Abstract: A method for the determination of the time of flight of a signal transmitted between a transmitter (42, 44) and a receiver (44, 42). In one form, the method involves transmitting a first signal and a second signal having a waveform modification introduced at a predetermined point in time of the duration of the second signal; receiving said first and second transmitted signals; determining a point of diversion between the first and second received signals to determine an arrival time of the introduced waveform feature modification at the receiver. In addition, the invention provides an accurate time of flight determination of ultrasonic signals in a flow sensor (24) adapted for a smoke detector system (10).

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a system and method for monitoring and controlling modifications to beverage equipment. The system includes at least one beverage equipment which may include a controller. The controller communicates over a communications network with a data collection server which may be accessible to a central office or equipment provider. A method is also disclosed for first monitoring or querying beverage equipment for a setting or configuration modification. Next, the modification may be compared against a modification threshold to determine whether the modification warrants corrective action. A corrective action may include but is not limited to, resetting the equipment to original or default settings, notifying an end user, notifying the equipment providers, logging the action, or some combination of two or more of these actions.

Abstract: A user obtains an individual's body temperature data and transmits the data to a medical monitor (e.g., a medical device) for display. Additional data includes a timestamp and location of the body temperature data. Once the data is transmitted, a user may view the medical monitor for a temperature reading. For example, a doctor may take a patient's temperature and the temperature reading is displayed on a medical monitor. The body temperature data of each patient is detected using a preferred temperature detector, such as a temporal artery thermometer using an arterial heat balance approach. After collecting an individual's body temperature data, the body temperature data can be transferred to a processor. By sending body temperature data for many individuals for a geographic region, the processor can identify a pattern (e.g., a pandemic) in the body temperature data.

Abstract: A display system for exercise equipment in accordance with the present invention includes a processor, a memory, a metric sensor and a metric display. The memory in communication with the processor. The metric sensor operably coupled to the processor. The metric sensor senses an extent of a metric of a user of the exercise equipment. The metric display is operably coupled to the metric sensor and displays the user metric in a generally oscillating manner.

Abstract: A method to model a complex system of pipes. The model takes into account the physical processes in a tree-type piping system and provides for an accurate modeling of a real world tree-type piping system. In a preferred embodiment, a computer program is provided for analyzing models of dry pipe systems. The computer program includes a user interface and a computational engine. The user interface allows a model of a dry pipe system to be defined and the computational engine determines a liquid flow time through the model of the dry pipe system. The computational engine provides a verification of the liquid flow time in a model of a referential dry pipe system within 20% of an actual liquid flow time in the referential dry pipe system.

Abstract: An electronic steam trap monitor includes an electric generator configure to couple to a stream trap proximate a potential leak location. The generator generates electricity in response to a process variable from the potential leak location. Communication circuitry provides an output when there is sufficient electricity from the electric generator.

Abstract: A method of signal processing includes receiving a distorted signal comprising a distorted component and an undistorted component, the distorted component being at least in part attributed to an exogenous signal, and performing linearization, based at least in part on the distorted signal and information associated with the exogenous signal, to obtain a corrected signal that is substantially similar to the undistorted component. An adaptive distortion reduction system includes an input interface configured to receive a distorted signal comprising a distorted component and an undistorted component, the distorted component being at least in part attributed to an exogenous signal; and an adaptive distortion reduction module coupled to the input interface, configured to perform linearization based at least in part on the distorted signal and information associated with the exogenous signal, to obtain a corrected signal that is substantially similar to the undistorted component.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a data storage device test method and data storage device manufacture method which allow a tester to perform an operation test of plural data storage devices connected thereto in a shorter period of time. In one embodiment, an operation test of each of plural HDDs 81-84 connected to a tester is performed by making plural HDDs 81-84 execute commands received from the tester, wherein, during a waiting period when exchange stops between the tester and, for example, HDD 81 of which operation test is being executed, the tester executes the operation test of another HDD. Such a waiting period occurs, for example, before HDD 81 becomes ready to receive a command, before a data transfer is completed and before HDD 81 becomes ready to receive the subsequent command. By using this waiting period, the tester issues a command to, for example, HDD 82 if the HDD is ready to receive a command or transfers data to the HDD if data transfer is possible.

Abstract: Exemplary methods, systems, and products are described for executing an overall quantity of data processing within an overall processing period that include executing repeatedly through a series of iterations a portion of the overall quantity of data processing that can be completed in a set processing period, wherein each iteration includes the set processing period and a variable delay period and calculating the variable delay period for an iteration in dependence upon the set processing period, a portion of the overall quantity of data processing performed during the set processing period of the iteration, the overall quantity of data processing, and the overall processing period.

Abstract: A method for calibrating the loop bandwidth of a phase-locked loop (PLL) is described. At least one resistor in the PLL filter is tuned in accordance with the frequency of an input reference signal. One or more capacitors in the PLL filter are tuned in accordance with the frequency of the input reference signal. Output pulses of one or more voltage controlled oscillators (VCO) are counted. A first charge pump current associated with a target loop bandwidth is counted in accordance with the counted output pulses. A programmable charge pump current is tuned to the calculated first charge pump current.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for receiving, detecting and transmitting geophysical data from a plurality of electrodes placed in the soil utilizing a dynamically reconfigurable wireless control unit that is located on each electrode. Data from the control units is transmitted by a wireless signal to a centralized data processor for analysis. Control data is provided from a central control processor to the control unit by wireless transmission. The control unit, which is positioned, includes a multi-channel radio frequency transmitter/receiver and a processor to actuate relays and record data returns from the measured substrate soil for transmission to the central data processor. The control unit incorporates a changeable code or address to unambiguously identify itself, and its spatial relationship to other electrodes, to the central data processor and the central control processor.

