Abstract: A cushion/backrest including an integrated reading lamp tethered at the end of a flexible member is disclosed for providing the user with a source of light for reading or watching television. The cushion may also include built in massage motors for providing the user with a massaging action to the back. Controls for adjusting the massaging action and the reading lamp may be incorporated in an armrest.

Abstract: Cementitious compositions are prepared using a dry, flowable admixture containing an ester of carbonic acid such as propylene carbonate and a solid, particulate support which is non-reactive toward the ester such as silica fume. Such admixtures accelerate the set and increase the thixotropy of unhardened mixtures containing hydraulic cement and water, yet can be readily handled and stored in stable form until ready to be used.

Abstract: An illuminated sign apparatus comprised of a reflector with dedicated cavities. Each letter and, optionally, background area, comprises a shaped cavity, illuminated indirectly by a plurality of near-point sources such as light-emitting diodes located in the center of the cavity, either on a separate perpendicular circuit board or on a central projection formed in the bottom of the cavity, with the light emitted by the sources pointed outwards. In another embodiment, the letter cavities and background are illuminated by parallel boards along the top, bottom, and (optionally) middle of the letter cavities, with the light sources directed along the axes of the letter strokes. In another embodiment, the light sources in the center of the cavity are electroluminescent and ultraviolet emitting, and the cavity can be coated with a UV activated flourescent coating which is activated by the EL light source. The light is evenly reflected upward toward the viewer, giving the illusion of a solid letter or background.

Abstract: An osteosynthetic screw fastener and method of using such fastener is disclosed. When threaded onto an end of a bone screw for securing the screw to fractured bone, the fastener has a bone contacting surface that is alignable, independently of the orientation of the screw shaft, with an orientation of the bone surface adjacent to where the screw shaft exits the bone. The independent alignment of the fastener with the bone surface is due to a ball and socket configuration wherein the ball portion includes a spherical threaded nut and the socket is a cavity within the fastener for retaining the spherical nut. Accordingly, the fastener has an access to a threaded bore of the spherical nut so that the screw shaft can be threaded into the bore and secure the fastener against the bone. Additionally, the fastener's bone contacting surface is relatively large with projections thereon that secure the fastener in a desired orientation on the bone and thereby inhibit the fastener from shifting.

Abstract: An illuminated sign apparatus comprised of a reflector with dedicated cavities which are formed by having the perimeter walls of each cavity conform precisely to each individual area of the sign desiring illumination, typically alphabetic characters and the background area they create. The bottom walls of these cavities will project towards the viewers eye parabolically. The midpoint of the cavity, when viewed in cross section, is to be slightly less in height than that of the cavity-defining perimeter walls. The perimeter walls have point source lights such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) distributed along their surface. These cavities may be filled in with transparent substance, fully encapsulating the LEDs thereby eliminating any reflective air space and facilitating light diffusion. The light sources may be provided with circuitry allowing unique powering to each of the individual cavities, resulting in the possibility of a variety of different display effects.

Abstract: A pipelined central processor capable of executing both single-cycle instructions and multicycle instructions is provided. An instruction fetch stage of the processor includes an instruction cache memory and a prediction cache memory that are commonly addressed by a program counter register. The instruction cache memory stores instructions of a program being executed and microinstructions of a multicycle instruction interpreter. The prediction cache memory stores interpreter call predictions and interpreter entry addresses at the addresses of the multicycle intructions. When a call prediction occurs, the entry address of the instruction interpreter is loaded into the program counter register on the processing cycle immediately following the call prediction, and a return address is pushed onto a stack. The microinstructions of the interpreter are fetched sequentially from the instruction cache memory. When the interpreter is completed, the prediction cache memory makes a return prediction.

Abstract: A sensor for measuring disturbances to an electrostatic field caused by the intrusion of a charged body or a charge producing body. The sensor employs at least two probes displaced from each other which have attached beads of radioactive material to provide free ions in the vicinity of the probe. The free ions enhance the signal created by each probe when it is affected by a disturbance in the electrostatic field in which it resides. The signals thus created are conditioned for transmission to a differential amplifier which combines them and produces an output signal which represents the detection of an intruding charged body, its distance, and its characteristics. The sensor can be configured with more than two probes seeded or placed in an array and a computer for real-time selection of the two yielding optimum signals for charged body location, velocity, direction of travel, and electrostatic signature.