The present invention provides an IC card issuance system that issues an IC card by writing issuance data including an ID specific to the IC card into a memory of the IC card, wherein, when reissuing an IC card identical to an issued IC card, an ID of an IC card to be reissued is read out from the IC card. A record having an ID that corresponds to the read out ID is retrieved and output from an issuance file having stored issuance data of the issued IC card therein, and reissuing of the IC card is based on the output record (issuance data).

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-143529, filed May 14, 2001, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IC card issuance system that issues an IC card by writing issuance data into a memory for the IC card having at least the memory incorporated therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as a portable storage medium, there has been utilized in various industrial fields a so called IC card having incorporated therein an IC chip having a nonvolatile data memory and a CPU (central processing unit) for controlling the memory.
An IC card of such type is generally issued by using an IC card issuance device stored in a card issuance company or the like. In this IC card issuance device, IC command data required for functioning an IC card, magnetic encode data, print data and the like are generated by a host computer, and these items of data are sequentially transmitted to an issuance machine. The IC command data is inputted to the IC chip incorporated in the IC card; the magnetic encode data is magnetically recorded on the surface of the IC card, and the print data is printed on the surface of the IC card.
A processing executed in the IC chip in response to the IC command data relevant to the IC chip incorporated in the IC card is one of the most important processings in IC card issuance processing. The IC chip in the IC card comprises means for outputting information indicative of whether or not processing of individual IC command data transmitted has been normally carried out and the issuance device comprises means for judging whether or not command data has been normally transmitted based on output information from the IC chip.
In general, in the IC card issuance device of such type, it is required to prevent the same IC cards from being doubly issued. For example, this device has a double issuance preventing function as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 1-18892. That is, in an IC card issuance device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 1-18892, an issued-data recording section is provided in an issuance file of a host computer; flag data indicating the completion of issuance is added to issued issuance data in the issuance file; and the flag data indicating the completion of this issuance is checked, thereby preventing double issuance.
However, in the conventional IC card issuance device described above, in the case where there is an IC card judged to be NG during appearance check such as print data after the end of issuance and emboss data, it has been necessary to manually creating an issuance file of the IC card, thereby reissuing the IC card. That is, in such a case, an operator visually recognizes ID (for example, membership number) of an IC card to be reissued from the appearance of print data, emboss data and the like. Then, the operator operates a master file of a host computer, for example, rewrites issued flag data that corresponds to the IC card into unissued flag data, and reissues the IC card at the IC card issuance device.
In addition, in the case where an IC card is used by an owner, whereby a print image on the IC card surface is unclear or the IC card is damaged, making it necessary to reissue the IC card, in the conventional IC card issuance device, as described above, it has been necessary for the operator to visually recognize ID of the IC card to be reissued from print data, emboss data and the like, thereby reissuing issued flag data after rewritten into unissued flag data, or alternatively, to newly create an issuance file of an IC card to be newly reissued.
However, in the case where the operator incorrectly recognizes ID of the IC card to be reissued, an IC card other than that to be reissued is issued. In this case, there occurs duplicate issuance of the IC card that is not required to reissue.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of one embodiment of the present invention to provide an IC card issuance system capable of reliably preventing reissuing, i.e., incorrect issuance of an IC card other than that to be reissued.
The IC card issuance system according to the present invention comprises: an issuance file which stores each item of issuance data during issuance of each issued IC card; an identification information readout command file which stores a readout command for reading out the identification information from the issued IC card; an identification information readout section which reads out the identification information from an issued first IC card by using the identification information readout command file; an issuance data extracting section which extracts from the issuance file, issuance data that corresponds to identification information read out by the identification information readout section; and a card issuance section which issues a new second IC card identical to the issued first IC card by writing the issuance data extracted by the issuance data extracting section into a memory of an unissued IC card.
Issuance data containing card specific ID is recorded in a memory, a print image and magnetic data each are recorded on a surface, and a number of novel IC cards are fabricated. For example, in the case where an abnormally printed IC card has been found during appearance check, an ID recorded in the memory for the abnormally printed IC card is read by the identification information readout section. Based on this ID, the issuance data corresponding to the ID is extracted from an issuance file of a terminal device by the issuance data extracting section. The issuance data includes various data such as print data and magnetic data as well as the above ID. A card issuance section fabricates a new IC card based on the extracted issuance data.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.


A solid polymer fuel cell electric power generation system removes a substantial portion of water accumulated at the cathode in the outlet fuel stream of the anode. The system permits the operation of a hydrogen/oxygen fuel cell in a dead-ended mode where substantially pure oxygen is employed as the oxidant supply or using low oxygen stoichiometry where a dilute oxidant source, such as oxygen-containing air, is employed as the oxidant supply. The system thereby eliminates the need for an oxygen recirculation pump in systems operating on substantially pure oxygen, and substantially reduces the parasitic load to pressurize the oxidant stream in systems operating on dilute oxidant streams.

