48169 results about "Classical mechanics" patented technology

A non-invasive optical sensor which uses the motion signal to calculate the physiological characteristic being measured. For pulse oximetry, a least squares or a ratio-of-ratios technique can be applied to the motion signal itself. This is made possible by selecting a site on the patient where variations in motion produce signals of two wavelengths which are sufficiently correlated. In particular, it has been determined that a sensor placed on a nail, in particular a thumbnail, exhibits the characteristics of having the red and infrared signals correlated when used for pulse oximetry, and the resulting signals correlate to arterial oxygen saturation.

Methods and systems for drilling to a target location include a control system that receives an input comprising a planned drilling path to a target location and determines a projected location of a bottom hole assembly of a drilling system. The projected location of the bottom hole assembly is compared to the planned drilling path to determine a deviation amount. A modified drilling path is created to the target location as selected based on the amount of deviation from the planned drilling path, and drilling rig control signals that steer the bottom hole assembly of the drilling system to the target location along the modified drilling path are generated.

An article of footwear includes a woven region. A fit adjustment system includes a lace strap superimposed with strands of material forming the woven region. The lace strap is routed around the shoe and forms opposing pairs of lace holding elements such as lace loops. More specifically, the lace strap extends downwardly from a lace holding element on a first side of the upper, across and underneath the footbed, around the heel region, back across and underneath the footbed, and upwardly to form a lace holding element on the second side. By the routing of the lace strap, the lace strap is integrated with the heel and arch portions of the shoe. A shoe lace is routed through the lace holding elements and may be adjusted to affect the fit of the upper to a foot of a user.

One embodiment of an alignment apparatus for aligning an object, such as a tool or other implement, perpendicular with respect to a horizontal or a vertical target surface, comprises a three-axis accelerometer and at least two forward-facing distance sensors and a projection display comprising four addressable laser projectors. The accelerometer and distance sensor outputs are mapped to a predefined graphic symbol representing the orientation of the tool relative to the target surface, in particular when the tool is perpendicular to the target surface. The projection display projects the predefined symbol onto the target surface where it may be easily viewed by the tool operator allowing the operator to make any necessary corrections to the tool position.

An electromagnetic wave propagation device includes multiple planar propagation media each formed by laminating at least one planar conductor and at least one planar dielectric, multiple transceivers for transmitting and receiving information among electronic apparatuses, and a first interface for transmitting and receiving the electromagnetic wave between the transceivers and the planar propagation media. Planar dielectric spacers are provided for isolating the multiple planar propagation media from one another. The planar propagation medium is disposed to have an overlapped part with at least the other of the planar propagation media so that an obverse face of the medium and a reverse face of the other medium are at least partially overlapped with each other. The planar conductor is provided with an electromagnetic wave linking unit at the overlapped part that transmits and receives the electromagnetic wave between the planar propagation media.

A universal joint comprising a pair of circular waveguide ball-joints and a slip-joint allows for simultaneous 3-axis rotation and 3-dimensional translation between an antenna and a stationary source. As such, the universal joint does not have to be physically aligned with the azimuth, and elevation, rotation axis of the antenna and mounted on the gimbal support, greatly simplifying the antenna steering mechanism. The universal joint allows the antenna to be mass-balanced in relation to the azimuth and elevation axis without adding any additional counter weights, thus reducing the size and power requirements of the azimuth and elevation rotation drive systems. Additional ball-joints may be provided to increase the allowed range of motion of the antenna.

A disk drive includes a disk having a recording surface, a head stack assembly that includes a body portion, an actuator arm cantilevered from the body portion and a head gimbal assembly supported at the actuator arm. The head gimbal assembly includes a suspension having a first end and a second end, the first end being attached to the actuator arm, a slider coupled to the second end of the suspension, the slider comprising a transducer for reading from and writing to the recording surface. A gimbal is coupled to the second end of the suspension and to the slider. An array of diodes is attached to the suspension to protect the transducer from electrostatic discharge or electrical overstress events.

