Picture data segmented in time series for each of the desired scenes (in a delivery unit in a baseball game, for example) of a subject is associated with corresponding retrieval data, and stored as a picture database. Desired picture data is extracted from the picture database, and is stored in CR-ROM. Then, the data is distributed and allowed to be viewed, or is viewed through a network. Especially a score information database is generated in advance, an analysis listing automatically generated based on the database is displayed, and attribute information edited and displayed in graphics is added to each delivery in the listing so that the analysis listing can be associated with the picture data. Thus, a desired picture can be easily viewed only by specifying a desired delivery by referring to the attribute information displayed in graphics and added.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a picture data process system for searching a database storing various picture data about a subject, and enabling desired picture data to be viewed.
The present invention processes picture data in various fields, and especially makes picture data of various sports such as baseball, soccer, tennis, golf, etc. be retrieved and viewed. Otherwise, the present invention is applicable in retrieving and viewing picture data in other fields such as a fashion show, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, considering a professional baseball team, there can arise a request to refer to or study for future games the previous games, the performances of various players in the games, etc. In this case, normally, the contents of the games which are broadcast on TV are recorded by a video recorder, or the games are shot using a personal video camera, and a video tape is stored for future use so that the games can be played back later as necessary.
However, when such a video tape is used in displaying a desired picture on the screen, it is necessary to forward or rewind the video tape while watching the screen until the desired picture can be correctly displayed on the screen. In addition, when a user wants to repeatedly see a specific picture, the user has to repeat the forwarding and rewinding operations each time, thereby requiring much labor and time. As a result, the process is inefficiently performed.
The present invention aims at solving the above mentioned problems, and providing a picture data process system capable of immediately retrieving picture data of a desired scene to be viewed by a user.
The present invention is configured as follows to attain the above mentioned purpose.
That is, the present invention is configured as a picture data process system including a storage unit for storing the picture data associated with the attribute information about the data, an edition display unit editing the attribute information and displaying the information as graphics, and a display control unit for displaying picture data associated with the attribute information selected from a graphical display by the edition display unit.
With the configuration, desired picture data associated with the attribute information can be easily displayed only by selecting the attribute information displayed as graphics by the edition display unit.
The present invention can also realize various configurations and embodiments within the range of the gist of the present invention.
The present invention can also obtain preferable results from the processes of the picture data of the players of ball games such as baseball, soccer, tennis, golf, etc., but is not limited to these applications.

Picture data process system for controlling display of picture data


An image recording apparatus having a transport path of a recording material, and an image recording unit in the transport path which records an image in the recording material in the process of transporting the recording material in the transport path. It includes: a recording material detection unit which is provided in the transport path and detects the edge at a side end of the recording material transported in the transport path; an operation mode determination unit for discriminating whether or not incorrect detection can be performed in detecting the edge by the recording material detection unit, and determining an operation mode based on the discrimination result; and a control unit for controlling by the image recording unit an image recording process on the recording material in the operation mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for detecting a recording material in advance before recording an image, and making a masking amendment to the image recording position based on the detection result.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, there is an increasing need for an image recording apparatus to record an image on the entire recording material in outputting an image such as a photo, graphics, etc. other than characters, charts, and tables.
To satisfy the above-mentioned need, it is necessary to record an image after correctly grasping the position of a recording material. To detect the correct position, a line sensor, etc. is normally used, and the image recording position is fed back to a control unit before recording an image.
However, for example, when the line sensor becomes dirty with a foreign object attached to the line sensor, the position of the recording material cannot be correctly detected, thereby recording an image to a portion other than the recording material, or losing the recording image information for image-recording to a recording material. The above-mentioned conventional image recording apparatus is disclosed by, for example, the patent document 1 (Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2000-223088).
The image recording apparatus according to the patent document 1 has a form sensor for detecting the slippage in position of a recording material including a light emitting device (LED) and a receiving optics, has the function of detecting the amount of slippage in the horizontal scanning direction of the recording material according to the signal from the receiving optics of the form sensor when an image is recorded, and masking the portion on the recording material other than the image recording area, and performs control of notifying an operator of an incorrect detection and stopping recording an image when there is an incorrectly detected position in the image recording area other than the masked area due to dirt, etc. attached to the form sensor.
However, as described in the patent document 1, the method of masking an area by detecting an image recording position on the recording material by the receiving optics of the line sensor, etc. is only to stop performing amending control of the image recording position or to notify an operator if the incorrect detection of the receiving optics is found in a necessary area for edge detection in the horizontal scanning direction of the recording material. When the amending control is not performed on the image recording position, it is necessary to reserve a large margin from the side edge (horizontal end), and there occurs a slippage in image recording position between the face and the reverse with the image recording apparatus having a double-sided recording mechanism.
Furthermore, according to the patent document 1, since the receiving optics detects only one edge on the recording material, the edges of both sides of the recording material cannot be appropriately masked.

Image recording apparatus and image recording method


This airborne rescue system includes a boom (25) with telescoping members (31) for extending a line (19) and collar (14) to a rescue victim (16). The boom extends beyond the tip of the helicopter rotor (18) so that the victim may avoid in the rotor downwash. The rescue line is payed out and reeled in by winch (23). The line is temporarily retained under boom (25). When the boom is extended, the rescue line passes through clips (28). When the victim dons the collar and the tension in the line reaches a predetermined level, the clips open and release the line from the boom. Then the rescue line can form a straight line between the victim and the winch, and the victim can be lifted to the helicopter. A translator (57) is utilized to push out or pull in the telescoping members. The translator comprises a tape (58) and a rope (59). Inside the telescoping members the tape is curled around the rope and the tape has a tube-like configuration. The tape and rope are provided from supply spools 81 and 82, respectively.

Aircraft have been utilized for a long time to rescue pilots downed at sea as well as sailors or fishermen who have had to abandon a boat or ship. Fixed-wing seaplanes have speed, range, endurance and payload attributes; however, they cannot land or take off effectively in high sea states. Helicopters have the unique capability of being able to hover over or near the rescue site, and much work is being undertaken to provide helicopters with all-weather flying capability as well as speed, range and payload improvements. The one drawback associated with helicopter rescue operations at sea is the problem caused by the severe blowing action of the main rotor downwash. The victim to be rescued is frequently blown away or obscured while the helicopter hovers directly overhead. Some drownings have been attributable to the downwash. Apart from the downwash caused by the helicopter main rotor, it is difficult for the helicopter pilot to see the rescue line when it dropped behind him as for example through a floor hatch.
It is well known to lower a net on a line from a helicopter for the purpose of rescuing a victim. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,036,315 granted to Karnow, U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,044 issued to Mattenson or U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,077 granted to Okumura. The prior art also reveals helicopter supported rescue capsules, or gondolas in U.S. Pat. No. 3,467,346 (Carson), U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,868 (Smith), and U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,847 (Bentivegna). U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,207 granted to David G. Dalziel on Sept. 12, 1978 shows an articulated boom helicopter rescue device for snatching a victim from a ledge of a building. The two-section boom has a centrally located pivot that permits the remotest section to pivot or fold downwardly and back toward the helicopter. Part of the boom always protrudes from the nose of the helicopter and the boom must be structurally fit to accommodate the weight of the rescue victim even if the load is for a short duration. Picking up the victim with the boom causes undesirable torques on the helicopter which the pilot must counterbalance.

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration


Techniques for reducing virtual machine input/output emulation overhead and decreasing the attack surface of a virtual machine architecture are disclosed.

Virtual machine architecture has evolved over the years to include different input/output (IO) paths to the IO hardware of the physical computer system. For example, a hypervisor can include an emulated IO path. An IO controller emulator, e.g., a software model of a hardware device, one which responds enough like the hardware device that the device driver for the driver functions normally, can execute in a hypervisor and a driver for the IO controller can run in a virtual machine. In this architecture the IO controller emulator runs from a centralized location and is used to service all virtual machines. This architecture was chosen because it reduces the memory footprint of each virtual machine and provides a way to update one emulator and update all emulators in the system.
An emulator in the hypervisor can be run when a driver touches resources, e.g., memory mapped to the controller or ports of the controller and the hypervisor can trap the request. The hypervisor can suspend a virtual processor running the driver and pass control to the IO controller emulator along with the value written by the driver. The IO emulator can execute and determine what operation the driver issued and perform the operation on behalf of the driver.
This architecture, however, is computationally expensive because it requires a context switch for each byte written an IO register or to memory mapped IO space, and it may require hundreds of writes to hundreds of registers before an IO request is completed. In addition to being computationally expensive, since the emulator executes within the hypervisor, it presents a large attack surface that could be potentially exploited in order to gain control of the physical computer system. For example, emulators are emulating complex hardware state machines and for a software developer it is relatively difficult to ensure that each emulator works for every possible combination of states that the emulator could be put in. A user could potentially generate a stream of illegal operations that cause the hypervisor to, for example, allow a user to access memory outside of the virtual machine or crash the hypervisor.
Virtualized systems also include another IO path that is easier to analyze from a security point of view and requires fewer processor cycles to run because it does not emulate IO devices. In this path a paravirtualization driver, e.g., a driver that was specifically designed to operate in a virtualized environment, can use high level communication protocols such as SCSI to send IO requests to a virtualization service provider that can parse the protocol and execute the IO job on its behalf. This path is more secure because it presents a smaller attack surface and security protocols can be used to determine what traffic is sent. This path is not always available though. For example, this path could be unavailable because a paravirtualization driver has not been created for the IO device or a user has not installed it. This path also typically relies on services offered by the guest operating system and may not be available during boot. Thus, the emulation path can not be simply eliminated because there are instances where it may be required.
Accordingly, virtual machine architecture has evolved to the point where there are two paths for doing the same thing. One is computationally expensive and presents a large attack surface; the other is computationally much cheaper and presents a smaller attack surface. Since the emulation path can not be simply eliminated, techniques for making it less computationally expensive, more secure, and more similar to the paravirtualization path are desirable.