Electrochemical fuel cells convert fuel and oxidant to electricity and reaction product. In electrochemical fuel cells employing hydrogen as the fuel and oxygen as the oxidant, the reaction product is water. Such fuel cells generally employ a membrane electrode assembly ("MEA") consisting of a solid polymer electrolyte or ion exchange membrane disposed between two electrodes formed of porous, electrically conductive sheet material, typically carbon fiber paper. The MEA contains a layer of catalyst, typically in the form of finely comminuted platinum, at each membrane/electrode interface to induce the desired electrochemical reaction. The electrodes are electrically coupled to provide a path for conducting electrons between the electrodes to an external load.
At the anode, the fuel permeates the porous electrode material and reacts at the catalyst layer to form cations, which migrate through the membrane to the cathode. At the cathode, the oxygen-containing gas supply reacts at the catalyst layer to form anions. The anions formed at the cathode react with the cations to form a reaction product.
In electrochemical fuel cells employing hydrogen as the fuel and oxygen-containing air (or substantially pure oxygen) as the oxidant, the catalyzed reaction at the anode produces hydrogen cations (protons) from the fuel supply. The ion exchange membrane facilitates the migration of hydrogen ions from the anode to the cathode. In addition to conducting hydrogen ions, the membrane isolates the hydrogen-containing fuel stream from the oxygen-containing oxidant stream. At the cathode, oxygen reacts at the catalyst layer to form anions. The anions formed at the cathode react with the hydrogen ions that have crossed the membrane to form liquid water as the reaction product.
Perfluorosulfonic ion exchange membranes, such as those sold by DuPont under its Nafion trade designation, must be hydrated or saturated with water molecules for ion transport to occur. It is generally accepted that, as cations are transported through such perfluorosulfonic membranes, water molecules associated with those cations are also transported. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as "water pumping" and results in a net flow of water from the anode side of the membrane to the cathode side. Thus, membranes exhibiting the water pumping phenomenon can dry out on the anode side if water transported along with hydrogen ions (protons) is not replenished. Such replenishment is typically provided by humidifying the hydrogen-containing fuel stream prior to introducing the fuel stream into the cell. Similarly, the oxygen-containing oxidant stream is typically humidified prior to introducing the oxidant stream into the fuel cell to prevent the membrane from drying out on the cathode side. Therefore, fuel cells employing these cation exchange membranes require accumulated water to be removed from the cathode (oxidant) side, both as a result of the water transported across the membrane from the water pumping phenomenon and product water formed at the cathode from the reaction of hydrogen ions with oxygen.
The accumulation of water at the cathode is problematic for several reasons. First, the presence of liquid water in the vicinity of the catalyst layer reduces the accessibility of the catalyst to the reactants, resulting in a reduction in the power of the fuel cell. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as "flooding" of the catalyst sites. Second, the accumulation of liquid water at the cathode interferes with the permeation of reactants through the cathode to the catalyst, again resulting in a loss of power to the fuel cell. Third, the excessive accumulation of liquid water at the cathode can impart physical changes to the adjacent membrane, causing localized swelling and expansion of the membrane. Conversely, dehydration can cause drying and shrinkage of the membrane, resulting in corresponding mechanical stresses at the electrocatalytic interface.
Conventional water removal techniques generally involve conducting water accumulated at the cathode away from the cathode catalyst layer and toward the oxidant stream exiting the cathode. One conventional water removal technique is wicking, or directing the accumulated water away from the cathode using capillaries incorporated in the cathode. Another conventional water removal technique employs screens or meshes within the cathode to conduct water away from the catalyst layer. Still another conventional water removal technique is to incorporate hydrophobic substances, such as polytetrafluoroethylene ("PTFE"; trade name Teflon), into the cathode sheet material to urge accumulated water away from the cathode. These conventional water removal methods are disadvantageous because:
(1) they require water to be expelled from the membrane/electrocatalytic layer into the cathode's porous structure; PA0 (2) the presence of liquid water restricts the flow of oxidant through the interstices of the porous gas diffusion electrode; and PA0 (3) the presence of liquid water in the oxidant flow channels may restrict the flow of oxidant gas in the channels. PA0 (A) a hydrogen-containing inlet fuel stream; PA0 (B) an oxygen-containing inlet oxidant stream; PA0 (C) a fuel cell stack comprising at least one fuel cell comprising: PA0 (D) a water separator for removing water from the outlet fuel stream to produce a dehumidified fuel stream and a removed water stream. PA0 (A) a hydrogen-containing inlet fuel stream; PA0 (B) an oxygen-containing inlet oxidant stream; PA0 (C) an inlet coolant water stream; PA0 (D) a humidification assembly comprising: PA0 (E) a fuel cell stack comprising: PA0 (F) a heat exchanger for removing heat from the outlet coolant water stream to produce a chilled coolant water stream; PA0 (G) a water separator for removing water from the outlet fuel stream to produce a dehumidified fuel stream and a removed water stream; and PA0 (H) a reservoir for receiving the removed water stream from the water separator and the chilled coolant water stream from the heat exchanger. PA0 (A) a hydrogen-containing inlet fuel stream; PA0 (B) an oxygen-containing inlet oxidant stream; PA0 (C) a humidification assembly comprising: PA0 (D) a fuel cell stack comprising: PA0 (E) a water separator for removing water from the outlet fuel stream to produce a dehumidified fuel stream and a removed water stream; and PA0 (F) a reservoir for receiving the removed water stream from the water separator. PA0 (A) a hydrogen-containing inlet fuel stream; PA0 (B) an oxygen-containing inlet oxidant stream; PA0 (C) an inlet coolant water stream; PA0 (D) a fuel cell stack comprising: PA0 (E) a heat exchanger for removing heat from the outlet coolant water stream to produce a chilled coolant water stream; PA0 (F) a water separator for removing water from the outlet fuel stream to produce a dehumidified fuel stream and a removed water stream; and PA0 (G) a reservoir for receiving the removed water stream from the water separator and the chilled coolant water stream from the heat exchanger.
In systems incorporating water removal at the anode, the water may be drawn through the membrane away from the cathode side and into the anode outlet stream while the water is being formed at the membrane/electrocatalytic interface, leaving the oxidant gas free to diffuse to the active catalyst sites.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/641,601 filed Jan. 15, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,143 issued Nov. 9, 1993, it was disclosed that a new type of experimental perfluorosulfonic ion exchange membrane, sold by Dow under the trade designation XUS 13204.10, did not appear to significantly exhibit the water pumping phenomenon in connection with the transport of hydrogen ions across the membrane. Thus, the transport of water molecules across the Dow experimental membranes did not appear to be as extensive in the transport of hydrogen ions as in the Nafion-type membranes. This reduction of water pumping in the Dow experimental membranes decreases the accumulation of transported water at the cathode and simplifies the removal of all water, which would normally appear at the cathode, on the anode side. As indicated in the earlier patent application, water removal on the anode side can also be practiced with Nafion-type membranes.
As discussed above, hydrogen ion conductivity through ion exchange membranes generally requires the presence of water molecules. The fuel and oxidant gases are therefore humidified prior to introducing them to the cell to maintain the water saturation of the membranes within the MEAs. Ordinarily, the fuel and oxidant gases are humidified by flowing each gas on one side of a water exchange membrane and by flowing deionized water on the opposite side of the membrane. Deionized water is preferred to prevent membrane contamination by undesired ions. In such membrane based humidification arrangements, water is transferred across the membrane to the fuel and oxidant gases. Nafion is a suitable and convenient humidification membrane material in such applications, but other commercially available water exchange membranes are suitable as well. Other non-membrane based humidification techniques could also be employed, such as exposing the gases directly to water in an evaporation chamber to permit the gas to absorb evaporated water.
It is generally preferred to humidify the fuel and oxidant gases at, or as close as possible to, the operating temperature and pressure of the fuel cell. The ability of gases such as air to absorb water varies significantly with changes in temperature and pressure. Humidification of the air (oxidant) stream at a temperature significantly below fuel cell operating temperature could ultimately dehydrate the membrane. Consequently, it is preferable to integrate the humidification function with the active portion of the fuel cell stack, and to condition the fuel and oxidant streams to nearly the same temperature and pressure as the active section of the stack. In such an integrated arrangement, the coolant water stream from the active section, which is at or near the cell operating temperature, is used as the humidification water stream. Similarly, the fuel and oxidant streams are typically directed via manifolds or headers through the active section to condition each to cell temperature prior to introducing them to the humidification section.
In addition to integrating the coolant water stream of the active section with the humidification water stream of the humidification section, it is also advantageous to integrate the fuel cell product water stream with the coolant stream, and thereby use the product water generated electrochemically in the fuel cell stack to regulate the temperature of the stack. In this regard, the use of product water as the coolant avoids the need to provide a separate external source of coolant fluid, since the water generated by the cell is itself a suitable coolant fluid. The use of product water as the coolant fluid is also advantageous during start-up, when the relatively warm product water stream can be used to bring the active section up to operating temperature.
The use of fuel cell designs and operating conditions that permit the removal of accumulated water in the outlet fuel stream of the anode offers several advantages. In particular, water removal on the anode side permits the operation of a hydrogen/oxygen fuel cell in a "dead-ended" mode on the cathode or oxygen side. That is, the oxygen-containing oxidant stream can be fed to the cathode and consumed substantially completely, producing essentially no outlet stream from the cathode. Dead-ended operation thus eliminates the need for an oxygen recirculation pump. Oxygen recirculation pumps are expensive and difficult to maintain because of the corrosive effects of moist oxygen-containing streams like the humidified oxidant stream circulated through hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells. The elimination of an oxygen recirculation pump from a fuel cell system reduces the overall cost of the system and improves the reliability of the fuel cell because of the reduced possibility for oxygen leakage and fires. Eliminating the oxygen recirculation pump also reduces the parasitic (hotel) load on the fuel cell system, resulting in a higher proportion of the electrical power from the fuel cell system being available for delivery to the external load instead of being consumed by operation of the oxygen recirculation pump.
Removal of accumulated water from the anode side of the fuel cell also offers systems advantages when air is used as the oxidant. As described in more detail below, the removal of water at the anode permits the effective operation of fuel cells at lower air flow rates. The term "stoichiometry" is used to characterize gas flow rates. As used herein, stoichiometry refers to the ratio of the quantity of reactant supplied to the fuel cell to the quantity of reactant consumed by the fuel cell. An H.sub.2 stoichiometry of 1.0 means that the quantity of hydrogen consumed by the fuel cell equals the quantity of hydrogen supplied to the fuel cell. In a fuel cell operated with dead-ended oxygen, the stoichiometry of oxygen would be 1.0, the amount of oxygen supplied to the fuel cell being substantially completely consumed. Likewise, an H.sub.2 stoichiometry of 2.0 means that the quantity of hydrogen supplied to the fuel cell is twice the quantity of hydrogen consumed by the fuel cell.
Low oxidant stream stoichiometry, which is made possible by the removal of water at the anode, reduces the parasitic load required to pressurize the oxidant stream. The power required to pressurize the oxidant stream represents a substantial and significant parasitic load in systems operating with dilute oxidant streams, such as oxygen-containing air. The parasitic load is directly proportional to oxidant stoichiometry, so that a decrease in the oxidant stoichiometry reduces the parasitic load, thereby improving the net power deliverable from the system to an external electrical load.
Recently, efforts have been devoted to identifying ways to operate electrochemical fuel cells using impure hydrogen as the fuel. Fuel cell systems operating on substantially pure hydrogen are generally disadvantageous because of the expense of producing and storing pure hydrogen gas. In addition, the use of liquid fuels is preferable to pure, bottled hydrogen in mobile and vehicular applications of electrochemical fuel cells.
Water removal at the anode also offers systems advantages when impure hydrogen is employed as the fuel source. By proper design of the fuel cell and operating conditions, accumulated water can be removed into the exhaust fuel stream, thereby permitting the operation of such a fuel cell system on dead-ended oxygen or low stoichiometry air with the systems advantages described above.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide solid polymer fuel cell systems in which water accumulated at the cathode is removed in the outlet fuel stream of the anode, thereby avoiding recirculation of the oxidant stream.
It is also an object of the invention to provide solid polymer fuel cell systems incorporating water removal on the anode side that can be operated using substantially pure fuel streams, such as bottled hydrogen, as well as impure fuel streams, such as those produced from the conversion of hydrocarbons to hydrogen.
It is a further object of the invention to provide solid polymer fuel cell systems incorporating water removal on the anode side that can be operated using substantially pure oxidant streams, such as bottled oxygen, as well as impure oxidant streams, such as oxygen-containing air.

Solid polymer fuel cell systems incorporating water removal at the anode


An imaging system includes an image sensor that is attached to a circuit board via a mass reflow process. The image sensor captures image data and provides the image data at an output of the imaging system. In one embodiment, the image sensor uses a color filter array (CFA) material that is substantially stable through the mass reflow process.

