An electrophotographic photoreceptor comprising a conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer on the conductive substrate, wherein the photosensitive layer contains a compound of formula (I) as a charge transporting agent: ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 each represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, an aryloxycarbonyl group, a nitro group, a halogen atom, an alkylcarbonyl group or an arylcarbonyl group; Y represents ##STR2## X.sub.1 and X.sub.2 may be the same or different groups and are selected from a cyano group or an alkoxycarbonyl group; Z represents ##STR3## R.sub.3 represents a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group; R.sub.4, R.sub.5 and R.sub.6 each represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aralkyl group, an aryl group or a heterocyclic group; when Z is the ##STR4## group, R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are not the alkylcarbonyl group; m is 0 or 1; n is 0 to 2; and when n is 2, the R.sub.1 groups may be the same or different.

Electrophotographic photoreceptors containing organic photoconductive materials have been extensively studied because such photoreceptors do not cause environmental pollution, have high productivity and are inexpensive. There are known electrophotographic photoreceptors wherein the photosensitive layer contains diphenyldicyanoethylene derivatives as the sensitizing agent. Such a photoreceptor is disclosed in JP-A-54-30834 (the term "JP-A" refers to an unexamined published Japanese patent application).
However, a problem with such use of organic photoconductive materials is that materials which absorb visible light and generate electric charges exhibit poor charge retention characteristics; whereas materials having good charge retention characteristics and excellent film forming properties barely exhibit photoconductivity by visible light. In order to solve these problems, the prior art used a photosensitive layer of a laminate type composed of a layer containing a charge generating agent which absorbs visible light and generates electric charges and another layer containing a charge transporting agent which transports the charges produced. Various charge transporting agents have been proposed. For example, when the charge transporting agent is of the positive hole transporting agent type, amine compounds, hydrazone compounds, pyrazoline compounds, oxazole compounds, oxadiazole compounds, stilbene compounds and carbazole compounds can be used. Also, the other charge transporting agent, i.e., of the electron transporting agent type is 2,4,7-trinitrofluorenone (TNF) for example. Other examples of charge transporting agents include compounds containing boron described in JP-B-48-9988 (the term "JP-B" refers to an examined Japanese patent publication) and Canadian Patent 912,019.
As yet, no completely satisfactory sensitizing agent has been found for use in single layer structure type electrophotographic photoreceptors using an organic photoconductive material. For electrophotographic photoreceptors having a laminated structure, a positively charging type is preferred from the viewpoints of preventing ozone generation due to corotron and of controlling the charging of the toner in development. When the laminated type layer electrophotographic photoreceptor is of the positively charging type and when the charge transporting agent is of the positive hole transporting type, it is necessary that the charge generating layer be the upper layer. However, because the custom is to make the charge generating layer thin, the problem arises that such a thin charge generating layer is insufficiently thick to meet the mechanical requirements of the photoreceptor. Thus, it is imperative to use a positively charging photoreceptor with a sufficiently thick charge transporting layer as the upper layer. To provide such a desired photoreceptor, it is necessary to use an electron transporting agent in the charge transporting layer. However, the prior art charge transporting agents are not sufficiently effective as electron transporting agents.
The present invention is intended to overcome the above noted problems associated with the prior art.

Electrophotographic photoreceptor containing a fluorene derivative


Baseline data may be generated, including copying selected data from a planning database. Modifying requests associated with changes to a derived simulation may be received, and affected entries within the baseline data that are affected by the modifying requests may be determined. Simulation entries may be stored within a derived simulation dataset, the simulation entries corresponding to the affected entries within the baseline data. A mapping may be provided between the simulation entries within the derived simulation dataset and the affected entries within the baseline data. The derived simulation may be provided in response to the modifying requests and based on the mapping.

Simulation techniques are available which enable an ability to forecast and analyze potential future events. For example, in business realms, simulation tools exist which enable business owners to forecast an effect of potential increases or decreases in sales, production capacity, and other business metrics which may vary over time. Similarly, in financial realms, simulation tools enable an ability to test assumptions about possible outcomes in equities markets. In yet another example, simulations may help to estimate the consequences of changing the setup of an existing supply chain, for instance, by changing the available production or transportation capacities, safety stocks, the number of distribution centers or other important components.
In general, such simulation tools may perform operations on a data set which includes factual or expected data representing a current or possible state of relevant factors and variables, to thereby generate expected values and outcomes for such data variables. In this way, simulations may be created which represent changes over time and/or a final outcome at a selected future time, so that a user of the simulation tools may consider such information when deciding how to proceed. For example, in the examples given above, users of appropriate simulation tools may discover that the simulation tools predict that, e.g., opening a new production facility will increase profits.
In many simulation scenarios, the data on which the simulations are to be based may be relatively small in amount, and/or may be relatively static over a relevant period of time. In many other simulation scenarios, however, it may occur that the data on which the simulations will be based is very large in size, and/or may vary in time during a relevant time period during which the simulations are to be executed. In the latter case(s), the requirement to use a very large amount of data to produce (e.g., to copy the data from a given source, in parts or completely) the simulation may require a producer or consumer of the simulation to wait an undesirably inconveniently long time for the simulation to be produced. Moreover, due to factors such as, e.g., changes in the underlying data set which may occur during execution of two or more related simulations, it may be difficult or impossible to obtain meaningful comparisons between the two or more simulations, particularly in cases where simulations are often maintained and/or used for many days or weeks, while related business data may change significantly each day. Thus, for these and other reasons, it may be difficult for simulation users to obtain satisfactory results within an acceptable timeframe.

Derived simulations for planning systems


A printed wiring board includes an insulating resinous substrate having an aperture unit, a first terminal unit and a second terminal unit consisting of a conductor and formed on top of the resinous substrate, and a fuse unit that electrically couples the first terminal unit and the second terminal unit to each other. At least a part of the fuse unit is disposed over the aperture unit, and in addition, is covered by a porous inorganic covering material having insulating properties.

Realizing an electronic device by packaging electronic components on a printed wiring board is known, for example. With such electronic devices, in cases where thermal runaway or dielectric breakdown occurs, large currents flow through a circuit and the electronic device is damaged. Thus, in order to protect an electronic device, providing a fuse unit on a printed wiring board as a failsafe function has been proposed.
A printed wiring board that internally includes a fuse unit has been proposed. Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application (Registration) Publication No. H05-38937 discloses a printed wiring board equipped with a substrate, a pair of lands formed opposite each other on either side of an aperture unit provided on the substrate, a first trace pattern respectively coupled to the pair of lands, and a second trace pattern straddling the aperture unit to couple the pair lands and formed more finely than the first trace pattern. This printed wiring board of the related art described in Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application (Registration) Publication No. H05-38937 is provided with a fine semiconductor pattern (the second trace pattern) over the aperture unit of the substrate.
Furthermore, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. H07-85771 discloses a printed wiring board having, on a film substrate, a fuse unit made up of metal foil and a pair of terminal units joined to the fuse unit. In this printed wiring board of the related art described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. H07-85771, the fuse unit is encapsulated in resin (organic material) in order to reduce the effects of temperatures changes or other changes in ambient environment.
The contents of Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application (Registration) Publication No. H05-38937 and Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. H07-85771 are incorporated into this specification.

Printed wiring board, electronic device, and printed wiring board manufacturing method


A User-centric Enhanced Pathway (UEP) system may provide vehicle pathway guidance while driving using an augmented reality display system in the event of sun glare. The system uses a route observer module programmed to predict sun glare, by obtaining real-time information about the interior and exterior vehicle environment, heading, speed, and other data. The route observer module may also use an inward-facing camera to determine when the driver is squinting, which may increase the probability function that predicts when the driver is experiencing sun glare. When sun glare is predicted, the route observer sends the weighted prediction function and input signals to a decision module that uses vehicle speed, location, and user activity to determine appropriate guidance output for an enhanced pathway using an Augmented Reality (AR) module. The AR module may adjust brightness, contrast, and color of the AR information based on observed solar glare.

Solar glare, when driving, can present challenging situations for drivers when the glare prevents a clear view of the roadway. Solar glare can cost drivers time delay when it affects the flow of traffic and make ordinary commutes uncomfortable for the driver. Sun visors and other conventional features, such as partial windshield tinting, may not always be effective, especially when the angle of the sun may be directly in front of the vehicle during sunrise and sunset conditions. Other conventional driver assistance systems may provide path guidance using marked lanes shown on an output display to assist during such glare conditions. However, these "always on" systems may not be helpful when the displayed guidance is continuously presented on the vehicle display, even when solar glare is not present.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.

Enhanced augmented reality vehicle pathway


The invention relates to a door sill assembly for a vehicle body, having a door sill outer part connected to a door sill inner part, wherein the door sill parts are, in part, constituents of a floor assembly of the vehicle. According to the invention, the door sill outer part is provided from an extruded aluminum profile and is connected to the door sill inner part by way of longitudinally running joining flanges that correspond to one another, wherein the door sill inner part is provided at least from a sheet aluminum part and a sheet steel part connected to said sheet aluminum part.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a door sill assembly for a vehicle body.
2. Description of the Related Art
DE 10 2009 058 976 A1 discloses a door sill assembly for a vehicle body having a door sill hollow profile formed by a door sill inner part, a door sill outer part and a door sill side part as closure part. The door sill assembly is connected to a floor assembly or a floor support of the vehicle.
It is an object of the invention to provide a lightweight door sill assembly for a vehicle formed from an aluminum material and configured for simple connection to a steel vehicle pillar.

Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft


Provided are techniques for gauging credibility of digital content items. For each digital content item in a list of digital content items, a usage score is identified for each different level of usage and for a user base and the usage score for each different level of usage is added to obtain a total usage score for the digital content item. Each digital content item in the list is ranked using the total score of each digital content item.

Hypertext web search engines track usage patterns of a large base of people (e.g., usage patterns such as keyword searches and the links that are clicked on) to ascertain the relevance or quality of the results ("hits") for a search query. This surfaces links that are more popular or trending at a particular point in time, and the popular/trending links surface higher as more users click on them. "Surfaces" may be described as identifying with a search query, prioritizing, increasing in importance, etc.
In closed and secure environments, it may be more difficult to surface relevance or quality of documents for questions of similar context, especially if documents are continuously streaming in and the user base is much smaller. This makes it difficult for internal search engines to surface some documents that are more relevant or important to search queries than other documents.
There are citation trackers that are able to track the number of times documents were cited by other publications.

Gauging credibility of digital content items

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell of a solid polymer type that generates power by using a hydrogen-containing gas as a fuel gas, a reformer that generates the fuel gas by reforming ammonia, and a supply amount ratio control unit that controls a supply amount ratio of oxygen and ammonia to be supplied the reformer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fuel cell system and a control method for the fuel cell system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fuel cell is generally a device that obtains electric energy by using hydrogen and oxygen as fuel. Since fuel cells have excellent environmental friendliness and can realize a high energy efficiency, they have been actively developed as energy supply systems of the future. In particular, among various types of fuel cells, solid polymer fuel cells have good start ability because they are actuated at a comparatively low temperature. Accordingly, solid polymer fuel cells have been intensively researched for applications in a variety of field.
Fuel gas used for power generation in a fuel cell is generated by a reformer or the like. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-145748 (JP-A-2005-145748) describes providing hydrogen-containing gas obtained by thermal decomposition of ammonia to a fuel cell as a fuel gas.
However, proton conductivity of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane of a fuel cell decreases with the decrease in moisture content. Therefore, the solid polymer electrolyte membrane should include an appropriate amount of water. In JP-A-2005-145748, no water is contained in the fuel gas because no water is generated by thermal decomposition of ammonia in the reformer. Therefore, with the fuel gas obtained by thermal decomposition of ammonia, the solid polymer electrolyte membrane is not humidified. In this case, power generation efficiency can decrease.

Fuel cell system and control method for fuel cell system


A sampler (10), in particular for use in testing the dissolution behavior of pharmaceutical products, wherein the sampler (10) comprises: a vial holder (20) for accommodating a plurality of vials (22a, 22b); a sampling needle assembly (30) with a plurality of sampling needles, wherein the sampling needle assembly (30) and the vial holder (20) may be moved relative to one another in such a way that the sampling needles of the sampling needle assembly (30) may be inserted into the vials of the vial holder (20); and a pump unit (40) with a plurality of diaphragm pumps (42a, 42b) which are designed to convey a fluid via the sampling needle assembly to the vials in the vial holder (20) and to withdraw a fluid therefrom.

Apparatuses and methods are known for simulating the dissolution behavior of pharmaceutical products in the human digestive system and for obtaining information about this process. Conventional apparatuses for testing the dissolution behavior of dosages of pharmaceutical products have a dissolution unit with multiple dissolution vessels, in each of which is placed a test solution and a dosage of a pharmaceutical product to be tested, such as a tablet. After a tablet, for example, has been placed in the test solution in a dissolution vessel in which the conditions prevailing in the human digestive system are to be simulated, a stirring element in the test solution is rotated at a specified rate for a specified duration. An example of such a dissolution unit is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,649.
In order to track the progress of the dissolution behavior over time, samples of a respective test solution in which the dosage of the pharmaceutical product dissolves are taken or withdrawn from a respective dissolution vessel at certain time intervals and are conveyed to an analytical instrument. Systems are known for this process, which are commonly referred to as autosamplers or samplers, in order to automate various aspects of withdrawing samples from the test solution and conveying the samples that have been withdrawn or taken to an analytical instrument. In such systems, samples and other fluids are conveyed by pumps through tubing lines. Samplers are known which allow the testing of several dosages of a pharmaceutical process at the same time, in which samples of test solution with the dosage of the pharmaceutical product dissolving therein are withdrawn from each dissolution vessel a number of times. In prior art samplers, the withdrawn samples are delivered to collection receptacles, such as test tubes or vials, for temporary storage prior to analysis. The samplers may also automatically transfer samples from the collection receptacles to an analytical instrument at appropriate times for analysis.
Samplers typically have a rack that can hold a group of collection receptacles for keeping collected samples, and a head at which a set of lines terminates, the lines each being connected to a pump to serve a particular dissolution vessel. The head and the group of collection receptacles can be moved and positioned relative to one another so that a particular withdrawn sample can be delivered to a particular collection receptacle for storage. Prior art systems may also be designed to flush, wash, and purge the tubing lines, and to replace the test solution in which a dosage of the pharmaceutical product is dissolving that has been withdrawn from the dissolution vessels with fresh test solution, which is known as media replacement, and/or to return to the dissolution vessels a portion of the withdrawn test solution that is not delivered to the collection receptacles, which is known as media recycling.
In prior art samplers, the pumps for transporting fluids are implemented as tubing pumps or as piston pumps.
In a sampler with tubing pumps or peristaltic pumps, respective elastic tubing sections of the lines are mechanically deformed or compressed by means of a motor in such a manner that the medium to be transported is forced through the tubing section, and thus through the line. In this context, the transport can be bidirectional, which is to say that the medium can be transported along the line in both directions. The intake and delivery pressure of a tubing pump is very limited, however, and the metering precision depends strongly on the back pressure and the operating life or service life. Furthermore, the reliability of delivery decreases with increasing operating life or life time of a tubing pump, since the tubing sections that are peristaltically compressed can stick together, for example, and thus hamper the flow of fluid.
In some prior art samplers, piston/syringe pumps are used instead of tubing pumps, since they operate with greater precision and reliability than tubing pumps. With valves at the inlet and outlet, bidirectional fluid transport can also be achieved. A sampler with a pump unit that includes piston/syringe pumps is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,948,389. The pump unit described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,948,389 has eight piston pumps, each with a piston that is movable in a cylindrical pump element. The lower ends of the pistons are secured to a flange which, when raised and lowered by a mechanism driven by a motor, moves the pistons upward and downward within the cylindrical pump elements.
Samplers with piston/syringe pumps are relatively complex in technical terms, and because of the relatively large dwell volume (which is likewise known from HPLC to those skilled in the art as the volume that must be pumped until the fresh medium at the outlet of the pump system has a content of approximately 72%), and because of the fact that the FIFO principle (i.e., "first in-first out") cannot be implemented with such samplers, they are not well suited for media undergoing change, such as is the case for the change in concentration of the test solution with the dosage of the pharmaceutical product dissolving therein. Furthermore, when the piston moves within the cylindrical pump element, the friction of the piston seal on the inner surface of the cylindrical pump element, which is often made of glass, produces abraded particles, which get into the sample and can adversely affect the measurements, such as fluorescence detection, at the analytical instrument. Finally, the piston seals of piston/syringe pumps are subject to severe wear, so that they need to be serviced and replaced frequently.
The object of the present invention is thus to provide an improved sampler that does not exhibit the disadvantages described above.


A method and apparatus for redirecting data traffic are provided. The method includes receiving a service request from a first device, allocating resources for the service, associating the resources with a first unique identifier, confirming the service request with the first device, receiving a connection request from a second device including the first unique identifier and an authentication certificate, passing the authentication certificate to the first device, and receiving an authentication confirmation from the first device. The method further includes, in response to receiving the authentication confirmation, accepting the connection request from the second device, providing an indication regarding at least one local area network to the second device, and providing required credentials associated with the at least one local area network to the second device.

