An AMD prediction model utilizes an OCT image estimation model. The OCT image estimation module is created by segmenting an OCT image to generate an OCT projection image for each of multiple biological layers; extracting from each of the generated OCT projection images a first set of features; extracting a second set of features from an input retinal fundus image; for each respective biological layer, registering the input retinal fundus image to the respective OCT projection image by matching at least some of the second set of features with corresponding ones of the first set of features; repeating the above with changes to the input retinal fundus image; and modelling how the changes to the input retinal fundus image are manifest at the correspondingly registered projection images. Estimated OCT projection images can then be generated for the multiple biological layers from a given retinal fundus image.

Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness. More specifically, AMD) is a medical condition usually affecting older adults that results in vision loss in the center of the visual field (the macula) because of damage to the retina. AMD is a major cause of visual impairment in older adults (>50 years). Macular degeneration can make it difficult or impossible to read or recognize faces, though often there remains enough peripheral vision to allow other activities of daily life.
FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of the cellular components of the retina showing the glia and neurons. The different cell types are situated in a standard large mammalian retina and are designated in FIG. 1 using the following abbreviations: amacrine cells (A), astrocytes (AS), bipolar cells (B), cones (C), ganglion cells (G), horizontal cells (H), Müller cells (M), microglia (Mi), rods (R), and cones (C). Note the interactions between the cells and blood vessels (BV). Note also the location of the different layers of the retina from the most internal to the outermost layers: the innermost optic nerve (ON), nerve fibre layer (NFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL), inner plexiform layer (IPL), inner nuclear layer (INL), outer plexiform layer (OPL), outer nuclear layer (ONL), outer segment layer (OS), pigment epithelium (PE), and the outermost choroid (Ch). [FIG. 1 is reproduced from Vecino, Elena, et al. "Glia-neuron interactions in the mammalian retina." [Progress in retinal and eye research (2015)].
The inner layer of the eye is the retina and comprises a number of layers. Behind the retina is the choroid which contains the blood supply to all three layers of the eye, including the macula which is the central part of the retina that surrounds the optic disc. AMD occurs in "dry" and "wet" forms. In the dry (nonexudative) form, cellular debris called drusen accumulates between the retina and the choroid, and the retina can become detached. In the wet (exudative) form which are more severe, blood vessels grow up from the choroid behind the retina, and the retina can become detached. It can be treated with laser coagulation, and with medication that stops and sometimes reverses the growth of blood vessels.
Early detection and prediction of AMD can reduce the incidence of blindness. Pathological changes in different retinal tissue layers (such as drusens, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) abnormalities, etc.) are the indication of early stages of AMD. Retinal imaging is mainly used for the diagnosis of AMD, and has evolved rapidly during the last 160 years to the extent it is now widely used for clinical care and management of patients with retinal as well as systemic diseases. Retinal fundus photography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) are the leading retinal imaging technologies in current use.
Retinal fundus photography is defined as the process whereby a two-dimensional (2-D) representation of the three-dimensional (3-D) retinal semi-transparent tissues projected onto the imaging plane is obtained by using reflected light. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an established medical imaging technique that uses light to capture high resolution and three-dimensional images of optical scattering media (for example, the retina). Optical coherence tomography is based on low-coherence interferometry, typically employing near-infrared light. The use of relatively long wavelength light allows it to penetrate into the scattering medium.
Projection optical coherence tomography (OCT) fundus images can provide enhanced visualization of different retinal layers which is very useful for the early prediction of AMD [(see Gorczynska, Iwona, et al. in the reference listing below). Projection OCT fundus images are generated from ultrahigh-resolution OCT images. But ultrahigh resolution OCT imaging technology is very expensive and not available in many remote and rural areas. Embodiments of these teachings provide a more cost-effective technique to predict AMID than OCT imaging.
In this regard the following references are relevant:    Gorczynska, Iwona, et al. "Projection OCT fundus imaging for visualising outer retinal pathology in non-exudative age-related macular degeneration." [BRITISH JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY 93.5 (2009): 603-609].    Kandel, Benjamin M., et al. "Predicting cognitive data from medical images using sparse linear regression." [INFORMATION PROCESSING IN MEDICAL IMAGING; Springer. Berlin, Heidelberg, (2013).] proposes a sparse linear regression model to estimate cognitive data from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).    Yang, Jimei, et al. "Weakly-supervised disentangling with recurrent transformations for 3d view synthesis." [ADVANCES IN NEURAL INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEMS. (2015)] proposes a recurrent convolutional encoder-decoder network to synthesize novel views of a 3D object from a single image.    Fischer, Philipp, et al. "FlowNet: Learning Optical Flow with Convolutional Networks." [ARXIV PREPRINT ARXIV:1504.06852 (2015)] presents two architecture of convolutional neural network for estimating optical flows—one architecture is the generic architecture and other uses a specific layer that correlates feature vectors at different image locations.    Gregor, Karol, et al. "DRAW: A recurrent neural network for image generation." [ARXIV PREPRINT ARXIV: 1502.04623 (2015)] describes a Deep Recurrent Attentive Writer (DRAW) neural network architecture for image generation. DRAW networks combine a spatial attention mechanism that mimics the foveation of the human eye, with a sequential variational auto-encoding framework that allows for the iterative construction of complex images to yield a deep convolutional neural network based auto-encoder.    Masci, Jonathan, et al. "Stacked convolutional auto-encoders for hierarchical feature extraction." [ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS AND MACHINE LEARNING-ICANN 2011, p 52-59. Springer. Berlin, Heidelberg (2011)].    Stacked Denoising Autoencoders: Learning Useful Representations in a Deep Network with a Local Denoising Criterion [Vincent (2010)].    Contractive Auto-Encoders: Explicit Invariance During Feature Extraction [Rifai (2011)].    Stacked Convolutional Auto-Encoders for Hierarchical Feature Extraction [J. Masci (2011)].    Vecino, Elena, et al. "Glia-neuron interactions in the mammalian retina." [PROGRESS IN RETINAL AND EYE RESEARCH (2015)].    Nowak, Eric, Frédéric Jurie, and Bill Triggs. "Sampling strategies for bag-of-features image classification." [COMPUTER VISION-ECCV 2006, page 490-503. Springer. Berlin, Heidelberg (2006)].

Early prediction of age related macular degeneration by image reconstruction

International Business Machines Corporation


A dental implant system including a dental implant having an apical end, a top end, an anchoring portion adjacent the apical end. The dental implant is adapted to engage bone and has an axial length. The dental implant has an internally threaded opening of a predetermined depth accessible from the top end of the dental implant. The system includes an abutment receiving portion adjacent the top end for receiving an abutment. The system also includes an annular shoulder formed between the anchoring portion and the abutment receiving portion. The system also has an implant abutment having a peripheral wall and a central axial bore extending through the abutment.

The present invention relates in general to a dental implant system comprising components having improved surface and structural features for ensuring proper alignment and orientation of an abutment assembled on an implant and for preparing an accurate dental impression and mold representing the implantation site and its relationship to adjacent teeth structures. The present invention also relates to an implant having improved bone engaging surfaces for enhancing implant stability and fixation. The present invention further relates to a multi-component dental implant system with at least the implant and the abutment being detachably joined to one another with an improved, locking taper assembly designed for easy assembly and disassembly. The present invention further relates to an improved O-ring abutment assembly which offers a smaller footprint than existing O-ring attachment systems. The present invention further relates to an implant delivery method and its associated device(s) which reduces or eliminates, for example, slippage of the implant during implant surgery. The present invention further relates to a surgical screw delivery method and its associated device(s) which reduces or eliminates, for example, slippage of the surgical screw during surgery.


The invention relates to a finger follower, or lever (1) of a valve train, for example of a piston-type internal combustion engine, with a lever body (2) having an end-sided base web (4), on which there is a spherical cap-shaped bearing cup (8) for an articulated mounting on a bearing pin of a housing-sided support element, said bearing pin terminating as a spherical cap; and on this base web is fastened a retaining clamp (9), engaging with an annular groove of the bearing pin, in order to secure the finger follower (1) on the support element in such a way that said finger follower can move to a limited extent.

