There is provided a mold for extrusion forming of ceramic articles which is excellent in wear resistance and can remarkably decrease forming defects in the vicinity of outer peripheries thereof. The mold for the extrusion forming of the ceramic articles includes a die 1 having a plurality of back holes 9, and slits 8; a back pressing plate 12 and a back spacer 13 to adjust the amount of the kneaded clay to be supplied; and a pressing plate 11 and a spacer 10 to regulate the shape and size of the formed ceramic article. At least a portion of the supply end 22 of the die 1 which overlaps with the back pressing plate 12 is flattened, and a surface roughness (Ra) thereof is in a range of 0.05 μm to 10 μm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mold for extrusion forming of ceramic articles which is preferably used for extrusion forming of, for example, ceramic honeycomb structures. More particularly, it relates to a mold for extrusion forming of ceramic articles which is excellent in wear resistance and can remarkably decrease forming defects in the vicinity of outer peripheries thereof which are easily generated during the extrusion forming of the ceramic articles having highly dense honeycomb-shaped thin walls.
2. Description of the Related Art
A ceramic honeycomb structure is mainly used as a catalyst carrier which is used to remove atmospheric contamination substances in an exhaust gas discharged from an internal combustion engine, a boiler or the like, or as a filter for collecting diesel fine particles.
Heretofore, as a mold for use in extrusion forming of such a ceramic honeycomb structure, there has been known a mold for forming a honeycomb article which includes a die having groove-like slits formed by cell blocks on the surface of a mother material of a stainless steel, SKD or the like, and including back holes provided on the back surface of the die so as to communicate with the slits.
In such a mold for forming the honeycomb article, a surface membrane is used to adjust the slit width of each cell block and to improve the durability of the die. For example, the surface membrane can be obtained by forming a nickel plating layer on the surface of a cell block main body, and then forming, on the nickel plating film, a CVD or PVD layer containing as main components one or more substances selected from the group consisting of TiC, TiN and TiCN, or a composite plating layer where hard powder of SiC, diamond, CBN or the like is dispersed in a nickel plating film (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-52129).
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-52129, a mold for extrusion forming of the ceramic honeycomb structure shown in FIG. 11 is disclosed. The extruding direction of a kneaded ceramic clay is a direction from the upside to the downside, and a back pressing portion 3 is capable of adjusting the amount of the kneaded clay to be fed into the mold. A die 1 is fixed by a pressing portion 2, and the kneaded clay extruded through a gap 5 between the die 1 and the pressing portion 2 adjustably forms the outer peripheral portion of a formed ceramic article 4 through an inclined face 6 and a facing face 7.
Moreover, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-283327, a vertically sectional view of a honeycomb structure forming device 50 shown in FIG. 2 is described. In FIG. 2, the honeycomb structure forming device 50 includes a die 54 having back holes 53 for supplying a forming material and slits 52 for extruding the forming material, and a pressing plate 55 provided on the downstream side of the die 54. The material is continuously extruded using this device to manufacture a honeycomb structure 61.
In the honeycomb structure forming device 50, the die 54 is constituted of an inner portion 71 and an outer peripheral portion 72, the inner portion 71 protrudes toward the downstream side (to the downside in FIG. 2) to form a stepped portion 75 between the inner portion and the outer peripheral portion 72, the inner portion 71 is provided with slits 73 for forming a honeycomb structure, and the outer peripheral portion 72 is provided with slits 74 shorter than the slits 73. Moreover, a gap portion 57 for forming the outer wall of the honeycomb structure is formed between the die 54 and the pressing plate 55. It is to be noted that a pressing jig 58 and a back pressing plate 59 constitute a holder for setting the die 54 and the pressing plate 55.
During the extrusion by this honeycomb structure forming device 50, the forming material is extruded from the upstream side (the upside in FIG. 2) of the die 54 to the downstream side through the die 54 by an extruder (not shown). Moreover, the forming material extruded from the slits 73 disposed in the inner portion 71 of the die 54 opened on the downstream side forms the honeycomb structure constituted of a large number of cells. On the other hand, the honeycomb shape of the forming material extruded from the slits 74 disposed in the outer peripheral portion 72 of the die 54 is collapsed by the function of the gap portion 57. Moreover, when a proceeding direction is changed from the extruding direction to a stepped portion 75 direction and the pressing plate 55 is opened, the proceeding direction is changed to the extruding direction again to form an outer wall which surrounds the cells.
Moreover, in the manufacturing method of the die for forming the ceramic article by the extrusion disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3648031, to precisely form the back holes which are provided in the die and through which the kneaded clay is supplied, electrolytic etching (electrical chemical machining: ECM processing) is used. Moreover, a method is disclosed in which slits are formed in the surface of the die for forming the ceramic article by the extrusion, and the surface of the die is subjected to electrolytic plating and then electroless plating.
Furthermore, in recent years, to improve the capability of removing the atmospheric contamination substances in accordance with a stricter exhaust gas environmental standard, there has been a demand for the higher density and precision of the thin walls of the honeycomb structure for use in a filter for purifying the exhaust gas.
FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the die 1 for use in a mold for forming a honeycomb structure as viewed from a supply end side provided with back holes 9 through which the kneaded clay is supplied. Heretofore, any problem has not been raised, but it has been found that in a case where the back holes 9 are formed by the ECM processing in order to form the die 1 in which a distance between the centers of the back holes is narrowed (from 0.5 to 1.8 mm) as shown in FIG. 3 to satisfy the demand for the higher density and precision of the thin walls of the honeycomb structure, unevenness of about 100 μm to 200 μm is generated around the back holes 9 in the supply end surface. FIG. 4 shows an enlarged region A of FIG. 3, and is a schematic plan view showing the unevenness around the back holes 9 in the supply end of the die 1 for use in the mold for forming the honeycomb structure. Regions α in FIG. 4 have a relatively high protruding state as compared with a surrounding area, and regions β have a lowly recessed state as compared with the regions α. These unevenness is generated owing to the EMC processing, but there is not any problem in a case where there is a large space between the back holes. As shown in FIG. 4, the regions β where there is a small space between the back holes 9 have the recessed state, and the regions α where there is a large space between the back holes 9 have the protruding state.
In a case where the honeycomb structure is formed using the mold for forming the ceramic article, the mold including the die 1, as shown in FIG. 10, a forming defect is easily generated in the vicinity of an outer wall 62 of a honeycomb structure 61. Specifically, in addition to a problem that a streak-like forming defect is generated in the surface of the outer wall, the width of a partition wall 67 close to the outer wall decreases, or easily fluctuates. When the first to fourth cells from the outer wall 62 of the honeycomb structure are cells 63, 64, 65 and 66 in the drawing, approximately the first to fifth cells easily cause the forming defects over the whole periphery of the outer wall, and the width of the partition wall 67 closer to the outer wall tends to decrease. Consequently, the decrease of the isostatic strength of the honeycomb structure 61 is caused.
This phenomenon will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5 to 7 showing the enlarged vicinity of the outer peripheral portion 72 of the mold for forming the ceramic article, the mold having a constitution similar to that of the conventional honeycomb structure forming device 50 shown in the vertically sectional view of FIG. 2. In the mold for forming the honeycomb structure partially shown in FIG. 1, the back pressing portion 3 is constituted of a back pressing plate 12 and a back spacer 13, and the pressing portion 2 is constituted of a pressing plate 11 and a spacer 10, so that the die 1 is fixed. In the die 1, a kneaded clay supply end 22 is provided with a plurality of back holes 9, and an extrusion end 21 is provided with slits 8 which communicate with these back holes 9 to form the formed ceramic article by the extrusion.
FIG. 5 shows the enlarged vicinity of the outer periphery of the supply end 22 of a mold for forming a ceramic article partially shown in FIG. 1, and is a schematically enlarged sectional view cut along a straight line H of FIG. 3 in a vertical plane. The straight line H extends through the regions a raised in the protruding state in the uneven die surface, and the surface of the supply end 22 of the die 1 overlaps with the back spacer 13 without any gap therebetween, so that the kneaded clay does not flow between the adjacent back holes 9 of the corresponding portion. The flow of the kneaded clay is blocked by the back pressing portion 3 in the vicinity of the outer periphery (on the left side in the drawing), and the kneaded clay having a flow rate adjusted flows from the upside to the downside in an inner peripheral portion as shown by arrows.
FIG. 6 shows the enlarged vicinity of the outer periphery of the supply end 22 of the mold for forming the ceramic article partially shown in FIG. 1, and is a schematically enlarged sectional view cut along a straight line L of FIG. 3 in a vertical plane. The straight line L extends through the regions β lowered in the recessed state in the uneven die surface, and a gap is generated in a portion where the surface of the supply end 22 of the die 1 overlaps with the back spacer 13, so that the kneaded clay flows between the adjacent back holes 9 of this portion. The gap is generated between the supply end 22 and the back spacer 13 as shown in FIG. 6 because the regions β are lower than the regions α as shown in FIG. 3. In consequence, the flow of the kneaded clay is not sufficiently adjusted by the back pressing portion 3, and the kneaded clay is discharged to the back holes 9 in the vicinity of the outer periphery (on the left side in the drawing) in a lateral direction as shown by arrows in the drawing.
Thus, since the unevenness is generated in the surface of the supply end 22 of the die 1 as shown by the region A of FIG. 4, a gap is generated between the back pressing portion 3 and the recessed portion of the supply end 22 in a case where the back pressing portion 3 for adjusting the amount of the kneaded clay to be supplied covers the surface of the supply end 22 via the back spacer 13. Furthermore, the clay flows from this gap in the lateral direction as shown in FIG. 6, which results in a problem that the back spacer 13 is worn owing to an operation over a long period as shown in FIG. 7. When the amount of the kneaded clay to be supplied is not sufficiently adjusted by the back pressing portion 3, the kneaded clay is non-uniformly supplied to the outer wall portion of the formed honeycomb article, and the kneaded clay is not sufficiently supplied to the partition walls of the cells in the vicinity of the outer wall. Therefore, in particular, the thicknesses of the partition walls of the first to fifth cells from the outer wall decrease, and the decrease of the isostatic strength is incurred in a case where the honeycomb structure is prepared using the ceramic article formed by the extrusion.