Second generation (2G) and third generation (3G or 3.5G) wide area networks are widely spread all over the world and provide varying capabilities for mobile applications in terms of bandwidth, coverage and latency. Typically these mobile networks provide data rates that are generally adequate for services employing a low to medium bandwidth applications such as voice communications, text messaging, instant messaging, e-mail with no or relatively small attachments. The data access rates tend to be marginal for services that demand or would otherwise benefit from a higher bandwidth such as multimedia streaming, rich content web browsing, or large file downloads. The greatest advantages of these networks are mobility and the wide area coverage except indoors. On the contrary wireless local area networks (WLAN) offer far better data rates and are today extensively deployed especially in metropolitan areas. The capabilities of mobile devices are growing fast and more advanced devices are consuming more bandwidth in the networks they operate. These devices, iPhone as a prime example, are equipped with both wide area connectivity and local area connectivity and applications such as web browsers and multimedia streaming applications. This requirement of bandwidth sets new challenges to wide area networks thus mechanisms are needed to balance the load off to local area networks with much greater bandwidth capacity. As wide area data market has become very competitive with flat date offerings the operators have difficulties to justify the additional investment in wide area infrastructure.
Therefore there is a need the consumer friendly empowerment of the operator to off-load selected customers to security enabled wireless local area network that is already installed in the indoor environment the customers are. Thus, the solution improves the capacity of all operator consumers affected by the congestion. The preferred embodiments of the invention realize an instance of a broker machine that reacts on information from wide area network management systems and holistically & cost efficiently manages the congestion problem. The management happens by selecting the most suitable local area operator and initiating the formation of NoTA virtual device concept between the selected mobile devices and a server attached with the selected local area network. The selection of the most suitable local area operator can happen based on location information, existing pricing contracts between the wide and local are operators or in an on-line auction.

Method and apparatus for redirecting data traffic


A reproduced image transmission apparatus which can display reversely reproduced images normally even when the transfer order of asynchronous transfer and isochronous transfer is not ensured on IEEE1394, in cases where an apparatus for generating the reversely reproduced images and an apparatus for decoding the reversely reproducing images are connected with each other via an IEEE1394 network. An MPEG transport stream processing means 15 embeds control signal for controlling decoding in an MPEG picture, and transmits the signal together with the MPEG picture through the IEEE1394 network in the isochronous transfer mode, whereby the synchronization between the MPEG picture and its control signal is surely obtained, thereby to generate reversely reproduced images according to MPEG using P and B pictures.

In recent years, as speeds of networks have increased and capacities of hard disks have been expanded, a system has come out which stores digital images recorded according to MPEG or the like, in a hard disk, and transmits the stored digital images to a receiver via a network. This video network system employs a high-speed network based on IEEE1394. A storage device including a hard disk is connected via this network with a reproduction apparatus which receives data to reproduce video images.
IEEE1394 has an isochronous transfer function that ensures the amount of data which are transferred during a prescribed time period. Because the isochronous transfer ensures the amount of data transferred during the prescribed time period, this is suitable for transmission of video or audio which requires a real time property, and mounted on a large number of STBs of BS digital broadcast in Japan or digital VCR apparatuses.
IEEE1394 further has an asynchronous transfer function for transferring data or commands. This asynchronous transfer is of a mode in which the right to use a bus is obtained to transmit data when desiring to transmit data, whereby the amount of data transferred during a prescribed time period is not ensured.
At present, detailed commands are defined in IEEE1394 by DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting Project), IEEE1394 T.A. (Trade Association), and the like. Particularly according to IEEE1394 T.A., formats of MPEG transport streams to be transmitted on an IEEE1394 network, commands for controlling digital VCRs by using disk storages, and the like are determined. These commands are transferred in the asynchronous transfer mode.
However, according to IEEE1394, even when packets are outputted in the order of the asynchronous transfer and the isochronous transfer, there is no guarantee that the packets are transmitted on the network in the order of the asynchronous transfer and the isochronous transfer. More specifically, even when packets are outputted in the order of the asynchronous transfer and the isochronous transfer to a packet transmitting apparatus according to IEEE1394, the packets are sometimes transmitted in the order of the isochronous transfer and the asynchronous transfer on the IEEE1394 network.
On the other hand, when reversely reproduced images are generated with MPEG pictures by using B pictures (bidirectionally predictive coded pictures) or P pictures (inter-frame forward predictive coded pictures), display of the decoded images should be switched for each picture.
FIG. 3 illustrates a structure of an MPEG decoder using B pictures and P pictures. An MPEG image input 3a to be decoded is inputted to an MPEG decoder 31 which performs decoding that is compliant with syntaxes according to MPEG. A reference picture memory 32 is a memory that stores reference pictures which are necessary to decode MPEG images. In this case, reference pictures at the decoding of MPEG images are stored in the reference picture memory 32. The MPEG images decoded by the MPEG decoder 31 are stored in a frame memory 33, and the images in the frame memory 33 are displayed on a monitor 34.
A method of reverse playback using P and B pictures will be described. FIGS. 4(a) to 4(c) show a method of forward playback using P and B pictures. At the forward playback, when images are to be displayed in the order of B0, B1, I1, B2, P3, B4, I5, B6, and P7, pictures are inputted to the MPEG decoder 31 in the order of I1, B0, P3, B2, I5, B4, P7, and B6. Then, the MPEG decoder 31 stores reference pictures which are necessary to decode B pictures, in the reference picture memory 32 according to the order shown in FIG. 4(c). Here, the pictures denoted by "I" are I pictures, which can be decoded without requiring other reference pictures to obtain video. The pictures denoted by "P" are P pictures, which require the forward prediction with referring to an immediately preceding I or P picture to be decoded. The pictures denoted by "B" are B pictures, which, otherwise specified, require the forward prediction with referring to an immediately preceding I or P picture and the backward prediction with referring to an immediately subsequent I or P picture, to be decoded.
The pictures decoded by the MPEG decoder 31 are stored in the frame memory 33 in the order of B0, I1, B2, P3, B4, I5, B6, and P7, and displayed on the monitor 34 in the same order. At this time, a switch 36 is always in a state for passing the pictures.
FIGS. 5(a) to 5(e) shows the method of reverse playback using P and B pictures. The description is given of the method for reversely reproducing the pictures shown in FIG. 4 in the order of B4, P3, B2, and I1. In order to decode B4 picture, reference pictures P3 and I5 are required. However, to generate the reference picture P3, a further preceding I1 picture is required. That is, four pictures I1, P3, I5, and B4 are required to decode the picture B4. Similarly, pictures I1 and P3 are required to decode picture P3, and pictures I1, P3 and B2 are required to decode picture B2. I1 picture does not require other pictures to be decoded.
When the picture B4 is to be decoded now, the pictures I1, P3 and I5 should be decoded, in addition to the picture B4. The decoded pictures I1, P3, and I5 are stored in the reference picture memory 32, but it is unfavorable that these pictures are stored in the frame memory 33. Thus, the switch 36 is controlled by a display control unit 35 shown in FIG. 3 for outputting only the picture B4 to the frame memory 33 to be displayed. At this time, the display control unit 35 should generate commands 5B for instructing to perform decoding in the MPEG decoder 31 but not to display an obtained picture, and commands 5A for instructing to perform decoding in the MPEG decoder 31 and also performing image display, as shown in FIG. 5(d), thereby controlling the switch 36 so as to control the storage of pictures into the frame memory 33. The same processing is performed also for other pictures. Here, in the case of playback other than the reverse playback, which does not use B and P pictures, generated commands are all 5B.
As described above, when MPEG images are to be reversely reproduced, the function of performing control so as to decode pictures but not to display decoded images is added in units of pictures, thereby to generate images reversely reproduced using P and B pictures.
FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art image transmitting apparatus. In this figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a transmission apparatus. Numeral 22 denotes a storage device, which is a hard disk in this example, in which MPEG transport streams are recorded in an arbitrary format. Numeral 23 denotes an IEEE1394 transmission/receiving means, and numeral 24 denotes a storage device control means.
Numeral 25 denotes a reproduction apparatus, which comprises an IEEE transmission/receiving means 26, a command generation means 27, and an image reproduction means 28. In this figure, MPEG images are recorded in the storage device 22 in the form of MPEG transport streams. The command generation means 27 in the reproduction apparatus 25 generates a reproduction command 2a for reproducing images from an MPEG transport stream which is stored in the storage device 22, and transmits the generated command 2a to the IEEE1394 transmission/receiving means 26. The reproduction command 2a is compliant with a command of IEEE1394 T.A. (Trade Association), which indicates a state of the playback, such as playback, fast forward, reverse playback, stop of playback, and the like, but does not control reproduction of each picture.
The IEEE1394 transmission/receiving means 26 converts the reproduction command 2a into an asynchronous packet on the IEEE1394, and transmits the packet via the IEEE1394 network 2b to the IEEE1394 transmission/receiving means 23. The IEEE1394 transmission/receiving means 23 extracts the reproduction command 2a from the transmitted asynchronous packet, and transmits the extracted command 2a to the storage device control means 24. The storage device control means 24 reads an MPEG transport stream which is recorded in the storage device 22, corresponding to the reproduction command 2a, and transmits the readout MPEG transport stream 6a to the IEEE1394 transmission/receiving means 23.
The IEEE1394 transmission/receiving means 23 converts the MPEG transport stream 6a that is read out from the storage device 22 into an isochronous packet, and transmits the packet through the IEEE1394 network 2b. The transmitted isochronous packet is converted into an MPEG transport stream by the IEEE1394 transmission/receiving means 26, and transmitted to the image reproduction means 28. The components as shown in FIG. 3 other than the display control unit 35 are included in the image reproduction means 28. Since a decoding control signal 3b outputted from the display control unit 35 in FIG. 3 is generated in synchronized with a picture which is read out of the storage device 22, this signal is stored in the storage device control means 24.
FIG. 6 illustrates a structure of the IEEE1394 transmission/receiving means 23 and 26. The reproduction command 2a is converted into an asynchronous transfer packet by an asynchronous transfer means 61, and transmitted/received via the IEEE1394 network 2b through an IEEE1394 link layer 63 and an IEEE1394 physical layer 64. An MPEG transport stream 6a is converted into an IEEE1394 isochronous packet by an isochronous transfer means 62, and transmitted/received via the IEEE1394 network 2b through the IEEE1394 link layer 63 and the IEEE1394 physical layer 64. The method for converting the MPEG transport stream and the method for transmitting/receiving the packets by means of the IEEE1394 transmission/receiving means are determined in IEEE1394. The IEEE1394 link layer 63 and the IEEE1394 physical layer 64 are standardized by IEEE1394.
FIG. 7 shows a structure of an MPEG transport stream. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 72 denotes a bit stream that is called an elementary stream in which information such as video or audio is described. As images, MPEG video compressed bit streams are contained in many cases. This bit stream syntax is pursuant to a format that is defined by ISO/IEC 13818-2. The elementary stream 72 sometimes contains Sequence_header, in which information about the method for compressing images, identification of Standard Definition images and High Definition images, structures of pictures, and output intervals between pictures are described. A stream which comprises the elementary stream 72 and a PES header 71 that is defined by ISO/IEC 13818-1 is called a PES stream 70.
The PES stream 70 is divided into an arbitrary size, then w a header defined by ISO/IEC 13818-1 is added to obtain a fixed packet of 188-byte length, and various information is further added thereto to obtain multiple channels, resulting in an MPEG transport stream.
Here, it is assumed that an MPEG image refers to an MPEG transport stream defined by ISO/IEC 13818-1, which has elementary streams that are defined by ISO/IEC 13818-2 or ISO/IEC 11172-2 as pictures.
When the images stored in the storage device are subjected to forward reproduction, stop of reproduction, and reverse reproduction of only I pictures in the conventional structure as shown in FIG. 2, the reproduction command 2a is transmitted or received in the asynchronous transfer mode and then the isochronous transfer is resumed, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. Even when the isochronous transfer is performed after it is confirmed that the transmission or receiving according to the asynchronous transfer is completed, images can be reproduced without problems.
On the other hand, when the reverse playback using P and B pictures is performed, a decoding control signal should be generated for each picture. As this decoding control signal depends on a structure of a GOP (Group Of Picture), this signal is contained in the storage device control means 24 in FIG. 2. Accordingly, the decoding control signal 3b that is generated by the display control unit 35 in the storage device control means 24 must be transmitted to the image reproduction means 28 in the reproduction apparatus 25 via the IEEE1394 network 2b. Since the decoding control signal 3b generated by the display control unit 35 is synchronized with an image which is read out from the storage device 22 and further this is a command signal, this signal should be transmitted in the asynchronous transfer mode through the IEEE1394 network 2b.
To be more specific, an MPEG picture that is transferred in the isochronous transfer mode and the decoding control signal 3b generated by the display control unit 35, which is transmitted in the asynchronous transfer mode, should be transmitted in synchronized with each other on the IEEE1394 network 2b.
When an MPEG picture that is transferred according to the isochronous transfer is transmitted to the isochronous transfer means 62 after an asynchronous packet of the decoding control signal 3b generated by the display control unit 35 is inputted to the asynchronous transfer means 61 in the IEEE1394 transmission/receiving means 23, there are some cases where the IEEE1394 link layer 63 does not perform the asynchronous transfer of a previously inputted packet but performs the isochronous transfer of a later inputted picture. This is because the transmission order of the asynchronous transfer and the isochronous transfer is not ensured in the IEEE1394 standards.
Even if the transfer is performed in the order of asynchronous transfer and isochronous transfer, there may be the possibility that the transmission order is inverted after the receiving. After the completion of asynchronous transfer is checked, i.e., when the asynchronous transfer is performed while stopping the isochronous transfer in the meantime and thereafter MPEG pictures are transmitted by the isochronous transfer means 62, the transfer rate may be adversely rate-determined to the asynchronous transfer rate, and The band for the isochronous transfer may not be ensured, because the transmission band of the asynchronous transfer is not ensured. The commands for reproduction or stop do not require to consider the transmission bands before and after the commands, but the control signal for each picture should ensure also the transmission bands before and after the command.
That is, in the conventional structure, the decoding control signal 3b that is synchronized with a picture cannot be transmitted or received to perform reverse reproduction of MPEG images.
The conventional reversely reproduced image generation apparatus has the aforementioned structure and, accordingly, when an apparatus for generating a reversely reproduced image via an IEEE1394 network is connected with an apparatus for decoding the reversely reproduced image, an MPEG picture that is transferred in the isochronous transfer mode is not synchronized with a control signal that is transferred in the asynchronous transfer mode, because the transfer order of the asynchronous transfer and the isochronous transfer is not ensured, whereby the reversely reproduced image cannot be decoded.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Particulate solid heat stabilizer compositions for vinyl halide polymers are provided having about 30% to 90% by weight hydrotalcite particles represented by a sigmoidal curve on a cartesian coordinate plot of zeta potential (mV) versus pH. The curve has negative zeta potential values balanced against positive zeta potential values over a pH range and an inflection point between a pH of about 3 about 6 representing the isoelectric point (IEP) between said negative and positive zeta potential values. The stabilizer compositions are essentially free flowing, storage stable, and processable upon mixing components of the composition for blending with a vinyl halide polymer in effective amounts to confer heat stabilizing effectiveness upon said polymer.

