There is disclosed an object locator system for obtaining information about the location of an individual, animal or moveable object, having a lightweight, attached object locator, that is present in a region served by a two-way paging system and a global positioning satellite system. The object locator may be selectively activated to conserve power or enabled to respond only when beyond a boundary.

The present disclosure pertains generally to electronic personal locating devices for determining the location or position of a pet, an object or a person, and more particularly, a device for determining the location or position of the object by utilizing the capabilities of two-way paging systems and global positioning satellite systems.
Tracking the location of an individual or an object or even an animal such as a domesticated animal or a pet that can move in unknown directions over a considerable range of territory has been a concern for a number of years. A number of systems have been proposed which employ existing wireless communication capabilities but which tend to be cumbersome, bulky, expensive or all of the above. With the advent of global positioning system (GPS) services, it has been possible to provide relatively inexpensive location systems for determining the location of a moving object. These have typically been utilized on trucks to provide location information for companies that have large fleets of trucks in use at any one particular time. The position of an individual truck is determined by coincident reception of signals from at least three GPS satellites by a satellite receiver, which position can then be stored or can be transmitted to a central receiving station via some sort of wireless link. Moreover, the wireless link can be a two-way communication link wherein the positioning information is only transmitted in response to receiving a request. However, the global positioning system (GPS) has some disadvantages in that it is relatively slow in acquiring the location data and it is strongly dependent upon the target object being in an open area where it is in a line of sight position relative to at least three GPS satellites. A further disadvantage, particularly in a small, portable unit, is that the GPS receiver that must be included in a locating device requires the use of substantial electrical energy during the period in which the location information is being acquired and developed from the GPS system. Further, a small portable object locator, in addition to minimizing the use of electrical power while being subject to less than ideal orientations to enable quick and efficient location by the GPS system, must also be very simple and easy to use.
The object locator described in the present disclosure and claimed herein comprises an apparatus and a method for locating or tracking an individual, an object or an animal having attached thereto an object locator operable to communicate with a base station location via a two-way paging system and further operable to acquire location information downloaded from a GPS system. A query for location information about the individual object or animal may be transmitted from the base station over the paging system to a paging receiver integrated with the object locator. Following the query, a signal enabling a GPS receiver in the object locator to acquire the location information for the position of the individual, object or animal from the GPS system is generated in the object locator. Thus enabled, the GPS receiver and the object locator receive the location information from the GPS system and store it in a memory in the object locator. The GPS receiver in the object locator may then be disabled to conserve power. The location information stored in the memory of the object locator, may then be loaded into a paging transmitter, also integrated with the object locator, and transmitted via the paging system to the base station. Upon receipt by the base station, the location information for the individual, the object or the animal may be output in some form that is readable or useful to a person at the base station or to a person who has access to the base station or to a person accessible to the base station.


Disclosed herein is a control apparatus for accepting a request for transmission of a content from a content transmission apparatus to the control apparatus and for passing on the request to the content transmission apparatus by way of a communication network allowing a transmission quality to be reserved and for issuing a request to a content accounting server to carry out a content accounting process according to the substance and content quality wherein the control apparatus: receives a specified substance and quality of the content and transmits a request to the content transmission apparatus to transmit the content; determines a transmission quality on the basis of the specified content quality and makes a reservation for the determined transmission quality of a transmission line on the basis of the transmission quality; and issues a request to a transmission-quality accounting server to carry out an accounting process according to the transmission quality.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control apparatus for carrying out processing such as a process of issuing a request to a content transmission apparatus as a request for a content to be transmitted from the content transmission apparatus to the control apparatus and a process of reserving the transmission quality of a transmission line required for transmitting the content from the content transmission apparatus to a content request originator operating the control apparatus in a communication network allowing the quality of transmission to be reserved. The present invention also relates to a content transmission system employing the control and content transmission apparatus connected to each other by the communication network and relates to a content transmission method adopted by the content transmission system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a communication network such as the contemporary Internet, a user is allowed to select the quality of a content transmitted in a VOD (Video On Demand) service of the communication network whereas an accounting server is capable of carrying out an accounting process for the service. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-270309 discloses a technology capable of collecting a cost proper for the quality of a pay streaming content actually listened to by the user in a service to distribute the content through a communication network.
In addition, in the communication network such as the contemporary Internet, a user is allowed to make a band reservation contract and pay a cost for the reserved band. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-51486 discloses a technology capable of shortening a download time to any arbitrary value and setting the quality of an image being displayed in a streaming operation at any arbitrary value in a transaction carried out by content transmitting and receiving apparatus to purchase and sell or borrow and lend a band.

Control apparatus, content transmission system and content transmission method


A method of writing servo signals on a magnetic tape which comprises irradiating one end of an optical fiber bundle (12) comprising a plurality of optical fibers (11) arrayed in parallel with each other with laser light, transmitting the laser light (24) emitted from the other end as an output light source through a condensing lens (13), and irradiating a site of a magnetic tape running at a prescribed speed, the site being capable of forming servo tracks, with the laser light passed through the condensing lens (13) to form real images (25) equal to or smaller in size than the output light source to cause the site to change physically or chemically thereby forming a plurality of servo track patterns (S) in the longitudinal direction of the tape at a smaller pitch than the pitch of the optical fibers (11) arrayed in the optical fiber bundle (12).

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for writing servo signals on a magnetic tape, by which servo tracks can be formed at a small pitch.
One of means for increasing the recording capacity of magnetic tape is to increase the density of data tracks. However, as the track density increases, the distance between adjacent data tracks is shortened, and it becomes more likely that the magnetic head strays off the right position during data recording or reproduction, failing to keep accuracy of recording or reproduction. Various servo tracking systems have been proposed to address this problem.
One of typical servo tracking systems for magnetic tape is formation of servo tracks corresponding to servo signals on a magnetic tape magnetically or by mechanical stamping. According to this system, the smaller the distance between servo tracks formed, the more accurate the servo control. To achieve this, however, a complicated or large-sized apparatus is required.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for writing servo signals on a magnetic tape which will make it possible to easily form a large number of servo tracks at a small pitch.
The present invention accomplishes the above object by providing a method of writing servo signals on a magnetic tape which comprises irradiating one end of an optical fiber bundle comprising a plurality of optical fibers arrayed in parallel with each other with laser light, transmitting the laser light emitted from the other end as an output light source through a condensing lens, and irradiating a site of a magnetic tape running at a prescribed speed, the site being capable of forming servo tracks, with the laser light passed through the condensing lens to form real images equal to or smaller in size than the output light source to cause the site to change physically or chemically thereby forming a plurality of servo track patterns in the longitudinal direction of the tape at a smaller pitch than the pitch of the optical fibers arrayed in the optical fiber bundle.
The present invention also provides an apparatus for writing servo signals on a magnetic tape, which is preferably used to carry out the above-mentioned method, which comprises a system for running magnetic tape, a system for writing servo signals on the magnetic tape (hereinafter, servo signal writing system), and a light source system providing laser light incident upon the servo signal writing system, wherein:
the servo signal writing system has an optical fiber bundle where a plurality of optical fibers are arrayed in parallel to each other with the center axes of the individual optical fibers being coplanar and a condensing lens which receives the laser light emitted from the end of the optical fiber bundle, the optical fiber bundle and the lens being disposed such that the direction in which real images of the output laser light source formed through the lens are aligned and the running direction of the magnetic tape may make an angle larger than 0xc2x0 and smaller than 90xc2x0 when viewed from above.
The present invention also provides an apparatus for writing servo signals on a magnetic tape which comprises a system for running magnetic tape, a system for writing servo signals on the magnetic tape (hereinafter, servo signal writing system), and a light source system providing laser light incident upon the servo signal writing system, wherein:
the servo signal writing system has a group of two or more optical fiber bundles each having a plurality of optical fibers arrayed in parallel to each other with the center axes of the individual optical fibers being coplanar, the optical fiber bundles being superposed on each other in such a manner that real images may be formed at a smaller pitch than the pitch of real images formed by the individual optical fiber bundles.

Method of writing servo signal on magnetic tape


An image forming apparatus includes an execution controller for operating a function to be operated with function settings provided in a program. When a program is received by a program receiver, the execution controller causes a display controller to display box data stored in a document box related to the received program on a box data selection screen. Subsequently, after the box data selected and input on the displayed box data selection screen is received by a box data receiver, the execution controller handles the received box data as input data and operates the function to be operated with the function settings provided in the received program.

