The work implements on earthmoving and material handling vehicles are generally controlled with two or more operator control handles or pedals that do not intuitively correspond to the movement of the implement. Generally, the assignment of the implement linkages to the controls is entirely arbitrary, and there exists little correlation between the direction of movement of the implement linkages and those of the control levers and pedals. Inconsistencies also abound between manufacturers and even among different type vehicles within a single manufacturer. These problems compromise the ability and productivity of even the most skilled operator. The invention comprises of two multi-axis joysticks that provide the operator an intuitive control interface to the vehicle. The control system of the invention also provides a coordinated control for spatial placement of the end effector of the work implement.

In the field of work vehicles, particularly those vehicles which perform digging or loading functions such as excavators, backhoe loaders, and front shovels, the work implements are generally controlled with two or more operator controls in addition to other vehicle function controls. The manual control system often includes foot pedals as well as hand operated levers. The Case backhoe, for example, employs three levers and two pedals to control the digging implement, and the Ford backhoe has four levers to control the same. There are serious drawbacks associated with these implement control schemes. One is operator stress and fatigue resulting from having to manipulate so many levers and pedals. A vehicle operator is required to possess a relatively high degree of expertise to manipulate and coordinate the multitude of control levers and foot pedals proficiently. To become productive, an inexperienced operator also requires a long training period to be familiar with the controls and their functions.
Some manufacturers recognize the disadvantages of having too many controls, and have adopted a two-lever control scheme as the norm. Generally, the two vertically mounted two-axis levers share the task of controlling linkages (boom, stick, and bucket) of the work implement. For example, presently Caterpillar excavators employ one joystick for stick and swing control, and another joystick for boom and bucket control. Similarly, John Deere has a joystick for boom and swing control, and another for stick and bucket control. In each instance, the number of controls has decreased to two, making machine operation much more manageable. However, the two-lever control scheme presently used in the industry still has an undesirable property. As can be easily seen from the Caterpillar and Deere machines, the assignment of implement linkages to the joysticks is entirely arbitrary, and there exists little correlation between the direction of movement of the work implement linkages and those of the control levers. Thus, to cause the boom to rise, the stick to move toward the vehicle and the bucket to curl as in a typical leveling operation on a Caterpillar excavator, the operator manipulates the right-hand joystick diagonally toward the rear and left of the vehicle for bucket curl and boom raise, and the left-hand joystick toward the rear of the vehicle for stick movement. This is contrary to natural expectations and requires acute concentration of even an experienced operator, resulting in fatigue, mental stress, and diminished productivity. Furthermore, because there is no industry standard, inconsistencies abound between manufacturers and even among different excavator-type machines within a single manufacturer. Such inconsistencies compromises the ability and productivity of even the most skilled operator to adapt to different equipment and to different manufacturers.
The requirement of correlating the implement movement intuitively to the controls has only been partially satisfied in known systems.
One such system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,196 issued to Uchino et al. on Nov. 22, 1977. The control system disclosed therein includes a manual control lever in the form of a miniature work implement consisting of a miniature boom, stick and bucket. To dig, the operator in effect manipulates all three elements of the miniature control implement to go through the same motions as the digging implement. Uchino's master-slave control system addresses the problem of correlating the controls to the work implement, but the three-element control lever effectively is a three lever control system that inherently has the same aforementioned multiple control problems. Furthermore, the control system not only does not afford the operator a comfortable grip, it is also awkward to manipulate, position, and coordinate all three elements to mimic the normal course of operations of the boom, stick, and bucket. The control lever is also not of conventional design requiring special manufacture.
Another known system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,030 issued to von Bernuth et al. on Feb. 24, 1987. Von Bernuth disclosed a multi-function directional control unit that contains various control levers, switches, and buttons in which each separate control element is associated with a work movement. Although the direction of the human control movements mostly agree with that of the implement movements controlled, the interface constituted by von Bernuth's control unit is not intuitive, nor does it conform to natural expectations. Furthermore, It still requires that the operator become familiar with the one to one mapping of each control element to its respective function, and the multiple control elements easily make operating the machine confusing and demanding. This system is also of special design requiring special manufacture.
The present invention is directed to overcome the problems as set forth above.

