According to the method for analyzing physical and/or chemical properties of the surface layer of a solid as per claim 1, the surface layer is activated by a unit irradiation pulse and, when the irradiation is over, is deactivated by keeping the solid at a constant temperature and subsequently heating it, the spectrum of the energy quanta emitted by the surface layer of the solid is recorded during the deactivation; the spectrum of the emitted energy quanta recorded at a constant temperature provides data on the loosely coupled states of the surface layer and their half-lives and the thermoluminescence spectrum recorded during the heating gives information on phase and relaxation transition temperatures in the surface layer.

Since the structure of a surface layer of a solid differs substantially from the structure of the solid in the bulk and in many respects governs its behavior in different media and in the fields of various forces, the information on the surface layer of a solid opens up the way to the scientifically-based modification of the surfaces of solids with the purpose of obtaining materials with desirable optical, mechanical, adhesive, electrical, luminescent and other properties, as well as to the control of many processes important in the practical respect, such as crystal growth, epitaxial and plasma chemical growth of layers, catalysis, preparation of ultrathin film structures by the Langmuir-Blodgett and molecular self-assembly techniques, strengthening of materials, etc. It also allows one to control the surface quality (surface defectoscopy) of industrial products with a higher precision, which is especially important in such fields as protective coatings and micro/nano electronics.
Methods for analyzing physical properties of solids, in particular temperatures and activation energies of phase and relaxation transitions in materials, by means of differential scanning calorimetry (see V. A. Bershtein, V. M. Egorov, "Differential Scanning Calorimetry in Physics and Chemistry of Polymers", "Khimiya", Leningrad, 1990, pp. 74-81) and by means of nuclear magnetic resonance (see Ya. Rabek, "Experimental Methods in Polymer Chemistry", v. 1, Moscow, "Mir", 1983, p. 337) are known.
A disadvantage of these methods is that they mainly characterize the properties of the sample bulk and do not give proper information on the sample surface layer.
A technique for analyzing physical properties of the surface layer of a solid, in particular determination of temperatures and activation energies of phase and relaxation transitions, involving surface bombardment with primary beams of neutral atoms and/or electrons and/or ions and/or photons and/or X-rays and detection of secondary beams of the corresponding charged particles (see, for example, A. Gzanderna "Methods of Surface Analysis", Moscow, "Mir", 1979, pp. 63-64, 76-77, 83-84, 88-89 (a copy of the pages referred to is attached)) is known.
This technique is taken as a prototype of the variant of the method as per claim 1 of the present invention.
When the surface layer of a solid is probed (bombarded), charged particles (electrons, ions), neutral particles (atoms, molecules), and photons are emitted. The surface layer is investigated under constant bombardment, the quantity, energy and spatial distribution (angles of departure) of the emitted particles being detected. However, said method that involves continuous bombardment of the surface gives rise to undesirable modifications of the surface layer investigated. Moreover, since the experiment is typically carried out at a constant temperature of a solid, this method cannot give information on temperatures and energies of phase and relaxation transitions in the surface layer; if the experiments are performed on one and the same sample at several temperatures, the sample surface undergoes multiple bombardments, which results in even more severe changes of the sample surface and, hence, in unreliable transition parameters.
A method for analyzing physical properties of the surface layer of a solid is known, involving the activation of the surface layer of a solid by low-temperature plasma (LTP) followed by deactivation of the surface layer during which a thermoluminescence spectrum is recorded. The LTP used in this method is ignited by an unmodulated voltage with a frequency of 40.68 MHz at a 10-Pa pressure of a plasma-generating gas, the duration of the sample activation by LTP being from 10 s to 9 min (see A. A. Kalachev, etc., "Plasma-induced Thermoluminescence—a New Method for Investigating Supramolecular Architectures and Temperature Transitions in Polymers and Other Solid Surfaces", Applied Surface Science 70/71 (1993), pp. 295-298 (a copy is attached)).
This engineering solution is taken as a prototype of the variant of the method as per claim 3 of the present invention.
The disadvantage of the prototype method is a modifying influence of the LTP with said parameters upon the surface layer of the sample investigated, which results in insufficiently reliable information on physical and chemical properties of this layer. First of all, this is due to strict plasma parameters used in the prototype, namely, a high pressure of a plasma-generating gas (10 Pa) and relatively long (10 s and more) duration of plasma activation. Both factors lead to overheating of the surface layer and a decay of arising active states already in the course of plasma treatment. For example, as seen from FIG. 4 of the prototype, the luminescence intensity typically falls with increasing treatment time. Moreover, said strict plasma parameters lead to other physical-chemical changes in the surface layer being analyzed.
In addition, in the mode of isothermal luminescence (see FIG. 3, paper by A. A. Kalachev etc.) the curves obtained according to the known method and illustrating the dependence (decrease) of thermoluminescence on time from the moment the LTP activation of the sample is over have no characteristic features; therefore, during this period of time no useful information on the surface structure or surface physical-chemical processes was obtained using said method. The curves are only used as a means for the determination of the moment when heating aimed at deactivation of the surface layer of a solid has to be started.

Method for analysing physical and/or chemical properties of the surface layer of a solid body (variants)


A service management system facilitates and validates service on building management systems installed in a building with an access control system. A service workflow module receives device events from control panels of the building management systems and combines them with local service data from mobile computing devices of technicians performing the service, generating service events. A validation module receives the service events and retrieves access control events from an access control system controller of the access control system and determines whether they are coherent. The service workflow module also infers the location of the technician based on the access control events and sends service eligible devices to be displayed on the mobile computing devices of the technicians. In an alternative embodiment, device events from a building automation system such as a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system are further used to validate the service events.

Building management systems such as building automation systems, fire alarm systems and intrusion systems are often installed within a premises such as commercial, residential, or governmental buildings. Examples of these buildings include offices, hospitals, warehouses, public infrastructure buildings including subways and bus terminals, multi-unit dwellings, schools or universities, shopping malls, government offices, and casinos.
Fire alarm systems typically include fire control panels that function as system controllers. Fire detection/initiation devices and alarm notification devices are then installed, distributed throughout the buildings and connected to the panels. Some examples of fire detection/initiation devices include smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, flame detectors, temperature sensors, and/or pull stations (also known as manual call points). Some examples of fire notification devices include speakers, horns, bells, chimes, light emitting diode (LED) reader boards, and/or flashing lights (e.g., strobes).
The fire detection devices monitor the buildings for indicators of fire. Upon detection of an indicator of fire such as smoke or heat or flames, the distributed device is activated and a signal is sent from the activated distributed device to the fire control panel. The fire control panel then initiates an alarm condition by activating audio and visible alarms of the fire notification devices of the fire alarm system, which are also distributed around the building. Additionally, the fire control panel will also send an alarm signal to a monitoring station, which will notify the local fire department or fire brigade.
Intrusion systems typically include intrusion panels and their own distributed devices. The distributed monitoring devices detect indications of intrusions, building security breaches and unauthorized access at or within the building and report to the intrusion panels. Examples of monitoring devices include motion sensor devices, door and window relays, thermal sensors, and surveillance camera devices that communicate with the intrusion panel over a security network. Motion sensor devices can detect intrusions and unauthorized access to the premises, and send indications of the intrusions to the security panel. The surveillance camera devices capture video data of monitored areas within the premises, in examples.
Building automation systems will typically include one or more building automation control panels and distributed devices that control and monitor the physical plant aspects of a building and aspects of business-specific electrical, computer, and mechanical systems. The physical plant typically includes heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, elevators/escalators, lighting and power systems, refrigeration and coolant systems, and air and/or water purification systems, in examples. HVAC systems typically include air handlers and systems of ducts and vents for circulating air throughout the building. Business-specific systems include computer systems, manufacturing systems that include various types of computer-aided machinery and test equipment, and inventory control and tracking systems, in examples.
Building management systems require service, including installation, repair, testing, inspection, and compliance testing. When the systems are initially installed, the panels are typically located in a secure part of the building. Then, the distributed devices are installed throughout the building. The panels and the distributed devices must then be interconnected. Wired systems are often used. Although, in some cases wireless links are used to provide interconnection. Then later in the lifecycle, repair may be required. Sensor-type distributed devices can be damaged. They can also become dirty. Inspection and compliance testing is also mandatory for many types of building management systems. Fire alarm systems must be tested typically on a yearly basis, for example.
Recently, it has been proposed to use connected services systems to monitor fire alarm systems. Connected services systems are remote systems that communicate with the building management systems and are sometimes administered by separate business entities than the owners and/or occupants of the buildings, which contain the building managements systems. For example, the connected services system can be administered by a building management system manufacturer and/or an entity providing service on the building management systems.
Often during service, the connected services systems communicate with the control panel of a fire alarm system and mobile computing devices operated by on-site technicians. This has allowed the control panels to report status information, including devices events from distributed devices connected to the panels, to the connected services systems. Similarly, this has allowed the mobile computing devices, via mobile applications, to display information about the fire alarm systems, receive local service data, including inspection results, service narrative information and/or service completion status for different distributed devices, and send the local service data to the connected services system. By facilitating communication between the control panels and mobile computing devices, and by collecting and storing device events and local service data, connected services systems have been used to facilitate service on fire alarm systems.
For example, typically, the fire alarm devices are periodically tested by technicians (e.g., monthly, quarterly, or annually depending on fire or building codes) to verify that the distributed devices are physically sound, unaltered, working properly, not obstructed, properly labeled, and located in their assigned locations.
This testing of the distributed devices is often accomplished with a walkthrough test. During an inspection, the connected services system receives device events from the control panel, which originated from the distributed devices and local service data from a mobile computing device, including inspection results. Illustrated by way of example, upon activation of a fire alarm device, the control panel receives a signal from the activated device. Event data are generated and sent to the connected services system. The event data are stored and/or logged by the connected services system and also sent to the mobile computing device in real-time. The on-site technician is able to view the event data and verify that the fire alarm device is physically sound, unaltered, working properly, and in its assigned location. The mobile computing device then sends local service data including inspection results to the connected services system, and the technician moves to test the next fire alarm device.
Many buildings also include access control systems. The access control systems typically include components such as system controllers, access control readers, and door controllers, to list a few examples.
The access control readers are often installed at access points of the buildings to control access to restricted areas, such as buildings or areas of the buildings. Examples of access points include front and interior doors of a building, elevators, hallways connecting two areas of a building, to list a few examples. The access control readers authenticate identities of (or authorize) individuals and then permit those authenticated individuals to access the restricted areas through the access points. Typically, individuals interact with the access control readers by swiping keycards or bringing contactless smart cards within range (approximately 2-3 inches or 5 centimeters) of a reader. Newer frictionless systems often rely on wireless communication between mobile computing devices carried by the individuals and the access controllers for the access point. The access control readers read the information of the keycards and/or transmitted from the mobile computing devices and then the access control systems determine if the individuals are authorized to access the restricted areas. If the individuals are authorized to enter the restricted areas, then the access control readers allow access to the restricted areas by unlocking locked doors, signaling that doors should be unlocked, and activating elevators. Alarms can be generated upon unauthorized entry.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for service verification using access control system


