A terminal device connected to a network, acquires address information of a printing device connected to the network in first communication protocol, determines whether or not the printing device is capable of recovering from a power-saving mode via WOL, registers the acquired address information into a storage area on a permanent basis, if the relevant printing device is determined to be capable of recovering via WOL, and then transmits a status inquiry packet of the relevant printing device determined to be capable of recovering via WOL in second communication protocol that allows the relevant printing device to respond to the status inquiry packet without recovering from the power-saving mode, using the address information registered into the storage area on a permanent basis.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a terminal device connected to a network, a printing system including the terminal device, and a control method of the terminal device.
2. Description of Related Arts
Power-saving functions of electrical equipments such as printers and MFPs (Multiple Functional Peripherals) are attracting more acute attention from the viewpoint of manufacturers' and users' social responsibilities. In particular, industrialized countries have implemented various procurement regulations which require public institutions to evaluate power-saving capabilities of electrical equipments (e.g. Laws on Promoting Green Purchasing) as well as various distribution regulations (e.g. Directive on Eco-Design of Energy-using Products), in order to ensure that products without a certain level of power-saving capabilities will be removed from the market.
For the purpose of striking a balance between power-saving functions and usability features, a latest control method of a printer or MFP includes steps of switching the printer/MFP into a power-saving mode when its standby mode has passed a certain period of time, and restoring the printer/MFP to a normal mode when it receives a network packet. For example, the Japanese Unexamined Publications No. H09-141974, No. 2002-278378, and No. 2004-110215 propose an image forming device which capable of shutting down the CPU of its printer controller, or lowering clock frequencies of the CPU to shift the printer controller into a power-saving mode. This control method is generally called "WOL" (Wake on LAN).
A network printer generally receives various network packets including printing requests and status inquires as it serves a large number of network devices. In this respect, a WOL-capable network printer needs to be associated with suitable recovery packets to its operating environment so that it can properly recover from a power-saving mode to a normal mode. For example, under a network environment involving frequent status inquiries in SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol, Well-known Port=161), the printer can hardly maintain its power-saving mode if an SNMP packet is designated as a recovery packet. Therefore, a SNMP packet should not be designated as a recovery packet under such a network environment as described above. Nowadays, a WOL-capable NIC (Network Interface Card) is generally equipped with sophisticated packet selection functions in order to select a suitable recovery packet.
Incidentally, packet transmission under in IP/Ethernet that is known as the most common LAN environment for corporate or domestic use, requires a combination of IP address and MAC address of the transmission destination. The combination of IP address and MAC address is normally stored in a data area called ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) table within a terminal device. If MAC address of the packet destination does not exist in the ARP table, an ARP request needs to be issued for the purpose of inquiring the MAC address corresponding to the IP address of the packet destination. However, an entry of the ARP table will generally be lost in a certain period of time after its registration (e.g. several minutes)
The lost entry from the ARP table will necessitate an ARP request preceding each packet transmission afterwards. However, an ARP requests should not be designated as a recovery packet as a typical printer cannot respond to an ARP request while in a power-saving mode. This causes a problem of frequent interruption of the power-saving mode due to the ARP request preceding each periodic packet such as an SNMP request (See FIG. 9).
The present invention is intended to solve the aforementioned problems in the prior art, and one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a terminal device which can avoid the interruption of a printer's power-saving mode due to the ARP request preceding each periodic packet including a status inquiry in SNMP, a printing system including the terminal device, and a control method of the terminal device.

Terminal device connected to a network, a printing system including the terminal device, and a control method of the terminal device

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


The filter assembly of the present invention provides protection to a data storage disk drive assembly from contaminants, including chemical gases and particles, that either enter or exit the disk drive assembly. Incoming gases and particles pass through a label, into a hard body filter, through a diffusion filter, contact the chemical adsorbent and pass into the drive interior through a particulate filter. Outgoing gases and particles go through the apparatus in reverse. The filter assembly may be installed from the outside of the disk drive assembly at a chosen location and at any point during or after manufacturing and testing. The filter assembly is held in place by lateral extensions and an adhesive label applied to the exterior mounting surface.

A disk drive is a data storage device that stores data in concentric tracks on a disk shaped medium. Data is read from the medium by spinning the medium about a central axis while positioning a transducer near a desired track of the medium to sense the data. The transducer provides an electrical signal representative of the sensed data to data processing circuitry within the disk drive which converts the electrical signal to a format that is recognizable by an attached host unit. The converted data signal is then delivered to the host unit for use by it. Disk drives can store data in any of a number of different forms, such as magnetic data storage and optical data storage.
Disk drive units are enclosed within a housing to mitigate the effects of vapor, particulate and contamination on the workings of the drive. As can be appreciated, undesirable substances like these exist both inside and outside the disk drive housing and can have a deleterious effect on the operation of the drive. For example, particles and volatile gases can result in performance problems such as stiction between the transducer and the disk, creation of thermal asperities, and even transducer crashes. To reduce such occurrences, the level of airborne particles and gases within the disk drive housing should be kept low.
The environment inside a disk drive housing can be dynamic due to the creation of pressure gradients. Pressure gradients can be the result of heating or cooling, from internal or external sources, or the spinning up or down of the disks within the housing. As a result, convection may drive air out of or draw it into the drive housing through a predetermined path, such as through a filter and breather hole, or through undesirable paths such as leaks around gaskets and screw holes. In addition to contaminant movement by air flow or convection, contaminants may also be moved by diffusion. Diffusion is the time and temperature dependent transport of material in response to a chemical gradient. Diffusion may occur inside the drive or between the inside and outside of the drive depending upon the presence of a chemical gradient.
Filters have been designed to reduce the levels of undesired substances introduced into the housing of a disk drive, including multi-functional filters to filter undesired chemical vapors and particles. In many instances, these multi-functional filters are attached to the inside of the drive housing adjacent an opening in the cover or base plate. The filter is typically attached with an adhesive. In such a configuration, the reliability of the drive may be affected by the reliability of the adhesive joint connecting the filter to the inside of the drive housing. Failure of the adhesive may result in an influx of uncontrolled contamination and may potentially cause physical damage to the disk drive due to movement of the loose filter.
A specific example of a multi-functional filter for a disk drive assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,260, issued Jul. 9, 1991, which discloses an intricate multi-piece filter assembly comprising a number of component layers through which incoming air is filtered, including external tape 25, diffusion plate 36, a first particulate filter 31, a first chemical adsorbent 33, a second chemical adsorbent 34, a second particulate filter 32, and bottom housing 30, including a second diffusion path 52 and bottom cover 39. However, there are numerous drawbacks associated with this design.
In particular, as the '260 patent is generally directed to a mainframe or other high end application, it does not recognize or address many issues resulting from the development of smaller and less expensive, yet more complicated and faster disk drive assemblies, particularly for use in smaller computers, such as personal computers, laptops and still smaller computers. For example, in a mainframe environment, disk drive assemblies are not to be subject to the rigorous form factor limitations of a disk drive assembly in a typical desktop, laptop or smaller computer. As shown in FIG. 3 of the '260 patent, at least a portion of the filter extends above the top cover of the disk drive assembly. This alignment would violate form factor requirements of maintaining a flush top cover surface in desktop, laptop and smaller computers. The '260 patent also discloses positioning the filter directly over the disk stack where very little space exists in a disk drive used in a personal computer.
Another drawback of the filter design disclosed in the '260 patent is that the filter is expressly designed to filter only incoming air and avoid filtering outgoing air and vapors, such as outgases from adhesives and the like. This one way restriction on air flow appears to be due to the limited size and capacity of the chemical adsorbent, perhaps due to its position above the disk stack where space is limited. Indeed, because of the limited size and capacity of the chemical adsorbent, the '260 patent discloses positioning a diffusion path on each side of the chemical adsorbent to inhibit diffusion and avoid premature depletion of the capacity of the chemical adsorbent.
Additionally, the '260 patent does not disclose a filter that can be removed and reused to accommodate reworking the disk drive assembly or to maximize the flexibility of the assembly and testing process. Because the diffusion paths appear to be positioned at the surface of the filter body, removing the outer tape seal to remove the filter to permit reworking of the drive would likely irreparably damage the diffusion path and require that the filter be replaced with a new filter. Moreover, many if not most commercial drives are electrically and mechanically tested before being shipped from the manufacturer. In certain circumstances, drives fail and must be reworked. In those instances, the drive must be opened and, as a result, the filter is exposed to a greater volume of air, without anything inhibiting diffusion. If unprotected, this causes a premature depletion of the chemical adsorbent capacity, potentially decreasing or reducing drive reliability if the filter is reused. Removing the filter further allows the cover to be cleaned, after testing but before commercial shipment, without damage to the filter or disassembly of the drive.
With the development of smaller, less expensive disk drive assemblies, a need exists for an improved multi-functional filter to clean interior and incoming air of vapors, particles and other contaminants. This filter is capable of installation at any time during the manufacturing process, including following testing and removal, and may be reused after rework of the disk drive assembly.