Mold for extrusion forming of ceramic articles


A 0.5-displacement region in which a first wire and a second wire are displaced by 0.5 turns from each other, and a 1.5-displacement region in which the first wire and the second wire are displaced by 1.5 turns in an opposite direction to a 0.5-displacement region are distributed along an axis direction on a winding core portion. The sum of the number of turns of the second wire located in the 0.5-displacement region being twice or more and five times or less than the sum of the number of turns of the second wire located in the 1.5-displacement region.

A common mode choke coil is a representative example of a coil component to which this disclosure is directed.
A common mode choke coil that interests this disclosure is described in Japanese Patent No. 4789076, for example. FIG. 9 illustrates an outer appearance of a common mode choke coil 41 having basically the same configuration as that described in Japanese Patent No. 4789076.
As illustrated in FIG. 9, the common mode choke coil 41 includes a core 42, and a first wire 43 and a second wire 44 each of which configures an inductor. The core 42 is composed of an electrically insulative material, more specifically, of alumina as a dielectric, a Ni—Zn based ferrite as a magnetic body, resin, or the like. The core 42 is formed in the shape having a quadrangular cross-section as a whole. The wires 43 and 44 are composed of copper wires with insulation coating, for example.
The core 42 includes a winding core portion 45, and a first flange portion 46 and a second flange portion 47 provided at respective end portions of the winding core portion 45. The first and second wires 43 and 44 are helically wound around the winding core portion 45 with substantially the same number of turns as each other from a first end portion on the first flange portion 46 side toward a second end portion on the second flange portion 47 side (opposite to the first end portion).
The first flange portion 46 is provided with first and second terminal electrodes 48 and 49, the second flange portion 47 is provided with third and fourth terminal electrodes 50 and 51. The terminal electrodes 48 to 51 are, for example, formed by baking of conductive paste, plating of conductive metal, or the like. Note that, as is clear from locations of the terminal electrodes 48 to 51, FIG. 9 illustrates the common mode choke coil 41 in a state where a mounting surface facing toward a mounting substrate is faced upward.
End portions of the first wire 43 are respectively connected to the first and third terminal electrodes 48 and 50, end portions of the second wire 44 are respectively connected to the second and fourth terminal electrodes 49 and 51. Thermal pressure bonding is applied to these connections, for example.
The common mode choke coil 41 configured as described above provides an equivalent circuit as illustrated in FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, elements corresponding to the elements illustrated in FIG. 9 are given the same reference numerals.
Referring to FIG. 10, the common mode choke coil 41 includes a first inductor 52 composed of the first wire 43 connected between the first and third terminal electrodes 48 and 50, and a second inductor 53 composed of the second wire 44 connected between the second and fourth terminal electrodes 49 and 51. The first inductor 52 and the second inductor 53 are magnetically coupled with each other.
Although not clearly illustrated in FIG. 9, the first wire 43 is wound in a state of constituting a first layer being in contact with the circumferential surface of the winding core portion 45, and the second wire 44 is wound in a state of mostly constituting a second layer on the outside of the first layer and a part of the second wire 44 in the second layer is fitted into a recess portion formed between adjacent turns of the first wire 43.
The common mode choke coil 41 further includes a top plate 54. The top plate 54 is composed of, for example, alumina as a non-magnetic body, a Ni—Zn based ferrite as a magnetic body, resin, or the like, similarly to the core 42. When the core 42 and the top plate 54 are made of a magnetic body and the top plate 54 is provided so as to connect the first flange portion 46 and the second flange portion 47, the core 42 cooperates with the top plate 54 to configure a closed magnetic loop.


A method and apparatus for analyzing documents and thereby determining the association between words in a language. The method includes providing a collection of documents, selecting a first word or word string, and a second word or word string occurring in the documents. The method further involves associating first word or word strings and second word or word strings with common word or word strings based on frequency of occurrence of the common word or word strings within the ranges.

Devices and methods for automatically translating documents from one language to another are known. However, these devices and methods often fail to accurately translate documents from one language to another, can consume large amounts of time and can be inconvenient to use. In addition to human-based translators, other known devices include commercially available machine translation software. These known systems have flaws that render them susceptible to errors, slow speed and inconvenience. Known translation devices and methods cannot consistently return accurate translations for text input and therefore frequently require intensive user intervention for proof reading and editing. Accurate machine translation is more complicated than providing devices and methods that make word-for-word translations of documents. In these word-for-word systems, the translation often times makes little sense to readers of the translated document, as the word-for-word method results in wrong word choices and incoherent grammatical units.
To overcome these deficiencies, known translation devices have for decades attempted to make choices of word translations within the context of a sentence based on a combination or set of lexical, morphological, syntactic and semantic rules. These systems, known in the art as "Rule-Based" machine translation (MT) systems are flawed because there are so many exceptions to the rules that they cannot provide consistently accurate translation.
In addition to Rule-Based MT, in the last decade a new method for MT known as "example-based" (EBMT) has been developed. EBMT makes use of sentences (or possibly portions of sentences) stored in two different languages in a cross-language database. When a translation query matches a sentence in the database, the translation of the sentence in the target language is produced by the database providing an accurate translation in the second language. If a portion of a translation query matches a portion of a sentence in the database, these devices attempt to accurately determine which portion of the sentence mapped to the source language sentence is the translation of the query.
EBMT systems cannot provide accurate translation of a broad language because the databases of cross-language sentences are built manually and will always be predominantly "incomplete." Another flaw of EBMT systems is that partial matches are not reliably translated. Attempts have been made to automate the creation of cross-language databases using pairs of translated documents for use in EBMT. However, these efforts have not been successful in creating meaningful, accurate cross-language databases of any significant size. None of these attempts use an algorithm that reliably and accurately distill the translations of a significant number of words and word-strings from a pair of translated documents.
Some translation devices combine both Rule-Based and EBMT engines. Although this combination of approaches may yield a higher rate of accuracy than either system alone, the results remain inadequate for use without significant user intervention and editing.
The problems faced when attempting to translate documents from one language to another can apply more generally to the problem of converting data representing ideas or information from one state, say words, into data representing the ideas in another state, for example, mathematical symbols. In such cases cross-idea association databases that associate data in one state with equivalent data in the second state must be consulted. Therefore, a need exists for an improved and more efficient method and apparatus for creating dictionaries or databases that associate equivalent ideas in different languages or states, (e.g., words, word-strings, sounds, movement and the like) and for translating or converting ideas conveyed by documents in one language or state into the same or similar ideas represented by documents in a second language or state.
The invention relates to manipulating content using a cross-idea association database. In particular, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for creating a database of associated ideas and provides a method and apparatus for utilizing that database to convert ideas from one state into other states.
In one embodiment, and by example, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for creating a language translation database, where two languages form the database of associated ideas. The present invention also provides a method and apparatus for utilizing that language database to convert documents (representing ideas) from one language to another (or more generally, from one state to another). However, the present invention is not limited to language translation, although that preferred embodiment will be presented. The database creation aspect of the present invention may be applied to any ideas that are related in some manner but expressed in different states and the conversion aspect of the present invention may be applied to accurately translate ideas from one state to another.
In another embodiment, the database creation aspect of the present invention can be used to make associations between ideas within a single language and their relationship to one another, to be used in artificial intelligence applications.
The application of the present invention to a language translation embodiment will now be described. As used herein, the terms related to converting, translating, and manipulating are used interchangeably and in their broadest sense.


