Abstract: Front decorative panel can be moved from its storage position directly in front of the desk into a deployed, horizontal work space position near or at the height of the desk's top. When deployed the panel provides additional workspace arranged to run in parallel with the front of the desk or perpendicular to the desk top as a long extension. At least one support member that can be moved into position beneath the front panel after horizontal deployment to keep the front panel in its upright, horizontal position. Control hardware enables the front panel to be physically manipulated into deployed or storage positions by a user. A safety mechanism associated with the control hardware can restrict the speed or movement of the front panel. The front panel can be used by meeting collaborators when deployed and enable the maintenance of open office space when the front panel is stored.

Abstract: A flexible golf tee includes a concaved head supported by an integrated upper portion comprising a flat, flexible area. An anchoring lower portion includes a pointed tip and a ledge formed where it is integrated with the upper portion. The anchoring lower portion stabilizes the golf tee and helps keep it in the ground upon golf club impact. The flat, flexible area significantly increase the tee's flexibility and can also serve as a footprint for promotional advertising space on the upper portion's front and back sides. The concaved head can include alignment means formed thereon for enabling golfers to achieve alignment using the alignment means and flat, flexible portion to achieve a desired direction of travel along the fairway by the golf ball to a target area. Depth indicators when used can enable golfer to track the depth to which the tee is being inserted into the ground.

Abstract: A nut cold cutter devise is used in the assembly and maintenance of semi-autogenous grinding mills for large-scale mining. The device includes a front body, a back body and a hydraulic cylindrical chamber located between the front and back bodies. The front body has a defined cavity in which there is a movable cutting tool and a fixed cutting tool. The nut to-be-cut is positioned in the space located between the two cutting tools. The hydraulic cylindrical chamber contains a push piston that is sealed to the inside of said hydraulic cylindrical chamber with watertight joints. The push piston is attached to a toolholder axis and the movable cutting tool is attached to the front end of the toolholder axis.

Abstract: Metal-ceramic composite materials made by an infiltration technique have now been prepared using microwave energy as the heat source for thermal processing. Specifically, microwave energy has been used to heat and melt a source of silicon metal, which in turn has infiltrated carbon-containing preforms to make reaction-bonded silicon carbide composites, respectively. Both the time-at-temperature as well as the overall thermal cycle time have been greatly reduced, implying a large cost savings.

Abstract: A method and system for avoiding variance in transmission times of real-time, packet-based communications is disclosed. Transmissions such as voice and videoconferencing generally require a substantially constant delivery rate in order to be satisfactory to end users. When occurring via a packet-based network, such transmissions often experience unacceptable levels of variation in delay in their transmission times, and this variation in delay is known as jitter. One cause of jitter relates to collisions between packets generated by a first source and sent via a packet transport medium and other packets, generated by one or more other sources and transmitted by the same transport medium. The method and system disclosed allow data sources to independently establish their respective transmission timings so as to avoid these collisions, without a need for a master clock shared between all of the data sources.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for resiliently mounting a photomultiplier tube. The tube is sequentially tapped to move a debris particle therein. The tube is initially inclined for moving the particle to a staging site. The tube may then be re-oriented horizontally for moving the debris particle from the staging site to a target site for subsequent laser blasting thereof.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for managing a set of virtual clocks in a data processing system with multiple partitions. A “set-time-of-day” command is used in connection with each virtual clock to define a basis for its local date/time state via the following elements: (1) a partition peculiar time base reference value, and (2) a partition peculiar time offset reference value which corresponds to the state of an elapsed time counter at the point in time when the time base reference value is established. The partition time base reference and offset reference values are stored in memory. When executing a “get-time-of-day” command, these are retrieved along with the current state of the elapsed time counter facility to compute the current date/time state of the virtual clock for the partition.

Abstract: An apparatus for sensing blend segregation in a mixture comprises a light transmissive window disposed within a feed connection between a hopper and an extruder for example, a light source for emitting a light beam, and a light sensor to perform spectrum analysis of any incident light supplied thereto. An illumination assembly has a first end optically coupled to the light source and a second end optically coupled to the light transmissive window to illuminate a portion of the internal path provided by the feed connection. At least one detection assembly is provided, having a first end disposed adjacent to the light transmissive window so as to detect the reflection from any illuminated polymer blend passing therethrough. The light sensor collects the diffuse reflecting light from the polymer blend and transforms the diffuse reflecting light into tri-color signals, reflection curves or the like, for comparison with other diffuse reflecting light so as to determine if a particular blend is segregating.

Abstract: An optical element surface monitoring system includes an optical beam shaper and an optical sensor. The optical beam shaper directs an input beam of light from a laser source onto a surface portion of an optical element. The optical sensor receives a reflected beam of light from the optical element, derived from the input beam of light. The power of the reflected beam of light is monitored for an unexpected dropoff as an indicator of damage to the surface portion.

Abstract: A method of hygroscopic optical material fabrication comprising the steps of cutting a hygroscopic optical material to generate an optical substrate of appropriate dimensions and polishing the hygroscopic optical material for appropriate surface figure or surface quality. The cutting and polishing of the hygroscopic optical material is completed while the hygroscopic optical material is isolated from aqueous contamination so as to maintain or increase the damage threshold of the hygroscopic optical material.

Abstract: An exemplary method for welding a circular disk coaxially atop a tubular body comprises the steps of rotating the body and disk thereon, drawing a vacuum inside the body for vacuum holding the disk thereon, and welding the disk along a rim thereof to the body to sealingly join the disk thereto.

Abstract: A fresnel reflection termination system includes a laser source, a folding mirror to reflect a laser beam, a focusing lens to focus the laser beam on the folding mirror, and a laser beam dump. The laser beam dump has an outer absorption surface for absorbing fresnel reflections, an inner termination area for capturing fresnel reflections, and a cooling mechanism within the inner termination area for dissipating heat generated by the captured fresnel reflections. The system terminates fresnel reflections to prevent costly damage to the environment or hardware surrounding the system.

Abstract: A welding fixture includes a stationary tubular outer manifold having an outer flow passage extending radially therethrough for drawing vacuum, and a tubular spindle extending coaxially therethrough. The spindle includes a mandrel at one end over which the bore of a tubular body is positioned. A sleeve at the opposite end of the spindle is used for rotating the spindle. An inner manifold adjoins the sleeve and is disposed inside the outer manifold, and has an inner flow passage extending radially therethrough and disposed in flow communication with the outer passage for drawing vacuum inside the spindle and in turn inside the body for retaining a disk thereon. An annular flange adjoins the mandrel and the inner manifold, and has a seat facing the mandrel for receiving the body at a complementary counterbore, and also includes a bearing land disposed in contact with the outer manifold for rotation thereon.