A nut shelling apparatus and method for the shelling of nuts such as chinquapins and chestnuts without substantially damaging the meat of the nuts. The nut shelling machine utilizes a combination of the inertia of the nut and a planar rotating cutting disc, such as one with a layer of aluminum oxide abrasive material, to cut the shell of the nut in a series of small cuts. The rotating abrasive disc utilizes the resistive inertia of the nuts to launch the nut in an upward direction and causing the nuts to fall onto the abrasive surface to repeatedly cut the shells. The repeated cutting action results in removal of a substantial amount of the shell in a short period of time while at the same time minimizing damage to the meat of the nut.

1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a nut shelling machine, and more particularly to a machine and method for shelling nuts such as chestnuts and chinquapins.
2) Description of Related Art
Nut shelling apparatus to crack and shell various types and various sizes of nuts are known in the art. These devices range from simple table models to sophisticated production lines for shelling of some nuts in large quantity.
However, until the present invention no relatively simple machine has been developed that satisfactorily shells chinquapins or chestnuts or similar nuts at room temperature to remove the thin shell from the nut.


A polarizing multiplexer includes a first arm with a first beam splitter to receive a first unpolarized light from an object and a first retarder coupled to the first beam splitter to generate a first right-hand circularly polarized (RHCP) beam. A normal incident beam splitter is used to receive the first RHCP beam. The multiplexer also includes a second arm with a second beam splitter to receive a second unpolarized light from an object; and a second retarder coupled to the second beam splitter to generate a left-hand circularly polarized (LHCP) beam, wherein the LHCP beam is reflected off the normal incident beam splitter and converted to a second RHCP beam. Light from both arms pass through the second retarder and are converted to p-polarized light before transmitting through the second beam splitter to an image sensor.

The present invention relates to intra-oral methods and apparatus for optically imaging a structure and creating representative 3D models of the structures from the images.
The dental and orthodontic field is one exemplary application of digital generation of 3D models of structures. In many dental applications, a working model of a patient's teeth is needed that faithfully reproduces the patient's teeth and other dental structures, including the jaw structure. Conventionally, a three-dimensional negative model of the teeth and other dental structures is created during an impression-taking session where one or more U-shaped trays are filled with a dental impression material. The impression tray containing the impression material, in its pliant state, is introduced into the mouth of the patient. While the tray and impression material is held in place, the material cures, and after curing, the tray and material are removed from the mouth as a unit. The impression material is allowed to solidify and form an elastic composition, which is the negative mold after removal. The working model is obtained by filling this impression with a modeling material such as dental stone in its liquid state. After being poured into the impression, the dental stone sets and hardens into a solid form which when removed from the impression is a positive representation of the structure of the patient's teeth and tissue in the jaw.
Dental patients typically experience discomfort when the dentist takes an impression of the patient's teeth. The procedure can be even more uncomfortable for the patient if the impression materials run, slump or are otherwise expelled into the patient's throat. Also, shipment and storage of the models can be costly. Hence, determination of the surface contour of teeth by non-contact optical methods and generation of digital 3D teeth models have become increasingly important.
A basic measurement principle behind collecting range data for optical methods is triangulation. Triangulation techniques are based on known geometric techniques. Given a triangle with the baseline of the triangle composed of two optical centers and the vertex of the triangle the target, the range from the target to the optical centers can be determined based on the optical center separation and the angle from the optical centers to the target.
Triangulation methods can be divided into passive and active. Passive triangulation (also known as stereo analysis) typically utilizes ambient light and both optical centers are typically camera imagers. Active triangulation uses only a single camera imager and, in place of the other camera imager, uses a source of controlled illumination (also known as structured light). Stereo analysis while conceptually simple is not widely used because of the difficulty in obtaining correspondence of object surface features between camera images. Objects with well-defined edges and corners, such as blocks, may be rather easy to obtain surface feature correspondence, but objects with smoothly varying surfaces, such as skin or tooth surfaces, with no easily identifiable surface features or points to key on, present a significant challenge for the stereo analysis approach.
To overcome the correspondence issue, active triangulation, or structured light, methods project known patterns of light onto an object to infer its shape. The simplest structured light pattern is a spot, typically produced by a laser. The geometry of the setup enables the calculation by simple trigonometry of the active triangulation sensor's range from the scanned object's surface on which the light spot falls. This computed active triangulation sensor's range to the surface of the scanned object will be referred to herein as the surface range data. Typically a sequence of images is gathered with the spot of light moved to fall across different areas of the scanned object's surface and by keeping track of where the active triangulation sensor is positioned with respect to a coordinate reference frame that is fixed with respect to the object being scanned, the sequence of active sensor surface range data can be used to construct a 3D model of the object's surface. Other patterns such as a stripe, or 2-dimensional patterns such as a grid of dots can be used to decrease the required time to capture the set of active triangulation images needed to compute the surface range data for the scanned object's surface of interest.

Polarizing multiplexer and methods for intra-oral scanning


The disclosure relates to a device for use in removing undesired material, e.g., an occlusion or plaque, from a duct or blood vessel within a patient's body. The device comprises a catheter adapted to be disposed within a duct and having a distal end portion with a tip and a tapered surface extending from the tip to the side of the catheter. The catheter has a lumen extending through the length thereof. The intersection of the lumen and the tapered surface forming an elongated opening. Pulsed laser energy is applied by an optical fiber extending through the lumen to the elongated openings and thereby the undesired material. An inflatable bladder is provided for positioning the distal end portion of the catheter adjacent the inner surface of the duct to position the elongated opening adjacent the undesired material to be removed. A filament extending through the catheter and connected to the distal end portion can be rotated at the proximal end of the catheter to rotatably position the distal portion thereof.