A ground fault detection device connected to a high-voltage battery and a positive electrode side Y capacitor includes: a detection capacitor operating as a flying capacitor, a first switch and a first resistor connecting a positive electrode side of the high-voltage battery and one end of the detection capacitor in series, and a discharge circuit including at least a discharge capacitor. The discharging circuit has one end connected to the positive electrode side of the high-voltage battery and an another end connected to the negative electrode side of the high-voltage battery. The discharge circuit further includes: a fifth switch that connects one end of the discharge capacitor and the positive electrode side Y capacitor, and a second discharge resistor and an eighth switch that connect the another end of the discharge capacitor and the ground in series.

A vehicle such as an electric automatic vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle that is provided with a motor as a drive source and that runs by the power of the motor is provided with a battery that supplies electric power to the motor. Such a battery related power supply circuit for driving is generally configured as a high voltage circuit that handles a high voltage of 50 [V] or more. In order to secure safety, a high-voltage circuit including such a battery has a non-grounded configuration electrically insulated from a vehicle body serving as a ground reference potential point. A vehicle equipped with a non-grounded high-voltage battery is provided with a ground fault detection device that monitors an insulation state of a system (specifically, an insulation state between a main power supply system from the high-voltage battery to the motor and the vehicle body) provided with the high-voltage battery.
JP 2019-066402 A describes a ground fault detection device connected to a high-voltage battery using a capacitor called a flying capacitor. JP 2019-066402 A describes that a capacitor, which is called a Y capacitor (line bypass capacitor), is connected in parallel with a high-voltage battery.
When the high-voltage battery and the Y capacitor connected in parallel are connected to a ground fault detection device using a flying capacitor, the electric charges accumulated in the Y capacitor may flow into the flying capacitor when the insulation resistance is measured in order to detect a ground fault. From the viewpoint of enhancing the detection accuracy of the ground fault, it is desirable to reduce the amount of the electric charges flowing from the Y capacitor into the flying capacitor as much as possible, and there is room for improvement in this point.
An aspect of the present invention provides a ground fault detection device capable of reducing the electric charges flowing from a Y capacitor into a flying capacitor.


The present invention provides an on-board vehicle system and method for camera or sensor-based parking spot detection and identification. Advantageously, this system and method utilizes a standard front (or side or rear) camera or sensor image to detect and identify one or more parking spots at a distance via vector or like representation using a deep neural network trained with data annotated using an annotation tool, without first transforming the standard camera or sensor image(s) to a bird's-eye-view (BEV) or the like. The system and method can be incorporated in a driver-assist (DA) or autonomous driving (AD) system.

A variety of conventional on-board vehicle parking spot detection systems are known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Most of these parking spot detection systems utilize one or more proximity sensors, e.g. ultra-sonic sensors or the like, mounted on a vehicle to detect an empty parking spot between two occupied parking spots. Such detection is limited by the close range of operation of such sensors, typically on the order of a few meters. Further, such detection requires the presence of structures or obstacles, e.g. other vehicles, on either side of an empty parking spot to be detected. If an empty parking "slot" is not created by physical references, then detection fails. This limits the usefulness of these proximity sensor-based parking spot detection systems, even when coupled with various relatively slow, sub-optimal, and potentially unsafe planning-based automatic parking systems that provide maps of potential and/or available parking spots through the cloud or other vehicle-to-vehicle communication means. This limits the usefulness of the proximity sensor-based parking spot detection systems in DA and AD systems.
Parking spot detection systems that utilize BEV camera images generate the BEV from multiple, e.g. four, fisheye camera images that are warped to be parallel to the ground and stitched together to create a view of a vehicle from above, including the nearby surroundings. Lines and obstacles related to parking spots can then be segmented from these BEV camera images. Again, however, such detection is limited in terms of range, typically to a few meters, and the BEV camera images tend to be undesirably distorted. This limits the usefulness of these BEV camera image-based parking spot detection systems in DA and AD systems.
Thus, what is still needed in the art is a parking spot detection system that utilizes a standard front (or side or rear) camera or sensor image, such that parking spot detection and identification is enhanced and may be carried out at a distance, whether the parking spot is empty, full, surrounded by full parking spots, surrounded by empty parking spots, etc. Such a parking spot detection system is provided by the present invention.

System and method for camera or sensor-based parking spot detection and identification


Fishing apparatus having a container forming a chamber in which caught fish and live bait may be placed and maintained separate from each other. Air is introduced to the chamber to supply oxygen sufficient to enable caught fish and live bait to remain alive. The container provides support for fishing poles, both live and dead bait, and fishing tackle. The retainer may be separated from the container and be tethered thereto. A fishing pole in use may be rested atop the container and restrained against inadvertent separation therefrom.

This invention relates to fishing apparatus of the kind especially adapted to provide a compact, portable support for all equipment necessary to enable a person to participate in fishing.
Fishermen conventionally use live bait, such as minnows, or dead bait, such as chum, or both, while fishing. They also conventionally have separate containers for live bait and dead bait, for various kinds of fishing lures and lines, and retainers for their catch. The necessity of having to transport multiple pieces of equipment in traveling to and from a fishing site is awkward.
If the fishing is done from a boat, the presence of multiple pieces of equipment makes it difficult in many instances to move about the boat when it becomes necessary to do so. It also makes it difficult to keep the multiple pieces handy for use when needed.
A principal objective of the invention is to overcome the difficulties referred to above.
Fishing apparatus constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a container having a closed bottom and an upstanding side wall which, together, form a chamber capable of containing a sufficient quantity of water to enable the catch and live bait, such as minnows, to be maintained in live condition therein. The container has a cover which may be placed on and removed from the upper end of the container so as to minimize spillage of the water in the container and provide support for a fishing rod and accessories.
An aeration system is provided to enable air to be discharged into the water in the container, thereby permitting the delivery of oxygen for life support of the minnows and the catch. A pivoted bail is secured to the side wall of the container to facilitate carrying of the latter. The container side wall preferably has an opening through which caught fish may be passed into the chamber where they may remain alive until such time as the fishing activity is concluded.
The cover has an opening through which a live bait retainer may pass and the retainer preferably is in communication with the aeration system so as to enable air to be supplied to the live bait within the retainer.
The retainer also provides a convenient storage place for a quantity of dead bait which may be used independently of or in conjunction with the live bait.
The container includes on its exterior means for removably supporting a plurality of fishing rods when the latter are not in use. The container also preferably includes supports for a fishing rod when the latter is in use and which enables the rod to be supported atop the container and beneath the bail, thereby providing not only a support for the rod, but also restraint to prevent separation of the rod from the container when a fish takes the bait.


The semiconductor package includes: a package substrate comprising a bonding pad; a plurality of semiconductor chips stacked on the package substrate; and a bonding wire configured to electrically connect the semiconductor chips and the bonding pad. For at least one of the plurality of semiconductor chips: the semiconductor chip comprises: a semiconductor device; a first pad electrically connected to the semiconductor device; a conductive pattern; and a second pad electrically connected to the first pad, spaced apart from the conductive pattern, and extending over the conductive pattern; and the bonding wire is connected to the second pad.

This disclosure relates to a semiconductor package, and more particularly, to a semiconductor package including semiconductor chips that are stacked.
Electronic devices have been miniaturized, highly integrated, and multi-functional according to rapid progress in electronic industries and user demand, and thus, semiconductor packages used in electronic devices also have become miniaturized, highly integrated, and multi-functional. In addition, semiconductor packages are required to include multiple semiconductor chips. However, when multiple semiconductor chips are included in a single semiconductor package, a thickness and/or an area of the semiconductor package increases, which problematically increases a volume of the semiconductor package.

Semiconductor package and method of forming


The present invention is to provide an inflatable bag with pattern printed according to personal preferred design comprising a bag member having a dye adhering layer formed on a surface thereof. The bag member is adapted to place on a paper tray of a compact graphics output device. The graphics output device is then activated to cause the dye adhering layer to absorb different dyes in an area circumscribed by an outline of a pattern designed in advance by software. The dyes are adhered to the dye adhering layer when the dyes are completely absorbed by the dye adhering layer. The pattern designed according to personal preference is thus printed.

