In a TV control apparatus, a focus controller and a zoom controller are used to adjust a flange back focal length of a master lens. If a select switch switches the function of a focus controller from a focus lens control function to a master lens control function, a control signal is transmitted as a master lens control signal to a CPU from the focus controller. The master lens is controlled in accordance with the control signals. The focus lens is at a standstill during this period. The focus controller is also used as a master lens controller. If the zoom is at a wide-angle side, the focus controller is switched to the master lens controller, and if the zoom is at a telephoto side, the master lens controller is switched to the focus controller. If a flange back focal length adjustment switch is turned on and the zoom controller sets the zoom at the wide-angle side, the focus controller functions as a controller for adjusting the position of the master lens group. On the other hand, if the zoom is set at the telephoto side, the function of the focus controller is switched to the focus control function for adjusting the position of the focus lens group. This makes it possible to blur an image by operating the controller at hand.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a TV lens control apparatus, and more particularly to a control apparatus applied to a TV lens apparatus, which is constructed in such a way as to adjust a flange back focal length by moving a master lens group of a shooting lens optical system by a motor.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional shooting lens optical system of a TV lens apparatus used for a broadcasting TV camera comprises a focus lens group, a zoom lens group and a master lens group. To properly make an image-forming position of the lens optical system coincide with a position of a picture sensing surface of the camera, the master lens group is moved forward or backward along an optical axis to adjust a flange back focal length (tracking adjustment). The master lens group is moved not only to adjust the flange back focal length but also to get a special effect by intentionally blurring an image while shooting. Normally, the position of the master lens group is adjusted by turning a flange back focal length (F.f.) adjustment knob provided at a lens apparatus body. The master lens group is moved by a motor. There is a TV lens apparatus which enables a macroshooting by moving a master lens group from a F.f. adjusted position (a F.f. position) to a macroshooting position by the operation of a controller, and a TV lens apparatus which enables a shooting with the special effect by moving a master lens group from a F.f. position by the operation of a controller to intentionally shoot a blurred image.
The conventional TV lens apparatus, however, has special controllers for controlling the movements of the lens groups. More specifically, the conventional TV lens apparatus has a focus controller (a focus position demand) for controlling the movement of the focus lens group; a zoom controller (a zoom rate demand) for controlling the movement of the zoom lens group; and a master lens controller for controlling the movement of the master lens group. A cameraman has to operate each controller properly, and thus, it is very complicated to operate the camera.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 3-109878 discloses a TV lens control apparatus, which drives a master lens group by a motor to enable a macroshooting. According to this TV lens control apparatus, the focus controller is also used to control the master lens group so that the operation of the focus controller can drive the master lens group. This eliminates the necessity of separately operating the focus controller for driving the focus lens and the controller for driving the master lens group. This TV lens control apparatus, however, cannot move the master lens group in order to adjust the flange back focal length although it is able to move the master lens for the macroshooting. More specifically, the master lens group returns to the original F.f. position if the function of the focus controller is switched to the master lens control function to move the master lens group and then the function of the focus controller is switched to the focus lens control function again. It is therefore impossible to adjust the F.f. position by the TV lens control apparatus. If the function of the focus controller is switched from the master lens control function to the focus lens control function, the focus lens group moves to a position designated by a control member (a focus ring) of the focus controller when the master lens is adjusted. Thus, it is necessary to adjust the position of the focus lens group again. On the other hand, if the function of the focus controller is switched from the focus lens control function to the master lens control function, the master lens moves to a position designated by the control member of the focus controller. Thus, it is necessary to adjust the flange back focal length all over again.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a TV lens control apparatus, which makes it easier to operate a TV camera without the necessity of providing a special controller for controlling the movement of a master lens group of a TV lens apparatus.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a TV lens control apparatus, which makes it possible to properly adjust a flange back focal length of a master lens by means of a focus controller or a zoom controller.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is directed to a TV lens control apparatus, which drives at least one movable lens of a focus lens and a zoom lens, and a master lens of a TV lens apparatus by motors, said TV lens control apparatus comprising: a controller for designating a position or moving speed of said movable lens and said master lens by operating one control member, said controller outputting a control signal representing a value according to the operation of said control member; selecting means for deciding whether said movable lens or said master lens is the lens subject to be driven by the control signals outputted from said controller; and drive means for moving said lens subject to be driven from a position when said selecting means switches the lens to be driven, in accordance with changes in said control signals outputted from said controller after the switching operation, said drive means keeping the other lens at a position at the switching operation.
According to the present invention, the focus controller for controlling the focus lens and the zoom controller for controlling the zoom lens are used to control a focus lens to thereby adjust the flange back focal length. Moreover, if a lens to be driven by a controller is switched between the focus lens and the master lens or between the zoom lens and the master lens, the lens is moved in accordance with the operation of the controller after the switching regardless of the operation of the controller before the switching. This prevents the master lens from moving to the position designated by the control member of the controller when the lens to be driven by the focus controller is switched to the master lens. In addition, it is possible to adjust the flange back focal length of the master lens from the previously-set F.f. position without adjusting the flange back focal length of the master lens all over again.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is directed to a TV lens control apparatus, which has a focus lens group, a zoom lens group and a master lens group and moves each lens group by a motor, said TV lens control apparatus comprising: a focus controller for outputting a lens movement instruction signal in accordance with the operation of a focus control member; a zoom controller for outputting a zoom instruction signal in accordance with the operation of a zoom control member; switch means which is turned on in order to adjust the position of said master lens group; detecting means for detecting the zoom position; and a control part for controlling the drive of said lens groups in accordance with the instruction signals from said focus controller and said zoom controller, said control part using the lens movement instruction signal outputted from said focus controller as a master lens group movement instruction to drive said master lens group in accordance with said lens movement instruction signal if said switch means is turned on and the zoom position detected by said detecting means is at a preset wide-angle side, and using the lens movement instruction signal outputted from said focus controller as a focus lens group movement instruction to drive said focus lens group in accordance with said lens movement instruction signal if the zoom position detected by said detecting means is at a preset telephoto side.
According to the present invention, the focus controller is also used to control the master lens group. Turning on the switch means causes the control part to switch the function of the focus controller from the focus lens group control function to the master lens group control function.
It is possible to blur an image by adjusting the position of the focus lens group since the depth of focus is small at the telephoto side. On the other hand, it is impossible to blur an image by adjusting the position of the focus lens group since the depth of focus is great at the wide-angle side. To address this problem, the image is blurred by adjusting the position of the master lens group. Therefore, according to the present invention, the focus controller controls the movements of the master lens group if the zoom is set at the wide-angle side, and the focus controller controls the focus lens as usual if the zoom is set at the telephoto side.
This eliminates the necessity of providing a special controller for adjusting the position of the master lens group and makes it easier to operate the camera.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.


A memory system according to the embodiment comprises a cell array including a unit cell array, the unit cell array containing plural first lines, plural second lines intersecting the plural first lines, and plural memory cells provided at the intersections of the plural first lines and the plural second lines and operative to store data in accordance with different resistance states; and an access circuit operative to execute a write sequence of changing the resistance state for writing data in the memory cell, wherein the access circuit, on the write sequence, executes a first step of changing all memory cells provided at the intersections of access first lines and the access and fault second lines to the high resistance state, and a second step of changing all or part of access cells connected to the access second line to the low resistance state.

1. Field
The embodiment of the present invention relates to a memory system.
2. Description of the Related Art
As memories capable of storing mass data for use, variable resistance memories including cell arrays easily formable in three dimensions, such as a ReRAM (Resistance RAM) and an ion memory, have received attention. These memories operate using the positive/negative of voltages in bipolar operation basically. They may also operate using one directional voltage in unipolar operation, though, as in a phase change memory and a carbon nanotube (CNT). A memory using nanotubes (NT) such as the CNT utilizes fine variations in molecules and accordingly causes lower power consumption than the use of phase changes caused when phase change elements pass though states such as material melting. Therefore, it becomes one of powerful candidates capable of configuring mass file memories.
A cell array can be formed in three dimensions by stacking unit cell arrays each including alignments of plural memory cells of the cross point type (hereinafter also referred to as "CP cells"). In the case of the cell array thus structured, however, the increase in capacity accordingly requires massive circuits for driving selection lines, which worsen the cell share as a problem.
In addition, parallel simultaneous accesses to plural CP cells commonly connected to one selection line put an overload on that selection line. This is a common problem in memory systems including cell arrays of CP cells, making no exception even if CNTs are used.


