Electro-optical packages that embed the electronics of the packages directly to the optical cabling, provide short electrical connection paths for high performance, and that provide a robust interconnects. A first electro-optical package includes an integrated circuit and a connector sleeve configured to receive a plug-in optical assembly from the underside of the PC board. The plug-in optical assembly includes a backing piece and an opto-electric device mounted onto the backing piece. An electrical connection is provided between the opto-electric device and a contact location on the backing piece and a contact is provided between the contact location on the backing piece and the integrated circuit. With a second electro-optical package, an integrated circuit having an active surface facing in a first direction and an opto-electric device having contact points facing a second direction are provided. The integrated circuit and the opto-electric are positioned with respect to one another such that a direct electrical connection can be formed between the active surface of the integrated circuit and the contact points of the opto-electrical device.

The present invention relates generally to electro-optical couplers, and more particularly, to various electro-optical packages that facilitate the coupling of optical cables to printed circuit boards.
With advances in optical technologies, such as Wave Division Multiplexing (WDM), more and more computer and communication networks are being built using fiber optic cables. With WDM for example, multiple optical signals, each at different wavelengths, are used to simultaneously transmit multiple communication channels across a single optical fiber. To further increase bandwidth, multiple fibers may also be employed. While fiber optics have significantly increased the broadband capabilities of communication networks, much of the signal processing at nodes of the network is still performed in the electrical domain using integrated circuits. Thus electro-optical couplers, which convert optical signals into electrical signals and vice versa, have been used at the interface between the optical cables and the nodes.
A typical electro-optical coupler includes a connector for receiving an optical fiber and a housing which houses a photonic device. The photonic device is usually mounted onto a substrate. A ferrule included in the housing is used to align the optical fiber with the photonic device. Electrical traces and contacts provided on the substrate are used to electrically connect the coupler to the outside world, typically a printed circuit board. One of the major hurdles in manufacturing these electro-optical couplers is the proper alignment the fiber to the optically sensitive components on the opto-electric (i.e., photonic) device. Also during solder reflow to attach the coupler to the printed circuit board, it is possible for the photonic device to become mis-aligned with the fiber due to mismatches of thermal expansion of the materials used to hold the fiber and the photonic device in place. Contamination at the termination of the fiber the coupler may also occur during mounting onto a printed circuit board. See for example, xe2x80x9cIntegrated Fiber Optic Transmitters and Receivers for SONET/ATM Applications,xe2x80x9d, T. Muoi, Electronics Components and Technology Conference 1995 Proceedings, p. 1092.
Another type of connector for high density applications involves the use of a substrate that is etched to provide grooves to accommodate multiple fibers. See for example, Silicon Waferboard Based Single Mode Optical Fiber Interconnects,xe2x80x9d P. Haugsjaa, G. Duchene, J. Mehr, A. Negri And M. Tabasky, IEEE Transactions On Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technologyxe2x80x94Part B, Vol. 19, No. 1, Feburary 1996. With this type of connector, multiple devices, typically either transmitters or receivers, are mounted onto the substrate. The grooves are used to align the individual fibers with either the photo-transmitting or receiving regions on the devices. Separate bond pads coupled to each of the devices are also provided on the substrate to couple the devices to external components, such as another chip or a printed circuit board. While this type of connector is useful for high density applications, they are expensive to produce and lack the reliability required in order to provide a reliable xe2x80x9clast-milexe2x80x9d optical interconnect to the end user.
In general, current connection methods are typically designed around plug-in connections along the optical pathway. This means that low reliability optical components on the board side of the connector must be able to survive electronics soldering environments without contamination to sensitive optical surfaces. Additionally, the requirement on optical alignment are orders of magnitude more restrictive than those for plug-in electrical connections.
Electro-optical packages that embed the electronics of the packages directly to the optical cabling, provide short electrical connection paths for high performance, and that provide a robust interconnect are therefore needed.
To achieve the foregoing, and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, electro-optical packages that facilitate the coupling of optical cables to printed circuit boards are disclosed. A first electro-optical package includes an integrated circuit and a connector sleeve configured to receive a plug-in optical assembly. The plug-in optical assembly includes a backing piece and an opto-electric device mounted onto the backing piece. An electrical connection is provided between the opto-electric device and a contact location on the backing piece and a contact is provided between the contact location on the backing piece and the integrated circuit. The connector sleeve of first electro-optical package enables the optical assembly to be xe2x80x9cpluggedxe2x80x9d into the package. The plug-in fiber optic assembly provides a number of advantages, including the easy removal for inspection or replacement of the assembly, and protection from contaminants during board population and assembly. With a second electro-optical package, an integrated circuit having an active surface facing in a first direction and an opto-electric device having contact points facing a second direction are provided. The integrated circuit and the opto-electric device are positioned with respect to one another such that a direct electrical connection can be formed between the active surface of the integrated circuit and the contact points of the opto-electrical device. This second embodiment thus provides an extremely short electrical signal paths between the integrated circuit and the opto-electric device.

Apparatus and method for electro-optical packages that facilitate the coupling of optical cables to printed circuit boards


A case includes a first member and a second member configured in such a way that a closed space is formed between the first and second members in a state where the first and second members abut against each other. The first member includes a shaft portion extending toward the second member. The second member includes a shaft support portion including a circumferential wall portion that surrounds one end portion of the shaft portion. The shaft portion includes an enlarged-diameter portion that is the one end portion melted in such a way as to be enlarged in diameter.

For example, JP2018-9422A (Reference 1) describes a vehicle door lock device. The vehicle door lock device includes various levers such as a latch and a pawl. These levers are housed in a case.
The case includes a first member and a second member. The first member is made of a material that absorbs energy of laser light and is thereby melted, and the second member is made of a material that transmits laser light. The first member and the second member are configured in such a way as to form a space inside in a state where the first member and the second member abut against each other. The first member includes a shaft portion extending toward the second member. The second member includes a housing portion in which a distal end portion of the shaft portion of the first member is housed (refer to FIG. 19 of Reference 1). The housing portion includes a bottom portion (upper bottom portion) and a circumferential wall portion surrounding the shaft portion. The distal end portion of the shaft portion of the first member is inserted into the housing portion of the second member, and a top surface of the shaft portion contacts against a bottom surface of the housing portion of the second member. Laser light is radiated from a side of the second member toward the top surface of the shaft portion. The laser light passes through the second member and reaches the top surface of the shaft portion of the first member. Thereby, a temperature of the top surface of the shaft portion rises, and then the top surface is melted. The heat is transmitted to the bottom surface of the housing portion of the second member, and the bottom surface of the housing portion is also thereby melted. Then, the radiation of the laser light is stopped, and the top surface of the shaft portion and the bottom surface of the housing portion are cooled and solidified. Thus, the top surface of the shaft portion and the bottom surface of the housing portion are welded to each other.
The shaft portion of the case in Reference 1 can be used as a rotational shaft of a lever (or a gear). In this case, when the lever engages with another lever and rotates, a load (radial load) in a direction (radial direction) perpendicular to an extending direction of the shaft portion is applied to the shaft portion. Herein, for example, when an outer diameter of the shaft portion is larger than an inner diameter of the housing portion, or when positions of the shaft portion and the housing portion are slightly deviated from each other, at the time of inserting the distal end portion of the shaft portion into the housing portion, there is a possibility that a relatively large load acts on the shaft portion, and the shaft portion is deformed. For example, there is a possibility that the shaft portion is bent. In this case, operation of the vehicle door lock device may be hindered. For example, it may be difficult for the lever to rotate. Further, an engagement position between the levers may be deviated from a normal position, and vibration or abnormal noise may be generated when the lever rotates.
Meanwhile, for example, when an outer diameter of the shaft portion is smaller than an inner diameter of the shaft support portion, an outer circumferential surface of the distal end portion of the shaft portion is not supported by a circumferential wall portion of the shaft support portion, and only the top surface is supported by the bottom portion of the shaft support portion. Accordingly, when a load as described above is applied to the shaft portion, there is a possibility that the load concentrates on a welded portion between the top surface of the shaft portion and the bottom portion of the housing portion, and a shear fracture occurs in the welded portion. Then, the shaft portion may be greatly deformed until the outer circumferential surface of the distal end portion of the shaft portion contacts against the inner circumferential surface of the shaft support portion and is supported by the inner circumferential surface, thereby hindering operation of the vehicle door lock device.
For this reason, in the case in Reference 1, positional precision and outer-diameter dimensional precision of the shaft portion of the first member, and positional precision and inner-diameter dimensional precision of the shaft support portion of the second member need to be kept high, and manufacturing cost of the case is high.
A need thus exists for a case which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.

