A traction device for a dual wheel set. The traction device includes side-members and cross-members, the side-members fitted to the inner side of an inside wheel and the outer side of an outside wheel. A cinch line extended around the dual wheel set at the juncture between the wheels and provided with engaging ends configured to draw the ends together in a cinching action to draw the cross-members into the juncture and thereby tighten the traction device on the dual wheel set.

Traction device for vehicle tires sometimes referred to as tire chains and particularly that type of traction device intended for application to dual wheel sets most frequently mounted on large trucks.
Dual wheels are two wheels mounted in a side-by-side relation and mounted on a common axle. Such wheels double the area of surface engagement and provide the advantage of greater load-bearing capacity and greater traction for driving and/or braking the vehicle, typically found on large trucks intended for hauling heavy loads.
With such an arrangement of dual wheels, the procedure of xe2x80x9cchainingxe2x80x9d the wheels is made substantially more difficult. The wrap around devices for such xe2x80x9cchainingxe2x80x9d are doublewide for simultaneous chaining of both tires. The operator/driver has to secure the chain at the inside of the inside wheel and the outside of the outside wheel, taking up slack as best as he is able with considerable effort.
The present invention, in a preferred embodiment, provides a dual wheel traction device that includes interconnected cable members. There is a pair of side cables that encircle the inside of the inside wheel and the outside of the outside wheel. Loops of cable are provided for each side cable with each loop having its two ends anchored in spaced apart relation to the same side cable. Opposing loop centers meet at the juncture between the two wheels and are secured together by connectors. There are multiple cable loops from each side cable joined at their centers by connectors which connections overlay the space between the dual wheel tires.
Each of the connectors have an inwardly projected loop or eyelet and a cinching or tensioning line slideably projects through the multiple eyelets to encircle the tire walls at the juncture between the tires. Provision is made for the cinching line to be cinched i.e., the circumference of the cinching line is tightened around the tire which serves to draw the connectors and thus the cable loop centers into the space between the tires. This tightens the cable loops to remove undesired slack.
It will be appreciated that the invention is directed to the manner by which the dual wheel chain is tightened, tensioned or cinched onto the dual wheels and is applicable to a number of dual chain types. One such variation is a ladder-type dual chain which has cross members in the form of elongate cables for chains that cross from one side member to the other. Each side member is fitted with a connector at its mid-point, i.e., between the tires, and each connector includes a slide-loop or eyelet that receives a tensioning/cinch line extended around the circumference of the tires. It will also be appreciated that the side members and cross members may be cables or interconnected chain links or combinations of the two.
The invention and its numerous variations will be more fully understood and appreciated with reference to the detailed description provided hereafter.


The invention provides a foldable wheelbarrow (10.1) which comprises a load bin (12), a wheel (14) for supporting the wheelbarrow, and a connecting structure (16) which connects the wheel (14) to the load bin (12), the connecting structure (16) being displaceable with respect to the load bin. The connecting structure (16) is preferably pivotally displaceable with respect to the load bin (12) and may comprise first (16.1) with second (16.2) components, the wheel (14) being mounted on the first component (16.1) with the second component (16.2) being connected to the first component (16.1) at a first pivot connection (18). The second component (16.2) may be connected to the bin (12) at a second pivot connection (20).

This invention relates to a wheelbarrow, and relates in particular to a foldable wheelbarrow.
Due to its rigid construction, a conventional wheelbarrow is difficult to transport as it does not fit conveniently into the trunk of a domestic motor vehicle. Furthermore, modern trends in housing throughout the world are moving towards smaller, more compact dwellings in which storage space is at a premium. In the light of this, it would be desirable to provide a wheelbarrow which, while being sturdy and robust and having a similar load capacity to a conventional wheelbarrow, is nevertheless also able to be stored compactly and transported more easily.


The present invention relates to a grilling device, especially relates to a steam grilling device. It comprises a main body and a steam generator disposed on the main body. Compared to the conventional technique, by adding a steam generator on the main body of grilling device, the grilling device will has not only a general grilling function, but also has the steam heating function, so the heating of the grilling device will speed up, the loss of the nutrition of the food will be eliminated, and it also has effects such as degreasing and freshen, so the cooked food will be more nutritious and healthy.

The function of the grilling device of the conventional technique is usually single, it only can used for roast, there are also some cooking devices which has the function of both steam and roast, but most of the steam function applies ordinary steam, so the heating speed is relatively low, the heating effect by steam is not good. Chinese publication NO.CN1860972A discloses a cooking device which can used for both steam and roast, it has two heating manners including steam heating and grill heating; and Chinese publication NO.CN2815212Y discloses an electric steaming oven which has roasting function, it comprises a cooking inner chamber disposed in the oven\ a steam generator and a controlling circuit, an electric heating element for roasting is disposed in the housing; such cooking devices and so on are within the scope of the above devices.

Tsann Kuen (Zhangzhou) Enterprise Co., Ltd.


Methods and systems therefrom are provided for task processing in a computing environment. The method includes identifying a program to be executed by a processor for performing at least one task and determining that a memory requirement for the program does not exceed a capacity of a cache memory for the processor to perform the task. The method also includes, in response to determining that the memory requirement for the program does not exceed the capacity of the cache memory, instructing the processor to enter into a slice mode from a current mode and execute the program in the slice mode to perform the task. In the method, the slice mode comprises copying the program from the backing store memory to the cache memory and executing the program to perform the at least one task by utilizing the program copied to cache memory.

In the world of computing, there has been an ever-increasing emphasis on increasing the speed of computing, and, in particular, optimizing the processing of various tasks that computing devices handle. Most of today's central processing units (CPU) are designed to include at least one cache memory, of which there are assortments of types. Cache memory is often organized as a pipeline of instructions and data, where various schemes for optimal performance improvement select what is retained in the cache. Specifically, cache memory is typically faster, but smaller in capacity than backing store memory and resides between the CPU and the backing store memory. Cache memory is utilized to maintain a subset of data and instructions from backing store memory that has a high probability of being used by CPU. A CPU can access cache memory much faster than backing store memory, and therefore cache memory is very useful in increasing the overall speed of computing. While processing various tasks, it would be advantageous to fully process the tasks or portions of the tasks at cache memory speeds. In fact, processors often spend a prohibitive amount of time processing at backing store memory speeds or require control logic functions which would be time prohibitive, costly, and overly consumptive of memory space.
As a result, there is a need for more effective and efficient means for optimizing task processing by utilizing cache capabilities. Furthermore, there is a need for effective and efficient systems and methods creating a mode for processing tasks or portions of tasks at cache memory speeds.

System and method for slice processing computer-related tasks


Means and methods for treating Crohn's disease, as an example of selectively influencing the immune systems of patients afflicted with intractable disorders and thereby abating or relieving the symptoms of such disorders, including many having an autoimmune abnormality or unbalance, such as an excessive concentration of killer T cells or an insufficient concentration of helper T cells or indeed both. A triazolo composition, such as a triazolobenzodiazepine, is administered to such a patient periodically in an amount effective to influence the immune system accordingly and to alleviate such symptoms, whereupon the dosage is gradually reduced to a maintenance level at which the symptoms do not recur but below which such recurrence is likely or certain.

Certain benzodiazepines are known to be depressants of the central nervous system and are accepted in treatment of patients with symptoms ranging from anxiety to panic. Hitherto they have not been recognized as useful in treating immunological unbalance, such as may give rise to a variety of conditions commonly treated with analgesics, emollients, hormones, and steroids, for example.
Many people suffer from such disorders of the skin, mouth, or gastrointestinal tract as psoriasis, recurrent mouth ulcers, and ulcerative colitis for years with little or no relief. Others have even more debilitating afflictions of circulatory, muscular, and nervous systems, for which no successful treatment is known. Moreover, insult may be added to injury as the patients themselves are often characterized by members of the public as "mental" cases deemed responsible for their own symptoms, if only involuntarily.
My invention is directed to relieving at least the symptoms of such disorders and especially of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) related diseases, as by selectively seeking out and eliminating autoimmune abnormality or unbalance responsible for intractability of such disorders when subjected to more conventional treatment. Such disorder exemplified here is Crohn's disease. More general immunological depression or suppression can also be, in at least some instances, susceptible to similar treatment.

Treatment of immunologically based disorders, specifically Crohn's disease


The multi-speed transmission has shafts, planetary gearsets (RS1, RS2, RS3, RS4) and shifting elements (A, B, C, D, E). Carrier (ST4) of gearset (RS4) and the input shaft couple as shaft (1). Carrier (ST3) of gearset (RS3) and the output shaft couple as shaft (2). Sun gears (SO1, SO4) of gearsets (RS1, RS4) couple as shaft (3). Ring gear (HO1) of gearset (RS1) forms shaft (4). Sun gear (SO3) forms shaft (5). Carrier (ST1) of gearset (RS1) and ring gear (HO3) of gearset (RS3) couple as shaft (6). Sun gear (SO2) of gearset (RS2) and carrier (ST4) of gearset (RS4) couple as shaft (7). Ring gear (HO2) is shaft (8). In the flow of power, elements (A, B) are respectively between shafts (3, 4) and a transmission housing; element (C) is between shafts (1, 5); element (D) is between shafts (2, 8); and element (E) is between shafts (5, 7).