The present disclosure relates to a technology for handling data stored in a document box as input data for function items and operating a function executable in an image forming apparatus with a document box.
Conventionally, document boxes used to execute various functional operations executable in an image forming apparatus such as a digital complex machine or a copier have been provided in the image forming apparatus (prior art 1). These document boxes are for storing data read by a scanner and data input via a network from an external apparatus such as a personal computer. The stored data are, for example, output to an external apparatus connected via the network or printed.
There is also known an image forming apparatus capable of registering set parameters necessary to operate a function such as facsimile transmission instructed by a series of operations as a program (prior art 2). In this image forming apparatus, an operation in accordance with the program can be repeatedly performed by reading the registered program.
However, even if the technology of the prior art 2 is applied to the image forming apparatus with document boxes of the prior art 1, a user needs to take time and effort for a plurality of operations. That is, to operate a desired function in accordance with a desired program for data stored in the document box, after performing an operation to designate a document box, the user needs to determine input data by performing an operation to designate desired input data out of data stored in the designated document box and further perform an operation to designate a desired program out of the registered programs.
An object of the present disclosure is to improve user convenience in the case of operating a desired function for data stored in a document box.

Image forming apparatus with document box for storing input data relating to execution conditions of functions executable by the image forming apparatus


A system and method are provided for defining slop parameters to an individual spread order or a customized group of orders. The system and method may be used to, for example, define inside slop, outside slop, and/or adjustable range parameters to one or more orders. The inside slop, outside slop, and/or adjustable range parameters may be input by a trader, and, among other things, allow a trader to prioritize orders, set parameters so that some orders are re-priced more aggressively than other spread orders. Alternatively, slop parameters associated with a spread order may also apply more restrictive slop parameters to orders within the same adjustable range. Slop parameters associated with a spread order can also be configured and modified by a trader based on the trader's preferences. Other features and advantages are described herein.

Electronic trading includes a host exchange that has a central computer in which bids and offers are received and executed, if a match exists between them. The host exchange provides a summary of the bids and offers for viewing by those traders that have access to the system. The traders can monitor their screens and freely enter bids or offers, which are then communicated to the host exchange.
The host exchange generally offers many tradeable objects to trade. As used herein, the term "tradeable object," refers simply to anything that can be traded with a quantity and/or price. It includes, but is not limited to, all types of tradeable events, goods, and financial products. For instance, stocks, options, bonds, futures, currency, and warrants, as well as funds, derivatives and collections of the foregoing, and all types of commodities, such as grains, energy, and metals may be considered tradeable objects. A tradeable object may be "real," such as products that are listed by an exchange for trading, or "synthetic," such as a combination of real products that is created by the user. A tradeable object could actually be a combination of other tradeable objects, such as a class of tradeable objects.
For each tradeable object, the host exchange generally provides information to interested parties on how the tradeable object is traded at the exchange. Included in this information are the types of messages that can be communicated with the host exchange. At one level, the host exchange provides information on the message headers, payload, and trailers necessary to interface the exchange. Beyond that, the host exchange provides information on how to open a connection, obtain market information, add an order, change an order, delete an order, close a connection, and so on. The information provided by a host exchange can be as simple or complex as the exchange deems necessary to offer its particular tradeable objects for trade.
Each trading network or trading station is then provided with the same sort of information from the host exchange in its data feed. At each trading station is application software that is run to collect certain pieces of information from this data feed and it is displayed to the trader. From this display, a trader may view this information and make decisions on whether to enter an order, modify an order, or perform some other trading related operation. Sometimes the decisions regarding a trader's particular trading strategy are performed by a computer itself given initial instruction by the trader.
Sometimes, on their machines, traders use trading tools that automatically or semi-automatically send orders to the exchange. Such trading tools are usually provided to, among other things; facilitate fast and accurate order entry. For instance, an automated tool might quickly calculate one or more order parameters, such as order price or order quantity, based on market conditions, or some other reference condition, and then automatically or semi-automatically send an order with these parameters to an exchange for matching. And according to many existing and popular exchanges today, orders are electronically entered in an exchange order book in the sequence in which they are entered into the market (e.g., a first-in, first-out, or FIFO matching system). Based on this sequence, and the availability of market quantity, orders are filled, with priority given to the first order entered, then the second (next) order entered, and so forth.
Using a conventional automated or semi-automated tool, however, when the condition for which the order parameter was based on changes, the trading tool must usually calculate the order parameter and then move or re-price the order in the exchange order book to a new price associated with the new order parameter. As a result, the original order position in the exchange order book is lost and the trader might also be charged a fee each time the order is moved or re-priced in the market. Therefore, for the same reason that automated or semi-automated trading tools make desirable trading tools (e.g., they can rapidly fire orders and/or order changes into the market to capture market opportunities before the competition), such tools can also make undesirable trading tools because, among other things, they can quickly consume network bandwidth, loss of queue position and they can lead to a significant increase in exchange related fees.
In such an electronic marketplace, it becomes desirable to offer tools for use with an automated or semi-automated trading tool.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for regulating order entry in an electronic trading environment

Trading Technologies International, Inc.


A retaining wall system is constructed in several distinct layers. Each layer is formed of a side-by-side arrangement of I-shaped subassemblies with backfill chambers defined between each pair of subassemblies. Each subassembly is constructed of generally planar elongated concrete blocks which interconnect to laterally secure the blocks to one another. Interconnections are provided by dovetail joints in which a tongue is vertically slid into a groove to prevent lateral separation. The dovetail elements extend only partially across the face of each block so that the block defining the groove is not excessively weakened by the groove.

Conventional retaining walls are used to secure earth embankments against sliding and slumping. Retaining walls are made of various materials such as concrete, solid masonry, wood ties, bricks and blocks of stone and concrete. Typically, blocks are placed in rows overlaying on top of each other to form a wall. An example of such a system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,876 to Forsberg, which shows each block having a decorative exterior face so that the wall presents an attractive appearance. For taller walls, a horizontal tie-back sheet must be located between lower layers of blocks, anchored to pins in the blocks, and extended rearwardly into an excavated area to be backfilled for retaining the lower portions of the wall against the outward force of the earth being retained. Because excavation is costly, and the tie-back sheet must extend rearward at least 2/3 of the wall height, this type of wall often is not cost effective. Also, where a single thickness of blocks must retain the earth, each block must be of appreciable size and weight, making handling for installation difficult. In addition, because different face textures are required for different applications, a variety of entirely different blocks must be fabricated and stocked.
To avoid the disadvantages of the heavy unitary blocks of Forsberg and the cost of the tie-back sheet, which requires substantial earthmoving and careful filling and grading of one layer at a time, walls systems having interlocking subcomponents have been employed.
Such a system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,999 to Ruckstuhl. In this system, a frontal or face block is attached at its rear surface with a single connecting or anchoring block, or with blocks that may extend in lateral layers deep into the slope to anchor the wall. In such an arrangement, each layer that extends laterally into the slope is a substantially solid layer formed of blocks that do not easily slide apart. To provide adequate anchoring, such anchoring layers are spaced apart, with slope material backfilled between the layers. Each layer of backfill material must be carefully graded so that the anchoring layer installed on top of the backfill is substantially even, preventing vertical misalignments that may weaken or disengage the blocks.
Another concrete block wall system also using mechanical connections is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,378 to Scheiwiller. This system is used for freestanding walls and vertical retaining walls. No anchoring layers are provided because reinforced vertical beams are cast as part of the structure, with external blocks attached to the structure by dovetail joints. In Scheiwiller, the face blocks are attached to vertical columns. Therefore, sloped and sinuous wall structures may not be formed because such structures require that each succeeding layer be laterally offset in places relative to the layer on which it rests.
A further disadvantage of concrete block systems having mechanically attached blocks is that the individual blocks are weakened by the dovetail joints used, and may easily break. This is particularly a problem in blocks having a dovetail groove or slot that reduces the thickness of a planar block, such as shown in Scheiwiller.