The present disclosure relates to repair devices for repair of regurgitant mitral valves. A repair device includes a body having a perimeter defining an upper side and a lower side. An annular groove is disposed along a posterior section of the perimeter of the device and is configured to receive posterior rim tissue of a mitral valve annulus. First and second anchors extend from the body in an anterior direction. The first and second anchors are configured to engage with respective commissures of the mitral valve to assist in securing the repair device in position. The repair device is structured to minimize or eliminate imparting or transmitting radially outward forces along an anterior section so as to avoid imparting forces to the septum to avoid hindering the function of the aortic valve and the left ventricular outflow tract.

The mitral valve controls blood flow from the left atrium to the left ventricle of the heart, preventing blood from flowing backwards from the left ventricle into the left atrium so that it is instead forced through the aorta for distribution throughout the body. A properly functioning mitral valve opens and closes to enable blood flow in one direction. However, in some circumstances the mitral valve is unable to close properly, allowing blood to regurgitate back into the atrium. Such regurgitation can result in shortness of breath, fatigue, heart arrhythmias, and even heart failure.
A common cause of mitral valve insufficiency is functional mitral valve regurgitation (FMR). FMR typically occurs when the left ventricle of the heart is enlarged, displacing the papillary muscles that support the valve leaflets of the mitral valve and stretching the annulus (valve opening). The resulting distortion to the annulus prevents the valve leaflets from coapting together to properly close the valve, allowing blood to flow backwards across the valve.
Mitral valve regurgitation is often treated by replacing the mitral valve with a replacement valve implant or by repairing the valve through an interventional procedure. One method for repairing the mitral valve is through annuloplasty. Annuloplasty is accomplished by delivering and implanting a ring or band in the annulus of the mitral valve to attempt to return the annulus to a functioning shape.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.

Annular augmentation device for cardiac valve repair


A gaming system, apparatus, and method are disclosed including a game feature with one or more symbol selection gamepieces, preferably presented as a graphical “Eye of the Pharaoh,” which, when activated, causes a moving graphical effect to sequentially select various symbols in the gaming array. An interactive player input or a timeout may end the sequential selections, after which the symbol selection gamepiece selects a final selected symbol, on which is based a special award. Perceived-skill and actual-skill versions are disclosed.

A large number of different gaming machines have been developed to provide various formats and graphic presentations for conducting games and presenting game results. Many past slot machine games have presented player interactive features designed to provide "perceived skill," that is to provide the impression that the player interaction with game elements has some skill-based outcome on the game. Typically, of course, true skill based games are not allowed under the regulatory schemes for games of chance (with exceptions such as blackjack and poker games), and the effect of the player's skill is only perceived, while the outcome is predetermined and may be reverse-mapped to fit choices made by the player. There continues to be a need to generate more player interest and excitement by providing new aspects to games.

Wagering game with symbol selection gamepiece


Various embodiments provide systems and methods for connecting wireless-enabled products to wireless networks. Customer network credentials may be stored in a server along with a customer identifier (“customer ID”) during one-time registration. When a wireless-enabled product is purchased, a product identifier (“product ID”) and the customer's ID are forwarded to the server, which correlates the two identifiers, linking the purchased product to the customer. When the wireless-enabled product is powered on, the product accesses the server via a public network connection, and sends the product ID and a security token to the server. The server uses the product ID and the security token to authenticate the product. Once authenticated, the server uses the correlated customer ID to look up the network credentials for the customer's private network, and provides the network credentials to the wireless-enabled product. The wireless-enabled product then uses the downloaded credentials to access the customer's private network.

Common customer appliances and electrical devices are being equipped to connect to wireless networks to provide smart homes and lighting system controlled by smartphones. Networking common electrical components and appliances is sometimes referred to as the "Internet of Things" (IoT) or the "Internet of Everything" (IoE).
While including wireless connectivity in ordinary appliances and integrating such smart appliances in wireless networks will provide customers with convenience and new services, the widespread deployment of such technologies will require customers to learn how to implement and use such devices. One reason that customers may resist implementing networked devices is the perceived difficulty of installing a smart appliance in a customer's private network. The process of configuring a smart appliance to communicate with a private wireless network involves exchanging credentials so that a secure communication link can be can be established between the appliance and the network. This process is sometimes referred to as "onboarding."
While customers are increasingly familiar with connecting a computer or smart phone to a private wireless network (e.g., WiFi network), the onboarding process is more challenging for appliances that lack a display and user interface (e.g., keyboard). Devices without a display and convenient user interface are sometimes referred to as "headless devices." Headless devices typically require the use of another computing device to complete the onboarding process, requiring customers to obtain another device or configure their smartphone or other device with an onboard application that they must learn how to use. Thus, on boarding of headless devices can be intimidating or frustrating to for customers who are uncomfortable with technology. Thus, to enable the widespread deployment of Internet of Things devices, simple and convenient installation procedures are desirable.

Method and system for onboarding wireless-enabled products in a network


The use of stepped cannulas, wherein a step structure creates a backstop to reduce backflow along the cannula body, is known for convection enhanced delivery of agents to the brain and other structures within an animal. Described herein are novel and improved stepped cannula designs wherein the length of the cannula segment between the step and the dispensing outlet is variable and can be controllably adjusted inside the patient during delivery. This advantageously allows the operator to place the cannula step at the optimal position and deliver agents at one or more positions within the target structure.

The direct delivery of agents to specific target regions of the brain is emerging as an essential tool in the treatment of cancers, neurodegenerative conditions, and other pathologies of the central nervous system. Convention-enhanced delivery (CED) is a preferred method of delivering agents to selected regions of the central nervous system, especially the brain. In CED, a cannula is inserted into the target organ, and aided by direct radiographic visualization, the tip of the cannula is placed in the target structure, such as a specific anatomical feature or tumor. Therapeutic agents such as viral vectors, growth factors, or chemotherapeutic agents are then dispensed from the tip of the cannula at a sufficient rate (for example, 0.2-100 μL/min) to induce a pressurized bulk flow and efficient distribution of the agent by convective flow.
A significant problem in CED is the tendency of the delivered solution to backflow along the cannula track. To address this problem, "stepped" cannulas were developed. The step is an abrupt reduction in diameter between the proximal region of the cannula body and the distal end (from which the agent solution is dispensed). Typically, the step is a face or surface perpendicular to the long axis of the cannula which surrounds the diameter or perimeter of the cannula. Cannula designs having a major step and a minor step, for example, as depicted in FIG. 1, may be used. Advantageously, it was discovered that the step creates a backstop which blocks backflow of infused solution and promotes the even distribution of the agent throughout the target area. Exemplary stepped cannulas are described in United States Patent Application Publication Number 2013/0079748, entitled "Stepped Cannula," by Bankiewicz et al.,
In CED, localized delivery of the agent, confined within the target region, is essential. Often, the delivered agent is selectively beneficial, being therapeutic within the target region but having a detrimental effect on other regions of the brain. Off-target delivery of agents is wasteful at best, and at worst can result in substantial, negative side effects. For example, a chemotherapeutic agent delivered to a tumor is desirable, but it is undesirable that the chemotherapeutic agent be distributed beyond the region of the tumor.
In practice, it is difficult to select an appropriately sized cannula which will achieve the ideal spacing between the dispensing tip and the step. Once the cannula is inserted into the target area, the operator may observe that the distance between the dispensing tip and major step is too long, as in FIG. 2A. In such case, in order to keep the dispensing tip centered in the target structure, the major step is located outside of the target structure, and the backflow of dispensed solution to the step results in solution being delivered outside of the target structure. Alternatively, the distance between the dispensing tip and the major step may be too short, as in FIG. 2B. When the distance between the step and dispensing tip is too long or too short, the major step cannot be placed at the boundary or opening of the target region while simultaneously placing the dispensing tip within the middle of the target region for optimal delivery. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for CED systems which allow for precise delivery of agents to a target region.
The cannula designs and associated methods disclosed herein provide the art with new cannulas and methods of use which allow for accurate delivery of therapeutic solutions to target regions in the brain or other structures. The novel cannula designs of the invention are adjustable, allowing for placement of the step in the optimal position to minimize off-target delivery.