A finger follower (lever) is a transmission element of a valve train, for example, of a piston-type internal combustion engine. This finger follower allows the lift movement of a cam that is produced by the rotation of a camshaft to be transmitted to a lift valve, which is axially opened to exchange the load for the reset force of a valve spring. For this purpose one end of the finger follower (lever) is mounted in an articulated manner on a housing-sided support element; and the opposite end of said finger follower rests against the stem end of the assigned lift valve. Between its ends the side of the finger follower that faces away from the support element and the lift valve makes contact with the assigned cam of the camshaft. As a result, the lift that is predefined by the contour of the cam and has increased in accordance with the effective lever ratio is transmitted to the stem end of the lift valve. In order to obtain a valve train with minimum friction, the finger follower is often designed as a so-called roller-type finger follower, that is, provided with a roller, which is mounted in a rotatable manner and makes contact with the assigned cam of the camshaft.
The present invention is based on a finger follower (lever) comprising a lever body that is designed preferably as a pressed or punched component made of sheet metal, but it can also be fabricated as a casting with subsequent mechanical finishing. The support element-sided end of the lever body has a spherical cap-shaped bearing cup for an articulated mounting on a bearing pin of a housing-sided support element, said bearing pin terminating as a spherical cap. The support element can be, for example, a piston, which is mounted in an axially moveable manner in a vertical hole of the cylinder head of the piston-type internal combustion engine under discussion. In order to compensate for any temperature induced valve play that occurs between the cam of the camshaft and the stem end of the respective lift valve, said piston can be loaded with pressure oil on an inner piston surface.
Since the finger follower and the support element form a module, in which they are adapted to each other, these components are often connected together in a loss-proof manner by means of a retaining clamp. In this case the articulated mounting should not be adversely affected by additional frictional and flexural losses. For this purpose the retaining clamp is usually attached to the respective base web of the lever body in such a way that it engages laterally with an annular groove of the bearing pin without impeding the ability of the finger follower to swivel relative to the support element in the operating direction.
DE 196 17 523 C2 describes a number of embodiments of such retaining clamps, which are designed to some extent as sheet metal retaining clamps, wire retaining brackets and as plastic retaining brackets. One preferred embodiment of a sheet metal retaining clamp has a U-shaped cross section with bifurcated arms of an inner leg and with a closed outer leg. The sheet metal retaining clamp is pushed from the outside in the longitudinal direction onto the base web of the lever body exhibiting the bearing cup and is locked on said base web with the end-sided retaining lug. In the assembled state the bifurcated arms of the inner leg engage laterally with the annular groove of the bearing pin, so that the finger follower and the support element are connected together in a form locking manner with play.
A preferred embodiment of a wire retaining bracket according to this prior art has two parallel bracket arms, which in the assembled state engage laterally with the annular groove of the bearing pin and are externally connected together by means of a connecting bracket. Both the free inner ends and the outer ends of the bracket arms that are connected together by the connecting bracket are bent upwards at right angles and are provided with a retaining lug formed thereon, so that it is possible to push the wire retaining bracket on, starting from the bearing side, and to fasten it in a form and force locking manner to the associated base web of the lever body.
The figures in DE 10 2006 052 821 A1, which presents a specific design of the valve-sided end of a lever body of a follower finger (lever) designed as a pressed and punched component made of sheet metal, show a sheet metal retaining clamp, which is configured in a manner similar to the sheet metal retaining clamp known from DE 196 17 523 C2. The distinction between the former and the sheet metal retaining clamp of the present invention lies in the fact that its inner leg has a connecting web, which is formed in the manner of a retaining clip and which connects the lateral arms. As a result, the inner leg of the sheet metal retaining clamp is designed as a closed sheet metal spring frame with higher flexural and torsional strength.
The figures in DE 10 2007 006 695 A1, which proposes another design of the valve-sided end of a lever body of a follower finger (lever) designed as a pressed and punched component made of sheet metal, show a sheet metal retaining clamp, which practically consists of only one sheet metal spring frame, which is arranged on the bearing side on the respective base web of the lever body and corresponds to the inner leg of the sheet metal retaining clamp known from DE 10 2006 052 821 A1. The connecting webs of the lateral arms are bent upwards at right angles in a manner similar to the wire retaining bracket known from DE 196 17 523 C2 and is formed into a retaining clip on the end side. This design makes it possible to slide the sheet metal retaining clamp starting on, from the bearing side, and to lock it on the respective base web of the lever body.
Experience with conventional valve trains has shown that the prior art retaining clamps are totally adequate for securing in a loss-proof manner the finger follower at the support element in the course of assembly and also in the event of malfunctions in operation, for example due to a faulty supply of oil to the hydraulic system. If, however, a finger follower and the associated roller are designed relatively narrow and are loaded with a transverse force, there is the risk that the lever body will tilt sideways and slip off the support element. This applies, in particular, to variable valve trains with cam shifting systems, like the Audi valve lift system (AVS) and the cam shifting system (INA), where, instead of cams, which are rigidly connected to the camshaft, a cam body with two or three different, axially adjacent cams are provided. Each cam body is mounted in a rotationally rigid and axially displaceable manner on the cam shaft by means of a drive gear and is axially displaceable with the assigned roller by means of a link motion, in order to switch to another cam in the contact region of the cam heel. In this case the lever body and the rollers are designed relatively narrow because of the limited installation space and are loaded with a transverse force when changing the active cam.


A 5G network conference call initiation is detected. Information associated with the conference call includes a topic, an agenda, participants, and goals, is received. The respective participants of the conference call are identified, based on a dedicate traffic channel (DTCH) of the respective participants of the conference call. An allocation threshold of conference call contribution associated with the respective participants is determined, based on the information received. Contributions of respective participants are calculated during the conference call based on a list of DTCHs of the respective participants. The contributions of the respective participants are compared to the allocation threshold and responsive to determining that the contributions of a first participant of the respective participants of the conference call exceed the allocation threshold, an action mitigating the excessive contribution in the conference call is performed.

Advancement in telecommunication technology has served as an enabler in many industries and other technological areas. Indeed, telecommunication advancement has transitioned stationary communications to a ubiquitous mobile experience and has provided near limitless data and information anytime and nearly anywhere. Fueling the progress in telecommunication advancement has been the progression of network capabilities from 3G to LTE, 4G, and now 5G network standards and technology. 5G technology promises to integrate into everyday life, provide faster and greater quantities of data exchange, and become an enabler of human-to-human, human-to-device, and device-to-device interactions.
In a 5G telecommunications network, services are provided from a medium access control (MAC) layer by logical channels to a control layer. The logical channels are virtualized communication network interfaces used to transfer commands and control instructions. Some logical channels are used as traffic channels of user data. 5G network slicing models are used to allow multiple channels over a single radio bearer network and may carry traffic from user equipment (UE) devices to the 5G network. In 5G networks, a dedicated logical channel is often used for conference calling with dedicated traffic channels created between participants of the conference call and the 5G network.
Conference calling has become a more common and cost-effective means of interaction and collaboration, and greater attention is given to making conference calls more results-oriented and effective.


In an illustrative embodiment, a system comprises a cable having a first end and a second end. The first end is connected to a portable device and the second end is connected to an A/V switcher. The A/V switcher is configured to monitor presence of an A/V signal in the cable and transmit data regarding said A/V signal presence. A cable clamp-on device is coupled to the cable and includes at least one indicator configured to display said A/V signal presence within the associated coupled cable, and a transceiver configured to receive the data, via a wireless link, the data regarding said A/V signal presence.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to communication systems, and more particularly to a plurality of cable clamp user interface for effecting teleconferencing functions including control of transmission and reception of audio and video information.
2. Background Art
The advent of commercially available digital communication links carries with it the ability to add new dimensions to the functions effected by a communication system. One aspect of these new dimensions is a teleconferencing function. In teleconferencing, conference participants are brought together via a communication link for the purpose of information interchange. The "tele" prefix to the word telecommunications implies that one or more of the participants is remotely located from other of the participants in the conference. Teleconferencing is achieved so as to give the perception that there is no distance barrier between participants who may actually be widely separated.
In teleconferencing, a conference participant typically uses a computer for different functions to exchange information, which can be problematic. For example, in a conference room environment, computers are connected to a wide variety of audio and visual equipment. Often there are cables located near conference room tables for plugging in computers, audio visual (AV) sources, and other conference room devices.
Once the cable is plugged into the computer, the user turns on the conference room device by using a controller. The user interacts with the controller, for example, to manage video and audio switchers to route a particular signal source that is connected to the computer to one of the conference room devices; for example, a projector screen. Often, there are problems associated with plugging in the cable and using the controller. For example, the user may plug a cable into the computer without knowing whether there is an active signal in the cable. The user attempts to fix the inactive signal by using the computer to activate the signal in the cable. Further, the user may not be familiar with how to use the controller. The attempted use of an unfamiliar controller or plugging a cable with an inactive signal into a computer often results in delays and/or calls to technical support personnel. Problems that are not quickly resolved often require dispatching someone to the conference room. As a result, valuable time and resources are lost in many conferences while room coordinators are located, equipment power is cycled, and help is summoned.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for systems and methods for resolving conflicts when multiple controllers are activated simultaneously and enhanced a user's setup experience in a multiple conference room environment for teleconferencing.

Cable clamp-on device including a user interface


The disclosed ladder system may be disposed in a store, warehouse, library, or similar facility where two storage shelves form an aisle. The ladder can be pivotally attached to a roller structure that moves along a length of the aisle on a guide track. The guide track may be disposed along sides of the storage shelves. The roller structure may be formed by a lateral rod extending between and coupled to two roller carriages. Further, because the ladder is pivotally attached to the roller structure, the ladder may fold substantially out of the aisle when the ladder is not in use.