Interlocking retaining walls blocks and system


A self test device includes an operational element determining unit that calculates, based on operation parameters for the time of operation of a board on which a reconfigurable device is mounted, operational elements used in the devices of the board for the operation, and non-operational elements; an element assignment determining unit that assigns a self-test target from among the non-operational elements; and a testing unit that makes a test signal transmit through a test path that passes through the test target.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for a self test for diagnosing a reconfigurable device mounted on a board.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in an apparatus that includes a board separated for each function and mounted on a shelf, a self test is performed for each board prior to putting the apparatus into an operating state or when the apparatus is in a test mode. If a result of the self test is satisfactory, the apparatus is put into the operating state, and if the result is unsatisfactory, another board having a satisfactory result is used to put the apparatus into the operating state.
As a conventional self test method, for example, following techniques have been disclosed. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H9-62534 discloses a technology in which a self-diagnose, such as memory check, is performed utilizing an available time when no access exists for a predetermined period. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-196555 discloses a technology in which test data is input into a channel not being used among plural channels to detect a failure of the apparatus by comparing the output with expected values while other channels are used for data transmission. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-144261 discloses a technology for testing a field programmable gate array (FPGA) during operation thereof. In the technology, FPGA is divided into a normal operation work area and a self-test area, after the diagnosis in the self-test area is performed, a portion of the work area is set as the self-test area. Thus, by subsequently replacing a portion of the initial self-test area with the work area to diagnose the work area, FPGA can be tested even during the operation.
However, when the apparatus is put into the operating state, the self test for each board cannot be performed and when a failure occurs abruptly in the operating state, the operation is terminated. For example, if the apparatus is a radio apparatus, electric waves may not be transmitted, resulting in service termination.
In the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. H9-62534, the self diagnosis is performed for each fixed piece of hardware defined in advance and the self test cannot be performed for smaller unit of board segmented or for an element group on the board. Additionally, since the self diagnosis is performed in a spare time, the self diagnosis cannot be performed if the apparatus is continuously operated.
In the technology disclosed Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-196555, unless the channel not being used is available, the self diagnosis cannot be started for a path from the channel to the output. Since this technology is for a multiplexing apparatus that multiplexes plural channels with a multiplexing channel switch, the self diagnosis can only be performed from each channel within a predetermined switching range. Even if an unsatisfactory result is detected for each channel, this detection is related only to a range of the input stage of the input select switch and an input processing unit for each channel, and, at the time of failure of the multiplexing channel switch at a subsequent stage, transmission through other channels cannot be continued as well.
In the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-144261, since the normal operation work area and the self-test area are separated to perform the self-test, if the self-test area cannot be ensured, the self test cannot be started. A segment constituting the work region necessary for the normal operation is changed according to function and time, for example, based on the necessary data processing amount. However, the self-test area is not set corresponding to the changes in the segment constituting the work region, Therefore, if the data processing amount is increased, the self test is performed for the fixed self-test area, resulting in reduction of data processing efficiency, and the self test cannot be performed flexibly correspondingly to the operating state.

Self test device and self test method for reconfigurable device mounted board


Trusted user accounts of an application provider are determined. Graphs, such as trees, are created with each node corresponding to a trusted account. Each of the nodes is associated with a vouching quota, or the nodes may share a vouching quota. Untrusted user accounts are determined. For each of these untrusted accounts, a trusted user account that has a social networking relationship is determined. If the node corresponding to the trusted user account has enough vouching quota to vouch for the untrusted user account, then the quota is debited, a node is added for the untrusted user account to the graph, and the untrusted user account is vouched for. If not, available vouching quota may be borrowed from other nodes in the graph.

The success of the Internet can be largely attributed to the proliferation of online services. Online services play an indispensable role in people's daily lives, providing open and free access to activities such as email, search, social networking, and blogging. The popularity of the services and the open access model have, in turn, attracted attackers to leverage these free resources as a major attack venues. Within the last few years, millions of malicious accounts and their nefarious activities—including spam, phishing, social scam, and malware propagation—have become a pervasive problem throughout the Internet.
CAPTCHAs are widely deployed to prevent attackers from abusing services at a large scale. A CAPTCHA test typically has a user type letters or digits from a distorted image, which is easier to read for humans than for automated programs. CAPTCHAs are usually given to a user at service sign-up time and also frequently afterwards until the user establishes reputation. Although they are often effective to distinguish human users from bots, attackers have various mechanisms to bypass CAPTCHAs, such as by hiring cheap human labor.
It is commonly recognized that the social network structure may contribute to the defense against attacker created accounts, since a legitimate user would rarely establish connections with attackers. However, attackers are increasingly compromising legitimate user accounts, and using those accounts to connect to other malicious accounts. These malicious users invalidate the assumption that a legitimate user would rarely establish connections with other malicious users, and make preventing malicious attacks by leveraging social network relationships difficult.

Vouching for user account using social networking relationship


A control system is provided for starting electrically powered implements on a vehicle such as a grass mowing machine with electrically powered cutting reels. The electric motors are started at intervals, rather than simultaneously. The intervals between starting each electric motor may be based on pre-defined criteria such as a fixed time constant, voltage, current or speed input from a motor controller for each implement.

Grass mowing machines such as fairway mowers, greens mowers, trim mowers and other turf care products are commonly equipped with several powered implements such as cutting reels. In the past, these machines typically have been powered by internal combustion engines, and the cutting reels or other implements were driven by hydraulic motors. Increasingly, traction drives, cutting reels and/or other implements are being powered by electric motors. An example of an electric motor drive for a reel cutting unit is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,946,762. For example, a hybrid grass mowing machine may include an internal combustion engine to provide traction drive and turn an alternator or generator, which provides electrical power to electric reel motors that drive the cutting reels. Electric reel motors may include brush-less permanent magnet motors, commutated electric motors, and/or other electric motors, and may be powered directly by an engine driven alternator system, or by an energy storage device or fuel cell.
As an electrically driven implement such as a cutting reel is started, current draw by the electric motor is high compared to the steady state or running current needed to rotate the cutting reel. During start-up, a high torque is required to provide mechanical power to move the cutting reel. The torque must be sufficient to overcome inertia and system losses including electromagnetic losses of the electric reel motor and associated circuitry. As a result, to start turning the cutting reel, electrical power (the product of current and voltage) applied to the electric reel motor must be substantially larger than the steady state power that is needed after start-up. If voltage is held constant, start-up current for an electric reel motor is substantially higher than the steady state current for the motor. For example, start-up current required for an electric reel motor may be as high as 120 Amps DC.
With a typical alternator, particularly a Lundell-type alternator having an output rectifier, if more current is demanded than the alternator can supply, the alternator's output voltage will collapse, yet the current will not correspondingly increase. The alternator's electrical power output does not stay at the maximum available, but drops precipitously.
Efforts have been made to reduce the high start-up current needed for an electric reel motor. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,531,850 relates to a motor control for an electrical implement such as a reel mower that provides load control and eliminates high inrush currents and voltage and current transients, so that the electric reel motors can be started smoothly by bringing the voltage up gradually. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 7,007,446 relates to a circuit providing a gradual increase in current applied to an electric reel motor, to enable a gradual start-up of the motor.
When starting several electrically powered implements at the same time, however, the current draw is high. For example, start-up current for five electric reel motors may be five times 120 Amps DC. An alternator sufficient to handle the high starting current drawn by five electric reel motors may be oversized to run the motors in steady state.
For the above reasons, it is desired to provide a control system for starting electrically powered implements that reduces peak current demands on an alternator so that the available power will remain close to the alternator's maximum rating. It is desired to provide a control system for starting electrically powered implements that will reduce the current draw required to start up several electrically powered implements such as cutting reels on a grass mowing machine. It is desired to size an alternator for steady state current in an electrical system that starts and operates cutting reels or other implements. An improved control system is needed for starting electrically powered implements.

Control system for starting electrically powered implements


An agricultural implement, such as a row crop planter, has a main carrier frame drawn by a tractor and including support wheels. Individual row units are mounted on a lift frame. The carrier frame includes a cornered lift post which is mounted for rotation about a vertical axis. A cornered sleeve or collar in the form of a tube is mounted to the lift frame for vertical sliding motion on the lift post. A lift hydraulic cylinder couples the lift frame to the carrier frame for setting the lift frame in (i) a use position wherein the row units are lowered to engage the soil; (ii) an intermediate, raised position wherein the row units are disengaged, for negotiating end turns; or (iii) a fully raised position wherein the lift frame and row units may be rotated from a transverse position to a longitudinal position, to narrow the implement for road travel. A swing hydraulic cylinder is arranged to rotate the lift post when the lift frame is raised to the uppermost position, to torque the lift frame to a longitudinal position for transport.

Increased tractor horsepower has resulted in larger implements capable of planting or working a much wider swath in a single pass. Transport of these wide implements from a storage area to a field or from one field to another over roads has become an important design consideration. Some early planters required separate trailers for transport. In addition to the cost of these special-use transport trailers, these planters are limited in length by the practical requirements of having to load the implement on the trailer and to unload it. The time involved with the use of a separate trailer is increased because in loading the implement on the trailer and then in setting up the implement in the new field, the tractor must be unhitched from the implement and then hitched to the trailer, with the reverse procedure followed at the new site. This loss of time can be significant in view of the short time typically available when good planting conditions prevail, particularly when numerous fields must be planted using the same implement.
Other attempts to facilitate transport of larger implements include frames with pivoting wing sections on which row units are mounted which may be vertically folded. When folded, the implement is much greater in height, frequently causing problems when attempting to pass under bridges, through gates and into storage buildings. In addition, even with the two outer wing sections folded, because of the increasing size of agricultural implements, the fixed center section may also restrict transport and storage of the implement.
One improvement in planter design is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,893. This design allows the planter bar to fold rearwardly about its centerline, with links used to lock the two side sections, or wings, either in the use position, wherein the mounting bars are aligned and transverse to the direction of travel, or in the transport position in which the mounting bars for the two sets of row units are folded rearwardly and are parallel to the direction of travel of the tractor. Another improvement in planter design is represented by the system disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,904. This system permits the planter bar to be transported end-wise rather than by folding. My U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,168 discloses another improvement in large implement transport and storage which employs a cylindrical vertical pivot post for rotating a lift frame in combination with four bar linkage for raising and lowering the lift frame on a carrier frame.

