An improved moldable low density thermoplastic composite containing hollow glass spheres comprising a blend of thermoplastic resin, glass fiber reinforcement, and a concentrate of hollow glass spheres dispersed in thermoplastic resin.

During the last decade, the automotive and aircraft industries have concentrated their efforts on reducing the overall weight of the vehicles and aircraft. Initially, weight reduction was achieved by replacing metal parts with suitable plastic parts. However, in structural applications, the plastic parts are very often lacking in mechanical performance. Thus, to improve their performance, various reinforcing fibrous materials, such as glass, carbon or aramid fibers, are added to the plastic resin. As a cost savings measure, inorganic fillers, such as talc, calcium carbonate or clay are also added to the resin.
However, the addition of the fibers and inorganic fillers undesirably increases the composite's specific gravity and weight per molded part. Additionally, an increase in price per unit volume may follow. To counteract this weight increase, it is known that hollow glass spheres may be added. Traditionally, the host matrix for the hollow spheres has been a thermosetting resin which does not present the processing problems of thermoplastic resins. Before curing, thermoset resins have a relatively lower viscosity than thermoplastic resin and thereby provide a more readily workable medium. Generally speaking, the more viscous thermoplastic resins require more work and higher shear forces in order to process before cure. Consequently, it is more difficult to compound fragile additives into thermoplastics without substantial breakage.
To minimize fracture when compounding into thermoplastic resins, relatively strong glass spheres can be used, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,646. However, when combined with relatively high amounts of reinforcing glass fiber, the inventors have found that sphere fracture is intensified. It is believed that the abrasive physical contact between the rigid hollow glass spheres and the fiberglass, under high shear forces, causes additional sphere fracture. Even further fracturing of the spheres is known to occur during subsequent compression and, in particular, injection molding processes, used to form objects, such as car bumpers.
Hollow sphere fracture is undesirable because it raises the specific gravity of the composite and defeats the purpose for adding the spheres. In order to take full advantage of the specific gravity reduction seen in the presence of hollow spheres, the integrity of the spheres must be maintained during compounding and subsequent processing or molding.
The inventors have also observed that the hollow glass spheres similarly degrade glass fiber length and that further processing dramatically diminishes the fiber length below that necessary for efficient stress transfer from the polymer matrix to the fiber. Fibers which are shorter than this critical length will be less effective as reinforcements. In order to improve the mechanical properties of glass fiber thermoplastic polyurethane composites, the fiber length must be maximized.
A method has now been discovered which diminishes or eliminates fracture of hollow glass spheres, and degradation of glass fiber length, in thermoplastic composites made by melt compounding, thus lowering and maintaining the lowered specific gravity of the composite.
This invention embodies the discovery that hollow glass sphere fracture is minimized in fiberglass reinforced thermoplastic resin composites made by melt compounding, by adding a concentrate of spheres dispersed in thermoplastic resin (masterbatch). Superior results will be realized in some instances, i.e., fracture can be eliminated, when the masterbatch is made by adding the spheres during the in situ polymerization of the masterbatch resin. It is believed that the masterbatch resin covering the glass spheres protects them from breakage by lessening the effects of the shear forces exerted by the mechanical action of the compounding apparatus and the abrasive contact with the glass fibers. Consequently, by substantially maintaining the integrity of the spheres, one is able to maintain the lowered specific gravity of the composite. It has been further discovered that the inventive thermoplastic composites continue to minimize sphere fracture even when further processed in high stress molding methods.

Moldable low density thermoplastic composite with hollow glass spheres and the method for compounding


An apparatus for conveying thick matter is provided including a delivery line, a thick matter pump connected to the delivery line for conveying thick matter from the pump through the delivery line in an output direction, and a restraining member positioned in the delivery line. The restraining member includes a first group of finger lamellae that are radially arranged and have openings therebetween. Each of the finger lamellae of the first group includes an end secured on the inner surface of the delivery line and an unattached end extending diagonally in the output direction and toward the inside of the delivery line. The finger lamella thereby define a pass-through opening therein for enabling flow of thick matter through the restraining member such that the pass-through opening increases in size when thick matter flows in the output direction and decreases in size when there is no flow of thick matter or when thick matter moves in a direction opposite to the output direction. The restraining member also includes a second group of finger lamellae which have openings therebetween and are arranged relative to the finger lamellae of the first group such that the finger lamellae of the second group at least partially cover the openings between the finger lamellae of the first group.

An apparatus for conveying thick matter, mud, and bulk material of that kind, comprising a thick matter pump, which works preferably with an oscillating motion, a delivery line which is attached to the thick matter pump on the delivery side, and a restraining member, which is arranged in the delivery line and clears the passage, allowing the bulk material to pass through in the delivery line, and blocks it at least partially in the opposite direction.
In an already generally known apparatus of this type, a hydraulically actuated valve plate controlled by the piston travel is arranged at the outlet port of a thick matter pump designed as a single-piston pump. The valve plate releases the outlet port during the piston's pressure stroke and seals it during the suction stroke, so that the bulk material is prevented from flowing back. Apparatuses of this type require a relatively costly control system. Moreover, the service life of the valve plate is inadequate, because the abrasive bulk material subjects the moving slide parts to a considerable amount of wear.
The invention starts from here and is directed to improving the apparatus of the type indicated at the outset in a way that will allow the restraining member to work without controlling means and substantially free of wear.

Flow restraining device for a thick matter conveying apparatus


A magnetron sputtering device includes a main body and a magnet mounting system for receiving magnets. The magnet mounting system comprises a first annular member, a second annular member coaxially encasing the first member, a third annular member coaxially encasing the second member, a first driving device connected to the first annular member, a second driving device connected to the second annular member, and a third driving device connected to the third annular member. The first driving device, the second driving device, and the third driving device are respectively configured for driving the first annular member, the second annular member, and the third annular member to move along an axis of the first annular member.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to coating technologies and, particularly, to a magnetron sputtering device.
2. Description of Related Art
A magnetron sputtering device often includes a main body defining a cavity from which, during coating, atmosphere is evacuated to be replaced by an insert gas such as argon (Ar), atoms of which are ionized to Ar ions. The Ar ions bombard a target so atoms of the target are sputtered and deposited workpieces. A magnetic field formed by a permanent magnet fixed in the main body. Magnetic fields of the magnets are superposed, and magnetic density around the outer surface of the target may not be uniform, with more Ar ions are accelerated to portions of the outer surface of the target where the magnetic density is high and less reaching other portions where the magnetic density is low. Efficiency of the process is thus low.
What is needed, therefore, is a magnet mounting system and a magnetron sputtering device utilizing the system to overcome the described limitations.

Magnet mounting system and magnetron sputtering device having same


The present invention relates to a novel plant enzyme called delta 12 fatty acid acetylenase. This enzyme is responsible for the conversion of fatty acids to acetylenic acids and the invention relates to production of such acids. The invention also relates to use of cDNA encoding acetylenase, preferably Crepis alpina delta 12 acetylenase, for transforming organisms such as oil accumulating organisms selected from the group consisting of oil crops, oleogeneous yeasts and moulds. Furthermore, the invention relates to organisms such as oil accumulating organisms transformed with acetylenase cDNA, and to oils and other acetylenic compounds from said organisms.

There is considerable interest, world-wide, in producing chemical feedstocks such as fatty acids for industrial use from renewable plant resources rather than from non-renewable petrochemicals. This concept has broad appeal for both manufacturers and consumers on the basis of resource conservation and in addition provides significant opportunities to develop new industrial crops for agriculture.
There is an enormous diversity of unusual fatty acids in oils from wild plant species which have been well characterized (see e.g. Badami & Patil, 1981). Many of these acids are of potential industrial use. This has lead to an interest in domesticating relevant plant species to enable the agricultural production of particular fatty acids. However the development of genetic engineering combined with a greater understanding of the biosynthesis of unusual fatty acids make it now possible to transfer genes coding for key enzymes, involved in the synthesis of a particular fatty acid from a wild species, to a choosen domesticated oilseed crop. In this way specific fatty acids can be produced in high purity and quantities at moderate costs.
One class of fatty acids of particular interest are the acetylenic fatty acids; consisting of an acyl chain having two adjacent carbon atoms linked by an acetylenic or triple bond. Because of their high reactivities they may be ideally suited for the production of coatings, plastics and lubricants. By transferring the genes responsible for the production of a specific acetylenic acid from a wild species to commercial oilseeds, or any other oil accumulating organism that can be easily multiplied, it should be possible to develop a renewable primary source of this oil containing acetylenic fatty acids for industrial uses.


A circuit for arc detection in a direct current and a microprocessor to resolve a problem of low accuracy of a detection result of an existing circuit for arc detection in a direct current, where the circuit includes a current sampling circuit, a first circuit, a second circuit, and a microprocessor. The current sampling circuit is configured to perform current sampling on the direct current, and output a current sampling signal of the direct current. The first circuit is configured to output a time domain signal including at least one pulse. The second circuit is configured to output a frequency domain signal of the current sampling signal after amplifying and filtering the current sampling signal. The microprocessor is configured to determine that an arc exists in the direct current when a counting result of the quantity of arc events meets a preset condition.