A conventional bag inflated with air is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The inflatable bag comprises a bag member 1 including two PE (polyethylene) films 10 and two nylon films 12 each formed on the PE film 10. For making the surface of the bag member 1 glossy, some manufacturers of the art may plate an aluminum layer 14 on an inner surface of each nylon film 12 (i.e., the surface facing the PE film 10). Next, press the nylon films 12 having plated aluminum layers 14 onto the PE films 10 to finish the inflatable bag. As an end, the surface of the bag member 1 looks glossy.
For facilitating air inflation, it is typical of providing an air valve 2 in the PE films 10 in which a portion of the air valve 2 is concealed in the PE films 10 and a remaining portion thereof is projected from the PE films 10. For forming the bag member 1, outer surfaces of the PE films 10, an outer surface of the air valve 2, and corresponding inner surfaces of the PE films 10 are subjected to heat for sealing. At the same time, a flat channel 20 is formed in the air valve 2. Also, ink 20 is coated on engaged inner surfaces of the channel 20.
For inflating the inflatable bag, a user has to insert one end of an elongate charging tube (not shown) through the air valve 2 into the bag member 1. Next, the user may blow the other end of the charging tube for inflating the bag member 1 or an air compressor is employed to blow same. The user may pull the charging tube out of the air valve 2 after inflating the inflatable bag. At this time, air pressure in the bag member 1 is higher than the atmospheric pressure and thus may tightly compress the flat channel 20 in the bag member 1 for sealing. At the same time, ink 22 coated on inner surfaces of the channel 20 is mixed to prevent air from leaking. Next, the user may tie a projected portion of the air valve 2 around a support of a post such that the bag member 1 may be affixed to the support for exhibition.
However, a pattern 18 on the bag member 1 is formed by printing on the surface thereof by the manufacturer in advance because the surface of the bag member 1 is formed of nylon film 12. A customer has to select an inflatable bag having a preferred pattern 18 printed thereon or an appropriate one from a number of inflatable bags with different patterns 18 produced by the manufacturer in advance. Thus, the number of inflatable bags, which can be selected by a customer, is limitedly provided by the manufacturer. In another case some customers may select to give up buying the inflatable bag(s) because no inflatable bag has preferred pattern, resulting in a sales loss of inflatable bag vendor. Moreover, most patterns printed on the inflatable bags are dull without inventive concept and they are misaligned with the trend of emphasizing personal preference and novelty. Thus, it is desirable to provide a novel inflatable bag having a pattern printed according to personal preferred design rather than produced by the manufacturer in advance in order to overcome the inadequacy of the prior art.

Inflatable bag with pattern printed according to personal preferred design


A method for representing virtual information in a view of a real environment is provided that includes: providing a system setup including at least one display device, wherein the system setup is adapted for blending in virtual information on the display device in at least part of the view, determining a position and orientation of a viewing point relative to at least one component of the real environment, providing a geometry model of the real environment, providing at least one item of virtual information and a position of the at least one item of virtual information, determining whether the position of the item of virtual information is inside a 2D or 3D geometrical shape, determining a criterion which is indicative of whether the built-in real object is at least partially visible or non-visible in the view of the real environment, and blending in the at least one item of virtual information on the display device in at least part of the view of the real environment.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a method for representing virtual information in a view of a real environment comprising the steps of providing a system setup with at least one display device, wherein the system setup is adapted for blending in virtual information on the display device. The invention also relates to a computer program product comprising software code sections for performing the method.
2. Background Information
Augmented reality (AR) systems are known to enhance information of a real environment by providing a visualization of overlaying computer-generated virtual information with a view of the real environment or a part of the real environment. The virtual information can be any type of visually perceivable data such as objects, texts, drawings, videos, or their combination. The view of the real environment or the part of the real environment, as understood herein, could be perceived as visual impressions by user's eyes and/or be acquired as one or more images by a camera, e.g., worn by a user or attached on a device held by a user.
The overlaid or blended in virtual information may be, in principle, various items of virtual information. For example, an item of virtual information which could enhance information of a real environment may be a point of interest, as for example known in map or navigation applications. A point of interest (POI) may represent a location of a real object of the real environment (e.g., a building or a landmark) and often includes digital content that is related to the real object. For instance, the location is a global location (e.g., a geo-coordinate such as a 2D coordinate of longitude and latitude, or a 3D coordinate of longitude, latitude and altitude) or a postaddress (e.g., a floor number, street, postcode, country). The post address and the global location could be converted to each other. The digital content of the POI could contain various data, such as a name, description, and contact related to the real object.
One major function of augmented reality systems is to overlay items of virtual information, such as points of interest (POIs), to a view of the real environment. This is particularly useful and popular in location-based (mobile) augmented reality applications, such as tour guidance for exploring the urban environment, as described in references [1, 2, 4] as referred to herein at the end of the description. For example, users could use an augmented reality application to overlay POIs to a view of the real environment when they are in new places and want to obtain information about things they see. In augmented realty systems, the POI information has to be represented in the real environment or the part of the real environment such that it satisfies desired visual perception and usability. Most data sources for POI information provide the information in relation to a point in the real world, not as a 3d model with more than one point or vertex. This invention is well suited for handling the visualization of items of virtual information, which are described by latitude, longitude and optionally altitude and additional meta-information consisting of text and 2D image information.
Several methods have been developed for improving visual perception and usability of blending in or overlaying POI information to a view of a real environment in augmented reality applications.
View distance of a POI refers to a distance between the location of the POI and the location where a camera or a user stands. View direction of a POI refers to a direction from the location where a camera or a user stands to the location of the POI.
Hoellerer et al. in reference [4] propose to display POIs as virtual flags and labels in the correct perspective for the user's view pose, while the labels face the user and maintain their size irrespective of distance to ensure readability.
Augmented reality systems face significant technical challenges to more usefully display POIs to users. Uusitalo et al. in reference [1] disclose a method for displaying POI information based on partitioning of the real environment. The method determines to overlay one or more POIs based on the one or more partitions of the view of the real environment. They teach utilizing the knowledge of floor plan or height of a building to separate the building into partitions and overlaying the POIs to corresponding partitions in an image of the buildings.
When POIs have the same view direction, the POIs may be arranged behind with each other for display in augmented reality applications. In this regard, some of the POIs may not be visible, as it may be hidden behind other POIs. For this, Sandberg in reference [2] motivates grouping POIs that have the same view direction and then displaying the grouped POIs in a visible manner.
Meier et al. in reference [3] disclose a method to achieving an ergonomic representation of POIs in augmented reality systems, by subdividing the view of the real environment into a plurality of regions based on the distances of the regions to the view point.
Augmented reality systems commonly overlay the POIs opaquely on the top of a view of the real environment. An exemplary scenery is shown in FIG. 9, where POIs are overlaid as opaque labels 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, and 99 on the top of an image 81 of a real environment 51. In this way, the POI representations (e.g. the opaque labels) occlude the real environment or the part of the real environment in the image. Sandberg in reference [2] and Uusitalo et al. in reference [1] also overlay the icons and labels of the POIs opaquely to an image of a real environment. This introduces difficulties for the users to quickly and intuitively understand the real environment from the overlaid POIs.
Real objects of the real environment sometimes may not be visible in the view of the real environment, as the objects could be occluded by real objects placed in front of them from the view point. An example is shown in FIG. 8 (showing the scene of FIG. 9 without POIs), where a real object (building) D (cf. FIG. 7) in the real environment 51 is not visible in the image 81 of the environment. In this situation, simply superimposing the POIs related to the occluded objects on the top of the view of the real environment (as shown in FIG. 9) could confuse users in a way that the users may wrongly relate the POIs to a front object which is visible in the view. In the example of FIG. 9, the users may relate the POI information 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, and 98 to a real object (building) A, while 97 and 98 that represent POI_7 and POI_8 are not related to the building A.
Therefore, it would be desirable to visualize the POIs related to the occluded objects in a different way from the visible front objects and more particularly in a way that the users could intuitively perceive the occlusion effect. For example, the POIs related to the occluded objects may be shown semi-transparent, or in dash lines, while the POIs related to the front objects could be shown opaquely, in solid lines, or in a different color.
Meier et al. in reference [3] teach to use the depth along the view direction of a POI from the view point to the real environment in order to determine whether to display the POI in an occlusion model or not. If the POI has a longer view distance than the depth, the POI is displayed in an occlusion way, i.e. semi-transparent, or in dash lines, according to reference [3].

Method for representing virtual information in a real environment


Therapeutically active compounds of formula (I) or (II):

Na+/Ca2+ exchange mechanism is one of the ion transport mechanisms that regulate the concentration of sodium and calcium ions in the cells. Compounds which selectively inhibit Na+/Ca2+ exchange mechanism and thereby prevent overload of Ca2+ in cells are regarded useful in preventing the cell injury mechanism of cardiac muscle and the like after ischemia and reperfusion. Such compounds are useful e.g. in the treatment of ischemic diseases such as heart diseases, ischemic cerebral diseases, ischemic renal diseases and in the protection of cells during thrombolytic therapy, angioplasty, bypass operation of coronary artery or organ transplantation and arrhythmias.
Compounds capable of inhibiting Na+/Ca2+ exchange system have been described earlier e.g. in patent publications WO 97/09306, EP 0978506, EP 1031556, JP 11049752 and JP 11302235.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Pyridine derivatives useful for inhibiting sodium/calcium exchange system

Abstract: wherein the variables in formulas (I) and (II) are defined in the description, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and esters thereof. The compounds are potent inhibitors of Na+/Ca2+ exchange mechanism.