Methods and apparatus for automatically selecting a wireless communication network by user equipment using a “steered” PLMN are disclosed. A home network identification, a list of prioritized roaming network identifications, and a steered network identification are stored in memory (e.g. a SIM or USIM) of the user equipment. In an automatic network selection procedure, a scanning operation is performed to receive one or more network identifications corresponding to one or more available wireless communication networks in a coverage area. The user equipment attempts to select a wireless communication network in the coverage area by comparing the received network identifications from the scanning operation with the steered network identification. If a match between a received network identification and the steered network identification is identified, a wireless communication network corresponding to the received network identification that matches the steered network identification is selected and registered with by the user equipment. This procedure is performed in lieu of use of the list of prioritized roaming network identifications of the user equipment. By setting the steered network identification via an over-the-air programming procedure when necessary (e.g. on a per region basis), a home network operator may “steer” user equipment to any desired network immediately and efficiently.

1. Field of the Technology
The present invention relates generally to automatic network selection techniques for mobile stations operating in wireless communication networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
For a variety of reasons, a home network operator (e.g. a home public land mobile network or HPLMN in 3GPP parlance) may have a need to dynamically control which networks their subscribers connect to when roaming either in the home country or abroad. For example, the HPLMN operator may have a need to direct its subscribers roaming in country A to be served by network X. This need may arise for commercial reasons, and at certain times it may be beneficial for an operator to ensure that all of their roaming subscribers be directed to one specific network, to ensure that some contractual criteria is met. Another reason is due to network fault conditions. A temporary fault may mean that one network in a given country is unable to offer all of its services to a HPLMN's roaming subscribers. Therefore, the HPLMN operator may have a need to direct its roaming subscribers towards other networks in the country which can offer a full range of service. By way of example, it is not uncommon today for General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) to be temporarily unavailable in a certain Visited PLMN (VPLMN). Yet another reason is based on network load sharing. For example, the HPLMN operator may decide that it wants 40% of its roaming subscribers in a country on network X, 35% on network Y, and 25% on network Z.
The current 3GPP standard specifies that user equipment (UE) shall select the highest priority network as defined in a Preferred PLMN (PPLMN) list stored in a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) or Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM). If dynamic control were to be achieved through use of the PPLMN list, the HPLMN operator would have to update the entire PPLMN list for each subscriber using an over-the-air (OTA) programming mechanism, which requires a large number of Short Message Service (SMS) messages. The large overhead required to update all of the PPLMN lists for the roaming subscribers may be prohibitive. Further; if network load sharing is needed, the HPLMN would have to maintain PPLMN lists on a per subscriber basis. Maintaining such PPLMN lists, however, adds significant overhead with respect to configuration management.
Existing solutions which direct subscribers to a particular network while roaming involve the spoofing of network reject messages by the HPLMN operator when the user equipment makes connection attempts to VPLMNs as per the PPLMN list. The network reject messages are sent via each selected VPLMN until the desired VPLMN, as identified by the HPLMN operator, is reached. Although this technique directs user equipment to specific VPLMNs desired by the HPLMN operator, as apparent it involves a wasteful use of network resources each time such selection is needed.
Accordingly, what are needed are methods and apparatus which overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Automatic network selection methods and apparatus using a steered PLMN


An information processing apparatus for outputting a document to a printer. Whether or not each of a plurality of set values set for one printing condition is a set value by which a print output can be performed in the printer is discriminated. If a plurality of set values determined to be the set values by the print output can be performed in the printer exists among the plurality of set values, by deciding the set value of the printing condition according to a priority added to each of the plurality of set values, a proper print result is provided according to the printing conditions set on a distributing source side of print content.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a print setting method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in association with the spread of digital cameras, it is a general case that photograph images (hereinbelow, also simply referred to as photo images) obtained by photographing objects by the user are stored as electronic data and distributed to his family and acquaintances through the Internet or a memory card.
In addition to it, in association with the realization of high picture quality of a printing apparatus (hereinbelow, also simply referred to as a printer), it is a general case that the photo images obtained by photographing the objects by the user by using the digital camera or obtained by being provided from another person are output by the printer in his own house.
When the photo images are output by the printer, it is a general case that in an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, the photo images are output to dedicated paper for photo printing (hereinbelow, called "photo paper") by using an application for outputting the photo images.
Upon outputting, in the application in the information processing apparatus, as printing conditions to the printer, it is necessary for the user to set a size, a type, and the like of sheets (photo paper) which have been set in the printer so as to output. The "size" is hereinbelow called an "output sheet" and the "type" is hereinbelow called a "media type".
When a print executing command is received from the user, the application executes an issuing process of a print command according to an OS (Operating System) in which the application is working and a print system which is provided by the OS.
For example, the application is working on the OS such as "Windows (registered trademark) XP", "Windows (registered trademark) 2000", or the like issues the print command according to a format of the print system called a GDI print path which is provided by the OS. The "GDI" is an abbreviation of Graphics Device Interface.
In the print command issuing process according to the GDI print path, after a print control apparatus was notified of the printing conditions, drawing area information according to the printer which prints and outputs and the sheet is obtained. Subsequently, a draw command is issued by using the obtained drawing area information and a document such as a photo image or the like and the print control apparatus is notified of the draw command.
In "Windows (registered trademark) Vista", in addition to the above-described GDI print path, a print system called an XPS (XML Paper Specification) print path is newly provided.
In a print command issuing process according to the XPS print path, the document such as a photo image or the like, the printing conditions, and the draw command are formed as one document file (hereinbelow, called an "XPS document") and the print control apparatus is notified of the XPS document.
In the print control apparatus, when the print command is issued by the application, prior to executing an image process, whether or not the notified printing conditions are settings suitable for the printer is discriminated.
The following control method has generally been known. That is, if the output sheets and media types supported by the printer have already been set, the image process according to the output sheet and media type which have been set as printing conditions is executed. If the output sheet and media type which are not supported by the printer have been set, the set output sheet and media type are determined to be invalid, they are replaced with the predetermined regular output sheet and media type, and the image process is executed.
There has also been known a method of controlling in such a manner that if a substitutive printer exists, the printer which supports the set output sheet and media type is searched for and the photo images are printed and output from such a printer (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-035867).
There is such a service that the document such as a photo image or the like is provided and distributed to an unspecified large number of users by using Web, E-mail, or the like and downloaded to the PC of the user himself and the printing is executed. In such a service, it is a general method that after the document was downloaded, the user himself sets printing conditions (sheet type, print quality) adapted to the device which prints, and the printing is executed.
As mentioned above, if the output sheets and media types supported by the printer have been set, the image process according to the output sheet and media type set as printing conditions is executed. Therefore, when the photo images are output by the printer, the output sheet and media type adapted to the photo paper set in the printer so as to output are correctly selected from the output sheets and media types supported by the printer. By such a method, a user's desired print result can be derived.
However, if the output sheet and media type which are not supported by the printer or the output sheet and media type which are not adapted to the photo paper set in the printer so as to output have been selected, the image process which is not adapted to the photo paper set in the printer is executed. There is, consequently, a risk that an unexpected print result in which print data is partially dropped out, the expected picture quality is not obtained, or the like is caused and the photo paper and ink are wastefully consumed.
According to circumstances, there is also a risk that since the image process or the sheet feeding operation of the printer side which is not adapted to the photo paper set in the printer is executed, an inconvenience of the printer side is also caused.
Therefore, to obtain a desired print result, it is necessary to properly set the output sheet and media type, as printing conditions, adapted to the photo paper set in the printer so as to output. However, to properly set the printing conditions, several subjects exist.
As a first subject, the user has to previously grasp the output sheet and media type adapted to the photo paper onto which the print data is printed and output.
Since characteristics of the printers differ depending on the products, upon outputting the photo image, even if the same photo paper is used, there are many cases where the media types to be set differ depending on the printer. In addition, as for the output sheets and media types supported by the printer, both of the set values for printing a photograph and the set values for printing one of a document and a New Year's card exist.
In consideration of them, the user has to find out the output sheet and media type adapted to the photo paper set in the printer so as to output from the output sheets and media types supported by the printer.
As a method which has hitherto been used for allowing the user to grasp the output sheet and media type adapted to the photo paper set in the printer, the following methods can be mentioned.
1. Description in an electronic manual attached as a package at the time of the purchase of the printer
2. Description on the Home page of the maker which has put the printer on sale
3. Description on a package of the photo paper or in a manual attached together with the photo paper
4. Description on the side which provides a document such as a photo image or the like
However, according to the above methods, the user himself has to be aware of a fact that the description has been written and correctly understand the contents and, eventually, the user himself has to set the printing conditions before the print start. Consequently, there is also a possibility of occurrence of an erroneous operation and it is difficult to say that the proper printing conditions could certainly be set. In addition, there is also such a problem that in the case where the user purchases a new printer or the like, he has to grasp the proper printing conditions again, or the like.
As a second subject, each time the application is activated and the printing is executed, the printing conditions have to be set although such a point is not particularly limited to the photo printing.
In the application according to the GDI print path, a possibility that the printing conditions which have been set at a point of time when the document such as a photo image or the like is opened indicate default values which have been predetermined by an outputting apparatus is high. This is because since the printing conditions are not embedded in the document such as a photo image or the like, it is necessary to set other printing conditions as initial settings in place of the above printing conditions.
It is a general case that the default printing conditions which have been predetermined by the outputting apparatus are the set values suitable for document printing. Therefore, when the photo image is printed and output, each time the application is activated (each time the photo image is output), the printing conditions suitable for the photo printing have to be correctly set. It is difficult to say that the use convenience is high.
As mentioned above, according to the XPS document, the document such as a photo image or the like, the printing conditions, and the draw command can be collected as one document file.
Therefore, so long as the user has correctly grasped the output sheet and media type to be set as printing conditions, the XPS document in which the proper printing conditions have been embedded together with the document such as a photo image or the like is preliminarily formed. Consequently, such a troublesomeness that the printing conditions are set again each time the application is activated (each time the photo image is output) can be omitted.
In addition, in the case of providing the document such as a photo image or the like by using the Internet, E-mail, or the like, the XPS document in which the proper printing conditions have previously been embedded together with the document such as a photo image or the like is provided. By using such a method, it is considered that upon printing and outputting, it is unnecessary for the user who received the provided document to be particularly conscious of the setting of the output sheet and media type.
However, there is a case where since the characteristics of the printers differ depending on the products as mentioned above, the media types to be set differ according to the printers. In addition, since the characteristics differ depending on not only the products but also the districts where the products are sold, there is also considered a case where the output sheets which are supported differ depending on the printers.
Therefore, even if the document such as a photo image or the like is provided as an XPS document, a possibility that the output sheet and media type embedded as printing conditions are not adapted to the printer which the user possesses is not so low.
Particularly, in the case of providing the document such as a photo image or the like to an unspecified large number of users like a photograph providing service by the Web site or the like, the users have a variety of printers. In such a case, it can be said that a possibility that the output sheet and media type embedded as printing conditions together with the photo image are not adapted to the printer possessed by the user who received the provided photo image is fairly high.
A case where the output sheet and media type embedded as printing conditions together with the photo image are not adapted to the printer possessed by the user who received the provided photo image is now considered. In such a case, eventually, when the user prints and outputs the photo image, the output sheet and media type adapted to the printer possessed by the user have to be correctly set again as printing conditions.
Even if the side which provided the document such as a photo image or the like has embedded, as an XPS document, the document such as a photo image or the like, the printing conditions, and the draw command, in the case of providing the document to an unspecified large number of users, the foregoing two subjects cannot be improved.