When a high-voltage direct current line is faulty or a joint of a device is faulty in an electrical system, an arc may be generated in a direct current of the electrical system. The arc in the direct current may cause electric leakage of a device or a line in the electrical system, or cause a fire, and consequently the electrical system is damaged, or even human life and property safety are endangered. For example, in a photovoltaic (PV) power system, a PV panel generates a direct current under sun radiation. Because solar panels are usually disposed in a residential building and a commercial building, if a fault in the PV power system causes an arc in a direct current, an electric shock or a fire may be caused, which endangers human life and property safety.
Therefore, it is particularly important to accurately detect whether an arc exists in a direct current.
In other approaches, a process in which a circuit for arc detection in a direct current detects whether an arc exists in the direct current is as follows. The direct current is input to a signal conditioning circuit in the direction circuit, and after being amplified and filtered, the direct current is input to a microprocessor in the detection circuit. The microprocessor performs frequency domain analysis and time domain analysis on a signal obtained after processing by the signal conditioning circuit, i.e., separately determines, in frequency domain and time domain, whether the direct current has an arc characteristic. When it is determined, in frequency domain and time domain, that the direct circuit has an arc characteristic, it can be determined that an arc exists in the direct current.
The electrical system is affected by environmental factors during operation, and some environmental factors affect a result of determining, by the microprocessor, whether the direct current has an arc characteristic. For example, in the PV power system, a change of sun radiation or temperature causes a sudden change of output power of the PV panel, and further causes a sudden change of the direct current output by the PV panel.
Therefore, when the arc detection circuit provided in the other approaches is used, a sudden change of a direct current that is caused by a change of an environmental factor such as sun radiation or temperature is determined as an arc characteristic, and then it is determined, according to the arc characteristic, that an arc exists in the direct current, resulting in reduced accuracy of a detection result of arc detection performed by the circuit for arc detection in the direct current.
In conclusion, accuracy of the detection result of the other approaches circuit for arc detection in the direct current is low.

Circuit for arc detection in direct current and microprocessor


A plastic container, preform or article includes a multilayer wall having at least one layer of matrix resin, at least one layer of barrier resin, and an adhesion-promoting material blended with the barrier resin and/or the matrix resin to promote bonding between the barrier and matrix layers. The matrix resin preferably is an ester-containing resin, most preferably a polyester such as PET. The adhesion-promoting material includes an amine polymer, preferably an imine polymer having a plurality of available primary, secondary or tertiary amine groups. An alkylene imine polymer is preferred, particularly a polyethyleneimine polymer.

Multilayer plastic containers and preforms typically include one or more layers of plastic matrix resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) alternating with one or more layers of barrier resin such as polyamide or ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) to resist transmission of gas, water vapor and/or flavorants, including odorants and essential oils, through the container wall. An important property of containers of this type is interlaminar adhesion to resist delamination between or among the various layers during filling and handling of the containers by the container manufacturer and the product packager, and during use of the container by the consumer, and there is a need for increasing interlaminar adhesion without detrimentally affecting other container features, such as barrier properties and container clarity. It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a multilayer container, a container preform, a multilayer article of manufacture, a method of manufacture and a barrier resin blend having improved adhesion characteristics between the layers of the preform and the container made therefrom.
A plastic container in accordance with one presently preferred aspect of the invention includes a multilayer wall having at least one layer of matrix resin, at least one layer of barrier resin, and an adhesion-promoting material blended with the barrier resin and/or the matrix resin to promote bonding between the barrier and matrix layers. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the adhesion-promoting material is blended with the barrier resin. The adhesion-promoting material is an amine polymer, preferably an imine polymer, having a plurality of available primary, secondary, or tertiary amine groups. Such polyamine polymers preferably are an alkylene imine polymer or an alkylene amine polymer. Alkylene imine polymers, particularly polyethyleneimine (PEI) polymers, are particularly preferred. PEI polymers are sold by Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd. under the trade name Epomin, and the EPOMIN bulletin published by Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd. is incorporated herein by reference.
The polyamines of the present invention are polymeric, either homopolymeric or copolymeric polyamines, and preferably is an alkylene amine polymer or an alkylene imine polymer having molecular weights of from about 150 to about 2,000,000, with about 150 to about 400,000 preferred, and most preferred being from about 300 to about 80,000. Examples of polyamines useful for the invention include polyvinyl amines, aminofunctional polyacrylamides, polyDADMAC's, polyvinyl pyrrolidone copolymers, polyethyleneimine, polypropyleneimine and the reaction product of ethylene diamine and epichlorohydrin copolymers.
A preferred polyamine that can be used to achieve adhesion promoting characteristics is the class of polyamines referred to as polyalkylenimines, such as polyethyleneimine, which is readily available in a wide range of molecular weights and different degrees of branchings. Polyethyleneimines consist of a large family of water-soluble polyamines of varying molecular weight and degree of chemical modification. It is generally known that the polymerization of ethylenimine does not result in a polymer that is completely composed of units having a linear structure, but that also the degree of branching in polyethyleneimines depends on the acid concentration and the temperature during polymerization. Additional groups may be grafted onto polyethyleneimines using methods well known in the art to change other desirable physical and chemical properties. Preferred molecular weights of the polyethyleneimine are from about 150 to 80,000. Most preferred molecular weights of the polyethyleneimine are from about 300 to 80,000 for reasons of material viscosity. As an additional feature of the present invention, PEI polymers blended in the barrier or matrix layer can also interact with acidic gases such as carbon dioxide to provide enhanced acidic gas barrier polymers, to provide increased carbon dioxide barrier performance of the container. This is particularly useful in reducing carbon dioxide loss from the package when the resulting container is used to package carbonated beverages such as soft drinks or beer.
The matrix polymer preferably is an ester-containing polymer—i.e., polymers having an ester in the main polymer chain, ester moities grafted to the main polymer chain, or ester moities as side groups to the chain. Polyester resin is particularly preferred. The polyester resin may be any suitable polyester resin having an ester in the main polymer chain. Suitable polyesters include polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polypropylene terephthalate (PPT), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyglycolic acid (PGA), polycarbonate (PC) and polylactic acid (PLA). Other suitable matrix polymers include polyacrylates such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene methacrylate (PEMA) and vinyl acetates. Also usable are blends and copolymers of the above, and process and post-consumer regrind that consists essentially of the above, or blends or copolymers of the above. PET-based resins, blends, copolymers and regrinds are particularly preferred. Other matrix polymers include polyolefins and polyamides.
The PEI polymers are known to carry a high cationic charge density by virtue of their incorporation of high amounts of primary, secondary and tertiary amine functionalities. While not being bound to any particular theory, it appears that these amine functionalities strongly interact with esters or other functional groups to achieve improved adhesion between the barrier and ester-containing layers to reduce or prevent delamination of the wall layers during handling and use of the containers.
The barrier resin preferably is selected from the group consisting of EVOH, polyamide, acrylonitrile copolymers, blends of EVOH and polyamide, nanocomposites of EVOH or polyamide and clay, blends of EVOH and an ionomer, acrylonitrile, cyclic olefin copolymers, polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), polyglycolic acid (PGA), and blends thereof. EVOH and meta-xylylenediamine (MXD) polyamide are particularly preferred. The invention thus achieves improved adhesion between the barrier and polyester layers to reduce or prevent delamination of the wall layers during handling and use of the containers.
Other aspects of the invention include a plastic container preform, methods of making a plastic container and a preform, a barrier resin blend, and a multilayer article and method of manufacture in accordance with the invention.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Delamination-resistant multilayer container, preform, article and method of manufacture


Apparatus and methods for monitoring operation of an ultrasonic flow meter. In one embodiment, an ultrasonic flow metering system includes a passage for fluid flow, an ultrasonic flow meter, and a condition monitor. The ultrasonic flow meter is configured to measure transit time of an ultrasonic signal through the fluid flowing in the passage. The condition monitor is coupled to the ultrasonic flow meter and is configured to monitor a parameter of ultrasonic meter operation with respect to Reynolds number. The condition monitor is further configured to determine whether a value of the parameter at a Reynolds number of the fluid flowing in the passage at a time associated with the value is within a predetermined range of values for the parameter at the Reynolds number.

Natural gas is transported from place-to-place via pipelines. It is desirable to know with accuracy the amount of gas flowing in the pipeline, and particular accuracy is demanded when the fluid is changing hands, or "custody transfer." Even where custody transfer is not taking place, however, measurement accuracy is desirable, and in these situations, flow meters may be used.
Ultrasonic flow meters are one type of flow meter that may be used to measure the amount of fluid flowing in a pipeline. Ultrasonic flow meters have sufficient accuracy to be used in custody transfer. In an ultrasonic flow meter, acoustic signals are sent back and forth across the fluid stream to be measured. Based on parameters of received acoustic signals, the fluid flow velocity in the flow meter is determined. The volume of fluid flowing through the meter can be determined from determined flow velocities and the known cross-sectional area of the flow meter.
An ultrasonic flow metering system is subject to various conditions that affect the calibration, accuracy, and/or operation of the metering system. For example, accumulation of contaminants in the pipeline, flow restrictions, and/or differences or changes in operating environment with respect to calibration environment may affect flow meter accuracy. Accordingly, effective techniques for monitoring conditions related to flow meter operation and accuracy are desirable.