Intuitive joystick control for a work implement


A fuel injector includes a tappet assembly mounted on an injector body. At least one of the tappet assembly and the injector body define a retention opening therethrough. A retention member is positioned in the retention opening and concealed by at least one of the tappet assembly and the injector body. The tappet assembly is moveable with respect to the injector body an unadjustable displacement distance between an advanced position and an extended position. The height of the retention opening is less than the unadjustable displacement distance.

One class of fuel injectors are mechanically actuated via a rocker arm assembly that moves with each rotation of an engine's cam shaft. The rocker arm moves a tappet downward, and a plunger underneath the tappet pressurizes fuel during the downward stroke. A spring retracts the plunger and tappet between injection events. The spring, which is always compressed, also maintains the tappet in contact with the rocker arm throughout the operation of the system. In most of these types of injectors, the compression spring pushes the tappet away from the injector body, but the rocker arm limits how far the tappet can be moved away from the injector body, and thus prevents the tappet from disconnecting from the injector body after installation.
During assembly, shipping and handling before the injector is installed in an engine, there is often the possibility that the tappet will accidentally disconnect from the injector body. This occurs because the tappet return spring pushes the tappet away from the injector body, and there is often no means provided for holding the tappet connected to the injector body prior to installation. In some instances, it is possible to use an external clamping mechanism to hold the tappet to the injector body prior to, and during, installation in an engine. However, in many cases space constraints during installation are so severe that no room on the outside of the assembled injector is available for retaining the tappet in the injector body. In these cases, one must either include an internal retention means or accept the risk that some tappets will become disconnected from their respective injector bodies during pre-installation shipping and handling. Oftentimes internal retention means are limited or unavailable due to internal structural and space constraints. In addition, any retention means should be either removable upon installation or arranged such that the same will not interfere with normal operation of the injector after being installed in an engine.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.


Provided is a pixel circuit, including: a data writing unit, a driving unit, a reset unit, a light emission control unit, a storage unit and a light-emitting unit, wherein the data writing unit is configured to write a data signal input by a data signal line into a first mode; the reset unit is configured to reset the data signal and write the data signal into an output terminal of the driving unit; the storage unit is configured to store information on the data signal and transfer it to the driving unit; and the light emission control unit is configured to write a second power supply voltage at a second power supply voltage terminal into the reset unit and provide a light emission current to the light-emitting unit.

In recent years, owning to excellent display effect of an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, development of OLED-related industry at home and abroad is booming, and various pixel circuits have been developed one after another.
In the process of practical production and fabrication for thin film transistors (TFTs), excimer laser annealing (ELA) and doping processes cannot guarantee that the TFTs have good a uniformity, which results in the occurrence of threshold voltage deviation and mobility deviation, wherein the mobility is related to μ in a current formula. For a most basic 2T1C (two TFTs having a function of switching, and one capacitor having a function of storing charges) circuit, when a same data signal (Data) is written, brightness of respective pixels would be non-uniform due to different Vth and μ existing in the current formula, thereby causing problems of bad display, and influencing the display effect of the OLED display.

Pixel circuit and driving method therefor, and display apparatus

CHENGDU BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


An overhead loudspeaker system is achieved which controls and shapes the ultimate acoustical wave form produced thereby, by providing at least one loudspeaker driver, mounted in a housing or enclosure, and a uniquely constructed wave shaping and controlling member formed as an integral component of the speaker assembly. In this way, broad band, acoustical wave shaping and control is realized. In accordance with a present invention, the wave shaping/controlling member is cooperatively associated with the drivers of the loudspeaker in a way which effects the critical acoustical loading and atmospheric coupling thereof, while controlling and shaping the ultimate acoustical wave form so that a hemispherical polar coverage pattern results. In the preferred configuration, the polar coverage pattern produced by the present invention is provided across the loudspeaker system""s entire power bandwidth, beginning at an approximate distance of about three times the diameter of the acoustical source.