A pipe joint structure may include a joint body, an O-ring seal piece, an auxiliary retaining ring, a nut lock, and a connecting base, wherein the joint body has a first opening and a second opening connecting and transmitting through with each other, a cam ring is configured in the first opening, a first thread section is configured on the outer margin of the joint body corresponding to the first opening, the auxiliary retaining ring has a first end, a second end, an inner ring portion, and an outer ring portion, a function inclined plane is formed by cone shape expansion in the middle part of the inner ring portion toward the first end, a second thread section and a stepped blocking portion are configured in the inner margin of the lock nut.

The present invention relates to a pipe joint structure, especially a pipe joint structure with the excellent fixation force.
The conventional pipe joint structures nowadays are mostly those shown in FIG. 10. The pipe joint (80) mainly comprises: a joint body (81), an O-ring seal piece (82), a snap ring (83), and a connecting base (84). Therein, the joint main body (81) has a first opening (811) and a second opening (812) connecting and transmitting through each other. A cam ring (813) and a circular groove (814) are configured inside of the first opening (811). A snap ring (83) has a circular elastic flange (831) and a plurality of break gear teeth (832) configured on the circular elastic flange (831). An one end of the connecting base (84) is configured with an enlarged lug (841) wherein the enlarged lug serves for pressing the connecting base (84) inward, and another end of the connecting base (84) has a plurality of spring plates (842) separated from each other with space between, and each of the out lateral of the spring plate (842) has a undercut (843) formed. While using the pipe joint (80), the O-ring seal piece (82), snap ring (83), and the end of the connecting base (84) having the spring plate (842) will be sequentially placed into the internal of the joint main body (81) from the first opening (811) so that the O-ring seal piece (82) and the snap ring (83) can be limited on the cam ring (813), and the undercut (843) of the connecting base (84) can inherently snap into the circumferential concave (814) of the joint body (81). When the brass pipe (90) through towards the first opening (811) of the joint body (81) from the inner circumferential section of the connecting base (84), the break gear teeth (832) of the snap ring (83) will slightly embed the brass pipe (90) so that the brass pipe (90) can connect to the water equipment via the pipe joint (80).
Nevertheless, the conventional pipe joint structure mentioned above still has the following problems in the actual application: that the pipe joint (80) merely using the break gear teeth (832) of the snap ring (83) to slightly embed the brass pipe (90) has the drawback of the weaker fixation force, that leads the brass pipe (90) separated from the pipe joint (80) under the pull force (referring to FIG. 11), and during the separation, the break gear teeth (832) scratches the brass pipe (90) and leave long scratches (91) on the surface of the brass pipe (90) (referring to FIG. 12). The long depression scratches (91) can cause the brass pipe (90) unable to completely adhere to the pipe joint (80) when re-jointing, which is the main reason that the water equipment is accompanied by leakage problem.
Therefore, the development and improvement to solve the above shortages of the conventional pipe joint structure is an object for the related industry to put effort on. In view of this, the inventor has been motivated and obtained the present invention by years of designing experience, multi discussion, testing sample, and repeatedly amendment for improvement.


An exercise and training device for swimmers in the form of a shirt, top, or singlet that, due to the material of manufacture, increases the resistance to the swimmer's movement through the water.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to exercise clothing and more specifically relates to drag inducing swimwear for wearing during an exercise regimen.
2. Prior Art
People, especially athletes, when exercising often prefer to push themselves harder when training so as to allow them to better compete. For example, many athletes carry additional weights when training. Wrist and ankle weights are available for wearing bracelet-like and anklet-like, respectively, to provide for extra effort when moving the arms and legs, respectively, during running or other motion exercises, for increasing the strength and stamina of the arms and legs. For another example, baseball players often add weights to bats when taking practice swings both to make the bat feel lighter when actually swinging at a pitch and to build arm muscles. For another example, people, especially members of the armed forces, often wear weighted backpacks or backpacks containing weights when walking or hiking, for increasing the strength and stamina of the legs and torso. Carrying such extra weight can increase the effort of the muscles, thus increasing the strength and stamina of the muscles upon continued use of the extra weights. Weighted clothing also exists for the same purpose.
Various inventions have been made to help swimmers train or compete. U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,485 is an external device that can potentially get in the way of the swimmers motion. This devices does not allow for freedom of movement, and thereby does not allow the swimmer to swim naturally or to complete flip turns. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/755,606 is a design that does not allow for continued resistance. U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,268 is a device that may get in the way of a swimmer's normal swimming motion and is not good for all strokes or for completing the flip turns. U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,137 is a device that could get caught between the swimmer's legs during breast stroke, in turn making it less universal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,116 is a device that reduces fluid resistance. U.S. Pat. No. 6,546,560 helps a wearer swim faster by reducing resistance and it does not add resistance and it is not for training. U.S. Pat. No. 7,104,932 is a device that can not be worn by multiple swimmers in the same lane and does not allow the swimmer to achieve the same feel of normal swimming.
Although these prior art inventions may have some utility, there is room for improvement. For example, to the swimmer, carrying extra weight may not be desirable or advantageous, as there is a risk of drowning should the swimmer be overburdened by the weight. As such, there is a need for an article of clothing that can be worn on the torso, such as a shirt, top, or singlet, that increases the muscle burden on a swimmer during training yet does not overly interfere with the movement of the wearer. The present invention is directed to such needs.