A simulator facilitating virtual welding activity. The simulator may include a logic processor based subsystem operable to generate an interactive welding environment in virtual reality space that emulates welding activity by simulating a virtual weld puddle having dynamic, real time molten metal fluidity and heat dissipation characteristics, responsive to performing a simulated welding activity in real time. The simulator may include a foot pedal device in operative communication with the logic processor based subsystem and configured to affect a characteristic of the virtual weld puddle in real time, responsive to user control of the foot pedal device. The simulator may be configured to track the movements of a mock welding tool and a mock filler wire and determine interaction between the virtual weld puddle, a corresponding virtual welding tool, and a corresponding filler wire in virtual reality space that would result in the welding tool becoming contaminated.

A sea-floor electromagnetic measurement device for obtaining underwater measurements of earth formations including a central structure and arms attached to the central structure so that they can pivot relative to the central structure. An electrode is attached to the end of each of the arms or to the central structure, and/or magnetometers are attached to the arms. A method for undertaking sea-floor electromagnetic measurements of earth formations including measuring electric fields at a selected distance from a central structure of an electromagnetic measurement system. Magnetic fields are then measured at the same location.

The invention relates to improved multi-axis joysticks and associated multi-axis optical displacement measurement means. The displacement measuring means may include one or more light emitters and one or more light detectors, preferably mounted in a planar hexagonal array. The relative position of an adjacent movable reflector assembly can be measured in six degrees of freedom by variations in detected light amplitude. Various ergonomic configurations of six axis joystick embodiments which may be facilitated by the compact design of the transducer means are disclosed. Means for dynamically adjusting coordinate transformations for construction machinery control are also disclosed.

A coordinate measurement device comprises an articulated arm having a first end, a second end, and a plurality of jointed arm segments therebetween. Each arm segment defines at least one axis of rotation. A laser scanner assembly is coupled to the second end of the arm and is rotatable about a last axis of rotation of the articulated arm. The laser scanner assembly comprises a laser and an image sensor. The laser is positioned on an opposite side of the last axis of rotation from the image sensor.

A six state Kalman filter is adapted based on a current acceleration mode of an INS device. Gyro measurements are used to determine the acceleration mode and the Kalman filter estimates bias and small angle error of the measurements based on the acceleration mode. The bias error corrects the gyro measurement and the small angle error is used along with the corrected gyro measurement to update an attitude sensed by the gyro.

A substrate support assembly arranged in a chamber includes: a support plate including a first surface on which a substrate is seated; a driver configured to tilt the support plate such that the first surface is inclined with respect to a reference surface by a lower inclination angle; and a controller configured to control the driver such that the lower inclination angle is adjusted based on an upper inclination angle formed by the inclination of the gas supplier coupled to the upper surface of the chamber with respect to the reference surface.

The invention disclosed is a method of levitating one or both ends of an object permanently or temporarily, or altering the distance between two objects or the momentum of an object by manipulating the direction of the magnetic field of a permanent or electromagnet.

A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk, and a head actuated radially over the disk. A first linear acceleration signal is generated representing a first acceleration disturbance, a second linear acceleration signal is generated representing a second acceleration disturbance, and a third linear acceleration signal is generated representing a thermal popping disturbance. The first linear acceleration signal is combined with the third linear acceleration signal to generate a fourth linear acceleration signal representing a combined physical shock disturbance and thermal popping disturbance.

The invention relates to a flush-mounted aircraft, UAV or missile antenna system, which is an integral part of the fuselage (3) of an aircraft, UAV or missile. The antenna system comprises a surface (3) made of a conductive material and a resonant recess (4) formed in said conducting surface, wherein said recess is conformed to provide a resonant behaviour in a selected operating frequency, the antenna system further comprising a radiating element (2) located within said recess and a feeding element (5) within said recess coupled to said radiating element.

When the three-dimensional direction the head faces is detected by three axes, that is, a yaw angle that is an angle turning around an erect axis erected on the horizontal surface of the head, and a pitch angle and a roll angle that are angles formed by the above erect axis and two axes perpendicular thereto, a gyro sensor 11 which detects the yaw angle from the integral value of the acceleration, a tilt sensor 12 which detects the inclination of a plane that intersects the direction of the erect axis at right angles, and calculation element 14 which calculates the pitch angle and the roll angle from the output of a tilt sensor are provided, so that the direction that the head faces can be detected with a simple detecting structure including the two sensors, in a head mounted display or the like.

