Abstract: A system is disclosed for drying a material to liberate a substance such as a liquid having a vapor pressure from solids and/or dissolved substances in the material. The system includes a plenum chamber and a blower providing a stream of air to the plenum chamber. An outlet communicates with the plenum chamber and a velocity accelerator is disposed downstream of the outlet. The velocity accelerator is arranged to receive air from the outlet of the plenum chamber into a progressively narrowing interior passageway terminating at a downstream choke point orifice. The choke point orifice discharges into a larger diameter discharge region. A throttle body is disposed in the discharge region and is selectively movable toward and away from the choke point orifice to decrease or increase the volume of the discharge region. A passageway is formed through the throttle body for receiving flashed material from the discharge region and conveying the material in a downstream direction.

Abstract: A system is disclosed for drying a material to liberate a substance such as a liquid having a vapor pressure from solids and/or dissolved substances in the material. The system includes a plenum chamber and a blower providing a stream of air to the plenum chamber. An outlet communicates with the plenum chamber and a velocity accelerator is disposed downstream of the outlet. The velocity accelerator is arranged to receive air from the outlet of the plenum chamber into a progressively narrowing interior passageway terminating at a downstream choke point orifice. The choke point orifice discharges into a larger diameter discharge region. A throttle body is disposed in the discharge region and is selectively movable toward and away from the choke point orifice to decrease or increase the volume of the discharge region. A passageway is formed through the throttle body for receiving flashed material from the discharge region and conveying the material in a downstream direction.

Abstract: Methods and systems are disclosed for drying a material or, more generally, flash evaporating a target substance having a vapor pressure threshold. The methods and systems include a conveyor conduit that receives material and within which a pressure is established that is greater than the vapor pressure threshold of the target substance. The material moves through the conveyor and is expelled into a pressure drop zone created by one or more venturi nozzles. The pressure in the pressure drop zone is far less than the vapor pressure threshold of the target substance. As the material encounters the pressure drop zone, the targeted substance in the material experiences a rapid and extreme pressure drop and simultaneously a rapid temperature increase. This causes the target substance in the material to flash evaporate virtually immediately. The resulting vapor is separated from the remaining material and the now dry material is collected for further processing or use.

Abstract: A system is disclosed for drying a material to liberate a substance such as a liquid having a vapor pressure from solids and/or dissolved substances in the material. The system includes a plenum chamber and a blower providing a stream of air to the plenum chamber. An outlet communicates with the plenum chamber and a velocity accelerator is disposed downstream of the outlet. The velocity accelerator is arranged to receive air from the outlet of the plenum chamber into a progressively narrowing interior passageway terminating at a downstream choke point orifice. The choke point orifice discharges into a larger diameter discharge region. A throttle body is disposed in the discharge region and is selectively movable toward and away from the choke point orifice to decrease or increase the volume of the discharge region. A passageway is formed through the throttle body for receiving flashed material from the discharge region and conveying the material in a downstream direction.

Abstract: Methods and systems are disclosed for drying a material or, more generally, flash evaporating a target substance having a vapor pressure threshold. The methods and systems include a conveyor conduit that receives material. The material moves through the conveyor and is expelled into a pressure drop zone created by one or more venturi nozzles. As the material encounters the pressure drop zone, the targeted substance in the material experiences a rapid and extreme pressure drop and simultaneously a rapid temperature increase. This causes the target substance in the material to flash evaporate virtually immediately. The resulting vapor is separated from the remaining material and the now dry material is collected for further processing or use. The vapor can be collected, condensed, exhausted, or otherwise treated depending upon the goals of a particular installation or process.