1. Field of the Invention
The described invention relates to the field of integrated circuit packages. In particular, the invention relates to an integrated circuit package capable of being mounted to a circuit board via a mass reflow process.
2. Description of Related Art
A windowed integrated circuit package is used for various applications in which an integrated circuit is illuminated or irradiated by light or other radiation sources located outside the integrated circuit package. An image sensor is one use of a windowed integrated circuit package.
For example, a photodiode array may be placed within a windowed integrated circuit package. The photo-detector array provides an image data output based upon the light incident on the photo-detector array. The photo-detector array may be used for capturing images or for other image reproduction applications. A color filter array (CFA) material is used with the photo-detector to filter the light impinging on the image sensor to allow for the formation of full color images. Each filter allows a predetermined color of light to reach a corresponding photo-detector, thus determining what color light will be sensed by the photo-detector. By grouping sets of light sensors together, the intensity and color of light reaching an area can be determined.
Integrated circuit (IC) packages are mounted on circuit boards by various techniques including mass reflow and manual and hot bar soldering of the package to the circuit board. Manual soldering and hot bar soldering, however, are relatively slow and expensive processes.
Mass reflow board mounting is a faster, automated process. Mass reflow refers to one of several different techniques that raise the temperature of the IC package to approximately 215 to 225 degrees C. At these elevated temperatures, solder residing on pads of the integrated circuit board melts and adheres to leads on the IC package. After the solder cools, the IC package remains firmly coupled to the solder pads. Mass reflow includes infrared, convection, and vapor phase techniques.
Non-ceramic packages such as windowed plastic packages are more desirable than ceramic packages because they are of lower cost than corresponding ceramic windowed packages. However, available windowed plastic packages do not meet the thermal requirements for mass reflow board mounting. These windowed plastic packages are mounted to circuit boards using techniques such as manual soldering that keep the package bulk from reaching the elevated temperatures of the mass reflow process.
Standard windowed plastic packages tested on the mass reflow process exhibit problems such as cracked lids, lid-sealant separation due to thermal expansion mismatch between the plastic and glass window, and delamination of the die from the die attach.
Another problem with using mass reflow on image sensors is that the CFA material is not stable at high temperatures. For example, CFA material made with molecular dyes are often used in image sensors. Dyed CFA material, such as dyed polyimide, may become yellow-tinged when exposed to the high temperatures of mass reflow. This impacts the color performance of the image sensor.
An imaging system includes an image sensor that is attached to a circuit board via a mass reflow process. The image sensor captures image data and provides the image data at an output of the imaging system. In one embodiment, the image sensor uses a color filter array (CFA) material that is substantially stable through the mass reflow process.


A housing for monitor is disclosed to have a plurality of open chambers at the back side in communication with the inside space thereof for accommodating a respective electronic device of the electric module mounted in the inside space, and a cover fastened to the back side for covering the open chambers respectively for allowing quick performance of the repair or replacement of the electronic devices accommodated in the open chamber without dismounting the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a monitor and more particularly, to a housing for monitor, which allows performance of the repair or replacement of major electronic devices of the housed electric module conveniently.
2. Description of the Related Art
Following fast development of high technology, computer and its related products have become requite items in daily life of most people. The application of network communication technology gives people a totally new living, learning, working and entertainment environment. Following the progress of the society and the development of information industry, people can use network communication systems to send real-time information, advertising matter, or e-mails. We can also use the Internet to search desired information, to have a chat with other people at different remote places, play network games, and etc. A monitor is commonly used as a communication interface between a computer and its user. From early CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors to current LCD monitors, it is the market trend to provide monitors having light and thin characteristics. A monitor uses a housing formed of a front cover shell and a back cover shell to house a display panel and electronic component parts such as IC, microprocessor, and etc., and a light source and a transformer are installed in the border area of the housing for giving off light. The light source or transformer of a monitor or touch screen display made according to this design may attenuate quickly with use, and the IC or microprocessor of this design of monitor or touch screen display may damage easily after a long use. When wishing to replace damaged parts or upgrade the hardware, it is necessary to open the housing of the monitor or touch screen display by unfastening the front cover shell from the back cover shell, and then to remove the component parts of the monitor or touch screen display one after another in proper order. After installation of the new electric module, the monitor or touch screen display is assembled again. This dismounting/mounting procedure is complicated. In case a small screw or part is damaged or missed during dismounting/mounting procedure, the assembly process of the monitor or touch screen display may fail, or the monitor or touch screen display may be unable to function well.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a monitor that eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks.


A telecommunications system allows data communications between a data center and a non-telephone terminal via a telephone switching network. A terminal adapter connected to a first telephone line of the network is also connected to the non-telephone terminal and a telephone terminal. A center adapter is connected between the data center and a second telephone line. The center adapter originates a first call destined to the terminal adapter and releases it upon detecting the call terminating to the terminal adapter. The center adapter then originates a second call destined to the same terminal adapter. The center adapter detects the successive terminations of the two calls to connect the telephone line to the non-telephone terminal to allow data transmission between the data center and the non-telephone terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a telecommunications system for implementing telecommunications between a terminal other than a telephone, i.e., a non-telephone terminal accommodated in a switched telephone network or similar telephone switching network and a supervising center which is also accommodated in the telephone network and controls a plurality of non-telephone terminals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The inspection of an LPG (Liquefied Petroleum gas) meter, for example, may be automated by providing a subscriber with a reading terminal which shares the same line as a telephone and allowing a supervising center which supervises the reading terminal to communicate with the terminal over a telephone switching network so as to collect data from the terminal, send alarm information to the terminal, and perform other various functions as needed, as already proposed in the telecommunications art. A predominant approach for implementing such telecommunications by a relatively simple configuration is a terminal origination type system.
In a prior art terminal call origination type system, a terminal adapter is connected to a telephone line or subscriber line which is accommodated in a switched telephone network, while a reading terminal and a subscriber set telephone are connected to the terminal adapter. The reading terminal is capable of accessing a supervising center over the telephone switching network by calling the telephone network via the terminal adapter. The terminal adapter plays the role of a network control unit which selectively connects the telephone and reading terminal to the telephone switching network.
A prerequisite with the automatic LPG supply service is that the reading terminal sends readings and similar data periodically to the supervising center while the center sends data to the reading terminal. By sending data to the reading terminal, the center may govern the reading terminal for various purposes such as checking the terminal when collected data is unusual, on-off controlling the gas valve in the event of the subscriber's long absence, examining the conditions of use of LPG as needed, resetting a counter installed in the terminal to zero, informing the terminal of a change of the telephone number of the center itself, and correcting a timepiece built in the terminal adapter. While some of these control items are sufficiently achievable even if a command in the form of data is transmitted by using a communication path which will be set up when the terminal accesses the supervising center, the others cannot be implemented unless the center delivers a command whenever occasion calls. However, since the terminal call origination type system does not allow the supervising center to call the terminal, the control items of the kind needing occasional delivery of command as mentioned above have to rely on some alternative means such as a conversation on a telephone or the dispatch of a person in charge to the terminal.
In the light of the above, there has been proposed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Co., Ltd, an "Interface for No-Ringing Communication Service" which allows a central station to call a terminal at any time, i.e. a center call origination type system. In the proposed center call origination type system, a no-ringing trunk is provided in a local switch in which a reading terminal is accommodated through a terminal adapter, i.e. a receiving local switch. Built in the local switch for calling a reading terminal, the no-ringing trunk has appearances which are individually accommodated in the incoming and outgoing ends of the local switch. When the central station originates a call meant for the reading terminal, a ringing having a particular frequency is sent from the no-ringing trunk to the terminal adapter. On receiving the ringing, the terminal adapter recognizes that call is destined to the associated reading terminal and thereby connects the telephone line to the terminal.
A drawback with the center call origination type system is that the special no-ringing trunk installed in the receiving local switch increases the cost of the entire switch. Especially, when the number of non-telephone terminals accommodated in the local switch is relatively small, the cost-effectiveness is critically lowered by the installation of the no-ringing trunk in the local switch. This obstructs the extensive application of the control of non-telephone terminals by a supervising center.

Communication with a non-telephone terminal via a telephone switching network using two consecutive calls


According to one embodiment, data is exchanged between two devices where the transmitting device displays a barcode (e.g., a Quick Response “QR” code) and the receiving device captures the barcode with a camera. Each of the devices may alternate between being the transmitting device and the receiving device. Therefore, bidirectional exchange of data between the devices can be achieved. No electrical or radio connections, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cables, or the Internet, etc., are required between the devices for the transmission to take place.

A matrix (or two-dimensional "2D") barcode, or simply a matrix or a 2D code, such as a Quick Response (QR) code, is a two-dimensional way to represent information in a visual, machine-readable form. Conventionally, retrieving the information encoded in a 2D barcode is a one-way process: the 2D barcode is displayed on a screen, or is printed on a piece of paper or on an object, and is optically scanned with a scanner or captured with a camera. The scanned or captured 2D barcode is then decoded to retrieve the information.

