All The Claims

1. A method of modifying an actuator for a fluid regulator, the actuator comprising an actuator housing, a diaphragm, a linkage, and a vent opening formed in the actuator housing, the diaphragm disposed in the actuator housing and separating the actuator housing into a first chamber and a second chamber, the linkage operatively connected to the diaphragm and arranged to be operatively connected to a valve stem, the first chamber hydraulically connected to a fluid outlet of a regulator body to sense a fluid pressure at the fluid outlet, and the vent defining an air exhaust path out of the second chamber to surrounding ambient atmosphere, wherein the method comprises steps of:
providing a damper comprising a ball check valve; and
operatively securing the damper to the vent so as to control flow of air exhausted though the vent, wherein the ball check valve is arranged to allow air to exhaust from the second chamber through the vent when air pressure within the chamber exceeds a set point pressure and to prevent air from entering the second chamber through the vent.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of operatively securing includes securing the damper in the vent.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the damper further comprises a sleeve, and the ball check valve is disposed in the sleeve, the step of operatively securing further comprising the step of inserting the sleeve into the vent.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of operatively securing comprises releasably coupling the sleeve to the vent.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of operatively securing comprises threadedely engaging the sleeve to the vent.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the damper comprises:
a sleeve including a bore;
a valve seat disposed within the bore;
a ball shiftably disposed in the bore, the ball arranged to shift from a closed position seated against the valve seat to an open position disposed away from the valve seat; and
a spring positioned to bias the ball toward the valve seat, the spring arranged to allow the ball to shift to the open position when fluid pressure within the selected chamber exceeds a threshold pressure to thereby vent fluid pressure from the selected chamber; and
wherein operatively securing the damper to the vent comprises operatively coupling the sleeve to the vent opening.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the sleeve defines an inlet, an outlet, and the bore extends from the inlet to the outlet, wherein a spring seat is disposed in the bore spaced apart from the valve seat toward the outlet, and the spring is disposed in the bore between the ball and the spring seat.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the valve seat comprises a body that can be removably coupled to the sleeve, and wherein providing a damper comprises removably coupling the body of the valve seat to the sleeve.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the spring seat comprises a body that can be removably coupled to the sleeve, and wherein providing a damper comprises removably coupling the body of the spring seat to the sleeve.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein the spring comprises a coil spring having a first end and a second end, the first end engaging the ball, and the second end engaging the spring seat.
11. The method of claim 7, further comprising a protective cover operatively covering the outlet.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
disposing a stabilizer valve in the vent.

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 method of estimating a distance between a mobile node and a base station, said method comprising:
providing a display on the mobile node;
providing a time of flight subsystem including circuitry incorporated in the mobile node and the base station and generating a time of flight distance signal by periodically transmitting a time of flight signal between the mobile node and the base station and measuring the time taken for transmission of the time of flight signal therebetween;
providing an accelerometer on the mobile node and generating an accelerometer signal therewith;
initializing the value of a distance estimate signal based on the time of flight distance signal;
detecting a human step based on variances in the accelerometer signal;
changing the value of the distance estimate signal by a predetermined quantum only upon detection of a human step, wherein the value of the distance estimate signal is increased by the predetermined quantum responsive to the time of flight distance signal being greater than the distance estimate signal and wherein the value is decreased by the predetermined quantum responsive to the time of flight distance signal being less than the distance estimate signal; and
periodically displaying the value of the distance estimate signal on the display.
2. A method according to claim 1, including passing a raw time of flight distance signal generated by the time of flight subsystem through a smoothing filter to thereby generate a smoothed time of flight distance signal utilized by said changing step.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the smoothing filter is a digital biased median filter that is biased low.
4. A method according to claim 2, including passing a raw accelerometer signal generated by the accelerometer through a smoothing filter to thereby generate a smoothed accelerometer signal utilized by said detecting step.
5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the smoothing filter comprises a digital median filter.
6. A method according to claim 4, wherein whether the smoothed time of flight distance signal is greater than or less than the distance estimate signal is determined based on the value of smoothed time of flight distance signal at the substantially the same instant in time when a human step is detected.