A lighting fixture capable of efficiently radiating heat of a lamp device may be configured to be attached to a socket device. In some examples, by attaching the lamp device to the socket device, a cap portion of the lamp device is brought into contact with a fixture body, and pressed against and brought into close contact with the fixture body by an elastic body. Heat generated by lighting of LEDs of the lamp device is conducted from the cap portion to the fixture body and efficiently radiated.

Conventionally, a lamp device has been used which uses a GX53-type cap portion standardized by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). The lamp device has a flat lamp device body, the GX53-type cap portion is provided on an upper face side of the lamp device body, a flat light source using a fluorescent lamp, LED or the like is arranged on a lower face side of the lamp device body, and a lighting circuit for lighting the light source is housed inside the lamp device body. On the cap portion, a pair of lamp pins each having a large diameter portion at its top end is projected. The lamp pins of the lamp device are inserted and hooked into a socket device by turning the lamp device, the lamp device is held by the socket device, and power is supplied from the socket device to the lamp pins.

Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation


A visual aid to assist a driver in maneuvering a towing vehicle toward a trailer or other vehicle to be towed for precisely aligning the hitch components of the two vehicles. The device mounts only to the towed vehicle and includes an integral bumper member to protect the vehicles should the driver back too far. The device is adaptable to all conventional trailer hitch components and is simple and easy to use. It comprises a universal adaptor, a sighting mast and a strap for attaching the assembly to the towed vehicle. The mast can be mounted in the vertical position for viewing through the back window or at an angle to extend laterally past the side of the tow vehicle to allow the driver to view the mast even if rearward visibility is blocked through the rear window of a tow vehicle. The mast is disturbed from its rest position when the hitch components are aligned. The device is also designed such that it can be mounted to a vehicle to provide an early warning signal to the driver that he is closely approaching an object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automotive accessories and, more particularly, to a trailer or towed vehicle hitch alignment apparatus.
2. History of the Prior Art
Towed vehicles such as boat trailers, camping trailers and many other trailers or vehicles for general or specific use are common in the prior art. Towing and towed vehicles are typically coupled with a ball and socket hitch. The ball is usually mounted at the rear of the towing vehicle and the socket is mounted at the front of the towed vehicle. Precise alignment of the ball and socket is required to allow the two to be coupled. Aligning these components without assistance from an outside observer is frequently a difficult and frustrating experience. The ball and socket become blocked from the driver's view and even an experienced driver has to get out of the towing vehicle a number of times to check the relative position of the hitch components or risk a collision of the two vehicles. The closing distance of the two vehicles is more difficult to judge than the lateral, or left-right alignment. The inability of the driver to accurately judge the closing distance relative to the two vehicles often results in a collision causing damage to one or both vehicles.
A number of hitch alignment guides have been devised. All of these devices have components which mount both to the towing vehicle and to the towed vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,029 issued to Anderson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,599 issued to Tague and U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,183 issued to McConnell are examples of devices consisting of vertical rods connected to both vehicles. These rods must be viewed through the rear window of the towing vehicle when backing up to a towed vehicle or trailer to provide assistance to the driver. U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,432 issued to Law describes a device consisting of a vertical rod mounted to the towed vehicle and a fork-like sighting member mounted to the towing vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,147 issued to Ross describes a guide rod mounted to the trailer that extends toward the tow vehicle and actually touches its rear window at a required pre-placed mark to indicate proper alignment. U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,972 issued to Vankrevelen describes a device which consists of two sighting rods, one connected to the towing vehicle and the other connected to the towed vehicle. These rods can be mounted in the vertical position or in the horizontal position to extend laterally past the side of the tow vehicle to allow the device to be seen if rearward visibility is blocked.
U.S Pat. No. 4,627,634 issued to Coleman describes a device which consists of two sighting rods. One rod mounts to the tow vehicle and the other mounts to the towed vehicle or on the ground in a predetermined spot if rearward visibility is blocked. All of the above inventions require a mark or member to be placed on the towing vehicle or on both the towing and towed vehicles.


A method for time synchronization in a communication network comprising a multiplicity of network nodes, wherein synchronization messages are transmitted in the communication network and the synchronization message received in a slave node contains synchronization information for synchronizing the slave time of the slave node with the master time, i.e., synchronization messages are transmitted in a closed ring or line topology and the slave node receives first and second synchronization messages from different transmission directions, and wherein the slave node synchronizes a first time with the synchronization message from one transmission direction and a second time with the synchronization message from the other transmission direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for time synchronization in a communication network, and to a corresponding communication network.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many technical applications of communication networks it is necessary to temporally synchronize the network nodes participating in the communication, such that all the network nodes provide exactly synchronous time information. In particular, within industrial automation installations, it is particularly important that the automatic work operations of different network nodes be accurately temporally coordinated with one another.
Various standards for time synchronization in communication networks, are known from the prior art, e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineer (IEEE) standard 1588, IEEE standard 802.1AS and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard 61158. In this case, the time information of a master node, which detects the time with a master clock, is communicated to all the other subscribers in the communication network, which constitute slave nodes. The time information is contained in synchronization messages that are forwarded by the salve nodes. Upon forwarding, the slave nodes add all propagation time delays known to them to the content of the synchronization message. In this way, a slave node can synchronize its slave time, which it detects with an internal clock, with the master time based on the content of the synchronization messages.
In the known standards, each node adds to corresponding fields of the synchronization message firstly an internal processing time (a Bridge Delay) and secondly a transmission time (a Line Delay). The internal processing time specifies the time duration required by a node for processing the messages between reception and re-emission. By contrast, the transmission time defines the time period between the emission of the message at the preceding network node and the reception at the processing network node. This transmission time is conventionally estimated by separate exchange of messages between neighboring network nodes, which is associated with additional complexity and leads to estimation errors.

Method for time synchronization in a communication network


A computer interconnect system uses packet data transmission over serial links connecting nodes of a network. The serial links may provide simultaneous dual paths for transmit/receive. An adapter couples a CPU or the like at a node to the serial link. The adapter includes a packet memory for temporarily storing transmit packets and receive packets, along with a port processor for executing the protocol. Packets of data are transferred between the system bus of the CPU and the packet memory by a pair of data movers, one for read and one for write. All of the serial links of the system are connected to a distribution hub which forwards a transmitted packet to a destination node based upon an address sent with the packet. If the path to the destination node is busy, the hub returns a "flow control" signal to the source node, and in response to this signal the transmitted packet is aborted so that time on the network is not wasted by needless transmission that must be discarded.

This invention relates to computer interconnect systems, and more particularly to a packet communication system employing dual serial data paths between computer nodes.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,777,595, 4,560,985, 4,490,785, and in copending application Ser. No. 109,503, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,722 110,009, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,833 and 110,513, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,076 filed Oct. 16, 1987, all assigned to Digital Equipment Corporation, assignee of this invention, computer interconnect systems are shown of the type employing packet data transfer using serial paths. These types of computer interconnect systems have been commercially used for processors and bulk memory facilities of the VAX architecture, and provide versatile systems of high performance and reliability. However, with increasing demands for additional functions, compatibility with a wide variety of computer equipment, higher speed, lower cost, larger networks and higher reliability (both of data and hardware), further development of this type of interconnect system is imperative.
The likelihood of completing a packet transfer initiated by a given node in a network of this type is dependent upon whether a serial data channel is free, i.e., not being used for another transfer, and upon whether the destination node itself is free and ready to receive the packet. This likelihood can be increased by having more than one serial data channel interconnecting the nodes. Also, having more than one serial data channel makes possible the simultaneous reception and/or transmission on more than one channel at the same time. While some prior packet communications systems of the type mentioned above have included two transmission channels for each node, these have been for the purpose of redundancy rather than simultaneous use, and so the net maximum data rates are not improved, even though the reliability is enhanced.
Simultaneous data transmission and/or reception has been provided over serial data links by merely replicating all of the port hardware associated with a serial port or communications adapter. This is not only more expensive, occupies more space and consumes more power, but also the ports must be separately addressed by the host computer. That is, it is preferable that the multiple simultaneous paths be transparent to the host computer.
When a packet data stream is being transmitted or received by a node in a system of this type, the data handling circuitry used by the node to deliver the data stream to the transmitter, or accept the incoming data stream from the receiver, must be able to execute the transfer with stalls or delays due to a bus request not being granted, or the like. Any stall during reception or transmission means the packet must be discarded and resent. Since it is not known when packets are going to be received at a node, a received packet must be quickly moved from the receiver to the host computer since another packet may be following immediately.
When a mode in one of the computer interconnect systems mentioned above has a packet to send, the channel connected to this node is checked to see if a carrier is present, and, if not, the packet is sent, without regard for whether or not a channel is free all the way to the destination node, or whether or not the destination node is ready to receive. If the channel is not free or the destination is busy, the packet is discarded. In prior systems of this type, the source node continues to transmit the packet under this condition, even though the packet is being discarded instead of being sent on to the destination node. The packet is then resent after a time since an acknowledge is not received at the source node. If the packet is lengthy, the transmit time wasted by this needless transmission of a packet that is being discarded can adversely affect the system performance.
It is a principal object of this invention to provide an improved computer interconnect system, particularly one which allows increased performance by more efficient use of serial paths between nodes. Another object is to provide an improved high-speed computer interconnect system in which a greater probability of gaining use of a transmission path from one node to another is achieved, yet the component parts of the system are not needlessly duplicated or complex. A further object is to provide a packet data communication system allowing more efficient transmission and/or reception by serial paths between nodes, in which use of the serial paths is maximized by aborting transmission of packets which are not reaching a destination node. An additional object is to provide a packet data transmission and reception system with improved handling at high-performance of dual simultaneous serial channels.

