The present invention relates to amidase enzymes and a feed or food additive comprising the amidase enzyme capable of degrading ochratoxin.

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites of fungi belonging, essentially, to the Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium genera. They can be produced on a wide range of agricultural commodities and under a diverse range of agronomic, ecological and post harvest conditions worldwide.
Mycotoxins can enter the food chain in the field, during storage of a feed or food material, or at later points in the food chain. Their accumulation in foods and feeds represents a major threat to human and animal health since consumption of a mycotoxin-contaminated diet may result in teratogenic, carcinogenic and oestrogenic or immunosuppressive effects.
In 1985 the World Health Organization estimated that approximately 25% of the world's grains were contaminated by mycotoxins (Jelinek et al., 1989). This figure has likely grown since then due to an increase in global import and export of grains and cereals and the changing environmental and weather patterns.
Currently there are more than 400 mycotoxins documented but the mycotoxins of greatest concern and consequently the most studied include: aflatoxin, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, fumonisin and ochratoxin.
Although there are many species of toxigenic moulds, only a few mycotoxins are considered to be significant for humans.
Three genera of fungi, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium are most frequently involved with cases of mycotoxin contamination. Fungal colonization, growth and mycotoxin production are generally influenced by a variety of factors. The most important of which are temperature and water activity.
Generally, in warm regions aflatoxins are of major concern. This is because the Aspergillus species that produce these toxins find optimum conditions present in tropical regions. In contrast, Fusarium and Penicillium species have lower optimum temperatures and as a result are adapted to a more moderate climate. Ochratoxins, fumonisins and zearalenone are consequently produced in regions providing these conditions.
Ochratoxins are a group of mycotoxins produced as secondary metabolites by several fungi of the Aspergillus or Penicillium families and are weak organic acids consisting of a derivative of an isocoumarin. There are three generally recognized ochratoxins, designated A, B and C. Ochratoxin A is the most abundant member of the ochratoxin family and hence the most commonly detected, but is also the most toxic. Ochratoxin A (ochratoxin A) is a nephrotoxic, teratogenic, hepatotoxic, and carcinogenic mycotoxin present in cereals and other starch rich foods. Besides cereals and cereal products, ochratoxin A is also found in a range of other food commodities, including coffee, cocoa, wine, beer, pulses, spices, dried fruits, grape juice, pig kidney and other meat and meat products of non-ruminant animals exposed to feedstuffs contaminated with this mycotoxin. Many countries have set limits on ochratoxin A level in food, typically between 1 and 10 ppb (parts per billion) depending on the type and quality of the foodstuffs.
ochratoxin A production is due to a fungal infection in crops, in the field during growth, at harvest, in storage and in shipment under favourable environmental conditions, especially when they are not properly dried.
Ochratoxin A is a stable compound that can be hydrolysed into ochratoxin α (OTα) and L-phenylalanine by heating under reflux for 48 h in 6M hydrochloric acid (Van der Merwe et al., 1965) or with the carboxypeptidase A (Pitout, 1969). The conversion of OTA into ochratoxin α is considered to be a way to reduce its toxicity since OTα is commonly reported to be much less toxic than OTA. Moreover, ochratoxin α elimination half-time in the body (9.6 h) is shorter than that of OTA (103 h) (Li et al., 1997).

In order to ensure food safety, different approaches to prevent mycotoxin intake are developed at several stages along the food production chain.
It has been known since the 1970s that the mammalian digestive enzyme called carboxypeptidase A is cable of degrading OTA but that the efficiency of this enzyme is low. In fact in animals having carboxypeptidase A, such as pig, OTA toxicity due to its presence in feed is a problem. Furthermore, it has been found that OTA can to some extent inhibit carboxypeptidase A activity.
Prior to the present invention, there has been no disclosure of efficient enzyme solutions to degrade ochratoxins including ochratoxin A (OTA). Enzyme activities other than carboxypeptidase have been reported for OTA degradation, but until now no one has been able to identify a protein showing OTA degrading activity.
It is known that a commercial lipase product called "Amano™ lipase" which is a crude lipase produced from A. niger (Amano™ company, Japan) has ochratoxin degrading activity.
The OTA degrading activity in this lipase product has previously been attributed to a lipase or protease activity. For example, Maria A. Stander (J. Agric. Food Chem, 2000, 48, 5736-5739) concluded that the OTA degrading activity of Amano™ lipase resulted from a lipase.
Abrunhosa et al., (Biotechnology Lett., 2007, 29, 1909-1914) describe an enzyme preparation isolated from A. niger having OTA degrading activity. However, this enzyme preparation was not purified to an extent where the sequence of the active component could be determined at the amino acid or DNA level. Similar problems have been reported in other cases (Abrunhosa et al., TOXINS, [2010], 2, 1078-1099)

Food additive comprising an amidase for detoxifying ochratoxin


A plug-in connection comprising a connector (1) for fitting onto a counter connector (2), contact elements (3) of the connector (1) entering into an electrical conducting connection with counter contact elements (4) of the counter connector (2), with a sleeve (7) which surrounds the contact elements (3) carried by a core (K) and forms a snap collar (18) for gripping behind a latching bead (27, 28) of the counter connector (2) and with a locking coupling (5) which is displaceable in the plugging direction and which, in a release position, allows radial escape of the snap collar (18) and, in a locking position, prevents it, the core (K) being made of a harder plastic than a casing (17) surrounding the core (K) with a spacing and forming a sleeve portion (7) which has peripheral interruptions (8 and 9) and on the inside of which the snap collar (18) of softer plastic is formed integrally with the casing (17).

