Author: claimsbot

1. A decoy for luring waterfowl within a hunter’s range, said decoy comprising:
a) a body portion at least a portion of which is covered with faux feathers enhancing its similarity of physical appearance to an actual water fowl;
b) a head portion interconnected to said body portion by a flexible neck which can be bent to place said head portion in a particular desired orientation emulating an actual waterfowl’s head positioning when performing one action selected from the group consisting of i) feeding, ii) sleeping, iii) standing, iv) swimming and v) preening;
c) a base portion interconnected to said body portion by a plurality of spring steel members allowing gusts of wind to rock said decoy in a life-like manner.
2. The decoy of claim 1 wherein said flexible neck is connected to said body portion by a modified ball-and-socket positioned in a chest portion of said decoy.
3. The decoy of claim 1 wherein said base portion can be removed and replaced by a keel configuring said decoy for use on a body of water.
4. The decoy of claim 1 wherein said base portion includes a plurality of flexible legs which may be configured in a plurality of positions consistent to said desired orientations of said head portion.
5. The decoy of claim 4 wherein said flexible section further comprises latching means to selectively inhibit said rocking motion.
6. A decoy assembly for luring waterfowl within a hunter’s range said decoy assembly being adaptable for use on land and water, said decoy assembly comprising:
a) a body portion having an appearance of a waterfowl, said body portion having at least one socket for receiving and retaining at least one removable protrusion;
b) a head portion repositionable upon said body portion to simulate a variety of activities normally engaged in by the waterfowl;
c) a base portion simulating legs of a waterfowl, said base portion having a first said at least one protrusion for engagement in said socket;
d) a keel portion for stabilizing said body portion on a body of water, said keel portion having a second said at least one protrusion for alternative engagement in said socket;

whereby said decoy may be adapted for use on land and on water.
7. The decoy assembly of claim 6 further comprising a flexible neck interconnecting said head portion to said body portion, said flexible neck facilitating repositioning of said head portion into a variety of positions.
8. The decoy assembly of claim 7 further comprising faux feathers attached to at least a some of said body portion, said head portion and said neck portion to enhance the similarity of physical appearance of said decoy to an actual water fowl.
9. The decoy of claim 7 wherein said flexible neck is connected to said body portion by a modified ball-and-socket positioned in a chest portion of said decoy.
10. The decoy of claim 6 wherein said base portion includes a flexible section permitting wind-induced rocking motion.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. An apparatus for energy generation comprising:
a body, referred to as the core, of a material capable of phonon propagation;
a mechanism for introducing reactants into said core;
a mechanism for inducing phonons in said core so that reactants, when introduced into said core, undergo nuclear reactions; and
a control system, coupled to said mechanism for introducing reactants and to said mechanism for inducing phonons, for controlling the number of nuclear reactions and the depth of the nuclear reactions in said core so as to provide a desired level of energy generation while allowing energy released due to the nuclear reactions to dissipate in a manner that substantially avoids destruction of said core.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said mechanism for introducing reactants into said core comprises a controlled electrolysis source, electrically coupled to said core.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein reactants are provided from a liquid medium, which liquid medium also acts as a heat transfer medium to remove heat from said core.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
reactants are provided from a gaseous medium; and
the apparatus further comprises a thermally conductive mass of material thermally coupled to said core for transferring heat away from said core.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
the apparatus further comprises a thermally conductive mass of material;
said core comprises core material disposed on a first surface of a thermally conductive mass of solid material; and
said thermally conductive mass of material provides a mechanism for transferring heat away from said core.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said thermally conductive mass of material has a surface portion in contact with a working fluid.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said mechanism for inducing phonons in the core comprises a sonic or ultrasonic actuator.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said mechanism for inducing phonons in the core comprises a heater.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said mechanism for inducing phonons in the core comprises a source of current pulses.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said core is formed as a wire or a sheet.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said core is formed as a fluidized or powder bed.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said mechanism for controlling the introduction of reactants into the core comprises an electric field generator.
