A room temperature-curable composition comprising. (a) 100 parts by weight of a siloxane-amide block copolymer represented by the formula (1) ##STR1## wherein Y represents a hydrolyzable group-containing organosilyl group of the formula --SiR.sup.5.sub.a X.sub.a-a PA0 R.sup.1 represents a divalent group selected from the group consisting of ##STR2## in which R.sup.6 represents a hydrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted monovalent hydrocarbon group, or an organosilyl group of the formula --SiR.sup.8.sub.b X.sub.3-b PA0 R.sup.2 represents a substituted or unsubstituted divalent hydrocarbon group, PA0 R.sup.3 represents a substituted or unsubstituted monovalent hydrocarbon group, PA0 R.sup.4 represents a substituted or unsubstituted divalent aromatic hydrocarbon group, and PA0 m and n each independently is a number of 1 or more; PA0 (b) 0 to 25 parts by weight of a crosslinking agent; and PA0 (c) 0.01 to 3 parts by weight of a curing catalyst.. in which PA1 R.sup.5 represents a substituted or unsubstituted monovalent hydrocarbon group, PA1 a is an integer of 0, 1 or 2, and PA1 X is directly bonded to the silicon atom and represents a hydolyzable group or a hydroxyl group, PA1 R.sup.7 represents a substituted or unsubstituted divalent hydrocarbon group which has 1 to 8 carbon atoms and may contain an ether bond including an oxygen or sulfur atom,. in which PA2 R.sup.8 represents a substituted or unsubstituted monovalent hydrocarbon group, PA2 b is an integer of 0, 1, 2, or 3, and X is the same as defined above, and

As is generally known, silicone polymers are quite unlike the other organic polymers in having several unique properties. For example, in the case of the silicone rubbers, those can retain their rubber elasticity even at high temperatures over a long period of time, and the rubber elasticity cannot be lost even at a temperature as low as -70.degree. C., with the rubber-like properties changing little with temperature. Further, the silicone rubbers show stable electrical properties over a wide temperature range, and have excellent arc resistance, corona resistance, weatherability, etc. Furthermore, the silicone rubbers undergo no deterioration in rubber-like properties even through long-term outdoor exposure, irradiation with ultraviolet rays, or exposure to an ozonic atmosphere. As described above, the silicone polymers have excellent properties necessary for rubber materials, and due to this fact the polymers have been spread throughout almost all the industrial fields, where the polymers are valued as essential materials.
However, the silicone polymers are inferior in strength to other organic polymers. For example, room temperature-curable silicone rubber compositions which are used as sealants for outer walls of buildings, etc., are not employable as a structural material due to their poor strengths, and their use is limited to sealants. As described above, because of their low strengths, the silicone rubbers have a disadvantage that they cannot be used as a general-purpose resin or an engineering plastic and their use is restricted to special purpose of use only.
Room temperature-curable silicone rubber compositions are also used, due to their in-site forming properties, as formed in-place type gaskets (FIPG) for the sealing around automobile engines. This application is favorable for inventory control and production efficiency and is also advantageous in sealing properties and heat resistance. However, the oil resistance of the gaskets formed from the silicone rubber compositions is insufficient, so that oil leakages occur when newly developed gear oils containing large proportions of additives are used, and this has become a problem.
In attempts to solve those problems of the silicone rubbers, JP-A-59-80463 proposes a method for improving the oil resistance but there is no description therein concerning improvement in the strength, and JP-A-60-219284 proposes methods for improving the oil resistance and also lowering the elasticity modulus but fails to teach a method for obtaining a silicone rubber having a sufficiently high strength. (The term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application".)


A gap for allowing the cutting chips to escape is formed between the hole saw side wall and the workpiece in order to enhance the piercing efficiency. This hole saw comprises a drill part for determining the center of piercing with respect to the workpiece, a tubular part possessing plural piercing knives at the end surrounding the circumference of the drill part, and a shank part for fixing the drill part and the rear part of the tubular part and transmitting the torque from a power unit to the both, whereby at least the piercing knife disposition positions of the tubular part possess portions sequentially different in the distance from the rotary shaft.

A hole saw is generally composed of a tubular body having a cutting knife provided at its brim, and a guide drill extending from inside the tubular body to the end part, and by rotating the both together, a hole nearly equal to the outside diameter of the tubular body is drilled in the workpiece while being guided by the guide drill. At this time, as a matter of course, the hole drilled in the workpiece is circular. Therefore, when drilling a circular hole, it was widely believed among the manufacturers in the field of this art that the shape of the tubular body of the hole saw should be preferably circular.
However, when drilling a circular hole by a tubular body of cylindrical shape, the gap between the drilled hole and the tubular body is extremely slight. Therefore, cutting chips pose a serious problem. For example, if the workpiece is a soft iron and when its thickness is over 10 mm, or in the case of ALC plate which generates many cutting chips, the problem becomes manifest.
To solve this chip problem, generally, it is known to form a spiral groove for removing cutting chips on the outer circumference of the tubular body. This groove is, however, generally formed by cutting, which complicates the manufacturing process of hole saw. To discharge chips, the required depth of groove is about 1.0 to 1.5 mm or more, and to form such groove, it is necessary to form the tubular body in a thickness of about 3.0 mm. Therefore, complication of manufacturing process and increase of wall thickness cause to increase the product cost.


An air treatment assembly for treating air passing through an air duct comprises a frame defining an interior space and having an inlet opening providing access to the interior space, an air treatment medium sized to be inserted into the interior space through the inlet opening, and a keyed connection between the frame and the air treatment medium to control the engagement of the air treatment medium with the frame. The air treatment assembly also comprises a frame defining an interior space, an air treatment medium sized to be received within the interior space, and an air quality module integrated with the frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to filters for filtering fluids, such as air. In one aspect, the invention relates to a filter assembly comprising a modular frame supporting a uniquely communicating filter medium. In another aspect, the invention relates to a filter assembly comprising a frame supporting a filter medium and a fluid quality module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional forced air furnaces or central air conditioners (generically referred to as heating, ventilating, and air conditioning, or HVAC, systems) comprise a return air duct to direct air into a central unit for conditioning by either heating or cooling, and an outlet duct for distribution of the conditioned air from the central unit throughout the building. The return air duct typically has a filter disposed therein for removing dust and other particulate matter from the incoming air. As air passes through the filter, the matter is removed to prevent distribution through the home and to avoid contamination of the central unit.
Several types of filters exist for removal of matter from the air. The most common variety is a standard, rectangular panel replaceable filter, which is composed of a random arrangement of fibers, such as fiberglass, supported within an open cardboard frame. They filter the air by trapping particles within the randomly oriented fibers. Although these filters are able to capture large particles, they do little to remove smaller particles from the air. These filters primarily protect the central unit and minimize the amount of dust on the heating or cooling equipment. Their principal advantage lies in their low cost and low pressure drop.
Other filters include replaceable and reusable pleated filters, high efficiency pleated filters, high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, and washable fiberglass filters. Pleated filters have a filter element that is pleated or folded to provide a large surface area for collecting particles. High efficiency pleated filters are reusable or disposable, and are also electrostatically charged to capture small particulate matter less than one micron in size. HEPA filters are efficient at removing submicron particles and comprise a core fiber that is folded back and forth over corrugated separators. The fiber is composed of very fine sub-micron glass fibers in a matrix of larger fibers. Washable fiberglass filters are similar to the conventional panel filters but can be washed and, therefore, reused.
Each type of filter has advantages and disadvantages. Pleated filters are effective at removing small particles, but they must be replaced more frequently than panel filters to avoid airflow restriction. HEPA filters efficiently remove submicron particles, but they are relatively expensive and create a higher pressure drop. Washable fiberglass filters cannot be completely cleaned to their original state and, therefore, can restrict airflow.
In many cases, the selection of an air filter must be carefully determined based upon factors such as specific health requirements of the building inhabitants, the air flow characteristics of the particular HVAC system utilized, cost, maintenance considerations, and the like. These and other factors may dictate that a specific filter, or a small selection of filters, be used exclusively, and be correctly selected and installed. Other than size differentiation, conventional filter configurations do not prevent the installation of an inappropriate filter in the HVAC system.
There are also situations where it is desirable to ensure the proper installation of the air filter or another air treatment device. For example, in Applicant's copending application Ser. No. 11/025,496, which is incorporated by reference, an air treatment device is disclosed that is sized to be inserted into a standard filter opening in a duct of a household HVAC system. One embodiment of the air treatment device is an electrostatic precipitator, which comprising an ionizing grid and a collection grid. It is preferred for best performance that the electrostatic precipitator be inserted in the duct such that the ionizing grid is upstream of the collection grid. It is desirable to have an air filter or an air treatment device who's installation is ensured.


An electrical connector is provided for mating with a mating connector. The electrical connector includes a housing and electrical contacts held by the housing. The electrical contacts are configured to mate with corresponding mating contacts of the mating connector. A sense pin is held by the housing and is configured to mate with a corresponding mating contact of the mating connector. The sense pin extends a length that includes a tip segment and a sensing segment. The tip and sensing segments have different electrical characteristics. The tip segment includes a tip of the sense pin. The tip segment extends between the sensing segment and the tip such that the sensing segment is offset from the tip along the length of the sense pin. The sensing segment is configured to indicate that the electrical contacts and the mating contacts are de-mated by more than a predetermined de-mating distance.