Older ladder systems oriented within narrow aisles in some stores and warehouses were too wide and consumed too much of the width of the aisle. Employees of such stores and warehouses had difficulty passing the ladder, particularly when they were carrying packages or some other object. In one region, a local code even forbade the use of a dual track ladder of this type.
More recent ladder systems have been redesigned to include a feature that will permit it to fold out of the way against a rack or storage shelf when not in use. With this feature, the ladder system occupies a much smaller portion of the aisle width. As a result, employees of stores and warehouses using these ladder systems can pass by the ladder system in the aisle without difficulty.
An example of a more recent ladder system is shown in FIG. 1, which has been reproduced from U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,427 to Kerr (hereafter "Kerr"). In Kerr, a ladder 20 is positioned between storage shelves 22, 24 defining an aisle 26. The ladder 20 is slidably attached to a first lateral rod 28 of an overhead roller structure 30, meaning the ladder 20 can translate along the first lateral rod 28. The overhead roller structure 30 also includes a second lateral rod 32 in some embodiments, with the first and second lateral rods 28, 32 connected to and extending between first and second longitudinal members 34, 36. The first and second longitudinal members 34, 36 are slidably attached to an overhead guide track 38 extending along the storage shelves 22, 24. Thus, the ladder 20 can also move longitudinally along the aisle 26 because the overhead roller structure 30 can translate longitudinally along the overhead guide track 38.
Kerr also teaches that the ladder 20 can fold mostly out of the way of the aisle 26 due to a pivot 40 and a latch 42. When the ladder 20 is not in use, an employee can disengage the latch 42 and rotate the ladder 20 about the pivot 40. Once rotated, the ladder 20 is positioned substantially against the storage shelf 22, making the aisle 26 much more passable.
Yet even recent ladder systems have room for improvement in some environments. Many existing ladder systems have very large overhead roller structures with two lateral rods. For one, large roller structures can be difficult to ship or store when not in use, especially where the roller structures are welded together. Also, a large roller structure inhibits the ladder from traveling to ends of the aisles. The roller structures are long to accommodate at least two lateral rods. The guide tracks mounted on the shelves, moreover, do not extend beyond the ends of the shelves. Therefore, even though distal ends of the roller structure may travel to the ends of the aisles, the ladder cannot travel to the ends of the aisles since the ladder is generally centered along a length of the roller structure. Objects on shelves that are elevated and stored towards the end of the aisles can be difficult to access.
Still further, many existing ladder systems are unnecessarily complex, particularly at the attachment point(s) between the overhead roller structure and the ladder. Many stores, libraries, warehouses, and the like do not have aisles that require ladders to move laterally in an aisle between the shelves. Many existing ladder systems include additional roller structures for this purpose, however. While this capability may be advantageous in warehouses (1) with wide aisles that (2) require employees to move quickly from one shelf to an opposing shelf in the same aisle, this additional roller structure is overkill for many if not most stores, libraries, warehouses, and the like.
Thus, there is a long-felt need for a ladder system that has a compact overhead roller structure and that is not unnecessarily complex.


The disclosed apparatus may include (1) a faceplate that facilitates at least one connection between at least one communication cable and a line card that forwards traffic in connection with a network, (2) at least one heatsink that (A) is integrated into the faceplate and (B) absorbs heat dissipated by at least one electronic component included in the line card, and (3) at least one mount that (A) is integrated into the faceplate and (B) enables the electronic component to attach to the heatsink. Various other apparatuses and systems are also disclosed.

Network devices (such as routers) often include line cards that facilitate communication among computing devices within a network. In this context, the term "line card" typically refers to any type or form of Field-Replaceable Unit (FRU) with one or more ports and/or interfaces that enable a network device to forward traffic within a network and/or across multiple networks. For example, a router may include various Physical Interface Cards (PICs) and/or Flexible PIC Concentrators (FPCs) that facilitate communication among computing devices within a network and/or across multiple networks.
Traditional line cards may include various pieces and/or parts. For example, a traditional line card may include an optics module that receives and/or forwards traffic by way of fiber optic cabling. On one side, the optics module may attach to a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) that provides support and/or structure within the traditional line card. On another side, the optics module may attach to and/or make physical contact with a heatsink that absorbs heat generated by the optics module. In this example, the heatsink may attach to a faceplate that serves as a point of connection for the fiber optic cabling. In addition, the faceplate may attach to side rails that slide into a router and/or physically support the line card when installed.
Unfortunately, this traditional line card may have certain drawbacks and/or imperfections. For example, the traditional line card's heatsink may be unable to absorb sufficient heat from the optics module under certain conditions due at least in part to the heatsink's limited thermal mass. This inability to absorb sufficient heat may worsen as the performance of such optics modules increases and/or the amount of heat generated by such optics modules increases. The instant disclosure, therefore, identifies and addresses a need for apparatuses and systems for increasing thermal mass in line card heatsinks.

Apparatuses and systems for increasing thermal mass in line card heatsinks


A method of scoring a metal panel such as a can end lid includes forming a first scoreline having a base and a pair of lateral walls and subsequently forming a second scoreline within the first scoreline by indenting a portion of the first scoreline base. The final scoreline may be created by employing two or more scoring operations after the first scoreline has been formed. The apparatus preferably includes a press which supports the first scoring die and second scoring die in such a manner as to establish the desired sequence of scoring operations. This method and associated apparatus provide a scored metal panel or container lid having improved performance characteristics. The resultant lid is characterized by reduced residual strain.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of creating a scored metal panel such as a metal container lid through sequential scoring operations which provide improved performance properties for the container lid and it also relates to associated apparatus for effecting such scoring and the scored lid.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been known for many years that metal panels may be provided with thinned zones in order to facilitate subsequent fracture of such zones. A particular known application is in connection with containers which have embodied what has been called "an easy open end." For example, it has been known to provide thinned zones which define regions that may be totally or partially removed in order to permit access to the contents of beverage and food cans. See, generally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,650,006; 3,701,330; 3,728,980 and 3,946,683.
It has been known to provide a single indenter tool having a trapezoidal profile which has a generally flat base with a pair of upwardly diverging straight sidewalls in order to thin the metal panel within a predetermined region which is adapted to be totally or partially removed in opening a container. It has also been known to secure various types of lever tabs to such scored zones so as to provide a mechanical advantage to the user in effecting fracture and opening of such containers. Typically, an organic coating is provided on the interior of such a container lid so as to resist undesired corrosive attack of the container lid material by the contents of the container.
As is apparent, in designing such container walls it is desired to achieve an optimum balance between sufficient depth of scoreline to facilitate ease of opening by the consumer, while having adequate residual metal in the scoreline so as to preserve the required strength of the container lid during double seaming to the container, processing, storing, shipping, handling and ultimate use by the consumer. Such need is acute where the contents consist of a pressurized beverage such as a soft drink or beer and in food cans which may be vacuum packed or not.
In conventional scoring processes the scoring action produces an undesirable localized shear strain and residual strain in and adjacent to the scoreline. These regions are prone to undesired cracking and provide a preferential corrosion path. Even if an initial crack does not occur during sealing, a typical container is subjected to repeated cycles of applied force during processing, shipment, handling and storage. This repeated loading can result in metal fatigue that creates undesired cracking and leakage in the zone of increased strain created by the scoring operation.
The problem is acute with respect to alloys which tend to develop zones of high localized shear straining in this type of application, such as the 5 xxx aluminum alloys, for example, such as 5042 and 5182 and other high strength alloys which otherwise would be highly advantageous in such applications. Such high strength alloys, however, have limited formability as a result of their high strength and can provide highly localized shear strain distribution as a result of present scoring processes.
Also, a further problem resulting from shear strain is the fact that not only may partial destruction of the underlying organic protective coating result in corrosion, but also in the highly strained bands, the metal is more vulnerable to corrosion.
In addition to the hereinbefore described trapezoidal type profile for a scoring tool, a number of other configurations have been suggested. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,650,006 and 3,701,330 seek to provide improved abuse and fatigue resistance by eliminating the dead zone of compressed work-hardened metal underlying conventional scorelines. The disclosure suggests the use of a score tool having a predetermined included angle between lateral faces of the indenter tool which preferably is said to be about 80 to 100 degrees.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,728,980 discloses a scoring tool having a five-sided profile with a narrow tool base.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,075 discloses a scoring tool that provides a pair of anti-fracture scorelines laterally spaced from and of lesser depth than the principal scoreline.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,539 discloses effecting scoring from both sides of the metal material.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,898,944 and 4,012,935 disclose tools having a narrow scoring portion which first engages the metal followed by a broader based indenter tool surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,464 discloses a combination of scoring tools which have a stepped scoring tool cooperating with an underlying anvil having a pair of spaced scoring rims.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,773 discloses a scoring tool having a central depending indentor and a pair of laterally spaced bending elements. The underlying anvil has an upwardly projecting rib which is adapted to engage the metal in generally aligned relationship with the central scoring portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,683 relates to a table weakened wall container which wall has a plurality of weakened portions.
In spite of the foregoing known systems and products, there remains a real and substantial need for a method and associated apparatus for scoring a metal panel such as a metal container lid which will provide increased resistance to failure while maintaining improved opening characteristics.

