Abstract: A device and process for measurement and treatment of spinal mobility is disclosed. The device includes an impulse and sensing head capable of determining spinal segment mobility by applying a force impulse to a spinal segment and generating a waveform characteristic of spinal mobility. An inclinometer disposed within the head determines the angle of incidence of the head in contact with the spinal segment in at least one, preferably three, axis. Characteristics of the waveform and the angle of incidence are analyzed to determine spinal mobility. The information in the waveform and device are then used to treat the patient by applying an oscillating head to a spinal segment so that spinal mobility is increased.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an easy-understandable representation of fat tissue and lean tissue respectively occupying in a body constitution of a subject. Another object thereof is to help the subject determine which one of the fat tissue or the lean tissue is decreasing by weight reduction. A body type determination apparatus according to the present invention calculates an index of body fat mass, FMI (Fat Mass Index: fat mass/body height2), an index of lean mass, LMI (Lean Mass Index: lean mass/body height2), and a body build index, BMI (Body Mass Index: body weight/body height2) from entered body data and a measured bioelectric impedance, and further the apparatus displays a relationship between the BMI and the FMI and/or between the BMI and the LMI as a result of measurement by way of a graph and/or an illustration.

Abstract: An alphanumeric keyboard whose keys are mounted on a scissor-linkage and have interlocking sides that allow said keyboard to contract to a width that is considerably less than the width of a standard desktop computer keyboard and which is operable when open or closed.

Abstract: A method for simulating a particular adhesive joint having an elasticity modulus which changes over a particular period of time and/or over a range of temperature is disclosed wherein the method provides a more accurate simulation of the particular adhesive joint. The method includes collecting stress and strain values for the adhesive joint over the particular period of time and/or over the range of temperatures such that an elastic modulus may be determined for the adhesive joint as a function of time and/or temperature. Once the elastic modulus is determined, a simulated joint is formed based upon the adhesive joint, and the simulated joint is capable of producing strain values by using the elastic modulus when data related to stress is entered into the simulated joint.

Abstract: A furnace diagnostic system includes sensors that monitor various functions of the furnace. Data generated by such sensors may be stored for subsequent transfer or may be transferred in real time via an infra red link to a remote handheld device with which an analysis thereof is performed. The handheld device additionally allows the technician to control various furnace functions to facilitate the generation of relevant real time data. In order to further enhance the system's diagnostics capabilities, the communication may be established with a centralized computing facility which includes a data base containing data relating to an entire population of similar furnaces.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink from a recording head to a recording material to thereby effect recording has a contacting member for cleaning the discharging surface of the recording head. The contacting member is rotatable until immediately before it contacts with the discharging surface, and the rotation of the contacting member is fixed when the contacting member contacts with the discharging surface.

Abstract: A method of selecting and enhancing of feedstuffs for use in an animal feed product by analyzing the statistical distribution of the nutritional content of batches of the feedstuff and calculating the number of batches within a predetermined range of a desirable nutrient composition. The cost of enhancing the feedstuff by adding nutrient additives is calculated and batches of the feedstuff are accepted or rejected, with the enhancement step only applied to the accepted batches. The method can be applied to products such as soyabean meal and corn which are major constituents of animal feed. It produces a feedstuff with a lower than natural variance in nutrient composition and a guarantee of a desired nutritional composition without the need for systematic overformulation of the product.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of performing a burn cycle in a thermal printer that reduces printhead switching while increasing printing speed and extending printhead life. In the method, data is loaded into a shift register of a thermal printhead to designate resistive elements that are to be enabled and disabled during the burn cycle. Next, the data is latched into a burn register of the printhead and a power supply of the printhead is activated thereby energizing the enabled resistive elements. New data is then loaded into the shift register. After a short burn period has expired, the new data is latched into the burn register. The steps of loading and latching new data are repeated a predetermined number of times, after which the power supply is deactivated to complete the burn cycle.

Abstract: A system and methods for assisting a technician in tuning a musical instrument exhibiting inharmonicity, such as a piano. A display informs the technician of one or more beat rates associated with respective intervals of a note being tuned and other notes. A second display informs the technician of the phase difference between the note being adjusted and a reference signal. The note being tuned is detected automatically, thereby allowing the technician to work without constantly touching the system. The wavelengths emanating from the notes are determined accurately, and the corresponding frequencies are tested for their quality before being used in calculations used for providing the information for the displays. A tuning frequency is calculated for each note after measurement of a first note, and the calculation is updated as more measurements are taken. If desired, the technician may visit each note only once in the tuning of the musical instrument.

Abstract: A method of controlling a step switch. From the measured values of current, voltage and phase angle at an electric drive motor during actuation of the step switch the individual picked-up active output is calculated. From the active output the corresponding torque at the drive motor is calculated. The torque in the step switch which is crucial for controlling is determined on the basis of the torque by using a specifically calculated transfer function. The transfer function is newly determined every time the switch is actuated, with the values of the preceding switch operation or the preceding switch operations being taken as a basis of the new calculation.

Abstract: A device and a method for measuring the pose of mechanisms includes at least one effector object fixedly joined to a mechanism (e.g., industrial robot, hexapod) in which the at least one effector object moves along one of several axes. The ideal, effective shape of the at least one effector object is a point, a straight line, a plane, an ellipsoid, a cylinder, a hyperboloid or a combination thereof. The movable effector objects interact with reference objects which are arranged in defined positions relative to the mechanism. The interactions are detected by a suitable sensor. The interactions are detected, only the pertaining joint configuration of the mechanism is transmitted to the information processing unit and evaluated and no further continuous values of measuring parameters are required for the evaluation.

