material that improves mechanical characteristics of a sulfonated liquid crystalline polymer material, can be kept as a membrane even though it is made a solid state while maintaining a molecular arrangement of a liquid crystalline state, and is suitable for electrolyte membranes of fuel cells etc.; an ion exchange membrane, a membrane electrolyte assembly (MEA), and a fuel cell that use the proton transporting material; a starting material for the proton transporting material. The proton transporting material has a molecular structure produced by crosslinking the sulfonated liquid crystalline polymer material with a crosslinking agent having two or more functional groups in sites except that of the sulfonic acid group.

Abstract: A holder for holding a tooth on a body of a cutting blade or grinding drum for cutting or grinding rock or hard earth formations. The selectively-positionable holder includes a portion for holding the tooth in a manner such at that a portion of the tooth projects from the holder and a base surface for attaching the holder to an attachment surface of the body. When the holder is positioned in one of a plurality of orientations, the base surface has, within an area over the attachment surface, a shape which is profiled so that a region defined between the base surface and the attachment surface is, for at least one of the plurality of different orientations, smaller than a region that would be defined if the base surface would have a flat shape.

Abstract: Systems and methods of performing quantitative measurements of blocking artifacts in digital images and digital image sequences that are computationally efficient, and that employ no reference information in the measurement process. At least one normalized gradient image array is calculated, with reference to at least one specified gradient direction, from image pixel data contained in an image pixel array derived from a given digital image. The calculated results are accumulated into at least one profile array, and the data contained in the respective profile array is analyzed in the frequency domain to obtain a quantitative measurement of blockiness in the given digital image.

Abstract: A turbomachine arranged with a rotor and a stator, including a radial positioning device ensuring that the rotor is radially positioned; and a contactless axial balancing device arranged on at least one bladed wheel for axially balancing the rotor at high speed. The turbomachine includes a thrust bearing distinct from the radial positioning device serving to balance the rotor axially at low speed, and without contact at high speed. In addition, the radial positioning device is constituted by hydrostatic bearings, the turbomachine including hydrostatic bearing feed circuits suitable for connecting the bearings to a source of fluid under pressure. As a result, it is possible to obtain operation at high speeds with a very long lifetime.

Abstract: A multizone convection furnace is provided in which gas from a cooling chamber of the furnace is directed into one or more heat zones of the furnace for the purpose of providing a specified thermal profile. The gas introduced from the cooling chamber into the one or more heat zones is of the same type of gas present in the heat zones, and typically is nitrogen. In a preferred embodiment, the convection furnaces comprises a heating chamber composed of a plurality of adjacent heat zones and a cooling chamber at the exit end of the heating chamber. A conveyer extends through the furnace for movement of a product through the heat zones and cooling chamber of the furnace. The cooling chamber is coupled to one or more of the heat zones such that cooled gas from the cooling chamber can be introduced into selected heat zones. In one version, a cooled gas path is provided to all of the heat zones and cooled gas is introduced into intended zones by opening associated valves.

Abstract: The axially adjustable magnetic bearing comprises an annular body secured to a support, a magnetic bearing stator structure having an annular sheath for supporting electromagnet windings placed concentrically relative to said body, and an annular rotor armature placed concentrically relative to the stator structure, leaving an airgap relative thereto. The annular body includes at least one radial slot associated with clamping means, and includes a set-back portion in its face facing towards the stator structure. The face of the annular body facing towards the stator structure includes a sliding surface that co-operates with a facing portion of said sheath, and the set-back portion of the annular body presents a threaded portion that co-operates with a threaded portion of an adjustment ring engaged in an annular groove formed in the face of the sheath that faces towards the body. The adjustment ring is prevented from moving in the axial direction in said annular groove.

