The disclosure notably relates to a computer-implemented method for retrieving a similar virtual material appearance from a database. The method comprises providing a database including virtual material appearances associated to an appearance signatures computed from values representing at least one of a structure, a reflection and a color of the associated virtual material appearance. The method further comprises providing a first appearance signature associated to a first virtual material appearance. The method further comprises identifying one or more virtual material appearances similar to the first virtual material appearance by comparing the first appearance signature with appearance signatures respectively associated to virtual material appearances in the database. The method improves retrieval of virtual material appearances.

A number of systems and programs are offered on the market for the design, the engineering and the manufacturing of objects. CAD is an acronym for Computer-Aided Design, e.g. it relates to software solutions for designing an object. CAE is an acronym for Computer-Aided Engineering, e.g. it relates to software solutions for simulating the physical behavior of a future product. CAM is an acronym for Computer-Aided Manufacturing, e.g. it relates to software solutions for defining manufacturing processes and operations. In such computer-aided design systems, the graphical user interface plays an important role as regards the efficiency of the technique. These techniques may be embedded within Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems. PLM refers to a business strategy that helps companies to share product data, apply common processes, and leverage corporate knowledge for the development of products from conception to the end of their life, across the concept of extended enterprise. The PLM solutions provided by Dassault Systèmes (under the trademarks CATIA, ENOVIA and DELMIA) provide an Engineering Hub, which organizes product engineering knowledge, a Manufacturing Hub, which manages manufacturing engineering knowledge, and an Enterprise Hub which enables enterprise integrations and connections into both the Engineering and Manufacturing Hubs. All together the system delivers an open object model linking products, processes, resources to enable dynamic, knowledge-based product creation and decision support that drives optimized product definition, manufacturing preparation, production and service.
In computer vision, the classification of materials based on their appearance is an important discipline in the context of object recognition from images. Techniques of digital image synthesis use virtual objects in combination with virtual materials to create an accurate virtual representation for real objects. For instance, the virtual object represents an object of the real world such a part of a mechanical system and the virtual material of the virtual object may represent a metal the real-world object is made of. A virtual material is a dataset which in some way represents properties of an object. These properties are related to different attributes of the material, for example the mechanical behavior, the chemical composition and/or the visual appearance. The appearance part of the virtual material is a data subset which parameterizes the interaction of light with an object's surface. This comprises how light reflects, refracts from the surface or scatters inside/beneath the surface.
When creating an object, a user that is designing the object may retrieve from an existing database one or more virtual material appearances which are used when rendering the object. The user may also want to test different virtual material appearances which have a similar appearance, in other words virtual materials which are share visual characteristics. This allows a user, for example, to select the most appropriate virtual material appearance or the virtual material appearance which consumes the least amount of computing resources during rendering.
Typically, the different virtual material appearances are visually assessed by the user. The appearance of the rendered object is perceived differently depending on the environment it is observed from. For example, an object being rendered with a virtual material appearance of shiny chrome, mirrors its environment. The appearance of an object using such a virtual material appearance is perceived differently depending on its surroundings. In an extreme case of a diffuse white environment the same rendered object doesn't look shiny at all, it just appears diffuse white. The dependency on external conditions makes it difficult to compare the appearance of different virtual materials between them.
The representation of the virtual properties and features of a material cannot be as cleanly separated as for physical materials. Physical materials can be sensed through touch and other human senses other than vision which helps untangle the features characterizing appearance, however this is not possible for virtual materials. As discussed by Adelson at al. in "On seeing stuff: the perception of materials by humans and machines", 2001, untangling these factors from just a single 2D image is complex. This makes the comparison between appearances of virtual materials complex.
There is no standardized appearance data model for virtual materials which makes it hard to retrieve different virtual material appearances. The different data models describe different aspects of the appearance and often cannot be directly compared. This further increases the difficulty when comparing the appearance of different virtual materials, let alone identifying similar virtual material appearances.
The concept of similarity is omnipresent in science. In mathematics, geometric similarity is used to describe the similarity relations between geometric shapes. Graph theoretic similarity techniques are used for semantic analysis of ontologies in areas such as linguistics and information science. The ability to calculate the similarity of pairs of proteins is an essential tool for DNA analysis in molecular biology. All these similarity measures share a common characteristic: the input data is clearly defined. By knowing the structure and semantics of the input data, it is possible to mathematically define a so-called similarity space, a space which can be used to express objects in terms of their features of interest and then extract the similarity as simple geometric distance of their projected coordinates.
The concept of similarities plays an important role in artificial intelligence. Machine learning techniques start to penetrate ail of disciplines. In times of cloud-based user platforms and big-data intelligent algorithms are vital to make sense of all the information. Establishing similarity relations between objects helps these techniques to understand complex, non-obvious data relations.
Currently there are no methods which enable a user to retrieve in a database a virtual material appearance similar to another virtual material appearance. Within this context, there is still a need for an improved method to compare virtual material appearances, and to retrieve virtual material appearance(s) from a database that is (are) similar to a virtual material appearance.

Method for retrieving similar virtual material appearances


Disclosed are systems, devices and methods for detecting and measuring TMS-induced electrical fields. In accordance with certain aspects of an embodiment of the invention, a TMS sensor probe is provided having a field detector, a first electrical connection connecting the field detector to either a power source or a processor, and a second electrical connection connecting the field detector to a processor. The field detector is configured to measure a characteristic of a TMS-induced electrical field at the location of the field detector, and the processor is configured to receive the measured characteristic of the induced electrical fields and display a human-readable depiction of a calculated induced electrical field. A system using such a sensor probe to calibrate a TMS-induced electrical field is also provided, including the foregoing sensor probe, and a magnetic field generator.

There is increasing interest in using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a treatment tool for various neurological and psychiatric disorders, including migraine, stroke, Parkinson's disease, dystonia, tinnitus, and depression. TMS is a noninvasive method that uses a weak transient magnetic field-induced current to stimulate regions of the brain. The magnetic pulse created by a magnetic field generator easily passes through the skull and induces small electrical currents to be generated that stimulate nerve cells in the targeted brain region. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved TMS as treatment for depression and migraine headaches. TMS is also used as a diagnostic tool for motor neuron diseases with spinal cord excitation.
In order to meet the need for improved TMS devices that provide for deeper organ and brain stimulation, new TMS tools will require higher pulse power and better focusing capabilities to combat field divergence caused by longer operational distances. Developing such focused TMS requires extensive testing before it can be applied to animals and then humans. Even after new and more focused TMS devices are developed, they will require regular calibration and maintenance to ensure precision in focusing and intensity. Accordingly, there is a need for measurement tools, such as sensor probes and systems employing sensor probes and phantoms (e.g., brain phantoms) to detect the TMS-induced field and current, their focality, intensity, and temporal and spatial characteristics.

System, apparatus and method for transient electric field detection and display

University of Maryland, Baltimore County


A system for turning a patient supported on a patient support apparatus includes a U-shaped frame and a rectangular frame pivotably coupled to the U-shaped frame. The rectangular frame includes first and second sheet grippers configured to removeably couple a plurality of sheets to the system and secure the patient between the sheets. The rectangular frame, the sheets, and the patient are configured to rotate at least 180 degrees relative to the U-shaped frame after the U-shaped frame, the rectangular frame, the sheets, and the patient are raised at least a clearance distance above the patient support apparatus.

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method that allows for a caregiver to move a patient and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for repositioning the patient between a supine position and a prone position by rotating the patient about an axis of rotation.
Caregivers are required at times to rotate a patient positioned on a patient support apparatus. This may be done for a variety of reasons including repositioning of the patient in preparation for a procedure, avoiding bed sores and other skin irritations, and/or providing comfort or pain relief to the patient. The patient needing to be repositioned may be larger than the caregiver and require more than one caregiver to achieve the desired positioning of the patient. Further, often only a limited number of caregivers may be available to assist with patient rotation. At times, a single caregiver may be tasked with repositioning the patient from the supine position to the prone position or vice versa. In such situations, the caregiver may not have the physical strength necessary to reposition the patient. As such, the caregiver places herself/himself/themself at risk for physical injury by attempting to rotate the patient without assistance and, additionally, patients in need of repositioning may not receive the necessary treatment due to the physical limitation on the caregiver. Patients unable to be repositioned by a single caregiver face increased risk of bed sores and illnesses related thereto.


A battery module has a cell unit including battery cells and a battery monitoring element attached to the cell unit. The battery cells are arranged in a first direction. The battery cell includes pressure release section for releasing a pressure in the battery cell. The cell unit has side surfaces including at least one internal pressure release section surface which is a surface where the internal pressure release section is disposed. The battery monitoring element is disposed on a non internal pressure release section surface which is different from the internal pressure release section surface.