This application is commonly owned with a related pending U.S. Patent Application, Ser. No. PCT/US 86/02617, filed Dec. 2, 1986, in the name of Michael E. Leckrone and entitled "ANGIOPLASTY CATHETER AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF".
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to laser angioplasty catheters which are adapted to be inserted into ducts within the body of a patient such as blood vessels including arteries and veins. The catheters of t he invention are adapted to penetrate and disintegrate blockages, obstructions, occlusions, etc., or the like within the ducts in which the catheters are inserted. Thus, the catheters of the invention enable laser energy transmitted by an optical fiber or a bundle of optical fibers to be released from the distal end of the catheter to disintegrate or vaporize obstructions within blood vessels such as plaque in coronary, femoral, and other arteries. In use of an embodiment of the laser angioplasty catheters, the distal end of the catheter is positioned adjacent to the obstruction such as an occlusion or arteriosclerotic plaque which is to be removed from the duct. Due to the intense and concentrated energy level of the laser energy, such as pulsed laser energy, the laser angioplasty catheter of the invention must be adapted to prevent the laser energy from intersecting the internal wall of the duct at an angle or to a degree which could result in the possibility of damaging the duct. In addition, fluids within the duct such as blood within a blood vessel must be prevented from interfering with the transmission and release of the laser energy at the distal end of the catheter. It is also necessary to have control of the rotational position of the distal end of the catheter with respect to the duct in order that the catheter may operate upon an obstruction within a duct regardless of its circumferential position of the obstruction within the duct.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the prior art to provide a laser angioplasty catheter having a flexible shaft adapted to be inserted into a duct such as a blood vessel with a single or solid optical fiber or a bundle of optical fibers extending through the shaft to adjacent the distal end thereof. Laser energy such as pulsed laser energy is delivered to the proximal end of the optical fiber bundle and is emitted from the distal end thereof. When the laser energy intersects a blockage within the blood vessel, the laser energy disintegrates or vaporizes the blockage. By the application of suction to a lumen extending through the shaft, debris resulting from the disintegration or vaporization of the blockage can be withdrawn from the blood vessel
U.S Pat. No. 4,627,436, issued Dec. 9, 1986, discloses a laser angioplasty catheter in which laser energy is delivered to a cavity or jaw formed by spaced abutments at the outer portion of the catheter adjacent to the distal end thereof. An inflatable balloon disposed opposite the abutments can be controllably inflated to urge the abutments toward the inner surface of the duct and thereby receive the blockage with the jaw between the abutments. Laser energy is emitted by the distal end portion of an optical fiber or fibers into the jaw in order to vaporize the blockage. The abutments adjacent to the distal end of the catheter prevent the laser energy from being propagated downstream of the distal end of the catheter and thereby prevent the laser energy from contacting the inner surface of the duct. A passage extending through the length of the catheter is adapted to apply suction to the jaw disposed between the abutments in order to remove debris therefrom. By rotating the catheter from the proximal end thereof, the distal end portion of the catheter can be rotated in order to position the abutments and the jaw therebetween within the circumference of the inner surface of the duct.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,458, issued Aug. 11, 1987, which is a division of U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,436, discloses a catheter similar to that of the 4,627,436 patent, but with an elongated element such as a cutting blade or a hot-wire extending between the abutments and adjacent to the jaw therebetween. The blade or hot-wire is adapted to cut or sever a blockage from the inner surface of the duct rather than to vaporize the obstruction by the application of laser energy.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,874, issued June 17, 1980, is another example of a laser angioplasty catheter. In this catheter, laser energy disintegrates or vaporizes an obstruction and suction is applied to a passage extending through the length of the catheter to withdraw debris produced by the application of the laser energy.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,470, issued Mar. 4, 1986, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,181, issued April 15, 1986, each disclose a steerable balloon dilation catheter in which the distal end of the tubular member of the catheter is bonded to the distal end of a core wire.

Laser angioplasty catheter and a method for use thereof


An implantable keratoprosthesis having a central lenticule and a peripheral annulus of corneal tissue. The keratoprosthesis includes a transparent polymeric lenticule having an elongated stem with a generally cylindrical outer surface and a central axis. On one end thereof, the stem carries a dome having a peripheral skirt extending outwardly from the axis beyond the cylindrical surface of the stem. An annulus of corneal tissue has a central bore within which the stem is received, the peripheral skirt contacting and overlying a portion of the corneal annulus adjacent the bore. A portion of the annulus extends outwardly beyond the peripheral skirt for attachment to a surgically prepared cornea. A ring of polymeric material is received over the stem to capture between the ring and the skirt the corneal annulus. The ring is attached to the stem, as by welding and/or by use of a tissue-adherent, biologically acceptable adhesive disposed between the cylindrical surface of the stem and the bore of the annulus to form a strong, liquid-tight seal between the stem and annulus.

The invention relates to prosthetic devices, and particularly to devices that may be employed to replace damaged corneal tissue.
Corneas are subject to a variety of problems which mandate their surgical replacement. For example, corneas may become scratched or scarred, and are subject to effect by various degenerative diseases. Corneal transplants have become quite common in the United States, particularly with the advent of microsurgery. However, corneal transplantation is sometimes not appropriate for patients with intractable keratopathy, or patients in whom corneal transplants fail in standard graft procedures.
Various devices have been proposed for solving these problems. Such devices, referred to keratoprostheses utilize a central lenticule or optic that can be prepared from polymethylmethacrylate or other physiologically acceptable glass or polymeric material. A device of this type is shown in White, U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,012, issued Sep. 16, 1986, and White, U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,230, issued Jul. 9, 1991.
Another keratoprosthesis having a collar button design is shown in Doane, M. G., Dohlman, C. H. and Bearse, G., Fabrication of a Keratoprostheses, Cornea 1996: 179-184. The latter device is pre-assembled (i.e., before being placed into tissue) and utilizes a mushroom-shaped plastic member having a threaded post, the cap portion of which fits against the front of a patient""s cornea. A second threaded part is threaded onto the post to complete the construction. In use, a small hole is trephined through the center of a patient""s cornea, followed by a limbal incision and a radial connecting slit. The device is slid into place with the rim of corneal tissue captured between the two plates; the cornea is hence fitted around the threaded post between the anterior and posterior plates. The incisions are then sutured shut, but inasmuch as the portion of the incision between the plates cannot readily be sutured shut, it is extremely difficult if not impossible to achieve the liquid-tight junction between the device and the cornea that is essential for success.
In the latter device, the threaded post portion, of course, must be sufficiently long as to extend through the thickness of the patient""s cornea and for a sufficient distance beyond so as to fully receive the internally threaded second member and to avoid cross-threading. The iris of the eye commonly is spaced posteriorly of the posterior surface of the cornea by only a very short distance, e.g., about 1.7 mm, and hence there is a concern that the post may extend too deeply into the eye so that the iris and lens and sometimes parts of the vitreous need to be surgically removed. Moreover, since the parts are simply threaded together, there is always the potential for unthreading of the device and hence loss of the interior portionxe2x80x94the second portionxe2x80x94into the anterior chamber, causing extrusion of the mushroom-shaped portion with consequent severe problems.
It would be desirable to provide a keratoprosthesis that could readily be attached to the corneal rim of a patient""s eye in a water-tight manner, that would avoid immune rejection problems, that would provide a lenticule not subject to extrusion from the patient""s eye, and that would not protrude posteriorly any significant distance into the anterior chamber.
I have found that a transparent, polymeric lenticule having an elongated stem having at one end thereof a dome-shaped extension having an outwardly extending peripheral skirt can be securely fixed within a bore formed in undenatured corneal or other appropriate tissue in a strong and leak-free manner without requiring any radial incision extending into the bore.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a method for installing, in a liquid tight manner within a bore formed in the cornea and having no radial incision intercepting the bore, a transparent, polymeric lenticule having an elongated, smooth (that is, unthreaded) stem bearing at one end thereof a dome-shaped extension having an outwardly extending peripheral skirt. The stem is placed within the bore with the peripheral skirt contacting and overlying the cornea. A ring, preferably of polymeric material, is received coaxially about the end of the stem that protrudes posteriorly from the cornea and is advanced up the stem to firmly capture between it and the skirt the corneal tissue. The ring is attached to the stem, as by use of an adhesive or by solvent or ultrasonic welding or the like, to form a liquid-tight seal between the lenticule and the cornea.
In another embodiment, the invention relates to an implantable lens comprising a transparent, polymeric lenticule having an elongated stem with a generally cylindrical outer surface and a central axis, the stem bearing at one end thereof a dome-shaped extension having a peripheral skirt extending outwardly from the axis beyond the cylindrical surface of the stem. The lens includes an annulus of undenatured tissue, preferably corneal tissue, having a central bore free from intersecting radial incisions and within which the stem is received. The peripheral skirt of the lenticule contacts and overlies a portion of the tissue annulus adjacent the bore, with a portion of the annulus extending outwardly beyond the peripheral skirt for attachment to the rim of a surgically prepared cornea. A ring, preferably of polymeric material, is received coaxially about the second end of the stem and is attached to the stem, as by use of an adhesive or by solvent welding or ultrasonic welding or the like, to capture the tissue annulus between it and the peripheral skirt of the lenticule. The seal thus provided between the lenticule and the tissue annulus is strong and liquid tight.
In a preferred embodiment, a tissue-adherent, biologically acceptable adhesive is disposed between the cylindrical surface of the stem and the bore within which it is received, and forms a strong, liquid-tight seal. The tissue annulus may, if desired, be provided with a series of partial perforations within which the adhesive may flow to provide improved gripping power to the tissue annulus.
In another embodiment, the invention relates to a method for forming an implantable lens prothesis. A transparent polymeric lenticule having an elongated stem with a generally cylindrical outer surface and a central axis is provided, the stem bearing on one end a dome having a peripheral skirt extending outwardly from the axis beyond the cylindrical surface. Implantable tissue (which may be corneal or scleral tissue of the patient, as described further below or which may be from a donor), is provided with a central bore within which the elongated stem is received, the bore being free of intersecting radial incisions. A ring, preferably of polymeric material, is placed coaxially about the second end of the lenticule stem to firmly capture the tissue between the ring and the peripheral skirt, and the ring is adhered to the stem, as by use of solvent, thermal or ultrasonic welding and/or through use of an adhesive. Preferably, a suitable adhesive is disposed between the cylindrical surface of the stem and the bore of the tissue annulus to form a strong, liquid tight seal between the stem and annulus. It is of course desirable, to further avoid rejection problems, to employ an annulus of corneal tissue harvested from the patient himself or herself, and in yet another preferred embodiment of the method, the implantable lens is assembled upon a flap of cornea of the patient that has not been severed completely from the remainder of the cornea.
In the above-described embodiments, removal of the epithelium and preferably also the endothelium and Descemet""s Membrane, from a corneal tissue annulus in those areas that are to be adhered to the lenticule and polymeric ring enable the adhesive to contact the corneal stroma only.


