A lumen re-entry system includes a helically wound coil having open proximal and distal ends, and defining a longitudinal movement axis. The helically wound coil includes a distal segment that is relaxed relative to a proximal segment. A tip deflection wire is attached to the relaxed distal segment and coaxially disposed relative to the helically wound coil. Movement of the tip deflection wire moves the lumen re-entry system from an advancement configuration in which the open distal end of the helically wound coil is substantially aligned with the longitudinal movement axis to a deflected configuration. The lumen re-entry system also includes a puncture wire slidably received within the helically wound coil and having a distal puncture tip.

Thrombosis is the formation of a thrombus, or blood clot, within the vascular system of a patient. A blood clot typically occurs when blood hardens from a liquid to a solid. When attached to vessel walls, blood clots, and other substances, such as plaque or fat, may reduce or block blood flow downstream from the clot. Chronic total occlusion (CTO) is a complete blockage within the vascular system or, more particularly, within an arterial vessel, that obstructs blood flow. This blocked blood flow may prevent critical blood flow and oxygen from reaching certain tissues and, thus, may result in damage to the tissues. Regardless of the particular location of the clot within the vascular system, a clot or, in particular, a CTO, if left untreated, may cause serious damage and, in some cases, may become life threatening.
A wide variety of invasive and non-invasive techniques are available for treating a CTO. For example, some percutaneous techniques include the use of pharmacological agents, also referred to as thrombolytic agents, to help dissolve the clots. Other percutaneous techniques may include the use of a wire guide and/or catheter to cross the occlusion and recanalize the vessel. However, crossing a CTO using a wire guide and/or catheter may be difficult and, oftentimes, impossible, due to the hardness of the clot or occlusion. During these recanalization procedures, it is common for the wire guide to be inadvertently advanced into the subintimal space of the vessel wall. Once the wire guide has entered the subintimal space, it is often difficult to redirect the wire guide back into the lumen of the vessel.
An exemplary lumen re-entry device is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0219464 to Davis et al. Specifically, the Davis et al. reference teaches a steerable guidewire having a sharpened re-entry tip. The guidewire comprises a hypotube having a helical coil attached to and extending from a distal end of the hypotube. A retaining ribbon is connected to the distal end of the hypotube and is also connected to the sharpened re-entry tip. A deflection member is slidably disposed within the hypotube and has a distal end connected to the sharpened re-entry tip such that distal movement of the deflection member deflects the sharpened re-entry tip in one direction, while proximal movement of the deflection member deflects the sharpened re-entry tip in an opposite direction. While the lumen re-entry device of Davis et al. might offer successful deflection of the guidewire tip, the sharpened re-entry tip, which may be used for crossing an occlusion and/or re-entering a vessel lumen, may present risks of inadvertently puncturing or tearing the vessel wall during advancement and/or deflection.
The present disclosure is directed toward one or more of the problems set forth above.


A method, apparatus, and program product manage scheduling of a plurality of jobs in a parallel computing system of the type that includes a plurality of computing nodes and is disposed in a data center. The plurality of jobs are scheduled for execution on a group of computing nodes from the plurality of computing nodes based on the physical locations of the plurality of computing nodes in the data center. The group of computing nodes is further selected so as to distribute at least one of a heat load and an energy load within the data center. The plurality of jobs may be additionally scheduled based upon an estimated processing requirement for each job of the plurality of jobs.

Computing technology has advanced at a remarkable pace, with each subsequent generation of computing system increasing in performance, functionality, and storage capacity, often at reduced cost. However, despite these advances, many scientific and business applications still demand massive computing power, which can only be met by extremely high performance computing systems. One particular type of computing system architecture that is often used in high performance applications is a parallel processing computing system.
Generally, a parallel processing computing system comprises a plurality of computing nodes and is configured with a distributed application. Some parallel processing computing systems, which may also be referred to as massively parallel processing computing systems, may have hundreds or thousands of individual computing nodes, and provide supercomputer class performance. Each computing node is typically of modest computing power and generally includes one or more processing units, or computing cores. As such, each computing node may be a computing system configured with an operating system and distributed application. The distributed application provides work for each computing node and is operable to control the workload of the parallel processing computing system. Generally speaking, the distributed application provides the parallel processing computing system with a workload that can be divided into a plurality of jobs. Typically, each computing node, or each computing core, is configured to process one job and therefore process, or perform, a specific function. Thus, the parallel processing architecture enables the parallel processing computing system to receive a workload, then configure the computing nodes to cooperatively perform one or more jobs such that the workload supplied by the distributed application is processed substantially in parallel.
Parallel processing computing systems have found application in numerous different computing scenarios, particularly those requiring high performance and fault tolerance. For instance, airlines rely on parallel processing to process customer information, forecast demand, and decide what fares to charge. The medical community uses parallel processing computing systems to analyze magnetic resonance images and to study models of bone implant systems. As such, parallel processing computing systems typically perform most efficiently on work that contains several computations that can be performed at once, as opposed to work that must be performed serially. The overall performance of the parallel processing computing system is increased because multiple computing cores can handle a larger number of tasks in parallel than could a single computing system. Other advantages of some parallel processing systems include their scalable nature, their modular nature, and their improved level of redundancy.
When processing a workload, computing nodes of a parallel processing computing system typically operate to process each job of the workload as fast as possible while keeping as few computing nodes active as possible to process the workload. During this processing, these computing nodes typically consume a large amount of power as well as generate a large amount of heat. As such, large and complex air handling systems must be designed and installed to keep the room, or rooms, where a parallel processing computing system is installed at an acceptable temperature. Similarly, large and complex power circuits must be designed and installed to keep the computing nodes supplied with sufficient power to process jobs. However, conventional work scheduling algorithms for jobs generally fail to take heat generation from these computing nodes and power circuits issues into account. Conventional work scheduling algorithms similarly generally fail to take energy consumption issues into account. Conventional work scheduling algorithms generally attempt to keep as many nodes idle as long as possible, forcing jobs onto as few nodes as possible. As a result, though the average temperature of a data center and/or system may be within an acceptable temperature, localized areas of heat generation and energy usage typically arise. These heat and energy "islands" often increase the wear on components, and generally result in increased maintenance, component replacement, and cost to use parallel processing computing systems.
Consequently, there is a need to schedule a workload of a parallel processing computing system in such a manner that manages job scheduling to reduce heat and energy islands that may otherwise arise.

Environment based node selection for work scheduling in a parallel computing system

International Business Machines Corporation


An OLED display device and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. The OLED display device includes an OLED display panel, a driving module and a bonding terminal. The OLED display panel includes a light-emitting surface and a non-light-emitting surface opposite to the light-emitting surface, the bonding terminal is disposed on the non-light-emitting surface, and the driving module is bonded to the bonding terminal. Since the bonding terminal is disposed on the non-light-emitting surface of the OLED display panel and the driving module is bonded to the bonding terminal on the non-light-emitting surface, compared with the prior art, the bonded driving module does not need to be bent again because the bonding terminal is disposed on the non-light-emitting surface of the OLED display panel. The reduction of the bezel width can be maximized and the screen ratio can be increased while reducing the risk of a broken wire.

With the development of the display technology, flat panel display (FPD) devices are widely used in various consumer electronic products such as mobile phones, televisions, personal digital assistants, digital cameras, notebook computers, desktop computers, etc., due to their advantages including high image quality, power saving, thin body and wide application range, and have become the mainstream in display devices.
Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display devices have been considered as an emerging application technology for next-generation flat panel displays because they are self-illuminating, do not require a backlight, and have excellent features such as high contrast, thin thickness, wide viewing angle, fast response, applicability to flexible panels, wide temperature range, simple structure and process and so on.
An OLED display device generally includes a substrate, an anode disposed on the substrate, a hole-injection layer disposed on the anode, a hole-transport layer disposed on the hole-injection layer, a light-emitting layer disposed on the hole-transport layer, an electron-transport layer disposed on the light-emitting layer, an electron-injection layer disposed on the electron-transport layer, and a cathode disposed on the electron-injection layer. The principle of luminescence of an OLED display device is that carriers are driven by the electric field to inject and recombine in the semiconductor materials and the organic luminescent materials to cause luminescence. Specifically, an OLED display device generally uses an ITO pixel electrode and a metal electrode as the anode and the cathode of the device, respectively. Under a certain driving voltage, electrons and holes are respectively injected from the cathode and the anode to the electron-transport layer and the hole-transport layer. Electrons and holes migrate and meet in the light-emitting layer through the electron-transport layer and the hole-transport layer, respectively, to form excitons to excite the light-emitting molecules and emit visible light through radiation relaxation.
With the development of the display technology and the increase of people's requirements for products, the screen ratio of an OLED display device is constantly improved while high resolution is pursued. The narrow bezel technology has also been rapidly developed. On the bonding side, the original direct chip-on film (COF) bonding has been gradually developed into a bending bonding structure. Specifically, the bonding terminal is formed on the substrate such that the flexible circuit board is bent to the back surface of the substrate after being bonded to the bonding terminal to increase the screen ratio. In practical applications, as the bending radius of the flexible circuit board becomes smaller, the bezel of the display panel is narrower. However, due to the limitation of the trace structure, the bending radius needs to be kept within a certain range in practical applications, and cannot be infinitely small. In other words, the bending radius always occupies a certain portion of the bezel width because a broken wire is easily caused when bending.