A conventional battery module is disclosed in JP 5133330 B1. The battery module includes a cell unit including a plurality of battery cells arranged in a first direction and a battery monitoring element that controls a charge amount of the battery cell. The battery monitoring element is mounted on a binding band that binds the cell unit.
In the above conventional battery module, the cell unit has a side surface where a safety valve of each battery call is disposed (hereinafter, referred to as a safety valve surface). In case that the battery monitoring element is disposed over the safety valve surface, the battery monitoring element faces the safety valves.
Accordingly, the battery monitoring element disposed so as to cover the safety valves causes difficulty in exhaust from the safety valves. Further, the battery monitoring element is heated due to heat of exhaust from the safety valves.


A neuro-bionic device based on a two-dimensional Ti3C2 material is provided. The device includes a Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate, a neuro-bionic layer formed on a Pt film layer of the Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate, and an Al electrode layer formed on the neuro-bionic layer. The neuro-bionic layer is made of a two-dimensional Ti3C2 material. The neuro-bionic device of the present invention is prepared by an evaporating coating method and a drop-coating method. The preparation process is relatively simple. The prepared device can successfully simulate the characteristics of synapse. More importantly, the resistance of the device can be modulated continuously under a scanning of a pulse sequence with pulse width and interval of 10 ns, which is beneficial to the application of the device in the ultrafast synapse simulation.

In traditional electronic computers, the bottleneck caused by Von Neumann architecture is the separation of a computing module from a storage module. This makes CPU read data from the storage module, and then process the data when executing a command, which results in excessive consumption of time and power for reading the data. In the face of this serious problem, previous studies found that the human brain had solved the problem. Because of the inherent fusion between storage and computing, interconnected neurons in the human brain can effectively handle complex tasks. Therefore, in order to simulate the characteristics of the brain, academia and industry personnel are exploring systems similar to the human brain. Thus, a non-conventional device is required for realizing an information storage and processing different from that of the Von Neumann architecture.
Memristor is a kind of non-linear resistor with a memory function, and is a device capable of simulating the brain and simulating to realize artificial synapses after extensive research. The memristor has an excellent data processing capability far superior than that of the current digital architecture. Moreover, the memristor can better simulate and calculate information on a biological scale. Currently, there are some reports on the memristor, i.e., a kind of synaptic bionic device. However, the bionic effect of the memristor is not ideal as per expectation, especially, when the pulse width is reduced to a predetermined degree, the memristor is hard to be turned on for regulation. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop an ultrafast synaptic bionic device with a simple structure and a good bionic effect.
Two-dimensional materials have many unique properties, touching off a research upsurge. Due to the potential application of two-dimensional layered materials in the fields such as electrochemistry, researchers have been looking for new two-dimensional layered materials. In 2011, Naguib. M and other researchers used hydrofluoric acid to etch Ti3AlC2Tx to remove the Al therein, thus forming a novel two-dimensional metal carbide known as Ti3C2Tx. At present, there is no report on the application of Ti3C2 material in the preparation of synaptic bionic device with a relatively good bionic effect.

Neuro-bionic device based on two-dimensional Ti


A fan impeller assembly of simple construction which is intended, in particular, for use in cooling systems of internal combustion engines and can be used there inter alia as a cleaning blower for clearing the radiator and/or corresponding air inlet openings by reversal of the direction of delivery.