The invention relates to a connector for fitting onto a counter connector, contact elements of the connector entering into an electrical conducting connection with counter contact elements of the counter connector, with a sleeve which surrounds the contact elements carried by a core and forms a snap collar for gripping behind a latching bead of the counter connector and with a locking coupling which is displaceable in the plugging direction and which, in a release position, allows radial escape of the snap collar and, in a locking position, prevents it.
A connector of this type is described by DE 91 03 441.8 U. The locking coupling has in that case a peripheral shoulder which is disposed at its free end and, in the locking position, is located to the rear of the snap collar formed by the free end of the sleeve. The snap collar grips behind an annular bead of a sleeve of the counter-connector part. The counter-connector part has counter contact elements in the form of pins, which enter receptacles forming the contact elements of the connector. The receptacles are associated with a central socket of the connector, which forms the core. The locking coupling can be displaced from the locking position into a release position by axial displacement. In this release position, the annular shoulder is approximately level with the annular bead, with the result that the snap collar which grips behind the annular bead can escape radially, in order to be pushed over the annular bead when the two connectors are connected to each other or disconnected from each other.
DE 101 21 675, which was not published before the priority date, describes a plug-in connection of the same generic type in which the counter-connector part also has in addition to an annular bead a thread, with the result that there is increased compatibility even with those connectors which do not have a snap collar but a union nut which can be screwed onto the thread.
The invention is based on the object of developing the connector of the generic type along with the associated counter connector and also a plug-in connection comprising the connector and counter connector in a way enhancing its functional features.
The object is achieved by the invention wherein the core consists of a harder plastic than a casing surrounding the core and forms a sleeve portion which has peripheral interruptions and on the inside of which the snap collar of softer plastic is formed integrally with the casing. This configuration gives the sleeve forming the snap collar greater rigidity than the casing, since the sleeve largely consists of harder plastic. The capability of escaping radially is retained, since the sleeve portion formed by the harder plastic forms peripheral interruptions.
The invention also relates to the counter connector associated with the connector. A latching bead formed by the rim around the opening of a sleeve of the counter connector is pertinent.
The invention also relates to the plug-in connection comprising the connector and the counter connector.
The invention also provides advantageous developments and also independent solutions achieving the object. It is provided in particular that the core has at least one guide for the locking coupling, extending in the direction of displacement of the locking coupling, which guide has latching means at each end for latching the locking coupling in its two end positions. As a result of this configuration, the locking coupling can be freely pushed back and forth between its two end positions. The locking coupling also remains in one of its two end positions in each case, with the result that both the locking position and the release position are secured by latching. The guide may in this case be formed by a window or a groove which is associated with the outer wall of the sleeve portion formed by hard material. As a result of a central constriction of the groove or the window, a latching threshold is created. The guide is preferably preceded by a run-up slope. The guide pin has a corresponding counter run-up slope. As a result, simple assembly is ensured. The locking coupling can be pushed onto the sleeve in a simple form. It comes into latching engagement there when the guide pins enter the diametrically opposite grooves or windows. The snap collar itself is preferably formed by the soft plastics material of the casing. It extends over the entire peripheral length of the sleeve and is located in the region of the end face of the same. It may form the edge of an inner lining of the sleeve. The outer side of the sleeve is preferably not covered by soft plastics material. The peripheral interruptions which permit the radial escape of the snap collar are preferably formed by two slits, in particular lying diametrically opposite each other, which are open toward the end face of the sleeve portion. The two slits may be filled with soft plastic. Similarly, anchoring clearances disposed between the slits in the sleeve portion may be filled with soft plastic. Level with the guide pin on the inner wall of the locking coupling is a locking shoulder running part of the way around the periphery. This locking shoulder lies to the rear of the snap collar in the locking position, with the result that radial escape is made impossible. This locking shoulder is adjoined by a peripheral free space. This peripheral free space lies to the rear of the snap collar in the release position, with the result that the snap collar can escape there if it is lifted over the annular bead. To ensure the integral connection of the inner lining of the sleeve portion and the casing of the connector, the core consisting of hard plastic has one or more through-flow openings, through which the soft material can flow during the production of the connector by injection-molding. The through-flow openings are preferably associated with a region which is located between the sleeve portion and a central region of the core, formed in particular in the manner of a socket. This intermediate region preferably forms an annular gap for receiving a sleeve of the counter-connector part provided with a thread, on which sleeve the annular bead is located at the end face. The bottom of this annular gap preferably likewise consists of soft plastic. This soft plastic support, which is adjoined by the inner lining, covers the through-flow opening. The connector part may be both female and male, depending on whether the counter connector is a male or female connector. The central socket may be both solid and hollow. It is hollow to receive the socket of a counter connector. The counter connector is, in particular, part of a sensor, for example a proximity switch. It may also be part of a distributor. The threaded sleeve may be screwed, clipped or pressed into the housing of the sensor or the distributor. The portion forming the annular bead may protrude outward beyond the threaded surface.
A variant of an independent character provides that on the sleeve, which may also have a casing as an inner lining, there is formed an extension which, in the locking position of the locking coupling, is enclosed by the latter. This axial extension of the sleeve serves for stabilizing the plug-in connection of the connector with the counter connector. It is advantageous if the extension is formed on a casing forming the snap collar. The stability is increased in particular by a bead which extends in the circumferential direction being formed on the extension at the end of the latter.
This bead may protrude radially outward. The extension of the sleeve may then come to lie against the sleeve of the counter connector in an extended region. Then, only a relatively small gap remains between the bead formed by the extension and the outer edge of the locking coupling, with the result that the play for movement between counter connector and connector transversely to the axial direction is restricted. A multi-layered overlapping region is obtained over an extended axial portion in the region of the contact point. The extension may be divided into two by means of two diametrically opposite axial slits. This permits radial escape in a simple way if it is required. The two axial slits also assist the snapping function of the snap collar.

Lumberg Automation Components GmbH and Co. KG


Recording resources are selectively dedicated for recording data exchanged between entities attached to a network including at least one agent in an enterprise, a user, and a server connected to the agent and the user. At least one interconnection point is selected among interconnection points in the network including one or more points between the user and the server, between the server and a data distributor connected to the user and the agent, and between the agent and the server for recording the exchanged data. Recording resources are dedicated to the selected interconnection point for recording the exchanged data based on an objective for recording the data.

The present invention is directed to a method and system for selectively dedicating recording resources. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method and system for selectively dedicating recording resources for recording data exchanged between entities attached to a network.
For systems employing interactions between a user and server, it is often desirable to be able to view the interactions, ideally in a manner that is transparent to the user. This is particularly desirable in a context such as sales, customer service, and e-commerce, where interactions between customers and a service provider are important indicators of customer satisfaction. As enterprises grow, it is important to keep track of interactions between agents of the enterprise and other parties. For example, as businesses grow, it is important to keep track of customer service contacts.
Attempts have been made to record and replay interactions between a server and a user. However, these attempts are typically implemented at the server and are thus suitable only for a particular type of server. In addition, these approaches typically do not distinguish between interactions that are considered important and interactions that are not important. Thus, a lot of time and resources are wasted on replaying unimportant recorded interactions.
Another problem with conventional attempts for recording and replaying interactions is that recording resources are not typically handled efficiently. Depending on the data to be recorded, the point(s) in the network at which recording would be most efficient and/or optimal may vary. However, recording resources are typically designated for recording from a predefined point in the network, regardless of what type of data exchange is to be recorded. In many typical implementations, the recording resources are lumped together in a pool, and resources are assigned from this pool to the predefined point on an as needed basis. This pool of resources may become exhausted, leaving none available if additional recording is demanded. Thus, the conventional approach to assigning recording resources does not efficiently or optimally assign recording resources.
There is thus a need for a technique for dedicating recording resources for recording data exchanges between a server and a user in an efficient and optimal manner, depending on the type of interaction to be recorded.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Selective dedication of active and passive contact center recording resources


A number of embodiments of jet propelled watercraft having one or more jet propulsion units positioned within a tunnel formed on the under side of the hull. The jet propulsion units are pivotal about a transverse horizontally extending axis between a lowered driving position and a raised out of the water position. The tunnel, at least in one embodiment, is defined by an upwardly inclined surface so that the tunnel is higher at its rear than at its front. This elevated portion precludes water from splashing back into the passenger compartment when the watercraft is suddenly decelerated and also provides minimum intrusion into a rear positioned passenger compartment. When the jet propulsion unit is in its lowered position it extends at least in part through the transom of the hull via an opening that is defined by a pair of spaced apart sidewalls that are spaced more closely than the sidewalls which define the tunnel. A dual engine jet propulsion unit watercraft is also disclosed as is an exhaust system which permits the exhaust gases to exist through the transom freely regardless of whether the watercraft is operating in a forward or in a reverse drive mode.