Loudspeakers are widely used for providing projection of voice and music in a variety of areas and for numerous purposes. One area in which loudspeakers are particularly important and have had substantial difficulty in providing good results is in large public areas. In such locations, the use of conventional loudspeakers is common, but there are difficulties because of the directional nature of the speakers"" sound projection. As a result, in order to assure maximum coverage, numerous or multiple speakers are employed with overlapping coverage areas which requires proper application engineering and often considerable expense to attain the desired results.
In an attempt to reduce the necessity of having numerous loudspeaker components installed to provide the desired coverage, loudspeakers having a hemispherical coverage pattern have been developed. Although many of these prior art loudspeakers had been able to provide a projection of voice and music over a wider listening area, numerous problems have continued to exist in producing products which achieve a true full frequency hemispherical sound projection pattern from a single overhead sound source, particularly in areas having a low ceiling.
One of the principal problems which has plagued prior art spherical coverage loudspeakers as well as conventional loudspeakers centers on the physical characteristics of acoustic wave patterns. In this regard, audio frequencies essentially occupy 11 octaves of the electromagnetic spectrum, with acoustical wave lengths varying across a ratio of more than 2000 to 1 (about 113 feet to about xc2xd in.). In most applications, a more reasonable and workable ratio is 1000 to 1 (about 56 feet to 0.68 inches). Regardless of which ratio is employed, it is apparent, due to their very nature, that these extremes of wave-length energy require the application and use of completely different areas and aspects of the laws of acoustical physics.
Another problem inherent in providing optimum projection of voice and music is the fact that lower frequencies of the audio spectrum produce spherical waves which tend to be fluid in nature and difficult to control in terms of shaping and directing. Furthermore, higher frequencies develop planar waves which exhibit directional characteristics and are, by their very nature, not easily dispersed or diffused into broad coverage patterns. Finally, midrange frequencies produce various combinations of these two extremes.
In attempting to overcome these prior art problems, while also providing maximum area coverage, spherical loudspeaker systems with shaped dishes or xe2x80x9creflectorsxe2x80x9d suffer from one or more shortcomings. One such common problem is a severe decrease of high frequency energy distribution at the wider points of coverage, typically beginning at about 45 degrees from the central axis. Another common problem is a significant increase in phase distortion from unwanted multiple reflections occurring between the sound source and the reflector, as well as a significant increase in intermodulation distortion due to the remodulation of one-wave by another of a different frequency. Furthermore, high intensity lobes of acoustic energy are often produced directly on axis with the reflector, expanding as wide as 20 to 30 degrees from the central axis.
Another problem typically countered with prior art overhead loudspeaker systems is the inability of such speaker systems to function as desired in low ceiling environments. Typically, in most applications, a low ceiling encompasses ceiling heights ranging between about 8 and 15 feet. In these applications, overhead loudspeaker system encounter substantially increased acoustical polar distribution problems due to the shorter linear distance between the sound source and the listener""s ears. Typically, in a low ceiling environment, the listener is placed within the acoustical xe2x80x9cnear fieldxe2x80x9d of the system where some, if not all, of the acoustical components of the loudspeaker are present at any one given point in space.
Typically, the xe2x80x9cfar fieldxe2x80x9d boundary is considered to begin, within the spatial field, at a point where the summation wave presents all of the attributes of the system""s design. The acoustical pattern shaping effects of the otherwise true hemispherical coverage loudspeaker system do not exist within the near field, but are present in their proper form and function in the far field. The summation wave defines that point in space where all of the acoustical wave shaping effects unify into one single wave front, typically referred to as the near field boundary, far field boundary, or summation boundary.
In many prior art systems, a concave progressive curved reflector is employed in order to obtain true hemispherical polar coverage. However, systems of this nature require higher ceilings to function properly, since a loudspeaker of this type must be placed at a listening distance which is at least eight times greater than the diameter of the reflector. Since most reflectors of this configuration are larger than 12 inches, the listening distance required for optimum performance would be greater than eight feet. As a result, the systems are highly effective in higher ceiling environments, but tend to be ineffective in low ceiling environments.