Automatic transmissions, especially for motor vehicles, encompass, in accord with their state of the technology, planetary gear sets. Further the transmissions are shifted by means of friction elements or shifting elements, such as clutches and/or brakes and normally possess a start-up element. The start-up element is subjected to slip action and optionally has a converter lock-up clutch, somewhat in the manner of a connection with a hydrodynamic torque converter or a fluid clutch.
Within the general framework of DE 101 15 983 A1, the applicant, for instance, has described a multi-speed transmission having an input shaft, which is connected to an input-side planetary gear set and being further equipped with an output shaft, which is connected to an output side planetary gear set. The described multi-speed transmission also has a maximum of seven shifting elements, by means of the selective shifting thereof, seven forward gears can be implanted, without the intervention of range-shifting. The input side planetary gear set is constructed from a shiftable or a non-shiftable planetary gear set, or alternately, from a maximum of two non-shiftable, mutually coupled planetary gear sets. The output side planetary gear set is designed as a two carrier, four shaft transmission with two shiftable planetary gear sets and possesses four free shafts. The first free shaft of this two carrier, four shaft transmission is bound to the first shifting element, the second free shaft connects with the second and third shifting elements, the third free shaft is connected to the fourth and fifth shifting elements and the fourth free shaft is bound with the output shaft. In the case of a multi-speed transmission, which has a total of six shifting elements, in accord with the invention, the proposal is made, that the third free shaft or the first free shaft of the output sided planetary gear set, should be bound additionally to a sixth shifting element. With a multi-speed transmission having a total of seven shifting elements, in accord with the invention, a proposal is made, that the third free shaft be connected to sixth shifting element and the first free shaft be additionally connected to a seventh shifting element.
A plurality of other multi-speed transmissions are, for example, also disclosed by DE 101 15 995 A1 of the applicant, wherein four shiftable, mutually coupled planetary gear sets and six or seven friction-based shifting elements are provided, by the selective closure thereof, the speed of rotation of the input shaft of the transmission is so transferred to the output shaft of the transmission, such that nine or eleven forward gears may be implemented and at least one reverse gear can be shifted into. In accord with the shifting diagram (FIG. 2), it is seen, that in each gear, two or three shifting elements are closed, whereby, by means of a change from one gear to another gear which is immediately the next higher or lower gear therefrom, in order to avoid group shifting, the shifting is completed by disengaging only one engaged shifting element and a previously disengaged shifting element is engaged.
Additionally, in the generic, unpublished patent application, namely, DE 102005002337.1 of the applicant, a multi-speed transmission is proposed, which possesses one input shaft, one output shaft, four mutually coupled individual planetary gear sets along with five shifting elements, whereby, eight forward gears are accessible without range shifting and also the proposal is such that when changing from one forward gear to the immediately next successive higher or lower forward moving gear, only one of the previously engaged shifting elements need be opened and only one of the previously disengaged shifting elements need be engaged. The multi-speed transmission also possesses a reverse gear. In all forward-travel gears and in the single reverse gear, respectively, three shifting elements are engaged. Considering the kinematic coupling of the four planetary gear sets among each other and the two shafts, namely for input and output, provision is made, that: a carrier of the fourth planetary gear set and the input shaft are bound together and form a first shaft of the transmission, a carrier of the third planetary gear set and the output shaft are bound together and form a second shaft of the transmission, a sun gear of the first planetary gear set and a sun gear of the fourth planetary gear are connected together to form a third shaft of the transmission, a ring gear of the first planetary gear set forms a fourth shaft of the transmission, a ring gear of the second planetary gear set and a sun gear of the third planetary gear set are bound together and form a fifth shaft of the transmission, a carrier of the first planetary gear set and a ring gear of the third planetary gear set are bound together and form a sixth shift of the transmission, a sun gear of the second planetary gear set and a ring gear of the fourth planetary gear set are bound together and form a seventh shaft of the transmission, and a carrier of the second planetary gear set forms an eighth shaft of the transmission. Further, considering the kinematic coupling of the fifth shifting element to the four planetary gear sets and to the input and output shafts, it is provided that placements are made, so that: the first shifting element in the power flow is between the third shaft and the transmission housing, the second shifting element is between the fourth shaft and the transmission housing, the third shifting element is between the first and fifth shafts, the fourth shifting element is either between the eighth and second shafts, or between the eighth and sixth shafts, and the fifth shifting element is either between the seventh and fifth shafts or between the fifth and eighth shafts.
Automatically shiftable vehicle transmissions, which are based on planetary gear sets, have, in general, been described many times in terms of the state of the technology and form the foundation of an on-going development and improvement thereof. These transmissions should possess a sufficient number of forward gears along with a single reverse gear and provide, for a motor vehicle, a very well adapted ratio selection with an advantageous spread. Further, these transmissions should enable high start-up ratios in the forward direction and should be suitable for installation both in passenger cars as well as in commercial vehicles. Beyond this, these transmissions should require a relatively small investment of money and labor for assembly, a relatively small number of shifting elements and sequential shifting arrangements for double clutching should be avoided. The result is, that in case of shifting in defined gear-groups, only one shifting element need be operated.


A system and a method are disclosed to optimize use of resources and services among a number of nodes, which could be software programs, individuals, machines, organizations or any entity that can exchange resources, goods and services with other entities. Platform not just facilitates exchange and sharing of resources and services, but also lower substantially legal cost and time for short or long term cooperation among entities.

Embodiments of the invention described in this specification relate generally to value chain resource allocation and provisioning of goods and services, and more particularly, to a system to optimize allocation and usage of resources, goods, and services among nodes in a cluster of nodes and a method for optimal and transparent exchange of resources, goods, and services among nodes in a cluster of nodes (e.g., nodes in a value chain) and for managing smart contracts between interested parties.
There are several problems with the current state of art of space data communication and services which render applications and systems expensive, complex, and inefficient. One specific problem is that current space data communication typically involves outdated or inefficient communication. For instance, there has been accelerated growth of Cube Satellite (CubeSat) deployment to Low Earth Orbit in the last few years. CubeSats have typically been built by industry/academia/government efforts for both, scientific research, and educational purposes. Most spacecraft for scientific use carry some type of scientific instrumentation or sensors, collect data, and store the data until it can be transmitted to a ground station. Such spacecraft have used, to a large extent, amateur radio communication technology (i.e., frequency allocation and protocols). However, the communications protocols currently in use are outdated and inefficient. Additionally, the use of outdated/inefficient communication technology is exacerbated by typical deployments which generally only include a single ground station per aircraft (instead of a network of distributed base stations). Similarly, large space missions mainly use standard internet communication protocols which, in many instances are inappropriate for conditions in space (and also inappropriate for ground-space communication).
Compatibility is another specific problem because current space data communication and service delivery employs multiple technologies that are not generally able to provide services and resources to and accept services and resources from other systems, and to use services exchanged to effectively inter-operate. For example, many high-end systems in space missions can only communicate with similar systems or have proprietary data formats unreadable by others, incompatible communications paths (non-compatible frequencies, equipment and signaling), differing/incompatible radio system coverage, etc. In these cases, sharing information, resources, or services with incompatible units can be difficult, time consuming, and prone to errors. The lack of a uniform standard that applies across devices and networks means there is a lack of universally adopted semantics. Without a clear definition, a lot of opportunities for misunderstandings arise.
A satellite, for example, may only connect with a ground station while it is in line of sight, which is a very small percentage of its time in orbit, with many resources of the satellite or ground station idle most of the time. For example, the satellite could be capturing high definition pictures but is unable to send them to ground or other satellites for use or for processing.
Thus, the current approaches, which use mainly proprietary systems, protocols, software, etc., cannot achieve interoperability, fast scalability, and efficient use of resources. As a result of such inefficient communication and incompatibility of multiple technologies, markets become fragmented with high development costs, long times to deployment, inefficient use of resources and services, and lack of incentives for collaborative efforts, which thereby impede value dramatically and slow down value generation for users and providers of resources and services. In fact, it is not uncommon to find space systems with abundant resources and services but with poor rates of utilization.
Therefore, what is needed is a way to exchange and share resources and services between nodes of a cluster in a collaborative commons approach, while substantially lowering legal costs and time for short or long term cooperation among nodes and entities.

System to optimize allocation and usage of resources, goods, and services among nodes in a cluster of nodes and a method for the optimal and transparent exchange of resources, goods, and services among nodes in a cluster of nodes


In a channel impulse response estimator (12), a local preamble generator (35) generates a local preamble signal identical with a transmission preamble signal in a received signal. A preamble detector (37) detects the transmission preamble signal in an estimated sequence signal to produce a preamble detection signal. Responsive to the preamble detection signal, a sequence selector (39) selects one of the local preamble signal and the estimated sequence signal as a selected sequence signal which is supplied to a re-modulator (14). Responsive to the preamble detection signal, a step-size generator (41) generates one of first and second step-size signals as a selected step-size signal which is supplied to a tap coefficient producer (26).