Case and method of manufacturing the same


A lifting bag having at least one side wall and a closed bottom forming an interior, the bag further having a closable top portion connected to the sidewall and adapted to close the interior of the bag. The opening is a single slit centered on the bag top and closable with a zipper. The lifting bag includes a sling coupled to the bag, generally through a edge strip positioned at ore near the top edge of the bag. The bag can be constructed from a single multilayered sheet. The bag is used in conjunction with a lifting strap system.

Transportation of bulk materials in the United States is regulated by the United States Department of Transportation, particularly for transportation of hazardous or radioactive materials. See 49 CFR pt. 173 (incorporated by reference). In particular, containers for transportation of hazardous and radioactive materials are required to meet certain design safety criteria. See generally, 49 CFR 173 subpart I. Certain packaging design guidelines for Industrial Packaging, Types 1, 2, or 3, or Type A package (see 40 CFR 173.403) are specified in 49 CFR 410-411. Transportation of bulk materials is similarly regulated in Europe and elsewhere. Bags designed to large scale storage and transportation are typically adapted to carry loads in excess of 10000 pounds.
The United States guidelines specify testing requirements that packaging must undergo to be certified as meeting the guidelines. See 49 CFR 173.465. Included in the testing procedures are a free drop test, and a stacking test. The free drop test requires a package to be loaded or filled to its design weight capacity and dropped from a specific height (1-4 feet, depending on design weight) and to maintain structural integrity after impact. The stack test requires a loaded package to be subject to a compressive load of five times the actual capacity weight of the package. Such testing requirements place substantial restrictions on possible construction of the packaging. For packaging that comprises a flexible bag capable of being lifted when loaded, the drop test and stack test present heavy design hurdles. One possible flexible bag design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,727 (the '727 patent), attached hereto and made a part hereof, in its entirety.
The lifting bag in the '727 patent has several drawbacks. First, the lifting straps are attached to the outer cover of the bag, which places stress on the outer cover during lifting operations. Second, the lifting straps encircle the bottom of the bag in an even rectangular grid, which results in an even distribution of weight during lifting provided the lifting forces are evenly distributed. If the lifting forces are not evenly distributed, the bag is subject to torsional forces and the rectangular webbing support grid on the bottom of the bag will not sufficiently compensate for these twisting forces, resulting in bag deformation and unnecessary stress, particularly on the bag seams. Further, an uneven load distribution within the bag can result in torsional forces despite the application of evenly applied lifting forces. Finally, the bag employs a complex flap folding procedure to seal the bag, which is cumbersome and time consuming.
Another lifting bag design is that disclosed in PCT/US06/06662 (the '662 application, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety). This design uses a bottom support and side support lifting apparatus, where the support members are generally webbing or ropes, and is attached to the bag at designated locations, either on the bottom or the sides, but not the bag top portion. The bag can be constructed from a series of panels. While the bag design is less complicated that that of the '727 patent, construction can be arduous and time consuming.


A process for separating the isomers of dichlorobenzene from a feed mixture of the same. Separation of the isomers is effected by selective absorption and desorption and is susceptible to various flow schemes for performing continuous adsorptive separations. The process uses an X-type zeolite adsorbent having a mixture of sodium and potassium ions in the exchangeable cationic sites. The desorbent may be an alkyl benzene, such as toluene, xylene, p-diethylbenzene, etc.

1. Field Of The Invention
The field of art to which this invention pertains is the solid bed adsorptive separation of dichlorobenzene (DCB) isomers. More specifically, the invention relates to a process for extracting the meta isomer of dichlorobenzene (m-DCB) from mixtures of DCB isomers employing as the adsorbent X zeolites containing mixed alkali metal cations.
2. Background Information
The individual isomers of dichlorobenzene are useful in a variety of reactions, e.g., as intermediates for making pesticides, pharmaceuticals, peroxides, dyes, etc. The dichlorobenzene isomers are normally prepared by the non-catalytic nuclear chlorination of benzene or chlorobenzene in various solvents. The chlorinating agent comprises certain Lewis acid halides, e.g., hydrogen chloride in both liquid and vapor phase systems. The direct chlorination of chlorobenzene or benzene produces a mixture of dichlorobenzene isomers.
Separation of m-DCB from the other isomers of dichlorobenzene by conventional distillation techniques is difficult due to the close boiling point range of these isomers. The following table shows the boiling points of the isomers.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ DCB Isomer Boiling Point (.degree.C.) ______________________________________ o-DCB 180.4 m-DCB 173.0 p-DCB 174.1 ______________________________________
While it is possible to separate o-DCB by distillation from the isomer mixture produced by the process of direct chlorination of chlorobenzene or benzene referred to above, the desired product m-DCB cannot be easily separated from p-DCB by distillation.
Fleck et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,708 discloses the adsorptive separation of ortho-dichlorobenzene from meta-dichlorobenzene with sodium-exchanged X zeolite adsorbent, which can be partially exchanged by calcium, magnesium, strontium or barium ions, and an aromatic hydrocarbon, preferably chlorobenzene, desorbent. The process is m-DCB rejective, i.e., m-DCB is non-adsorbed. Another meta-DCB rejective process using at least partially lithium-exchanged sodium-X zeolite and either toluene or 3,4-dichlorotoluene desorbent is disclosed in Japanese Public Disclosure 268636/86. It is also disclosed therein (Table 1 Adsorbent No. 1), that meta-DCB is preferentially adsorbed over para-DCB, when sodium-exchanged X zeolite is the adsorbent with toluene as desorbent, but the selectivity of meta-DCB over ortho-DCB is so low that separation of meta-DCB from isomer mixtures containing ortho-DCB would not be effective. It is apparent that meta-DCB could not be removed in pure form without first removing the ortho-DCB by distillation.
Japanese Public Disclosure 150524/83 discloses the rejective separation of meta-dichlorobenzene from its isomers with a sodium, potassium- or silver-potassium-exchanged Y type zeolite containing at least 90% potassium ions and either 3,4-dichlorotoluene or 4-chloroorthoxylene as desorbent.
Another meta-rejective absorptive (sic) separation is disclosed in EP 278,680 utilizing a high-silica zeolite, TPZ-3 in either sodium- or acid-form, and conventional desorption procedures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,441 discloses a meta-rejective preparation using a Y zeolite exchanged with silver and/or copper ions.
Japanese Public Disclosure 5155/62, to the extent that it appears pertinent, discloses the use of chlorobenzene as desorbent in an adsorptive separation of halogenated aromatic isomers with an X-type zeolite.
Methods for forming the crystalline powders into agglomerates are also known and include the addition of an inorganic binder, generally a clay comprising a silicon dioxide and aluminum oxide, to a high purity zeolite powder in wet mixture. The blended clay-zeolite mixture is extruded into cylindrical type pellets or formed into beads which are subsequently calcined in order to convert the clay to an amorphous binder of considerable mechanical strength. Clays of the kaolin type, water permeable organic polymers and silica may also be used as binders.
The invention herein can be practiced in fixed or moving adsorbent bed systems, but the preferred system for this separation is a countercurrent simulated moving bed system, such as described in Broughton U.S. Pat. No. 2,985,589, incorporated herein by reference. Cyclic advancement of the input and output streams can be accomplished by a manifolding system, which are also known, e.g., by rotary disc valves shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,040,777 and 3,422,848. Equipment utilizing these principles are familiar, in sizes ranging from pilot plant scale (deRosset U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,812) to commercial scale in flow rates from a few cc per hour to many thousands of gallons per hour.
The functions and properties of adsorbents and desorbents in the chromatographic separation of liquid components are well-known, but for reference thereto, Zinnen et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,397 is incorporated herein.
Of the above references, only Japanese Public Disclosure 268636/86 discloses a meta-dichlorobenzene extractive process. However, selectivity over the ortho isomer with NaX zeolite is so low (.alpha..sub.o/m =0.94--Table 1) that meta-DCB could not be effectively separated from ortho-DCB. We have discovered that improved selectivity for m-DCB and particularly over ortho-DCB, can be achieved with an adsorbent which contains certain mixtures of sodium and potassium ions at the ion exchangeable sites. It was entirely unexpected that m-DCB selectivity could be reversed from that of K-exchanged zeolites and also that relativity between m-DCB and o-DCB could be achieved.
A meta-selective process is preferred for purification of DCB isomer mixtures because high purity m-DCB can be obtained when it is extracted over the other isomers.