Reynolds number based verification for ultrasonic flow metering systems


A method for forming a film of graphite oxide single layers. In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of preparing a solution of graphite oxide to allow a plurality of graphite oxide single layers to be formed and dispersed in the solution; and applying the solution of graphite oxide onto an air-water interface of water to form a film at the air-water interface, wherein the film comprises a plurality of graphite oxide single layers and is characterized by a packing density, wherein the film of graphite oxide single layers is formed with no presence of a surfactant or stabilizing agent.

Graphite oxide (GO) is usually made by reacting graphite powder with strong oxidants such as a mixture of concentrated sulfuric acid and potassium permanganate.1 After oxidation, the carbon sheets are exfoliated and derivatized by carboxylic acid at the edges, phenol hydroxyl and epoxide groups mainly at the basal plane.2-5 The reaction breaks the pi-pi conjugation at those sites, which can be partially recovered by either chemical or thermal methods to yield graphene.6-9 Recently, GO has rapidly risen to be a promising material for polymer composite and graphene related electronics applications.6, 9-14 A graphite oxide single layer (GOSL) consists of a hexagonal network of covalently linked carbon atoms with oxygen containing functional groups attached to various sites (FIG. 1a, b). It can be viewed as an unconventional type of soft material15, 16 in that it is a two-dimensional (2D) membrane-like single polymer molecule that also acts like colloid. The colloidal "particle" is characterized by two abruptly different length scales with the thickness determined by a single atomic layer and the lateral sheet extending to up to tens of micrometers. This renders GOSLs very high aspect ratio and nominal surface area since a single layer is essentially completely surface. It is of both scientific curiosity and technical importance to know how these atomically thin sheets assemble and how they behave when interacting with each other, and how to better make them.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Method of forming a film of graphite oxide single layers, and applications of same


According to some embodiments an apparatus comprising a vote generator, a vote governor, and a local clock controller is provided. The vote generator generates votes based on a local clock signal and transitions in a stream of received data. The vote governor receives the generated votes and discards at least some of the votes. The local clock controller adjusts the local clock signal based on a generated vote that has not been discarded.

A device may use a local clock signal to facilitate receipt of an information stream, such as a data stream received via a high-speed serial interface. For example, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a known system 100 in which a transmitter 110 provides a stream of information to a receiver 120. As illustrated in FIG. 1, an original signal 112 may be generated by the transmitter 110 in accordance with a transmit (Tx) clock signal. After the information travels through a channel 130 (e.g., a high-speed serial interface channel), a degraded signal 122 is received by the receiver 120. The receiver 120 may then re-create the original signal 124 in accordance with the received signal 122 and a local receive (Rx) clock signal.
To accurately re-create the original signal, the phases of the local Rx clock signal and the Tx clock signal as seen at the receiver 120 should be aligned as closely as possible. This is typically done by using the received information stream to "recover" information about the Tx clock signal. That is, "transitions" in the received information stream (i.e., from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0) will reflect transitions in the Tx clock signal. By adjusting the local Rx clock signal in accordance with these transitions, the phase error between the local Rx clock signal and the Tx clock signal may be reduced.
When a received information stream does not contain a sufficient number of transitions (e.g., a data stream of "000000" is received), the receiver 120 may be unable to adjust the local Rx clock signal to track the Tx clock signal (as observed at the receiver 120). One way of avoiding this problem is to use an "8b10b" encoding scheme. In particular, an eight-bit pattern of original data is converted into a ten-bit pattern of data by the transmitter 110 (and the ten-bit pattern may provide at least a minimum transition density). The receiver 120 then converts each ten-bit pattern back into the original eight-bit pattern. The overhead associated with 8b10b encoding, however, reduces the efficiency of the system 100 (e.g., because ten bits must be transmitted to send eight bits of information).
As another approach, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a known apparatus 200 that adjusts a local Rx clock signal. In particular, an amplifier 210 generates signals (e.g., D, I, and Q signals) based on a received information stream. Note that the amplifier 210 may comprise a number of amplifier units. For example, four amplifier units clocked in different phases may operate in parallel to provide data and information associated with where the data transition edges.
A vote generator, evaluation, and interpolator control unit 220 evaluates these signals and generates indications ("votes") reflecting whether the local Rx clock signal should adjusted backward or forward. That is, a "backward" vote will be generated when received data appears to be transitioning before the local Rx clock signal. Similarly, a "forward" vote will be generated when received data appears to be transitioning after the local Rx clock signal. Based on these votes, digital logic in the unit 220 may provide appropriate control signals to an interpolator 230 to adjust the local Rx clock signal. For example, the interpolator 230 may receive four phases of a clock signal generated by a Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) device 240 in accordance with a core clock signal. The interpolator 230 may then generate and provide clock signals to the amplifier 210 based on information received from the unit 220.
Note the two data streams 250, 260 illustrated in FIG. 2. In the first data stream 250, data transitions frequently after a training period. As a result, the vote generator 220 will generate votes at a high frequency. In contrast, data transitions less frequently in the second data stream 260 (and the vote generator 220 will generate votes at a low frequency). Now consider the graph 300 of FIG. 3, which illustrates local Rx clock signal error as a function of transition density. When the transition density is very low (i.e., there are almost no data transitions), the error is very high because the vote generator 220 does not have sufficient information about the relationship between data transitions and the local Rx clock signal. As the transition density increases, the amount of error present in the local Rx clock signal can be reduced. Above a certain transition density, however, the error in the local Rx clock signal may actually increase. This may be, for example, because of a "loop delay" associated with local Rx clock signal adjustments. Referring again to FIG. 2, the "loop delay" represents an amount of time between receipt of a data transition and an associated adjustment to the local Rx clock signal. When the received data transitions too often, the indications from the vote generator 220 may be inaccurate depending on the loop delay and jitter response characteristics (e.g., the vote generator 220 might think that the local Rx clock signal is transitioning slightly too soon when it is really transitioning much too late). Thus, depending on the loop delay and the transition density associated with a received data stream, the performance of the system 100 might be degraded.


An aircraft communication system and corresponding method for establishing a datalink network between participating aircrafts, wherein each participating aircraft comprises a datalink transponder for sending and receiving standard communication messages (M) over a standard communication protocol; said datalink transponders are employed for establishing said datalink network using a standard communication protocol, and wherein said datalink transponders transmitting event driven messages (M) with a predefined structure identifying said messages (M) as test messages (TM) and at the same time comprising message data (MD) for establishing said datalink network, thus providing a datalink network established by transmission of solely messages (M) compliant with said standard communication protocol.

Various aircraft communication systems are known in the art, most of which being restricted to communication between a ground station and an aircraft or a one-to-one communication between aircrafts. With the development of advanced aircraft communication systems, there is an urgent need to allow multiple aircrafts, such as a fleet of aircrafts, to be able to be linked by a communication network. Some advanced communication systems do allow multi-point communication between aircrafts. However, because communication on standard communication channels/protocols is strictly regulated and non-compliant communication messages are not permitted, dedicated communication channels operating on non-standard frequencies and/or implemented on non-standard protocols are used by these systems. These systems have several disadvantages which makes their deployment costly and troublesome. First, the frequencies used by communication systems are strictly controlled by governmental agencies and thus the use of non-standard frequencies is dependent upon acquiring of the rights to use these frequencies. Further, deployment of aircrafts in the airspace of different countries makes the acquisition of these authorizations difficult, time-consuming and costly. Also, use of non-standard communication protocols requires the use of dedicated communication equipment, which considerably increases not only the costs of such systems, but also the testing/implementing time and also the weight of the aircraft. Furthermore, such additional equipment unnecessarily increases the complexity of the navigation system of the aircraft.
Special requirements for the communication system are set by aircrafts designed to provide tactical/training functionalities, such as simulation of additional navigation systems, weapon capabilities, radar displays and electronic warfare of a fighter jet for training purposes. These requirements become even more complex in training scenarios involving a fleet of such training aircrafts.


The interface of a silicon oxide passivation layer and a silicon substrate in a silicon solar cell is stabilized by covering the silicon oxide passivation layer with a layer of undoped or phosphorus doped polycrystalline silicon. A second layer of silicon oxide is formed by deposition on the surface of the phosphorus doped polycrystalline and enhances the anti-reflection characteristics of the composite structure.

This invention relates generally to surface passivation of silicon devices, and more particularly the invention relates to passivation of silicon solar cells.
The silicon solar cell generates electrical charge when exposed to solar radiation. The radiation interacts with atoms of the silicon and forms electrons and holes which migrate to P and N doped regions in the silicon body and create voltage differentials between doped regions.
Typically, the silicon body is coated with a silicon oxide passivation layer. This layer may also serve as an anti-reflection layer to impinging radiation, or, alternatively, an additional anti-reflection coating can be applied over the passivation layer. Heretofore, a problem with oxide passivation layers has been a degradation of the surface recombination velocity at the silicon-silicon oxide interface when exposed to concentrated sunlight. This effect is primarily due to hot electrons being created by the ultraviolet end of the solar spectrum and being injected from the silicon into the oxide. One measure of the passivation stability is the emitter saturation current density, J.sub.o, which should be as low as possible.
Heretofore, attempts have been at improving the resistance to radiation damage in a silicon solar cell. Weinberg, et al., 4,608,452 and Wvsocki, 3,940,965 teach the counter-doping of the silicon body with lithium. However, this technique is structured to minimizing ionizing particle radiation damage of the silicon itself rather than ultraviolet radiation damage to the silicon/silicon oxide interface.
The present invention is directed to a method of improving the stability of a passivation layer on the surface of a silicon solar cell.