Organic light-emitting diode display device with bonding terminal on non-light-emitting surface and method for manufacturing OLED display device with bonding terminal on non-light-emitting surface

Wuhan China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd.


A circuit includes a first variable resistor having a resistance which is variable in response to a resistance control signal. A resistance control circuit includes a first current source circuit for supplying a first current through a reference resistor. A second current source circuit supplies a second current through the first variable resistor. In operational amplifier has a first input coupled to a first conductor connecting the first current source to the reference resistor, a second input coupled to a second conductor connecting the current source to the first variable resistor, and an output applying the first resistance control signal to a control terminal of the first variable resistor, to force the resistance of the first variable resistor to be equal to a resistance of the reference resistor. The resistance of a second variable resistor of an attenuator is controlled in response to the resistance control signal.

The present invention relates generally to voltage controlled variable gain attenuators and amplifiers, and more particularly to a voltage controlled variable gain attenuator and amplifier having a gain curve that is nearly independent of the effects of process variation and temperature variation.
Present medical ultrasound and industrial imaging systems employ as many as 256 signal processing channels to create a clear image. Advances in the technology associated with signal processing in this area indicate that the channel count may be higher in future systems. A typical ultrasound channel consists of a piezo-electric transducer that supplies a signal to a variable gain amplifier which in turn drives an analog to digital converter. The piezo-electric transducer is excited by a high voltage transmitter which creates a signal that is applied (for example) to a patient or to industrial material undergoing an imaging examination. The output of the analog to digital converter typically is further processed by digital circuitry and software for purposes of displaying and analyzing the image in question. Future ultrasound systems are expected to make increasing demands on the precision of the various system components to create a more precise image. One requirement for future systems is that the gain of each channel match the gains of the other channels more accurately than is the case for present systems. This is desirable because the lack of precise channel matching creates image "artifacts" which have the effect of degrading the quality of the displayed image. In effect, the image artifacts caused by the lack of precise channel matching may be erroneously interpreted as meaningful signals by an image processor.
Ultrasound signal systems employ time-dependent gain control to adjust the system gain in order to prevent system overloading. This is commonly achieved through the use of a voltage controlled variable gain amplifier. At the beginning of a sweep a gain control voltage sets the amplifier gain at its lowest level and from that point the gain is gradually increased so that weak signals can be properly amplified. (In ultrasound signal systems, a sweep or scan is the period of time between the shallowest echo and the deepest echo.) The system gain versus control characteristic increases as a function of time, and usually the gain, expressed in dB (decibels), is linearly related to the gain control voltage.
Unfortunately, one of the most unpredictable elements in this signal processing progression is the voltage controlled variable gain amplifier. Typically, to achieve a linear gain expressed in dB, a piece-wise approximation to an ideal curve has been provided. See commonly assigned. U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,375 entitled "Programmable Low Noise CMOS Differentially Voltage Controlled Logarithmic Attenuator and Method" issued May 8, 2001 to the present inventor. This technique achieves only ±1 dB gain precision, and typically is complex and costly. The closest prior art is believed to include the above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,375 and also U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,880,618 and 5,077,541 which indicate the present state of the art in the area of voltage controlled variable gain amplifiers having gain that is linear in dB (i.e., gain that is linear when expressed in decibels). In instrumentation applications it is very common to express gain or attenuation (i.e., gain having a value of less than 1) in dB, and it also is very common to control the gain or attenuation in dB in response to a control voltage.
The use of voltage-controlled FET resistors (i.e., field effect transistors used as resistors) in various applications, including attenuators, is known. However, the precision of the resistance of FET resistors is very poor.
Band gap reference voltage circuits which produce a voltage that is proportional to absolute temperature and essentially independent of process parameter variations are well-known in the art. FIG. 6 herein shows such a bandgap reference voltage circuit
Thus, there is an unmet need for a high precision, voltage-controlled (or current-controlled) variable gain circuit element which can be utilized to provide ripple-free control of attenuation, gain, or other circuit or system parameters without resorting to piecewise-linear approximation techniques.
There also is an unmet need for a high precision, voltage-controlled (or current-controlled) variable gain circuit element which can be utilized to provide ripple-free control of attenuation, gain, or other circuit or system parameters without resorting to piecewise-linear approximation techniques, and which is substantially independent of the effects of integrated circuit process parameter variations and/or temperature variations.
There also is an unmet need for a voltage-controlled variable gain amplifier which is more accurate than the prior art and is independent of the effects of process variation and temperature variation.
There also is an unmet need for a voltage controlled attenuator which is more accurate than the prior art and is independent of process variation and temperature variation and is suitable for use in the gain control portion of a voltage controlled variable gain amplifier.

Process and temperature-independent voltage controlled attenuator and method


Methods and apparatus are provided for delivering drugs or gene therapy within a patient""s vessel. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus comprises a material eluting a bioactive substance held in place within the patient""s vessel by an anchor. The anchor and eluting material are sized and/or collapsible from a delivery configuration, in which the anchor and material may be delivered into the patient""s vasculature within a delivery sheath, to a deployed configuration, wherein the anchor engages an interior wall of the patient""s vessel. The eluting material may elute recombinant genes, drugs, or any other bioactive substance.