The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to sense pins for electrical connectors.
As a mated pair of electrical connectors are de-mated (i.e., separated) from each other, the electrical contacts of the electrical connectors may remain engaged in physical and electrical contact before the electrical connectors are fully de-mated from each other. For some known electrical connector assemblies, the electrical performance of the assembly will degrade when the electrical connectors are de-mated beyond a de-mating distance that is less than the fully de-mated distance. For example, the amount of electrical power and/or the speed, strength, and/or number of electrical signals transmitted through the assembly may be reduced.
Some electrical connector assemblies include sense pins for indicating whether the electrical contacts of a mated pair of electrical connectors have achieved a predetermined wipe length that provides a reliable electrical connection between corresponding electrical contacts. Such known sense pins could be used to detect whether the mated pair of electrical connectors have been de-mated beyond a distance at which the electrical performance of the assembly begins to degrade. But, the detection range of known sense pins is too broad. For example, the tips of known sense pins include guide features such as chamfers, fillets, and/or rounds that guide initial engagement between the sense pin and the corresponding electrical contact of the other electrical connector. Tolerance stack ups between the guide features and the corresponding electrical contact create an unreliable segment of the wipe length wherein the electrical connection between the sense pin and the corresponding electrical contact is intermittent. The unreliable segment of the wipe length may cause the sense pin to falsely indicate that the electrical contacts are still within a predetermined de-mating distance beyond which electrical performance degrades. Such a false indication may cause the electrical connector assembly to be unknowingly operated with degraded electrical performance. The unreliable segment of the wipe length may also cause the sense pin to falsely indicate that the electrical contacts are de-mated beyond the predetermined de-mating distance, which may cause the unnecessary diversion of the functionality of the electrical connector assembly to other resources.
A need remains for a sense pin having a more precise detection range for reliably indicating whether a mated pair of electrical connectors have been de-mated beyond a predetermined de-mating distance.


A method of resource allocation failure recovery is disclosed. The method generally includes steps (A) to (E). Step (A) may generate a plurality of resource requests from a plurality of driver modules to a manager module executed by a processor. Step (B) may generate a plurality of first calls from the manager module to a plurality of allocation modules in response to the resource requests. Step (C) may allocate a plurality of resources to the driver modules using the allocation modules in response to the first calls. Step (D) may allocate a portion of a memory pool to a particular recovery packet using the manager module in response to the allocation modules signaling a failed allocation of a particular one of the resources. Step (E) may recover from the failed allocation using the particular recovery packet.

A conventional software driver module for a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) system allocates resources, such as Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) packets, RAID Core Layer (RCL) packets and dynamic memory, in performing different tasks. Requests to allocate the resources can fail if a provided memory pool is insufficient. The resource allocation requests can be initiated by any sub-module in the driver module. Each resource failure can result in a resource failure recovery handling routine being performed by many different modules.
Referring to FIG. 1, a diagram of a module layering of a conventional software RAID driver 10 is shown. The software RAID driver 10 illustrated has three layers and each layer has multiple recovery modules. Each resource failure is handled separately within each layer. As a result, recovery from a single failure can be repeated several times across the various layers. Furthermore, no mechanism is in place to throttle back other commands to give time for recovery from the failed commands. Some complexities involved in the above layered approach often lead software driver developers to allocate excessive numbers of resources and expect the resource allocations not to fail. As a result, the possibility of increasing outstanding commands or performance is commonly reduced. The resulting drivers are not able to configure dynamically to achieve a maximum throughput.

Resource allocation failure recovery module of a disk driver


Disclosed is a capacitive touch-sensitive panel. The capacitive touch-sensitive panel includes a dielectric substrate, a plurality of first conductive traces which extend in a first direction and are formed on one surface of the dielectric substrate, and a plurality of second conductive traces which are formed on the other surface of the dielectric substrate. Here, the second conductive traces include a main trace which extends in a second direction, a first branch which extends so as to obliquely intersect the main trace, and a second branch which is connected to the first branch, and the second branch connected to the first branch so as to intersect the first branch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capacitive touch-sensitive panel.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Object Detection methods currently used in a touch screen mainly includes a resistive method, a surface acoustic wave method, surface capacitive method and a projected capacitive method. In case of the projected capacitive method, multi-touch detection is possible, and excellent durability and visibility can be exhibited, and therefore the projected capacitive method has been adopted as a main input means of a portable mobile device.
The capacitive touch screen controller may detect changes in an amount of electric charges charged in capacitive sensors on a touch screen panel by user interference to recognize a user input, and be classified into a self-capacitive method and a mutual-capacitive method in accordance with an electric charge accumulation method. The self-capacitive method configures a single conductor per a capacitive sensor to form an electric charge surface with a reference ground outside the sensor while the mutual-capacitive method allows two conductors on the touch screen panel to mutually form electric charge surfaces so as to serve as a capacitive sensor.
In general, self-capacitive method uses X/Y orthogonal type conductor arrangement, and in this case, each capacitive sensor serves as a line sensor, and therefore only one axial information of X location and Y-location are provided from each of an X-line sensor group and a Y-line sensor group every time when the touch screen is scanned. Thus, in the self-capacitive touch screen, detection and tracking of a single touch may be possible, but a multi-touch may not be fully supported. The mutual-capacitive method also uses the X/Y orthogonal type conductor arrangement, but is different from the self-capacitive method in that each capacitive sensor is provided in the form of a grid sensor at each location where X conductor and Y conductor cross each other and responses of all the grid sensors are sensed independently when a user input is applied on the touch screen. Each grid sensor provides a response which corresponds to one-X/Y location and is independent to each other, and therefore, in the mutual-capacitive touch screen, user input information may be extracted from an X/Y two axial information set provided by an X/Y grid sensor set, thereby detecting and tracking the multi-touch applied by a user can be accomplished.
A configuration of a conductor of a general mutual-capacitive touch screen panel and a detection method thereof will be herein described. First electrodes including a conductor extending in any one direction and second electrodes including a conductor extending in a direction orthogonal to the first electrodes form a mutual-capacitive sensor through a dielectric material between the two electrodes. A capacitance C of the mutual-capacitive sensor is defined as C=∈*a/d when a distance of the two electrodes is 'd.', an area of an electric charge surface is 'a', and an equivalent dielectric constant of all dielectric materials existing between electric charge surfaces is '∈', and has a relationship of Q=CV with an amount Q of electric charges accumulated on the mutual-capacitive sensor and a potential difference V applied to two electrodes/electric charge surfaces to induce charge accumulation. When a user approaches a sensor, interference to an electric field formed between the two electrodes may occur to prevent a part of electric charges from being accumulated on the sensor, and therefore an amount of electric charges accumulated on the sensor may be reduced, thereby reducing the capacitance. This may be understood as a change in the capacitance caused by a change in an equivalent dielectric constant between the electric charge surfaces due to the user's approach to the sensor, but the actual physical phenomenon that happens is that a part of the electric field between the electric charge surfaces is shunted due to the user's approach so that the amount of electric charge accumulated on the surfaces are reduced. When applying an AC waveform to one electric charge surface of the sensor by connecting an AC voltage source to the first electrode, variation (ΔQ) of ΔQ=CΔV in the amount of electric charge with respect to the capacitance C which varies in accordance with a degree of the user's approach to the sensor may occur, and the charge variation may be converted into a current or a voltage form by a read-out circuit connected to the second electrode. Such converted information may be generally subjected to signal processing operations such as noise filtering, demodulation, digital conversion, accumulation, and the like to be used in a coordinate tracking algorithm and a gesture recognition algorithm. An example of a capacitive touch-sensitive panel is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,920,129.
In a conventional electrode configuration, a contact area between an object for applying a touch input to a touch panel and a cover window in contact with the object is large enough for a plurality of sensors to participate in performing touch detection, thereby touch coordinates extracted and gestures recognized are relatively smooth and stable. However, when a touch input is applied by a child's finger or a woman's finger with a relatively small cross-sectional area, only a limited number of sensors may participate in performing touch detection, and therefore incorrect touch coordinates may be extracted, or an incorrect trajectory may be traced due to non-linear response to movement of an object.

Capacitive touch-sensitive panel and mobile terminal using the same


A method of and an apparatus for fitting or removing a tire 4 of a vehicle wheel 1, in which at least one fitting or removal tool 5 is guided parallel to the axis 11 of the vehicle wheel 1 and the vehicle wheel 1 is moved controllably perpendicularly to its wheel axis 11 in dependence on a rim contour along which the fitting or removal tool 5 is to be guided at a small spacing.