Bidirectional data exchange across devices via barcodes


A new and distinct variety of seedless lemon named ‘Silva's Seedless’ characterized by producing mature seedless fruit with thin rinds during early July in the San Joaquin Valley of California, thereby avoiding potential calamities from winter weather. The trees have small thorns, minimizing the need for protective equipment for growers, and have high yields and bear from year three onwards. The fruit is well sized and has acceptable acid-sugar ratios and color. The skin has a smooth texture and the fruit stores well. The fruit has an average juice content of 30-40% at harvest. The fruit shape is typically ovoid.

The present invention refers to a new variety of lemon which will hereinafter be denominated as the 'Silva's Seedless' lemon tree. The 'Silva's Seedless' tree produces commercially seedless lemon fruit, maturing in early to mid-July in the central San Joaquin Valley of California. The 'Silva's Seedless' trees bear from year three, and have consistent year-to-year bearing habits. The fruit is seedless with thin rinds, acceptable acid-sugar ratios and color, and has an average juice content of 30-40% at harvest.
In the development of new commercial fruit varieties, specific characteristics provide a premium on those fruit varieties that mature early or late in the growing season. For a new fruit variety to be a commercial success, the fruit must be of good size, good color, and also have good holding/storage. Advantageous harvest times and shipping characteristics are also important, as is the date the fruit matures. This new invention meets all of the aforementioned criteria and therefore would be of commercial appeal to the consumer.


Embodiments relate to producing a plan of a route in a transportation system. The method receives route requirements, including a starting location and an ending location. The method builds a model of the transportation system from data about vehicles. The model abstracts a “prospect travel” between two locations using any of a range of choices of vehicles and walks that can transport between the two locations. Given anticipated wait durations for the vehicles and their ride durations, the method determines an expected minimum travel duration using any of these choices. The method combines the expectations for various locations in a scalable manner. As a result, a route plan that achieves a shortest expected travel duration, and meets other requirements, is computed for one of the largest metropolitan areas in existence today. Other embodiments include a computer system and a product service that implement the method.

The present invention relates to route planning in a metropolitan area. A goal of route planning is to determine how to travel from one location to other location using the vehicles available from various providers of transport services. Often it is required for the travel to last as little time as possible, or depart at a certain time, among other requirements. A route typically specifies instructions for a rider, including walk paths and vehicle ride paths.

Method and a computer system for providing a route or a route duration for a journey from a source location to a target location


A bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound is provided which is useful as colorants such as dyes and pigments, or other organic chemical products or intermediates thereof. A method of producing the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound is also provided, which is suitable for large-scale industrial production with high yield. The bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound is represented by general formula (1).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bipyrrolinonylidene-type compounds which are useful as colorants such as dyes and pigments, and relates to methods of producing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
A method of producing bipyrrolinonylidene represented by the formula (b):
by air-oxidizing pyrrolinone represented by the formula (a):
is disclosed (see Liebigs Ann. Chem., 702, 112-130 (1967)).
However, the yield in the above method is low, such as 10 to 15%, and the method is not suitable for large-scale industrial production of bipyrrolinonylidene.
Also, it was difficult to employ bipyrrolinonylidene represented by the formula (b) as dyes and pigments, or other organic chemical products or intermediates thereof because of its poor solubility in water and organic solvents.
An object of the present invention is to provide bipyrrolinonylidene-type compounds which are useful as colorants such as dyes and pigments, or other organic chemical products or intermediates thereof, and also provides a method of producing the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound, which is suitable for large-scale industrial production with high yield.
The present inventors have found that a bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound, which develops a vivid navy blue color and is soluble in various organic solvents, can be produced with high yield by air-oxidizing a pyrrolinone compound using a specific catalyst, and thus the present invention has been completed.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (1):
wherein Ar1 and Ar2 each independently represents an aryl group, and R1 and R2 each independently represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group having 3 to 18 carbon atoms, or an aryl group.
To achieve the above object, the present invention also provides a method of producing a bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (4):
wherein Ar3 represents an aryl group, and R represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a cyano group, a hydroxyl group, an alkyl group, an alkoxyl group, an amino group, an alkylamino group, a cycloalkyl group, a cycloalkyloxy group, an aryl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, a cycloalkyloxycarbonyl group, a carbamoyl group, a nitro group, a carboxyl group or a sulfonic acid group, which comprises oxidizing a pyrrolinone-type compound represented by the general formula (3):
wherein Ar3 represents an aryl group, and R represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a cyano group, a hydroxyl group, an alkyl group, an alkoxyl group, an amino group, an alkylamino group, a cycloalkyl group, a cycloalkyloxy group, an aryl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, a cycloalkyloxycarbonyl group, a carbamoyl group, a nitro group, a carboxyl group or a sulfonic acid group in the presence of an anthraquinone-type catalyst.
The bipyrrolinonylidenedicarboxylic acid-type compound represented by the general formula (1) of the present invention can be used as a dye, as it is, because it develops a vivid navy blue color, or a metal salt of bipyrrolinonylidenedicarboxylic acid can be used as a pigment.
According to the method of the present invention, the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (4) can be produced by a simple method of air-oxidizing a pyrrolinone compound in the presence of an anthraquinone-type catalyst. The bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (4) obtained by the method of the present invention is soluble in various solvents as compared with conventionally known bipyrrolinonylidene and is also useful as dyes and pigments, or other organic chemical products or intermediates thereof because it has a carboxyl group or an ester bond.
The present invention will now be described.
In the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (1) used in the present invention, Ar1 and Ar2 each independently represents an aryl group. Examples of the aryl group include aromatic ring groups such as a phenyl group, naphthalene group, anthracene group, phenanthrene group, pyrene group or biphenyl group; and aromatic hetero ring groups such as a pyrrole group, pyrazole group, imidazole group, pyridine group, pyrimidine group, pyrazine group, indole group, quinoline group, carbazole group, furan group or thiazole group.
Also these aromatic rings may have substituents. Examples of the substituents include a hydrogen atom, halogen atom, cyano group, hydroxyl group, alkyl group, amino group, alkylamino group, alkoxyl group, aryl group, alkoxycarbonyl group, carbamoyl group, nitro group, sulfonic acid group and sulfonate group. Among these substituents, a halogen atom or sulfonic acid group is preferred. When the substituent is a halogen, the bipyrrolinonylidenedicarboxylic acid derivative (A) tends to exhibit higher chemical stability. When the substituent is a sulfonic acid group or a sulfonic acid metal salt group, the bipyrrolinonylidenedicarboxylic acid derivative (A) tends to exhibit higher solubility in water or organic solvents.
When the aromatic ring is substituted with plural halogen atoms, halogen atoms may be the same or different. When the halogen atom is a chlorine atom or a bromine atom, the bipyrrolinonylidenedicarboxylic acid derivative (A) tends to exhibit higher chemical stability and, therefore, it is preferred.
In the general formula (1), R1 and R2 each independently represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group having 3 to 18 carbon atoms, or an aryl group. It is preferred that R1 and R2 each independently represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms. Examples of the alkyl group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms include alkyl groups such as a methyl group, ethyl group, n-propyl group, isopropyl group, n-butyl group, isobutyl group or n-octadecyl group; and cycloalkyl groups such as a cyclohexyl group. It is preferred that the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (1) tends to exhibit higher heat stability when R1 and R2 each independently represents an alkyl group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms.
Among the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compounds represented by the general formula (1), a bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (2):
wherein X1, X2, X3, X4, X6, X7, X8, X9 and X10 each independently represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a cyano group, a hydroxyl group, an alkyl group, an amino group, an alkylamino group, an alkoxyl group, an aryl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, a cycloalkyloxycarbonyl group, a carbamoyl group, a nitro group, a sulfonic acid group or a sulfonate group, and R1 and R2 each independently represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group having 3 to 18 carbon atoms, or an aryl group is preferred.
The bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (1) used in the present invention has high solubility in water or organic solvents because it has a carboxyl group or an ester bond in a molecule, and also the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound can be used as a dye, as it is, because it develops a blue to violet color hue. Among the compounds represented by the general formula (1), a metal salt of a bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound in which R1 and R2 are hydrogen atoms can be used as a pigment because it is insoluble in water or organic solvents.
Among the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compounds used in the present invention, a bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound in which R1 and R2 are hydrogen atoms has the solubility in water and an organic solvent, and solubility suitable for the objective purposes can be imparted by reacting with a carboxyl group thereby introducing various atomic groups.
Among the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compounds represented by the general formula (1) used in the present invention, a metal salt or ester of the compound in which R1 and R2 are hydrogen atoms will now be described.
With respect to the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (1) used in the present invention, either or both of two carboxyl groups may form a salt with a metal atom, while the solubility of the metal salt formed is drastically influenced by the kind of the metal atom. When the metal atom is an alkali metal such as sodium or potassium, the metal salt is soluble in water. When the metal salt is a polyvalent metal such as calcium, barium, aluminum or strontium, the metal salt is insoluble in water. When using the colorant of the present invention as a pigment for printing ink, the colorant is preferably insoluble in water and a polyvalent metal salt such as calcium or aluminum is preferably used.
With respect to the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (1) used in the present invention, either or both of two carboxyl groups may form an ester. Examples of the ester include esters with an aliphatic monohydric alcohol, such as a methyl ester, ethyl ester, n-propyl ester, n-butyl ester, i-butyl ester, n-hexyl ester, n-octyl ester, n-decyl ester or n-octadecyl ester; esters with aliphatic polyhydric alcohols, such as a 2-hydroxyethyl ester, 2,3-dihydroxypropyl ester, 4-hydroxybutyl ester or 6-hydroxyhexyl ester; and esters with unsaturated alcohols, such as a benzyl ester, allyl ester, 2-(methacryloyl)-ethyl ester or 2-(tetrahydropyranyloxy)-ethyl ester. Among these, an ester with an aliphatic alcohol is preferred in view of high chemical stability of the ester group.
The bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound used in the present invention has a vivid color hue in a color ranging from blue to violet because of the chemical structure of the aryl groups Ar1 and Ar2, the kind of a metal atom which forms a salt, or the chemical structure of an ester and, therefore, it can be widely used, as a colorant, in fiber colorants, printing inks, color filters, automotive coating compositions, and plastic colorants. The bipyrrolinonylidenedicarboxylic acid derivative (A) in the present invention itself has a sufficient tinting power, but toning can be conducted by mixing with other colorants.
The bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound used in the present invention is obtained by oxidizing the pyrrolinone-type compound represented by the general formula (3). In the present invention, the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (4) can be produced by oxidizing the pyrrolinone-type compound represented by the general formula (3) in the presence of an anthraquinone-type catalyst.
By the method of producing a bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound of the present invention, the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (1) can be produced using, as a starting material, the pyrrolinone-type compound of the general formula (3) in which R is a carboxyl group or an alkoxycarbonyl group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms.
In the general formula (3) and the general formula (4), examples of the aryl group represented by Ar3 include groups having an aromatic ring, such as benzene, naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene or biphenyl; and groups having an aromatic hetero ring, such as pyrrole, pyrazole, imidazole, pyridine, pyrimidine, pyrazine, indole, quinoline, carbazole, furan or thiazole. The fewer the aromatic rings or aromatic hetero rings in the aryl group, the higher the solubility of the resulting bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound in an organic solvent. The aryl group may have a substituent. Examples of the substituent include a halogen atom, cyano group, hydroxyl group, alkyl group, amino group, alkylamino group, alkoxyl group, aryl group, alkoxycarbonyl group, cycloalkyloxycarbonyl group, carbamoyl group, nitro group, sulfonic acid group and sulfonate group. When the substituent is a halogen atom, the resulting compound tends to exhibit higher chemical stability. When the substituent is a sulfonic acid group which may form a salt with a metal atom, the resulting bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound tends to exhibit higher solubility in water or organic solvents.
In the general formula (3) and the general formula (4), R represents a halogen atom, a cyano group, a hydroxy group, an amino group which may be substituted with an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, a cycloalkyloxy group, an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, a cycloalkyloxycarbonyl group, a carbamoyl group, a nitro group, a carboxyl group which may form a salt with a metal atom, or a sulfonic acid group which may form a salt with a metal atom. When the substituent is a cyano group, an alkyl group, an aryl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, or a carboxyl group which may form a salt with a metal atom, the resulting bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound tends to exhibit higher chemical stability.
In the method of producing the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound of the present invention, examples of the anthraquinone-type catalyst include sodium anthraquinone-xcex2-sulfonate and sodium anthraquinone-xcex2,xcex2xe2x80x2-disulfonate. The amount of the anthraquinone-type catalyst is preferably used in an amount within a range from 1 to 50 mol %, and more preferably from 2 to 30 mol %, based on the pyrrolinone-type compound represented by the general formula (3).
In the oxidizing reaction of the pyrrolinone-type compound represented by the general formula (3), a solvent is preferably used. Examples of usable solvents include solvents which are less likely to be oxidized in the presence of the anthraquinone-type catalyst, for example, aromatic solvents such as nitrobenzene, toluene and xylene; alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, isobutanol and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether; esters such as ethyl acetate, butyl acetate and 2-etoxyethyl acetate; aprotic polar solvents such as N-methylpyrrolidone; and water and a mixed solvent of water and a water-soluble organic solvent. Among these solvents, nitrobenzene having a high ability of dissolving the pyrrolinone-type compound represented by the general formula (3), or a mixed solvent of nitrobenzene and the other organic solvent is preferred because high yield is achieved.
In the present invention, various oxidizing agents can be used. Specific examples thereof include peroxides such as hydrogen peroxide, m-chloroperbenzoic acid, peracetic acid, perchloric acid or potassium permanganate, or oxygen or air. When using air, there can he obtained such an advantage that high safety is achieved and manufacturing cost can be reduced. In the oxidizing reaction using air as an oxidizing agent, an inert gas such as nitrogen may be mixed with the air for the purpose of raising a lower limit of the explosive limit concentration of the reaction system.
In the oxidizing reaction, the reaction system may be heated for the purpose of increasing the reaction rate and the reaction system is preferably stirred for the purpose of allowing the oxidizing reaction to proceed uniformly. In the case of the oxidizing reaction using air as an oxidizing agent, the reaction temperature is controlled within a range from 100 to 250xc2x0 C., preferably from 140 to 230xc2x0 C., and more preferably from 170 to 210xc2x0 C., and air is preferably supplied uniformly into the reaction system after stirring sufficiently.
The bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (1) used in the present invention can be produced by the method of producing the bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (4) using the pyrrolinonylidene-type compound represented by the general formula (3).

Bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound, colorant therewith, and method of production thereof

Abstract: The bipyrrolinonylidene-type compound is obtained by oxidizing a pyrrolinone-type compound represented by the general formula (3) in the presence of an anthraquinone-type catalyst.


A preceding-vehicle following control system for a host vehicle is comprised of a road information device (2, 3) for obtaining road information of a road ahead of the host vehicle, a preceding-vehicle detector (1) for obtaining preceding-vehicle information of a preceding vehicle ahead of the host vehicle and a controller (10) connected to the road information device and the preceding vehicle recognizing device. The controller is arranged to determine a road width of the road from the road information, to vary a condition for determining a control characteristic of a control system of a following control for following the preceding vehicle, and to execute the following control on the basis of the condition for determining the control characteristic and the preceding-vehicle information.

The present invention relates to a preceding-vehicle following control system which is arranged to follow a preceding vehicle ahead of a host vehicle while keeping an inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle at a target inter-vehicle distance.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 11-20503 discloses a preceding-vehicle hollowing control system which is arranged to set a target vehicle speed based on the sum of a first product and a second product where the first product is obtained by multiplying a difference between an inter-vehicle distance and a target inter-vehicle distance and a first gain, and the second product is obtained by multiplying a relative speed between the host vehicle and a preceding vehicle and a second gain, and to control a driving/braking force so as to bring the vehicle speed closer to the target vehicle speed.

Preceding-vehicle following control system


A system for locating an optimal location of a reception antenna that has an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a wireless internet service provider (WISP) tower configured for transmitting radio signals, and an antenna removably coupled to the unmanned aerial vehicle, the antenna configured for receiving the radio signals. Further, the system has a processor for automatically flying the UAV to a height, for rotating the unmanned aerial vehicle at the height and detecting the radio signals from the at least one WISP tower as the UAV rotates to determine an optimal azimuth, and if the radio signals received are not conducive for the provision of wireless services at the height, the processor moves the UAV to different heights and rotates the UAV until radio signals received are conducive for the provision of wireless services thereby determining an optimal azimuth and location altitude range for a reception antenna.