This invention relates to a channel impulse response estimator for use in an adaptive maximum likelihood sequence estimation receiver and, more particularly, to a channel impulse response estimator for use in an adaptive equalizer system for a digital mobile communication system.
In general, an adaptive maximum likelihood sequence estimation receiver of the type described is supplied with a received signal which is transmitted through a transmission path or a channel. The received signal has a waveform subject to a distortion which results from degradation of a channel characteristic or a characteristic in the transmission path and interruption in the transmission path. The adaptive maximum likelihood sequence estimation receiver serves to equalize the distortion of the waveform, as well known in the art.
An adaptive maximum likelihood sequence estimation receiver is disclosed in a book "Digital Communications" edited by Proakis, John G, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1983. The adaptive maximum likelihood sequence estimation receiver comprises a maximum likelihood sequence estimator and a channel impulse response estimator. The maximum likelihood sequence estimator carries out a sequence estimation operation on the received signal in response to a plurality of impulse response signals which collectively indicate a channel impulse response to produce an estimated sequence signal indicative of an estimated sequence after a lapse of a predetermined delay time. The received signal comprises a transmission preamble signal indicative of a transmission preamble and a data signal following the transmission preamble signal. The channel impulse response estimator carries out a response estimation operation on the received signal and the estimated sequence signal to produce the impulse response signals. In the manner which will later become clear, a conventional channel impulse response estimator includes a tap coefficient producer for producing a plurality of tap coefficient signals indicative of tap coefficients on the basis of a fixed step-size signal indicative of a fixed step size. As a result, the adaptive maximum likelihood sequence estimation receiver including the conventional channel impulse response estimator is disadvantageous in that it is difficult to apply to a communication system such as a digital mobile communication system having the channel characteristic which rapidly fluctuates.

Channel impulse response estimator for use in an adaptive maximum likelihood sequence estimation receiver which is applicable to a communication system having a channel characteristic with rapid fluctuation


Generally described herein are apparatus, systems and methods related to a pre-loaded septum insertable in an access port housing for increasing the control of the compression within the septum and the interference between the septum and the housing. For example, a pair of washers having mating portions may be positioned on respective sides of a rubber septum and bent such that the mating portions of one of the washer are interlocked with the mating portions of the other washer, the interlocked portions forming a tight ring about the septum and generating lateral compression on the septum, thereby “loading” the septum. In addition, fluid seals made of a rubber material with lower durometer than the rubber septum may be used at the interface between the rubber septum and the housing to enhance the fluid sealing functionality while promoting the self-sealing features of the rubber septum.

Adjustable gastric banding apparatus have provided an effective and substantially less invasive alternative to gastric bypass surgery and other conventional surgical weight loss procedures. Despite the positive outcomes of invasive weight loss procedures, such as gastric bypass surgery, it has been recognized that sustained weight loss can be achieved through a laparoscopically-placed gastric band, for example, the LAP-BAND® (Allergan, Inc., Irvine, Calif.) gastric band or the LAP-BAND AP® (Allergan, Inc., Irvine, Calif.) gastric band. Generally, gastric bands are placed about the cardia, or upper portion, of a patient's stomach forming a stoma that restricts the food's passage into a lower portion of the stomach. When the stoma is of an appropriate size that is restricted by a gastric band, food held in the upper portion of the stomach may provide a feeling of satiety or fullness that discourages overeating. Unlike gastric bypass procedures, gastric band apparatus are reversible and require no permanent modification to the gastrointestinal tract. An example of a gastric banding system is disclosed in Roslin, et al., U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2006/0235448, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by this specific reference.
Over time, a stoma created by a gastric band may need adjustment in order to maintain an appropriate size, which is neither too restrictive nor too passive. Accordingly, prior art gastric band systems provide a subcutaneous fluid access port ("access port") connected to an expandable or inflatable portion of the gastric band. By adding fluid to or removing fluid from the inflatable portion by means of a hypodermic needle inserted into the access port, the effective size of the gastric band can be adjusted to provide a tighter or looser constriction.
Typically, the access port contains a rubber septum while the rest of the access port (e.g., housing) is constructed out of a hard plastic or metal material. The rubber septum is penetrated by the hypodermic needle to add or remove the fluid. However, after the hypodermic needle is removed, the hole created cannot be allowed to cause a leak. Therefore, the rubber septum should have a self-sealing function and "heal" the hole to prevent a leak after the hypodermic needle is removed.
Certain access ports currently in use are designed to withstand tens to hundreds of punctures by utilizing an interference fit between a cavity defined by two or more mating parts of the access port housing and a rubber septum which is initially larger than the cavity, as illustrated in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of another prior art access port, which reveals a fluid reservoir or cavity 130 between a septum 135 and the inside walls of a housing 140. The interference fit 160 between the septum 135 and the access port housing 140 serves two functions: (1) to create a fluid seal at the interface between the septum 135 and the access port housing 140; and (2) to provide compression on the septum 135 which helps to ensure self-sealing after a needle punctures the septum 135. However, one drawback of these access ports is the difficulty in controlling the amount of interference with the rubber septum while concurrently ensuring that the housing parts are effectively assembled together (e.g., either by a press fit or ultrasonic welding, etc.). Because these access port designs rely on the interference created solely by the fit between the septum and the housing, these access ports are forced to use the same rubber durometer to accomplish both the fluid seal function and the self-sealing function. However, using the same rubber durometer for both functions is not optimal because the self-sealing function is more effectively accomplished with a higher durometer rubber (since a harder material more effectively returns to its compressed state under compression), and the fluid seal is better achieved with a lower durometer rubber (since a tighter seal is achieved when the rubber is more easily conformable to the housing). In other words, the use of a higher durometer rubber to promote the septum's self-sealing function compromises the effectiveness of the fluid seal, and conversely, the use of a lower durometer rubber to enhance the fluid seal will limit the septum's ability to self-seal.
What is needed is an access port that allows optimization of the fluid seal function through the use of a better suited rubber material while ensuring that the interference created between the housing and the septum does not adversely affect the self-sealing functionality of the septum.

Pre-loaded septum for use with an access port


A wind blocking screen comprises three flat panels of substantially rigid material joined together along integral fold lines to form a continuous row of panels which can be folded together into a flat configuration for storage and opened out at any desired angle to one another in an open, shielding configuration. Each panel has a handle opening adjacent the center of one of its edges which is positioned for alignment with corresponding openings in the other panels when they are folded flat, forming a hand grip for carrying the screen.

The present invention relates generally to screens of the type used for blocking the wind or the sun, or for privacy in open areas such as parks, beaches and the like.
Various types of wind blocking shields or screens are known, but these are generally of a relatively complex, unwieldy nature, involving stakes or anchors for anchoring the screen in the ground and canvas or like material extending between the stakes. These screens may be relatively heavy and unwieldy, and difficult to carry to and from a desired destination, such as a beach, for example, and relatively inconvenient to set up once there. Also, as time passes there is often a need to re-position the screen, which again causes inconvenience with a relatively complicated assembly that is difficult to position. Another problem is that such screens can only be used on relatively soft surfaces such as sand into which the stakes can be driven to anchor the screen.


A water system is provided for an extracoporeal lithotripter. The reflector is aimed downwardly and has a spark gap at the first focus point thereof for generating a shock wave. A rubber diaphragm spans the lower end of the reflector. A water reservoir is provided along with pipes and a pump for circulating water from the reservoir to the reflector and back. A vacuum pump maintains pressure below ambient in the reservoir, the reflector and connecting pipes to control downward ballooning of the diaphragm.

Noninvasive lithotripters for the extracorporeal disintegration or destruction of kidney stones are now well known. Basically, an ellipsoidal reflector is utilized which is cut off at one end. An ellipsoid has two focus points, and a spark gap is provided at the first focus point. The reflector is filled with water. In initial efforts, both the reflector and the patient were emersed in a rather large water bath. More recent efforts have provided the cut off end of the ellipsoidal reflector with a rubber-like diaphragm. Typically, the reflector is placed in vertical position beneath a patient who lies on his back on a table with a cutout. The reflector is positioned in the cutout with the rubber diaphragm pressed against the patient's back in the area of the kidney. The position of the reflector is manipulated relative to the patient so that the kidney stone or other bodily concretion lies at the second focus point of the reflector.
Electrical energy is discharged across the spark gap in the form of a repeating series of sparks. Each spark flashes a certain amount of the water into steam, and may also produce some disassociation of the hydrogen and oxygen making up the water. In any event, a shock wave is generated. This shock wave passes through the water in the reflector, and is focused by the walls of the reflector on the second focus point. The shock wave energy passes through the water in the reflector and through the human tissues, which are 80% or more water, and focuses on the kidney stone. A repeated series of such shock waves reduces the kidney stone to fragments which pass out of the body with the urine.
Prior art extracoporeal or noninvasive lithotripters have been positioned with the reflector oriented substantially vertically upwardly. Gases produced by the sparks rise within the water in the lithotripter, and tend to accumulate beneath the diaphragm. This reduces the transmission efficiency of the shock wave from the reflector into the body tissues, and to the kidney stone or other concretion. Various structures and processes have been evolved to remove or to minimize the effect of such gases in the water.
The water pressure in the prior art systems has generally been substantially above ambient air pressure so as to cause the diaphragm to balloon upwardly for conformity with the patient's body. Such water systems in the prior art have generally been more or less permanently connected with water supplies, and this has limited mobility of the lithotripter apparatus. Such water systems have generally been rather complicated.