The Regents of the University of California


A method of manufacturing a gas turbine engine fan blade (10) comprises forming three metal workpieces (50,52,54). A metal slab (30) is upset forged at both ends (32,34) to produce a metal block (40) with increased thickness (42,44) extending from opposite surfaces (36,38). The metal block (40) is cut in an inclined path to form two of the metal workpieces (50,52). The metal workpieces (50,52,54) are assembled into a stack (56) so that the flat surfaces (38,42,46,48) are in mating abutment. Heat and pressure is applied across the thickness of the metal workpieces (50,52,54) to diffusion bond the metal workpieces (53,52,54) together to form an integral structure (100). The integral structure (100) is hot creep formed and superplastically formed to produce the required aerofoil shape and the thickened end is machined to form the blade root (26). The method enables thinner metallic workpieces with better microstructure to be used and increases the yield of metallic workpieces.

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an article by diffusion bonding and superplastic forming.
It is known to manufacture hollow metallic articles by diffusion bonding and superplastic forming metal workpieces. These metal workpieces include elementary metal, metal alloys, intermetallic materials and metal matrix composites.
The diffusion bonding and superplastic forming process may be used to produce contoured articles for example fan blades, or fan duct outlet guide vanes, for gas turbine engines by superplastically, or hot forming, an integral structure formed by the diffusion bonding process.
A procedure for manufacturing an article by diffusion bonding and superplastic forming is disclosed in our European patent EP0568201B. In EP0568201B the integral structure formed by the diffusion bonding process is twisted before the integral structure is superplastically formed. Additionally the integral structure is hot creep formed in the superplastic forming dies.
Additionally our UK patent GB2306353B discloses manufacturing a fan blade by diffusion bonding and superplastic forming. In GB2306353B the integral structure is formed from two metallic workpieces which subsequently define the outer profile of the fan blade. The two metallic workpieces are produced by cutting an inclined slot through a parallelepiped metal block to produce two longitudinally tapering metallic workpieces. The thicker ends of the metallic workpieces are aligned to form the root of the fan blade and the remainder of the metallic workpieces are machined to the appropriate thickness to give the required mass distribution.
This manufacturing process requires that the thickness of the original parallelepiped metallic block is about half, just less than half, of the thickness of the root of the finished fan blade in order to allow machining to produce the root. A problem with this process is that it is wasteful of metal, machining time and is expensive. Additionally the microstructure of the parallelepiped metallic block is not the optimum microstructure, due to the thickness of the original metallic block.
The problem is partially overcome, as also disclosed in GB2306353B, by using thinner parallelepiped metallic blocks and adding extra small blocks at the thicker ends of the two longitudinally tapering metallic workpieces to form the root of the fan blade. However, this process is still wasteful of metal, machining time and is expensive. The microstructure of the parallelepiped block is improved due to the smaller thickness of the parallelepiped block. But there are the additional requirements of welding on the extra small blocks and evacuating the spaces between the metallic workpieces and the blocks to ensure a diffusion bond forms. The microstructure of the metallic workpieces is still not the optimum microstructure due to the thickness of the original parallelepiped metallic block.
Accordingly the present invention seeks to provide a novel method of manufacturing an article by diffusion bonding which overcomes the above-mentioned problems.
Accordingly the present invention provides a method of manufacturing an article of predetermined finished profile by diffusion bonding and superplastic forming at least two metal workpieces comprising the steps of:
(a) forming a metal slab, the metal slab having first and second ends and first and second surfaces,
(b) forging the first end of the metal slab to produce a region of increased thickness at the first end of the metal slab and extending from the first surface of the metal slab and forging the second end of the metal slab to produce a region of increased thickness at the second end of the metal slab and extending from the second surface of the metal slab,
(c) machining the metal slab from the first surface to the second surface to form two metal workpieces, each metal workpiece has at least one surface,
(d) applying a stop off material to prevent diffusion bonding to preselected areas of at least one of the surfaces of at least one of two metal workpieces,
(e) assembling the at least two metal workpieces into a stack relative to each other so that the surfaces are in mating abutment,
(f) applying heat and pressure across the thickness of the at least two metal workpieces to diffusion bond the at least two metal workpieces together in areas other than the preselected areas to form an integral structure,
(g) heating the integral structure and internally pressurising the integral structure to cause the preselected area of at least one of the at least two metal workpieces to be hot formed to produce a hollow article of predetermined shape.
Preferably the method comprises after step (f) and before step (g) placing the integral structure in a hot creep forming die, heating the integral structure while it is within the die to cause the integral structure to be hot creep formed on the convex surface of the die.
Preferably step (c) comprises machining the metal slab to form a first metal workpiece and a second metal workpiece. Preferably step (c) comprises forming a third metal workpiece, the third metal workpiece having two flat surfaces, and step (e) comprises assembling the three metal workpieces into the stack relative to each other so that third metal workpiece is between the first and second metal workpieces and the flat surfaces are in mating abutment.
The hollow article may be a fan blade or a compressor blade.
The hollow article may be a fan outlet guide vane, a compressor blade or a fan blade.
After diffusion bonding the stack of workpieces and before superplastically forming the integral structure, the integral structure may be heated and loads may be applied to opposite ends of the integral structure to twist one end relative to the other end to contour the integral structure to a predetermined shape.
After twisting the integral structure and before superplastic forming the integral structure, the contoured integral structure may be internally pressurised to break the adhesive bond between the stop off material and the at least one workpiece in the preselected area.
Preferably after internally pressurising the integral structure to break the adhesive bond and before internally pressurising the integral structure to superplastically form at least one metal workpiece, the interior of the integral structure is sequentially evacuated and supplied with inert gas to remove oxygen from the interior of the integral structure.
Preferably after diffusion bonding the stack of workpieces and before superplastically forming the integral structure, the integral structure is internally pressurised to break the adhesive bond between the stop off material and the at least one workpiece in the preselected area.
Preferably after the metal workpieces are arranged in a stack and before the metal workpieces are diffusion bonded together to form an integral structure, the edges of the metal workpieces are sealed.
Preferably the edges of the metal workpieces are welded together.
Preferably where the metal workpieces are made of a titanium alloy, the metal workpieces are heated to a temperature equal to, or greater than, 850xc2x0 C. and the pressure applied is equal to, or greater than, 20xc3x97105 Nmxe2x88x922 to diffusion bond the workpieces together to form an integral structure.
Preferably the metal workpieces are heated to a temperature between 900xc2x0 C. and 950xc2x0 C. and the pressure applied is between 20xc3x97105 Nmxe2x88x922 and 30xc3x97105 Nmxe2x88x922.
Preferably the integral structure is heated to a temperature equal to, or greater than, 850xc2x0 C. to superplastically form the integral structure.
Preferably the integral structure is heated to a temperature between 900xc2x0 and 950xc2x0 C.
Preferably the integral structure is hot creep formed at a temperature equal to, or greater than, 740xc2x0 C.
Preferably step (b) comprises upset forging.
Preferably the region of increased thickness is machined. Preferably the region of increased thickness is subsequently machined to form a dovetail root or a firtree root. Preferably step (b) comprises heating the integral structure to a predetermined temperature before forging. Preferably the integral structure is heated to a temperature between 900xc2x0 C. and 950xc2x0 C.
Preferably in step (a) each of the at least two metal workpieces has at least one flat surface.
Preferably step (c) comprises machining the metal slab to form two longitudinally tapering metal workpieces.
Preferably step (e) comprises arranging the thicker ends of the metal workpieces at one end of the stack.

Method of manufacturing an article by diffusion bonding and superplastic forming


A high-voltage tolerant interface circuit includes a terminal, first and second buffers, and a voltage controller. The first buffer includes MOS transistors having electrodes connected to the terminal, and converts and transfers the voltage level of an input signal to the terminal. The second buffer includes at least one MOS transistor having an electrode connected to the terminal, and converts a voltage level of a signal from the terminal. The voltage controller is connected to the terminal, and when a supply voltage is applied to the interface circuit, the voltage controller supplies the supply voltage to gates of the MOS transistors. When the supply voltage is not applied to the interface circuit and a voltage greater than the supply voltage is input to the terminal, the voltage controller pulls down the voltage and provides it to the gates of the MOS transistors.

