A congestion relieving system in a communication system includes a local switch (62a) and a customer station including a network terminator (64a) connected to the local switch (62a) and plural data receiving/transmitting units (65) connected to the network terminator (64a) through buses (67D and 67U) conformable to a DQDB protocol, the local switch (62a) includes a congestion relieving signal generating unit for generating a congestion relieving signal when congestion is detected. The congestion relieving signal is inserted, as a request bit, into a request bit area in the cell having a format conformable to the DQDB protocol. The cell is then transmitted from the local switch (62a) through the network terminator (64a) to the data receiving/transmitting units (65), and each data receiving/transmitting unit (65) is restricted, under the DQDB protocol, to transmit data, when the data receiving/transmitting unit (65) receives the request bit.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a congestion relieving system in a communication system, and more particularly, to a congestion relieving system in a broad band ISDN in which data is transferred by using ATM cells, and which is connected to a customer station through a network terminator and a bus conformable to a DQDB protocol.
(2) Description of the Related Art
The research of the broad-band ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) has been developed to put or construct an ISDN in which broad-band communication such as video communication and so forth is possible for practical use. The broad-band ISDN is currently realized by using an ATM (Asychronous Transfer Mode). In the ATM, data is transferred by dividing it into fixed-length short packets called cells. The cells are exchanged and transferred by an ATM exchange or a node.
In the ATM, a circuit or, in other words, a line between a sender and a receiver, is not always provided at any time, but a virtual circuit or virtual line is provided through which a necessary ATM cell is transmitted. Therefore, a plurality of virtual circuits commonly have a single transmission line. In this multiplication, a transmission line method called a statistical multiplication is employed. It is necessary to manage the statistical multiplication in such a way that the total data multiplied on a single transmission line does not exceed the capacity of the transmission line. By this, an effect of the multiplication is generated so that the efficient use of the circuit can be increased. Techniques has been developed to treat congestion when it occurs. For subscribers connected to such a broad-band ISDN, a plurality of data receiving/transmitting devices called terminal equipments or terminal adapters in a customer station are connected through a bus. As a configuration of the bus, a DQDB (Distributed Queue Dual Bus) is considered to be favorable. The present invention relates to a congestion relieving system in an ISDN in which the communication between a local switch and each of the terminal equipments or terminal adapters is carried out in accordance with the DQDB protocol.
In the broad-band ISDN communication employing the DQDB protocol in the customer station side, congestion may be generated in an apparatus in the network side. The apparatus in which congestion may be generated may be an ATM exchange, a local switch, or any processing device for processing ATM cells. To relieve congestion generated in the apparatus at the network side, it can be considered to restrict a subscriber, which is sending ATM cells to the apparatus, in which the congestion has occurred, to transmit a cell.
In a conventional congestion relieving system, a network terminator inserts busy bits equal to "1" into busy bit areas of cells in accordance with a required rate of restriction of cells to be transmitted. This conventional system is disclosed in the prior U.S. application Ser. No. 683,043, filed on Apr. 10, 1991. The cells having the busy bits equal to "1" are deemed as those being used by the terminal equipments or the terminal adapters. Therefore, the terminal equipment or terminal adapter does not insert data into these cells with the busy bits ="1". Accordingly, the cells with the busy bits ="1" inserted by the network terminator have no destination so that, when these cells are received by an apparatus such as an ATM exchange and so forth, these cells are deemed invalid and they are discarded. As a result, the number of cells to be transmitted to the apparatus, such as the ATM exchange in which the congestion has been generated, is decreased and the congestion is relieved.
The network terminator is included in the customer station. Therefore, it is desired that the network terminator be as inexpensive as possible. In the above described conventional congestion relieving system, however, there is the disadvantage that the construction of the network terminator located at the up-stream of the up-signal bus is complex. Namely, the network terminator must function to send an empty cell which is without data but with the busy bit ="1" to the up-stream end of the up-signal bus. In other words, the network terminator must function to insert the busy bit ="1" in the cell. This function raises the cost of the network terminator.

Congestion relieving system in a communication system


Disclosed is a transmitting apparatus which includes: a packet generator generating a packet including a header and a payload from an input stream including a plurality of transport stream (TS) packets; and a signal processor signal-processing the packet, wherein the header includes a base header including a first field indicating a packet type which is the TS packets, and a second field indicating a number of TS packets included in the payload, wherein the base header further includes a third field set to a first value indicating that there is no additional header or a second value indicating that there is an additional header, wherein, when the third field is set to the second value, the additional header includes a fourth field indicating a number of deleted null packets with respect to each of at least one TS packet group including consecutive TS packets, and wherein the null packets deleted with respect to each of the TS packet group precede a first TS packet or follow a last TS packet included in each of the TS packet group.

1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the exemplary embodiments relate to a transmitting apparatus and a receiving apparatus and a signal processing method thereof, and more particularly, to a transmitting apparatus which transmits data by mapping the data to at least one signal processing path and a receiving apparatus and a signal processing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the information-oriented society of the 21st century, broadcasting communication services are entering the era of digitization, multi-channel, broadband, and high quality. In particular, as high-quality digital television (TV), portable multimedia player (PMP), and portable broadcasting apparatuses have been increasingly used in recent years, there is an increasing demand for digital broadcasting services that are able to support various receiving methods. Further, there is also an increasing demand for data transmission of various pockets constituted by a moving picture experts group (MPEG)2-transport stream (TS) packet which is traditionally used through a broadcasting network and an Internet protocol based packet.
Thus, the broadcasting communication standard group has established various standards according to the demand to provide various services to satisfy user's needs. Still, however, a method for providing better broadcasting communication services with more excellent performance by using universal data is required.

Transmitting apparatus and receiving apparatus and signal processing method thereof


A curing resin composition that cures in two stages: photo cure and thermal cure, hardly contaminates a liquid or liquid crystals when in contact with, and provides high adhesive strength, particularly a curing composition that photocures sufficiently even when shadowed by TFT wires, a black matrix, etc. in photocuring; and a sealant, a sealant for ODF (one-drop-fill), and an LCD containing the curing resin composition. The curing resin composition contains (A) an oxime ester radical initiator represented by general formula (I), where symbols are as defined in the description, (B) a radical curing resin, (C) a latent epoxy curing agent, and (D) an epoxy resin

Liquid- or liquid crystal-sealing materials (sealants) are used in LCDs, dye-sensitized solar cells, organic El devices, and so on. For example, such materials are used as a sealant for liquid crystal materials in LCDs, as a sealant for an organic solvent electrolyte (e.g., acetonitrile or propylene carbonate) or an ionic liquid in dye-sensitized solar cells, and as a material for forming a dam which is to be filled with a liquid sealant in solid encapsulation in organic EL devices. Because conventional sealants are brought into contact with a liquid or liquid crystals in their uncured state, there is a problem that a resin component or the like leaches from the sealant to contaminate a device, resulting in impairment in device performance and reliability. Additionally, the sealant becomes brittle as a result of leaching and can break easily. Thus, a non-leaching sealant that does not contaminate a liquid or liquid crystals has been sought for.
The ODF technique for LCD production has been replacing conventional vacuum-capillary filling for the purpose of processing time saving. The ODF method includes the steps of applying a sealant to a first electroded substrate to a pattern of a display frame using a dispenser, dropping liquid crystals inside the frame, attaching a second electroded substrate to the first substrate in vacuo, temporarily curing the sealant by UV irradiation, and heating the liquid crystals and the sealant to anneal the liquid crystals and to complete curing of the sealant. According to the ODF method, curing the sealant in two stages, i.e., photocure and thermal cure, allows reduction of curing time, which leads to shortening the processing time for the LCD manufacturing.
In order for an LCD panel to display as much information as possible on one screen, LCD panels have shown tendencies to higher resolution and faster response time.
In recent years, mother glass has been designed to yield the maximum number of LCD panels. With these tendencies, LCD panel manufacturers have come to apply a liquid crystal-sealing material (sealant) onto the black matrix of the substrate having color filters or over the TFT wires on the counter substrate (TFT substrate). Whichever side a UV radiation is applied to, the black matrix or the TFT wire will shadow the sealant from the UV radiation. The sealant in shadow can remain uncured to allow its component to leach into liquid crystals on thermal curing, resulting in reduction of display qualities in the vicinities of the seal.
It has therefore been demanded to develop a photo radical initiator and a sealant containing the same that is able to photocure even deep in its portion shadowed from light and involves little leaching into liquid crystals.
Liquid crystal compounds having an alkenyl group having a small rotational viscosity coefficient are used in most nematic liquid crystal materials for TFT-LCDs of TN, VA, IPS, or other modes for the purpose of raising response speed to address moving images. As stated, when an uncured sealant contacts a liquid crystal material, a photo radical initiator is leached from the sealant into the liquid crystal material to induce photo deterioration of the alkenyl group.
Patent literature 1 through 7 (see below) disclose liquid crystal sealants containing a photo radical initiator having an oxime ester structure. The conventional photo radical initiators having an oxime ester structure which have insufficient sensitivity provide a weakly cured product from which the resinous component or the initiator itself can leach into a liquid crystal material, resulting in reduction of electrical characteristics. Even those having high sensitivity involve the problem that their decomposition product can dissolve into a liquid crystal material to damage the electrical characteristics.


