Abstract: An insulative jacket for a beverage container is fabricating from a unitary blank of flexible insulative material into a main body forming an annulus with continuous upper and lower edges openable into an annular form for receiving the beverage container and collapsible along diametrically opposed fold lines into a flattened rectangular form when not in use, and a circular end wall connected to the lower edge of the annulus at diametrically opposed locations with a sewn fold line bisecting the wall to urge it to fold inwardly within the annulus when collapsed into the flattened rectangular form.

Abstract: An insulative jacket for a beverage container is fabricating from a unitary blank of flexible insulative material into a main body forming an annulus with continuous upper and lower edges openable into an annular form for receiving the beverage container and collapsible along diametrically opposed fold lines into a flattened rectangular form when not in use, and a circular end wall connected to the lower edge of the annulus at diametrically opposed locations with a sewn fold line bisecting the wall to urge it to fold inwardly within the annulus when collapsed into the flattened rectangular form.

Abstract: A signal processing circuit for processing in real time output signals from a radiation sensing assembly which generates for successive sampling periods output signals representing respectively a reference level and a radiation level related to the radiation incident on a sensor of the assembly during each sampling period. The circuit comprises a low pass filter for receiving the output signals and for filtering a plurality of reference level signals and a corresponding plurality of radiation level signals associated with the plurality of reference level signals to minimize high frequency noise effects on the signals and to generate filtered and averaged reference level and radiation level signals; and a difference circuit for generating a signal related to the difference between the filtered reference level and filtered radiation level signals.

Abstract: A method of operating a radiation sensor, such as a charged coupled device array, having a number of radiation sensitive devices and associated transfer buffers. The method comprises (1) illuminating the radiation sensor for a predetermined duration whereby the radiation devices each store a charge relating to the total radiation incident thereon; (2) after the illumination step, transferring the stored charges to the transfer buffers; (3) reading out the charges in the transfer buffers; and, (4) repeating steps 1 to 3 until the transferred charge is substantially constant. Image scanning apparatus incorporating apparatus for performing this method is also described.

Abstract: An exposure system and method comprising a radiation generator (15'); and a modulator (4) which comprises a device for controlling the transmission of radiation passing through the modulator in accordance with an applied control function, the response characteristic of the modulator to the control function exhibiting a maximum or minimum and onto which radiation from the generator is incident. A microprocessor (19) controls the transmission condition of the modulator (4), and is responsive to predetermined control signals during an exposing stage and, during a compensation stage prior to the exposing stage, generates a test control function having a DC component and a cyclically varying component for application to the modulator.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for matching the transmission characteristics of two beam modulators (4,4') comprises radiation generating means (30); and the first and second beam modulators (4,4'), the radiation generating means causing beams of radiation (16,16') to impinge on each modulator. Control means (20) generates first and second control functions for application to the first and second modulators (4,4') respectively, the first control function cyclically varying between first upper and lower values (V.sub.1,V.sub.2) and the second control function cyclically varying between second upper and lower values (V.sub.3,V.sub.4) at the same rate and at the same time as the first control function, the range of the first and second control functions being such that the transmission characteristics of the first and second beam modulators overlap.