The present invention relates to semiconductor memory devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a high-voltage tolerant interface circuit.
Through the use of a deep-submicron line width in the processing of semiconductor memory devices, a required power supply voltage as high as 3.3V has gradually been decreased to a lower voltage of approximately 2.5V. Most semiconductor memory devices include a plurality of input/output buffers, which operate to buffer data input with such a low power voltage.
Although the power supply voltage level applied to the input/output buffers has decreased, an external high-voltage signal of 5V can also be input to these input/output buffers. As a result, the input/output buffers must have the ability to tolerate a high-voltage of 5V for interfacing with an external 5V-input signal. These 5V-tolerant semiconductor memory devices are commonly used in low-power consumption devices and portable device applications.
However, conventional 5V-tolerant input/output buffers are effective only when an external power voltage is input. In order to protect metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors included in the input/output buffers, it is necessary for the device to have the ability to tolerate voltage levels as high as 5V, even when no external power supply voltage is applied to a semiconductor memory device.
In general, the gates of NMOS and PMOS transistors of the input/output buffers operating with a low power supply voltage are formed having a thin dielectric film, e.g., a thin oxide film, with a low tolerant voltage level. In such a device, if a 5V-signal is applied to the drain or source of the NMOS and PMOS transistors, without the power supply voltage being applied to the gates of the NMOS and PMOS transistor, the gate-source voltage or the gate-drain voltage of the NMOS and PMOS transistors may increase and exceed the tolerable voltage limit of the gates of the NMOS and PMOS transistors. If this happens, the gates of the NMOS and PMOS transistors may b e broken, resulting in improper operation of the device.


A method for tracing a multicast flow in a network is described herein. The network may include one or more hosts and a plurality of network devices. An initiating device of the plurality of network devices receives a message to trace a multicast flow. The message includes an identification of a multicast flow. It is determined whether a multicast distribution tree of the initiating device includes state information of the multicast flow. An upstream neighbor of the initiating device is determined. A multicast trace route request is transmitted to a receiving device of the plurality of network devices. The receiving device is the upstream neighbor of the initiating device. It is determined whether a response is received from the receiving device and based on the response, it is determined whether to transmit a multicast trace route request to an upstream neighbor of the receiving device.

Multicasting is a method for simultaneously delivering data over a network from one or more data sources to a number of data receivers. Multicasting systems employ routing protocols to link the data sources to the appropriate data receivers in an efficient manner.
Multicasting networks are provided by multicast enabled nodes within or connected to an existing network. The nodes comprise multicast sources, multicast receivers and multicast routers. The multicast sources are the source of the multicast data that is carried via the network to the multicast receivers. The multicast routers are arranged to route the multicast data packets across the network between the multicast sources and receivers.
Two tasks are performed for the implementation of a multicast network. Firstly, the membership of a set of receivers needs to be managed. This group management may be performed manually by network administrators. Alternatively, a multicasting group management protocol may be implemented on network nodes that connect receivers, to enable the automatic management of the joining receivers to a multicast group. An example of a group management protocol is the Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP).
Secondly, the routing of the multicast data over the network is managed. Such routing may be configured manually by network administrators. Alternatively, a multicasting routing protocol may be implemented on each node in the network to enable the automatic creation of multicast distribution trees, such as a tree information base (TIB), between the multicast sources and receivers. Examples of such routing protocols include Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) protocols. The IGMP and PIM protocols are implemented generally in accordance with standards defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
One of the difficulties of debugging multicast traffic is determining the health of a multicast flow. Reports of issues in the network are typically receiver-driven whereas the fault itself can be at a considerable distance from where the symptoms are felt.

Method and apparatus for tracing a multicast flow

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Provided are diffuser, method of manufacturing same, and liquid crystal display device employing the diffuser. Liquid crystal display device includes: backlight unit; liquid crystal panel on which image is formed by using light emitted by backlight unit, and comprising: color filter comprising plurality of pixels each of which comprises plurality of subpixels that are alternately arranged and transmit light in different wavelength bands; and liquid crystal layer whose transmittance is adjusted under electrical control; and diffuser disposed on a top surface or a bottom surface of the liquid crystal panel and comprising diffusing areas and transparent areas which alternate with each other at intervals corresponding to the width of the subpixels, wherein the liquid crystal layer comprises liquid crystal areas corresponding to the diffusing areas and liquid crystal areas corresponding to the transparent areas and the transmittances of the liquid crystal areas are adjusted according to the subpixels.

1. Field of the Invention
Methods and devices consistent with the present invention relate to displaying, and more particularly, to a diffuser and a display device with an adjustable viewing angle employing the diffuser.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent development of communication technology and display device technology, many portable terminals, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), and a digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) system, have been developed.
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which are non-emissive flat panel display devices often used in portable terminals, form an image by changing the fraction of light transmitted through a liquid crystal cell according to an applied voltage. Since LCDs cannot emit light by themselves, a separate light source device, such as a backlight unit, is required.
Such LCDs have a problem in that a viewing angle is narrow due to a difference between an optical path in which light emitted from the backlight unit vertically passes through the liquid crystal cell and an optical path in which light emitted from the backlight unit obliquely passes through the liquid crystal cell. To solve the problem, various attempts have been made to increase a viewing angle.
Meantime, although a wide viewing angle is often preferred, a narrow viewing angle is preferred in applications for privacy protection and security measures.
Accordingly, there have been attempted to develop display devices which can provide a narrow viewing angle in a private mode where privacy protection is necessary and a wide viewing angle in a public mode where a plurality of people need to share images.
A display device, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1997-197405, includes a polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) layer disposed on a top surface of a liquid crystal panel. The PDLC layer shifts between a diffusing state and a transparent state according to an applied voltage. In the diffusing state, incident light is diffused, thereby providing a wide viewing angle, and in the transparent state, collimated light is transmitted without being diffused, thereby providing a narrow viewing angle.
However, since the display device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1997-197405 requires the PDLC layer in order to adjust a viewing angle, manufacturing costs are increased. Also, since the thickness of a liquid crystal cell should be increased in order to improve the contrast of the PDLC layer, a voltage used to drive the PDLC layer is increased, and an optical path in which light input through the liquid crystal panel is transmitted through the PDLC is lengthened, thereby increasing the risk of image blurring.

Striped diffuser, method of manufacturing the same, and liquid crystal display device with adjustable viewing angle employing the striped diffuser


A packer assembly for use in a subterranean well can include a seal element which swells in the well, a reinforcement in the seal element, and an extrusion barrier which displaces outward in response to swelling of an end portion of the seal element, the reinforcement being longitudinally spaced apart from the end portion of the seal element. A method of constructing a packer assembly can include positioning a reinforcement in a seal element which swells in response to contact with a fluid, the positioning including longitudinally spacing opposite ends of the reinforcement away from opposite end portions of the seal element, and installing extrusion barriers which radially outwardly overlie the seal element end portions.

Swellable packers are known in the art as annular barriers which swell to seal off annular spaces in wells (such as, between a production tubing and a casing or wellbore wall, etc.). Swellable packers include seal elements which, after swelling, are subjected to pressure differentials across the seal elements in the annular spaces. Therefore, it will be readily appreciated that improvements are continually needed in the arts of constructing and utilizing swellable packers.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Swellable packer with reinforcement and anti-extrusion features