It is possible to manufacture a large-size, high-accuracy organic EL display using a plastic substrate and an organic EL display using a roll-shaped long plastic substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic EL display which is formed by using, particularly, a plastic substrate and is driven by a thin film transistor including an active layer containing a non-metallic element and a method of manufacturing the organic EL display.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as development of technologies for materials, manufacturing, driving circuits, and the like, a technology for electroluminescence (EL) has been put to practical use of an organic EL display as one of flat panel displays (FPDs).
In 1997, a monochromatic organic EL display was put to practical use. After that, area colorization of the organic EL display is implemented, so that the use thereof is expended to displays such as a small-size audio apparatus or a mobile terminal. In 2001, the colorization was put to practical use by a passive-matrix-type color display for a mobile phone. After that, an active-matrix-type colorization has been made by using thin film transistors. In 2007, the organic EL display was adopted to 11-inch TVs. Recently, large-size TVs having 40 inches or more has been developed.
In an organic EL device configuring an organic EL display, an electron injection layer, an electron transport layer, a light emitting layer, a hole transport layer, a hole injection layer, and the like are stacked between positive and negative electrodes, and a current is allowed to flow in the organic EL device by applying a voltage between the positive and negative electrodes, so that light is emitted. A plurality of display pixels constructed with the organic EL devices are two-dimensionally arranged and used as a display.
For the colorization of an organic EL display, various methods such as a paint division method, a color conversion method, a micro-cavity method, or a color filter method have been proposed. Among these methods, the paint division method and the color filter method are representative methods.
In the paint division method, a display pixel is divided into a plurality of pixels, which are called sub-pixels as devices for emitting light of red (R), green (G), and blue (B). Four colors including white (W) and the three colors of RGB may be used for the sub-pixels.
In the color filter method, white light is emitted, and an RGB color filter is combined with the sub-pixels, so that the colorization is implemented. Similarly to the paint division method, the color filter for the sub-pixels may include four colors of white (W) and the RGB.
The organic EL device is a surface-shaped self light-emitting device made of a totally solid state material. In comparison with a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, or the like, the organic EL display using the organic EL device is excellent in terms of thin device implementation, a high-speed responsibility, characteristics of viewing angle, and the like. Recently, a flexible display using a plastic substrate has been developed. As a driving method of the organic EL display, there are a passive matrix type and an active matrix type.
In the passive matrix type, positive and negative electrodes of the organic EL device as interdigitated electrodes are disposed in the X and Y directions; the one electrode is used as a scan electrode; and the other electrode is used as a data electrode. Light is emitted by applying a voltage from an external constant current circuit to the pixels at the intersections. Since the thin film transistor for driving the organic EL device is unnecessary, the passive matrix type has an advantage in terms of production cost in comparison with the later-described active matrix type. However, since the number of scan electrodes is increased as the number of pixels in the display screen is increased, the duty ratio of driving the pixel is decreased. Therefore, there is a limitation in that high luminance may not be obtained.
In the active matrix type, turning ON and OFF of the thin film transistor (TFT) is performed for each pixel, so that the lighting state is maintained by holding capacitance (condenser). Therefore, high luminance can be sustained although the number of pixels is increased. Accordingly, the active matrix type can be used for the applications such as TVs where the number of pixels is large.
In an active matrix type liquid crystal display, one transistor for selecting pixels is sufficient. However, in the case of an active matrix type organic EL display, at least two TFTs are needed. In other words, besides the transistor for selecting the pixels, a transistor for allowing a current to flow in the organic EL device of the selected pixel and allowing the organic EL device to emit light is needed. Therefore, if an aperture ratio of the display is considered, in the case of the organic EL display, the size of the TFT becomes an important problem in comparison with the case of a liquid crystal display. If the size of the TFT is small, the aperture ratio of the display can be increased.
The TFT using an oxide thin film as the active layer is transparent with respect to visible light, so that it can be expected that the aperture ratio of the display is increased.
As TFTs used to an active matrix type, an a-Si TFT using an amorphous silicon (a-SI) as the active layer and a low-temperature p-Si TFT using a low-temperature polysilicon (low-temperature p-Si) as the active layer are put to practical use and widely used as a liquid crystal display (refer to JP 2008-59824 A).
In this manner, in order to implement a large-size, high-accuracy organic EL display using an organic EL device, an active matrix driving type needs to be selected as described above. In this case, if an a-Si TFT is used as the TFT, since the field effect mobility is about 0.5 cm2/Vs, in the case where the area of the pixel is large or the case where the number of scan electrodes is large, for example, 2,000 or more, there is a problem in terms of high-speed responsibility and high luminance. In other words, in the case where the size of the pixel of the organic EL device is large, in order to flow a sufficient current, the size of the TFT needs to be large. However, the aperture ratio of the pixel is decreased, so that high luminance may not be implemented. In addition, in the case where the number of scan electrodes is large due to high accuracy, as the number of scan electrodes is increased, the writing time is shortened. Therefore, a sufficient time for charging the holding capacitance may not be secured, so that turning on of the TFT may not be satisfactorily performed.
In addition, in the a-Si TFT, a change in the reverse voltage Vt due to current stress is large, so that the occurrence of unbalance of the driving current is inevitable for a long time of the driving. In the organic EL device, the unbalance of the driving current leads to irregularity in luminance.
On the other hand, in the case where a low-temperature p-Si TFT is used, the mobility is in a range from 50 cm2/Vs to 150 cm2/Vs, so that the TFT can be sufficiently adopted to the driving of a large-size, high-accuracy organic EL display. In addition, since a change in Vt due to the current driving is smaller by two digits or more than that of the a-Si, there is no problem.
However, in the manufacturing of the low-temperature p-Si, in order to perform molten crystallization of a silicon film, excimer laser beams are needed; and in the case of a large-size display, an excimer laser beam having a length corresponding to a screen width is needed. In the current state, the maximum length of the laser beam is 465 mm, and thus, a display having a width more than the maximum length may not be manufactured by using a low-temperature p-Si.
In addition, with respect to the low-temperature p-Si TFT, since the manufacturing process temperature is high, from 500° C. to 600° C., the plastic substrate may not be used. Therefore, it is difficult to implement a flexible display.

Organic EL display and method of manufacturing organic EL display

Abstract: The organic EL display includes an organic EL device A having at least a lower electrode 300, an organic layer including at least a light emitting layer, and an upper electrode 305 and a thin film transistor B on a transparent plastic substrate 100, a source electrode or drain electrode of the thin film transistor B is connected to the lower electrode 300, the plastic substrate 100 has a gas barrier layer 101a, the thin film transistor B is formed on the gas barrier layer 101a, the thin film transistor B includes an active layer 203 containing a non-metallic element which a mixture of oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N) and has a ratio of N to O (N number density/O number density) from 0 to 2, and the organic EL device A is formed at least on the gas barrier layer 101a or one the thin film transistor B.


A bypass provided by a bypass conduit disposed in a vessel which is collateral to an occluded vessel. The bypass conduit comprises a helical wire body having a plurality of connectors connecting adjacent turns of the helical body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a cardiovascular system bypass, and more particularly, to a percutaneous collateral bypass.
2. Related Art
Patients suffer from a number of different conditions that affect their heart, blood vessels and other regions of their cardiovascular system. Such conditions, generally referred to herein as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), include peripheral vascular disease (peripheral artery disease and peripheral venous disease), aneurysm, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, coronary artery disease, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, etc. A variety of different procedures are available to doctors, surgeons or other healthcare professionals (collectively referred to as "surgeons" herein) for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Such procedures broadly fall into one of two categories: open surgical procedures or minimally invasive endovascular procedures. Open surgical procedures involve the cutting of large incisions in the skin and tissue to provide the surgeon with direct access to a target region of the cardiovascular system. Such procedures are highly invasive and typically require relatively lengthy hospital stays and recovery times. Furthermore, open surgical procedures have a relatively high risk of morbidity and mortality stemming from complications occurring during the procedure.
In minimally invasive or percutaneous endovascular surgical procedures, a patient's cardiovascular system is accessed through relatively small incision(s) in the skin or through an anatomical opening. A percutaneous procedure typically involves the use of laparoscopic or catheter systems which are inserted into the small incision(s), and which are operated remotely by the surgeon. In a percutaneous procedure the surgeon indirectly observes the surgical field through an endoscope separate from, or incorporated in, the catheter system, or by using an imaging device external to the recipient. Due to the minimally invasive access, the patient's hospital stay and recovery times are generally significantly shorter than open surgical procedures.