Computer interconnect system with transmit-abort function


The method of manufacturing a closure unit formed of sheet metal and containing a holding ring having a ring area bounding a central opening and comprising three substantially flat superjacent and folded sections for attachment with a membrane, contemplates performing in a single deep-drawing operation predetermined shaping and punching operations upon a blank from which there is formed the closure unit.

The present invention relates to a new and improved closure unit made of sheet metal or plating for sterilizable containers, to a new and improved method of manufacturing such a closure unit, and also relates to a container having a closure unit made of sheet metal or plating and obtained thereby.
Generally speaking, the closure unit of the present development is of the type comprising a holding or fastening ring which can be beaded or flanged over the associated container. The closure unit also comprises a ring area or region having a sealing surface for sealing thereto a membrane which has a tear-back tab and which covers a closure opening. The cut edge of the closure opening is folded or bent over into the sealing surface.
Closure units of the aforementioned type equipped with a membrane closure member which covers a container or closure opening and which can be peeled off or torn away from the holding or fastening ring of the closure unit, are used for containers, cans and the like for packing foodstuffs and industrial products.
Such type of closure unit is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,584, granted Mar. 3, 1981, entitled "Ring and Closure for Cans". There is disclosed a cover ring suitable as a food can closure. The can for foodstuffs is made of lacquered aluminum or tin-plate. To protect the exposed cut edge laid bare by punching out the discharge or pour opening, the cut edge is bent over upwards and outwards into the sealing plane for the tear-back membrane. The unprotected cut edge is thus located beyond the filled material and cannot contaminate such filled material. Protection from corrosion by environmental factors, for instance during the filling of the container or by atmospheric moisture, is not in any way ensured.
To increase the resistance or strength of the sealing rim formed along the discharge or pour opening, a hollow curved portion is formed by the bent-over or turned-over cut edge. When the tear-back membrane is sealed onto the bent-over sealing surface, because of this hollow curved portion a sealing action with the required high sealing pressure only can be realized at the narrow ring area or region located beyond the hollow curved portion. The sealing surface and the membrane to be sealed thereto cannot be adequately and sufficiently pressed against each other in the region of the hollow curved portion in order to achieve a positive closure suitable for sterilization. This known ring and closure for cans have a further disadvantage in that when the ring is beaded or flanged over the can edge or rim, the membrane which in most cases is only a few hundredths of a millimeter thick and particularly the tear-back or pull-off tab folded back toward the center and onto the surface of the membrane can be damaged by the relative movement of the pressure plate of the beading or flanging machine at the beginning of the beading or flanging operation, such that the tearing back of the membrane is no longer thereafter ensured.
A further prior art construction of closure unit for a container is known from the published United Kingdom Patent Application No. 2,166,409 A, published May 8, 1986, entitled "Closures with Pull Tabs". Similar to the ring and closure disclosed in the aforementioned and discussed U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,584, this known closure comprises a hollow annular bead adjacent the container opening. When the composite membrane is bonded to the outer surface of the metallic closure, the hollow annular bead prevents the membrane from being sterilizingly sealed to the closure across the entire sealing surface thereof. To prevent damage to the pull tab by the pressure pad of the beading or flanging machine, the pull tab is double folded, thereby forming a double layer tab, such that at the most only one layer can be damaged by the beading or flanging machine while the layer lying therebelow can withstand the beading or flanging operation without damage.
Another construction of container cover of this type is known from Swiss Patent No. 563,284, granted May 15, 1975. There is described a metal foil membrane sealed onto the cut edge of the container opening. This cut edge is bent over upwards and outwards. Since the container opening is arranged in the central part of the closure cover and in spaced relationship to the flange or rim portion thereof which is to be bonded to the container, the tear-back tab is prevented from being damaged when the membrane or lid is sealed to the bent-over cut-edge portion of the metal foil membrane. However, the cut edge is not protected against corrosion.
Containers with a pour or discharge opening which does not span or extend across the entire cross-section of the container are not suitable for packing foodstuffs. In particular they are unsuitable for packing solid foodstuffs which cannot be poured out.
Still a further construction of closure cover is known from European Published Patent Application No. 0,090,957, published Oct. 12, 1983. There is described a closure cover for sterilizable containers, in which closure cover the cut edge of the pour opening is also bent over upwards and outwards into the plane of a hot sealing surface. This hot sealing surface is thus not only formed by the bent-over section, but moreover the peripheral region of the end surface located beyond the cut edge is shaped by deep drawing in that the surface of such peripheral region comes to lie in the plane of the bent-over cut edge. In this manner, there is achieved an enlargement of the hot sealing surface. This closure cover also has the disadvantage that the pull-off tab may be damaged by the pressure pad of the beading or flanging machine. Furthermore, the provision of the two-part hot sealing surface requires that both sides of the container cover ring must be provided with a sealing lacquer coating.

Method of manufacturing a closure unit made of sheet metal or plating and container having a closure unit obtained thereby


In accordance with the present invention, an electrochemical cell is disclosed comprising a metal oxide cathode; an anode/electrolyte mixture which contains a zinc anode material and an aluminum compound additive as an source of aluminum ions (e.g., an aluminum salt). The anode/electrolyte mixture may also contain a source of sulfate ions (e.g., a metal sulfate). The anode/electrolyte mixture can also include a suitable carrier (e.g., gelling agent, buffer) for admixing the various components of the mixture.

Metal oxide primary cells are generally constructed from a pressed metal oxide (e.g., manganese dioxide) cathode, an anode material prepared from zinc powder and an alkaline electrolyte. Usually, the zinc powder is dispersed with the electrolyte in a gel such that more surface area of zinc is available for current production. All of these components are combined within an appropriate casing or housing.
In a typical cell as shown in FIG. 1, the positive current collector is a drawn steel container (2), open on one end and about 0.010 inches thick. The cathode consists of two or more annular rings (5) comprised of a compressed mixture of electrolytic manganese dioxide, graphite and alkaline electrolyte which are placed in contact with the positive current collector. A bead (10) is formed into the container near the open end to support the sealing disk. A separator (4) is placed between the cathode rings and the anode gel (3) which is comprised of powdered zinc, a gelling agent, the electrolyte and mercury. A sealing disk (6) contains a negative current collector (1). The sealing disk (6) and sealant (15), which is applied to the sealing disk or to the container (2), are placed into the open end of the container and in contact with the bead. The open end of the container is crimped over the sealing disk thus compressing it between the crimp of the container on to which the coating (14) has been applied and the bead to seal the cell. An insulation washer (7) with a central aperture is placed over the crimped end of the cell such that the end of the negative current collector (1) protrudes through the aperture. A contact spring (8) is affixed to the end of the negative current collector (1). Terminal caps (9) and (13) are placed into contact with the contact spring (8) and the positive current collector (2), respectively, and an insulating tube (12) and steel shell (11) are placed around the cell and crimped on their ends to hold the terminal caps in place.
Zinc powder is the basic component used to manufacture the anode of primary alkaline cells. The zinc anode is employed in an alkaline solution such as an aqueous potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide electrolyte. However, exposure of the zinc to hydroxide ions causes zinc corrosion which results in production of hydrogen gas which may build up.
To minimize zinc corrosion, it has been the practice in the battery industry to use amalgamated zinc in forming the anode. Particularly, amalgamation of zinc with mercury has been found to successfully reduce corrosion and gas build up. Most commercially produced metal oxide cells contain 1%-7% mercury (relative to the weight of zinc).
However, due to the environmental hazard presented by mercury contained in disposed cells, reduction of the amount of mercury in alkaline cells has been an industrial goal. After discharge, cell contents sometimes leak out of the cell as a result of internal gas buildup from electrochemical reactions. Cell contents can also be released when the cell structure is opened or ruptured during or after disposal. As a result, mercury in the cell contents is released and can then be absorbed into the environment. Therefore, reduction of the amount of mercury in such cells will reduce the risk of significant environmental contamination if the cell contents are released.
Many approaches to eliminating the need for mercury have been pursued. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,100 corrosion is reduced in aqueous electrochemical cells having zinc anodes comprised of single crystal zinc particles by the addition of small amounts of a gas inhibiting surfactant (e.g., an organic phosphate inhibitor). Published Japanese Patent Application 6084767 (filed Oct. 14, 1983, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.) discloses a zinc alkaline cell which employs a zinc/aluminum alloy with aluminum content 0.02 to 0.50 wt % as mean for reducing mercury levels. Another Matsushita article (Ogawa, "Development of Corrosion Resistance Zinc Alloy and Its Application in Alkaline Dry Battery") and three Matsushita abstract references (Chem. Abs. 110: 216342a, 216343b and 216344c) suggest using indium, thallium, gallium, cadmium, lead, silver, bismuth, calcium, strontium, barium, mercury, silicon and tin as other alloying elements.
However, the addition of organic additives adversely effects cell performance by decreasing cell operating voltage. Furthermore, forming zinc alloys containing aluminum or other materials can significantly add to the complexity and expense of producing anode materials. It would, therefore, be desirable to provide means for reducing zinc anode corrosion while significantly decreasing mercury content without significantly diminishing cell performance or increasing the complexity or expense of manufacturing such cells.

