The invention relates to electrodes that contain active materials of the formula: AaMbXxOy wherein A is one or more alkali metals selected from lithium, sodium and potassium; M is selected from one or more transition metals and/or one or more non-transition metals and/or one or more metalloids; X comprises one or more atoms selected from niobium, antimony, tellurium, tantalum, bismuth and selenium; and further wherein 0<a≤6; b is in the range: 0<b≤4; x is in the range 0<x≤1 and y is in the range 2≤y≤10. Such electrodes are useful in, for example, sodium and/or lithium ion battery applications.

Sodium-ion batteries are analogous in many ways to the lithium-ion batteries that are in common use today; they are both reusable secondary batteries that comprise an anode (negative electrode), a cathode (positive electrode) and an electrolyte material, both are capable of storing power in a compact system by accumulating energy in the chemical bonds of the cathode, and they both charge and discharge via a similar reaction mechanism. When a sodium-ion (or lithium-ion battery) is charging, Na+ (or Li+) ions de-intercalate and migrate towards the anode. Meanwhile charge balancing electrons pass from the cathode through the external circuit containing the charger and into the anode of the battery. During discharge the same process occurs but in the opposite direction. Once a circuit is completed electrons pass back from the anode to the cathode and the Na+ (or Li+) ions travel back to the anode.
Lithium-ion battery technology has enjoyed a lot of attention in recent years and provides the preferred portable battery for most electronic devices in use today; however lithium is not a cheap metal to source and is too expensive for use in large scale applications. By contrast sodium-ion battery technology is still in its relative infancy but is seen as advantageous; sodium is much more abundant than lithium and researchers predict this will provide a cheaper and more durable way to store energy into the future, particularly for large scale applications such as storing energy on the electrical grid. Nevertheless a lot of work has yet to be done before sodium-ion batteries are a commercial reality.
From the prior art, for example in the Journal of Solid State Chemistry 180 (2007) 1060-1067, L. Viciu et al disclosed the synthesis, structure and basic magnetic properties of Na2Co2TeO6 and Na3Co2SbO6. Also in Dalton Trans 2012, 41, 572, Elena A. Zvereva et al disclosed the preparation, crystal structure and magnetic properties of Li3Ni2SbO6. Neither of these documents discusses the use of such compounds as electrode materials in sodium- or lithium-ion batteries.
In a first aspect, the present invention aims to provide a cost effective electrode that contains an active material that is straightforward to manufacture and easy to handle and store. A further object of the present invention is to provide an electrode that has a high initial charge capacity and which is capable of being recharged multiple times without significant loss in charge capacity.
Therefore, the present invention provides an electrode that contains an active material of the formula:AaMbXxOy                 wherein        A is one or more alkali metals selected from lithium, sodium and potassium;        M is selected from one or more transition metals and/or one or more non-transition metals and/or one or more metalloids;        X comprises one or more atoms selected from niobium, antimony, tellurium, tantalum, bismuth and selenium;        and further wherein        0<a≤6; b is in the range: 0<b≤4; x is in the range 0<x≤1 and y is in the range 2≤y≤10.
In a preferred embodiment of an electrode of the above formula, one or more of a, b, x and y are integers, i.e. whole numbers. In an alternative embodiment, one or more of a, b, x and y are non-integers, i.e. fractions.
Preferably M comprises one or more transition metals and/or one or more non-transition metals and/or one or more metalloids selected from titanium, vanadium, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, iron, osmium, cobalt, nickel, palladium, platinum, copper, silver, gold, zinc, cadmium, magnesium, calcium, beryllium, strontium, barium, aluminium and boron, and particularly preferred is an electrode containing an active material wherein M is selected from one or more of copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, titanium, aluminium, vanadium, magnesium and iron.
The term "metalloids" as used herein is intended to refer to elements which have both metal and non-metal characteristics, for example boron.
We have found it advantageous that the electrode contains an active material wherein at least one of the one or more transition metals has an oxidation state of +2 and at least one of the one or more non-transition metals has an oxidation state of +2.
Other suitable electrodes contain an active material wherein at least one of the one or more transition metals has an oxidation state of either +2 or +3 and at least one of the one or more non-transition metals has an oxidation state of +3.
Preferred electrodes contain an active material of the formula: AaMbSbxOy, wherein A is one or more alkali metals selected from lithium, sodium and potassium and M is one or more metals selected from cobalt, nickel, manganese, titanium, iron, copper, aluminium, vanadium and magnesium.
Alternative preferred electrodes contain an active material of the formula: AaMbTexOy, wherein A is one or more alkali metals selected from lithium, sodium and potassium and M is one or more metals selected from cobalt, nickel, manganese, titanium, iron, copper, aluminium, vanadium and magnesium.
As described above it is typical that a may be in the range 0<a≤6; b may be in the range: 0<b≤4; x may be in the range 0<x≤1 and y may be in the range 2≤y≤10. Preferably, however, a may be in the range 0<a≤5; b may be in the range 0≤b≤3; 0.5≤x≤1; and y may be in the range 2≤y≤9. Alternatively, a may be in the range 0<a≤5; b may be in the range 0<b≤2; x may be in the range 0<x≤1; and 2≤y≤8. As mentioned above, one or more of a, b, x and y may be integers or non-integers.
Extremely beneficial electrochemical results are expected for electrodes that contain one or more active materials: Na3Ni2SbO6, Na3Ni1.5Mg0.5SbO6, Na3Co2SbO6, Na3Co1.5Mg0.5SbO6, Na3Mn2SbO6, Na3Fe2SbO6, Na3Cu2SbO6, Na2AlMnSbO6, Na2AlNiSbO6, Na2VMgSbO6, NaCoSbO4, NaNiSbO4, NaMnSbO4, Na4FeSbO6, Na0.8Co0.6Sb0.4O2, Na0.8Ni0.6Sb0.4O4, Na2Ni2TeO6, Na2Co2TeO6, Na2Mn2TeO6, Na2Fe2TeO6, Na3Ni2-zMgzSbO6 (0≤z≤0.75), Li3Ni1.5Mg0.5SbO6, Li3Ni2SbO6, Li3Mn2SbO6, Li3Fe2SbO6, Li3Ni1.5Mg0.5SbO6, Li3Cu2SbO6, Li3Co2SbO6, Li2Co2TeO6, Li2Ni2TeO6, Li2Mn2TeO6, LiCoSbO4, LiNiSbO4, LiMnSbO4, Li3CuSbO5, Na4NiTeO6, Na2NiSbO5, Li2NiSbO5, Na4Fe3SbO9, Li4Fe3SbO9, Na2Fe3SbO8, Na5NiSbO6, Li5NiSbO6, Na4MnSbO6, Li4MnSbO6, Na3MnTeO6, Li3MnTeO6, Na3FeTeO6, Li3FeTeO6, Na4Fe1-z(Ni0.5Ti0.5)zSbO6 (0≤z≤1), Na4Fe0.5Ni0.25Ti0.25SbO6, Li4Fe1-z(Ni0.5Ti0.5)zSbO6 (0≤z≤1), Li4Fe0.5Ni0.25Ti0.25SbO6, Na4Fe1-z(Ni0.5Mn0.5)zSbO6 (0≤z≤1), Na4Fe0.5Ni0.25Mn0.25)zSbO6, Li4Fe1-z(Ni0.5Mn0.5)zSbO6 (0≤z≤1), Li4Fe0.5Ni0.25Mn0.25SbO6, Na5-zNi1-zFezSbO6 (0≤z≤1), Na4.5Ni0.5Fe0.5SbO6, Li5-zNi1-zFezSbO6 (0≤z≤1), Li4.5Ni0.5Fe0.5SbO6, Na3Ni1.75Zn0.25SbO6, Na3Ni1.75Cu0.25SbO6, Na3Ni1.50Mn0.50SbO6, Li4FeSbO6 and Li4NiTeO6.
It is convenient to use an electrode according to the present invention in an energy storage device, particularly an energy storage device for use as one or more of the following: a sodium and/or lithium ion and/or potassium cell, a sodium and/or lithium and/or potassium metal ion cell, a non-aqueous electrolyte sodium and/or lithium and/or potassium ion cell, an aqueous electrolyte sodium and/or lithium and/or potassium ion cell.
Electrodes according to the present invention are suitable for use in many different applications, for example energy storage devices, rechargeable batteries, electrochemical devices and electrochromic devices.
Advantageously, the electrodes according to the invention are used in conjunction with a counter electrode and one or more electrolyte materials. The electrolyte materials may be any conventional or known materials and may comprise either aqueous electrolyte(s) or non-aqueous electrolyte(s) or mixtures thereof.
In a second aspect, the present invention provides a novel material of the formula: A3Ni2-zMgzSbO6, wherein A is one or more alkali metals selected from lithium, sodium and potassium and z is in the range 0<z<2.
In a third aspect, the present invention provides a novel material of the formula: Na3Mn2SbO6.
In a third aspect, the present invention provides a novel material of the formula: Na3Fe2SbO6.
The active materials of the present invention may be prepared using any known and/or convenient method. For example, the precursor materials may be heated in a furnace so as to facilitate a solid state reaction process. Further, the conversion of a sodium-ion rich material to a lithium-ion rich material may be effected using an ion exchange process.
Typical ways to achieve Na to Li ion exchange include:
1. Mixing the sodium-ion rich material with an excess of a lithium-ion material e.g. LiNO3, heating to above the melting point of LiNO3 (264° C.), cooling and then washing to remove the excess LiNO3;
2. Treating the Na-ion rich material with an aqueous solution of lithium salts, for example 1M LiCl in water; and
3. Treating the Na-ion rich material with a non-aqueous solution of lithium salts, for example LiBr in one or more aliphatic alcohols such as hexanol, propanol etc.