Agricultural implement with common mechanism for raising/lowering and rotating a lift frame about a vertical axis


An apparatus and a method for recreating radio frequency (RF) conditions of a cellular network extracts significant RF effects from field test data, and recreates variable RF attenuation using a multi-channel attenuator. A field data processor converts the field test data to time-varying attenuator control values for each channel of the multi-channel attenuator. Accordingly, a mobile in the lab which is connected to the multi-channel attenuator sees the same carrier and interference levels that were observed in the field environment, allowing cellular communication equipment testing without repeated field testing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for recreating radio frequency (RF) field conditions using previously collected data, thus allowing wireless communications equipment testing and optimization without repeated field testing.
2. Description of Prior Art
The complexity of a typical cellular communication network, particularly a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, makes it difficult to accurately analyze, test, and optimize network parameters and equipment using computer simulation. Thus, field testing is typically performed using a mobile diagnostic device connected to a mobile phone (xe2x80x9cmobilexe2x80x9d) to gather field test data as the mobile moves throughout the network region.
One known mobile diagnostic device collects CDMA field data representing carrier and interference levels seen by a mobile, and stores the collected field data as a field test data file.
A mobile in a CDMA network repeatedly searches for and detects pilot signals transmitted from network cell sectors. The relative strengths of the pilot signals allow the mobile to determine which cell sector should handle call traffic, and allow controlled handoffs between cell sectors as the mobile moves through the CDMA network area. The mobile diagnostic device collects xe2x80x9csearcherxe2x80x9d data for each pilot detected by the diagnostic mobile at frequent intervals. Specifically, the mobile diagnostic device collects an Ec/Io value, representing the ratio of energy measured at the mobile""s demodulator to overall interference, for each detected pilot. The mobile diagnostic device further measures total pilot signal power, Ptpilot, received at the mobile at time t.
To optimize system parameters of a deployed cellular network, and test new algorithms (e.g., handoff algorithms), numerous RF performance tests are typically necessary. In other words, each time a system parameter is changed, a new test must be performed by using the mobile diagnostic to collect a new field test data file. Such repeated field testing is time-consuming. Furthermore, the RF conditions in the cellular network are constantly changing, and thus the reliability of repeated tests under changing field conditions is low.
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for recreating RF conditions of a cellular network from previously generated field test data. Cell sectors in a lab setting are connected to a computer-controlled, multi-channel attenuator device which, based on variable control values extracted from the field test data, creates a variable RF loss along a plurality of forward (cell sector to mobile) and reverse (mobile to cell sector) attenuation paths. Such variable control values represent the RF loss which occurred between the network cell sectors and the mobile diagnostic device.
Using a limited number of cell sectors and the multi-channel attenuator, the present invention recreates the network environment represented by the field test data so that a mobile phone connected to the multi-channel attenuator sees essentially the same carrier and interference levels that were observed by the mobile diagnostic device in the field. Thus, the present invention allows RF effects to be observed which were previously seen only in complex deployed cellular networks. Furthermore, since the test conditions remain exactly the same, network parameters can be tested independently of uncontrollable and dynamic parameters that are inevitable when repeated field tests are performed.

System and method for providing radio frequency conditions for testing wireless communications equipment


A communication system comprises: failure detection means that detects a failure on a first transmission path over which data transmission is being performed; transmission path setting means that, when the failure exists in a link or a node that is located immediately before its own node, sets a second transmission path as far as a transmission terminal node, the second transmission path that excludes a path from the transmission terminal node to a node that has detected the failure within the first transmission path; first failure notification means that transmits a failure notification signal as far as the transmission terminal node over the second transmission path; new path switching means that, upon receipt of the failure notification signal, switches a switch for data transmission so that a path for new data transmission is the same path as a transmission path for the failure notification signal; and data transmission means that, upon the transmission terminal node receiving the failure notification signal, switches the switch to the second transmission path and performs a new data transmission over the second transmission path.

Failure recovery techniques are extremely important for communication networks such as a photonic network when considering how to ensure that a network will have high reliability. The term "failure recovery" refers to switching a path from a active path on which a failure has occurred to a standby path when a failure such as a link disconnection or a node failure occurs.
A representative example of a failure recovery technique is 1:1 protection. Since the 1:1 protection technique does not cause data to flow on a standby path during normal operation, the 1:1 protection technique is receiving attention as a method that can make the maximum use of bands when considering the current situation in which increasing amounts of data are being transmitted within networks.
1:1 protection includes cases in which part of a standby path is shared by a plurality of active paths. As shown in FIG. 1, standby path 1′ for active path 1 and standby path 2′ for active path 2 share the same channel on a link between C and F. In this case, when a failure occurs on active path 1 or on active path 2, because part of the standby path is shared by a plurality of active paths, it is necessary for a node(s) on the standby path to set a pass for the standby path.
In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, nodes C and F are required to set the path for the standby path. A switch within the nodes is set so that data flows on standby path 1′ when a failure occurs in active path 1, and flows on standby path 2′ when a failure occurs in active path 2.
When part of a standby path is shared by a plurality of active paths, it is thus necessary to set a switch within a node on the standby path in the process of failure recovery. The flow of a conventional failure recovery will now be described.
First, a node on the active path that has detected the failure of the active path, provides notification that a failure has occurred in the transmission terminal node on the active path. Upon receipt of the notification, the transmission terminal node transmits a switch setting request signal as far as the receiving terminal node on the active path along a standby path for the active path on which the failure has occurred. A node that has received the switch setting request signal switches its switch to the standby path. The receiving terminal node on the active path that has received the switch setting request signal last time, switches its switch so that data can be received using the standby path, and then transmits a switch switching completion signal as far as the transmission terminal node on the active path along the standby path. Since switching of switches has been completed at all nodes, excluding the transmission terminal node on the standby path, the transmission terminal node on the active path that has received the switch switching completion signal determines that preparations for sending data on the standby path have been completed. Then, the transmission terminal node on the active path switches its switch from the active path to the standby path and causes data to flow along the standby path. Thus, the failure recovery operation has been completed.
However, the conventional failure recovery is problematic in that the failure recovery can not be performed at a high speed because much time is required in switch settings and in confirming completion of the settings during the failure recovery operation.
In order to achieve a high-speed failure recovery, Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses a technique in which, a node on an active path, which detects the failure of the active path, transmits a failure notification signal through flooding. The term "flooding" herein refers to the fact that a certain node transmits a packet to its all adjacent nodes.
A node that has received the failure notification signal retains therein information regarding all active paths within the network and standby paths that correspond to the active paths. A node that has received the failure notification signal determines from the failure notification signal and the path information whether or not its own node is a node on a standby path corresponding to the active path, the failure of which is detected. If its own node is a node on the standby path, the node switches its switch to the standby path, and transmits the received failure notification signal through flooding.
On the other hand, if its own node is not a node on the standby path corresponding to the active path, the failure of which is detected, the node transmits the received failure notification signal through flooding without switching its switch. Thus, switch setting is performed based on the failure notification signal from the node that has detected the failure, and the transmission terminal node on the standby path finally receives the failure notification signal through flooding. The failure recovery operation is completed when the transmission terminal node on the standby path switches its switch to the standby path.
In the technique disclosed by Patent Literature 1, prior to the reception of the failure notification signal by the transmission terminal node on the active path, each node switches its switch in response to a failure notification signal that is transmitted through flooding from the node that has detected the failure, thus enabling a high-speed failure recovery.
Patent Literature 2 discloses a technique in which a node that has detected a failure refers to a path table to select an alternative route, and transmits a switching request to an upstream branch node over the alternative route, thus enabling a high-speed failure recovery.
Patent Literature 3 discloses a technique in which, when the same path as a path which was used by a selected standby path is routed, a node that has detected the failure does not transmit a failure notification directly to an upstream node(s), but provides an instruction to a downstream node(s) on the overlapped route to transmit the failure notification.

Communication system, node device, communication method in the communication system, and program


An embossed paper-based bakeable tray having a bottom surface and sidewalls and an embossed pattern formed in the bottom surface providing a series of closely spaced projections substantially entirely over the bottom surface.

Paper-based, oven-ready or bakeable trays are well known in the art for baking, heating, or reheating foods. Such paper-based bakeable trays are commonly used by "take-and-bake" pizza companies. Paper-based bakeable trays are also used by makers of frozen pizza, partial baked "par-bake" and raw pizza dough. These paper-based bakeable trays include barrier coatings such that they are impermeable to liquids and can withstand typical oven temperatures. While these trays may serve their intended purpose, it has been found that when foods are baked in these conventional trays, the food may not cook uniformly. For example, when pizza is cooked on these conventional trays, that the pizza crust in the middle of the tray is often soft and doughy. Accordingly there is a need for a paper-based bakeable tray that promotes uniform cooking.
Additionally, conventional paper-based bakeable trays have a flat or substantially flat bottom. When the cooked food is allowed to sit in these flat bottom trays, the food often becomes soggy from condensation or from grease or other juices dripping from the food. Accordingly there is a need for a paper-based bakeable tray that minimizes or prevents the food baked within the tray from becoming soggy due to condensation or from sitting in its own juices while cooking or after cooking.