Aluminum compound additives to reduce zinc corrosion in anodes of electrochemical cells


To provide a display device including a switching regulator type power generating circuit which realizes an increase in display quality by an output voltage being more stable, and by suppressing a flickering of a screen. A display device includes a switching regulator type direct current power generating circuit, wherein a period for which a switching element is turned on is determined in such a way as to increase or decrease by a given width when a code of an output voltage with respect to a setting voltage is constant, and the period is determined in such a way as to increase or decrease differently from the given width when the code changes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device including a direct current power generating circuit. In particular, the invention relates to an increase in a display quality of a display device by stabilizing an output voltage of a switching regulator type direct current power generating circuit.
2. Background Art
There is a case of including a drive circuit driven by a voltage higher than a voltage of a direct current main power source included in a display device. In this case, a drive power source which provides a predetermined voltage to the drive circuit is needed. In a power generating circuit provided in the drive power source, the voltage from the main power source is raised, generating the predetermined voltage.
As a method of raising the voltage, in addition to a charge pump method, there is a switching regulator method. Along with the improvement in resolution and definition of display panels in recent years, it happens that the high drive performance switching regulator method is employed in the power generating circuit. As one control mode of the switching regulator method, there is a pulse width modulation (PWM) mode, which stabilizes the output voltage by changing a pulse width which determines a period for which a switching element connected to a voltage raising circuit is turned on. Herein, the pulse width indicates a length of a period for which a signal sent to the switching element is of a high voltage value. In this mode, in the event that the output voltage is lower than a setting voltage (hereafter referred to as "the output voltage is L"), the on period of the switching element becomes longer by increasing the pulse width, and it is possible to increase the output voltage. Meanwhile, in the event that the output voltage is higher than the setting voltage (hereafter referred to as "the output voltage is H"), the on period of the switching element becomes shorter by reducing the pulse width, and it is possible to reduce the output voltage. By repeating these operations, it is possible to stabilize the output voltage in the vicinity of the setting voltage.
A power generating circuit provided in a display device according to a heretofore known technology is shown in FIG. 3. A configuration of the whole of the power generating circuit has many areas in common with a power generating circuit provided in a display device according to the invention. Therefore, a detailed description of the configuration is given in a description of an embodiment of the invention. At this point, a simple description will be given of an outline of the configuration of the power generating circuit.
As shown in FIG. 3, a voltage raising circuit 1 being provided in the power generating circuit, it raises the voltage of a main power source 11 of the display device. A switching element 2 which drives the voltage raising circuit 1 is connected. An on period signal generating module 3 being connected to the switching element 2, the on period signal generating module 3 outputs an on period signal S23 to signal line 23, which is a signal which turns on the switching element 2, to the switching element 2 during an on period.
Also, an output voltage detection module 4 is connected to an output voltage Vout of the voltage raising circuit 1. The output voltage detection module 4 detects whether the output voltage Vout is H or L for every certain cycle (hereafter referred to as a cycle). The output voltage detection module 4 outputs a voltage with a high voltage value (hereafter referred to as the H voltage) when the output voltage Vout is H, and a voltage with a low voltage value (hereafter referred to as the L voltage) when the output voltage Vout is L, as a detection code S21, to an on period determination module 5 by the signal line 21.
In the on period determination module 5, the length of the on period, that is, the pulse width, is determined based on the detection code S21, and output to the on period signal generating module 3 as on period information S22 by the signal line 22. Herein, the on period information S22 is a value which expresses the length of the period for which the switching element is to be turned on (the on period), with a clock signal PCLK cycle as a unit.
In the on period signal generating module 3, the on period signal S23 is generated based on the on period information S22, and output to the switching element 2 by signal line 23.
In the on period determination module 5, based on the detection code S21 at the first moment of each cycle (hereafter referred to as the commencement), the length of the on period, that is, the pulse width, in the period of the cycle following the cycle, is determined. As the length of the on period is set based on the clock signal PCLK used in a display by the display device, the length of the period is determined at an integral multiple of the clock signal PCLK cycle. Herein, the clock signal PCLK is, for example, a dot clock signal. Hereafter, the length of the period will be written with the clock signal PCLK cycle as the unit.
FIG. 4 is an outline diagram showing a configuration of the on period determination module 5. A period increase-decrease element 31, based on the detection code S21 input from the output voltage detection module 4 by the signal line 21, adds or subtracts a given width to or from a value of an input signal, which is current on period information S24 inputting by the signal line 24, and outputs it as a value of next on period information S25 by the signal line 25. Herein, the given width is set at 1. In this case, when the detection code S21 is the L voltage, the period increase-decrease element 31 adds 1 to the value of the input signal, and outputs it. When the detection code S21 is the H voltage, the period increase-decrease element 31 subtracts 1 from the value of the input signal, and outputs it.
The next on period information S25 is input into a D terminal of an information output module 32. Herein, the information output module 32, in accordance with a clock rising edge, continues to output D terminal information input at that time from a Q terminal until the rising edge of the next clock. A cycle signal CLK rising at the commencement of each cycle is input into a clock of the information output module 32. Therefore, the information output module 32, at the commencement of the next cycle, outputs the value of the next on period information S25 to the on period signal generating module 3 as the value of the on period information S22.
The on period signal generating module 3 generates the on period signal S23, based on the input on period information S22, and outputs it to the switching element 2. By means of the above, a control of the output voltage Vout is carried out.

Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.


Disclosed herein is an overhead passenger service unit (PSU) for a vehicle, comprising: a mounting mechanism for mounting the PSU above at least one vehicle seat; a dynamic seat row marker that provides an indication of a seat position and a status portion indicating a status of a passenger or trip aspect that is readily viewable from a vehicle aisle and is changeable during a trip; and a programmable active display that is readily viewable from a passenger seat and provides trip changeable information about the trip to the passenger.

A passenger service unit (PSU) is a unit provided on a vehicle that allows interaction between the vehicle's service providers and passengers, and provides necessary hardware/software for providing various passenger services. In an aircraft, this unit is typically located above a passenger's seat. In general, it is desirable to make PSUs highly functional, yet at the same time, keeping them simple, inexpensive, and lightweight.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Piezoelectric unit, comprising a fluid chamber, a fluid outlet, an actuator, comprising a thin film piezoceramic element and a membrane, acting as a wall of the fluid chamber, and a support element arranged for preventing a supported portion of the actuator from movement in a main direction of actuation movement of the actuator, while allowing such actuation movement on at least two sides of the supported portion, wherein the support element is connected to a unit portion that extends approximately opposite to the actuator.

In piezoelectric inkjet printheads, ink or other fluid is typically ejected in the form of drops. The fluid travels from various fluid chambers, through various nozzles, onto a substrate. The fluid is ejected by movement of a piezoelectric element. The fluid chamber has a wall that consists of a piezoelectric actuator, typically a membrane that is connected to the piezoelectric element. The fluid is moved towards the nozzle by vibration movement of the membrane actuated by the piezoelectric element.
At present, piezoelectric actuators of the unimorph type comprise a flexible membrane that is integrated with or attached to a piezoelectric layer. When the actuator has a relatively small thickness, e.g. between 1 and 10 micron, such as with thin film piezoceramic and thin membrane layers, the maximum width it may span over the fluid chamber is usually at most between 50-100 micron or less. At larger spans, the actuator is unsuitable to achieve a desired frequency and/or pressure. Therefore, the fluid chamber usually has an elongate shape, so that the maximum width is between about 50-100 micron or less, while its length is significantly larger, e.g. between 0.5 mm-2 mm.
It is an object of the invention to provide for an alternative piezoelectric method and device.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


In a method and system for removing email forwarding duplication, when an email was sent for the first time, the email was assigned a unique identifier. An aggregate recipient list was created and associated with the unique identifier. When the email is to be forwarded, the aggregate recipient list has recipients previously forwarded the email. The recipient list of the forwarding email is compared with the aggregate recipient list. If duplicate email addresses are found, the duplicate email addresses are displayed to a sender of the forwarding email. If the sender chooses not to send the forwarding email to the duplicate email addresses, the duplicate email addresses are removed from the recipient list of the forwarding email. New recipients of the forwarding email are added to the aggregate recipient list. The forwarding email with the unique identifier is sent to the recipient list.