Radiation resistant passivation of silicon solar cells


An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device to form an image and an ink cartridge that includes a deformable ink supply bag having an ink supply port; a deformable waste ink collection bag having a fluid gateway; and a cartridge housing to accommodate the deformable ink supply bag and the deformable waste ink collection bag at the same time. A connecting member having a non-return valve is provided to connect the deformable ink supply bag and the deformable waste ink collection bag with each other at a section other than the ink supply port and the fluid gateway. The non-return valve prevents ink from flowing from the waste ink collection bag into the ink supply bag. A non-return valve control mechanism is provided not to operate the non-return valve in an initial state in which the ink supply bag is initially filled with ink.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an ink cartridge and an image forming apparatus employing the ink cartridge.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus, such as an ink jet printer, etc., forms an image with ink and is sometimes provided with an ink supply bag to store the ink and a waste ink collection bag to collect ink waste. In such an image forming apparatus, it is known that the ink supply bag and the waste ink collection bag are installed in a common ink cartridge to effectively downsize the ink cartridge and the image forming apparatus as described in Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. 2002-307705 (JP-2002-307705-A) and 2002-307720 (JP-2002-307720-A). With such a configuration, the ink cartridge of each of JP-2002-307705-A and JP-2002-307720-A also simplifies disassembly and replacement of the ink cartridge.
However, when these are to be recycled, the ink supply bag and the waste ink collection bag need to be taken apart and cleaned thereafter, which is time-consuming as a problem.

Ink cartridge and image forming apparatus


An on-screen information superimposing circuit including an A/D converter for converting color signals and a luminance signal output from a video signal source into digital signals, an on-screen information generator for detecting on-screen information signal made of the color signals according to the luminance signal output from the A/D converter, storing the on-screen information, and outputting the stored color signals according to a read control signal, and a D/A converter for converting the on-screen information output from the on-screen information generator into an analog signal so as to be superimposed on another signal output from the video signal source, so as to reproduce the color signal of the on-screen information using the original color signal.

The present invention relates to an on-screen information superimposing circuit for video signal processors, and more particularly to an on-screen information superimposing circuit in which the color signal of the on-screen information is superimposed using the color signal supplied from a video signal source.
Usually, video signal processors, which may include camcorders, video cassette recorders and so on, are composed of a recorder which records a composite video signal applied via an input onto a recording medium and a reproducer which displays a composite video signal applied via an input onto a picture display. Here, the input is in the form of a camera, a tuner circuit, or an external signal input jack connected to the output of an external system through which a composite signal is provided. Such a video signal processor has an on-screen information superimposing function to display desired on-screen information such as characters or patterns on a predetermined region of a main screen. So far, on-screen information has been formed using a luminance signal output from a video signal source (for example, a video camera) and the color signal of the on-screen information has been formed with a unicolor signal selected by a user.
In other words, in the conventional method, as shown in FIG. 1, on-screen information formed with a luminance signal supplied from a video signal source 10 is superimposed onto a main video signal to form the composite video signal. Hereinbelow, FIG. 1 is described in more detail.
As with the aforementioned input, likewise, video signal source 10 may be constructed so as to, upon input from an external system, process a video signal into a composite video signal and separate the video signal into a color signal C and a luminance signal Y. FIG. 1 assumes the video signal source 10 to be a camera. The color signal output from a video signal source 10 is applied to a first contact point S1 of a first control switch SW1 of a selector 20, and a luminance signal is applied to an A/D converter 50 as well as to a first contact point S1 of a second control switch SW2 of selector 20. A/D converter 50 converts the applied luminance signal into a digital signal and outputs it.
Here, if subject matter photographed via video signal source 10 is supposed to be used as on-screen information, a user applied a control signal to an on-screen information generator 60 via a key input 70 so that the luminance signal output from video signal source 10 is detected as the on-screen information signal.
In on-screen information generator 60, when the above control signal from key input 70 is applied to controller 61, the controller outputs a write control signal to store (or write) the digital signal output from A/D converter 50 in a memory 62. Here, memory 62 contains a readable and writable memory device. Controller 61 may be a controller only for generation of on-screen information or a microprocessor for controlling the overall function of the video signal processor. Controller 61 also controls the switching operation of selector 20. More specifically, when the information stored in memory 62 is not to be read out, in other words, when the on-screen information is not to be displayed or is not to be written on a medium, controller 61 controls selector 20 to switch first and second switches SW1 and SW2 of selector 20 to their respective first contact points S1. Thus, color signal C and luminance signal Y output directly from video signal source 10 are applied to a matrix 30. Matrix 30 is constructed to extract the R-Y and B-Y color difference signals from applied color signal C and luminance signal Y. Color signal C is composed of the three primary color signals of R, G, and B.
Meanwhile, when the information stored in memory 62 is to be read out, according to an on-screen information display control command issued by a user via a user key input, controller 61 outputs a read control signal to memory 62, a control signal for switching first and second control switches SW1 and SW2 of selector 20 to their respective second contact points S2, and a control signal to color generator 63 for outputting the color signal of the on-screen information to contact point S2 of switch SW1 of selector 20. Here, color generator 63 is constructed to have a maximum of eight colors and the color selection is carried out by the user via key input 70. Color generator 63 is capable of outputting only one of the eight colors at a time. The color consists of a pseudo-color signal. The user selects which one of the eight colors will be output.
Memory 62 outputs the stored luminance signal by the read control signal of controller 61 to a D/A converter 80. D/A converter 80 converts the applied signal to an analog signal to output it to second contact point S2 of second control switch SW2. Second control switch SW2 is switched to its second contact point S2 to send the output of D/A converter 80 to matrix 30. First control switch SW1 transmits the color signal output from color generator 63 to matrix 30. Matrix 30 outputs the two color difference signals and luminance signal according to the same operation as above, and outputs a composite video signal to a display (not shown) or to a writing medium via encoder 40. Here, when applied to the writing medium, the composite video signal passes through a written signal processor (not shown).
As described above, the conventional on-screen superimposing circuit forms on-screen information by using the luminance signal of a signal to be processed as the on-screen information among the composite video signals supplied via video signal source 10 (a camera), and superimposes the on-screen information signal on a main screen by switching selector 20. Here, due to the fact that pseudo-color signals are used, the on-screen information can be displayed using only one color. This is undesirable since a plurality of colors would produce a much more interesting and informative picture.

On-screen information superimposing circuit


Kits, methods and systems for providing a service to provide a subject with information regarding the state of a subject's DNA damage. Collection, processing and analysis of samples are also described.

Damage to the integrity of a cell's DNA may occur through a variety of mechanisms. For example, DNA breakage may be caused through chemical reaction as a result of ingestion or absorption of a drug or other chemical agent that reacts with DNA (see, e.g., Exon (2007) J. Toxicol. Environ. Health B Crit. Rev. 9(5), 397-412). DNA damage may also be induced by via physical means, such as exposure to ionizing radiation (see, e.g., Brendler-Schwaab et al. (2004) Mutat. Res., 566(1): 65-91), either alone, or in combination with a chemical agent, e.g., by a photochemical mechanism.
Numerous studies suggest that certain human diseases create increase background level of oxidative DNA damage during their pathogenesis. These include, but are not limited to Alzheimer's disease (see, e.g., Mecocci et al. (1994) Ann. Neurolog. 36: 747-651; Prashad et al. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93: 5146-5150), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, cataract formation, aging process, radiation exposure (see, e.g., Wilson et al. (1992) Cancer Res. 48: 2156-2162), ischemic damage and stroke (1996, NIH Guide 25), metal toxicity (see, e.g., Carmichael et al. (1995) Mutat. Res. 326: 235-243), breast cancer (Djuric et al. (1996) Cancer, 77: 691-696), carcinogenesis in general (see, e.g., Ames et al. (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 92: 5258-5265). Molecular mechanisms, including the pathogenesis of oxidative DNA damage and alteration of a cell's ability to repair damaged DNA, may lead to the development of genomic instability. Genomic instability is believed to occur in an early step in the process of carcinogenesis. In addition, cells and human tissues are being screened for specific DNA damage in order to correlate the action of DNA damaging agents with human diseases and to verify the contribution of DNA damaging agents in specific genetic states to manifestation of human diseases.
Despite the utility of DNA damage analysis to determine risk for and/or prognosis of various pathologies, there are currently no systems in place for people to be able to take their blood at home and send it to a lab for DNA damage analysis. It is believed the closest to this is the RABiT (Rapid Automated Blodosimetry Tool, see, e.g., Garry et al. (2010) Health Phys. 98(2): 209-217) which is a completely automated, ultra-high throughput robotically-based biodosimetry workstation developed at Columbia University (see, e.g. cmcr.columbia.edu/rabit). RABiT uses advanced, high-speed automated image analysis and robotics to examine tissue samples (e.g., a fingerstick of blood) quickly for quantitative indicators of radiation exposure (e.g., fragments of DNA; DNA repair complexes). However, the RABiT system requires patients to be on site next to the machine and the assay is focused on radiation effects, has neglected sorting specific white cells and does not take into account the age of the person being analyzed. Knowledge and correction for these factors is in fact required for accurate interpretation of DNA damage levels. Moreover, these technologies may permit the detection of radiation hypersensitivities in humans prior to exposure to medical x-rays, such a practical capability does not currently exist.