A photovoltaic panel with multiple photovoltaic sub-strings including serially-connected photovoltaic cells and having direct current (DC) outputs adapted for interconnection in parallel into a parallel-connected DC power source. A direct current (DC) power converter including input terminals and output terminals is adapted for coupling to the parallel-connected DC power source and for converting an input power received at the input terminals to an output power at the output terminals. The direct current (DC) power converter optionally has a control loop configured to set the input power received at the input terminals according to a previously determined criterion. The control loop may be adapted to receive a feedback signal from the input terminals for maximizing the input power. A bypass diode is typically connected in shunt across the input terminals of the converter. The bypass diode functions by passing current during a failure of any of the sub-strings and/or a partial shading of the sub-strings. The bypass diode may be a single bypass diode connected across the parallel-connected DC power source. The DC power converter may convert the input power at high current to the output power at a lower current. The output terminals may be connectible with wire cables to a load, and the DC power converter is configured to reduce energy loss through the wire cables to the load.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates generally to power production from distributed DC power sources, and particularly to a photovoltaic panel having series connected photovoltaic strings the outputs of which are connected in parallel.
2. Related Arts
The recent increased interest in renewable energy has led to increased research in systems for distributed generation of energy, such as photovoltaic cells (PV), fuel cells, batteries (e.g., for hybrid cars), etc. Various topologies have been proposed for connecting these power sources to the load, taking into consideration various parameters, such as voltage/current requirements, operating conditions, reliability, safety, costs, etc. For example, most of these sources provide low voltage output (normally a few volts for one cell, or a few tens of volts for serially connected cells), so that many of them need to be connected serially to achieve the required operating voltage. Conversely, a serial connection may fail to provide the required current, so that several strings of serial connections may need to be connected in parallel to provide the required current.
It may be also known that power generation from each of these sources depends on manufacturing, operating, and environmental conditions. For example, various inconsistencies in manufacturing may cause two identical sources to provide different output characteristics. Similarly, two identical sources may react differently to operating and/or environmental conditions, such as load, temperature, etc. In practical installations, different source may also experience different environmental conditions, e.g., in solar power installations some panels may be exposed to full sun, while others be shaded, thereby delivering different power output. In a multiple-battery installation, some of the batteries may age differently, thereby delivering different power output. While these problems and the solutions provided by the subject invention may be applicable to any distributed power system, the following discussion turns to solar energy so as to provide better understanding by way of a concrete example.
In view of the above, a newly proposed topology for connecting multiple DC power sources to the load should also lend itself to easy testing and operational verification during and after installation.

Distributed power harvesting systems using DC power sources


A counter-flow heat exchanger for a vehicle air conditioning system includes a first lateral tank having an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber. The first lateral tank includes an inlet port fluidly connected to the inlet chamber and an outlet port fluidly connected to the outlet chamber. The outlet port is positioned adjacent an uppermost portion of the first lateral tank for reducing air pockets. A second lateral tank is laterally spaced apart from the first lateral tank. A first set of tubes fluidly connects the inlet chamber of the first lateral tank to the second lateral tank. A second of tubes fluidly connects the second lateral tank to the outlet chamber of the first lateral tank.

The present disclosure generally relates to an improved counter-flow heat exchanger for a vehicle air conditioning system, and more particularly relates to an improved counter-flow heat exchanger constructed to reduce the likelihood and/or size of air bubbles developing within the heat exchanger and/or to facilitate removal of any air bubbles within the heat exchanger.
Heat exchangers for vehicle air conditioning systems typically include a pair of spaced apart tanks with a plurality of spaced apart tubes extending therebetween to fluidly connect the tanks. A heat transfer fluid, such as water or coolant, is passed through the tubes between the spaced apart tanks while an air flow is passed between the spaced apart tubes. Heat from the heat transfer fluid is imparted to the air flow passing between the spaced apart tubes, which can then be used to target select areas of the vehicle's cabin through appropriate ducting. The heat transfer fluid is delivered to the heat exchanger at a first elevated temperature through an inlet port and exits the heat exchanger at a second lower temperature through an exit port (i.e., after its heat has been imparted to the air flow passing thereby). The locations of the inlet and outlet ports are often dependent on the type of heat exchanger employed (e.g., parallel flow, counter-flow, etc.) and the orientation of the heat exchanger within a particular air conditioning system (e.g., tanks spaced horizontally apart or tanks spaced vertically apart).
One concern with heat exchangers in vehicle air conditioning systems is the elimination of any air bubbles or pockets within the heat exchanger. Such air bubbles or pockets can have a deleterious effect of the heating efficiency of the heat exchanger. Another concern relates to layout considerations of the vehicle, which can impact the size of the heat exchanger, the orientation of the heat exchanger and/or the location of the inlet and outlet ports of the heat exchanger. Oftentimes, the air bubble or pocket concern competes with the layout considerations in a given vehicle design. For example, designing the heat exchanger of a particular size, orienting the heat exchanger in a particular position and/or requiring the inlet and outlet ports to face a certain direction can result in a heat exchanger that is prone to developing and capturing air bubbles or pockets. Conversely, designing an efficient heat exchanger that has few problems with air bubbles or pockets can result in a heat exchanger that severely limits layout options within the air conditioning system and/or the vehicle generally.

Counter-flow heat exchanger for vehicle air conditioning system


An extensible electroconductive wiring material includes a flexible electroconductive material and insulating elastic bodies and, wherein the flexible electroconductive material having an electroconductive layer has vent peripheral edge portions in which vent holes and/or vent slits are penetrated and aligned in series and/or in parallel along an energization direction of the electroconductive layer while the vent peripheral edge portions are energizably linked, and the vent peripheral edge portions is sealed and covered by the insulating elastic bodies, so as not to be exposed; and the insulating elastic bodies, have penetration slits, and/or penetration holes which penetrate therethrough while matching the vent peripheral edge portions and are smaller than the vent holes and the vent slits. The extensible electroconductive wiring module has a plurality of these extensible electroconductive wiring materials.

In electronic devices of prior arts, electronic parts such as IC chips have installed on a rigid silicon substrate or a glass substrate etc. with wirings. Recently, it have been demanded that the electric devices have flexibility and elasticity with also weight reduction, downsizing and miniaturization.
Electric devices such as wearable devices, medical devices and physical ability measurement devices have been used for flexible electronic devices having flexible wiring materials or a wiring substrates etc. which can follow movement of a living body. A flexible electronic device, in which a rubber ingredient composition is applied or an electroconductive rubber layer is attached onto an elastic film, is exemplified.
As regards a film having conductivity for a flexible electronic device, Patent Document 1 discloses: a process for the preparation of free-standing films, comprising at least a surface layer of a conductive polymer, said process being characterised in that it comprises the following steps:
a) deposition of a layer of a first polymer on a temporary support, wherein said deposition is carried out by the roll-to-roll technique staring from said temporary support in the form of a film and from a solution of said first polymer, and drying of the so obtained film consisting of said temporary support and of said layer of a first polymer;b) deposition of a layer of a second polymer on said film obtained in step a), wherein said deposition is carried out by the roll-to-roll technique starting from the film of step a) and from an aqueous solution or dispersion of said second polymer, and said second polymer is a conductive polymer, and drying of the so obtained film consisting of said temporary support, a layer of said first polymer, and a layer of said second polymer;c) detachment of said temporary support from the film coming from step b) by dissolving said layer of a first polymer by immersion in a solvent and consequent release of a mono-layered free-standing film of said second conductive polymer, or by peeling off said layer of a first polymer from said temporary support and consequent release of a bi-layered free-standing film of said first polymer and said second conductive polymer.
Generally, resistance of a extensible and conductive elastic body such as an electroconductive rubber wire or an electroconductive rubber layer is presented by R=ρ×L/S (in the equation, R is a resistance value (Ω), ρ is a resistivity, L is a length (m) and S is a cross-sectional area (m2)). As shown in the equation, when the electroconductive rubber wire or the electroconductive rubber layer is stretched, the cross-sectional area is getting smaller because it is extended to be longer and thinner. As a result, the resistance value increases.
And when extending thereof, cracks such as micro-cracks or micro-chaps is generated inside the electroconductive rubber wires or the electroconductive rubber layers or on interfacial surfaces between the flexible film and them. As a result, the resistance value increases.
As a substrate for an extensible electronic device, Patent Document 2 discloses an extensible flexible substrate which is provided with an insulating film substance with wires. In the extensible flexible substrate, the insulating film substance has an opened portion which opens by slits, and the opening state of the opened portion is kept by the insulating substance. The elasticity of the insulating film substance cannot be expected so much, because the slits of the insulating film substance are widely opened preliminarily to be deformed three-dimensionally and the opened shape of the slits are kept while sealing the insulating substance. Further, whole insulating film substance, which can be deformed, is sealed by the insulating substance. Therefore, stress occurs more than a little because a mechanical property in the case of extending and deforming thereof is depended upon properties such as elasticity and rubber-elasticity of the insulating substance. Accordingly, it is necessary to apply a considerable force against the rubber-elasticity in order to keep extending thereof.
And Non-patent Document 1 disclose a method for extending and contracting a electroconductive material by a three-dimensional change of its structure having elasticity over 300%, which is a paper cutting craft structure made from a piece of paper treated with a slit cutting process in a shape of alternative linear-cut or bellows-cut. Furthermore, it succeeds a development of an extensible wire which indicates unchanged electroconductivity (i.e. resistance value) against a strain over 200% by processing the paper cutting craft structure of a nanocomposite electroconductive material made of carbon nanotube and paper or parylene layer.
In the method of Non-patent Document 1, it is easy to extend the electroconductive material by drawing because of merely having the slits all over the electroconductive material. However, after that, it is hard to contract the electroconductive material because of no elasticity thereof.
Therefore, an extensible electroconductive wiring material, which is flexible and compact and has general-purpose properties, excellent elasticity and sufficient external-insulation properties towards outside while keeping excellent internal-electroconductivity

Extensible electroconductive wiring material, and extensible electroconductive wiring module having same


An input/output interface is used to transmit data between a transmitting circuit and a receiving circuit. Selectively during both system startup and system operation, a known bit pattern transmitted by the transmitting circuit is compared to a received bit pattern. The received bit pattern may be seen at the receiving circuit or a voltage regulator that is used to control the power supply level of the input/output interface. Dependent on the comparison of the known bit pattern and the received bit pattern, a bit error rate across the input/output interface is determined, in response to which the voltage regulator adjusts the power supply level of the input/output interface.