Systems and methods for data multiplexing include or use a data serializer having a first set of four serializer outputs and a second set of four serializer outputs. The systems and methods also use or include a pair of 4 to 1 multiplexers each having four first multiplexer inputs and one first multiplexer outputs and a 2 to 1 multiplexer having two multiplexer inputs and one multiplexer output.

Communications utilize high-speed transceivers. For example, high-speed transceivers are used in network switches, data centers, and other network devices. High-speed transceivers utilize data multiplexers (MUXS) to serialize data. As demand for data rates increases to 50 gigabits per second (Gbps) and higher, an extremely low-power, low-area transmitter capable of operating at such rates is desired. Data MUXS often utilize latches and data flip flops in multiple stages which are clocked for data serialization, alignment, and returning. Clock signal distribution and latches and flip flops used for data consume power and take up integrated circuit (IC) area.

High-speed transmitter including a multiplexer using multi-phase clocks

Avago Technologies International Sales Pte. Ltd.


Particular aspects provide novel methods for redirecting carbon allocation in plants or cell culture from lignification to inherently more useful and tractable materials, and to facilitate the generation of, e.g., biofuels from the remaining plant ro culture biomass. Particular aspects provided novel methods for converting monolignols into allyl/propenyl phenols, and for chavicol/eugenol formation or production. Additional aspects relate to the discovery of novel chavicol/eugenol synthases that convert p-coumaryl/coniferyl alcohol esters into chavicol/eugenol, and to novel compositions (e.g., novel proteins and nucleic acids encoding same), and novel methods using same for producing or forming chavicol/eugenol and other derivatives in cell culture and/or genetically modified plants, and for re-engineering the composition of plant biomass. Particular aspects provide novel methods for generation in culture or in planta of liquid/combustible allyl/propenyl phenols, and these phenolic products are utilized for (non-ethanol) biofuel/bioenergy purposes, while the remaining plant biomass facilitates the generation of other biofuels.

Humanity currently faces enormous political and scientific challenges in identifying and securing stable future sources of renewable energy in an environmentally acceptable and sustainable manner (e.g., leading to so-called biofuels/bioenergy). Similar concerns and considerations also apply to the continued future supply of other key petrochemical intermediates, such as monomers needed for sufficient levels of industrial polymer production (e.g., polystyrenes, polyethylenes, etc.) as well as for stable sources of key specialty chemicals (e.g., flavor and fragrance chemicals, which at present are produced in regions of varying political stability, and which can also be subject to seasonal (climatic) variations; such factors often result in unpredictable market prices for these commodities). This is not a new scientific problem, but rather reflects one that has been difficult to solve over a period spanning more than three decades, until now again brought to the forefront by the most recent biofuels/bioenergy crisis. Today, about 12% of all the petroleum resources are used for non-fuel/non-energy purposes, this including polymer and other specialty chemical applications.
The so-called 'lignin problem' or challenge. To date, the difficulties in plant biomass utilization have centered on the recalcitrance of the various lignocellulosic matrices present in (woody) plants; namely, the so-called 'lignin problem' or challenge. Lignins are monolignol-derived polymeric end-products of the phenylpropanoid pathway (originating from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine). From a structural perspective, the lignins, Nature's second most abundant organic substances after cellulose, are amorphous plant cell wall polymers that make up ca 20-30% of all plant stem biomass.10,11 More specifically, vascular plant species have differing lignin contents, with values ranging from ˜30% in conifers (softwoods) to lower amounts (˜20-25%) in hardwoods (such as poplar) and herbaceous plant species, to even smaller levels in various primitive plant species. The physiological roles of lignins are to engender structural support to the vascular apparatus, thereby enabling such organisms to stand upright, as well as providing conduits for water and nutrient transport, and to provide physical barriers against opportunistic pathogens. Particular actual (i.e., minimal) lignin contents and/or compositions may be needed for a particular plant to avoid any deleterious effects for growth/development/stem structural integrity, etc. In general, lignins represent a formidable technical challenge, particularly due to their intractable nature, for improved plant biomass utilization, e.g., when considering the use of woody biomass for bioethanol production, as well as for wood, pulp and paper manufacture.
More specifically, there are two major scientific hurdles that have not been technically overcome for the facile utilization of this and other plant renewable resources, both of which involve the polymeric lignins.
The first results from their intractable nature, since lignin removal has long been a limitation in the processing of wood for both pulp/paper manufacture and for forage digestibility by ruminants. This is largely due to the lack of isolated enzymes and/or proteins that can efficiently degrade lignin macromolecules, in contrast to reports in the nineteen-eighties that indicated this problem had been solved.3-6 That is, nearly twenty years ago, it was reported that several productive routes for lignin removal from wood had both been discovered and attained via utilization of lignin-degrading enzymes in fungi/bacteria, and where three candidates ultimately emerged (lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase and laccase). However, this "lignin peroxidase" or "ligninase"6 was only assayed initially with an aqueous acetone extract of spruce wood,3 which does not actually extract the lignins from wood. Twenty years later, none of these enzymes are (routinely) utilized in biotechnological applications for lignin removal/separation, and their roles in enzymatic lignin biodegradation are still in question, as we had noted earlier.7 Today, more than 50 million tons of lignin-derived substances are generated annually as by-products of pulp/paper manufacture within the USA alone.8 Other possibilities now being considered are the putative true lignin depolymerases that target specific inter-unit linkages in lignin macromolecules.9
The second technological hurdle is that lignins cannot readily be converted into either ethanol and/or other liquid/gaseous fuels using currently available fermentation processes. Indeed, the polymeric lignins themselves are a formidable physical barrier to an efficient fermentation of carbohydrate biomass for ethanol generation, and thus their presence represents a critical problem in making these technologies more economical.
There is therefore, an urgent need in the art for highly creative and sound technological solutions for renewable (plant) resource utilization.
There is therefore, a pronounced need in the art for an approach whereby the carbon allocated towards lignification is redirected, to provide for inherently more useful and/or more easily tractable materials, and to facilitate the generation of, for example, biofuels from the remaining plant biomass.

Genes encoding chavicol/eugenol synthase from the creosote bush


An improved supplemental binding attachment scheme involving an extended strap and customizing tool enables customizing of a strapped article of leisure wear. The customizing tool may take the form of a stud, or any number of personalized shapes, including characters, strings, logos, icons and anything that attaches to show that any article belongs to a user. Kits, straps, and software based instructions are likewise included in the present disclosure.

Snowboarding is a recreational sport that combines certain aspects of skiing and skateboarding. It is practiced on an elongated board with boot-binding fixtures which allow a user to fasten the board to his boots. The board must be securely fastened to the user's boots while the user snowboards downhill. However, when walking or shuffling along a substantially level surface, the user must detach one or both boots from the board in order to easily move about.
During a typical day of snowboarding, a snowboarder may go on dozens of runs down a slope, each time having to detach and reattach his bindings in order to move about and get on and off the chairlift. For those reasons, it is desirable for boot bindings to be, on the one hand, secure and tightly fastened while snowboarding downhill, and on the other hand, easily detachable when moving around on even surfaces.
Various improvements have been attempted with respect to boot bindings, including the inventions described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,356,159; 5,609,347; 5,857,700; 6,250,651; 6,604,746; 6,644,681; 6,773,020; 6,974,149; 7,011,333; 7,036,830; 7,694,994; 7,887,082; 8,226,108; 8,276,921; 8,356,822; 8,371,004; 8,424,168; and 8,500,151; as well as U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2002/0000707; 2012/0255980; and 2012/0292887. The contents of all U.S. Patents and Publications cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety, as if fully set forth herein.
Despite the improvements noted above, there still exists a need to more easily facilitate the attachment and detachment of bindings. One problem with bindings currently know in the art that utilize straps to secure the binding, when the male strap becomes completely dislodged from the female connection piece, it is difficult to feed the male piece back through quickly and efficiently. This is especially true when the user is wearing gloves or mittens, which is generally the case when snowboarding or engaging in other cold-weather outdoor activities. A mechanism that obviates the need to feed a male end through a female end would be a particularly useful advancement. Snowboarders also have a need to definitively identify their snowboards from those of other users, particularly when the board is detached and commingled with other users' equipment. The present invention provides devices and systems that make attachment and detachment of bindings easier, as well as provides a customizable feature to help identify the user's equipment. The invention addresses longstanding needs in the art and constitutes progress in science and the useful arts worthy of Letters Patent protection, it is respectfully proposed.