7. A method according to claim 4, wherein whether the smoothed time of flight distance signal is greater than or less than the distance estimate signal is determined based on an average of the smoothed time of flight distance signal as generated over a predetermined period of time before the detection of the human step.
8. A method according to claim 4, wherein detecting a human step includes examining the smoothed accelerometer signal for the occurrence of two serial local peaks, each of which exceeds a predetermined amplitude, within a predetermined range of time periods indicative of human gait.
9. A method according to claim 8, wherein detecting a human step further includes examining the smoothed accelerometer signal for a slope within a predetermined range of slopes indicative of human gait.
10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the value of the distance estimate signal is changed by a different predetermined quantum depending on whether the distance estimate signal is being increased or decreased, and wherein the predetermined quantum by which the distance estimate signal is increased is lower than the predetermined quantum by which the distance estimate signal is decreased.
11. A system that provides an estimate of the distance between a mobile node and a base station, said system comprising:
a display disposed on the mobile node;
a time of flight subsystem including circuitry incorporated in the mobile node and the base station for generating a time of flight signal between the mobile node and the base station, measuring the time taken for transmission of the time of flight signal, and generating a time of flight distance signal based on the measured time;
an accelerometer, mounted in the mobile node, for generating an accelerometer signal;
a distance filter for generating the distance estimate, the distance filter configured to (i) initialize the value of a distance estimate signal based on the time of flight distance signal, (ii) detect a human step based on variances in the accelerometer signal, and (iii) change the value of the distance estimate signal by a predetermined quantum only upon detection of said human step, wherein the value of the distance estimate signal is increased by the predetermined quantum responsive to the time of flight distance signal being greater than the distance estimate signal and wherein the value is decreased by the predetermined quantum responsive to the time of flight distance signal being less than the distance estimate signal; and
wherein said system is operable to periodically display the value of the distance estimate signal on the display.
12. A system according to claim 11, including a smoothing filter, wherein the smoothing filter receives a raw time of flight distance signal generated by the time of flight subsystem, and generates a smoothed time of flight distance signal that is utilized in determining the change in the distance estimate signal.
13. A system according to claim 12, wherein the smoothing filter comprises a digital biased median filter that is biased low.
14. A system according to claim 12, including a smoothing filter, wherein the smoothing filter receives a raw accelerometer signal generated by the accelerometer and generates a smoothed accelerometer signal utilized in the detection of the human step.
15. A system according to claim 14, wherein the smoothing filter comprises a digital median filter.
16. A system according to claim 14, wherein whether the smoothed time of flight distance signal is greater than or less than the distance estimate signal is determined based on the value of smoothed time of flight distance signal at the substantially the same instant in time when a human step is detected.
17. A system according to claim 14, wherein whether the smoothed time of flight distance signal is greater than or less than the distance estimate signal is determined based on an average of the smoothed time of flight distance signal as generated over a predetermined period of time before the detection of the human step.
18. A system according to claim 14, wherein the distance filter detects a human step by examining the smoothed accelerometer signal for the occurrence of two serial local peaks, each of which exceeds a predetermined amplitude, within a predetermined range of time periods indicative of human gait.
19. A system according to claim 18, wherein the distance filter detects a human step by examining the smoothed accelerometer signal for a slope within a predetermined range of slopes indicative of human gait.
20. A system according to claim 11, wherein the value of the distance estimate signal is changed by a different predetermined quantum depending on whether the distance estimate signal is being increased or decreased, and wherein the predetermined quantum by which the distance estimate signal is increased is lower than the predetermined quantum by which the distance estimate signal is decreased.