Provided is a laser welding apparatus configured to weld an electrode lead of at least one secondary battery of a battery module and a main bus bar configured to electrically connect a plurality of secondary batteries to each other. The laser welding apparatus includes: a laser beam emitting unit including a laser emitting element to irradiate a laser beam to the electrode lead and the main bus bar; a pressing jig including a pressing bar configured to move in a left-and-right direction such that the electrode lead is adhered to the main bus bar; and a blocking block movable to block the laser beam generated in the laser beam emitting unit from reaching the at least one secondary battery or movable to allow the generated laser beam to pass therethrough, according to a position of the pressing bar moved in the left-and-right direction.

Currently commercialized secondary batteries include nickel cadmium batteries, nickel hydrogen batteries, nickel zinc batteries, lithium secondary batteries, etc. and the lithium secondary batteries thereamong are receiving attention due to advantages of free charging/discharging, a very low self-discharge rate, and high energy density since a memory effect is barely generated compared to nickel-based secondary batteries.
Such a lithium secondary battery mainly uses a lithium-based oxide and a carbon material respectively as a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode active material. The lithium secondary battery includes an electrode assembly, in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate on which the positive electrode active material and the negative electrode active material are respectively coated are arranged with a separator therebetween, and an exterior material, i.e., a battery pouch exterior material, sealing and accommodating the electrode assembly with an electrolyte solution together.
Generally, the lithium secondary battery may be classified into a can-type secondary battery, in which the electrode assembly is embedded in a metal can, and a pouch-type secondary battery, in which the electrode assembly is embedded in a pouch of an aluminum laminate sheet, according to a shape of the exterior material.
Recently, the secondary battery is widely used not only in a small-sized apparatus, such as a portable electronic device, but also in medium- and large-sized apparatuses, such as a vehicle or an energy storage apparatus. When the secondary battery is used in the medium- and large-sized apparatuses, a large number of secondary batteries are electrically connected to increase capacity and output. In particular, the pouch-type secondary battery is mostly used in such medium- and large-sized apparatuses due to easy stacking.
For example, in order for the secondary batteries to be electrically connected inside a battery module, electrode leads may be connected to each other and a connected portion may be welded to maintain such a connected state. Moreover, the battery module may have parallel and/or series electric connection between the secondary batteries, and in this case, one end portion of the electrode lead may contact and be fixed to a bus bar for electric connection between the secondary batteries, via welding or the like.
At this time, the electric connection between the secondary batteries is often configured by bonding the electrode lead to the bus bar. In other words, in order to electrically connect the plurality of secondary batteries in parallel, the electrode leads of same polarity are connected and bonded to each other, and in order to electrically connect the plurality of secondary batteries in series, the electrode leads of different polarities are connected and bonded to each other.
Meanwhile, a battery module of the related art employs a laser welding method of irradiating a laser beam to a welding region to weld am electrode lead and a bus bar.
However, in such a laser welding method, when a laser welding apparatus malfunctions during a welding process between the bus bar and the electrode lead of a secondary battery, the laser beam may be irradiated while a welding zig is not positioned at a proper position of the battery module. In this case, the erroneously irradiated laser beam is directly irradiated to the secondary battery of the battery module, thereby damaging the secondary battery, and when severely irradiated, igniting the secondary battery, and thus there is a high risk.
In this regard, there is a need for a technique capable of preventing a laser beam from irradiating to an incorrect position of a battery module due to malfunction of a laser welding apparatus.

Laser welding apparatus comprising laser beam blocking block


A process is described for producing olefins from a vapor product stream from an oxygenate to olefin conversion reaction, the vapor product stream comprising C2 to C4 olefins, C5+ hydrocarbons, at least one oxygenate and water. In the process, the vapor product stream is cooled to remove water therefrom and produce a first vapor effluent stream. The first vapor effluent stream is then cooled and compressed to produce a condensed liquid effluent stream comprising C5+ hydrocarbons and at least one oxygenate, and a residual vapor effluent stream comprising C2 to C4 olefins. At least part of the condensed liquid effluent stream is contacted with a liquid water-containing stream in a liquid-liquid contacting device to at least partly separate said condensed liquid effluent stream, or portion thereof, into an aqueous phase rich in said at least one oxygenate and an organic phase rich in said C5+ hydrocarbons.

Olefins are traditionally produced from petroleum feedstocks by catalytic or steam cracking processes. These cracking processes, especially steam cracking, produce light olefin(s), such as ethylene and/or propylene, from a variety of hydrocarbon feedstocks. Ethylene and propylene are important commodity petrochemicals useful in a variety of processes for making plastics and other chemical compounds.
The petrochemical industry has known for some time that oxygenates, especially alcohols, are convertible into light olefin(s). There are numerous technologies available for producing oxygenates including fermentation or reaction of synthesis gas derived from natural gas, petroleum liquids or carbonaceous materials including coal, recycled plastics, municipal waste or any other organic material. Generally, the production of synthesis gas involves a combustion reaction of natural gas, mostly methane, and an oxygen source into hydrogen, carbon monoxide and/or carbon dioxide. Other known syngas production processes include conventional steam reforming, autothermal reforming, or a combination thereof.
The preferred process for converting an oxygenate, such as methanol, into one or more olefin(s), primarily ethylene and/or propylene, involves contacting the feedstock with a catalyst composition, typically containing a molecular sieve catalyst. The product stream from such a process is a complex mixture comprising the desired light olefins, unconverted oxygenates, by-product oxygenates, heavier hydrocarbons and large amounts of water. The separation and purification of this mixture to recover the light olefins and other valuable by-products is critical to the overall efficiency and cost effectiveness of the process. In particular, it is important that the purification scheme produces products that are substantially free of impurities, which could adversely effect downstream processing.
For example, certain oxygenate components present in the product from an oxygenate to olefin conversion (OTO) process, particularly aldehydes and ketones, may cause problems in olefin recovery operations and in derivative manufacturing processes that feed and react C4+ hydrocarbons. Various schemes have therefore been proposed for removing aldehydes and ketones from the olefinic and C4+ hydrocarbon components of oxygenate conversion effluent streams.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,303,841 and U.S. patent application Publication No. 2002/0007101, published Jan. 17, 2002, disclose a process for producing ethylene from oxygenates in which the oxygenate conversion effluent stream is compressed in a multi-stage compressor to a pressure of 1050 to 2860 kPa (150 to 400 psia), preferably 1750 to 2450 kPa (250 to 350 psia), washed with methanol and then water to remove unreacted oxygenates and then contacted with caustic to remove carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide depleted stream is dried with a solid desiccant and passed to a deethanizer zone to provide a light hydrocarbon feedstream comprising hydrogen, methane, ethylene and ethane, and a deethanized stream comprising propylene, propane, and C4+ olefins. The light hydrocarbon stream is passed to a demethanizer zone operating at a temperature greater than −45° C. to provide a bottom stream comprising ethylene and ethane and an overhead stream comprising hydrogen, methane, and ethylene. The bottom stream is fed to a C2 splitter zone to produce the ethylene product stream and an ethane stream, whereas the overhead stream is fed to a pressure swing adsorption zone to remove hydrogen and methane and produce an ethylene-containing stream which is combined with the oxygenate conversion effluent stream.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,403,854 and 6,459,009 to Miller et al. disclose a process for converting oxygenate to light olefins in which the reactor effluent is quenched with an aqueous stream in a two-stage process to facilitate the separation of hydrocarbon gases from any entrained catalyst fines, as well as to remove water and any heavy by-products such as C6+ hydrocarbons. A portion of the waste water stream withdrawn from the bottom of the quench tower is recycled to the quench tower at a point above where the reactor effluent is introduced to the quench tower. The vapor product stream from the quench tower is compressed, passed to an adsorption zone for the selective removal of oxygenates and then passed to a caustic wash zone for removal of carbon dioxide. The resultant carbon dioxide free light olefin stream is passed to a dryer zone for the removal of water and passed to a conventional light olefin recovery zone.
U.S. patent application Publication No. 2003/0130555, published Jul. 10, 2003, discloses a process for separating oxygenated hydrocarbons from the olefin product of an oxygenate to conversion olefins reaction. The product is initially sent to a cooling unit, such as a quench tower, from which cooled olefin product is separated as an olefin vapor stream. The water containing bottoms stream can be recycled through a heat exchanger for cooling and/or removed from the cooling unit to a first separator, such as a distillation column, to provide an oxygenated hydrocarbon product of reduced water content and remaining water as a bottoms product. The olefin vapor stream is compressed to at least 30 psia (207 kPa), preferably 100 to 500 psia (689 to 3447 kPa), and directed to a second separator that provides an olefin vapor product and a liquid oxygenated hydrocarbon-containing stream. The liquid oxygenated hydrocarbon containing stream can then be combined with the water containing bottoms stream or directly added to the first separator to provide an oxygenated hydrocarbon product recovered from the first separator that is reduced in water content and can be used as fuel or co-feed for the oxygenate reaction process. Before or after the compression step, the olefin vapor can be washed with methanol and/or water at a temperature of 40 to 200° F. (4 to 93° C.), preferably 80 to 120° F. (27 to 49° C.).
In addition, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/871394, filed Jun. 18, 2004, discloses a process for producing olefins from the vaporous first effluent stream from an oxygenate to olefin conversion reaction, said vaporous first effluent stream comprising C2 and C3 olefins, C4 hydrocarbons, and C2 to C6 carbonyl compounds. In the process, the temperature and pressure of the vaporous first effluent stream are adjusted to produce a second effluent stream having a pressure ranging from about 100 psig to about 350 psig (790 to 2514 kPa) and a temperature ranging from about 70° F. to about 120° F. (21 to 49° C.), wherein the second effluent stream contains about 50 wt. % or more C4 hydrocarbons based upon the total weight of C4 hydrocarbons in the first effluent stream. The second effluent stream is then washed with an alcohol to remove carbonyl compounds and produce a third effluent stream, whereafter the third effluent stream is washed with water to provide a fourth effluent stream comprising the C2 and C3 olefins and about 1.0 wt. % or less of the C2 to C6 carbonyl compounds.
All of the above references are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The unconverted and by-product oxygenates removed from the olefin-containing product streams in the above processes are valuable materials and are generally recycled backed to the OTO reactor for conversion to olefins. However, these oxygenate-containing streams also typically contain heavy (C5+) hydrocarbons, including aromatic compounds, that are considerably less reactive than the other components in the OTO feed and so, if not removed, can build up to unacceptable levels in the the reaction/purification system. Moreover, separation of heavy hydrocarbons from oxygenates, such as methanol, is difficult by conventional fractionation. For example, the normal boiling point of methanol is 140° F. (60° C.), whereas those of hexane and benzene are 156° F. (69° C.) and 176° F. (80° C.) respectively, and conventional fractional distillation would need to employ an expensive column having many trays with high reboiler and condenser duties to make any appreciable separation There is therefore a need for an improved method for separating heavy hydrocarbons from OTO effluent streams.