In an aspect, a moon appearance generating system (1) is configured for providing an enhanced depth perception to imitate a sky scene, for example, a natural sky scene at night. The moon appearance generating system (1) comprises a luminous device (7) with a primary light emitting area (9) that is configured to provide, when the moon appearance generating system (1) is operated to imitate the sky scene, a two-dimensional spatial profile of a luminous flux density across the primary light emitting area (9) with a mean luminous flux density value of at least 5 lm/m2, a maximum luminous flux density value of less than about 150000 lm/m2, wherein the mean luminous flux density value is at least 2% of the maximum luminous flux density value; and a frame structure (25) providing an exit aperture (5) through which the primary light emitting area (9) is completely viewable from within an enhanced depth perception observation range (33), wherein the exit aperture (5) is associated with an inner frame line (25A) that surrounds at least an area of 20 cm width and 20 cm height.

Artificial lighting systems are known for simulating natural lighting such as sunlight illumination. Exemplary embodiments of such lighting systems using, for example, Rayleigh-like diffusing layers are disclosed in several applications such as WO 2009/156347 A1, WO 2009/156348 A1, and WO 2014/076656 A1, filed by the same applicants. The therein disclosed lighting systems use, for example, a light source producing visible light, and a panel containing nanoparticles used in transmission or reflection. During operation of those lighting systems, the panel receives the light from the light source and acts as a so-called Rayleigh diffuser, namely it diffuses incident light similarly to the earth atmosphere in clear-sky conditions.
To provide for a sun-like impression, the light sources may be designed for a sun-like perception such as disclosed in WO 2015/172794 A1 filed by the same applicants. As disclosed therein, a detailed analysis and a plurality of optical measures were implemented to achieve the desired sun-like perception of the aperture of the high luminance light source.
High luminance applications stand in contrast to low luminance applications that need to be considered when imitating, for example, a natural sky scene at night. The herein disclosed concepts are designed further to achieve an enhanced depth perception even for low luminance applications.
Thus, the present disclosure is directed, at least in part, to improving or overcoming one or more aspects of prior systems.


A method of managing data flow may include assigning, along a communication route, a predetermined total energy consumption limit for a network adaptor having a first and a second network adaptor port card, whereby the route transmits data between a first and a second node within the network. Along the route, a total energy consumption value for the network adaptor is determined based on the transmitted data. The assigned total energy consumption limit is compared with the determined total energy consumption value of the network adaptor. The transmitted data is determined as being data of a known duration and data of an unknown duration based on the comparing resulting in the determined total energy consumption value exceeding the assigned total energy consumption limit. The data of a known duration is transferred from the first network adaptor to the second network adaptor and the first network adaptor is powered off.

a. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to communication networks, and particularly, to managing energy consumption within network communication equipment.
b. Background of Invention
Communication equipment such as network adaptors, routers, and switches are responsible for conveying data from one user to an intended other user using various communication protocols. Routing protocols, which determine how routers and/or switches communicate with each other across a communication network, may spread the flow of data traffic across various routers/switches/adaptors in order to reduce data latency. However, such a reduction of data latency may be accomplished at the expense of an increase in energy consumption within the routers/switches/adaptors in the data path.
It may, therefore, be advantageous, among other things, to manage the consumption of energy by the various elements of a communications network such as routers, switches, network adaptors, etc.

Energy management for communication network elements

International Business Machines Corporation


A sun visor for automotive vehicles, including a sun visor body and a separate carrier body. The carrier body and sun visor body being attached to permit longitudinal translation of the visor body with respect to the carrier body while prohibiting rotation of the carrier body apart from the visor body around a swivel axis. Slide bearing rails between the carrier body and visor body permit the longitudinal translation. The arms of the U shape slide rails are cooperatingly shaped to define ball-receiving grooves which enable the translation of the visor body with respect to the carrier body. A sun visor swivel shaft is supported at one end of the carrier body. An outer support pin, supported at the opposite end of the carrier body, is also longitudinally movable with respect to the carrier body and is also received in a hole in the end of the outer support pedestal, which hole has a lateral radial opening.

The present invention relates to a sun visor for motor vehicles having a sun visor body which is swingable around a horizontal axis, is displaceable parallel to that axis and is also mounted for swinging around an approximately vertical axis. The visor body is supported on an approximately L shaped sun visor shaft, in a swivel bearing pedestal, which is adapted to be fastened to the body of the vehicle. An outer support pin at the opposite end of the visor body from the sun visor shaft is received in an outer support pedestal, which is also adapted to be fastened to the body of the vehicle.
Sun visors of this type are known from German Applications OS 32 35 997 and OS 36 03 852. These known sun visors have proven suitable in practice but have disadvantages. They have a relatively complicated construction and are comprised of a large number of individual parts, which means high manufacturing expenses. It is frequently desirable to be able to shift the sun visor body parallel to the swing axis even when it is positioned in front of the windshield. In known sun visors, however, displacement of the sun visor body is only provided when it is positioned in front of a side window. Finally, it would be desirable if conventional sun visors were of better appearance.

Sun visor for motor vehicle having a slidable main body


A method is disclosed for producing polymers with a neutral color tone, wherein a blue and red dye are added before entry into the last polyreaction stage, wherein adjustment of a neutral color tone of the polymer, using a total dye concentration in the polymer of no more than 3 ppm and a proportion of the blue dye in the resulting dye mixture of at least 50% by weight, occurs through independent adjustment of a and b color values in the Lab color space by determination of a and b color values of the polymer without addition of dyes, establishment of the total dye concentration depending on the b-value shift to be achieved, establishment of the required mixture ratio of the colors red and blue depending on the a-value shift to be achieved, and metering of the established content of dye mixture into the reaction mixture.

During the production of polymers in general and polyesters in particular, as is known, thermal and oxidative degradative reactions also take place at the same time, through which chromophoric groups are formed in the polymer molecules. These lead to a yellowish discoloration of the polymer (see e.g., "Polyesterfasern, Chemie und Technologie," Dr. Hermann Ludewig, Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1975; "Modern Polyesters: Chemistry and Technology of Polyesters and Copolyesters," John Scheiers and Timothy E. Long (Ed.), John Wiley & Sons, 2003). This slight yellow coloration can also be detected well metrologically. If no dye is added to the polyester during production, the b color value then measured (Hunter Method) is between 2-4 units.
There are essentially two possibilities for minimizing degradative reactions of this type, namely working under a protective gas atmosphere and lowering the reaction temperature. While the former can still be realized with reasonable expenditure, the latter is possible only to a limited extent. Since the temperature is an essential factor for the reaction velocity, it has to be carefully considered how far a temperature reduction or the color improvement achieved thereby is still associated with a technically and economically reasonable reaction velocity. There has therefore been no lack of attempts to prevent a color error in the product. One established method for this polymer color technology requires the use of blue dyes. Through the addition of a suitable quantity of blue dye, the yellow base tone of the polymer is shifted to a visual impression neutral in color. The neutral color shade is particularly important for packaging materials, in particular for foodstuffs and beverages.
Cobalt compounds often used in dye technology, in particular cobalt acetate, are known as blue colorants, which as a rule are used jointly with organic dyes. However blue, red and violet organic dyes are also used alone.
For example, the use of cobalt compounds is disclosed in EP 0 061 414, where a production method for a polyester resin is described, which contains a cobalt compound, a phosphorous compound and an antimony compound, and is used for producing articles with high clarity and a neutral color tone. The cobalt compound is the colorant component therein, the phosphorous compound is used to suppress the catalytic effect of the cobalt compound, and the antimony compound is used as a catalyst for the polycondensation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,083 describes the production of a clear polyester neutral in color using a preblend of cobalt and phosphorous which is added to the production process either at the end of the esterification stage or at the start of the polycondensation stage. Here, too, cobalt is the colorant component and phosphorous is the stabilizer for cobalt.
A general description of the use of organic dyes for adjusting the color neutrality in polyesters is found, for example, in "Polyester Bottle Resins: Production, Processing, Properties and Recycling," Dr. Ulrich K. Thiele, PETplanet Publisher GmbH, Heidelberg, 2007.
EP 0 854 160 discloses a diethylene glycol modified PET copolymer of improved clarity with which cobalt compounds, mixtures of blue and red anthraquinone derivatives and isoquinoline derivatives are used as colorants for color adjustment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,864 discloses different blue and red anthraquinone derivatives and anthrapyridone derivatives which can be used as dye mixtures in order to adjust a neutral or slightly bluish color in polyesters. The thermally stable dyes can thereby also carry reactive groups that make it possible to bond the dyes to the polyester during the polycondensation. The yellowing is thereby corrected via the quantity of color mixture used, a coloring in the red-green direction can be equalized by means of the composition of the color mixture. However, there is no separate consideration here of the b value of the polymer in the L, a, b color space (measured according to Hunter), which is a gauge of the yellowing, and of the a value, which characterizes a red-green shift. It is not indicated either how the a and b values are to be influenced in a targeted manner separately from one another, or it is not even possible due to the concentrations provided. The determination of dye composition and quantity for the most exact possible neutralization of a color tone in the polymer accordingly always requires considerable testing expenditure, since the a value achieved changes with the b value or the dye mixtures and quantities used for that purpose. According to the Hunter L,a,b color scale, "L" has a value of 0 to 100 and is a measure of reflecting light diffusion, the values "a" and "b" have no numerical limits, positive "a" is red, negative "a" is green, positive "b" is yellow, and negative "b" is blue.
The known cobalt compounds as colorants, of which in particular cobalt acetate is used for foodstuff packaging, have a number of disadvantages. In addition to its property as a blue-violet colorant, cobalt also has catalytic properties and is used among other things as a esterification catalyst. However, this property is undesirable in the use of cobalt as a colorant. The cobalt compound is therefore stabilized with the addition of a stabilizer, e.g., phosphorous from phosphoric acid, and the catalytic reaction of the cobalt is thus suppressed as far as possible. However, at the same time the formation and precipitation of cobalt phosphates is possible, which in turn causes an increase in the turbidity values in the polymer. Particularly for packaging materials, in particular beverage bottles, a turbidity of this type is naturally unacceptable. Furthermore, an elimination of acetic acid from the cobalt acetate often uses can lead to attacks on the reactors, pipelines and the distillation.
The food regulations, which completely exclude certain compounds or at least limit the concentration thereof, are another problem. This problem applies not only to cobalt compounds but also to organic dyes. Only recently have colorants that have international food approvals been increasingly developed and introduced to the market. Until now a freely selectable color design without concessions to the colors L, a and b (according to Hunter) and the turbidity values in the polymer has therefore hardly been possible.
Today increasing importance is also attached to the lowest possible metal content in polymers for foodstuff packaging. Although the food regulations do not stipulate the total metal content, attempts are made to circumvent problems with the migration of metals into the foodstuff. It is therefore advantageous if the cobalt compounds can be replaced by organic dyes. However, in the past only the b value could be adjusted very exactly with the use of blue/red dye combinations. The development of the a value and the L value then resulted from the dye combination. An independent adjustment of the a and b value was not possible.