For that purpose it is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,505 to provide on the fitting or removal tool a sensing device in the form of a projection, for example of plastic material, which senses the radial outside surface (wheel rim well). That ensures that, in the tyre fitting or removal operation, the tool is held at a given spacing from the surface of the rim and the surface of the rim is not damaged by the hard material of the tool.
For that purpose it is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,505 to provide on the fitting or removal tool a sensing device in the form of a projection, for example of plastic material, which senses the radial outside surface (wheel rim well). That ensures that, in the tyre fitting or removal operation, the tool is held at a given spacing from the surface of the rim and the surface of the rim is not damaged by the hard material of the tool.
It is further known from DE 25 29 343 B2 for the tyre fitting or removal tool to be moved along a control surface, which ensures that the tool is guided along the rim contour in the wheel rim well. In that case different control surfaces have to be provided, depending on the various wheel types involved.
It is further known from US 2004/0165180 A1 for one or more optical images of a wheel portion to be acquired by means of an imaging sensor device and in dependence thereon for service operations to be carried out on the vehicle wheel, for example by means of a tyre change system.
In the known methods and the known apparatuses, the movement of the at least one tyre fitting or removal tool is controlled in dependence on the contour or the geometrical configuration of the rim flange and the outside peripheral surface of the rim. In that case the tool performs relatively complicated movements in dependence on the various corrections concerned, in relation to the respective wheel types.

Method of and apparatus for fitting or removing a motor vehicle tyre


Provided is a method for manufacturing a flexible film. The method for the manufacturing the flexible film includes providing a parent film on which a plurality of film areas are defined, each of which having a detection pattern formed thereon, applying a voltage to each of the film areas to detect whether a defect exists, removing the detection pattern from respective ones of the film areas on which the defect is detected, and cutting out others of the film areas on which the defect is not detected.

The present disclosure herein relates to a flexible film, a flexible film passage, a method for manufacturing the flexible film, and a flexible circuit board having improved defect detection accuracy.
Recently, various display devices have become thinner, smaller, and lighter. Thus, various studies have been conducted to mount driving elements, which are for displaying an image on a display device, at a limited area of the display device.
The flexible film may be provided in the form of directly mounting the driving elements for displaying the image on the display device, or in the form of a tape carrier package (TCP) connecting a printed circuit board, on which the driving elements are mounted, to the a display panel.

Flexible film, flexible film package and method for manufacturing flexible film


A method which determines aircraft Center of Gravity independent of measuring the aircraft weight. The method is used in monitoring, measuring and computing the Center of Gravity of an aircraft utilizing pressurized, telescopic landing gear struts with axles. Pressure sensors are mounted in relation to each of the landing gear struts to monitor, measure and record aircraft landing gear strut loads by way of pressure. Axle deflection sensors are mounted in relation to each of the landing gear axles to monitor, measure and record aircraft landing gear axle loads by way of deflection. Nose landing gear strut pressure and corresponding values from axle deflection sensors may be adjusted in correlation to the reduced size of the nose landing gear, as compared to the size of the main landing gear, allowing aircraft Center of Gravity to be determined from the combined measured main landing gear pressures in relation to a nose landing gear strut pressure measurements, or combined main landing gear axle deflection sensor in relation to a nose landing gear axle deflection sensor; without any determination of the aircraft weight.

There are many critical factors the pilot of an aircraft must consider when determining if the aircraft is safe for take-off. Some of those factors are identifying the proper weight and center of gravity for the aircraft. Hereinafter, aircraft "Center of Gravity" will be referred to as aircraft "CG."
Aircraft CG is a critical factor in flight operations. If the aircraft CG is too far aft and outside the aircraft's certified CG limits, the aircraft nose can rise uncontrollably during take-off, where the aircraft will become unstable, resulting in a stall and possible crash.
Furthermore, fuel is the most costly item in an airline's annual expenses. Airline profit margins are slim at best, so any and all efforts must be used to reduce fuel consumption. Aircraft CG location affects the amount of fuel the aircraft burns. If an aircraft is loaded with the CG positioned towards the forward limit of the aircraft's CG envelope, the pilot must add rear stabilizer trim for the nose-heavy aircraft. This additional rear stabilizer trim will increase the aerodynamic drag on the aircraft, thus burn more fuel. If an aircraft can be loaded with the aircraft CG positioned near the aft limit of the aircraft CG envelope, the aircraft will require less trim and be more fuel efficient.
In a search of the prior art, there are numerous onboard aircraft weighing systems which measure aircraft weight. The measured aircraft weight is subsequently used to determine aircraft CG. Research of the prior art to identify automatic aircraft weighing systems are well documented and reference may be made to United States patents:    U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,300—Elfenbein U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,517—Nance    U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,503—Senour U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,951—Nance    U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,279—Harris U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,406—Nance    U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,586—Nance U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,407—Nance    U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,827—Lindberg U.S. Pat. No. 7,967,244—Long
The prior art described by these patents explain mechanical apparatus added to a landing gear strut which measure the weight of the aircraft. Typical aircraft used in day-to-day airline operations are commonly supported by a plurality of compressible, telescopic landing gear struts. These landing gear struts contain pressurized hydraulic fluid and nitrogen gas. The weight of the aircraft rests upon and is supported by "pockets" of compressed nitrogen gas, within the landing gear struts. Aircraft weight supported by these pockets of gas is called the "sprung" weight. There is additional aircraft weight which is not identified by changes in landing gear strut pressure. This additional weight is associated with various landing gear components located below the pockets of compressed gas including such items as the wheels, tires, brakes, strut piston, and other lower landing gear components. Aircraft weight associated with these lower landing gear components located below the pockets of compressed gas is called the "unsprung" weight. Unsprung weight remains a relatively constant weight. Aircraft brake wear and tire wear result in a minimal and virtually insignificant amount of weight loss to the unsprung weight. The unsprung weight is typically added to the sprung weight, to identify total aircraft weight.
The methods of prior art aircraft weighing systems, determine the "sprung" weight of the aircraft by measuring the pressure within the landing gear struts and multiplying strut pressure by the load supporting surface area of the strut piston. Among the disadvantages of the prior art onboard aircraft weight measuring systems are that airlines can suffer severe schedule disruptions by using a "measured" aircraft weight value, as opposed to methods of "calculating" aircraft weight based upon FAA approved "assumed" weights, of varying weight items such as airline passengers and baggage, loaded onto the aircraft.
Aircraft load planning is a crucial part of keeping an airline running on schedule. A scheduled aircraft departure will commence its load planning process up to one year prior to the actual flight. Airlines do not offer ticket sales for a flight, more than twelve months prior to the flight. As each ticket for a scheduled flight is purchased, the average passenger and average bag weights are assigned into a computer program, continually updating throughout the year the planned load for that flight. Aircraft have a maximum design take-off weight limitation, where airline operations use assumptions as to the weight of passengers and baggage loaded onto the aircraft, to stay below the aircraft take-off weight limitation. The Federal Aviation Administration has published an Advisory Circular "AC 120-27E" which designates the approved weight assumptions for airline passengers and baggage:
Average passenger weight - summer190.0 lbsAverage passenger weight - winter195.0 lbsAverage bag weight 28.9 lbsAverage heavy bag weight 58.7 lbs
Historical weather patterns regarding wind velocity and direction, along with storm patterns along scheduled airline routes are also considered when planning the amount of fuel that will be consumed for a potential flight. On the actual day of a flight, typically two hours prior to the departure of that flight, the airline's automated load planning program will be transferred to the desktop computer display of one of the airline's Flight Dispatchers. It is the responsibility of the Flight Dispatcher to then monitor the planned load of that flight as passengers check-in at the gate. Typically this process goes without interruption and the aircraft will dispatch on schedule, as planned. As the door of the aircraft is closed and the load is closed-out by the Flight Dispatcher, the planned load will always match the departure load, as submitted to the FAA, because both are based on the same compilation of weight assumptions. If there were a system onboard the aircraft that measures the aircraft weight, just as the aircraft door closes, and the measured weight did not match the calculated weight, the airline would be forced to take a departure delay to resolve the differential in the two separate but parallel weight determination processes. This potential for delay in the flight departure, on as many as 2,200 daily flights for a single airline, results in the various airlines not willing to take the risk of hundreds of flight delays. Airlines currently dispatch their aircraft under FAA approved procedures; a method which helps keep the airlines on schedule. This creates an incentive for airlines to continue to use the FAA approved assumed weights, irregardless to whether the assumed aircraft weight determination is accurate.
Airlines would appreciate an opportunity to use the CG tracking capabilities of today's aircraft weight and balance systems to more efficiently place baggage and cargo below decks, and take advantage of the reduced fuel consumption benefits, but are not willing to take the risk of scheduled departure delays when the aircraft's planned weight, built upon weight assumptions, does not match the aircraft's actual measured weight.
The methods described herein are applicable as alternatives to existing prior art aircraft weight and balance measuring systems for determining aircraft CG, independent of measuring the aircraft weight.

Method for determining aircraft center of gravity independent of measuring the aircraft weight


Techniques for regional viewership predictions of broadcast events such as live broadcast professional sporting events. The techniques can make the predictions without a direct response variable such as regional viewership data for training a prediction model. Instead, in one technique, demand information for a good or service is used. From the demand information, a derivative demand for the good or service relative to a normal demand is determined. A regression framework is used to learn relationships between the derivative demand for the good or service and features of past live broadcast sporting events. This results in a matrix of feature weights. A non-parametric mixture framework is then used to find a set of feature weights that can be applied to features of future broadcast events to generate regional viewership predictions for the events.