Email has enabled businesses to improve communications and share information. Used effectively, email can also help businesses to improve efficiency. Email systems have been enhanced in many ways to increase the convenience and efficiency of its use. In current email systems, users can forward emails to an individual or a group of individuals to share valuable information. However, multiple users may forward the same email to the same user. If a recipient's address happens to be in more than one distribution group (or in both the original recipient list and the forwarded group), the recipient will receive the same email multiple times. The reading of duplicated messages lowers the efficiency for the receiver.
Duplicate forwarded emails can be received in two ways: horizontal duplication and vertical/cyclic duplication. In horizontal duplication, multiple senders forward the same email to their respective distribution groups, and their distribution groups overlap. For example, John is the project manager for a project named Magic. Mary is the development manager for Magic, so she includes John in her email distribution list. John reports to Robert, therefore John is also on Robert's distribution list. There is a new development process in the company where John, Mary and Robert work. This new process is communicated to Robert and Mary through identical emails sent by their managers. When Robert and Mary forward the emails from their managers to the people who work for them, John receives two emails with identical content from Robert and Mary regarding this new process.
In vertical duplication, a recipient belongs to more than one distribution list along the email forwarding path. For example, John and Mary are members of an architectural board, and John's manager is Robert. John receives an email with an overview of a new project, and forwards the email to the rest of the architectural board. Mary receives John's email and forwards the email to Robert. Robert forwards the email to his department, which includes John. John receives the forwarded email he had forwarded himself.

Method and system for improving efficiency of email forwarding by removing duplication

International Business Machines Corporation


The present specification discloses a pulsed electromagnetic field system having planar microcoil arrays integrated into clothing. Each of the planar microcoil arrays has two or more planar microcoils positioned on a flexible substrate. The planar microcoil arrays are connected to a controller configured to generate an electrical current and transmit that electrical current, in accordance with a particular stimulation protocol, to each of the planar microcoil arrays.

Chronic pain affects more than 100 million people in the US. The most common underlying biological causes for chronic pain include decreased blood circulation, damaged nerves, and/or increased inflammation. While opioids have been a widely used way of alleviating chronic pain, the medical community now recognizes the substantial disadvantages of prescribing opioids. According to the National Institute of Health, more than 130 people in the United States die every day after overdosing on opioids, 21 to 29 percent of patients prescribed opioids for pain misuse them, and between 8 and 12 percent develop an opioid use disorder. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total economic burden of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement. Therefore, the search is on for a better way to treat pain without relying on highly addictive drugs.
One conventional approach to treating pain is applying pulsing, low frequency electromagnetic fields (PEMF), non-invasively, to the area of the patient's skin where the patient is feeling pain. PEMF therapy uses bursts of low-level electromagnetic radiation to heal damaged tissues and bone and to relieve injury-related pain. The idea is that, when low frequency pulses pass through the skin and penetrate into muscle, nerves, bone and/or tendons, the body's natural repair mechanisms are activated, possibly by normalizing electrical charge distribution in cells, increasing blood perfusion in the affected areas, or improving signaling and/or conduction in nerves.
PEMF therapy has been shown to be effective in regenerating nerves, treating back pain, improving wound healing, countering the effects of Parkinson's disease, and treating peripheral neuropathy, using magnetic fields ranging from picoTesla to Tesla levels. PEMF is a recognized therapy for treating pseudoarthrosis, diabetes mellitus induced complications, delayed wound healing, pain and neurodegenerative disorders and arthritis, and for regenerating musculoskeletal tissues such as cartilage, bone, tendon and ligaments.
Conventionally, PEMF therapy is delivered by a mat, ring or a small disc device that generates a pulsing electromagnetic field using large cylindrically shaped, non-planar coils, such as Helmholtz coils or butterfly coils, where the winding or turns of the coils extend outward from the surface of the first coil in a Z axis. There are numerous disadvantages with these conventional devices. First, they are difficult to use for long periods of time because they require patients to either lay on a mat or strap a special bulky device to their body. Therefore, patient compliance is low and extended treatment periods, such as one or more hours, tends to be unrealistic for most active patients.
Second, they generate highly localized magnetic fields which tend to only over a small portion of the body or are substantially non-homogenous across their surface areas. As a result, the surface areas of the devices have regions with very low, non-therapeutic magnetic field dose levels interspersed with regions with sufficiently high, therapeutic doses of magnetic fields. Patients, however, are unaware of what surface areas emit therapeutic doses and what surface areas emit non-therapeutic doses, resulting in suboptimal therapy. For example, a patient with a need for PEMF therapy in his or her feet may lay on a mat in a way that the feet are not sufficiently exposed to the requisite magnetic field dose levels.
Third, for patients with extensive peripheral neuropathies, it is very difficult to get all over body PEMF therapy in an efficient manner. For example, a patient with pain all around his or her torso would have to lay on a mat in the right alignment with the surface areas emitting the right therapeutic doses, assuming such areas can be identified, for at least a period of time ranging from 20 minutes to 3 hours and then have to flip over and repeat the process. Again, this is highly inefficient for active patients.
Fourth, these devices are not specifically designed to treat, or be applied to, specific parts of the body. As such, they often fail to conform to particular body parts, are difficult to position or wear for long periods of time and are to use consistently.
Fifth, commercial PEMF devices, designed for at home use, to treat anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, memory degeneration, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, stroke rehabilitation, drug addiction, including addiction to, or cravings for, nicotine, cocaine, alcohol, heroine, methamphetamines, stimulants, and/or sedatives, depression and depression-related conditions, such as post-partum depression or bipolar depression, auditory hallucinations, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer's disease, spinocerebellar degeneration, epilepsy, urinary incontinence, movement disorders, chronic tinnitus, and sleep apnea are simply not available and have generally been deemed to be untreatable using PEMF devices.
It is therefore desirable to have a pulse electromagnetic field device that can generate substantially homogenous magnetic fields across large surface areas. It is further desirable to have a pulse electromagnetic field device that can be comfortably worn for long periods of time, thereby increasing patient compliance and allowing active patients to get the necessary treatment. It would also be desirable to have a pulse electromagnetic field device where the therapeutically effective dose regions are known and/or predictable. Finally, it would also be desirable to have a pulse electromagnetic field device designed to treat a wide range of disorders, particularly disorders with a locus of dysfunction in the brain.

Systems and methods of treating medical conditions using arrays of planar coils configured to generate pulsed electromagnetic fields and integrated into clothing


A direct shift continuously variable transmission for a vehicle engine includes a variator having a toroidal cavity; a plurality of traction roller rotatably and radially located within the toroidal cavity; an input shaft rotatably disposed within the variator, the input shaft being adapted to receive a torque from the vehicle engine; an input disk coaxially connected to the input shaft and frictionally contacting the traction roller to provide a rotational force to the traction roller; an output disk opposed to the input disk and frictionally contacting the traction roller, the output disk being annularly rotatable by receiving the rotational force from the traction roller; and an output shaft coaxially connected to the output disk and receiving the rotational force from the output disk.

Continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) for vehicles are ideal system that allows the vehicle engine to run in its most effective speed range. In addition to smooth motion and comfortable driving experience, CVTs also have improved fuel economy than automatic transmissions (ATs).
However, there are limits for CVTs on the market. For example, the CVTs are sluggish in acceleration power. This is because the market-leading CVTs are equipped with steel belt and cone-disk drive systems, and its variable speed movement limits the mechanical response of the system. In another example, there is a physical upper limit for the existing CVT power transmission, so that most systems are only suitable for small and medium-sized vehicles with 3-liter or less engines.

Direct shift continuously variable transmission


The present disclosure relates to a door for a transport means, which structurally provides the largest possible door width. Using a movable carrier arm device, the width of the door aperture can be reduced with little complexity from about 42 inches (Type “A”) as an additional equipment option to about 34 inches (Type “C”). To this end, the movable, for example, foldable, carrier arm device is provided which, when the door opens, automatically moves from a retracted position to an extended position in order to reduce the door aperture width to a value which has been predetermined for evacuation. Afterwards, the extended carrier arm device can be folded in again. In this manner, it may be possible to increase the comfort for the passengers and the crew when the aircraft is in the normal operating state since the carrier arm device provides a greater aperture width in the retracted position.