Method for producing polymers with a neutral color tone


A semiconductor device according to the present invention includes insulating branches which are formed as an interlayer insulating film on a semiconductor substrate. The interlayer insulating film has holes (voids) between the branches to thereby reduce electrostatic capacitance between stacked layers within a semiconductor device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device for a semiconductor integrated circuit and its manufacturing method.
2. The Related Art
FIG. 1 shows the wiring portion of a semiconductor device having a multi-layer wiring structure using a conventional interlayer insulating film. In FIG. 1, a lower wiring layer 401 is formed on a semiconductor substrate 400 into a desired shape by evaporation and patterning. An interlayer insulating film 402 is then deposited by, for example, CVD method and the surface of the interlayer insulating film 402 is subjected to planarization by etching or the CMP method. Thereafter, an upper wiring layer 403 is formed on the interlayer insulating film 402 into a desired shape by evaporation and patterning.
According to a method shown by Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 5-283542, referring to FIG. 2, a lower wiring layer 501 is formed on a semiconductor substrate 500. A cap insulating film 504 is then formed on the semiconductor substrate 500 and the lower wiring layer 501. An interlayer insulating film 502 including glass coating material mixed with Al grains of sub-micron diameter is applied onto the cap insulating film 504. The interlayer insulating film 502 is heated to about 400.degree. C. and formed into glass. Thereafter, only Al attaching to the glass coating material is selectively etched to thereby form holes 505 within the interlayer insulating film 502. A second cap insulating film 506 is then formed on the interlayer insulating film 502 to form an upper wiring layer 503.
The related art shown in FIG. 1, however, is disadvantageous in that high-speed operation is difficult to realize because the circuit operation speed is controlled by wiring capacity. The reason is that the interlayer insulating film 402 has a material-peculiar dielectric constant and its capacitance is higher than that of air with the result that high-speed operation is prevented.
The related art shown in FIG. 2 is also disadvantageous in that it is difficult to form holes 505 within the interlayer insulating film 502. The reason is that it is difficult to remove Al grains selectively. In order to remove Al grains well, it is necessary for Al grains to mix into the coating material without being separated from each other by the coating material. If grains are separated from each other by the coating material selective etching cannot be achieved because the coating material prevents Al grains for being etched.

Semiconductor device and method of forming semiconductor device


A manhole riser extension assembly including separate upper and lower spacer rings which are assembled utilizing tabs that extend downwardly from the upper spacer ring about the lower spacer ring, and locking elements in association with the lower ring that cooperatively engage and bear radially outwardly against the tabs, respectively, to urge and/or lock the tabs against an inner surface of the manhole frame bounding the manhole cover seat, or to penetrate the tabs and bear against the inner surface, to hold the assembly together and in place in the manhole frame, and such that a manhole cover is positionable in sitting relation on the lower spacer ring, bounded by the upper spacer ring for covering the manhole. Optional lift protections tabs can be provided at locations about the upper spacer ring, in position to be covered by paving material to supplement the holding of the assembly in place.

U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/819,419, filed May 3, 2013; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/819,900, filed May 6, 2013, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Most underground facilities such as sanitary and storm sewers, utility conduits, and the like have manhole openings to provide access thereto. These manholes usually are located in, but not limited to, the street or roadway and consist of an inverted, generally bell-shaped metal manhole frame mounted on top of a brick or concrete base structure. This metal frame has an internal, horizontal ledge or seat for supporting the manhole cover so that the top of the cover is level with the top or upper surface of the frame and surrounding roadway pavement.
Problems arise in the resurfacing of the roadways in that a layer of pavement is placed on top of the existing pavement resulting in the manhole cover being below the top surface of the new pavement, causing a depression in the roadway. It is quite difficult and expensive to raise the existing manhole frame sufficiently to compensate for the added pavement. Thus, various devices and methods have been constructed and used which enable an existing manhole cover to be raised to the level of the new pavement surface without raising the existing manhole frame. Some examples of these devices and methods are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,517,871, 3,218,943, 3,773,428, 3,891,337, 4,097,171, 4,225,266, 4,302,126, 4,690,584, and 4,995,757. See also, Canadian Patent No. 1,285,167.
Many of these prior art devices use a metal frame formed with a gap wherein the metal frame sits upon a generally horizontal surface of the manhole frame, typically the manhole cover seat, and include a device for expanding the frame outwardly into abutting engagement with a upwardly outwardly extending conical or tapered surface formed on the manhole frame bounding the cover seat, which prior to the installation of the new pavement, received the manhole cover thereon. However, in certain manhole frames, this tapered surface forms an excessively large obtuse angle with the adjacent horizontal ledge resulting in the riser frame moving upwardly from its seated position within the frame when forced outwardly by the expansion device and subjected to various forces, making it difficult to retain the riser frame assembly within the manhole opening. It has been found that the horizontally outwardly extending force component exerted by the expansion device is not sufficient to retain the riser frame within the manhole opening due to the excessive large taper or angle of the conical surface of the manhole frame. Furthermore, it has been found that sliding and shifting of the riser assembly can occur within the manhole opening providing an unwanted movement of the riser assembly, which could occur over time caused by thermal expansion of the ground or supporting structure or movement by snow plows or repetitive motion of vehicle tires moving over the manhole cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,584 shows one manner of solving this problem by the use of concrete reinforcing steel bars welded to the riser frame. The bars are bent outwardly beneath a retaining lip of the manhole frame to secure the riser assembly in position. Although this construction may provide a suitable solution, it requires a number of additional manufacturing steps such as welding the bars to the riser frame and then requiring the welded bars to be bent inwardly after placement into the manhole frame by repeatedly striking the bars with a hammer to bend the bars in position. However, the bent bars may not provide a secure lock with the adjacent manhole frame still resulting in some movement of the riser frame within the manhole frame causing rattling and other unwanted results. Also, if such bendable bars are used with riser assemblies which have an outward expansion device, it does not provide any assistance in overcoming the unwanted movement of the riser assembly due to the large angle of the manhole frame conical surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,165,911 proposes to overcome the above problem using outwardly projecting tabs at locations about an expandable ring, that engage the underside of a surface of the manhole frame. However, this adds manufacturing complexity.
What is sought is a manhole riser extension apparatus which overcomes one or more of the disadvantages and shortcomings, set forth above.


A magnetic recording medium comprising: a magnetic layer; a first radiation curable resin layer; a non-magnetic support having an intrinsic viscosity of from 0.47 to 0.51 dL/g; and a second radiation curable resin layer, in this order, wherein the first radiation curable resin layer contains a filler, and the second radiation curable resin layer contains a filler.