The accuracy of predictions made with respect to broadcast event viewership can affect how useful those predictions are. Consider an example of a food delivery service that wants to know how busy they will be making food deliveries in certain geographic regions during certain live broadcasts of professional sporting events. The provider of a prediction service that makes regional viewership predictions for broadcast media events may want to offer the prediction service to the food delivery service for a subscription fee. The accuracy of the predictions made by the prediction service can be critically important to the value of the prediction service to the food delivery service. For example, if the predictions made by the prediction service are often inaccurate, then the food delivery service cannot reliably use the predictions for resource allocation such as predetermining the number of food delivery drivers and the amount of food inventory that will be needed in a region because of a given live broadcast sporting event.
Techniques described herein address these issues.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

Predicting regional viewership for broadcast media events


A system and method for authentication policy orchestration may include a user device, a client device, and a server. The server may include a network interface configured to be communicatively coupled to a network. The server may further include a processor configured to obtain, from a client device via the network, a transaction request for a transaction, determine an authorization requirement for the transaction request based, at least in part, on a plurality of authorization policies, individual ones of the plurality of authorization policies being separately configurable by at least one of a relying party and an authorizing party, and complete the transaction based on the authorization requirement having been met.

Digital transactions of a variety of types may stem not from a party authorized to enter in to the transaction but by parties that are either unauthorized to enter in to the transaction or bad actors who have acquired the means to enter in to the transaction illegally. For instance, a stolen credit card number or bank account access may be utilized to make fraudulent purchases. A stolen or compromised password may be utilized to improperly access information. Even conventional purchases or activities within an organization may be engaged in by an employee or member who does not have authorization to do so; certain purchases may be initiated by one party, such as a regular employee, but require authorization by a second party, such as a manager.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Hierarchical multi-transaction policy orchestrated authentication and authorization


A mixed workload scheduler and operating method efficiently handle diverse queries ranging from short less-intensive queries to long resource-intensive queries. A scheduler is configured for scheduling mixed workloads and comprises an analyzer and a schedule controller. The analyzer detects execution time and wait time of a plurality of queries and balances average stretch and maximum stretch of scheduled queries wherein query stretch is defined as a ratio of a sum of wait time and execution time to execution time of a query. The schedule controller modifies scheduling of queries according to service level differentiation.

Many organizations create and deploy systems such as Enterprise Data Warehouses (EDW) to serve as the single source of corporate data for business intelligence (BI). EDWs expected to scale to enormous data volumes (hundreds of terabytes) and also expected to perform well under increasingly mixed and complex workloads, including batch and incremental data loads, batch reports, and complex ad hoc queries. One challenge for a system such as EDW is management of complex workloads to meet stringent performance objectives. For instance, batch load tasks are required to finish within a specified time window before reports or queries can be serviced. Batch reports may issue thousands of "roll up" (aggregation) queries that are required to complete within a specified time window. Ad hoc queries may have user-specified deadlines, priorities, and the like. Workload management addresses the problem of scheduling, admitting, and executing queries, and allocating resources to meet the performance objectives.

System and method for modifying scheduling of queries in response to the balancing average stretch and maximum stretch of scheduled queries


A container having a center portion and two side portions each situated at an angle to the center portion and extending in opposite directions such that the a left half of the container is substantially identical to a right half of the container but rotated 180 degrees to form a “Z” shaped profile of the container. This “Z” shaped profile allows containers to be stacked upon each other to provide space savings in storage and shipping of the container and the container when filled with liquid.

Many containers for storing liquids and solids are known. Some of such containers are nestable or stackable with other like containers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,612 to Dorn et al. discloses an essentially square container with protrusions and depressions for nesting with protrusions and depressions of an adjacent container. The Dorn container includes a substantial number of such protrusions and depressions extending across at least fifty percent of each sidewall.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,336 to Lajovic discloses containers that can be stacked in an overlapping and staggered manner to form a close packed array. Each container includes upwardly extending projectiles to mate with flanges on the bottom of like containers. In addition to stacking top to bottom, the containers disclosed in the Lajovic patent may be stacked side-to-side in an overlapping staggered relationship. However, significantly more storage space is necessary because of the staggered configuration (i.e., the end of one container lies adjacent the central region of a like container). Furthermore, no means to carry or transport the container is provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,268 to Buske discloses a container for packing liquids adapted to inter-engage with an identical container. Each container of the Buske patent has a lateral face with means, such as teeth or serrations, for engaging corresponding faces of similar containers. However, the containers are only stackable in one configuration and, in fact, the engaging means are operative only in one direction.
The above described references therefore do not teach a container that is easily stackable in several different arrangements. Furthermore, none of the prior art containers provide an easy means to carry the container or to adjust its position from any number of vantage points.
It is therefore desired to provide an improved container system and apparatus which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.


Improved methods and apparatuses for vertebral body distraction and fusion in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention employ flexure members. Flexure members connect a plurality of structural members to end plates on one end and blocks on another end. Upon insertion into the disc space, a drive screw or similar mechanism can be actuated to drive expansion blocks closer together, which causes flexure members to deflect, resulting in expansion of the structural members and distraction of the end plates. The distracted device can then remain in the body and be used for vertebral body fusion.

The concept of intervertebral fusion for the cervical and lumbar spine following a discectomy was generally introduced in the 1960s. It involved coring out a bone graft from the hip and implanting the graft into the disc space. The disc space was prepared by coring out the space to match the implant. The advantages of this concept were that it provided a large surface area of bone to bone contact and placed the graft under loading forces that allowed osteoconduction and induction enhancing bone fusion. However, the technique is seldom practiced today due to numerous disadvantages including lengthy operation time, destruction of a large portion of the disc space, high risk of nerve injury, and hip pain after harvesting the bone graft.
Presently, at least two devices are commonly used to perform the intervertebral portion of an intervertebral body fusion: the first is the distraction device and the second is the intervertebral body fusion device, often referred to as a cage. Cages can be implanted as standalone devices or as part of a circumferential fusion approach with pedicle screws and rods. The concept is to introduce an implant that will distract a collapsed disc and decompress the nerve root to allow load sharing to enhance bone formation, and to implant a device that is small enough to allow implantation with minimal retraction and pulling on nerves.
In a typical intervertebral body fusion procedure, a portion of the intervertebral disc is first removed from between the vertebral bodies. This can be done through either a direct open approach or a minimally invasive approach. Disc shavers, pituitary rongeours, curettes, and/or disc scrapers can be used to remove the nucleus and a portion of either the anterior or posterior annulus to allow implantation and access to the inner disc space. The distraction device is inserted into the cleared space to enlarge the disc space and the vertebral bodies are separated by actuating the distraction device. Enlarging the disc space is important because it also opens the foramen where the nerve root exists. It is important that during the distraction process one does not over-distract the facet joints. An intervertebral fusion device is next inserted into the distracted space and bone growth factor, such as autograft, a collagen sponge with bone morphogenetic protein, or other bone enhancing substance may be inserted into the space within the intervertebral fusion device to promote the fusion of the vertebral bodies.
Intervertebral fusion and distraction can be performed through anterior, posterior, oblique, and lateral approaches. Each approach has its own anatomic challenges, but the general concept is to fuse adjacent vertebra in the cervical thoracic or lumbar spine. Devices have been made from various materials. Such materials include cadaveric cancellous bone, carbon fiber, titanium and polyetheretherketone (PEEK). Devices have also been made into different shapes such as a bean shape, football shape, banana shape, wedge shape and a threaded cylindrical cage.

Methods and apparatus for vertebral body distraction and fusion employing flexure members


A valve has a piezoelectric actuator with a valve element, a valve body and a valve seat. In order to control the valve, the valve element is moved into the valve seat from a position remote from the valve seat by means of a charging process at a prescribable first time. A first value is determined being characteristic of the electrical power supplied to the piezoelectric actuator when the valve element meets the valve seat. A second value is determined being characteristic of the electrical power supplied to the piezoelectric actuator when the charging process of the piezoelectric actuator is concluded. An actual difference value between the second value and the first value is determined. A difference between a setpoint difference value and the actual difference value is supplied to a controller. An actuating signal for charging the piezoelectric actuator is determined as a function of the actuating variable.