In general, prior art attempts to attain a true hemispherical spatial response in a low ceiling environment have resulted in compromised designs. Typically, these prior art systems incorporate one or more of the following shortcomings. One such common shortcoming is the existence of a high intensity lobe of acoustic energy directly on axis with the reflector. Usually the lobe of acoustic energy ranges between about 30xc2x0 and 60xc2x0 about the central axis of the system.
In addition, another difficulty typically encountered in prior art systems is a severe decrease of high frequency energy distribution at the wider points of the coverage pattern, usually beginning at about 45xc2x0 from the central axis and continuing to about 90xc2x0 therefrom. Furthermore, a significant increase in phase distortion is created from undesirable multiple reflections between the sound source and the reflector. In addition, a significant increase in intermodulation distortion is created due to the remodulation of one wave by another wave of a different frequency. This, additionally, generates an undesirable phase distortion.
Further drawbacks typically encountered with prior art systems is frequency selective distribution of the reproduced signal which creates a reduced bandwidth, xe2x80x9clow fidelityxe2x80x9d condition and a subsequent loss of aural articulation and intelligibility. Finally, spectral imbalance of the distribution pattern is also found, particularly unequal levels of low, mid-range, and high frequency signals at various angles within the 180xc2x0 coverage pattern.
By employing the present invention, all of the difficulties and drawbacks of prior art loudspeaker constructions are eliminated and a low profile overhead loudspeaker system is achieved which controls and shapes the ultimate acoustical wave form produced thereby, achieving a system which is particularly wellsuited for use in low ceiling environments. In the present invention, a loudspeaker system is achieved which incorporates a uniquely constructed wave shaping and controlling member which is formed as an integral component of the speaker assembly. In this way, broad band, acoustical wave shaping and control is realized.
In accordance with a present invention, the wave shaping/controlling member is cooperatively associated with the drivers of the loudspeaker in a way which effects the critical acoustical loading and atmospheric coupling thereof, while controlling and shaping the ultimate acoustical wave form so that a hemispherical polar coverage pattern results. In the preferred configuration, the polar coverage pattern produced by the present invention is provided across the loudspeaker system""s entire power bandwidth, beginning at an approximate distance of about three times the diameter of the acoustical source. As a result, an eight inch diameter loudspeaker is capable of providing the desired acoustical wave front at about two feet.
In accordance with the present invention, the desired acoustical system is achieved by attaching the wave shaping and controlling member of the present invention directly to the loudspeaker cabinet typically employed for a low ceiling, overhead sound system, with one or more drivers or speaker motors mounted in the cabinet. The uniquely constructed wave shaping and controlling member is specifically designed to receive and distribute the acoustical energy of the loudspeaker""s driver so as to provide an acoustical energy field of a true broadband hemispherical pattern. Furthermore, the present invention produces the desired acoustical energy field within the system""s power bandwidth, at a point of summation of approximately three times the acoustical source diameter.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the wave shaping and controlling member is designed to be rigidly or securely affixed to the front of the loudspeaker enclosure, mechanically attached to the baffle of the loud speaker, or otherwise built into the construction of the enclosure during the fabrication or molding process as a homogeneous or integral component thereof. Regardless of the construction employed, the unique geometric contours of the wave shaping/controlling member are designed and positioned in the required critical acoustical fashion in order to achieve the desired broadband hemispherical polar coverage pattern.
As is more fully detailed below, the wave shaping and controlling member of the present invention comprises a combination of singular acoustical shaping and distribution devices which are individually designed to control specific and applicable sound bands of the audio spectrum. In this way, individual functions are performed, with each function representing a factor of the final acoustical summation product produced by the wave shaping/controlling member.
By employing the present invention, a loudspeaker system is achieved which controls and defines the wave shape and coverage patterns of the various frequency band widths, utilizing the natural characteristics of the wave itself, with no forced or artificial control. By using the following three elements, namely (1) a driver, (2) an enclosure, and (3) a uniquely constructed wave shaping and controlling member, a synergistic interaction is achieved which produces true hemispherical coverage patterns across the entire rated power bandwidth of the loud speaker.
The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.