A network of cell towers is used to receive and transmit radio waves to/from a destination. The radio waves can comprise data that implements Internet connectivity and cellular service to the destination. In this regard, the destination may be, for example, a cellular phone, a residence or a business site. Oftentimes, the destinations are in rural areas and/or surrounded by natural barriers, such as mountains and the like.
Electric communications equipment and antennas are typically mounted on the towers. These components are configured to receive data from other towers and transmit the data from tower to tower until the data arrives at its destination. To receive signals at the destination from the tower, the destination is outfitted with a strategically-placed antenna that is conducive to the most adequate and efficient wireless service.
Wireless Internet service providers, autonomous metering infrastructure network surveyors and cellular service providers alike use various antenna reception testing methods to locate a reception antenna at a destination. The antenna reception tests test signal strength and quality of their antenna networks to determine how to better supply the destination with service. These methods are typically arduous and dangerous.
Presently, to properly place an antenna at the destination site, manual work must be performed by a technician. Notably, placement of the antenna typically requires that a technician be elevated to dangerous heights by an aerial lift truck. Simultaneously, the technician must manage both cables and equipment that are used to determine the best height and location for reception antenna placement. This requires many technicians, heavy machinery, and it can take anywhere from one to five hours to complete. Further, these tests are performed on a regular basis, making them costly to the companies that must perform them.
As noted, these antenna reception testing methods are timely, costly, and unsafe for technicians. Due to the nature of the conventional reception antenna testing, insurance is costly. Also, the conventional antenna reception testing methods require costly man hours, heavy equipment, maintenance and a considerable time to run the tests. Further, the heavy equipment that is used has limitations when trying to determine an optimal placement of the reception antenna.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for determining the optimal location for the installation of a reception antenna


A latch-bolt mechanism includes a housing, a latch-bolt, and a drive member. The latch-bolt is movable between an extended position and a retracted position, and includes a bolt body and an engaging member operable to move relative to the bolt body between an engagement position and a disengagement position and having an engaging portion. The drive member has a driving portion. When the engaging member is at the engagement position, the driving portion can be activated to contact and push the engaging portion so as to move the latch-bolt from the extended position to the retracted position. When the engaging member is at the disengagement position, contact between the driving portion and the engaging portion can be prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a latch-bolt mechanism, and more particularly to a latch-bolt mechanism operable to allow for idle rotation of an exterior handle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A movable door latch-bolt can be driven by a handle, a lockset, or a rotary knob to move a bolt head from an extended position to a retracted position. When the movable door latch-bolt is in a locked state, an exterior handle cannot be rotated. In this state, if a user actuates the exterior handle due to the fact that he or she does not realize the locked state, some components of the latch-bolt will be damaged, thereby reducing the service life of the latch-bolt.

Latch-bolt mechanism operable to allow for idle rotation of an exterior handle


A biologic intervention method and apparatus generates a persistent modification to an AV node that is physiologically stable after the agent has matured but is alterable with subsequent application of an agent. Specifically, the generic agent is used to modulate a node in a cardiac conduction system including rate control using one and a combination of a family of K+ channel or equivalent. Specifically, the channel is implemented to slow conduction by generating an outward current during optimization of action potential and repolarization phase thus decreasing the current that is available to excite downstream cells. A Kv 1.3 channel, for example, may be used as the biologic channel. The invention enables reversal of the modulation or adjustment for various heart rates (BPM) based on medical and patient-specific needs.

The heart consists of several distinct regions, each with its unique electrophysiological characteristics and functions. Specifically, cardiac activity is managed by highly specialized cells that trigger polarization and depolarization of the heart muscle to provide natural intrinsic pacing. While the sino atrial (SA) node is the primary pacemaking unit of the heart, the atrio-ventricular (AV) node acts as a gatekeeper or valve between the atria and ventricles and controls ventricular response to supraventricular activation. The valve function of the AV node arises from cells that have longer postrepolarization refractoriness and very low excitability, which limit the maximum number of impulses that can traverse to the ventricles. AV node lacks sodium (Na+) channels, and conduction in the AV node is primarily governed by L-type Ca2+ channels.
Biologic treatment of the conduction system of the heart requires the introduction of biologic agents that are compatible and adaptable to the highly specialized cardiac cells. Further, cardiac cells are highly differentiated across the conduction zone. The channels in the SA node, for example, are different from the channels in the AV node. Similarly, the type of channels and composition thereof vary across the conduction system of the heart and provide varying contractility properties to the cardiac muscles. Accordingly, managing the channels is key to controlling cardiac arrhythmias. Realizing this fact, Donahue et al (Nature Medicine; 6(2) 1395-1398) have disclosed an approach of decreasing L-type Ca2+ current, by over expressing an inhibitory component of G-protein that modulates β-adrenergic response with an eventual goal of slowing the conduction in the AV node.
Currently, arrhythmias such as, for example, tachy and brady are managed using implantable devices. While these devices have proven to be excellent means for therapy delivery to manage cardiac disease, they do not reconstruct or restore a damaged conduction cellular structure to its normal condition. Conduction in cardiac tissue, including the AV node, involves cell-to-cell charge transfer. Charge from an upstream cell that has already been excited by a wave front initiated from the SA node is transferred to the next unexcited cell downstream thereby raising its intracellular and transmembrane potential. The downstream cell is excited when its transmembrane potential is raised to the Na+ channel or L-type Ca2+ channel (in the case of the AV node) threshold. As this downstream cell is excited, it relays charge to the next unexcited cell even further downstream. This process continues and results in continuous conduction at a macroscopic level, although the conduction at a microscopic scale is arguably saltatory in nature (Spach M S et al. 1990. Ann N Y Acad Sci; 591:62-74).
The microscopic and cellular basis of conduction gives insights into how the conduction can be influenced. One approach to manipulate cardiac conduction is to impose greater load on each cell so that charge transfer to the next unexcited cell downstream is slowed, thereby delaying its rise to excitation threshold and decreasing macroscopic conduction velocity. A greater electrotonic load on the AV node cells can be imposed by implanting inexcitable cells in the AV node that can sink current but are incapable of sourcing out current because of their inability to fire an action potential. Fibroblasts either autologously derived from the patient (e.g. by taking a muscle biopsy) or commercially obtained, can be one such cell type. However, if implanted in their native form, fibroblasts may couple poorly or fail to couple altogether with the AV node cells. To facilitate coupling, fibroblasts can be transfected ex-vivo with Cx43 (or other Cx isoforms like Cx40 and Cx45) before they are implanted into the AV node. To further increase the potency of electrotonic load they possess, fibroblasts may be transfected with voltage gated potassium channels [e.g. Kv2.1, which encodes for IK1 and Kv1.3, which encodes for another type of voltage dependent K+ channel (Feld Y et al. 2002. Circulation. 105: 522-529)]. As the charge is transferred to fibroblasts and their transmembrane potential raised, these channels open-up and produce outward current and hence can act to amplify the loading effect offered by fibroblasts.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a disease of epidemic proportions with over 2 million people affected in US alone, and this number is expected to grow to 5 million by the year 2050. Its prevalence doubles with each decade of life from ˜0.5% at age 50 to 9% at age 80. Present treatments are inadequate. Unlike ventricular arrhythmias, implantable devices are ineffective for treating atrial arrhythmias primarily because of their recurrent nature. Pharmacotherapy is the most common course of treatment for most patients. Two distinct treatment regimens are used—rhythm control and rate control. In rhythm control an effort is made to maintain the patient in sinus rhythm using cardioversion and antiarrhythmic drugs like amiodarone, sotalol and other class III drugs. In rate control the emphasis is on controlling the ventricular rate by modulating the AV node while letting the AF persist. Drugs like beta-blockers, diltiazem and verapimil are commonly used to achieve rate control. In the AFFIRM trial, a large (4060 patients) multicenter study comparing the two treatment strategies, no differences were found between the rhythm and rate control groups. In fact rate control group showed slightly lower mortality (the primary end point) although it did not reach statistical significance. Three other smaller trials (PIAF, RACE and STAF) reached the same conclusion i.e. no difference between rhythm and rate control groups. Moreover, in AFFIRM and PIAF trials that tracked hospital admissions, rate of hospitalization were statistically higher in rhythm control group than rate control.
Thus, rate control is an effective therapy for AF. Nevertheless, pharmacotherapy has several limitations. A subset (˜5%) of patients do not tolerate commonly prescribed drugs, and pharmacotherapy eventually fails in 70-90% patients. Since the drugs are systemically taken, side effects are common. Further, cumulative cost of drugs when added over the entire lifetime of a patient (who generally are younger than those presenting with ventricular arrhythmias) can be quite staggering
Hence there is a need for a system that can modulate the AV node and other cardiac conduction elements that may be damaged or malfunctioning. Further, there is a need to provide a systemic treatment of cardiac conductive tissue using biologic elements that cooperate with or influence the natural conduction channels in the heart.
The present invention addresses one or more of these needs. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.

Rate control during AF using cellular intervention to modulate AV node


Methods are provided for altering plant characteristics by introducing into plants, isolated nucleic acid molecules that can be used to produce transgenic plants characterized by altered oil levels within the seed. Also provided are isolated nucleic acids that encode AP2 domain transcription factor proteins and fragments thereof, vectors capable of expressing such nucleic acid molecules, host cells containing such vectors, and polypeptides encoded by such nucleic acids.