This invention relates to drug delivery and gene therapy. More particularly, the present invention provides methods and apparatus for the delivery of drugs or gene therapy, or both, into a patient""s vasculature.
According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 4,000 specific conditions are known to be caused by genetic defects. The GeneMed Network states that each human being carries roughly a half dozen defective genes, and that about one in ten people has or will develop an inherited genetic disorder.
A composite of approximately 150,000 individual genes constitutes a human being. Variation in the structure of these genes can lead to disease. Many diseases are hereditively passed by a single gene, while many others are influenced by a collection of genes.
Several years ago, the Human Genome Project began mapping every human gene. The project is fostering an understanding of the very foundation of human disease and is enabling new therapies to treat and predict the onset of disease. One such therapy is gene therapy, which seeks to directly and beneficially modify the expression of genes through delivery of engineered genetic material. Foreign nucleotide sequences of either DNA or RNA are inserted into a patient""s cells to result in either expression of non-integrated sequences or integration of sequences directly into the DNA of the cells.
Safe and efficient delivery of nucleotide sequences to appropriate cells poses one of the primary challenges to gene therapy. Vectors, which encapsulate therapeutic genes, have been developed to deliver the sequences. These vectors may be either viral or synthetic. Viral vectors, derived from viruses, are the primary vectors in experimental use today. Viruses efficiently target cells and deliver genome, which normally leads to disease. However, viral vectors for gene therapy are modified so that they may not cause disease. Rather, therapeutic recombinant genes are inserted into the vectors and delivered to target cells. Optimally, the modified viruses retain their ability to efficiently deliver genetic material while being unable to replicate.
Research in the field of gene therapy is still in the formative stages. Human trials only began in 1990 with ex vivo techniques, wherein a patient""s cells were harvested and cultivated in a laboratory and incubated with vectors to modify their genes. Cells were then harvested and intramuscularly transplanted back into the patient. Trials quickly shifted to in vivo techniques, in which viral vectors are administered directly to patients, again intramuscularly. A variety of diseases are currently being evaluated as candidates for gene therapy, and a need exists in the art for improved vector delivery techniques.
While significant progress has been made, current gene therapy delivery techniques have many drawbacks. Viral vectors are inherently dangerous due to the innate ability of viruses to transmit disease. Furthermore, long-term effects of using viruses as delivery vehicles are unclear. Chances for error in modifying the viruses to vectors are significant, and consequences may be substantial, including potential irreversible alteration of the human gene pool. Also, delivery of the vectors to an efficacious portion of diseased cells has proven difficult and expensive.
Synthetic vectors have been developed to address the potential for disease transmission with viral vectors. These vectors are complexes of DNA, proteins, or lipids, formed in particles capable of efficiently transferring genes. However, synthetic vectors have thus far proved less effective than viral vectors and have been slower to gain acceptance.
Perhaps even more problematic than limitations of the vectors, intramuscular in vivo techniques, wherein vectors are delivered into a patient""s muscle tissue, have proven somewhat ineffective in clinical use. Systemic expression of inserted sequences is not realistic since therapy is localized.
In view of the drawbacks associated with previously known methods for delivery of gene therapy, it would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus that overcome such drawbacks.
It further would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for delivery of gene therapy that mitigate the risk of disease transmission.
It still further would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for providing localized delivery of genes or bioactive agents that are relatively inexpensive, as compared to current techniques.
It would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for delivery of gene therapy that are suited for systemic delivery of viral vectors, synthetic vectors, drugs, or other therapeutic agents.
It would also be desirable to provide methods and apparatus that efficiently deliver genes to an efficacious portion of diseased cells.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for delivery of gene therapy that overcome drawbacks associated with previously known methods and apparatus.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus that mitigate the risk of disease transmission.
It is another object to provide relatively inexpensive methods and apparatus for localized delivery of genes or bioactive agents.
It is an object to provide methods and apparatus for delivery of gene therapy that are suited for systemic delivery of viral vectors, synthetic vectors, drugs, or other therapeutic agents.
It is yet another object to provide methods and apparatus that efficiently deliver genes to an efficacious portion of diseased cells.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing methods and apparatus for the delivery of gene therapy that expose one or more recombinant genes directly to a patient""s bloodstream in a region of diseased tissue. A significant portion of blood that come into contact with the genes, which may or may not be encapsulated in vectors, is expected to incorporate the genes directly into its genome.
In a preferred embodiment, apparatus of the present invention comprises an eluting material held in place within a patient""s vessel by an anchor. The anchor and eluting material are sized and/or expandable from a delivery configuration, in which the mechanism and material may be delivered into the patient""s vasculature within a delivery sheath, to a deployed configuration, wherein the anchor engages an interior wall of the patient""s vessel. The eluting material may elute recombinant genes, or, alternatively, it may elute drugs or other bioactive or therapeutic agents.
Methods of using the present invention also are provided.

Apparatus for the delivery of drugs or gene therapy into a patient""s vasculature and methods of use


A method for curved planar reformation of an image includes receiving a data volume including a medial axis tree of a vessel tree, determining a global rotation axis of the medial axis tree, and casting a line segment from a vessel tree root of the medial axis tree into a predefined direction perpendicular to the global rotation axis. The method includes projecting the medial axis tree onto a reference plane along the line segment. The method further includes re-sampling, from at least one medial axis point of a reference plane, the data volume using a vector perpendicular to a medial axis tangent of the reference plane, wherein the vector defines a sampling direction. The method includes rendering an image of the vessel tree along the vector.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to medical imaging, and more particularly to a system and method for reformatting medical images using a curved planar reformation.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Vascular visualization of medical image data provides valuable information about vessel anatomy and pathology. Vessel structures, exterior and interior, can be difficult to investigate with current visualization techniques, e.g., multiplanar reconstructions (MPRs), curved MPRs, or volume rendering (VR). Manual creation of curved MPRs can be tedious and time consuming. Other methods for automatic generation of curved planar reformations only consider individual vessel segments. Visualization techniques for whole tree structures have been proposed, but these methods are not flexible enough to handle arbitrary vessel topologies and orientations.
Therefore, a need exists for a method for visualization of vascular structures using a reformatted medial axis.

Vascular reformatting using curved planar reformation


In an electric power steering system, a drain terminal side of a semiconductor relay is positioned to face a heat sink through an insulation film layer. The semiconductor relay has a source terminal between a gate terminal and a drain terminal. The source terminal is provided between the gate terminal and the drain terminal with respect to parts of the gate terminal, the drain terminal and the source terminal, which extend generally in parallel each other on the same plane.

In a conventional electric power conversion apparatus, mechanical relays are used to shut off electric connection between motor phase terminals of a three-phase electric motor and output terminals of an inverter circuit. If such a mechanical relay is used, reliability of its operation is lowered by foreign matters and the like, which are often jammed. The following patent document therefore proposes to use a power MOS-type field effect transistor in place of such a mechanical relay.
[Patent document] JP 2006-21645A
According to this proposal, the transistors are connected between a three-phase electric motor and an inverter circuit so that electrical connection and disconnection therebetween is controlled by a voltage applied to the gate of the transistor.
If a current required by the electric motor is increased, the amount of heat generated by the transistor tends to excessively increase in a period, in which the transistor is turned on to electrically connect the inverter circuit and the electric motor. If the heat generated by the transistor excessively increases, the reliability of the transistor will be lowered.

Electric power conversion apparatus for vehicle


The method of manufacturing a structural assembly includes positioning a first structural member at least partially adjacent a second structural member to define an interface therebetween and inserting a rotating plug into the first and second structural members at the interface to thereby join the first structural member to the second structural member. The resulting friction plug weld provides a relatively strong joint between the structural members, requires less forming and machining time, and is compatible with single-sided tooling. Additionally, the friction plug weld is compatible with other joining methods, such as friction stir welding.