A measurement method and a measurement device are disclosed. The measurement method is adapted to a 3D display capable of producing a plurality of viewing zones, which includes following steps. At least a part of a display area of the 3D display displays an image of one of the viewing zones. Light radiation amounts of a first position of the 3D display are detected with a light detector from different viewing angles. A viewing angle with a local maximum light radiation amount is taken as a reference viewing angle, a distance between the light detector and the 3D display along the reference viewing angle is changed, and light radiation amounts of a plurality of different second positions of the 3D display are detected in different distances. A distance at which light radiation amounts of the second positions are most uniform is taken as the optimal viewing distance.

Along with development of display technology, displays with better image quality, richer color effect and better performance are continually developed. In recent years, a three-dimensional (3D) display technique has a development trend from cinema applications towards home applications. Since a key of the 3D display technique is to ensure a left eye and a right eye of a user to respectively view a left eye image and a right eye image of different viewing angles, according to the current 3D display technique, the user generally wears a pair of special glasses to filter the left eye images and the right eye images.
It is inconvenient for a user wearing the special glasses, especially for those wearing near-sighted or far-sighted glasses, it is inconvenient and uncomfortable to wear an extra pair of special glasses. Therefore, a naked-eye 3D display technique becomes one of research and development emphasises. A naked-eye 3D display is adapted to produce a plurality of viewing zones in space, and display images of different viewing angles in different viewing zones. When the left eye and the right eye of the user are respectively located at two adjacent viewing zones, the user can view images of two different viewing angles. In this way, the images of the two different viewing angles are combined in user's brain to form a 3D image.
However, the above situation is achieved when the user is located near an optimal viewing distance of the naked-eye 3D display. When the user views the naked-eye 3D display in a distance too longer than or too shorter than the optimal viewing distance, besides a poor image quality or a blurred image is probably obtained, incorrect brightness, contrast and images also probably occur, and the user's eyes may have an uncomfortable feeling. Therefore, it is an important issue of the 3D display technique to correctly find the optimal viewing distance of the naked-eye 3D display.

Measurement method and measurement device

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A shape memory alloy actuator includes a bistable shape memory alloy strip having openings. The bistable shape memory alloy strip having a straight stable state and a curled stable state. The shape memory alloy actuator further includes a shape memory alloy wire located along a side of the bistable shape memory alloy strip. The shape memory alloy wire contracts from heat exposure with each end secured to one of the plurality of openings of the bistable shape memory alloy strip.

Individuals who are in bed for extended periods of time can develop bed sores. Having another person manually move the position of a bedridden person may be cumbersome or such help may not be available. Adjustable beds may be manually operated, which may still require regular assistance, and/or electric power, which can increase cost, weight, complexity, and dependence upon a power source.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved ways to prevent bed sores for those who are bedridden.

Shape memory alloy enhanced bi-stable actuator

TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.


Four rectangular cushion sections are flexibly interconnected along certain of their top and bottom edges by three hinges. The resulting mattress-like article may be variously folded and unfolded to function as a bed, exercise mat, day couch, or ottoman, and can also be compactly stored.

As the size of dwellings continues to decline, it is regrettable that the bed, which in its two-person form can take up the greater part of an entire room, should function almost exclusively for night-time use.
Heretofore, convertible sofa-beds have been taught which also serve as couches during the day. However, such convertible couches tend to be large and bulky and can not be easily stored in a closet, should it be desired to use the space which they occupy for other purposes, such as healthful physical exercise.
The so-called Murphy bed, while freeing-up room space when it is withdrawn to its vertical storage position, still occupies considerable and valuable wall space and necessities costly cabinetry and a mechincal system which is subject to failure.
My invention overcomes all the above limitations which have heretofore characterized the convertible mattress art by providing a noval mattress which functions as a single or double bed, daytime couch, exercise mat, or ottoman, in which last configuration it may also be conveniently transported an compactly stored. Moreover, unlike a conventional "convertible sofa", my invention requires no bulky frame or other support members. What is more, it also provides considerable incentive for healthy physical activity such as yoga, tumbling, or aerobics., as well as offering a safe and inviting play surface for children and infants.
The considerable versatility of my flexibly hinged convertible mattress enables a single room to be used for many purposes, while increasing the space, health, comfort and personal control of its users. I believe, therefore, that this invention may well become a standard object of modern domestic equipment, augmenting my other floor-based furniture innovations such as the Multi-Positional Support Device, Patent Pending Ser. No. 07/427,347, and related articles.