A cable fixing member is provided including a pair of bracket members that hold a cable therebetween and a fitting part that fits into the pair of bracket members. The fitting part includes a convex portion having an arc-shaped cross sectional face formed in one bracket member of the pair of bracket members; and a concave portion formed in the other bracket of the pair of bracket members and having an arc-shaped cross sectional face with which the convex portion is fitted, wherein the pair of bracket members are rotatably formed with the fitting part as a rotation center, so that facing surfaces of the pair of bracket members that hold the cable can be opened and closed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cable fixing member and a cable fixing structure for fixing a cable to a vehicle body, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
When wiring of cable/electric wire (simply called "cable" hereafter) is laid, for example, when wiring is laid under a suspension of an automobile (called "under a vehicle spring" hereafter), an intermediate portion of a cable is held and fixed to a vehicle body side, to thereby prevent a contact between a tire and the other component, and the cable. A metal clamp is generally used as a fixing unit of the cable. The metal clamp holds an outer periphery of the cable from both sides by a pair of metal components, and fixes the metal component to a vehicle body, etc., by using a screw, etc., with the cable held by the metal components, to thereby hold the cable.
As an example of a the metal clamp in the past, patent document 1 discloses a clamp wherein although a movement of an electric wire in an axial direction is regulated, rotation thereof is allowed, in an electric wire holding device for holding the electric wire for supplying electric power to an in-wheel motor incorporated in a wheel. The clamp holds a buffer cylinder member fitted to an outer periphery of the electric wire and attached thereto by an adhesive agent, etc., from both sides by clamp body components, and rotatably supports the electric wire, with a bearing structure provided between the buffer cylinder member and the clamp body components. By allowing a rotation of the electric wire, breakage of the electric wire by repeated bending due to a vertical movement of the wheel is prevented.
(Patent document 1) Japanese Patent Laid Open Publication No. 2007-276738
Incidentally, a conventional metal clamp holds an outer peripheral side of the cable by a pair of clamp components (a base member and a pressing member, being clamp body components in the patent document 1) from both sides, and the metal clamp is attached to a vehicle body side at two places on both end sides by a bolt, etc. However, such a structure involves the following problem.
Namely, there is a problem that the metal clamp is sized up in a longitudinal direction, due to a fixing part fixed to both end sides of the metal clamp in a longitudinal direction (such as an arrangement direction of the cable) by a bolt, etc. Further, there are a plurality of fixing parts of the metal clamp (two places in the patent document 1), and therefore when a pair of clamp components that constitute metal clamps (a base member and a pressing member of the clamp body components in the patent document 1) are overlapped on each other, this is a work while considering a holding state of the cable. However, there is also a problem of a poor workability, such that it might be difficult to slightly adjust the holding state to solve a twisting of the cable held by the metal clamp. Such a poor workability leads to a poor reproducibility or a poor assembling accuracy of the cable in a positional relation between the cable and the metal clamp, and therefore improvement is desired in a viewpoint of keeping a constant quality.

Cable fixing member and cable fixing structure


Aspects of the present invention provide energy conserving communications for networked thermostats powered, in part, by batteries. A thermostat communication server stores a thermostat battery-level to determine what data should be sent to the thermostat. The thermostat communication server classifies types of data to be transmitted to the thermostat according to a data priority ranging from a low-priority to a high-priority data type. If the battery-level associated with the battery on the thermostat is at a low battery-level, the thermostat communication server may only transmit data classified under a high-priority data type. This conserves the power used by the thermostat, allows the battery on the thermostat time to recharge and perform other functions. If the battery-level of the thermostat is at a high level, the thermostat communication server may transmit a range of data to the thermostat classified from a low-priority type to a high-priority data type.

Substantial effort and attention continues toward the development of newer and more sustainable energy supplies. The conservation of energy by increased energy efficiency remains crucial to the world's energy future. According to an October 2010 report from the U.S. Department of Energy, heating and cooling account for 56% of the energy use in a typical U.S. home, making it the largest energy expense for most homes. Along with improvements in the physical plant associated with home heating and cooling (e.g., improved insulation, higher efficiency furnaces), substantial increases in energy efficiency can be achieved by better control and regulation of home heating and cooling equipment. By activating heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment for judiciously selected time intervals and carefully chosen operating levels, substantial energy can be saved while at the same time keeping the living space suitably comfortable for its occupants.
It would be beneficial, at both a societal level and on a per-home basis, for a large number of homes to have their existing older thermostats replaced by newer, microprocessor controlled "intelligent" thermostats having more advanced HVAC control capabilities that can save energy while also keeping the occupants comfortable. To do this, these thermostats will need more information from the occupants as well as the environments where the thermostats are located. Preferably, these thermostats will also be capable of connection to computer networks, including both local area networks (or other "private" networks) and wide area networks such as the Internet (or other "public" networks), in order to obtain current and forecasted outside weather data, cooperate in so-called demand-response programs (e.g., automatic conformance with power alerts that may be issued by utility companies during periods of extreme weather), enable users to have remote access and/or control thereof through their network-connected device (e.g., smartphone, tablet computer, PC-based web browser), and other advanced functionalities that may require network connectivity.
Among other requirements, the successful implementation of intelligent network-connected thermostats into widespread, practical everyday use in a large number of homes and business requires the deployment of computers, networks, software systems and other network infrastructure capable of providing the necessary provisioning, data management, and support. Data communications methods between the intelligent thermostats and centrally provided management servers (which can also be termed "cloud-based" management servers), needs to be responsive, robust, and scalable. At the same time, however, the hardware and methodologies employed need to be compatible with, and workable in view of, a large installed base of conventional routers and network services that are already in homes and business, such that widespread adoption of the network-connected intelligent thermostats be commercially feasible.
One further issue that arises with thermostats relates to the limited external electrical power that is made available to the thermostat in many homes and businesses. As known in the art, for some installations, electronic thermostats can be powered directly from an HVAC system transformer by virtue of a 24 VAC "common" wire ("C-wire") that runs from the HVAC transformer to the thermostat. When provided, the C wire has the particular purpose of supplying power for an electronic thermostat. However, many HVAC installations do not have a C-wire provided to the thermostat. For such cases, many electronic thermostats have been designed to extract electrical power by a scheme called "power stealing," "power sharing" or "power harvesting," in which power is tapped from the HVAC control wires that lead to the HVAC call relay coils. Such thermostats "steal," "share" or "harvest" their power during the "OFF" or "inactive" periods of the heating or cooling system by allowing a small amount of current to flow through it into the call relay coil below its response threshold. During the "ON" or "active" periods of the heating or cooling system the thermostat can be designed to draw power by allowing a small voltage drop across itself. The amount of instantaneous electrical power that can safely be supplied by power stealing methods without falsely tripping or un-tripping the HVAC call relays is generally quite limited. These limitations can, in turn, can severely restrict the processing and network communications capabilities that can be provided on a power-stealing thermostat.
It would be desirable to provide a microprocessor controlled intelligent thermostat having advanced HVAC control capabilities that can save energy while also keeping the occupants comfortable. It would be further desirable to provide a such a thermostat that is network-capable. It would be even further desirable to provide a cloud-based thermostat management infrastructure to facilitate the provisioning, data management, and support of a large number of such network-connected intelligent thermostats. It would be still further desirable for such intelligent thermostats to be capable of such advanced processing, HVAC control, and networking functionalities while at the same time being capable of being powered by power-stealing, whereby a C-wire or household wall outlet power is not required, so that the thermostat is compatible with a broad array of practical HVAC installations in homes and businesses. It would be even further desirable to provide a network communications architecture, methodology, and protocol for facilitating data communications between the cloud-based management server and such intelligent network-connected thermostat. It would be still further desirable to provide such a thermostat and cloud-based management server in a way that is compatible with a large installed base of conventional routers and network services. Other issues arise as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art in view of the present disclosure.

Methods and systems for data interchange between a network-connected thermostat and cloud-based management server


A fabric softener composition comprising a quaternary ammonium ester fabric softener compound and an enzyme selected from specific nuclease enzymes, galactanase enzymes and mannanase enzymes. Also, methods of treating a fabric comprising a laundering step, optional rinsing steps and a rinse-treatment step in which the fabric is treated with an aqueous rinse liquor comprising the composition.