This application claims the priority of German application 198 40 843.9, filed in Germany on Sep. 7, 1998, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a fan impeller assembly, in particular a fan impeller which can be used in the cooling system of internal combustion engines. Preferred embodiments of the present invention relate to a fan impeller assembly for cooling systems of internal combustion engines, comprising: a cup shaped hub, adjustable fan blades which are guided rotatably in a peripheral wall of the hub, and an actuating drive operable to adjust the fan blades and situated in the cup-shaped hub, said actuating drive including: an actuating element spring-loaded toward an initial position and acted upon in an opposite direction by a pressure medium, and adjusting eccentrics which are situated at a transition between said actuating element and the fan blades and can be acted upon by the actuating element, the actuating element being formed by a concentrically arranged actuating piston which adjoins the cup wall in a sealing manner and is guided by the latter.
In the case of a known fan impeller of the abovementioned type (DE-A 28 07 899) with a cup-shaped hub, the fan blades are mounted in the cup wall and, at an axial offset therefrom, the hub forms the holder and sealing guide for an actuating piston which can be loaded by means of pressure medium, is supported resiliently in the opposite direction and acts as an actuating element for the fan blades. The adjusting eccentrics assigned to the fan blades are formed by pivoting levers which extend in the circumferential direction, are connected to the fan blades in a rotationally rigid manner within the hub and are acted upon by means of axially extending actuating rods which are supported against the piston. Although a configuration of this kind allows relatively large piston diameters, the axial offset of the piston relative to the fan blades leads to a relatively large overall depth of the hub, even in the case of relatively small pivoting angles for the fan blades, and also involves relatively high outlay on construction.
Other known publications relating to the technical background are DE 88 15 383 U1, DE 84 06 829 U1, DE 25 52 529 A1 and DE 44 38 995 A1.
The invention relates to the configuration of a fan impeller of the type stated at the outset and has the object of arriving at a basic design of fan impeller which is of simple, small and flat construction and allows such a fan, the direction of delivery of which can be reversed while the direction of rotation remains the same, to be used in existing designs instead of conventional blower impellers. This object is achieved according to preferred embodiments of the invention by providing a fan impeller assembly of the type referred to above, wherein a piston wall of the actuating piston lies in radial overlap with the fan blades as an actuating ring for receiving actuating stubs of the adjusting eccentrics, and wherein, by a pressure medium acting on the actuating piston, the fan blades can be changed over into a direction of delivery opposite to a direction of delivery in an initial position and, in both of the opposite directions of delivery, are loaded in the directions of the blade position corresponding to the respective direction of delivery.
By virtue of the fact that an axially displaceable actuating piston is used, the operation of the actuating piston is independent of the respective speed and its surface area can be dimensioned in such a way, based in particular on the respective size of the hub, that sufficiently high actuating forces are obtained even at low actuating pressures. This configuration furthermore provides the possibility of creating sufficient space for an elastically flexible return device of simple configuration, with the result that, overall, an actuating device is created in which active adjustment takes place in each case in only one direction of actuation and in which the return is accomplished by means of the passive elastically flexible return device, which operates against the actuating force of the pressure-loaded actuating piston. This makes it possible to obtain an actuating device in which pressure loading is necessary in only one direction and the change-over can be accomplished by switching the pressure loading on and off. If a pump, a compressor, an accumulator or the like is provided for the purpose of pressure loading, there is thus no need for any further control devices but only for the pressure source to be switched on and off. With a view to as compact as possible an axial overall length, an axially overlapping arrangement of the actuating piston and the fan blades is of particular and independent significance.
Particularly in the case of pneumatic actuation, this leads to a very simple solution, making possible a basic concept such that the end position which is adopted by means of the elastically flexible return device corresponds to a normal working position of the fan impeller as the forward-blowing direction. There is therefore no need for any pressure supply in the normal working position, maximum reliability of operation is thus ensured and, moreover, a very energy-saving operation is made possible if, upon pressure loading, only a brief working position is adopted as the reverse blowing direction. This can be accomplished simply by switching on a pump or a compressor, especially as the large-area dimensioning allows operation at very low pressures.
Particularly in connection with pneumatic actuation of the actuating device, it is possible, if the source of compressed air is switched on only briefly to build up the required actuating pressure and then switched off, for the change-over from the reverse blowing position as the brief working position to the normal working position as the forward-blowing position to be achieved simply by carrying out the pressure reduction in a delayed or time-controlled manner.
This can be achieved in a particularly simple manner if the volume closed off by the actuating piston is connected, for example, to atmosphere by a restrictor opening, if required in a controlled manner.
By virtue of the fact that, in the case of the solution according to the invention, the fan blades are loaded in their respective end position by a holding force which is independent of the actuating device and acts in the direction of the end position, in particular by the force of the air resistance acting on the fan blades, it is possible, in conjunction with a time-controlled pressure reduction as explained above, to design the actuating device in such a way that a virtually immediate change-over between the two end positions is obtained, not only when changing over from the normal working position into the brief working position but also when changing over in the opposite direction. This is because, with such a configuration, the actuating force supplied by the elastically flexible return device can be dimensioned in such a way in relation to the self-holding force that it is only slightly greater than the self-holding force, allowing a virtually complete pressure reduction to be formed before the change-over takes place, the change-over then taking place abruptly since there is no significant opposing force being exerted by the actuating piston once the self-holding force has been overcome, due to the pressure reduction which has taken place. The use of the force of the air resistance acting on the fan blades as a holding force represents a particularly advantageous solution.
As regards the switching time, switching from the normal working position to the brief working position is essentially dependent only on the delivery capacity of the pressure source or a corresponding reservoir volume acting as a source of supply.
The configuration of a fan impeller with adjustable fan blades and with a holding force, as the self-holding force, in their respective end position which is independent of the actuating device and acts in the direction of the end position also proves essential as regards stabilization of the fan blades in their respective end position and hence for reliable operating behavior since, in this way, it is possible without additional expenditure to achieve a stable end position in which the blades do not flutter and the blades assume a virtually fixed position relative to the hub despite their adjustability. Moreover, this effect can be achieved without additional expenditure if, in accordance with the invention, the fan blades are loaded in the direction of the respective end position by the force of the air resistance acting upon them counter to the direction of delivery.
The construction of the eccentric mechanism with a common actuating ring formed by the cylindrical wall part of the actuating piston in conjunction with the radial orientation and mounting of the fan blades in the hub housing and the axial overlap with the actuating piston leads to a particularly simple and flat construction in accordance with the invention.
As seen radially from the outside, the fan blades are each curved in a direction opposite to the direction of delivery, resulting in section in a convex fan blade curvature counter to -the direction of delivery, that end of the respective blades which projects forwards in the direction of delivery having a predominantly axial orientation, and the rearward end relative to the direction of delivery having a largely radial orientation.
For the change-over between the directions of delivery, rotation of the blades about their respective centre line has been found to be expedient, more particularly at an angle of, preferably, more than 90.degree., in particular at an angle of the order of about 110.degree., it being possible to influence the magnitude of the self-holding force both by means of the shape of the blade profile and/or the angle of incidence and/or the axial distance of the respective blade edge at the front in the direction of delivery from the axis of rotation of the fan blade.
The basic concept according to the invention of a fan impeller with adjustable fan blades furthermore makes it possible as an optional additional function, while retaining the principle of construction and in accordance with the invention to perform speed- and/or temperature-dependent adaptation of the cooling performance in order to reduce the cooling performance, which, in principle, rises with the speed in the case of a predetermined rigid ratio between the speeds of the crank shaft and the fan impeller, if there is no need for such cooling performance. In the case of a fan impeller according to the invention, this is achieved by virtue of the fact that the spring-loaded initial position of the actuating piston is stop-limited counter to the spring force and the position of the limiting stop is varied as a function of the speed and/or temperature.
The starting point here is that, for a large number of applications, especially for machines such as agricultural and stationary machines and also commercial vehicles and utility vehicles and, in this context, especially agricultural utility vehicles such as tractors, the internal combustion engine is generally operated within a relatively narrow working range and there is thus no need for continuous adjustment of the fan blades. The working range mentioned is generally a range in which the internal combustion engine is below its maximum speed and in which the cooling performance requirement is high, in particular at a maximum, based on the maximum torque that can be achieved in this range or maximum power that can be achieved in this range. Starting from this range, the air delivery rate and cooling performance that can be achieved thereby generally increases more steeply with increasing speed than the respective maximum cooling performance requirement. This can be allowed for by the configuration according to the invention by adjusting the angle of incidence of the fan blades--so as to reduce the cooling performance--in the direction of a lower air delivery rate, and this can be accomplished directly as a function of the speed.
Such speed-dependent adjustment can be achieved--as an independent inventive solution--by means of the actuating force resulting from the force acting on the fan blades as a function of the air resistance, this force increasing with speed with the result that, based on the maximum cooling performance requirement for the working range mentioned, it is possible to perform adjustment where the air-resistance-dependent actuating force is in equilibrium with an elastically flexible support. If this working range is exceeded, i.e. if the speed is increased further, a correspondingly higher air-resistance-dependent actuating force is obtained in line with the increased speed, and the fan blades are pivoted to a smaller angle of incidence against the elastic support, it being expedient to delimit the permissible minimum angle of incidence by means of a fixed stop.
Within the context of the invention but also as an independently inventive solution, a corresponding adaptation can also be achieved as a function of temperature. This is possible by virtue of the fact that a stop element operating in a temperature-dependent manner is configured in such a way that a maximum deflection is obtained when the internal combustion engine is operating at a corresponding speed in the working range mentioned of maximum loading and maximum cooling performance requirement. If the speed goes beyond this, the rise in the cooling performance requirement lags behind the rise in speed, with the result that the temperature falls as a consequence of the increase in the air delivery rate and cooling performance against speed, this leading to a reduction in the deflection of the stop element which operates in a temperature-dependent manner and an adjustment of the fan blades in the direction of a smaller angle of incidence and a correspondingly lower air delivery rate by means of the air-resistance-dependent actuating force loading them.
According to the invention, this provides a solution which operates in a speed- and/or temperature-dependent manner and by means of which the power requirement of the fan impeller is reduced in the critical upper speed ranges to the level required to cool the internal combustion engine, thus reducing the power losses of the internal combustion engine, with correspondingly positive effects on the effectively available power of the internal combustion engine and on fuel consumption.
The temperature-dependent adjustability according to the invention, if required in combined form to give temperature- and speed-dependent adjustability, furthermore provides the assurance that there will be no deficit in cooling performance in the case of a higher cooling performance requirement in the speed range above said working range since, given an elevated temperature and a corresponding retroactive effect on the temperature-dependently operating stop element, the angle of incidence of the fan blades even in the speed range above, i.e. beyond, the working range mentioned can be adjusted or can be set to an angle of incidence which corresponds to the maximum delivery rate if the temperature-dependently operating stop element is designed in such a way that it can also withstand higher air-resistance-dependent actuating forces occurring as a function of the speed.
Springs, in particular helical springs, can be used as elastic stop elements, and expandable-material elements, in particular, can be used as temperature-dependent stop elements.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Fan impeller assembly for cooling systems of internal combustion engines


Disclosed herein are analogs of Salinosporamide A, having the Formulae Ia-IVa as follows:

Salinosporamide A (1) was recently discovered by Fenical et al. as a bioactive product of a marine microorganism that is widely distributed in ocean sediments. See, Feeling et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2003, 42, 355-357.

Structurally Salinosporamide A closely resembles the terrestrial microbial product Omuralide (2a) that was synthesized by Corey et al. several years ago and demonstrated to be a potent inhibitor of proteasome function. See, (a) Corey et al., Chem. Pharm. Bull., 1999, 47, 1-10; (b) Corey et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 1993, 34, 6977-6980; (c) Corey et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1992, 114, 10677-10678; and (d) Fenteany et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1994, 91, 3358-3362.
A simple and effective stereocontrolled synthesis of Salinosporamide A is taught in commonly owned, copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/821,621, filed 9 Apr. 2004. The process described therein is capable of providing Salinosporamide A, and with minor modifications, is likewise capable of providing compounds of the present invention. The relevant portions of that disclosure are presented below.
Like Omuralide, Salinosporamide A inhibits the proteasome, an intracellular enzyme complex that destroys proteins the cell no longer needs. Without the proteasome, proteins would build up and clog cellular machinery. Fast-growing cancer cells make especially heavy use of the proteasome, so thwarting its action is a compelling drug strategy. See, Fenical et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003-0157695A1, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Omuralide is generated by β-lactonization of the N-acetylcysteine thiolester lactacystin (2b) that was first isolated by the Omura group as a result of microbial screening for nerve growth factor-like activity. See, Omura et al., J. Antibiot., 1991, 44, 113-116; and Omura et al., J. Antibiot., 1991, 44, 117-118.
Methods for preparing lactacystin and related compounds, including analogs of lactacystin and clasto-lactacystin beta-lactone, are taught in the following references; U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,645,999; 6,566,553; 6,458,825; 6,335,358; 6,294,560; 6,214,862; 6,147,223; 6,133,308; 5,869,675; 5,756,764; and PCT Publication No. WO 96/32105; the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. See also, (a) Corey et al., Total Synthesis of Lactacystin, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1992, 114, 10677-10678; (b) Corey et al., An Enantioselective Synthesis of (6R)-Lactacystin, Tetrahedron Lett., 1993, 34, 6969-6972; (c) Corey et al., Synthesis of (6R, 7S)-Lactacystin and 6-Deoxy-lactacystin from a Common Intermediate, Tetrahedron Lett., 1993, 34, 6973-6975; and (d) Corey et al., Total Synthesis of Lactacystin: An Enantioselective Synthesis of (6R)-Lactacystin: Total Synthesis of (+)-Lactacystin, . . . , Chemtracts-Organic Chemistry, pp. 266-272, 1994.