The pump can be hydraulically coupled to a low-pressure fuel supply device by means of the valve. The output end of said pump is hydraulically coupled to the nozzle unit. The start of injection and the injection quantity are determined by the valve and its valve drive. The compact construction of the pump-nozzle apparatus results in a very low high-pressure volume and a high degree of hydraulic rigidity. Therefore, very high injection pressures of approximately 2000 bar are possible. This high injection pressure, in conjunction with the ability to control the start of injection and the injection quantity in an effective manner, permit a considerable reduction in emissions and at the same time low fuel consumption when using the internal combustion engines.
DE 198 35 494 C2 discloses a pump-nozzle apparatus having a pump and a valve with a valve element which controls the hydraulic coupling of a discharge space to an outlet channel. The outlet channel is hydraulically coupled to the pump and a nozzle unit. An inlet channel is provided which is hydraulically coupled to the discharge space. The valve element has an associated piezoelectric valve drive which can be used to move the valve element between two end positions. When the valve element is in a first end position, the outlet channel is hydraulically coupled to a discharge space and this, in turn, is hydraulically coupled to the inlet channel. When the valve element is in a second end position, the outlet channel is hydraulically decoupled from the discharge space and the valve element is arranged in a valve seat of the valve.
When the valve element is in the first end position, fluid is drawn from the inlet channel by the pump via the discharge space and outlet channel during a delivery stroke of the pump. During a working stroke of a piston of the pump, fluid is forced back from the pump to the inlet channel via the outlet channel and the discharge space when the valve element is in the first end position. When the valve element is in the second end position, no fluid can be forced back and the pump piston generates high pressure since the outlet channel is not hydraulically coupled to the discharge space and the inlet channel during the delivery stroke of the pump piston. When a prescribed pressure threshold is exceeded, a nozzle needle of the nozzle unit opens a nozzle of the nozzle unit and fluid is injected. The end of injection is determined by the valve element being moved to its first end position by means of the actuating drive and fluid thus flowing back to the discharge space and the inlet channel via the outlet channel, this resulting in the pressure in the pump and therefore also in the nozzle unit decreasing, which in turn leads to the nozzle unit being closed.
Low pollutant emissions from an internal combustion engine in which the pump-nozzle arrangement is arranged and precise control of the internal combustion engine mean the pump-nozzle apparatus has to meter fuel in a precise manner. This in turn means that the piezo-controlled valve of the pump-nozzle apparatus has to be driven in a manner which can be reproduced and is stable over the long term.
WO 03/081007 A1 discloses a method and an apparatus for detecting the impact time of a valve needle of a piezoelectric control valve. The piezoelectric control valve is used in a pump-nozzle unit for injecting fuel into an internal combustion engine. The impact time of the valve needle of the piezoelectric control valve of the pump-nozzle unit is determined by evaluating the piezoelectric voltage and/or the piezoelectric current.
Furthermore, WO 03/104633 A1 discloses a method and an apparatus for measuring and controlling the closing and opening times of a piezoelectric control valve, in which the period of time required for a valve needle of a control valve of a piezoelectric pump-nozzle unit to move from a first end position to a second end position is measured, with the response time of the control valve being taken into account. In this case, the period of time is determined as a function of the voltage applied to the control valve and/or of the current applied. An actuating signal which is used to move the control valve from the first end position to the second end position is also generated, with the actuating signal being generated at a time during which it is ensured that the pressure in the control valve and in the injection nozzle during the measurement process corresponds largely to the pressure in the low-pressure fuel region.
In addition, DE 196 52 801 C1 discloses a method and an apparatus for driving at least one capacitive actuating element, said capacitive actuating element being used, in particular, in a piezoelectrically operated fuel-injection valve of an internal combustion engine. The power of the actuator and/or the charge quantity of the capacitive actuating element, which is applied to the actuator for operating purposes, are/is regulated when the capacitive actuating element is being driven. The respective prespecified setpoint values are selected as a function of various operating parameters of the internal combustion engine.

Method and apparatus for controlling a valve, and method and apparatus for controlling a pump-nozzle apparatus with the valve


“Reservation with a recorder” is decided by a remote control operation of a TV (101) and an operation target device is decided (102). To the decided operation target device (recorder), key transmission is carried out from the TV (103). When the recorder receiving this key transmission is on standby, a power supply is turned on (104). Next, the recorder makes display request of an electronic program guide to the TV (105). Based on this, in the TV side, input switching is performed to HDMI of which display request is made from the recorder side (106). Meanwhile, in the recorder, a program guide display operation is performed (107). Various key operations (108) performed for the TV is sent to the recorder side (109), and in the recorder, various operations in the recorder side are performed (110) in response to the various key operations. Based on the electronic program guide which is displayed, recording reservation of a desired program can be made from the TV side. When the processing of the recorder side is completed (111), a notice of completion/input switching request is provided (112) to the TV from the recorder. The TV which receives this performs input switching to return to its original state (113), and the power supply is turned off in the recorder side (114).

As the newest standard with general versatility for connecting a plurality of digital household electric appliances, the HDMI standard has been defined. In the HDMI standard, CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) protocol is used. By using the CEC protocol, coordination of the devices connected by the HDMI cables is designed.
TABLE 1CEC COMMANDSCOMMON CODEImage View OnActive SourceUser Control PressedRecord OnRecord OffStandBySet Stream PathSTANDARD ERROR MESSAGEVENDER UNIQUE CODEMENU SETTING TRANSFERPROGRAM INFORMATIONSPECIAL REMOTE CONTROL KEYDETAILED ERROR NOTIFICATION
Table 1 shows examples of CEC commands, and the CEC commands are broadly divided into a common code which is provided for keeping general versatility and is common without depending on each appliance or a vender, and a unique code unique to a vender for allowing the degree of freedom, which the vender can uniquely define.
For example, a coordination system for allowing a device to have a function by using a vender unique code (command) of the HDMI has been announced.

Digital broadcast receiver and digital device system


A higher value of an anistropic magnetic feild can be acquired by using a magnetic material where Cr is not added as a material of a magnetic layer on which magnetic data is recorded. A magnetic recording medium can be manufactured through the processes of laminating an underlayer cosisting opf Cr-based non-magnetic material on a substrate, and then laminating, on this underlayer, a magnetic layer consisting of an alloy of at least one kind of non-magnetic material that is different from Cr and Co.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic recording medium applied to a hard disc drive and a method of manufacturing the same medium.
In recent years, reduction in size and enlargement of capacity are essential requirements for a hard disc drive which plays the concentrated role of an information storage apparatus. These requirements can be realized by enhancing the recording density of a magnetic disc medium. In order to increase the recording density, it is requested to realize reduction in thickness of a magnetic film, improvement in resolution, high coercive force and low noise.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the recording density of a magnetic disc medium becomes high, an area of one bit on the medium is reduced. In such background, it is required, for acquisition of an output, to make the magnetic layer thinner corresponding to a reduction in the size of a bit. Thereby, a semi-circular magnetic field can be assured and thereby leakage magnetic field generated from the magnetization area of one bit can be obtained. Moreover, since it is also required to narrow the bit interval, improvement in the magnetic domain structure in the magnetization transition area, scale-down of crystal grain corresponding to reduction in thickness and noise reduction by reduction in magnetic mutual operations among the particles or the like are necessary.
As a magnetic layer of a medium, a CoCr group alloy polycrystalline film formed of three or more elements has been used as a material of the magnetic layer. In the existing medium, Cr included in the magnetic grains of a magnetic layer is segregated into the crystal grain boundary and this grain boundary is non-magnetized to reduce mutual operation among the particles. In the related art, in order to promote this segregation, adding coefficient of Cr to alloy is increased, Ta or the like is added and a substrate is also heated during the film forming process.
As explained above, while a means for segregating Cr included in the magnetic grains into the crystal grain boundary and non-magnetizing this grain boundary region is introduced, it is essential to use the CoCr group alloy magnetic material as a material of the magnetic layer. However, when reduction in thickness of magnetic layer and scale-down of crystal grains are promoted, a volume of individual magnetic grains is reduced, thermal disturbance is finally generated to result in the super-normal magnetization and the magnetic recording condition can no longer be maintained. In order to reduce the volume of individual magnetic grains as much as possible to a small amount, it is best to use a magnetic material having a higher anisotropic constant Ku. In the Co-based magnetic material, a value of Ku is lowered by as much as about one digit by adding Cr to the discrete element of Co. Therefore, use of the CoCr group alloy will make it very difficult to maintain the value of Ku. Moreover, the discrete element of Co will bring about a problem that corrosion proof characteristic is deteriorated.
An object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic recording medium having higher recording density. Moreover, another object of the present invention is to realize a reduction in thickness of a magnetic film of a magnetic recording medium. Moreover, the other object of the present invention is to reduce noise of the magnetic recording medium itself.
In the present invention, unlike the CoCr group alloy used as a material of a magnetic layer, a Co-based alloy, where a non-magnetic element different from Cr is added to the Co discrete element, is used as a material of the magnetic layer. According to the present invention, reduction of the value of Ku due to the formation of alloy is controlled, and thereby a problem in reduction of thickness of magnetic layer in a magnetic recording medium can be solved.
However, when a Co-based alloy not including Cr is used as a material of the magnetic layer, Cr included in the magnetic grains is segregated into the crystal grain boundary and the grain boundary region can no longer be non-magnetized. Therefore, in the present invention, a Cr-based non-magnetic material is used as an underlayer. According to the present invention, the grain boundary region can be non-magnetized by segregating Cr to the crystal grain boundary from the underlayer. In practice, diffusion of Cr into the crystal grain boundary of the magnetic layer from the underlayer is induced with post-annealing. As a result, the magnetic layer has a structure in which Cr exists only at the area near the crystal grain boundary, and thereby non-magnetization of the grain boundary region of the magnetic layer can be realized. Since the grain boundary region of the magnetic layer is non-magnetized, magnetic mutual operation among the grains can be reduced, and noise of magnetic recording medium can also be reduced.

Magnetic recording medium, method of manufacturing the same medium and magnetic disc drive


The Revolution Daddy Rock Super Track is a salt sifting tank that dispenses rock salt directly to the front of the vehicle wheels followed by the rear wheels which would prevent the automobile from sliding side to side and also aiding the vehicle to go up and down hills in the winter time with super traction.