13. A method for energy generation comprising:
providing a body, referred to as the core, of a material capable of phonon propagation;
introducing reactants into the core;
generating phonons in the core to provide energy for said reactants to undergo nuclear reaction; and
controlling the rate of reactant introduction and the rate of phonon generation so as to control the number of nuclear reactions and the depth of the nuclear reactions in the core so as to provide a desired level of energy generation while allowing energy released due to the nuclear reactions to dissipate in a manner that substantially avoids destruction of the core.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein introducing reactants into the core uses a controlled electrolysis source, electrically coupled to said core.
15. The method of claim 13 wherein reactants are provided from a liquid medium, which liquid medium also acts as a heat transfer medium to remove heat from the core.
16. The method of claim 13 wherein generating phonons in the core comprises applying sonic or ultrasonic energy to the core.
17. The method of claim 13 wherein generating phonons in the core comprises heating the core.
18. The method of claim 13 wherein generating phonons in the core comprises passing current pulses through the core.
19. An apparatus for energy generation comprising:
a body, referred to as the core, of a material capable of phonon propagation;
a vessel for maintaining a liquid in contact with said core;
a controlled electrolysis source, electrically coupled to said core, for introducing reactants from said liquid into said core;
a pulse generator for establishing current pulses through said core, said current pulses generating phonons in said core so as to cause reactants in said core to undergo nuclear reactions; and
a control system, coupled to said electrolysis source and to said pulse generator, for controlling the number of nuclear reactions and the depth of the nuclear reactions in said core so as to provide a desired level of energy generation while allowing energy released due to the nuclear reactions to dissipate in a manner that substantially avoids destruction of said core.
20. An apparatus for energy generation comprising:
a body, referred to as the core, of a material capable of phonon propagation;
a vessel for maintaining a liquid in contact with said core;
a controlled electrolysis source, electrically coupled to said core, for introducing reactants from said liquid into said core;
an ultrasonic actuator, acoustically coupled to said core, for generating phonons in said core so as to cause reactants in said core to undergo nuclear reactions; and
a control system, coupled to said electrolysis source and to said ultrasonic actuator, for controlling the number of nuclear reactions and the depth of the nuclear reactions in said core so as to provide a desired level of energy generation while allowing energy released due to the nuclear reactions to dissipate in a manner that substantially avoids destruction of said core.

1. A computer program product for performing operations via a spreadsheet, the computer program product comprising:
one or more computer-readable, tangible storage devices;
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to create in the spreadsheet a multidimensional array object, wherein:
at least one element of the multidimensional array object constitutes an array with a plurality of elements, wherein the multidimensional array object comprise a set of elements, one element for each distinct list of coordinates of the multidimensional array object, the list of coordinates comprising a coordinate for each dimension of the multidimensional array object;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to access the elements of the multidimensional array object, the accessing comprising displaying the elements of the multidimensional array object as cells of the spreadsheet; and
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to modify the elements of the multidimensional array object via modifying the contents of the cells of the spreadsheet.
2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein:
the computer program product further comprises:
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to provide by the spreadsheet a dimension type, an object of the type comprising a list of elements; and
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to create in the spreadsheet a plurality of dimension objects; and

the program instructions to create the multidimensional array object comprise program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to assign a dimension object to each dimension of the multidimensional array object, wherein the elements of the dimension object constitute the coordinates of the array along the dimension.
3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the
program instructions to access comprise program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to access content from an external data source, the external data source comprising a table, the accessing content from the external data source comprising:
specifying a location of the external data source via a property in the multidimensional array object; and
specifying a name of the table.
4. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein:
the external data source comprises a database; and
the computer program product further comprises program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to add a record to a table of the database, wherein the record contains a path to a workbook of the spreadsheet and a name of the multidimensional array.
5. The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising:
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to link a multidimensional array object of a first workbook to a multidimensional array object of a second workbook, the linking comprising:
specifying a path to the second workbook;
specifying a name of the second workbook;
specifying a name of the multidimensional array object of the second workbook; and
specifying an external array object name; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to refer to the multidimensional array object of the second workbook via a reference to the multidimensional array object of the first workbook.
