Abstract: Systems and methods for providing a light pad configured for light therapy, wherein the light pad is dynamically flexible to conform to curvatures of the human body. The light pad includes a flexible, electrical circuit board configuration, a plurality of light sources coupled to the flexible, electrical circuit board configuration, wherein the plurality of light sources are configured to provide light therapy to a patient, and an electrical circuit comprising the plurality of light sources and electrical interconnections of the flexible, electrical circuit board configuration. In at least some embodiments, the flexible, electrical circuit board configuration comprises a plurality of circuit boards that are interconnected by one or more braided cords. The circuit boards provide increased flexibility of the light pad as bending is allowed between the boards, while the braided cord provides a resilient, long-lasting, electrical connection between the independent boards.

Abstract: The present invention includes a method for a combined use of a local positioning system, a local RTK system and a regional, wide-area, or global differential carrier-phase positioning system (WADGPS) in which disadvantages associated with the local positioning system, the RTK and the WADGPS navigation techniques when used separately are avoided. The method includes determining a first position of the object based on information from the WADGPS, and determining a second position of the object based on position information from a local positioning/RTK positioning system. Thereafter, position determined by the WADGPS and the position determined by the local positioning/RTK positioning system are compared.

Abstract: The present invention includes a method for a combined use of a local positioning system, a local RTK system and a regional, wide-area, or global differential carrier-phase positioning system (WADGPS) in which disadvantages associated with the local positioning system, the RTK and the WADGPS navigation techniques when used separately are avoided. The method includes using a known position of a user receiver that has been stationary or using an RTK system to initialize the floating ambiguity values in the WADGPS system when the user receiver is moving. Thereafter, the refraction-corrected carrier-phase measurements obtained at the user GPS receiver are adjusted by including the corresponding initial floating ambiguity values and the floating ambiguity values are treated as well known (small variance) in subsequent processes to position the user receiver in the WADGPS system.

Abstract: A wicketed bag fabrication and packaging process includes forming a continuous series of wicketed bags by feeding a continuous web and attaching articles to the web. A continuous series of pre-packaged articles or individual pre-formed articles are provided and attached to the web to form wicketed bags having one or more of the pre-packaged articles or pre-formed articles attached thereto.

Abstract: A method and system are provided to determine a relative position vector between primary receiver associated with a reference station and secondary receiver associated with a user. The method and system determine a position of the reference station at the reference station according to signals received thereat from a plurality of satellites, determine a position of the user receiver at the user based on measurements obtained thereat and on error corrections computed at the reference station, and compute the relative position vector by differencing the position of the reference station and the position of the user.

Abstract: A radial shaft seal having a metal casing and a rubber sealing portion attached interior of the metal casing. The rubber sealing portion is bonded to the metal casing during a forming operation. A polytetrafluoroethylene seal is stretched into a conical shape and bonded to the rubber sealing portion while in the stretched state.

Abstract: The present invention includes a method for a combined use of a local RTK system and a regional, wide-area, or global differential carrier-phase positioning system (WADGPS) in which disadvantages associated with the RTK and the WADGPS navigation techniques when used separately are avoided. The method includes using a known position of a user receiver that has been stationary or using an RTK system to initialize the floating ambiguity values in the WADGPS system when the user receiver is moving. Thereafter, the refraction-corrected carrier-phase measurements obtained at the user GPS receiver are adjusted by including the corresponding initial floating ambiguity values and the floating ambiguity values are treated as well known (small variance) in subsequent processes to position the user receiver in the WADGPS system.

Abstract: The present invention includes a process for navigating an object according to signals from satellites by propagating the position of the object forward in time using successive changes in the carrier-phase measurements. The process computes at a low rate matrices required for solving for the position of the objects, and repeatedly uses the most recently computed matrices to compute position updates at a high rate until the next low-rate computation is completed.

Abstract: The present invention includes a method for performing backup dual-frequency navigation during a brief period when one of two frequencies relied upon by dual-frequency navigation is unavailable. The method includes synthesizing the code and carrier-phase measurements on the unavailable frequency using the carrier-phase measurements on the retained frequency and a model of ionospheric refraction effects, which is updated when measurements on both frequencies are available.