Process for extracting meta-dichlorobenzene from isomer mixtures with mixed alkali metal exchanged X zeolite adsorbents


A method of allocating uplink resources in a wireless communication system is provided. The method comprises generating a first message which has a preamble and adaptively further includes resource request information based on a communication state with a base station and transmitting the first message to the base station.

3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) mobile communication systems based on WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) radio access technology are widely developed worldwide. HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) which can be defined as the first evolution step of WCDMA provides a wireless access technique having high competitiveness in mid-term future to 3GPP. However, new technology evolution in 3GPP is required in order to continuously maintain competitiveness because requirements and expectations of users and wireless operators continuously increase and competing radio access techniques are continuously developed. The requirements include a reduction in the cost per bit, service availability increase, flexible use of frequency bands, simple structures and open interfaces, appropriate power consumption of terminals, etc.
One of systems, which is considered as a system following third-generation systems, is an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) system which can attenuate inter-symbol interference with low complexity. OFDM transforms serial input data symbols into N parallel data symbols, respectively loads the N parallel data symbols on N subcarriers and transmit the N subcarriers. Subcarriers maintain orthogonality in the frequency dimension. Each orthogonal channel undergoes independent frequency selective fading and the intervals between transmitted symbols become long, and thus inter-symbol interference can be minimized.
Furthermore, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.16 standard provides techniques and protocols for supporting broadband wireless access. Standardization was performed since 1999 and IEEE 802.16-2001 was approved in 2001. The IEEE 802.16 standard is based on a single carrier physical layer referred to as 'WirelessMAN-SC'. Then, 'WirelessMAN-OFDM' and 'WirelessMAN-OFDMA' were added to the physical layer including 'WirelessMAN-SC' in IEEE 802.16a standard approved in 2003. IEEE 802.16-2004 standard revised after IEEE 802.16a standard was approved in 2004. IEEE 802.16-2004/Cor1 (referred to as IEEE 802.16e) in the form of 'corrigendum' was completed in 2005 in order to correct bug and error of IEEE 802.16-2004.
Recently, multiple-antenna systems have received attention for maximizing the performance and communication capacity of wireless communication systems. The multiple-antenna systems may include MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) system, MISO (Multiple Input Single Output) system and SIMO (Single Input Multiple Output) system. Multiple-antenna techniques can improve transmitted/received data transmission efficiency by adopting multiple transmission antennas and/or multiple receiving antennas instead of a single transmission antenna and a single receiving antenna.

Method of allocating uplink resources in wireless communication system


An optical signal sampling apparatus for high-speed gating of an optical signal in the form of repetitive waveforms comprises an input optical path for introducing the optical signal to an optical amplifier; the optical amplifier whose gain is adjustable by a gating electrical signal, for amplifying the optical signal; a driving circuit for providing, in response to a sampling signal, the optical amplifier with the gating electrical signal having a series of pulses which are gradually shifted on a time axis with respect to the repetitive waveforms of the optical signal; and an output optical path for introducing an output optical signal from the optical amplifier.

The present invention relates to an optical signal sampling apparatus suitable for high-speed gating of optical signals to be measured. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel optical signal sampling apparatus that is suitable for application to a high-speed light waveform measuring system and which is capable of efficient gating (sampling) of optical signals, with the added advantage that the timing of sampling can be controlled electrically in an easy way.
Devices conventionally used to sample optical signals include a mechanical chopper using a rotating plate with a slit, an optical Kerr shutter having a Kerr cell which is filled with CS.sub.2 or other organic solvent and held between a pair of orthogonally crossed polarizing elements, and a liquid-crystal shutter.
These conventional apparatus, however, have their own problems. A mechanical chopper is limited in its operating speed and involves difficulty in control. An optical Kerr shutter has the need to apply a high (.perspectiveto. 1 kV) voltage to produce double refraction in the cell medium and this presents difficulty in handling, besides the need to employ a complicated power source. Furthermore, because of the use of polarized light waves, a pair of orthogonally crossed polarizing elements must be employed, resulting in great loss of light intensity. A liquidcrystal shutter also needs a pair of orthogonally crossed polarizing elements and causes substantial light intensity loss. In addition, the ratio of transmittance in transmitting state to that in blocking state is much less than 1,000, which is too small to achieve satisfactory sampling. Another problem with the liquid-crystal shutter has been the difficulty encountered in attempts to improve the sampling rate and gating time.


An archery bow including a bow speed specific sight pin block having sight pin openings for sight pins located therein relative to each other at fixed distances for a given bow speed, so that when a single sight pin is manually positioned to indicate its corresponding arrow flight range, each of the other sight pins in the other openings will be in position to indicate their corresponding arrow flight range. The sight pin block may be mounted in a riser opening and allen screws may be included in the bowsight pin block frame for moving wedges located in the bowsight pin block frame into engagement with a sidewall of the riser opening for mounting the bowsight pin block in the riser opening.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of archery bowsights which are mounted on archery bows to assist the shooter in determining the range of a shot and more specifically to a bowspeed specific sight pin block in which the sight pins may be readily positioned to indicate their corresponding arrow flight range.
2. State of the Art
For aiming a bow, an experienced archer will typically nock an arrow in the same position on the bowstring and draw the bowstring until a particular portion of the archer""s hand touches a particular portion of the archer""s head. With the drawn arrow in this position, the remaining variable in control of the archer during the shot is the desired arrow flight range. For increased range, the bow is raised, and for decreased range the bow is lowered.
Vertically spaced pin sights, well known in the prior art, assist the archer in determining the extent to which the bow should be raised or lowered to achieve the desired range. The vertical location of each pin sight is set by the archer to aim for the desired range. For example, in a bow shooting 280 feet per second, the pin sights may be set by the archer to shoot 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 yards, with the highest pin calibrated to shoot the shortest yardage, 20 yards, and the lowest pin calibrated to shoot the longest yardage, 60 yards. The archer will select the pin sight which is calibrated for the desired range and raise or lower the bow until the selected pin sight is at eye level.
Setting the vertical location of each individual pin sight for its corresponding arrow flight range is a time consuming effort. It may, for example, take an archer three dozen or so shots to determine the proper vertical location for each pin sight. Since it is not unusual for five or more pin sights to be utilized, an archer may spend several hours adjusting the pin sights. Should the bow speed be changed because of a heavier arrow being shot, or for other reasons, so that the pin settings no longer accurately indicate the arrow range, the archer will be required to repeat the time consuming pin setting procedure for the new arrow range.
Certain prior art bowsights, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No 5,560,113 to Simo et al., include a pin block in which a number of vertically adjustable sight pins were located. Simo et al. is an example of a bow sight in which the archer was required to laboriously determine the vertical position of each individual pin sight for its corresponding arrow flight range. The Simo et al. patent is also an example of a bow sight which requires an independent bracket member mounted on the bow riser. At least one prior art bowsight, sold by the Fred Bear Company under the designation xe2x80x9cBear Field Model Premierxe2x80x9d, included an opening in the bow riser in which a bowsight was mounted. In contrast, to the vertically moveable sight pins disclosed in Simo et al., a patent to Howe, U.S. Pat. No. 2,332,080 disclosed a pin block having fixed openings therein for mounting the pin sights.
According to the present invention, the locations of openings for mounting pin sights corresponding to different arrow flight ranges for a given bow speed are determined and sight pins are mounted in the openings. In an embodiment of the present invention, the openings are located in a modular self contained sight pin block. Because the locations of the pin sight openings are fixed with respect to each other, when a single sight pin in one of the openings is manually positioned to indicate its corresponding arrow flight range, each of the sight pins in the other openings will be in position to indicate their corresponding arrow flight range.
The bow speed specific sight pin block of the present invention may be simply and securely mounted in the sidewalls of an opening in the riser, although it is emphasized that the bow speed specific pin block of the present invention need not be mounted in an opening in the bow riser. The pin block may, for example, be mounted to the archery bow by a bracket, such as, but not limited to, the type sold by Impact Archery, under the designation xe2x80x9cImpact 3-pin Fiber Optic Lite #6521-003xe2x80x9d, or the type sold by Game Warning Systems under the designation xe2x80x9c4-Pin Fiber Optic, Black #6522-044xe2x80x9d. In the illustrated embodiment, the bowsight pin block frame includes internal allen screws which move wedge elements in the bowsight pin block frame into and out of engagement with sidewalls. To mount the bowsight pin block, the wedge elements are moved into engagement with the sidewalls. To remove the bowsight pin block from the riser, the wedge elements are moved out of engagement with the sidewalls.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an archery bow with bow speed specific pin sight openings so that when a single pin sight in one of said openings is manually positioned to indicate its corresponding arrow flight range, each of the pins in the other openings will be in position to indicate their corresponding arrow flight range.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an archery bow having a bow speed specific sight pin block, including pin sight openings therein so that when a single sight pin in one of said openings is manually positioned to indicate its corresponding arrow flight range, each of the sight pins in the other openings will be in position to indicate their corresponding arrow flight range.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a modular self contained bow speed specific sight pin block which may be conveniently packaged, identified and stored for use or sale according to bow speed.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a modular self contained bow speed specific sight pin block wherein the sight pins are readily positioned to indicate their corresponding arrow flight range and wherein the sight pin block may be conveniently packaged, identified and stored for use or sale according to bow speed.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a bowsight pin block which may be simply and securely mounted in a riser opening without the need for a separate bracket connecting the bowsight to the riser.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the detailed description taken in conjunction with the combined figures.