Stylized apparatus for bindingly accepting a strap including snowboard improvements and accouturements


A pistol-grip kitchen spray device with elongated nozzle and handle portions. Using one hand, separate front upper and lower triggers actuate within the handle a rinse liquid valve and a soap pump to selectively dispense from the nozzle rinse liquid from a retractable hose and/or a soap liquid from a reservoir within the handle. A swivel connection is provided between the supply hose and the handle. A hose-retracting base with manual temperature control may supply rinse liquid at a selectable temperature solely to the hose of the spray device. The base includes a momentary valve with spigot for filling a drinking glass. The nozzle supports various non-rotatable latched scouring brush and abrasive accessories or a pet brush. One elongated brush on the elongated nozzle enables cleaning the entire length of a tall container. Alternative spray device mounting may be at bathroom shower head.

Spray heads providing manually controlled spray from a nozzle at the end of a retractable hose mounted on a horizontal surface in the vicinity of a kitchen or marine galley sink have been popular for many years. However, most heads have no provision for selective dispensing of liquid soap or detergent with or in lieu of the water discharge. Moreover, it is desirable that in a spray head dispensing water and soap that the head be movable and operable using one hand so that the other hand can be used to hold a dish or other item to be sprayed. The configuration of a spray head should be readily graspable with one hand and have individual controls operable for water and soap without interfering with retention of the grasp of the hand.
The present invention provides for selectably controlling the dispensing of water and/or soap from a spray head connected to a retractable supply hose and having a pistol like handle grip with a plurality of individual trigger controlled actuators at the front of the grip to be operated by the user""s finger-pulling actions toward the thumb of the user""s hand. Preferably dispensing of water is controlled by means of one control which includes a water control valve enabling a continuously variable water flow dependent on the degree of depression of a valve actuator at the front of the handle grip. Control of soap dispensing is preferably achieved by means of a soap pump providing an ejection of a quantity of soap dependent on the displacement during one or more strokes of a soap pump actuator at the front of the handle grip. Comfort in holding and manipulating the spray device during use is improved by means providing a swivel connection between the retractable hose and the device handle to make angular and rotational positioning of the device less dependent on stiffness or flexibility of the hose.
The invention also provides a unitary assembly including a mounting base for the spray device and its retractable hose which incorporates, in addition to the water flow control in the spray device, a dedicated base structure with separate manually controlled temperature selection and flow control which can remain in a preselected condition with the spray device providing total regulation of the volume of water being used. Orientation of the spray device on the base may be such as to enable the spray device to be used without withdrawing it from the base in a kitchen or camping environment without need for additional temperature controlled water outlets. However, this unitary structure may also include a momentary cold water valve with a tall slender crooked spigot for filling a drinking glass.
The compact unitary assembly of this invention is particularly useful in space restricted recreational environments of camping and mobile land and marine vehicles. In such environment not only is space often limited but also available water is often limited. Water use can be limited by relying on the normally closed condition of the water control valve of the spray device for regulating principal water use.
Among the features of the present invention is a comfortable convenient arrangement of support for and operating controls for manipulating with one hand a water and soap dispensing retractable spray device.
Additional features of the invention related to its simplicity and low cost of manufacture will be apparent from the ensuing description details. Most of the components of the invention can be conveniently molded or machined at low cost because of their design.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a low cost, easily installed and space saving spray device.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a low cost, easily installed and space saving spray device assembly with its own separated dedicated manually controlled temperature and flow regulation.
Another object is to achieve reduced effort required to manipulate a water spray device from both mere holding of the device as well as operating the controls thereof.
Another object of the invention is to provide for orientation or indexing of the rotated position of an accessory brush attachment to assure alignment of latching and non-rotating cooperating mechanisms on the nozzle and on the brush accessory to facilitate brush attachment and avoid damage to the mechanisms.
Another object of the invention is to prevent rotation of an accessory brush which is releasably latched to the spray nozzle.
Among the objects of the invention is to provide an elongated spray device nozzle portion in combination with a brush accessory enabling scouring of a deep or tall tumbler or quart size mason jar.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bulbous-tipped accessory brush with omni-directional bristles at its distal end to facilitate cleaning the lower inner corners of a tumbler or jar.
A further object of the invention is to enable mounting of a spray device for dispensing water and/or soap from the distal end of a hose in a bathroom shower stall.
Another object of the invention is to provide at a bathroom shower head a diverting valve connection for a water/soap spray scrubbing device with a hose of sufficient length for human or pet bathing as well as for scouring the extremities of a shower stall or bathtub area.
Another object of the invention is to provide a spray head with an accessory brush with soft flexible knobby bristle-like projections to bathe, massage and groom pets.
Another object of the invention is to provide the discharge end of a manually controlled spray head with a releasably latched accessory scrubbing or scouring device having a flexible abrasive surface which may be under control of a user be manually selectively saturated with soap and/or water by the spray head.

Manual dishwashing spray head with water and soap controls


Bottles are closed with capsules whose free end segment is crimped over the top of the bottles. To avoid abrasion and turbulence, the end segment of the cap is deformed by a simultaneous, uniform upsetting of its entire circumference in a female die. An apparatus for carrying out the invention has a female die that is split into two parts, with cylindrical bores and with a constricting rib on a bottom portion which fits around the neck of the bottles. The rib has a concavely rounded side upon which the end segment of the cap, is thrust against and is deflected toward the bottle. The female die is split into two jaws that can be pivoted toward one another and whose opening and closing motion is coupled to the motion of an axially displacable male dies that displace the capsules in the female die for sealing the capsules onto the bottle.

The invention is based on an apparatus for closing containers, such as bottles, as defined hereinafter. In an apparatus of this kind, known for instance from DE-OS 39 08 582, the end segment of the jacket of the capsule, pressed onto the top of the bottle by a male die, is crimped around the neck of the bottle continuously by rotation of the bottle with the capsule against a fixed disk -with point-type contact. In another, one or more crimping rollers circle around the capsule and by rolling along it again gradually crimp the end portion of the capsule jacket around the top of the bottle, again with point-type contact. A disadvantage of this known apparatus is that the engagement of this crimping tool produces abrasion in the course of rotation; such abrasion must be avoided, particularly when packaging pharmaceuticals. An apparatus that meets the demands for cleanliness of the surrounding atmosphere in the field of pharmaceuticals is therefore desirable.

Method and apparatus for closing bottle-like containers with a capsule


According to an embodiment, the invention relates to a computer implemented method for grading a pattern from a first size to a second size, the pattern comprising one or more panels, the method comprising the steps of a representation step comprising representing each panel of the one or more panels by a contour, wherein a contour comprises one or more segments, a constraint step comprising imposing constraints on segments for grading to the second size; generating a mesh of each panel of the one or more panels thereby obtaining a first set of meshes; combining the first set of meshes with the constraints into a system of equations; solving the system of equations into a second set of meshes, wherein the contours of the second meshes correspond to the pattern in the second size and representing the contours of the second set of meshes.