The use of hydrotalcite as a component in heat stabilizing molded vinyl compound is well established, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,208 (Kyowa), U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,628 (Synthetic Products), and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,413,639 and 7,405,359 (Toda Kogyo). The volume of hydrotalcite used commercially for this purpose was not significant until EU directives ROHS (Restriction Of use of Hazardous Substances), REACH (Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Registration) and WEEE (Waste from Electrical & Electronic Equipment) regulated the use of lead and certain components present in tin and barium-zinc heat stabilizers. This, along with the current trends in eliminating volatile organic compounds and toxic metals, primarily in architectural applications, changed the direction in vinyl stabilization towards the increased use of hydrotalcite containing heat stabilizers.
The demand for hydrotalcite containing heat stabilizers was sudden and greater than supply. Suppliers could not produce enough and the world was searched for comparable material. Expectations in vinyl processing and performance were elevated in that the new hydrotalcite containing heat stabilizers had to equal that of the well established standards. The new hydrotalcite type replacement stabilizers stabilized adequately but many difficulties with processing and performance hampered the compliance effort.
During the powder mixing of the hydrotalcite containing heat stabilizers, product densities would drop, severely. This prevented normal filling of drums, bags and sacs. Container weights dropped as much as 50% which greatly affected manufacturing productivity. Compaction of the packaged heat stabilizer occurred during normal storage, producing hard lumps in the typically free flowing powder. This increased the amount of rejected finished product. Customers complained of "rat-holing" (bridging of the powder over an orifice which restricts flow of the material) in their transfer equipment during blending of their vinyl compounds when using these hydrotalcite containing heat stabilizers. They also complained of extreme screen pack build up of sand-like material (analyzed as only hydrotalcite without the other components of the heat stabilizer or vinyl compound) during extrusion. This forced considerable down time in their plants. Finished vinyl parts displayed inconsistent rough surfaces while difficulties in obtaining UL listing on THWN and THWN-2 wire formulations incorporating the hydrotalcite containing stabilizers made for an uncertain lead stabilizer replacement program.
Many explanations were created to fit the individual difficulties. There was no understanding that these problems could be interrelated. The difficulties mentioned above diminished with some sources as well as different lots of hydrotalcite as opposed to others. Hydrotalcites used to make commercial vinyl heat stabilizers are generally based on a magnesium and aluminum metal complex or a magnesium, zinc and aluminum metal complex. The anion in both cases is preferably a carbonate, a dispersing agent may be used during reaction and the finished hydrotalcite in both are surface treated with a metal carboxylate or carboxylic acid such as stearic acid (at a level between 0.5% and 5% with the range of 1.5% to 2.5% typically used). The typical pH range is 8.0-9.5, the MgO/Al2O3 ratio ranges from around 4-5 for the magnesium and aluminum metal complex and around 3-4 for the magnesium, zinc, and aluminum metal complex. The ZnO to Al2O3 metals ratio for this complex is around 1.0. The particle size is below 6 microns and the surface area (BET) is less than 30 m2/g. The hydrotalcite can also be calcinated.
Hydrotalcite incorporated in vinyl heat stabilizers is typically represented (but with slight molar ratio variations) as follows:[M2+1-xM3+x(OH)2]x+[An−x/n,yH2O]                "Chemical Society of Japan", 1995, no. 8, pp. 622 to 628Typically, the two different types of hydrotalcite for vinyl applications can be written as follows:Mg4Al2(OH)12CO3.3H2OandMg3.5Zn0.5Al2(OH)12CO3.3H2O
Hydrotalcite can be made via three typical procedures such as the co-precipitation method, the salt oxides method and the induced hydroxide method. These methods have been revealed in the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,523 Kyowa, Apr. 22, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,026, Union Carbide, Jul. 3, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,457, Aluminum Co. of America, Oct. 18, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,329, Aristech Chemical Corp., Mar. 21, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,286, Aluminum Co. of America, Nov. 26, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,532, Kyowa, Sep. 17, 1999; U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,413,639 and 7,405,359, Toda Kogyo, Jul. 2, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 6,514,473, Sasol, Feb. 4, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 7,211,235, Sud Chemie AG, May 1, 2007; WO/2008/050927, Shin Won Chemical Co. LTD., Feb. 5, 2008.
A typical vinyl heat stabilizer formulated with hydrotalcite can contain alkaline earth and metal carboxylates (such as Ba, Ca, Mg, K, Li, Na, Sr, Ce, Sn, Al, Zn, La and rare earth metals), uracils, antioxidants, beta diketones and aceto acetonates, polyols, hydroxyl containing isocyanurate, alcohols, perchlorates, melamine, alkaline earth and metal oxides, alkaline earth and metal hydroxides, zeolites, silicates, and lubricants (such as paraffin, fischer tropsch and polyethylene waxes, esters, amides, C10-C30 carboxylates) among other ingredients and as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,313,208, 6,413,639, and 7,405,359, to list a few. These components are powders with the process of manufacturing a commercial vinyl heat stabilizer being a simple powder blend with no intended reaction. However, as the hydrotalcite concentration within the heat stabilizer increases from about 30% to 90% by weight, higher degrees of instability and processing problems, as described above, are associated with the higher percentages of hydrotalcite used.