Abstract: Like Salinosporamide A, the compounds of the present invention will inhibit the proteasome, an intracellular enzyme complex that destroys proteins the cell no longer needs. Without the proteasome, proteins would build up and clog cellular machinery. Fast-growing cancer cells make especially heavy use of the proteasome, so thwarting its action is a compelling drug strategy.

President and Fellows of Harvard College


A new cultivar of Gaillardia named ‘FRENZY’ that is distinguishable by compact dwarf habit, medium-green foliage, and large red tubular flowers with bright yellow petal tips, blooming from early through late summer. In combination these traits set ‘FRENZY’ apart from all other existing varieties of Gaillardia known to the inventor.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of blanket flower, an ornamental grown for landscape and container. The new invention is known botanically as Gaillardia×grandiflora and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name 'FRENZY'. Gaillardia is in the family Asteraceae, under which the commonly referred to "flower" is actually the inflorescence, and made up of smaller ray flowers and disc florets.
The new Gaillardia variety named 'FRENZY' is a hybrid seedling selection that resulted from the deliberate cross-pollination between, as female parent, a Gaillardia plant which the inventor had raised from seed collected from a plant of Gaillardia×grandiflora 'Fanfare' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,892) and, as male parent, a plant which the inventor discovered as a naturally-occurring mutation of Gaillardia 'Burgunder' (unpatented). The goal set forth by the inventor was that of producing new Gaillardia varieties exhibiting improved flower color, higher petal count, and improved flower form, over all other varieties known to the inventor.
Breeding and selection was conducted by the inventor, at the inventor's nursery located in the state of Washington. The inventor selected 'FRENZY' in 2004 based on the criteria of flower color and plant habit.
The distinguishing characteristics of 'FRENZY' are habit, flower color, flower dimensions, and quantity of flowers.
'FRENZY' is readily distinguishable from the female parent by the color and number of the ray flowers. Although both varieties bear tubular ray flowers, the ray flowers of 'FRENZY' are predominantly red in color, with yellow coloration to the petal tips, whereas the ray flowers of the female parent are more equally yellow and red in color. The typical number of ray flowers in a single inflorescence of 'FRENZY' ranges between 25 and 30, whereas the typical inflorescence of the female parent contains 18 to 25 ray flowers.
'FRENZY' is readily distinguishable from the male parent by the shape of the ray flowers. The ray flowers of 'FRENZY' are tubular in shape, whereas the ray flowers of the male parent 'Burgunder' are planar.
The closest comparison plant known to the inventor is the inventor's variety Gaillardia 'TIZZY' (U.S. co-pending application 12/075,635). Whereas both 'FRENZY' and 'TIZZY' bear tubular ray flowers, the ray flowers of 'FRENZY' are red and yellow in color, whereas the ray flowers of 'TIZZY' are uniformly red.
The new Gaillardia variety named 'FRENZY' exhibits compact dwarf habit, large red tubular flowers with bright yellow petal apices, and medium-green foliage. Flowers are fragrant and bloom profusely from early to late summer. Cultural requirements include full sun and well-draining soil such as loam, given moderate water. Hardiness is classified as USDA Zone 5.
The first asexual reproduction of 'FRENZY' was conducted in 2005 at the inventor's nursery in Washington. Asexual propagation was carried out by the inventor, and the method used was softwood cuttings. Since that time under careful observation 'FRENZY' has been determined uniform, stable and true to type in subsequent generations of asexual propagation.


A connection device includes a fixed locking member that is connected electrically to a conductive first frame of a post processor, and a conductive movable locking member that contacts an outer face of the fixed locking member and can slide. A conductive positioning pin that is connected electrically to a conductive second frame of a copying machine is inserted in a pin insertion hole and a large diameter portion in an unlock position of the movable locking member. When the movable locking member is further moved to slide to a lock position, the positioning pin is engaged and fixed to a small diameter portion, so that a conductive plate spring of the movable locking member contacts the positioning pin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connection device for connecting an optional device to a main body and making an electrical conduction between them. The present invention also relates to an image forming apparatus and an optional device equipped with the connection device.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a mechanical connection as well as an electrical conduction is realized between an image forming apparatus and an optional device, i.e., a post processor (that performs post processes such as a sorting process, a stapling process and a punching process of delivered paper sheets) in the following way using a conventional connection device. Note that the electrical conduction is necessary for preventing a malfunction or the like of the image forming apparatus due to static electricity charged in the post processor or radiation noises from the post processor. Hereinafter, a copying machine is exemplified as the image forming apparatus for explanation. FIG. 6 is an elevation view showing schematically a post processor that is equipped with a conventional connection device and a copying machine. Furthermore, FIGS. 7A and 7B are longitudinal sections showing schematically the conventional connection device for connecting the post processor to the copying machine. More specifically, FIG. 7A is a longitudinal section showing the conventional connection device before the post processor is connected to the copying machine, and FIG. 7B is a longitudinal section showing the conventional connection device after the post processor is connected to the copying machine. Furthermore, FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic views from a side of the conventional connection device for explaining a lock mechanism of a positioning pin. More specifically, FIG. 8A is a schematic view from a side of the conventional connection device for explaining an unlock position, and FIG. 8B is a schematic view from a side of the conventional connection device for explaining a lock position. Note that a position where a user operates the copying machine corresponds to a front side of the copying machine.
As shown in FIG. 6, a post processor 70 is equipped with connection devices 71 for fixing positioning pins 51 and making an electrical connection when the post processor 70 is attached to the copying machine 50. Two pairs (total four) of connection devices 71 are disposed on the front and the rear sides of a conductive frame 72 of the post processor 70 as shown in FIG. 6.
As shown in FIG. 6, a copying machine 50 is equipped with conductive positioning pins 51 for making a mechanical connection and an electrical connection to the frame 72 of the post processor 71. Two pairs (total four) of the positioning pins 51 are disposed on the front and the rear sides of a conductive frame 53 of a main body exposed at a paper delivery portion 52 as shown in FIG. 6. Note that each of the frames 53 and 72 is arranged to cover a predetermined area for preventing a malfunction or the like of the image forming apparatus due to static electricity charged in the post processor or radiation noises from the post processor. Hereinafter, the positioning pin 51 and the post processor 71 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the positioning pin 51 is made up of a conductive member having a columnar shape, and an end of the positioning pin 51 is provided with a thread portion 51d for fixing to the frame 53 and making electrical connection with the same. In addition, the positioning pin 51 includes a flange portion 51c, a stopper portion 51a and an engaging portion 51b. The flange portion 51c is fastened to the frame 53 with the thread portion 51d. The stopper portion 51a has a diameter that is the largest and tapered toward the other end for contacting a plate spring 77 described below when the post processor 70 is attached. The engaging portion 51b is closer to the fixed side than the stopper portion 51a and has a reduced diameter smaller than the stopper portion 51a. The positioning pin 51 is screwed to the frame 53, so it has an electrical connection with the frame 53.
As shown in FIGS. 7A through 8B, the conventional connection device 71 includes a conductive fixed locking member 73 and a conductive movable locking member 74. The fixed locking member 73 is fixed to the conductive frame 72 of the post processor 70 with a screw 78, and it has a pin insertion hole 75 having an opening with a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the positioning pin 51 on the frame 53 side of the copying machine 50 and a conductive plate spring 77 that is attached to the inner face of the fixed locking member 73 at the vicinity of the pin insertion hole 75 so as to close the pin insertion hole 75. The movable locking member 74 abuts the outer face of the fixed locking member 73 and is slidable in a sliding direction that is perpendicular to the insertion direction of the positioning pin 51, and it has an elliptic hole 76 extending in the sliding direction for inserting the positioning pin 51.
As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the elliptic hole 76 of the movable locking member 74 includes a large diameter portion 76a and a small diameter portion 76b. The large diameter portion 76a has an opening diameter larger than the outer diameter of the stopper portion 51a of the positioning pin 51 and overlaps the pin insertion hole 75 of the fixed locking member 73 in the unlock position of the movable locking member 74 (the position shown in FIG. 8A) for permitting insertion of the positioning pin 51. The small diameter portion 76b extends from the large diameter portion 76a in the sliding direction for retaining the stopper portion 51a of the positioning pin 51 in the lock position of the movable locking member 74 (the position shown in FIG. 8B) in the state where the positioning pin 51 is inserted. In addition, an opening diameter 76c of the small diameter portion 76b is smaller than maximum outer diameters of the large diameter portion 76a and the stopper portion 51a of the positioning pin 51, and it is larger than the engaging portion 51b of the positioning pin 51.
Next, attachment and detachment of the post processor 70 having the conventional connection device 71 with respect to the copying machine 50 will be described below. Before attaching the post processor 70 to the copying machine 50, the movable locking members 74 of each of the connection devices 71 is moved to slide to the unlock position outward from the post processor 70 in the sliding direction as shown in FIG. 8A. Then, the pin insertion hole 75 of the fixed locking member 73 and the large diameter portion 76a of the movable locking member 74 are overlapped with each other so as to become in the state where the positioning pin 51 can be inserted.
Then, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7A, the post processor 70 is moved by the user toward the copying machine 50 (in the direction of an arrow A). Then, the positioning pin 51 is inserted in the pin insertion hole 75 and the large diameter portion 76a. Further, the engaging portion 51b of each of the positioning pins 51 is inserted until it reaches the position of the large diameter portion 76a of each of the movable locking members 74.
Next, each of the movable locking members 74 is moved to slide from the unlock position shown in FIG. 8A toward the inside of the post processor 70 (in the direction of an arrow B) to the lock position shown in FIG. 8B. Then, as shown in FIG. 7B and FIG. 8B, the small diameter portion 76b of the movable locking member 74 moves to the engaging portion 51b of the positioning pin 51. Since the opening diameter 76c of the small diameter portion 76b of the movable locking member 74 is smaller than the outer diameter of the stopper portion 51a of the positioning pin 51, the stopper portion 51a is retained in the small diameter portion 76b. As a result, the engaging portion 51b of the positioning pin 51 is engaged with the small diameter portion 76b of the movable locking member 74 so that the positioning pin 51 is fixed by the engagement. On this occasion, the plate spring 77 contacts the stopper portion 51a of the positioning pin 51 so that an electric conduction is formed between them as shown in FIG. 7B. Therefore, the frame 72 of the post processor 70 is connected electrically to the frame 53 of the copying machine 50 via the fixed locking member 73, the movable locking member 74, the plate spring 77 and the positioning pin 11.
Furthermore, JP-A-11-193136 discloses an image forming apparatus that includes a connection device having a structure in which a conductive positioning pin of a paper feed device is engaged with a positioning hole of a main body. When the paper feed device is connected to the main body, a conductive elastic member provided to the main body abuts the positioning pin so that electric connection can be formed between the ground of the main body and the ground of the paper feed device. In addition, a sheet processor (corresponding to a sheet loading device) is connected to a conductive rail that is connected to the paper feed device, so that the sheet processor can be connected to the ground.
It is certainly possible for the conventional connection device 71 described above to fix the positioning pin 51 by the engagement between the engaging portion 51b of the positioning pin 51 and the small diameter portion 76b of the movable locking member 74 in the lock position of the movable locking member 74 when the post processor 70 is attached to the copying machine 50, and to make a electric conduction between the frame 72 of the post processor 70 and the frame 53 of the copying machine 50 when the plate spring 77 that is connected electrically to the frame 72 of the post processor 70 contacts the positioning pin 51.
In addition, it is possible for the image forming apparatus including the connection device disclosed in JP-A-11-193136 to connect the sheet processor to the ground of the image forming apparatus by making the electrical contact between the sheet processor and the conductive rail that is connected to the paper feed device.
However, the conventional connection device 71 has a problem as follows. Although the connection device 71 is required to make an electric conduction between the frame 72 of the post processor 70 and the frame 53 of the copying machine 50, to prevent the post processor 70 from being detached from the copying machine 50 due to a vibration or the like, and to be capable of detaching the post processor 70 from the copying machine 50 easily when a malfunction such as a paper jam, it is difficult to insert the positioning pin 51 or fix the positioning pin 51 by the engagement since a force of the plate spring 77 works in the direction of removing the positioning pin 51 from the connection device 71.
In addition, the image forming apparatus including the connection device disclosed in JP-A-11-193136 has a disadvantage of much effort necessary for detaching the sheet processor from the rail when a malfunction occurs in the sheet processor since the sheet processor (corresponding to the sheet loading device) is connected to the conductive rail that is connected to the paper feed device.