Corn is a major crop used as a human food source, an animal feed, and as a source of carbohydrate, oil, protein, and fiber. It is principally used as an energy source in animal feeds.
Most corn grain is handled as a commodity, since many of the industrial and animal feed requirements for corn can be met by common varieties of field corn which are widely grown and produced in volume. However, there exists at present a growing market for corn with special end-use properties which are not met by corn grain of standard composition.
More than 50% of the maize grain crop produced in the USA is used for animal feed animal (Perry (1988) Corn and Corn Improvement, eds. Sprague and Dudley (Madison, Wis.), pp. 941-963). Maize grain with elevated oil concentration has a higher caloric content compared with standard maize grain and is advantageous as a food source for animals. Feeding high-oil maize grain instead of maize grain with standard levels of oil concentration to swine and poultry has resulted in accelerated weight gain (Han et al. (1987) J. Poult. Sci. 66:103-111 and Gross et al. (1992) Proc. of the 47th Ann. Corn and Sorghum Res. Conference, pp. 82-92).
Oil as a major seed storage compound, also has significant economic value for food and industrial markets.
Thus, the development of high-oil germplasm is an objective of some maize breeding programs.
There are serious limitations to using mutagenesis to increase oil levels in grain. Screens will rarely uncover mutations that a) result in a dominant ("gain-of-function") phenotype, b) are in genes that are essential for plant growth, and c) are in an enzyme that is not rate-limiting and that is encoded by more than one gene. In cases where desired phenotypes are available in mutant corn lines, their introgression into elite lines by traditional breeding techniques is slow and expensive.
Methods and compositions that improve the oil content of plants and provide for efficient methods of developing these plants are needed in the art.


A structure for mounting an antenna device on a first side of a panel body is disclosed. A first fixation member includes a first end having a first width, a second end, and a slit connecting the first end and the second end. A protrusion is protruded from the antenna device and fitted into the first end of the first fixation member. A second fixation member is fitted into the second end of the first fixation member while being coupled with the protrusion in a screwing manner. The first width is smaller than an aperture formed in the panel body when the protrusion and the second fixation member are in a first screwing position, so that the protrusion, the first fixation member and the second fixation member are allowed to pass through the aperture from the first side to a second side thereof. The slit is expanded such that the first end of the first fixation member is made to have a second width which is greater than the aperture when the protrusion and the second fixation member are in a second screwing position where the protrusion and the second fixation member are closed to each other than the first screwing position.

The present invention relates to an antenna mounting structure in which an antenna base of a vehicle antenna is mounted on and fixed to a roof or the like of a vehicle body.
In a conventional structure for mounting a vehicle antenna to a roof or the like of a vehicle body, a bolt protruded downward from the antenna base of the antenna device for a vehicle is inserted through a hole formed on the roof and a washer having a claw is fitted and inserted from below into the bolt protruded downward from the roof, and furthermore, a nut is screwed and fixed. In order to enhance a workability, the washer having a claw and the nut are coupled and integrated so as to be relatively rotatable around a screw axis and not to be separated from each other in the direction of the screw axis. In order to enhance the workability, furthermore, Japanese Patent No. 2751146 has proposed a technique for provisionally fixing a nut to a bolt through a washer having a claw. According to the proposed technique, the nut can be prevented from slipping from the bolt even if an operator releases his or her hand from the nut after the provisional fixation. Consequently, the workability can be improved.
In this structure, the nut can be prevented from slipping off even if an operator releases his or her hand from the nut after the nut is provisionally fixed to the bolt, thereby improving the workability. However, it is necessary to carry out a working step of provisionally fixing the nut, from below a roof panel or the like, to the bolt inserted through the hole from above the roof panel or the like.


A cargo box inner comprised of a center floor panel, a pair of outboard floor panels, a pair of sidewall panels, and an understructure framework, with one or more of these parts comprised of aluminum. The sidewall panels surround a cargo bed and extend from the outboard panels by a predetermined angle. The outboard panels extend from a pair of opposing side portions of the center floor panel. These side portions are offset from a longitudinal axis of the center floor panel. The center floor panel and the outboard floor panels are attached to the understructure framework, which includes a pair of longitudinal rails and a series of lateral rails. Each longitudinal rail defines a slot and a channel in open communication with the cargo bed for receiving a fastener and securing a cargo item to the vehicle.

Cargo box inners ("cargo boxes") typically define an open-topped bed for use in hauling cargo behind a passenger cabin of a truck. Accordingly, cargo boxes are also known as pickup boxes, truck boxes, pickup truck boxes, and truck bed boxes.
Traditional cargo boxes were comprised of up to forty (40) steel components, including panels with a thermoformed plastic liner. These steel components typically were welded together for defining a bed floor, two sidewalls, and a headboard.
Automotive manufacturers have developed a cargo box with a one-piece composite construction, which could be produced more quickly and at significantly lower costs than its steel counterpart. In addition, the composite box is substantially lightweight and has improved resistance to dents and corrosion.
Existing one-piece cargo boxes do not have mounting fixtures integrally formed therein. Also, the typical one-piece box includes a floor portion and two sidewall portions, which extend somewhat outboard from the floor portion. In this way, the cargo box can be removed from a mold after the box has been fabricated. Also, in this regard, the largest width of the cargo box typically is measured between the top ends of the opposing sidewall portions. In other words, the floor portion does not extend across as much of the available space between the outer sidewall fenders as the top ends of the sidewall portions. It is understood that a wider floor portion can increase the storage capacity of the vehicle.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a cargo box having a lightweight construction with enhanced storage capacity and low manufacturing costs.


A fuel injector is provided for a gas turbine engine. The fuel injector includes a fuel conduit and a cooling fluid circuit through a strut. A gas turbine engine is provided that includes a multiple of fuel injectors in communication with a combustor and a cooling system in communication with each of the multiple of fuel injectors.

The present disclosure relates to a gas turbine engine and, more particularly, to a fuel injector system therefor and method of operation thereof.
Gas turbine engines, such as those that power modern commercial and military aircraft, include a compressor section to pressurize a supply of air, a combustor section to burn a hydrocarbon fuel in the presence of the pressurized air, and a turbine section to extract energy from the resultant combustion gases and generate thrust.
The combustor section generally includes a multiple of circumferentially distributed fuel injectors that axially project into a combustion chamber to supply fuel to be mixed with the pressurized air. Gas turbine engines typically include multiple individually controlled centralized staging valves with multiple fuel supply manifolds that deliver fuel to the fuel injectors. There is one fuel supply manifold for each stage, thus, each fuel injector may have multiple fuel supply connections, one for each stage.
Each fuel injector typically has an inlet fitting connected to the manifold at the base, a strut or stem connected to the base fitting, and a nozzle tip assembly connected to the strut or stem to spray the fuel into the combustion chamber. A fuel conduit extends through the strut to supply the fuel from the inlet fitting to the nozzle tip assembly. Appropriate valves and/or flow dividers are provided to direct and control the flow of fuel through the nozzle assembly.
The nozzle assembly often includes pilot and main nozzles. Generally, the main nozzles are for normal and high power situations, while the pilot nozzles are used for start operation. The nozzles have relatively small orifices and fuel conduits in the strut which may be prone to coke formation. Coke formation may result in narrowed fuel orifices, uneven fuel burn and increased maintenance requirements.
Conventional fuel injector designs typically utilize a heat shield around the fuel injector strut to provide an insulated air gap and reduce the heat transfer rate within the diffuser case module to the fuel.

Cooled fuel injector system for a gas turbine engine


A data bus can supply power from a first power source to a sink device. The data bus is coupled to a second power source. An electrical current from the second power source supplements an electrical current on the data bus if the voltage on the data bus decreases to less than a threshold value.

According to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) specification, host USB devices can power other (e.g., peripheral) devices. Host USB devices, such as personal computers and notebook computers, can provide up to but not more than 500 milli-amperes (mA) of electrical current to a peripheral device such as a portable storage device (e.g., a portable hard disk drive).
Contemporary portable storage devices (e.g., 2.5-inch portable hard disk drives) can consume up to 1000 mA of current during read or write operations, not including the amount of current consumed by the USB-to-SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) bridge integrated circuit. Clearly, the amount of current needed by a portable storage device can exceed the limit included in the USB specification.
To overcome this problem, some types of portable storage devices are equipped with a USB Y-cable that allows the drive to be plugged into two USB ports at the same time. A portable storage device can thus draw up to 500 mA of current from one USB port and up to another 500 mA of current from another USB port, thereby obtaining the amount of current needed for read and write operations. However, this type of solution may be problematic because the host device may not have two available USB ports. That is, the host device's USB ports may be needed for other purposes, and it may not be possible to devote two ports to a single device such as a portable storage device.
Other types of portable storage devices are instead equipped with a power adapter that allows them to be plugged into an external power supply (e.g., an electrical outlet). However, this type of solution is cumbersome and inconvenient, especially for a storage device that is supposed to be portable. In other words, a power adapter can be relatively bulky, and its use requires that the portable storage device be placed with reach of an electrical outlet (e.g., a wall outlet).

Circuit for supplementing electrical current to a peripheral device


An integrated motor monitoring system includes a housing and a motor disposed within the housing, the motor being configured to provide a power output. The integrated motor monitoring system also includes at least one monitoring device communicatively coupled to the motor and configured to monitor an operational aspect of the motor and generate a data signal associated with the operational aspect. The integrated motor monitoring system further includes a controller, disposed within the housing and in communication with the at least one monitoring device, and configured to energize a plurality of field conductors of the motor and receive the data signal from the at least one monitoring device over at least one of the plurality of field conductors.