An optical device includes a light guide plate, and first and second reflective volume hologram diffraction grating members. The first member has interference fringes extending from therewithin towards surfaces thereof and arranged at an equal pitch. Each interference fringe and each surface of the first member form an inclination angle therebetween. The first member has the following conditions. (a) In an outer region positioned farther away from the second member than a minimum inclination angle region having a minimum inclination angle, the inclination angles of the interference fringes increase with increasing distance from the minimum inclination angle region. (b) In an inner region positioned closer to the second member than the minimum inclination angle region, the inclination angles of the interference fringes include a maximum inclination angle in an inner area disposed adjacent to the minimum inclination angle region and decrease with increasing distance from the minimum inclination angle region.

A device for measuring a motion of a moving electrically conducting body is disclosed. A magnetic field generated by, for example, electromagnets or permanent magnets, penetrates at least a partial area of the moving body. Two or more measuring devices are arranged outside the magnetic field to measure a measurement magnetic field that is induced by electrical currents in the moving body. The measuring devices are arranged essentially symmetrically with respect to the magnetic field generating means or the moving body. The measurement magnetic field represents at least one motion variable of the moving body. The measuring device is thereby no longer subjected to the temperature-dependent variations of the exciting field.

Suppression of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) by broadening the energy spectrum of participating SBS photons and/or phonons is achieved in an optical fiber having a core with both radially nonuniform viscosity and CTE profiles provided by alternating layers of glass modifying dopants such as phosphorous and fluorine. The nonuniform thermal expansion and viscosity profiles impart a residual, permanent, nonuniform stress in the fiber. The SBS suppressing effect provided by the nonuniform stress can be controlled and enhanced by applying a uniform or nonuniform tensile force to the fiber as it is being drawn. A preform for the fiber is also disclosed.

Positions can be precisely and accurately fixed instantaneously within a three-dimensional workspace. A system of two or more transmitters each continuously sweep the workspace with two fanned laser beams which are preferably about 90 degrees apart on the rotational axis of the transmitter. A receiving instrument includes, preferably, two light detectors which detect the time at which each fanned laser beam is incident thereon. The light detectors also detect a synchronization pulse from each transmitter that is emitted once per revolution. Beams from different transmitters are differentiated by different rotational speeds and, therefore, different beam incidence cycles. Because three intersecting planes uniquely define a point in three-dimensional space, by detecting at least three of the fan beams from the transmitters, the receiving instrument can calculate its position in the workspace. A Quick Calc setup procedure allows the use to define a desired coordinate system within the workspace.

An interferometer scans the sample surface laterally with respect to the optical axis of the interferometric objective. The objective is tilted, so that the sample surface is placed at an angle with respect to the maximum coherence plane of the instrument. By moving the sample stage laterally, at an angle, through a point at a set distance from the objective on the objective's optical axis, rather than vertically along the optical axis, different parts of the object intersect the maximum coherence plane at different times as the surface passes through the coherence plane, the precise time depending on the profile of the surface. When the OPD of a point on the object's surface is greater than the coherence length of the light source, the intensity of light reflected from this point does not produce interference fringes. Therefore, the intensity registered by the detector is approximately constant. However, when the object point enters the zone of coherence, the interference effects modulate the intensity the same way as in a regular VSI procedure. As the object moves along the scanning direction, it also has a relative vertical speed with respect to the objective because of the tilt of the objective's optical axis with respect to the scanning plane; therefore, the lateral scanning motion produces an OPD variation as the vertical scan in a conventional system. As a result, light intensity data are acquired continuously as the test surface is scanned, thus elimination the need for stitching multiple sub-sets of data.

A method and apparatus for influencing movement of a handle of a floor treatment device, such as a vacuum. The floor treatment device may include a handle portion that is attached to a base, which includes a floor treatment portion. The handle portion may be pivotally movable about a rotation axis relative to the base between at least first and second positions, where the rotation axis lies in a vertical plane that includes a longitudinal axis of the handle when the handle portion is in the first position and the longitudinal axis is a non-vertical position. A pivot assist device may apply a bias to the handle portion that urges the handle portion to move from the second position to the first position, e.g., to help support the weight of the handle when a user steers the floor treatment device across a floor.