Microorganisms generally live attached to surfaces in many natural environments. Bi-products of bacteria may include extracellular substances including biopolymers and macromolecules which result in a soil which comprises slimy residue, or biofilm soil. Such slimy residues (biofilm soils) are difficult to remove from laundry items an adhesion of other soils such as particulates can be particularly problematic. Further, when very dirty laundry items are washed together with less dirty laundry items the dirt present in the wash liquor may adhere to the slimy residue soil so that some items may even be more "soiled" after washing. Build up of soils over time is undesirable for both coloured and white fabrics but may be particularly noticeable on white or pale-coloured fabrics, for example around collars and cuffs where incomplete cleaning occurs. These soils may exacerbate malodour, which may particularly develop after use of the laundry item and may be particularly problematic for example for sportswear.
International patent applications WO 2011/098579 (University of Newcastle) and WO 2014/087011 (Novozymes A/S) relate to deoxyribonuclease compounds and their uses. WO2016/176282 describes that compositions comprising nuclease enzymes have been found to be especially effective at cleaning fabrics having a fabric care composition deposited thereon.

Fabric softening compositions comprising an esterquat and bacterial nuclease enzyme


A vehicle window regulator displaces a window at a faster speed when the window is near its fully closed position than when the window is near its fully open position. The speed is controlled by the meshing of the peripheries of two gears, each periphery defining a varying radius about its axis of rotation. The gear peripheries can be of different shapes, such as circular eccentric, elliptical and logarithmically helical. One of the gears is driven by a constant speed electric motor.

The present invention relates to a vehicle power window device for opening and closing of a vehicle window glass, and more particularly to an improved vehicle window regulator thereof.
A conventional general vehicle power window device is a device composed of an electric motor acting as a driving source, a vehicle window regulator for opening and closing a window glass by means of transmission of a torque of the electric motor, and a switching circuit for operating the electric motor so as to open and close automatically the window glass of a vehicle or the like.
Switches of the switching circuit are provided collectively in a driver's seat and in each passenger's seat so that each window glass can be opened to a given position.
Accordingly, a driver and passengers can open and close the each window glass to a given position from a driver's seat and passengers' seats by means of operation of the driver's seat switches and the passengers' side switches. As an example of such a vehicle power window device, FIG. 2 illustrates the state that the window glass rises and closes completely in case that the vehicle power window device is assembled in the right door facing a vehicle-running direction. The vehicle window regulator uses an electric motor 1 as a driving source and the electric motor 1 is decelerated by a uniform velocity gear train using a sector gear provided in a regulator base 3 fixed inside a door, swinging a regulator arm 5 to open and close the window glass 7. A spiral spring 19 is also provided in the regulator base 3 so as to balance the weight of the window glass 7. The window glass 7 is supported by a front runway 9 and a rear runway 11 so as to be able to rise and fall.
A movable rail 13 is fixedly attached to an lower part of the window glass 7.
A sliding pin 5p which slides in a slit 13a of the movable rail 13 is fixedly attached to an end of the regulator arm 5. A sub-arm 15 is swingably supported almost at a center of the regulator arm 5. The sub-arm 15 is provided in order that the window glass 7 is prevented from leaning and actuates smoothly. A fixed rail side arm 15a and a movable rail side arm 15b are incorporated by means of a caulking or the like. A sliding pin 15p which slides in a slit 17a of a fixed rail 17 is fixedly attached to an end of the fixed rail side arm 15a by means of a caulking or the like, and a sliding pin 15q which slides in a slit 13b of a movable rail 13 is fixedly attached to an end of the movable rail side arm 15b by means of a caulking or the like. In case of a conventional vehicle power window device, the uniform velocity gear provided in the regulator base 3 decelerates at a fixed rate. In case of a conventional vehicle power window device as constructed above, because the uniform velocity gear train provided in the regulator base decelerates at a fixed rate, the regulator arm also swings at a fixed angular velocity, thus opening and closing a window glass completely at an invariable velocity.
Accordingly, it is difficult to open the window glass only slightly from a complete-closed state and a switch operation must be repeated so as to close the window glass again when the window glass opens to excess. As a result thereof, a driver's attention is especially distracted by the above operation, which causes a possibility of negligent driving of the driver.
One method which is considered for the purpose of avoiding those difficulties is to control electrically not only the opening and the closing of the window glass, but also the velocity of opening and closing by means of a switching circuit. However, the method involves a gain in weight and an increase in cost.


Analytical systems and methods are provided for simultaneously dispensing metered volumes of fluids at different rates and mixing the fluids to generate a mixed sample having the fluids in proportion to the different rates at which they were dispensed. In some cases two or more of the fluids are premixed prior to mixing with other fluids. In some cases a use composition and diluent are simultaneously dispensed at different rates and premixed to form a diluted sample. One or more reagents may be mixed with the diluted sample and the sample mixture can be analyzed to determine characteristics of the use composition.

Wet chemical analyses often include a series of operations that ultimately produce a desired measurement or characterization. One step often involves the delivery of predetermined volumes of one or more fluid chemicals into a mixing chamber. In some cases known ratios of chemicals are mixed and the resulting mixture is then analyzed to determine one or more properties of the mixture and/or its constituents. Some analyses may also characterize the mixture and/or its constituent parts based on one or more reactions occurring in the mixture.
When performed by hand, chemical analyses can produce varied results due to a number of factors such as, for example, the usage of an improper or inaccurate volume of a fluid chemical. Moreover, manual analytical chemistry procedures can be tedious and time consuming. Current attempts at automating steps in a chemical analysis provide some benefits over manual procedures, but drawbacks persist. For example, circumstances may require an increased sampling frequency that current manual and automated analysis methods and systems cannot accommodate with required accuracy and precision. Often large volumes of chemicals and/or fluid samples are also needed for analysis with current systems and methods, leading to expensive and wasteful operation.
One application of analytical chemistry is to determine the concentration of one or more analytes within a composition. For example, analytical chemical procedures can be useful in the analysis and monitoring of antimicrobial compositions. Antimicrobial compositions are used in a variety of automated processing and cleaning applications to reduce microbial or viral populations on hard or soft surfaces or in a body or stream of water. For example, antimicrobial compositions are used in various applications including kitchens, bathrooms, factories, hospitals and dental offices. Antimicrobial compositions are also useful in the cleaning or sanitizing of containers, processing facilities or equipment in the food service or food processing industries, such as cold or hot aseptic packaging. Antimicrobial compositions are also used in many other applications including but not limited to clean-in-place systems (CIP), clean-out-of-place systems (COP), washer-decontaminators, sterilizers, textile laundry machines, filtration systems, etc.
Whatever the application, an antimicrobial or "use" composition is a composition containing a defined minimum concentration of one or more active components which exhibit desired antimicrobial properties. One such category of active antimicrobial components include peracids, such as peroxycarboxylic acid (peracid), peroxyacid, peroxyacetic acid, peracetic acid, peroctanoic acid, peroxyoctanoic acid and others.
The concentration of active components in the use composition is chosen to achieve the requisite level of antimicrobial activity. In use compositions in which one or more peracids are the active component, and in the instance of a recirculating process, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide tends to increase over time while the concentration of peracid decreases. However, in order to maintain the requisite level of antimicrobial activity, the amount of peracid in the use composition must be maintained at a defined minimum concentration. In addition, as the amount of hydrogen peroxide in the use composition increases, the use composition may exceed a defined maximum concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the solution. In some applications, for example bottling line cleansing, the allowable amount of residual hydrogen peroxide is subject to government regulations. Once the hydrogen peroxide concentration exceeds the maximum concentration, the spent use composition is discarded and a new use composition generated.
To ensure that the amount of peracid is maintained at or above some minimum concentration and to determine when the amount of hydrogen peroxide reaches or exceeds a maximum concentration, it is necessary to determine the concentration of peracid(s) and hydrogen peroxide in the use composition. In the past, to determine properties such as the peracid concentration and the hydrogen peroxide concentration in a use composition has required multiple time consuming manual titrations, several different reagents and relatively large volumes of use composition. Also, past automated systems designed to address one or more of these undesirable traits have also exhibited less than desired sampling frequency and difficulties with online deployment in the field.

Stop-flow analytical systems and methods


A camera includes a circuit board that includes a plurality of terminals disposed on a top surface of the circuit board to correspond to connection terminals of an external flash, and a support unit that supports the circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments relate to a camera including a mount for flash, and more particularly, to a camera that may be designed to have a simpler structure, a smaller size, and an improved electrical connection to an external flash.
2. Description of the Related Art
A flash of a camera is a device used in photography to produce a flash of light for a very short time to help illuminate a scene. A camera includes an exclusive terminal called a hot shoe in order to mount an external flash thereon, and if necessary, the camera uses the external flash mounted on the hot shoe to take a photograph.
A conventional terminal for mounting external flash on a camera requires various elements, such as a terminal pin supported by a spring and a wiring that connects the terminal pin and a circuit board, in order to establish an electrical connection between the external flash and the camera. The conventional terminal has disadvantages in that manufacturing costs are increased because the number of parts is high. Assembling is also difficult because of the terminal pin, the wiring, and the circuit board should be connected by soldering. Furthermore, it is difficult to miniaturize the camera because the conventional terminal is large.