Connection device, image forming apparatus and optional device equipped with the same


The dynamo for/on bicycles comprises a housing (1) which can be secured to the bicycle and accommodates a stator (2) and a rotor (3); the rotor (3) can be set in rotary motion by a drive member (4), which can be driven by a bicycle wheel.. The drive member (4) is mounted rotatably around a wheel axle (6) so as to be kinematically connectable with the wheel and forms part of an engageable and disengageable dynamo gearing (7) which rotates the rotor (3) in dependence on the rotation of the wheel.. The dynamo is arranged with its drive member (4) coaxial to the wheel axle (6) and mounted torsionally securely on the wheel axle (6), the stator (2) and rotor (3) lying in eccentric relation to the wheel axle (6).. The drive member (4) formed as a rotary housing cover has an engaging and disengaging member (22) with a driver (38) which can be pushed between the wheel spokes for transmission of the movement.

The invention relates to a dynamo for/on bicycles, comprising a housing receiving a stator and a rotor and securable to a bicycle, a drive member setting the rotor in rotary motion and being driven by a bicycle wheel.
Known dynamos of this type are attached to the bicycle fork and have a small wheel as a drive member, which rolls against the tire. The disadvantage thereof is that frequently rotation of the small wheel does not occur because of dirt or because of snow and ice, but rather the small wheel slips against the tire, so that no current can be generated. The possibility also arises of the fastening of the dynamo to the wheel fork becoming loose and the dynamo then getting between the spokes, which leads to accidents.
Furthermore, dynamos are known, which comprise a wide pressure roll, which also rolls against the tire. The same disadvantages of slip and a shortage of current generation also arise here.
Moreover, the drive members' rolling against the tire can damage the tire with prolonged use.
The problem on which the invention is based is that of providing a simply and economically constructed dynamo, which, on the one hand, can be attached securely to the bicycle and, on the other hand, achieves consistently certain and optimum transmission of motion from the bicycle wheel, but not from the tire, for current generation.


A liner (80) for a plant container includes one or more sheets of partially compressed, dried or at least substantially dry, reconstitutible sphagnum moss. The liner (80) is formed into a 3-dimensional shape having a top opening and one or more walls extending in an upstanding configuration towards the opening, the walls having a body and top edges 86 defined along the top opening. The top edges 86 are compressed to a lesser degree than the body of the walls. A blank (84)for forming the liner (80) and a method of forming the liner or the blank (84) is also disclosed.