Method and apparatus for scoring metal panels and resultant product


A bottom wiper seal for a moving glass, in particular in a car door, the wiper seal comprising a stub or clamp for fixing and mounting on the frame of the door and a first sealing lip carried by the stub and suitable for co-operating with the window glass. The wiper seal further comprises a second lip which is offset downwards relative to the first, and which is shaped and placed in such a manner as to come into contact with the window glass only when the glass is fully extended, in which case the second lip bears sufficiently against the glass for the lip to provide satisfactory sealing, with the first lip being covered on portions thereof liable to come into contact with the window by means of a relatively flexible covering of flock, whereas the second lip is coated on its operative portion with a sliding coating.

There already exist numerous varieties of weather strip for sealing the glass or pane of a car window, such stripe being fixed around the window frame in a vehicle door and being referred to herein as "slides" when they line the top and sides of an opening suitable for being opened or closed by a moving retractable sheet of glass, and as "bottom wiper seals" or "wiper seals" when they are provided along the bottom edge of such an opening. Although wiper seals, and indeed slides, are required to provide adequate sealing against water, and also to contribute to providing sound insulation, they also serve to provide outer functions. Thus, slides also act as guide members and as protection members, unlike wiper seals, whereas wiper seals contribute to the appearance of the vehicle and are required also to project as little as possible from the opening in the door.
In order to satisfy this condition, car manufacturers desire that the sealing lip, i.e. the operative portion per se of the wiper seal should extend as closely as possible perpendicularly to the moving glass.
The solutions provided to this problem in the prior art have given rise to weather strips which are available on the market and which include one or two sealing lips made of natural or synthetic rubber carried on a stub optionally including reinforcement, with the lip(s) bearing and deforming against the moving surface.
However, since having such a lip bearing against the glass tends to slow down the sliding of the glass, proposals have been made to cover the surface of the lip which comes into contact with the glass in a layer having good sliding properties.
To this end, the sealing lips of some retractable window wiper seals are covered with a layer of flock comprising textile strands or fibers constituting a covering which is somewhat analogous to velvet. Although sliding properties are improved thereby, lips treated in this way nevertheless loose these qualities fairly rapidly, in particular because of their relatively rapid rate of wear. These lips have therefore been replaced by lips coated with a smooth sliding coating made of polyolefin, polytetrafluoroethylen, or other material (generally a synthetic material) which withstands friction wear wall and which provides good sealing against both air and water, while nevertheless having good sliding properties. Unfortunately, this solution is not entirely satisfactorily since it increases the danger of the glass being scratched by dust, which risk is further increased due to the transverse displacement of the glass while it is being raised or lowered because of the somewhat bulging shape given to the doors and windows in many recent models.
Consequently, an object of the invention is to provide a wiper seal for wiping the bottom of a moving motor vehicle window glass, which viper seal is simple and cheap to make while nevertheless obtaining good sealing against water and good sound isolation while avoiding damaging the glass or window with which it co-operates.

Bottom wiper seal for a retractable car window


Disclosed are multiplex television signal processing apparatuses in a television signal transmitting and receiving system. An apparatus at the transmitting side comprises: a signal separator to separate a multiplex signal into a first and a second part; a time-multiplexer to time-multiplex a main television signal and the first part of the multiplex signal to obtain a time-multiplexed main signal; a first amplitude-modulator for modulating a first carrier by the multiplexed main signal to obtain a vestigial side band signal, amplitude-modulated main signal; a second amplitude-modulator for modulating a second carrier which is same in frequency as but different in phase by 90 degrees from the first carrier by a second multiplex signal; an inverse Nyquist filter for filtering this signal to obtain a vestigial side band, amplitude-modulated multiplex signal; and an adder for adding the vestigial side band, amplitude-modulated main and multiplex signals to obtain a multiplexed signal.. An apparatus at the receiving side comprises: a Nyquist filter for filtering the multiplexed signal; a carrier regenerator for regenerating the first and second carriers from the multiplexed signal; a main signal detector for detecting the main signal from the multiplexed signal passed through the Nyquist filter by using the first carrier; a filter for removing quadrature distortion from the multiplexed signal; a multiplex signal detector for detecting the first multiplex signal from the multiplexed signal passed through the filter by using the second carrier; a time-demultiplexer to time-demultiplexing the main signal into a main television signal and a second multiplex signal; and a signal composer for composing the first and second multiplex signal to obtain the original multiplex signal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for multiplexing a specific signal with an amplitude modulated television signal, transmitting and receiving the multiplexed signal, and extracting the specific signal from the multiplexed signal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
More than 30 years have passed since the color television broadcasting of the current NTSC (National Television System Committee) system began in 1960. Recently, in search of finer definition and higher performance television system, several new systems including HDTV (High Definition Television) system developed by NHK (The Japan broadcasting Corporation) have been proposed. At the same time, the contents of the programs presented to viewers have been changed from the mere studio programs to programs providing higher quality images and more realistic feeling such as cinema-size movies.
The current NTSC broadcasting is standardized by 2:1 interlaced 525 scanning lines, luminance signal bandwidth of 4.2 MHz, and aspect ratio of 4:3. (See, for example, Pritchard, "US Color Television Fundamentals --A Review", IEEE Trans. Consumer Electron., vol. CE-23, pp. 467-478, Nov. 1977.)
In this background, several television signal composition methods aiming at compatibility with the current broadcasting system and enhancement of horizontal resolution have been proposed. One of such examples is presented in a paper of Fukinuki and Hirano, "Extended Definition TV Fully Compatible with existing Standards", IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. COM-32, pp. 948-953, Aug. 1984. Considering the NTSC television signal expressed on a two-dimensional plane of temporal frequency f1 and vertical frequency f2, chrominance signals C are present in the second and fourth quadrants due to the phase relations to the chrominance subcarrier fsc. The Fukinuki et al example uses the vacant first and third quadrants for multiplexing the high frequency components of luminance signal. The chrominance signal and the multiplex high frequency components are separated and reproduced at the receiving end, thereby enhancing the horizontal resolution. In this example, the conventional NTSC receiver would be interfered by the multiplex signal, because the example has no ability for separating the chrominance signal from the multiplex high frequency components.
In the current television broadcast, as clear from the description above, signal bandwidth is limited by the standard, and it is not easy to add some new information in good quality. For example, other methods to enhance the horizontal resolution are proposed (M. Isnrdi et al, "A Single Channel NTSC Compatible Widescreen EDTV System", HDTV Colloquium in Ottawa, Oct., 1987), but many problems are left unsolved from the viewpoint of the compatibility with the current television broadcasting and deterioration of demodulation characteristics of high frequency components in a moving picture. Besides, from the standpoint of effective use of the frequency resources, the transmission band cannot be extended as an easy way.
We invented a method of superposing a signal by using quadrature modulation of the video carrier (U.S. patent application No. 70804) By this method, various signals can be transmitted using newly established quadrature channel and the interference to the conventional NTSC receiver is very small in principle. But the interference can be detected in practice, because of the incompleteness of characteristics of filters at the receiver and transmitter.
This invention is one of solutions to this practical problem when quadrature modulation is carried into practical use. Even if the incompleteness of such circuits as filters occurs, the interference to the conventional NTSC receivers can be reduced down to the acceptable level. In this sense, this invention is very useful when quadrature modulation of the video carrier is implemented.

Multiplex TV signal processing apparatus

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A sample container (2) for NMR measurements defines a volume (V) of sample substance. The sample container (2) has a first interface (G1) towards an environment (1) and a second interface (G2) towards the sample substance (3). A susceptibility jump at the second interface G2 is sufficiently large that the maximum value of |B′G2/B0| within the volume (V) is at least 0.5 ppm. The geometry of the sample container (2) is selected in such a fashion that, when a homogeneous magnetic field B0 has been applied, a location-dependent relative field change F is present in the volume (V), which is larger than 20 ppb at least at one point in a center partial volume (V1) and a first residual field (R1) in the center partial volume (V1) is smaller than 1.6 ppb. A second residual field (R2a) in the lower partial volume (V2a) is smaller than 30 ppb.