A speed bump and a speed bump transportation system are provided. The speed bump comprises: a base; a cover disposed opposite to the base and configured to be movable relative to the base; an electric-power generation device associated with the cover to scavenge energy through the cover and convert the energy into electrical energy; a first detection device for detecting a force condition of the cover and sending a first detection signal to a communication device when the cover is pressed; the communication device electrically connected to the first detection device and for sending a first communication signal when receiving the first detection signal, wherein the electric-power generation device is electrically connected to the communication device and the first detection device respectively to supply electric-power to the communication device and the first detection device.

In the related arts, in order to reduce the traveling speed of vehicles, ensure the safety of lives, and avoid occurrence of traffic accidents, a speed bump, which may also be termed as speed hump or decelerate bump/hump or the like, is provided on the road. When the vehicle passes the speed bump at a higher speed, violent vibrations are transmitted from the wheel to the driver via the vehicle body and the seat. In order to reduce the vibrations of the vehicle and the damages to the tire and the suspension system, the driver may have to brake so as to slowly pass the speed bumps. Thus, deceleration can be achieved.

BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A developer container includes a container body, a movable wall, and a stirring member. The container body is formed with a developer discharge port opening in a circumferential portion of the container body and communicating with an internal space for allowing discharge of developer therethrough. The movable wall includes an outer surface slidably in close contact with an inner surface of the container body, and a conveying surface defining a storage space for the developer, the movable wall being movable in the first direction in the internal space while conveying the developer in the storage space to the developer discharge port. The stirring member faces the developer discharge port in a direction intersecting the first direction and is rotatable to stir the developer in the storage space. The movement of the movable wall and the rotation of the stirring member are controlled independently of each other.

The present disclosure relates to a developer container for containing developer and an image forming apparatus including the developer container.
Conventionally, the following toner container is known as an example of developer containers for containing developer. The toner container includes a toner discharge port and a rotary stirring member. Toner is discharged through the toner discharge port by rotation of the stirring member.

Developer container and image forming apparatus including the same


A method and apparatus for accurately generating a digitally synthesized sinusoidal voltage is started by storing digital values for sine waveforms in a read only memory. A first and second digital to analog converters are connected to the read only memory through latches. The outputs of the first and second digital to analog converters are alternatively switched between the inverting input and the non-inverting input of an operational amplifier such that one of the first and second digital to analog converter is connected to the inverting input while the other is connected to the non-inverting input. The output of the operational amplifier is connected to the inverting input through a variable capacitance, the feedback being determined by the one of the first and second digital to analog converter connected to the inverting input. A clock is used to control the connection of the first and second digital to analog converter to the inverting input and to control the determination of the feedback.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to voltage waveform generation systems and more particularly to the digital generation of synthetic alternating current voltage waveforms in the audio frequency range.
2. Related Prior Art
Digitally-synthesized sine-wave sources have become commonplace in metrology laboratories in recent years, particularly where a precise knowledge of the phase angle between two waveforms is re Impedance and power bridges, as well as phase angle rely on waveform synthesis techniques to achieve state-of-the-art accuracy. The approach has been applied to ac-voltage with some success; however, imperfections in the steps used to generate the waveforms have limited the ability to calculate the rms value of the ac signal based on a knowledge of the static voltage of each step. Transient energy due to waveform aberrations at the step transitions (often referred to as "glitches") adds to the signal power making it difficult to predict the rms value accurately.

Digitally synthesized audio frequency voltage source

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Commerce


A method of decommissioning a nuclear facility, including: exposing the plurality of upper penetration holes by removing the plurality of sandboxes; enlarging an upper space of the cavity by cutting an upper portion of the biological shield concrete that is disposed between the plurality of upper penetration holes and between the plurality of upper penetration holes and the cavity; and separating the nuclear reactor pressure vessel from the biological shield concrete.

In general, among nuclear facilities used for nuclear power generation, a pressurized light water reactor type of nuclear power plant includes a reactor pressure vessel and a cavity in which the reactor pressure vessel is positioned, and includes biological shield concrete surrounding the reactor pressure vessel.
In decommissioning of a nuclear facility, it is necessary to expand a space above the cavity to secure a working space in order to easily separate the reactor pressure vessel from the biological shield concrete.

Method for decommissioning nuclear facilities


Embodiments of the present invention provide a terminal, a server, and a terminal control method. A control channel and a data channel are established to a controlled terminal, screen image data that is sent by the controlled terminal by using the data channel is received, a screenshot of the controlled terminal is displayed according to the screen image data, and corresponding operation information is generated according to an operation that is based on the screenshot and is sent to the controlled terminal by using the control channel, so that the controlled terminal performs the corresponding operation according to the operation information.

Thanks to rapid development of electronics and communications technologies, communications and processing capabilities of mobile terminals also become stronger, and applications based on remote control between mobile terminals also develop rapidly.
In remote control between existing mobile terminals, a connection is first established between a control terminal and a controlled terminal, the controlled terminal sends screen data to the control terminal by using the connection, the control terminal displays a screenshot of the controlled terminal on a screen of the control terminal according to the screen data, a user performs, on the screen of the control terminal, an operation such as a touch on the screenshot of the controlled terminal, the control terminal sends received operation information to the controlled terminal by using the connection, and the controlled terminal performs a corresponding operation according to the operation information, so as to achieve an objective of remote control.
In a process of implementing the present invention, the inventor finds that the prior art has at least the following problems:
Screen data and operation information are exchanged between a control terminal and a controlled terminal by using a same connection, and conflicts exist between the screen data and the operation information in transmission logic and transmission time. Therefore, a screenshot, of the controlled terminal, displayed on a control terminal side cannot make a response to a user operation on the control terminal side in time, affecting a control effect and user experience.

Terminal, server, and terminal control method


The purpose is to provide a porous polyolefin resin film which has high gas permeability and a high porosity, and which can exhibit excellent properties including break down properties when used as a separator for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery. The present invention relates to a porous polyolefin resin film which is produced from a resin composition (a) containing a polyolefin resin as the main component and additionally containing organic-inorganic hybrid particles (f).

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a porous polyolefin resin film which can be utilized as packing, hygiene, livestock, agricultural, building, medical materials, a separation film, a light diffusing plate, and a separator for a battery, and particularly relates to a porous polyolefin resin film which can be utilized as a separator for a nonaqueous electrolytic solution battery.
2. Background Art
A porous polypropylene film having a large number of intercommunicable micropores is utilized in various fields. For example, the porous polypropylene film is utilized as separation films to produce ultrapure water, purify chemicals, and treat water; waterproof moisture-permeable films for use in clothes and sanitary materials; and separators for use in batteries. As a method of producing the porous polypropylene film, a method of melting an inorganic filler such as calcium carbonate, barium sulfate or the like and mixing the calcium carbonate, the barium sulfate or the like with the polypropylene to form a film and thereafter stretching the film to make the film porous is known. But the porous film obtained by carrying out the above-described method has a problem that a defective dispersion portion is formed owing to a low compatibility between the inorganic filler and the polypropylene. Thereby pin holes are liable to be formed in stretching the film to make the film porous. In addition the inorganic filler drops from the resin composition while the porous polypropylene film is being produced or used and contaminates a production line.
Various methods of stretching a propylene sheet containing a β crystal are proposed. In Japanese Patent Publication No. 3443934 (patent document 1), the porous film obtained by stretching the β crystal-containing propylene sheet to which the amide compound has been added is proposed. In WO Publication 2002/066233 (patent document 2), the method of producing the porous polypropylene film by sequentially biaxially stretching polypropylene containing needle-shaped β crystal is described. As the methods of producing the porous polypropylene film using the polypropylene containing the β crystal as disclosed in the above-described publications, the stretch ratio in the longitudinal direction (hereinafter referred to as "MD stretch ratio") and the stretch ratio in the width direction (hereinafter referred to as "TD stretch ratio") are increased to improve the air-permeable characteristic of the porous polypropylene film by increasing the number of pores in the porous film.
In recent years, a large lithium-ion battery has come to be used for a hybrid car, tools, and the like and generate a high output. It is necessary to use a separator having a low electric resistance to allow the battery to have a high output. To this end, in the case where the porous polyolefin resin film is used as the separator for the battery, the separator is demanded to have a high porosity and a high air permeability. Because the battery has come to generate a high output, the temperature inside the battery rises. To prevent a short-circuit from occurring between positive and negative electrodes owing to a thermal contraction of the separator, the separator is demanded to have a low thermal contraction percentage at a high temperature.
To comply with the above-described demand, in Japanese Patent No. 2883726 (patent document 3), there is proposed a method of producing the porous film by processing the resin composition containing the β crystal-containing polypropylene resin to which the inorganic substance has been added (in U.S. Pat. No. 2,883,726 (patent document 3) into a sheet and stretching the sheet in a specific condition. The method proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-176352 (patent document 4) is similar to the above-described method except that the resin particles are added to the β crystal-containing polypropylene resin.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-171230 (patent document 5), there is proposed a method of producing the porous film by adding 0.2 to 10 parts by weight of the resin incompatible with polypropylene and having a high melting point to the β crystal-containing polypropylene resin.