A storage system and method for improving utilization of a communication channel between a host and the storage system are provided. In one embodiment, a host sends a request for workload pattern information to the data storage device, and the data storage device provides the requested workload pattern information to the host. Based on that workload pattern information, the host queues commands to be sent to the data storage device to improve utilization of the communication channel between the host and the data storage device. Other embodiments are provided.

In some data storage device environments, such as those operating under the Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) specification, a host stores a queue of commands (e.g., read commands and/or write commands), and the data storage device selects commands from the queue for execution. When choosing which command to select from the queue, some data storage devices select the command that would result in bandwidth being maximized. Also, some data storage devices use a weighted priority-based scheme for host command selection.

Data storage device and method for enabling higher lane utilization in run time via device hints on workload patterns


Disclosed are liquid crystal display devices having an integrated driving circuit allowing a large area panel to be manufactured. This is achieved through low resistance wiring by forming a second gate wiring with a clad structure on top of a first gate wiring of low resistance without additional mask process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device and a method of fabricating the same, and more particularly, to a driving circuit integrated type liquid crystal display device, in which a large area panel can be manufactured by realizing a low resistance wiring, and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, displays are considered to be more and more important as a visual information transmission media. In order to occupy a major position in the future, the display has to satisfy a low power consumption characteristic, a thin and light characteristic, and a high picture quality characteristic. Because a liquid crystal display (LCD) device (a popular type of flat panel display (FPD)) not only satisfies these requirements but also allows for mass production. Thus, various kinds of new products using the LCD device are being developed, and the LCD device has become the leading replacement of the existing cathode ray tube (CRT) technology.
Generally, a liquid crystal display device is a display device for displaying desired images by supplying data signals corresponding to image information to liquid crystal cells arranged in a matrix, respectively, and controlling the light transmittance of the liquid crystal cells.
The Active Matrix (AM) method, the primary driving method for the liquid crystal display device, is a method that drives liquid crystal in a pixel portion using an amorphous silicon thin film transistor (a-Si TFT) as a switching device.
The concept of amorphous silicon thin film transistor technology was established by LeComber, United Kingdom et al. in 1979, and put into practical use as a 3-inch liquid crystal portable television in 1986. Recently, a large area thin film transistor liquid crystal display devices larger than 50 inches have been developed. In particular, the amorphous silicon thin film transistor is actively used since a glass substrate of a low price is useable because a low temperature process is available.
However, there are limitations on using the amorphous silicon thin film transistor for a peripheral circuit requiring high speed operation greater than 1 MHz by an electric mobility of 0 to 1 cm2/Vsec of the amorphous silicon thin film transistor. Accordingly, the study of integrating both the pixel portion and the driving circuit portion on a glass substrate using polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin film transistors having a field effect mobility greater than amorphous silicon thin film transistors is being actively pursued.
The polycrystalline silicon thin film transistor technology has been adapted to a small-size module of a camcorder or the like since the liquid crystal display color television was developed in 1982. It has an advantage that a driving circuit can be manufacture directly on a substrate because of a low photosensitivity and a high field effect mobility.
An increase in the mobility can improve the operational frequency of the driving circuit portion for determining the number of driving pixels, and this makes it easier to achieve the high definition of a display device. Further, a picture quality improvement can be anticipated because the distortion of a transmission signal is reduced by a reduction in the charging time of a signal voltage of the pixel portion.
Furthermore, the polycrystalline silicon thin film transistor has an advantage that power consumption can be reduced because it can be driven at less than 10V as compared to the amorphous silicon thin film transistor having a high driving voltage of 0 to 25V.
Hereinafter, a structure of a liquid crystal display device will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically illustrating a structure of a related art liquid crystal display device, in which a driving circuit integrated type liquid crystal display device having a driving circuit portion integrated on an array substrate is illustrated.
As illustrated therein, the liquid crystal display device largely comprises a color filter substrate 5, an array substrate 10, and a liquid crystal layer (not illustrated) formed between the color filter substrate 5 and the array substrate 10.
The array substrate 10 includes a pixel portion 35, an image display region in which unit pixels are arranged in a matrix, and a driving circuit portion 30 located at the periphery of the pixel portion 35 and having of a data driving circuit portion 31 and a gate driving circuit portion 32.
Though not illustrated in the drawings, the pixel portion 35 of the array substrate 10 includes a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines that define a plurality of pixel regions by being arranged vertically and horizontally on the substrate 10, a plurality of thin film transistors serving as switching devices formed at intersections of the gate lines and the data lines and a plurality of pixel electrodes formed in the pixel regions.
The thin film transistor is a kind of field effect transistor (FET) serving as a switching device for applying and intercepting a signal voltage to and from the pixel electrodes which controls the flow of an electrical current by an electric field.
The driving circuit portion 30 of the array substrate 10 is located at the periphery of the pixel portion 35 of the array substrate 10 protruded on the color filter substrate 50. The data driving portion 31 is located at a long side of the protruded array substrate 10, and the gate driving circuit portion 32 is located at a short side of the protruded array substrate 10.
The data driving circuit portion 31 and the gate driving circuit portion 32 use a thin film transistor of a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) structure, which is an inverter, in order to properly output an input signal.
For reference, the CMOS is a kind of integrated circuit of a MOS structure used for driving circuit portion thin film transistors that require high speed signal processing. The CMOS requires both N channel thin film transistors and P channel thin film transistors, and its speed and density characteristics exhibit an intermediate form between a NMOS and a PMOS.
The gate driving circuit portion 32 and the data driving circuit portion 31 are an apparatus for supplying scanning signals and data signals to the pixel electrodes via the gate lines and data lines, respectively. They are connected to an external signal input terminal (not illustrated) and thus serve to control an external signal coming through the external signal input terminal and output it to the pixel electrodes.
A color filter (not illustrated) for implementing colors and a common electrode facing the pixel electrodes formed on the array substrate 10 are formed at the pixel portion 35 of the color filter substrate 5.
The color filter substrate 5 and array substrate 10 constructed as above are provided with a cell gap therebetween so as to be regularly spaced apart from each other, and face each other and are attached by a seal pattern (not illustrated) formed on an outer edge of the pixel portion 35, thereby forming a unit liquid crystal display panel. The attachment of the two substrates 5 and 10 is formed through an attachment key (not illustrated) formed at the color filter substrate 30 or the array substrate 10.
Gate wiring and data wiring are means for applying scanning signals and data signals, respectively, and required to suppress a signal delay and disconnection.
In particular, material used for the wirings should have a specific resistance less than a predetermined level, should not be easily oxidized, and should not be easily broken in the fabricating process.
However, current technologies are unable to efficiently implementa large area liquid crystal display panel requiring a low resistance wiring.