The human body is a dynamical three-dimensional object determined by a multitude of distance parameters, such as, for example, a height, a width, a depth, but also a circumference of a neck or a leg length. Roughly, a body may be modelled by a flattened cylindrical framework supplemented by a number of secondary curves and bulges that define the three-dimensional shape of a body.
Clothing or garments are fabricated out of a set of two-dimensional pieces which, when combined, result in a shape that suits a body. Each type of garment, such as a skirt, pants or shirt, is composed out of a set of pieces, each with a particular shape.
In order to design clothes out of a flat two-dimensional surface, a well-known practice applied by textile designer is pattern making. A pattern is a template comprising pieces, also called panels, represented on, for example, a sheet of paper. These panels may then be cut out of a fabric by putting the paper on the fabric and duplicating the contours of the panels on the fabric. Subsequently the panels are cut out of the fabric and sewed together resulting in the desired garment.
Generally, a pattern is drafted corresponding to a standard clothing size used for garments sold off-the-shelf. Basically, such sizes are, for example, defined as small, medium and large and may further differ geographically. It should be clear that a standard size refers to a size which may fit to a majority group of people in order to fabricate the corresponding garments in bulk.
When a pattern is used to fabricate a garment according to a custom-made size, each of the panels needs to be adapted to this custom-made size starting from the standard size. Thus, each piece of the pattern needs to be transformed in size as a function thereof. The process of transforming a set of panels from one size to another one is also called grading the pattern.
Basically, when grading, characteristic points are marked on the panels of the base pattern, and a new set of panels is constructed by applying grading rules by shifting and/or twisting these points. Such grading rules or grading formulae are known for a number of type of garments, and by applying the proper grading rule, a given pattern is graded to a custom-made size. Often, the knowledge and know-how in applying the proper rules lies in the experience of tailors.
The grading may also be automated through the use of a database comprising grading rules as, for example, disclosed in document US2007/0169358A1. Therein, a method is disclosed which subdivides a panel in regions and for each region a grading rule is applied in order to grade the complete pattern. The proper grading rule is identified by a grading mask comprising images of panels of a reference garment of the same type of garment to be graded.
In document U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,661 a similar computing grading system is disclosed comprising a database containing one or more scales of standard measurements of target populations for which garments are to be created. The database is further extended by means for automatically generating grading rules from new scales of measurements. Such new generated grading rules are deduced by identifying relations between the new scales of measurements and knowledge relating to a specific garment.
A drawback of using grading rules is that it may result in unsuccessful grading. Since the characteristic points are shifted and/or twisted, it occurs that inconsistencies arise over different panels of the garment, and thus sewing of the different panels into a garment becomes impracticable. The reason thereto is that grading rules are generally based on multiplication coefficients between the various sizes, without comprising any type of mechanism to avoid inconsistencies. Still, even if they comprise such a type of mechanism, this implies that the rule is only applicable to a limited set of sizes. Secondly, a grading rule may even not be present or deducible at all, for example, for a new type of garment.
Instead of using grading rules, a pattern may also be graded by transforming the garment in a three-dimensional, 3D, environment. As a starting point, the garment is either directly designed in the 3D environment by, for example, a computer-aided design, CAD, system, or designed in a two-dimensional, 2D, environment, such as on paper, and subsequently transformed in 3D. In this 3D environment, the garment is graded by adapting a number of distance parameters and afterwards again transformed in 2D. The latter step is performed by so-called flattening techniques, as for example disclosed in document U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,444 or US2017/0109926A1, thereby obtaining a set of panels suitable to fabricate the garment according to a desired size. The technique of transforming a 3D garment in a 2D set of panels is also denominated as unfolding.
However, some drawbacks of transforming a 3D garment into a set of 2D panels exist. For example, a seam may appear at undesirable locations of the sewed garment, such as on a belly. Secondly, a deep insight in the correspondence between 2D and 3D is required. Thirdly, when applying the technique of unfolding on, for example, complex shapes of garments, it may lead to a set of panels which are unpractically to stich or sew. Finally, intensive computer power is needed to make the transformations between the 2D and 3D environment, and, thus, may be a bottleneck in the grading process.
The use of grading rules may also be combined with a 3D representation of the garment to be graded. Such a technique is disclosed in US2004/0049309A1 wherein grading rules are applied in the 3D environment instead of the 2D one. Next, after applying these rules, the flattening process generates a set of panels which are as close as possible to the modified 3D representation when sewn and draped. Nevertheless, again a transformation is performed to 3D, thus similar drawbacks as already discussed persist.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to alleviate the above drawbacks and to provide an improved solution for grading any type of garment in an efficient manner, which lead to a set of panels that fulfil to the rules applied on the garment in question.

Garment pattern optimization system and method


A light source device includes: a plurality of laser light sources, each configured to emit a light beam; a plurality of collimating lenses, each configured to collimate the light beam emitted from a corresponding one of the laser light sources; a first transmission diffraction grating configured to diffract and combine, in an identical diffraction angle direction, the light beams transmitted through the collimating lenses and incident on a single region at different incident angles; a sensor configured to detect a positional deviation in diffracted light beams that are diffracted and combined by the first transmission diffraction grating; and a plurality of wavelength selecting elements, each disposed on an optical path between a respective one of the collimating lenses and the first transmission diffraction grating and configured to select a wavelength of a corresponding one of the light beams incident on the first transmission diffraction grating.

The present disclosure relates to a light source device that emits higher-power laser light by wavelength beam combining (WBC).
In various fields including laser processing, demand for light source devices that emit high-power laser has been increasing. Examples of light source devices that emits high-power laser beam include a light source device employing wavelength beam combining (hereinafter may also be referred to as the "WBC device"). Examples of WBC devices include a wavelength-tunable light source device described in JP 2003-324227 A (see FIG. 8 in JP 2003-324227 A). In the wavelength-tunable light source device described in JP 2003-324227, light beams of different oscillation wavelengths, each emitted from a respective one of a plurality of semiconductor lasers, are combined using a diffraction grating. Furthermore, J P 2003-324227 A describes that a portion of the combined light beam is branched to be monitored, which allows feedback control of the arrangement angle of the combining diffraction grating and the emission angles of light beams from the semiconductor lasers.


Various embodiments of the present invention introduce privilege-level mapping into a computer architecture not initially designed for supporting virtualization. Privilege-level mapping can, with relatively minor changes to processor logic, fully prevent privileged-level-information leaks by which non-privilege code can determine the current machine-level privilege level at which they are executing. In one embodiment of the present invention, a new privilege-level mapping register is introduced, and privilege-level mapping is enabled for all but code invoked by privileged-level-0-forcing hardware events.

Computer-security issues have become increasingly important in the past 20 years. Initially, computer security was addressed by physical securing large computer systems, and by various software-based techniques, including encryption, authorization techniques, and other security measures directed to preventing unauthorized access of secured systems or secured portions of computer systems. However, computer-system developers and computer-science theoreticians have realized that computer systems cannot be made fully secure using such software-based security measures, and physical security is not generally practical in the modern, densely interconnected computing environment.
In order to provide a hardware-level foundation for truly-secured computing, certain modern processor architectures, including the Intel® IA-64 processor architecture provide a number of different hardware privilege levels. The IA-64 processor architecture provides four privilege levels, from the most-privileged privilege level, privilege level 0, to the least-privileged privilege-level, privilege-level 3. Privilege level 0 is intended for execution of operating-system kernels in non-virtualized systems, and for execution of virtual monitors in virtualized computer systems. The intermediate privilege levels are designed for non-kernel operating systems routines and other code needing intermediate privilege levels, and privilege-level 3 is designed for execution of application programs.
In the Intel IA-64 architecture, processor resources, including registers and instructions, are partitioned into privileged and non-privileged resources. Only code executing at the highest privilege level, privilege-level 0, may access privileged processor resources, while code executing any of the four privilege levels may access the unprivileged processor resources. By partitioning processor resources into privileged and unprivileged resources, the Intel IA-64 architecture provides a hardware foundation for securing access to critical machine state from all but those core software routines needed for implementation of operating systems and virtual monitors. In the IA-64 processor architecture, memory resources are associated with privilege levels at the memory-page granularity. The associations are established through privileged instructions that manipulate privileged registers. The IA-64 architecture thus provides a mechanism for partitioning memory into different memory classes accessible to code executing at specified privilege levels. For example, secure memory may be associated with privilege-level 0, for exclusive access by code executing at privilege-level 0.
The IA-64 architecture is not implemented to explicitly support virtualization. Virtualization is a process by which a low-level software construct, referred to as a "virtual monitor," is introduced directly above the hardware level to provide, along with the hardware, a virtual-machine interface. Virtual-machine interfaces are useful for a number of reasons. First, operating systems can be developed to interface with a virtual-machine interface, rather than to directly interface with a machine interface. Operating systems developed in this fashion can run on any hardware platform on which a virtual monitor providing the virtual-machine interface is resident. Porting a virtual monitor to different hardware platforms, or developing a virtual monitor for a particular hardware platform, is a far less expensive process, in time and engineering resources, than porting an operating system to a particular hardware platform for which the operating system was not initially developed. A second utility provided by virtual monitors is that operating systems designed to assume full control of a machine can be concurrently run on a computer system by the virtual monitor, which multiplexes both processor execution cycles and processor resources between the concurrently running operating systems, much as an operating system multiplexes time and processor cycles between concurrently running processes.
In order to provide a virtual machine interface, the virtual monitor needs to provide to an operating system with the illusion that the operating system has full control of the machine resources, including privileged resources. In particular, the virtual monitor must execute at privilege-level 0 and provide to the operating system the illusion that the operating system is also executing at privilege-level 0, although the privilege-level 0 at which the operating system executes is a virtual privilege-level 0, and not the machine-level privilege-level 0 that only the virtual monitor can execute at. Operating systems assume they have full control of the machine, and that operating system interruption handlers, for example, are directly invoked by hardware, to run at privilege-level 0, on the occurrence of various external interrupts, exceptions, traps, and other events. The virtual monitor must maintain exclusive access to privilege-level 0, however, because the virtual monitor needs to trap, and emulate, attempts by the operating system to execute privileged instructions and to access privileged resources. Otherwise, the virtual monitor would lose control of the hardware, allowing one of several concurrently operating systems to fully appropriate machinery resources, to the detriment of other concurrently running operating systems. Moreover, the virtual monitor must maintain virtual-monitor data securely, or risk corruption and severe corruption-related consequences, such as unrecoverable crashes. The mechanism used by the virtual monitor to detect attempts by operating systems and other code to execute privileged instructions or access privileged resources is to arrange for the operating systems and other code to run at privilege-level 1 or lower, so that when the operating systems or other code attempt to execute a privileged instruction or access a privileged resource, a privileged instruction or privilege-level exception trap is generated, invoking a virtual-monitor interruption handler that can determine how to handle the attempted privileged instruction execution or privileged-resource access, including emulating execution of the privileged-level instruction or access to privileged-resource on behalf of the operating system or other code.
Had the IA-64 processor architecture been developed in order to provide for virtualization, the IA-64 processor architecture would have been designed to insure that no code or process, other than a process or code executing at privilege-level 0, could possibly determine the current privilege level at which the processor code is executing. However, this is not true in the IA-64 processor architecture. There are many ways, referred to as "privilege-level-information leaks," by which a non-privileged routine can determine the privilege level at which the non-privilege routine is executing. This allows non-privileged code to determine whether or not a virtual monitor is currently managing the computer system and providing a virtual machine interface to the operating system. If an operating system can detect the presence or absence of an underlying virtual monitor, the operating system can take steps to defeat or circumvent the virtual monitor, and to violate the virtual-machine interface established by the virtual monitor. This, obviously, compromises the virtual-machine interface and prevents development of fully secure and sound virtual monitors.
Many ways have been suggested for eliminating the privilege-level-information leaks inherent in the IA-64 architecture. One suggested method is to increase the number of privilege levels by four, to provide additional privilege levels for exclusive use by virtual monitors. In other words, if the 2-bit PSR.cpl field of the processor status register ("PSR") in the IA-64 architecture were expanded to three bits, eight, rather than four, privilege levels, could be specified. The top four privilege levels could then be used exclusively by the virtual monitor, leaving the four standard privilege levels for operating-system and non-virtual-monitor code. However, this change is not trivial, would require extensive changes to the IA-64 architecture, and would still be transparent to operating systems specifically developed for such an enhanced IA-64 architecture. For this reason, computer-system architects, designers, manufacturers and users have recognized the need for a cost-effective, robust method for preventing privileged-level leaks in the IA-64 architecture, and in similar processor architectures originally designed without an intent for supporting virtualization.