This invention relates to plant container liners or blanks therefore. In particular, although not exclusively, the invention relates to sphagnum moss liners for plant containers such as hanging baskets, especially those baskets in the form of skeletal containers.
Because of its unique water retaining properties, and pleasant appearance as a natural plant substance, sphagnum moss has traditionally been a favoured material for use in conjunction with floral arrangements and related horticultural activities.
Traditionally, sphagnum moss has been sold mostly in a dried state but sometimes in a wet state, but generally in a natural loose form in which each filament of the moss plant is separate and distinguishable.
In recent decades, a new technology has developed in the sphagnum moss industry. This is the use of pressure to compress the loose moss in a press into compact sheet form. These sheets are of various thickness, usually from 2 or 3 mm to about 7 mm. They are somewhat like cardboard in flexibility and look somewhat like particle board in texture.
In its traditional loose form, sphagnum moss has always been associated with hanging baskets. One reason for this is its particular ability to absorb and retain water up to and exceeding 20 times its own weight. Another is its natural and aesthetically pleasing appearance.
The most common traditional method of using sphagnum moss to line hanging baskets is to place some loose moss in the bottom of a wire hanging basket, then cover the moss with a little potting mix. After this the basket is gradually filled, firstly by building up the outer layer of sphagnum moss around the outside of the basket and secondly by holding it in place with a little more soil and potting mix. This process is repeated several times until the lining of sphagnum moss reaches right to the upper rim of the hanging basket.
This is obviously a very labour intensive task. For this reason it has mostly been performed at home by the enthusiastic gardener, and by staff in some garden centres. In this form, hanging baskets with a layer of sphagnum moss directly inside the wire basket can be made available only when they are filed with soil and potting mix, because it is the soil and potting mix which holds the outer lining of loose filaments of moss in place.
It is evident that there is an extremely limited scope for selling sphagnum moss lined hanging baskets in this form. The labour content in filling them is very high. In addition the basket would need to be regularly watered to keep the potting mix and the sphagnum moss moist.
For these reasons. sphagnum lined hanging baskets filled in this way would normally have to be made and sold in the same garden centre. Such articles could not be manufactured on a large scale using technology and production machinery and then transported in bulk nationally and internationally to many retail outlets. Consequently only very small numbers of such sphagnum lined baskets are made up in this way.
One company in USA has taken a step forward in this regard and created a sphagnum moss lined hanging basket which can much more readily be transported in cartons as freight, or even posted in the mail, which makes them much more marketable than the previously mentioned type. In these, filaments of loose dry sphagnum moss are fixed onto the outside of the basket with very fine filament or wire. This means that no soil or potting mix is needed to hold the sphagnum moss in place.
However, the process of sewing the filaments or moss onto the outside of the basket is very time consuming and keeps this type of moss lining within the category of a hand crafted item. As such, this type of liner will always be relatively expensive, limited in numbers, and therefore a speciality item.
One New Zealand company also markets a compressed sphagnum moss product formed as a blank shaped like a Maltese cross. When placed inside a hanging basket, the edges fold up and contour to the shape of the basket. A disadvantage of a liner in this form is that initially at least, the liner does not conform satisfactorily to the shape of the curved hanging basket.
Common features of known compact sphagnum liners are:
1 They are both presented to the public in flat, one dimensional form.
2 Both must be placed inside a hanging basket before they can assume and retain the three dimensional shape of the basket.
3 Both are in untreated compacted sheet form and bear little resemblance to sphagnum moss.
4 Both have to be assembled by the purchaser according to instructions supplied.
Extensive market research conducted on our behalf concerning basket liners made up of flat sections of compacted sphagnum moss shows that unless there has been a considerable amount of prior instruction and education. a large proportion of the general public and the gardening public are not aware that:
such flat shaped pieces of compacted sphagnum moss are in fact basket liners;
such a smooth surfaced, cardboard-like substance is in fact sphagnum moss.
In addition, the public needs instruction as to how such objects should be assembled into their end form as basket liners. In particular, a great deal of care and attention is required to manipulate the blanks to enable them to fit the containers. If the dry compacted sphagnum moss liners are bent to suit the contour of the containers, this leads to cracking. A comparison would be like trying to mould a sheet of balsa wood to fit into a bucket. The cracking results in breaking of the moss fibres themselves. This reduces the fibre length of the moss and the moss in and around the cracks may be of insufficient strength to effectively bind and hold the liner together once filled with soil. This can lead to unattractive holes in the moss with consequent loss of soil through the holes. Accordingly, it is necessary to gently wet the sheets of compressed sphagnum moss before manipulating it into the plant containers. Furthermore, the customer ought to take care with the manner in which the water is applied to the liners. If the temperature of the water is too high ie in excess of 25xc2x0 C. or the pressure to great, the user can easily blow a hole in the liner. Consequently, the degree of care required to manipulate the prior art liners may be viewed as very high, perhaps leading to wastage or excessive difficulty by the end user.
Consequently, expensive and extensive advertising and promotional material, and special training of shop sales persons at every point of sale has been necessary to combat the fact that many people do not know:
what such objects are and what they are for;
what they are made of;
how they are to be assembled.
In spite of all this instruction, which does increase the price unnecessarily, many people still pass them by because they do not know what they are, and do not realise how they make up into a basket liner.
As a result, these liners have been observed in sales outlets being progressively moved into obscure positions of display where they gather dust.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a plant container liner or a blank therefor, which will address at least some of the foregoing problems or at least provide the public with a useful choice over liners/blanks at present available.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a liner for a plant container including one or more sheets of partially compressed, dried or at least substantially dry, reconstitutible sphagnum moss formed into a 3-dimensional shape having a top opening and one or more walls extending in an upstanding configuration towards the opening, the walls having a body and top edges defined along the top opening wherein the top edges are compressed to a lesser degree than the body of the walls.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided A blank configured to form a liner for a plant container, the blank comprising one or more sheets of partially compressed, dried or at least substantially dry sphagnum moss configured such that when the sheets are formed into a 3-dimensional form of the liner, the liner has a top opening and one or more walls extending in an upstanding configuration towards the opening, with the walls having a body and top edges defined along the top opening wherein the edges of the blank corresponding to the top edges in the 3-dimensional form of the liner are compressed to a lesser degree than the part of the blank corresponding to the body of the walls.
Each of the blanks to form the liner may be compressed in an individual mould having a female mould part and a male mould part. The male mould part may be shaped to achieve a lesser degree of compression along the edges of the blank corresponding to the top opening of the liner. In a most preferred form, the male mould part may be smaller than the female mould part so that the edges of the blank corresponding to the top opening are substantially uncompressed in the finished blank. The male mould part may be further reduced in size to create additional edges of the blank which are substantially uncompressed. In a most preferred form of the invention, the shape of the blank comprises a base portion with a unitary arcuate wall portion, the arcuate portion being adapted to fold around the base portion to form a continuous wall in the 3-dimensional form of the liner. The overlapping edges of the arcuate wall portion may also be not compressed to the same degree as the body of the liner. Additionally, the peripheral edge of the base portion may also be not compressed to the same degree as the body of the liner.
To further enhance the appearance of the liner or blank, the liner or blank may be partially reconstituted. Preferably, only one side is partially reconstituted. In the 3-dimensional form of the liner, preferably the outer side is partially reconstituted. The degree of reconstitution may be in the range of 113 g/m2 to 331 g/m2. Where the degree of partial reconstitution is in the lower range ie 113-173 g/m2 then the liner or blank may be enclosed in a sealed package to prevent dehydration. It will be appreciated that a high level of partial reconstitution could weaken the structural integrity of the 3-dimensional form of the liner. Where the partial reconstitution is in the higher part of the range ie 241-331 g/m2, preferably 286 g/m2, a greater density of moss may be used compared to the low level partially reconstituted liner or blank. In a preferred embodiment, the density of moss prior to compaction and reconstitution is approximately 925 g/m2 in the high level partially reconstituted liner or blank. By way of comparison, the density of moss prior to compaction and partial reconstitution in the low level partially reconstituted liner or blank is about 869 g/m2. Additionally, it is important to note that while there is partial reconstitution of the exterior of the liner, the interior of the liner is unreconstituted and thus retains sufficient stiffness such that the walls of the liner are self-supporting. The high level partially reconstituted liner is also supported by a stiffness insert on the inside. This may be achieved by a cardboard insert which protects the body of the liner or at least the body of the wall portion of the liner. A gap may be provided in the cardboard insert where the edges of the arcuate wall portion overlap. Nevertheless the stiffening insert is not essential for the walls of the liner to be self-supporting.
The high level partially reconstituted liner is received in a plant container. The preferred form is a wire basket. This produces a finished product which is readily marketable. The liner and basket combination may be such that the liner is oversized for the basket thereby exposing the uncompressed top edges of the liner. This enhances the appearance of the liner. Nevertheless, the basket is not required for the walls of the liner to be self-supporting.
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a combination plant container and liner wherein the liner comprises one or more sheets of dried or at least substantially dry, reconstitutible sphagnum moss, at least part of which is compressed, the liner being partially reconstituted on the exterior and supported by the plant container, the combination further including a stiffening insert.
The combination plant container and liner may include any of the features described above in connection with the first and second aspects of the invention. In particular, the exterior of the sphagnum moss may be partially reconstituted to a higher degree in the range of 241 to 332 g/m2. The preferred level of reconstitution is 286 g/m2. A fairly high level of moss density provides the structural integrity to prevent the liners from disintegrating. Additionally, the plant container supports the liner and furthermore, the stiffening insert adds to the structural integrity.
The plant container may be configured to reveal a large amount of the surface area of the exterior of the sphagnum moss liner. In a most preferred form the plant container is a wire basket.
The stiffening insert is preferably a sheet of card either of cardboard or plastic. Preferably the card is water resistant. The insert suitably conforms to at least a portion of the interior contour of the liner. In a most preferred form of the invention, the liner is comprised of a base portion and a unitary arcuate wall portion adapted to form a continuous wall around the base portion. In this form, the liner may have top edges which are compressed to a lesser degree and overlapping edges which are also compressed to a lesser degree than the body of the liner. In this form of the invention, the insert may cover only the body of the liner exposing the top edges and the overlapping edges. The stiffening insert protects the interior unreconstituted walls of the fully formed liner against being wetted before use. Any water falling on the stiffening insert will flow towards the base which is least likely to collapse on account of becoming wet.
In accordance with a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a liner for a plant container including one or more sheets of partially compressed, dried or at least substantially dry, reconstitutable sphagnum moss formed into a 3-dimensional shape having one or more walls extending in an upstanding configuration wherein the liner is partially reconstituted on at least the exterior of the or each wall such that in the or each wall, the ratio of the thickness of the partially reconstituted moss to the thickness of unreconstituted moss is in the range 7:10 to 7:25.
This range ensures that despite the weakening effect of the reconstitution, the remaining unreconstituted moss afford sufficient strength to the liner. More preferably, the range is 7:15 to 7:25. The overall thickness prior to reconstitution is 3 to 8 mm or more preferably 4 to 7 mm. The liner may be secured into its 3-dimensional form eg by staples, prior to inserting it into a supporting plant container such as a wire basket. A stiffening insert is also optionally provided to provide additional support to the side wall of the liner.
Any of the blanks or liners according to the foregoing aspects may incorporate a layer of water resistant material into the liner or blank.
It would be desirable for the layer of water resistant material to be sandwiched within the sphagnum moss but towards the outer surface of the liner because for visual impact, concealment of the water resistant layer by a layer of sphagnum moss is desirable. This can be achieved by initially laying a thin layer of the sphagnum moss, then the water resistant layer and finally the major amount of sphagnum moss to be compressed.
It is also intended that a wide range of materials may be utilised to form the water resistant or water impervious layer. In a simple form the layer can be provided by a mat of cellulous material such as a suitable grade of paper which may or may not have surface coatings. Suitable surface coatings where provided can facilitate adhesion to the sphagnum moss and increase the water retentive characteristics of the layer.
A suitable plastic sheet may replace the sheet of cellulous material with the surface of the sheet being treated to facilitate adhesion to the sphagnum moss if desired. Aluminium foil is another desirable alternative.
In a yet further modification, the water resistant layer can be provided by treating a section of the sphagnum moss with a suitable chemical mixture so that upon heat and pressure, or pressure alone, a layer of the sphagnum moss sheet will assume characteristics resisting water penetration. For example, a plastics compound which at ambient temperatures would be in liquid form could be sprayed onto the sphagnum moss and which when subjected to heat and pressure, or pressure alone forms the required water resistant layer.
It is also possible within the ambit of the present invention to provide a liner which has different water retentive characteristics. For example, in the base section and a lower part of the wall there could be a water resistant layer but in the upper section of the wall the water resistant layer may not be included.
As mentioned above, each blank is generally of a form including a circular base section and a unitary arcuate wall section extending around the circular base. In this way, the wall section defines a continuous wall around the circular base in the assembled form of the liner. In one form of such a blank the base section may be integrally formed with the wall section along a part of the periphery of the base, allowing the remainder of the wall section to be folded about the remainder of periphery of the base. The blank may be secured in the three dimensional form by overlapping extension areas of the base and/or the wall section and by joining together the ends of the wall section by fastening means such as staples passing through the overlapped extension areas.
In an alternative form of the invention, the blank may be configured to include: a substantially semi-circular base section having a substantially semi-circular edge; and one or more wall sections adapted to fold about the arcuate or semi-circular edge of the base section to form with the base section, a surrounding wall in the 3 dimensional form of the liner wherein at least one of the wall sections is integrally formed with the base section along a part of the semi-circular edge of the base section and is adapted to follow the contour of the semi-circular edge of the base section in the 3 dimensional form of the liner.
It will be appreciated that a liner of this form will be appropriate for use in a wall mounted hanging basket. The parts of the blank corresponding to the upper edges of the surrounding wall in the 3-dimensional form of the liner may be not compressed to the same degree as the body of the blank.
As discussed, an appropriately shaped mould may be used to form each of the blanks. Mould loading devices may be utilised to load a predetermined quantity of moss into the recesses of the moulds.
Alternatively, the sphagnum moss may be compressed into the form of a larger sheet so that a number of blanks may be cut from the sheet and each blank folded to form a three dimensional liner.
The blanks or liners described in the foregoing aspects may be comprised of moss which is preferably pre-dried to around 18 to 20 percent moisture by weight prior to compaction into sheets. In a preferred form of the invention, the moss is compressed without any additional heat being applied. However, in countries (eg Australia) which exclude the import of any moss other than that which is certifiably free of viable seed, the moisture content of the sphagnum moss prior to the compaction may be greater to generate steam during hot-pressing to sterilise the moss. See for example New Zealand Patent Specification 314613/314825, Australian Patent Specification 6037/98 or Chile Patent Specification 1790-98, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. However, where possible, the cold-press method is preferred because it is believed that hot-pressing slows the rate at which the compressed sphagnum moss can be reconstituted.
For transportation it is clearly desirable to ensure that the three dimensional form of the liners are able to be nested one within the other to minimise the transportation space required in sending the liners to the point of sale outlets.
The partial reconstitution is preferably effected prior to assembling the blank to the three dimensional form since this imparts a degree of flexibility to the blanks enabling them to be manipulated into the 3-dimensional form of the liners. This may be achieved by spraying the liner with a suitable liquid such as water. Further water may be added once the liner has been inserted into the plant container. The liquid might be coloured (eg green) to contribute a pleasing aesthetic effect to the liner. In a most preferred form of the invention, the partial reconstitution is effected to the whole exterior of the liner.
As mentioned above, where a lower level of partial reconstitution is effected, it may be necessary to package the 3-dimensional liners to prevent dehydration. The method may involve: enveloping a single liner (with our without supporting container) or a plurality of nested liners with shrink wrapping material such that the shrink wrapping material extends into the interior of the or the top liner, weighting the shrink wrapping material with a weight placed in the interior of the or the top liner; and heat treating the shrink wrapping material to conform to the shape of the liner.
The invention consists in the foregoing and also envisages construction of which the following give examples only.