This invention relates to friction welding and, more specifically, to the joining of structural members by friction plug welding.
Structural assemblies, such as those in the aerospace industry, are often constructed by joining structural members together. The structural members can be joined to one another by welding along the joint interface between the members or using fasteners, such as rivets, screws, or bolts. Oftentimes it is necessary to join structural members that have complex geometries or configurations that complicate the joining process. For example, when joining structural members having curvilinear configurations, it can be difficult to position and secure the members relative to one another while preventing gapping and maintaining the joint interface free of obstruction. Similarly, some structural members have configurations that restrict access to the joint interface between the members. For example, when joining a dome to a cylinder to form a tank or the exterior of an aerospace vehicle, such as a rocket or missile, it can be difficult to simultaneously support and secure both the inside and outside of the dome and cylinder.
Conventionally, when joining structural members having complex configurations and/or joint interfaces that are difficult to access, a built-up structure or tooling is constructed between the structural members to assist in positioning and securing the structural members while they are joined. For example, when joining a dome to a cylinder, one or more backing plates or other support members (xe2x80x9ctoolingxe2x80x9d) can be added to the cylinder and dome to facilitate positioning the dome on the cylinder and to support the joint interface between the structural members as they are joined. The tooling can then be removed after the structural members are joined. However, constructing the tooling requires labor, time, and materials, thus increasing the manufacturing cost of the structural assembly. Similarly, the removal of the tooling requires additional labor and machining time, which further increases the manufacturing cost. In some cases, it can be difficult or impossible to access and remove the tooling after the structural members have been joined, which can adversely affect the overall weight of the resulting structural assembly. Weight and strength are of critical concern in the aerospace industry.
In seeking to reduce manufacturing costs, other methods of joining structural members having complex configurations have been proposed. One such method involves using fasteners, such as rivets, to join the structural members together. However, because rivets generally require pre-drilled holes, joining structural members using rivets can be labor intensive and time consuming. In addition, the types of joint configurations that can be joined using rivets are limited since rivets require that the structural members overlap at the joint interface or a support member or backing plate overlaps each of the structural members. Rivets can also interfere with the process of forming a secondary weld joint along the joint interface between the structural members. More specifically, the rivets may not be entirely consumed in the weld joint, which can result in stress concentrations in the finished structural assembly that can reduce the fatigue strength of the assembly.
Thus, there remains a need for an improved method of joining structural. members to form structural assemblies. The method should be cost effective and should facilitate the joining of structural members having a variety of configurations, including structural members having complex configurations or joint interfaces that are difficult to access. The method should be effective regardless of whether the structural members overlap. Additionally, the method should be compatible with other joining methods, such as fusion welding techniques and friction stir welding methods.
The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a structural assembly. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method includes the steps of positioning a first structural member at least partially adjacent a second structural member to define an interface therebetween. A rotating plug is then inserted into the first and second structural members at the interface to thereby join the first structural member to the second structural member. In one embodiment, the method of manufacturing includes drilling an aperture in at least one of the first and second structural members. The aperture is structured to receive the plug. In another embodiment, the plug is machined to predetermined dimensions before it is inserted into the first and second structural members. In another embodiment, at least one end of the plug is machined subsequent to inserting the plug so that the end of the plug is flush with the outer surface of the corresponding structural member. In another embodiment, the method includes forming an elongate weld joint between the first and second structural members along the interface and wherein the elongate weld joint at least partially consumes the plug. For example, according to one embodiment, the elongate weld joint is formed by inserting a rotating friction stir welding probe into the first and second structural members at the interface and moving the rotating friction stir welding probe through the first and second structural members along a path defined by the interface. In yet another embodiment, the method includes repeating the inserting step at positions along the interface. For example, according to one embodiment, a rotating plug is inserted at a position at least partially overlapping an existing plug. In still another embodiment, the method includes securing the structural assembly to other structural assemblies to form the frame of an aerospace vehicle.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the method of manufacturing a structural assembly includes the steps of positioning a first structural member at least partially adjacent a second structural member to define an interface therebetween. A plug is positioned adjacent the outer surface of the first structural member. The plug is rotated, and, concurrently with the rotating step, is inserted into the first and second structural members. In one embodiment, the method of manufacturing includes drilling an aperture in at least one of the first and second structural members. The aperture is structured to receive the plug. In another embodiment, the plug is machined to predetermined dimensions before it is inserted into the first and second structural members. In another embodiment, at least one end of the plug is machined subsequent to inserting the plug so that the end of the plug is flush with the outer surface of the corresponding structural member. In another embodiment, the method includes forming an elongate weld joint between the first and second structural members along the interface and wherein the elongate weld joint at least partially consumes the plug. For example, according to one embodiment, the elongate weld joint is formed by inserting a rotating friction stir welding probe into the first and second structural members at the interface and moving the rotating friction stir welding probe through the first and second structural members along a path defined by the interface. In yet another embodiment, the method includes repeating the inserting step at positions along the interface. For example, according to one embodiment, a rotating plug is inserted at a position at least partially overlapping an existing plug. In still another embodiment, the method includes securing the structural assembly to other structural assemblies to form the frame of an aerospace vehicle.
The present invention also provides a structural assembly comprising a first structural member and a second structural member that is positioned at least partially adjacent to the first structural member so as to define an interface therebetween. At least one friction plug weld joint joins the first structural member to the second structural member. In one embodiment, the friction plug weld joint has a tapered configuration. In another embodiment, the first and second structural members comprise different materials. In another embodiment, the first and second structural members are formed of aluminum, aluminum alloys, titanium, titanium alloys, or steel alloys. In another embodiment, the friction plug weld joint at least partially comprises a material different from the material forming at least one of the first and second structural members. In another embodiment, at least one friction plug weld joint at least partially overlaps another friction plug weld joint. In another embodiment, the friction plug weld joint is perpendicularly disposed in relation to the interface. In yet another embodiment, the friction plug weld joint is angularly disposed in relation to the interface. In still another embodiment, an elongate weld joint joins the first and second structural members. For example, according to one embodiment, the elongate weld joint comprises an arc weld joint, a resistance weld joint, a gas weld joint, or a friction stir weld joint. According to another embodiment, the elongate weld joint at least partially consumes at least one friction plug weld joint
The present invention also provides a structural assembly comprising a first structural member and a second structural member positioned at least partially adjacent to the first structural member so as to define an interface therebetween. At least one friction plug weld joint joins the first structural member to the second structural member and wherein the friction plug weld joint extends through the first structural member at the interface and at least partially into the second structural member. In one embodiment, the friction plug weld joint has a tapered configuration. In another embodiment, the first and second structural members comprise different materials. In another embodiment, the first and second structural members are formed of aluminum, aluminum alloys, titanium, titanium alloys, or steel alloys. In another embodiment, the friction plug weld joint at least partially comprises a material different from the material forming at least one of the first and second structural members. In another embodiment, at least one friction plug weld joint at least partially overlaps another friction plug weld joint. In another embodiment, the friction plug weld joint is perpendicularly disposed in relation to the interface. In yet another embodiment, the friction plug weld joint is angularly disposed in relation to the interface. In still another embodiment, an elongate weld joint joins the first and second structural members. For example, according to one embodiment, the elongate weld joint comprises an arc weld joint, a resistance weld joint, a gas weld joint, or a friction stir weld joint. According to another embodiment, the elongate weld joint at least partially consumes the at least one friction plug weld joint.
Accordingly, there has been provided a structural assembly and an associated method of manufacture allowing for the efficient joining of structural members. The method is cost effective and can be used to join structural members having a variety of configurations, including structural members having complex configurations or joint interfaces that are difficult to access. The method can be used regardless of whether the structural members overlap. Additionally, the method is compatible with other joining methods, such as fusion and friction stir welding techniques.

Joining of structural members by friction plug welding


An illumination unit includes one or more light sources and an optical member. The optical member includes an integrator having a first fly-eye lens on which light from a solid-state light-emitting device is incident and a second fly-eye lens on which the light from the first fly-eye lens is incident. The integrator uniformalizes an illuminance distribution of light in a predetermined illumination region illuminated by the light incident from the solid-state light-emitting device. Each of the first fly-eye lens and the second fly-eye lens has a plurality of cells. The cells of the first fly-eye lens are arranged in a first direction and a second direction that intersect each other, and positions of the cells in the second direction are different from one another at least partially among a plurality of cell rows arranged along the first direction in the first fly-eye lens.

The present disclosure relates to an illumination unit including a solid-state light emitting device such as a laser diode (LD), and a projection display unit and a direct view display unit which are equipped with the illumination unit.
In recent years, projectors for projecting an image onto a screen are being widely used in offices, as well as households. A typical projector generates image light by modulating light from a light source with a light bulb, and projects and displays the image light onto a screen (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-134324). Nowadays, palm-size, ultra-compact projectors, portable phones equipped with such an ultra-compact projector, and the like are commercially available.

Illumination unit, projection display unit, and direct view display unit


Processes for the polymerization of olefins with extracted metal carboxylate salts are provided. The polymerization processes have increased productivity and/or increased resin bulk density.

Metallocene catalysts are widely used to produce polyolefin polymers such as polyethylene polymers. They have provided efficient processes and a variety of new and improved polymers. However, there is continued focus in the industry on developing new and improved metallocene catalyst compositions. Some have focused on designing the catalyst compositions to produce new polymers, others on improved operability, and yet others on improving catalyst productivity. The productivity of a catalyst, that is, the amount of polymer produced per gram of the catalyst, can be an important concern for polyolefin producers. Reactor operability (e.g., lack of fouling and sheeting, etc. of the polymerization reactor) is another major concern for polyolefin producers. Reducing the occurrence of reactor fouling has commercial benefits in reduced down time for the reactor and improved output of polyolefin resin, as well as higher quality resin.
In order to address reactor fouling problems, other additives such as metal carboxylate salts are often added to the catalyst, either separately or as part of the supported catalyst composition. However, such additives can suppress catalyst productivity and resin bulk density.
Thus, it would be advantageous to have an improved polymerization process that utilizes metal carboxylate salts to address reactor fouling problems, for example, without having undesirable suppression of catalyst productivity and resin bulk density.


A PLZT based shutter system reduces flare produced by reflective surfaces normally associated with PLZT based and other SLR shutter systems by eliminating a diffraction mirror and using highly reflective electrodes directly on the PLZT element to function both as the reflective mirror and as the electrodes to produce the E field in the PLZT element. The invention has an improved performance by reducing flare and has a reduced parts count improving its manufacturability and reliability.