In recent years, in the field of magnetic recording, digital recording which is less in deterioration of recording is developing towards practical use in place of conventional analog recording. Recording and reproducing units and magnetic recording media which are used for the digital recording are required to have high image quality and high tone quality, and needs for realizing size reduction and space saving are increasing. However, in general, the digital recording is required to achieve recording with a number of signals as compared with the analog recording. For that reason, magnetic recording media which are used in the digital recording are required to achieve recording with still more high density.
In order to achieve the foregoing high-density recording, it is essential to make the wavelength of a recording signal short and to make the recording track narrow. Accordingly, in addition to the technology for granulating and highly packing a ferromagnetic power and the technology for smoothing the surface of a magnetic recording medium, there has hitherto been developed the technology for thinning a magnetic recording medium for the purpose of enhancing a volume density.
As the foregoing technology for thinning a magnetic recording medium, there have been known so far a method for thinning a non-magnetic support and a method for thinning a non-magnetic layer. However, the method for thinning a non-magnetic support involved a problem that when the thickness becomes smaller than a prescribed value, durability of the non-magnetic support is lowered.
On the other hand, the method for thinning a non-magnetic layer involved problems, for example, a lowering of output, an increase of dropout, and an increase of error rate, because the magnetic layer is likely influenced by the surface of the non-magnetic support. That is, if thinning of the magnetic recording medium for the purpose of increasing the recording density is advanced, there was encountered a problem that a sufficient leveling effect against the non-magnetic support is not obtained in the magnetic layer, the surface state of the non-magnetic support as provided beneath the magnetic layer or non-magnetic layer largely influences the surface of the magnetic layer so that projections are formed on the surface of the magnetic layer, thereby causing an error rate, etc. In particular, in a linear recording system, since a magnetic tape runs substantially parallel to a head and comes into contact with the magnetic head, dropout due to projections present on the surface of the magnetic layer is likely generated.
In order to solve the foregoing problems involved in thinning a magnetic recording medium, it was necessary to suppress influences of the surface of the non-magnetic support in the state of keeping durability of the non-magnetic support. From these viewpoints, there have been known so far base films for recording medium in which a variety of fillers are contained in the non-magnetic support to suppress influences of the surface state of the non-magnetic support (see JP-A-60-127523, JP-A-60-246919 and JP-A-2000-57558, etc.).
However, by only containing these fillers in the non-magnetic support, it is impossible to thoroughly suppress influences of the surface state of the non-magnetic support against the magnetic layer. In some case, characteristics of the non-magnetic support are largely changed. Accordingly, it could not be said that this means is effective from the viewpoint of keeping durability of the non-magnetic support.
On the other hand, there is also developed a magnetic recording medium in which an undercoat layer is provided between a non-magnetic support and a magnetic layer, or between a non-magnetic support and a non-magnetic layer, thereby suppressing influences of the surface state of the non-magnetic support against the magnetic layer (see JP-B-57-42890 and JP-B-60-38767, etc.).
However, though a polyester based resin is used for such an undercoat layer, such a construction involves a problem that rigidity of the medium is lowered so that durability is deteriorated.
Incidentally, the following JP-A-2004-39052 discloses a magnetic recording medium comprising a non-magnetic support having a smoothed layer and a magnetic layer containing a ferromagnetic powder and a binder in this order on at least one surface thereof, wherein the thickness of a filler to be contained in the non-magnetic support is from 0.5 to 5 nm, an aspect ratio of a mean particle size to the thickness of the filler is from 50 to 10,000, and the thickness of the smoothed layer is from 0.3 to 3 μm.
However, according to the construction as described in JP-A-2004-39052, while influences of the surface state of the non-magnetic support against the magnetic layer are suppressed due to contribution of the smoothed surface, there was involved a problem that rigidity of the medium is lowered so that durability is deteriorated.


An image forming apparatus includes a detection unit configured to irradiate a patch image formed on a recording material with light, and detect light intensities at a plurality of wavelengths in the light reflected from the patch image; and a determination unit configured to determine that a patch image for which the detection unit is detecting light intensities has transitioned from a first patch image to a second patch image, wherein the determination unit is further configured to determine that the patch image for which the detection unit is detecting has transitioned, in a case where a light intensity at a wavelength for identification of a patch image to be identified, has varied by an amount greater than a first threshold corresponding to that wavelength for identification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image forming apparatuses, and in particular, relates to a technique for identifying patch images that are formed on a recording material for image correction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Improvement in image quality of images output by color image forming apparatuses such as color printers and color copiers has been sought. Density tones and stability thereof in output images are important elements that decide image quality, and thus it is necessary to suppress variation in density due to environmental changes or long-time use in color image forming apparatuses.
For this reason, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2000-039747 and 2006-308812 each disclose a configuration in which toner images for detecting density or a color value (hereinafter referred to as "patch images") are formed on a recording material, and the density or the color value of the patch images formed on the recording material are detected, thereby correcting the density or the color value of the toner images. Here, it is desirable to form a large number of patch images in order to improve correction accuracy, and in order to attain this, patch images formed at various densities or in various colors are arranged on a recording material while providing no interval therebetween.
At this time, since no interval is provided between patch images, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-039747, patch images are arranged such that a difference in density between patch images adjacent to each other is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and the red, green and blue values are detected using an RGB color sensor, thereby identifying each patch image. Note that as a color sensor, a red LED, a green LED and a blue LED are used in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-039747, and a combination of a white LED and RGB filters is used in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-308812.
In order to realize better color reproducibility in a color image forming apparatus, it is desirable to detect patch images of higher-order colors such as secondary colors and tertiary colors (mixed-color patch images), in addition to single chromatic colors produced by cyan, magenta and yellow. However, when patch images of higher-order colors are considered, conventional techniques may have the problem described below. That is, if a plurality of mixed-color patch images are arranged while providing no interval therebetween, it may be impossible to detect the boundary between patch images adjacent to each other depending on the color relation between the patch images.
For example, it is assumed that two patch images 53 and 54 are adjacent to each other, and that the spectrum of light reflected by each patch image with respect to a white light source is as shown in FIG. 16. Note that in FIG. 16, reference numerals 50, 51 and 52 respectively indicate the spectral transmission curves of red, green and blue (RGB) filters. In the case of FIG. 16, light reflected by the patch images 53 and 54 take substantially the same RGB values. Accordingly, it is difficult to identify patch images adjacent to each other. In other words, identification accuracy is deteriorated.

Image forming apparatus that detects transition between patch images


A lifting apparatus for magnetic tape cartridges in a tape transport system or tape autoloader has a lifting platform supported by threaded lead screws. The threaded lead screws extend through threaded nuts held in the platform by floating mountings. A preferred embodiment has three lead screws and three types of floating mountings. The first restricts lateral and rotational motion, the second restricts rotational motion and lateral motion in one direction while permitting motion in a transverse direction, and the third floating mounting permits rotational and lateral motion, to a limited extent. A toothed belt over cog wheels drives the threaded lead screws to move the platform vertically.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a lifting device and, in particular, to a lifting device for lifting tape cartridges in a cartridges transport system for transport between a storage magazine and a tape streaming device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Date storage and data backup on magnetic tape often requires the use of multiple tape cartridges. These multiple tape cartridges are selectively inserted into and removed from tape streaming device, also referred to as tape recording and playback devices. The utilization of multiple tape cartridges is required for expanded data storage and/or storage of the data from different data backup events. For example, a data backup plan may provide for the use of a different tape for each day of the seek.
Implementation of multiple tape cartridge storage has required a service technician to change the cartridges from the tape streaming device, store the cartridges, and log the event to ensure that the proper cartridge is used at the proper time. Failure on the part of the service technician to change the cartridge at the right time or to use the correct cartridge can result in a failure of the data storage or backup plan.
The increase in data file size and the increased numbers of data files to be stored on a data storage system along with the increased dependance on data is an electronic format has lead to a greater need for reliable high capacity data storage and backup.
The present invention provides a lifter in a transport apparatus for cartridges for automated transfer of tape cartridges between cartridge storing locations and tape streaming devices.
The present invention provides a compact apparatus for transport of a tape cartridge between a tape streaming device and a tape cartridge storage magazine.
The present apparatus provides automated loading, unloading and storage of tape cartridges between multiple storage tape streaming devices and multiple storage locations.
These and other advantages of the present invention are provided in a lifting apparatus having a platform for supporting a cartridge, threaded nuts held in floating supports in the platform, threaded screws through the threaded nuts, and a drive for rotating the threaded screws about their respective axes. The floating supports of the threaded nuts hold the nuts in varying degrees of freedom. For example, one floating support restrains a first nut from lateral and rotational motion, another floating support restrains a second nut from rotational motion and permits motion in one lateral direction, and a third floating support permits both limited rotational and lateral motion of the third nut. This mounting of the threaded nuts prevents binding or jamming and permits a wider range of tolerances to be used in the manufacture of the cartridge transport apparatus.
The floating mounting of the threaded nuts permits the transport system to be of a minimum height, as elongated bearing supports along the length of the threaded screws are not required to prevent jamming and binding of the lifting apparatus. The present lifting device provides maximum utilization of the available height for vertical transport of the cartridge.
A further advantage is that inaccurate synchronization of the threaded screws does not result in jamming of the lifting apparatus. The floating mounting compensates for variations of screw alignment, screw rotation, vibration and shock, and wear to permit the tape transport apparatus to continue working. Lower manufacturing and assembly tolerances also permit the manufacture of the transport apparatus at lower costs.