Heat stabilizers containing hydrotalcite particles with specific zeta potentials that demonstrate improved processing and performance in molded vinyl compounds


A method of preparing a 4'-0-demethy-4.beta.-NHR podophyllotoxin, where R is an aryl or dialkyl amino alkyl group, is disclosed. The method includes reacting H.sub.2 NR under basic conditions with a mixture of .alpha. and .beta. epimers of 4'-0-demethyl-4-bromo-podophyllotoxin, to form an epimeric mixture of the 4'-0-demethyl-4-NHR-podophyllotoxin compounds, removing acidic impurities which bind to silica gel in a dichloromethane solvent, and crystallizing 4'-0-demethyl-4.beta.-NHR-podophyllotoxin from its .alpha. epimer.

A class of amine derivatives, particularly aryl amine derivatives, of 4'-demethylepipodophyllotoxin compounds useful as anti-tumor agents has been described (see, for example, Lee, K.-H., et al., J Med Chem, 33:1364 (1990), and Lee, K.-H., et al., PCT patent application WO 90/09788).
The published syntheses of these compounds involves forming a mixture of .alpha. and .beta. epimers of 4'-0-demethyl-4-bromo-podophyllotoxin (4'-0-demethyl-4-bromo-desoxypodophyllotoxin), and reacting the mixture of epimers with a suitable amine, forming an epimeric mixture of the 4'-0-demethyl-4-amine-podophyllotoxin (4'-0-demethyl-4-amine-desoxypodophyllotoxin). The .alpha. and .beta. epimeric products are separated by chromatography. This method is suboptimal for large-scale production of the desired 4'-0-demethyl-4.beta.-amine-podophyllotoxin (4'-0-demethyl-4.beta.-amine-desoxypodophyllotoxin), because of the need for chromatographic separation of products.

Preparation of 4.beta.- amino podophyllotoxin compounds


Provided are an ion channel pressure sensor and a manufacturing method of the same. The ion channel pressure sensor includes: a bottom storage including a bottom storage space in which an electrolyte is stored; a top storage including a top storage space in which an electrolyte is stored; a membrane disposed between the bottom storage and the top storage, the membrane including a plurality of through-holes; a plate-shaped bottom support disposed on a bottom surface of the bottom storage; a plate-shaped top support disposed on a top surface of the top storage; a power supply configured to apply a voltage between the electrolyte stored in the bottom storage space and the electrolyte stored in the top storage space; and an ammeter configured to detect a current flowing to the power supply.

An ion channel is essential means for sustaining life in all living cells. An ion channel continues to transport ions through cell membranes. Main functions of ion channels are essential for sensory organs to maintain homeostasis.
Basically, when a receptor is stimulated and activated from various environmental forces such as heat, light, smell, sound, and pressure, an ion channel provides an electrical signal generated by ion motion across a cell membrane to a nerve.
Until now, several research groups have reported performances of nature-inspired artificial ion channel sensors. Among the performances, there is almost no pressure sensing using an ion channel system. In the biological field, it is known that mechanotransduction corresponds to mechanical stimuli in mechanosensory receptors that change in cell membrane potential. In mechanosensory receptors, a stimulus may be deflection of a hair-cell stereocilia in a cochlea.
In particular, although the exact mechanism is not yet known, a stretch-activated ion channel is one of the pressure-detectable configurations which exist in microbes, yeast, and plants.
Most studies for pressure sensing are limited to silicon and polymer-based devices. These devices may include a transistor, pressure sensing, capacitive sensing, piezoelectric sensing, piezoresistive, and optical sensing.
These systems are coupled to input/output regions which cause unstable electrical properties, low selectivity, high operating power, and static feeling. For example, the main concern of piezoelectric sensors results from a high internal resistance and is affected by an input impedance of a readout electrical circuit and low sensitivity to temperature and static force.
Capacitive sensors suffer from disadvantages that noise is associated with an electric field interaction and fringe effect causing the demand of a particular electronic circuit should be removed.
A biological ion channel system configured to sense external stimuli basically includes receptors and nanopores. The hybrid design of ion channels is effectively evolving. The receptor is mechanically triggered by an external stimulus, and the nanopore electrochemically performs a function to provide a path for ion transport. The two elements are separated from each other. Ion channels have important properties, as follows. First, the ion channel is passive in the sense that it does not need an energy source to operate them. Second, highly selective recognition of substrates with high receptivity is provided. Moreover, a direct signal is obtained from ion transport across a membrane along an electrochemical gradient without an additional amplifier system or electronic circuit. An ion channel is configured to carry ions at a very high speed (more than 106 s−1 for ions and less than 109 s−1 for water) in a nanoscale or microscale dimension without concern about energy consumption. Thus, an ion channel may be used as a sensors to monitor physical parameters including acceleration, temperature, sound waves, fluid engineering, and pressure.
Many functional features may transfer short response times, low power consumption, dynamic spatial resolution, flexibility, and integration on various soft and hard surfaces.

Ion channel pressure sensor and manufacturing method of the same

KOREA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AND BUSINESS FOUNDATION


A system, device, and method for detecting and recovering from failures in a multicast communication system involves joining a multicast group over a primary interface, monitoring for multicast group information received over the primary interface, and determining that there is a multicast group failure if no multicast group information is received over the primary interface for a predetermined amount of time. Recovering from such a failure typically involves joining the multicast group over a backup interface in order to continue receiving multicast group information over the backup interface. A relay/proxy device may join the multicast group on behalf of a multicast host and forward multicast group information to the multicast host.

The present invention relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly to providing redundancy for multicast streams in a multicast communication system.
In today""s information age, communication networks are often used for transporting information from an information provider to one or more information consumers.
One technique for transporting information from an information provider to a group of information consumers over the communication network is known as xe2x80x9cmulticasting.xe2x80x9d Multicasting is a well-know method of transmitting information to selected groups of users across a network, such as the Internet. For example, the transmission of an e-mail message to a group of users, each user being listed on a mailing list, may use multicasting principles. Video conferencing and teleconferencing may also use multicasting principles and, accordingly, are often referred to as xe2x80x9cmulti-conferencing.xe2x80x9d Multicasting allows the information provider (referred to hereinafter as a xe2x80x9cmulticast sourcexe2x80x9d) to transmit a single unit of multicast information (referred to hereinafter as a xe2x80x9cmulticast packetxe2x80x9d) simultaneously to all information consumers (referred to hereinafter individually as a xe2x80x9cmulticast hostxe2x80x9d and collectively as xe2x80x9cmulticast hostsxe2x80x9d) in the multicast group, specifically by addressing the multicast packet to the multicast group using a multicast address. The multicast hosts monitor the communication network for multicast packets addressed to the multicast group.
In order to distribute multicast packets from a particular multicast source S to the multicast hosts for a particular multicast group G, the multicast packet is routed through the communication network by a number of routers. The communication network may include multiple routing domains, and therefore the multicast packet may traverse multiple routing domains. Each router runs various routing protocols to determine, among other things, a xe2x80x9cnext hopxe2x80x9d for each packet based upon address information in the packets. Such routing information is used to establish a multicast distribution tree, and is maintained by each router in one or more routing tables (often referred to as a xe2x80x9crouting information basexe2x80x9d). Due to the increased demand for applications utilizing multicasting principles, protocols such as the Internet Group Multicast Protocol (xe2x80x9cIGMPxe2x80x9d) have been developed and refined to support multicasting over a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (xe2x80x9cTCP/IPxe2x80x9d) network, such as the Internet. The new protocols, such as IGMP, allow users to easily create and join multicasting session (xe2x80x9cmulticastsxe2x80x9d).
Typically, multicast networks are configured to communicate provider information from multiple providers to multicast clients over a single primary communications link. To provide redundancy, multicast networks are also connected to the multicast clients via a backup link as well so that, in the event of a failure in the primary link, the network will switch-over to the backup link to communicate the provider information.
One problem with the redundancy feature in the typical multicast network is that there is no provision made for a failure in a network provider which is unrelated to a link failure but which terminates the communication of provider information to the multicast clients. This can happen, for example, from the failure of one of the routers used to distribute multicast packets containing provider information to the multicast hosts. Because the network fails to detect a link failure, the switch-over to the backup link is not performed, resulting in the provider information not being communicated to the multicast clients.
Thus, a technique for providing redundancy in a multicast network in the event of a failure other than a link failure is needed.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a networking device joins a multicast group over a primary interface. Joining the multicast group over the primary interface enables the networking device to receive multicast group information (i.e., a multicast stream) over the primary interface. The networking device monitors for multicast group information received over the primary interface. The networking device determines that there is a failure if no multicast group information is received over the primary interface for a predetermined amount of time. Upon detecting such a failure, the networking device typically joins the multicast group over a backup interface in order to continue receiving the multicast group information over the backup interface.
According to another aspect of the invention, the networking device receives a request from a multicast host to become a member of a multicast group and joins the multicast group over the primary interface on behalf of the multicast host. Upon determining that no information from the multicast group is received for a period of time over the primary interface, the networking device joins the multicast group over the backup interface on behalf of the multicast host to receive the information. The networking device remains joined to the multicast group over the primary interface on behalf of the multicast host and leaves the backup interface upon determining that the information is once again being received over the primary interface.

