Abstract: An icemaker dose dispenser includes a housing with a septum therein defining opposite chambers having corresponding water ports. Water is routed alternately through the ports for dispensing water from the chambers in sequence for accurately filling an ice tray.

Abstract: Accurate sensing of ice readiness in an ice maker is accomplished using, as an ice readiness sensor, a capacitance bridge circuit having a first capacitor connected as a first bridge arm a second capacitor connected as a second bridge arm, a tunable capacitor connected as a third bridge arm and a probe connected as a fourth bridge arm. The probe includes a pair of electrode strips placed in close proximity to the belt of a belt ice maker. First and second bridge arms are connected at a first bridge node first and third bridge arms are connected at a second bridge node, second and fourth bridge arms are connected at a third bridge node, and third and fourth bridge arms are connected at a grounded fourth bridge node. The first and fourth bridge nodes are input terminals for receiving an AC drive signal from an AC source, and the second and third bridge nodes are output terminals.

Abstract: An icemaker assembly is disposed within a refrigerator having a freezer compartment, a fresh food compartment and respective freezer and fresh food door assemblies. The icemaker assembly comprises a conveyor assembly positioned within the freezer compartment having a flexible conveyor belt with a multiplicity of individual ice cube molds for creation of individual ice cubes. An ice cube storage bin is positioned below the conveyor assembly for storing the ice cubes and a fullness sensor is positioned for determining the fill level of ice cubes within the ice cube storage bin.

Abstract: A manually powered apparatus includes a mechanical energy input device that releases mechanical energy. The mechanical energy input device has first and second mechanical energy delivery cycles. A generator is mechanically coupled to the mechanical energy input device. The generator converts released mechanical energy to electrical energy. The electrical energy includes first current levels and second current levels that decrease over time. The generator supplies the first current levels in response to the first mechanical energy delivery cycle. The second current levels are supplied in response to the second mechanical energy delivery cycle. A load is connected to the generator. The load requires a predetermined current for operation. The first current level is greater than the predetermined current, and the second current level is less than the predetermined current. An electrical energy storage device is connected between the generator and the load.

Abstract: The field of view of an optical sensor used in a burner assembly of a glass-ceramic cooktop appliance is improved by providing the burner assembly with a wide angle optical element. The burner assembly includes a burner casing having a bore formed therein. The optical sensor is located in the lower end of the bore, and the wide angle optical element is located in the upper end of the bore. The wide angle optical element directs radiation from over the entire heated portion of the glass-ceramic plate onto the optical sensor. The a wide angle optical element also prevents dust from falling onto the sensor. In one preferred embodiment, the wide angle optical element is a Fresnel lens.

Abstract: Magnetic shields for plastic molded electricity meter frames are positioned to substantially block external magnetic fields from adversely affecting operation of meter components. The shield can be utilized with either electromechanical or electronic energy meters. In an electromechanical watthour meter which employs an aluminum disk driven to rotate through a magnetic field produced by a retarding magnet, the meter frame includes an integrally formed retarding magnet shield and an integrally formed bearing shield. The shields are coextensive with the frame, and extend from an inner periphery of the frame toward the retarding magnet and the bearing, respectively. The shields are formed of a magnetically permeable powder, such as a ferrite powder mixed with the plastic material from which the meter frame is molded. The shields divert externally applied fields away from the magnetically sensitive components of the meter without adversely affecting meter accuracy.

Abstract: A spring motor for driving an electric power generator with constant power includes a crank-up spool, a take-up spool, and a relatively wide, flat tape spring which winds in a relaxed condition on the take-up spool. In one form, the spring has a width which varies approximately linearly from one end to another end so as to generate a constant torque at a fixed radius from an axis of the crank-up spool as the spring unwinds. In another form, the spring width is constant and a separate drum is driven by contact with the unwinding spring, with the separate drum driving an output shaft. In still another form, an idler wheel is driven by contact with the spring and the output shaft is driven from the idler wheel through gear contact with the periphery of an output drum mounted on the output shaft.