Abstract: The present invention includes a method for a combined use of a local RTK system and a regional, wide-area, or global differential carrier-phase positioning system (WADGPS) in which disadvantages associated with the RTK and the WADGPS navigation techniques when used separately are avoided. The method includes using a known position of a user receiver that has been stationary or using an RTK system to initialize the floating ambiguity values in the WADGPS system when the user receiver is moving. Thereafter, the refraction-corrected carrier-phase measurements obtained at the user GPS receiver are adjusted by including the corresponding initial floating ambiguity values and the floating ambiguity values are treated as well known (small variance) in subsequent processes to position the user receiver in the WADGPS system.

Abstract: The present invention includes a method for generating an ambiguity-resolved, refraction-corrected, and noise-minimized carrier-phase measurement. The method includes forming a first composite measurement using GPS carrier-phase measurements on the L1, L2 and L5 frequencies. To reduce the noise in the first composite measurement, the method further includes forming a second composite measurement using GPS carrier-phase measurements on at least two of the three GPS carrier frequencies. The second composite measurement is formed to have a small multi-path noise therein so that it can be used to smooth the first composite measurement so that the multipath noise is minimized.

Abstract: A method for detecting and identifying a faulty measurement among a plurality of GPS measurements, obtained by a GPS receiver with respect to a plurality of satellites in view of the GPS receiver, determines whether the plurality of GPS measurements include a faulty measurement. In response to a determination that the plurality of GPS measurements include a faulty measurement, the method identifies a satellite contributing the faulty measurement by computing a correlation value associated with each of the plurality of satellites, and selecting a satellite associated with a highest correlation value as the satellite contributing the faulty measurement.

Abstract: A method for generating satellite clock corrections for a WADGPS network computers satellite clock corrections after removing other substantial error components. Errors caused by the ionosphere refraction effects are removed from GPS measurements taken at reference stations using dual-frequency GPS measurements. The multipath noise are removed by smoothing of GPS pseudorange code measurements with carrier-phase measurements. The tropospheric refraction effect can be largely removed by modeling, and if desired, can be improved by the use of small stochastic adjustments included in the computation of the clock correction. After removing the above error factors, satellite clock corrections are computed for individual reference stations, and an average clock correction is formed for each of a plurality of satellites by taking an average or weighted average of the satellite clock corrections over reference stations to which the satellite is visible.

Abstract: A radial shaft seal having a metal casing and a rubber sealing portion attached interior of the metal casing. The rubber sealing portion is bonded to the metal casing during a forming operation. A polytetrafluoroethylene seal is stretched into a conical shape and bonded to the rubber sealing portion while in the stretched state.

Abstract: A seal assembly is undersized in relation to the bore in which it is installed to permit radial floating of the seal assembly within the bore to enable precise coaxial alignment between the seal assembly and shaft, despite misalignment between the axis of the shaft and the axis of the bore. A retaining ring urges a face seal of the seal assembly into static sealing engagement with the stepped face of the bore to prevent leakage of the fluid around the seal assembly.

Abstract: An electronic compass system and method in which an automatic calibration process is available while the vehicle is in use. The procedure uses a binning process to collect and count data points which automatically triggers the automatic calibration process, and which is also used for manual calibration. Also, there is a procedure for detecting and rejecting anomalous magnetic events outside the vehicle through a jitter phenomenon.

Abstract: There is provided a cobalt ion exchange process for recovering cobalt from ammoniacal solutions comprising the steps of bringing the ammoniacal solution into contact with carbonaceous material, the redox potential of the solution being in the range +20 to -150 mV as measured by a platinum-calomel standard electrode pair, extracting the cobalt from the leach solution with a cationic ion exchange reagent, and recovering substantially all the cobalt from the ion exchange reagent by elution. The process of the invention enables cobalt to be removed from an ammoniacal leach solution which may also contain nickel and copper, in the form of a highly pure cobalt eluate.