Methods, apparatuses and systems directed to enhanced random early discard mechanisms implemented in various networked devices including end-systems such as servers and intermediate systems such as gateways and routers. In one implementation, the present invention enables a random early discard mechanism that intelligently biases the drop probabilities of select packets based on one or more application-aware and/or flow-aware metrics or state conditions.

Enterprises have become increasingly dependent on computer network infrastructures to provide services and accomplish mission-critical tasks. Indeed, the performance, security, and efficiency of these network infrastructures have become critical as enterprises increase their reliance on distributed computing environments and wide area computer networks. To that end, a variety of network devices have been created to provide data gathering, reporting, and/or operational functions, such as firewalls, gateways, packet capture devices, bandwidth management devices, application traffic monitoring devices, and the like. For example, the TCP/IP protocol suite, which is widely implemented throughout the world-wide data communications network environment called the Internet and many wide and local area networks, omits any explicit supervisory function over the rate of data transport over the various devices that comprise the network. While there are certain perceived advantages, this characteristic has the consequence of juxtaposing very high-speed packets and very low-speed packets in potential conflict and produces certain inefficiencies. Certain loading conditions degrade performance of networked applications and can even cause instabilities which could lead to overloads that could stop data transfer temporarily. In response, certain data flow rate control mechanisms have been developed to provide a means to control and optimize efficiency of data transfer as well as allocate available bandwidth among a variety of business enterprise functionalities. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,038,216 discloses a method for explicit data rate control in a packet-based network environment without data rate supervision. Data rate control directly moderates the rate of data transmission from a sending host, resulting in just-in-time data transmission to control inbound traffic and reduce the inefficiencies associated with dropped packets. Bandwidth management devices allow for explicit data rate control for flows associated with a particular traffic classification. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,000, above, discloses automatic classification of network traffic for use in connection with bandwidth allocation mechanisms. U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,980 discloses systems and methods allowing for application layer control of bandwidth utilization in packet-based computer networks. For example, bandwidth management devices allow network administrators to specify policies operative to control and/or prioritize the bandwidth allocated to individual data flows according to traffic classifications. In addition, network security is another concern, such as the detection of computer viruses, as well as prevention of Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks on, or unauthorized access to, enterprise networks. Accordingly, firewalls and other network devices are deployed at the edge of such networks to filter packets and perform various operations in response to a security threat. In addition, packet capture and other network data gathering devices are often deployed at the edge of, as well as at other strategic points in, a network to allow network administrators to monitor network conditions.
Enterprises network topologies can span a vast array of designs and connection schemes depending on the enterprise's resource requirements, the number of locations or offices to connect, desired service levels, costs and the like. A given enterprise often must support multiple LAN or WAN segments associated with headquarters, branch offices and other operational and office facilities. Indeed, enterprise network design topologies often include multiple, interconnected LAN and WAN segments in the enterprise's intranet, and multiple paths to extranets and the Internet. Enterprises that cannot afford the expense of private leased-lines to develop their own WANs, often employ frame relay, or other packet switched networks, together with Virtual Private Networking (VPN) technologies to connect private enterprise sites via a service provider's public network or the Internet. Some enterprises also use VPN technology to create extranets with customers, suppliers, and vendors. These network topologies often require the deployment of a variety of network devices at each remote facility. In addition, some network systems are end-to-end solutions, such as application traffic optimizers using compression tunnels, requiring network devices at each end of a communications path between, for example, a main office and a remote facility.
Network traffic load may be unpredictable at times and may exceed the processing capabilities of one or more network devices. Mechanisms directed to network loading conditions include Random Early Discard (RED), which is an active queue management algorithm. According to such Random Early Discard mechanisms, packets are chosen at random for discard to shed the load placed on a network device. RED monitors the average queue size and drops (or marks when used in conjunction with Explicit Congestion Notification) packets based on statistical probabilities. If the buffer is almost empty, all incoming packets are accepted. As the queue grows, the probability for dropping an incoming packet grows too. When the buffer is full, the probability has reached 1 and all incoming packets are dropped.

Enhanced random early discard for networked devices


An oil drain plug wrench is provided to enable a user to more easily remove and install an oil drain plug. The wrench includes a rotor with two cavities on opposite sides of a rotor. When either of the cavities engages a workpiece, the wrench is capable of applying torque to the workpiece in a first rotational direction and ratcheting in a second rotational direction. A flange is provided on the outer diameter of the rotor to allow a user to remove or install an oil drain plug by hand.

The present invention relates generally to ratcheting tools, and more particularly to a ratchet wrench that allows a user to easily remove an oil drain plug.
Changing the oil in a motorized vehicle requires removal of the oil drain plug so old oil can drain from the oil pan into a collection tank. In the case of businesses that specialize in fast oil change service, the oil is drained from the engine while it is still hot so that contaminants and impurities are carried out with the hot oil before having a chance to settle and cling to the bottom of the oil pan as the oil cools. Since the oil is hot, the oil plug is can be hot to the touch, making it difficult to remove. Once the oil is drained, the oil drain plug is replaced and new oil is added to the engine through an oil fill port.
Previously, the oil drain plug was removed using a variety of tools, such as an open end wrench, a fixed box end wrench, pliers, a ratcheting socket wrench or a ratcheting box end wrench. However, each tool is problematic. For example, open ends and fixed box end wrenches are slow because of the need to mount and dismount the wrench on the oil drain plug each time the wrench is indexed. Ratcheting wrenches are problematic because once the oil drain plug is broken loose, there is not enough friction between the threads of the oil drain pan and the oil plug to allow the wrench to ratchet. In any case, to quicken the process, once the drain plug is loosed the operator will usually remove the wrench and further remove the drain plug by hand.


The present invention enhances the dynamic frequency selection 9DFS) algorithms used in Wireless LANs by adding a channel swapping mechanism. The aim of the traditional DFS algorithm is to dynamically select channels in a wireless LAN in such a way that the best performance is achieved. However, not always the optimal channel selection is achieved. This invention describes an addition to the DFS algorithm in such a way that two APs can decide to swap channels instead of one AP switching to another channel. To avoid the problem of sub-optimal channel selection, a requesting AP sends Swap Requests to other APs in order to sense the willingness of other APs to swap channels with the requesting AP.

Wireless local area networks (LANs) have been developed as an enhanced replacement for wired LANs. In a wireless LAN for data-communication a plurality of (mobile) network stations (e.g., personal computers, telecommunication devices, etc.) are present that are capable of wireless communication. As compared to wired LANs, data-communication in a wireless LAN can be more versatile, due to the flexibility of the arrangement of network stations in the area covered by the LAN, and due to the absence of cabling connections.
Wireless LANs are generally implemented according to the standard as defined by the ISO/IEC 8802-11 international standard (IEEE 802.11). IEEE 802.11 describes a standard for wireless LAN systems that will operate in the 2.4-2.5 GHz ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) band. This ISM band is available worldwide and allows unlicensed operation for spread spectrum systems. For both the US and Europe, the 2,400-2,483.5 MHz band has allocated, while for some other countries, such as Japan, another part of the 2.4-2.5 GHz ISM ban has been assigned. The IEEE 802.11 standard focuses on the MAC (medium access control) and PHY (physical layer) protocols for AP based networks and ad-hoc networks.
In AP based wireless networks, the stations within a group or cell can communicate only directly to the AP. This AP forwards messages to the destination station within the same cell or through the wired distribution system to another AP, from which such messages arrive finally at the destination station. In ad-hoc networks, the stations operate on a peer-to-peer level and there is no AP or (wired) distribution system.
The 802.11 standard supports three PHY protocols: DSSS (direct sequence spread spectrum), FHSS (frequency hopping spread spectrum), and infrared with PPM (pulse position modulation). All these three PHYS provide bit rates of 1 and 2 Mbit/s. Furthermore, IEEE 802.11 includes extensions 11a and 11b which allow for additional higher bit rates: Extension 11b provides bit rates 5.5 and 11 Mbit's as well as the basic DSSS bit rates of 1 and 2 Mbit/s within the same 2.4-2.5 GHz ISM band. Extension 11a provides a high bit rate OFDM (orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing modulation) PHY standard providing bit rates in the range of 6 to 54 Mbit/s in the 5 GHz band.
The IEEE 802.11 basic MAC protocol allows interoperability between compatible PHYs through the use of the CSMA/CA (carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance) protocol and a random back-off time following a busy medium condition. The IEEE 802.11 CSMA/CA protocol is designed to reduce the collision probability between multiple stations accessing the medium at the same time. Therefore, a random back-off arrangement is used to resolve medium contention conflicts. In addition, the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol defines special functional behaviour for fragmentation of packets, medium reservation via RTS/CTS (request-to-send/clear-to-send) polling interaction and point coordination (for time-bounded services).
Moreover, the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol defines Beacon frames sent at regular intervals by the AP to allow stations to monitor the presence of the AP. The IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol also gives a set of management frames including Probe Request frames which are sent by a station and are followed by the Probe Response frames sent by an available AP. This protocol allows a station to actively scan for APs operating on other frequency channels and for the APs to show to the stations what parameter settings the APs are using.
Every DSSS AP operates on one channel. The number of channels depends on the regulatory domain in which the wireless LAN is used (e.g. 11 channels in the US in the 2.4 GHz band). The number can be found in ISO/IEC 8802-011, ANSI/IEEE Std 802.11 Edition 1999-00-00. Overlapping cells using different channels can operate simultaneously without interference if the channel distance is at least 3. Non-overlapping cells can always use the same channels simultaneously without interference. Channel assignment can be dynamic or fixed. Dynamic channel assignment is preferable, as the environment itself is dynamic as well.