Liquid crystal display device and method of fabricating the same


An apparatus for providing customized advertisements includes a database that stores a plurality of electronic advertisements, receives biometric information of a client from at least one biometric device of the client, and receives receptivity information of the client responding to the plurality of electronic advertisements, as well as a processor that accesses the database, and maps the biometric information and the receptivity information and analyzes the mapped information to generate customized marketing data. The processor also calculates a receptivity probability for each of the plurality of electronic advertisements based on the customized marketing data by using current biometric state of the client, selects an electronic advertisement from the plurality of electronic advertisements based on the calculated receptivity probabilities, and outputs to the client the selected electronic advertisement.

Traditionally, it takes seven times to repeat a marketing message before audiences register and accept the message. Further, social media target advertisements based merely on conversations. For example, Amazon may target ads based on verbal conversations that Alexa hears. Ads can also be targeted based on social media posts that a person writes and shares. There is a need to make target advertising more effective.

System for target online advertising using biometric information


The invention discloses a method for detection of genetically modified maize BT11. The principle of the method is that the DNA template of the sample is amplified at a temperature of 63° C.˜65° C. for 45˜60 min by using 4 specific primers and a DNA polymerase with strand displacement activity. The identification thereof is to make a judgment on whether BT11 component is contained in the sample by directly observing the turbidity in the reaction tube or the color change after the addition of SYBR Green with naked eyes or by agarose gel electrophoresis. The detection method of the invention has the advantages of high specificity, quickness, simplicity and convenience and the like, which provides a convenient method for detection of genetically modified maize BT11 with an extensive application prospect.

With the rapid development of biotechnology, genetic engineering technology has provided a new approach for supply of human food and animal feed. Presently, most of the projects of genetically modified plants worldwide, which have been commercialized and are under study, are in association with food and feed, in which mature techniques have been developed for a totality of dozens of varieties, hundreds of lines, mainly including soybean, maize, rapeseed, potato, tomato, wheat and the like. Maize is one of the important food crops in the world, and the hazards faced during its process of growth are primarily from disease and insect pests, secondly from weeds. According to statistics, not spraying pesticide to maize may lead to 59% of production loss. Therefore, the earliest application of genetic engineering technology in maize is to develop genetically modified maize lines having insect-resistant and herbicide-resistant characteristics. The number of genetically modified maize lines registered in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2000 was 18 in total, of which improved properties were insect-resistance and herbicide-tolerance etc. In 2000, among all of the genetically modified maize cultivated in the United States, 72% were of insect-resistant characteristic, 24% were of herbicide-tolerant characteristic, whereas 4% were of insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant characteristics in both.
Genetically modified maize BT11 is a line having simultaneously both insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant characteristics. The insect-resistant gene transferred in it is the insect-resistant gene CrylAb of the series of BT toxic protein gene and the Glufosinate herbicide-tolerant gene transferred is Glufosinate acetyl transferase gene.
As great quantities of genetically modified crops are entering the market progressively, the safety issues of genetically modified crops and food processed from genetically modified crops have begun to be concerned by people. Essentially, there is no difference between the genetically modified crop varieties and conventionally bred crop varieties. Conventional breeding is generally realized through sexual hybridization, whereas the plant genetic engineering is to introduce exogenous recombinant DNA to the plant genome by using the techniques of agrobacteria, gene gun, Electroporation and microinjection and so on. Although theoretically speaking, the genetic characteristic and phenotype of the transferred gene may be predicted more precisely with a safer application, it is necessary at all to conduct safety assessment on genetically modified crops yet.
The European Union is the first to put forward conducting labeling administration for genetically modified food. In 1999, the non-genetically modified organisms exported to the European Union were required that should not contain pollution of more than 1% of genetically modified food; in 2002, the minimal labeling limitation was decreased to 0.9% by the European Union. Different minimal content of genetically modified component were prescribed in Japan, Australian and New Zealand, with different thresholds in the range from 1% to 5%.
In China, "Biosafety Administration Regulations on Agricultural Genetically modified Organisms" was issued and implemented on May 9, 2001, three follow-up management regulations for biosafety evaluation, labeling administration and safety administration on imported products for agricultural genetically modified organisms were issued on Jan. 5, 2002, which determined the first list of agricultural genetically modified organisms applied labeling administration, and were formally coming into force from Mar. 20, 2002.
At present, the detection of genetically modified crops mostly includes two approaches: the first, to detect whether exogenous genes (DNA) are contained. This approach mainly bases on PCR technology and hybridizing test technology of nucleic acid probes which can detect whether exogenous genes (including target genes, label genes and primers) are contained in the GMC precisely and rapidly; the second is to detect if there is exogenous protein (the product of gene expression), and this approach mainly adopts the methods of chemical analysis, gel electrophoresis and enzyme linked immunity with a comparably detailed and complicated detection work. Among these approaches, PCR detection methods are principal methods for detection of genetically modified crops, including Qualitative PCR method, Multiplex PCR method, Nested PCR method, Competitive Quantitative PCR method, Fluorescence Quantitative PCR method and the like. The Qualitative PCR and Real-Time Quantitative PCR detection methods are popularized and employed at home and abroad.
The general detection procedure of PCR amplification technique is as follows: the extraction of plant genome DNA→PCR amplification→enzymatic cleavage experiment→detection of target gene→detection report. Major apparatuses and equipments for detection are PCR equipment, electrophoresis apparatus, frozen centrifuge, Ultraviolet observing (or imaging) equipment etc. In addition, the technical conditions required for detection of genetically modified organisms are comparatively high, the apparatuses and equipments are relatively costly, as well as the cost and fee of detection are quite high.

Method for detection of genetically modified maize BT11

Central Lab of Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences


A caliper finger for use as part of a multi-finger caliper logging tool has a body formed substantially of a first material and a finger tip formed substantially of a second material which has greater mechanical durability than the first material. The first material and second material are fused directly together at a joint between the first material and the second material. The finger tip may comprise a plurality of successively-fused layers of the second material, which can then be machined at its outer surface after fusion of the plurality of layers. The second material may be a composite material of tungsten carbide combined with a base material in which the tungsten carbide is embedded and securely bonded to the finger.