A versatile hunting stand is provided which may be supported by a tree, ladder or tripod. The stand has a collapsible seat assembly which serves as a foot bar when used as a climbing stand. Adjustable arms may be used as a component of the climbing bar assembly or when a ladder is connected to the front of the stand, the arms may be used to brace the ladder. Instead of supporting the back end of the stand against a tree, tripod legs may be inserted into sockets in the stand.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally related to portable platforms which are set up in the wild by hunters. The platforms or stands as they are more commonly known, are supported at a desired elevation by either a tree or a tripod supplied with the stand.
2. Prior Art
The desirability of hunting game animals from a perch above the surrounding terrain is well known. An elevated stand allows a hunter to see over the surrounding undergrowth and increases the territory one may keep under surveillance. Likewise, when viewed from above, the undergrowth usually appears less dense than at eye level. Furthermore, the senses of most wild game, and especially deer, are attuned to dangers at ground level. A hunter in a stand is less likely to be detected by his quarry.
Stands may be generally categorized as free standing stands, tree stands or ladder stands which lean against a tree. The first category, free standing stands, have a platform mounted on top of a tripod or step ladder support, at a height of 10 to 16 feet. The platform typically has a chair or seat which rotates 360.degree.. This type of stand is particularly useful when hunting in brushy areas devoid of mature trees.
The largest and most diverse category includes those stands which are secured to the trunk of a tree, namely tree stands. Examples of various tree stands may be found in the more popular sporting goods catalogs such as Cabela's.RTM. published by Cabela's Inc., Sidney, Nebraska. The majority of the tree stands have a platform with one end abutting the tree trunk. A bracket extending upward from the platform may encircle the tree or provide a point of attachment for a strap or chain which in turn encircles the tree. Alternatively, a pin or hook is screwed into the tree trunk and the stand is hung from the hook.
One variation of tree stand in which a bracket extends from the platform and encircles the tree is referred to as a climbing tree stand. The stand may be used in conjunction with a second device known as a "hand climber" or climbing aid to climb up a tree. An example of a climbing tree stand and ancillary equipment is disclosed in Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,552.
Ladder stands are a cross between free standing stands and tree stands. A platform is supported at one end by a chain or rope encircling the trunk of the tree and at the opposite end by a ladder. A strap is often provided connecting the ladder to the tree about midway between the platform and the ground. The ladder may fold up or break down into interlocking sections to facilitate transportation through the woods.
The hunting stands described above are designed to be supported by a single method. For example, a climbing stand may not be readily converted to a tripod stand or ladder stand. Another shortcoming of some of the climbing tree stands is that they are unsafe, especially if one has to step to the side of the platform when lifting or folding up the seat. Further, many prior art climbing stands allow a hunter to approach too close to the back end of the platform causing the stand to disengage from the tree and free fall downward. In general, the prior art stands lack versatility, fail to employ multifunctioning parts and are relatively dangerous.


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for requesting potentially missing fragments in a media stream index are described in this specification. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a fragmented media stream index at a client system, where the media stream index includes a list of sequentially arranged fragment identifiers. Fragments listed in the media stream index can be requested from a server system. Fragment identifiers that are potentially missing in the media stream index can be identified based, at least in part, on a determined naming convention indicating the sequential arrangement of the fragment identifiers. Fragments can be requested based on the potentially missing fragment identifiers and processed for display when received.

This specification relates to requesting fragments of a media stream.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) has become a standard protocol for Web communications. Consequently, technologies for optimizing HTTP delivery of content have been developed and have become available. Such optimized delivery has become widely accessible as it relies mostly on standard HTTP server systems that are widely supported in content delivery networks.
The basic principles of HTTP streaming involve using software on an origin server system of a content delivery network to split a media stream into small fragments (also referred to as segments or chunks) saved as separate files, and to create a playlist (e.g., a master list, fragment list, or media stream index) for informing a media player client which files to get to make up a complete media stream, and where the files are located (e.g., via uniform resource locators). The media player client can download the files and can play the small fragments included in the downloaded files in an order specified by the playlist.
In HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS), playback of a media stream should be as robust as possible taking into account possible server-side issues. Playback at the client can suffer from occurrences, such as "liveness" or "dropout", regardless of the built-in backend redundancy of the server systems. Liveness can occur when a server system advertises an index (e.g., fragment list) of a media stream that is not current (e.g., a "stale" view of a live media stream), and dropout can occur, when a server system's index of a media stream has gaps (e.g., the index is missing a range of fragment identifiers).