A method includes, at a node associated with a multiprotocol label switching system (MPLS) network, identifying information associated with an application flow based on one or more unencapsulated packet headers of the application flow or based on an ingress data stream that includes the application flow. The method further includes, in response to identifying the information, and based on stored data that maps application flows with pseudowires, determining a number of pseudowires corresponding to paths through the MPLS network, where the stored data indicates, for a sending device application, a distributed mapping of the application flow via at least one of the number of pseudowires, and communicating data related to the sending device application via at least one of the number of pseudowires.

In recent years, network service providers have been upgrading and managing networks based on Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology. MPLS has been deployed in most backbone networks. MPLS provides capabilities such as Quality of Service (QoS), redundancy, Operations Administration and Maintenance (OAM), and Virtual Private Network (VPN). MPLS is typically used to provision and manage data streams at individual flow levels. Each flow is known as a Label Switched Path (LSP). Existing MPLS systems typically handle data traffic at the Layer-3 (IP) level and below.
Some MPLS networks use Pseudowires to map Open System Interconnections (OSI) Layer-1 or Layer-2 traffic flows into "virtual circuits." A Pseudowire refers to the emulation of a Layer-1 or Layer-2 native service over a network. Examples of native services include Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Frame Relay, Ethernet Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), etc. In the control plane, the Pseudowires are maintained and managed using a simplified version of Label Distribution Protocol (LDP), the Target LDP. Each Pseudowire is associated with an MPLS label for packet forwarding and a control word for flow management.
Since existing MPLS networks only allow Layer-1 or Layer-2 connections to be mapped to Pseudowires in a one-to-one mapping, the system typically cannot guarantee the QoS for individual applications that generate application data in Layer-3 or above. QoS behavior in the application layer is sometimes different from the behavior in Layer-1 or Layer-2. For example, packet video streams can generally tolerate out-of-sequence delivery, and packet voice traffic can sometimes tolerate packet loss but is sensitive to packet delay. Existing Layer-1 and Layer-2 systems, however, typically do not address network-level QoS for these voice and video applications.
Some proposed IP-based models have been developed to address the QoS requirement associated with applications, but some issues remain. For example, the IntServ/RSVP model identifies connections by applications based on the IP addresses of the source and destination, the protocol type, and the protocol's source and destination port number (together known as the 5-tuple). Each connection is required to comply with a number of service parameters such as bandwidth consumption and delay budget. As a result, the intermediate nodes (such as the core routers) are required to store the identity of all the connections, perform deep packet inspection, and implement extensive QoS mechanisms to satisfy the service parameters for each flow. Network service providers tend to find this model limiting because it is not very scalable as the number of users grow.
The DiffServ model addresses the scalability problems associated with the IntServ/RSVP model. Instead of handling QoS on a per flow basis, the user applications are classified into a small number of uniformly defined traffic classes. Each data packet stores its traffic class information in its IP header. At each intermediate node, the packet receives appropriate QoS treatment according to its traffic class. Since DiffServ provides relative QoS, in order to guarantee QoS to a particular flow, the model typically requires the network bandwidth to be over-provisioned. Further, the model only incorporates a subset of available QoS technology, such as priority queuing and Random Early Discard (RED) in dealing with temporary traffic congestion. The model is often not applicable in networks where physical links cannot be sufficiently over-provisioned.
It would be useful to have a way to better manage application traffic over a carrier network without requiring changes to the intermediate nodes. It would also be desirable if QoS guarantee can be achieved at per-application flow level. Furthermore, the solution should to be scalable.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Noise in cavity enhanced spectroscopy due to higher order mode excitation in a resonant cavity is reduced. There are two main points. The first point is that the source and detector are both fiber coupled, to provide the spatial filtering and other general advantages of fiber coupling. The second point is that the cavity is designed to ensure sufficient separation in frequency between the desired TEM00 mode and the first few higher order spatial modes.

Cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) is considered to be a method immune to laser intensity noise. It is true when a single transverse cavity mode is excited in time. More specifically, for the simplest case of a CRDS instrument having a linear cavity and having an optical system having a single cavity mode excited in time, the CRDS noise is only defined by electronics noise and/or shot noise.
However, if multiple transverse cavity modes are excited it would cause an additional noise because the cavity losses usually depend on the spatial distribution of the intracavity electric field. Very often high order transverse cavity modes are close in frequency to the desired TEM00 mode according to the cavity design (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 7,535,573). In that case both the laser driver noise and cavity pressure noise may create a situation where multiple transverse cavity modes are simultaneously excited. Moreover, the non-zero linewidth of the laser light may also lead to an excitation of multiple transverse cavity modes. Accordingly, it would be an advance in the art to provide cavity enhanced laser spectroscopy with improved single-mode operation.

Low noise cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy apparatus and method


A hair dryer is provided which dries hair by convection and infrared radiation heating. The dryer includes a hand grip extending downward, an intake opening and an exhaust opening, and a halogen heater comprising a U-shaped quartz tube with a tungsten filament. Infrared radiation is emitted by the quartz tube and a fan is rotated by a motor which causes air from the air intake opening to flow past the halogen heater to heats an air stream that is discharged from the exhaust opening.

Generally, the hair dryer is used to dry up the hair by heated air flow generated by heat wire such as Ni--Cr alloy wire. FIG. 1 shows the conventional hair dryer, comprising of body(8) which has hand grip(2) extending downward, an intake opening(4) and an exhaust opening(6) on the opposite side of it, a fan(11) driven by motor(10), a heat wire(9) disposed in front of fan(11) and a switch button(12) on the hand grip(2).
The user will press the switch button(12) to operate the motor(10) and the heat wire(9) to exhaust the heated air through the exhaust opening(6). But, because this type hair dryer may dry up the hair only by heat convection, the surface of hair may be easily heated, but the inner part of hair would not be sufficiently heated in a short time. And, if we heat the hair for long time enough to dry up into the inner part of hair, the hairline may be damaged by long time exposure of heated air. In addition, as the energy efficiency of heat wire is relatively low, the energy consumption is considerably high.


In a method, a charged metal dot is deposited on a first position of a surface of a semiconductor substrate. Then, a charged region is formed on a second position of the surface of the semiconductor substrate, thereby establishing of which an electric field direction from the first position toward the second position. The first position is spaced apart from the second position by a distance. Thereafter, a precursor gas flows along the electric field direction on the semiconductor substrate, thereby forming a carbon nanotube (CNT) on the semiconductor substrate.

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced exponential growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. Such scaling down has also increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs and, for these advancements to be realized, similar developments in IC processing and manufacturing are needed.
For example, a horizontal gate-all-around (HGAA) transistor has been introduced in an effort to improve gate control by increasing gate-channel coupling, reduce OFF-state current, and reduce short-channel effects (SCEs). A gate structure of the HGAA extends around its horizontal channel region providing access to the channel region on all sides. The HGAA transistors are compatible with conventional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processes, allowing them to be aggressively scaled down while maintaining gate control and mitigating SCEs. Furthermore, a suitable material having adequate electrical properties is required for forming the channel region of the HGAA, in pursuit of better performance of the HGAA.

Method of forming semiconductor device having carbon nanotube

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


A distributed computing system includes a plurality of servers, each server comprising a processor to process computing treatments and a memory system to record and save graphs. The system also includes means of routing between servers and an interface server to treat requests from a plurality of users' equipment. Servers are organized in N layers of servers, building together a group of servers. Servers from a same layer present a ring topology, and each server has a communication protocol with the following server in the ring of the group of machines. The system also includes communication means with the routing server.

European patent EP1428117 B1 describes a process and a system designed to organize elements from a server application to a client-server system.
In the EP1428117 B1 solution, server and client components of an application follow a pattern of complementary hierarchical graphs, such as arborescences or directed acyclic graphs. One or several vertices of the server graph are connected through a communication interface. This interface connects vertices from different client graphs. The server graph contains the union of all the client vertices. On the other hand, each client graph only contains a subset from the server graph. Autonomous graph objects (named "actors") can be put together in order to build composite object graphs dealing with both the server and client sides. Therefore, client-server applications can be made at runtime, from hierarchical-ordered collections of actors. Each actor is safe from the other ones and a securitized interface grants owners (e.g., external sources or suppliers) distant access and actor updates.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2012/0188249 is a major part of the state of the art. It describes a system based on a graph that is distributed in one or many partitions associated with one or many services. The graph partition services communicate with the whole graph. This way, requests performed from a given partition can reach the distributed graph.
In practice, such distribution is necessary to manage treatments requested by the different users in the thousands, even millions of them. Such treatments are simultaneously performed on the server. It requires big computing resources and an escalating execution time—sometimes too much. By increasing the number of machines and distributing the general graph, it is now possible for every user to deal with a specifically desired subgraph of the whole general graph.
Solutions from the existing state of the art, especially in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2012/0188249, are focused on the fact that all the users have to share the same global graph, modified by all the users at the same time. This described solution allows a user to get the subgraph he requires. A user's subgraph is built by sending requests to all the servers that host the different partitions of the general graph.
This solution from current state of the art only provides users with a single general graph that is shared by all the users. This general graph is distributed on many servers, and it results in conflicts between the different modifications asked by the different users. It is impossible to get a specific context for each user. A user cannot create a specific context to apply a process on the graph. He can only process and modify the whole general graph.
In addition, this solution from the current state of the art cannot provide each user with a personal graph. In the solutions of the state of the art, all the users have only access to the same global graph. Through this process, it is not possible to provide a given user with his personalized service, which would rely on distributed computing resources.
This results in a huge loss of performance. Information is massively redundant in each user's subgraph. This performance loss is a major limit to manage thousands of users on large-sized graphs.
An expert would be naturally driven to solve this issue by duplicating for each existing user the general graph or sub-graphs of the general graph.
This would also imply multiplying the number of server clusters to manage all of this data or let the user's computer manage it itself. In both cases, there would be additional drawbacks: there would be no way to share common information between the users. However, common information between the users' graphs is massive.
In addition, hardware resources would be multiplied, and would not be exploited in an efficient and optimized way.