For sufficiently shielding an undesired electro-magnetic wave from penetrating into a communication apparatus, for instance, a car telephone through stray coupling, or leaks therefrom, an electronic circuit substrate and a case of the communication apparatus are formed of flat plates which consist of insulating material comprising magnetic material. One side surface of the flat plates are covered with conductive films. The communication apparatus itself is accommodated in the case and an electric power source connecting cable is wrapped by a similar arrangement, so as to remarkably reduce obstructions caused by undesired waves and other communications in comparison with the conventional arrangement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electro-magnetic wave shielding structure which is provided for communication apparatus used for both transmitting and receiving, or for only receiving in ultra-short wave ranges and others, for example, a car-telephone. The invention relates particularly to such a shielding structure, which is arranged so as to sufficiently prevent disturbing interferences from itself and other devices, such that non-desired communication waves are not intermixed or emitted.
2. Related Art Statement
Generally, in the communication apparatus of this kind used, for instance, in ultra-short wave range, external waves, other than a desired wave, cause receiving obstructions by stray-coupling with receiver circuits, while a local oscillator output, leaking from a receiver circuit, disturbs other receivers. Thus, communication disturbances are frequently caused upon both to a particular communication apparatus and other communication apparatuses by undesired external waves other than desired waves transmitted and received through antennas, which intermix in the receiver circuit, or, by obstructive waves having undesired frequencies and emitted from the receiver circuit.
For preventing such communication disturbances, disturbance preventing means for entirely shielding cases of the apparatuses has been conventionally employed, such that essential portions of transmitter and receiver circuits are shielded through conductor materials suitable for cutting off leakage and stray coupling. Surfaces of insulating material cases made of plastics and the like for accommodating the communication apparatuses are applied with conductivity, and further electric power source connecting cables are wrapped with a metal net sheath covered by gummous material.
However, the shape and the size of shielding conductive materials applied on semi-conductor substrates provided for the communication apparatus circuit closely resemble wave lengths of disturbing waves. As a result, those conductive materials are operated as antennas for the disturbing waves. So that, particularly the leakage of the local oscillator output cannot be sufficiently suppressed by these means and hence frequently disturbs other receivers. Consequently, the sufficient shielding of non-desired waves has been a conventional problem. PG,4

Electro-magnetic wave shielding structure


A combination pet collar and leash includes a leash that is attached to the collar and is fastened about the collar when not in use. When fastened about the collar, the leash conforms to the collar around the neck of a pet. When unfastened from the collar, the leash extends to a length to provide comfortable separation distance between a person holding the leash and the pet wearing the collar while allowing for appropriate control of the pet.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pet collars and leashes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several attempts have previously been made to combine a pet collar with a leash to provide convenience to the pet owner. One prior design provides for a single web that acts as a collar with a long tab extending beyond the buckle that functions as a leash. The outside surface of the collar portion is covered with a first type of Velcro® material while the outside surface of the remainder of the web is covered with a second type of Velcro® material. The inside of the web extending beyond the collar portion is also covered with the first type of Velcro® material, for at least a portion of the length of the web. In this manner, the portion of the web serving as the leash may be wrapped around the portion of the web serving as the collar and become fastened around the collar by the interface between the first and second types of Velcro® material. The leash portion is generally retained about the collar after two revolutions. While this design ensures that the leash closely mates to the collar when not in use, the continuous Velcro® attachment makes it difficult to easily remove the leash from about the collar. Further, the fact that the leash is an extension of the tab extending from the buckle may cause the collar to cinch tighter about the neck of a pet when the leash is pulled, thereby causing discomfort to the pet.
Another design provides for a bag hanging from the collar wherein the leash is rolled and contained within the bag and the leash clip protrudes from a small opening in the bag to attach to the collar. The bag has a zippered opening to allow the length of the leash and handle to be removed from the bag for use. One downside to this particular design is that when not in used, the rolled-up leash within the bag swings freely from the collar and bangs into the neck of the pet, which may be annoying to the pet.
A further prior design includes a compartment mounted on the pet collar that houses a retractable leash that winds about a spring-loaded disk. The disk rotates to allow the leash to play out of the compartment and the spring causes the disk to rotate in the opposite direction to retract the leash into the compartment when the tension on the leash from the user slackens. Similar to the previously described design, a detraction from this design is the fact that the compartment holding the retracted leash swings freely from the collar and bangs into the neck of the pet, which may be annoying to the pet.
The information included in this Background section of the specification, including any references cited herein and any description or discussion thereof, is included for technical reference purposes only and is not to be regarded subject matter by which the scope of the invention is to be bound.


Methods and compositions suitable for influencing insect behavior are provided. In a preferred embodiment, the compositions comprise a blend of between two and eight insect attractant compounds selected from the group consisting of: a) compounds of formula (I); b) compounds of formula (II); c) compounds of formula (III). Wherein: n is zero or an integer; x is zero or an integer selected from 1-8, or greater than 9; and R is a C1-C12 alkyl. The compositions are useful as bait, with or without other mammalian body odor constituents or synthetic attractants, to attract disease carrying insects to traps or targets.

Mosquitoes are important vectors of several tropical diseases, including malaria, filariasis, and a series of viral diseases such as dengue, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile virus, and yellow fever. Of these, malaria-transmitting species are highly important. Globally, an estimated 200-300 million people are affected by malaria, of which 1.5-2.7 million die each year. Over 90% of these cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa and children under-five years are worst hit by the disease. The burden malaria imposes on the economy is substantial. The high morbidity and mortality in some countries with intense transmission has reduced annual per capita income by up to 1.3%. In fact, a 10% reduction in malaria has been associated with 0.3% higher growth in economy. Many man-hours are lost each day from those suffering from malaria or looking after such patients. Pregnant women infected with malaria suffer severe anaemia with up to 800,000 infantile mortalities, a substantial number of miscarriages, and very low birth weight babies, annually. In addition, the spread of drug resistant malaria strains substantially raises the cost of treatment.
Malaria is transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. Of about 380 species around the world, some 60 species are sufficiently attracted to humans to act as vectors of malaria. Most cases of the disease in sub-Saharan Africa are transmitted by An. gambiae Giles complex and An. funestus Giles that are strongly attracted to human hosts (i.e. are highly anthropophilic). Control of the disease is through chemotherapy, chemoprophylaxis and vector control. Vector control includes environment management, biological control, use of insecticides for adult and larval control, and personal protection (e.g. using repellents and mosquito nets). Chemical-based methods of vector control focus largely on repellant compounds and compositions. Unfortunately, the use of chemical repellants frequently requires widespread application of chemicals. In addition, many repellants are associated with adverse medical side effects. For example, N.N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) is a widely used mosquito repellant that, unfortunately, has been identified as an irritant and is known to cause allergic reactions, seizures, and other conditions.
unfortunately, has been identified as an irritant and is known to cause allergic reactions, seizures, and other conditions.
The use of attractants in vector control has received much less attention compared with the use of repellants, in part because of a lack of candidates that are sufficiently attractive to the targeted insects. Carbon dioxide present in the expired breath of mosquito hosts is the best known olfactory stimulant of mosquitoes. Other known host odour constituents include 1-octen-3-ol, lactic acid, 4-methylphenol, and fatty acids associated with activity of microflora present on host skin. However, none of these with or without CO2 account for the strong attraction of Afrotropical malaria vectors to their preferred hosts. A review of the effects of various host odours can be found, for example, in Takken et al., "Odor-Mediated Behavior of Afrotropical Malaria Mosquitos," Annu. Rev. Entomol. (1999) 44:131-157.
An ideal method for controlling mosquito and other blood-feeding insect populations would incorporate insect attractive compositions. Such insect attractant compositions would ideally contain readily available compounds that are non-toxic at insect-attractant concentrations.

Compositions for attracting blood-feeding insects

International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology


A cover structure, adapted for mounting on a housing that is formed with an opening and a connection base having a plugging end exposing by the opening, comprising: a frame, formed with a first end and a second end that are arranged opposite to each other with respect to the radial of a coupling position where the frame is coupled to the housing through a pivot axis of two pivot blocks in a direction parallel to a first axis direction and enabling the first end to expose by the opening; and an elastic element, disposed inside the housing for providing an elastic force to the frame, for enabling the first end and the second end to move relative to each other centering the coupling position; wherein an accommodation space is formed between the frame and the connection base so as to be used for receiving a plug of a connector.

In response to the trend of lighter, thinner, and miniature of the development of electronic products, the parts or units to be used in the electronic products are becoming more and more structurally simplified and thus smaller in volume. Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a prior-art thin-type connection base. As shown in FIG. 1, the thin-type connection base 10 is designed for a connector 20 to plug therein, whereas the connector 20 can be a RJ45 connector. As the thin-type connector 10 is formed like a top cover and is able half the volume of other conventional connectors, especially in thickness, such thin-type connection base 10 is specifically designed for those modern electronic products that are to be built thinner and lighter. In FIG. 1, the thin-type connection base 10 is mounted on a circuit board 11, whereas the circuit board 11 along with the thin-type connection base 10 is disposed inside the housing of an electronic device. As the housing is formed with an opening, a connector 20 can be plugged into the thin-type connection base 10 through the opening so as to connect electrically with the circuit board 11.
However, such prior-art thin-type connection base 10 may not be preferred by users as it is disadvantageous in that: since the connector 20 is simply being inserted into the port of the connection base 10 without the use of any means for fixedly securing the same therein, the connector 20 can easily escape from the constrain of the connection base 20, resulting that the electrically connection between the connector 20 and thin-type connection base 10 can be broken very easily.


Systems, devices, and methods are provided for workforce planning models. Technologies are described to manage human capital decisions. Decision making models and related tools are described that support the development and implementation of workforce strategies, programs and policies. In one model, resources may be allocated to specific practices (policies, programs, initiatives, organizational culture) used to attract and retain valued employees. Resources may be increased or decreased until the optimal allocation of resources is found that is most likely to enable the achievement of specific goals (e.g., attraction, retention, readiness, and representation).

The present invention relates to novel modeling techniques in general and, in particular, to workforce planning techniques.
Business leaders consistently identify "attracting, retaining, and developing talent" as a priority, as well as a top business challenge for the future. They recognize that success often depends on having the right people, in the right place, at the right time, and for the right cost. The ability to anticipate and rapidly respond to changing workforce needs, and to allocate resources to meet those needs, takes on increased importance in the dynamic economy of today.
While talent is a top priority, many organizations find it challenging to manage their workforce as strategically as they do their financial and physical assets or their customer requirements. The pace of change within economies, industries, and organizations continues to accelerate, while labor markets continue to become more competitive and more global, and the workforce continues to become more diverse in terms of its demographics, expectations, and goals. There is, therefore, a need in the art for novel models and tools to allow human capital recommendations and decisions to be made based on data and analytics, instead of relying on anecdotes and assumptions.