Doors of transport means may be connected to the carrying structure of the transport means by means of appropriate hinges or carrier arms (also called hinge arms). In the case of external doors of aircraft, the door may be connected to the carrying structure or the door frame of the cabin by means of a single carrier arm arrangement.
In the event of evacuation, when a single-track emergency slide is used, it may be specified that the width of the door aperture should not exceed a fixed maximum dimension. This may keep the number of passengers who use the emergency slide per unit of time below a specific value. The related maximum dimension provided for the door aperture width may in this instance be approximately 86 cm (about 34 inches). This is also referred to in this context as a type "C" aperture width.
When a dual-track emergency slide is used, however, the door aperture width may be larger. Depending on the emergency slide to be used, various door aperture widths may accordingly be provided.
DE 10 2009 019 434 A1 and US 2010/0276543 A1 disclose aircraft doors.
In addition, other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.

Carrier arm arrangement, door and transport means


The present disclosure is directed to a fuel nozzle for a gas turbine engine, the fuel nozzle defining a radial direction, a longitudinal direction, a circumferential direction, an upstream end, and a downstream end. The fuel nozzle includes an aft body coupled to at least one fuel injector. The aft body defines a forward wall and an aft wall each extended in the radial direction, and a plurality of sidewalls extended in the longitudinal direction. The plurality of sidewalls couples the forward wall and the aft wall. At least one sidewall defines an impingement fluid outlet, and the aft body defines an impingement fluid cavity in fluid communication with the impingement fluid outlet.

Aircraft and industrial gas turbine engines include a combustor in which fuel is burned to input energy to the engine cycle. Typical combustors incorporate one or more fuel nozzles whose function is to introduce liquid or gaseous fuel into an air flow stream so that it can atomize and burn. General gas turbine engine combustion design criteria include optimizing the mixture and combustion of a fuel and air to produce high-energy combustion.
However, producing high-energy combustion often produces conflicting and adverse results that must be resolved. For example, high-energy combustion often results in high temperatures that require cooling air to mitigate wear and degradation of combustor assembly components. However, utilizing cooling air to mitigate wear and degradation of combustor assembly components may reduce combustion and overall gas turbine engine efficiency.
Therefore, a need exists for a fuel nozzle assembly that may produce high-energy combustion while minimizing structural wear and degradation and mitigating combustion and overall gas turbine engine efficiency loss.

Fuel nozzle assembly with impingement purge


A coiled metal substrate with a faux galvanized surface appearance. The faux galvanized surface of the substrate including a spangle print pattern of polyvinylidene fluoride (PFDV) flexographically applied to the metal substrate. Atop the PFDV print pattern is semi-transparent coating of fluoroethylene vinyl ether (FEVE) flexographically applied atop the spangle print pattern of PFDV.

Galvanizing is one of the most widely used methods for protecting metal from corrosion. It involves applying a thin coating of zinc to a thicker base metal, helping to shield it from the surrounding environment. Without the protective zinc coating, the metal would remain exposed to the elements and potentially oxidize and corrode much faster. Galvanized steel is a cost-effective alternative to using materials such as austenitic stainless steel or aluminum to prevent corrosion.
Galvanizing can also protect metal through a process called "galvanic corrosion". Galvanic corrosion occurs when two metals of a different electrochemical make up are placed into contact with one another with an electrolyte present, such as salty water. Depending on the atomic structure of the two metals, one metal is the anode and the other is the cathode. The anode corrodes more rapidly than it would by itself and the cathode corrodes at a slower pace than it would by itself. The reason zinc is used for galvanizing is because it has an affinity towards being the anode when in contact with many different types of metals. Since the zinc coating in contact with the base metal is usually the anode, it slows the corrosion of the base metal, or the cathode.
As the name implies, hot-dip galvanization involves dipping the base metal into a molten pool of zinc. First, the base metal must be cleaned either mechanically, chemically, or both to assure a quality bond can be made between the base metal and the zinc coating. Once cleaned, the base metal is then fluxed to rid it of any residual oxides that might remain after the cleaning process. The base metal is then dipped into a liquid bath of heated zinc and a metallurgical bond is formed.
Pre-galvanizing method is very similar to hot-dip galvanizing but is performed at the steel mill, usually on materials that already have a specific shape. Pre-galvanizing involves rolling metal sheet through a similar cleaning process to that of the hot-dip galvanizing process. The metal is then passed through a pool of hot, liquid zinc and then recoiled. An advantage of this method is that large coils of steel sheet can be rapidly galvanized with a more uniform coating compared to hot-dip galvanizing. A disadvantage is that once fabrication of the pre-galvanized metal begins, exposed, uncoated areas will become present. This means that when a long coil of sheet is cut into smaller sizes, the edges where the metal is cut are left exposed.
Unlike the previous processes, electro-galvanizing does not use a molten bath of zinc. Instead, this process utilizes an electrical current in an electrolyte solution to transfer zinc ions onto the base metal. This involves electrically reducing positively charged zinc ions to zinc metal which are then deposited on the positively charged material. Grain refiners can also be added which helps to ensure a smooth zinc coating on the steel. Like the pre-galvanizing process, electro-galvanizing is typically applied continuously to a roll of sheet metal. Some advantages of this process are a uniform coating and precise coating thickness. However, the coating is typically thinner than the coating of zinc achieved by the hot-dip galvanizing method which can result in reduced corrosion protection.
The above described methods of galvanizing a metal substrate are well known in the art and have been in use in industry for decades. However, alternative means of protecting metal have been developed that have superseded galvanization. While such methods have proven themselves to be enormously successful in protecting the metal substrate from oxidation they provide a different appearance. Many members of the consuming public relish the robust and protective appearance of metal that has a galvanic coating. In particular, consumers have come to view the spangle pattern of galvanized steel as highly appealing because it signifies that the metal is protected against corrosion.
The spangle is a unique and interesting formation on the galvanized surface. It is formed when liquid zinc adhering to a steel surface is cooled to temperatures below the melting point of zinc. The zinc atoms, which are randomly arranged in the liquid form, start to position themselves in an orderly pattern at random locations within the molten zinc coating. This process of transforming from disorderly atoms in the liquid state to an orderly pattern is solidification or crystallization.
These small solidifying regions in the molten zinc are referred to as grains. Grain growth occurs when individual atoms from the molten zinc continue attaching themselves to the solidifying grain in an orderly pattern. The individual atoms of the growing solid grain arrange themselves into the often-visible hexagonal symmetry of the final spangle. When the coating solidifies completely, the individual spangles formed represent the respective zinc grains.
Dendritic growth is a different solidification process that also gives rise to spangles in a galvanized steel sheet. Spangles produced in this process have a snowflake appearance. Factors that affect spangle size are:
Zinc chemistry
Cooling rate
Smoothness of the substrate
Impurities
Alloying element
Exemplary galvanized steel spangle patterns are often classified as regular, minimized or zero spangle.

Method of flexographically producing a faux galvanized metal finish on a substrate


The exemplary embodiment of the present invention would provide an apparatus for concealed transport of a medical fluid administration device. The medical fluid administration device would be capable of infusing medical fluids to, or collecting medical fluids from, as the case may be, the body of a patient during concealed transport. The exemplary apparatus would comprise one or more of the following: a stand disposed within a carrying case, said stand capable of being extended during stationary use or collapsed during ambulatory use; a medical fluid pump disposed within the carrying case, said pump capable of delivering or collecting medical fluids during concealed transport within the carrying case; and a tubing retraction device for engaging tubing for delivery of medical fluids to, or collection of medical fluids from, a body of a patient.

Various types of medication or other fluids can be infused into a patient's body using intravenous ("IV") or other fluid delivery apparatus. In addition, various types of fluids can be collected from a patient's body such as, for example, urine through a catheter.
Administering fluid delivery to a patient has often involved the use of flexible containers of fluid suspended on a vertically displaced pole, sometimes with a fluid pump, and often mounted on a stand. Such medical fluid deliver apparatus configurations limit the mobility of otherwise ambulatory patients.
Administering medical body fluid collection has often involved securing a collection bag to a person's body inside a person's clothing. Such medical body fluid collection apparatus configurations may be bulky, uncomfortable or unpleasant for the patient.
A better way of administering medical fluid delivery and collection is needed.

Apparatus and methods for transportable medical fluid administration


A method including: (i) directing a beam to an interferometer head using an optical connection, the beam including a first beam component having a first polarization and a first frequency and a second beam component having a second polarization different from the first polarization and a second frequency; (ii) rotating the polarization of the first beam component to the second polarization; (iii) rotating the polarization of the second beam component to the first polarization; and (iv) returning the beam with the rotated polarizations from the interferometer head using the optical connection. For example, the step of directing may include: directing the first beam component into a first fiber of the optical connection; and directing the second beam component into a second fiber of the optical connection. The first beam component may be returned using the second fiber, and the second beam component may be returned using the first fiber.