Wireless LAN with channel swapping between DFS access points


Messages in a message system are converted from one format to another format in accordance with preferred message formats and/or conditions. Message formats can include text messages, multimedia messages, visual voicemail messages, and/or other audio/visual messages. Based on conditions such as recipient device location or velocity and a preferred message format a message can be converted into an appropriate transmission format and transmitted and/or communicated to the recipient in its appropriate format (e.g., text, multimedia, audio, etc. . . . ).

Visual voicemail (VVM) displays messages in a graphical form and allows users to choose which message to listen to, and provides options to delete, save, or manipulate messages in other ways. VVM output can display a short description of the message and caller which can include the time of the call, the length of the message, and the caller's identity among other descriptors. VVM can be used on mobile and standard landline phone networks.
Text messaging, also known as "texting," refers to the exchange of brief text messages between devices, usually mobile devices on a wireless network. Commonly text messages are sent via Short Message Service (SMS). Texting can also refer to other short messages that include multimedia such as images, audio, video as well as text. A common standard for sending multimedia messages is Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).

User profile based speech to text conversion for visual voice mail


A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for providing addresses to clients. A request is received from a client for an address. A determination is made as to whether authentication information is present in the request. A verification process is performed using the authentication information if the authentication information is presenting the request. A determination is made as to whether the authentication information is authenticated. A privileged address is provided to the client in response to the authentication information being authenticated.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved network configuration system, in particular to a method and apparatus for allocating addresses to clients on a TCP/IP network. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for addresses allocation to authenticated clients.
2. Description of Related Art
Computers on a network typically have addresses, such as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. In some cases, the addresses are static addresses, which may be permanently assigned to a computer. In other cases, the addresses may be automatically assigned to a computer when it logs on to a network, such as a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/IP network. With this type of network, a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server automatically assigns IP addresses to the client computers logging on to the network. This type of process is typically found on a server, but also may be implemented in other types of network devices, such as integrated services digital network (ISDN) routers and modem routers that allow multiple users to access the internet.
DHCP traditionally does not authenticate the identity of the clients before assigning the addresses. This protocol assumes that all of the clients on the network are allowed to obtain addresses from the server. Further, this protocol also allows a DHCP server to provide static IP addresses through a server configuration. In other words, a client that is to receive a static IP address always receives the same address. This type of provision of static IP addresses requires information about the clients in advance. This information uses a media access control (MAC) address to identify an existing client. The server configuration is updated to identify a particular MAC address as being associated with a particular static IP address. In some cases, this information may be unavailable, or may be incorrect. For example, if a hardware change occurs in the client, such as a replacing a faulty Ethernet card, the information regarding the client becomes incorrect.
This type of system requires the server configuration to be updated with the client information. Further, this technique does not provide a mechanism to add clients with static IP address needs to a system without updating the server configuration. Therefore, it would be adventitious to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for assigning addresses to client.

Method and apparatus for authenticated network address allocation

International Business Machines Corporation


A video conference cross-links at least a portion of the clients for point to point communication while still using a video conference server. The video conference server continues to manage some aspects of the video conference for the cross-linked clients and may be configured to perform audio/video processing for some of the clients in a video conference. For example, the video conference server may perform audio/video processing and routing of streams for clients that do not have the capabilities to perform the processing directly. Clients that are able to process their audio/video needs may directly connect to other clients through cross-links while still using the video conference server for management.

Many people today participate in video conferences. In some video conferencing systems, the video conferencing clients are connected to a video conference server. The video conference server manages and controls the clients in the conference and routes the audio/video streams to the clients. In other video conferencing systems, the clients are directly connected to one another and the clients manage the conference. Clients that participate in video conferences typically have different processing capabilities and available bandwidth. For example, some clients may be able to encode and play back at 1080p resolution (1920×1080 pixels per frame) with a frame rate of 30 frames per second (fps), while other clients may only be able to encode and receive at CIF resolution (320×240) with a 15 fps rate.

Combining direct and routed communication in a video conference


Disclosed is a composite wood component having upper and lower surface layers and a core layer; a first glueline layer; a second glueline layer; and an overlay layer.

Wood can be used to construct almost any part of a home from the roofing and exterior walls to the floor and interior architectural elements as well as basic domestic items like furniture and cabinets. However, in recent years the cost of solid timber wood has increased dramatically as its supply shrinks due to the gradual depletion of old-growth and virgin forests. Indeed, it is particularly expensive to manufacture solid hardwood furniture and architectural features from such material because typically less than half of harvested timber wood is converted to natural solid wood lumber, the remainder being discarded as scrap.
Accordingly, because of both the cost of high-grade timber wood as well as a heightened emphasis on conserving natural resources, wood-based alternatives to natural solid wood lumber have been developed that make more efficient use of harvested wood and reduce the amount of wood discarded as scrap. Plywood, particle board and oriented strand board ("OSB") are examples of wood-based composite alternatives to natural solid wood lumber that have replaced natural solid wood lumber in many structural applications in the last seventy-five years. These wood-based composites not only use the available supply of timber wood more efficiently, but they can also be formed from lower-grade wood species, and even from wood wastes.
These wood-based composite materials do offer a highly efficient way to use available wood material, however, because they typically consist of small particles (particle board), wood strands (OSB), flat pieces of low-grade wood species or some similar such material, products made from them do not have an attractive, grained appearance, but rather tend to have unsatisfactory aesthetic finishes. This may make them unsuitable for use in interior furnishings and for articles of furniture and cabinetry. Additionally wood-based composites can suffer when individual strands "pop up." This makes the installation of surface covering materials, such as vinyl, hardwood flooring and ceramic tiles more difficult, and thus makes the use of wood-based of wood-based composite them unsuitable for use as floor materials.
Beyond the surface defects described above, there are still other difficulties presented by the surfaces of the wood-based composites. In particular, the wood-based composites tend to excrete wood extractives, which are found in the cambium or outer part of a tree that is adjacent to its bark. These extractives themselves tend to migrate from the wood-based composite into the floor or wall covering placed on top of the wood composite, causing staining in the covering. This problem with extractives especially problematic in the case of wood-based composites, because aspen and Southern yellow pine, two of the types of wood commonly used in wood-based composites, have particularly substantial amounts of extractives capable of migrating, and thereby staining floor covering materials.
One approach to addressing the aforementioned aesthetic problems is to prepare a special wood composite material by placing veneer layers upon the top and bottom surfaces of an internal, or "core" composite wood material. These veneer sheets are very thin, having a thickness of no greater than ⅛ inch, and are typically made from a decorative wood material, such as oak, birch, cherry and mahogany.
However, while these veneer-covered wood composite materials do have improved aesthetic finishes, they can be somewhat difficult to prepare and manufacture. In particular is a common problem referred to as "telegraphing", where due to the thinness of the veneer layer, the texture of the underlying wood composite material presses through the veneer layer creating a non-uniform, uneven surface with numerous imperfections. Other surface defects like pitting, indentations, and voids have also been noticed as a result of applying a veneer.
Several solutions have been proposed to eliminate surface telegraphing. One technique is to use an intermediate layer between the core layer (especially an oriented strand board core layer) and the veneers such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,506,026. This intermediate layer provides a smooth surface onto which the veneers may be laminated without surface telegraphing and indentations. While this technique is often effective it also creates a five-ply product that is considerably more expensive because of additional labor and material costs than a three-ply product. Other investigators, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,461,743 have considered using a combination of both an intermediate layer and additional control over the surface. But while this does adequately ameliorate surface telegraphing, it is even more time-intensive and costly than merely using an intermediate layer without further pretreatment.
Still another technique for preventing surface telegraphing is the application of a coating or putty to hide the texture or surface imperfections on the wood composite's surface, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,419. Unfortunately, this technique not only often fails to prevent telegraphing, it is also time consuming to distribute the glue across the surface of the wood composite material in sufficient concentration and evenness to ensure that the surface telegraphing will be absent.
Given the foregoing, there is a continuing need for an efficiently constructed wood composite material that has the excellent surface finish to be useful for applications where surface appearance is important such as interior domestic furnishings, furniture and cabinetry.


