Abstract: A trimmer height adjustment mechanism (103) having a forward guard (105a); a forward spacer (112b); and an arm (109). Such trimmer height adjustment mechanism allows a string trimmer user to: (a) achieve a uniform, user-selected cutting height for groundcover; and (b) readily engage/disengage the height adjustment mechanism so that the user can change between a uniform height setting (e.g., while cutting even terrain) and an ordinary string trimmer operation (i.e., when a user is not concerned about the height of the groundcover being cut or wishes to cut as short a height as possible, e.g., while cutting grass around the base of a tree).

Abstract: A piezoelectric actuator includes a deflectable membrane and a piezoelectric element attached to a part of the deflectable membrane for exerting a mechanical force on the deflectable membrane. The piezoelectric element is operable to perform an expansion and a contraction motion depending on an electric field applied to the piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric element leaves open a central region of the deflectable membrane and has a peripheral outline that does not coincide with an outline of the deflectable membrane.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed herein for secure search and retrieval. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving an encrypted, permuted search tree with nodes that have been permuted and encrypted, the encrypted permuted search tree having been encrypted with a first private encryption key; receiving, at a server, a query from a client, the query comprising a set of keywords, wherein each query term is encrypted with the first private encryption key; performing a search using the query, including performing an oblivious matching keyword test in which an evaluation occurs at each node of the tree to determine if one or more matches exist; and returning results based on a match of keywords for each document, the results including one or more encrypted leaf nodes of the tree, the encrypted leaf nodes encrypted with the first private encryption key.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed herein for secure search and retrieval. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving an encrypted, permuted search tree with nodes that have been permuted and encrypted, the encrypted permuted search tree having been encrypted with a first private encryption key; receiving, at a server, a query from a client, the query comprising a set of keywords, wherein each query term is encrypted with the first private encryption key; performing a search using the query, including performing an oblivious matching keyword test in which an evaluation occurs at each node of the tree to determine if one or more matches exist; and returning results based on a match of keywords for each document, the results including one or more encrypted leaf nodes of the tree, the encrypted leaf nodes encrypted with the first private encryption key.

Abstract: An automatic reading assistance application for documents available in electronic form. Embodiments of the present invention help a reader to quickly find and assimilate information contained in a document. According to an embodiment, the present invention annotates portions of a document which are relevant to user-specified concepts. According to another embodiment, the present invention builds and displays a thumbnail image which displays the contents of the document in a continuous manner.

Abstract: An optical system that behaves like an integrated low pass filter with an adjustable optical cutoff frequency. The filter behavior is “integrated” in the sense that the overall design of the optical system results in the low pass filter characteristic, rather than having a separate, discrete component that implements the low pass filtering. The filter behavior is “adjustable” in the sense that the optical system can be adjusted in a manner that changes the optical cutoff frequency of the MTF. For example, moving certain optical components within the optical system may cause the change in cutoff frequency.

Abstract: A unified design strategy takes into account different subsystems within an overall electro-optic imaging system. In one implementation, the design methodology predicts end-to-end imaging performance using a spatial model for the source and models for the optical subsystem, the detector subsystem and the image processing subsystem. The image produced by the detector subsystem is estimated by tracing rays backwards from the detector subsystem through the optical subsystem to the source. This image can then be propagated through the digital image processing subsystem to model the entire electro-optic imaging system. The optical subsystem is designed taking into account the entire system.

Abstract: Adjustments to the optical subsystem of an electro-optic imaging system take into account different subsystems within the overall electro-optic imaging system. In one implementation, end-to-end imaging performance is predicted based on determining propagation of a source through the optical subsystem, the detector subsystem and the digital image processing subsystem. The optical subsystem is then adjusted after taking into account these other subsystems. For example, the compensators for the optical subsystem and the digital image processing subsystem may be jointly adjusted based on a post-processing performance metric that takes into account the effects of the image processing. Unlike in conventional approaches, the intermediate optical image produced by the optical subsystem is not required to be high image quality since, for example, the image may be subsequently improved by other adjustments in the digital image processing subsystem.

Abstract: A unified design strategy takes into account different subsystems within an overall electro-optic imaging system. In one implementation, the design methodology predicts end-to-end imaging performance using a spatial model for the source and models for the optical subsystem, the detector subsystem and the digital image processing subsystem. The optical subsystem and digital image processing subsystems are jointly designed taking into account the entire system. The intermediate image produced by the optical subsystem is not required to be high quality since, for example, the quality may be corrected by the digital image processing subsystem.

Abstract: An internet target marketing system, method, and computer program for distributing online advertising to viewers based upon the viewers' interests is provided. The system, method, and computer program may involve identifying one or more document-related concepts derived from analysis of content of a web document capable of being displayed to the user, identifying one or more advertisement-related concepts relevant to an advertising, comparing the one or more document-related concepts to the one or more advertising-related concepts to determine a relevance, and selecting the advertising based on the relevance.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for enabling and/or providing delayed decryption is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving encrypted information and additional information and decrypting the encrypted information, using the additional information, no sooner than a specified time. The additional information includes data indicative of the time.

Abstract: Automatic detection of defective pixel locations from digital images of scanned documents is provided. A list of tentative defect locations is kept, and as each document is scanned, entries are added to the list. As subsequent documents occur with the same color pixel in the same location, a count for that tentative defect location is incremented, but if the color of the pixel in that location changes, the count is reduced or zeroed. If a count for a location is incremented above a threshold, the tentative defect is flagged as an actual defect and a defect detector outputs or flags that pixel location as being an actual defect location. If memory size is constrained, the number of entries in the defect list is capped at some maximum size and a tentative defect location is added to the list only if an entry is available.