21. A method of estimating a distance between a mobile node and a base station, said method comprising:
providing a display on the mobile node;
providing a time of flight subsystem including circuitry incorporated in the mobile node and the base station and generating a time of flight distance signal by periodically transmitting a time of flight signal between the mobile control node and the base station and measuring the time taken for transmission of the time of flight signal therebetween;
providing a radio signal strength subsystem including circuitry incorporated in the mobile node and the base station and generating an SSI distance signal based on a strength of a radio signal received by one of the mobile node and the base station;
providing an accelerometer on the mobile node and generating an accelerometer signal therewith;
fusing the SSI distance signal and the time of flight distance signal to generate a fused distance signal;
initializing the value of a distance estimate signal based on the fused distance signal;
detecting a human step based on variances in the accelerometer signal;
changing the value of the distance estimate signal by a predetermined quantum only upon detection of a human step, wherein the value of the distance estimate signal is increased by the predetermined quantum responsive to the fused distance signal being greater than the distance estimate signal and wherein the value is decreased by the predetermined quantum responsive to the fused distance signal being less than the distance estimate signal; and
periodically displaying the value of the distance estimate signal on the display.

1. A method for moving an envelope assembly comprising:
providing an envelope assembly, said envelope assembly including a plurality of generally aligned, compressed envelopes and a band extending around said plurality of envelopes and retaining said envelopes in a state of compression; and
applying a lifting force to said band to lift said envelope assembly off of a support surface.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said lifting force is a suction force.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of providing a moving device, and wherein said suction force couples said envelope assembly to said moving device, and wherein the method further includes the step of moving said moving device upwardly to lift said envelope assembly.
4. A method for moving an envelope assembly comprising:
providing an envelope assembly, said envelope assembly including a plurality of generally aligned, compressed envelopes and a band extending around said plurality of envelopes and retaining said envelopes in a state of compression;
providing a moving device;
applying a suction force to said band to couple said envelope assembly to said moving device; and
moving said moving device while said envelope assembly remains coupled to said moving device by said suction force to move said envelope assembly.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein said band retains said plurality of envelopes in a state of compression such that said plurality of envelopes exert an expansion force of at least about \xbd pound.
6. The method of claim 4 wherein said band is made of a non-elastic material.
7. The method of claim 4 wherein said band is made of a generally air-impermeable material.
8. The method of claim 4 wherein said band has a width of at least about 1 inch.
9. The method of claim 4 wherein said band extends around the center of said plurality of envelopes.
10. The method of claim 4 wherein said moving device has at least one suction device thereon, and wherein said applying step includes providing a suction force via said suction device while said suction device is in contact with said band.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein said moving device is a robot arm.
12. The method of claim 10 wherein said suction device moves with said moving device during said moving step.
13. The method of claim 4 wherein said providing step includes providing at least two envelope assemblies, and wherein said applying step includes simultaneously applying a suction force to the band of each envelope assembly to couple each envelope assembly to said moving device, and wherein said moving step includes moving said moving device to simultaneously move each of said envelope assemblies.
14. The method of claim 4 wherein said suction force in said applying step is applied to an upper surface of said envelope assembly, and is applied with a sufficient force to overcome gravity forces applied to said envelope assembly, and wherein said moving step includes lifting said envelope assembly generally upwardly and off of a support surface.
15. The method of claim 4 wherein each envelope is generally flat and planar in the absence of outside forces, and wherein said band retains said plurality of envelopes in a limited state of compression such that none of the banded envelopes are pulled out of plane by more than about 140 of the length of that envelope to reduce warpage thereof.
16. The method of claim 4 wherein said band retains said plurality of envelopes in a state of compression such that said plurality of envelopes are compressed at least about 10% from their uncompressed state.
17. The method of claim 4 wherein said band includes a marking thereon.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein said marking is located a predetermined distance from a side edge of said plurality of banded envelopes, and wherein the method further includes a vision-guided robot or an optical recognition machine recognizing said marking to determine the location of the side edge of said plurality of banded envelopes.
19. The method of claim 4 wherein said envelope assembly further includes a supplemental band extending around the plurality of envelopes and spaced apart from said band, and wherein said applying step includes simultaneously applying a suction force to said band and said supplemental band to couple said envelope assembly to said moving device.
20. The method of claim 4 wherein each envelope includes a cavity having a throat and a flap which can selectively cover said throat.