The invention concerns a measuring configuration for NMR measurements, comprising a sample container that is closed on one side, wherein the material of the sample container has a magnetic susceptibility of χ2, an environment of a magnetic susceptibility of χ1, in which the sample container is arranged, and a sample substance which is contained in the sample container has a magnetic susceptibility of χ3, and takes up a volume within the sample container, wherein the volume of the sample substance consists of an upper partial volume, a lower partial volume and a center partial volume which comprises the origin of a spherical coordinate system with a z-axis, wherein the partial volumes adjoin one another, wherein the sample container has a first interface towards the environment and a second interface towards the sample substance, and, for certain designs of the sample container, the sample substance has a further interface between the sample substance and the environment, wherein there are magnetic susceptibility jumps at the interfaces, which cause location-dependent disturbance fields in the volume of the sample substance upon application of a predetermined external homogeneous magnetic field B0 which extends parallel to the z-axis, wherein the susceptibility jump at the second interface is sufficiently large that the maximum value of |B′G/B0| within the volume is at least 0.5 ppm, wherein, when a homogeneous magnetic field B0 has been applied, there is a first residual field in the center partial volume and a second residual field in the lower partial volume,
with
BG1: location-dependent z component of the magnetic field that is generated due to the susceptibility jump from χ1 to χ2 at the first interface G1;
BG2: location-dependent z component of the magnetic field that is generated due to the susceptibility jump from χ2 to χ3 at the second interface G2;
BG3: location-dependent z component of the magnetic field that is generated due to the susceptibility jump from χ3 to χ1 at the further interface G3;
F:=(B′G1+B′G2+B′G3)/B0: location-dependent relative field change due to the susceptibility jumps at the interfaces G1, G2, G3
B′j:=Bj−Bj: location-dependent deviation of the field Bj from the average value Bj
Bj: Average value of the z component of the field Bj, wherein (j=G1, G2, G3)
            R      1        :=                  (                              1                          V              1                                                                    ∫                              V                1                                                                                (                                      F                    -                                          F                      N                                                        )                                2                                                                                ⅆ                V                                                    )                    1        /        2              ,first residual field (in the center partial volume (V1));
            R              2                a              :=                  (                              1                          V                              2                                a                                                                                ∫                              V                                  2                                    a                                                                                (                                      F                    -                                          F                      N                                                        )                                2                                                                                ⅆ                V                                                    )                    1        /        2              ,second residual field (in the lower partial volume (V2a))
FN: Expansion of the relative field change F about the origin of the spherical coordinate system in rotationally symmetrical spherical functions up to order N, wherein N=4 to 10;
wherein the following applies in general:
      〈    A    〉    :=            1      V                          ∫        V                                    A          ·                      ⅆ            V                                            :                    Average value of any magnetic field A in the sample volume V;
      A    N    :=            ∑              n        =        0            N                          a        n                                    K          n                                  (                      r            ,            θ                    )                                                            :
Expansion of A in rotationally symmetrical (i.e. independent of φ) spherical functions up to order N, with
an:=Expansion coefficients
Kn(r,θ)=rnPn(cos θ):=rotationally symmetrical spherical functions
Pn(cos θ):=Legendre polynomials
A measuring configuration of this type is disclosed in [6], [8].
NMR spectroscopy is a multifunctional tool for the chemical analysis of samples. Towards this end, a sample is disposed in a strong static magnetic field and subjected to electromagnetic pulses. The reaction of the nuclei in the sample is measured and analyzed. The properties of the static magnetic field influence the quality of the measurement results. The best results are generally obtained in a large magnetic field with high homogeneity. Field strengths of up to 23 T are used for high-resolution NMR spectroscopy. Superconducting magnets are used in this connection.
The typical measuring configuration that is used in modern spectrometers consists of a cylindrical superconducting coil that generates a strong magnetic field parallel to the axis in the cylindrical inner space. The cylindrical inner space also contains shim coils, gradients, and radio frequency coils, which are arranged in this inner space at different radii around a sample container. The sample container contains the substance to be examined. It must be made from an electrically insulating and chemically inert material.
The field homogeneity required for high-resolution NMR spectroscopy is of an order of magnitude of parts per billion (ppb). The superconducting magnet coil does generate a magnetic field that is sufficiently strong but is typically not sufficiently homogeneous. The magnetic field requires fine correction in order to obtain the required homogeneity. For this reason, the field homogeneity is normally corrected by means of a shim coil system. The shim coil system provides a number of coils with different geometrical arrangements. Currents in these coils generate magnetic fields in that region receiving the RF coils and the sample container. These magnetic fields are added to the magnetic field of the magnet. When the currents in the coils of the shim coil system are suitably adjusted, a largely homogeneous magnetic field can be obtained. Geometrical arrangements of shim coils in such shim coil systems are described e.g. in [1].
In addition to insufficient basic homogeneity of the magnet, all materials that are introduced into the magnetic field may cause a distortion of the magnetic field due to their magnetic susceptibility. These materials include, in particular, the RF coil and also the sample container and the sample substance itself. These magnetic field inhomogeneities may also be partially compensated for by magnetic fields of the shim coil system.
The process of adjusting the currents in the shim coil system with the aim to obtain as homogeneous a magnetic field as possible, is called shimming. There are different conventional shimming methods, e.g. [2], [3], [4]. All have in common that they receive signals from the sample substance with one of the RF coils during performance of the method, and determine the required current changes in the shim coils. For this reason, shimming takes into consideration only that volume portion of the sample substance that is in the sensitive area of the RF coil.
The coils of the shim coil system, which are rotationally symmetrical with respect to the magnet axis, play a particular role. They generate magnetic fields that are described by the rotationally symmetrical spherical functions.
They are required for shimming rotationally symmetrical field deviations.
The sample container may have different shapes in dependence on the application. A typical shape is a long rotationally symmetrical cylinder. There are two essential reasons for selecting a rotationally symmetrical cylindrical shape. Firstly, the cylindrical geometry generates magnetic disturbances, i.e. deterioration of the homogeneity of the static magnetic field (B0), only at the two ends. Secondly, rotationally symmetrical sample containers can be rotated during measurement and for this reason, one can average non-rotationally symmetrical field inhomogeneities with time. Their influence on the measurement result is thereby reduced.
In a configuration of this type, typically only half of the sample volume, namely the part located in the highly sensitive area of the radio frequency coil, substantially contributes to the measured signal. The additional sample substance is used to reduce the magnetic disturbances at the upper and lower borders of the sample volume. This additional sample substance has the following disadvantages: When there is only little sample substance available, the sample substance must be diluted to the required volume. This reduces, however, the measurement sensitivity in the highly sensitive area of the radio frequency coil.
The area of additional sample substance may also generate undesired NMR signals such as e.g. with respect to the problems of suppressing the solvent. The NMR signal of the substance to be examined (useful signal, e.g. of a protein) is often weaker by several orders of magnitude than that of the solvent (e.g. water). In this case, it is often not possible in terms of measurement technology to detect the weak signals in the presence of the undesirably strong solvent signal. The solvent signal can be suppressed by suitable pulse sequences. Since the solvent suppression in the upper and lower partial volumes is less efficient, solvent signals from these volumes may become considerably larger than the useful signal (NMR signal of the nuclei to be examined).
Both problems can be eased by reducing the magnetic disturbance of the ends of the sample container. Smaller magnetic disturbances allow the ends to be positioned closer to the highly sensitive area of the coil. This reduces, in turn, the region of additional sample substance. There are three conventional strategies for this reduction:
1. Adjustment of the magnetic susceptibility of the sample container to that of the sample substance;
2. selection of the interface towards the sample substance in the form of an ellipsoid of revolution;
3. selection of the two interfaces (exterior towards the sample container and sample container towards the sample substance) in such a fashion that the magnetic disturbances inside the sample substance largely cancel.
1. Adjustment of the Magnetic Susceptibility
When the susceptibility across the interface between the sample substance and the sample container remains constant, the magnetic field does not become inhomogeneous at that location. This configuration is described in [5], [6]. A sufficiently large amount of a paramagnetic substance is added to the material of the sample container, e.g. glass, in [6] such that the magnetic susceptibility of the container exactly corresponds to that of the sample substance to be examined. The outer interfaces are disposed remote from the sample volume for minimizing the magnetic disturbance in the sample volume due to the susceptibility change between the sample container and the exterior.
2. Interface in the Form of an Ellipsoid of revolution
One knows from [7] that the magnetic field inside a body, which has the interface of an ellipsoid and consists of magnetically homogeneous material, is homogeneous in the inside of the body when an external homogeneous magnetic field is applied. The magnetic susceptibility of the body (in the present case the sample substance container) may differ in this case from the magnetic susceptibility of the sample substance. Like in case of adjustment of the magnetic susceptibility, the end of the sample substance container remote from the sample substance must be sufficiently removed from the sample substance to ensure that the field inhomogeneity generated at this end does not have any influence on the sample volume.
3. Selection of the Two Interfaces in Order to Minimize the Field Inhomogeneity
In [8], the interface between the environment and the sample container and that between the sample container and the sample substance are selected in such a fashion that the magnetic field inside the sample volume remains largely homogeneous when a homogeneous magnetic field B0 is applied. The field disturbance inside the sample volume is therefore minimized through selection of the interfaces. No information is given about the type of disturbance that remains after selection of the interface prior to shimming with the exception that the field disturbances in the entire sample volume should be minimum.
The conventional devices, however, have considerable disadvantages.
In methods 1 and 2, the ends of the sample containers must be disposed remote from the central area in order to obtain the desired effect.
The technology for producing the glasses with susceptibility correction in accordance with method 2 is complex and expensive.
The sample bottoms generated according to method 3 are very thick. This is disadvantageous in that the sample is greatly extended and also becomes considerably heavier than a standard sample with a bottom having the same thickness as the sidewalls. Furthermore, in method 3, a residual field remains after shimming in all practical cases, i.e. in case of sample bottoms having a non-infinite thickness.
It is the object of the inventive device to obtain an NMR measuring configuration and a method for calculating the design of a sample container, thereby minimizing disturbances in an NMR measurement due to field inhomogeneities caused by susceptibility jumps at the interface between the sample container and the sample substance, and also minimizing the required volume of sample substance.

