Abstract: A system and method for controlling the flow of fish. The system includes a vessel containing water and having an exit aperture. The system also includes a sensor configured to sense a first fish moving through the exit aperture. In addition, the system includes a jet device in communication with the sensor. The jet device is positioned adjacent to the exit aperture and is configured to spray a jet to prevent a second fish from moving through the exit aperture. In one embodiment, the system also includes a gate positioned at the exit aperture, the gate being normally closed and configured to be pushed open by a fish moving through the exit aperture. The system may be employed for providing spacing between fish or may be employed to provide a single fish on demand.

Abstract: Coextruded polymeric films comprising at least one base layer and an outer cold seal layer formed from a blend of a synthetic rubber and a tackifier, at least one of the outer surfaces of the film including an antiblock agent. Such films can be cold sealed cold seal layer to cold seal layer without substantial adhesion to the other outer surface of the films.

Abstract: A piezocone for measuring the soil's resistance to penetration and pore water pressure while being advanced into the ground by a twenty ton hydraulic cone penetrometer rig. The low pressure piezocone includes a friction sleeve and a conical tip attached to the lower end of friction sleeve. The conical tip develops the cone resistance. The friction sleeve is an isolated cylindrical sleeve which measures the resistance of the soil as the sleeve passes through the soil. The pore water pressure is measured by a porous element mounted in the conical tip of the piezocone and a pressure transducer mounted in the cylindrical friction sleeve of the piezocone. The measurements including pore water pressure, cone resistance and the soil resistance are supplied to a computer which includes a Piezocone Dissipation Analysis program for processing the piezocone measurements to generate dissipation curves for each depth at which the piezocone provides hydrogeologic site characterization data.

Abstract: A piezocone for measuring the soil's resistance to penetration and pore water pressure while being advanced into the ground by a rig. The piezocone includes a friction sleeve and a conical tip attached to the lower end of the sleeve. The conical tip develops the cone resistance. The friction sleeve is an isolated cylindrical sleeve which measures the resistance of the soil as the sleeve passes through the soil. The pore water pressure is measured by a porous element mounted in the conical tip of the piezocone and a pressure transducer mounted in the cylindrical friction sleeve of the piezocone. The measurements including pore water pressure, cone resistance and soil resistance are supplied to a computer which includes a Piezocone Dissipation Analysis program for processing data from the measurements to generate dissipation curves for each depth at which the piezocone provides hydrogeologic site characterization data. Soil classification is also provided from a data file stored within the computer.

Abstract: A driver circuit having logic circuitry which controls the coil and assoced contacts of a four pole double throw relay. The four pole double throw relay is toggled such that a large latching current flows through a first of a pair of solenoid coils of the magnetic-latching solenoid, while a relatively small current flows in the second solenoid coil of the magnetic latching solenoid in an opposite direction. Toggling the relay's coil causes the latching current to now flow through the second solenoid coil of the valve, while the relatively small current flows in the first solenoid coil of the magnetic latching solenoid again in the opposite direction.

Abstract: A multi-piston pump is provided which uses microprocessor controlled check all valves to control flow rate of a fluid at the pump's outlet port. The pump includes nine cylindrical shaped chambers and associated reciprocating pistons which are driven by a cam attached to a shaft. The pump's shaft is coupled to the shaft of a motor which, in turn, drives the pump's shaft and cam resulting in a fluid, such as seawater, filling each of the nine chambers and then having the fluid forced from the chamber by the movement of its associated piston from bottom dead center to top dead center. A pressure transducer which monitors the pressure at the pump's outlet port and a shaft encoder which monitors the angular position of the pump's shaft respectively provide analog signals indicative of the pump's outlet port's pressure and the shaft's angular position.

Abstract: An electronics circuit for use in determining the position light is incident on a position sensing detector. The position sensing detector provides a pair of photoelectric current signals which indicate the position the light is incident on the detector. These photoelectric current signals are converted to negative ramp voltage signals by a dual switched integrator and then provided through a first pair of sample/hold amplifiers to a second pair of sample/hold amplifiers with each of the second pair of sample/hold amplifiers storing for one line of a raster scan the dark current voltage component of one of the photoelectric current signals.