A gable top or other container having a spout fitment is disclosed. The spout includes a base, a chute, a closure, and a tear line. The base is adapted to be joined to a wall of a container, and defines an opening. The chute communicates with the opening. The chute has a first end at least partially surrounding the opening and a second end spaced from the first end. The closure is positioned to close the chute. The tear line defines a seal of the closure. The tear line is adapted to be broken readily, without relative rotation between the closure and the chute of the spout about an axis generally perpendicular to the base, to open the spout. The base, spout, closure, and tear line can be injection molded as one integrally formed piece.

Rectangular shaped cartons are commonly used to package juices and milk products. The cartons typically have a gable-shaped top portion where the liquid is accessed. In one embodiment, a spout is formed by folding back a portion of the paper gable top and peeling open the folded back portion of the gable top. In large, multiuse cartons, a reusable spout fitment may be assembled into the gable top. The spout fitment can have a screw-top closure for sealing the carton after use.
Paper based cartons are widely used for single serve packages of milk and juices. These cartons hold from 8-16 oz (about 240 to 480 cc.) of (typically) liquid contents. The most common size for a single serve carton (used in school cafeterias for milk products) is 8 oz. (about 240 cc.). The liquid is accessed by opening the gable top carton by either: (1) drinking directly from the spout formed by peeling open the gable top or (2) inserting a straw into the opening in the gable top spout.

Cylindrical spout for disposable cartons


A system includes an electronic power converter and a controller. The electronic power converter supplies power to one or more motor drives of an HVAC and/or refrigeration system. The controller obtains a plurality of pulse width modulation (PWM) algorithms. Each PWM algorithm has an associated harmonic signature. The controller further determines one or more resonance frequencies associated with the HVAC and/or refrigeration system. The controller also selects a first PWM algorithm from the plurality of PWM algorithms based at least in part on the harmonic signature associated with the first PWM algorithm mitigating the one or more resonance frequencies associated with the refrigeration system. The controller further operates the electronic power converter according to the first PWM algorithm.

HVAC and or refrigeration systems may supply power to one or more motor drives of a system using a power supply. Analog power supplies, such as linear power supplies, cause waste heat during operation by carrying current regardless of the required power of the system. Digital power supplies provide efficient power supply by using pulse-width modulation (PWM) to quickly switch on and off power, in order to provide the desired power at the one or more motor drives of the system. Unfortunately, existing PWM methods may cause significant mechanical vibrations in components driven by the one or more motor drives of the system, which may be detrimental to the system.

Controlling systems with motor drives using pulse width modulation


An air purification and disinfection system includes an apparatus having a housing, an ultraviolet disinfection chamber, an air mover, and an air distribution unit in communication with the disinfection chamber. Air is passed through the disinfection chamber where it is purified and disinfected before it is delivered to the user of the apparatus through the air distribution unit. The apparatus can be configured as an open or a closed circuit system. The system may be configured to purify air in an airplane, a conference room, a classroom, or as a portable unit for an individual user. As a portable unit the disinfection chamber can be incorporated into a back pack, a vest, a purse, a briefcase, a shoulder bag, a cervical collar, or any other format for being carried by the user.

The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Social distancing and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as mask and face shields, have been recommended to protect individuals and control spread of airborne viruses, such as, SARS-CoV-2 (or the COVID-19) virus. However, these measures may not be sufficient to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus especially in confined spaces. Most face masks have questionable ability to block fine virus particles. In infected individuals, the masks block the escape of large virus droplets thus forcing them to breath in more and more viruses with each breath and reinfect themselves with the viruses they should be expelling. Social distancing is of questionable value in a facility where people move around because the virus droplets take eight minutes or more to drop from a height of five feet. Inevitably, a virus "halo" from the infected person lies in wait for the next person to pass by. Lockdowns have only temporary value because the virus is still present in the ambient air when the lockdown is lifted. To be effective, the virus has to be destroyed and the battle should be preferably outside the body since we do not yet know the long-term complications suffered by individuals who are supposedly "cured" of the COVID-19 virus nor the long-term effects of current vaccines. Recent studies have found that the COVID-19 virus and other variants spread not only through close personal contacts but also through the air. Even if the virus droplets fall down within a six-foot radius, the viruses in these droplets are not destroyed. Instead, these droplets dry up, release the virus particles of about 0.1 micron to float into the air converting rooms, buildings, airplanes, etc. into something similar to smoke filled facilities. Even an N95 mask cannot block these particles completely.
For example, the COVID-19 virus can infect buildings, airplanes, buses, trains and other structures that have inadequate disinfection functionality in the associated air conditioning systems or in air conditioners with sluggish air movement. Such air conditioners can function as a "vector equivalent" for the COVID-19 virus and other microorganisms. Individuals in confined/enclosed spaces are constantly exposed to this deadly virus every time they inhale the air from an infected building or structure and the masks may not be able to protect the individuals because either the masks cannot block such fine virus particles or the masks that can partially block such particles eventually fail due to overloading. Ideally, these air conditioners can be upgraded to protect against the COVID-19 virus and others. However, this is a time consuming process and involves a lot of expenditure.
Therefore, there is an ongoing need to provide better systems and devices that are specifically designed to protect an individual from the COVID-19 virus and other microorganisms. If this can be done by destroying such harmful agents outside the human body, the fight against them in the body with resulting short term and long term complications can be avoided. The importance of such a reliable personal protection device cannot be overstated.

Air purification and disinfection apparatus and methods of use


A reglet and flashing assembly for preventing water from penetrating between a roofing membrane at its exposed edge and a skylight curb on which the membrane is provided. The assembly includes a reglet which is permanently anchored to or integrally formed as part of, the skylight sill. The reglet serves as an anchor for a flashing which has an upper edge removably attached to the reglet. The flashing overhangs the roofing membrane and a lower edge of the flashing is biased against the membrane to act as a protective shield to prevent water from entering between the roofing membrane and the skylight curb. The present invention further includes a flexible gasket fitting into the joint between the reglet and the flashing to secure the flashing in proper position. The gasket may be removed to thereby free the flashing. After the flashing has been removed, no part of the reglet and flashing assembly is in contact with the roofing membrane on the skylight sill, and the membrane may then be quickly and easily repaired or replaced.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to a reglet and flashing assembly, and in particular, a reglet and flashing assembly for use with a skylight sill, in which the flashing may be removed to allow quick and easy repair or replacement of the roofing membrane underneath.
2. Description of the Related Art
In building construction, with chimneys, parapets, or other such structures located on a roof, the roofing material or membrane protecting the roof is provided around at least the base of the roof structure to prevent moisture from penetrating into the joint between the roof structure and the roof. In order to prevent moisture from entering between the roofing membrane and the roof structure where the roofing membrane ends, a flashing is commonly provided to overhang and protect the otherwise exposed edge portion of the membrane. A conventional flashing extends around the entire perimeter of the roof structure with an upper edge anchored to the structure and a lower edge overhanging the roofing membrane to thereby shield the membrane underneath against moisture and precipitation. Flashings are commonly constructed of aluminum or other sturdy, durable material.
The flashing can be secured to the roof structure at its upper edge by means of an anchoring device, such as a screw or reglet. Conventional reglets are fastened to the roof structure by nails, screws, anchors or similar fastening devices, depending on the particular design and the material into which the reglet is anchored. The flashing is in turn permanently or detachably affixed to the reglet. Typical reglet and flashing assemblies are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,208 to Kirby et al. and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,989 to Sakharoff.
A disadvantage of conventional flashings is that it is difficult to repair or remove the roofing membrane located underneath the flashing. Often the nail, screw or anchor securing the flashing to the roof structure is inserted through the roofing membrane. Therefore, in order to repair or replace the membrane, the flashing securing mechanism must first be removed. This is a time consuming and expensive process, which additionally often results in the need to replace the fastening.
With specific regard to skylights, as shown in FIG. 1, such structures generally rest on a curb 12 having roofing membrane 10 provided thereon. In conventional skylight systems, the skylight 15 includes a sill 16 affixed to or extruded as part of the skylight frame. The sill 16 in conventional systems overhangs the roofing membrane with a lip 14 at a bottom portion to shield the edge portion of membrane 10. A fastening device, such as screw 18, is used to secure the sill 16 and skylight 15 to the curb 12. Such screws have conventionally been fastened through the roofing membrane 10. Thus, as described above, repair or replacement of the roofing membrane 10 is a timely and costly procedure, requiring removal of the fastening means 18 and often the skylight itself.