Abstract: A reflective modulator (10) includes a light splitter (12) which divides light into two portions, one of which is applied to a directional coupler (14) by a first path (20), and the other of which is applied to the directional coupler (14) by way of cascaded electrooptic (e-o) modulators (18a, 18b). One port of the directional coupler (14) is terminated in a reflector (22), and the other in an absorptive termination (24). Electrical signals A and B are applied to the modulators (18a, 18b), with the result of generation of sum and difference frequencies modulating the light. The light leaves the reflective modulator (10) and is coupled to a utilization apparatus (64) by a second directional coupler (28). A further e-o modulator (26) may be coupled in the first path, for controlling the long-term average phase shift. In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the signal sources (30a, 30b) are elemental antennas of an array (30).

Abstract: A direct sequence spread spectrum receiver samples an incoming signal and stores the sample in memory. Prior to sampling and storage, the incoming signal is translated to an IF signal. Also prior to storage, the IF signal is corrected for a frequency offset signal. The frequency offset may be caused by many sources, Doppler shift or local oscillator error, for example. Once the signal is corrected for the frequency offset, the signal sample is stored in memory. The signal sample is read from memory as necessary to process the signal. Such a receiver is useful in global positioning satellite (GPS) signal processing where the incoming signal contains several satellite transmissions encoded with CDMA encoding.

Abstract: A generator for producing electricity at high efficiency from mechanical energy includes a housing, a shaft mounted in the housing, an electrical coil positioned about the shaft and an annular, anisotropic magnet positioned about the shaft adjacent the coil. The magnet has a plurality of circumferentially distributed, alternating magnetic poles. Ferromagnetic flux plates are operatively associated with the magnet and the coil for establishing an alternating magnetic field through the coil as a function of rotation of at least one of the magnets, the coil and the flux plates.

Abstract: A direct sequence spread spectrum receiver samples an incoming signal and translates the signal to an IF signal. The IF signal is sampled and stored in memory. In one embodiment, the memory consists of two memory banks which alternately receive sample segments. During a write period to one of the memory banks, the other memory bank supplies its output to a processor. This continues in a ping-pong manner. In another embodiment, a single memory bank is filled and read as necessary, the receiver ignoring incoming signal until the processor has completed processing the sample available at the output of the memory. Such a receiver is useful in global positioning satellite (GPS) signal processing where the incoming signal contains several satellite transmissions encoded with CDMA encoding.

Abstract: A breaker, wherein the circuits for the power lines and the neutral line extend through one current transformer. The breaker has a reduced width as compared to known two pole breakers so that additional breakers can be included on one panel. More specifically, the component configuration of the breaker provides a simplified arrangement of the power line circuits so that such circuits readily extend through one current transformer. In addition, the architecture provides that the width of the breaker can be reduced to about 0.5 inches per pole, which enables securing additional breakers to one panel.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for sensing properties of glass-ceramic cooktop appliance having at least one burner assembly disposed under a glass-ceramic plate. The sensor assembly includes a waveguide having a first end disposed in the burner assembly and a second end disposed outside of the burner assembly, and at least one detector located adjacent to the waveguide's second end. A radiation collector is located adjacent to the first end of the waveguide so as to direct incident radiation substantially paraxially into the waveguide. The method includes collecting radiation from the glass-ceramic plate, and directing the collected radiation onto a detector located outside of the burner assembly via a waveguide.

Abstract: A reflective modulator (10) includes a light splitter (12) which divides light into two portions, one of which is applied to a directional coupler (14) by a first path (20), and the other of which is applied to the directional coupler (14) by way of cascaded electrooptic (e-o) modulators (18a, 18b). One port of the directional coupler (14) is terminated in a reflector (22), and the other in an absorptive termination (24). Electrical signals A and B are applied to the modulators (18a, 18b), with the result of generation of sum and difference frequencies modulating the light. The light leaves the reflective modulator (10) and is coupled to a utilization apparatus (64) by a second directional coupler (28). A further e-o modulator (26) may be coupled in the first path, for controlling the long-term average phase shift. In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the signal sources (30a, 30b) are elemental antennas of an array (30).

