Abstract: A health monitoring system for use with a child car seat has sensors mounted in the seat to monitor one or more health conditions of the seat's occupant. A processor monitors the sensor's signals and generates status signals related to the monitored conditions. A transmitter wirelessly transmits the status signals to a remotely located receiver. A signaling device coupled to the receiver produces at least one sensory (e.g., visual, audible, tactile) output based on the status signals.

Abstract: In a rotor assembly having a rotor supported for rotation by magnetic bearings, a processor controlled by software or firmware controls the generation of force vectors that position the rotor relative to its bearings in a “bounce” mode in which the rotor axis is displaced from the principal axis defined between the bearings and a “tilt” mode in which the rotor axis is tilted or inclined relative to the principal axis. Waveform driven perturbations are introduced to generate force vectors that excite the rotor in either the “bounce” or “tilt” modes.

Abstract: Coaxial valves usually contain only one moving part. It has not been easy, then, to provide for electric motor actuation. Many actuators being proposed involve designs which lead to bulky packages. The key facing those improving coaxial valves is the provision of suitable linear actuation. The valve herein includes a valve housing with a flow channel therethrough. Arranged in the flow channel is a closing body. In alignment with the closing body is a ball screw actuator which includes a ball nut and a cylindrical screw. The ball nut surrounds a threaded portion of the cylindrical screw. The cylindrical screw is provided with a passageway therethrough through which fluid flows. The cylindrical screw is disposed in the flow channel to become a control tube adapted to move toward and away from the valve seat. To rotate the ball nut an actuating drive is employed driven by a stepper motor.

Abstract: A method is provided for the fabrication of a protective coating for a crucible with channels being formed in the coating. A material is adhered to the outer wall of the crucible to form a pattern thereon. The outer wall of the crucible along with the pattern of material adhered thereto is next coated with another material. The material used to form the pattern should extend through the outer material coating to define at least one port therein. Next, the crucible with its pattern of material and outer coating material is heated to a temperature of transformation at which the pattern of material is transformed to a fluidic state while the crucible and outer coating material maintain their solid integrity. Such transformation could also be accomplished by using a solvent that causes the pattern of material to dissolve.

Abstract: A method for treating alloy before and after friction stir welding, the method comprising the following steps. First solution heat treating a multiplicity of aluminum-zinc alloy engineered components for a first time period at a first temperature. First air cooling the components in ambient air at room temperature until the components are cooled to room temperature. Friction stir welding the components to form an assembly. Second solution heat treating the assembly for a second time period at a second temperature. Additional steps and embodiments are considered.

Abstract: An optical coding system is provided for a data transmission device with at least one laser transmitter and at least one laser receiver. The laser transmitter has a laser device and a code generator, and the laser receiver a detector device and an evaluation circuit. The detector device is designed for detecting a burst sequence (B1, B2, B3, . . . ), wherein the length d of the pulses of a burst is greater than 400 ns, and the length D of a burst consisting of a number b of pulses is less than 1000 &mgr;s.

Abstract: A signal conditioning amplifier receives an input signal from an input such as a transducer. The signal is amplified and processed through an analog to digital converter and sent to a processor. The processor estimates the input signal provided by the transducer to the amplifier via a multiplexer. The estimated input signal is provided as a calibration voltage to the amplifier immediately following the receipt of the amplified input signal. The calibration voltage is amplified by the amplifier and provided to the processor as an amplified calibration voltage. The amplified calibration voltage is compared to the amplified input signal, and if a significant error exists, the gain and/or offset of the amplifier may be adjusted as necessary.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are provided through which a radio-frequency dielectric heater has a cylindrical form factor, a variable thermal energy deposition through variations in geometry and composition of a dielectric, and/or has a thermally isolated power input.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for evaluating the vestibular function in a human subject. The subject is constrained in a substantially erect position so that the head moves in unison with the rest of the body. A controlled stimulus in the form of a sudden angular acceleration is imparted to the body, and the subject's ocular response to the controlled stimulus is measured. The vestibular function is evaluated from the ocular response and the angular velocity of the head.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for compressing a continuous data flow based on lossy compression. In real-time data compression, a series of data subsets acquired in a given period of time are treated as a regional data cube for the purpose of dividing a continuous series of data subsets into a plurality of data cubes. Reuse of existing codevectors is important in achieving high compression performance. For encoding spectral vectors on a subset-by-subset basis in a current region two types of codevectors are used, codevectors that have been newly trained for previous data subsets in the current region and codevectors trained for the previous region. The problem of a visible spatial boundary between two adjacent regions after decompression is overcome by reusing the codevectors trained from a previous region to encode the spectral vectors in the current region in order to attain a seamless conjunction of the two adjacent regions.

Abstract: Nitric oxide (NO) is oxidized into nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by the high temperature decomposition of a hydrogen peroxide solution to produce the oxidative free radicals, hydroxyl and hydroperoxyl. The hydrogen peroxide solution is impinged upon a heated surface in a stream of nitric oxide where it decomposes to produce the oxidative free radicals. Because the decomposition of the hydrogen peroxide solution occurs within the stream of the nitric oxide, rapid gas-phase oxidation of nitric oxide into nitrogen dioxide occurs.