System, device, and method for detecting and recovering from failures in a multicast communication system


A multilayer hose made of plastics material for transporting highly solvent chemicals such as paint, the hose including, from the inside to the outside, a polyamide/polyolefin alloy layer, a polyurethane-based adhesive layer, a flexible plasticized layer of polyvinyl chloride, and tubular reinforcement in contact with the polyvinyl chloride.

Compared with a metal pipe, a pipe made of plastics material has the advantage of being more flexible and much lighter in weight.
However, plastics material does not have all the qualities of a metal pipe, in particular with regard to its chemical resistance to the medium that it is to convey and to its ability to withstand pressure or aggressive agents from the outside atmosphere.
Much research has led to numerous plastics material compositions for hoses being proposed for this type of application. Some of those hoses achieve excellent qualities in terms of chemical resistance or of resistance to corrosion, but they use very high quality materials and they are thus very costly. The cost of those hoses is not adapted to the price the market will bear.

Multilayer hose for transporting chemicals having a high solvent content


A system for swing training including a swing plane component defining a predefined plane around an athlete, a planar guidance component configured to guide a striking member along the predefined plane, and a securing member configured to couple the planar guidance component to the striking member.

Many sports involve striking a ball or other object with a club, bat, paddle, racket, or other striking member. As participants in these sports work to improve their abilities, most strive to improve their "swing plane." Generally speaking, an athlete participating in such a sport wishes to swing the striking member around his or her body, while keeping the striking member along a predefined plane, known as the swing plane. A proper swing plane is an imaginary plane aligned with the path of intended ball flight. As the athlete swings the striking member, the striking member should remain adjacent to the proper swing plane throughout the duration of the swing. As is evident, variance from the proper swing plane during the swing increases the probability of miss-hitting the ball. An athlete trained to maintain the proper swing plane throughout the swing will not only miss-hit the ball less often, but the resultant error from a miss-hit will also be reduced.
In striving to teach athletes to maintain a proper swing plane throughout the swing, some have simulated the imaginary swing plane with a swing plane component, such as a plastic window pane, piece of plywood, or other thin, planar material with a hole cut through the center of it. This swing plane component is placed with the athlete standing in the hole and angled to simulate the proper swing plane for the athlete participating in that particular sport. Once fixed in the appropriate position, the athlete practices the swing plane by repeatedly swinging a striking member, such as a golf club, baseball bat, or other similar piece of equipment, while keeping the striking member adjacent to the swing plane component throughout the swing. With repeated practice using the swing plane component, the intended result is that when the swing plane component is removed, the athlete will maintain the proper swing plane throughout the swing, thereby improving performance in the desired activity.
However, problems often arise when using a swing plane component. For example, the athlete may wish to keep the striking member in contact with the swing plane component. However, such contact could cause unnecessary wear on the striking member, cause injury to the athlete, and/or provide inadequate or incorrect feedback regarding the athlete's swing plane.
Alternatively, the athlete may wish to maintain the striking member a predetermined distance from the swing plane component, to allow freedom of motion throughout the swing. However, problems arise as it may become difficult to receive adequate feedback while maintaining concentration on striking a ball. Such a configuration reduces the effectiveness of the swing plane component.
Additionally, while the swing plane component provides feedback on the swing plane, it provides little feedback regarding the position of the athlete's arms, hands, shoulders, the striking member, etc. at various points on the swing in relation to the swing plane. Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

System, method, and apparatus for athletic swing training


Translating between an Ethernet protocol used by a first network component and a Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) protocol used by a second network component, the first and second components coupled through a CEE Converter that translates by: for data flow from the first network component to the second network component: receiving, by the CEE converter, traffic flow definition parameters for a single CEE protocol data flow; calculating, by a credit manager, available buffer space in an outbound frame buffer of the CEE converter for the data flow; communicating, by the credit manager to a CEE credit driver of the first component, the calculated size of the buffer space together with a start sequence number and a flow identifier; and responding, by the CEE credit driver to the CEE converter, with Ethernet frames comprising a private header that includes the flow identifier and a sequence number.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically, methods, apparatus, and products for translating between an Ethernet protocol and a Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) protocol.
2. Description of Related Art
Existing Ethernet solutions consist of a device driver and a network adapter. Both communicate through a number of queues, which have individual flow control to define a traffic pattern between driver and network through the adapter, like for example a maximum send rate on the network link. Network Messages to be sent and received are typically buffered in server memory, which is larger than the amount of buffers needed to fulfill server internal flow control requirements. This decouples the end requirements from upper layers in the operating system from network parameters. A Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) network adapter uses the direct proprietary communication to the driver for controlling backpressure to guarantee the network defined traffic flow control parameters. Existing non-CEE network adapters do not have such a mechanism built in, and therefore cannot support the Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) protocol.

Translating between an ethernet protocol and a converged enhanced ethernet protocol