This invention relates to a jet propelled watercraft and more particularly to an improved arrangement for positioning the jet propulsion unit in a watercraft hull, for employing multiple jet propulsion units and for treating the exhaust gases from the powering internal combustion engine.
There are a number of advantages to the use of so called water jet propulsion units for propelling watercraft. Unlike conventional propeller powered watercraft, a jet propelled watercraft can operate in much shallower bodies of water. In addition, there are a number of other advantages to the use of jet propulsion units. However, it has been proposed to improve the appearance of the watercraft by positioning the jet propulsion unit at least in part in a tunnel formed in the underside of the hull of the watercraft. This gives a very neat appearance and also permits good balance of the watercraft as opposed to transom mounted jet propulsion units.
Where, however, the jet propulsion unit is mounted within the hull of the watercraft there are certain problems which can arise. In the first instance, because of the fact that jet propelled watercraft can operate in shallow bodies of water, frequently the water inlet to the jet propulsion unit may be clogged and it is desirable to access the water inlet so that it can easily be cleared. Of course, this problem is particularly difficult in connection with watercrafts wherein the jet propulsion unit is mounted in a tunnel in the hull of the watercraft.
In addition, during the periods of time when the jet propulsion unit is not employed to power the watercraft or the watercraft is stationery, encrustation of the water inlet and internal components of the jet propulsion unit can be a problem. To avoid the aforenoted problems it has been proposed to provide a watercraft with a jet propulsion unit that can be moved so that its water inlet portion can be raised from a lowered in the water position to an elevated out of the water position. In addition to permitting the water to be drained from the water inlet opening and jet propulsion unit when not in use, such arrangements also permit the cleaning of the water inlet portion while the hull is still floating in a body of water. A number of advantageous embodiments of watercraft and jet propulsion units of this type are disclosed in the co-pending application of Noboru KobayaShi, entitled Water Jet Propulsion Unit, Ser. No. 07,735,154, filed Jul. 22, 1991, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,023 which application is a continuation of his earlier application Ser. No. 07,489,361, filed Mar. 6, 1990, now abandoned which applications are assigned to the Assignee hereof.
As is noted in said co-pending application, one way in which the jet propulsion unit may be elevated is to support it for pivotal movement about a transversely extending pivot axis which is disposed forwardly of the jet propulsion unit and adjacent the bulkhead which separates the tunnel in which the jet propulsion unit is mounted from the engine compartment of the watercraft hull. Normally this pivot axis is positioned in a forward location so as to permit the use of a universal joint driving connection between the engine output shaft and the impeller shaft of the jet propulsion units so that the unit can be tilted up without disconnecting the drive thereto. Of course, because of the pivotal movement and the relatively long length of the jet propulsion unit, the discharge end of the jet propulsion unit moves upwardly a greater distance than the forward portion of the jet propulsion unit upon such pivotal movement. It has been heretofore the practice to provide a tunnel that has substantially uniform height throughout its length and this means that the tunnel can intrude into the remainder of the watercraft hull.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved watercraft hull and jet propulsion unit arrangement wherein the jet propulsion unit is supported for pivotal movement about a transverse axis and yet does not provide an undue intrusion into the interior of the hull.
For a variety of reasons, it is desirable to provide a relatively low transom for the hull of a watercraft. However, when a low transom is provided there are some problems that are encountered when the watercraft is rapidly decelerated from a high speed condition. The wake, particularly around the propulsion unit, can then move forward and overflow the rear of the transom if it is too low.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved hull and transom construction for a jet propelled watercraft wherein the rear of the transom is designed so as to prevent water from passing back into the hull during sudden decelerations without adversely effecting the rear view from the watercraft.
As has been previously noted, there are substantial advantageous to positioning the jet propulsion unit of a watercraft in a tunnel positioned on the underside of the watercraft hull. However, if the jet propulsion unit discharge nozzle is also positioned completely within this tunnel, certain problems in connection with interference from the discharge, particularly during steering movement of the discharge nozzle, can be encountered.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved jet propelled watercraft wherein the jet propulsion unit is mounted within a tunnel in the hull of the watercraft wherein the mounting arrangement is such that the discharge from the discharge nozzle is not obstructed by the sidewalls of the tunnel.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide an improved hull arrangement for a jet propelled watercraft wherein the discharge from the discharge nozzle of the jet propulsion unit is unobstructed but wherein the hull has side portions that are closely positioned to this discharge nozzle.
In connection with the use of jet propulsion units, it is the normal practice to provide a powering internal combustion engine for driving the jet propulsion unit. As is typical with watercraft practice, the exhaust from the internal combustion engine is discharged back into the body of water in which the watercraft is operating to provide some partial silencing. However, when this is done with a jet propulsion unit the exhaust discharge may actually be released in the tunnel where the jet propulsion unit is positioned. Although this has certain advantages when traveling in a forward direction, if the watercraft is operated in reverse the exhaust gases will tend to collect in the tunnel and not be discharged therefrom. This can cause not only contamination of the hull but other problems.
It is, therefore, a further object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement for discharging the exhaust gases from a jet propelled watercraft in such a way that the exhaust gases can flow freely regardless of whether the watercraft is operating in a forward or reverse drive mode.


The present invention relates to a multi-purpose juicer, which includes a frame assembly, a base assembly, and a drive assembly. The frame assembly includes a frame body, a head assembly fixed on the base assembly, and a function element. A terminal of the frame body matches with the head assembly to form an operation cavity for containing the function element. Another terminal thereof matches with the drive assembly such that the drive assembly drives the function element to operate in the operation cavity. The drive assembly can directly drive the function element to rotate it in the operation cavity. The function element may be altered according to different needs; however, other elements need not to be altered, thus the whole structure thereof is simple.

Juicers are used as a tool for juicing the vegetable and/or fruit. Currently, juicers are divided into two categories: hand-actuated juicers and power-driven juicers. Each of these two types of juicers juice the vegetable and/or fruit by one of the two following methods. In the first method, vegetables and/or fruits are pressed on the juicer by hand, thus the juice flows down and passes through a filter to separate the pomace from the juice. This method is disadvantageous because it is only suited for vegetables or fruits whose juice can be extracted by crushing the ascoma thereof. In the second method, the juicer requires placing the sarcocarp without the pericarp into the churning blades of the juicer to juice the fruits. This method is also disadvantageous because it requires an additional process to separate the pomace from the juice. Accordingly, a single juicer cannot be used to juice different vegetables and/or fruits.
To solve the above disadvantages, hand-actuated multi-purpose juicers have been developed for juicing different vegetables and/or fruits. A typical multi-purpose juicer includes a base assembly, a drive assembly having a hand grip, a frame assembly, and a function/juicing assembly. The juice vegetables and/or fruits, the hand grip of the drive assembly is churned back and forth to drive a threaded rod of the frame and juicing assemblies to rotate, such that the pressed vegetables and/or fruits are juiced by the blades of the juicing assembly. However, these multi-purpose juicers are complex, and have many different parts that can break; therefore, they are not very reliable. Furthermore, because of their complexity, it is difficult to replace the damaged parts or determine the cause of error.


A railcar control device controls a plurality of traction motors included in a train set. The railcar control device includes: a control command input portion to which a control command is input; and a torque command determining portion configured to determine torque commands with respect to a plurality of traction motors such that when a required torque based on the control command input to the control command input portion is less than a maximum value, a torque of a specific traction motor among the plurality of traction motors is made lower than a torque of a different traction motor other than the specific traction motor.

A railcar includes a plurality of specific noise sources, such as an underfloor apparatus, a traction motor mounted on a bogie, and a gear and gear shaft coupling configured to transmit power between the traction motor and a wheelset. Further, in a diesel car, an internal combustion engine is also the noise source. Noises from these noise sources are combined to become internal and external noises of a railcar. Various technologies for reducing internal and external noises of railcars have been proposed.
PTL 1 discloses a car control device configured to refer to a prestored pattern to determine the number of operating inverters in accordance with a load of a train set.
PTL 2 discloses a control device configured to cause a traction motor to output a powering torque or a regenerative torque during coasting for the purpose of reducing a gap between tooth surfaces of a gear shaft coupling.

Railcar control device, train set, and method of controlling traction motor


An improved method for treating manganese-containing materials, such as seafloor manganese nodules, by leaching with aqueous HNO3 and NO gas, and more particularly to methods for recovering valuable constituents from such nodules, especially manganese, cobalt, nickel, iron, and copper. It also provides a method to leach manganese material to release the titanium, vanadium, cerium, molybdenum and other metals from the manganese oxides and to make them available to be recovered.

Manganese-containing material treated by the invention can include manganese dioxide minerals in any form, including ores, or nodules, such as deep sea nodules.
Polymetallic or manganese nodules, are concretions formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese oxides around a core.
Deep sea nodules on the ocean floor include in their composition at least manganese (Mn) and usually nickel, cobalt, copper, zinc, and iron, with small amounts of titanium, vanadium, molybdenum, and cerium. Often present in addition are one or more of the following metals: magnesium, aluminum, calcium, cadmium, potassium, sodium, zirconium, titanium, lead, phosphorus, and barium.
All of the desired valuable metals in manganese nodules are tied up with insoluble oxidized manganese, such as MnO2. Only about 5% of the manganese contained in the nodules is acid soluble. Thus it is necessary to reduce the MnO2 by a suitable reducing agent as a first step in order to recover the metal constituents. Historically, SO2 has been used for this purpose. For deep sea nodules, carbon monoxide has also been used. However such prior art processes often do not recover a suitable manganese product, are capable of recovering only from about 80 to about 92% of the primary metal values, and often produce large quantities of waste. Moreover, a sulfate system requires large sized equipment with attendant high capital cost.
Unexpectedly, and contrary to earlier teachings, it has been found that reacting manganese-dioxide-containing materials with nitric oxide in the presence of nitric acid in aqueous solution results in recovery of at least 99% of the manganese values and associated metals (known as "pay metals" because they have higher commercial value than manganese).