High throughput DNA damage quantification of human tissue with home-based collection device

The Regents of the Univeristy of California


In various disclosed seismic imaging systems and methods, a fast target-oriented illumination calculation technique is employed to obtain a data volume or “matrix” of approximate illumination values. These illumination values enable an image matrix of “true reflectivity” values to be found. The illumination values are derived from Green's functions which, rather than being calculated and re-calculated on a shot-by-shot basis, are calculated in multi-shot groups and combined with a rolling-sum to greatly reduce the computational overhead. As a consequence, the disclosed systems and methods can provide target region illuminations more quickly and/or with higher quality than those systems relying on conventional 3D wave-equation illumination.

Seismology is used for exploration, archaeological studies, and engineering projects that require geological information. Exploration seismology provides data that, when used in conjunction with other available geophysical, borehole, and geological data, can provide information about the structure and distribution of rock types and their contents. Such information greatly aids searches for water, geothermal reservoirs, and mineral deposits such as hydrocarbons and ores. Most oil companies rely on exploration seismology to select sites in which to drill exploratory oil wells.
Traditional seismology employs artificially generated seismic waves to map subsurface structures. The seismic waves propagate from a source down into the earth and reflect from boundaries between subsurface structures. Surface receivers detect and record reflected seismic waves for later analysis. Though some large-scale structures can often be perceived from a direct examination of the recorded signals, the recorded signals must be processed to remove distortion and reveal finer detail in the subsurface image. Various existing processing methods do not sufficiently remove distortion, and they require excessively long computation times. Improved systems and methods are disclosed herein.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description are not intended to limit the disclosed embodiments to the particular form shown, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Seismic imaging systems and methods employing a fast target-oriented illumination calculation


A new hybrid cucumber designated ‘Jurassic’ is described. ‘Jurassic’ is an oriental-type slicer cucumber that also has intermediate resistance to cucumber mosaic virus and cucumber vein yellowing virus.

Cultivated forms of cucumber belong to the highly polymorphic species Cucumis sativus L. that is grown for its edible fruit. As a crop, cucumbers are grown commercially wherever environmental conditions permit the production of an economically viable yield. They can be hand or mechanically harvested. Cucumbers that are grown for fresh market, also called slicers, are generally hand harvested. Those that are to be processed are called picklers and may be hand or mechanically harvested. They are produced on trailing or climbing vines. On healthy plants there is a canopy of large, regular, three-lobed leaves in an alternate arrangement. Pickling cucumbers grown in the United States have usually blunt and angular fruits. They are white-spined and most possess dark green or medium dark green exterior color. Most slicers have slightly rounded ends and taper slightly from the stem to blossom end, although cylindrical-shaped fruits with blocky or even rounded ends are also available.
Many changes that occurred with the domestication of the cucumber relate to fruit morphology, with a specialization in fruit shape and size. Slicing cucumbers are frequently sold in lengths from 15 cm to 25 cm and diameter varies from 2.5 cm to nearly 7 cm. In the United States, the principal slicer cucumber growing regions are Georgia, Florida, Michigan, California and North Carolina with nearly 42,000 acres out of a U.S. total acreage of 57,500 acres. The main states that produce processing cucumbers are Michigan, North Carolina and Texas. Fresh cucumbers are available in the United States mainly from spring to fall. Cucumbers are consumed in many forms, generally processed for pickling types and as fresh market product for slicers. Although slicing cultivars may be processed, they generally are not acceptable substitutes for the pickling cucumbers.
Cucumis sativus is a member of the family Cucurbitaceae. The Cucurbitaceae is a family of about 90 genera and 700 to 760 species, mostly of the tropics. The family includes melons, pumpkins, squashes, gourds, watermelon, loofah and many weeds. The genus Cucumis, to which the cucumber and several melons belong, includes about 70 species. The cucumber is believed to be native to India or Southern Asia and has been cultivated there for about 3000 years.
Cucumber is distinct from other Cucumis species in that it has seven pairs of chromosomes (2n=2x=14) whereas most others have twelve pairs or multiples of twelve. Pollination techniques for controlled crosses in cucumbers are easy to conduct. If bees and natural pollen vectors can be excluded, the breeder need not be concerned about preventing selfing or other pollen contamination because of the diclinous nature of cucumbers and the stickiness or adherence of pollen to its source flower. There is no wind dissemination of pollen. Pistillate flowers are receptive in the morning or up to midday on the day they open. Cucumbers have a broad range of floral morphologies, from staminate, pistillate to hermaphrodite flowers, yielding several types of sex expression.
Cucumber is an important and valuable field crop. Thus, there is a continued need for new hybrid cucumbers. In particular, there is a need for improved oriental slicer hybrid cucumbers that are stable, high yielding and agronomically sound.


A method and system is described for enhancing ground situational awareness to an aircrew via the display of an airport moving map within an own-ship, including determining the position of the own-ship and an aircraft on one of a taxiway, a runway, or an apron, displaying each of the own-ship and the aircraft on an airport moving map by displaying for each a first symbol that indicates the location on the airport moving map; and displaying a second symbol that changes in transparency in proportion to the range of the airport moving map.

It is important for pilots to know the position of the aircraft which they are operating (referred to herein as their "own-ship") and other aircraft on taxiways and runways when taxing for takeoff or from landing. Navigation of an airport surface (taxiways/runways) can be difficult, especially in limited visibility of night and/or weather, or at unfamiliar airports.
Airport Moving Maps (AMM) are an overlay, for example, on a multi-function display/inertial navigation display (MFD/INAV), where airport features like runways, taxiways, and aprons, are shown on the display. The range may be reduced to increase the resolution of the display. Depiction of the own-ship position reference point is extremely important. In one known MFD/INAV, the own-ship symbol is a fixed object that doesn't change in size and shape. This own-ship symbol is an abstract representation and does not reflect the physical extent of the aircraft. This is an important consideration when correlating the aircraft symbol with a highly magnified/zoomed-in (small range on a large display) airport surface map. For example, a displayed aircraft symbol may be extremely larger than the runway. This scenario worsens when the traffic symbols are added. Displayed aircraft parked at a hold position of the taxiway may overlap and infringe on the runway, while in reality, the own-ship aircraft is much smaller than what is depicted and the traffic aircraft are parked with ample clearance at the hold-position. If the size of the aircraft are scaled such that they match their actual physical length on the runway/taxiway, at higher altitudes the aircraft symbols would be so small that they would not be easily visualized.
In another known MFD/INAV, an own-aircraft is represented by two symbols: one opaque own-ship symbol that scales to the range, and another outline aircraft symbol that does not change its shape or size.
In yet another known system, the aircraft symbol never changes in size. The size and shape is fixed so that it is normally is easily visualized on the display by the pilot; however, on an AMM, the range scale may be greatly reduced. AMM features are drawn such that the aircraft symbol is drawn above the physical features like the runways/taxiways/etc. At the lowest range, increasing the aircraft symbol size to match the physical length is not an issue. But at the intermediate ranges where the AMM just starts appearing or is drawn partially, the aircraft symbol size has to be reduced to match the physical length. This increases the difficulty for the pilot to comprehend the existence of the aircraft.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and system displaying aircraft on the ground in an airport environment that may be more easily understood by the pilot. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.


A fluid heat transfer device includes a multi-pipe arrangement for transporting fluids of temperature difference in counter flow directions on same end sides of a first transfer pipe and second transfer pipe having a parallel arrangement.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention discloses a device having multiple piping configured to pass through thermal conducting fluid simultaneously in counter flow directions and allow periodic directional flow change simultaneously. First fluid piping of at least one circuit and a second fluid piping of at least a second circuit is configured in a parallel or quasi-parallel arrangement where the first fluid piping and the second fluid piping are configured to simultaneously transport thermal conducting fluids having a gaseous or liquid state gaseous to liquid state or liquid to gaseous state having a temperature difference into a passive heat dissipation or absorption receiving article or space in counter flow directions to produce a heat absorbing or dissipating function on the passive heat dissipation or absorption receiving article or space thereby forming a more uniform temperature distribution status. Additionally, a periodic fluid direction-change operative control device is used to control the periodic directional flow change by driving bidirectional fluid pumping devices to simultaneously periodically change the flow directions of the fluids inside the two counter flow pipings while still maintaining the transported fluid at mutual counter flow status.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Conventional heat absorbing or dissipating application devices pass thermal conducting fluid through a heat absorbing or dissipating body, such as engine cooling water radiators, heat absorbing cooling energy discharge devices utilizing thermal conducting fluid, or heat dissipating warming energy discharge devices such as warming devices, heaters, or the warming energy transfer device, etc., in a fixed flow direction. Since the flow direction of the thermal conducting fluid is fixed, larger temperature difference is formed at each position on the heat absorbing or dissipating body of the thermal conducting fluid.