Skylight sill with built-in reglet for removable flashing


A machine tool turret, usable in a machine tool having a rotatable workpiece spindle, that includes first and second tool spindles journaled on the turret. The turret is mounted for compound movement in an x-c plane defined by an x axis perpendicular to the c axis of the work spindle. Each tool spindle may be locked against rotation or, alternatively, it may be rotated. In either case, the operative position of each tool spindle may be used in the machining of a workpiece which also may be rotating or non-rotating. The turret axis is perpendicular to the x-c plane so that as the turret is rotated the tool spindles remain in this x-c plane for a plurality of operative positions for machining. The foregoing abstract is merely a resume of one general application, is not a complete discussion of all principles of operation or applications, and is not to be construed as a limitation on the scope of the claimed subject matter.

The machine tool with which this turret is preferably used may be described as a mill/turn machine tool which is capable of milling, turning, drilling, tapping, etc. with a rotating or non-rotating workpiece spindle and a rotating or non-rotating tool spindle in the turret.
A number of turrets have been proposed for machine tools. U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,085 shows a two-place turret for non-rotating turning tools used with a rotating workpiece. U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,266 shows a one-place turret, also for non-rotating turning tools. U.S. Pat. No. 3,296,903 shows a turret type of tool magazine for supplying any one of a multiplicity of non-rotating turning tools into an operative position. U.S. Pat. No. 3,316,786 shows a turret type of tool magazine for non-rotating turning tools. U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,583 discloses a turret with two spindles, each of which can be oriented into an operative position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,623 discloses a claw clutch which is engaged when the tool holder is not in the tool spindle and disengaged when inserted in the spindle so it is free to rotate. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,313, when the spindle is clamped against rotation, any vibration of the tool in the tool spindle mount as the tool works on a workpiece will be transmitted to the ball bearings despite the presence of the interlocking gear teeth. This can have a damaging effect on the bearings because there is no rolling contact at that time, and such vibration would tend to Brinell the surface of the bearing races.
The Yamazaki or Mazak mill/turn 40N ATC mill center machine is a machine tool of the mill/turn type with two tool holders, one of which is rotatable, and the other of which is only fixed. The turret axis is in the x-c plane so that the tool holders are operative in only two different positions, either 0.degree. or 90.degree. relative to the spindle axis c, with x being the cross slide path.


This invention is directed to a method for the preparation of carrier cells capable of delivering exogenous genetic material to a particular tissue of the body by means of embryonic cells competent to develop into that tissue, and essentially only that tissue, said cells bearing the exogenous genetic material. The preferred carrier cells are mesodermal cells of the yolk sac or embryonic forebrain or midbrain cells, and the desired genetic material is preferably introduced into the cells by in vitro transformation with an amphotrophic retroviral vector.

The invention relates to the use of early embryonic cells to deliver genetic material into a fully formed animal.
It is often desirable to confer upon an animal a particular genetic trait.
It is possible to remove bone marrow cells from the animal, transform them with a vector carrying the desired gene, and reimplant the transformed cells. Generally speaking, the transformed cells are given a competitive advantage. For example, the animal may be irradiated to partially or completely destroy the normal marrow, thus providing the transformed marrow cells with a vacant ecological niche. See, e.g., Joyner, et al., Nature (London), 305: 556 (1983). Clearly, this damage to the host is undesirable in a practical genetic delivery system.
Salser, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,396,601 and 4,497,796 removed bone marrow cells from mice, cotransformed them with DNA including HSV DNA and the marker DHFR gene, and selected for cells resistant to methotrexate. These drug-resistant cells were injected into irradiated mice treated with methotrexate. Preferably, the bone marrow cell population used was one rich in hematopoietic stem cells. Salser does not teach use of cells removed from a mammalian embryo, and Salser severely stressed the recipient mice to give the modified cells a selective advantage.
Wagner et al, WO 82/04443 placed exogenous material into the pronucleus of a zygote. They teach that the zygote should be transformed as soon as possible after fertilization. We transform embryonic cells at a considerably later stage of development.
Mintz and Illmensee, PNAS 72:3585 (1975) injected teratocarcinoma (embryonal carcinoma, EC) cells into mouse blastocysts, obtaining mosaic mice. The teratocarcinoma cells proved to be developmentally totipotent, developing into a variety of normal tissues. This method cannot be used to deliver genes into specific tissues because the developmental course of these cells is uncertain. EC-like totipotent cells (EK cells) have also been obtained from culturing ICM cells of normal mouse embryos removed on day 2.5. Evans and Kaufman, Nature, 292:154 (1981).
We have found a convenient method for delivering genes into specific tissues of an animal which does not require extraction of any cells from the animal. Rather, we transform post-gastrular embryonic cells, which, besides being easier to culture, may be selected to be both (1) predestined to develop into the target tissue, and (2) essentially non-immunogenic.
One method known for the transformation of explanted cells involves use of a retroviral vector. See Vande Woude, U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,712.
When a retrovirus infects a cell, its RNA genome acts as a template for the reverse transcription of the viral genetic information into a double strand of DNA. This DNA molecule, now called a provirus, integrates into the genome of the host. Retroviral RNA is synthesized from the proviral sequence by the host's own RNA polymerase, and some of this RNA is translated into viral proteins. Under the instruction of the packaging sequence (called psi in the Moloney murine leukemia virus studies), the RNA-protein core of the virus is packaged into a glycoprotein envelope, and the resulting viral particle buds off from the cell into the medium (where it may find and infect other cells).
Mann, et al., Cell, 33:153 (1983) developed a cell line, known as psi-2, which is a line of NIH 3T3 cells with a permanently integrated helper virus. The helper virus, psi-minus, corresponds to the MoMLV with the psi sequence deleted by BalI-PstI cleavage. The psi-2 cells produce viral particles only when transformed by a retroviral vector bearing the psi sequence.
Cone and Mulligan, PNAS 81:6349 (1984), of the same research group, later developed an improved packaging cell line, psi-AM. This .cell line was developed by transforming NIH 3T3 cells with a psi-minus chimera of an amphotrophic retrovirus (4070A). This amphotrophic murine retrovirus could infect non-murine hosts, including human and monkey cells.
Both psi-2 and psi-AM cells are readily available in the scientific community.
Joyner et al., supra, used an MoMLV retroviral vector to transfer a neomycin resistance gene into mouse hematopoietic progenitor cells. Williams, et al., Nature (London) 310: 476 (1984) used MSV DHFR-NEO transformed psi-2 cells to transfer neomycin resistance to co-cultivated bone marrow cells. See also Greenberger, et al., PNAS, 80:2931 (1983); Dick, et al., Cell, 42:71 (August 1985); Rubinstein, et al., 81:7137 (1984); Rothstein, et al., Blood, 65:744 (1985).
The above references teach retroviral transformation of "primitive but committed" non-embryonic cells. "Primitive" is a relative term, and these hematopoietic bone marrow stem cells are much further advanced in development than are the embryonic cells of the immediate post-gastrular stage ("neodetermined"), and therefore are likely to be less pluripotent and less histocompatible.
Verma, et al. , in Tumor Viruses and Cell Differentiation, 251 (Scolnick and Levine, eds., 1983) and Miller, et al., PNAS (USA) 80: 4709 (1983) and Science, 225: 630 (1984) also describe use of retroviral vectors in gene therapy.
Genes may also be inserted by other techniques, such as calcium phosphate-mediated DNA uptake. Wigler, et al., Cell, 11: 223 (1977). To assure survival and proliferation of the transformed cells, powerful selection systems, such as DHFR/methotrexate, are used to inhibit untransformed cells. Carr, et al., Blood, 62: 180 (1983); Cline, et al., Nature, 284: 422 (1980). Without such selection, the efficiency of this procedure is presently too low to affect the recipient's condition significantly.
While Hammer, et al., Nature (London) 311: 65 (1984) has used microinjection of an RGH gene to correct dwarfism in the mouse, the technique is too labor intensive to be commercially practicable, even if other difficulties were overcome.
Lipid vesicles containing exogenous DNA have been injected into the tail vein of mice, so transformation occurs in vivo. Szoka, U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,448.
Kiester, Jr., Science 86, at 33 (March 1986) reports on research in which rat fetal brain tissue was grafted intraocularly into adult rats.
Jacob, EP Appl. 178,220 used a retroviral vector to confer G418 resistance on three embryonal carcinoma cell lines. He teaches implanting genetically engineered embryos into the uterus of a female mammal where it may naturally develop into a transgenic infant. This is to be distinguished from the present invention, in which engineered embryonic cells are injected into the bloodstream, or the corresponding tissue of the recipient. Jacob also teaches removing bone-marrow cells from a postnatal animal, transforming the cells, and returning them to the same animal.
Heit et al., in The Biology of Bone Marrow Transplantation, 507-517 (1980) suggested that fetal liver cells could be used for hematopoietic reconstitution without a graft versus host reaction. Mouse fetal liver cells have been microinjected into the placental circulation and thereby introduced into a recipient fetus. While this technique permits donor hematopoietic cells to become competitively established without ablation or irradiation of the recipient, it is dependent on the immunological immaturity of both donor cells and recipient. Fleischman, et al., Cell, 30:351-359 (1982); Flake, et al., Science, 233:776-778 (1986). Segal, et al., Transplantation, 28:88-95 (1979) suggests a mechanism whereby fetal bone grafts may escape host rejection in immunocompetent hosts.
Japanese application 61-81743 is said to relate to "a mature, non-human animal containing germ and somatic cells transformed by an activated tumor sequence, which was introduced into the animal or its ancestor during the fetal stage."
Yolk sac cells which produce an embryonic variant hemoglobin have been injected into irradiated adult mice of another strain and the surviving mice were found to be producing, in part, the donor adult type of hemoglobin. Auerbach, in EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL INTERACTIONS, ch. 13 (1968).