Method and apparatus for organizing elements of a server application in a client-server system


The degree of deterioration of a catalyst is obtained accurately in cases where a plurality of catalysts is disposed at an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine. Under the assumption that the degree of deterioration of a catalyst which is disposed at a location upstream of an NOx selective reduction catalyst and has an oxidizing ability is at a predetermined value, the ratio of NO2 in the NOx which inflows into the NOx selective reduction catalyst is estimated; the NOx removal rate of the NOx selective reduction catalyst is calculated a plurality of times at least until a local maximum value is obtained; and the degree of deterioration of the catalyst having an oxidizing ability is determined by comparison between the ratio of NO2 observed when the NOx removal rate of the NOx selective reduction catalyst reaches the local maximum value and a reference value of the ratio.

Technologies for determining deterioration of an oxidation catalyst, which is based on the temperature of the oxidation catalyst observed when fuel is added to the oxidation catalyst disposed at an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine, are known. (for example, see Patent Document 1.) However, the addition of fuel may cause release of the fuel into the atmosphere and lower fuel economy.
When determination of deterioration of an NOx selective reduction catalyst is carried out in cases where the NOx selective reduction catalyst is disposed at a location downstream of an oxidation catalyst, a more accurate determination is possible by taking the degree of deterioration of the oxidation catalyst into account. For example, in cases where determination of deterioration of the NOx selective reduction catalyst is carried out based on the NOx removal rate of the NOx selective reduction catalyst, the NOx removal rate varies depending on the ratio between the NO and NO2 which inflow into the NOx selective reduction catalyst. Since this ratio between NO and NO2 varies depending on the degree of deterioration of the oxidation catalyst, a decrease in the NOx removal rate of the NOx selective reduction catalyst might be due to deterioration of the oxidation catalyst. That is, it is important to determine which catalyst is deteriorated.    Patent Document 1: JP 2001-263048 A    Patent Document 2: JP 2005-23921 A    Patent Document 3: JP 2004-100700 A    Patent Document 4: Japanese Translated PCT Patent Application Laid-open No. 2008-523305

Device for determining deterioration of catalyst and method for determining deterioration of catalyst


A system and a method detect a position of a movable element within the interior of the compartment via a light source and/or a light sensor. The light sensor is connected to a platform and/or to a film for detecting an intensity of a light within the interior of the compartment. The film, a bottom surface of an end cap and/or a surface of the movable element and/or the compartment attenuate light within the interior of the compartment and/or within an interior of the end cap. The intensity of the light detectable by the light sensor corresponds to the position of the movable element within the interior of the compartment. The position of the movable element within the interior of the compartment is detected by the light sensor via the intensity of the light detectable by the light sensor. The film, the platform, the bottom surface of the end cap and/or the surface of the movable element and/or of the compartment minimize diffraction of the light within the interior of the compartment and/or within the interior of the end cap.

The present invention generally relates to a system and a method for detecting a position of a movable element. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and a method for detecting a position of a movable element within a compartment via a light sensor and/or a light source. The light source may be located within an interior of an end cap which may be adjacent to an interior of the compartment. A platform may be connected to interior walls of the end cap for supporting the light sensor and/or a film. The platform and/or the film may be located between the interior of the end cap and/or the interior of the compartment for positioning the light sensor within the interior of the compartment. The light source may be connected to a bottom surface of the end cap for emitting, for transmitting and/or for projecting light within the interior of the end cap and/or of the compartment. The light source may transmit light into the interior of the compartment for determining, for detecting and/or for identifying the position of the movable element within the interior of the compartment. The film may diffuse, may scatter and/or may attenuate the light being transmitted from the light source into the interior of the compartment and/or of the end cap. In an embodiment, the light sensor may be connected to the bottom surface of the end cap for determining, for detecting and/or for identifying the position of the movable element within the interior of the compartment. The light sensor may detect, may measure and/or may determine the position of the movable element within the interior of the compartment via the intensity of light emitted within the interior of the end cap.
A surface of the compartment may absorb, may diffuse and/or may attenuate an amount of the light which may be transmitted from the light source into the interior of the compartment. The amount of the light which may be absorbed, may be diffused and/or may be scattered by the surface of the compartment may correspond to the position of the movable element within the interior of the compartment. A surface of the movable element may absorb, may diffuse and/or may attenuate an amount of the light which may be transmitted from the light source into the interior of the compartment. The light sensor may measure, may detect and/or may identify an intensity of the light within the interior of the compartment and/or of the end cap which may not have been absorbed, may have been diffused and/or may have been attenuated by the surface of the compartment and/or of the movable element. As a result, the film and/or the surface of the compartment and/or of the movable element may minimize diffraction of the light within the interior of the compartment and/or of the end cap. The bottom surface of the end cap may reflect, may diffuse and/or may attenuate light transmitted within the interior of the end cap by the light source.
It is, of course, generally known to measure and/or to detect a position of a movable element within an interior of a cylinder. The first position of the movable element in the interior of the cylinder may correspond to a first location of a machine element which may be connected to and/or may be attached to the movable element. Typically, a first sensor within the interior of the cylinder may be located at a first location within the interior of the cylinder. The first location of the first sensor may be adjacent to the first position of the movable element. The first sensor must physically contact and/or must magnetically interfere with the movable element to detect that the movable element is in the first position within the interior of the cylinder.
A second position of the movable element within the interior of the cylinder may correspond to a second position of the machine element with respect to the cylinder. A second sensor within the interior of the cylinder may be at a second located within the interior of the cylinder. The second location of the second sensor may adjacent to the second position of the movable element. The second sensor must physically contact and/or may magnetically interfere with the movable element to detect that the movable element may be in the second position within the interior of the cylinder. As a result, the first sensor and the second sensor must physically contact and/or must magnetically interfere with the movable element to detect that the movable element has moved between the first position and the second position within the interior of the cylinder.
However, physical contact between the movable element and the first sensor and/or the second sensor may cause the first sensor and/or the second sensor, respectively, to inaccurately detect the first position and/or the second position of the movable element within the interior of the cylinder. Further, physical contact between the movable element and the first sensor and/or the second sensor may damage and/or may destroy the movable element, the first sensor and/or the second sensor. As a result, the first sensor and/or the second sensor may be inoperable or may inaccurately detect the first position and/or the second position of the movable element within the interior of the cylinder.
Additionally, the movable element may be made from a material which may not exhibit magnetic properties for interfering with the first sensor and/or the second sensor. For example, the movable element may be made from glass which may prevent the first sensor and/or the second sensor from magnetically interfering with the movable element to detect that the movable element is at the first position or at the second position within the interior of the cylinder. As a result, the first sensor and/or the second sensor may be incapable of detecting that the movable element has moved between the first position and the second position within the interior of the cylinder.
A need, therefore, exists for a system and a method for detecting a position of a movable element. Additionally, a need exists for a system and a method for detecting a position of a movable element within an interior of a compartment via a light sensor and a light source which may be located within an interior of an end cap and/or within an interior of the compartment. Further, a need exists for a system and a method for detecting a position of a movable element which may provide a platform and/or a film which may be attachable to interior walls of an end cap for positioning a light sensor within an interior of a compartment. Still further, a need exists for a system and a method for detecting a position of a movable element which may provide a platform and/or a film which may be attachable to interior walls of an end cap for separating a light source and a light sensor. Moreover, a need exists for a system and a method for detecting a position of a movable element which may provide a platform and/or a film which may be attachable to interior walls of an end cap to diffuse, to scatter and/or to attenuate light transmitted by a light source into an interior of a compartment and/or of an end cap. Furthermore, a need exists for a system and a method for detecting a position of a movable element which may provide a bottom surface of an end cap for reflecting, for diffusing and/or for attenuating light emitted within an interior of the end cap.

System and method for detecting a position of a movable element


A labelling and/or marking machine (3) comprises a carousel (4) rotatable about a vertical axis (5), equipped peripherally with a set of pedestals (8) driven by respective motors (37) and supporting single containers (2), also applicator and/or marker devices (26, 27) occupying positions along a conveying path (17) followed by the containers (2). Each pedestal (8) is flanked by a corresponding CCD image sensor (31) such as will scan the lateral surface (29) of the container (2) to detect and recognize a known outline (32) presented by the surface (29), whereupon the pedestal (8) is made to rotate through a predetermined angle and thus bring the relative container (2) into the position required by the applicator and/or marker devices (26, 27).