Provided is an image forming system that hands over an operation information on a portable terminal to an image forming apparatus and operates it, if the portable terminal is likely to become battery exhaustion. The portable terminal determines battery exhaustion if battery residual quantity of the portable terminal becomes less than or equal to a prescribed threshold value while accepting setting operation to the image forming apparatus. Then, handing over information (sizing information, color-balance setup information, and image quality setting operation screen information) for handing over operation to the image forming apparatus is automatically transmitted to the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus receives the handing over information from the portable terminal. In that case, based on the handing over information, operation is accepted with an operation panel with continuing the setting operation performed with the portable terminal.

The present disclosure is related with an image forming system provided with a portable terminal and an image forming apparatus allows operation from the portable terminal.
In a typical technology, an image forming apparatus is operational by using a portable terminal, such as a smart phone and a tablet terminal. A user can set up printing on an operation screen displayed on the portable terminal. If a determination button is pressed, a print setting is transmitted to the image forming apparatus. Thereby, based on the print setting, printed matter can be output from the image forming apparatus.
Also, as a typical example, technology for informing a battery of the portable terminal having been exhausted is proposed. If the portable terminal cannot be operated by battery exhaustion, or the like, an operation part of an image forming apparatus is operated, directly. Thereby, a print setting can be input.

Image forming system that hands over operation from portable terminal to image forming apparatus and image formation method


The invention relates to a shape-adaptive medical implant having at least one actuator, which the implant can be changed from a first implant geometry to a second implant geometry, the implant having a different geometric shape in the second implant geometry from that in the first implant geometry, wherein the actuator has a swellable chemical substance which swells when supplied with liquid, and wherein the implant which is designed to supply liquid present outside the implant to the swellable chemical substance. The invention also relates to the use of an electrical signal source.

Medical implants are used in a multiplicity of applications. In some applications, it is necessary for the implant in a particular hollow area of the body to match particularly well with the geometry of the hollow area, for example in the case of cochlear implants with the shape of the cochlea. For example, for such an application, WO 2015/188805 A1 discloses a self-bending implant in which a polymer capable of swelling is present in a base body of the implant.
Flexible plastics implants are typically used in contact with soft-tissue structures such as, for example, hollow organs or nerve structures. On the basis of their structure and their combination of materials, the aim is to achieve a best possible match with the recipient tissue and to minimize the tissue damage arising upon implantation. Common soft-tissue implants therefore usually consist of a highly flexible elastomer base body, which, in the case of an active implant, is additionally provided with conductor structures, such as platinum wires for example, for electrical stimulation. A known representative for this purpose are cochlear implant systems (CI), which are used in the inner ear in the case of lost stimulus transduction (sensorineural hearing loss). To restore hearing, an electrode support is implanted into the inner ear and the nerve cells are electrically stimulated. For a better matching of the electrode supports with the nerve structures, use is made of preshaped electrode supports which have the snail shape of a typical cochlea. To be able to insert the electrode supports during implantation, the electrode support must be kept straight with a small, embedded metal wire (stylet). With increasing depth of insertion, the metal wire is drawn and the electrode moves back into its predefined shape. Research approaches which have not been implemented to date follow the use of shape memory metals and swelling polymers [U.S. Pat. No. 8,145,326 B2], which, in the latter case, are intended to press the electrode support through repulsion on the lateral side in the direction of the nerve cells (perimodiolar position).


A clutch mechanism, particularly for automatically operated automotive transmissions, for engaging shift ranges of continuously variable transmissions or step-by-step variable transmissions, and having at least two independently axially movable clutch rings with clutch profiles which cooperate with respective corresponding mating clutch rings clutch profiles, a clutch carrier mounted on a transmission element for rotation therewith in a fixed axial position, and having fluid actuated pressure pistons for shifting the movable clutch rings toward the mating rings. The clutch system can be disengaged under load and requires a small construction space. It can be produced at low cost and is almost free from drag losses. Clutch times and clutch travels are short. The shift pressures are very low. In addition, several clutches can be combined into a compact and relatively small clutch assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to clutches, particularly for automatically operated automotive transmissions which have positive acting clutch components as well as non-positive acting clutch components. Multiplate clutches with hydraulic operation are generally known in the field of automatic transmissions. These clutches may include non-positive acting clutch components and require, as a function of the torque, a correspondingly high number of plates, resulting in drag losses and large construction space and the same are also expensive. Hydraulically operated jaw-type clutches, which are operated by means of an external hydraulic cylinder, are also known. These hydraulically operated jaw-type clutches have the disadvantage that they can be opened and closed only when they are unloaded. As a rule, the shift gearing of these jaw-type clutches has a drive face, which is perpendicular to the force applied along the circumference or which may even be undercut counter to the direction of shift in order to ensure safety against opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,032 discloses a clutch design which is similar to the clutches of the present invention in that it provides for fluid pressure pistons to shift the clutch rings for closing of the clutch. This prior art clutch is strictly a positive acting clutch having a straight clutch profile with the disadvantage that the clutch, after removal of the fluid shift pressure from the pressure piston, opens only after the clutch is unloaded and is free from torque.
German Offenlengungsschrift 1 575 802 discloses an electromagnetic clutch which has shift gearing that is similar to the subject matter of the present invention in that it produces an axial torque-dependent component of force. As is well known, however, these electromagnetic clutches occupy large construction spaces and therefore, for this and for other reasons having to do with the necessity for electrical supply and connections and the like, are unsuitable for use in motor vehicles.
The object of the invention is to provide a clutch which preferably serves for the range shifting of continuously variable transmissions and overcomes their drawbacks. It must be possible for the clutch to be disengaged when it is under load and it must be compact and short, especially in the axial direction.
Clutches embodying the invention offer the further advantages that they (1) can be economically employed and can be produced at low cost, (2) permit a small, compact mode of construction for several clutches in a clutch assembly, (3) are free from drag losses unlike the multiplate clutches of prior art, thus contributing toward improving the overall efficiency, (4) can be operated when synchronized and under load or at relatively low rotational speeds depending on the requirements of the range shifts in continuously variable transmissions, and (5) can be opened when under load.
These objects are achieved by the provision of a clutch mechanism which comprises an elongated shaft mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis; a clutch carrier mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith in a fixed axial position; and first and second clutch assemblies, each of which include a movable ring and a mating ring. The rings of each assembly have facing interengageable clutch surfaces and the movable rings are mounted on the carrier for movement along respective axial paths with their respective clutch surfaces facing in the same axial direction. The mating rings are respectively positioned on the paths along which the movable rings move with their respective clutch surfaces facing in the opposite axial direction from the direction that the surfaces of the movable rings face. The mechanism also includes means carried by the carrier for moving the movable rings independently toward their respective mating rings. Preferably, the facing interengageable clutch surfaces of at least one of the assemblies comprise clutch profiles which are configured to assist in moving the rings apart under load. And preferably the means for moving the movable rings independently comprises a fluid actuated piston element for each movable ring. Further advantageous embodiments will becomes apparent from the description which follows.

Clutch, particularly for automatic transmission for automotive vehicles


Intravascular devices, systems, and methods are disclosed. In some embodiments, the intravascular devices include at least one pressure sensing component within a distal portion of the device. In that regard, one or more electrical, electronic, optical, and/or electro-optical pressure-sensing components is secured to an elongated substrate such that the pressure-sensing component is mounted perpendicular to a central longitudinal axis of the device. In some implementations, the elongated substrate has a cylindrical profile. Methods of making, assembling, and/or using such intravascular devices and associated systems are also provided.

Heart disease is a critical healthcare issue for the individual patient and for society as a whole. Recent research has shown that treatment of heart disease, when guided by improved diagnostic methods such as functional assessment of the coronary circulation using intravascular pressure measurements, leads to both improved quality of life for the patient and reduced healthcare costs for society.
Intravascular catheters and guide wires are commonly utilized to measure the pressure within the blood vessel, to visualize the inner lumen of the blood vessel, and/or to otherwise obtain diagnostic information related to the blood vessel. To date, guide wires containing pressure sensors, imaging elements, and/or other electrical, electronic, optical, or electro-optical components have suffered from poor mechanical performance in comparison to standard guide wires that do not include such components. Existing pressure-sensing guide wires typically incorporate a single pressure sensor located approximately 3 cm from the distal tip of the guide wire. Since the sensor is fixed in position on the guide wire, the pressure can only be measured at different locations within the vasculature by advancing or retracting the entire guide wire to position the sensor at the desired location. Traditionally, the pressure-sensing guide wire includes a sensor formed on a planar substrate and having terminals attached to the conductors of a cable which runs through the intravascular device. The sensor substrate is typically oriented such that the pressure sensitive portion faces radially outward into the blood stream. It is generally desired to separate the substrate slightly away from the walls of the intravascular device in order to mechanically isolate the pressure sensor substrate from the guide wire structure, so that bending and torsional stresses are not coupled to the sensor substrate where they could adversely affect the pressure measurement accuracy. This pressure sensing guide wire geometry provides access for intravascular pressure measurement, but results in compromises to the mechanical structure which lead to poor mechanical performance compared to that of a conventional guide wire without measurement capability. Furthermore, the fragile electrical interconnects between the sensor terminals and the electrical leads are vulnerable to failure. In this conventional configuration the small diameter of the intravascular device introduces places constraints on the sensor dimensions, exacerbating the limitations and associated problems.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved intravascular devices, systems, and methods that preserve the desirable mechanical properties of the device while providing a more robust interconnect to one or more electrical, electronic, optical, or electro-optical components.