As shown in FIG. 1, a typical computer system 10 includes at least a microprocessor 12 and some form of memory 14. The microprocessor 12 has, among other components, arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry that interpret and execute instructions necessary for the operation and use of the computer system 10. Further, the computer system 10 includes integrated circuits 16 having various functionalities and communication paths, i.e., buses and wires 18, that are necessary for the transmission and reception of data among the aforementioned components of the computer system 10.
As the frequencies of modern computer systems increase, the need to rapidly transmit data between integrated circuits (e.g., 16 in FIG. 1) also increases. To accurately receive data, a clock signal is often transmitted in correspondence with the data signal to help recover the data at a receiving end. In such "source synchronous" input/output (I/O) interfaces, the clock signal determines when the data signal should be sampled by a receiving circuit.
FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a typical I/O interface 20. In the I/O interface 20, a transmitting circuit 22 sends data on a data signal 26 to a receiving circuit 24. To aid in the recovery of data transmitting on the data signal 26, a clock signal 28 is transmitted with the data signal 26.
Those skilled in the art will understand that multiple data and clock signals may be propagated between the transmitting circuit 22 and the receiving circuit 24. Further, those skilled in the art will understand that the receiving circuit 24 may transmit data and/or a clock signal back to the transmitting circuit 22.
The data signal 26 and the clock signal 28 are used to transmit information from the transmitting circuit 22 to the receiving circuit 24 under the direction of a control signal 30. The control signal 30 may determine on which cycle, what frequency, and/or under which operating mode data and clock signals should be transmitted between the transmitting circuit 22 and the receiving circuit 24.
Performance across an I/O interface may degrade as a result of various conditions such as, for example, process, temperature, and voltage variations. Such performance degradation may lead to inaccurate data reception. In other words, a receiving circuit may not accurately receive data bits as transmitted by a transmitting circuit. For example, due to undesirable conditions, a receiving circuit may only accurately receive 995 of 1,000 data bits transmitted by the transmitting circuit during a particular time interval, thereby resulting in a 0.5% bit error rate. In some computer systems, even a 0.5% bit error rate may be fatal to the accurate operation of the computer system.

Dynamic calibration of I/O power supply level


A method processes segmented iris images obtained by a non-cooperative image acquisition system to generate descriptors for features in the segmented iris image that are tolerant of segmentation error. The method includes receiving a segmented iris image, and selecting feature points in the segmented iris image to describe an iris locally.

Systems for identifying persons through intrinsic human traits have been developed. These systems operate by taking images of a physiological trait of a person and comparing information stored in the image to data that corresponds the trait for a particular person. When the information stored in the image has a high degree of correlation to the relevant data previously obtained a particular person's trait, a person can be positively identified. These biometric systems obtain and compare data for physical features, such as fingerprints, voice, and facial characteristics. Different traits impose different constraints on these systems. For example, fingerprint recognition systems require the person to be identified to contact an object directly for the purpose of obtaining fingerprint data from the object. Facial feature recognition systems, however, do not require direct contact with a person and these biometric systems are capable of capturing identification data without the cooperation of the person to be identified.
One trait especially suited for non-cooperative identification is an iris pattern in a person's eye. The human eye iris provides a unique trait that changes little over a person's lifetime. For cooperative iris recognition, the person to be identified is aware of an image being taken and the captured image is a frontal view of the eye. Non-cooperative iris image capture systems, on the other hand, obtain an iris image without a person's knowledge of the data capture. Thus, the subject's head is likely moving and his or her eyes are probably blinking during iris image acquisition. Consequently, the captured image is not necessarily a fully open frontal view of the eye.
Identification of a person from an iris image requires iris image segmentation. Segmentation refers to the relative isolation of the iris in the eye image from the other features of an eye or that are near an eye. For example, eyelashes and eyelids are a portion of an eye image, but they do not contribute to iris information that may be used to identify a person. Likewise, the pupil does not provide information that may be used to identify a person. Consequently, effective segmentation to locate the portions of a captured eye image that contain iris pattern information is necessary for reliable identification of person. Because previously known iris identification systems rely upon the acquisition of eye images from cooperative subjects, iris segmentation techniques have focused on frontal eye images.
Efforts have been made to develop iris image processing methods that accurately identify persons from iris images obtained by a non-cooperative image acquisition system. Once such method proposes use of a Fourier-based trigonometry for estimating two spherical components for an angle of gaze with an affine transformation being used to "correct" the image and center the gaze. This method has limited effectiveness because affine transformations assume the iris is planar, when in fact it has some curvature. The eye is a three dimensional object and the deformed images of iris patterns may present different correlations for the iris patterns. Use of a two dimensional feature extraction model to obtain images for recognition of a three dimensional object is not optimal. Some eyes have patterns that do not change very much when one's gaze changes and these eyes respond well to affine transformation analysis. In general, however, empirical data reveals that many iris patterns do change substantially with a change in gaze and, therefore, identification using images of these iris patterns require a different approach to iris recognition in a noncooperative environment.
Other issues also arise in the non-cooperative imaging of eyes. For example, iris images can be blurred, severely occluded, poorly illuminated and/or severely dilated in addition to presenting an off-angle view of the eye. As an iris gaze changes with respect to a camera lens, the size, shape, and relative centroids of the limbic and pupil regions may change. Given these variables that may lower the quality of iris images, one hundred percent accuracy in segmentation is extremely difficult, and segmentation error in the processing of the image may not be avoidable. Thus, an iris recognition method should be tolerant of segmentation error.
What is needed is a more robust method of identifying an iris from an off-angle view of an eye to identify correctly those portions of an eye image that contain iris pattern data in an eye image obtained from a non-cooperative eye image acquisition system.

System and method for non-cooperative iris recognition

Indiana University Research & Technology Corp.


A nozzle shut-off valve for the plastication system of an injection molding machine. The valve includes a cylindrical body member that has axially spaced inlet and outlet passageways. Inclined passageways that extend from the inlet and outlet passageways to the outer surface of the body member to terminate in spaced openings on the periphery of the inner body member. A tubular outer member is provided with at least one recess or depression on its inner surface, the recess having a length sufficient to provide communication between a pair of the spaced peripheral openings in the inner body member when the recess is positioned in overlying relationship with the respective openings. Rotation or translation of the tubular outer member relative to the inner body member shifts the recess out of registration with the respective peripheral openings, to thereby prevent flow of material through the valve. Shifting of the outer member is accomplished by means of a pneumatic cylinder that is carried by the inner body member to shift the tubular outer member relative to the cylindrical body member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nozzle shut-off valve adapted for use on the injection system of an injection molding machine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a positive action shut-off valve that includes a cylindrical body portion and a sleeve that is slidably carried by the body portion to provide selective communication between a valve inlet and a valve outlet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nozzle shut-off valves are provided in the forward or discharge end of the plastication barrel of an injection molding machine to control the flow of plasticated material from the barrel. The valves operate to prevent flow of plasticated material from the plastication barrel until a predetermined quantity of plasticated material has been accumulated ahead of the plastication screw to fill a mold cavity. At that point the shut-off valve is opened and the plastication screw or ram is moved axially within the barrel in the direction toward the shut-off valve to inject the plasticated material through the valve and into a mold cavity defined by a mold that is positioned adjacent an outlet nozzle at the discharge end of the plastication barrel.
Various types of shut-off valve structures have been used in the past. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,500,501, which issued Mar. 17, 1970, to O. R. Johansson, discloses a pneumatically operated shut-off valve in the form of a spool that is transversely movable relative to a flow passageway, the spool having a transverse throughbore that is selectively alignable with the flow passageway to permit or to prevent flow through the flow passageway, depending upon the position of the throughbore relative to the flow passageway.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,431,600, which issued Mar. 11, 1969, to C. P. Bullard et al., there is disclosed a nozzle shut-off valve that provides a rotatable ball element having a diametral through passageway, the through passageway being selectively alignable and non-alignable relative to a flow passageway, and an actuating cylinder for rotating the ball member about a horizontal axis to cause the ball passageway to come into and out of alignment with the flow passageway.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,519, which issued May 7, 1974, to Paul J. Garner, discloses a nozzle shut-off valve wherein a pair of inlets are selectively connectible with a single outlet. A cylindrical body includes a pair of transversely extending throughbores that are inclined relative to each other, the respective throughbores being alignable with one or the other of the inlets to provide communication between that inlet and the valve outlet.
Although the prior art nozzle shut-off valves have generally functioned in a satisfactory manner, oftentimes they do not serve to provide a positive shut-off of the flow from the plastication barrel. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved nozzle shut-off valve that provides positive shut-off of flow of plasticated material. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a nozzle shut-off valve that is of simple construction, that has few moving parts, and that is easily controllable.