Abstract: A lightning detector designed for aircraft carried applications provides for improved lightning discrimination and display. The instrument employs a relatively wide band receiver so as to retain the received waveform or digital replicas thereof. This allows more precise discrimination between desired lightning signals and noise. Signals are processed to provide for effective display of the available information. The display modes that are enabled by the signals include flash and cell mode as well as a combined flash and cell mode. The cell mode provides for generating and displaying a cumulative weight of lightning activity, giving each strike a regional effect as opposed to illustrating it as a point. Color is used to improve the user's grasp of the displayed information; the color illustrating increased intensity from the blue-green to the yellow-red. Flash mode shows locations of the different flashes within the range scale; this mode too may use color for a similar effect.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for diagnosing faults. Process data is analyzed using a first metric to identify a fault. The process data was obtained from a manufacturing machine running a first recipe. A fault signature that matches the fault is identified. The identified fault signature was generated using a second metric and/or a second recipe. At least one fault class that is associated with the fault signature is identified.

Abstract: Provided is a distributed test system and method for electrical devices that features bifurcated testing and analysis of test results for electrical devices by aggregating test results from multiple testing systems to a centralized server where analysis of test data is undertaken. The system includes a plurality of testing systems, each of which is configured to operate test software to provide electrical stimuli to devices under test (DUTs) and obtain measured metrics indicative of actual operational characteristics (AOCs) of the DUTs. A decision support system (DSS) is selectively placed in data communication with the plurality of testing systems to receive the measured metrics from each of the plurality of testing systems. The DSS is configured to operate on software and compare desired metrics, indicative of desired operational characteristics (DOCs) of each of the DUTs, with the measured metrics and provide a plurality of operational characteristic determinations (OCDs).

Abstract: Systems and methods for electromechanical oscillation monitoring are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method for monitoring electromechanical oscillation in a power system includes forming a power density spectrum in frequency domain based on phasor measurements collected from a plurality of locations in the power system and identifying an oscillation in the power density spectrum. The oscillation has a power density larger than other oscillations. The method also includes analyzing the identified oscillation in time domain to determine a damping characteristic of the identified oscillation and indicating that an insufficiently damped oscillation exists in the power system if the determined damping characteristic of the oscillation meets a predetermined condition.

Abstract: The invention related to a method and circuit that is used to compensate for S-parameters of a passive circuit which do not satisfy passivity. The method includes the following steps: (1) getting S-parameters which do not satisfy passivity, these S-parameters being composed of an S-parameter matrix S; (2) computing matrix [S×S?], wherein matrix S? is a complex conjugate transposed matrix of the S-parameter matrix S; (3) computing the eigenvalues of the matrix [S×S?], and choosing an eigenvalue ? whose real part real(?) is the biggest; (4) computing a compensating value ?, the compensating value ? being equal to real(?)1/2×(1+?), wherein the ? is a very small positive number; and (5) dividing each of the S-parameters by the compensating value ? to get the compensated S-parameters.

Abstract: Multiple parallel signal streams are produced by the sensors (20, 30, 40, 50) associated with a device (10). Events corresponding to real-world activities, contexts, environments, internal-states, uses, interactions and the like involving the device (10) can be detected in the multi-channel sensor-signal stream by evaluating how the pattern of coordination between the different sensors varies over time. The pattern of coordination between the sensors can be evaluated for a particular time period by computing an information distance matrix (IDM) for the sensor-signals generated during that time period. The IDM summarizes the normalized information distance between each possible pairing of the sensors.

Abstract: Errors of a measuring system are corrected by acquiring the phases of transmission tracking errors. A network analyzer includes a measuring system error factor recording unit which records measuring system error factors generated independently of frequency conversion carried out by a DUT, and an error factor acquiring unit which measures first coefficients and second coefficients of a correction mixer where a signal output from a terminal is a sum of a product of a signal input to the terminal and the first coefficient, and a product of a signal input to the other terminal and the second coefficient, and the ratio of magnitudes of the second coefficients is constant, and acquires the transmission tracking errors caused by the frequency conversion based on the measuring system error factors recorded in the measuring system error factor recording unit, the first coefficients, and the second coefficients.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus, a method, a program, and a self-organizing map which are capable of normalizing mobility without using a marker, as well as a substance detection method, a program, a detection rule creating method, and a data structure which use normalized mobility. The mobility normalizing method comprises the steps of determining a plurality of warping functions converting data to be corrected, which is unit time sequence data obtained by measuring mobility, to the respective plurality of reference waveform data sets, and a DTW distance associated with each warping function; evaluating a minimum value of the plurality of DTW distances, and determining the warping function associated with the determined minimum DTW distance; determining a slope and an intercept of a straight line approximating the determined warping function; and correcting the data to be corrected using a linear function specified by the slope and the intercept.

Abstract: Automated test equipment (ATE) used to test semiconductor components during the manufacturing process. The ATE generates and measures signals at test points of a device under test. The ATE includes a signal formatter with an SR latch having set an reset inputs each connected through or coupled to a number of signal channels. Each signal channel may receive a long pulse from a timing generator and generate a short pulse. Each signal channel has a current steering circuit that couples the short pulses to the set or reset ports of the latch. Because the outputs of each current steering circuit have a high impedance when not sending a pulse, multiplexing circuitry and/or circuitry to logically OR the outputs of separate signal channels are unnecessary. The hardware eliminated by this design simplifies and improves the ATE. Additionally, the latch can be set and reset in quick succession with good timing resolution.