Pressure-sensing intravascular devices, systems, and methods


A rotation sensor equipped wheel support bearing assembly detects rotational speed and rotational direction, in which a high resolution rotation signal is utilized in various vehicle controls with a suppressed size. The bearing assembly includes a plurality of rows of rolling elements between rolling surfaces in outer and inner members. A magnetic field generating element having anisotropy about a bearing center axis is provided in the outer member in alignment with the axis. The inner member is provided with a sensor for sensing the magnetic field of the magnetic field generating element oriented axially. The sensor detects the angle of rotation of the magnetic field generating element and is in the form of magnetic sensor arrays or elements for detecting the orientation of the magnetic field with a two-dimensional vector sensor to detect rotation of the magnetic field generating element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotation sensor equipped wheel support bearing assembly for use in, for example, automotive vehicles and, more particularly, to a rotation sensor equipped wheel support bearing assembly suitably employed in a wheel support bearing assembly for the support of a vehicle driven wheel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a rotation sensor used in a wheel support bearing unit, a magnetic encoder type for an anti-lock brake system (ABS) has hitherto been employed widely. This is a type which makes use of a ring shaped magnetic encoder and includes a magnetic encoder, fitted to an outer periphery of a rotating side raceway ring, for example, an inner ring, and a magnetic sensor fitted to a stationary side raceway ring or a bearing end cover. (See, for example, the Patent Document 1 listed below.)
Other than the magnetic encoder type, arrangement has been suggested, in which a resolver is incorporated in a wheel support bearing assembly as a rotation sensor to detect rotation of a vehicle wheel. (See, for example, the Patent Document 2 listed below.)
On the other hand, As a rotation sensor capable of being incorporated in a small size machine and also capable of detecting a highly precise angle of rotation, the use has been suggested of a magnetic sensor array. (See, for example, the Patent Document 3 listed below.) This is of a structure in which, as shown in FIG. 7, a magnetic sensor array 45 including a plurality of magnetic sensor elements (MAGFETs) arranged in a predetermined pattern is integrated on a sensor chip 42 together with a circuit device 46 including a signal amplifying circuit, an AD converter circuit, and a digital signal processing circuit, which chip 46 is in turn arranged in face-to-face relation with a magnet 44 arranged on a rotating member 41. In this case, the magnet 44 is so designed as to have an anisotropy about the axis of rotation O and, on the sensor chip 42 referred to above, the magnetic sensor arrays 45 are arranged along each of four sides of the imaginary square shape.
With the rotation sensor 43 of the structure described above, respective outputs from the magnetic sensor arrays 45 along those four sides of the imaginary square shape are read by the signal amplifying circuit and the AD converter circuit to thereby detect a distribution of magnetic fields of the magnet 44 and, then, based on a result of such detection, the angle of rotation of the magnet 44 is calculated by the digital signal processing circuit.
A sensor IC for detecting the angle of rotation of the magnet, in which magnetic sensor elements such as, for example, Hall elements or MR elements are integrated together with processing circuits, is currently manufactured and published by some companies, although differing from a detecting method disclosed in the Patent Document 3 listed below. (Such includes, for example, a programmable magnetic rotary encoder (AS5040) available from AMS Co.) and a rotation position sensor IC (MLX90316) available from Melexis Inc.)                Patent Document 1: JP Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-105185, published Apr. 20, 2006.        Patent Document 2: JP Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-076729, published Mar. 24, 2005.        Patent Document 3: JP Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-037133, published Feb. 5, 2004.
Currently mass-produced types of rotation sensors of the magnetic encoder type are merely capable of detecting the velocity of rotation, but not capable of detecting the direction of rotation. To detect the direction of rotation with this rotation sensor, it is necessary to detect two rotation signals having respective phases different from each other and, for this purpose, the use of two magnetic encoders or the use of a magnetic sensor IC in which two sensor elements are mounted in the same package, is required. In such case, problems tend to occur that not only does the space for mounting increase, but also the cost increases. Also, since the magnetic encoder is of a ring shape fitted to an outer periphery or an inner periphery of the rotating side raceway ring, this necessitates an increase of the space for mounting.
Also, a signal from an ABS sensor can be utilized in various vehicle controls including, for example, a vehicle attitude control and in such case, a signal of high resolution is desired for. With the ABS sensor of the magnetic encoder type discussed above, since the resolving power depends on the number of magnetic poles of the magnetic encoder, it is necessary to minimize the forming pitch of the magnetic poles, but since minimization of the forming pitch of the magnetic poles will result in reduction in magnetic field strength, a large sensor gap can not be secured between the magnetic encoder and the magnetic sensor, thus imposing limitations on manufacturing thereof.
Where the rotation sensor of a resolver type disclosed in the Patent Document 2 quoted above is employed, problems arise in that not only does the size tend to increase for the mounting of the sensor, but also the cost tends to increase.

Rotation sensor-equipped bearing device for wheel


The invention provides a process for producing ammonia or ammonium from an organic material, the method by contacting the organic material with at least one hydrolytic enzyme, in a medium, to produce a medium including hydrolyzed or partially hydrolyzed organic material suitable for microbial fermentation. The hydrolyzed or partially hydrolyzed medium with organic material is then fermented in the presence of at least one microorganism capable of ammonification, wherein the fermenting is under conditions, and for a sufficient period of time, to produce a fermentation product that comprises ammonia or ammonium. The organic material includes nitrogenous compounds suitable for conversion to ammonia or ammonium.

Ammonia (NH3) is one of the most produced chemical compounds in the world. The global production reached 131M metric tons in 2010 (US Geological Survey 2012). Most of the produced ammonia is used in chemical fertilizers to provide the nitrogen crops need for growing. Ammonia has also been used to produce plastics, synthetic fibers and resins, explosives, and numerous other chemical compounds.
At present, ammonia production is resource intensive and produces unwanted greenhouse gases. The most common industrial method for producing ammonia is the Haber-Bosch process, where hydrogen gas derived from methane (from natural gas) and nitrogen gas react in the presence of iron or ruthenium catalyst to form ammonia (Smil 2001). According to the chemical fertilizer industry, each metric ton of ammonia produced by this process releases two metric tons of CO2, with an average recovery rate of some 38 percentage. Before being incorporated into a fertilizer product, the ammonia needs to be further reacted to produce known fertilizer compounds such as urea, ammonium nitrate, or ammonium phosphates. Nevertheless, despite the benefits of the Haber-Bosch process, there is a growing need to reduce the adverse environmental impact of fossil fuel based ammonia production and to find alternative methods for providing industrial quantifies of ammonia and ammonium for fertilizer and other industrial applications.
The biochemical process of converting nitrogen containing biological material into ammonia is called ammonification (Gowariker 2009) or mineralization. The scientific literature on bacterial ammonification is based on the spontaneous production of ammonia obtained from test tube scale laboratory studies and have been reported from at least 24 bacterial genera, mainly derived from the digestive tracts of ruminants (Bladen et al. 1961 and citations therein; Vince & Burridge 1980; Chen & Russel 1988; Russel et al. 1988; Attwood et al. 1998; Rychlik & Russel 2000; Eschenlauer et al. 2002; Whitehead & Cotta 2004) including gram positive and negative bacteria (Whitehead & Cotta 2004).
Of the bacteria capable of ammonification, i.e., producing detectable amounts of NH4+, only approximately 20 strains belonging to genera such as Clostridium, Eubacterium, Fusobacterium, Peptostreptococcus, and Pseudomonas, originally isolated from ruminal and swine manure, have been reported to form ammonia (NH3) at a rate of more than 40 nM (i.e., 681 mg NH3/liter=about 730 mg NH4+/liter) per 24 h (Paster et al. 1993; Attwood et al. 1998; Russel et al. 1988; Chen & Russell 1988; Whitehead & Cotta 2004). These bacteria have been described as hyper ammonia-producing ("HAP;" e.g. Attwood et al. 1998; Whitehead & Cotta 2004) and as hyper ammonia-producing bacteria ("HAB") (Rychlik & Russel 2000).
The ammonia producing bacteria vary markedly in their preference of carbon source, as well as amino acids and peptides, of the substrate employed for ammonification (Vince & Burridge 1980; Rychlik & Russel 2000; Whitehead & Cotta 2004). The highest rate of production has been obtained in growth media containing peptides and amino acids digested from the milk protein casein (e.g., tryptone and casamino acids). With culture on intact casein, growth and production was detected from only 11 bacterial strains out of 40, including only a single strain with a high rate of production (47.6 mN NH3 per 24 hrs; Whitehead & Cotta 2004). Depending on the bacterial strain, the presence of glucose or lactose increased, had no effect on, or decreased ammonia production (Vince & Burridge 1980; Eschenlauer et al. 2002; Whitehead & Cotta 2004).
Thus, there remains a longstanding need for an improved process for producing ammonia from organic raw materials utilizing microbial culture.
The citation of any reference herein should not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as "Prior Art" to the instant patent application.