Treatment of manganese-containing materials


A rivet tool to be used with a rivet includes a tube adapted to be received in an adjusting knob, a transmission rod movably received in the tube and a bolt having a front threading and a rear threading corresponding to the front inner threading. The bolt securely engages with the transmission rod in such a way that there is no relative movement between the bolt and the transmission rod. A Y-shaped head is provided to engage with the rivet tool so that when the rivet is deformed due to movement of the tube, the transmission rod and the bolt, a peripheral edge of the rivet abuts the recessed area of the Y-shaped head, which conforms to an outer contour of an oval tube, so that after the deformation of the rivet and the rivet tool is removed, the appearance of the oval tube is smooth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rivet tool head, and more particularly to a Y-shaped rivet tool head which is able to deform a peripheral edge of a rivet completely and smoothly.
2. Description of Related Art
A rivet tool is used to combine two objects together by using a rivet that is deformed at both peripheral edges in each of the objects. Another function of the rivet tool is to mount a rivet into a hole to function as an insert so that the operator is able to use the insert to connect to another object in later days. However, because the shapes of the two objects to be combined change fast, in order to cope with the introduction of new products, rivet tools change accordingly.
When the objects referred to are tubes, the current rivet tools are not able to satisfactorily accomplish the desired purpose. That is, when the rivet tool is using a rivet to a tube, due to the peripheral surface of the tube, the rivet can not be deformed satisfactorily and the distal peripheral edge of the rivet is not tidy so that after the rivet is mounted on the tube, the combination between two tubes is not secured and the exposed peripheral edge of the rivet easily cuts anyone in contact with it.
With reference to FIG. 6, a conventional rivet tool head is introduced to the market trying to solve the aforementioned problem. The conventional rivet tool head has a body (50) which has an outer threading (501) formed on an outer periphery of the body (50) and a through hole (51) defined through the body (50), a bolt (52) inserted into the through hole (51) and provided with a front threading (521) formed on a front portion of the bolt (52) and a rear threading (522) formed on a rear portion of the bolt (52), a tube (53) received in the body (50) and having an outer threading (531) corresponding to the rear threading (522) of the bolt (52) and a slit (532) defined in a periphery of the tube (53), a transmission rod (54) also received in the body (50) and inserted into the tube (53), the transmission rod (54) having a pin (542) inserted into the slit (532) of the tube (53) and an adjusting knob (57) in the body (50) to control movement of the transmission rod (54). The transmission rod (54) has a hexagonal head (541) inserted into the rear end of the bolt (52), therefore, rotation of the adjusting knob (57) is able to change traveling displacement of the tube (53) as well as the bolt (52).
When the rivet tool of this kind is in use, a rivet (not shown) is threadingly mounted on the front threading (521) of the bolt (52). When the bolt (52) is moving rearward relative to the rivet tool head, the rivet on the bolt (52) is deformed. However, when the rivet is inserted into a hole in a peripheral side face of an oval tube, deformation on peripheral edge of the rivet on the peripheral side face of the oval tube is not able to smoothly engage with the peripheral side face of the oval tube, which results in that the engagement of the rivet to the oval tube is not secured and thus damages the structural integrity.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide an improved rivet tool head to mitigate and obviate the aforementioned problems.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an improved rivet tool having a Y-shaped head provided on a front portion of the rivet tool such that deformation of the rivet is able to satisfactorily and smoothly engage with a peripheral side face of the tube.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


Provided is a hot rolled steel sheet comprising a predetermined composition wherein the hot rolled steel sheet comprises ferrite with an average orientation difference in the same grain of 0.5 to 5.0° in 30 to 70 vol %, the ferrite and martensite in a total of 90 vol % or more, and a balance microstructure of 10 vol % or less, has an average grain size of the ferrite of 0.5 to 5.0 μm, and has an average grain size of the martensite and the balance microstructure of 1.0 to 10 μm. Provided is a method for producing a hot rolled steel sheet comprising rolling where two or more consecutive passes of rolling including a final pass are performed under conditions of a rolling temperature: A point or more and less than Ae3 point, a strain rate: 1.0 to 50/sec, and a time between passes: within 10 seconds and where a total strain amount of all passes satisfying the conditions is 1.4 to 4.0, cooling by a 20° C./sec or more average cooling rate, and coiling the steel sheet at room temperature or more and less than 300° C.

As means for improving the mechanical properties of steel material for automobile use, it is known to be effective to refine the grains in the microstructure of that steel material. Refinement of the grains has been taken up in numerous research and development efforts.
For example, PTL 1 proposes heating a steel ingot or slab containing C: 0.01 to 0.20 wt %, Si: 1.00 wt % or less, Mn: 2.00 wt % or less, Al: 0.10 wt % or less, N: 0.0070 wt % or less, and Nb: 0.005 to 0.15 wt % to Tc=850+139000×[Nb wt %]×[C wt %+12/14N wt %] or less in the case where Nb≤0.015 wt %, heating it to Tc=961+51000×[Nb mass %]×[C mass %+12/14N mass %] or less in the case where Nb>0.015 wt %, hot rolling it in a 850 to Ar3−50° C. temperature range, then cooling it by a cooling rate of 30° C./sec or more, then coiling it in a 450° C. to 150° C. temperature range to thereby produce hot-rolled high tensile steel sheet excellent in strength, ductility, toughness, and fatigue characteristics comprised of a mixed grain microstructure of fine ferrite with a grain size of 2 to 3 μm in an area rate of 70% or more, structures including bainite and martensite in an area rate of 20% or less, and a balance of ferrite with an area rate of an average grain size of 10 μm or less.
Further, PTL 2 proposes heating a continuously cast slab comprised of, by wt %, C: 0.01 to 0.10%, Si: 1.5% or less, Mn: more than 1.0 to 2.5%, P: 0.15% or less, S: 0.008% or less, Al: 0.01 to 0.08%, one or both of Ti and Nb in a total of 0.32 to 0.60%, and a balance of Fe and unavoidable impurities to more than 1100° C. in temperature, then hot rolling it at a finishing rolling temperature of the Ar3 point or more, cooling it by a 10 to 150° C./s cooling rate, and coiling it at a coiling temperature of 500 to 700° C. to produce ultrafine ferrite structure high strength hot rolled steel sheet with an amount of ferrite of, by area rate, 95% or more and an average grain size of ferrite of 2.0 to 10.0 μm, not containing martensite and residual austenite in the microstructure, and having a tensile strength of 490 MPa or more or excellent stretch flangeability.
Further, PTL 3 proposes a method for producing fine grain high tensile steel comprising rolling a steel slab containing, by mass %, C: 0.03 to 0.9%, Si: 0.01 to 1.0%, Mn: 0.01 to 5.0%, Al: 0.001 to 0.5%, N: 0.001 to 0.1%, Nb: 0.003 to 0.5%, and Ti: 0.003 to 0.5%, having a balance of Fe and unavoidable impurities, and satisfying C %+(12/14)N %≥(12/48)Ti %+(12/48)Nb %+0.03% as cast or cooling it once to 500° C. to room temperature without rolling, then heating it to the Ac3 point −100° C. to less than the Ac3 point in temperature and rolling it or cooling it 500° C. to room temperature in temperature by a cooling rate of 0.1 to 50° C./sec without rolling, again heating it to 700° C. or less and 550° C. or more in temperature, and hot rolling it at 700° C. or less and 550° C. or more in temperature during which making the rolling reduction per pass 20% or more and making one pass or the time between passes within 10 seconds in two or more consecutive working operations under conditions giving a strain rate of 1 to 200/sec and a total strain amount of 0.8 or more and 5 or less, then allowing it to cool. In the examples of PTL 3, it is specifically shown that by this method, the grain size of the ferrite is refined to as small as 0.6 μm.

Hot rolled steel sheet and method for producing same


Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to method and device for interworking between service function chain (i.e., service chain) domains In some embodiments, there is provided a communication method comprising: receiving, at a first logic node of a first service chain in a first domain, a first packet associated with a second service chain in a second domain; converting the first packet into a second packet comprising first interworking information between the first service chain and the second service chain, the first interworking information comprising a flag indicating that the second packet is an interworking packet, an address of the first logic node, a first flow identifier of the second packet, a first service path identifier of the second packet and metadata associated with the second service chain; transmitting the second packet to a second logic node in the second domain; and receiving from the second logic node a response to the metadata.

As technologies such as Network Function Virtualization (NFV), Software-Defined Network (SDN) and Service Function Chain (SFC) emerge, network operators can transform the network to make the network programmable and lower the costs. Accordingly, various applications can be rapidly and conveniently deployed based on these technologies.
To defend rapidly growing and evolutionary attacks (e.g., malware, Distributed Denial of Service and false identities etc.), it is required to dynamically, flexibly and adaptively provide personalized security services or functions for applications with distinct security requirements. However, the traditional security facilities (such as firewall, invasion detection system, deep packet inspection and the like) are implemented based on the middleware of the hardware and deployed at fixed locations in the network. Therefore, the traditional security facilities can hardly satisfy various security requirements of the applications based on the above technologies.
The security services may be deployed in different domains, but the existing service chain technology cannot support the service chain across different domains. Hence, a solution for supporting interworking between a plurality of domains managed and operated by various service providers is required.