International Business Machines Corporation


A connector includes a housing formed of resin and having contacts provided therein, a shield case formed of metal, engaging grooves formed in the housing, and engaging convex parts formed on the shield case. The housing is inserted into the shield case so as to be attached thereto. The engaging convex parts engage the engaging grooves when the housing is inserted into the shield case.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to connectors, and more particularly to a connector formed by attaching a housing in which contacts are provided to a shield case.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1A through 3 are diagrams showing a conventional connector 1. FIGS. 1A through 1C are a plan view, a front view, and a side view of the connector 1, respectively. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the connector 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the connector 1.
The connector 1 is composed mainly of a shield case 2, a housing 3, and contacts 4. The contacts 4 are attached to the housing 3, which is attached inside the shield case 2.
The shield case 2 has a substantially cylindrical shape and is formed of conductive metal such as a copper alloy. As shown enlarged in FIGS. 4A through 4C, a side fixed strip 6 is formed on each of the longitudinal opposing sides of a cylindrical case main body 5 of the shield case 2. Further, an upper fixed strip 7 is formed on each side of the upper surface of the case main body 5. Each of the fixed strips 6 and 7 is formed so as to extend inward at an angle. The side fixed strips 6 have the function of holding a plug attached to the connector 1 in the attached state. Further, the upper fixed strips 7 engage the housing 3 so that the housing 3 is fixed inside the shield case 2.
Flange parts 8 are formed on a bottom part of the main body 5 so as to extend outward therefrom. The flange parts 8 are connected to ground terminals formed on the circuit board of an electronic apparatus when the connector 1 is mounted on the circuit board. Thereby, the shield case 2 performs a shield function.
Further, an engaging groove 9 is formed on an X2 end part of each of the longitudinal sides of the case main body 5 of the shield case 2 so as to extend substantially parallel to the X1-X2 axis as shown in FIGS. 1C, 3, and 4C. The X2 end part refers to an end part of each of the longitudinal sides of the case main body 5 on the X2 side, from which the housing 3 is inserted into the case main body 5 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3.
On the other hand, the housing 3 is formed of resin. As shown enlarged in FIGS. 5A through 5D, the housing 3 includes a housing main body 10 and an extension part 11 that are formed integrally with each other. The contacts 4 are provided inside the housing 3 as shown in FIG. 2. Contact insertion holes 12 are formed in the housing main body 10 for the purpose of attaching the contacts 4 to the housing 3.
The extension part 11 is formed to extend from the housing main body 10 in the X1 direction as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. Contact attachment grooves 14 are formed in the extension part 11 for the purpose of positioning the contacts 4 in given positions.
Further, an engaging convex part 15 is formed on each of the side parts of the housing main body 10 which side parts extend along the X1-X2 axis. The engaging convex parts 15 protrude outward from the sides of the housing main body 10 and extend along the X1-X2 axis for a given length.
Next, a description will be given, with reference to FIG. 3, of a conventional method of assembling the connector 1. As shown in FIG. 3, in order to assemble the connector 1, the housing 3 in which the contacts 4 are provided beforehand is inserted into the cylindrical shield case 2.
At this point, positions in which the engaging grooves 9 are formed in the shield case 2 correspond to positions in which the engaging convex parts 15 are formed on the housing 3. Therefore, insertion of the housing 3 is performed by positioning the housing 3 with respect to the shield case 2 so that the engaging convex parts 15 are inserted into the engaging grooves 9. Thereby, the housing 3, which has a relatively elongated shape along the X1-X2 axis of FIG. 3, is attached to the shield case 2 with reliability and ease.
However, in the conventional connector 1, the engaging grooves 9 are formed in the metal shield case 2 and the engaging convex parts 15 are formed on the resin housing 3. That is, according to the conventional configuration, the engaging convex parts 15 are formed on the resin housing 3, which is weaker in strength than the metal shield case 2.
As previously described, the engaging grooves 9 and the engaging convex parts 15 are provided for positioning of the shield case 2 and the housing 3 at the time of assembly of the connector 1. Therefore, if the housing 3 is deformed in a direction indicated by arrow B in FIG. 3 at the time of positioning in the case of inserting the housing 3 into the shield case 2, a great external force is applied to the engaging convex parts 15.
Further, the engaging convex parts 15, which are formed of resin to protrude outward, have a low mechanical strength. Therefore, when the external force is applied to the engaging convex parts 15 as described above, the engaging convex parts 15 may be chipped so that the reliability of the connector 1 is reduced.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a connector in which the above-described disadvantage is eliminated.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a connector whose reliability is improved.
The above objects of the present invention are achieved by a connector including a housing formed of resin and having contacts provided therein, a shield case formed of metal, engaging grooves formed in the housing, and engaging convex parts formed on the shield case, wherein the housing is inserted into the shield case so as to be attached thereto, and the engaging convex parts engage the engaging grooves when the housing is inserted into the shield case.
According to the above-described connector, the engaging grooves are formed in the resin housing and the engaging convex parts are formed on the shield case of metal, which provides a higher mechanical strength than resin. Therefore, the engaging convex parts having such high mechanical strength are prevented from being damaged by insertion or extraction of the housing into or from the shield case. Further, a higher mechanical strength is provided by forming the engaging grooves in the resin housing than forming engaging convex parts on the resin housing as in the configuration of the conventional connector.
Therefore, according to the configuration of the above-described connector, the engaging grooves and the engaging convex parts are prevented from being damaged so that the reliability of the connector is improved.
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by a connector including a first member having contacts provided therein, a second member shielding the first member, engaging grooves formed in the first member, and engaging convex parts formed on the second member, wherein the first member is inserted into the second member so as to be attached thereto, and positions in which the engaging grooves are formed in the first member correspond to positions in which the engaging convex parts are formed on the second member when the first member is inserted into the second member.
Additionally, in the above-described connector, the second member may be formed of a conductive material that provides a higher mechanical strength than a material of the first member.
The above-described connector can produce the same effects as described above.


A method for tightness control of a filling-sealing unit (1) for containers (9) is described. According thereto, a pressure chamber formed at the filling-sealing unit is sealed by way of a first seal around a sealer that is movable therein and by way of a second seal around a pressure supply that is movable therein. According to the invention, a third seal formed for sealing the pressure chamber around a container neck finish is sealed from the outside with an attachment, a positive pressure and/or negative pressure is generated in the pressure chamber, the pressure line used for this purpose is closed, and then a pressure profile in the pressure chamber is measured. This allows a leakage to be selectively detected at the first and/or second seal and be distinguished from a leak at the third seal.