Conventionally, in machines of the aforementioned type, containers are caused to advance by a revolving carousel that presents a disc carrying a plurality of pedestals equispaced angularly around the periphery and serving each to support a respective container; each pedestal is power-driven and rotatable about the axis of the relative container.
The path along which the containers are directed by the conveyor passes through labelling or marking stations where a fixed and predetermined portion of the lateral surface presented by the container will be offered to each such station.
To the end of controlling the angular position of the containers positioned on the pedestals so that they will always be correctly aligned when brought into the labelling or marking stations, the prior art embraces the use of optical sensors connected to a control unit piloting the operation of the motors associated with the single pedestals.
More exactly, the optical sensors in question can be photocells capable of detecting a notch presented by each container, for example, or TV cameras able to process more complex reference images.
It will be observed however that in the case of photocell type sensors, each container must be provided with a reference notch located in a clearly visible position, and there are constraints also on the geometry of the container, which for example cannot have sharp edges, whilst the external surface must be treated so as to render it non-reflective as far as possible, and with colors that will ensure the reference elements are easily read. This means a restricted range of application and limited reliability, especially with successive changes in the size, shape and specifications of containers.
In the case of TV cameras, on the other hand, it should be emphasized that this solution is penalized by excessively high cost, also by the fact that sophisticated and complex image-processing systems are required, and is therefore unsuitable for monitoring operations in machines of the type in question. In addition, it will be appreciated that a television camera is able to operate only in certain conditions of brightness and with a given level of reflection from the surface of the container.
The object of the present invention is to provide a labelling and/or marking machine unaffected by the drawbacks mentioned above.

Azionaria Costruzioni Macchine Automatiche A.C.M.A. S.p.A.


The present invention generates a compression invariant motion timeline for a video. For each second in the video, the method uses an identification procedure to determine a stored key frame size, a frame counter, and an accumulated size of frames. The method then calculates and stores a motion value for the second using the stored key frame size, the frame counter, and the accumulated size of frames. The motion values for each second may be used to construct a timeline for the video.

The present disclosure is directed to a method for computer analysis, specifically a method for creating a timeline for a viewed video.
A video management system (VMS) usually shows the viewed video together with a timeline that represents motion, allowing quick access to segments of the video including motion. Many algorithms have been developed to create this timeline. Usually these algorithms will operate in the pixel domain which requires decompressing the video. To reduce the computation times, some algorithms operate in the compressed domain.
There are a number of methods that analyze the motion vectors of the compressed video. However, such methods can be slow and/or dependent on the video coder-decoder (codec) to utilize information in the compressed data. As a result, different codecs may require codec-specific algorithms. In addition, such methods may require significant processing equipment, time, and power for frame analysis. Codecs are improving in quality—compressing the most relevant information but at the cost of a higher complexity which requires more significant processing equipment. The resolution of the video is also constantly improving. Improving resolution from to 4K to 8K will also add to the processing time. Furthermore, newer video standards support a frame rate of 120, 240, or 300 frames per second. As a result, previous methods are not useable for rapid-paced or real-time applications, or applications analyzing high volumes of data from many simultaneous sources, data with different codec standards, or data with high compression or resolution values.
For example, a sports venue may have over 150 video cameras monitoring crowd and player safety over the six and a half hours for a major league baseball game, pre-game, and cleanup. Using conventional methods, analyzing the over 36 billion frames of footage that may be amassed would require an untenable amount of resources. Meaningful analysis results would be impossible in real time. Cameras installed at different times using different codecs would also require different programs for analysis.
There is an unmet need in the art for a method for rapidly generating an accurate, compression invariant video motion timeline.

System and method for generating a compression invariant motion timeline


A collaborative bargaining system receives expressions of interest from potential buyers of an item. The collaborative bargaining system receives bids from sellers of the item. Each bid consists of a price per item based on a minimum quantity of items. A time limited exclusive opportunity is awarded to one seller of the item to obtain from the interest group a commitment to buy the minimum quantity of items at the price per item as bid by the one seller. Sales of the item are closed when the interest group commits to buy the minimum quantity of items.

The internet has increased the opportunity to sellers to cost-effectively advertise their goods to a geographically dispersed audience. Creative marketing strategies are employed by various websites to assist sellers in selling their goods. For example, a user can list goods and services on craigslist.org, can auction off items at ebay.com, liquidate products at ubid.com, create a virtual store at amazon.com and so on.


The present techniques provide a pyrolysis process that is reduced in coke and/or tar formation relative to comparable processes. A flushing fluid is applied or injected directly into a pyrolysis reactor to reduce high levels of coke and tar that can accumulate within the pyrolysis reactor during pyrolysis of the feed.

Pyrolysis is a thermal process in which hydrocarbons in a hydrocarbon stream are converted at an elevated temperature into lower molecular weight hydrocarbon molecules. Pyrolysis typically occurs at operating temperatures above 430° C. (800° F.). The term "pyrolysis" encompasses the decomposition of hydrocarbons in the presence of superheated water or steam (hydrous pyrolysis), for example, in the steam cracking of hydrocarbons.
Pyrolysis reactors have been used in refineries or chemical plants to produce different products from various hydrocarbon feeds for petrochemicals manufacture. For example, certain pyrolysis reactors are utilized to produce olefinic (e.g., alkenyl) materials. The feeds for this type of reactor typically range from ethane to vacuum gas oil, with heavier feeds giving higher yields of additional by-products, such as naphtha. As another example, pyrolysis reactors have also been used to produce alkynyl products, such as acetylene. The feeds for this type of reaction typically include methane.
As an example of the generation of alkynyl products, U.S. Pat. No. 2,319,679 describes one example of a pyrolysis system which may be used to produce acetylene containing product. The reactor in this system is a regenerative reactor or regenerative reverse-flow reactor in which heat is stored in refractory material for carrying out the pyrolysis of methane feed. During heating (e.g., regeneration), heat is supplied from the combustion of a fuel, with the hot combustion product flowing through the refractory material as a heat source. This heating is then stopped and methane is passed through the heated refractory material in an opposite direction of the flow of the combustion product. During pyrolysis, the methane is pyrolysed to form acetylene. The pyrolysis is then stopped and the flow of fuel is repeated to regenerate the reactor. The combustion of the fuel not only supplies heat for repetition of the pyrolysis, but results in burning of carbon materials that were deposited on the refractory walls during the pyrolysis.
As another example, U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2007/0191664 discloses a reverse-flow reactor in a pyrolysis system in which acetylene product is produced from a methane containing feed. The system includes a first and second reactor arranged in series to manage the flow of feed and product streams through the system. The reactors include multiple flow channels, such as channels in a honeycomb monolith arrangement, which provide increased efficiency and/or selectivity in producing acetylene product.
Because certain hydrocarbon feeds are more expensive than others, it is desirable to use lower cost, heavier hydrocarbon feeds in pyrolysis systems to produce olefins and acetylene products. However, the use of heavier feeds in pyrolysis systems tend to form higher amounts of coke and tar, which makes it more difficult to dispose of the heavier tar and coke by-products relative to lighter feed pyrolysis processes. This increase in coke and tar production is believed to result from the lower hydrogen content in the heavier feed.
Various other systems are able to utilize a quench fluid to quench the reaction and manage the production of coke with this fluid. As one example of a quench fluid, water has been used as a quench fluid in heavy oil pyrolysis processes. However, the water may result in the formation of emulsions that are difficult to manage in the process. Another example of is a quench fluid utilizes oil. Oil typically needs to be followed by a water quench to remove light condensable hydrocarbons from the stream, and the overall process is limited to a coke and tar production of up to about 30 weight percent (wt %).
Further, other regenerative processes may utilize a purging step to sweep the products out of the reactor. This step avoids contaminating products from one step with products from another step in the cyclical process. The purging step involves sweeping the purge fluid through the interior of the reactor to remove various vapor products. As an example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,629,753, 2,580,766 or 2,857,443 describe sweeping the reactor to remove the vapor products.
Other processes, such as steam cracking, may inject a fluid in equipment that is downstream of the steam cracking furnace when cracking heavy feeds. As an example, U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2008/0128330 describes a method of cleaning the downstream equipment from a furnace. In particular, the method involves the cleaning of a transfer line exchanger that is used to quench a steam cracking process. As the transfer line exchanger becomes coked and/or coated with a tar substance during the quenching step, a fluid is introduced into the transfer line exchanger to reduce the coke and tar build-up.
Because economics tend to further favor heavier feeds for pyrolysis processes, which result in increasing tar and coke formation, there is a need to develop improved pyrolysis processes that are more readily capable of handling a wider variety of hydrocarbon feeds than conventional pyrolysis processes for a regenerative reactor. There is also a desire of enhancing pyrolysis processes involving a regenerative reactor to increase the production of C2 unsaturates (e.g., acetylene) in the pyrolyzed product, while also reducing the problems associated with coke and tar build-up. Moreover, there is also a desire to prolong the operation of the process and remove contaminates.