Abstract: A three-point hitch mountable to the front frame of an agricultural tractor includes a main backing member, an upper hitch-point anchor bracket having four sets of securing pin anchoring positions that is welded to the main backing member, a pair of spaced-apart pivot anchors welded to the main backing member, an A-frame assembly pivotably installed between the pivot anchors, and a hydraulic cylinder which raises and lowers the A-frame assembly operably coupled to one of the middle sets of pin anchoring positions and the A-frame assembly. An implement can be connected to the upper-most anchoring position and the distal ends of the A-frame assembly. The three-point hitch can be converted to a ball hitch by re-pinning the hydraulic cylinder to the uppermost anchoring position, raising the A-frame assembly about ninety degrees and pinning it to the anchor bracket.

Abstract: Methods, systems and computer program products are disclosed for displaying a preview of pixels to be effected by a brush tip area. Input is received for specifying one or more parameters defining a brush tip area. The one or more parameters include a size of the brush tip area. Pixels associated with a canvas in a display window are scanned. The scanned pixels are mapped back into the brush tip area according to a specified transform. A shape of a brush tip taper is calculated to indicate a softness or hardness of an edge of the brush tip area. An output color is composited to the scanned pixels based on the calculated shape of the brush tip taper. A preview representation is displayed of pixels effected by the brush tip area based on the compositing.

Abstract: A three-point hitch mountable to the front frame of an agricultural tractor includes a main backing member, an upper hitch-point anchor bracket having four sets of securing pin anchoring positions that is welded to the main backing member, a pair of spaced-apart pivot anchors welded to the main backing member, an A-frame assembly pivotably installed between the pivot anchors, and a hydraulic cylinder which raises and lowers the A-frame assembly operably coupled to one of the middle sets of pin anchoring positions and the A-frame assembly. An implement can be connected to the upper-most anchoring position and the distal ends of the A-frame assembly. The three-point hitch can be converted to a ball hitch by re-pinning the hydraulic cylinder to the uppermost anchoring position, raising the A-frame assembly about ninety degrees and pinning it to the anchor bracket.

Abstract: A cultivator mountable to a front three-point hitch of an agricultural tractor incorporates a spring steel scraper blade for the purpose of clearing weeds around the base of tree trunks in an orchard or vines in a vineyard. Cultivator heads and the scraper blade are positioned to one side of the tractor. A pair of multi-wheel cultivator heads are casterably mounted at opposite ends of a horizontal support beam, which is secured to a fulcrum bracket at the end of a slidable shaft, extension of which is under hydraulic control of the tractor operator. The scraper blade is maintained in contact with the ground and slightly above the level of the bottom of each cultivator head. While cultivating regions around tree or vines, the scraper blade can rub up against the trunks of trees or vines without causing any significant damage to bark or sapwood.

Abstract: A shelf having two telescoping plates secured by a toothed crank is provided for locker users. The plates have a generally rectangular shape with perimeter edges reinforced by lips and pads to engage the locker walls. Friction between the pads and the walls holds the present invention at a desired elevation. This shelf has a toothed rack upon a first plate and a crank with teeth upon the second plate. The teeth upon the crank engage the rack and turning of the crank secures the second plate relative to the first plate longitudinally at a desired width for fitting against the inner walls of a locker.

Abstract: A tool for use in placing sutures and tying knots is disclosed. The tool has a handle for grasping by a user of the tool, an elongate neck extending from the handle, and a moveable head attached to the neck. A needle is operatively connected to the head. The needle is moveable between a retracted position and an extended position. A needle drive mechanism is provided for moving the needle relative to the head, while a head positioning mechanism is provided for moving the head relative to the handle.

