Abstract: A traction enhancement system includes an electronic controller, first and second pneumatic tire and wheel assemblies, a first wheel brake, a second wheel brake, a source of pressurized air, an air pressure sensor, and a vehicle speed sensor. The first and second pneumatic tire and wheel assemblies each define a pneumatic chamber having pressurized air therein. The first wheel brake operably resists rotation of the first tire and wheel assembly. The second wheel brake likewise operably resists rotation of the second tire and wheel assembly. The source of pressurized air is connected to the tire and wheel assemblies. The air pressure sensor is located and configured to monitor the pressure of the pneumatic chambers, and is electrically connected to the controller. The vehicle speed sensor is electrically connected to the controller as well.

Abstract: A terrain awareness system (TAS) provides LOOK-AHEAD/LOOK-DOWN as well as LOOK-UP terrain advisory and warning indications to the pilot of an aircraft of a hazardous flight condition. The TAS includes an airport data base as well as a terrain data base that is structured to provide various resolutions depending on the topography of the particular geographic area of interest. Navigational data from a satellite-based navigational system, such as a global positioning system (GPS), is used to provide a LOOK-AHEAD/LOOK-DOWN and LOOK-UP terrain advisory and terrain warning indications based upon the current position and projected flight path of the aircraft. Since the terrain advisory and the warning signals are a function of the flight path of the aircraft, nuisance warnings are minimized.

Abstract: A protective positionable flexible cover or sleeve for suction apparatuses where a suction catheter or other suction device is covered prior to and subsequent to suction procedures to prevent contamination of the suction catheter or other suction device for subsequent use, and for prevention of contamination transfer to medical workers and health facility environs.

Abstract: A paint tray includes a bottom, front wall, back wall, sidewalls, and a mounting bracket connected to the side walls. The mounting bracket has parallel legs, each leg including a foot at one end and a hook at the other end. The feet extend outward of the legs and are pivoted at the tops of opposite sidewalls of the tray for movement of the bracket from a storage position within the tray to an operating position behind the tray. A crossbar connects the hook ends of the legs. The hooks engage the top step of a step ladder, with the legs overlying the top step and the tray hanging from the top step in a substantially vertical attitude.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for providing call screening in conjunction with a variety of network-based call services. An exemplary method for providing a called party at a called party station with call screening includes: (a) forwarding a call to the called party station (CPS) to a voice mailbox so that a caller can leave a message for the called party; (b) initiating a simplex call to the CPS; and (c) bridging the call forwarded to the voice mailbox and the simplex call to the CPS so that the called party can hear the caller leaving a message for the CPS; (d) initiating a duplex call to the CPS in response to signaling received from the CPS; and (e) bridging the call forwarded to the voice mailbox and the duplex call so that the caller and the called party are in communication with one another. In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of initiating a simplex call includes the step of delivering a distinctive ring to the CPS indicating that the caller is leaving a message for the CPS.

Abstract: A system and method of readily identifying and handling self-modifying variable length instructions in a pipelined processor is disclosed employing index tags associated with each stage of the execution pipeline wherein the index tags identify the cache line numbers in the instruction cache from which the instructions originate.

Abstract: A device for delivering phototherapeutic light to uniformly illuminate a tissue surface. The device is a bowl-shaped shell with a more-or-less parabolic profile and having an open end and an apex. The inner surface of the shell is adapted to diffusely reflect light with very low absorption by the shell material. A light output end of a fiber optic is introduced into the interior of the shell through a fiber optic port in the shell wall near the apex. The light output end of the fiber is positioned such that light emanating therefrom impinges upon the inner surface of the shell. The shape of the shell causes greater than 60 percent of the light emanating from the fiber to intercept the shell's surface and be diffusely reflected. The diffusely reflected light may then undergo further diffuse reflection within the shell prior to reaching the treatment surface adjacent to the open end of the shell to provide more uniform illumination of the treatment surface than the fiber could otherwise provide.

Abstract: A stirring hot plate (20) having an electrical heating element (30) embedded in a generally horizontal plate (26) for supporting a vessel containing a substance to be selectively heated and stirred. The stirring hot plate (20) has a high temperature enclosure (84) mounted to the bottom of the plate (26) that receives the ends (32, 33) of the electrical heating element (30). A stirring device drive (64) and control (68) are mounted in a low temperature enclosure (86). A tubular conduit (96) has one end (107) connected to the low temperature enclosure (86), and an opposite end (98) connected to the high temperature enclosures (84). The tubular conduit (96) has an internal passage (97) for receiving and carrying wires (76, 80, 83) between the high and the low temperature enclosures (84, 86).

Abstract: An up/dn read prioritization protocol is used to select between multiple hits in a set associative cache. Each set has associated with it an up/dn priority bit that controls read prioritization for multiple hits in the set--the up/dn bit designates either (i) up prioritization in which the up direction is used to select the entry with the lowest way number, or (ii) dn prioritization in which the down direction is used to select the entry with the highest way number. For each new entry allocated into the cache, the state of the up/dn priority bit is updated such that, for the next cache access resulting in multiple hits, the read prioritization protocol selects the new entry for output by the cache.