Archery bow with bow speed specific sight pin block


An apparatus for operating a laser materials processing and measurement device with a controllable laser for generating a laser beam and beam control means for adjusting the focus zone of a controlled portion of the laser beam in three spatial directions comprises an interface for operating a bidirectional data transfer link with the laser and the beam control means, and user control means for inputting and displaying control commands or control command sequences and for monitoring and/or controlling operation and/or the operating state of the device. So that all the components of the apparatus may also be tested with regard to all functionalities, if the laser materials processing and measurement device is not operationally ready and/or not connected to the interface, according to the invention the apparatus comprises simulation means for simulating operation of the device and/or of the user control means.

FIG. 1 shows a system for materials processing and for measuring by means of laser radiation comprising a laser materials processing and measurement device 10 and an apparatus 100′ for controlling or operating the device 10. The device 10 comprises a controllable laser 14 for generating a laser beam 16, beam control means 18 for adjusting the focus zone of a controlled portion 20 of the laser beam in three spatial directions X, Y and Z, and an objective lens device 22 for collimating or focusing the controlled portion 20 of the laser beam 16 onto the material to be processed. The material to be processed may be a biological tissue, such as for instance a portion of an eye 12, in particular a human eye.
An apparatus 100′ for controlling or operating the laser materials processing and measurement device 10 comprises a computer 102′ with a display means 150 for displaying operating states of the laser materials processing and measurement device 10 and/or of the computer 102′, input means 160 for inputting user commands for operating the computer 102′ and user commands and/or command sequences for controlling or operating the device 10. The input means 160 may be a keyboard, a mouse, a light pen or also a touch-sensitive area (a touchscreen) which may be arranged over a screen of the display means 150. The apparatus 100′ or computer 102′ further comprises user control means 120 for inputting and displaying input control commands or control command sequences and for monitoring the operation or operating state of the device 10. In order to perform their functions, the user control means 120 are in operative connection with the display means 150 and the input means 160 via an internal bus system of the computer 102′.
The apparatus 100′ or the computer 102′ furthermore comprises control means 24 for driving the beam control means 18. The control means 24 may comprise a user-operable switch 162, for example a foot switch, for switching the laser materials processing and measurement device 10 on or off and/or for modifying the energy or intensity of the laser beam 16 generated by the laser 14. In order to perform the above-stated tasks, the control means 24 are connected with the beam control means 18 via a bidirectional data transfer link 190, 110, 180.
The apparatus 100′ or computer 102′ furthermore comprises a command library 140 for storing and providing beam control information or beam control commands for the beam control means 18 and optionally for the control means 24.
The apparatus 100′ or the computer 102′ furthermore comprises an interface 110 for transferring data or information between the command library 140 and the control means 24 and the controllable laser 14 or beam control means 18 of the device 10. The interface 110 is in operative connection via a first bidirectional data transfer link 180 with the controllable laser 14 and with the beam control means 18 and via a second bidirectional data transfer link 190 with the control means 24.
The user control means 120 may comprise hardware, such as for instance parts of a data memory of the computer 102′, parts of a working memory of the computer 102′, parts of a display surface of the display means 150, a drive for operating a data memory, control commands stored in the data and/or working memory of the computer 102′ and user-specific software.
The command library 140 may comprise system-specific control commands and command sequences and software, such as for instance database software, for the laser materials processing and measurement device 10 stored in a data or working memory of the computer 102′ for organising, managing and updating the control commands and control command sequences.
The control means 24 may comprise system-specific control electronics, control commands and status registers for the laser materials processing and measurement device 10 for storing and providing status information regarding the operation and/or the operating state of the device 10. The control means 24 may take the form of a plug-in card with the necessary electronics and the necessary memory means for plugging into a slot of the computer 102′ or alternatively of a separate device with its own housing and its own interface 26.
The user control means 120 provide a user, for example a materials processing engineer, a doctor or an ophthalmic surgeon, with a user interface by means of which the user can operate, i.e. monitor and/or control, the operation and all the functions of the laser materials processing and measurement device 10. The user interface may comprise electromechanical operating and/or input elements, such as for instance switches, selector switches, rotary knobs, display devices, such as for instance alphanumeric displays, LCD displays, and/or also the above-stated input means 160 and display means 150 and software developed for system-specific driving of the display means and input means 160.
The apparatus 100′ described with reference to FIG. 1 for operating the laser materials processing and measurement device 10 has a disadvantage, namely that testing of the device 10 or testing and/or updating of the apparatus 100′ with the user control means 120, the command library 140, the control means 24 and/or the interface 110 may only be carried out if a completely assembled, operationally ready system comprising the laser materials processing and measurement device 10 and the apparatus 100′ is available. Providing a complete system is not always practical. A first example of this is when only the user control means 120 and/or the user interface operated thereby are to be updated. In this case, an operative connection 180 between the apparatus 100′ and the laser materials processing and measurement device 10 is unnecessary. A second example in which it is not practical to provide a complete system is when newly developed algorithms for operating the beam control means 18 are to be carried out, for example newly developed methods for materials processing and/or newly developed ophthalmic surgery methods, such as for instance algorithms for carrying out specific scans of the material to be processed or for carrying out laser-optical measurements on material arranged in the laser beam portion 20.

Apparatus and method for operating a laser materials processing and measurement device


A virtual repository system with robust item management automatically derives item data from accessed current and past transactions. The system interfaces with merchant systems to receive current and archived transaction data, scans emails for current and past transaction data, monitors browser data for online transaction data, and accepts manual input. Data obtained from all sources is collated and stored in a cache for user validation, whereupon it is added to a virtual repository. Triggers prompt the delivery of responsive results including information from shared virtual repositories.