An electrode comprises an electrode main body having a porosity, and the conductivity of the electrode main body at its part ranging from the arc running face to a stated depth is made higher than the conductivity at the section or the conductivity at the part ranging from the back surface to a stated depth. This brings about an improvement in circuit-break performance of a circuit breaker and also prevents the arc running face of the electrode main body from deteriorating.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-216589 filed in Japan, the contents of which are incorporated hereinto by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sintered body, a method for its surface densitication, a process of working and manufacturing an electrode by this method, and a circuit breaker such as a vacuum vessel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vacuum circuit breakers are devices which open and close high voltage and large electric current by opening and closing the path between a movable electrode and a fixed electrode which are placed in a vacuum container. In such a vacuum circuit breaker, an electric arc is formed between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode at the time of circuit breaking. This arc is considered to be an ionized gas or hot electrons of the material component of electrodes. The arc between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode disappears once this ionized gas has sufficiently diffused. However, when reignition (restriking) voltage rises before that, it causes the arc to be again formed between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode to make circuit break impossible. Accordingly, in order to avoid such a phenomenon, vacuum circuit breakers are required to have a high circuit-break performance.
This breaking performance of vacuum circuit breakers is known to be greatly influenced by the material properties of arc electrode portions at the part facing the arc running faces of electrodes, and experiments are made using a variety of material systems. As the result, as materials for the electrodes, it has been considered preferable to use melted-and-forged alloys such as Cuxe2x80x94Bi, Cuxe2x80x94Te or sintered alloys such as Cuxe2x80x94Mo, Cuxe2x80x94W.
The electrodes of the vacuum circuit breakers are also required to have performances such that they can handle a large circuit-break current, have a high breakdown strength, have a sufficient conductivity to cause less heat generation, and do not cause any fusion bond between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode. Accordingly, a Cuxe2x80x94Cr alloy is in wide used, as satisfying all the performances in a relatively well balanced state. In this material system, also used are materials to which the third element such as Al, Si, Ta, Nb, Be, Hf, Ir, Pt, Zr, Si, Rh or Ru has been added.
As a method of manufacturing such electrodes of vacuum circuit breakers, a method making use of sintering is inexpensive, and has recently become widely used. When, however, the electrodes are manufactured by a sintering process, there has been a problem that 1 to 10 percentage of voids may remain in the interiors of the electrodes even after the sintering thereby to make the electrodes have a low conductivity.
Electrodes having a high porosity have so low a conductivity as to have a low thermal diffusivity and besides to generate more Joule heat, so that the temperature may greatly rise when the electrodes are electrified.
Hence, the arc running faces of the electrodes tend to deteriorate. Also, referring to the circuit-break performance of vacuum circuit breakers, the temperature rise occurs at arc electrodes. Hence, more metallic elements vaporize and ionize at the time of circuit break of the vacuum circuit breaker thereby to cause a delay in attenuation of the arc and a lowering of breaking performance of the vacuum circuit breaker.
Hence, it is preferable for the electrodes to have a high density. Accordingly, in the case when the electrodes are prepared by sintering, various methods are employed in order for the electrodes to be improved in density.
For example, as a method commonly used to improve the relative density of materials after sintering, sinter forging is available in which the materials are forged after sintering as they are kept at a high temperature. This conventional sinter-forging, however, is very expensive for both forging equipment and forging molds and requires great equipment investment.
As a method of improving the density only at the surface, shot peening disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 49-17311 is known in the art. However, this shot peening, too, requires equipment exclusively used therefor, resulting in great equipment investment, and besides it has a disadvantage that a workpiece to be worked may chip when it is brittle.
A method in which a sintered product is compressed by rolling after sintering is also disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 8-143910. However, this method making use of surface rolling, too, requires great equipment investment like the above methods. Also, working objects are inevitably limited to plate-like products.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 11-250783, it is further attempted to use a Cuxe2x80x94TiC alloy in arc electrode materials for vacuum vessels. Sinter infiltration is also used as a method by which the electrodes are improved in density while their compositional distribution is kept uniform, and electrodes made integrally of materials having different physical properties have been put into practical use in order to make the electrodes have higher function. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-29461 discloses an integrally infiltrated electrode in which a arc electrode material which is usually an alloy of metals of two or more types and its electrode support member which is a single-phase alloy of a high-conductivity material such as Cu are made into an integral structure which is metallographically continuous structure so that the mechanical strength can be improved and the number of assemblage steps can be reduced.
Recently, as a working method by which electrode performance can be improved, it is proposed as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 11-250782 that a working object which is held and kept rotated is worked by cutting away an end of the working object by means of a cemented carbide lathe cutting tool, followed by a first step in which, rotating the working object regularly, it is worked by cutting by means of a diamond lathe cutting tool, and then a second step in which, rotating the working object reversely, the worked surface of the working object is finished by burnishing using a flank face of a diamond lathe cutting tool set more extended by 0 mm to 0.005 mm than that of the first step, to improve surface roughness of the worked surface of the working object.