Method and device for interworking between service function chain domains


A convertible patient bed is disclosed that includes: a middle section, a top section, and a bottom section, each section further includes a first lateral subsection and a second lateral subsection; a push-pull motor coupled to push the top section and to pull the bottom section to transform the patient bed into a chair, a sliding motor coupled to slide the said first lateral subsection and said second lateral subsection in and out of each of the middle section, top section, and bottom section respectively at a predetermined angle to change the width of the patient bed; and a motor coupled to an opening and a cover in the middle of the middle section to accommodate to the needs of a patient.

Patient beds play a very important role in helping a patient to recover because most of the time the patient will spend their time therein. The comfort the patient bed brings to a patient and the easy access it provides to medical assistants will accelerate the process of recovery for a patient.
Given the above facts, the design and manufacturing of low-cost patient beds adaptable to different scenario are crucial, especially in crowded hospital and narrow alleys. Today, there are different commercialized patient beds such as Rainbow Care, Alphamed Pte, Stryker, etc. These are various types of patient beds that are operated either manually or with motors.
These above mentioned patient beds are usually expensive and cannot adapt to narrow areas. Moreover, with conventional patient beds when transforming into a chair, it is necessary to disassembling some sections of the bed. Reversely, when returning the chair back into patient bed, patient needs to assemble back those disassembled sections.
Furthermore, conventional beds more often are too large causing patients discomforts. Consequently, large patient beds cannot move along crowded hospital corridors.
Therefore what is needed is a low cost patient bed that can conveniently change into a chair and change its width to make patients feel comfortable and achieve fast recovery.

Method and apparatus for a convertible patient bed


An air cooling device includes at least one cooling unit which includes an oblique honeycomb having front, rear, upper, and lower openings and disposed so that air to be cooled is introduced into the front opening and cooled air is discharged from the rear opening, a cooling water supply means which supplies cooling water to the upper opening of the oblique honeycomb, and a water receiving section which receives discharge water discharged from the lower opening of the oblique honeycomb, and a blower means which introduces air to be cooled into the front opening of the oblique honeycomb and allows cooled air to be discharged from the rear opening of the oblique honeycomb, wherein the height of one oblique honeycomb in the cooling unit is 200 to 800 mm. The air cooling device has high thermal efficiency, a small liquid-gas ratio, and a small pressure drop, and is capable of saving space and energy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air cooling device and an air cooling method for efficiently cooling air at high temperature in summer or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to an air cooling device for cooling air in office buildings, hospitals, and factories, and an air cooling method using the same.
2. Description of Background Art
Energy used for air conditioning in office buildings, factories, and the like accounts for 30% or more of the energy consumed in Japan. Therefore, reduction of energy consumption used for air conditioning has become a pressing issue. Conventionally, circulating air or intake air in office buildings or factories is supplied to a fin coil-type heat exchanger in which a refrigerant or cooling water is circulated, and cooled when passing through the fin coil. However, in the case of using the fin coil-type heat exchanger, a large amount of cooling water is necessary in comparison with the amount of air to be cooled (liquid-gas ratio is high). Therefore, a large amount of electric power is needed to operate a pump for circulating cooling water and the like. Moreover, the fin coil-type heat exchanger has a large pressure drop. Furthermore, water drops adhering to the fin coil has a considerable effect on thermal conduction, whereby thermal efficiency is significantly decreased. As a method for removing water drops adhering to the fin coil, a method of blowing off the water drops by using a blower or the like has been proposed. However, since space for installing the blower or the like and additional electric power are necessary, it is not desirable to use this method from the viewpoint of space efficiency and power saving.
In order to overcome the above problems, a method of allowing water to come directly into contact with air by using an oblique honeycomb instead of the fin coil has been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-317248 discloses a method of removing NOx and the like contained in air by serially connecting wetted-wall columns in which water flows along the wall and allowing air to pass through the wetted-wall columns. However, in the case of using this method as an air cooling method, since water warmed when flowing through the wetted-wall column is allowed to flow through the next wetted-wall column, the air cannot be sufficiently cooled. Moreover, since it is necessary to provide pumps for supplying water to each column, installation and operation costs for the pumps are necessary.
As another method of allowing water to come directly into contact with air by using the oblique honeycomb instead of the fin coil, a method of cooling warm or hot water with air by using an oblique honeycomb made of conventional polyvinyl chloride as a cooling tower is known. However, since the oblique honeycomb is made of conventional polyvinyl chloride, warm water or the like is repelled from the surface of the oblique honeycomb and falls in the shape of water drops. Specifically, since the surface of the oblique honeycomb is not uniformly wetted by warm water or the like, the large surface area of the oblique honeycomb cannot be fully utilized. This results in thermal efficiency lower than that of the fin coil-type cooling device. Therefore, the oblique honeycomb cannot be used as an air cooling device having high thermal efficiency.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an air cooling device excelling in thermal efficiency, having a small liquid-gas ratio and a small pressure drop, and capable of saving space and energy and reducing cost, and an air cooling method using the same.
In view of the above situation, the present inventor has conducted extensive studies and found that an air cooling device having high thermal efficiency, a small liquid-gas ratio, and a small pressure drop, and saving space and energy can be realized by using at least one cooling unit which includes an oblique honeycomb, a cooling water supply device, and a water receiving section, and limiting the height of one oblique honeycomb in the cooling unit within a specific range. This finding has led to the completion of the present invention.
Specifically, the present invention provides an air cooling device comprising at least one cooling unit which comprises an oblique honeycomb which has front, rear, upper, and lower openings and is disposed so that air to be cooled is introduced into the front opening and cooled air is discharged from the rear opening, a cooling water supply means which supplies cooling water to the upper opening of the oblique honeycomb, and a water receiving section which receives discharge water discharged from the lower opening of the oblique honeycomb, and a blower means which introduces air to be cooled into the front opening of the oblique honeycomb and allows cooled air to be discharged from the rear opening of the oblique honeycomb, wherein the height of one oblique honeycomb in the cooling unit is 200 to 800 mm.
The present invention also provides an air cooling method using the above air cooling device, comprising introducing air to be cooled into the front opening of the oblique honeycomb of the cooling unit, and allowing cooled air to be discharged from the rear opening of the oblique honeycomb.

Air cooling device and air cooling method

Hitachi Plant Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd.


An arrangement and a method control the flow of signals including a number of information packets in a communications network, e.g. an ATM-network. The arrangement includes a device for separating the signals in the first traffic signals and second traffic signals. The first traffic signals are signals that have a higher proportion of guaranteed resources, i.e. bandwidth, than the second traffic signals. The first traffic signals are also given a lower priority than the second traffic signals. The first and second traffic signals are handled separately.