Abstract: A shelf having two telescoping plates secured by a toothed crank is provided for locker users. The plates have a generally rectangular shape with perimeter edges reinforced by lips and pads to engage the locker walls. Friction between the pads and the walls holds the present invention at a desired elevation. This shelf has a toothed rack upon a first plate and a crank with teeth upon the second plate. The teeth upon the crank engage the rack and turning of the crank secures the second plate relative to the first plate longitudinally at a desired width for fitting against the inner walls of a locker.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for creating an image-based effect from a digital matte. A digital matte is generated from an image. The digital matte is blurred. The blurred matte is shaped using a predefined shaping transformation. The shaped blurred matte is used to create the effect.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for digitally synthesizing non-uniform and seamless images representing textured marks. A method for rendering a mark in a graphics application includes receiving information specifying a mark and generating a representation of the mark based on the received information. The representation includes a sequence of one or more pattern instances. Each pattern instance is selected from a collection of patterns. Each pattern in the collection of patterns includes an arrangement of graphical elements and, furthermore, is selectable while the second component is being generated. The collection of patterns incorporates some variation among the arrangement of graphical elements of the patterns of the collection.

Abstract: A method and apparatus, including a computer program apparatus, implementing techniques for reducing aliasing artifacts when shaping a digital image such as a digital matte. Prior to shaping the image, the computer program generates a set of subpixel data values as a function of the pixels of the digital image. Each subpixel data value has an integer component and a fractional component and represents an interpolation between the corresponding pixel and one or more adjacent pixels. After generating the subpixel data values, the computer program maps the subpixel data values to new subpixel data values. The computer program adjusts the original pixel data according to the new subpixel data values, thereby shaping the image. In one configuration, the computer program applies additional lookup tables or image processing operations, such as image shading, directly to the new subpixel data values before updating the pixel data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus, including a computer program apparatus, implementing techniques for creating a distance map of an image including a graphical object. The techniques include providing a seeding map of seed pixels having seed values, and using the seeding map to generate a Euclidean distance map. Each seed pixel can correspond to a region of the image. The seed values can include at least three different seed values. A first seed value for a seed pixel can correspond to a region of the image covered by the graphical object by no more than a first threshold amount. A second seed value for a seed pixel can correspond to a region of the image covered by the graphical object by no less than a second threshold amount. Each intermediate seed value for a seed pixel can correspond to a region of the image partially covered by the graphical object by an amount between the first and second threshold amounts.

Abstract: The oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures, e.g. 1800.degree. F. of iron-nickel-chromium alloys of specified composition is improved through the control of manganese content.

Abstract: Nickel-base alloys containing special and correlated percentages of chromium, iron, molybdenum, titanium, columbium, aluminum etc. (i) provide an attractive combination of strength, ductility, resistance to environmental media and other desirable characteristics, (ii) can be processed by cold working and age hardening to achieve yield strengths of 150,000 psi (1034 MPa) to 200,000 psi (1379 MPa) together with tensile elongations of 10% to 20%, (iii) are resistant to such corrosive media as hydrogen sulphide and acid chloride solutions, and to hydrogen embittlement, and (iv) are useful for, inter alia, petroleum production tubing and sulfur dioxide gas scrubber applications.

Abstract: A process for heat treating alloy objects which comprises solution treating a nickel-base alloy containing chromium, molybdenum, copper, titanium, aluminum and iron at a temperature in excess of 955.degree. C. and then aging the alloy without intervening cold work at a temperature in the range of 700.degree. C. to 720.degree. C. This treatment provides non-cold worked structure which is tough, not susceptible to stress corrosion cracking in a test environment simulating a sour gas well environment and which exhibits high level of fracture energy in a slow strain rate tensile test in that environment.

Abstract: There is disclosed an electrocardiographic review system for displaying ECG data for each of eight patients. Whenever the data for a new patient is to be observed, two trend plots are first displayed on the screen. One of these represents the number of heartbeats per minute and the other represents the number of ectopic beats per minute, the time axis being divided into approximately 240 discrete 1-minute intervals so that the trend data for a 4-hour monitoring period can be displayed. The reviewing physician can move a cursor across the screen to a point of particular interest, for example, to a point along the time axis corresponding to a 1-minute interval during which many ectopic beats were detected. Following this, when a display key in the system is operated, a four-second stationary display of the first ECG waveform of interest which occurred during that 1-minute interval is formed. Thereafter, each operation of the display key controls the display of another 4-second ECG waveform.