A plurality of wires (33, 34; 35, 36) are disposed near the bottom (23-25) of blade root sockets (16-18) of a rotating disk 39 of a gas turbine engine by vapor deposition and etching, the wires including connections to excitation nodes (40, 42) and detection nodes (41, 43). A nearby stationary member of the engine mounts an oscillator amplifier (55) which drives a coil (57) that excites the circuitry, and a coil (62) drives an amplifier (65) and a processor (67) which provides an indication of whether or not one or more of the wires are broken by a crack.

This invention relates to sensing the impedance of conductors disposed to span expected cracks in and near the surface of fracture-critical machinery components.
In gas turbine jet engines, and other rotating machinery, the designation xe2x80x9cfracture-criticalxe2x80x9d is given to those components with enough energy, due to high rotational speeds and mass, to promote catastrophic failure. For example, in gas turbine engines, fan, compressor and turbine disks are fracture-critical. Providing containment for this type of failure is unrealistic and it is not a standard practice. Instead, fractures in the rotating components of gas turbine engines are avoided through adequate design and quality control margins, and through periodic inspections. The cost for disassembly, inspection and reassembly over the life of an engine is on the order of the initial cost of the engine.
An alternative approach to managing failures in rotating parts is use of a sensor capable of detecting impending failure with sufficient advance warning to allow timely maintenance action. A sensor that induces eddy currents in a gas turbine disk is disclosed in Barranger, J. P., xe2x80x9cEddy Current Jet Engine Disk-Crack Monitorxe2x80x9d, Materials Evaluation, Vol. 42, October 1984, pp. 1374-1378. The sensor is disposed on a stationary part adjacent the rotating part, and the combined capacitance and conductance of the device is dependent upon the integrity of the disk. Changes in electrical properties of the device are correlated with cracks in the disk.
Optical fibers have been used to monitor a condition directly, visually, and to measure the sources of structural wear, such as stress, strain and so forth, using wear indicating models to infer the actual condition. However, this technology by its very nature is hard to apply in a rotational environment such as engine disks.
The diagnostic signals of the prior art gradually degrade with time, can be analyzed only using long-term histories; can only detect cracks that actually move past the sensor; and cannot detect cracks which are remote from the sensor or hidden on the rotating part.
Objects of the invention include crack detection on machinery, including particularly rotating components: which does not require memory and long-term history; in which the diagnostic signals do not gradually degrade with time; substantially anywhere in the rotating structure; which is essentially instantaneous; in which the degree of crack progression is sensed quantumly; wherein cracks may be detected in rotating parts in which both vibratory and centrifugal forces are extremely large; wherein temperatures in the sensor and environment are extremely high; which is readily implemented using processes and materials known to have satisfactory historical usage, with low failure rates and high reliability.
According to the present invention, one or more circuits, each including one wire or several wires electrically connected in parallel with each other, are each connected between an excitation node on one end and a detection node on the other end, creating excitable closed circuits. In one embodiment, the excitation and detection nodes are inductive.
According further to the invention, the wires, excitation nodes and detection nodes are coated on the machine part by a suitable process, such as vapor deposition. The configuration of the wiring is effected by etching, utilizing techniques which are well known in the fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuits.
In further accord with the invention, materials the same as and/or compatible with the material of the machine part may be used to form the wires, excitation nodes and detection nodes.
The invention permits sensing the development of cracks in and near the surface of rotating and other parts, which cracks may be located remotely from the sensor itself, and even in hidden areas (such as on a back surface of the part). By causing the loss of one wire commensurately with each incremental length of a crack, the invention provides a quantum change in the impedance of the circuit, which is easy to process and present substantially instantaneous indications thereof.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in the light of the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