Fluid heat transfer device having plural counter flow circuits with periodic flow direction change therethrough


The apparatus of timepieces which provide an unobstructed central area of a permanent opaque face for enhanced display of artwork, logos, holograms, text, designs and/or pictures which enables the wearer to discern the time.

This invention redesigns traditional watches, clocks and the like, in order to provide an unhindered view of the face of the timepiece. The unobstructed area, subsequently created by concealing the center post and a portion of the hands, provides a platform that will more prominently exhibit material for personal, artistic and business purposes. Some specific applications that would benefit in having an unimpaired display are pictures, artwork, promotion and advertising, and three-dimensional images.
Watches, clocks and like apparatus for indicating time are well known. A typical device 100 is illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b. Commonly, device 100 comprises transparent crystal 110 that is attached to, and seals with, bezel 161 of opaque body 160. Seen through crystal 110 is opaque face 140, center post 125, hands 120 and 130, and time demarcation marks 170. On the reverse side of opaque face 140, and therefore unseen, is drive mechanism 150 which directly links, through the center of opaque face 140, to center post 125 thereby actuating hands 120 and 130 to circumscribe opaque face 140. The position of hands 120 and 130 in relation to marks 170 conveys the time of day.
The limitation with such devices as described above is that center post 125, and hands 120 and 130, are above opaque face 140, which results in hindering the display in the central part of the opaque face. For example, it would be preferable to have a watch, bearing a design on its opaque face, which did not have the central part of the image disrupted by physical parts of the device. Such unimpeded watch displays are particularly advantageous for promotional uses where a logo or advertisement can be imprinted on a watch face. Alternative applications are: forms of artistic expression, pictures, three dimensional sculptures or figures, interior coordinating design work, team and league affiliations, personal unique designs and/or text, etc. What is common to all these applications is the advantage of having an unobstructed face. Thus, there exists a need for a watch wherein the center post and hands of the watch do not interfere with the central display the watch opaque face.
Indeed, Mallin in U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,078, recognized the need to personalize watches but his patent imposes undesirable constraints and characteristics on his watch displays and watch designs. In all cases, he discloses a watch that exhibits conventional hands extending from a center post. Integral to his design is a removable disc, either translucent or opaque with a cutout for display of a miniaturized version of a conventional watch face. Said disc rests on the shoulder of the watch casing and is not adhered to the housing or affixed to the watch. This necessitates a means to secure the disc in place and a twist-off crystal on top of the disc, consequently adding excess bulk to the device.
The instant invention fills the need to have an unobstructed, permanent opaque face on a watch while still being able to determine the time in a traditional manner through viewing the tip of the hands in relation to the perimeter of the watch; the medial aspects of the hands wrap around unobserved, since they are overlapped by the opaque face. An additional aspect of the invention is the sealing of the opaque face to the housing and/or affixed to the center post, which is under the opaque face of the device.
The additional benefit of having a prominent display of permanent advertising or personalized face without obscuring the time displayed on the watch is therefore achieved by this invention. The result provides a timepiece that is more thin, durable and easier to manufacturer while still providing the goal of an unobstructed view of the central portion of the face. Therefore, the instant invention fulfills the longed for need of a streamlined watch wherein a permanent opaque face, capable of prominently displaying unique images/artwork, is an integral part of the watch and the wearer is still able to discern the time.
The present invention restructures watches, clocks and other indicating devices to provide an unobstructed central area of the device while maintaining the overall traditional perception of the device. Some specific applications that would benefit in having an unencumbered display are time indicating devices used for advertising. These devices may bear pictures, photographs, logos, artwork, three-dimensional images, holograms, or other types of advertising indicia. Similarly, time indicating devices of the present invention may be used for purposes other than advertising, such as keepsakes, souvenirs, and gifts. When used for these purposes the opaque face may be used to display photographs, pictures, artwork, three-dimensional artwork, or other non-advertising indicia.
According to the invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide an open-faced watch display.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an open-faced watch display including a permanent opaque face, having a slightly smaller diameter than the bezel, sealed to the housing of the watch and resting on the center post above the bezel thereby forming a gap. The center post of the device extends from the drive mechanism to the underside of the opaque face. The hands are connected to the center post. The drive mechanism causes the hands to rotate in a traditional circular manner except under the opaque face and only the end of the hands are seen. Since the hands are positioned under the opaque face and the center post is blocked by the opaque face, there is no obstruction to the central viewing area of the opaque face.
With these and other objects in view, in one embodiment of the invention the hands extend from the center post on the underside of the opaque face, outward beyond the periphery of the opaque face thereby being exposed to view. The bezel, which may have demarcations of time or other design features on its outer aspects, extends inward and parallel in a lower plane relative to the opaque face so as to further support the center post. The body of the timepiece is notched to accept the crystal and seal the device. The time of day can be determined by the position of the exposed end of the hands which overlay the bezel without the opaque face being obscured The opaque face may have advertising or non-advertising indicia upon it.
In another embodiment of the invention the hands, which are below the opaque face, are above a projection from the body of the watch. The projection extends inward and parallel with the face, to conjoin and support the center post. The outer portion of the projection may have demarcations of time or other decorative designs and would be exposed since the opaque face is smaller than the projection. The hands would be sized larger than the opaque face but smaller than the extent of the projection. The opaque face may have either advertising or non-advertising indicia on it.
In another embodiment of the invention the opaque face extends to the body of the watch. The outer aspect of the opaque face is of transparent material thereby exposing the end of the hands to view. The opaque face is supported centrally by the center post and peripherally by the watch body where it is sealed.
In another embodiment of the invention a time-indicating apparatus is provided having an opaque face that provides an indication of time without obscuring the opaque face of the apparatus. The apparatus has a housing and a drive mechanism mounted in the housing under an opaque face. One or more time indicators are connected to and driven by the drive mechanism with the time indicators extending beyond a periphery of the opaque face to indicate the time of day.
In another embodiment of the invention a time-indicating apparatus is provided having an opaque face that provides an indication of time without obscuring the opaque face of the apparatus with the time indicators being at least two hands.
In another embodiment of the invention a time-indicating apparatus is provided having an opaque face that provides an indication of time without obscuring the opaque face of the apparatus with the opaque face containing advertising indicia.
In another embodiment of the invention a time-indicating apparatus is provided having an opaque face that provides an indication of time without obscuring the opaque face of the apparatus with the opaque face contains non-advertising indicia.
In another embodiment of the invention a time-indicating apparatus is provided having an opaque face that provides an indication of time without obscuring the opaque face of the apparatus with a bezel that is substantially concentric to and parallel with the opaque face. The bezel is located in a plane below the opaque face to form a gap therebetween. The time indicators are shaped to extend outwardly, beyond the periphery of the opaque face through the gap between the bezel and the opaque face so as to provide an indication of time relative to the bezel without obscuring the opaque face.
In another embodiment of the invention a time-indicating apparatus is provided having an opaque face that provides an indication of time without obscuring the opaque face of the apparatus with a housing containing a drive mechanism, one or more time indicators driven by the drive mechanism, an opaque face having an opaque center portion to a transparent portion on the periphery, and where the time indicators are connected to the drive mechanism on the underside of the opaque face.
In another embodiment of the invention a time-indicating apparatus is provided having an opaque face that provides an indication of time without obscuring the opaque face of the apparatus with a housing containing a drive mechanism, a center post connected to the drive mechanism, one or more time indicators driven by the drive mechanism, an opaque face having an opaque center portion to a transparent portion on the periphery, and where the time indicators are connected to the center post, which is on the underside of the opaque face.
In another embodiment of the invention a time-indicating apparatus is provided having an opaque face that provides an indication of time without obscuring the opaque face of the apparatus where a projection that is substantially concentric to and parallel with the opaque face is shown. The projection extends from the side wall of the apparatus inward toward the center of the opaque face and is located in a plane below the opaque face to form a gap therebetween. The time indicators are shaped to extend outwardly, toward the transparent periphery of the opaque face, and crossing into said periphery through the gap between the projection and the opaque face so as to provide an indication of time relative to the projection without obscuring the face.
These and other aspects and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and written descriptions.


The ionized gas supplied to the emitter tip of a gas field ionization ion source is cooled and purified to enable supplying a reliable and stable ion beam. Impurities contained in the ionized gas destabilize the field ionization ion source. The invention is configured to include a first heat exchanger thermally connected to a part of the field ionization ion source, a cryocooler capable of cooling a second gas line and a cold head, the second gas line being connected to the first heat exchanger and circulating a refrigerant, and a second heat exchanger that cools the first and second gas lines and is connected to the cold head.

