Abstract: A control system may include a direct-current (DC) power bus for charging (e.g., trickle charging) internal energy storage elements in control devices of the control system. For example, the control devices may be motorized window treatments configured to adjust a position of a covering material to control the amount of daylight entering a space. The system may include a DC power supply that may generate a DC voltage on the DC power bus. For example, the DC power bus may extend from the DC power supply around the perimeter of a floor of the building and may be connected to all of the motorized window treatments on the floor (e.g., in a daisy-chain configuration). Wiring the DC power bus in such a manner may dramatically reduce the installation labor and wiring costs of an installation, as well as decreasing the chance of a miswire.

Abstract: A method for draining fermenting must from a fermentation tank comprises: a) breaking into chunks a cap that forms in the tank while must ferments in the tank, b) after breaking the cap, mixing the must to homogenize the must and reduce the size of the cap chunks to a size that can pass through a drain of the tank, and c) opening the drain in the fermentation tank to remove the must from the tank. Breaking the cap into chunks includes: a) injecting gas into the must to form a bubble in the must, b) moving the bubble through the must to generate a flow of must within the fermentation tank, and c) shearing a surface of the cap with the generated flow to break the cap into chunks Mixing the must to reduce the size of the cap chunks includes: a) injecting gas into the must to form a bubble in the must, and b) moving the bubble through the must to mix the must.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of modifying the surface of a polymeric substrate, e.g., to improve the wettability of the polymer film surface and/or alter the metal adhesion properties of the surface of the substrate by exposing the substrate to a flame. The flame is supported by an oxidizer and fuel mixture that includes an effective amount, for modifying the polymeric substrate, of at least one sulfur-containing compound that functions as a fuel substitute. In addition, substrates are provided that have increased wettability or increased metal adhesion performance.

Abstract: A major problem in automatic signature verification is the rejection of true signatures. One way of capturing a signature is to use a special pen 10 to write on an area 13 having horizontal lines, the pen being constructed to pass a signal to a computer 11 indicating whether the pen tip is in contact with the area 13 and when the lines in the area 13 are crossed. Signals characteristic of signatures derived in this way are analyzed and stored. To enable verification to be carried out a number of authentic signatures are analyzed and a number of measures such as means and standard deviations of signature features are determined and stored. When a trial signature is to be verified, the same features of the trial signature are measured and the results are compared with the stored measures. It has been discovered that many false rejections of true signatures are due to variations of certain types such as hesitations which occur when the pen tip is off the writing area between inked segments of the signature.

Abstract: Where a signature is to be automatically verified, or data is to be entered into a computer, a special pen is usually employed but this pen is liable to be stolen or vandalized. In the present invention the tip of an ordinary pen presses lined paper on to a transparent plate and modifies internal reflection in the plate at the point of contact. A light source edge-illuminates the plate and light received by a receiver at another edge of the plate varies in intensity as the pen tip crosses the lines. By measuring the intervals between crossing line boundaries information is obtained which can be analyzed for use in signature verification and data entry.

Abstract: A method for real-time signature verification uses a transducer pad in which the pressure of a stylus causes contact to be made between two resistive films. Such a transducer is energized by current pulses to sample pairs of X and Y coordinates every 5 milliseconds. The analogue voltage outputs are converted to digital form and processed under the control of a microprocessor to determine numerical parameters each representing a significant feature of the signature pattern. A set of specimen signatures is collected and from these the mean values and standard deviations of several relevant parameters are calculated and committed to memory. The parameters for a working signature are compared with the respective stored mean values for the individual concerned. Each deviation from a stored mean value is compared with the corresponding stored standard deviation in a non-linear scoring circuit.

Abstract: A combination ladder and spare tire carrier for a vehicle in which the spare tire carrier is connected to the inside of the ladder and the ladder pivotally connected to a wall of the vehicle whereby the ladder may be pivoted from an upright locked position into an inclined lower position to expose the spare tire carrier.