Nozzle shut-off valve for an injection molding machine


A system and method supporting efficient, scalable stateful switchover of transport layer connections in a telecommunications network element. One method involves receiving, at a network element comprising an active transport protocol process coupled to a standby protocol process, a request to configure a first transport layer connection maintained at the active transport protocol process for stateful switchover; receiving an event associated with the first transport layer connection; creating a message containing replicated event information based on the received event; sending the message to the standby transport protocol process; and processing the message at the standby transport protocol process, wherein the standby transport protocol process replicates state information for the first connection.

The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is a path vector routing protocol for inter-Autonomous System routing. The function of a BGP-enabled network element (a BGP host or peer) is to exchange network reachability information with other BGP-enabled network elements. The most commonly implemented version of BGP is BGP-4, which is defined in RFC1771 (published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in March 1995).
To exchange routing information, two BGP hosts first establish a peering session by exchanging BGP OPEN messages. The BGP hosts then exchange their full routing tables. After this initial exchange, each BGP host sends to its BGP peer or peers only incremental updates for new, modified, and unavailable or withdrawn routes in one or more BGP UPDATE messages. A route is defined as a unit of information that pairs a network destination with the attributes of a network path to that destination. The attributes of the network path include, among other things, the network addresses (also referred to as address prefixes or just prefixes) of the computer systems along the path. In a BGP host, the routes are stored in a Routing Information Base (RIB). Depending on the particular software implementation of BGP, a RIB may be represented by one or more routing tables. When more than one routing table represents a RIB, the routing tables may be logical subsets of information stored in the same physical storage space, or the routing tables may be stored in physically separate storage spaces.
As networks grow more complex and the number of BGP routes maintained by a particular element increases, the consequences of the failure of a BGP host device, or the BGP process that it hosts, become more severe. For example, in some scenarios a BGP failure may require retransmission of a large amount of route information and re-computation of a large amount of network reachability information. Therefore, vendors of network gear and their customers wish to deploy BGP in a fault-tolerant manner.
BGP commonly runs on and uses the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) as defined in RFC 793, which provides a connection-oriented, reliable data delivery service for applications such as BGP. Having highly available, reliable TCP connections that can be switched over in the face of failure is a foundation requirement for providing BGP with high availability.
Highly reliable networks offer high availability by detecting failures and handling the failures in a timely manner with zero or minimal disruption of service. Redundant systems that have at least one secondary processor are often used to achieve high reliability. When the secondary processor is synchronized to the primary processor, and can take over with almost no visible interruption to peer devices, the secondary processor is termed a "hot standby" and the switchover is termed "stateful switchover" or SSO.
SSO can be implemented in a telecommunication network with network elements that have dual route processors, each of which can host separate but duplicate instances of various software applications. One route processor is deemed Active and the other is deemed Standby. When the processors are operating in SSO mode, the active route processor automatically replicates all messages that it receives or sends, for all protocols or activities, and sends the replicated messages to the standby route processor.
In some embodiments, the active route processor periodically sends a bulk copy of data representing a particular state (a "checkpoint") to the standby route processor. While replication and checkpointing enable the standby route processor to achieve synchronization of state with the active route processor, these approaches require considerable use of processing resources and memory, and require extensive use of an inter-processor communication mechanism. When a route processor is managing a large number of BGP sessions and TCP connections, the burden of continually operating in SSO mode may become unacceptable.
As networks grow larger and more complex, network reliability and throughput depends to a greater extent upon the availability of software processes that implement BGP. For example, when a BGP host becomes unavailable, many other BGP peers may need to re-compute route information to account for the unavailability. Other hosts may lose BGP connectivity during the transition. Thus, present approaches for upgrading BGP software to support new features in large networks cause significant network churn. Network administrators are demanding a better solution that does not perturb the network.
Moreover, BGP is merely one example of an application for which high availability is desirable; there are many other applications. BGP and other applications running on top of transport-layer protocols, such as TCP, would benefit greatly from a solution providing true SSO for the TCP connections, achieved in a scalable manner.
Further, users and administrators expect any SSO support for TCP to provide a solution that performs well and scales to large networks that use existing and future platforms without major hardware upgrades.
One approach for providing high-availability TCP involves massive data checkpointing of send and receive windows and related metadata for all established TCP connections. While this approach does allow active and standby processors to maintain identical TCP state information, it is a "brute-force" approach that requires extensive CPU resources. Network administrators desire to have a more efficient approach that is readily scalable to large numbers of connections.

High availability transport protocol method and apparatus


A method for securing chat sessions containing confidential subject matter during instant messaging from external entities is provided. The method, comprising: building a set of rules used to determine when a chat session between a first chat party and a second chat party during an instant messaging session contains confidential or uniquely classified subject matter; and securing the contents in the chat session based on pre-defined user settings, the contents in the chat session being secured when the contents in the chat session is determined to contain confidential subject matter derived from the set of rules, the chat session is further secured by limiting the exposure of the contents in the chat session to third parties when the chat session is determined to contain confidential subject matter while enabling the first chat party and the second chat party to view the contents in the chat session.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an instant messaging system, and particularly to a method of securing chat sessions containing confidential subject matter during instant messaging sessions.
2. Description of Background
Instant messaging across the Internet is a common chat application that allows instantaneous communication between one or more individuals simultaneously by transmitting information quickly and efficiently through one or more networks. Such instantaneous communication is accomplished through the use of a computer, wireless device, or any text-based communication device having a standard chat application provided by an IM provider.
In today's collaborative work environment there is an increased usage of instant messaging technology such as Sametime for everyday business functions that may involve confidential material. Although these technologies have many embedded and built in security features to ensure that connections between users are secure, there is still room for external factors (i.e. chat logs) to compromise confidential business subject matter logged because of discussions that took place within the instant messaging conversation. Current technologies have the capabilities to log and keep history of chat transcripts, which can be a desirable feature, but could also be a negative feature should someone gain access to another individual's personal computer without permission and begin looking around. In addition, most IT sites now require user and data classification to meet compliance standards. Another problem that arises is that the confidential communication can be exposed to third parties or passersby.

Integrated method of ensuring instant messaging security on confidential subject matter

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for generating key information for mutual access among multiple computers, the method including configuring each of a plurality of computers to access common seed data, where the common seed data is the same for each of the computers, and configuring each of the computers to intercept a key generator request for computer-specific seed data and, in response to the request, provide the common seed data to the key generator in place of the computer-specific seed data, thereby enabling any of the computers to generate the same key information.

Various computer security protocols have been developed to ensure secure communications between computers. In one configuration, two or more computers may communicate with each other using the SSH protocol, where a computer possesses the public key of another computer for encrypted communication with the other computer. For example, the DS6000™ Storage Controller, commercially available from International Business Machines Corporation, New Orchard Road, Armonk, N.Y., 10504, U.S.A., is built from two separate computing devices that sit in the same physical chassis and have access to a shared hardware memory area. The computers communicate with each other using SSH, where each computer possesses the other device's public key, allowing the computers to communicate without need for a password.
Adding or replacing one computer in a group of computers using password-less SSH requires that the new computer somehow acquire its own copies of the other computers' public keys. However, a public key cannot be passed to the new computer using password-less SSH because secure password-less SSH usage requires that the new computer already have the key. It is also not practical to preconfigure the new computer with necessary key information, as such computer additions or replacements often occur at different installation sites, each having different keys, and are often meant to be carried out by technicians on an off-the-shelf, plug-and-play basis.

Generating key information for mutual access among multiple computers