The field of this invention is to prevent automobiles from sliding on ice and snow. My invention would enable a vehicle to drive up any hill or drive down any hill during the winter months on ice/snow with super traction without losing control of the vehicle. There are no known patterns of my invention which came up in my research that was comparable to my invention of Revolution Daddy Rock Super Tract.


The washcloth includes a pocket which is positioned on one surface of the washcloth and includes a neck through which a bar of soap can pass only in a lengthwise direction. The neck leads to an expanded cavity within which the bar of soap is engaged when rotated out of alignment with the neck. Further, the washcloth is layered and may serve as a wash mit, accommodating right and left hand use.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washcloth incorporating a pocket within which a bar of soap may be engaged. Further, the washcloth may, if desired, be used as a wash mit, accommodating both right and left hand use.
2. Prior Art
Heretofore, various washcloth type structures incorporating various embodiments of pockets for engaging a bar of soap therein have been proposed.
Further, stand alone pocket structures for holding soap and pieces thereof together for use have also been proposed. However, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter, it is not believed that a washcloth which also may be used as a wash mit for either hand and which includes a soap engaging pocket configured as disclosed herein has ever been proposed.

Johnson Family Trust, Orville L. and Delories M. Johnson, Trustees, a Family Trust


An aircraft pylon support system for mounting and supporting aircraft propulsion systems to a fuselage section of an aircraft that includes an internal, central support box disposed within and extending across the interior of an aircraft fuselage, and external support boxes extending laterally into pylons disposed at both sides of the aircraft, each of the internal and external support boxes being made of a composite material and structured as multi-spar boxes containing lateral spars and at least one central spar, wherein the central and lateral support boxes are connected together to provide a continuous interface therebetween with a full transfer of loads therebetween and between any interrupted, intermediate frame members.

A commercial aircraft is known (CBA vector 123, SARA, AVANTI, 7J7) that is powered with propeller engines located in the rear part of the aircraft supported by the fuselage by means of non-moving pylons.
One of the problems raised by this aircraft configuration is related to failure events such as a PBR ("Propeller Blade Release") i.e. an event where a blade of one of the propeller engines comes off and hits the fuselage, a UERF (Uncontained Engine Rotor Failure), or any other "Large Damage" event. The design of said rear fuselage shall therefore take into account such events and guarantee its capability for maintaining stability and proceed to a safe landing, i.e. shall be an impact resistant and damage tolerant fuselage.
In the prior art, non-moving pylons attached to the rear part of the aircraft fuselage are basically made with metallic materials.
As it is well known, weight is a fundamental aspect in the aeronautic industry and therefore there is a current trends to use composite material instead metallic material even for primary structures.
The composite materials that are most used in the aeronautical industry consist of fibers or fiber bundles embedded in a matrix of thermosetting or thermoplastic resin, in the form of a preimpregnated or "prepreg" material. Its main advantages refer to:                Their high specific strength with respect to metallic materials. It is the strength/weight equation.        Their excellent behavior before fatigue loads.        The possibilities of structural optimization hidden in the anisotropy of the material and the possibility of combining fibers with different orientations, allowing the design of the elements with different mechanical properties adjusted to the different needs in terms of applied loads.
In this framework, the present invention is addressed to the demand of non-moving engine supporting pylons made of composite materials to be attached to the rear part of an aircraft.


The invention relates to a rapid disconnect device for surge arrestors, in particular plate-type or flat varistors, comprising at least one element that is maintained under a mechanical stress, and a disconnection point for disconnecting the surge arrestor from the respective power grid upon thermal overload, wherein the disconnection point comprises contacts, the positions of which vary relative to one another, wherein one of said contacts is designed to be fixed. According to the invention, the contacts of varying positions relative to one another are electrically connected without the use of solder in such a way that incident current forces act primarily in the contact force direction and such that the moving contacts of the positionally-variable contacts of a lost element located at the surge arrestor and thermally detachable therefrom can be moved from a closed position to the disconnected position.

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fast disconnection device for surge arresters, specifically disc-shaped or flat varistors, comprising at least one element held under a mechanical preload as well as a point of separation in order to disconnect the surge arrester from the respective mains in the event of a thermal overload, wherein the point of separation includes contacts, the positions of which are variable relative to each other, and wherein one of these contacts is a fixed one.
(2) Description of Related Art
Disconnection devices of common efficient surge arresters with In>15 kA 8/20 μs including varistors for use in low-voltage mains generally comprise a soldered connection serving as thermal point of separation, a movable contact being under a mechanical preload, as well as a constricted region which adiabatically melts when reaching its melting integral. The soldered connection of the movable contact part constitutes the connection to the varistor contact and assumes the function of the thermal point of separation disconnecting the varistor from the mains when the varistor is overheated. Typical disconnection devices of this type are shown, for example, in DE 42 41 311 A1 or DE 38 05 889 A1.
In prior assemblies of this type the soldered connection connects two metal parts having a more or less high thermal conduction and quite a high thermal capacity, which is due to the fact that these metal parts have to control all electrical loads occurring in the operative range of the arrester. The soldered connection itself has to meet the requirements of the pulsed current carrying capacity. In addition, the soldered connection is permanently exposed to the mechanical load of the spring preload acting on the movable part of a corresponding lead.
An optimization of the essential functions of the point of separation, namely the desired disconnection from the varistor when it is heated, is thus not possible. Therefore, the solutions according to the prior art are forced to find compromises. As a result thereof, all solutions according to the prior art have in common that the thermal disconnection device has a considerable inertia, which is above all based on the thermal conductivity of the used materials, the necessary cross-sections of the contacts and the resulting great thermal capacity of the overall assemblies.
In the event of an overload, that is, when the varistor is heated as a result of long-lasting overvoltages caused by operation frequencies or as a result of aged varistors, the soldered connection of the disconnection device is heated only gradually due to the above-explained conditions. This means that even upon reaching a temperature critical for the varistor a certain time passes until the soldered connection has reached the necessary melting temperature. This time may be reduced by using solders with melting temperatures below the critical temperatures of the varistor. This is the reason why the varistor is frequently overloaded before a thermal disconnection takes place. However, an overloaded varistor can lead to undefined influences with respect to the resulting fault currents and, thus, to a plurality of different faults and further damages.
An arrester disconnection switch is known from EP 0 862 255 A1, according to which a mechanical switch disconnecting the varistor from the mains can be triggered by means of a fault current measurement and an evaluation. The disadvantageous properties involved by the usual contacting of varistors via a thermal, sensitive, but inevitably delayed-action soldering point can principally be avoided. The effort required for the detection of the fault current and the actuation of the switch as well as for the necessary evaluation is considerable, however.
Document DE 28 53 697 A1 describes a series connection comprised of a varistor and a switch. The thermal overcurrent release of the switch is not only heated by the fault current, but also directly by the heated varistor. Such an assembly, too, is constructively complicated and has the drawback that the release characteristic of the switch can be adapted to the requirements of the varistor to a limited extent only. The release system and the switch as a whole have to thermally and dynamically control pulsed currents in the range of several 10 kA. However, in order to obtain an optimum protection, the release should already be possible at a few mA. A direct heating of the bimetallic release of the switch by the varistor is helpful but, due to the aforementioned requirements, the release has a correspondingly great mass and thermal capacity counteracting a short response time.
Document WO 2004/064213 A1 shows an assembly in which a bimetal locks a switching contact. The bimetal is not flown through by the current. If the bimetal is indirectly heated as a result of the varistor being heated, the movement of the bimetal releases the locking and the varistor is disconnected from the mains. The indirect heating via the electrical connecting leads of the varistor, the geometrical arrangement, the material properties and the inevitably required dimensions of the bimetal likewise preclude, under the physical-constructive aspect, a very short response time until the contact is opened.
DE 36 32 224 A1 discloses a series connection of a switching contact and a varistor, wherein the expansion of an expanding substance is used to disconnect the varistor. The expanding substance is located directly on the varistor and, being applied to the full surface, is heated by the varistor. The expansion of the expanding substance in one direction corresponds the distance traveled by the switching contacts. The prolongation of the isolating distance is therefore not only limited, but is also very slow, so that the switching capacity of the isolating distance as a whole remains reduced. Also, the expansion of the expanding substance takes place with a delay so that a fast disconnection required in the event of a fault cannot be realized.
It becomes obvious that all solutions known from the prior art are only compromises between the possible, obtainable thermal sensitivity of the point of separation and the required current carrying capacity. As a rule, the thermal disconnection devices have a considerable inertia which is due to the good thermal conductivity of the used materials and the necessary large cross-sections for contacts along with a great thermal capacity resulting therefrom.