21. The method of claim 20 wherein each flap includes an adhesive located thereon such that each flap can be adhered to a body of an associated envelope to seal the associated envelope.
22. The method of claim 4 wherein each envelope is generally rectangular in front view and has a plurality of outer edges, and wherein the outer edges of each envelope are generally aligned such that said plurality of envelopes form a generally rectangular prism.
23. The method of claim 4 wherein said plurality of envelopes are compressed in a direction generally perpendicular to said plane of each envelope.
24. The method of claim 4 wherein said plurality of envelopes includes at least about 50 envelopes.
25. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of, after said envelope assembly is moved to the desired location, reducing or eliminating said suction force to decouple said envelope assembly and said moving device to deposit said envelope assembly in said desired location.
26. A moving system comprising:
an envelope assembly, said envelope assembly including a plurality of generally aligned, compressed envelopes, said envelope assembly including a band extending around said plurality of envelopes and retaining said envelopes in a state of compression; and
a moving device configured to apply a suction force to said band to couple said envelope assembly to said moving device, wherein said moving device is configured to move said envelope assembly while said envelope assembly remains coupled to said moving device by said suction force.
27. The system of claim 26 wherein said moving device is applying a suction force to said band to couple said envelope assembly to said moving device, wherein said moving device is moving said envelope assembly while said envelope assembly remains coupled to said moving device by said suction force.
28. The system of claim 26 wherein said band retains said plurality of envelopes in a state of compression such that said plurality of envelopes exert an expansion force of at least about \xbd pound, and wherein said band is made of a non-elastic, generally air-impermeable material.
29. The system of claim 26 wherein said moving device is a robot arm and has at least one suction device thereon to apply said suction force to said band.

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

What I claim is:

1. A joint comprised of:
An object or material containing a largely circular void, said object being breached axially so as to permit a second object or material inserted within said void to be attached to a third object or material so as to form a rigid connection between three objects or materials.
2. A joint as described in claim 1, wherein:
said three objects or materials may be fused by formation, adhesion, or fastening so as generate two, or one composite objects and or materials.
3. A joint as described in claim 2, wherein:
said first object or material is capable of articulation in a linear manner along said axial breach with regard to said second and third objects or materials.
4. A joint as described in claim 2, wherein:
said first object or material is capable of axial articulation along said axial breach with regard to said second and third object or material.
5. A joint consisting of:
A first object containing within it a largely circular void in section, said first object being breached so as to allow access to said largely circular void in an axial manner along the length of said axial breach, wherein a second object, conforming so as to fit within said circular void, is placed within said largely circular void, said second object being connected to a third object, via said breech in said first object.
6. A joint as described in claim 5, wherein:
Said joint is capable of rigidity, or articulation of said first object with regard to said second and third object via. said axial breach in said first object.
7. A joint consisting of:
A first object containing within it a largely circular void, said void being axially breached so as to allow access to said largely circular void along the length of said axial breach, wherein a second object, conforming so as to fit within said circular void, may be placed within said largely circular void, said second object being formed in such a manner as to extend from within said largely circular void, through said axial breach in said first object to be attached to a third object.
8. A joint as described in claim 7, wherein:
Said third object is formed in such a manner as to contain said second object as an integral manner.
9. A joint as described in claim 8, wherein:
Said joint is capable of rigidity, or articulation of said first object with regard to said second object via. said axial breach in said first object.
10. A joint comprised of:
A first object housing a channel, said channel containing a sleeve, said sleeve being largely circular and secured in said channel by adhesives and or, adhesives with additives, said sleeve being breached axially so as to permit tangential connection between a second sleeve or rod, held within first said sleeve and a third object.
11. A joint as described in claim 10 wherein:
said joint is capable of rigidly connecting or capable of articulating said first object with regard to said second sleeve or rod.
12. A joint as described in claim 11 wherein:
said second sleeve or rod may be formed as an integral part of said third object.
13. A joint as described in claim 11 wherein:
said third object may contain a channel as in the first said object, so that the second said sleeve or rod may be affixed within it in like manner to the first said object, and first said sleeve.