A laser radar device for transmitting laser pulses, collecting the reflected data from surrounding objects, producing the three-dimensional time-dependent object representations and using these dynamic three-dimensional representations in avoiding collisions or minimizing damage resulting from collisions.

A disclosed flying craft includes a suspension structure having a first end and a second end, a lift unit, and a payload unit. The lift unit includes a nacelle and a tailboom, and pivotally couples to the first end of the suspension structure, and a payload unit couples to the structure's second end. Thus the tailboom can pivotally couple with respect to the payload unit, which advantageously permits the tailboom to assume an orientation desirable for a particular mode of flight. During vertical flight or hover, the tailboom can hang from the lift unit in an orientation that is substantially parallel to the suspension structure and that minimizes resistance to downwash from the lift unit. During horizontal flight, the tailboom can be orthogonal to the suspension structure, extending rearward in an orientation where it can develop pitching and yawing moments to control and stabilize horizontal flight. Advantageous variations and methods are also disclosed.

An orientation preserving angular swivel joint suitable for mechanical robotic arms and in particular snake robots, the joint comprising two members and an angular bevel gear train that connects the two members of the joint. The gear train allows an actuator to be positioned along the axis of the joint while transferring forces to the periphery of the mechanism, thus creating a high mechanical advantage proportional to the radius of the robot. The gear train is capable of transferring rotational motion between the two members with a constant ratio. Relative rotation between two bays of the joint does not take place, thereby preventing electrical wires running through the body of the snake from being twisted, and thus avoiding failure.

When outputs from two vibration detection sensors are measured by a Coriolis flowmeter in a form of phase difference time, a tube must be thinned to increase a sensitivity of the flowmeter to enable measurement and accordingly flow velocity and pressure loss increase, and a thickness of the flowmeter must be reduced and therefore a pressure resistance cannot be readily enhanced. In particular, the sensitivity of signals to flow rate is difficult to increase and, accordingly, a flow rate of a low-density gas cannot be accurately measured. In the present invention, a Coriolis vibration frame 16 carrying a U-shaped tube is swingably fixed to a forced vibration frame 19 fixed to a support base 22 to form a highly rigid frame structure limiting a vibrating direction to one degree of freedom in a Coriolis vibration direction. The forced vibration frame 19 is vibrated by a vibration exciter 20 so that a ratio of a forced vibration frequency to the Coriolis frequency of a pipeline is at least 1 to 10. The ratio of the amplitude of the forced vibration to the amplitude of the Coriolis vibration is calculated based on signals from two vibration sensors such as acceleration sensors 17 and 18 to measure the mass flow rate of a fluid flowing in the pipeline.

The object of the prevent invention is to provide an optical system for producing variable refraction with minimized dispersion. A first material with a first apex angle in a first state and a second material with a second apex angle in a first state produce a first net refraction angle in at least two frequencies of electromagnetic radiation such that the beams that entered parallel exit parallel (to within a controllable tolerance). Said first material with said first apex angle in a second state and said second material with said second apex angle in a second state produce a second net refraction angle in at least two frequencies of electromagnetic radiation such that the beams that entered parallel exit parallel (to within a controllable tolerance).

Multi-axis micromachined accelerometer and rate sensor having first and second generally planar masses disposed side-by-side and connected together along adjacent edge portions thereof for torsional movement about axes parallel to a first axis in response to acceleration along a second axis and for rotational motion about axes parallel to the second axis in response to acceleration along the first axis. The masses are driven to oscillate about the axes parallel to the second axis so that Coriolis forces produced by rotation about a third axis result in torsional movement of the masses about the axes parallel to the first axis. Sensors monitor the movement of the mass about the axes, and signals from the sensors are processed to provide output signals corresponding to acceleration along the first and second axes and rotation about the third axis.

A paneling system is provided herein that concerns interconnecting panels with opposite connecting sides of substantially tongue in groove joint couplings and opposing adjacent connecting sides that are of substantially hook-joint coupling. The hook joint hinders lateral motion while permitting movement in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the interconnected panels to provide ease of installment and removal. The hook joints also provide proper alignment and spacing between panels.