In conjunction with a conventional frame-enclosed overhead door system, a safety device for preventing the door from falling in the event that the upper rollers of the door break away from the door or become disengaged from their tracks, the invention comprises a pair of supports each having a first and second end. The first end of each support is pivotally secured to opposite side edges of the door substantially at the midpoint between the rollers on each side edge of the door. The second end of each support is pivotally secured, opposite each other, to an area of the garage adjacent to the intersection where the vertical and horizontal tracks meet. The supports are substantially equal in length and parallel to each other. In the event that the upper rollers of the door break away from the door, the supports will prevent further significant movement of the door.

A typical and common frame-enclosed overhead garage door assembly comprises a pair of vertical tracks wherein each vertical track is mounted on opposite sides of the garage door opening, extending up the sides of the opening. These tracks are parallel to each other and sometimes are curved perpendicularly at their uppermost points to extend back into the garage.
Other times, instead of using curved vertical tracks, a pair of parallel horizontal tracks which also extend back into the garage are used. Each horizontal track corresponds to one of the vertical tracks. The horizontal tracks are substantially perpendicular to and intersect the uppermost point of their respective vertical tracks.
Rollers or wheels are mounted onto the side edges of the door, typically adjacent to the corners of the door, and inserted into the tracks enabling the door to move within the tracks.
When the door is in its fully opened position, it extends back over the opening parallel to the floor. As the door is being closed, it begins to develop a downward component of force due to its weight.
To prevent the door from forcefully and rapidly closing shut under its own weight while it is in the partially open position, a counterweight is ordinarily provided in which at least one cable is connected at one end to the door and at its opposite end to a spring which is attached to the building frame or track.
The force of the spring is designed to balance approximately the weight of the door to make it easier to raise the door from its closed position and also reduce the possibility of accident should the door handle be released before it is fully open or fully closed.
Overhead garage doors are commonly found in industrial facilities and in many home and apartment garages. These doors typically have a width greater than the width of an automobile and a height greater than six feet. These doors usually have a thickness greater than approximately one inch depending on their design and type of construction. The design and construction of these overhead doors often vary. For example, some doors are completely wooden and some others are made of sheet metal mounted over a wooden or angle iron frame.
The weight of these doors can be considerable depending on their dimensions as well as the material used to make them. For example, wooden doors usually weigh substantially more than the sheet metal-type doors.
Nevertheless, overhead doors are capable of causing serious damage and injury if they are rapidly closed.
Overhead doors become even more dangerous if they either break away from their supporting upper rollers or if their rollers disengage from their respective horizontal tracks, while the door is completely or partially open, and fall. Accidents of this nature are common, and the damage and/or injury caused by these accidents are usually significant.
The only overhead garage door safety devices that presently exist are those directed towards only preventing these doors from rapidly closing downward under its own weight with great force.
The counterweight system described above, is one example of such a safety device.
Another kind of safety device for preventing overhead doors from slamming closed is disclosed in Calvagno, U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,591. The device of Calvagno is directed towards a safety lock assembly with a garage door to prevent the door from closing uncontrollably in the event the counterweight system, discussed above, fails. This device is comprised of a pivoted arm biased into a position blocking the movement of the door. The counterweight system is attached to the pivoted arm to overcome the bias. In the event of a failure in the weight supporting members, the built-in bias will move the arm into its position where further significant movement of the door is prevented.
These systems and devices, however, do not prevent overhead doors from falling and causing serious injury or damage should the supporting upper rollers fail by either breaking away from the door or by becoming disengaged from the tracks. Presently, no such safety device exists which overcomes this problem.


Provided is an animal weighing scale that automatically measures a weight of an animal by a simple configuration. The animal weighing scale includes a breeding container for laboratory animals and a scale including a weighing pan supported by a weight sensor, the weighing pan is disposed inside a breeding space of the breeding container, and the weight sensor is disposed inside or outside the breeding space, and accordingly, based on a measurement value change when an animal inside the container is placed onto the pan, a weight change of the animal can be continuously recorded.

A laboratory animal such as a mouse or a rat is raised in an exclusive breeding container the environment in which is controlled. When an animal experiment is started, for observation of influences of dosage of a drug or poison, the weight of an animal is continuously measured. For this, a simple method in which an animal is taken out of the breeding container and put on a weighing scale and weighed has been adopted until now, however, this method gives, in addition to the aspects of labor and cost, risks of infection between an experimenter and an animal due to touching the animal by the experimenter and contact with hazardous substances, and a problem in which the animal is subjected to stress by contact with a human, and therefore, there is a demand for automating animal weight measurement.
In response to such demand, for example, in Patent Literatures 1 and 2, animal weight measurement is performed without touching an animal by using an apparatus arranged to have a breeding container automatically movable up and down on a weighing scale.


Universal glasses are provided which have the composition, in percent by weight on an oxide basis, 65-75 of SiO2, 11-18 of Al2O3, 5-10 of MgO, 5-10 of CaO, which are free of B2O3, SrO, BaO, CeO2 and PbO and have a hydrolytic resistance in the first class in accordance with DIN ISO 719, an acid resistance at least in the second class in accordance with DIN 12116 and an alkali resistance at least in the second class in accordance with DIN ISO 695.

The invention relates to chemically stable universal glasses which can be melted without addition of boron-containing raw materials (boron-free universal glasses).
The term "universal glass" encompasses glasses which have very good chemical resistance and low thermal expansion and are suitable for wide industrial application and commercial use.
Known universal glasses include, inter alia, Duran® from Schott AG, Mainz, DE and Pyrex® from Corning Inc., USA. Borosilicate glasses having about 13% by weight of B2O3 in the synthesis have been known for a long time. Owing to the low thermal expansion, they have a high temperature change resistance (TCR) and are therefore stable to changes in temperature during use of the glasses.
Furthermore, these glasses are "neutral" in that they do not release any significant amounts of glass constituents into solutions present therein. They therefore also belong to the group of "neutral glasses" and can be used as primary packaging materials in the pharmaceuticals industry, in particular for injection solutions.
The measurements and classifications of the chemical constituents of industrial glasses are carried out according to standardized measurement methods as per table 1:
TABLE 1Classes of chemical resistance for industrial glassesResistance to . . .WaterAcidAlkali(H)(Ac)(Alk)StandardDIN ISO 719DIN 12116DIN ISO 695SolutionDist. H2O6N HCl (half-conc.)0.5M Na2CO3 +0.5M NaOHTemperature98° C.108° C.102° C.Time1 hour6 hours3 hoursUnitμg of Na2O/g ofmg/dm2mg/dm2glassClass 1up to 31up to 0.7up to 75Class 2up to 62up to 1.5up to 175Class 3up to 264up to 15above 175Class 4up to 620above 15Class 5above 620
Neutral glasses are within the first hydrolytic class and first acid class and at least in the second alkali class; they are therefore referred to here as "1-1-2 glasses".
Boron-free glasses naturally cannot meet the requirements of the standard DIN ISO 3585 ("Borosilicate glass 3.3—Properties") which have to be met by a laboratory glass, i.e. chemically and thermally stable glasses for apparatus construction, since the glasses in question here are explicitly borosilicate glasses and the property values in their totality set down in the standard can also only be met by borosilicate glasses. However, boron-free glasses are in principle also suitable for use as laboratory glass since they can have not only the very good chemical resistances (1-1-2 glass) but also a very low thermal expansion.
Although boron oxide is present in SCHOTT Duran® 8412 in an amount of only about 13%, the boron raw materials incur the predominant part of the total raw materials costs. The raw materials situation for borosilicate glasses without sodium oxide, e.g. alkali metal-free glasses for LCD display screens, is even more unfavorable because in this case the much more expensive raw material boric acid, which firstly has to be obtained industrially from borax, has to be used. The costs for the glass component B2O3 from the raw material boron oxide are about seven times as high as the costs for B2O3 from the raw material disodium tetraborate pentahydrate.
The EU (European Union) has recently classified boric acid, diboron trioxide, anhydrous disodium tetraborate, disodium tetraborate decahydrate and disodium tetraborate pentahydrate as having reproductive toxicity. As a consequence, particular boundary conditions have to be adhered to and particular precautionary measures have to be taken during production using such raw materials.
Owing to the relatively high costs of boron-containing raw materials, the foreseeable shortage of suitable qualities and the current discussion on new toxicity classifications for boron compounds, boron-free glasses are of interest as alternatives to borosilicate glasses.
For use as substrate glass, e.g. as solar glass, touch panel glass, the good chemical resistance of boron-free glasses is advantageous since these substrate glasses are subjected in most production processes to cleaning using aqueous solutions and acids, after which the glass surface must not display any changes. Good chemical resistance is likewise advantageous for good weathering resistance.
Apart from very good chemical resistance, further requirements have to be met by universal glasses or neutral glasses.
Thus, the glass has to be able to be produced in conventional melting apparatuses, i.e. the viscosity of the melt must not be too high—the processing temperature (temperature at which the viscosity is 104 dPas, also referred to as VA or T4) should in no event exceed a maximum value of 1320° C. T4 should be as low as possible in the interests of energy-saving production.
A further parameter for producibility is sufficient devitrification stability, i.e. the tendency to form crystals from the melt during production should be very low.
Many boron oxide-free glasses are described as "chemically stable" in the literature without information being given on material removal values or the like, or the information on chemical stability cannot simply be carried over to the standards in table 1.
Although a series of boron-free glasses are known from the prior art, these are essentially unsuitable as universal glasses according to the present definition.
The document JP 10-045422 discloses a glass having the composition 66-72 mol % of SiO2, from 10 to 14 mol % of Al2O3, from 0 to 1.5 mol % of B2O3, from 0 to 10 mol % of MgO, from 0 to 10 mol % of CaO, from 0 to 10 mol % of SrO and from 0 to <1 mol % of BaO, which has a thermal expansion a in the range from 20° C. to 300° C. of ≦4 ppm/K and a processing temperature T4 above 1300° C. The processing temperature T4 is too high for economical production. The acid resistance is also poor.