Gene transfer using transformed, neodetermined, embryonic cells

Ohio University Edison Animal Biotechnology Center


Disclosed are immunological compositions and methods for reducing activity of glucagon signaling using antibodies against glucagon receptor.

Fasting hyperglycemia in patients with poorly controlled type II diabetes mellitus is closely associated with increased rates of glucose production which in turn can be ascribed to increased rates of gluconeogenesis. A number of studies have demonstrated that elevated glucagon level is partially responsible for the increased hepatic glucose production in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Glucagon is a 29-amino-acid hormone in the pancreatic alpha cells, which plays a major counter-regulatory role for insulin action. During fasting, glucagon secretion increases in response to the low circulating glucose levels. Increased glucagon secretion stimulates glucose production by promoting hepatic gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis. In addition, glucagon reduces glycogen synthesis in the liver. Clinically, glucagon is administered to patients who are at risk for significant hypoglycemia. Conversely, inhibition of the glucagon pathway may offer a strategy for the treatment of type II diabetes.
The biological effects of glucagon are mediated through its binding to a specific receptor on cell surface, glucagon receptor, and subsequent activation of the signaling pathway. The glucagon receptor belongs to the family B G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR). It is predominantly expressed in liver and kidney, which reflects its primary role as a regulator of glucose output and gluconeogenesis in these tissues. The activation of glucagon receptor in the liver stimulates adenylyl cyclase activity and phosphoinositol turnover, resulting in increased expression of several key gluconeogenic enzymes.
Considering the key role of glucagon in control of hyperglycemia, strategy for inhibiting glucagon activation pathway can provide a therapeutic means to treat type II diabetes.

Antibodies against glucagon receptor and their use


A system and a method for tracking history of a digital object using cryptographic chain. The digital object is encrypted using a cryptographic technique to form a first time travel record of a cryptographic chain. Further, an update in the digital object is detected. Furthermore, an updated digital object is encrypted to form a second time travel record. The first time travel record and the second time travel record are linked to form the cryptographic chain through a composite key. Subsequently, an input from the user is received to identify a change in the digital object. The cryptographic chain is sequentially decrypted based on the input. Finally, a change in the digital object is identified based on a comparison of the first time travel record and the second time travel record, thereby tracking history of the digital object using the cryptographic chain.

A compliance audit is a comprehensive review of an organization's adherence to regulatory guidelines. In the compliance audit, each and every word of a compliance document is checked. If any offense is captured in the compliance audit, the organization may have to pay a penalty. In some cases, the penalty may be calculated from the date of a last audit in the organization if not other evidence exists of when the offense first occurred. In such case, the organization may want to provide actual the date of the offense that might reduce the penalty. However, the organization may fail to track and identify the actual date of each change or lack the integrity controls which would ensure the record has not been altered in any way.
Further, during the course of the compliance audit, the auditor has to go through each compliance document to identify the what has changed and any potential areas for non-compliance. Hence, a user may want to check the exact state of the compliance package/artifacts in past to determine precisely what changed to better focus on the audit versus wasting time reviewing requirements or controls that have already been assessed and found to be fully compliant. However, in most cases, the user has to manually check the changes to the state of the compliance in static Microsoft Word and Excel documents where it is not easy to determine the precise change (especially across documents) and will have difficulty ensuring the integrity of the changes as to when each change occurred, by who, and the exact change. Consequently, the user will most often fail to accurately identify the changes in the compliance resulting in the need for manual checking and data calls that are both time consuming and error prone processes.

Tracking history of a digital object using a cryptographic chain


A printing system capable of accurately positioning a lenticular array in registration with a rectilinear raster includes a printer that is capable of printing onto a printable surface. The printer has a main support surface on which the printable surface rests. The system further includes a series of raised parallel relief features being spatially formed along a printable substrate that is supported by the main support surface. The raised parallel relief features are raised to a sufficient height above the printable substrate such that when the lenticular array is disposed upon the raised parallel relief features, each raised parallel relief feature fits and is disposed within a valley formed between two respective adjoining lenticules of the lenticular array.

In many instances, and particularly for short-run printed graphics, offset lithographic printing has been supplanted by digital printing. Digital printing involves producing an image by localized control of ink distribution, rather than by the use of a mechanically or chemically altered plate. An advantage of digital printing systems is each print can differ, as no mechanical plate is necessary to transfer the image to the target substrate.
Digital printing encompasses various implementations of inkjet printing, but may also include dye sublimation printing, dry or liquid electrostatic printing, or any other method where the colorants are disposed within the printer from information provided by a rasterized digital image.
Digital printers, and particularly those which include a flatbed to support their printable material, and furthermore which cure their inks by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, are of particular interest to the lenticular trade. UV inkjet printers can print directly to plastic materials such as those used in the making of lenticular arrays. UV inkjet printers can often also reverse print process colors and then overlay the process colors with opaque white, so that a complete lenticular print may be devised in a continuous operation.
Effective lenticular printing requires that at least two narrow bands be printed behind and parallel each lens on the flat back side of the lenticular lens sheet. When viewed from the side having the lens relief, the collective effect of the magnified image bands produces an image that changes with the angle of view.
The challenge in aligning a preformed linear lens sheet, such as those commonly prepared for lenticular printing, with any printing device is well known in the trade. Various optical and mechanical methods have been proposed. In a typical optical approach, a printed pattern is observed though the lenses and a positional adjustment is made, either by a human observer or by automation.
In the mechanical approach, a relative state of registration is attained between the structural element of a printer with a known position, such as a roller or table, and the lenticular lens material. The present invention predominantly belongs to the latter class, however, it is understood that visual effects can also be observed that verify correct alignment.
In traditional practice, a lenticular lens is provided by the manufacturer with a precisely cut reference edge. At the printing facility, the reference edge is made to bear against a raised ruler or fence, so that the location of the lens sheet is reliably established as it enters a printing device, such as an offset printing press.
However, the use of a single outer edge as a reference is not ideal, for a number of reasons. First, the reference edge must cut with great precision and consistency, or else the lenticular images, when printed and viewed, will have an irregular and inconsistent appearance.
Also, inconsistencies in lens pitch may arise from imperfect tooling of the lenticular embossing cylinder, variation in the speed and temperature of the extrusion line, environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, or the conditions of its storage. If a single reference edge is used, these errors will be expressed in a cumulative and summary way across the sheet. As a result, it is often the case that the effective center of the finished lenticular image appears to vary from print to print.
It may be appreciated by the foregoing discussion that the optimal case would be one in which the lens material was by some means aligned at its centerline with the printing device. In this circumstance, the registration is optimized at the center of attention, while any variation in the pitch is distributed to either side. Any decorrelation between the lens and the printer is therefore essentially reduced by half, and moved to the periphery of the printed sheet.
There are instances in the Prior Art where such a structural alignment is made between a printer component and the lenticular sheet. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,678,833 to Leach, two ridges on a guide roll fit into preformed channels on a compatibly made lenticular sheet. U.S. Pat. No. 5,764,266 to Azuma et al., fluted or toothed cylinders are used advance the lenticular sheet under a printhead. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,269 to Bravanec, a grooved cylinder is used to fix the location of the lens sheet as it passes through a printer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,993 to Pilu employs a similar grooved arrangement. In U.S. Pat. No. 9,021,947 Landa, a sheet of lens material having the same pitch as the sheet to be printed is attached to the roller, such that the relief faces of the two lenticular sheets may be held in a meshed state during printing. US20020187215 Trapani proposes fluted platforms so that multiple pieces of lenticular material may be set out in a tray.
However, these solutions are generally adapted to a fixed lens pitch, and cannot be readily adapted to the wide range of available lenticular materials, which can vary from 2.5 mm (˜10 lenses per inch) to 0.085 mm (˜300 lenses per inch).

Product alignment using a printed relief