Individuals own, possess, seek and sell various products. As a nonlimiting example, individuals own and possess clothing items. Some individuals may want to purchase additional clothing items, or sell or donate clothing items. Many individuals are unaware of the vast array of clothing items they currently possess, or when they acquired the items, or from whom they acquired the items. They may not sell or donate unused clothing simply because they forgot they even possess the unused clothing and/or because they cannot be bothered with the hassle of selling and/or donating. Unused clothing consumes valuable closet space, adds to clutter, and requires effort during relocation.
Individuals may want to add garments to their wardrobe. They may want to add a garment that matches another garment they already possess. They may want to add garments that they admired when the garment was worn by another person. They may want to add garments that another person possesses, even if the other person has not worn the garment. They may want to inform others of garments they would like to add to their wardrobe. They may want to inform others of garments they possess and believe others may want to acquire from a merchant.
Individuals may also want to gift garments to a friend, family member, acquaintance or significant other. Without knowing the recipient's size, style and existing wardrobe, any such gift may be a roll of the dice. With knowledge of the recipient's size, style and existing possessions, a gift giver would stand a much greater chance of success.
Individuals may want to sell or donate garments. Garments may no longer fit. Garments may not longer meet the individual's style preferences. Yet, such garments may be valued by others. However, many individuals will not consider selling, donating or leasing the garments because of the inconvenience and uncertainty that such transactions present.
Merchants want to increase sales. They would like consumers to purchase the merchant's garments worn by other purchasers. Many merchants would be willing to provide a purchaser a reward if, in a verifiable manner, their wearing of a garment leads to additional sales of the garment by the merchant. Many consumers who have purchased or possess a garment from a merchant would be receptive to such a reward, and would be receptive to promoting the garment in consideration for the reward.
Many consumers would like and/or would be willing to share information about their possessions with others who are interested. Even if a consumer does not know another person, the consumer may be willing share such information, whether or not the sharing may lead to a reward.
Celebrities may be highly motivated to share information about their possessions with others who are interested. Not only will such sharing foster and enrich their fan base, but it may lead to appreciable rewards.
The foregoing problems and needs are not limited to clothing. Furniture, tools, vehicles, hobby and recreation items, and household items are nonlimiting examples of items in other product categories that an individual may own, possess, or seek, and may be subject to the same or similar problems or needs.
A system that helps individuals manage their possessions and share information about their possessions with others is needed. The system should be easy to setup and maintain. Past and new acquisitions should automatically be added, to facilitate setup and maintenance. Relegating a user to the unenviable task of manually entering all items would prevent widespread acceptance of such a system.
The invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems and solving one or more of the needs as set forth above.

Multi-trigger personalized virtual repository


An open wrench includes a body having a mounting hole which is partially defined by a first side face which has a curved reception recess and a cavity which communicates with the reception recess. A protrusion is formed at the intersectional area between the cavity and the reception recess. A first contact face is located in opposite to the first side face of the mounting hole so as to contact one side of the object. A second distance is defined between the reception recess and the first contact face. The second distance is larger than the diametrical distance of two corners of the object. A slide is located in the cavity and a resilient member is located in the cavity to bias the slide which partially protrudes from the cavity. The slide is restricted from dropping from the cavity by the protrusion. The slide contacts the object.

The conventional open wrench is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,023,654 and generally comprises a body having a head and a first recess is defined in the head. A stop is formed at the opening of the first recess which has a threaded portion, having inner threads, at the end portion of the first recess.
A slide is located in the second recess and has a contact portion which protrudes from the opening of the body. The contact portion has a sliding portion which is matched with the shaped of the first recess. The sliding portion has a rod at the lower end thereof.
A locking member is located in the first recess and has outer threads which are threadedly connected to the threaded portion of the first recess. A passage is defined through the locking member and the rod of the slide is inserted into the passage.
A resilient member is mounted to the rod of the slide and contacts between the sliding portion and the locking member to allow the slide movable in the first recess to perform as a ratchet wrench.
However, the slide, the resilient member, the locking member and the threaded portion in the body are necessary to allow the slide to be movable in the first recess. There are more than three parts required and the threaded portion has to be made by extra work. The inner diameter of the first recess is small and the threads are different to be manufactured. The manufacturing cost is high.
The slide in the first recess is biased by the resilient member and is prevented from dropping from the first recess by the stop at the opening of the first recess. The position where the stop is set is difficult to be decided. The stop has to be set at the position where the contact portion of the slide is exposed beyond the opening and located adjacent to the object to be tightened or loosened. If the stop is located deep inside of the first recess, the contact portion cannot contact the object which is not able to be rotated effectively. If the stop is located at too shallow in the first recess, the contact portion protrudes too much from the opening so that the object has to push the contact portion backward.
When the stop has a smaller portion protruding from the opening, and the manufacturers need to cut a portion of the stop and this work is difficult. Generally, the maximum thickness that can be cut is 0.5 mm and this requires precise machining skill. If the whole wrench is deemed as a defective product, the lost of expense is too high.
The present invention intends to provide an open wrench with a slide to perform as a ratchet wrench and the present invention improve the shortcomings of the conventional wrenches.


Technologies are generally described for providing a system to facilitate efficient management and prioritization of conversations, such as emails, in a communication application. Conversations may be prioritized according to user preferences, and an inbox may be rearranged to display important conversations in a user defined order. Conversations may also be associated together so that they may appear together and flow together in the inbox. Additionally, the system may enable a user to delay display of a conversation until a later time based on various criteria such as location, time, and client device. A user may also move important emails to the top of an inbox for prominent display. The system may perform the actions automatically based on observed user behavior. Furthermore, the system may enable touch interactions for interacting with and managing the conversations, and quick controls may be provided for executing commands to perform actions associated with the conversations.

Communication applications are widely used on u variety of client devices for real time and non-real time correspondence. With the proliferation of computing and networking technologies, communications including email use, video conferencing and instant messaging have become an inextricable part of daily personal and professional lives. The increased reliance on email brings with it the disadvantage of how to deal with increasingly large numbers of email. It is a common occurrence to find hundreds of email needing attention (at least a quick review) when a person comes back from vacation or comparable absence. Similarly, certain events (e.g., a product release, a conference, etc.) may generate a large number of received emails when the person receiving the emails may be too busy to deal with the Increased volume. In addition to important emails, users may receive personal emails and junk email in a same inbox creating even more conversations to sort through.
Users may receive a large quantity of emails hourly and daily, and sorting through hundreds and even thousands of emails to find important emails that need to be dealt with can be arduous, inefficient, and time consuming. Spending a significant time going through emails can be stressful and overwhelming, and users may feel that it is difficult to catch up and read through everything to find and keep track of important emails and to efficiently manage emails.


A voice search apparatus includes a web page display controller, a voice recognizer, a matching unit, and a URL creator. The web page display controller controls a web page which is to be displayed on a display. The voice recognizer recognizes a voice that is input, converts the voice into character string information, and outputs the character string information. The matching unit refers to a URL list in which a character string representing part of a URL is registered for each search category, performs matching processing between a URL of the web page displayed on the display and the character string in the URL list, and specifies the character string in the URL list corresponding to the URL. The URL creator creates a URL based on the character string specified by the matching unit and the character string information.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a voice input apparatus that has a voice recognition function. This voice input apparatus is configured to receive a voice uttered by a user, to recognize an instruction indicated by the voice of the user (hereinafter referred to as "voice recognition") by analyzing the received voice, and to control a device in response to the voice-recognized instruction. That is, the voice input apparatus of Patent Literature 1 is capable of performing voice recognition on the voice arbitrarily uttered by the user, and controlling the device in response to the instruction that is a result of the voice recognition (hereinafter referred to as "command"). Hereinafter, an operation of the device using the voice recognition function is referred to as "voice operation".
The user who uses this voice input apparatus may perform a search on a web site that provides a search service on the Internet (hereinafter referred to as a "search site"), for example, while operating a device such as a television receiver (hereinafter referred to as "television") and PC (Personal Computer) by using this voice recognition function of the voice input apparatus. Hereinafter, the search by the voice operation is referred to as "voice search". Data to be searched at this time is classified, for example, into a plurality of categories such as web pages, images, and maps. The user may also use this voice recognition function of the voice input apparatus to search data that belongs to a category different from the above categories, such as program guide data and recorded videos retained in the television.
Patent Literature 2 discloses an information search method for performing information search using a table (correspondence table) that associates keywords with categories. In case that a voice uttered by the user can be classified into either of the categories registered in the table, this information search method allows voice recognition of the voice uttered by the user, and allows a search of the category by using the keyword included in a character string resulting from the voice recognition.
For example, when performing a voice search of the category of "images" for an image of "ABC", the user who uses the information search method described in Patent Literature 2 may utter "Search images for ABC". This causes a search site to search the category of "images" for "ABC". When searching for an image of "XYZ" continuously, the user may utter, for example, "Search images for XYZ".