A process of producing ethanol from whole stillage, includes obtaining a supply of whole stillage from an ethanol production facility after ethanol has been extracted therefrom; pre-treating the whole stillage to convert hemicellulose portions of the whole stillage into sugars; adding enzymes to the whole stillage to convert cellulose portions of the whole stillage to sugars; fermenting the whole stillage to create a beer mixture; and distilling the beer mixture to separate ethanol therefrom. The pre-treating step may include adding acid to the whole stillage to decrease its pH level; heating and pressurizing the whole stillage; holding the whole stillage under pressure and heat for a dwell time; removing pressure from the whole stillage to cause flashing; and cooling the whole stillage before the enzymes are added.

The present invention relates to ethanol production processes and systems. More particularly, the invention relates to processes and systems for producing additional ethanol from byproducts of an ethanol production facility.
The production of ethanol for use as a gasoline additive or a straight liquid fuel continues to increase as petroleum costs rise and environmental concerns become more pronounced. Ethanol may be produced in a dry milling process by grinding corn or other grains into a powder or flour and then liquefying, fermenting, and distilling it to produce alcohol, carbon dioxide, and byproducts. Conventional ethanol production processes produce ethanol from the starch portion of the grain but do not produce any usable ethanol from the fiber portions of the grain, which are primarily found in the byproducts. Instead, the byproducts are typically dehydrated and used as animal feed. Moreover, because the byproducts are high in fiber content, the resultant animal feed is difficult for monogastrics to digest.

Process and system for producing ethanol from a byproduct of an ethanol production facility


A harmonic speed reducer for robots is provided with a frame, an annular circular spline, a cylindrical flexspline, and an elliptical wave generator. The frame has internal threads each tapped parallel to the center axis line, the threads each extending from a circular spline mounting seat to the inside of the frame. The internal thread in the circular spline mounting seat has a peripheral edge portion at an opening thereof with a recess. The recess is formed so as to have a diameter larger than a diameter of the internal thread.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a harmonic speed reducer for robots, which is used for a joint or other members of robots including robots used in factories.
2. Related Art
It has been known that multijoint robots, for example, have a configuration in which a harmonic speed reducer is used in actuating and rotating each joint by a motor. The harmonic speed reducer is based on a harmonic Drive® technique. Such a harmonic speed reducer has an advantage of having a large speed reducing ratio and thus is very useful as a speed reducer for robots.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a configuration of a harmonic speed reducer in a robot. A harmonic speed reducer 81 includes as main components a housing 82, a frame 83, a circular spline (internal tooth gear) 84, a flexspline (external tooth gear) 85, and a wave generator 86. The frame 83, which is hollow, is formed in the housing 82 of a robot arm. The circular spline 84 having an annular shape is provided with inner teeth at its inner periphery and fixed to the frame 83. The flexspline 85 having a cylindrical shape is provided with outer teeth at its outer periphery for engagement with the inner teeth of the circular spline 84. The wave generator 86 having an elliptical shape is fitted to the flexspline 85 along its inner periphery.
The wave generator 86 is connected to a rotary shaft, i.e. an input shaft, of a servomotor 87. The flexspline 85 is connected to an inner race 88a, i.e. an output shaft, of a cross roller bearing 88. The inner race 88a, or the output shaft, of the cross roller bearing 88 is connected to an arm or the like.
The circular spline 84 is mounted on a circular spline mounting seat 83a of the frame 83 with the aid of a circular spline holder 89 (hereinafter also just referred to as "holder 89") and screws 90. In this regard, the seat 83a is formed with internal threads 91, while the circular spline 84 is formed with screw insertion holes 92 corresponding to the internal threads 91. The holder 89 as well is formed with screw la insertion holes 93 corresponding to the internal threads 91. The screws 90 are inserted into the respective insertion holes 93 of the holder 89 and the respective insertion holes 92 of the circular spline 84 for threadable engagement with the respective internal threads 91. The circular spline 84 is mounted on the seat 83a in this way.
FIG. 2 shows a procedure of forming the seat 83a and each internal thread 91. As shown in FIG. 2, a circular spline mounting seat is formed by machining in a coarse cast member that constitutes a robot housing (step a1). Then, a pilot hole for internal thread is drilled (step a2). Finally, the pilot hole is tapped to form an internal thread (step a3).
Recently, robots are requested to have a higher degree of repeat accuracy (how many times the same trajectory can be repeatedly drawn). The repeat accuracy tends to be adversely affected by vibration having irregularly changing intensity. The cause of vibration in a robot is ascribed to the vibration of harmonic speed reducers used in the robot. Therefore, it is necessary to mitigate the vibration of each of the harmonic speed reducers in order to achieve a high degree of repeat accuracy of the robot.
For example, a patent document JP-A-H11-264448 discloses a method of mitigating vibration of a harmonic speed reducer used for robots. According to this patent document, errors caused by vibration are measured for each robot. Then, an error value calculated from the measurement is incorporated in the control of the robot as a correction value. As a result, a control error that would have been caused by the vibration is ensured to be eliminated for the improvement of the repeat accuracy.
When the method of the conventional art mentioned above is used in mass production, the method necessitates such processes as measurement of vibrations of each robot, calculation of an error value based on the measured vibrations, and preparation of the error value as a correction value. It is true that the repeat accuracy can be improved through these processes but the production efficiency will be extremely lowered. Therefore, these processes are not suitable for mass production. A different approach may be to apply error value of a certain robot to all of other robots in order to raise the production efficiency. This however will not lead to the improvement of the repeat is accuracy, because the errors caused by vibration depend on each specific robot.


A pedestal (18) for an access floor assembly (10), the pedestal (18) comprises a stand portion and a head portion. The stand portion has a base plate (21) for resting upon a sub-floor (20), and a stem (22) extending upwardly therefrom. The head portion has a platform (24) and a threaded shaft (26) extending downwardly therefrom. The pedestal (18) includes a lockable nut (28) which has a thread (29) adapted to screwably engage the threaded shaft (26), wherein the lockable nut (28) has at least one detent (30) to lock with the stem (22) in order to prevent the rotation of the lockable nut (28) when abutted against the stem (22).

Access flooring is a common feature of many computer, media and communication rooms. Being raised above a sub-floor by pedestals, access flooring provides underlying space to conceal and arrange cabling and other service items used to operate the computers or other interactive equipment located within the room. The interconnecting panels which define the surface of an access floor are designed to be readily taken up and rearranged, upon prior removal of any overlying carpet or other floor coverings, when upgrading of the computers and other interactive equipment is required.
However, a problem with prior art pedestals used in access floor assemblies is that height of the pedestals is not readily adjustable, making installation a time consuming process. Another problem with prior art pedestals is that movement across an access floor panel may gradually rotate the head portion of the pedestal and thereby raise or lower the level of the pedestal and the access floor panel supported by it. Yet another problem with prior art pedestals is that they are relatively expensive because they comprise numerous components which make manufacturing and assembling the pedestals a relatively time consuming process.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to overcome, or at least substantially ameliorate, the problems of prior art pedestals for access floors.

Readily adjustable and lockable pedestal for an access floor assembly


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method comprising providing a compressed image in a memory of a printing device, decompressing at least a portion of the compressed image to provide lines of color data to be printed, organizing the lines of color data within at least one buffer of the printing device, printing a line of color based upon a first line of color data within the lines of color data with a print mechanism of the printing device, and removing the first line of color data from the lines of color data within the at least one buffer after the line of color has been printed.