Abstract: A direct sequence spread spectrum receiver samples an incoming signal and stores the sample in memory. Power is then inhibited to the tuner of the receiver to minimize power consumption. The signal sample may be read from memory when necessary to process the signal without further signal acquisition. Power to other receiver sections may be selectively controlled to minimize power consumption. Such a receiver is useful in global positioning satellite (GPS) signal processing where the receiver has a limited power supply.

Abstract: A direct sequence spread spectrum architecture permits low power consumption during a synchronization phase of data reception by allowing the receiver to be turned off during most of the acquisition phase of reception, or by using a parallel correlator to keep acquisition time short. The architecture is particularly suitable for global positioning satellite (GPS) signal processing and permits multiple satellite codes and multiple Doppler bins to be searched either sequentially, without requiring the receiver to be turned on during the search process. The receiver output baseband data is sampled and stored over a time interval sufficient to achieve acquisition and synchronization for any one code division multiple access (CDMA) signal at any specific Doppler shift. This sample is digitally recorded and re-played from memory as many times as may be required to acquire and synchronize each desired CDMA signal. To keep processing energy consumption low, an analog (capacitor-based) cross-correlator is used.

Abstract: A self-powered axial current sensor for generating a signal which accurately represents current in a power line includes, in one embodiment, a housing having a bus bar opening of substantially rectangular shape extending longitudinally therethrough. The housing also includes current sensor core retaining walls which define a current sensor region, and a cover base wall which defines, with one of the retaining walls, a power core region. A current sensor core and coil are located in the current sensor region and are positioned proximate the bus bar opening. The current sensor core and coil also are substantially symmetrical with respect to the center axis of the bus bar opening. The current sensor further includes a power core and a power coil located in the power core region and positioned substantially symmetrically with respect to the center axis of bus bar opening.

Abstract: A direct sequence spread spectrum receiver samples an incoming signal and stores the sample in memory. The signal sample is read from memory as necessary to process the signal without further signal acquisition. The correlator calculates an inner product by simultaneously correlating each bit of the sample with a corresponding bit of a replica signal. If the inner product does not exceed a threshold value the correlator calculates another inner product between the same signal sample and another replica signal. This occurs until all available signals are identified. In one embodiment, memory is segmented and each segment is read by a separate correlator allowing faster identification of one signal or multiple signals to be acquired simultaneously. Such a receiver is useful in global positioning satellite (GPS) signal processing where the incoming signal contains several satellite transmissions encoded with CDMA encoding.

Abstract: A direct sequence spread spectrum receiver receives an input signal on a signal carrier frequency. The receiver generates a local oscillator signal which is offset from the carrier frequency. The input signal and the local oscillator signal are mixed producing an IF signal which is converted to a digital sample and stored in memory. A corresponding replica signal is generated and correlated with the digital sample. The offset of the local oscillator frequency from the carrier frequency is sufficiently large to cause the harmonics of the replica signal to fall above the highest frequency of the IF signal. Such a receiver is useful in global positioning satellite (GPS) signal processing where a replica generator must be used to acquire the incoming satellite transmissions.

Abstract: A direct sequence spread spectrum receiver samples an incoming signal at a low non-integer sample rate relative to the input data rate. The sample rate is an integer rate relative to a defined data segment. As multiple segments are sampled, the non-integer sample rate causes bit/chip samples to process relative to the incoming data. Because the sample rate is an integer relative to a data segment, the samples are substantially stationary relative to each segment. Such a method is useful in global positioning satellite (GPS) signal processing wherein the time to first fix is minimized by having to correlate fewer sample points in the acquisition process.