Abstract:
An innovative circuit for driving the write head. All of the driving transistors are NPN, and are prevented from saturation. This is achieved by shifting and scaling down the differential drive applied to the pull-up transistors, to drive the pull-down transistors with levels such that the pull-down transistors cannot reach saturation. This provides a very simple circuit in which all four of the drive transistors are NPN, and all are kept out of saturation. Moreover, the peak write current applied to the head is precisely limited.
Abstract:
A lobster trap comprising a base panel, two side panels, two end panels, and a top panel defining therein an interior chamber is described. The components of the trap may be primarily or completely made of a plastic material, which increases durability and longevity of the trap. The top panel may have a smaller area than the base panel, and the side panels and/or the end panels are angled inward forming a trap having a substantially trapezoidal prism shape or a pyramidal frustum shape. The trap is shaped and configured to facilitate vertical stacking, and preferably to allow stacked traps to engage with and interlock with each other. The base panel of the trap may have a support member located along the base panel. The support member is at least partially hollow defining an internal compartment, and the compartment is able to receive weight elements that help to stabilize the trap during and after deployment into the ocean.
Abstract:
The invention provides mesostructured materials and methods of preparing mesostructured materials including metal-rich mesostructured nanoparticle-block copolymer hybrids, porous metal-nonmetal nanocomposite mesostructures, and ordered metal mesostructures with uniform pores. The nanoparticles can be metal, metal alloy, metal mixture, intermetallic, metal-carbon, metal-ceramic, semiconductor-carbon, semiconductor-ceramic, insulator-carbon or insulator-ceramic nanoparticles, or combinations thereof. A block copolymer/ligand-stabilized nanoparticle solution is cast, resulting in the formation of a metal-rich (or semiconductor-rich or insulator-rich) mesostructured nanoparticle-block copolymer hybrid. The hybrid is heated to an elevated temperature, resulting in the formation of an ordered porous nanocomposite mesostructure. A nonmetal component (e.g., carbon or ceramic) is then removed to produce an ordered mesostructure with ordered and large uniform pores.
Abstract:
A method for providing timing recovery from a received digital data stream where the digital data stream is a series of consecutive data samples. The method separates the data stream into a series of consecutive observation periods where each observation period includes the same number of consecutive data samples. The method also includes identifying a series of consecutive timing recovery data samples in each observation period where the timing recovery data samples are used for timing recovery and other data samples in the observation period are not used for timing recovery, and where the number of data samples used for timing recovery in each observation period is less than the number of data samples that are not used for timing recovery in the observation period. The method then uses the timing recovery data samples for timing recovery in each observation period.
Abstract:
A timing recovery system that provides a timing estimate between a transmitter clock and a receiver clock. The system includes a down-converter that converts a received intermediate frequency signal in the receiver and down-converts, using Fs/4 down-conversion, the received signal into baseband in-phase and quadrature phase signals. The baseband in-phase and quadrature phase signals are sent to a direct down-converter that frequency shifts the in-phase and quadrature phase. The frequency-shifted in-phase and quadrature phase baseband signals are then low-pass filtered in order to isolate the frequency components of interest, reduce noise, and remove zeros that are artifacts of the Fs/4 down-conversion. The signals are sent to a square-law non-linearity circuit that provides squaring non-linearity to generate non-linear in-phase and quadrature phase signals. The non-linear in-phase and quadrature phase signals are sent to a single-pole, low-pass post-filter circuit that generates the timing estimate.
Abstract:
A method for testing a person's vision is disclosed. The method includes providing, for display to the person, one or more sequences of test images, each test image including one or more test symbols. For each test image, a target symbol is identified to the person. The person then views each test image in the sequence and activates a control in response to recognizing a test symbol that replicates the shape of the target symbol. At the completion of the sequence, a parameter value associated with the activations is processed and correlated with a vision metric. A system for testing a person's vision is also disclosed.
Abstract:
An ophthalmic lens element (100) for correcting myopia in a wearer's eye is disclosed. The lens element (100) includes a central zone (102) and a peripheral zone (104). The central zone (102) provides a first optical correction for substantially correcting myopia associated with the foveal region of the wearer's eye. The peripheral zone (104) surrounds the central zone (102) and provides a second optical correction for substantially correcting myopia or hyperopia associated with a peripheral region of the retina of the wearer's eye. A system and method for dispensing or designing an ophthalmic lens element for correcting myopia in a wearer's eye is also disclosed.
Abstract:
Apparatus, system, method and computer-readable media for organizing a listing of key pairs to increase the likelihood that key pairs more likely to satisfy database queries will be examined in the course of the query execution before key pairs that are less likely to satisfy a database query.
Abstract:
A method for scheduling airplanes. Eastbound and westbound flights are scheduled to arrive to and depart from an airport within a small period of time (e.g., 5 minutes). By now scheduling both eastbound and westbound flights to arrive to and depart from an airport within a small block of time, the flow of air traffic is smoothed. Further, the scheduling structure of the present invention allows the passenger's connect time profile to be the same for all the passengers thereby extending the minimum connect time to a greater number of passengers. Further, the scheduling structure of the present invention allows staggered gating (gates are paired in such as a manner as to function as a single gate) thereby expanding gate separation as well as allowing a reduction or an elimination of the gap in times in the services being performed above and below the wings of an aircraft.