Abstract: A hydrogen producing system and a hydrogen producing method by which hydrogen can be efficiently produced using abundant seawater as the raw material. A hydrogen producing method has a system (10) for producing hydrogen from seawater, and the hydrogen producing system (10) has an activation device (12) and a pipe line device (14). The activation device (12) has a closed space (S) for introducing the seawater (W) and a vapor ejection means (18) for ejecting high-temperature, high-pressure vapor (T) into the closed space (S), and the activation device (12) activates under high temperature and high pressure the seawater (W) in the closed space (S). The pipe line device (14) is a device for receiving and leading the high-temperature, high-pressure seawater activated by the activation device (12) and includes one or more seawater leading tubes (403-408) having any one of triangular, pentagonal, hexagonal and octagonal cross sections.

Abstract: A solderless electronic component or capacitor mount assembly including a housing having a base portion and a cover portion is disclosed. The cover portion and base portion being couplable to each other so as to secure a capacitor to the housing. The assembly further including at least one connector configured to couple the assembly to a printed circuit board, and at least one electrical contact configured to contact a respective at least one lead of the capacitor and provide an electrical connection for the capacitor.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method of and apparatus for measurement and/or calibration of the position of an object in space in such embodiment where the apparatus contains at least one moving arm fitted to the frame on one end and on the other end fitted to a platform, where the platform can be attached to the object to be measured or calibrated; during the motion of the object with the platform attached the relative positions of individual members of at least one moving arm, frame and platform are read and the measured data is used for determination of the position of the object or for its calibration.

Abstract: A syringe having an internal pressure gauge comprises a syringe barrel; a piston within the barrel; a spring coupled to the piston at a first position of the spring, the spring having a second portion that is movable in response to fluid pressure within a syringe cavity; and a pressure gauge having an indicator correlated to a plurality of positions of the second portion of the spring to indicate a pressure of a fluid. The spring can be a bellows. The fluid chamber can be in fluid communication with a cuff of an inflatable medical device, such as an endotracheal tube, such that the measured pressure comprises the fluid pressure within the cuff.

Abstract: One or more two-dimensional fiber fabrics of carbon or carbon precursor fibers are impregnated (58, 59) by a solution or a suspension capable of allowing a dispersion of discrete ceramic particles to remain in the fiber fabric, and a fiber preform (51) is made by superposing plies formed of two-dimensional fabric made of carbon or carbon precursor fibers, the plies being bonded to one another, and at least some of the plies being at least partially formed of a previously-impregnated two-dimensional fabric. The field of application is particularly that of friction parts made of C/C composite material with incorporated ceramic particles.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for damping the lateral forces due to jet separation that act on a rocket engine nozzle during a stage of starting or stopping the engine, the engine including at least two identical drive assemblies mounted on the nozzle to take up the lateral forces acting thereon, each drive assembly comprising a first member forming a strut, a second member forming an anchor structure, and an actuator. Each strut comprises means enabling it to act as a rigid strut so long as the lateral forces acting on the corresponding actuator remain below a determined force threshold, and as an element for peak limiting force and for dissipating residual kinetic energy once the forces acting on the actuator exceed the determined force threshold.

Abstract: In a system for providing user input information to multiple independent, concurrent applications, the applications send subscription messages to a device receiving user input such as a telephone receiving key presses from a keypad. Each subscription message identifies a pattern of user input that the application is to be notified of. The device monitors the user input to identify the occurrence of the identified patterns. When a specified pattern of user input is detected, the device notifies the corresponding application via a signaling channel linking the application with the device. The subscription messages use regular expressions including various formats to specify the patterns of interest, such as a single digit (explicitly or wildcard), one of a set of digits, a range of digits, and a repeating pattern of digits.

Abstract: A microcircuit package having a ductile layer between a copper flange and die attach. The ductile layer absorbs the stress between the flange and semiconductor device mounted on the flange, and can substantially reduce the stress applied to the semiconductor device. In addition, the package provides the combination of copper flange and polymeric dielectric with a TCE close to copper, which results in a low stress structure of improved reliability and conductivity.