Abstract: A multi layered high impedance structure presents a high impedance to multiple frequency signals, with a different frequency for each layer. Each layer comprises a dielectric substrate, and an array of radiating elements such as parallel conductive strips or conductive patches on the substrate's top surface, with a conductive layer on the bottom surface of the bottommost layer. The radiating elements of succeeding layers are vertically aligned with conductive vias extending through the substrates to connect the radiating elements to the ground plane. Each layer presents as a series of parallel resonant L-C circuits to an E field at a particular signal frequency, resulting in a high impedance surface at that frequency. The new structure can be used as the substrate for a microstrip patch antenna to provide an optimal electrical distance between the resonator and backplane at multiple frequencies.

Abstract: Acoustic wave characteristics varied by illumination of the acoustic wave propagation medium. An acoustic wave is generated and propagated on or through a medium, typically a piezoelectric substrate. The medium is illuminated, creating a charge grating. The velocity of the acoustic wave is altered and certain frequency components of the acoustic wave are reflected. Transducers may be used to extract the selected frequency. The characteristics of the illumination, including, among others, the wavelength and the intensity, may be varied to produce various acoustic wave velocities and to select particular acoustic wave frequency components.

Abstract: A system and method for estimating the point of diminishing returns for additional information in data mining processing applications. The present invention provides a convenient method of estimating the extent to which a data mining algorithm captures useful information in raw feature data. First, the input data is processed using a forward transform. A region of overlap Yo in the forward transformed data is identified and quantified. The region of overlap Yo is processed with a reverse transform to create an overlap region Z in an original feature space. The degree of overlap in region Z is quantified and compared to a level of overlap in the Yo region, such that the comparison quantifies the extent to which a data mining algorithm captures useful information in the input data.

Abstract: A thin InGaAs contact layer is provided for the collector of a heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) above an InP sub-collector. The contact layer provides a low resistance contact mechanism and a high thermal conductivity path for removing device heat though the sub-collector, and also serves as an etch stop to protect the sub-collector during device fabrication. A portion of the sub-collector lateral to the remainder of the HBT is rendered electrically insulative, preferably by an ion implant, to provide electrical isolation for the device and improve its planarity by avoiding etching through the sub-collector.

Abstract: The invention relates to an optical retardation film comprising a layer of an anisotropic polymer material with an optical axis substantially parallel to the plane of the layer. The invention furthermore relates to a process of preparing the optical retardation film, to the use of such an optical retardation film in liquid crystal displays, and to a liquid crystal display device comprising a liquid crystal cell and such an optical retardation film.

Abstract: An extensible short-range tracking system is disclosed. The tracking system disclosed is a multi-level tracking system. At the first level is an RF tag, which is a transmit-only unit that transmits information including minimally an identification number. The transmission from the RF tags are sporadic with timing depending upon the application at implementation. Generally, the transmission timing comprises a transmission, which is repeated periodically at random times. Transmissions from the RF tags are received in a series of relays. The relays may calculate the position of the tags by knowing the position of the relays and the time difference of arrival of the signals from the RF tags by several relays or may pass the information needed to calculate position to a base station. Alternately, the RF tags may generate position information and transmit that information along with the RF tag identifier to the relays.

Abstract: An input/output (I/O) module has a programmable memory having a first memory address for receiving a module number and a second memory address for receiving a signal direction indicator. The I/O module is for use with a programmable controller system having a master controller serially connected to a plurality of I/O modules. The I/O module has a signal line operatively coupled with the memory. The signal line has a pair of inputs. Both inputs are configured and adapted for receiving a module number signal across a line connected therewith. The other one of the inputs will then propagate the module number signal downstream. A logic circuit sets the second memory address with the signal direction indicator corresponding to the module number signal being received by a particular one of the inputs.

Abstract: A switch comprises a first and second contacts, a plunger, a toggle bar, and a spanner. A preferred trip lever arrangement is used in which a trip lever transfers an actuating force from the plunger to the toggle bar, and the toggle bar is caused to move farther than the plunger to provide a short trip point. Swing arms that are acted upon through a series of rigid body force transfers allow an operator to manually force welded contacts to be broken in the event that the contacts become welded to a spanner or other components of the switch assembly.