A cationic bis-urea compound is disclosed of formula (1):

The present invention relates to cationic bis urea compounds as effective antimicrobial agents, and more specifically to amphiphilic urea compounds capable of self-assembling by non-covalent interactions in water into nanoparticles having potent antimicrobial properties, particularly against fungi.
The number of opportunistic fungal infection cases is increasing due to growing populations of immunocompromised patients (Nat. Reviews-Drug Discovery 2010, 9, 719-727). These invasive infections are mainly caused by Candida and Aspergillus species as well as Cryptococcus neoformans. Candidiasis is a fungal infection of any of the Candida species, among which Candida albicans is the most common. It was reported that candidiasis is the third to fourth most common blood stream infection in the United States. Fungal infections resistant to conventional antifungal drugs are increasing (Nat. Reviews-Microbiology 2005, 3, 547-556; Nat. Reviews-Microbiology 2008, 6, 187-198). Many current antifungal agents (e.g., triazoles and polyenes) have developed resistance in patients (Nat. Reviews-Drug Discovery 2010, 9, 719-727), causing concern in healthcare and clinical settings as the availability of antifungal agents becomes more limited.
Due to their metabolic similarity to mammalian cells, fungi present limited specific targets for therapeutic treatments. For example, amphotericin B exhibits broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. Amphotericin B binds ergosterol, a key sterol in the fungal membrane, to form aggregates. The aggregates induce pores in the membrane causing cell lysis. On the other hand, amphotericin B can also bind cholesterol in mammalian cell membrane, leading to non-specific toxic side-effects in healthy cells. Hemolysis and nephrotoxicity are commonly reported side-effects caused by this drug in patients.
Host defense peptides and synthetic polymers are two classes of macromolecules currently being studied as effective antimicrobials. These cationic amphiphilic materials can selectively interact with negatively-charged microbial walls or membranes via electrostatic interaction and insertion into membrane lipid domains, causing disintegration of the microbe without harming mammalian cells. In this instance, microbial resistance is less of a concern because microbes cannot easily repair a physically damaged cell wall or membrane.
However, peptides and synthetic polymers have limited clinical applications due to several inherent drawbacks. Antimicrobial peptides are expensive to produce and generally have a short half-life in vivo due to enzymatic degradation. Bio-inspired synthetic polymers are limited by biocompatibility and/or biodegradability for in vivo applications. Although relatively narrow molecular weight distributions of synthetic polymers have been reported (polydispersity index (PDI) of ˜1.1-1.2), individual molecular weight fractions of a polydisperse system are expected to exhibit distinct pharmacological activities in vivo.
The increased prevalence of resistant fungi infections has established an urgent need for innovative materials for treatments.

Cationic bis-urea compounds as effective antimicrobial agents

Abstract: wherein:                each m is independently an integer of 0 to 4,        each k is independently 0 or 1,        each Z′ is a monovalent radical independently selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl (*—OH), carboxyl (*—COOH), cyano (*—CN), nitro (*—NO2), sulfonate (*—SO3−), trifluoromethyl (*—CF3), halides, amine groups, ketone groups, alkyl groups comprising 1 to 6 carbons, alkoxy groups comprising 1 to 6 carbons, thioether groups comprising 1 to 6 carbons, and combinations thereof,        each L′ is independently a divalent alkylene group comprising 1 to 6 carbons, wherein a *-[-L′-]k- is a single bond when k is 0,        each Y′ is independently a monovalent non-polymeric radical comprising a positive charged amine, and        each X′ is independently a negative charged counterion.

International Business Machines Corporation

Agency For Science, Technology And Research


In a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, an LED PCB with the reflection layer formed on surface thereof is installed at an upper side of the LED array and a reflection plate extends such that it sufficiently covers the lower portion of the LED array to thus make light emitted from the light source incident to its maximum level, thus coping with the reduction in the quantity of light resulting from making the LCD device thinner. The LCD device includes: a liquid crystal panel; an LED array supplying light to the liquid crystal panel; a light guide plate installed in a direction in which the LED outputs light, and guiding light; a reflection plate formed between the LED array and a lower portion of a lower cover; and an LED PCB attached to an upper portion of the lower cover at an upper side of the LED array and having a reflection layer formed at a side facing the light guide plate. Because an existing LED housing reflector is removed, a cost and processing time can be reduced and an assembling process is simplified to improve a defective rate and production yield.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device and, more particularly, an LCD device for supplying light to a liquid crystal panel by using a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs).
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an LCD is a display device for displaying a desired image by adjusting a light transmittance of pixels by separately supplying data signals according to image information to the pixels arranged in a matrix form.
Accordingly, the LCD device includes a driving unit for driving the liquid crystal display panel with the pixels arranged in the matrix form thereon and the pixels.
The liquid crystal panel includes a thin film transistor (TFT) array substrate and a color filter substrate attached in a facing manner with a uniform cell gap maintained therebetween, and a liquid crystal layer formed in the cell gap between the array substrate and the color filter substrate.
In this case, a common electrode and pixel electrodes are formed on the liquid crystal display panel, which is formed as the array substrate and the color filter substrate are attached, to apply electric field to the liquid crystal layer.
Thus, in a state that voltage is applied to the common electrode, when the voltage of the data signal applied to the pixel electrode, liquid crystal of the liquid crystal layer is rotated due to dielectric anisotropy according to the electric field between the common electrode and the pixel electrodes, thus transmitting light or interrupting light by pixels to allow for display of characters or images.
In this case, the LCD device is a light receiving device that displays an image by adjusting the transmittance of light coming from an external light source, rather than emitting light by itself, so it requires a device, namely, a backlight, for supplying light to the liquid crystal panel.
The backlight is divided into a side type backlight in which lamps are disposed at one side or at both sides of the liquid crystal panel and light is reflected, diffused and concentrated through a light guide plate, a reflection plate and optical sheets so as to be transmitted to a front surface of the liquid crystal panel and a direct type backlight in which lamps are disposed on a rear surface of the liquid crystal panel so as to be directly transmitted to the front side of the liquid crystal panel.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a general side type backlight.
As shown in FIG. 1, the side type backlight includes a light guide plate 41 disposed on a rear surface of the liquid crystal panel (not shown), lamps 25 disposed at the side of the light guide plate 41, a reflection plate 42 disposed on a rear surface of the light guide plate 41, a lamp holder (not shown) for fixing the lamps 25 to the side of the light guide plate 41, and wirings 27 applying power to the lamps 25.
Light generated from the lamps 25 are made incident to the side of the light guide plate 41 made of a transparent material, and the reflection plate 42 disposed on the rear surface of the light guide plate 42 reflects light transmitted to the rear surface of the light guide plate 41 to an upper surface of the light guide plate 41, thus reducing a loss of light and improving uniformity.
In general, as the lamps 25 applied to the side type backlight or the direct type backlight, a tube type cold cathode fluorescence lamp (CCFL) having a length corresponding to a longer side distance or a shorter side distance of the liquid crystal panel is applied, and the CCFL generates white light by power supplied through the wirings 27 at both sides thereof.
In this case, when the CCFL is applied as a light source of the backlight, a fluorescent discharge tube encapsulating mercury (Hg) gas with argon (Ar), neon (Ne), or the like, added thereto is used as a fluorescent tube in order to use a penning effect. In this case, electrodes are formed at both ends of the fluorescence discharge tube, and a negative electrode is formed to be large in a plate form, and when voltage is applied thereto, charge particles within the discharge tube collides with the negative electrode in the plate shape, like a sputtering phenomenon, to generate secondary electrons, and the generated secondary electrons excite the nearby elements to form plasma. These elements emit strong ultraviolet rays, and as the emitted ultraviolet rays excite phosphor again, the phosphor emits visible rays.
However, the backlight using the CCFL has not good color reproduction because the light source, namely, the CCLF, does not have good light emission characteristics. In addition, the size and capacity of the fluorescent lamp are limited, a backlight of a high luminance cannot be obtained.
In addition, because mercury applied as phosphor to the CCFL is harmful to a human body, it cannot cope with the environment regulation which is gradually strengthened.
Recently, a light emitting diode (LED) receives much attention as a light source of the backlight. The LED has a longer life span than that of the CCFL, and because it operates at a DC of 5V, it does not need an inverter.
Namely, the high luminance LED has a longer life span than that of the CCFL and consumes power 20% of the existing product, and because the high luminance LED does not need additional equipment such as an inverter or the like, it is advantageous for making a product thinner and effectively use an inner area. Also, its color implementation capability is evaluated to be superior to the CCFL, and the full-fledged regulation since 2006 worldwide supports the adoption of the LED backlight.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing a general LCD using an LED backlight.
As shown in FIG. 2, in the general side-type LED backlight LCD, an LED array 20 generating light, an LED printed circuit board (PCB) 21 for driving the LED and a reflective plate 42 are installed on a lower cover 50, and an LED housing reflector 55 is attached to an upper portion of the lower cover 50 at an upper side of the LED array 20.
A light guide plate 41 is installed in a direction in which the LED array 20 outputs light, and in this case, a plurality of LEDs constituting the LED array 20 are positioned between LEDs at a certain interval in order to obtain an overall luminance uniformity of the backlight.
The reflective plate 42 positioned under the light guide plate 41 serves to reflect light outputted from the LED array 20 toward the lower cover 50 to transmit it toward optical sheets 43. The LED housing reflector 55 reflects light outputted toward the upper portion of the lower cover 50 from the LED array 20 to transmit it toward the optical sheets 43.
A liquid crystal panel 10 composed of a TFT array substrate and a color filter substrate is mounted on an upper portion of the LED backlight thusly configured and coupled with an adhesive tape 11 through an upper case (not shown) to form the LCD.
Meanwhile, with the development of the display industry, demand for a thinner display and reduction in a production cost is increasing.
In order to make the existing LED backlight thinner, the thickness of respective main components must be minimized. However, the performances such as the minimization of thickness, an optical efficiency and mechanic reliability are traded off each other, causing a limitation in minimizing the thickness.
In addition, in order to reduce the cost of the existing backlight, a processing time must be reduced, a production yield must be improved, and the cost of row materials must be cut down. However, there is a limitation in the shortening the processing time and improving the production yield, and the pressure of an increase in the cost of the raw materials is also increasing, making it difficult to cut down the costs.
Thus, with these problems, the related art fails to cope with the current demand for thinner display and cost cutdown.
Namely, in the general LCD illustrated in FIG. 2, if a thickness d1 of the LCD is reduced to meet the demand for making the display thinner, an assembly process, in particularly, an assembly processibility of the LED housing reflector 55, would deteriorate. Also, if the size of the LED array 20 is reduced, the quantity of light would be reduced, and also, because the LED PCB 21 and the reflective plate 42 overlaps, reflection efficiency is degraded.