A method for filling containers is known from DE 10 2014 104 872 A1 and a method based on this for filling and sealing containers with a pressurized and, in particular, carbonated beverage is known from DE 10 2014 104 873 A1. The beverage is filled into an evacuated container and then closed under positive pressure. The neck finish portion of the containers is located in a pressure chamber when being filled and sealed, where a product feeder is first moved onto the neck finish portion in a sealing manner during the filling process and is moved away after the filling process. Thereafter, a sealer equipped with a closure is lowered onto the neck finish portion in the pressure chamber and the container is thus closed.
Between filling and sealing the containers, the pressure chamber is charged with CO2, so that the same positive pressure substantially prevails in the pressure chamber as in the filled container. This avoids a drop in pressure when moving the product feeder away from the neck finish portion of the container. The sealer is lowered to the container in the chamber charged with CO2, so that the filled product is subject to the CO2 atmosphere after the container has been closed and the pressure chamber has been relieved.
The movable components in the pressure chamber, namely the product feeder and the sealer, are each sealed by way of seals against the pressure chamber in a gas-tight and liquid-tight manner in relation to the positive pressures and negative pressures required during filling. Furthermore, the neck finish portion of the containers is sealed by another seal in a gas-tight and liquid-tight manner against the wall of the pressure chamber. For this purpose, this seal can be formed to have multiple parts and, for example, wrap in a forcipate manner around the neck finish portion of the container inserted into the pressure chamber.
Charging the pressure chamber with CO2 at a predetermined positive pressure is essential for correctly filling products containing CO2 into the containers. This prevents the CO2 partial pressure above the product from dropping below the respective saturation pressure and the product from foaming over.
This requires the above-mentioned seals to function properly. It is true that the pressure conditions in the pressure chamber can in principle be monitored by use of pressure sensors and charging CO2 correctly can thus be overall determined.
The problem, however, is that, for example, in the event of a pressure drop in the pressure chamber, it has previously not been possible to readily determine which seal is responsible for this. The necessary inspection of all possible seals causes an undesirable amount of expenditure of time.
There is therefore a need for a simplified procedure for tightness control of such filling-sealing units and for filling-sealing machines that are controllable accordingly.
The object given is satisfied with a method according to claim 1. According thereto, it is used for tightness control of a filling-sealing unit for containers, where a pressure chamber formed at the filling-sealing unit is sealed by way of a first seal around a sealer that is movable therein and by way of a second seal around a product feeder movable therein. According to the invention, a third seal formed for sealing the pressure chamber around a neck finish portion, a neck portion, and/or shoulder portion of the container is temporarily sealed from the outside with an attachment. In addition, a positive pressure and/or negative pressure is generated in the pressure chamber, the pressure line used for this purpose is closed, and then a pressure profile in the pressure chamber is measured.
The sealing function of the third seal is meanwhile replaced by the sealing attachment, so that an inadmissible deviation of the pressure profile measured from a predetermined pressure profile indicates a defect on the first and/or second seal. The predetermined pressure profile is in particular a permissible pressure drop relative to a positive pressure generated in the pressure chamber and/or a permissible pressure increase relative to a negative pressure generated in the pressure chamber.
The pressure profile is preferably measured when having a positive pressure and/or a negative pressure while the sealer is moved from a resting position to a sealing position and/or in the opposite direction. This makes it more likely to provoke a loss of pressure at the first seal than with a sealer resting. Likewise, a detected leakage can then be better assigned to the first or second seal.
The pressure profile is preferably measured when having a positive pressure and/or a negative pressure while the product feeder is moved from a resting position to a filling position and/or in the opposite direction. This makes it more likely to provoke a loss of pressure at the second seal than with a product feeder resting. Likewise, a detected leakage can then be better assigned to the first or second seal.
The first seal can also be referred to as a sealer seal. The second seal can also be referred to as a product feeder seal. The third seal can also be referred to as a container seal.
The pressure profile in the pressure chamber is measured, for example, using a pressure sensor and recorded by a control unit of the filling-sealing unit or a similar computing unit.
The attachment is, for example, a CIP attachment which further seals the pressure chamber in a liquid-tight manner for so-called cleaning-in-place (CIP). The attachment is placed in a gas-tight manner from the outside onto a housing of the filling-sealing unit enclosing the pressure chamber such that the third seal is located within the attachment and therefore has no sealing function.
Furthermore, the attachment is preferably removed and a container is introduced with its neck finish portion, neck portion, and/or shoulder portion into the third seal. For this purpose, the third seal is preferably inflated with compressed air in its seal seat. Other pressure fluids are also conceivable, for example, a liquid. In addition, a positive pressure and/or negative pressure is generated in the pressure chamber, the pressure line used for this purpose is closed, and then a pressure profile in the pressure chamber is measured. Compared to a correct pressure profile with a sealing attachment, an inadmissible deviation of the pressure profile from a predetermined pressure profile with the container inserted indicates a malfunction of the third seal.
Alternatively or in addition, the attachment is preferably removed and a test member simulating the neck finish portion, the neck portion, and/or the shoulder portion of the container is introduced into the third seal. In addition, a positive pressure and/or negative pressure is generated in the pressure chamber, the pressure line used for this purpose is closed, and then a pressure profile in the pressure chamber is measured. This also makes it possible to detect a malfunction of the third seal in comparison to a correct pressure profile with a sealing attachment, in case the pressure profile measured with the test member inserted deviates impermissibly from a predetermined pressure profile. For this purpose, the test member seals the pressure chamber with a correctly functioning third seal towards the bottom in a gas-tight manner.
Test members can be used to simulate certain properties and/or dimensional/shape deviations of the containers in a selected manner, for example, a deviation from an ideally round cross-section that occurs in practice. It is also possible to estimate at which dimensional/shape deviations a correct function of the third seal is still given, for example, when it is new and/or after certain operating hours.
Preferably, a positive pressure of at least 1 bar is generated in the pressure chamber, in particular, of at least 3 bar. In this way, the pressure conditions required for correctly pressurizing the pressure chamber during filling and sealing can be simulated.
The positive pressure is preferably generated by introducing CO2. CO2 is suitable as pressure gas for filling and sealing the containers in particular to the extent that they are filled with products containing CO2, especially beverages. The tightness control can therefore be performed under production conditions.
Preferably, a negative pressure of 0.3 bar or less is generated, in particular of a maximum of 0.1 bar. This allows the tightness of the seals to be verified at the negative pressures that re typical when evacuating the containers.
Tightness control is preferably performed with a higher positive pressure and/or lower negative pressure than the positive pressures/negative pressures used during normal operation, typically at least including the upper limits/lower limits of the respective pressure specifications for the production operation.
The pressure profile in the pressure chamber is preferably measured respectively over a period of at least 1 s, in particular at least 5 s. This makes it possible to make reliable statements about the tightness of the seals to be examined, possibly also to determine an imminent leak, for example, in the context of a trend analysis.
Tightness control is preferably performed at all filling-sealing units of a filling-sealing machine. The filling-sealing machine is preferably a rotary machine with a plurality of circumferential uniformly arranged filling-sealing units. This enables comprehensive operational control of the filling-sealing machine.
Tightness control for every filling-sealing unit is preferably performed at least twice consecutively with different containers. This means in particular that the filling-sealing machine performs at least two complete revolutions with container feed and tightness control for each filling-sealing unit. This increases the information content about the tightness control for individual filling-sealing units, especially taking into account the manufacturing tolerances at the neck finish portion and/or shoulder portion of the containers.
The filling-sealing units are preferably moved to a corrective maintenance point of the filling machine in case they fail the tightness control. The respective filling-sealing units can be repaired there by personnel one after the other.
Tightness control is preferably performed with the containers at a reduced rotational speed of the filling-sealing machine relative to normal production operation. As a result, the pressure profile can be monitored for a longer time than at the normal rotational speed. This increases the information content of the tightness control, especially in the case of small and/or slow deviations of the pressure profile, for example, to detect an imminent leak.
Tightness control is preferably performed with the containers at a rotational speed of the filling-sealing machine used for production operation. This enables a tightness control particularly in step with actual practice.
Alternatively or in addition, tightness control can be performed with the containers when the filling machine is at a standstill. The pressure profile in the pressure chamber can then be measured, for example, over a period of time independent of the rotational speed and/or under special test conditions, such as for verifying certain pressure specifications.
Tightness control is preferably performed several times during and/or between the ongoing production operation and at least one trend analysis based thereon is created for the filling-sealing units controlled for tightness. Also minor changes of the pressure profile in the pressure chamber for individual filling-sealing units can then provide information about an imminent malfunction of individual seals and the respective filling-sealing unit as a whole.
For a particularly meaningful evaluation of the pressure measurement, a preferably temporal profile of the positive pressure/negative pressure in the pressure chamber is monitored and evaluated, as opposed to a simple pressure comparison with a threshold value or the like.
Correct pressure profiles are preferably determined empirically. Based on this, warning thresholds and/or stop thresholds can be set, in particular maximum allowable negative pressure values and minimum allowable positive pressure values. Such thresholds could be, for example, 20% above or below the correct pressure profile. Visually speaking, a time corridor can be specified in this way, within which the pressure readings must be located.
The pressure readings are preferably stored for each filling-sealing unit in the sense of an individual inspection history. Pressure histories measured at certain time intervals, such as weekly or otherwise defined sequences, can then be compared. If, for example, an individual trend towards an increasing pressure loss/pressure increase in the pressure profile arises therefrom, then one can conclude from this creeping development of the seal failure. This can therefore be predicted in order to initiate appropriate corrective repair measures at the respective filling-sealing unit at an appropriate time.
Preferably, a CIP agent is passed prior to tightness control through the filling-sealing unit sealed with the attachment. The CIP agent allows the filling-sealing unit to be cleaned without it being dismantled and/or disassembled. In addition, the subsequent tightness control can exclude the possibility that an inadmissible pressure profile is caused by fouling.
The object given is also satisfied with a filling-sealing machine which comprises filling-sealing units revolving circumferentially at a carousel as well as a programmable control unit for performing test runs following the method according to at least one of the previously described embodiments.
The control unit is then preferably configured to control an associated positive pressure source and/or an associated negative pressure source as well as valves for opening and closing pressure lines and flushing lines in a temporally appropriate sequence. The control unit is then preferably configured to drive the filling-sealing machine at a suitable rotational speed and to position containers and/or suitable test members in the filling-sealing units. The control unit is then preferably configured to control the tightness control process with the sealing attachments and with a container or test member inserted for each of the filling-sealing units to be controlled.

Method for tightness control of a filling-sealing unit for containers, and filling-sealing machine


A system and method for image retrieval formulated as a game are disclosed. The method includes receiving a user's image category selection, retrieving an image responsive to the user's image category selection from an associated image database, and displaying the retrieved image and a set of candidate color palettes to the user. The set of candidate color palettes includes a correct palette and at least one incorrect palette. The method further includes providing for a user to attempt to identify the correct palette by selecting at least one of the displayed candidate color palettes and, with a computer processor, generating a score based on the user's at least one selection and outputting the score.

The exemplary embodiment relates to digital image collections. It finds particular application in connection with a system and method for playing a game in which color palettes are matched to photographic images, which can assist a user in making digital image or color palette selections.
Photographic images are often collected and stored in large databases with tags which describe their semantic content, such as "sky," or "flower," or their aesthetic features, such as "happy," "funny," and the like. Such databases are accessed by a variety of users searching for suitable images to meet a particular need. The typical user of an image retrieval system has been characterized as falling into one of three profiles: a "browser" is a user with no clear end-goal, who often jumps from one topic to another; a "surfer" is a user with an initial exploratory behavior that clarifies his or her goals through multiple queries; and a "searcher" is a user with very clear goal-regarding semantic and aesthetic features of the image for which he or she is looking. See Datta, R., Joshi, D., Li, J., and Wang, J. Z; "Image retrieval: Ideas, influences, and trends of the new age," ACM Comput. Surv. 40:2, 1-60 (April 2008) (hereinafter "Datta 2008"). Recent studies performed among graphic designers and photo editors show that such users, in most cases, would fall into one of the latter two profiles. It has also been observed that the activity of browsing through a large collection of images is often used to define and refine the criteria of the search itself.
Although image retrieval systems are often equipped with tools to support searchers in their targeted retrieval workflows, less attention is dedicated to develop methods for exploratory image search performed by both browsers and searchers. While some systems are specifically designed for this kind of user experience, they are based on random slideshows. Relevance-feedback systems could be considered for this kind of search. However, the level of user engagement in the search tends to be very limited and the act of constantly providing feedback can prove tedious for users.
Researchers in the field of psychology have shown that games can elicit mental states which are especially favorable to creation and learning activities. See Snyder, C. R. & Lopez, S. J, Positive psychology: The scientific and practical explorations of human strengths, London, UK: Sage Publications (2007). Games have been used to address computer vision problems. See, for example, von Ahn, L., and Dabbish, L., "Labeling images with a computer game," in Proc. SIGCHI Conf. on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Vienna, Austria, Apr. 24-29, 2004), CHI '04, ACM, New York, N.Y., 319-326, which uses an interactive system for image segmentation. Other games, such as Peekaboom, ESP, and Google Image Labeler have proved useful in the generation of costly ground truth for machine learning and pattern recognition experiments (see, e.g., von Ahn, L., Liu, R., and Blum, M., "Peekaboom: a game for locating objects in images," in Proc. SIGCHI Conf. on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Montreal, Quebec, Canada, April 22-27, 2006). R. Grinter, et al., Eds. CHI '06. ACM, New York, N.Y., 55-64). The underlying assumption is that humans require some incentive to become part of a collective task. More recent approaches also leverage outsourcing services, such as Mechanical Turks to perform such tasks.
The exemplary embodiment provides a system and method which assists users, such as graphic designers, who are commonly searching for images to be used within their creative workflows. By using the game dimension to engage the user in non targeted image searches, the beneficial effects of a game upon the creative process can be realized.