Abstract: A high temperature anemometer includes a pair of substrates. One of the substrates has a plurality of electrodes on a facing surface, while the other of the substrates has a sensor cavity on a facing surface. A sensor is received in the sensor cavity, wherein the sensor has a plurality of bondpads, and wherein the bond pads contact the plurality of electrodes when the facing surfaces are mated with one another. The anemometer further includes a plurality of plug-in pins, wherein the substrate with the cavity has a plurality of trenches with each one receiving a plurality of plug-in pins. The plurality of plug-in pins contact the plurality of electrodes when the substrates are mated with one another. The sensor cavity is at an end of one of the substrates such that the sensor partially extends from the substrate. The sensor and the substrates are preferably made of silicon carbide.

Abstract: An optical unit (10) comprising a plurality of optical elements, a receiving structure (12) with a plurality of element supports (40, 41) for receiving the optical elements. The element supports (40, 41) are in the form of a plate or shell or tube, whose dimensions are greater than the dimensions of the optical elements to be received, and is connected to another element support. At least one element support (40, 41) comprises temperature elements (43-49) that can be heated and/or cooled. The optical unit (10) furthermore comprises a control unit for driving the temperature elements (43-49) in order to locally change the temperature of the at least one element support (40, 41) so as to influence in a controlled manner the shape of the at least one element support (40, 41).

Abstract: The invention involves tunneling tips to their conducting surface, and specifically the deposition of a monolayer of fullerene C60 onto the conducting plate surface to protect the tunneling tip from contact. The Fullerene C60 molecule is approximately spherical, and a monolayer of fullerene has a thickness of one nanometer, such that a monolayer thereby establishing the theoretical distance desired between the MEMS' tunneling tip and the conducting plate. Exploiting the electrical conductivity of C60, the tip can be accurately positioned by simply monitoring conductivity between the fullerene and the tunneling tip. By monitoring the conductivity between the tip and the fullerene layer as the tip is brought in proximity, the surfaces can be brought together without risk of contacting the underlying conducting surface.

Abstract: The ejector based engine is, as an example in an ejector ramjet engine, a propulsion duct having normal augmented ramjet elements of an inlet, mixer, diffuser, combustor and exit nozzle that allow operating velocities from zero to hypersonic. At the upstream end of the mixer an injector assembly is mounted in the fluid flow path to form an ejector. The injector assembly has one or more injector rings which have alternatively offset injector exhaust nozzles or slots to direct fluid toward the engine internal wall or the engine longitudinal axis respectively to improve fluid mixing for use of a shorter mixer section. The supply of fluid to the injector exhaust nozzles may be by fuel flow pumps and other elements connected to injector chambers in the injector ring or by an injector combustor external to the mixer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a heterodyne interferometer system with a pre-processing of the target signal to isolate and remove self-interference signals using a known phase modulation of the carrier signal's frequency. Where self-interference signals do not include a time delay inherent in the target signal that travels to the target reflector, by selecting a modulation frequency tuned to the time delay and then filtering the resultant signal the target beam can be isolated and the self-interference signal can be effectively removed The system includes a modulation unit to apply a phase modulation to the carrier signal, and a mixing unit that demodulates the target signal at the modulation frequency to isolate the target beam.

Abstract: A device and procedure for checking the health of a pressure transducer in situ is provided. The procedure includes measuring a fixed change in pressure above ambient pressure and a fixed change in pressure below ambient pressure. This is done by first sealing an enclosed volume around the transducer with a valve. A piston inside the sealed volume is then driven forward, compressing the enclosed gas, thereby increasing the pressure. A fixed pressure below ambient pressure is obtained by opening the valve, driving the piston forward, sealing the valve, and then retracting the piston. The output of the pressure transducer is recorded for both the overpressuring and the underpressuring. By comparing this data with data taken during a preoperative calibration, the health of the transducer is determined from the linearity, the hysteresis, and the repeatability of its output. The further addition of a thermometer allows constant offset error in the transducer output to be determined.

Abstract: The present invention is related to a method that enables and improves wide bandgap homoepitaxial layers to be grown on axis single crystal substrates, particularly SiC. The lateral positions of the screw dislocations in epitaxial layers are predetermined instead of random, which allows devices to be reproducibly patterned to avoid performance degrading crystal defects normally created by screw dislocations.

Abstract: This invention is a highly concentrated stable solution of polyimide precursors (monomers) having a solids content ranging from about 80 to 98 percent by weight in lower aliphatic alcohols i.e. methyl and/or ethyl alcohol. The concentrated polyimide precursor solution comprises effective amounts of at least one aromatic diamine, at least one aromatic dianhydride or a lower molecular weight alkyl ester of said dianhydride, and a monofunctional endcap including monoamines, monoanhydrides and the lower alkyl esters of said monoanhydrides. These concentrated polyimide precursor solutions are particularly useful for the preparation of fibrous prepregs and composites for use in structural materials for military and civil applications.

Abstract: A demodulator demodulates a modulated signal waveform in a data communication system. A phase tracking loop tracks the phase of said modulated signal waveform and having an inner block decoder configured to decode a set of vector pairs of the modulated signal waveform at a decode rate to generate associated codewords and phase estimates. A group of data symbols consisting of the first data symbols of the modulated signal waveform are run backwards through the phase tracking loop. An outer block decoder receives the associated codewords generated by said inner block decoder and utilizes and corrects only codewords associated with symbols after and including the group of data symbols consisting of the first data symbols of the modulated signal waveform.