In drilling oil and gas wells, casing is used to support the well bore and act as a barrier between the well bore and the formation. Well casing and other tubulars, such as liners and production tubing used in a well bore, are subject to extreme conditions of temperature, pressure and chemical exposure. As a result, the casing can be liable to buckle, changing its cross-sectional area from the ideal circular to elliptical or other eccentricities with corresponding changes over its length. Additionally, the inner surface of the casing may be subject to corrosion and chemical abrasion, creating roughening, pitting and loss of material. This deterioration of the casing can have devastating effects on the well if the casing were to thin to the point that it could no longer act as a barrier to pressure and split, develop a leak and allow the flow of fluids between the wellbore and the formation, or bulge and create an obstruction to other tubulars being run into the well bore.
Casings are therefore periodically inspected. This is achieved by running a logging tool into the well bore. These tools are run on wireline or slickline. The tool contains various instruments designed to measure dimensions of the casing such as the inner diameter ('caliper') and wall thickness along the length of the casing. A typical prior art caliper tool is shown in FIG. 1. Caliper tool A includes feeler fingers B which are biased in an open position to contact the inner surface C of the casing D. The tool A is provided with a caliper mechanism E having a number of fingers B, and typically between 24 to 56 are provided on a single tool. Each finger B is fixed at a first end to the elongate shaft F of the tool A and the fingers B are arranged circumferentially around the tool A with the distal end of each finger B able to be biased outwards. The tool A is inserted downhole in a closed position (not shown) before the fingers B are then biased outwards. Centralising rollers G provided on the shaft F centralise the tool A within the casing D and tool A is then slowly retracted from the well. As the caliper E moves over the casing D, the fingers B, or feeler arms, follow the contour of the casing's inside wall C. The mechanical actuation of each finger B is, within the tool A, sensed and converted into data which can be used to provide a high resolution radial and vertical representation of the interior of the casing. From the representation, casing corrosion ranging from small pits and the development of scale, to axial splits in the casing, can be identified.
To respond to small deviations on the casing wall, the fingers are cast in thin metal with a rounded top tip which contacts the inner surface of the casing. Each finger is typically formed of beryllium copper, an alloy which is prized for being easily machined while having high tensile strength. It also has "non-sparking" properties, thus emitting no sparks or "cold sparks" when struck against other metals. This is a requirement of materials used in oil and gas well bores.
While beryllium copper has many advantages it also has a major disadvantage. It is a relatively soft metal and therefore the tips of the feeler fingers typically wear quickly. This necessitates regular inspection and replacement of fingers to ensure correct measurements are made, adding to the time and costs in using the tool.
It is recognised by those skilled in the art that tungsten carbide is a material which resists the harshest environments of corrosion, high temperature, impact, high compressive loads, deformation and severe abrasion. It is, however, heavier than beryllium copper and difficult to machine. Consequently, it is not possible to make the fingers from tungsten carbide or cemented carbide alone.
In an effort to increase the durability and wear of the fingers, tungsten carbide has been applied as a coating to the tips. This gives a limited increase in operational use as the tungsten also wears relatively quickly due to the quantity applied. It has also been found to detach when the fingers are used in highly corrosive environments, such as in 'sour' wells. Sour wells contain hydrogen sulphide and at the coating edges or at points of defect, such as cracking or wear of the coating, the hydrogen sulphide causes delamination to occur. As a result, these fingers require constant inspection and it can be difficult to determine the degree of wear.
A bead of tungsten carbide has also been attached to the tip. This advantageously gives a tungsten carbide surface for contact with the casing wall and an easily determinable wear indication as the ball changes shape as it is abraded. However, the contact point provides a point of weakness and the bead can become easily detached.
A piece of the tip has also been removed and an insert of tungsten carbide attached to provide a hard wearing area of contact. The insert is attached by soldering or brazing.
Both the processes of brazing and soldering bring together two separate metals with a metallic filler, which is referred to as the braze or solder, which flows over the joint and creates a bond that can be relied upon. Whilst this connection method creates a bond that can be very difficult to see, which can operate at great range of heats and temperatures and is mechanically resilient, it does have a major disadvantage. When the bead or insert is used in corrosive downhole environments, the presence of hydrogen sulphide causes the brazed joint to corrode and for the connection to fail resulting in the loss of the insert.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a caliper finger having a durable caliper finger tip.


A valve assembly (1) has a valve (14), for example a flapper valve, that is contained within an axially movable valve housing (11) in the form of a cartridge (10) that is received within the bore of a tubular member (5). More than one cartridge (10) may be connected in series. The valve (14) and cartridge (10) are pivotally connected (13) and axial movement of the cartridge (10) pivots the valve (14) around this connection (13) to open or close the valve (14). The valve assembly (1) can be actuated by an actuator assembly (50) having an actuator (61) for actuating the valve (14), and a resettable shuttle device (80) that retains the actuator (61) in different configurations within the actuator assembly (50). The actuator (61) can be moved relative to the valve (14), engaging the shuttle device (80) and changing the configuration of the shuttle device (80).

Non-return valves (NRVs) are known in the art to control fluid flow in a conduit, permitting fluid flow in one direction, and restricting or preventing it in another direction. NRVs are used in oil and gas well conduits for preventing backflow of drilling mud up an oil or gas wellbore or drill string.
NRVs are frequently in the form of flapper valves comprising a pivot pin positioned in a hole drilled through a pivot tongue in the valve body, with a torsion spring wrapped around the pivot pin to offer some resilience in the flapper movement.


A cosmetics case comprising a cosmetics case having a lower body of the case is turns, and a piston in which is applied in inner portion of the lower body is moved lower to press the inside, with aligned to a screw rod by the turning of the lower body of the container, and thus, a check valve of which installed in upper inside hall which formed upper portion of inside of the screw rod, is pressed open then, opened a through hole, therefore, the liquid cosmetics which stored inside of the lower body is passed through a perpendicular hole, a through hole, an upper inside hole and an liquid transfer tube which formed an ejecting hole, then ejecting the liquid to a brush portion with a determined quantity of the cosmetics;

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cosmetics case of an ejecting or squeeze type liquid cosmetics such as a foundation or lipstick, and more particularly, to a cosmetics case having a lower body of the container which turns, and a piston in an inner portion of the lower body which is moved lower to press the cosmetics inside. The piston is aligned with a screw rod and moved by the turning of the lower body of the container.
A check valve is installed in an upper inside hall which is formed at an upper portion of the inside of the screw rod. The valve is pressed to open a through hole, through which the liquid cosmetics stored inside the lower body is passed.
A through hole, an upper inside hole and a liquid transfer tube form an ejecting hole, which ejects the liquid to a brush portion with a determined quantity of the cosmetics.
When the lower body stops turning, the pressure of the inside of the lower body is reduced, and the check valve returns to its original state by the spring power of the spring which is installed inside the upper inside hole. The through hole is then closed, so that the cosmetics can not eject any more. Thus one can easily control the ejecting and stopping of the cosmetics liquid.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Various cosmetics cases have been used to satisfy demands that they should be compact and convenient for use, have an attractive appearance, and be such as to allow the cosmetics contained therein to be easily handled.
Typically, cosmetics are solid, powder or in the liquid state. Currently, liquid cosmetics of foundation or lipstick are applied at the convenience of the user. The liquid cosmetics are filled in a pencil type circular container, so that the cosmetics are ejected to the upper portion of brush part of the inside of the case by pressing the inside of the case when a part of the container is pressed by the user.
Hereinafter, a conventional cosmetics case will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
An ejecting type liquid cosmetics case of the prior art, is disclosed in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.
The container includes a case body 101 which receives liquid cosmetics, a brush 102 which is used to apply the cosmetics and a cap 108 for protecting the brush 102. The case body 101 includes a rod 104 which has a piston 103 that pushes the liquid cosmetics to the brush 102, and a nut element 105a which is joined to the rod 104 with a screw joint, is fixed to the wall of the body 101 and supports the moving of the rod 104. The moving body 105 has a one direction turning guide element 105b attached to the nut element 105a and a rod movement cap 106 which surrounds the rod 104.
In the cosmetics case of the above mentioned prior art, the piston 103 which is jointed to the head end of the rod 104, is insertingly joined in the coupling portion 104a. Therefore the moving of the piston 103 is severe from the rod 104, and is easily separated by a small impact. An end of the spring 107 which applies repulsive power to a rod moving cap 106 is inserted to the rear end of the rod 104.
When, the rod moving cap 106 is rotated, an end of the spring 107 interferes with the rod moving cap 106, causing a noise and making the revolution of the rod moving cap 106 not go smoothly.
And since the moving body 105 has a one direction turning guide element 105b attached to the nut element 105a which can rotate in one direction only, returning is not possible, so that one can not prevent the flow of the cosmetics when there is a small impact or if it is positioned reversely. Therefore, there are many disadvantages, and it is complicated in construction and costs much.

Abstract: The lower body is stops turning, concurrently with; to lower pressure of the inside of the lower body, and the check valve returned to the origin state by the spring power of the spring which installed inside of the upper inside hole and, close off the through hole, therefore the cosmetics can not ejecting out more; thus can easily control the ejecting and close off the cosmetics liquid.


A method of training machine learning models (MLMs). An issue vector is generated using an issue MLM to generate a first output including first embedded natural language issue statements. An action vector is generated using an action MLM to generate a second output including related embedded natural language action statements. The issue and action MLMs are of a same type. An inner product of the first and second output is calculated, forming a third output. The third output is processed according to a sigmoid gate process to predict whether a given issue statement and corresponding action statement relate to a same call, resulting in a fourth output. A loss function is calculated from the fourth output by comparing the fourth output to a known result. The issue MLM and the action MLM are modified using the loss function to obtain a trained issue MLM and a trained action MLM.