The present invention relates to an arrangement for controlling the flow of signals comprising a number of information packets in a communications network.
The invention also relates to a method of controlling the flow of signals in the form of information packets.
More particularly the invention relates to controlling the flow of information incoming to concentrating arrangements and rost particularly to switching arrangements in communications systems.
In digital communications systems of today the information is divided into packets. Each packet comprises a header and a data field. The header is the preamble of the packet and contains information about destination address, sometimes also originating address and control bits whereas the data part comprises the information intended for the given address. A cell is a short packet having a predetermined number of bits, i.e. a packet of a fixed length. Via switching arrangements in the communications network packets or cells are routed from various sources to destinations as given by the address information of the packets via packet switching arrangements. Switching arrangement which operate in so called synchronous transfer mode (STM) are known as well as other switching arrangements operating in asynchronous transfer mode (ATM). Some switching arrangements may also operate in both modes.
The ATM switching technique is a so called fast packet switching technique. This switching technique is particularly applicable when different sources have different requirements as to bandwidth. Via ATM different or mixed traffic streams such as for example data, voice, video or images can be transmitted asynchronously which is clearly advantageous in modern communication systems wherein one or more kinds of information may need to be transmitted.
In ATM, information is transported in the form of cells, i.e. packets of a fixed length. It is of great importance to the network how the packet switches operate. A number of cells may for instance arrive at a switch on a number of different input links at the same time and a number of them may have the same output link destination or there may be a discrepancy between the number of input links and the number of output links wherein the number of output links is considerably lower than the number of input links. This means that a number incoming cells may have to compete for an output link. The output link, however, cannot handle more than one cell at a time meaning that the other cells have to be stored temporarily in a buffer. This puts high demands on the buffering capacity and in some cases the capacity may not be sufficient and the cells may even run the risk-of being completely lost. It may also be difficult to fulfil the requirements as to waiting time etc.
Various buffering arrangements or buffering methods have been provided using input buffers, output buffers or a combination of both. One aspect relates to the head of the line problem (HOL). This is a problem that may occur when a number of data cells are stored in an input buffer which is a waiting position, i.e. the first cell in the buffer is waiting to be served. Then all data cells contained in that buffer have to wait, also those cells further down in the queue which are destined for other output links which for example at that moment might not be loaded at all. This means that neither the packet switch nor the output links are used to their full capacity but even very poorly. To solve these problems output buffers have been provided as well as intermediate buffers in a switch core etc. However, this may put high requirements on the output buffers and if there are a number of buffers at different locations, e.g. input buffers, intermediate buffers, output buffers etc. the switch gets very complicated. The copending patent application "Arrangement and method relating to packet switching" by the same applicant and filed at the same date as the present application discloses a way how to solve these problems and it is incorporated herein by reference.
It may also be required that different qualities of service, different QoS, are handled by the network. The switching arrangements as described in the above mentioned reference also deals with this.
There are different categories of signals one of which is CBR (constant bit rate). This category puts high requirements on the network and requires reservation of the needed bandwidth. This means that a network must have a high capacity for such signals since there are not accepted any variations in delay or delays as such at all. CBR signals are generally used for telephony and video signals. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,358 a system is given separating CBR signals from the others and handling them separately and giving them a higher priority. The CBR service class is however "homogenous" why the same problems are not encountered as when a service class is not homogenous.
Another category relates to signals of variable bit rate, VBR, which for example can be used for video. This relate to traffic streams having a guaranteed bandwidth but wherein the requirements as to delay variations are less strict.
A third category relates to ABR signals wherein ABR means available bit rate. The demands as to variations in delay are low or even none at all for these signals. What is important is that no cells are lost. The signals are e.g. used for data communication. There is today still no standardization relating to ATM ABR but such is expected to be produced soon. One controlling method based on cellrate measurements has been suggested. This means that switching arrangements in a network receiving ATM ABR signals may calculate a value on an adequate cellrate and feeding this information back to the sources of the signals. A source here means either a network terminating equipment or equipment within the network forming terminating equipment only as far as the flow control is concerned. However, since the method is based on measuring and feeding back of cellrate parameters, it works poorly when the cellrate is close to saturation. This means that links, for example expensive links, e.g. are not used fully or to an acceptable degree.
In WO 92/19060 an ATM switching arrangement is disclosed. Cells are divided into low loss and low delay cells respectively and the switching arrangement comprises a cell buffer which is divided into one memory area for each of the two types of cells. Depending on what kind of cell it is and on the buffer fullness, the cells are given different priorities for reading in and reading out respectively. Such an arrangement could however not in a satisfactory way deal with ABR signals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,877 relates to allocation of the resources in a packet network. The resources are subdivided into subresources which are to be allocated to communications divided into different classes depending on QoS such as packet lossrate and transmission dElay. Also this document does not deal with resource allocation for ABR signals.
ABR signals for instance are particularly difficult to handle since irrespective of being of one and the same QoS, they can be of different categories such as being guaranteed resources to different extents. There may thus be a variation between not being guaranteed any resources at all up to being guaranteed resources to a considerable or a significant extent.

Arrangement and method relating to packet flow control


A powered axle for a work vehicle with a dual wheel arrangement includes an axle housing, an axle hub mounted to the axle housing, and an output hub having opposite axial ends supported by one or more wheel bearings for rotation about the axle hub along a rotation axis. An electric drive is disposed, at least in part, within the axle housing, and a hub gear set is disposed, at least in part, within the axle hub and configured to transmit power from the electric drive to the output hub for rotation of the dual wheel arrangement. A wheel brake disposed radially between the axle hub and the output hub and axially between the ends of the output hub is configured to selectively permit and arrest rotation of the output hub.

Work vehicles, such as used in the construction, agriculture, forestry, mining and other industries, are made for operation in off-road environments to carry or haul heavy loads. Such work vehicles usually have a heavy-duty build with a heavy-duty power source (e.g., an internal combustion engine) providing power to various work implements and propelling the work vehicle on ground-engaging wheels or tracks of various configurations (e.g., a single or dual axle with single or dual wheel arrangements). Various applications may require the vehicle to deliver high-torque, low-speed power to the ground-engaging wheels or tracks, or to various implements, in loaded operational conditions. At other times, relatively high-speed, low-torque operation may be required of these work vehicles, such as when unloaded and/or in transit. To facilitate both the high-torque demands at times and the high-speed demands at other times, the work vehicles may have heavy-duty axle assemblies that incorporate or cooperate with various gear assemblies to provide a high-ratio gear reduction to the wheels or tracks. The axle assemblies may transmit power to the wheels or tracks solely from the prime mover, or they may be powered themselves. Powered axle assemblies have one or more embedded electric or hydraulic drives that are powered by the primary power source to directly drive the wheels or tracks that propel the work vehicle.

Powered axle for dual wheel work vehicle


A winding voltage arising in a first winding on the primary side of a transformer is detected in a winding voltage detector unit formed of a second winding, and current flowing through a resonant circuit is detected in a resonant current detector unit formed of an auxiliary capacitor and a resistor. The timing at which the polarity of the detected winding voltage is inverted is detected in a control and drive unit, and the time at which the polarity of the resonant current, whose phase is delayed with respect to that of the winding voltage, will be inverted is determined in advance. In the event that there is a switch in an on-state when the timing immediately before the inversion of the polarity of the resonant current is detected from the output of the resonant current detector unit, the control and drive unit forcibly turns off the switch.