Abstract: A prefetch unit is used, in an exemplary embodiment, in a superscalar, superpipelined microprocessor compatible with the x86 instruction set architecture. Normally, the prefetch unit performs split prefetching by generating low and high prefetch addresses in a single clock, with the high prefetch address being generated from the low prefetch address by incrementation. In cases where the low prefetch address is supplied to the prefetch unit too late in a clock period to generate the high prefetch address, such as where a branch instruction is not detected by a branch processing unit so that the target instruction address (i.e., the low prefetch address) is supplied by an address calculation stage, the prefetch unit generates a prefetch request consisting of only the low prefetch address.

Abstract: A probe card array check plate is provided with transition zones to prevent a semi-conductor probe from impacting an epoxy joint in the check plate during an over travel test. The transition zone is in the form of beveled edges or tapers between first and second testing surfaces. In alternate embodiments, two or more different types of testing surfaces are juxta positioned, or an optical measurement window is made sufficiently large to prevent an over traveling probe tip from entering an epoxied area.

Abstract: A magneto-optic head for reading and writing information on a magneto-optic recording medium so that diffraction effects can be monitored during writing is disclosed.

Abstract: A method using a progressive sampling rate technique to maintain the sampling rate at the Nyquist frequency of the I/Q data through a tunable equalization bandpass filter in the front end of the imager and then increasing the sampling rate via axial interpolation to prevent aliasing during the nonlinear detection process. If an envelope detector is used, the bandwidth of the detector output should be approximately double that of the I/Q data. In this case, the sampling rate is doubled (or more) by axial interpolation before envelope detection. A 2-point linear interpolator can be used. Depending on the application, this axial interpolator can be turned on or off automatically by the system. After detection, the signal can be low-pass filtered to restrict the speckle bandwidth prior to log compression.

Abstract: The present invention provides injectable, bioabsorbable liquid copolymers suitable for use as a soft tissue repair or augmentation material in animals comprising a liquid polymer selected from the group consisting of liquid polymers of a plurality of at least two different first lactone repeating units and liquid polymers of a plurality of first lactone and second lactone repeating units; wherein the first lactone repeating units are selected from the group consisting of .epsilon.-caprolactone repeating units, trimethylene carbonate repeating units, ether lactone repeating units (which for the purpose of this invention shall mean 1,4-dioxepan-2-one and 1,5-dioxepan-2-one) and combinations thereof and the second lactone repeating units are selected from the group consisting of glycolide repeating units, lactide repeating units (which for the purpose of this invention are defined to be L-lactide, D-lactide, or D,L-lactide repeating units), p-dioxanone repeating units and combinations thereof.

Abstract: A foamed glass article for preparing surfaces, the use therefor, and a method of making same are provided. The foamed glass article is in the form of a block, disk or similar product, and is used for preparing surfaces such as by sanding, rubbing and scraping the same to clean, abrade, polish, smooth, or the like such a surface. The foamed glass article is formed from a starting mixture that comprised waste glass, 0.10-20% by weight of a non-sulfur based foaming agent, and optionally an additional abrasive material. A mixture of powdered waste glass and non-sulfur based foaming agent can be placed in a mold and heated so that the mixture sinters and subsequently foams. Thereafter, the foamed mixture is annealed.

Abstract: A corrugator paste or adhesive manufacturing system provides a viscosity testing tank which is separate from other tanks used in the system. Separate storage tanks are provided for storing each of a plurality of different pastes or adhesives. A closed loop system or network of pipes circulates paste or adhesive from a mixing tank or tanks and from each of the storage tanks through a viscosity monitoring station, and then back to the storage tanks after a viscosity test is performed in the testing tank. An electronic control circuit allocates a time for giving each tank access to the viscosity monitoring station and for comparing the measurements during each such time with a pre-stored criterion for the paste or adhesive that is then being measured. If the viscosity read at the monitoring station corresponds to the stored criterion, the adhesive is returned to its proper storage tank.

Abstract: Mirrors are tested separately at different distances to plasma in separate ring laser gyros. Testing mirrors a predetermined distance away from plasma in the gyros allows accelerated testing of the environment of the mirrors in gyros. The test results are graphed to also allow prediction of ring laser gyro life.

Abstract: Arcing faults in an ac current are detected by apparatus which is responsive to a predetermined randomness in step increases in the current to eliminate false tripping caused by regularly occurring discontinuities produced by loads such as dimmers. A signal conditioner generates a bandwidth limited di/dt signal having pulses produced by the step increases in current. In one embodiment, a first tracking circuit tracks the envelope of the di/dt signal with a first time constant. A second tracking circuit also tracks the di/dt envelope, but with a second, shorter time constant. An arcing fault is indicated if the second tracking signal falls to a predetermined fraction of the fist tracking signal. This circuit may be used alone to detect arcing faults or to increase the sensitivity to arcing faults over dimmers of a circuit which responds to a time attenuated integrated valve of the pulses in the di/dt signal.