In heterodyne interferometry, a laser source generates a beam that includes two polarizations separated slightly in frequency (a "heterodyne beam"). The interference between the two polarizations in an interferometer provides a highly accurate measurement of the position of a measurement reflector relative to a reference reflector. By coupling the measurement reflector to a measurement object, the relative position of the measurement object can be determine with a similar degree of precision. Unfortunately, the generation of the heterodyne beam may produce heat and mechanical vibrations that can detrimentally affect the performance of the interferometer. The laser source may be placed at some distance from the interferometer in order to avoid these effects, but this in turn requires the use of some technique, such as a fiber optic connection, to transmit the laser beam from the laser source to the interferometer. Unfortunately, polarization mixing and birefringent optical effects, which disproportionately affect one polarization, when the heterodyne beam is transmitted to the interferometer can reduce the fidelity of the heterodyne interferometry measurement. Furthermore, such effects may vary based on temperature, mechanical vibrations, and other surrounding conditions, thus making it difficult to predict these effects in advance or to compensate for them.


The present invention provides a visual fractional laser instrument, which comprises: an positioning cannula, the positioning cannula being a hollow tube with openings at both ends so as to locate a lesion site and define a path of the laser; a beam combiner component, the beam combiner component being a hollow tube with openings at both ends, and a side opening is provided on a side of the beam combiner component, wherein one end of the beam combiner component is connected to one end of the positioning cannula; a camera connected to the beam combiner component by the side opening to image the lesion site; a laser scanning component connected to another end of the beam combiner component for generating a laser beam used to scan the lesion site according to the image of the lesion site; and a control system connected to the laser scanning component and the camera, respectively. The visual fractional laser instrument is simple in operation, and the controlled laser beam automatically scans along a preset path and quickly burns castration pathological sites, thereby reducing operation time and surgeon workload, and increasing treatment efficiency and success rate.

Cervical disease refers to a variety of lesions in the cervical region, including inflammation, injury, tumor, precancerous lesions, and the same, which is a female common disease. The treatment of chronic cervical inflammatory disorders mainly include Philip knife treatment and CO2 laser treatment at present.
Philip knife, also known as high-frequency electric wave knife, uses directional radio frequency transmission technology. The radio frequency energy can directly stimulate the liquid polar molecules in the organization and produce plasma oscillation, which makes molecular bond break and further achieves the effect of fine minimally invasive treatment.
CO2 laser targets at water. When the diameter of the laser beam is adjusted to hundreds of microns, the laser beam can penetrate cuticle tissue and enter dermal tissue at a certain energy density. Because this type of laser has highly water absorption, the organization of the region irradiated by focused laser will produce instant high temperature for absorbing the laser energy, which leads the diseased tissues of the cervical mucosal to be vaporized and carbonized. And a coking surface will be formed after the diseased tissue is removed, which will seal the capillaries to prevent bleeding and bacterial infection. This is a common treatment of cervical mucosal lesion.
Although Philip knife and conventional CO2 laser have been widely used in the treatment of cervical diseases, there still exist the following shortcomings: 1. Both of them are non-visual operations, which lead the surgeon workload intensity during treatment courses; 2. The treatment course depends on doctor's eyesight and experience, so they have highly requirement on specialty and more complex treatment courses; 3. Surgery time is longer, for example, the surgery time of Philip knife treatment is 10 to 30 minutes, and the surgery time of CO2 laser treatment is 5 to 10 minutes, the longer surgery time will further increases surgeon workload, and less patients could be treated in a period; 4. The treatment course could not be recorded by pictures, video or other appropriate forms, which is adverse to following works.


A system for reducing implement wheel forces on a field surface has an agricultural implement with a frame mounted on frame wheels and ground engaging tools mounted on the frame. When the ground engaging tools move down to penetrate the field surface they exert an upward tool force on the frame. Support arms are movably connected to the implement frame and a support wheel is rotatably mounted to each support arm. A support bias element exerts a support bias force on each support arm to force the support wheel against the field surface and to correspondingly force the implement frame upward, transferring a supported frame weight from the implement frame to the support wheels, such that an unsupported frame weight is carried on the frame wheels. A bias control varies the support bias forces to maintain the unsupported frame weight at a level greater than the upward tool force.

A typical towed agricultural implement has a frame supported on frame wheels with a hitch extending forward from the frame for connection to a tractor for towing in an operating travel direction, and a plurality of ground engaging tools mounted on the frame. The frame wheels support the frame in an orientation parallel to the soil surface such that each ground engaging tool penetrates the soil to the same depth. In order to allow larger modern agricultural implements to follow varying ground contours the implement frame will typically include a plurality of wing frames connected at horizontal pivot axes oriented parallel to the operating travel direction. The frame wheels must be located and configured to support each wing frame in an orientation horizontal to the surface of the soil under the wing frame. The frame wheels may be configured to move up and down with respect to the frame to adjust working depth, however during operation the frame wheels are fixed in a working position relative to the frame to maintain the frame in the desired orientation such that the depth of penetration of the ground engaging tools is maintained at the desired depth.
In order to perform a typical agricultural operation in a field, the ground engaging tools must be laterally spaced equally across the width of the implement such that the paths of the tools in the ground are equally spaced. For example in an air seeder, seed row spacing is selected to optimize crop yields, and the lateral spacing of the furrow openers must be equal to the desired row spacing across the entire width of the frame. Similarly in a cultivating implement the cultivator shovels must be evenly spaced to achieve proper cultivation. A typical implement frame will have three or four lateral frame members oriented perpendicular to the operating travel direction, with ground engaging tools spaced evenly along each lateral frame member.
Typical towed agricultural implements have either a floating hitch or a rigid hitch. In a rigid hitch implement, the hitch is rigidly connected to the frame and the frame wheels are located generally in a middle location with respect to the front and rear ends of the frame, and the frame is levelled by adjusting the vertical position of the front end of the hitch with respect to the tractor drawbar so that the frame is level as it is towed along a level field surface. Positioning the frame wheels in the middle of the frame with the requirement that the ground engaging tools be evenly spaced means that the space available for frame wheels is limited.
In a floating hitch implement the hitch is pivotally connected to the frame about a horizontal hitch pivot axis oriented perpendicular to the operating travel direction, and the frame wheels are located on the front and rear ends of the frame, and configured to support the frame in a level orientation as it is towed along a level field surface. In such a floating hitch implement the front wheels must be configured to pivot about a vertical axis in order to allow the implement to turn.
In both rigid hitch and floating hitch implements, it is desired to minimize the fore and aft distance from the front ground engaging tools to the rear ground engaging tools so that as undulating terrain varies under the frame, the variation of the depth of penetration of the ground engaging tools is minimized. Minimizing the distance from front to rear also facilitates maneuvering the implement.
Thus it is desirable to minimize the distance between the front and rear frame wheels on a floating hitch implement to maintain the desired orientation of the frame parallel to the soil thereunder. The requirement that the front wheels pivot about a vertical axis significantly increases the space required for placement of each front wheel. A typical front implement wheel assembly uses a caster wheel where the vertical pivot axis is located forward of the rotational axis of the wheel. The caster wheel must be allowed to pivot though 360 degrees to allow the implement to move in a reverse direction, and so considerable space must be provided between the caster wheels.
In hard soil conditions, typical ground engaging tools, such as disc type furrow openers of an air seeder, may require a considerable downward force applied thereto to force them to penetrate the ground. Such a downward force must be applied by the weight of the frame, either directly where the ground engaging tools are fixed to the frame, or by a hydraulic cylinder pushing downward against the tools, and in reaction also pushing upward against the frame. Thus the implement frame must have a weight sufficient to resist the upward force urging the implement frame and frame wheels upward off the ground, and where soils are hard there may be little weight carried on the frame wheels, as the downward force being exerted on the ground engaging tools and in reaction urging the frame upward reduces the weight of the frame that must be supported by the frame wheels.
Conversely in softer soils, little downward force may be required to cause the ground engaging tools to penetrate the soil with the result that most of the weight of the frame is carried on the frame wheels. Where the ground is very soft the frame wheels may sink into the soil surface, causing the ground engaging tools to penetrate deeper into the soil and thus adversely affecting the desired working depth and increasing the draft forces required to tow the implement, increasing fuel costs. In extreme cases the frame wheels may sink to such an extent that the implement becomes stuck. Even where the soil is not so soft as to cause the frame wheels to sink, the increased weight on the frame wheels can cause compaction of the soil and adversely affect the productivity of the soil.
Generally in implement design it is desirable to provide as much wheel support as possible by providing an increased number of wheels and/or larger wheels however other design considerations often limit the number and size of frame wheels. For example Canadian Patent Number 2,772,865 to Scherman describes the problems involved in providing large frame wheels to support the front end of an air seeder in soft ground.