Currently, supporting a print mechanism of a printing device that has multiple horizontal print lines being generated by the printing device entails buffering all of the data for all colors that are in the image to be printed under an image forming area of the print mechanism. Generally, the print mechanism comprises one or more print heads.
Referring to FIG. 1, image data 100 to be printed is schematically illustrated as multiple lines of print data. The darker gray regions 102 represent image data to be printed, while the image forming area 104 represents image data that is under some portion of an image forming area of the print mechanism. The print mechanism may be located in a color laser printer, which includes moving mirrors, modulated lasers, and toner developers. The print mechanism may also be located in an ink printer, which includes one or more ink heads, a thermal printer, which includes thermal heating elements, or some other image forming mechanism.
In the example represented by FIG. 1, each color is being printed on a single line and each of these color lines is six lines away from another color line being printed, i.e., five lines of image between each color are not being actively printed, and some may have already been printed by some of the other colors. With the example of FIG. 1, there are four color lines being printed, specifically, cyan 106, magenta 108, yellow 110 and black 112. Each print line, cyan 106, magenta 108, yellow 110 and black 112, schematically represents a laser beam within the print mechanism that prints the respective line of print data for the respective color.
There may be multiple lines of a single color being written to the image data, for example, one working on even lines and one working only on odd lines. The multiple lines of the same color may have a different spacing compared to the spacing of the different colors. For example, if each color is printed as two lines at a time (one even and one odd) and the even lines are represented in FIG. 1, the odd lines for each color may be located directly below each of the same color's even lines. The odd line image forming lines may also be located farther away.
Generally, with most printing devices, the print mechanism moves along the print medium in a downward fashion. Thus, the print mechanism begins printing based upon the bottom portion of the image forming area 104, i.e., in the example of FIG. 1, the black print line 112 of print data. Once the black print line 112 of print data has been deposited on the print medium as a black line of color, as well as the yellow line 110, magenta line 108 and cyan line 106, the print mechanism will move further down along the print medium and another line of print data may be utilized to determine another line of color to be deposited on the print medium one line below lines 106, 108, 110 and 112 (specifically, lines 107, 109, 111 and 113). As the yellow print line 110 moves downward, it will print five more lines of data before it reaches line 112. Likewise, as the magenta print line 108 moves downward, it will print eleven more lines of data before it reaches line 112 and as the cyan print line 108 moves downward, it will print seventeen more lines before it reaches line 112. Thus, each line actually represents four lines of print data, one line of print data for cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
As previously noted, with the example of FIG. 1, there are four lines of colors being printed, specifically, cyan 106, magenta 108, yellow 110 and black 112. These are generally referred to in the art as C, M, Y and K, respectively. Thus, in the example of FIG. 1, there are currently 19 lines (within image forming area 104) of C, M, Y and K data buffered in some type of memory. Accordingly, in the example of FIG. 1, there are 76 lines of stored data (19 lines for each of the four colors C, M, Y and K within image forming area 104). For a dual beam system (two laser beams per color, with one laser working on even lines and one laser working on odd lines simultaneously), both laser beams desire data simultaneously. Thus, two lines of data are needed for each color and therefore, image forming area 104 needs to include an additional line of data, for example, line 113. Therefore, if the even and odd lines of data are adjacent to one another, there would be 80 lines of stored data (20 lines for each of the four colors C, M, Y and K within image forming area 104).
Such buffering of data requires a large amount of memory. Thus, if one may significantly lower the amount of data stored that is not being immediately used, less memory may be required in the printing device and thus, a cost savings may be realized.

Systems and methods for memory reduction for print head data buffering


A pulse-width-modulation control circuit of a switching-mode power converter with a primary-side feedback control is disclosed. The switching-mode power converter includes a transformer, a power switch, a current sensing resistor and the pulse-width-modulation control circuit. The transformer includes a primary-side winding, a secondary-side winding and an auxiliary winding. The pulse-width-modulation control circuit includes a sample and hold circuit, a transconductor circuit, an error amplifier and a pulse-width-modulation generator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switching-mode power converter and a pulse-width-modulation (PWM) control circuit, and more particularly, to a switching-mode power converter with a primary-side feedback control and PWM control circuit thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram of a conventional flyback converter 100. An AC voltage VAC provided from an AC voltage source 101 is filtered and rectified respectively by an Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI) filter 102 and a bridge rectifier 104, and a DC input voltage Vi having ripples is then obtained. The DC input voltage Vi is coupled to a primary-side winding Lp of a transformer TX, and a power switch SW is connected to the primary-side winding Lp of the transformer TX in series. A controller 106 is utilized for outputting a pulse-width-modulation signal Vpwm to turn on/off the power switch SW, for transforming the input voltage Vi into an output voltage Vo on the secondary-side of the transformer TX. A resistor R3 is connected to the primary-side winding Lp of the transformer TX in series and utilized for detecting a primary side-winding current Ip. In order to regulate the output voltage Vo, a voltage regulator 110 and an optical coupler 108 are utilized for generating a feedback signal Vfb proportional to the output voltage Vo into the controller 106 from the second-side winding of the transformer TX. The controller 106 then controls a duty cycle of the pulse-width-modulation signal Vpwm according to the feedback signal Vfb and primary-side winding current Ip such that regulation of the output voltage Vo is achieved.
Although the above-mentioned output voltage Vo can be precisely regulated by the flyback converter 100, the production cost will be much higher due to the required control circuit with a secondary-side feedback control.

Switching-mode power converter and pulse-width-modulation control circuit with primary-side feedback control


The flag comprises a plurality of telescopic members. A knob member is connected to a tip of an inner end telescopic member and the knob member has a cross-section substantially equal to an outer base member. The knob is fastened to the base member when the flag is closed. A rod is pivotally connected to a base of the end member for radial movement away and toward the end member, and is connected to a side of a signalling sheet which is connected on its other side to the end member. The rod is biased away from the end member as the end member is extended from a remainder of the telescopic members and the rod returns to the end member as the end member is retracted into the remainder of the telescopic members. The rod holds at least part of the sheet taut when biassed away from the end member. The sheet is kept taut and visible when the telescopic members are extended, and the flag can be used to increase personal visibility, especially for small children crossing streets.

When a small child crosses a street or get off a school bus, visibility of the child is a problem and accidents result when the child is unnoticed by the bus or other traffic. Solving the problem of child safety in traffic has conventionally been approached by improving the bus driver's ability to see or detect children. This approach offers certain technical difficulties and does not protect children from the perils of other traffic. Providing children with adequate means to significantly improve their visibility has not been attempted beyond suggesting that children wear bright or reflective clothing. Of course, children are reticent to wear clothing which does not suit the latest fad or fashion, and for smaller children bright clothing is simply not enough to make them visible when their height and size simply do not allow them to be easily seen from a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,800,834, 4,944,656 and 5,005,512 disclose extensible flag poles or holders which have means for winding or rolling up the flag for retraction. U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,152 discloses a safety flag in which a flared base tube receives a thin rod carrying a flag, the flag being crumpled as the rod is retracted into the tube. In the known prior art, the signal flag is automatically deployed by gravity or unwinding without being held expanded for greater visibility.
There is a need for a hand held flag which is easily stored and easily deployed for use in emergency signalling as well as safety identification.


An operation-enabling training and safety computer system and associated methods operable for selectively enabling and disabling a powered system including means for disabling the operation of the powered system, a display operable for presenting a user of the powered system with one or more questions related to training in the use of and safety associated with the powered system, one or more keys operable for transmitting one or more answers to the one or more questions from the user to the computer system, a processor operable for analyzing the one or more answers, and means for enabling the operation of the powered system if the one or more answers meet a set of predetermined criteria.

A variety of conventional pieces of machinery (such as chippers and pieces of manufacturing equipment), vehicles (such as automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, boats, and aircraft), powered systems (such as lawnmowers, snowblowers, and ovens), and the like perform self-diagnostic tests before their operation is enabled. For example, conventional pieces of machinery, vehicles, powered systems, and the like may perform self-diagnostic tests of fluid levels, operating temperatures, the presence of safety devices, and the like before their operation is enabled. This helps to ensure the operational safety of such powered systems.
However, the leading cause of injury associated with these powered systems is human error, referred to herein as operator/user error, caused by a lack of adequate safety training and a lack of familiarity with proper safety procedures. The adequacy of such safety training and the familiarity of an operator/user with proper safety procedures is often a central issue in injury-related investigations, disputes, and litigation.
Thus, what is needed is a system and associated methods that ensure that an operator/user has had adequate safety training and is familiar with proper safety procedures before he or she is allowed to operate a piece of machinery, a vehicle, a powered system, or the like which poses a significant risk of injury to the operator/user and/or others. What is needed is a system that is capable of selectively enabling/disabling the operation of a powered system depending upon the results of testing designed to determine the adequacy of the safety training and familiarity of the operator/user with proper safety procedures. What is also needed is a system that is capable of storing the results of this testing, either locally or remotely, and, optionally, issuing operator/user identification codes such that properly trained operators/users may circumvent subsequent testing. These operator/user identification codes must be secure if the overall training/safety goals of a manufacturer and/or an employer are to be achieved.

Operation-enabling training and safety computer system and associated methods


Disclosed herein is a refrigerator including a vacuum packing device. The refrigerator includes a body and a vacuum packing device provided in the body and configured to suction air in a vinyl pack having a check valve, wherein the vacuum packing device includes a vacuum pump provided to suction the air, a switch module provided to control an operation of the vacuum pump, a suction head including a first path directly connected to the check valve and configured to suction the air, and a chamber including a first opening connected to the first path and provided to collect a foreign substance suctioned through the suction head.