6. A computer program product for performing operations via a spreadsheet, the computer program product comprising:
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to provide by a spreadsheet a dimension type, a dimension object comprising one or more elements and having a name;
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to create by the spreadsheet a dimension object, the dimension object comprising one or more elements, the creating comprising:
evaluating an expression entered into a text-based interface of the spreadsheet, wherein the expression includes a function and the dimension object is an output value of the function; and
assigning to each element of the dimension object a name unique in the dimension object; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to specify a sequence of the one or more elements.
7. The computer program product of claim 6, further comprising:
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to map elements of the dimension object to other dimension objects, comprising one or more elements, wherein:
an element of the dimension object is mapped to another dimension object of the other dimension objects, the other dimension object comprising two or more elements; and
the two or more elements of the other dimension object represent subclasses of the element of the dimension object.
8. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the program instructions to create by the spreadsheet a dimension object comprises:
program instructions to create in the spreadsheet a filter object, wherein the filter object is a dimension object and each element of the filter object refers to an element of some other dimension object; and
program instructions for a user to access the filter object by a name of the filter object.
9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein:
the computer product further comprises program instructions to create an array object based upon a set of dimension objects; and
the program instructions to create the filter object comprise program instructions to reference one or more elements of the array object by the filter object, wherein:
the one or more elements of the filter object refer to one or more elements of the set of dimension objects; and
a specification of the one or more elements of the set of dimension objects comprise a reference to the one or more elements of the array object.
10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the program instructions to create the filter object comprise program instructions to specify a Boolean combination of the elements of the filter.
11. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the program instructions to create the filter object comprise program instructions to create a filter object containing one element from each dimension of the set of dimensions of the array.
12. A computer program product to perform operations via a spreadsheet, the computer program product comprising:
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to provide a visualization type;
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to create a visualization object, comprising:
program instructions to receive from a user a name of a subroutine for initializing the visualization object;
program instructions to receive from the user a specification of one or one or more parameters of the subroutine; and
program instructions to receive from the user a specification of values for the parameters of the subroutine; and

program instructions to display via the visualization object the objects supplied as values of the parameters.
13. The computer program product of claim 12, the computer program product further comprising:
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to provide a report type;
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to create a report object, the creating comprising specifying a dimension, the dimension comprising an ordered list of a plurality of elements; and
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to display the report object, the displaying comprising displaying a visualization object for each element of the dimension.
14. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising:
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to provide a presentation type;
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to create a presentation object, the creating comprising specifying a sequence of two or more reports; and
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to create a presentation object file based upon the presentation object, the presentation object file containing the two or more reports in the specified sequence.
15. A computer program product to perform operations via a spreadsheet, the computer program product comprising:
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to provide by the spreadsheet a unit type;
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to create in the spreadsheet one or more objects of unit type, the creating an object of unit type comprising:
receiving from a user a specification of the object of unit type; and
in response to the receiving, creating the object of unit type;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to assign the object of unit type to an element of a spreadsheet; and
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to perform calculations with the element of the spreadsheet, the performing comprising type-checking values of the element of the spreadsheet.
16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein:
the program instructions to assign comprises program instructions to assign the object of unit type to the element, the object of unit type comprising a unit of measurement; and
the program instructions to perform calculations comprise program instructions to receive a value of the element in a comparable unit of measurement and to convert the value to the unit of measurement.
17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the program instructions to assign comprise program instructions to assign the unit of measurement to an argument of a function.
18. A computer program product to perform operations via a spreadsheet, the computer program product comprising:
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to provide by a spreadsheet a text-based interface;
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to create in the interface an object in the spreadsheet, the creating comprising:
assigning a name to the object in the spreadsheet; and
specifying a set of parameters for the object in the spreadsheet, wherein the creating comprises evaluating an expression entered via the text-based interface; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to assign one or more values to one or more elements of the object in the spreadsheet, the assigning comprising evaluating an expression entered via the text-based interface, the expression containing the name of the object in the spreadsheet; and
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to access a value of an element of the object in the spreadsheet via the text-based interface.
19. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein
the program instructions to access comprise program instructions to refer to one of the one or more elements of the multidimensional array object via a specification of one element from each of the plurality of dimension objects.
20. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein:
the program instructions to access comprise program instructions to display the elements of the multidimensional array object as cells of a single worksheet.
21. A computer program product for performing operations via a spreadsheet, the computer program product comprising:
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to create in the spreadsheet a named array object of three or more dimensions;
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to access elements of the named array object of three or more dimensions, wherein:
the multidimensional array object comprise a set of values, one value for each distinct list of coordinates of the multidimensional array object, the list of coordinates comprising a coordinate for each dimension of the multidimensional array object; and
the accessing comprises:
displaying the elements of the array object as cells of the spreadsheet; and
referencing the array object by name in an expression entered into a text-based interface of the spreadsheet, the expression including the name of the array object; and
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to modify elements of the array object via modifying the contents of the cells of the spreadsheet.
22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the program instructions to access and the program instructions to modify comprise program instructions to reference and modify values of elements of the array object by evaluating expressions entered into the text-based interface of the spreadsheet, the expressions containing the name of the array object and coordinates of the array object.
23. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the program instructions to create comprise program instructions to create a workbook, the workbook comprising the named array object of three or more dimensions and one or more other array elements, wherein one or more cells of the workbook contain values of objects other than the named array object and the one or more other array elements.
24. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the program instructions to create a dimension object comprise program instructions to store each element of the dimension object as a cell of the spreadsheet.
25. The computer program product of claim 2, further comprising:
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to receive from a user a specification of a change to at least one dimension object of the dimension objects assigned to the multidimensional array object and to change the at least one dimension object in response to the specification of a change; and
program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to automatically change the multidimensional array object based upon the change to the at least one dimension object.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A cutting apparatus (10) having at least one blade (11,12) movable between two predefined points of maximum travel, the tool (10) further comprising a prime mover adapted to drive said at least one movable blade (11,12) between said points of maximum travel; characterized in that the cutting tool (10) is further provided with a control means which causes a change of direction in the movement of the at least one movable blade (11,12) at a point intermediate the points of maximum travel in response to an event sensed by the control means.
2. A cutting apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 1 wherein the prime mover is an electric motor.
3. A cutting apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 2 wherein the change of direction is achieved by a change in the direction of motor rotation.
4. A cutting apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 1 wherein the control means comprises a control circuit.
5. A cutting apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 4 wherein the event is an increase in cutting load.
6. A cutting apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 5 wherein the control circuit includes a current sensing circuit such that, when the current drawn by the motor exceeds a predetermined level, the control circuit reverses the direction of rotation of the motor.
7. A cutting apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 5 wherein control means includes a speed sensor, adapted to sense when the speed of the driven blade falls below a predetermined level.
8. A cutting apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 4 wherein the event is removal of power to the driven blade.
9. A cutting apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 8 wherein the control circuit is adapted to cause rotation of the motor sequentially in a first direction upon a first application of electrical power to the motor and in a second direction upon a subsequent application of electrical power to the motor.
10. A cutting apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 3 wherein the control circuit is adapted to operate the motor in the reverse direction for a predetermined period of less than 1 second, preferably less than half a second, more preferably from 200 ms to 400 ms.
11. A cutting apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a gearbox intermediate the motor and the at least one blade; preferably a gearbox includes forward and reverse gears in which the reverse gear has a lower ratio than the forward gear.
12. A cutting apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 2 wherein the electric motor is powered by means of a rechargeable battery or cell; preferably a lithium ion battery.
13. A cutting apparatus (10) as claimed in claim 1 in the form of a vegetation cutter, preferably a hedge cutter or hedge trimmer.