An apparatus and a method by which a plurality of connecting rods are located within and slidable through a first concrete panel so that the connecting rods extend outwardly from the first panel for receipt inwardly of a second concrete panel at mating channels formed therewithin, whereby the first and second concrete panels are joined together such as, for example, in the case of roadway construction. A plurality of slots which are formed through the top of the first panel communicate with respective ones of the plurality of connecting rods. A tool is moved into contact with the connecting rods by way of respective ones of the slots. The tool applies a pushing force to each of the connecting rods to cause the rods to slide through the first panel and into receipt by the mating channels of the second panel to establish a reliable joint therebetween.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a plurality of connecting rods that are embedded within a concrete panel or slab and to a method for sliding the rods through the concrete panel and into receipt by an adjacent concrete panel or slab in order to form a reliable joint by which to connect the panels to one another. The apparatus and method have particular application in roadway construction and/or repair where several panels must be laid end-to-end (and/or side-by-side) and connected one to the next so as to construct a continuous roadway to support vehicular traffic.
2. Background Art
As new communities are built, it is essential to have a roadway system to link each community with neighboring communities. Therefore, a series of highways and freeways are constructed to support vehicular traffic. A common technique for building such roadways is to lay a number of heavy precast concrete panels or slabs end-to-end and side-by-side one another. However, all of the panels must be level and reliably connected one to the next in order to establish a smooth and continuous driving surface.
A conventional technique to connect a first concrete panel to an adjacent panel is by means of dowel bar joints. A series of surface grooves are formed in opposing ends of each of the first and adjacent panels. The surface grooves between the panels are axially aligned. A corresponding set of dowel bars are simply laid in respective ones of the surface grooves so that each dowel bar extends between the first and adjacent panels. The surface grooves are filled in order to cover and hold the dowel bars in place. The dowel bars are intended to connect the panels together and prevent shifting and a separation of one panel from the other.
However, over time, heavy wear, changing weather patterns, and movement of the earth bed upon which the roadway is constructed, mechanical forces are applied to the ends of the panels which may cause the dowel bar joints between adjacent panels to loosen. By way of particular example, the panels may experience thermal expansion or contraction and move relative to one another as a result thereof. In this case, the panels may buckle such that the bars will be dislodged from the grooves in which they are located. Consequently, the surface-mounted dowel bars may pop out of the roadway to not only create a potentially hazardous driving surface but to also permit gaps to form and widen between adjacent panels. Such gaps can adversely affect the integrity of the entire roadway and require frequent and expensive repairs.
Therefore, what is desirable is a more reliable joint by which to overcome the aforementioned problems inherent with the use of the conventional dowel bars and be able to accommodate a movement or shifting of an adjacent pair of concrete panels in order to ensure a stable and long-term end-to-end connection of one panel to the next.

Apparatus and method for joining adjacent concrete panels


A method of forming a display is provided, wherein the method includes forming a first electrode layer on a first substrate, forming an organic light emitting diode (OLED) stack on the first electrode, forming a second electrode layer over the OLED stack, and forming a bonding layer over the second electrode layer, wherein the bonding layer comprises a conductive material. The bonding layer and the second electrode layer are patterned to form a plurality of micro-OLEDs, wherein the patterning is performed by removing a portion of the bonding layer and the second electrode layer. The plurality of micro-OLEDs on the first substrate is joined to a plurality of pixels in an electronic backplane on a second substrate, wherein any one pixel in the electronic backplane can couple to a varied subset of micro-OLEDs in the plurality of micro-OLEDs.

Organic light emitting diodes, or OLEDs, are organic structures that emit light in response to an applied current. OLEDs may be used to make intricately patterned displays. Such displays can be used in numerous devices, including cell phone screens and other small displays. However, challenges in fabrication may make the use of OLEDs in larger screens cost prohibitive.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A training device is disclosed, which includes a ball and a biasing member, where a distal portion of the ball is connected to a proximate end of the biasing member. A support member is connected to a distal end of the biasing member, where the support member is adapted for being connected to a stationary support structure. From this configuration, the ball is capable of deflecting from an initial, rest configuration when the ball is perturbed by clubbing, punching and/or chopping, and rapidly returning to the rest configuration after the perturbation.

1. Field of the Disclosed Embodiments
The disclosed embodiments relate to a training device which enables football players the opportunity to practice a fumble causing technique called "stripping the football."
2. Background of the Disclosed Embodiments
Various systems exist for assisting in training athletes of all ages in American football. Example training systems include: inflated footballs of various sizes, from junior to regulation; a solid football mounted to a stick or, alternatively, connected to a string, simulating the "snap" of a football; a "whiffle" football with an elastic cord attachment for throwing and catching practice; and a "heavy football," that is, a weighted football, filled with water or metal pellets, for long "snapper" practice.
One football technique for which practice is sought is "stripping the football," causing an opposing teammate to "fumble." Stripping practice, using proper training systems, is an essential part of the mental and physical football game. Defensive coaches constantly talk about "see the football-cause a fumble" and "increasing take-aways," that is, increase the number of fumbles. Coaches preach about such goals in team meetings, during video breakdown sessions, and during strength and conditioning sessions. Coaches believe in repetitive stripping drills to make certain techniques a habit.
A common training system for stripping a ball includes several components. One component is a solid or inflated football with Velcro™, re-connectable tape, sewn to its side. The other component is a "dummy" or foam filled "arm," to which the football can stick via the tape. These components provide "stripping" practice because when the ball is hit, it separates from the dummy or arm and becomes loose. Relying on a stand-up or pop-up dummy, or on artificial arms can be a challenge in a training environment. In addition, relying on tape to hold the football to the system, such as with the dummy and artificial arms, can be a further challenge for a training environment.

Fumble causing training device for football


The present invention provides a shear motion driven motion actuator. The motion actuator provides a plurality of driving modes to drive a main body, including the inertial drive mode, the friction drive mode and the scanning mode. The motion actuator comprises a base having a V-shape concave groove and a main body having a V-shape convex. A plurality of piezoelectric elements is provided on the base to drive the main body using the shearing deformation force of the piezoelectric elements. The present invention also provides motion control using a variety of driving modes to achieve stable, high resolution and linear driving of the main body along the base.

The piezoelectric motion actuator is a motion actuator that provides positioning control with a resolution of the nanometer level. The piezoelectric motion actuator may be used in all kinds of nano-level motion control, nanofabrication and nano-handling. Under the existing technologies, some piezoelectric motion actuator may provide positioning control at the sub-nanometer level.
There are typically three types of driving mode for linear motors using piezoelectric motion actuator. They are the inchworm, the inertial drive and the frictional drive. An inchworm consists of a pair of clampers, a stretcher and a shaft. The clampers are used to clamp the shaft and the stretcher generates a displacement motion to the shaft to drive the shaft. By running the inchworm with a succession of clamp-stretch-unclamp-unstretch cycles, an incremental linear movement with a step size of submicron or smaller may be generated.
In the inertial drive mode, there are two different operation principles. One is the "impact drive" which consists of a main body, an actuator, an inertial mass and a guiding surface. The main body is positioned on a guiding surface. The main body and the inertial mass are attached on two ends of the actuator, with the inertial mass not contacting the surface. The actuator makes a slow extension followed by a rapid contraction. The impulsive inertial force results in a step-like and backlash-free movement of the main body. The other driving principle is the "stick-slip-effect" drive, which consists of a main body, a base piece, shear motion piezoelectric elements in between and a mechanism that provides a preloading force for the above elements. The main body is first moved slowly in one direction relative to the base piece by deforming the piezoelectric elements (stick). Then the piezoelectric elements are undeformed suddenly and the main body remains almost unmoved (relative to the base piece) due to its large inertia being able to overcome the small frictional force (slip). In this manner, the main body makes a step-like linear motion relative to the base piece by repeatedly driving the piezoelectric elements with the same cycle. The theoretical resolution of the inertial drive is less than 1 nm, while its experimental resolution depends on the mass and the interface of the contacting surfaces. The mechanical structure of the inertial drive is simple, compact and easy to fabricate, while its major drawback is the small carry mass if the linear motion is in the vertical direction.
A friction drive drives a main body in a way different from that of the inertial drive. The piezoelectric elements deform sequentially and later undeformed simultaneously. When all the piezoelectric elements undeform, the friction force drives the main body to move a short distance. Pan et al. proposed a friction motion actuator having six piezoelectric elements which hold a triangular shaft in position. See S. H. Pan et al., "The refrigerator based very low temperature scanning tunneling microscope", Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 70, pp 1459-1463, February 1999. To move one step, the six elements are deformed in sequence along the axial direction of the shaft and are undeformed simultaneously to drive the shaft. The step size of the friction drive is 200 nm at room temperature and is about 30 nm at temperature below 4K. The entire structure of the friction drive is rigid and stable. It can carry a load of several kilograms when the linear motion is along the vertical direction. Its walking speed, however, is slow and the structure is tedious to build.