Observation of a sample surface structure is possible through detection of the secondary electron charged particles released by the sample scanned and irradiated with electrons. This is called scanning electron microscope (hereinafter, "SEM"). Another way to observe a sample surface structure is through detection of the secondary charged particles released by the sample scanned and irradiated with an ion beam. This is called scanning ion microscope (hereinafter, "SIM").
Such surface observation preferably uses light ion species such as hydrogen and helium. Lighter ion species are preferred for their weak sputtering effect, minimizing the damage to a sample surface. Another characteristic of these ion beams is the higher sensitivity to the information of a sample surface than that of electron beams. Hydrogen and helium ions are more sensitive because the excitation region of secondary charged particles upon entry of these ions into a sample surface occurs by being localized more toward the sample surface than the excitation region occurring upon electron beam irradiation. Another disadvantage of electron beams is that the wave property of electrons cannot be ignored, and the diffraction effect causes aberration. The ion beams, on the other hand, are heavier than electrons, and the diffraction effect is negligible.
Information that reflects the inner structure of a sample can be obtained by detecting ions that passed through the sample irradiated with ion beams. This is called transmission ion microscopy. Lighter ion species such as hydrogen and helium are particularly preferred for observation because a large proportion of these ions passes through a sample upon irradiation of the sample with these ions.
On the other hand, heavy ion species such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, krypton, xenon, gallium, and indium are preferred for the working of a sample because these ions can have a sputtering effect on the irradiated sample. A focused ion beam device using a liquid metal ion source represents a known specific example of ion beam processing devices.
A gas field ionization ion source is the preferred ion source for ion microscopy. Ina gas field ionization ion source, high voltage is applied to the metal emitter tip having an apex curvature radius of about 100 nm or less to concentrate an electric field at the apex, and a gas (ionized gas) is introduced near the apex to ionize the gas molecules in the field and obtain an ion beam. A gas field ionization ion source can generate an ion beam of a narrow energy width. Further, the small size of the ion source enables generating a fine ion beam.
Ion microscopy requires producing an ion beam of a large current density on a sample to obtain a sample image with little noise. This requires increasing the ion emission angle current density of the field ionization ion source. The ion emission angle current density can be increased by increasing the density of the ionized gas in the vicinity of the emitter tip.
Cooling the emitter tip to extreme low temperatures lowers the energy of the ionized gas molecules that collided with the emitter tip, and the ionized gas molecules aggregate and increase their density. The pressure of the ionized gas introduced near the emitter tip also can be increased. However, problems occur when the pressure of the introduced gas is 1 Pa or higher. Specifically, the ion beam neutralizes as it collides with the ionized gas, and the ion beam current decreases, or undergoes a glow discharge. A known solution to these problems is to restrict the gas ionization region with a projection of several atoms formed at the apex of the emitter tip, and improve ion emission angle current density by efficiently ionizing the limited supply of ionized gas.
Specifically, PTL 1 discloses improving ion source characteristics with a fine protrusion formed at the apex of the emitter tip.
PTL 2 discloses a charged particle microscope that enables high-resolution sample observation with a compact ion irradiation system that has a reduced ion optical length to reduce the amplitude of the relative vibrations of the emitter tip and the sample.
PTL 3 discloses an ion microscope. The main body of the ion microscope is independently installed from a cryocooler for cooling a gas field ionization ion source, and the mechanical vibration of the cryocooler that propagates to the gas field ionization ion source is reduced by the provision of a refrigerant circulation circuit cooling mechanism that circulates a refrigerant between the gas field ionization ion source and the cryocooler. In this way, the ion microscope can improve the brightness of the gas field ionization ion source while ensuring the ion beam convergence.


Methods and system for providing concealing camouflage of a position, hunter or observer using a shield or enclosure with a reflective exterior having exterior sides inclined towards the horizontal and observation portions of two-way mirror material. The shield or enclosures may be of any shape and may be of rigid sides permanently affixed to a frame, or be provided as collapsible or pop-up enclosures using temporary attachments and frames or poles. The enclosures may be entirely of two-way material. The reflective material may be mirror glass, any clear material treated on one surface with mirror coatings, or metalized cloth or film, including metalized polyester. A roof may be provided as non-reflective or reflective and may be flat or dome shaped. Two-way mirrored observation ports that open and close may be provided in any shape or position. The enclosure may conceal a boat, raft, or vehicle.

Generally, camouflage of an observer position is achieved by providing a hunting blind, stand, raft or other location that is colored or painted in a manner to blend it into the background environment. For example, camouflage paint, "camo" netting, or permanent or temporary patterned coverings are used on materials that are then applied to the exterior of permanent or portable deer blinds, jeeps, boats, duck blinds, tree stands and other observer or hunter positions. These camouflaged positions may provide permanent, mobile or portable shooting positions or game observation posts. Some example applications for the camouflaged objects are, without limitation, typically to provide a hunting position, for example, a deer blind, duck blind or the like. In some applications, a game observation position is provided, for example, to do wildlife research without revealing the presence of a human observer or camera equipment to the animals. Other applications may include enclosures for security or surveillance applications in parking lots, office buildings, apartments complexes or the like where observers or equipment may also be concealed from view by the use of such camouflage enclosures.
A problem with the prior art patterned type of camouflage is that the covering may not match the foreground or background, thus the camouflage may be ineffective to conceal the position or observer. For example, a particular pattern or shade chosen for one season or for one location may not be effective in another season or another location. As one simple example, a deer blind painted with a fall camouflage pattern will be more visible than an unpainted structure in winter; as the background is now potentially white with snow. Thus, the blind is rendered ineffective when conditions change or when moved to another location.
Reflective material has been applied to hunting enclosures. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,960 discloses a portable, rectangular enclosure with reflective outer surfaces. However, the reflective surfaces are provided in vertical orientation (parallel to a vertical plane, or perpendicular to the horizontal ground or floor surface). The inventors of the present application have previously determined that material oriented in this direction fails to provide effective concealment. Game or other observers may see their own reflection in the vertical reflective surfaces, or celestial reflections such as the sun, sky or moon that reveals the structure against the background. Although the structure will reflect to some extent the natural surroundings and thus be a match to the environment in different seasons or locations, the flaws make the camouflage less effective than desired.
In FIG. 1, an enclosure 10 of the type such as described in the patent referenced above is shown configured for a deer blind application. Although for simplicity, only the exterior front surface is drawn as a reflective surface, typically all four sides are described in the prior art as reflective. The drawback of the vertical sides of this prior art enclosure is that the game or other observer, when looking directly at the enclosure, may see its own reflection, or the sky behind it, or celestial objects such as the sun or moon may be reflected, thereby revealing the presence of the enclosure to the viewer or game. A second problem is that the observation ports themselves provide ample areas where the interior of the enclosure, or the observer or hunter, may be observed by the game, thus any concealment provided by the reflective camouflage is rendered ineffective.
In a prior patent application U.S. Publ. No. 2007/0006909 A1, reflective camouflage was disclosed. In this prior application, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, an enclosure such as a deer or duck blind is provided with a reflective outer surface that inclines towards the horizontal so that the exterior sides are not vertical. FIG. 2 depicts the enclosure 21 with an observation port 22. The improvements were accomplished by tilting the exterior surface outwardly at the top, that is, the exterior surfaces are no longer parallel to the vertical, or perpendicular to the horizontal ground or floor. Instead, as seen in FIG. 2, the exterior reflective surfaces are inclined outwardly at the top. The angle of the exterior surfaces is less than 90 degrees from horizontal. By providing this tilted or outwardly inclined surface, the structure reflects to an onlooking observer, such as game or fowl in the area, a reflection of the material in the foreground of the enclosure. The observer approaching the structure will not see its own reflection, due to the inclined surfaces; instead, that reflection is directed downward and away from the observer. Similarly, the observer will not see the sky, the sun or moon or other inappropriate reflections. In this manner, the enclosure remains concealed and camouflaged.
However, in order to provide both observability and gun ports and bow ports out of the enclosure for use by the hunter or other observer, ports or openings, such as 22 of FIG. 2, were provided. These ports or openings may be visible to the game or another onlooker or observer looking at the outside of the enclosure. Thus, this reflective camouflage provides less effective concealment than needed for successful observation of wild animals or fowl, or to conceal the existence of the enclosure from an outside observer. A continuing need thus exists for additional improvements in reflective camouflage for structures or positions that overcome the problems of the prior art.