Abstract: Methods for determining a function of cells, which comprises a suspension of cells flowing along a first fluid channel. The cells have a first detectable property associated therewith, and wherein the cells produce a second detectable property upon activation of the function of the cells, the first and second detectable properties being distinguishable from each other. Levels of the first and second detectable properties are measured. The level of the second detectable property is compared to the level of first detectable property to determine the relative function of the cells.

Abstract: An apparatus for detecting a decrease in internal pressure of a tire based on rotational information obtainable from tires attached to a four-wheeled vehicle equipped with a limited slip differential device is presented. The apparatus includes a way of correcting a turning radius or a reciprocal of the turning radius of driving wheels by calculating a shift amount. The shift amount is a difference between turning radiuses or a difference between reciprocals of turning radiuses, which is obtainable from the rotational information of driving wheels and following wheels. An accurate turning radius can be calculated for the driving wheels, which is not affected by the limited slip differential. Consequently, a decrease in the internal tire pressure can be properly judged in a vehicle that has a limited slip differential.

Abstract: Novel designs and methods of manufacture of ink-jet printheads capable of providing ink-droplet-tail-break-off control and preventing meniscus overshoot in order to overcome the puddling, pen directionality, and ruffle problems associated with thermal-ink-jet printing are disclosed. A printhead for use in an ink-delivery system includes a substrate that has at least one ink ejector thereon. An orifice-plate member is positioned over and above the substrate. The orifice-plate member has at least one ink-transfer bore extending therethrough. The orifice-plate member further includes: a top surface that defines a top opening for the ink-transfer bore, a bottom surface that defines a bottom opening for the ink-transfer bore, and a counter-bore in the top surface that is in fluid communication with the ink-transfer bore. The counter-bore can be: concentric or non-concentric with the ink-transfer bore, a full or partial counter-bore, and symmetric or asymmetric.

Abstract: A computer (20) adapted to communicate with a measuring apparatus (12) for receiving liquid level measurements and delivering a calibrated fuel quantity output (24) to a readout instrument (14). The computer (20) has an input interface (34) with a first input (22A) for accepting a first liquid level measurement signal from said measuring apparatus (12). A first bias circuit (30A) provides an adjustable offset bias to minimize voltage errors due to input bias current received in the first liquid level measurement signal (26A). Computer(20) also has a calibrating circuit (36) for calibrating the first liquid level measurement signal to provide a calibrated fuel quantity output signal (24) that can be read by readout instrument (14) through output interface (42).

Abstract: A vector network analyzer (VNA) is provided with three test ports and an integration of hardware and software to make an integrated set of measurements for two and three port devices. The integrated capability allows for fast, versatile measurements that benefits, in accuracy and convenience, from sharing of data and resources with other measurements. The VNA includes a first signal source which is selectively connectable through reflectometers to two of the three VNA test ports. A second signal source provides connection through a third reflectometer to a third test port to enable full vector error corrected 3-port S-parameters measurements to be made. The two signal sources, along with software configuration of the VNA to operate in a non-ratioed mode provides for measuring second and third order intercept measurements. The two signal sources and software also enable the VNA to be used to make frequency translation measurements of a mixer including accurate frequency translation group delay measurements.

Abstract: A printing cylinder with a cylinder core (10), on which a carbon fiber-containing casing (20) is disposed, wherein the casing (20) is self-supporting and held at a distance from the peripheral surface (18) of the cylinder core (10) by disks (22) disposed at the two ends.

Abstract: A process chamber with a computer system that controls the process chamber is connected to one or more spectrometers. The spectrometers may be part of an interferometer or may be an optical emission spectrometer. The spectrometers may be CCD or photodiode arrays of 2,048 elements. An input board forms part of the computer system and is directly connected to the spectrometers. The input board provides data from the spectrometers to dual port memory, which is directly accessible to the CPU of the computer system. The use of a state machine and adder on the input board allows computation and placement of the data from the spectrometers on to the dual port memory, so that the CPU is not needed for such placement.

Abstract: Correction quantities are generated for yielding closer approximations of actual parameters. These are obtained by preliminarily subjecting parametric transducers to pre-selected parametric values and recording the measured values for each transducer in a data table for later use as or in correction quantities. An embodiment includes interpolation relative to data table values closest to the operationally measured parametric value and using the resulting interpolated value as a corrected parametric value. Such interpolations may be performed for two parametric transducers relative to two substances. The resulting corrected parametric values may then be subtracted to obtain a parametric difference. A further embodiment may include using correction quantities of a reference parametric transducer in interpolation calculations for the actual parametric transducers.

Abstract: An imaging sensor includes a defect marker allowing an imaging device in which the imaging sensor is installed to determine which pixels in the CMOS sensor are defective. During manufacturing, the pixels in the imaging sensor are tested. Defect markers are used for defective pixels, preferably using a non-volatile marking technique. After the imaging sensor is installed in the imaging device, the imaging device reads the defect markers from the imaging sensor to determine the defective pixels. The defect markers are read by exposing the pixels in the imaging sensor to photons. Eventually, all pixels in the imaging sensor should show some exposure. Pixels that still read as unexposed are then defective pixels. The imaging device can then compensate for defective pixels: e.g., by interpolating the defective pixels from their neighbors.