Abstract: A printhead purging system comprises an ink conduit for supplying ink to a printhead, a hammer head for hammering a wall of a compressible part of the conduit, a spring-loading mechanism for priming the hammer head, and a release mechanism for releasing the primed hammer head. Release of the primed hammer head compresses the ink conduit and results in purging of ink from the printhead.

Abstract: A nozzle assembly for an inkjet printhead includes a substrate defining a nozzle chamber and an ink inlet channel in fluid communication with said chamber; a nozzle defined on the substrate and located over the nozzle chamber, said nozzle having a crown portion with a skirt portion depending from the crown portion, the skirt portion forming a first part of a peripheral wall portion of the nozzle chamber, the nozzle surrounded by a raised rim for supporting a meniscus of a body of ink in the nozzle chamber; and an actuator with a connecting arm fast with the nozzle to operatively displace the nozzle towards the substrate. The nozzle is substantially hexagonally shaped.

Abstract: A three-dimensional profile inspecting apparatus includes at least two optical inspecting apparatuses and a tilt angle adjusting mechanism. The tilt angle adjusting mechanism is equipped with the at least two optical inspecting apparatuses so as to adjust the tilt angles of the at least two optical inspecting apparatuses. When the tilt angles of the optical inspecting apparatuses are changed, the focuses of the optical inspecting apparatuses remain at a single position and a subject to be inspected is within the fields of view of the optical inspecting apparatuses. The three-dimensional profile of the subject can be obtained by building the images collected by the two optical inspecting apparatuses.

Abstract: A protective and/or splint device, for example a distal radial splint device (200), comprises a protective and/or splint member (201) and a spacer member (13). The protective and/or splint member (201) comprises a composite protective and/or splint material and is formable at a forming temperature and is substantially rigid at ambient temperature. The material comprises a polycaprolactone and a ligno-cellulose additive material. The protective and/or splint member (201) comprises a mesh of elements (202), with a plurality of openings (203) through the protective and/or splint member (201). Away from the periphery of the splint member (201), the openings (203) are diamond-shaped. Two border elements (204) extend along the two sides of the periphery of the splint member (201). The three point bending strength to openness ratio of the member is greater than 0.1 and the unidirectional bending strength to openness ratio of the member is greater than 4.

Abstract: A method of stitching converging path segments to aesthetically label Y-intersections, path bifurcations or splits in roads or the like entails determining which pair of adjacent path segments subtend the largest angle. The path segments subtending the largest angle are reconstructed (stitched together) and a single instance of the label is then rendered along the reconstructed path. Although this stitching can be performed on the client device, pre-stitching server-side is even more efficient in terms of economizing over-the-air bandwidth and onboard processing resources.

Abstract: A method, system and apparatus associated with the production of hydrocarbons are described. The system includes a wellbore that accesses a subsurface reservoir; a production tubing string disposed within the wellbore; and one or more sand control devices coupled to the production tubing string and disposed within the wellbore. At least one of the sand control devices includes a first tubular member having a permeable section and a non permeable section; a second tubular member disposed within the first tubular member. The second tubular member has a plurality of openings and an inflow control device that each provide a flow path to the interior of the second tubular member. Also, the at least one of the sand control devices includes a sealing mechanism disposed between the first tubular member and the second tubular member. The sealing mechanism is configured to provide a pressure loss during gravel packing operations that is less than the pressure loss during at least some of the production operations.

Abstract: Provided is a hand held personal digital assistant (PDA). The PDA includes body and display sections interconnected via a hinge section, as well as an internal printer arranged in the body section. The internal printer includes a printhead, a motor driver and media transport device arrangement for transporting print media from a roll of print media past the printhead, and a motor driver and guillotine motor arrangement for severing the printed print media from the roll of media. Also included is a microcontroller for controlling the printhead and respective motor driver arrangements.

Abstract: A unit cell of a printhead is provided having a multi-layer substrate defining an ink inlet, one or more side walls extending from the substrate around the ink inlet, a nozzle plate supported by the side walls to define a chamber in fluid communication with the ink inlet, where the nozzle plate defines an aperture through which ink in the chamber can be ejected, and a looped and elongate heater element suspended within the chamber, which can be heated so that bubbles are generated in ink within the chamber and ink is ejected from the aperture. The nozzle plate defines a protruding rim bounding the aperture.

Abstract: A method of integrating audio and an encoded medium using a handheld interactive apparatus. The method comprises activating an audio recording mode of the interactive apparatus, the handheld interactive apparatus having a housing containing an optical image sensor, an audio input device, and an audio output device; and imaging the encoded medium with the optical sensor to create a playback-enabling audio annotation corresponding to the recorded audio. The encoded medium comprises a printed coded data pattern enabling identification of the encoded medium and of a location on the encoded medium during the imaging.