Owing to characteristics such as small size, lightness, and low price, switching power supply devices are used as power supplies in a large number of electronic instruments. Among these, resonant switching power supply devices are widely used as power supplies for liquid crystal display devices, flat panel displays (flat screen televisions) such as plasma display panels, and personal computers, as the resonant switching power supply devices can realize low noise and high conversion efficiency.
FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of a general resonant switching power supply device, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the input voltage conversion ratio of voltage generated in a transformer winding in response to a change in control frequency, and FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing changes in resonant current when controlling, wherein FIG. 10A shows an operation in a correct control condition, while FIG. 10B shows an operation when the condition is such that the resonance deviates. In FIGS. 10A and 10B, the broken lines show the zero level of each signal.
A general resonant switching power supply device includes as a main circuit two switches Q1 and Q2 connected in series to either end of a direct current power supply Ed. A series circuit of a resonant capacitor Cr, a resonant inductor Lr, and a winding P on the primary side of a transformer T is connected to both ends of the high side switch Q2. Although not shown, the winding P is formed of a leakage inductor of the transformer T and an exciting inductor. The leakage inductor may be used as the resonant inductor Lr, without providing a dedicated inductor separate from the transformer T. A rectifying and smoothing circuit having diodes D1 and D2 and a smoothing capacitor Co is connected to windings S1 and S2 on the secondary side of the transformer T. An output voltage monitor circuit 10, which detects output voltage, is connected to an output of the rectifying and smoothing circuit, and the output voltage monitor circuit 10 is connected to a control and drive circuit 14 via a photocoupler 12.
The control and drive circuit 14 controls the two switches Q1 and Q2 to be turned on and off alternately, controlling the on-state time of the two switches Q1 and Q2, or the frequency, so that the output voltage detected by the output voltage monitor circuit 10 is constant, thereby stabilizing the output voltage.
As can be seen from FIG. 9, which shows a voltage conversion ratio M of voltage generated in the winding of the transformer T in response to a change in a control frequency fsw that controls the switches Q1 and Q2 to be turned on and off, the voltage conversion ratio M depends on the control frequency fsw, because of which the resonant switching power supply device controls the voltage conversion ratio M by changing the control frequency fsw. That is, the resonant switching power supply device controls energy transmitted to the secondary side of the transformer T by changing the control frequency fsw. In the drawing, f0 is a first resonant frequency, which is the resonant frequency of the series resonant circuit of the resonant inductor (or transformer primary side leakage inductor), exciting inductor, and resonant capacitor Cr, and f1 is the resonant frequency of a series resonant circuit formed of the resonant inductor Lr (or transformer primary side leakage inductor), a synthetic inductor formed by the secondary side (load side) leakage inductor and transformer exciting inductor connected in parallel, and the resonant capacitor Cr. Frequency control is generally carried out in a frequency range higher than the first resonant frequency f0. That is, the control frequency fsw is raised when there is a light load, while the control frequency fsw is lowered when there is a heavy load, thereby controlling the energy transmitted to the secondary side. In a control region wherein the voltage conversion ratio M decreases in response to a rise in the frequency, the phase of the current flowing through the winding P on the primary side of the transformer T (that is, the resonant current) is delayed with respect to the voltage in the winding P.
In the heretofore described example of the resonant switching power supply device, a minimum operation frequency is set so that the inclination of a change in the voltage conversion ratio M in response to a change in the control frequency fsw is not reversed. However, a control frequency fp at which the voltage conversion ratio M reaches a peak comes nearer to the resonant frequency fl as the load becomes heavier (the peak at the frequency f0, shown by the heavy lines in FIG. 9, corresponds to a case in which the load is zero). In the event that the minimum frequency setting is set in the vicinity of the first resonant frequency f0, the phase of the current advances with respect to the voltage of the winding P on the primary side of the transformer T when the control frequency fsw falls below the control frequency fp due to an abrupt change in the load or input voltage, or the like.
At this time, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, it may happen that the resonant current is inverted during the on-state period of each of the switches Q1 and Q2. That is, in a correct control condition, the switch Q1 is turned off before the resonant current (Cr current) is inverted, as shown in FIG. 10A. However, it may happen that the resonant current is inverted before the switch Q1 is turned off, as shown in FIG. 10B. When the switch Q1 is turned off in this condition, the current that has been flowing through the switch Q1 flows into the diode connected in parallel to the switch Q1. When the switch Q2 is turned on in this condition, a reverse voltage is applied to the diode connected in parallel to the switch Q1, and a recovery current flows into that diode. As the recovery current has an extremely high temporal change rate, that is, di/dt, excessive stress is placed on the switches Q1 and Q2, leading in the worst case to element destruction. This phenomenon is called resonant deviation, and it is important to prevent this phenomenon in order to realize high power supply reliability.
When adopting a minimum frequency setting in the vicinity of f1 in an attempt to avoid an inversion of the resonant current, it is no longer possible to obtain a voltage conversion ratio M of one or more. That is, it is not possible to secure the necessary output voltage when the input voltage is low, and as the possible control range is reduced because of this, it is not desirable to adopt a minimum frequency setting in the vicinity of f1.
Technology whereby the resonant current (or switching current) is detected, and it is detected whether or not the control frequency for turning the switches on and off is beyond the lower limit of the control range from whether or not the fall (trailing edge) of a switch gate drive signal is in the vicinity of zero resonant current, is known as technology that prevents an inversion of resonant current (refer to PTL 1). When the control frequency is outside the control range, the control frequency is returned to the normal control range by changing the timing of a change or oscillation of the control frequency.
Also, a method whereby, in order to avoid an inversion of the resonant current, the detected value of the resonant current is simply compared with a threshold value voltage, and the switch is forcibly turned off when the absolute value of the resonant current becomes lower than the absolute value of the threshold value voltage, is also conceivable.
Also, there is known technology whereby the resonant current is detected, and a switch is turned off when the absolute value of the resonant current, after becoming higher than the absolute value of a first threshold value, becomes lower than the absolute value of a second threshold value whose absolute value is lower than that of the first threshold value (refer to PTL 2).


A secondary battery includes first and second collecting plates branching out from an electrode terminal, and first and second electrode assemblies rolled up in a jelly-roll type unit, the first electrode assembly having a first non-coating portion adhered to the first collecting plate, the second electrode assembly having a second non-coating portion adhered to the second collecting plate, and the first and second collecting plates being on facing surfaces of respective first and second non-coating portions. The first non-coating portion is spaced apart from a roll center of the first electrode assembly by a first predetermined distance along a direction directed away from the second non-coating portion, and the second non-coating portion is spaced apart from a roll center of the second electrode assembly by a second predetermined distance along a direction directed away from the first non-coating portion.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a secondary battery and a method of manufacturing the secondary battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
Unlike a primary battery, i.e., a non-rechargeable battery, a secondary battery is a rechargeable and dischargeable battery. For example, a low capacity secondary battery may have a battery cell packaged in a form of a pack, and may be used for a small, portable electronic device, e.g., a mobile phone and a camcorder. In another example, a large capacity secondary battery may have tens of interconnected battery packs used as a power source for driving a motor of a hybrid electric vehicle and the like.
The secondary battery is formed in a variety of shapes, e.g., a prismatic shape, a cylindrical shape, and the like. The secondary battery includes an electrode assembly having positive and negative electrode plates and a separator between the positive and negative electrode plates, a case receiving the electrode assembly as well as an electrolyte, and a cap plate installed on the case.

Secondary battery and method of manufacturing secondary battery


A solar powered lantern device is visible even without a beacon under reflected light and can be easily color coded to conform to the marking requirements of a new location. The lantern device includes a housing, a lighting element supported by a luminescent internal frame, a photovoltaic power supply, and an omnidirectional reflector. In particularly preferred forms, the lantern device is a buoy having a modular housing with interchangeable colored elements. A lighting element is centrally supported inside the housing by a luminescent frame, which serves to reflect light from approaching craft when the lighting element fails. The device may also be mounted atop a pole. In preferred forms the frame is hollow and forms a conduit for electrical conductors from the power supply to the lighting element. A pair of conical reflectors is positioned within the housing to reflect the beacon light omnidirectionally.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with a solar powered lantern device such as a buoy or the like which is luminescent at night, is constructed of interchangeable components for varying the signal markings and color of the signal light, and which emits a beacon visible from all directions. More particularly, it is concerned with a lantern having modular housing components, a reflective internal support frame, a pair of cone-shaped reflectors, and a mounting assembly which permits the device to be moored in the water or mounted atop a pole.
2. Description of the Related Art
Solar powered lantern devices are preferable in many instances to conventional electrical and hydrocarbon fueled lanterns because they do not require connection to an external electrical power source or frequent refueling. They are especially well-suited for use as maritime buoy markers or signals. Since malfunction of the photovoltaic power system can cause failure of the beacon, such markers are commonly coated with a fluorescent material so that they will maintain a measure of nighttime visibility. In this manner, the buoy reflects light from approaching craft. Such coatings are impermanent however, and are subject to degradation such as flaking and peeling upon prolonged exposure to the elements.
The maritime buoyage system in common use employs a system of color coding of the top, middle, and bottom of the buoy as well as the beacon to identify direction, danger and safe water areas. Unless a buoy is to be permanently dedicated to a single marking use, it must be remarked to the appropriate color code prior to removal to a differently coded location. While permanent color coding may be accomplished by selective painting or coating of the buoy, such coatings are impermanent, and may not easily be changed.
Where a single lighting element is employed, it is generally mounted atop the buoy, rather than in the center. Such top-mounted beacons are subject to damage by debris, boats, and waterskiers, as well as fouling by birds. Where a reflector is employed to enhance the visibility of the light, it serves to shade the beacon light in the non-reflective direction.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,809,458 issued to Tanikuro et al. and 4,626,852 issued to Dodge do not permit interchangeable buoy marking components, do not reflect light to the area below the lower hemisphere of the buoy, and do not provide a weather-shielded reflector element in case the lighting element fails.