This invention relates to light shutters. In particular, this invention relates to electrooptic PLZT light shutters which might be used in a camera for example.
PLZT, which is lanthanum modified lead zirconate titanate, is a polycrystalline material, the structure of which is distorted by the application of an electric field in the material. This crystallographic distortion by an E-field alters the optical properties of the material causing what is known in the art as bi-refringence. A light wave incident upon the PLZT will split into two components. The light wave component perpendicular to the electric field and that which is parallel to the electric field travel at different velocities because the applied electric field changes the index of refraction of the material, depending upon the direction of propagation with respect to the orientation of the E-field. The two light wave components recombine upon exiting the PLZT crystal producing an effective rotation of the polarization of the light wave by the PLZT. With no field applied to the PLZT, light passes through the PLZT unaltered.
The ability of PLZT to rotate the polarization of a light wave has been used to provide a solid state electronic camera shutter when the PLZT is used in combination with at least one other discrete light polarizer. If a light polarizer oriented to polarize light at an angle of forty-five degrees to the E-field is optically coupled to send light to a PLZT element, which when it is subjected to an E-field rotates light ninety degrees, and a second polarizer receiving light from the PLZT is oriented to align with the rotated polarization vector, the light will pass through the second polarizer. When the E-field is removed, the PLZT will no longer rotate the light wave, passing light orthogonal to the orientation of the second polarizer which will then block the light.
A PLZT-based single lens reflex (SLR) shutter is shown in FIG. 1. A light beam from a light source is split into two components by a beam splitter (16) so that a user (32) can view the light source (by means of the reflector which is typically a prism) that will strike the target film (28) when the "shutter" is opened. Light (12) will strike the target film (28) if the light from the PLZT filter (24) is polarized by the PLZT to align with the orientation of the second polarizer (34). The first polarizer (22) orients the light (12) to a single direction so that the PLZT rotates the light to either align with or cross with the orientation of a second polarizer (34). Light from the PLZT (24) will either align with the second polarizer (34) or will be blocked by the polarizer (34) depending upon whether the E-field is applied or removed. (The rotation of polarization by the PLZT actually changes smoothly with the strength of the E-field. Increasing and decreasing field strength increases and decreases rotation substantially proportionately.) Light through the PLZT might have to be rotated in the PLZT or un-rotated depending upon the orientation of the light entering the PLZT, which is determined by the orientation of the first polarizer (22).
An electronic shutter is realized by the orientation of the polarizers (22 and 34) with respect to each other and the state of the E-field on the PLZT. If the first and second polarizers are aligned together, light will pass through both polarizers to the target (28) unless the light is rotated by the PLZT. If the first and second polarizers are orthogonal to each other, light will not pass through the second polarizer unless the PLZT rotates it.
In FIG. 1 a diffraction mirror (16) splits incoming light into two components (18 and 20) so that one component (18) is reflected to a user (32) permitting the user (32) to view what the film (28) will be exposed to. A significant problem with SLR shutter systems including prior art PLZT based shutter systems, is the flare produced by the electrodes on the PLZT surface as well as the flare produced by the diffraction mirror (16). This flare is light reflection produced by reflective surfaces (on the splitter (16), electrodes (26) and other surfaces) which blurs or distorts the image received at the film (28).
Prior art SLR shutters including PLZT based shutters have attempted to reduce the amount of flare by coating reflective surfaces with dark colored, light absorbing coatings. PLZT-based shutters in particular have required coated electrodes on the PLZT element (24) to reduce flare. These coated electrodes have been painted black and the spacing and reflecting bar width of the diffraction mirror coatings being adjusted to reduce flare.
Prior art attempts to reduce the amount of flare are expensive and require precision manufacturing techniques. A PLZT based shutter system which reduces optical flare would be an improvement over the prior art.


A lighting apparatus of the present invention includes a discharge lamp incorporating a detecting element having a predetermined electrical characteristic, a detector circuit to discriminate the electrical characteristic of the detecting element and a lighting circuit to light the discharge lamp according to the output from the detector circuit. According to the lighting apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to detect whether a discharge lamp mounted in the socket is an adapted lamp without necessity for lighting the discharge lamp.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lighting apparatus for lighting a discharge lamp.
2. Description of the Related Art
The technique to detect wattage of a discharge lamp by detecting an electrical characteristic of the discharge lamp when it is lighted in order to prevent the erroneous mounting of a discharge lamp having a different rated lamp voltage in a socket has been disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application JP-A No, 7-106088.
This type of lamp base has become commonly used for different kinds of lamps in recent years because different kinds of lamps may be erroneously mounted in different kinds of lamp sockets.
However, in the conventional technology disclosed in the Published Unexamined Patent Application JP-A No. 7-106088, there is a problem that even the same type lamps have different wattage ratings, it is not possible to prevent erroneous mounting of these high pressure discharge lamps and incandescent lamps.
Further, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, in order to detect that a lamp mounted in a socket is properly adapted from the viewpoint of its type and rated power, the mounted lamp must be lighted. Therefore, if a high pressure discharge lamp that has a lower rated lamp power is lighted in a high pressure discharge lamp lighting apparatus, this lamp receives an overcurrent and may possibly burst.

Lighting apparatus including circuit to detect an electrical characteristic of a component of a lamp mounted in the apparatus

Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation


In order to easily automate the coupling work of a pipe and a hose without damaging the mechanical strength of the structure, a hose with a coupling portion includes a nipple, a hose inserted into the end portion of the nipple, and a resin covering portion integrally covering the coupled portion of the hose and the pipe, the hose being previously configured to include a general part having an inner diameter equal to that of the nipple, a first enlarged part having a diameter enlarged at the fore end of the general part, the inner diameter of the enlarged part being smaller than the outer diameter of the nipple, and a second enlarged part having an inner diameter which gradually increases starting from the fore end of the first enlarged part and becoming larger than the outer diameter of the nipple, the first and second enlarged parts being applied to the nipple.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hose coupling structure for coupling hoses for cooling water in an internal combustion engine, for example. Generally, the structure has nipples, hoses each of which includes a coupling portion to be applied to the nipple, and mold portions covering the coupling portions coupled with the nipples. In fluid paths formed after the coupling portions of the hoses are coupled with the nipples, the inner diameter of each hose is substantially equal to that of each nipple.


A bed pad, an automobile seat pad, a pillow or a similar cushionlike item having therapeutic effects similar to those of finger pressure therapy, a good airing function and an improved adaptability to the head or waist of the user is provided. A cushionlike item according to the present invention has a series of continuously arranged bag portions containing a large number of stuffing elements of synthetic resin. In a preferred embodiment, the stuffing elements are hollow and spherical and are connected together vertically and horizontally to order to increase its airing function.

Cushions and other cushionlike items such as pillows containing kapok, fibre, cotton, down, wool, buckwheat-chaff, sponge and the like are well known. However, such an item is generally accompanied by certain disadvantages such as absorbing and retaining moisture from the exterior to become too wet and warm after a long period of use, in the case of a pillow, to keep the user's head cool enough to ensure an easy and comfortable sleep, and providing an unclean condition that can encourage germs and worms to proliferate. In order to eliminate these and other disadvantages, a pillow or a cushion using a mesh bag as a case and a number of small and short cylindrical plastic elements as stuffing has been proposed. A pillow or a similar item having such a construction generally has a good airing function and can meet the requirements of cooling the head and of having a height adjustability to provide ease and comfort of users. While such items have an advantage for providing comfort of easy and good sleep, they do not have any noticeable therapeutic effects of promoting blood circulation and curing kinks and sore muscles, effects similar to those that can be brought forth by finger pressure therapy and other physical therapeutic measures applicable to muscles and blood circulation.
A driver who has been driving an automobile for a long period of time can have a heavy fatigue and sore muscles and sometimes can fall in a heavy drowsiness, which will force him or her to pull in a drive-inn for rest and to spend some time until he or she can recover and resume driving to head for the destination. It would be very advantageous for an automobile driver if his or her car is equipped with a seat pad having the therapeutic effects of physically maintaining the driver's posture in the correct position, softening stiffened muscles of the neck, back and waist, promoting blood circulation and preventing excessive perspiration due to the warm seat by means of a good airing function of the seat.
While a conventional bed pad, which is generally made of wool, synthetic fibre or cotton textile and placed between the bed sheet and the mattress of a bed, may be good for an easy and comfortable sleep, it does not have any therapeutic effects similar to those of finger pressure therapy of promoting blood circulation and curing kinks nor effects of keeping its temperature and humidity to a level which is required to ensure an easy and comfortable sleep.
Differently stated, conventional cushions and other cushionlike items are mostly soft cushions and do not have therapeutic effects of physically keeping user's posture in good position and promoting blood circulation of his or her body that hard cushions can claim they possess.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a bed pad, an automobile seat pad, a pillow or a similar cushionlike item having the effects of promoting blood circulation, curing kinks and other sore muscles similar to those of spot or finger pressure therapy and holding the user's posture in a correct position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bed pad, an automobile seat pad, a pillow or a similar cushionlike item which contains short cylindrical stuffing elements having an improved airing function by increasing space among them without forming grooves on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical elements.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cushionlike item which is hard and rigid enough to keep itself in a form adapted to hold the head (or the waist) of the user and at the same time is soft and flexible enough to adjust its height to ensure user's comfort when used as a pillow by providing composite stuffing elements having a high coefficient of friction between one another.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a bed pad, an automobile seat pad, a pillow or a similar cushionlike item with stuffing of hollow spherical elements of synthetic resin arranged in a plurality of vertical and horizontal rows in order to provide a good airing function and generate therapeutic effects similar to those of finger pressure therapy in promoting blood circulation.