Abstract: A wireless headset has improved immunity to RF electromagnetic interference produced from wireless communications devices. A headset body is adapted to be worn by a user and includes a microphone and earpiece. An antenna receives wireless communication signals and passes them to RF and audio circuitry mounted within the headset body. The RF and audio circuitry include a Bluetooth module operatively connected to the antenna for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals, an audio CODEC connected to the Bluetooth module, and audio connection lines connected between the CODEC and the earpiece and between the CODEC and the microphone. A filter is connected into each of the audio connection lines at the earpiece and microphone and operative for reducing the RF coupling from a mobile wireless communications device.

Abstract: A handheld wireless communication device configured to send and receive text messages. The device is hand cradleable with an elongate body configured to be held in one hand by an operator during text entry. A display is located on a front face of the body and upon which information is displayed to the operator during text entry. A key field is also located on the front face of the elongate body and that includes a plurality of alphanumeric input keys and menu control keys. A trackball navigation tool is located on the front face of the elongate body. The alphanumeric input keys include several alphabetic keys with letters arranged in a traditional (QWERTY), but non-ITU Standard E. 161 telephone letter layout. A microprocessor is provided that receives operator commands from the keys and the trackball navigation tool and which affects corresponding changes to the display based on user input.

Abstract: In a method of registering with an access point in a terminal of a wireless communication system, a frame includes a downlink sub-frame including a broadcast interval and a first management connection interval, and an uplink sub-frame including an access interval and a second management connection interval, the broadcast interval being used for transmitting a map message, the method includes: sending a first ranging request message to the access point using the access interval; receiving allocation information of a ranging slot from the access point using the map message; performing ranging through the ranging slot; sending a registration request message to the access point using the second management connection interval; and receiving information on whether to permit the registering from the access point using the first management connection interval.

Abstract: An interactive system for playing audio. The system comprises an article having a position-coding pattern and a plurality of different print elements printed thereon; an optical sensor for reading a portion of the position-coding pattern; a processor coupled to the optical sensor for determining a position using the read portion of the position-coding pattern; a computer system configured for identifying an audio data file using the position determined by the processor; and an audio output device for playing an audio output corresponding to the identified audio data file.

Abstract: A mobile communication device operating in a wireless local area network (WLAN) of a communication network maintains an inter-enterprise voice call via its WLAN interface (e.g. 802.11/VoIP/SIP) with another communication device in the communication network. During the voice call, a handover of the voice call from the WLAN to a wireless wide area network (WWAN) (e.g. GSM/GPRS) is identified. In response to identifying a handover indication, the mobile device causes a request message (e.g. a SIP INVITE message) to be sent over the WWAN to the conferencing gateway for establishing a first connection leg through the WWAN via its WWAN interface with a conference room of the conferencing gateway. The mobile device also causes a re-routing message (e.g. a SIP REFER message) to be sent to the communication device, so that a second connection leg between the communication device and the conference room may be established.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system with which fuel cell stacks can be tested automatically or manually so that production of pollutants and consumption of electricity are little. The system runs various analyses and tests on the fuel cell stacks and provides operative conditions such as temperatures and fluid flows needed in the tests.

Abstract: Devices, methods and programmed instructions useful for transferring one or more telephony functions associated with a wireless handheld telephony device to a second telephony device are disclosed. The wireless handheld telephony device provides information useful in transferring the one or more telephony functions to the second telephony device.

Abstract: A filtration device including a filtration medium having a plurality of nanofibers of diameters less than 1 micron formed into a fiber mat in the presence of an abruptly varying electric field during electrospinning of the plurality of nanofibers. The nanofibers retain charge in the filtration medium from the electrospinning. The filtration device includes a support attached to the filtration medium and having openings for fluid flow therethrough. A method for making a filter material. The method provides a support having openings for fluid flow therethrough, electrospins nanofibers across an entirety of the openings, abruptly varies an electric field at the collector at least once during electrospinning of the fibers, and retains charge on the nanofibers after formation of the filtration medium.

Abstract: A system for accumulating social relation information for social network services, includes a user location profile management unit for collecting at preset periods location profile information of a user; a user profile management unit for collecting and storing user profiles preset by the user; and a social activity tracking unit for collecting profiles from social activities of the user. Further, the system for accumulating the social relation information for the social network services includes a social relation information generation unit for collecting pieces of information received from the user location profile management unit, the user profile management unit, the email tracking unit, the chatting tracking unit and the Internet phone call tracking unit, and extracting new social relation information based on correlations between the pieces of collected information to generate a social relation ontology.

Abstract: Methods and systems of performing cell change for a circuit-switched call without a mobile station receiving a description of resources in a target cell are provided. In some embodiments, a command is generated at the serving cell which indicates to the mobile station to perform a cell change without first receiving a description of resources in the target cell. In some embodiments, a command is generated at the target cell which may be like a handover command, but which indicates to the mobile station to perform the cell change without an allocation of resources.

Abstract: A compact semiconductor laser pumped solid-state laser device is provided that can suppress unnecessary parasitic oscillation in a microchip and efficiently extract energy.