Disclosed is to provide a process for producing an olefin polymer by continuous polymerization according to which the transition metal compound and the co-catalyst component promptly contact after they are fed to the polymerization reaction tank. The above process for producing an olefin polymer comprises continuously polymerizing an olefinic monomer in the presence of a polymerization catalyst obtained by contact treatment of a transition metal compound and a co-catalyst component in a polymerization reaction tank in which an agitation shaft having an agitating blade is suspended in the central part of the tank.

The present invention relates to a process for producing an olefin polymer.
As a process for producing an olefin polymer by continuous polymerization of olefinic monomers in the presence of a polymerization catalyst obtained by subjecting a transition metal compound and a co-catalyst component to contact treatment, such as vanadium catalyst or metallocene catalyst, there is known a process of carrying out continuous polymerization of olefinic monomers in a solvent using a polymerization reaction tank provided with an agitating device. For example, Patent Document 1 shown below discloses a process which comprises continuously feeding a transition metal compound, a co-catalyst component and monomers from the sidewall of a polymerization reaction tank and a solvent from the top of the polymerization reaction tank, copolymerizing ethylene and 1-butene in hexane, and continuously drawing a reaction mixture from the sidewall.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-9-87328


Provided are a driving circuit and a driving method thereof, a touch display panel, and a touch display device. The first input terminal of the delay unit is connected to corresponding previous gate driver, the first output terminal of the delay unit is connected to corresponding subsequent gate driver. The delay unit outputs a starting signal to the subsequent gate driver for enabling it after a predetermined time elapses since the previous gate driver outputs a driving signal. The delay unit achieves shift registering between the previous gate driver and the subsequent gate driver, to form a touch-control time period after the previous gate driver outputs a driving signal and before the subsequent gate driver is enabled, so as to ensure that the touch display panel can also achieve a touch-control function with high precision on the premise of achieving a display function of high resolution.

An operating process of a touch display panel in the prior art includes a display phase and a touch-control phase, wherein the touch-control phase is set within a blank time period between display phases of two adjacent frames of pictures. In the display panel in the prior art, in order to improve resolution of the display panel, the blank time period between display phases of two adjacent frames of pictures is shortened, which results in that the blank time period between display phases of two adjacent frames of pictures cannot satisfy the time required by the touch-control phase that performs touch-control driving within the aforesaid blank time period.

Driving circuit and driving method for controlling touch-control driving time

Beijing BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


A fluorosulfonyl group-containing compound having a high polymerization reactivity, a process for its production, a sulfonyl group-containing polymerizable monomer led from the sulfonyl group-containing compound, and a polymer obtainable by polymerizing the sulfonyl group-containing polymerizable monomer

Heretofore, a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene with a fluorinated monomer represented by the following formula, is used for a membrane for electrolysis of sodium chloride or for a membrane or a catalyst layer of a solid polymer type fuel cell. In the following formula, Y is a fluorine atom or a trifluoromethyl group, n is an integer of from 1 to 12, m is an integer of from 0 to 3, p is 0 or 1 and m+p>0.CF2═CF—(OCF2CFY)m—Op—(CF2)n—SO2F
Further, the fluorosulfonyl groups (—SO2F) in the copolymer can be converted to sulfonic groups (—SO3H) by alkali hydrolysis, followed by treatment with an acid.
The sulfonic group-containing polymer (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a sulfonic polymer) is a polymer which is capable of reducing the electric power for electrolysis when used in e.g. an electrolytic cell for sodium chloride in the form of a membrane having a high ion exchange capacity. Further, in a case where such a sulfonic polymer is used for a fuel cell, it is a polymer capable of improving the power generation energy efficiency. And, as such a sulfonic polymer, preferred is a polymer having a larger ion exchange capacity and a lower electric resistance.
However, if it is attempted to increase the ratio of the fluorosulfonyl group-containing monomer to be used for copolymerization for the purpose of increasing the ion exchange capacity of the sulfonic polymer, there has been a problem that the molecular weight of the copolymer tends to be low. A membrane formed of a copolymer having a low molecular weight has had a problem that the mechanical strength and durability are inadequate and as such, is not practically useful.
Further, in the case of a conventional sulfonic monomer, it is required to be copolymerized with tetrafluoroethylene having a high polymerization reactivity in order to obtain a perfluoropolymer having a high molecular weight, and it was impossible to obtain a polymer having a high molecular weight by copolymerization with other perfluoromonomer.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fluorosulfonyl group-containing compound having a group which can be converted to a sulfonic group and having a high polymerization reactivity and a process for its production, a fluorosulfonyl group-containing polymer having such a compound polymerized, and a sulfonic polymer obtained from such a fluorosulfonyl group-containing polymer.
Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide a fluorosulfonyl group-containing compound having a cyclic structure, which is a monomer satisfying the above object and which has not heretofore been known because of the difficulty in synthesis.

Processes for producing a fluorosulfonyl group-containing compound and a compound led from the fluorosulfonyl group-containing compound


The present invention provides a method of receiving a message by a terminal in a wireless communication system. The method includes receiving a message from a base station, and determining whether to initiate a random access procedure based on the presence of an indicator in the message, wherein the indicator is used for an uplink transmission.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communication. More specifically, the present invention relates to an uplink transmission method and an uplink transmission apparatus in a wireless communication system.
2. Related Art
The 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) LTE (Long Term Evolution), which is an advanced version of the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), has been introduced to the public as the 3GPP release 8. The 3GPP LTE uses orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) for downlink transmission and uses single carrier-frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) for uplink transmission. The 3GPP LTE employs multiple input multiple output (MIMO) scheme, comprising four antennas at maximum. Recently, the 3GPP LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), which is a more advanced version of the 3GPP LTE, is under discussion.
Recently, actively employed are machine type communication (MTC) systems, handling communication among machines without human interaction. Services provided through the MTC systems are distinguishable from the services of the traditional communication involving human interaction. There are various categories of MTC services. For example, tracking, metering, monitoring, payment, medical services, remote operation services, and so on can be provided by MTC systems. A common environment for the operation of MTC devices can be postulated as follows: an MTC device used for MTC function is equipped with limited mobility; a plurality of MTC devices belong to a single cell; and according to the characteristics of the MTC devices, a plurality of MTC devices attempt to transmit data in uplink almost at the same time. As described above, a method of uplink transmission and an apparatus supporting the method in the environment where a plurality of terminals attempt to transmit data at the same time should be taken into consideration.

Method and apparatus of uplink transmission in wireless communication system


An interactive toy includes a doll and one or more compatible toy accessories. The doll is configured to hold each accessory, the holding action causing the particular accessory to operate according to its associated functionality. A socket unit is contained in and exposed from a doll, and includes a magnetic connector and a socket connector. A plug unit is contained in and exposed from an accessory, and includes a central connector and a plug connector. The socket unit and the plug unit are configured to engage one another. A battery source is connected to the socket unit, and an actuator is connected to the plug unit. The engagement between the socket unit and the plug unit causes power from the socket unit to be transferred to the plug unit, thereby causing the actuator to be actuated to perform the associated functionality of the accessory.

Doll toys are well known and well liked by a large number of people, young and old. A popular concept includes creating various accessories for a doll, such as a doll car and doll cooking accessories. Such dolls and coordinating accessories, however, typically require control and/or imagination on the part of the person playing with the doll to effect any type of motion or performance from the accessories. For example, a child playing with a doll with a flashlight would typically be required to turn on the flashlight and carefully position in the doll's hand the flashlight, which may not be easily secured.
While interactive toys are known, they are often cumbersome while still requiring a significant amount of user interaction. Thus, an improved interactive doll is desired.


A differential analysis method can be used to determine the presence or absence of a fluid in contact with a tubing string within a wellbore. The method uses a signal generator and detects tubing-perturbed signals, searches for an initial interfacial indicator within a window, axially aligns indicators within a data series as the detector traverses the tubing, discerns an adjacent interfacial indicator known to be incrementally changed by the presence of the fluid, and compares the adjacent indicators to the known incremental change. Even if the absolute location or condition of the interface is uncertain, the relative change indicates the presence or absence of fluid. A prior condition indicator can also be used to determine a second window for detecting an adjacent surface signal indicators. The arbitrary or prior condition baseline avoids the need to "know" the actual properties of intervening materials currently required for analysis of casing conditions and some of the extrapolation limitations inherent in current analysis methods. The method can also achieve accurate results by iterating on the initial indicator.