Immunoprotective primary mesenchymal stems cells (IP-MSC) which episomally express multiple immunoreactive polypeptides that specifically target a pathogen (e.g., an infectious species of virus, bacterium, or parasite) or toxin are described herein. The IP-MSC express two or more (e.g., 2 to about 100) immunoreactive polypeptides (e.g., full antibodies, single-chain antibodies (ScFV), Fab or F(ab)2 antibody fragments, diabodies, tribodies, and the like), and optionally one or more other immunomodulating polypeptides, e.g., a cytokine such as an interleukin (e.g., IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-9, and IL-12), an interferon (e.g., IFNα, IFNβ, or IFNω), and the like, which can enhance the effectiveness of the immunoreactive polypeptides.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are unique multipotent progenitor cells that are presently being exploited as gene therapy vectors for a variety of conditions, including cancer and autoimmune diseases. Although MSC are predominantly known for anti-inflammatory properties during allogeneic MSC transplant, there is evidence that MSC can actually promote adaptive immunity under certain settings. MSC have been identified in a wide variety of tissues, including bone marrow, adipose tissue, placenta, and umbilical cord blood. Adipose tissue is one of the richest known sources of MSC.
MSC have been successfully transplanted into allogeneic hosts in a variety of clinical and pre-clinical settings. These donor MSC often promote immunotolerance, including the inhibition of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) that can develop after cell or tissue transplantation from a major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-mismatched donor. The diminished GvHD symptoms after MSC transfer has been due to direct MSC inhibition of T and B cell proliferation, resting natural killer cell cytotoxicity, and dendritic cell (DC) maturation. At least one study has reported generation of antibodies against transplanted allogeneic MSC. Nevertheless, the ability to prevent GvHD also suggests that MSC expressing foreign antigen might have an advantage over other cell types (i.e., DC) during a cellular vaccination in selectively inducing immune responses to only the foreign antigen(s) expressed by MSC and not specifically the donor MSC.
The use of modified MSC also has been explored in vivo in order to enhance the immunomodulatory properties of MSC. MSC transduced to overproduce IL-10 suppressed collagen-induced arthritis in a mouse model (Choi et al., 2008). In addition, MSC expressing glucagon-like peptide-1 transplanted into an Alzheimer's disease mouse model led to a decrease in A-beta deposition in the brain (Klinge et al., 2011). In an osteopenia mouse model, mice receiving transduced MSC that had stable overexpression of bone morphogenetic protein had increased bone density (Kumar et al., 2010). In a rat model for spinal cord injury, rats treated with MSC stably overexpressing brain-derived neurotrophic factor had a better overall outcome than rats administered MSC alone (Sasaki et al., 2009). Lastly, in a rat model for bladder outlet obstruction, rats receiving transduced MSC with stable overexpression of hepatocyte growth factor had decreased collagen accumulation in the bladder (Song et al., 2012). These studies indicate that modified MSC are a useful and feasible vehicle for protein expression and delivery to target various diseases and tissues.
MSC have been studied as a delivery vehicle for anti-cancer therapeutics due to their innate tendency to home to tumor microenvironments, and is thoroughly reviewed in (Loebinger and Janes, 2010). MSC also have been used to promote apoptosis of tumorigenic cells through the expression of IFNα or IFNγ (Li et al., 2006; Ren et al., 2008). Additionally, MSC recently have been explored for the prevention and inhibition of tumorigenesis and metastasis. A study by Wei et al. examined the use of human papilloma virus (HPV)-immortalized MSC that express the HPV proteins E6/E7 combined with a modified E7 fusion protein vaccine in a mouse tumor model where metastatic fibrosarcoma cells were administered (Wei et al., 2011). This group found that only mice that were immunized with both the E7-expressing MSC and modified E7 protein vaccine showed a decrease in tumor growth, and an E7-specific antibody response. Mice receiving either MSC or protein vaccine alone were not able to raise an anti-E7 response or inhibit tumor growth of metastatic sarcoma. Although these immortalized MSC were previously determined to be non-tumorigenic, they persisted in mice longer than 21 days, unlike primary MSC (i.e. non-immortalized), which are only detectable for a very short time after administration (Gao et al., 2001; Abraham et al., 2004; Ohtaki et al., 2008; Prockop, 2009). Thus, there may be unforeseen outcomes in the long term (i.e., outcompeting with endogenous MSC and differing immunomodulatory abilities, which were not assessed in this study) with the use of immortalized MSC, even if they prove to be non-malignant. Other studies have indicated that immortalized MSC can become tumorigenic, and thus must be carefully studied to determine if they are indeed safe for use. Transplanted primary non-immortalized MSC persist only for a few days at most in vivo (Gao et al., 2001; Abraham et al., 2004; Ohtaki et al., 2008; Prockop, 2009).
While MSC are primarily touted for their immunosuppressive properties, several published reports have also directly shown that MSC promote adaptive immunity. In co-cultures, MSC enhanced B-cell proliferation, IL-6 expression and IgG-secreting plasma cell formation in vitro; these B-cell responses could be further augmented with MSC combined with a TLR agonist (lipopolysaccharide or CpG DNA). MSC pulsed with tetanus toxoid promoted the proliferation and cytokine expression (IL-4, IL-10, IFNγ) of a tetanus toxoid-specific CD4 T-cell line. Similarly, MSC cultured in low ratios (1:100) with lymphocytes in the presence of antigen improved lymphocyte proliferation and CD4 Th17 subset formation, which was partially IL-6 and TGFβ-dependent. MSC have also been found to express MHC-I and cross-present antigen for expansion of CD8 T-cells both in vitro and in vivo.
MSC immunoregulation has also been found to be dependent upon external signals. In the presence of inflammatory cytokines or stimulants, MSC therapy, which was previously suppressive, can become immunostimulatory. For example, MSC treated with specific pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) molecules can become either anti- or pro-inflammatory, depending on the PAMP with which they are treated in vitro. During collagen-induced arthritis, an inflammatory disease setting, transplantation of allogeneic MSC reportedly enhanced Th1 immune responses and IL-6 secretion, which was mimicked in vitro by direct TNFα stimulation of MSC. Administration of MSC also reportedly exacerbated collagen-induced arthritis disease and amplified splenocyte secretion of IL-6 and IL-17. Pre-treatment of MSC with IFNγ (within a moderate range) reportedly upregulates MHC-I and II expression and improves antigen phagocytosis and presentation capabilities, thereby stimulating CD4 and CD8 T-cell proliferation and generation of anti-tumor CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs).
Vaccines often are efficient and cost-effective means of preventing infectious disease. Vaccines have demonstrated transformative potential in eradicating one devastating disease, smallpox, while offering the ability to control other diseases, including diphtheria, polio, and measles, that formerly caused widespread morbidity and mortality. The development of vaccines involves the testing of an attenuated or inactivated version of the pathogen or identification of a pathogen component (i.e., subunit, toxoid, and virus-like particle vaccines) that elicits an immune response that protects recipients from disease when they are exposed to the actual pathogen. In an ideal world a single vaccine would be able to target all major human pathogens (versatile), elicit strong protective immunity to these pathogens without inducing unwanted side-effects, and still be fairly inexpensive to produce per dose. In the case of viruses or host-cell produced proteins, vaccine production that includes human post-translational processing, mimicking natural infection, will likely prove to be superior to bacterial or other expression systems.
Traditional vaccine approaches have thus far failed to provide protection against HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and many other diseases, including dengue, herpes and even the common cold. The reasons why traditional vaccine approaches have not been successful for these diseases are complex and varied. For example, HIV integrates functional proviral genomes into the DNA of host cells, thereby establishing latency or persistence. Once latency/persistence is established, it has not been possible to eradicate HIV, even with highly active antiretroviral therapy.
Newer alternative immunization approaches include both DNA and cellular vaccines. DNA vaccines involve the transfection of cells at the tissue site of vaccination with an antigen-encoding plasmid that allows local cells (i.e. myocytes) to produce the vaccine antigen in situ. Cellular vaccines use the direct transfer of pre-pulsed or transfected host antigen presenting cells (e.g., dendritic cells, DC) expressing or presenting the vaccine antigen. The advantage of these approaches is that vaccine antigens are produced in vivo and are readily available for immunological processing. Despite numerous reports of successful pre-clinical testing, both such approaches have hit stumbling blocks. DNA vaccination studies in humans show poor efficacy, which has been linked to innate differences between mice and humans (Cavenaugh et al., 2011; Wang et al., 2011). DC vaccination strategies have shown limited clinical success for therapeutic cancer vaccinations and have high production costs due to necessary individual tailoring (Bhargava et al., 2012; Palucka and Banchereau, 2012).
A further limitation on current vaccine technology is the time involved in developing a vaccine against a give pathogen. This is particularly problematic in the case of exposure to newly emerging pathogens and deliberately or accidentally released pathogens and toxins, where the means for rapid protection to contain such emerging pathogens and biological threats are needed. The methods and episomally transfected MSC described herein address these needs.

Immunoprotective primary mesenchymal stem cells and methods

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