A moving robot and a method to build a map for the same, wherein a 3D map for an ambient environment of the moving robot may be built using a Time of Flight (TOF) camera that may acquire 3D distance information in real time. The method acquires 3D distance information of an object present in a path along which the moving robot moves, accumulates the acquired 3D distance information to construct a map of a specific level and stores the map in a database, and then hierarchically matches maps stored in the database to build a 3D map for a set space. This method may quickly and accurately build a 3D map for an ambient environment of the moving robot.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a moving robot and a method to build a map for the same, wherein a 3D map for an ambient environment of the moving robot may be built using a Time of Flight (TOF) camera that may acquire 3D distance information in real time.
2. Description of the Related Art
Moving robots are used in various fields due to the development of sensors and controllers. Typical examples include a household assistant robot, a service robot for public facilities, and a conveyance robot and a worker assistant robot used in production lines. Demand for moving robots and the field of application of moving robots are expected to significantly increase in the future. To locate (or localize) the moving robot and to create information of an ambient environment of the moving robot without prior information about the ambient environment, the moving robot needs to simultaneously perform localization and map building processes in an associated manner. This scheme is referred to as "Simultaneous Localization And Map-building (SLAM)".
To perform map building, the moving robot should acquire information about the ambient environment. The moving robot may use a Time of Flight (TOF) camera to acquire information about the ambient environment. The TOF camera is a device that acquires 3D distance information using a TOF method which measures the time that it takes for infrared light emitted from a light emitting unit to return to a light receiving unit after being reflected from an object. The TOF camera may acquire 3D distance information in real time since it may calculate 3D distance information from an infrared intensity image without complex calculation processes.
Occupancy voxel map building has been used as a method to build a map of an ambient environment of a moving robot using the TOF camera. The occupancy voxel map building method divides the ambient environment of the moving robot into small 3D voxels and fills voxels corresponding to 3D distance information acquired by the TOF camera in accordance with current position information of the moving robot. That is, the possibility of presence of an object in each voxel in a 3D space is probabilistically written to the voxel to build a 3D voxel map. However, according to the occupancy voxel map building method, the accuracy of the built map decreases as the travel distance of the moving robot increases or as the size of a space within which the moving robot moves (i.e., a space to be mapped) increases since the accuracy of information registered in each voxel decreases as errors in location information of the moving robot increase.
An Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm has been suggested to overcome such problems of the occupancy voxel map building method. The ICP algorithm uses a method to minimize the sum of distances between two sampled 3D point cloud data A and B as shown in FIG. 1. The ICP algorithm may calculate a 3D rigid body transformation (a translation or rotation transformation) which minimizes the sum of distances between the two 3D point cloud data A and B. The ICP algorithm may improve the accuracy of the built 3D map compared to the occupancy voxel map building method since the ICP algorithm can relatively correctly match two 3D point cloud data using the calculated 3D rigid body transformation even when the location information of the moving robot is incorrect.
A sequential map building method using a conventional ICP algorithm includes sequential matching processes ({circle around (1)}→{circle around (2)}→{circle around (3)}), each including sequentially accumulating a plurality of 3D point cloud data as the moving robot moves, locating points corresponding to the 3D point cloud data and matching the plurality of 3D point cloud data as shown in FIG. 2. Specifically, the sequential map building method performs map building for an ambient environment of the moving robot by sequentially performing a matching process "{circle around (1)}" to match two sequentially accumulated 3D point cloud data (a) and (b) to build a new map, a matching process "{circle around (2)}" to match the new map built through the matching process "{circle around (1)}" and subsequently accumulated 3D point cloud data (c) to build a new map, and a matching process "{circle around (3)}" to match the new map built through the matching process "{circle around (2)}" and subsequently accumulated 3D point cloud data (d) to build a new map. That is, the sequential map building method performs the matching processes in the order of {circle around (1)}→{circle around (2)}→{circle around (3)}.
However, in this sequential map building method, as the travel distance of the moving robot increases or as the size of the space to be modeled increases, a search space within which correlations between two 3D point cloud data are determined increases, thereby increasing calculation time. In addition, the sequential map building method has a relatively high possibility of incorrectly determining correlations between two 3D point cloud data having different size levels which are compared with each other and also has no solution to errors accumulated as the travel distance increases, thereby reducing the accuracy of the built map.
Moreover, since the map building method using the conventional ICP algorithm is a type of optimization technique which finds a rigid body transformation relation which minimizes the sum of distances between two 3D point cloud data, the map building method provides transformation results having significant errors if the solution converges to local minima.

Moving robot and method to build map for the same


The present disclosure relates to a visibility improving film for a display panel and a display device including the same. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a visibility improving film for a display panel capable of exhibiting excellent physical and optical properties particularly while improving the visibility of a laser pointer, by using polyethylene terephthalate as a substrate and including fine metal particles dispersed in the photocurable resin layer, and to a display device including the same.

For a presentation in, for example, lectures, conferences, or announcements, it is common for material images to be reproduced using a display device and for the presenter to give a presentation while pointing to a screen or the like using a laser pointer at a certain position on a presentation image.
Conventionally, the presentation is often performed by projecting material images on a screen or wall using a beam projector. However, in the case of the projector system, there are disadvantages in that the contrast ratio and image quality are not good. Recently, a high number of large-sized display panels with various driving methods such as LCDs, PDPs, and OLEDs have been supplied, and thereby it is becoming possible to make presentations by displaying images directly on the displays.
However, the display device has light emission characteristics, and there is no factor that can scatter the laser light in addition to regular reflection at a specific angle. This causes a problem in that the visibility of the laser pointer is remarkably deteriorated.
Therefore, there is still a need to develop a method for improving the visibility of a laser pointer in a display device without requiring excessive additional steps.

Visibility improving film for display panel and display device comprising same


Remote subscription management of an eUICC comprising a private key and a public certificate, the public certificate comprising information allowing a subscription manager server to decide if it can agree to manage the eUICC. The method includes: establishing a secure channel between the terminal and the subscription manager server by using the public certificate and dedicated cryptographic services of the eUICC; sending to the subscription manager server a subscription management request; verifying, based on the information in the public certificate in the subscription manager server, whether the eUICC is entitled to be managed by the subscription manager server and, if yes: performing a key establishment procedure between the subscription manager server and the eUICC by using the eUICC public certificate; establishing between the subscription manager server and the eUICC a secure channel with the established keys; and, executing by the subscription manager server the subscription management request on the eUICC.

The present invention concerns telecommunications and more precisely remote subscription management of eUICCs (a eUICC is a Universal Integrated Circuit Card which is not easily accessible or replaceable, is not intended to be removed or replaced in the device with which it cooperates, like for example defined in the GSMA Technical Specification, version 2.0, Oct. 13, 2014 and entitled "Remote Provisioning Architecture for Embedded UICC"). The device can be a M2M apparatus (Machine to Machine), a smartphone, a tablet, a PDA, generally speaking a telecommunication terminal.
This Specification defines a technical solution for the remote provisioning and management of eUICCs. The adoption of this technical solution aims to provide the basis for ensuring global interoperability between potentially different MNO (Mobile Network Operator) deployment scenarios, different makers of network elements (e.g. SM-DP, SM-SR) and different providers of eUICC elements. SM-DP stands for Subscriber Manager Data Preparation and SM-SR for Subscriber Manager Secure Routing.
FIG. 1 shows a global system for remote provisioning of secure elements.
The secure elements are here eUICCs. Only one eUICC 10 is represented. The eUICC 10 has been manufactured by a EUM (eUICC Manufacturer) 11 and cooperates with a telecommunication terminal not represented. A subscription can be downloaded over the air in the eUICC 10 through a third party owning a SM-DP 12, typically a MNO, and another party (or the same party) owning a SM-SR 13.
The SM-DP 12 is in charge to generate the subscription scripts and to ensure the download and installation of this script in the eUICC 10 through the SM-SR.
The SM-SR 13 ensures a transport layer and has the responsibility to perform content management actions on the eUICC 10, on behalf of the SM-DP 12.
The SM-DP 12 can receive from the EUM 11 some data (executable or not), permitting to provide the eUICC 10 with a full subscription. In addition, the SM-DP 12 completes EUM data with operator's data, applications, keys, the couple IMSI/Ki, a file system, . . . according to MNO's specifications.
The present invention concerns a method for managing a eUICC by a subscription manager server (e.g. SM-DP in the GSMA context) with an online method allowing further remote subscription management by the subscription manager server.
This method simplifies the deployment of the eco-system for the consumer market (tablets, pda, mobile phone . . . ) by getting useless any pre-provisioning step of shared key or any other material.
In the state of the art, the SM-SR for the M2M market has to be provisioned with eUICC data. The eUICC manufacturer EUM has also to produce eUICCs with constraints related to provisioning the SM-DP. More precisely, in the context of the remote subscription management, one of the main difficulties is during the set-up of the eco-system when the subscription manager server must be provisioned with data of all eUICCs to be managed (identifiers, credentials, . . . ). The problems are the following:
It is not the same actors that will manage the manufacturing of the eUICCs and operation of the subscription manager server: The EUM has to be aware of which subscription manager server could have to manage their eUICCs.
In case a new subscription manager server appears, how it can retrieve the data of any of the already deployed eUICCs that it may have to manage?
This necessity of provisioning comes mostly from the constraint of M2M market where most of the uses cases are initiated by the server part, in push mode (download of initial connectivity, swap, delete) as no end-user is there to trigger the operations that have to be executed on the eUICCs.
The present invention proposes a method for the subscription manager server to manage eUICCs embedded in terminals for the Consumer market. Such a management typically comprises download a subscription on the eUICC, switch from one subscription to another one or delete a subscription on a eUICC.
This invention applies in the consumer market where the eUICC is embedded in a terminal and there is no "push" of data realized by the manager server (SM-DP in the context of the GSMA).
The SM-SR of the state of the art is typically managed by a service provider (company managing M2M devices, like for example electricity meters, cars (car manufacturer), telecommunication terminals like smartphones or tablets) and the management of the eUICCs is realized in a push mode: The service provider decides which eUICCs have to be managed and when.
In the Consumer Market it is more likely that the end-user will choose the MNO that will provide the connectivity service for its consumer device and that will administrate his eUICC. The end-user scrolls in a menu showing the available MNOs and selects a subscription from one of these MNOs. The selected subscription is then downloaded via OTA (Over The Air) in his eUICC.

Method for remote subscription management of an eUICC, corresponding terminal