Abstract: A crucible for forming a boule in a portion of an interior volume of the crucible. The crucible has a crucible base material forming the interior volume. The crucible base material is separated from the boule by a barrier coat disposed between the boule and the crucible base material. The barrier coat has a pin free conformal thickness conforming to a surface of the crucible base material regardless of a shape of a surface feature on the surface, the barrier coat having a melting point higher than that of the boule.

Abstract: Keeping computer, router and switch cables organized can be challenging as cables may have excess length which can become entangled with each other and which can be susceptible to damage. The enclosed invention relates to a modular spool. Many copies of the spool may be linked together to a large number with ease and convenience. They may also be easily separated for convenient maintenance. Each spool has a male connector on one end and a female connector on the other end, so that one spool design can result in large lengths of connected spools. The spools may be connected by a bayonet style system or by screws or pins after alignment with a notch and key system. An alternative embodiment has an array of nubs which matches an array of nub ports which may be aligned by the shape of the plates at the end of the spools.

Abstract: Valves controlling flow of gas or liquid, where compressible material is trapped within a rigid housing to provide a leak-proof seal surrounding an longitudinally movable rigid shaft. Where the shaft has a hollow channel and perpendicular ports to the outer surface, it allows for on and off control and is called a hollow shaft valve. If the shaft has diametric reductions on its outer surface, the valve allows for variable control. Creating a series of hollow shaft valves and variable shaft valves on a single shaft allows multiple functions through a single seal to create a serial shaft valve. The technology also allows for the precise and indexed variable control of fluid flow through a variable shaft valve by having a bayonet style system to precisely actuate orifice size rather than a rotary handle. This arrangement has application in a wide variety of situations including chlorination valves.

Abstract: A control method is provided for loading a data transfer head to a data storage medium comprising: determining a desired maximum displacement between a parked position of the head and an encroaching position of the head in relation to a selected data storage track of the medium; determining a spin interval associated with a predetermined quantity of medium movement before the head reaches the encroaching position; rotating the data storage medium at a beginning of the spin interval; and moving the actuator during the spin interval from the parked position and at a velocity resulting in the head being displaced at the end of the spin interval a distance that is less than the maximum displacement. A data storage device is contemplated comprising programmed instructions for performing this method for a predetermined number of loading occurrences, or in relation to observing a threshold data transfer error rate.

Abstract: A digital video effects apparatus is arranged to generate a digital video effect by interpolating the values of parameters governing the effect, according to a given function, between time points corresponding to selected frames of a video signal and at which the parameters are fixed at selected values. The apparatus is organised in such a manner that the values of parameters are stored in exclusive timelines enabling the time points at which the parameter values are fixed to be adjusted without reference to other parameters governing the same video effect.

Abstract: A digital divider for forming the quotient (Q) of two numbers (A,B) includes means providing values (Q+1, Q-1) of the quotient with possible rounding errors added to or subtracted therefrom.

Abstract: In a digital video effects system having a store (8) wherein coordinate values are stored in curved order by addressing the store with coordinate values transformed by a function generator (1) and transformer (2) and storing linear values derived from counters (6), the resolution of incremental values from the transformer (2) is increased as necessary to avoid unwritten addresses in the store by providing, between the transformer (2) and the store (8), delay means (3) for providing coordinates of the corners of adjacent quadrilateral areas defined by integer values of the transformed coordinates, a "predisector" (4) for providing coordinates of smaller quadrilateral areas into which the first areas can be divided, and a "hole filler" (5) for generating intermediate coordinate values failing within each smaller quadrilateral. An interpolator (7) serves to provide intermediate data values derived from the linear values to match the intermediate coordinate values generated by the hole filler.

Abstract: In a digital video effects system a data store (13) is provided for storing the address within a frame store of image information from the corresponding image frame that is to appear within another image frame as transposed on to a curved surface. The addresses are stored in "curved" order so that when the store (13) is addressed via inputs (24) providing the coordinates of the scanning point of the television raster, the store (13) provides, at an output (25) that address within the frame store which contains the image information to be represented at the corresponding point in the final image. Such storage of the address values in "curved" order is achieved by applying at data inputs of the store a linear sequence of the coordinate addresses of the image frame store whilst providing at write addresses (11, 12) of the store data (13) corresponding values of the coordinates that have been transformed to define the curved surface to appear in the final image.