NMR measuring configuration with optimized sample container geometry and method for calculating the shape of the sample container


A system and method is disclosed for allocating servers across a large number of applications and for providing a predictable and consistent service response under conditions where the use of the service and associated loads is driven by unknown factors. The invention provides fault tolerance within an application through multiple resources per application and fault tolerance across applications by limiting the overlap in resources between applications. The computational load on the service may include both individual processing time due to the complexity of a single request and the number of requests. Complexity may be unpredictable because the service is self-provisioned and may allow service users to create an arbitrary sequence of compound processing steps. The number of requests may vary due to a variety of events, including daily, seasonal, or holidays, or factors driven more directly by the user of the service, such as sales, advertising, or promotions. The invention throttles server loads to provide managed degradation of application processing. The system has application in personalization, behavioral targeting, Internet retailing, personalized search, email segmentation and ad targeting, to name but a few applications.

The present invention relates to the management of pooled resources to support multiple clients and applications. When there are multiple applications, it is beneficial to have those applications share the same resources. This is because different applications may have different loads at different times or may have different memory configurations, or may otherwise consume resources in a variable way that results in increased effective load, capacity if the resources are shared. This reduces the inefficiency of providing dedicated resources to each application in anticipation of each application's individual peak load, vs. the inefficiency of providing dedicated resources that will mostly be idle during non-peak periods (the so-called "assigned parking problem"). While assigning multiple applications to the same resources levels the peaks of normal variable loads, it does not handle the case where one application has an unexpected overload that cannot be handled by the resource pool.
This can occur, for example, when the consumers of the system self-provision resource intensive requests, whereby the complexity may be unpredictable because the service is self-provisioned and may allow service users to create art arbitrary sequence of compound processing steps. The number of requests may also vary significantly due to a variety of events, including daily, seasonal, or holidays, or factors driven more directly by the user of the service, such as sales, advertising, or promotions. In this case we desire some configuration that retains the benefits of load balancing shared resources, while at the same time limiting the exposure of one application to another application's overload.
The present invention also relates to load-balancing, whereby the requests to the service are managed through a single IP address but then distributed internally to one of a group of servers, or web farm. The web farm, may be physical or virtual. Particularly as resources become virtualized, it is possible to dynamically create large virtual web farms. As these web farms become larger it becomes both more difficult and more important to be able to maintain cost-efficient configurations while still maintaining adequate resource headroom for peak loads. The present invention addresses the shortcomings of existing server management configurations to both minimize the exposure of one application to another, through partial redundancy, and to limit the consumption of resources within an application. This allows the web service to be scaled to large numbers of client applications, with complex processing logic, and dynamic and unexpected loads.

Fault tolerance and maintaining service response under unanticipated load conditions


A multimedia distribution kiosk can communicate with a remote user to receive multimedia requests and can communicate with a multimedia content provider to obtain requested multimedia content. The kiosk can cache received multimedia content and provide the content as desired. The kiosk can also be used to upload multimedia content to a server. For example, an occupant of an automobile may access a system of kiosks to determine the nearest kiosk and request download of content prior to arrival at that kiosk.

Increasingly, people are able to perform more functions and obtain more data while mobile using electronic data devices such as mobile communication devices. For example, personal digital assistants (PDAs) allow people to check appointments, read and send email, browse the Internet, and make and receive phone calls. Mobile phones let people make and receive calls, and perform other functions such as reading and sending email and browsing the Internet. More and more, vehicles are being equipped with electronic systems such as phones, navigation devices, compact disc (CD) players, video cassette players, and digital video disc (DVD) players.
With the increase in mobile distributed information processing, there is also an increase in the availability of multimedia services for this processing. More stores now sell DVDs and other devices, and more systems are available for processing mobile telephone calls and other mobile communications, e.g., from other wireless devices.


A wooden jewelry case having sides joined at their ends by miters locked together with brass compression splines having a twibill cross sectional shape. A top and bottom are each attached to the sides with locking splines having a cross sectional shape similar to the figure "8," which locking splines permit the top and bottom to float within the frame provided by the sides and thereby accommodate wood movement. After assembly of the sides, they are typically cut longitudinally to separate the body of the case from a lid assembly that may be hinged to the body with pin type hinges.

This invention relates to wooden cases, particularly small cases constructed of solid wood, such as jewelry cases, but also including larger structures such as cabinets and coffins such structures constructed of composite, laminated and other man-made materials.
An enormous variety of wooden cases, boxes, coffins containers have been built throughout history for numerous purposes ranging from the most mundane storage and transportation tasks to the most sacred human activities, where such structures have been used in religious ceremonies. As a result, uncounted numbers of case configurations and constructions have been utilized in the fabrication of both cases that are built one at a time and production versions having parts manufactured in multiples.
Despite the substantial prior art in this field, continued development remains possible, particularly in light ongoing developments in machining equipment and techniques.
In a typical case having a generally square or rectangular structure and a hinged lid, the fundamental questions are these:
1. How do the sides join each other? PA1 2. What is the structure of the lid? PA1 3. How is the bottom attached? PA1 4. How does the top attach to lid sides, if there are lid sides? PA1 5. How is the lid hinged onto the case?
While numerous answers have been developed to all of these questions, difficulties continue to exist with respect to all of them. For instance, case sides are often constructed of solid wood with the grain of all sides running either parallel to or perpendicular to the bottom. In order to avoid visible end grain, such sides are often mitered at 45.degree. angles and then joined with through fasteners, a variety of types of splines, joints or simply with glue. It is frequently very difficult, however, to construct a case with such mitered side joints with tight joints that are square, particularly without the use of clamps and most particularly without extensive reliance on glue or adhesive. Attachment of case tops and bottoms presents additional problems when the objective is construction of an attractive case that may be assembled quickly and that does not display unsightly end grain when solid wood is employed. Another significant problem is differential wood movement with humidity changes with and across the grain. When a solid wood top or bottom is attached to solid wood sides, two-end-grain-to-long-grain joints result, regardless of whether the grain in the case sides is oriented vertically or horizontally.


Swimming flipper (1) comprising a flexible but relatively rigid blade (3) and a relatively soft shoe (2) associated to one end of the blade. The blade (3) has an active portion (5) formed by at least two relatively rigid thermoplastic materials (5a, 5b) joined to each other and of which the second (5b) occupies a central area of the said active portion (5) in which the first material (5a) is absent. Such a central area has a width comprised between 5 and 95% of the active portion (5) of the blade (3). (FIG. 1)

The present invention is related to swimming flippers comprising a flexible but relatively rigid blade and a relatively soft shoe associated to one end of the blade, and wherein the blade has an active portion formed by two materials.
Examples of swimming flippers of this type are generally known, for instance, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,218 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,859, wherein the two materials have a stratified configuration.
More particularly, the invention is directed to a swimming flipper of the above-mentioned type in which a first of the said two materials is a thermoplastic material and a second material occupies areas wherein said active portion of the blade is devoid of the first material.
Flippers of the above-referenced type are known, for instance, from U.S. Pat. No. 3,411,165, U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,645, U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,985 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,112.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 3,411,165, U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,645 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,985 the first material defines the relatively rigid load bearing structure of the blade, and the second material is a relatively thin and supple rubberlike material, defining webs having a non-stretched and baggy configuration. The webs are longitudinally secured to the first material by means of flexible joinders and define tapered, cup shaped pockets extending along the substantially rigid structure defined by the first material, which pockets tend to transversely bow or belly both downwardly and upwardly. The transverse bowing of the webs progressively increases as they extend forward from the shoe.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,645 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,985 the areas of the active portion of the blade devoid of the first material are constituted by two narrow slits oriented along the longitudinal direction of the blade and placed at a short distance from the lateral edges thereof, or by at least one narrow central slit, respectively.
The two slits, or the central slit, are occupied by respective highly flexible, extensible and supple membranes, constituted by the same thermoplastic rubber material of the shoe. The membranes act like hinges so as to allow relative displacement between the central area of the active portion of the blade and the two lateral areas, and when using the flipper make the central portion of the blade dynamically deformable in opposition with the swimming stroke, so as to generate thereby a liquid flow conveying canal the concavity of which is inverted as soon as the swimming stroke is reversed.
In the case of U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,112, two longitudinal slits are also provided along the active portion of the blade, which are occupied by two rubber inserts the function of which is, according to the inventor, that of providing warping of the blade so as to enable the latter, in use, to be constantly kept parallel to the displacement direction of the swimmer, thus preventing gliding of the flipper transversely.
These known flippers have several drawbacks.
Firstly, the great elastic deformability and extensibility of the rubber elements (membranes or inserts) placed along the longitudinal slits of the blade, while allowing on one hand achieving a positive effect of longitudinal calalizing the water flow during flipper motion, on the other hand involve an excessive "hinge" deformability between the different areas of the active portion of the blade separated from one another by the slits, which negatively affects the dynamic thrust power of the blade. In practice, the central portion of the blade is always displaced with a certain delay with respect to the periphery thereof, which limits in use sudden accelerations or "sprinting". The flipper is not fatiguing, but supple and of low performance.
Moreover, the rubber or thermoplastic rubber which is employed for the membranes or inserts has several defects: besides high cost both of the material itself and of the technology which are necessary for application thereof to the thermoplastic material of the remaining portion of the blade, it has a poor aging resistance, which can be improved only by means of additives giving thereto a dark grey or black colouring. As a consequence, the possibility of obtaining on the blade chromatic effects, not only pleasant from the aesthetical point of view but even such as to improve safety in use by means of colourings adapted to facilitate sighting of a diver wearing the flippers also in unclear water or dim light, are scarce.
Further the rubber is characterized by a low coefficient of elasticity. The reduced cross-section of the membranes and of the inserts according to the above prior art contributes in a very limited way to the global moment of inertia of the blade cross-sections and, therefore, in order to manufacture flippers having a sufficient rigidity it would be necessary to increase the thickness of such membranes and inserts, with a consequent burden in terms of weight and costs.
A further inconvenience, which is common to nearly all the flippers presently known, resides in the high cost for moulding the blades, deriving from the presence therein of longitudinal stiffening ribs and/or ridges, whose thickness (normally in the range of 8-10 mm) is appreciably greater than the general thickness of the blade (normally in the order of 2-4 mm). Actually, when drawing the blade out of the mould the core material within the said ribs and/or ridges is still fluid or anyway too hot, thus obliging, in order to avoid possible material shrinkage cavities and consequent negative effects both on the dynamic behaviour when using the flipper and from the aesthetic point of view, to increase the moulding cycle time so as to ensure the necessary cooling.