Bed pad, an automobile seat pad, a pillow or a similar cushionlike item


A mechanism for opening a door of a refrigerator from either the left side or the right side of the door includes a pair of first modules arranged symmetrically about the center line of the door on the left side and the right side of the door, and a pair of second modules arranged symmetrically about the center line of a refrigerator body on the left side and the right side of the refrigerator body. Each first module comprises an opening and a gear which is rotatably mounted on the door. Each second module comprises a rack configured to be engaged with one of the gears, a hinge, a rotating shaft and a guiding slider for guiding a rotation of one of the gears.

At present, for a commercially available refrigerator, a door is generally opened from the left side, and also has the function of opening from the right side, but it is necessary for an after-sales engineer to visit to replace a hinge or change the position of the hinge. This method has higher skill requirements for after-sales maintenance personnel and also reduces the use experience of a user.
In view of the above problems, it is necessary to provide a left-right door opening mechanism and a refrigerator.

Left-right door opening mechanism for a refrigerator


The invention relates to an improved robustness in upscaling the resolution of regularly sampled multi-dimensional signals, where a single low-resolution signal is available. These methods are referred to as example-based super-resolution or single-image super-resolution. A method for super-resolving a single image comprises three stages. First, an interpolation-based up-scaling of the input image is performed, followed by a Local De-noising step in contour regions. The second stage comprises extrapolation through cross-scale block matching, wherein an extrapolated high-frequency band is obtained that is de-noised through regularization in the same contour regions. The third stage comprises adding the contributions of the low-frequency band of the high-resolution image and the extrapolated high-frequency band.

Super-resolution (SR) processing is known as an improvement of the resolution of regularly sampled multi-dimensional signals. Of special interest is the case where only a low-resolution signal is available. It is a significant difference whether a single low-resolution signal is available or a plurality of similar low-resolution signals, since in the latter case it is possible to exploit richer data values by combining the contributions of the several available signals. In the image processing literature, these methods are generically referred to as example-based super-resolution or, more precisely, single-image super-resolution. Although the following remarks are general and can be applied to signals of different dimensionality, the focus will be on the case of 2D image super-resolution.
Image super-resolution techniques have been well known for many years, starting with "Super Resolution from Image Sequences" by M. Irani and S. Peleg. Most commonly, these techniques relate to the estimation of a high-resolution image, given a set of noisy, blurred, low-resolution observations, such as consecutive images in a video sequence, using a reconstruction process that reverses the image formation model. Thus, sub-pixel motion between images, camera and post-processing blur and sub-sampling are reversed in order to fuse the available data and obtain a super-resolved image. Several globally-optimal iterative techniques are available, which basically differ in the assumed image prior model. This provides unique solutions to the otherwise ill-posed problem.
In general, the limiting factors of these techniques are in the estimation of the Point Spread Function (PSF) for image deblurring and the registration, i.e. determination of the sub-pixel motion between images. Generally, SR techniques in the literature refer to classical Optical Flow (OF) estimation techniques for obtaining the registration. These work well in quasi-synthetic examples, but in practice the known solutions in OF estimation are unable to robustly register consecutive frames in video-sequences with sufficient accuracy when more general motion appears.
It is known that, under a wide range of natural conditions, reconstruction-based SR algorithms under Local Translation have a fundamental limit in a maximal increase in resolution of around 1.6×, while in synthetic scenarios, which is the commonly explored in most of the available publications, resolution increases of up to 5.7× are possible. This is due to the favorable conditions in terms of registration, when sub-pixel shifts are generally exact fractions of the pixel size.
An alternative type of SR algorithms attempts to increase the resolution of images by adequately enriching the input visual data (low-resolution images) with a-priori known examples of higher-resolution. These techniques are commonly referred to as example-based super-resolution (EBSR). In "Example-based super-resolution", W. T. Freeman, T. R. Jones and E. C. Pasztor obtain suitable high-resolution examples from a sufficiently generic image-patch data-base, the high-frequency contents of which are averaged and conveniently fused with the low-frequency contents of the input image. However, the performance of the algorithm worsens as the target scene deviates from the cases included in the example data-base (when none of the known patches actually resembles that of the input image). In practice, enlarging the size of the data-base would incur an excessive computational cost in the search for the best matching training patches. So, this technique is not generically usable, but is focused on super-resolving images of a certain class.
In order to cope with this problem and behave adaptively to the contents to be magnified, other EBSR algorithms extract high-resolution examples from within the single input image, for which a pyramid representation of the image at different resolutions can be obtained at small downscaling factors. Then, for every patch (e.g. 5×5 pixels) in the input image, matching patches are searched across all or part of the image at different resolutions (levels in the pyramid) in order to perform per-patch data fusion similarly to reconstruction-based super-resolution. This technique is best represented by "Super-Resolution from a Single Image" by D. Glasner, S. Bagon and M. Irani, and "Space-Time Super-Resolution from a Single Video" by O. Shahar, A. Faktor and M. Irani, which is a follow-up for video super-resolution. The authors obtain a simultaneous increase in image resolution and frame rate, including removal of temporal aliasing, at the cost of an increase of the computational complexity due to 3D spatio-temporal search across video frames at several spatial and temporal scales. This renders the approach unusable for real-time operation with current computing capabilities.
Other known approaches suffer also from being costly and in general not indicated for real-time approaches, or tending to produce some unrealistic-looking edges by imposing excessive contrast, or tending to generate over-smoothing in textured areas, which in a general case produces unnaturally looking images.
In "Image and Video Upscaling from Local Self-Examples" by G. Freedman and R. Fattal, the proposed strategy is to exploit self-similarity in a local neighborhood of each image patch. This is shown to provide results close to the full-image searches used in "Super-Resolution from a Single Image", with the benefit of a reduced computation time. A drawback of this approach is that the highly sophisticated design of the space-variant filters used for separating high-frequency from low-frequency in the images is not done on the fly, which results in a limited set of selectable up-scaling factors.
A particular problem arising in connection with generating SR data structures, in particular SR images, is that spatial artifacts (such as e.g. contour aliasing) are already included in the low resolution data structure, and the SR processing will usually emphasize these undesired structures.

Method and device for generating a super-resolution version of a low resolution input data structure


An interactive boxing training device is made up of an inner tube, an outer tube and a fluid propulsion system for propelling the outer tube outwardly along a generally horizontal axis in a stroke defined between a retracted position and an extended position, upon demand. A retraction system returns the outer tube to the retracted position after each stroke. The inner tube is mounted in a housing at a pivot point which allows 360 degrees of freedom of movement. The housing is itself mounted on an upright rail which allows the housing to have a vertically adjustable height. The retraction system is made up of one or more elastomeric elements which are stretched as the outer tube moves to the extended position and which are relaxed as the outer tube moves back to the retracted position. The housing is also removable from the upright rail so that the device can be pointed at a boxing trainee in order to simulate punches thrown at the boxing trainee.

A. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates generally to sports and fitness training systems and more specifically, to a training device for boxing, martial arts, reaction time training, or general recreational use, which physically interacts with a user by absorbing blows while throwing punches and counterpunches.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Boxing, kickboxing and martial art sports, referred to herein collectively as "boxing" sports, require a high degree of physical training. Reaction time is of paramount importance, particularly in boxing. As a result, the participants in these sports require a means of maintaining and improving the associated physical skills. In the past, boxers generally attempted to improve their hand-eye coordination and reaction time skills by punching passive devices such as heavyweight bags, speed bags or other types of basically passive targets. Alternatively, these participants have sparred against another fighter to hone their punching and kicking skills. Certain devices have attempted to produce a degree of physical interaction between the user and the devices with some degree of animation, but these devices have not been widely adopted and have not been generally successful in the marketplace.
Two exemplary prior art devices used in the past are the speed bag and double-end bag. The double-end bag is perhaps the only device currently on the market which requires some degree of blocking, dodging, ducking, deflecting, etc, as the bag is struck and then comes back at the user. This sort of simulated action can also be achieved, to some limited degree, with a speed bag by the user hitting the bag and, as it bounces back and forth, dodging the bag before it is hit again. Even with these capabilities, the speed bag and double-end bag fall far short of simulating the actual experience of boxing.
Thus, each of the two primary prior art training techniques, the passive bag or the use of a sparring partner, has its deficiencies. The passive devices only receive blows and offer little active resistance to the fighter. Sparring with another individual can cause injury to the participants of the sport. Medical research has shown that boxing and contact martial arts can cause various medical problems including such things as concussions, brain damage, injury to various parts of the head such as the mouth, eye and ear. Even an individual holding a pad while the participant strikes the pad may also be subject to injury.
The prior art training devices, for the most part, fail to provide a real-life sparring opportunity because they only accept punches without delivering punches or counterpunching. Thus, these devices are inadequate in preparing a boxer for a competitive match. A boxer must utilize the services of a sparring partner in order to properly prepare for competitive matches or bouts. They may also be ineffective in helping to improve the reaction time of a boxer, because of the inherently passive and somewhat clumsy nature of the devices.
Thus, there remains a need for a universal training apparatus which does not posses the disadvantages associated with the training devices of the prior art.
There exists a need, therefore, for a physical training interaction device in which physical movement of the device resembles the real life movement of a potential opponent, such as the punch delivered by a boxing opponent.
A need also exists for a device which will aid and/or develop timing and/or reaction skills of a participant using the training device.
In addition, a need exists for such a device which will train and/or improve hand and eye coordination, as well as promoting the general physical condition of a user, such as by providing a cardiovascular workout.
A further need exists for a device having the inherent physical characteristics which upon impact or engagement with the user provide a realistic feel of the timing skills needed in boxing or hand-to-hand combat.
A still further need exists for such a training device which may be adjusted for various physical attributes of the user or desired type of training and which allows for specific programmability of the training device.
There exists a need for such a device which is relatively simple in design and economical to manufacture.


The present disclosure relates to a seat rail for a vehicle having a lever shaft configured to be integrally combined with bracket flanges, whereby shaking of a release lever in the forward/backward and leftward/rightward directions may be reduced. When the release lever is rotated in a restoring direction thereof by an elastic force of a lever spring, lever flanges make contact with a locking mounting bracket and a restoring rotation of the release lever stops. In addition, an end portion of the lever spring may be held by and fixed to the release lever so as to improve operability of a locking pin.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Generally, a seat for a vehicle is configured to slidably move in forward/rearward directions of a vehicle by using a seat rail. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4B, the seat rail extends in the forward/rearward directions and includes a fixed rail 1 provided to be fixed to a floor panel in the vehicle and a moving rail 2 combined with the fixed rail 1 to slidably move along a longitudinal direction of the fixed rail 1.
Furthermore, the seat rail includes a locking apparatus so as to restrict movement of the moving rail 2 in the forward/rearward directions. The locking apparatus includes an electric-powered type operated by power of a motor and a manual type manipulated by a user.
As a kind of a manual type, a locking pin type realizing a more precise operation as multiple locking pins operate independently, as shown in the drawings, includes a locking mounting bracket 3, a release lever 4, a lever shaft 5, a lever spring 6, a guide bracket 7, multiple locking pins 8, and one locking pin spring 9 provided per each of the locking pins 8.
The locking mounting bracket 3 is combined on an upper surface of the moving rail 2 so as to be fixed thereto and includes opposing bracket flanges 3a provided thereon when the locking mounting bracket 3 is combined with the moving rail 2, the bracket flanges protruding from an outer side of the moving rail 2 in a side direction thereof and being spaced apart from each other in the forward/rearward directions.
The release lever 4 is positioned between the bracket flanges 3a, wherein the lever shaft 5 integrally passes through the opposing bracket flanges 3a and the release lever 4 in the forward/rearward directions and is combined therewith, and the lever spring 6 is wound on the lever shaft 5, a first end of the lever spring 6 being supported by the locking mounting bracket 3 and a second end thereof being supported by the release lever 4.
The release lever 4 includes a manipulation part 4a and an operation part 4b contacting with the locking pin 8. The manipulation part 4a protruding to an outer side of the seat rail relative to the lever shaft 5 is manipulated by a worker. The operation part 4b passes through the moving rail 2, and an end portion of the operation part 4b is positioned in the moving rail 2, and contacts with the locking pin 8 so as to move the locking pin 8 during the manipulation of the manipulation part 4a.
When a user presses down the release lever 4, the lever spring 6 is compressed, and when the release lever 4 being pressed down is released, the release lever 4 is restored to an initial position thereof by a restoring force of the lever spring 6.
The guide bracket 7 is an L-shaped bracket, a first end thereof being combined with an inner side surface of one side portion of the moving rail 2 so as to be fixed thereto and a second thereof being provided so as to pass through an inner space of the moving rail 2 in leftward/rightward directions of the seat rail.
The multiple locking pins 8 are arranged in a row in the forward/rearward directions, and each of the locking pins 8 is provided to integrally pass through the fixed rail 1, the guide bracket 7, the moving rail 2, and the locking mounting bracket 3 in a vertical direction and to move vertically. Opposite ends of the locking pin spring 9 are provided to be supported by the retainer 10 and a locking pin flange 8a.
The retainer 10 is provided on an inner side of the upper surface of the moving rail 2, and the locking pin flange 8a is provided to be integral to the locking pin 8.
However, as for a conventional seat rail, each of the bracket flanges 3a with which the lever shaft 5 is combined is cut on a side thereof in an upward direction so as to have an open hole 3b. Though the open hole 3b is configured to combine the lever shaft 5 with the bracket flange 3a, shaking of the release lever 4 increases due to the open hole 3b during the manipulation of the release lever 4, and as the shaking of the release lever 4 increases, the operability of the locking pin 8 deteriorates.
In addition, the moving rail 2 includes a window 11 provided on one side wall 2a thereof, and the operation part 4b of the release lever 4 is provided by passing through the window 11. As for the conventional seat rail, as a lower surface of the operation part 4b directly contacts with a lower surface 11a of the window 11 during manipulation of the release lever 4, a contact section is widely distributed, whereby operational noise is loud.
As shown in FIG. 1, when the manipulation part 4a of the release lever 4 is pressed down and released, the release lever 4 is restored to the initial position thereof as shown in FIG. 1 by the restoring force of the lever spring 6. In this case, the lower surface of the operation part 4b of the release lever 4 directly contacts with the lower surface 11a of the window 11 and noise occurs.
A reference number D1 shown in FIGS. 4A to 4B is a horizontal width of the operation part 4b, and as the entirety of the horizontal width D1 of the operation part 4b directly contacts with the lower surface 11a of the window 11, the contact section is widely distributed, and a loud operational noise occurs.
Furthermore, the second end of the lever spring 6 is configured to be supported by the release lever 4, and the conventional release lever 4 does not have a structure which the second end of the lever spring 6 is held in and fixed to. Accordingly, since the release lever 4 cannot be stably provided by the lever spring 6, the shaking of the release lever 4 increases during the manipulation of the release lever 4, and as the shaking of the release lever 4 increases, operability of the locking pin 8 deteriorates.


The present invention is directed to a method of mitigating ice build-up on a substrate, comprising applying to the substrate applying to the substrate a curable film-forming composition comprising:                (a) a resinous component comprising:                    (i) a polyepoxide;            (ii) a polysiloxane; and            (iii) an organooxysilane;                        (b) a polyamine and/or an aminosilane;        (c) at least one additional polysiloxane different from the polysiloxane of (ii) above, and        (d) optionally a catalyst.

Outdoor structures such as wind turbines, bridges, towers, tanks, and fleet vehicles such as railcars, buses, and trucks are constantly exposed to the elements and must be designed to endure temperature extremes, wind shears, precipitation, and other environmental hazards without significant damage or the need for constant maintenance, which may be time-consuming and costly. Build-up of ice on the substrate may lead to damage or even structural failure.
It would be desirable to provide a method of mitigating ice build-up to protect such outdoor structures and minimize need for repair or replacement.

Method of mitigating ice build-up on a substrate

Abstract: The film-forming compositions can be applied directly to the surface of the substrate or onto a primer coat on the substrate.