Method and system for preventing current-privilege-level-information leaks to non-privileged code

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A biometric information authentication device includes an authentication unit to change an authentication threshold value used for authentication to increase difficulty of authentication when authentication of biometric information by checking against registered biometric information is unsuccessful a predetermined number of times.

An input device is known, in which a fingerprint recognition sensor reading fingerprint data, performing verification by comparison between the read fingerprint data and a pre-enrolled fingerprint data and identifying an individual based on the verification result is mounted on at least one of plural push switches and a control unit performs verification when detecting a push signal which is generated and transmitted at the time that the push switch mounting the fingerprint recognition sensor is pushed (see, e.g., Patent Literature 1).
With this input device, appropriate fingerprint data can be easily read by the fingerprint recognition sensor and verification of fingerprint can be appropriately performed.

Biometric information authentication device

KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOKAI RIKA DENKI SEISAKUSHO


A fluidic chip device configured for processing a fluidic sample includes two outer boundary layers, and at least one reinforcing layer arranged between the two outer boundary layers and being at both of its opposing main surfaces laminated with directly adjacent layers to reinforce pressure resistance of the fluidic chip device by the lamination, in which at least a part of the layers of the fluidic chip device includes a hole forming at least a part of a fluidic conduit for conducting the fluidic sample under pressure.

The present invention relates to a fluidic chip device.
In liquid chromatography, a fluidic analyte may be pumped through a column comprising a material which is capable of separating different components of the fluidic analyte. Such a material, so-called beads which may comprise silica gel, may be filled into a column tube which may be connected to other elements (like a control unit, containers including sample and/or buffers). Part of such a chromatography arrangement may be integrated in a fluidic chip device.
US 2009/238722 discloses such a fluidic chip device configured for processing a fluidic sample, the fluidic chip device comprising a substrate comprising a fluidic conduit for conducting the fluidic sample under pressure, and two reinforcing structures between which the substrate is arranged, wherein the two reinforcing structures are connected to one another to reinforce pressure resistance of the substrate.
Operation of a liquid chromatography system may involve the application of a high pressure such as 1000 bar or more. This may be a challenge for the involved components of the liquid chromatography system.

Fluidic chip with laminated reinforcing layer for pressure reinforcement


An improved mitt for cold weather use is configured to provide a variety of modes of wear. The mitt is convertible between a fully closed position for covering the hand and fingers and open positions for exposure of the thumb and/or finger(s) or the entire hand. An internal pocket within the mitt permits continuous or intermittent warming of all or some of the fingers when the mitt is in either a generally open position or closed position. Insertion and removal of fingers and thumb relative the internal pocket is easily accomplished without use of the other hand. A thumb hole and/or finger hole for thumb/finger exposure is formed with an overlapping two-layer seal of stretchable material to prevent heat loss while ensuring easy thumb/finger insertion and removal. In one embodiment, stretchable fillets connect the terminal ends of the palm side and back side of the mitt to provide a snug fit about the wrist. The wearing modes include full exposure of a hand, exposure of the thumb and/or a finger(s), exposure of the four finger tips, and full hand coverage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hand coverings. More specifically, the invention relates to modified mitts which are separately worn or are integrated into upper body garments, and which may be worn in a variety of different modes to accommodate a wide range of atmospheric conditions and activities of the wearer.
2. State of the Art
The need for warm upper body garments, e.g. coats and jackets, has always been important for humanity. In regions which experience cold temperatures, it has been found that heat transfer from a person's head and extremities, e.g. arms and legs (particularly the hands and feet) is most critical. This is because the ratio of surface area to mass is highest in these areas, and human activity is often predicated upon having at least a portion of the head and hands being exposed, i.e. uncovered at times. This is true of many outdoor winter activities which are becoming very popular, such as skiing, ski-touring, ice climbing, mountain climbing, rock climbing, ice sailing, skating, ice fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, winter camping and the like.
In cold-weather use of an upper body garment such as a jacket or coat, heat transfer from a wearer's body typically occurs in several specific areas. First, there is general heat transfer through the body and arms of the garment. This heat loss may be controlled by varying the insulative value of the coat material, and/or as commonly practiced, by layering of shirts, sweaters, etc. under the outer garment. Secondly, there is heat loss by movement of air through the space between the lower extremity of the coat and the person's waist. This heat loss may be controlled by varying the tightness of the coat about the person's waist. Thirdly, there is heat loss from exposure of the wearer's head, which in many cases is the major source of heat loss from a wearer's upper body. Control of the head area which is exposed, and varying the insulative properties of the head covering, are two methods used to effect a desired head temperature. Fourthly, heat transfer from the hands and lower arms is also very important. Most cold weather activities require the uncovering of the fingers or the entire hand at times, or use of a fingered glove in place of a mitten.
In the field of upper body garments, headwear and handwear, the art is filled with a plethora of designs and configurations of hand coverings and head coverings which may be used with or be a part of a cold weather jacket. These prior art apparel were generally intended to providing a particular function. Some of the hand coverings provide for alternative use as mittens and fingered gloves.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,189 to Christman et al., a garment is shown with cuffs which are retractable over inner gloves to provide additional warmth, or alternatively, cooling, to the fingers.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,756,027 and 4,944,041 to Buenos et al. shows a similar arrangement, wherein an inner glove portion in the garment sleeve has finger chambers with ends which fold backward to expose the fingertips.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,340,017 to Rasmussen, an outer garment or coat for a child is shown with attached mittens with integral slide fasteners which are configured to prevent a child from opening thereof without removing the garment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,944 to Bromer et al. discloses a jacket sleeve with an opening through which a thumb may be placed to retain the sleeve over a portion of the hand, when no mittens or gloves are used.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,274,335 to Kennedy, a mitten is shown with a full-width aperture in the palm, permitting a user's fingers to slide out of the mitten to handle keys, tickets and the like. A welt along the edge of the aperture serves to close the aperture and provide a supplemental grip for grasping a steering wheel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,248 to Lengyel and U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,336 to Beckman et al. disclose mittens having a slitted end for extending one's fingertips out of the mitten. In order to maintain the fingers covered, the fingers must be folded within the mitten. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,427 to Van Bergen et al., the mitten is sufficiently large for maintaining the fingers in an unfolded state.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,403,408 to Helfer describes a hand covering having an inner glove covered by an outer mitten having a full-width slit through which the glove's fingers may be extended.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,441 to Slimovitz, a hand covering similar to that of Helfer has a slitted mitten whereby the fingertips may be extended through the slit.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,836 to Bush, a mitt is shown in which the distal end is closed by a VELCRO® member so that the finger ends may be exposed when desired.
A similar mitt is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,338 to Schublom. In this patent, the mitt has adjoining break-apart edges which may be peeled back to expose a user's hand.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,992 to Kallman, an attachment for a glove is described which slides over the back surface of the glove and is held there by several straps. The attachment includes portions which slip over the fingers and thumb of the glove to provide added insulation, and includes space for storing keys, money, etc.
A variety of other openable mitts/gloves are found in the prior art. For example, mittens having a substantial terminal portion closable by a zipper are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,128,796 and 2,603,790 to Bohm-Myro and U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,784 to Harrington.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,323,136 to Johanson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,836,828 to Henrikson, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,405 to Monk describe soft fabric mittens in which slots permit protrusion of a user's fingers or gloved fingers through the mitten fabric.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,214,771 to Treiber, a mitten is contained in a zippered pocket in a coatsleeve. The mitten may be retracted and positioned over the cuff for wear.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,350 to Dawiedczyk shows a work glove which has open truncated finger portions and a thumb portion with an intermediate hole. A half mitten is attached to the back of the glove and may be pivoted forward to cover the exposed fingers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,894 to Yates et al. shows a thermal mitten for golfers in which a finger enclosure contains an in-wall heating device. The finger enclosure may be folded back and attached to the lower portion of the mitten by a VELCRO strip.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,693, to Noonan, a hand covering is depicted which has an L-shaped palmar slot with a flap to seal the slot. The wearer's hand may be extended through the slot for exposure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,850 to Patton, Sr. et al. describes a therapeutic exercise glove with a finger enclosure adjustably attached by straps to a palmar region to position the fingers in a desired bent-forward bent-backward position for therapy.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,647 to Smith et al. discloses a scarf having a mitten at each end. A fold-over pocket fully surrounds the cuff.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,874 to Samelian et al. depicts a hand covering which permits easy egress of a hand therefrom. Three temporarily securable flaps on the back portion may be opened to enable egress; the glove then hangs loosely from the wrist.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,315,889 to Wells shows a mitten in which the portion covering the fingers may be swung open to uncover the fingers. The finger covering portion may be held closed by a snap, and when open, is not prevented from freely swinging.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,117 to Buenos et al. discloses a 360 degree cuff which folds in upon itself and is retained in position by "Velcro" material. No interior pocket is shown.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,265 to Reich, a hand-protective article is described which includes a full-size thumb hole for exposing a user's thumb. No hole closure means is disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,381 to Kelley discloses sleeved apparel having gloves or mittens sewn into the cuff interior, and an exterior thumb covering which is retractable into the cuff.
None of the above references provides a unitary hand covering which may selectively function as an open sleeve, thumbed open sleeve, fingerless glove, full glove, or full mitten with optional exposure of a thumb or trigger finger.