Call center representatives for large commercial organizations often answer calls from customers looking for solutions to problems that the user (e.g., customers) encounter with the commercial organizations' products (e.g., such as software). While most of the problems are common to many customers, the solutions proposed by the call center representatives may vary. Additionally, some problems that are rarely encountered may be difficult to solve by inexperienced customer service representatives.

Machine learning to propose actions in response to natural language questions


An apparatus for identifying equipment, including the maintenance of usage histories for the equipment and recommending whether the equipment is to be used in a prospective application based on prospective application and usage history. A portable encapsulated passive circuit capable of transmitting an identification code is affixed to a piece of equipment. The circuit is activated by a portable reader which receives and decodes the identification code and transmits it to a central computer. The central computer verifies the reader and the existence of the equipment in a database and retrieves the usage history for the equipment. Based on the usage history, the prospective application and guidelines for usage of equipment, the computer determines the advisability of using the equipment in the prospective application and transmits the recommendation back to the portable reader.

The present invention is related to the field of remote identification devices, in particular, the remote identification and maintenance of service records for various pieces of downhole and surface oilfield equipment.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of identifying downhole and surface oilfield equipment for the purposes of maintaining usage records for such equipment.
2. Background of the Invention
The exploration, development and completion of an oil or gas field requires numerous pieces of equipment and materials such as casing, drill pipe, packers and other equipment. The cost of this equipment is relatively high. Accordingly, it is desirable to reuse many pieces of equipment for subsequent drilling and development operations. However, equipment undergoes considerable stress during drilling and completion operations. Components such as drill pipe may suffer from material fatigue which may ultimately result in failure of the drill pipe. The failure of a joint of drill pipe when downhole will require a suspension of drilling operations to recover the remainder of the drill string and other related equipment. It will be appreciated that the recovery of a drill string can be an expensive and time-consuming operation. Accordingly, it is desirable to maintain a service record relating to various pieces of equipment, such as drill pipe, for the purposes of determining fatigue and other factors relating to the use of equipment.
A number of methods have been utilized in an attempt to track service time information relating to pieces of oilfield equipment. U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,991 discloses a means for identifying drill pipe utilizing concentric rings of ferrous and non-ferrous material to create an identification code for the particular piece of drill pipe and a sensing means which detects the bands as the drill pipe passes the sensing means. The method disclosed therein suffers from limitations in the identification system in that only so many concentric rings may be mounted on any one length of drill pipe. Further, the disclosure calls for a stationary detector.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,967 also disclosed a means of identifying drill pipe utilizing a stationary electromagnetic detector "shoe" which sensed magnetic and non-magnetic inserts placed on the periphery of a tool joint pipe. However, the system disclosed therein required that the pipe be identified as it traversed the detector on its way downhole. It will be appreciated that in order to remove a joint of drill pipe which has exceeded its nominal service time, the joint will have to be uncoupled from the remainder of the drill pipe string. U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,490 also disclosed a similar identification system also utilizing magnetic and non-magnetic inserts dispersed around the periphery of a pipe joint and a detecting coil. This disclosure suffers from the same problems as U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,967.

Oilfield equipment identification apparatus


An illustrative aspect of the present disclosure is a system and method of generating a recipe, which includes determining rankings for a plurality of food ingredients for a target food product according to at least one of a health-based feature, a cost, or a prevalence of the plurality of food ingredients. A neural network can receive, as inputs, the rankings of the plurality of food ingredients, and a plurality of existing recipes for food products in a same category as the target food product. The neural network can generate, as output, according to the rankings of the plurality of food ingredients and the plurality of existing recipes, a new recipe for the target food product that incorporates a select food ingredient from the plurality of food ingredients.

Over 71% of consumers say they eat at least one shelf-stable (more than 4-weeks of shelf-life) snack per day. 77% of people under 35 reported needing snacks to get through the day, and, across all age groups, the majority of surveyed consumers wanted healthier snack options. Plant-based snacking is becoming even more prevalent, with veganism increasing by 600% in the US in the last four years alone, mirroring similar global trends. Likewise, there is a growing demand for functional products. All of these shifts demand that functional foods begin taking over more of the market share for shelf-stable products.
Similarly, large amounts of processed sugars can lead to chronic health issues, such as heart disease and diabetes, and can contribute to obesity, a rising epidemic in the United States in particular. According to a 2017 Obesity Report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, over 38% of Americans were overweight or obese, nearly twice the international average. Finding healthy, convenient snacking alternatives to both fresh fruit, which can be challenging to transport, and unhealthy snacks, like fruit snacks, poses a dire need in the snacking industry, especially as trends toward snacking and surrounding types of snacks people want begin to shift.

Recipe generation based on neural network


A material web to be dried runs across a first drying cylinder onto which it is forced by a concurrently running continuous drying wire. Thereafter, the web and the drying wire proceed jointly from the first drying cylinder to a suction guide roll. From the latter, at least the drying wire returns to another drying cylinder. This path of the drying wire defines a wire space S. Blown into this wire space, for instance by means of a blow pipe, is drying air at uniform distribution across the machine width and sucked out again by the suction guide roll. This suction air is blown at the material web by means of a circulation air fan, at the circumference of the suction guide roll, and is sucked away again from there by means of an exhaust air fan.

The invention concerns a device for drying a material web, specifically paper or cardboard web, of the general type in which a suction guide roll that features a suction device is arranged between two drying cylinders in a row of heatable drying cylinders contacted by the material web. A porous backing belt, preferably a drying wire, runs with the material web through the drying device. The backing belt forces the material web on the drying cylinders and makes direct contact with the suction guide rolls, wherein two adjacent drying cylinders, the suction guide roll arranged in between, and the backing belt define a so-called "wire space". An air guide box is provided on the path of the material web from one of the drying cylinders to the next drying cylinder for feeding drying air directly at the material web by means of a fan featuring a suction line.
Regarding the prior art, reference is made to the Voith patent applications P 38 07 856.2 and P 38 07 857.0. The former application concerns a so-called single-wire drying group. In it, the material web to be dried runs together with a backing belt (preferably drying wire) alternately across heatable drying cylinders and suction guide rolls. In the process, the material web makes direct contact with the drying cylinders, while the backing belt makes direct contact with the suction guide rolls. On its entire path through the drying device the material web is guided by the backing belt, so that the material web must at no point, or at the most at the exit from the drying device, run freely from one roll to another.
The object of the second patent application P 38 07 857.0 is a two-wire drying group. In this group, the material web to be dried meanders alternately across drying cylinders of an upper cylinder row and across drying cylinders of a lower cylinder row. The material web is forced on the upper drying cylinder by an upper backing belt and on the lower drying cylinders by a lower backing belt. Along part of its path between two drying cylinders, the paper web is free, that is, it is not supported by a backing belt.
Common to both configurations is that the material web and the backing belt run jointly from a first drying cylinder to a guide roll looped by the backing belt, whereafter the backing belt runs from this guide roll to another drying cylinder (with the object of the application P 38 07 856.2 the guide roll is fashioned as a suction guide roll). Common to both, additionally, is that the two previously mentioned drying cylinders and the guide roll arranged in between as well as the backing belt define a so-called "wire space." Lastly, common to both is also that for purposes of increasing the specific drying performance at the point where the material web runs from one drying cylinder to the next drying cylinder there is drying air blown directly at the material web. This air absorbs at that point water vapor from the material web. A maximum quantity of this air is directly sucked off as exhaust air. To influence the moisture cross profile of the material web, the supplied drying air flow can, across the width of the material web, be subdivided into individually controllable partial flows.
Although the described measures already permit the expectation of an increased drying performance, additional improvements are desirable. So far, attempts have been made at achieving further improvements, among others, by increasing the exhaust temperature and thus raising the dew point of the exhaust air, additionally by increasing the volumes of supply and exhaust air. However, these measures increase the energy consumption for drying. Besides, there is a risk of creating in the drying device uncontrolled flows of moist exhaust air and that the water vapor will condense on the side or upper walls of the hood, requiring a heavier thermal insulation on the hood walls.
Therefore, the problem underlying the invention is to improve the previously proposed device to the effect that uncontrolled flows of moist air within the drying device will be avoided with greater certainty than heretofore. At the same time, the energy consumption for the drying is to be kept maximally low.