Abstract: A system enabling a digital video signal to be recorded and reproduced utilizing a solid state memory store (1) as the recording medium comprises a plurality of random access memory sub-systems (1A-1D) each incorporating a read/write buffer (2). The buffers (2) are connected in parallel to a common video data bus (3) and addressing and control inputs of the subsystems (1A-1D) are connected in parallel to a common control bus (5). One or more read/write sub-systems (6) are arranged to receive and/or output digital video signals in real time via an input (10) or output (11), such signals being transfered to and/or from the store (1) via a corresponding buffer (7; 9) coupled to the data bus (3). The capacity of the buffers (2, 7, 9) and the data bus (3) is a multiple of that of the input (10) or output (11) so that each read/write system (6) can transfer accumulated data at a slower rate than it is received or output.

Abstract: Deterioration of the image as a result of failure of individual memory cells is avoided by storing, together with the data relating to each line of the image field, a code value computed as a function of the value of each data bit in the line and the position of each bit in the line. A picture signal stored in this way may be reproduced by transmitting each line signal to a function generator (15), adder (16) and accumulator (17) to re-compute a code value by the same function utilized during the storage of the signal, and applying the stored code value to a latch (21). The outputs of the accumulator (17) and latch (21) are applied to a subtracting circuit (25), and when the latter produces any output signal other than zero, the value of such signal will indicate both the position of any single faulty bit and the direction in which the stored value is in error.

Abstract: A control signal synchronized to a digital video signal to be processed and defining the position of a rectilinear line (51,52,53,54) relatively to the image frame (50) is generated by providing an initial value corresponding to the perpendicular distance of the origin (0) of the scanning point of the video raster from the line (51,52,53,54) and incrementing or decrementing this value during movement of the scanning point in accordance with the rates of change of this distance in the horizontal and vertical directions. By logically combining the signals corresponding to a plurality of lines (52,52,53,54) a further signal is obtained which is "true" when the scanning point is within a geometric figure defined by the lines. This signal can provide a "key" signal controlling the display within the figure of image information to be combined with the video signal.

Abstract: A video image processing system for generating so-called "multi-freeze" digital video effects comprises a frame store (14) within which an image signal can be stored for application to a combining circuit (4) together with a background image signal (1) providing a background against which a trail of frozen images is to be displayed. The trail of images is derived by recycling images stored in the memory (14) through a further combining circuit (19) wherein the stored image is combined with incoming image signals applied to both combining means (4,19). Decay and patterning of the frozen images can be effected by circuits (24,25) for attenuating and profiling the key signals accompanying the image signals.

Abstract: In a method of processing a video signal to provide digital video effects, an image signal is provided with an accompanying reference signal or Z-axis signal representative of the instantaneous distance of the scanning point of the video raster from an imaginary plane to be depicted as containing said information, taken in a direction perpendicular to the image screen. This reference signal may then be utilized to produce a variety of effects. For example a circuit for superimposing sets of image information to give the impression of an overlap in three dimensional space may comprise an order sorting circuit (1) having inputs (2,3,4) for sets of signals comprising picture information (P) a key signal (K) and a Z-axis signal (Z). At outputs (5,6,7) of the circuit the sets of signals are sorted into order of priority dependent on the magnitude of the Z-axis signal (Z).

Abstract: A storage and interpolation device for digital television pictures having a memory organized in `tiles` of memory elements (2). Sub-assemblies of tiles (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D) all have the same coordinate address in one coordinate direction and have outputs coupled to an interpolation filter (6) operative in that direction. Individual tiles (2A; 2B; 2C; 2D) of respective sub-assemblies (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) all have the same coordinate address in the other coordinate direction and the outputs of the filters (6) of the sub-assemblies are connected to inputs of a further filter (9) operative in the other coordinate direction. By allocating pixel values of discrete image areas of the picture to respective sub-assemblies (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) in the horizontal direction and to groups of tiles (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D) in the vertical direction, interpolation can be effected by addressing all tiles simultaneously to produce a corresponding output from the filter 9.

Abstract: A method of coating electrostatographic carrier particles comprising introducing an upwardly flowing low pressure gas and a centrally located upwardly flowing high pressure gas at about one-third their full flow rate into a combined fluidized bed and spouted bed coating apparatus, loading carrier particles into the coating apparatus, increasing the flow rate of the low pressure gas to its full flow rate of about 305 cubic feet per minute with heating to heat the carrier particles, increasing the flow rate of the high pressure gas to its full flow rate of about 16 cubic feet per minute at about 1.