A cooled high-power vehicle inductor includes an inductor core including a central axis; a first series of inductor windings around the central axis of the cooled high-power vehicle inductor, the first series of inductor windings having an outer perimeter; a second series of inductor windings around the central axis of the cooled high-power vehicle inductor, the second series of inductor windings having an inner perimeter that is substantially outside the outer perimeter of the first series of inductor windings, wherein the second series of inductor windings is electrically coupled to the first series of inductor windings; and a first heat transfer insert that is disposed between the outer perimeter of the first series of inductor windings and the inner perimeter of the second series of inductor windings, the first heat transfer insert forming a heat transfer path.

A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a vehicle which combines a conventional propulsion system with an on-board rechargeable energy storage system to achieve better fuel economy and cleaner emissions than a conventional vehicle. In a parallel configuration (not shown), an HEV will commonly use an internal combustion engine and batteries or ultracapacitors to power electric propulsion, however the ICE will also provide mechanical power to the drive wheels.
Referring to FIG. 22, in a series configuration, an HEV drive system 2200 will commonly use an energy source such as an internal combustion engine (ICE) 2210 and a pack 2220 of batteries or ultracapacitors to provide electric propulsion power to the drive wheel assembly 2230. In particular, the ICE 2210 will be coupled to a generator 2212, which will generate electricity to power one or more electric propulsion motor(s) 2232 and/or charge the energy storage 2220. Also, multiple electric propulsion motor(s) 2232 may also be mechanically coupled via a combining gearbox 2236. Propulsion motor(s) 2232 for heavy duty vehicles (i.e., having a gross weight of over 10,000) may include two AC induction motors that produce 50-150 kW of power (×2) and having a rated DC voltage of 650 VDC. Due to the high temperatures generated, high power electronic components such as the generator 2212 and electric propulsion motor(s) 2232 will typically be cooled (e.g., water-glycol cooled), and may be included in the same cooling loop as the ICE 2210. Additionally, since the ICE's 2210 primary function here is simply to drive the electric generator, the ICE 2210 may be optimized for limited range of operation and can run more efficiently than a conventional ICE, which must be designed to provide drive power over various speed and loading profiles.
As an added feature, rather than dissipating kinetic energy via friction braking, many HEVs recapture the kinetic energy of the vehicle. In particular, kinetic energy is recaptured via regenerative braking, wherein the electric propulsion motor(s) 2232 are switched to operate as generators, and a torque is applied to the drive wheel assembly 2230. This torque results in a net braking force on the vehicle. As the vehicle slows, it transfers its kinetic energy to the motor(s) 2232, now operating as a generator(s), and electricity is generated. The electricity generated is then stored in the energy storage 2220 to be used later in the drive cycle. Regenerative braking may also incorporated into an all-electric vehicle thereby providing a source of electricity generation onboard the vehicle.
When the energy storage 2220 reaches a predetermined capacity (e.g., fully charged), the HEV may then dissipate any additional regenerated electricity through a resistive braking resistor 2240. Typically, the braking resistor 2240 will also be included in the cooling loop of the ICE 2210. By recapturing its own kinetic energy, the demand on the ICE 2210 to generate energy is also reduced, thus making the HEV drive system 2200 even more efficient.
An HEV drive system 2200 may include multiple energy sources. Examples of typical HEV energy sources include: an engine 2210 (e.g., ICE, fuel cell, CNG, etc.) mechanically coupled to a generator 2212, an energy storage device 2220 (e.g., battery, ultracapacitor, flywheel, etc.), and a reconfigurable electric propulsion motor 2232 mechanically coupled to the drive wheel assembly 2230. These energy sources may then be electrically coupled to a buss, in particular a DC high power buss 2250. In this way, energy can be transferred between components of the high power hybrid drive system as needed.
An HEV may further include both AC and DC high power systems. For example, the drive system 2200 may generate and run on high power AC, but convert it to DC for storage and/or transfer between components across the DC high power buss 2250. Accordingly, the current may be converted via an inverter/rectifier 2214, 2234 or other suitable device (hereinafter "inverters"). Inverters 2214, 2234 for heavy duty vehicles (i.e., having a gross weight of over 10,000) may include a high frequency IGBT multiple phase water-glycol cooled inverter with a rated DC voltage of 650 VDC having a peak current of 300 A. As illustrated, HEV drive system 2200 includes a first inverter 2214 interspersed between the generator 2212 and the DC high power buss 2250, and a second inverter 2234 interspersed between the generator 2232 and the DC high power buss 2250. Here the inverters 2214, 2234 are shown as separate devices, however it is understood that their functionality can be incorporated into a single unit.
In addition to utilizing different type electrical currents, not all energy sources of drive system 2200 provide an identical and/or static energy profile. For example, energy storage 2220, comprising a bank of ultracapacitors in series, may have an initial DC voltage of 700 VDC, however, its voltage decreases significantly as it discharges, proportionally to its static charge. Propulsion motor(s) 2232 for heavy duty vehicles may require an operational voltage on the order of 650 VDC or more. Accordingly, in order to provide sufficient operating voltage when the energy storage is discharging, it may be desirable to substantially step up the voltage of the energy storage from an available voltage to an operational voltage.
One technique for efficiently increasing the voltage of the electricity available on the DC buss 2250 involves using an inductor-based boost converter, DC-DC converter, or chopper (hereinafter "DC-DC converter"). See for example, J. W. McKeever, S. C. Nelson, and G. J. Su, "Boost Converters for Gas Electric and Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Vehicles," Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL/TM-2005/60, May 27, 2005. With a high power electric drive system, such as found in metropolitan transit buses, trolley cars, refuse collection trucks, and other heavy duty vehicles, the DC-DC converter may see DC currents on the order of 300 A at 800 VDC.
Unlike much lower rated circuits and systems, a heavy duty HEV/EV will require a high power inductor specially adapted for both the much higher loading and the unique mobile environment of a heavy duty vehicle (e.g., heat, vibration, environmental exposure, high reliability, etc). More importantly, at these ratings, heat becomes a major factor in the device's performance. Toroid-type high power inductors have been used with some success in this application, wherein the inductor casing is mated to a heat sink, to improve the inductor's performance. Toroidal inductors can have higher Q factors and higher inductance than similarly constructed solenoid coils. However, under the conditions of a heavy duty HEV/EV, the dissipation of heat is a limiting factor of an inductor's/inductor-based high power component's performance.
As the demand for HEVs and EVs increase, consumer demand for vehicle performance will also increase. Consumers will require greater performance and greater efficiency. With regard to DC-DC converters on HEVs and EVs, increased performance is associated with larger components; however it is desirable that large, bulky components on the vehicle, such as the heavy duty inductor become smaller and more lightweight. In addition, consumers will desire maximum performance at minimum cost. The invention seeks to address the abovementioned problems.