Crack detection in fracture-critical machine parts


A braking control device for a vehicle executes braking force distribution (BFD) biased to front wheel in a manner compatible with Anti-skid control. In BFD control, braking force on rear wheels is held at a holding braking force and braking force on the front wheels is incremented beyond braking force requested by a braking action of a driver. After the starting of BFD control, further increase in the braking action is reflected in the front wheel braking force. Upon starting anti-skid control for either of the wheels during the execution of BFD control, an increment of the front wheel braking forces to be requested by BFD control is gradually decreased. Simultaneously, the holding of the rear braking force is released so as to compensate for the shortage of braking force on the front wheel. The gradual decrease of the braking force increment prevents a conflict of BFD and Anti-skid control.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for controlling brakes of a vehicle such as an automobile, and more specifically, to such a device that controls braking force distribution among front and rear wheels in a vehicle.
2. Description of Prior Art
During braking of a vehicle, a rear wheel is liable to be locked because its frictional circle is shrunk due to the forward shifting of the load of the vehicle. The locking of a rear wheel, prior to a front wheel, induces serious deterioration of a vehicle running behavior, such as disturbance in the attitude and/or spinning of a vehicle body. In order to avoid the locking of a rear wheel, braking force distribution (BFD) control has been proposed to keep braking force on rear wheels lower than on the front wheels. In such BFD control, braking pressures applied to rear wheel cylinders in a hydraulic braking system is held, reduced or pulsatively increased, i.e. the increase in braking force generated on rear wheels is restricted, providing a distribution of braking force biased to front wheels. Usually, BFD control, often referred to as "Electronic Braking force Distribution Control (EBD control)", is executed by a computerized device operating a plurality of solenoid valves in a hydraulic circuit. Examples of devices executing EBD control are seen in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications (JP) Nos. 5-213169 and 2001-219834.
Under EBD control, a demand from a driver of a vehicle for increasing braking force (e.g. a depression of a brake pedal) is modified for the restriction of braking force on rear wheels, which would cause the reduction of the total braking force. Thus, the driver would feel that the actually generated braking force is incompatible with his braking operation. In order to eliminate this feeling of the incompatibleness while maintaining the braking performance and behavior of a vehicle, JP No. 2001-219834 discloses an EBD control device, in which, after once restricted, braking force on rear wheels is pulsatively increased in response to the increase of a braking action by a driver under a certain running condition. For preventing the locking of rear wheels, however, braking force on the rear wheels could not be increased limitlessly.
Accordingly, it is preferable that, in BFD control device, total braking force on a vehicle body may be rendered as close to the amount requested by a driver of the vehicle as possible, without inducing the locking of the rear wheels and the instability in the vehicle attitude induced therefrom.
By the way, even during execution of BFD control, Anti-skid (ABS) control is to be executed if either of wheels is being locked (Because of BFD biased to front wheels, usually, a front wheel is more liable to be locked than a rear wheel.). During ABS control, decreasing and increasing braking pressure for a wheel to be controlled is repeated to adjust the slip ratio of the wheel, and thereby the slipping or locking of the wheel is prevented. Since a condition requiring ABS control is to be controlled urgently, ABS control will operate a hydraulic circuit of a brake system to change wheel cylinder pressures while ignoring the setting of the pressure by BFD control. Further, when the front wheel is under ABS control, the rear wheel braking pressure is often increased for compensating for the restriction of the front wheel braking force and obtaining total braking force on a vehicle. In such a case, namely, when BFD and ABS controls are executed subsequently and/or alternatively, the condition in the hydraulic circuit is liable to be out of control of a driver, causing deterioration of the braking controllability of the vehicle.
Accordingly, a BFD control device should be improved in order to render it compatible with ABS control without deteriorating the controllability of the vehicle as well as the advantages of both BFD and ABS controls.

Vehicle braking control device for braking force distribution


Systems and methods for throttling display of clustered electronic messages are disclosed. In some implementations, a method includes, at a computing device detecting occurrence of one or more cluster throttling trigger events for a first message cluster, of a first cluster type, in an email application. The method further includes updating a set of properties for the first message cluster in accordance with the one or more cluster throttling trigger events and comparing the updated set of properties for the first message cluster to one or more cluster display throttling rules associated with the first message cluster. The method further includes, in accordance with a determination that the set of properties for the first message cluster satisfies the one or more cluster display throttling rules, refreshing display of the first message cluster within a listing of electronic messages.

The average user of an email application receives many electronic messages a day. For ease of reference, it may be preferred that messages containing a particular type of content (e.g., emails relating to travels, such as rental car bookings, flight tickets, and hotel reservations) are automatically organized together, even though these messages themselves do not appear related to one another. As another example, users often like to have messages relating to social network updates (e.g., Jane, a law school friend, recently joined a GOOGLE+ group for young alumni; and Tim, a co-worker, has just published a vacation photo on his GOOGLE PICASA website), grouped together and visually presented together in a listing of the user's electronic messages.
Problems exist with offering such a feature, however. One problem is that constant updating of a group of messages can cause the group of messages to constantly appear at the top of a list of messages (e.g., an email inbox). For example, displaying "Travel" emails in a group and promoting the "Travel" email group to the top of a user's inbox every time a new email is added to the group. Another problem is that a user may wish to promote particular groups of electronic messages to the top of a listing of electronic messages, based on time (e.g., the day of the week, the time of day, the month of the year), quantity of messages (e.g., after the group has 5 or more messages) or quality (e.g., importance of the group or importance of the most recent message received and assigned to the group).
The above identified technical problems are reduced or eliminated by the systems and methods disclosed herein.

Systems and methods for throttling display of electronic messages


Systems and methods for managing power consumption on a trunked network include listening to a control channel on a trunked system with a trunked pager, and receiving a voice channel assignment. The trunked pager listens for voice traffic on the assigned voice channel while in a standby mode. Voice traffic is detected and the trunked pager determines whether the voice traffic is for a communication group that includes the trunked pager. If so, the trunked pager unmutes and listens to the voice traffic. Upon termination of the voice traffic, the trunked pager returns to the control channel to listen for a different voice channel assignment. Otherwise, the trunked pager directly returns to the control channel to listen for a different voice channel assignment.

Efficient, reliable, and real-time communication with minimal latency is a critical requirement for public safety organizations and first responders. Toward that end, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) adopted and standardized a suite of Land Mobile Radio (LMR) standards termed Project 25 (P25), as described for example, in the TIA 102-series documents. The emerging P25 standard defines the operation and interfaces of P25-compliant radio systems. Specifically, and in part, the P25 standard defines a standard for trunked systems.
A "trunked system" or "trunked network" refers to a radio system where a limited number of frequencies are shared among a large group of users. Trunked systems are particularly beneficial in specific instances where there is a limited number of available communication frequencies. The large group of users in a trunked system are each assigned to a virtual channel or "talkgroup" having a group identification (group ID). Moreover, in a trunked system, the number of talkgroups is not limited to the number of available communication frequencies, and can actually greatly exceed the number of frequencies.
Many fire departments and other public safety organizations currently use legacy analog, receive only pagers to relay voice traffic to their users. To support such pagers on a trunked system, the voice traffic is adapted to the capabilities of the pager (e.g., via a voice-to-text translation) and simulcast on a designated analog conventional channel for each talkgroup that needs to be relayed. However, this translates to additional, costly infrastructure and frequencies that require customer maintenance for each supported talkgroup. Nevertheless, as an increasing number of counties and states are adopting P25-based systems, including P25-based trunked systems, many users of legacy pagers are being compelled to adopt a trunked solution.
Thus, various challenges related to trunked systems need to be addressed. In particular, subscribers on a P25 trunked system continuously receive control channel data in accommodating the P25 standard. Inherent operation with continuous reception diminishes battery life of trunked pagers within a relatively short time-period, thus making their use on a trunked system impractical.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method of managing power consumption on a trunked network.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of various embodiments. In addition, the description and drawings do not necessarily require the order illustrated. It will be further appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required.
Apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the various embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Thus, it will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, common and well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment may not be depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments.

Method for managing power consumption of a pager on a trunked network