Speech retrieval device, speech retrieval method, and display device

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.


Generally, in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the present method comprises collecting data from monitoring devices, uploading the data from a monitoring device to a central database, pairing the data with secure transactional data to provide one or more secure transactional stamp(s), storing the data and the paired secure transactional stamp(s) in the central database, producing a report comprising the data and the paired transactional stamp, and providing the report to an authorized third party. Preferably, the transactional stamp comprising the name of personnel, time, and any changes made to the data collected from the monitoring device is generated and attached to the data. Further, the present invention discloses methods for transactional stamping all reviews of the monitoring device data and/or all client input data to produce a secure report, admissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence.

Vehicle operation by persons under the influence of alcohol is a well known safety hazard in the United States and throughout the world. Thousands of deaths per year in the United States are attributable to drivers operating vehicles under the influence of alcohol. To address this problem, the state of Arizona, like most states, has established laws that criminalize operation of a vehicle and other machinery with a blood alcohol concentration ("BAC") greater than a preset value (e.g., 0.08% BAC).
Once a person has received a citation for driving under the influence of alcohol, and depending on the outcome of their court case, they may be required to submit to test via a monitoring device to prove that they are not drinking. These tests may be required to be performed in the home, the car, and even randomly during the day. The monitoring devices come in many forms and are commercially available from a number of companies.
One such monitoring device is commonly known as the breath alcohol ignition interlock devices ("BIID" or "IID") and/or systems. These IIDs have been developed to be directly connected to a vehicle's ignition system and are designed to prevent automobiles and other machinery from being operated by inebriated individuals. To reduce the rate of recidivism of driving under the influence, the state of Arizona and other states require the installation of an IID in the vehicle and other machinery of individuals convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.
IIDs may comprise semiconductor sensors, commonly referred to as a Taguchi cell, infrared absorption sensing systems, and/or fuel cells to sense and quantify the amount of alcohol in a driver's breath. Most modern IIDs use an ethanol-specific fuel cell for a sensor. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,487,055, 6,026,674, 6,167,746, and/or 7,204,335. A fuel cell sensor is an electrochemical device in which alcohol undergoes a chemical oxidation reaction at a catalytic electrode surface (platinum) to generate an electric current. This current is then measured and converted to an alcohol equivalent reading. Although fuel cell technology is not as accurate or reliable as infrared spectroscopy technology used in evidentiary breathalyzers, they are less expensive and specifically tailored to quantify ethyl alcohol (drinking alcohol). Among manufacturers of IIDs are Smart Start Inc., LifeSafer Interlock, SOS, Ignition Interlock Systems, Intoxalock and Monitech. A list of federally-approved IID devices is maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") in its NHTSA Conforming Products List.
Typically, in order to start a vehicle equipped with an HD, the driver must first blow into the breath analyzer installed in the vehicle or machinery. Conventional IIDs measure the alcohol content of the breath and calculate BAC readings on the alcohol content of gas present in the alveoli of the lungs by approximating, through the use of software algorithms, the alcohol content in the bloodstream. If the driver's BAC exceeds a preset limit, the vehicle's ignition is disabled and the vehicle is rendered inoperable. If the driver's BAC is below the preset limit, ignition is permitted and the vehicle may be started. Exemplary ignition interlock devices that utilize breath analyzers are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,780,311, 3,824,537, 3,831,707, 4,592,443, and 4,697,666.
Unfortunately, individuals required to use IIDs have become increasingly sophisticated in attempting to trick the device to register false negatives and, in turn, to allow them to drive intoxicated. For example, individuals have been known to have a sober passenger blow into the device and/or use bogus gas samples from balloons or bicycle pumps. Accordingly, the IIDs have become increasingly sophisticated in ensuring that the person providing a breath sample is the person operating the vehicle or machinery. Routinely, IIDs will require a negative pressure (sucking), a positive pressure (blowing), a series of blowing and/or sucking by the operator, and/or retesting while operating the equipment or vehicle. Another deterrent is the Random Rolling Retest. These are random times when the operator is required to provide additional breath samples. This prevents Drinking while driving. Another reason for this is to ensure that an individual cannot have another person provide the first sample to get the car started and then drive home without that person. Most Manufactures set them from within the first 5 to 15 minutes then every 30 to 60 minutes.
Similarly, some of the more onerous IIDs require secondary testing and verification of identity by the operator. For example, along with a breath sample analysis, U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,198 discloses an IID, which incorporates an evaluation of the actual driving by way of a "steady control task" for a designated period of time; U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,939 discloses an IID, which incorporates an evaluation of reflexes using a sequence of time intervals; U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,625 discloses an IID, which incorporates an evaluation of reflexes using a series of test buttons; U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,333 discloses an IID, which incorporates an evaluation of physical tasks, to confirm identity of the driver; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,748,792 and/or United States Patent Publication No. 20070144812 discloses IIDs, which incorporate video cameras to photograph the person giving a breath sample.
While the internal hardware and the function of these monitoring devices are well known in the art, the software used to run, maintain, and report BAC results to the courts and government agencies is not well known. This is due to the fact that the software is typically maintained under trade secret either by the manufacturers of the monitoring device or the companies that service the monitoring devices. To solve this lack of transparency into the software algorithms and computation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) developed model specifications for breath alcohol monitoring devices, which were passed into federal law in 1992, as published in the Federal Register, Vol. 57, No. 67, Apr. 7, 1992, pp. 11774-11787. These NHTSA standards for monitoring devices have been adopted by most states including.
While these NHTSA standards for monitoring devices require that the monitoring devices operate within certain engineering tolerances, they do not require reporting of false positives, false negatives, device failures, and/or maintenance logs for the installed monitoring device. Accordingly, there is no way for the court, MVD, or any other authorized third party to investigate the operating history of a monitoring device and to validate the reliability of the BAC readings. Currently, the monitoring devices and the monitoring device software algorithms lack transparency and do not allow for an authorized third party to verify and validate tests results.
It is estimated that most common monitoring devices have a rate of failure of between 35 to 6% depending on the manufacture, and maintenance, and that these hardware failures are currently either being disregarded or being reported as a false positive or false negative. The penalty for BAC violations recorded by a client's monitoring device range from monetary fines to probation violations and prison. Clients have a real and vested interest in the accuracy and refutability of recorded violations. Because of the nature of the breath testing methodology the requirement of random rolling retest causes false violations. The "partition ration" or formula used to equate ones breath alcohol level with ones blood alcohol level is to multiply the alcohol reading by 2400. That is to say multiply the reading two thousand four hundred times to achieve the blood equivalent. Because of this breath alcohol is a significant problem. Evidentiary machines used to test BAC require a 15 minute depravation period where the law enforcement officer is required to swear that the defendant at no time prior to the breath test burped, or regurgitated anything in their mouth, as to produce mouth alcohol and provide an invalid breath test. Many drivers eat and or drink as they are driving. Many products that do not contain as their primary ingredients may contain alcohol. Many other item produce alcohol as a byproduct as they decay or heat. An example is that smoothies that are available in the retail environment utilize over ripe bananas because of their high fructose levels. A known bi-product of the fruit ripening process is alcohol. This small amount of alcohol when multiplied by the patrician ration may cause a false violation. Under most current systems this leaves two options. First, the violation gets reported to the authorities and the defendant must try to remember what may have caused the violation. Second, the technician who uploads the data from the handset may review the log with the individual and alter or "correct" the log and the violation, real or unreal, will not be reported. The second option destroys the integrity of the data and evidence as it destroys the evidence chain.
Additionally, the NHTSA standards do not require reporting of time, date, and place of detected BAC violations, nor do the NHTSA standards require that personnel responsible for monitoring the monitoring device hardware and software report the time, date, or place of any changes made to the monitoring device data prior to reporting to the court, MVD or other authorized third party. Due to the lack of reporting requirements under the NHTSA standards, criminal courts have exhibited reluctance in certain cases to admit evidence excusing a reported BAC violation and/or admitting evidence of false positive test results.
Other types of monitoring devices are designed to implement and maintain electronic monitoring (tethers) programs to deal with jail overcrowding, pre/post trial applications, juvenile and truancy candidates, and domestic violence. The monitoring devices may comprise drug detection for inclusion and exclusion; alcohol detection for exclusion; required testing for drug, alcohol, sex, behavior, education compliance; location monitoring of users who may be required to participate in various home detention; and any other type of monitoring scenarios.
Various other types of monitoring devices may comprise a Radio Frequency ("RF") Electronic Monitoring device, a Global Positioning Satellite ("GPS") tracking device, a Personal Data Assistant ("PDA") device, and a Field Verification Unit ("FVU") device. Some manufacturers of these types of monitoring devices may include but are not limited to Sentinal Offender Services, Scram Products, Sober Steering Sensors, Actron Systems, etc.
The RF device may be an electronic monitoring system that monitors participants who require basic house arrest services. The RF device is used to ensure curfew compliance. The RF device may be light and typically does not interfere with program participants' day-to-day normal activities. The RF device may snap-on or otherwise attach to the participant to provide quick and easy installation and removal.
The GPS device is a device that may be present with the participant in a monitoring program. The GPS device allows for customized levels of control from an officer. For example, an officer may control offender movement throughout the community by establishing inclusion and exclusion zones there the participant is and is not allowed to go. The GPS device provides an officer with immediate notification of all zone violations. The GPS device may also include a cell phone device (that may utilize a cell phone GPS system with cell tower location and other software), which allows officers to call and speak with the offender directly at anytime of the day or night. The unit can also be used for domestic violence monitoring, sex offenders and other special situations where traditional monitoring is not suitable.
The PDA Device includes officer handheld wireless PDA device offers full mobility for officers while outside the office environment. Officers can use a Website to access offender information and also use the handheld wireless PDA as a direct voice device to communicate directly with program participants via the participants own GPS unit.
The FVU device is a unit that is present with the user. The FVU, device allows officers to perform "drive-by" verification duties that are needed in most electronic monitoring programs. This allows officers to determine a participant's presence or absence at any location.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods for providing secure and transparent cached monitoring device data