Cooled high power vehicle inductor and method


Traveling equipment for a cleaner comprises: a traveling motor mounted to a cleaner head part and for generating a normal torque and a reverse torque; a traveling shaft penetrated and coupled to the traveling motor and supplied with the torque of the traveling motor; traveling wheels coupled to both sides of the traveling shaft; an operation mode selection means for selectively regulating the automatic back and forth operation function and manual function; a control means for outputting a control signal upon receiving a signal selected by the operation mode selection means; and a driving means for driving the traveling motor upon receiving the control signal of the control means. By this, the user's convenience is raised and the simplicity of the components is acquired.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaner, and more particularly to, traveling equipment for a cleaner which can raise user's convenience and realize the simplicity of components.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, a cleaner serves to remove dust or foreign material put in set areas such as a living room, room, etc. by using a motor for converting electric energy into kinetic energy and a fan mounted to the motor and for generating a suction force while rotating.
The cleaner commonly includes a main body part for generating a suction force, a head part connected to the main body part and for sucking foreign material on a surface to be cleaned, and a handle part for handling the motion of the head part. The cleaner is classified into various types according to the arrangement and construction of the main body part, head part and handle part.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one example of an upright vacuum cleaner.
As illustrated therein, the upright vacuum cleaner comprises a head part 100, a main body part 200 connected to the head part 100 in vertical direction, and a handle part 300 consecutively connected to the main body part 200. The head part 100 is provided with traveling equipment incorporating traveling wheels.
The traveling equipment includes a traveling shaft (not shown) rotatably mounted to the head part 100, traveling wheels 110 coupled to both opposite ends of the traveling shaft, a power transmission means for transmitting a power of a main motor (not shown) constituting the main body part 200 to the traveling shaft, and a rotation direction conversion means for selectively converting a direction of a torque transmitted by the power transmission means.
The rotation direction conversion means is constructed of a mechanism incorporating a clutch operated by handling of the handle part 300.
The main motor is connected to a fan (not shown) for generating a suction force, and rotates in only one direction.
In the upright vacuum cleaner as set forth above, when a power is supplied by pressing an operating button, a suction force is generated while the fan is rotating along with the operation of the main motor constituting the main body part 200, and foreign material such as dust or dirt is sucked through the head part 100 by the suction force generated from the main body part 200.
At the same time, a driving force of the main motor is transmitted to the traveling shaft and traveling wheels 110 through the power transmission means to thus rotate the traveling wheels 110. The traveling wheels 110 normally rotates and reversely rotates with the torque transmitted from the main motor being converted using the rotation direction conversion means. The rotation direction conversion means is handed by using the handle part 300.
With the normal rotation or reverse rotation of the traveling wheels 100, the cleaner moves forward or backward to thus suck foreign material such as dust or dirt place on the floor face through the head part 100. The user carries out a cleaning by adjusting the traveling direction while holding the handle part 300 in a standing posture without bending the waist.
The forward and backward movement of the traveling equipment for the cleaner during the forward and backward movement of the cleaner will now be explained more concretely.
FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the forward operating state of conventional traveling equipment.
As illustrated therein, in case the traveling equipment makes a forward move, the user firstly pushes parts of the handle part 300 in a downward direction. When parts of the handle part 300 are pushed downward, a first connecting rod 121 connected to the handle part 300 is pushed downward. As the first connecting rod 121 is pushed down, a second connecting rod 122 hingeably coupled with the first connecting rod 121 is moved to thus move a first friction clutch 123 connected to the second connecting rod 122 to the left. As the first friction clutch 123 is moved to the left, the first friction clutch 123 is tightly contacted with a first friction disc 124 disposed at the left of the first friction clutch 123. And a second friction clutch 125 integral with the first friction clutch 123 is separated from the second friction disc 126 disposed at the right thereof.
In this state, a torque of the main motor 210 is transmitted to an intermediate rotary shaft 127 by a belt 220, and a torque of the intermediate rotary shaft 127 is transmitted to the traveling shaft 128 and the left traveling wheel 111 through the first friction clutch 123, first friction disc 124 and first gear box B1.
FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a gear train constituting a first gear box.
As illustrated therein, when the first friction clutch 123 is tightly contacted to the first friction disc 124, a torque of the intermediate rotary shaft 127 is transmitted to the traveling shaft 128 through a first gear 131, a second gear 132 engaging with the first gear 131 and a third gear 133 engaging with the second gear 132 by means of the first friction disc 124. By this, the traveling wheels 110 coupling to the traveling shaft 128 normally rotate.
FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating the backward operating state of the conventional traveling equipment.
As illustrated therein, in case the traveling equipment makes a backward move, the user firstly pulls parts of the handle part 300 in an upward direction. When parts of the handle part 300 are pulled upward, the first connecting rod 121 connected to the handle part 300 is pushed upward. As the first connecting rod 121 is pushed upward, the second connecting rod 122 hingeably coupled with the first connecting rod 121 is moved to thus move the second friction clutch 125 connected to the second connecting rod 122 to the right. As the second friction clutch 125 is moved to the right, the second friction clutch 125 is tightly contacted with the second friction disc 126 disposed at the right of the second friction clutch 125. And the first friction clutch 123 integral with the second friction clutch 125 is separated from the first friction disc 124 disposed at the left of the first friction clutch 123.
In this state, a torque of the main motor 210 is transmitted to the intermediate rotary shaft 127 by the belt 220, and a torque of the intermediate rotary shaft 127 is transmitted to the traveling shaft 128 and the right traveling wheel 112 through the second friction clutch 125, second friction disc 126 and second gear box B2.
FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a gear train constituting a second gear box.
As illustrated therein, when the second friction clutch 125 is tightly contacted to the second friction disc 126, a torque of the intermediate rotary shaft 127 is transmitted to the traveling shaft 128 through a fourth gear 134, a fifth gear 135 engaging with the fourth gear 134 and a sixth gear 136 engaging with the fifth gear 135 and a seventh gear 137 engaging with the sixth gear 136 by means of the second friction disc 126. By this, the traveling wheels 110 coupling to the traveling shaft 128 reversely rotate.
However, since the aforementioned conventional traveling equipment for the cleaner is arranged to move forward or backward by handling the handle part 300 when a user carries out a cleaning using the cleaner, forward and backward moves are continuously made iteratively when doing the cleaning while moving back and forth in a given area, thereby causing inconvenience to the user.
Besides, the assembling productivity is low due to a large number of components and complexity, and the manufacturing cost is high.


A safety seat is provided, including a seat base and a seat back. The seat back includes a framework adjustable in shape and a covering part covering the framework and made of flexible material. A surface of the covering part is provided with multiple sensors for obtaining back position information of a person sitting on the safety seat. The safety seat further includes a data processing device and a driving structure. The data processing device is for receiving the back position information, determine a shape of a back surface of the person and send a covering part adjustment signal. The driving structure is for adjusting a shape of the framework according to the covering part adjustment signal and changing a shape of the surface of the covering part by changing the shape of the framework so as to match the shape of the back surface of the person.

More and more families own their private cars nowadays. After having their babies, young couples like to travel with the babies in their cars. Thus, safety seats are necessary for ensuring the safety of the babies during travels. Many developed countries even enact relevant laws to ensure that babies only are allowed to travel in cars provided with safety seats.
As for safety seats of cars in related techniques, no matter expensive or cheap, these safety seats merely have functions of adjusting a seat back angle and adjusting a headrest height so that they can be used by babies of different sizes and can meet the requirements of comfort degrees of different babies. Considering different body shapes of different babies, although the seat back angle can be adjusted, inherent shapes of surfaces of the seat backs may not be suitable for all the persons sitting on the safety seats. Therefore, the persons sitting on the safety seats may feel uncomfortable.

BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.