A new and distinct cultivar of Phalaenopsis plant named ‘Pure Love’, characterized by its upright plant habit; moderately vigorous to vigorous growth habit; strong flowering stems; strong leaves; freely flowering habit with typically two inflorescences per plant, each inflorescence with numerous flowers; white-colored flowers that are densely covered with fine purplish pink-colored dots and reddish purple-colored venation with white-colored margin edges; and good postproduction longevity.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Phalaenopsis plant, botanically known as Phalaenopsis hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Pure Love'.
The new Phalaenopsis plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Nantou, Taiwan and Heemskerk, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to develop new fast-growing and freely flowering Phalaenopsis plants with good leaf shape and large flowers with unique and attractive patterns and coloration.
The new Phalaenopsis plant originated from a cross-pollination in September, 2012 in Nantou, Taiwan of Phalaenopsis hybrida 'Modern Rose', not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection from crossing of Phalaenopsis hybrida 'Otohime' X P. hybrida 'Cassandra', not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Phalaenopsis plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled greenhouse environment in Heemskerk, The Netherlands in November, 2017.
Asexual reproduction of the new Phalaenopsis plant by in vitro meristem propagation in a controlled environment in Assendelft, The Netherlands since November, 2018 has shown that the unique features of this new Phalaenopsis plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A semiconductor module socket apparatus including a socket main body in which a socket groove corresponding to a semiconductor module is formed; a socket pin mounted in the socket groove of the socket main body so as to be electrically connected to a module pin of the semiconductor module; and a heat radiating member mounted in the socket main body so as to externally radiate heat that is generated in the semiconductor module and then is delivered from the socket groove and the socket pin. According to the semiconductor module socket apparatus, it is possible to prevent the heat generated in the semiconductor module from being delivered to the main board, to increase the heat radiation efficiency, to significantly save an installation space, to reduce the installation costs, and to realize no-noise and no-vibration of the semiconductor module socket apparatus.

The inventive concept relates to a semiconductor module socket apparatus, and more particularly, to a semiconductor module socket apparatus for preventing heat from being delivered to a main board of a computer, wherein the heat is generated in a semiconductor module including a semiconductor memory module.
In general, a semiconductor module socket apparatus is mounted in a main board of a computer, has various types of semiconductor modules including a semiconductor memory module or the like, and includes a socket main body whereon a socket groove corresponding to a semiconductor module is formed, and a socket pin that is mounted in the socket groove of the socket main body so as to be electrically connected to a module pin of the semiconductor module.
Thus, an electrical signal of the semiconductor module may be transferred to a main board of a computer in which the socket main body is mounted, in a manner that the module pin of the semiconductor module is electrically connected to the socket pin by inserting the semiconductor module into the socket groove of the socket main body.
Meanwhile, a problem of heat generation due to high integration and large capacity of a semiconductor module increases.
In particular, the heat generation first occurs in the semiconductor module, and although the generated heat is partly radiated to the air according to a heat convection phenomenon, almost 90% of the generated heat is delivered to the main board according to a heat conductivity phenomenon via the socket main body and the socket pin which thermally contact the semiconductor module.
The heat delivered to the main board causes malfunctions in the main board or deteriorates the durability of the main board.


A computer-implemented method, which enables the data to be clustered without being required to perform any distance calculations among the points of the dataset, includes assigning points of a dataset to cells of a cellular automaton; assigning each cell, having a data point assigned, a distinct state value and a constant temperature value; and assigning all cells, to which a data point is not assigned, a unique state value different from the state values utilized for cells having a data point and to a temperature lower than the constant temperature value; selecting a cell in the cellular automaton randomly; calculating the average temperature of the selected cell and its neighbor cells; setting the temperature of the cells having no data point, as the average temperature; if a neighbor cell temperature is above the predetermined threshold value, moving this neighbor cell to the state of the selected cell.

Cellular Automata (CA) is a discrete system consisting of cells that have neighborhood relationship with each other. Computations in CA are done by considering interactions between neighbor cells. Each cell can be in a certain state, and the new state of the cell in the next step is determined based on the states of the neighbor cells. Therefore, a CA evolves based on these local interactions and the model provides means for strong parallel computation. There are CA applications which are utilized to simulate different processes in different disciplines.
CA based clustering techniques have been proposed in the literature. Data clustering is a well-studied problem where the aim is to partition a group of data points into a number of clusters. The partitioning process is expected to form clusters where the variation of the elements in the same cluster would be minimal, whereas the variation of the elements in distinct clusters would be maximal. There are different application areas where clustering algorithms could be utilized. For instance, the customers of a bank can form different groups based on their financial or demographic profiles. It is possible to apply clustering techniques to detect these different groups among the customers so that the bank can choose a different marketing strategy for each group. Besides, genes which have similar functions can be detected by grouping genetic codes of living organisms.
In the literature, there are different approaches dealing with the problem. K-means algorithm and hierarchical clustering are the most well-known examples. All of these approaches in the literature perform clustering based on distance calculations between data points. Hence, the number of elements in the dataset is one of the factors that determine the time complexity of the algorithm and the efficiency of the algorithm declines when huge datasets are clustered.

Method for solving the problem of clustering using cellular automata based on heat transfer process


A vehicle floor panel is provided in which a honeycomb core made of metal sandwiched and adhered between two CFRP plates is one in which a large number of core units formed into a polygon shape are continuous within one plane so as to share a side of the polygon. Since closed-section parts formed by a hat-shaped cross section part formed along the side and one CFRP plate are continuous with each other at a vertex of the polygon of the adjacent core units, not only is it possible to lighten the weight by opening the interior of the polygon (P) shape core unit, but it is also possible to enhance the energy-absorbing performance by dispersing and transmitting a collision load inputted into one direction of the floor panel toward a plurality of other directions because the high strength load transmission path is continuous with other load transmission paths.

A honeycomb panel for use as a wall panel of a structure, etc. that is formed from a honeycomb core having a large number of convex parts formed by subjecting a metal plate such as aluminum to drawing or press-forming, and a surface material such as a urethane resin or an epoxy resin adhered to opposite faces of the honeycomb core is known from Patent Document 1 below.

Automobile floor panel and automobile floor panel manufacturing method


Apparatus with endless screws for forming flat loops of textile yarn.. The invention relates to an apparatus having endless screws for forming flat loops of yarn and depositing them on a conveyor belt.. The apparatus comprises two endless screws (10 and 11) with parallel axes which are rotatingly driven in opposite directions, two support and guide members (12 and 13) disposed laterally with respect to the screws and two deviating rods (26, 27) equidistant from these screws. These members and these rods serve to carry the loops of yarn, to bring them forward to the vicinity of a conveyor belt (24) and to deposit them on its surface after having previously turned them over.. This device is useful to allow the loops of yarn to be immediately turned over without necessitating an intermediate belt to turn them over.

Various endless screw systems are known for forming loops of textile yarn and depositing them on a conveyor belt. One of these systems is illustrated by the British patent application published under No. 2 024 271. A rotating arm coils the yarn around rotatingly driven screws, which results in successively forming loops in the vicinity of the head end of the screw, these loops being displaced axially along the screws due to the rotation of the latter. Given that the yarn loops are directly carried by the screws, friction due to rotation of the latter produces tension in the yarn strands. The yarn loops are moreover deposited on the conveyor belt with the same orientation as that with which they are formed on the screws. To permit easy recovery, that is to say in order not to be obliged to pull the yarn underneath the loops subsequently deposited, whereby the yarn may become entangled which is liable to slow down or even stop the installation, one is generally obliged to carry out a turnover operation which consists in turning the yarn loops around by 180.degree. while they are transported on the conveyor belt, for example, by means of a second, so-called turnover belt.
Known depositing systems generally form substantially round loops which are superposed with a slight axial shift. The formation of round loops presents various drawbacks. One such drawback is that the round loop does not allow a uniform density of the deposited yarn to be achieved, which results in a lack of homogeneous yarn retraction during thermal treatment, in particular of synthetic fibers. The round loops which overlap on the conveyor belt present a much higher overall density of material on the sides than at the center. During the drying, thermosetting or expressing operation, the latter being effected by rubberized rolls in opposition, the effect of treatment is very different between the sides and the center of the band of yarn loops deposited on the conveyor.
At the moment of retraction of the yarn or synthetic thread, the geometry of the deposition in the form of round loops does not permit uniform retraction because of friction acting differently on the superposed yarn portions depending on whether these yarn portions form with each other very narrow or very wide angles. The consequences may be particularly inconvenient for certain realizations especially for the fabrication of yarns for tufted carpets cut at very small height which are piece-dyed after tufting.
These findings speak in favor of abandoning the deposition of round loops and the adoption of oval or flat loops.