Many natural resource industry activities involve determining the unknown or generally uncertain condition of a well having a metallic casing or other tubing strings cemented or hung in a wellbore. Tubing strings are used to handle fluids produced from or injected into an underground formation. Certain formation (or other) fluids, such as geothermal fluids, may present especially difficult corrosion and other fluid handling problems. Therefore, multi-layered construction (e.g., interior and exterior barrier layers composed of a fluid resistant material such as cement or concrete covering a steel pipe) may be used to handle difficult, corrosive, erosive and scaling fluids.
The presence or absence of fluids behind the tubulars of the underground well should be determined periodically to safely operate a well in a difficult application. Even if tubulars are cemented to a formation, formation fluid behind a cemented liner or a cemented casing can permeate the cement and corrode the liner or casing and cause cement failure, resulting in possible unsafe operation. Since removal of a cemented casing is impractical, in-situ inspection of tubulars and fluids is required. Even when tubulars are not cemented, in-situ inspection is preferable.
In-situ well inspections are currently accomplished using various logging tools and instruments. Some instruments project pressure (e.g., ultrasonic) or electromagnetic waves spherically/radially outward from near the tubular axis and detect returning waves (i.e., waves affected by the casing/cement materials and interfacial conditions). The instruments detect the induced or reflected signals/waves (i.e., perturbed signal) resulting from an interaction between the generated signal and the surrounding materials. The detected perturbed signal indicates and represents one or more casing or cement conditions. Some instruments are supported by a wire line and have two or more receivers placed at different locations. Other instruments may have different orientations for transmitter(s) and receiver(s) so as to obtain radial and/or directional information on conditions at a given depth. Material types and interfaces are detected by "known" changes in the perturbed (reflected or induced) signals.
Normally, the initial (i.e., first radially outward) material/interfacial surface most strongly perturbs the signal, especially for sonic signals. Signals coming from subsequent interfaces (i.e., surfaces) or materials must be corrected for the perturbations caused by the initial material and interface (i.e., subsequent return signals must pass through intermediary signal perturbing materials/surfaces after first passing through them to reach the outermost surface of interest). Thus, unless the initial materials and surfaces do not affect the wave (i.e., are relatively transparent to the signal), the condition of the exterior of a casing or formation radially outward from the casing must be determined from signal analyses which correct for known signal perturbing intermediary material/interfaces.
Besides the effects produced by the presence of intermediary materials of interest, existing instruments detect other signal perturbing influences. These influences include those identified with fluids present within the tubing or casing, fluids occupying the annular spaces between tubing and casing strings, fluids between casing strings, and fluids between a casing string and the bore hole. Other influences include the underground formation, formation fluids, and the formation geometry. These fluid and other perturbing influences must also be considered in the analysis of the detected signal to accurately determine the presence or absence of fluid contacting the outward facing surface of the tubing or cement.
Existing detected signal analysis methods generally use an idealized model with assumptions. The model treats the detected signals as perturbed by nominal or ideal signal perturbing conditions. For example, an idealized data analysis may assume a perfectly cylindrical steel casing, a composition of a wellbore fluid, and a homogeneous and infinitely thick formation layer (i.e., data are not affected by the formation boundaries). These models then provide idealized corrections for "known" perturbing factors.
However, the discrete surface or condition affected components of a signal (i.e., indicators) may be hidden in the data (e.g., signal characteristics obscured by a low signal to noise ratio) in difficult applications. In addition, some perturbing influences or factors may not be "known," making proper corrections difficult or impossible. For example, a deposit of a magnetically active scale having unknown magnetic properties will perturb induced electromagnetic signals carrying information with respect to a metallic casing wall. Failure to accurately identify or "know" of the presence of an intervening signal perturbing material(s) compromises all other data. This has led to the inadequate detection of unsafe in-situ casing and cement conditions caused by the presence of fluids.
All of the current in-situ analysis methods known to the inventors to detect the presence or absence of external fluids either will not work when an unknown intervening material is present, or they require a distinct intervening material signal to correct the perturbed signal, or they require a signal which is not affected by intervening materials, or they require an independent knowledge of factors which perturb the signal.


Apparatuses and methods to manufacture integrated circuits are described. A method of forming film on a substrate is described. The film is formed on a substrate by exposing a substrate to a diamond-like carbon precursor having an sp3 content of greater than 40 percent. Methods of etching a substrate are described. Electronic devices comprising a diamond-like carbon film are also described.

Integrated circuits have evolved into complex devices that can include millions of transistors, capacitors, and resistors on a single chip. The evolution of chip designs continually requires faster circuitry and greater circuit density. The demands for faster circuits with greater circuit densities impose corresponding demands on the materials used to fabricate such integrated circuits. In particular, as the dimensions of integrated circuit components are reduced, it is necessary to use low resistivity conductive materials as well as low dielectric constant insulating materials to obtain suitable electrical performance from such components.
The demands for greater integrated circuit densities also impose demands on the process sequences used in the manufacture of integrated circuit components. For example, in process sequences that use conventional photolithographic techniques, a layer of energy sensitive resist is formed over a stack of material layers disposed on a substrate. The energy sensitive resist layer is exposed to an image of a pattern to form a photoresist mask. Thereafter, the mask pattern is transferred to one or more of the material layers of the stack using an etch process. The chemical etchant used in the etch process is selected to have a greater etch selectivity for the material layers of the stack than for the mask of energy sensitive resist. That is, the chemical etchant etches the one or more layers of the material stack at a rate much faster than the energy sensitive resist. The etch selectivity to the one or more material layers of the stack over the resist prevents the energy sensitive resist from being consumed prior to completion of the pattern transfer.
As the pattern dimensions are reduced, the thickness of the energy sensitive resist must correspondingly be reduced in order to control pattern resolution. Such thin resist layers can be insufficient to mask underlying material layers during the pattern transfer step due to attack by the chemical etchant. An intermediate layer (e.g., silicon oxynitride, silicon carbine, or a carbon film), called a hard mask, is often used between the energy sensitive resist layer and the underlying material layers to facilitate pattern transfer because of greater resistance to the chemical etchant. As critical dimensions (CD) decrease, hard mask materials having the desired etch selectivity relative to underlying materials (e.g., oxides and nitrides) as well as high deposition rates are desired.


The present invention relates to a system for managing assets such as vehicles and/or equipment in an area such as a repair yard or parking lot. A plurality of mobile devices periodically wake-up at different times and transmit their uncorrected GPS location data to one or more fixed local devices. Each fixed local device periodically forwards its accumulated, uncorrected GPS data for each mobile device to a reference device. A reference device is precisely located and capable of differentially correcting the data and forwarding the corrected result sets either back to the local devices and/or to third parties.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to location tracking systems for fleets of vehicles, heavy equipment or other moveable assets.
2. Related Art.
The NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS), developed and implemented by the U.S. Department of Defense, uses position and time information broadcast from a constellation of up to 24 satellites, moving in non-geosynchronous orbits, to allow determination of the present time, observer location and velocity adjacent to the Earth's surface. In many different applications of use of this information, there have been systems developed for tracking vehicle position, monitoring of fleet vehicle routing and for providing navigation information to drivers. None of the previous inventions or products that are known in the art or commercially, however, provide the features of the present invention. This invention provides benefits as a low-cost inventory and asset tracking system, especially in equipment yards and asset control areas, where large inventories of vehicles and/or equipment are stored, moved and/or tracked as to their whereabouts.
In comparing the present invention to other similar position tracking systems, it should be noted that position tracking data according to the present invention are forwarded to, processed and managed at a fixed reference location site or sites, and also that the processed, corrected data are kept at the fixed location site or sites, and not transmitted back to the mobile equipment or vehicles that are being located or tracked.
By establishing this uni-directional data flow from mobile units to the fixed local units, the circuitry that is incorporated into the plurality of vehicles or assets will be simpler and lower in cost, as compared with the circuitry of the mobile equipment found within other position tracking systems known in the art. Since, according to the present invention, extra circuitry and peripheral hardware necessary for data processing and storage are comprised within a fixed location site or sites, the quantities of these more complex and expensive circuits will be far fewer than if these circuits were located within each vehicle or other asset.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,755 B1 to Coffee et al., a vehicle fleet management system is described, which has application in tracking the activities of slurry, aggregate and ready-mix concrete trucks.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,237 B1 to Fuchs et al., describes an apparatus and method is described by which vehicle position is determined based upon receipt at the vehicle of GPS satellite signals and receipt of the differential correction data provided by fixed location devices. Similar to Coffee et al. above, this invention relies upon receiving and processing of information at each vehicle, requiring more complex and expensive circuitry.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,700,533 to Werb et al. is described a system which requires that the fixed local devices be accurately geo-positioned prior to use and capable of making differential GPS corrections.