Abstract: A system and method for estimating the point of diminishing returns for additional information in data mining processing applications. The present invention provides a convenient method of estimating the extent to which a data mining algorithm captures useful information in raw feature data. First, the input data is processed using a forward transform. A region of overlap Yo in the forward transformed data is identified and quantified. The region of overlap Yo is processed with a reverse transform to create an overlap region Z in an original feature space. The degree of overlap in region Z is quantified and compared to a level of overlap in the Yo region, such that the comparison quantifies the extent to which a data mining algorithm captures useful information in the input data.

Abstract: A track and attenuate (T/A) circuit for use with switched current source DACs is connected across the DAC's differential current outputs. The T/A circuit includes three attenuate switches: first and second single-ended switches which connect the positive and negative sides of the differential output, respectively, to signal ground, and a third, differential switch which connects the positive and negative output lines together. The three attenuate switches are closed simultaneously during a portion of each cycle of the DAC's sample clock, to attenuate the DAC's current outputs while the outputs of the switched current sources are settling—thereby preventing dynamic nonlinearities from being introduced into the differential output current. When properly sized, the three attenuate switches (when closed) reduce the differential output current to near zero and lower the common mode voltage between the positive and negative output lines, significantly improving the DAC's dynamic linearity.

Abstract: An insulated-gate bipolar switch contains a number of trench-IGBT structures interdigitated with a number of floating mesas and trench gates to reduce inversion channel density. The IGBT mesa widths and the floating mesa widths are made different, which enables the switch to provide desired VFD, SCSOA and RBSOA values. The mesa widths and the number of floating mesas per unit cell are adjusted as needed to provide a switch having desired characteristics.

Abstract: A polarizing beamsplitter includes an optical medium and a rugate filter embedded therein. The rugate filter has an average refractive index which varies with position on the rugate plane in the non-thickness direction, where the averaging is across the rugate film in the thickness direction. The variation in the rugate's average index compensates for variations in incident angle across a cone of a divergent light beam. In one embodiment, the period of the rugate is substantially constant across its surface. Most preferably, the amplitude of the rugate index variation has an apodizing amplitude envelope superimposed thereon to aid in coupling the rugate to a surrounding optical medium.

Abstract: A nine-phase AC to DC power converter system may exhibit current unbalance problem among bridges due to two reasons: slight voltage magnitude difference among different sets of three-phase supplies and pre-existing voltage harmonics in the power supply lines. Since the unpredictability of the pre-existing harmonics and manufacturing uncertainty of the nine-phase power supply (it is usually a three to nine phase transformer), all devices in the rectifier bridges are required to carry much higher than necessary current magnitude and have to be designed oversize, as much as 100% up. Here we describe various topologies of harmonic blocking reactors to combat this problem. The described topologies can significantly improve this situation and thus avoid the over-sizing exercise (cost) when such converter system is built. The principle can be easily extended to any multi-phase AC to DC or DC to AC power conversion system of more than nine phases.

Abstract: An industrial control system incorporating a plurality of human/machine interfaces provides for the identification of an operator using the human/machine interface so as to forward output from an ongoing application tool program to the operator as the operator moves about the factory without interruption of the tool program. Location of the human/machine interface may be used to alter the tool program to refer to data relevant to the particular part of the process near the HMI providing for intuitive and efficient use of software type tools by roving operators.

Abstract: A method of strengthening green form parts made from metal powder requires the use of a cross-linkable polymer which, when cross-linking has been induced, retains its mechanical properties to a degree sufficient to prevent fracture or significant deformation of the green form part when subjected to heat sufficient to induce phase transformation and carbonization. The polymer is incorporated into a green form part and cross-linking induced, giving the green part additional strength which enables it to endure the consolidation process without failing. The required polymer can be part of the powder blend used to form the green form part, and induced to cross-link with heat or radiation. Alternatively, the green form part can be dipped in a thermoset resin that cross-links when cured.