The present invention provides novel pyrrolo [2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepine compounds. This invention also provides a process for the preparation of novel pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepine compounds. These novel pyrrolo [2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepine compounds are useful as antitumor agents. It also provides a process for the preparation of 7-methoxy-8-{n-[4-(2-oxo-2H-4-chromenyl)piperazino]alkyl}-oxy-(11aS)-1,2,3,11a-5H-pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepin-5-one and 7-methoxy-8-{n-[4-(7-alkoxy-8-methyl-2-oxo-2H-4-chromenyl)piperazino]alkyl}-oxy-(11aS)-1,2,3,11a-5H-pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]. benzodiazepine-5-one with aliphatic chain length variations for these compounds.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepine compounds. This invention also relates to a process for the preparation of novel pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepine compounds. These novel pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepine compounds are useful as antitumor agents. More particularly, they relate to a process for the preparation of 7-methoxy-8-{n-[4-(2-oxo-2H-4-chromenyl)piperazino]alkyl}-oxy-(11aS)-1,2,3,11a-5H-pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepin-5-one and 7-methoxy-8-{n-[4-(7-alkoxy-8-methyl-2-oxo-2H-4-chromenyl)piperazino]alkyl}-oxy-(11aS)-1,2,3,11a-5H-pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepine-5-one with aliphatic chain length variations for these compounds. The structural formula of these novel pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepines is given below.
wherein R1 is H or an alkoxy group selected from methoxy, ethoxy and propoxy groups, R2 is H or CH3 and n is an integer varying from 3-5.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepine antitumor antibiotics are commonly known as anthramycin class of compounds. In the last few years, a growing interest has been shown in the development of new pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepines (PBDs). These antibiotics react covalently with DNA to form an N2-guanine adduct that lies within the minor groove of duplex DNA via an acid-labile aminal bond to the electrophilic imine at the N10-C11 position (Kunimoto, S.; Masuda, T.; Kanbayashi, N.; Hamada, M.; Naganawa, H.; Miyamoto, M.; Takeuchi, T.; Unezawa, H. J. Antibiot., 1980, 33, 665.; Kohn, K. W. and Speous, C. L. J. Mol. Biol., 1970, 51, 551.; Hurley, L. H.; Gairpla, C. and Zmijewski, M. Biochem. Biophys. Acta., 1977, 475, 521.; Kaplan, D. J. and Hurley, L. H. Biochemistry, 1981, 20, 7572). The molecules have a right-handed twist, which allows them to follow the curvature of the minor groove of B-form double-stranded DNA spanning three base pairs. A recent development has been the linking of two PBD units through their C-8 positions to give bisfunctional-alkylating agents capable of cross-linking DNA (Thurston, D. E.; Bose, D. S.; Thomson, A. S.; Howard, P. W.; Leoni, A.; Croker, S. J.; Jenkins, T. C.; Neidle, S. and Hurley, L. H. J. Org. Chem. 1996, 61, 8141).

Recently, PBD dimers have been developed that comprise two C2-exo-methylene substituted DC-81 subunits tethered through their C-8 position via an inert propanedioxy linker (Gregson, S. J.; Howard, P. W.; Hartely, J. A.; Brooks, N. A.; Adams, L. J.; Jenkins, T. C.; Kelland, L. R. and Thurston, D. E. J. Med. Chem. 2001, 44, 737). Recently, a noncross-linking mixed imine-amide PBD dimers have been synthesized that have significant DNA binding ability and potent antitumor activity (Kamal, A.; Ramesh, G. Laxman, N.; Ramulu, P.; Srinivas, O.; Neelima, K.; Kondapi, A. K.; Srinu, V. B.; Nagarajaram, H. M. J. Med. Chem. 2002, 45, 4679).
Naturally occurring pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepines belong to a group of antitumor antibiotics derived from Streptomyces species. Recently, there is much impetus for the PBD systems as they can recognize and bind to specific sequence of DNA. Examples of naturally occurring PBD's include anthramycin, DC-81, tomaymycin, sibiromycin and neothramycin.
However, the clinical efficacy for these antibiotics is hindered by several limitations, such as poor water solubility, cardiotoxicity, development of drug resistance and metabolic inactivation.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research


A portable pet urine reservoir is provided and includes a housing that defines a reservoir with a sloped basin with a plurality of polygonally shaped protrusions upwardly emanating from the basin. The polygonally shaped protrusions are of different heights to allow a permeable pad disposed on top of the polygonally shaped protrusions to lay approximately flat. An aperture disposed in the housing is also provided through which collected urine in the reservoir can be emptied. The portable pet urine reservoir further includes an additional reservoir, an additional basin, and an additional aperture which permits fluid communication between the reservoir and the additional reservoir. The portable pet urine reservoir also includes support structure, which upwardly extends from the additional basin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a litter box and more particularly to a portable pet waste disposal station.
2. Description of the Related Art
While pets have long proven worthwhile to many people, pets come at a cost. Aside from food and medical concerns, pets generally evacuate several times each day. By evacuation, it is meant that pets both urinate and defecate. Notably, evacuation merely represents an exercise in impulse for many pets, most are able to be trained so as to evacuate only at certain times and in certain places. Classically, dogs have been trained to evacuate outside at selected times of the day, and cats have been trained to evacuate indoors using a litter box. Interestingly, even less typical pets such as ferrets, rabbits, possums, and such have been trained to utilize a litter box when the need for evacuation arises.
Generally, a litter box consists of an impermeable container filled with absorbent material such as litter, newspaper and such which can absorb urine and which can be disposed of handily. Litter, in particular, has experienced advances in composition over the past two decades and now can serve the function of both an absorbent material and an odor-fighting material. More sophisticated litter boxes have been proposed including ones having a permanent mesh screen for separating urine and fecal matter, but cleaning the mesh screen can be a messy and uncomfortable proposition for pet owners. Even with the advances in litter and litter boxes, it is still possible to track litter from a litter box.
Commercially distributed litter boxes mostly address the requirements of cat and other small pet owners. To that end, owners of large pets, including medium and large breed dogs, have been unable to recognize the conveniences associated with litter box type technologies. Rather, it is presumed that large pet owners are to always "turn out" their dogs when necessary, including in the midst of a thunderstorm, in the middle of the night, or even when a suitable outside is not readily available, such as in the case of a high-rise apartment complex or hotel.
In addition to litter boxes, animal owners have also used puppy pads (or wee pads) to capture pet waste, though puppy pads generally only capture urine. Puppy pads can also be dragged throughout a house by an animal resulting in the further spreading of pet waste. In addition, after a pet uses a puppy pad, the animal's paws can be wet from the urine, allowing the urine to be tracked throughout the house. After each use a puppy pad has to be picked-up by the owner, carried to a trash can, and thrown away forcing the pet owner to come in contact with the pet waste, and thus, increasing the chances of the pet owner being exposed to illness. In addition, the pet owner may further contaminate his or her environment when disposing of the puppy pad. Also, the puppy pad must be thrown away after each use creating trash that adds to a community's trash dump.


An electronic data processing device with dual-CPU for processing and sensing information related to heart beatings of a human body includes the first CPU and the second CPU. The first CPU, which is low power type, is connected to the second CPU to execute the first process with a slow operation. The second CPU, which provides a computing ability stronger than the first CPU, executes the second process with a quick arithmetic operation. The first CPU outputs an interrupt to the second CPU to command the second CPU executing the second process. The second CPU outputs an interrupt to the first CPU to command the first CPU to transmit the cardiograph digital data to the second CPU.

It is to be understood, the electronic data processing device with dual-CPU, take the motherboard of a computer with dual-CPU for example, the two CPUs are all in the same type; but such prior circuit design is not so suitable for some dedicated applications. Cause the dedicated applications do require the electronic data processing device saving electricity greatly as well as being able to bear long-time work; and the electronic data processing device needs to manage a great deal of workload which came across provisionality, such as a mount of computing loads to be accomplished in best little time. So, the prior circuit design of the electronic data processing device should be competent enough to execute the dedicated applications which need long-time work and electricity-saving. However, collocating with high-efficiency computing ability sometimes is at the expense of high electric power. As a matter of fact, using the electronic data processing device with two same type CPUs is difficult to satisfy the dedicated applications indeed.

High and low power dual CPU cardiograph data processing system with gathering an display