A storage phosphor cassette for use in recording radiographic images of elongated objects. The cassette comprises a shell and a single storage phosphor plate. The shell includes first and second opposite open ends. The single storage phosphor plate is housed within the shell and is adapted to be at least partially removable from the shell through the first and second open ends. A radiation image of the elongate object can be read by extracting a first portion of the single plate through one of the two opposing ends of the cassette and scanning the first portion of the single storage phosphor plate to obtain a first partial image, and then extracting a second portion of the single plate through the other of the two opposing ends of the cassette and scanning the second portion of the single storage phosphor plate to obtain a second partial image. The first and second partial images can be combined to form the image of the elongate object.

X-ray imaging technology provides a non-invasive technique for visualizing the internal structure of an object of interest by exposing the object to high energy electromagnetic radiation (i.e., X-rays). X-rays emitted from a radiation source pass through the object and are absorbed at varying levels by the internal structures of the object. As a result, X-ray radiation exiting the object is attenuated according to the various absorption characteristics of the materials which the X-rays encounter.
The absorption characteristics of the object of interest may be captured by placing the object between a high energy electromagnetic radiation source and an image recording medium. As radiation from the source passes through the object, the radiation impinges on the image recording medium with an intensity related to the attenuation caused by the different absorption characteristics of the object. The impinging radiation causes a change in the image recording medium that is proportional to the radiation intensity, thereby storing information about the internal structure of the object. The image recording medium may then be processed to recover the stored information by, for instance, converting it into digital form. Common types of image recording media include sheet film, phosphor media, and the like.
Phosphor plate technology has emerged as a valuable image recording media for computed radiography (CR). When electromagnetic radiation, such as X-ray radiation, impinges on a phosphor plate, the radiation interacts with the phosphor lattice of the plate. The phosphors in the plate store energy proportional to the intensity of the impinging radiation. This energy can later be released by scanning the plate with a laser to excite the phosphors in the plate (i.e., by causing the phosphors to fluoresce). The excited phosphors release radiation that can be detected, quantified and stored as values representing pixels in an image.
Some imaging procedures require exposure to radiation of relatively large-dimensioned objects, referred to generally as elongate objects. Elongate objects typically have at least one dimension larger than standard large-sized commercially available phosphor plates. For example, in various medical imaging procedures, elongate structures involved in full-leg or spine examinations may need relatively long portions of the body to be imaged at once. Such procedures are often referred to as "long bone" imaging and typically require specialized equipment to accommodate the elongate properties of the anatomy being imaged. In addition, imaging of elongate objects in the industrial setting is often desirable. For example, non-destructive imaging to test for structural integrity of structural supports such as pillars or load-bearing walls and/or imaging of plumbing such as pipes may include elongate objects that extend further than the capacity of a single conventional phosphor plate.
Conventional size radiographic image acquisition units are limited in size and unsuitable for imaging elongated body regions such as the full spine or the leg. When it is necessary to obtain a radiographic image of a full spine or leg, several approaches have been used. If film/screen technology is used, either an extra long, non-standard radiographic film is used. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,541 (Kawai). Alternatively, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,045 (Trott) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,725,703 (Bucky), a cassette or cart is provided for holding a plurality of overlapping conventional sized film cassettes or packs.
A further alternative involves placing two or more standard sized CR phosphor plates (e.g., 35×43 cm phosphor plates) lengthwise adjacent to one another in a specialized cassette. The combined lengths of the multiple plates may be sufficient to image an elongate object having a dimension greater than the longest dimension of any single phosphor plate. The term "cassette" refers generally to any of various casings, cartridges or containers adapted to hold other material, and more particularly, adapted to hold one or more image recording media (e.g., one or more phosphor plates) to protect against damage from direct handling, contact or exposure. For example, a cassette may be formed as a rigid encasement providing a shell that can withstand the weight of a patient, rough handling, accidental falls, etc. A cassette typically includes some form of opening that permits insertion and extraction of the image recording media into and out of the cassette.
Cassettes employing two or more storage phosphor plates/screens have been disclosed. For example, see commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,852,987 (Steklenski), U.S. Pat. No. 6,696,691 (Foos), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,744,062 (Brahm). See also U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,598 (Minnigh), U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,606 (Dewaele), EP 1 312 977 (Delaby), JP 2000-241920 (Sasada), JP 2002-202571 (Nakajo), JP 2000-267210 (Sasada), JP 2000-250153 (Sasada), and JP 2000-258861 (Sasada).
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary elongate body imaging apparatus. The apparatus includes a cassette 100 having a width X and a length Y. Cassette 100 is adapted to hold a pair of phosphor plates 150a and 150b, each having a width x and a length y. In general, the length Y is chosen to accommodate a desired long bone imaging procedure, for example, an examination of an entire leg or spinal column. The lengthy is typically equal to the length of conventional phosphor plates produced by major vendors of imaging plates, and is insufficient, on its own, to capture complete image information for the entire elongate object.
Phosphor plates 150a and 150b are placed in cassette 100 in an overlapping relationship to form an overlap region 155 having a width u. Together, the dimensions of plates 150a and 150b (i.e., 2y-u) is sufficient to capture image information of the entire elongate object.
Cassette 100 may include reference or fiducial marks (not shown) that cast a "shadow" on portions of the plates, for example, in overlap region 155. The reference marks may be any generally X-ray resistant material arranged in a known pattern or relationship to one another that, when exposed to X-ray radiation, will cast a distinguishable shadow on the phosphor plates. For example, the reference marks may be a plurality of parallel and perpendicular lines that, when exposed, imprint a grid pattern on the phosphor plates. The reference marks provide fiducial information that may be referenced to correct for alignment errors and as a guide to facilitate image stitching, as discussed in further detail below.
The above described action of overlapping multiple plates in a cassette may be repeated to achieve coverage of elongate objects of any desired dimension. For example, a cassette may be adapted to hold a third plate having an overlapping relationship with the bottom edge of plate 150b. Any number of plates may be positioned together to arrive at a length sufficient to obtain image information from a desired elongate object.
After the cassette is exposed to radiation in the presence of the elongate object, phosphor plates 150a and 150b are removed from the cassette and are loaded individually and successively into a CR image reader adapted to acquire image information stored on the standard sized plates. Accordingly, the CR image reader obtains a first partial image from phosphor plate 150a and a second partial image from phosphor plate 150b.
However, the separate partial images make diagnostic and/or examination of the elongate object relatively difficult. Thus, the CR image reader may include image processing techniques adapted to stitch the partial images together using alignment information provided by the reference marks imprinted on the partial images to form a single image of the elongate object. Some stitching methods have been disclosed, for example, see commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,895,106 (Wang).

Methods and apparatus for imaging elongate objects


According to one embodiment, a voltage control inverter interconnectable with a power system, includes receiving circuitry configured to receive a first control command for outputting a voltage to the power system; and controlling circuitry configured to execute the first control command to output the voltage to the power system. The controlling circuitry is configured to skip to execute the first control command in response to the first control command being received during a period in which the power system is in a first state that is different from a normal state.

A typical voltage control inverter using a control based on a simulated inertial of a power generator (which is called an inertia-simulated control) operates as a voltage source. The voltage control inverter controls an output voltage of the inverter based on drooping characteristics for a power system (power grid) frequency, a power grid voltage, or both of them, thereby keeping a frequency of the power grid. Such a voltage control inverter is capable of black starting (i.e., restoring from electrically blackout) even if the power grid is in power outage during a disaster. It should be noted that as an example of a voltage control inverter, an UPS or the like is known; however, the UPS, which uses a CVCF (Constant Voltage Constant Frequency) control, does not contribute to keeping a frequency of a power grid unlike a voltage control inverter which has drooping characteristics for the output frequency and voltage amplitude.
A known example of a technology for controlling a voltage control inverter is a method of enabling black start by remotely operating a power grid during power outage to output a voltage.
However, in the case where the voltage control inverter remotely receives a control command from an upper control system, if the voltage control inverter black starts, it results in giving an electric shock to a worker who is performing inspection within a power grid, if any, or to equipment.

Voltage control inverter, power source apparatus, energy control system, and voltage control method