Method for processing biological material


A gas turbine engine optimization control device estimates a specific fuel consumption using a given control parameter of a variable mechanism, determines a change between a specific fuel consumption estimation value by the control parameter of the variable mechanism in a previous operation period and a specific fuel consumption estimation value by the control parameter of the variable mechanism in this operation period, determines a new control parameter of the variable mechanism with which the specific fuel consumption estimation value approaches a minimum, adds the new control parameter of the variable mechanism to a preset control parameter initial value, and sets the addition value to be a control parameter command value of the variable mechanism in a next operation period.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a gas turbine engine optimization control device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a gas turbine engine control device that controls an engine by the number of revolutions or a pressure ratio correlated with thrust of a gas turbine engine, there has been known a system (an SISO (Single Input Single Output) system) that adjusts a fuel flow rate to control the number of revolutions of a fan. In a case of such a gas turbine engine control device, even though the number of revolutions can be controlled to be constant by flight points (an altitude, a jet speed, an air temperature) of a jet, a specific fuel consumption (SFC) cannot be controlled to be constant, and it continuously changes.
Consequently, a variable cycle engine has been proposed in order to eliminate the continuous change. The variable cycle engine is the engine that adjusts a cycle so that the specific fuel consumption SFC is made to be a minimum by various effectors, such as a variable mechanism, in addition to adjustment of the fuel flow rate. Schedule control utilizing a detection signal, such as a sensor signal, is generally used for controlling the variable mechanism.
In a gas turbine engine, each module, such as a fan, a compressor, a combustor, a high-pressure turbine, and a low-pressure turbine, deteriorates. However, when the schedule control of the gas turbine engine is performed, there has been a problem that the specific fuel consumption SFC is not always a minimum in any engine depending on a degree of deterioration of such an each module, or variation for each number machine.

Gas turbine engine optimization control device


Delta quantized coefficients of a pixel block in a picture in a first representation of a video sequence are encoded based on information derived from estimated quantized coefficients for the pixel block. The delta quantized coefficients represent a difference between actual quantized coefficients of the pixel block derived by encoding at least a portion of the picture in the first representation of the video sequence and the estimated quantized coefficients. The estimated quantized coefficients represent a difference between a reconstructed block of a corresponding picture in a second representation of the video sequence and a prediction block obtained based on intra mode information and/or inter motion information derived by encoding the picture in the first representation of the video sequence.

Video consumption is driving rapid growth of fixed and mobile network traffic. Being the dominant traffic type already today, video is expected to drive the overall network traffic to a multiple of today's volume and account for more than 70% of all network traffic within few years. The growth is primarily driven by streamed video on-demand (VoD) content, as consumers increasingly demand access to any content on any device at any time. VoD services are commonly operated on cloud-based video platforms, wherein all processing is executed in software running on generic servers, as such platforms can provide beneficial properties related to scalability, cost efficiency, and ubiquitous availability.
VoD content is typically delivered using adaptive bit rate (ABR) streaming techniques, where each video asset is made available in several different representations coded at different bit rates and/or quality levels so that video clients can choose representations according to bandwidth availability, device capabilities, etc.
FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate three different VoD approaches generally denoted simulcast (FIG. 1), transcoding (FIG. 2) and guided transcoding (FIG. 3). In the simulcast approach, the original video sequence is encoded at different bit rates and/or quality levels, represented as high quality (HQ) and different low quality (LQ) versions in the figures, and the resulting HQ and LQ bit streams are stored. Accordingly, a bit stream of given bit rate and/or quality level can be retrieved from the storage and sent to the client upon request. Simulcast focuses on reducing the coding complexity since all desired bit rates and/or quality levels of the original video sequence are encoded and stored before the actual request. Once the request arrives, the server can just select the requested bit rate and/or quality level and transmit it without any further computations. The problem with the simulcast approach is, though, that it requires large storage capacity.
The transcoding approach shown in FIG. 2 tries to reduce the storage demands as much as possible. Accordingly, only the highest bit rate and/or quality level is encoded and stored. Once the request is received from the client and the request is for a LQ version of the video sequence, the server has to decode the HQ version, downsize it to the requested bit rate and/or quality level and encode the LQ version of the video. The transcoding approach thereby allows the server to save much of the storage capacity that the simulcast approach required but at the cost of increasing computational complexity. The high computational complexity is a main disadvantage of the transcoding approach.
Guided transcoding as shown in FIG. 3 is a compromise between the simulcast and transcoding approaches. This approach tries to reduce both the computational complexity of encoding the LQ versions of the video sequence on demand and the storage requirements of storing all HQ and LQ versions of the video sequence. The first part of guided transcoding is similar to simulcast. However, in clear contrast to the simulcast approach, not all data is stored for the LQ versions of the video sequence. In clear contrast, only so-called side information (SI) is stored for these LQ versions, while the actual picture data in terms of residual data and transform coefficients is removed from the bit streams. The SI contains inter motion information, intra mode information and details of how the pictures are dived into coding units (CUs), prediction units (PUs) and transform units (TUs), which are expensive and time consuming to calculate. However, as the actual picture data is not retained, the required storage space is much less as compared to the simulcast approach. Furthermore, by using the SI when receiving a request for a LQ version of the video, the actual encoding process is much faster since the data that is most expensive to generate is already present in the SI.
A variant of guided transcoding, denoted deflation, is presented in section 2.2 Deflation on pages 18-19 in [1]. In deflation, the intra mode information and inter motion information from a LQ bit stream is used to obtain a prediction, which is used together with a downsized reconstruction of the HQ bit stream to calculate a residual. The residual is frequency transformed and quantized and then subtracted from transform coefficients in the LQ bit stream. In this variant of guided transcoding, the SI also contains the difference between the transform coefficients and the transformed and quantized residual.
The deflation variant of guided transcoding can produce LQ versions of same quality as for direct encoding without transcoding, however at the cost of storing a larger amount of data as SI for the different LQ versions of the video sequence.
Thus, there is still a need for improvement within guided transcoding.


A semiconductor apparatus includes a storage circuit, a processing circuit that performs processing using data stored in the storage circuit and writes data into the storage circuit as the processing is performed, a scan test circuit that executes a scan test on the processing circuit when the processing circuit does not perform processing, and an inhibit circuit that inhibits writing of data from the processing circuit to the storage circuit when the scan test on the processing circuit is executed.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor apparatus and a diagnostic test method and, for example, relates to a technique for executing a diagnostic test of a processing circuit that accesses a storage circuit.
In a semiconductor apparatus that supports the functional safety, a mechanism for making a diagnosis whether a circuit is operating correctly or not at regular intervals is required. In the case where a circuit to be diagnosed is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) in a small logic scale, whether the CPU is operating correctly can be diagnosed by implementing lockstep. The lockstep is a mechanism that mounts a plurality of the same CPUs on a semiconductor apparatus and determines whether all of the CPUs operate in the same way, and thereby diagnoses whether the circuit is operating correctly. Thus, in the case where a circuit to be diagnosed is a CPU in a large logic scale, the number of CPUs mounted increases, which raises a problem that the lockstep cannot be implemented due to the constraints on the circuit area.
Besides the lockstep, another mechanism for making a diagnosis whether a circuit is operating correctly or not is a self-test by software. However, the self-test by software has a problem that development costs of software are generally high. Therefore, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-140219, BIST (Built In Self Test) is employed as a mechanism for making a diagnosis whether a circuit is operating correctly or not.
However, there is a problem that, in the case where a scan test like BIST is executed, data stored in a storage circuit to which a test target processing circuit accesses is overwritten. For example, after executing the scan test, it is necessary to reset the test target processing circuit in order to resume the operation of the circuit and, in some cases, the processing circuit initializes the data stored in the storage circuit due to this reset. Further, in some cases, when the scan test is executed, unintended writing of data is done from the test target processing circuit to the storage circuit, for example. Particularly, in the case where the storage circuit is a cache memory, if the data is initialized, cache errors occur frequently when the processing circuit resumes processing after the scan test is executed, which can cause the degradation of performance.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Semiconductor apparatus and diagnostic test method


A sea anchor assembly for a kayak having two ends and one or more occupant seats, the assembly comprising: an anchor assembly comprising joined end-to-end in succession, an anchoring rope, a collapsible sea anchor, a deployment rope and a float, a ring secured near one end of the kayak, a cleat to releasably secure the anchor rope and the deployment rope proximate the seat, a tubular cover to removably retain the sea anchor therein in a collapsed condition, the cover secured to the kayak between the ring and the rope securing cleat, the anchor assembly extending from an end of the anchoring rope at the rope anchoring through the tubular cover and then through the ring to the float, wherein, with the collapsed sea anchor in the cover, on pulling the deployment rope, the deployment rope on passing through the ring draws the sea anchor out from the cover then through the ring for deployment in water, and wherein, with the sea anchor deployed, pulling the anchoring rope draws the sea anchor through the ring and into the cover with the sea anchor being collapsed on being draw through the ring.

Sea anchors are well-known. Sea anchors are useful in holding the bow of a vessel head-up into the wind. In addition, sea anchors are useful for retarding the rate of drift of vessels under wind pressure and for increasing the rate of drift in water currents.
A typical collapsible sea anchor is explemified by Frieder U.S. Pat. No. 2,536,681 teaching, in effect, the collapsible parachute-like device having a flexible fabric canopy joined by a plurality of shroud lines to an anchoring line which is to be tied to a vessel. Other known sea anchors comprise frusto-conical devices which are dragged through the water with their larger end first so as to provide a funnelling effect and thereby drag on the vessel.
Kayaks are known light-weight, single to multiple man, typically double-ended vessels having occupant seats near their middle. Sea anchors may advantageously be used under many circumstances in kayaks, particularly, in kayaks used on the open sea. It is, however, extremely difficult to deploy or retract a sea anchor from a kayak. Even expert kayakers experience difficulties and it is not uncommon for the deployment or retraction of a sea anchor by inexperienced kayakers to result in the capsize of the kayak.