Today's work machines are employed in a number of machines used in industries such as manufacturing, mining, construction, and/or agriculture. These work machines generate a large amount of energy for performing a variety of tasks. Most work machines include a power source such as, for example, a diesel engine, a gasoline engine, a natural gas engine, or another appropriate power source that provides energy to complete a task. In certain work machines, the-power source is coupled to a motor that drives one or more mechanical devices that may perform a particular function associated with the power system.
Typically, these motors are operated under peak loading conditions for extended periods of time and, often, in extremely harsh environments. While these motors may be capable of operating under demanding conditions, the strain of continuous operation at peak loading can lead to damage to various components of the motor. For example, a sustained overload condition, if not properly monitored and/or controlled, may cause overheating of the conductive windings of the motor that could lead to permanent conductor damage and/or failure of the motor.
These motors may be protected from potential damage by monitoring and regulating the operation of the motor. One system, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,178 issued to Dumbeck (hereinafter referred to as "the '178 patent") on Mar. 18, 1980, has been developed to monitor the load on a motor by measuring the shaft rotation of the motor and wirelessly transmitting the monitored data over the power windings of the motor by inducing an RF signal onto the power windings. The system of the '178 patent includes a detector and slip analysis circuit mounted within the motor housing, a modulator, and transmitter mounted within the motor housing that impress a modulated motor load signal of radio frequency onto the line that supplies power to the motor. A receiver outside the motor receives the modulated signal, and a demodulator transforms the received signal to produce the motor load signal. The system of the '178 patent also includes a corrective means to correct the motor load signal for variations caused by power line voltage fluctuations.
Although the system of the '178 patent may be capable of monitoring the operation of the motor over the power lines, this system may be unreliable. For example, because the monitoring system relies on current induction and indirect coupling methods for data transfer to wirelessly transmit data, as opposed to using direct electrical connections, the RF signals transferred over the power lines may be susceptible to electromagnetic interference, both internal and external to the motor. This interference may corrupt the monitored data, potentially resulting in unreadable or erroneous motor data.
Furthermore, the system of the '178 patent does not provide a continuous electrical connection capable of providing power to operate the motor. For example, because an induction method is used to wirelessly transfer the RF signals over the motor power windings, the system of the '178 patent is limited to output powers less than 100 milliwatts, which may be too low to energize the field windings of the motor enough to provide mechanical motion of the rotor.
In addition, because the system of the '178 patent does not provide a direct electrical connection to the motor, additional wiring harnesses and control systems are still required to operate the motor, which could substantially increase the manufacturing and production costs of the motor. Moreover, the inclusion of power wiring within the motor housing increases the risk of noise for the RF data monitoring link, which may result in further degradation of the RF signal quality and reliability.
The presently disclosed integrated motor monitoring system and method are directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.


A lawn mower blade assembly comprises a bottom hub and a top hub, both provided with central apertures. Provided around the bottom and top hubs are a plurality of equally spaced holes. An intermediate plate is coupled between the hubs. A plurality of generally V-shaped recesses open into the periphery of the hubs. A plurality of blades are provided, each having interior and exterior portions. A hole is provided through the interior portion. The exterior portion is flexible. The interior portion is adapted to fit in the V-shaped recesses of the intermediate plate. A plurality of bolts are adapted to pass through the aligned holes of the hubs and the blades and with hex nuts adapted to receive the pivot bolts. A lock bolt, having a head and threaded end is positioned through the apertures of the cutting assembly to removably couple with the threaded aperture of the drive shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a safe lawn mower blade alternative system and more particularly pertains to cutting grass without the risk of harmful injury.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of lawn mower blades of known designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, lawn mower blades of known designs and configurations previously devised and utilized for the purpose of cutting grass through conventional methods and apparatuses are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,922 to Ballas, et al discloses a rotary cutting assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,913 to Fisher, et al discloses a safe cutter disc assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,700 to Inada discloses a cutting head for a mower. U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,905 to Frantello discloses a vertically extending attachment for the vertically extending drive-shaft of a rotary lawn mower. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,947 to Poole et al discloses a safety lawn mower blade.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a safe lawn mower blade alternative system that allows cutting grass without the risk of harmful injury.
In this respect, the safe lawn mower blade alternative system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of cutting grass without the risk of harmful injury.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved safe lawn mower blade alternative system which can be used for cutting grass without the risk of harmful injury. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of lawn mower blades of known designs and configurations now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved safe lawn mower blade alternative system. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved safe lawn mower blade alternative system and method which has all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a lawn mower. The lawn mower has a motor. The motor has a rotatable drive shaft with associated fittings. A threaded aperture is formed in the drive shaft. A bottom hub is provided next. The bottom hub is in a circular configuration. Through the bottom hub is a central circular aperture. Around the bottom hub are eight equally spaced bolt holes. The bolt holes are adjacent to the periphery. A lower intermediate plate is coupled to the upper surface of the bottom hub. Centered over the central circular aperture is a generally oval recess. Eight generally V-shaped recesses with radiating side edges are provided around an opening into the periphery of the bottom hub. Next provided is a top hub. The top hub is in a circular configuration. Provided through the top hub is a central square aperture. Eight equally spaced bolt holes are provided adjacent to the periphery. An upper intermediate plate is coupled to the lower surface of the top hub. A generally oval recess is centered beneath the central aperture. Eight generally V-shaped recesses with radiating side edges are provided around an opening into the periphery of the top hub. Further provided is a metal weight. The weight is in a generally oval configuration. A generally oval aperture is provided through the center of the weight. The weight is positioned within the oval recesses of the top hub and bottom hub when coupled together. Provided next are eight cutting blades. The blades are fabricated of plastic. Each blade has an interior portion, an intermediate portion, and an exterior portion. The interior portion is in a generally circular configuration. A hole is provided through the interior portion. The hole is positioned between the holes of the top and bottom hubs. The interior and intermediate portions are relatively rigid. The exterior portion is flexible. The exterior portion is adapted to be trimmed to fit various lawn mower sizes. The interior portion is adapted to fit between the V-shaped recesses of the top and bottom hub when in a closed configuration. Next provided are eight cutting blade pivot bolts. The pivot bolts have a head. The pivot bolts have a male threaded portion. The pivot bolts are adapted to pass through aligned holes of the bottom hub of the blades. Eight hex nuts are adapted to receive the male threaded portions of the pivot bolts. In this manner, the blades are able to pivot in an arc of about 45 degrees with respect to the top hub and bottom hub. The top hub, bottom hub, metal weight, cutting blades, pivot bolts, and hex nuts form a rotatable cutting assembly with the apertures thereof in axial alignment and in alignment with the threaded aperture of the drive shaft. Provided next is a lock bolt. The lock bolt has a head. The lock bolt also has a threaded end. The threaded end is positioned through the apertures of the cutting assembly to removably couple with the threaded aperture of the drive shaft. A plurality of bushings are provided. The bushings are adapted to the various different types of associated fittings of the drive shaft. Each bushing has a top end and a bottom end with a central aperture. The top end is in a generally rectangular configuration. A variety of recess are adapted to fit the associated fittings of the drive shaft of the lawn mower. The bottom end is of a preselected configuration with a circumference less than that of the central aperture of the top hub. In this manner, the entire bushing may be positioned within the square recess of the top hub thereby allowing the drive shaft to abut the cutting assembly and allow the locking bolt to pass through the central apertures for releasably securing the cutting assembly to the lawn mower. Even further provided is a plurality of apertures. The apertures are provided on the central region of the top hub. The apertures enable any protuberances from the lawn mower to be adapted to fit with the cutting system. Last provided are a plurality of flanges. The flanges are provided on the central region of the top hub. The flanges enable apertures of the lawn mower to be adapted to fit with the cutting system.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved safe lawn mower blade alternative system which has all of the advantages of the prior art lawn mower blades of known designs and configurations and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved safe lawn mower blade alternative system which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved safe lawn mower blade alternative system which is of durable and reliable constructions.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved safe lawn mower blade alternative system which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such safe lawn mower blade alternative system economically available to the buying public.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a safe lawn mower blade alternative system for cutting grass without the risk of harmful injury.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved lawn mower blade assembly comprising a bottom hub and a top hub, both provided with central apertures. Provided around the bottom and top hubs are a plurality of equally spaced holes. An intermediate plate is coupled between the hubs. A plurality of generally V-shaped recesses open into the periphery of the hubs. A plurality of blades are provided, each having interior and exterior portions. A hole is provided through the interior portion. The exterior portion is flexible. The interior portion is adapted to fit in the V-shaped recesses of the intermediate plate. A plurality of bolts are adapted to pass through the aligned holes of the hubs and the blades and with hex nuts adapted to receive the pivot bolts. A lock bolt, having a head and threaded end is positioned through the apertures of the cutting assembly to removably couple with the threaded aperture of the drive shaft.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

Safe lawn mower blade alternative system