A working vehicle control apparatus includes: a selection device that selects a power mode or an economy mode; a determination device that determines whether or not a speed restriction condition and a load pressure have been established; an engine rotational speed restriction device that restricts a maximum rotational speed of the motor upon selection of the economy mode to a lower speed side than a maximum rotational speed of the motor upon selection of the power mode when it is determined that the speed restriction condition has been established; and a vehicle speed restriction device that restricts a maximum vehicle speed upon selection of the economy mode to a lower speed side than a maximum vehicle speed upon selection of the power mode when it is determined that a speed restriction condition has not been established.

There is a conventionally known wheel loader in which a working actuator is operated on discharged oil of a hydraulic pump driven by an engine and engine output is used as travel driving force through a torque converter and a transmission device. There is such a wheel loader in which engine output torque characteristics are changed according to mode selection of work amount mode and fuel economy mode (refer to the patent literature 1). In the apparatus stated in the patent literature 1, engine output torque in a high rotation region is set smaller upon selection of fuel economy mode than upon selection of work amount mode, and the maximum pump absorption torque is set smaller accordingly. This achieves great travel driving force even in fuel economy mode.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.


A head suspension has a piezoelectric element that deforms in response to an applied voltage, a base plate provided with an opening to which the piezoelectric element is attached, and a load beam fixed to the base plate so that a front end of the load beam moves in a sway direction according to deformation of the piezoelectric element. The head suspension includes an adhesive applied to a gap between the piezoelectric element and the opening, to attach the piezoelectric element to the opening. The adhesive has a thixotropic characteristic and is sol when applied to the gap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a head suspension having a piezoelectric element that is attached to the head suspension with an adhesive and deforms in response to a voltage applied thereto.
2. Description of Related Art
Small-sized, precision information devices are rapidly advancing and needs for micro-actuators capable of conducting positioning control for very small distances are increasing. Such micro-actuators are highly needed by, for example, optical systems for correcting focuses and inclination angles, ink jet printers for controlling ink heads, and magnetic disk drives for controlling magnetic heads.
The magnetic disk drives have an urgent issue to solve, i.e., increasing storage capacity. The storage capacity of a magnetic disk drive will increase if the storage capacity of each magnetic disk contained in the magnetic disk drive increases. The storage capacity or recording density of a magnetic disk will increase, without changing the diameter thereof, if the number of tracks per inch (TPI) on the magnetic disk increases. For this, the width of each track on the magnetic disk must be narrow. To handle such narrow tracks on a magnetic disk, a magnetic head of a head suspension in the magnetic disk drive must conduct precise positioning in a direction across the tracks. For realizing the precise positioning, there is a need of an actuator capable of accurately moving and positioning the magnetic head of a head suspension within a very small area.
To meet the need, the applicant of the present invention has proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-50140 a head suspension for a disk drive, including a base plate, a connection plate having a hinge thinner than the base plate, a load beam provided with a flexure and a magnetic head, and a pair of piezoelectric elements.
This related art employs a dual actuator system that involves, for a positioning purpose, a voice coil motor and the piezoelectric elements made of PZT (lead zirconate titanate).
The piezoelectric elements minutely drive a front end of the load beam in a widthwise direction (sway direction) of the head suspension. Compared with a single actuator system employing only a voice coil motor, the dual actuator system employing the voice coil motor and piezoelectric elements more precisely positions the magnetic head attached to the front end of the head suspension.
An important issue for the head suspension employing the dual actuator system is how to mount the piezoelectric elements on the head suspension.
As an approach to address the issue, the applicant of the present invention has proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-184140 (in particular, an adhesive 80 in FIGS. 4 and 9) a head suspension for a disk drive having a load beam, a flexure attached to the load beam, an actuator base including a base plate, and a pair of piezoelectric elements. The actuator base has an opening in which the pair of piezoelectric elements is installed with an electrically insulative adhesive.
According to this related art, the piezoelectric elements are set at a predetermined position on the actuator base with a gap being secured between the piezoelectric elements and the actuator base and the adhesive is applied into the gap.
If the quantity of the adhesive applied into the gap is too small, a bonding strength will be insufficient to correctly transmit a displacement of the piezoelectric elements to the load beam. If the adhesive quantity is too large, the applied adhesive will ooze and spread. If the spread adhesive reaches the flexure of the load beam, it will deteriorate the rigidity balance and vibration characteristic of the head suspension.


A fuel level measurement system and method for liquified natural gas (LNG) powered machines is disclosed. An engine control module (ECM) receives fuel line pressure levels at a first time (e.g., a key-off event) and, again, at a second time (e.g., a key-on event). The ECM predicts an expected change in pressure from the key-off event to the key-on event based on various factors. If the change in pressure detected is greater than a threshold level different from the predicted change in pressure, the ECM determines a fill event and resets a current fuel level. The ECM tracks mass flow commands used to provide fuel to the engine to determine the consumption of fuel from the fuel tank and to determine a new current fuel level based on the amount of fuel consumed. The current fuel level is displayed on a fuel gauge.

Machines, such as mining trucks, loaders, dozers, compaction machines, or other construction or mining equipment, are frequently used for building, construction, mining and other activities. For example, mining trucks are often used for hauling mined materials from mining sites. It is desirable to power these types of machines using alternative fuels, such as liquified natural gas (LNG). LNG machines, for example, may benefit from reduced carbon (e.g., carbon dioxide), particulate (e.g., diesel soot), nitrous oxide (e.g., NOx), and/or organic (e.g., volatile organic compounds (VOC)) emissions relative to traditional fuel (e.g., diesel, gasoline, etc.) powered machines. Additionally, LNG powered machines may provide desirable performance attributes, such as relatively high power output, an advantageous torque profile, etc. relative to machines powered with traditional fuels.
While LNG powered machinery may provide various improvements, such as environmental advantages, systems for measuring cryogenic fuels, such as LNG, present new challenges. Since LNG needs to be kept cold and pressurized in the fuel tank of the vehicle, the fuel tank is typically a multi-layered fuel tank that provides a relatively high level of thermal insulation. Thus, fuel level measurement sensors, such as capacitive sensors, may be integrated in to the fuel tank in a manner where it is difficult to troubleshoot and/or repair failures in the fuel level measurement sensors. Additionally, fuel level measurement sensors, when wired to control hardware outside of the fuel tank, provides a thermal route that can lead to thermal leakage (e.g., reduced effective thermal insulation) of the fuel tank. As a result, it is desirable to be able to measure and/or predict the amount of fuel in the fuel tank without having to only rely on fuel level measurement sensors that are integrated into the fuel tank.
One mechanism for measuring an LNG level is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,028,724 (hereinafter referred to as "the '724 reference"). The '724 reference describes measuring the flow rate of the fuel gas using a flow meter. The measured flow can be used to determine LNG volume. However, the system described in '724 introduces additional sensors and/or meters, such as a flow meter. This can increase cost and complexity of an LNG fuel delivery system. Additionally, introducing additional elements, such as additional sensors in a fuel delivery path, can reduce the robustness and reliability of an LNG delivery system.
Examples of the present disclosure are directed toward overcoming one or more of the deficiencies noted above.