Reducing wheel forces on a field surface


A system for maintaining time in a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver that relies on almanac data to maintain a reasonably accurate time. The approximate time based on almanac data is sufficiently accurate to bound the unknown parameters when a request for position is received. The receiver may automatically update the internal time and/or position. When a time update is required, the approximate time based on almanac data is sufficiently accurate that the receiver need only acquire the code phase from the satellites and can internally determine the code period into the bit and the bit into the week based on the almanac data.

1. Technical Field
The present description relates generally to satellite positioning system receivers and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for time maintenance within a satellite positioning system receiver.
2. Description of the Related Art
Satellite positioning systems, such as the global positioning system (GPS) use a plurality of satellites to calculate the position of a GPS receiver. The GPS receiver may be in a fixed location, in a mobile location such as an automobile or ship, or incorporated into a handheld device. In some cases, the GPS receiver is integrated with a wireless communication device, such as a cellular telephone or personal communications system (PCS) device.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting the operation of a conventional GPS receiver 10 having an antenna 12. The receiver 10 receives signals from a plurality of satellites 14-20 via wireless communications links 22-28, respectively. Based on time of arrival measurements from the satellites 14-20, the GPS receiver 10 is able to accurately calculate its position in three-dimensional space. The accuracy of the position determined by the GPS unit 10 requires accurate timing information so that the position of the satellites 14-20 are precisely known.
Typically, the GPS receiver 10 generates a highly accurate time estimate as part of the navigation fix. The GPS receiver 10 receives ephemeris data and time information from a plurality of satellite vehicles (SV). The time at which each SV transmits data may be referred to herein as xe2x80x9csignal timexe2x80x9d to indicate the time at which the data signal was transmitted from the SV. In contrast, the term xe2x80x9creal-timexe2x80x9d is used herein to refer to the local time maintained with in the GPS receiver. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, there is a propagation time delay of approximately 60-80 milliseconds depending upon the distance between the SV in the GPS receiver 10. The difference between the signal time and the real time is sometimes referred to as the pseudorange. Given the ephemeris data and signal time from a plurality of SVs, the GPS receiver 10 processes the data using known formulas in an effort to minimize the residual values in three-dimensional space and time. That is, the GPS receiver 10 computes a (x, y, z) and t estimates for the receiver; where (x, y, z) are the ECEF coordinates that represent the receiver position and t represents the GPS time of applicability of the measurements used to form that position. The accuracy of this time estimate is typically better than 1 microsecond.
In a conventional embodiment, the GPS receiver 10 derives time signals from the data stream transmitted from the satellites (e.g., the satellites 14-20). However, deriving accurate time from such transmissions is time consuming and requires that the received signal power is sufficient to permit data demodulation. Alternatively, wireless assisted GPS receivers may communicate with reference assisted networks in which GPS receivers that form the network utilize pattern matching techniques in an attempt to identify the data frame timing information. Although a wireless assisted network may permit the GPS receiver 10 to recover lost timing information, the use of wireless networks requires additional communication links that are not always available.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that ephemeris data has a relatively short-lived validity and must be updated frequently. Typically, the validity of ephemeris data is questionable after just a few hours. Thus, the conventional GPS receiver 10 must frequently update its ephemeris data base to maintain the orbital computation accuracy required for proper position determination. Such frequent updates are very time consuming for the GPS receiver 10. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need for a system and method to provide accurate positioning and time information without the need for frequent updates. The apparatus and method described herein provides this and other advantages as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures.
The present invention is embodied in a system and method for time maintenance in a satellite positioning system receiver. In one embodiment, the apparatus for time maintenance in a satellite positioning system receiver configured to receive data from a plurality of satellites comprises a processor coupled to the receiver to receive data therefrom. The processor derives almanac data from the received satellite data. The apparatus further comprises a clock to maintain a time based at least in part on the almanac data.
In one embodiment, the clock may be configured to use the almanac data to derive a code period into a current data bit. The clock may also use the almanac data to derive a data bit into a current week.
In one embodiment, the processor is configured to determine an estimated time based on a plurality of parameters and the almanac based time is used to provide an indication of at least one of the plurality of parameters. The estimated time may be based on code phase, code period into a current bit and a bit into a current week. The processor may measure the code phase based on the received satellite data and use the almanac based time to provide an indication of at least one of the code period into the current bit and the bit into the current week.

Apparatus and method for time maintenance in a satellite position system receiver


An equestrian riding aid is disclosed which includes a girth strap which surrounds the girth of a horse, and a back strap which surrounds the back of a rider. The girth strap passes along the thighs of the rider and promotes the rider to learn and maintain the correct riding posture on the horse. The straps are connected by a quick-release buckle which allows the straps to be released from one another quickly and easily by the rider.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an equestrian riding aid for training a rider to properly sit and ride a horse with the correct riding posture.
2. Description of the Background Art
Various saddles and equestrian riding aids have been developed for restraining a rider to a saddle or to provide a therapeutic saddle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,434 to Erickson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,822 to Holzhauzer, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,005 to Jacobi disclose straps and retaining devices for securing a rider to a saddle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,133 to Travis, U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,327 to Dohln, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,986 to Gonzales disclose therapeutic saddles for providing a more comfortable riding saddle for a rider.
Heretofore, the prior art has not addressed or provided an equestrian riding aid which trains a rider to sit properly on a horse in order to achieve the correct posture thereon.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an equestrian riding aid which will train a rider to sit properly on a horse and to develop the correct posture for riding the horse.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an equestrian riding aid which will allow a rider to adjust their muscles and seat development to remember the correct and most effective position on any horse.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an equestrian riding aid including a strap which surrounds the horse and the rider to assist in retaining the rider on the horse.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a strap which can be quickly and easily released by the rider using a quick release system.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.


A power conversion circuit has multiple phases wherein each of the phases has an inductor coupled to a power switch circuit and is coupled to an output node. A power conversion controller controls the switching of one or more of the phases to yield a regulated voltage on the output node. The controller uses a variable inductor current limit for one or more designated phases, and temporarily increases the variable inductor current limit during a transient condition. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Output voltage regulation and maintaining the accuracy of the regulated voltage provided by a switch mode power converter can be a very demanding task. For example, in the field of multi-function portable consumer electronic devices (also referred to here as mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablet computers, and laptop computers) the power requirements of the constituent components such as the display screen, the wireless communications interface, the audio subsystem, and the system on a chip (SoC) or applications processor are quite demanding. For example, in such devices, the load on an output node of a voltage regulator can exhibit sudden changes that are so great, e.g. as fast as 100 Amperes-1000 Amperes per microsecond, that the output node exhibits significant transient voltage drop. Attempts at reducing the transient voltage drop by the conventional approach of simply using larger capacity and higher performance decoupling and/or filter capacitors may not be practical in many instances.

Multiphase power conversion using skewed per-phase inductor current limits


Disclosed is a metal pattern composition including a conductive metal or a conductive metal precursor compound, and a carboxylic acid-amine base ion pair salt.

1. Field
This disclosure relates to a metal pattern composition and a method of forming the metal pattern composition. This disclosure further relates to a metal pattern formed using the metal pattern composition, and a method of forming a metal pattern using the metal pattern composition.
2. Description of the Related Art
A patterned metal thin film may be formed by disposing a thin film of a metal or an organometallic precursor on a substrate and patterning the thin film. The thin film may be utilized in various types of electronic devices. Such electronic devices may be produced by coating a material for forming the thin film on a crystalline silicon wafer and patterning the thin film. For example, one method of forming a metal pattern includes disposing an organometallic material on a silicon or glass substrate using chemical vapor deposition ("CVD") or atomic layer deposition ("ALD") to provide a thin film, spin coating a photosensitive resin thereon, using photolithography to form a pattern, and removing the photosensitive resin using an etching process to form a metal pattern.
Alternatively, a metal pattern may be provided by forming a metal layer using plasma deposition, sputtering, electroplating or the like, coating a photosensitive resin thereon, and using a pattern forming process using irradiation with light and an etching process, to provide a metal pattern. However, these conventional methods generally employ a high temperature and a high vacuum, which is provided by a high vacuum apparatus, and include a patterning process using a photosensitive resin and an etching process to remove the photosensitive resin. Thus these methods generally include a plurality of processes, which undesirably increase cost.
Generally, photolithography includes applying a photosensitive resin on a surface of a substrate, irradiating with visible light, X-rays, or an electron beam to change the properties of selected regions, removing an exposed or non-exposed portion of the photosensitive resin, and performing chemical treatment or deposition of a material for the metal pattern. However, the resolution of a resulting metal pattern may be deteriorated by repeated use of the foregoing processes. In addition, the deposited material may have an uneven surface, such that it may be desirable to include an additional planarization process.
Generally, the metal of a metal pattern is deposited by a physical process, but a layer provided by diffusing metal vapor into the substrate at a high temperature may adversely affect the function of the device, thereby degrading the performance of the device.

Metal pattern composition and method of forming metal pattern using the same