In general, a refrigerator is one of household appliances including a storage compartment configured to store food and a cold air supply device configured to supply cold air to the storage compartment to freshly store the food.
The storage compartment can include a freezer compartment maintained at a temperature lower than or equal to the freezing point and a refrigerator compartment maintained at a temperature relatively higher than the temperature of the freezer compartment.
Meanwhile, when food stored in the refrigerator compartment is stored for a long time, freshness of the food can be degraded. Accordingly, although a method of storing and freezing food in the freezer compartment can be used to store the food for a long time, flavor of the food can be degraded when the food is stored in the freezer compartment.
Accordingly, a method of storing vacuum packaged food using a vacuum packing device configured to remove air causing food decomposition has been used.


The present invention provides a compound having an excellent efficacy for controlling weeds. A cyclohexanone compound of the formula (I): wherein m is an integer of 1, 2 or 3; n is an integer of any one of 1 to 5; X represents CH2, O, S, S(O) or S(O)2; R1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group; R2 and R3 represents a hydrogen atom, a C1-6 alkyl group and the like; R4 represents a C6-10 aryl group or a five- to six-membered heteroaryl group; G represents a hydrogen atom and the like; Z represents a halogen atom, a cyano group, a nitro group, a phenyl group, a C1-6 alkyl group and the like; is useful as an active ingredient for herbicides.

Heretofore, some compounds that are useful as active ingredients in herbicides for controlling weeds have been widely developed and some compounds having an efficacy for controlling weeds have been found.
Some cyclohexanone compounds having herbicidal activity have been known (see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,532, U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,669, U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,666, U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,513, U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,372, WO 2001/017972, WO 2003/059065, WO 2008/110308, WO 2010/046194 pamphlet).

Cyclohexanone compounds and herbicides comprising the same


A self-service terminal system (10) is described. The system (10) has a plurality of terminals (14 or 214), each terminal comprising a user interface (30) and a terminal application (38) for controlling the user interface (30). Each terminal (14 or 214) has a link (16) to a remote server (12 or 212) storing a server application (104 or 260) for issuing to the terminal application (38) requests for using the user interface (30). A user of one of the terminals (14 or 214) is able to access the server application (104 or 260) from the terminal (14 or 214). The server application (104 or 260) is able to use one or more of the facilities (50, 56, 58) provided by the user interface (30). Each terminal is operable to select between presenting the terminal application or the server application to a user. A method of hosting a third party application on a self-service terminal is also described.

Owners of ATMs sometimes attempt to offset the high cost of owning and maintaining an ATM by renting out screen space to third parties, such as vendors, for displaying advertisements for the goods and/or services provided by the third party. Third parties lease screen space because it enables them to advertised their goods and/or services to ATM customers without having the expense of owning and maintaining an ATM.
One problem associated with renting out screen space to third parties is that the ATM application that controls the flow of screens presented to a user of the ATM is very complex. This makes it very difficult and time consuming to modify the application. As a result, owners of ATMs are reluctant to allow the third parties to change the advertisements too frequently. For some third party vendors, the goods or services that they advertise via the ATM may have limited availability, or the price of the goods and/or services may change frequently. This means that it may not be convenient to advertise the goods and/or services as part of a long term advertisement.
Another problem associated with renting out screen space to third parties is that the third party is not able to access the peripherals (for example, the printer, card reader, currency deposit module, and such like) within the ATM. One reason for this is that the ATM only allows secure access to its peripherals to protect against fraud. Another reason is that the ATM provides inherent resilience to ensure that the ATM remains operational even if a minor fault develops. Thus, any third party advertisement or other application cannot provide a user of the ATM with a receipt or other printed information and cannot accept payment from a user unless the third party application is made an integral part of the ATM application.

Self-service terminals in which remote parties can induce operation of peripheral devices without obtaining control over the peripheral devices


The present invention pertains to a method for preparing a stable sweetening agent delivery system which comprises the steps of (A) providing the following ingredients in percentages by weight of the sweetening agent delivery system (a) at least one solid natural or artificial high intensity sweetening agent present in an amount from about 0.01% to about 50%, (b) an emulsifying agent present in an amount from about 0.5% to about 20%, and (c) polyvinyl acetate present in an amount from about 40% to about 93% and having a molecular weight range from about 2,000 to about 14,000, and (B) coating the sweetening agent with a polyvinyl acetate matrix coating and granulating the coated sweetening agent by a method which comprises the steps (a) melting and blending the polyvinyl acetate with the emulsifying agent and mixing the sweetening agent therein to form a homogeneous mixture in a heated mixing bowl containing a discharge valve in a Double Planetary Mixer, (b) transferring the mixing bowl containing the homogeneous mixture to a Direct Discharge System containing a hydraulic discharge platen, adapted to fit inside the mixing bowl, and hydraulically discharging the mixture from the mixing bowl through the discharge valve into an air and water cooled Hot Melt Granulator, (c) granulating the mixture into particles in the Hot Melt Granulator, (d) cooling and transferring the particles from the Hot Melt Granulator to an Oscillating Granulator by passing the particles through a Cyclone, and (e) granulating the particles in the Oscillating Granulator to a final desired particle size.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to an improved method for the preparation of a stable sweetening agent delivery system wherein the sweetening agent is protected by a matrix coating capable of effecting a controlled release of the sweetening agent. The sweetening agent delivery system may be incorporated into chewing gum and confectionery compositions to provide prolonged sweetness. More particularly, this invention pertains to an improved method for the preparation of such sweetening agent delivery systems on commercial scale.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Coatings for sweetening agents (sweeteners) to delay or prolong sweetness, as well as to stabilize sensitive sweetening agents, are well known. Nevertheless, certain sweetening agents, such as Aspartame, are particularly difficult to coat because Aspartame crystals are rod-like, needle-like or dendritic in shape and are particularly difficult to wet. As a result, it is very difficult to coat Aspartame crystals using ordinary mixing and spray coating techniques. To effectively protect Aspartame, a coating must (a) wet and adhere to the crystalline surface, including the needle-like and rod-like tips and other shape variations of the crystal, (b) form a film with a uniform thickness sufficient to provide a barrier against degradative factors such as moisture, pH changes, temperature changes and reactive chemicals, and (c) be flexible enough to conform to crystal surface irregularities without cracking due to mechanical stresses applied during incorporation of the sweetening agent into final products. Attempts to coat Aspartame crystals using mixing and spray techniques to apply simple mixtures of fat and lecithin have resulted in poor wetting and spotty coating of the crystals and hence inadequate protection of the core material against moisture and other degradative factors. Furthermore, many of these coating materials require solvents and water for application, and such solvents and water adversely effect the stability of hydrophilic unstable materials such as Aspartame.
Prior art techniques for coating difficult-to-coat materials such as Aspartame, generally involve spray coating the core material in a fluidized bed or mixing the core material with molten coating material and pulverizing the cooled mixture. Fluidized bed spray coating involves suspending a mass of core material in a stream of air passing through a zone of atomized droplets of the coating material. Spray coating of Aspartame in a fluidized bed system is difficult because Aspartame is a low density material, has a large surface to weight ratio and has poor wetting characteristics. Forming a molten mixture of coating material with the sweetening agent, pulverizing the solidified mixture results in particles which are incompletely coated and which are not adequately protected. On a large commercial scale, coating these difficult-to-coat materials is even more difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,004, issued to Cea et al., discloses solid particles of Aspartame encapsulated by a coating material selected from the group consisting of cellulose, cellulose derivatives, arabinogalactin, gum arabic, polyolefins, waxes, vinyl polymers, gelatin, zein, and mixtures thereof. The Aspartame particles are suspended in a stream of air that passes through a zone of atomized liquid droplets of the coating material. More than one coating may be used whereby the inner coating is water-soluble and the outer coating is water-soluble.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,195 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,939, issued to Bahoshy et al., coat Aspartame by spray drying a mixture of Aspartame and a film forming agent with a material such as gum arabic or the reaction product of a compound containing a polyvalent metallic ion, with an ungelatinized acid-ester of a substituted dicarboxylic acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,858, issued to Glass et al., discloses a sweetened chewing gum comprising Aspartame having improved sweetness stability wherein the chewing gum piece has Aspartame coated on the gum surface, as opposed to incorporating Aspartame in the chewing gum mix.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,801, issued to Degliotti, discloses a confectionery composition comprising a core portion and a shell enveloping the core portion, whereby the shell comprises an intimate mixture of microcrystals of xylitol with a solid fatty substance in a proportion of 0.5 to 15 parts of fatty substance to 100 parts of xylitol by weight. The fatty substance is preferably a mono-, di- or triglyceride having a melting range between 20.degree. C. and 60.degree. C.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,000, issued to Toyonaka et al., discloses a spray drying process for preparing granular coated nucleoside-5-phosphates. The coatings may be edible animal and plant fats melting between 40.degree. C.-100.degree. C. such as hydrogenated oils including soybean oil, cottonseed oil, almond oil, castor oil, linseed oil, mustard oil, olive oil, grapefruit seed oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, rapeseed oil, rice bran oil, and the like, and mixtures of these oils.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,924, issued to Berling, discloses liquid oral dosage forms for vitamins or pharmaceutical materials comprising an edible oil, a high potency lipid soluble sweetening agent such as Saccharin and a lipid soluble flavorant. The edible oil may be a polyol fatty acid ester having at least four fatty acid ester groups and each fatty acid having from about 8 to about 22 carbon atoms. The oil, sweetening agent and flavor oil are heated and mixed, then cooled to provide a palatable liquid dosage form.
For a general discussion of spray coating fatty materials onto sweetening agents, and the like, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,094 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,794, issued to Johnson, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,556, issued to Darragh. U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,572, issued to Silva et al., discloses the application of a dispersion of an emulsified fat with a solution of dextrin, Saccharin or a polysaccharide to a food product as a barrier against moisture.
European patent application number 81110320.0, published June 16, 1982, to Ajinomoto-Co., Inc., discloses a stabilized dipeptide-based sweetening composition comprising in percentages by weight (a) from 20% to 60% of solid fat, (b) from 10% to 30% of emulsifier, (c) from 10% to 30% of polysaccharide, and (d) not more than 30% of a dipeptide sweetening agent. The compositions are prepared by spray coating the sweetening agent or by heating and mixing a mixture of sweetening agent and coating material, cooling the mixture, then pulverizing the mixture to obtain powder or granules.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,970, issued to Sharma et al., discloses a delivery system wherein a sweetening agent is coated with a mixture of fatty acid or wax, lecithin and monoglyceride. The delivery system protects and controls release of the sweetening agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,265, issued to Cherukuri et al., discloses a chewing gum composition containing a sweetening agent delivery system which consists essentially of (a) at least one solid natural or artificial high intensity sweetening agent present in an amount from about 0.01% to about 50%, (b) an emulsifying agent present in an amount from about 0.5% to about 20%, and (c) polyvinyl acetate present in an amount from about 40% to about 93% and having a molecular weight range from about 2,000 to about 14,000. The method disclosed for preparing the sweetening agent delivery system is designed for small scale preparations of coated material and is not convenient on a commercial scale.
Thus, numerous methods are known for preparing coated sweetening agents which have varying degrees of effectiveness in protecting, and providing controlled release of, the core material. None of these methods however provides an effective means on commercial scale for coating core materials which are sensitive and have crystalline structures which are difficult to wet and to coat. The present invention provides such a method for preparing a stable sweetening agent delivery system wherein the sweetening agent core material is protected by a matrix coating which is also capable of providing controlled release of the sweetening agent. More particularly, the present invention provides a method for preparing a stable sweetening agent delivery system on commercial scale.