Fuel level measurement system for a machine


A method and system that communicates adaptive transmit-side filter updates between a receiver and transmitter inserts additional versions of control codes into a back channel for encoding updates. Since the control codes are required in the back channel, no additional bandwidth of the back channel is used to communicate the updates.

State of the art SerDes transceivers signaling at rates on the order of 3.125 Gbps through typical FR4 back-plane channels utilize a simple 2-tap FIR (finite impulse response) transmit filter to equalize frequency dependent channel loss. One of the tap values is adjustable with respect to the other. This scheme is often referred to as pre-emphasis. Since there is only one tap value to adjust, it is left to the user to choose the right value for a given channel.
For data rates above 5 Gbps on FR4 back-planes, however, a simple 2-tap FIR filter is not sufficient to equalize for high frequency channel loss. Proposed solutions include an N-tap FIR transmit filter plus a fixed high boost filter at the receiver. For N>3 it becomes difficult for the user to select appropriate values of each filter coefficient for every channel used by the transceiver, hence, adaptive equalization is utilized. Since the N-tap FIR filter is implemented in the transmitter, the receiver must relay information on tap value updates back to the transmitter in order for the FIR filter to adapt to the channel.
Various techniques have been developed to solve the problem of relaying tap value updates from the receiver back to the transmitter.
Some solutions require insertion of additional data on a back channel to indicate tap update information, which results in a small increase in the channel data rate.
Other solutions require a separate physical channel to relay the tap update information. Apart from being an awkward solution, this solution rules out the use of the adaptive scheme on older systems where the additional physical back channel is not present.
Still other solutions propose that a supervisor chip read the information on tap value updates from the receiver and send it to the transmitter (both through an MDIO (management data input/output) interface, for example). Again, this solution unnecessarily involves processor overhead.

Zero overhead back channel for adaptive transmit filter updates in SerDes transceivers


The invention provides a composite of silver nanoparticles decorated with graphene quantum dots (Ag-GQDs) using pulsed laser synthesis. The nanocomposites were functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG). A concentration of 150 μg/mL of Ag-GQDs, a non-toxic level for human cells, exhibits strong antibacterial activity against both Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria.

Microbial infections are considered a major health problem with a growing concern toward those that do not respond to treatment due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately two million people are infected annually with bacteria resistant to antibiotics, of which ca. 23000 people die as a direct result of these infections. The prevention and treatment of these infections has drawn considerable attention and presents a critical challenge to develop drugs, antibiotics and/or antibacterial substances able to inhibit bacterial growth.
Infections due to Gram-negative Pseudonomas aeruginosa (P. Aeruginosa) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) have been documented in surgical sites, where they have been attributed to dermal injuries and burn wounds. Gram-negative bacteria are characterized by a lipid-rich outer membrane as well as a plasma membrane and a thin peptidoglycan layer, while Gram-positive bacteria are enshrouded in thicker, more resilient cell walls. This difference in cell wall is important for antibiotic development, since bacterial resistance might be due in part to cell wall composition.
Several conventional antibacterial agents, such as: tetracycline, streptomycin, and sulfonamides, have been developed to inhibit bacterial infections via the formation of biofilms. However, these antibiotics failed to inhibit all types of bacteria and multidrug-resistant strains have appeared due to the pathogen's evolution in counteracting the biocidal action of the agent molecules. Consequently, it is necessary to develop antibiotics that can overcome the limitations of the conventional antibacterial agents and preferably work against both types of bacteria. Interestingly, materials such as: silver nanoparticles, copper oxide, carbon nanomaterials, and metal oxide nanoparticles, have been reported as antimicrobial agents, and have been considered for use in wound infections, and in the clothing industry. In specific, silver is widely recognized for its capacity to kill bacteria. The mechanism of silver as an antibacterial agent is not totally clear, but it includes some possible mechanisms, such as: denaturation of the 30 s ribosomal subunits, inhibition of respiratory enzymes, binding and dimerization of RNA and DNA, and disruption of the outer membrane. Nevertheless, silver has shown high levels of toxicity at adequate concentrations for its antibacterial use.
The synthesis of silver composites might be a potential solution to overcome the negative side effects of silver, but optimizing the concentration of Ag in these composites remains a challenge. One approach to synthesize silver composites is to use carbon-based nanomaterials such as: graphene, carbon nanotubes, and graphene oxide with low concentrations of silver. The synthesis and use of silver-carbon nanotube complexes as antibacterial material has been previously reported. Another study reported that carbon nanotubes might be toxic due to their contamination with metallic catalysts used in their synthesis.
Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are among the carbon nanostructures that may be good candidates for biomedical applications due to their solubility in aqueous solutions and high biocompatibility. GQDs are nanostructures of graphene in the size range of 2-20 nm with a set of excellent and unique chemical and physical properties. In general, GQDs have no apparent toxicity in vivo, and they have demonstrated high potential for utilization in cellular imaging, as antibacterial material, and drug delivery.

Antibacterial activity of silver-graphene quantum dots nanocomposites against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria


A household utensil of the receptacle type, for the reception and dispensing of liquids, in particular a teapot, is essentially constituted by a portion forming the receptacle and by a portion forming a cover, this utensil being provided moreover with a handle device. The utensil is made by gravity molding technique in a sand mold formed of two portions, namely, an external mold portion and an internal mold portion, and is present in the form of two essential portions, namely a portion forming the receptacle and comprising a pouring spout open up to the joint plane, and a portion forming a cover fitting on the receptacle portion and provided with a covering element at the level of the joint plane of the portion forming the pouring spout.

The present invention relates to the field of the production of household utensils, in particular receptacles for the reception and service of hot liquids, particularly teapots, and has for its object such a cast household utensil.
Household utensils of the teapot type are generally made either of faience, terra cotta or porcelain, or of metal. In the first case, these utensils, which can be of complicated shapes, have the drawback of being relatively high in cost and above all being relatively fragile to shocks.
Thus, it has been proposed to make these utensils of metal, which has the advantage of being more resistant to shocks and thereby to avoid accidental destruction.
Teapots or the like made of metal are produced at present by a molding technique with a core, which is to say they are made to have an external appearance near that obtained by molding techniques for glazed ceramic, which is to say with production of a body having a central portion of larger size tapering toward its upper portion, with provision of a closure of the upper portion by an attached cover, a pouring spout being connected to this body, generally adjacent its lower part.
Such a molding requires, for the provision of the internal volume of the receptacle, the provision of a core integrated into the mold and destroyed after molding of the piece, so as to permit its extraction from the utensil. The channel of the pouring spout is, for its part, also produced by use of a core.
As a result, the production of such utensils by a casting technique with a core is relatively complicated and the pieces obtained are hence of a high price, which can be incompatible with merchandising corresponding to industrial production.
The present invention has for its object to overcome these drawbacks, by providing a household utensil of the receptacle type for the reception and distribution of liquids, which will be easy to make and hence of a relatively low price, whilst offering the functional and aesthetic characteristics of known utensils of this type.
To this end, the household utensil of the receptacle type for the reception and dispensing of liquids, particularly a teapot, is characterized in that it is made by a gravity casting molding technique in a sand mold formed of two parts, namely an external mold part and an internal mold part, and is present in the form of two essential parts, namely a part forming the receptacle and comprising a pouring spout open up to the joint plane and a portion forming a cover fitting on the receptacle part and provided with a covering element, at the level of the joint plane, of the part forming the pouring spout.