A compact rapid liquid chilling apparatus and method are provided. A liquid is placed in a container having an inherent void volume. The housing includes a container-securing space dimensioned to receive ice and maintain substantially all of the ice atop the container placed therein and in thermal communication with the container without allowing substantially any of the ice to fall below the container. A rotating mechanism disposed in the housing rotates the container placed in the container-securing space. As the ice melts as it chills the rotating container, the resulting water falls freely below the container as substantially all of the unmelted ice remains above the container. A lid preferably closes around the container to form a portion of the container-securing space when closed. The lid preferably includes an ice supply window, and an ice measuring bin preferably is attachable to the window.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for use in the rapid cooling of fluids in various containers, and more particularly to such devices suitable for cooling hot liquids such as soups, stocks, sauces, and the like, or pre-contained beverages such as soda, beer, energy drinks, or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
In the food preparation industry, kitchens create stock to be used in gravy, soups, and other foods served along with meals. The stock is made by cooking meat, bones, fat and the like in water to a temperature of 190° Fahrenheit to both pasteurize the mixture and allow the heated water to absorb the fat. It is currently common practice to create between 1 and 100 gallons of stock and let it sit in an open pot. The pot is usually stored in either a kitchen sink or a refrigerator/freezer. Often, as the stock is cooling off, airborne contaminants may enter the stock, creating a safety and health hazard in the kitchen and ultimately to the consumer. Bacteria also grows extremely rapidly in the temperature range between 140° and 41° F., often doubling every 20 minutes in this temperature range. The stock often takes between 1 to 7 hours to chill depending on the quantity and method of chilling.
There are several conventional methods of chilling stock. A common method is simply to place the stock into a refrigerator. Given that it takes two hours to chill 12 oz. of liquid in this manner, chilling a commercial quantity of stock in this manner requires an extremely long time (several hours, depending on the quantity to be chilled) to bring the stock down to a safe temperature of 40° F., and it often puts considerable strain on the refrigerator, raises the temperature of the refrigerator, and thus threatens the safety of all the food stored therein. Refrigerators are ill-served for this practice because they are not designed to chill hot food quickly, they are simply designed to keep cold food cold. Even food that is chilled in ambient air to room temperature (˜70° F.) and then placed in a refrigerator will still require a lot more chilling time to get to 40° F. The process may be accelerated by chilling the food in an ice water bath and then placing it into a refrigerator, however this will still take at least two hours and require a very large ice water bath to accommodate large quantities of food.
One conventional method that is slightly better than those mentioned above is to pour the stock/food into one gallon bags, place the bags into a cold water bath for at least an hour, and then place the bags into a refrigerator. Even so, there are drawback to this method, as it still takes too long and results in many individual units of stock/food that cannot be stored in a space-efficient manner (owing to the lack of a discrete shape to the bag). Also, the cold water bath temperature rises precipitously and the compressor is not strong enough to keep up with the rising temperature. As such, it is frequently necessary to add ice to the cold water bath. Additionally, the bags are single use and disposable. This method is thus not environmentally friendly as waste plastic is generated, nor is it economically friendly, as new bags must continually be purchased.
Another conventional way to hasten the cooling of such liquids is the use of a cold paddle or ice paddle such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,396 to Faiola. Typically, a plastic wand or paddle having one or more projections is filled with a cooling medium such as water, cooled or frozen in a refrigerator or freezer, and inserted into and stirred within the hot stock/food to hasten the cooling of the stock/food. There are many problems with such a device. First, the paddle must be inserted and stirred manually, which requires great effort on the part of the stirrer. Also, the stirrer must be positioned substantially right over or in front of the open vat of stock, which is an excellent way of communicating bacteria from the stirrer to the food. Additionally, the paddle is made of a lightweight material such as plastic to make it easy to handle, however plastic is not an exceptionally efficient transmitter of heat (i.e., it has good insulative properties). The paddle itself may also be contaminated with bacteria or traces of other foods into which it had previously been dipped, thereby directly introducing bacteria, allergens, or other undesirable foreign agents into the food. Moreover, operators tend to forget that water expands when it freezes, and they tend to fill the paddle completely with water prior to freezing. The result is that many such ice paddles crack when the water inside freezes and expands. Cracked paddles are extremely unsanitary and rapidly break down and must be replaced.
Other conventional methods include using a device called a "blast chiller", which is essentially a very powerful refrigerator. Typical blast chillers are manufactured by the Traulsen company of Fort Worth, Tex. However, a typical blast chiller will still take 90 minutes to cool 24 gallons of food from 135° F. to 40° F. Such a device would require about 2½ hours to cool 24 gallons of food from 190° F. to 40° F. and does not really benefit the commercial kitchen that generates up to 100 gallons of food at a time. Moreover, a typical blast chiller costs between $15,000 and $70,000, making it a very expensive appliance, especially for a small commercial kitchen.
Another existing device is called a tumble chiller which resembles an extremely large washing machine. It consists of a 4-5 foot diameter rotating drum disposed within an even larger water bath, and it accepts 4-8 quart bags of food. The food bags are sloshed around in the drum until cool. Typical tumble chillers are manufactured by the Cleveland Range company of Cleveland, Ohio. There are several disadvantages to the tumble chiller. First, it occupies an enormous amount of space. Second, it requires a large number of very small bags of material to be cooled. Third, because the bags flop around within the rotating drum, there is a significant chance of breakage. Additionally, when the bags are removed, because they have no discernible shape, they are difficult to stack and store. Moreover, a typical tumble chiller costs between $50,000 and $100,000, an extremely expensive proposition.
All of the above conventional devices are poor at rapidly cooling hot bulk liquid yet are designed for use in large commercial kitchens. None are suitable for small commercial kitchens such as those of restaurants, bars, and the like.
A vastly improved stock chilling device is disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/044,260 to Loibl et al., filed Mar. 7, 2008, and entitled "Rapid Fluid Cooling System and Method for Hot Bulk Liquids and Container Therefor" (having substantially the same inventors as the instant inventors and which is assigned to the same instant assignee), the teachings of which are incorporated by reference herein. This device works rapidly and efficiently. However, it is rather large and designed for large commercial kitchens. Small- to medium-sized kitchens, such as in a restaurant or a bar, would have difficulty accommodating the bulk and expense of this device.
There also exist devices designed to rapidly chill beverages in containers, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,505,054 and 6,662,574 to Loibl et al. (having substantially the same inventors as the instant inventors and which are assigned to the same instant assignee), the teachings of which are incorporated by reference herein. Both patents teach devices which chiefly use ice water stored in a reservoir as a cooling medium. A pump forces the water component up to a spray jet which sprays the container as it is rotated rapidly.
Accordingly, there is a long-felt need to provide a system and device for rapidly cooling and subsequent storing of moderately large quantities of extremely hot liquids such as commercially prepared stocks, soups, sauces, gravies, and the like, that is simple and inexpensive to use and to manufacture and has a small overall footprint. There is also a long felt need to provide an inexpensive, simple to use, and simple to manufacture device to chill beverage containers rapidly, even simpler than the existing Loibl devices mentioned above.

Compact rapid chilling device and compact method of rapidly chilling contained liquids

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art


An optical unit may include a movable body having an optical module, a fixed body, a support mechanism which turnably supports the movable body with respect to the fixed body with one or a plurality of directions intersecting an optical axis direction as a direction of a turning axis, and a flexible wiring board whose one end is connected with a connection part provided in the movable body and which is provided with a flat face region facing the optical axis direction. The flat face region is disposed on a side in a first intersecting direction intersecting the optical axis direction with respect to the movable body and is provided with a curved part curved without overlapping in the optical axis direction and is structured so that at least a part of the flat face region is overlapped with a position of the turning axis in the optical axis direction.

Conventionally, various optical units have been used which include a movable body having an optical module, a fixed body which holds the movable body in a displaceable manner, and a flexible wiring board which is connected with the movable body. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-232708 (Patent Literature 1), an optical unit is disclosed which includes a movable module which holds an optical element, a fixed body which holds the movable module in a displaceable manner, and a flexible wiring board whose one end is connected with the movable module in a state that the flexible wiring board is folded at a position overlapping with the movable module in an optical axis direction.
In a conventional optical unit which includes a movable body, a fixed body and a flexible wiring board, the flexible wiring board is displaced with displacement of the movable body and thus, a load is applied to the flexible wiring board accompanied with displacement of the flexible wiring board and the flexible wiring board may be damaged. In the optical unit disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the flexible wiring board is disposed in a folded state and thus, a length of the flexible wiring board can be increased and a load applied to the flexible wiring board can be reduced. However, in the structure that a flexible wiring board is disposed in a folded state as described above, there is a case that a folding method of a flexible wiring board is difficult and a folded shape may vary with passage of time. Further, variation of a folded shape may cause variation of a reduction effect of a load which is applied to a flexible wiring board.