Method for the preparation of sweetening agent delivery systems containing polyvinyl acetate


The invention relates to a honeycomb core structure (202) for use in a structural panel for a jet engine nacelle, comprising at least one block with a honeycomb core (A, B) having a central part (5a, 5b) with core honeycomb cells (7a, 7b) and at least two lateral parts (9a, 9b) each comprising a number of honeycomb joining cells (11a, 11 b) of which at least one part of the honeycomb joining cells (11a, 11 b) has at least one additional wall (201a, 201 b) to form a join, the honeycomb core block(s) (A, B) being connected by at least one joint zone (213) formed by punching two additional walls (201a, 201b) superimposed one or the other and provided by honeycomb joining cells (11a, 11 b) belonging to the distinct lateral parts (9a, 9b). The invention further relates to a structural panel and a nacelle comprising such a structure (202) and a method for producing such a structure (202).

Airplane turbojet engines are surrounded by a nacelle to protect them and ensure the operation thereof. The nacelle is made up of walls composed of non-structural panels and structural panels. The latter parts ensure a sufficient stiffness of the nacelle. To that end, structural panels usually have one or more layers of cellular core structures (commonly called "honeycomb" structures). These layers are generally covered with a skin on their so-called outer face, i.e. the face radially furthest from the axis of the engine, and on their inner face, i.e. the face radially closest to the axis of the engine.
The structural panel is then assembled by arranging the different skins and layers, which are then pasted on a mold with the required shape. The assembly is cured in a furnace so as to grip the layers and polymerize the adhesives.
In parallel, turbojet engines generate substantial noise pollution. There is therefore a strong demand aiming to reduce this pollution, and even more so given that the turbojet engines used are becoming increasingly powerful.
To that end, some of the panels used are acoustic structural panels whereof the layers are generally covered on the outer face with an air-impermeable skin, called "solid," and on the inner face with an air-permeable perforated skin, called "acoustic."
The structural acoustic panel can also comprise several layers of cellular core structures between which a multi-perforated skin, called a "septum," is located. This skin is adhered between the honeycomb core structures by heating during the assembly/gluing phase of the panel.
Such panels constitute acoustic resonators able to "trap" the noise and therefore attenuate the sound emissions towards the outside of the nacelle.
In a known manner, a honeycomb core structure comprises at least one honeycomb core block comprising a central part having core honeycomb cells and two lateral parts each having a plurality of honeycomb joining cells.
The acoustic properties of the acoustic structural panel, i.e. its noise absorption rate as a function of the frequency and sound level of the noise, depend in particular on the joining of the honeycomb core block(s).
The join of the cellular joining cells is commonly done using a foaming adhesive, such as the FM410® adhesive, which has a significant expansion capacity. The adjacent edges of the honeycomb core block(s) are coated with the adhesive, which, when it expands, blocks the honeycomb cells by creating overthicknesses.
The use of adhesive requires too long a placement and cutout time of the overthicknesses from an industrial perspective.
Furthermore, these overthicknesses have the drawback of decreasing the effective acoustic surface of the honeycomb core structure as well as causing abrupt impedance interruptions, which contributes to decreasing the acoustic performance of the acoustic panel during the operation of the turbojet engine.
Also known, from application EP 1 889 713, is a honeycomb core structure whereof the honeycomb joining cells have an additional joining wall. By definition, a "honeycomb joining wall" is not engaged in the formation of the honeycomb cell. The joining is done by superimposing the additional joining walls of the honeycomb joining cells belonging to two distinct joint zones and twisting said two additional joining walls thus superimposed in a spiral.
However, such a honeycomb core structure is complex to make.

Honeycomb core structure for use in a structural panel for a jet engine nacelle


Disclosed are methods and systems for modifying a data-synchronization interval for an access terminal based on a number of access terminals being served by a wireless access point in a coverage area. In at least one embodiment, an access terminal periodically polls at least one network device via the access point for synchronization data according to a first data-synchronization interval. The access terminal receives from the access point information indicative of a number of access terminals being served by the access point in the coverage area. The access terminal determines a second data-synchronization interval based at least in part on a comparison of the number to a threshold value. Subsequent to determining the second data-synchronization interval, the access terminal periodically polls the at least one network device for synchronization data according to the second data-synchronization interval.

More people than ever are using mobile stations, such as cell phones and personal digital assistants (collectively, access terminals), to connect to wireless wide area networks (WWANs), each of which (or a plurality taken together) may also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN), and by other names. Service providers typically operate RANs to provide both voice and data services using a wireless communication format (i.e., protocol).
In a typical RAN, a given access terminal communicates with one or more antennae of one or more of an entity known as a base transceiver station (BTS) via a radio-frequency (RF) air interface, thus establishing a communication path between the access terminal and the RAN. Also in a typical RAN, a given geographical area is divided into a number of smaller wireless-coverage areas such as cells and sectors, each having at least one associated BTS antenna, which are in turn coupled to an entity typically known as a base station controller (BSC), which is then coupled to at least one telecommunications switch or gateway, such as a mobile switching center (MSC) and/or a packet data serving node (PDSN), as examples.
A given switch or gateway may then be coupled with a transport network, such as the well-known PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) or one or more packet-switched networks (e.g., the Internet), a collection of two or more of which may for simplicity be referred to herein at times as a single packet-switched network, though this usage is for clarity of presentation, and not to imply a selection between the singular and the plural. Network devices with which an access terminal synchronizes may be disposed within the RAN itself and/or may be accessible via the PSTN, a packet-switched network, or some other network coupled to the RAN.
Moreover, cells in a given RAN are usually divided geographically into a number of sectors, each defined respectively by radiation patterns from directional-antenna components of respective BTSs, or by respective BTS antennae. These sectors (which can be visualized ideally as pie pieces) can be referred to as "physical sectors," since they are physical areas of a cell site. Therefore, at a given time, an access terminal in a RAN may be positioned in a given physical sector, and will thus be able to access voice and data services provided by the RAN via at least the BTS serving that physical sector.
The voice and data services may be used by one or more various applications running on an access terminal, such as e-mail clients, calendars, web browsers, video-streaming clients, mapping programs, games, social-networking tools, weather programs, etc. Each of these applications may be configured to periodically contact a network device via the RAN to receive new and/or updated data pertinent to the particular application. The period in between update requests is often and herein referred to as the data-synchronization interval. Various applications may be set to use different respective data-synchronization intervals. For example, an e-mail client may be configured to have a shorter data-synchronization interval than a weather application, as e-mail inboxes tend to change more often than the weather, and users typically expect near-real-time status of their e-mail.

Method and system for modifying a data-synchronization interval based on number of terminals being served in the coverage area