This technique is to smooth the worked surface of the working object so that any protrusions coming to be starting points of arc discharge at the time of circuit break can be removed and the circuit-break performance can be improved. This working method can at least meet expectations for the improvement in breakdown strength, but can not improve the conductivity of sintered materials. This is because plate thickness loss necessarily takes place when any porosity kept within a significant range is lessened by working from the surface according to this method in order to improve the performances of electrodes for circuit breakers, but any plate thickness loss can by no means take place beyond the depth of cut. For example, even when the burnishing is performed in a depth of cut of 0 mm to 0.005 mm using the back of a diamond lathe cutting tool for cutting, the plate thickness loss and the interior porosity loss are substantially zero.
An object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive circuit breaker having superior current break-off performance (breaking performance), an electrode used therein, a manufacturing process and a method for surface densitication which are used for manufacturing the electrode, and a sintered body at least part of the surface of which has been compacted by the method for surface densitication.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electrode comprising an electrode main body formed of the same material as a whole, wherein the conductivity of the electrode main body at its part extending from the arc running face to a stated depth is higher than the conductivity of the whole electrode main body. Here, the above stated depth may be, e.g., a half of the thickness of the electrode main body (i.e., the thickness from the arc running face to the back surface). Incidentally, the back surface is herein meant to be the surface on the side opposite to the arc running face.
In the present invention, the stated depth may also be 2 mm, where the conductivity of the electrode main body at its part extending from the arc running face to a depth of 2 mm can be made at least 1.2 times the conductivity of the whole electrode main body or the conductivity of the electrode main body at its part extending from the back surface thereof to a depth of 2 mm.
The present invention also provides an electrode comprising an electrode main body, wherein the porosity of the electrode main body at its part extending from the arc running face to a stated depth (e.g., 0.5 mm) is lower than the porosity of the whole electrode main body.
In the present invention, the electrode main body may be provided with a through hole extending from the arc running face to reach the back surface, and the arc running face may be provided with a groove. The electrode main body of the electrode of the present invention may preferably comprise a sintered alloy. Also, the electrode main body may preferably have an average porosity of from 1 to 10 vol. %.
The present invention still also provides a circuit breaker comprising the above electrode of the present invention.
The present invention further provides a method for surface densitication, comprising steps of working a working object by cutting away a part of the surface of the working object with a cutting tool to form a worked surface, and working the worked surface by burnishing with a burnishing tool to cause the surface to retreat, to densiticate the worked surface portion by plastic deformation, wherein said working object is held and kept rotated. And the present invention also provides a sintered body having been densiticated at at least part of its surface by such the method for surface densitication.
As the burnishing tool, a milling type burnishing tool may be used. Where the milling type burnishing tool is used, the burnishing can be performed even when the worked surface is previously provided with a groove or grooves and can not be worked by a lathe.
The extent of retreat of the worked surface as a result of burnishing may preferably be 300 xcexcm or less in order to ensure the thickness precision of the electrode. If burnishing conditions are so set as to provide a larger extent of retreat than that, the electrode may have a non-uniform finish thickness because of a non-uniform porosity of its stock product. On the other hand, where an electrode having a porosity of 10% is worked by burnishing under conditions which provide the extent of retreat of 300 xcexcm or less, the porosity in the range of 2 mm from the arc running face, which influences electrode performance, can be made sufficiently small.
For the working object used in this method for surface densitication of the present invention, a sintered body is particularly suited. Preferred are, besides the electrode main body described above, sintered component parts (sintered bodies) which are desired to be made to have a higher strength at particular portions or a higher surface hardness after molding, such as guides, pushes, cam rings, pulleys and gears of automobiles and dynamos.
There are no particular limitations on the worked surface to which the method for surface densitication is applied. It may appropriately be selected according to the shapes of working objects and the purposes of working. For example, outer peripheries, inner peripheries, edgeface and through-hole inner walls of working objects may be set as worked surfaces.
In the case when the worked surface stands provided with a groove, the burnishing may be carried out through a tool path such that the relative movement between the working object and the burnishing tool is in parallel to the worked surface and also the burnishing tool is brought into contact with the whole worked surface. This enables densitication of the worked surface portion except the groove inner wall.
The present invention still further provides a process for manufacturing an electrode, comprising the step of densiticating at least part of the surface of an electrode main body by the above method for surface densitifcation according to the present invention. As steps other than this step of densitication, the process may be provided with, e.g., a molding step of molding a conductor powder as a raw material in the shape of an electrode main body to obtain a molded body, and a sintering step of heating the molded body to effect sintering to obtain the electrode main body.

Sintered body and electrode, method for surface densitication of these, process for manufacturing electrode by this method and circuit breaker


Portable grills are disclosed. An example portable grill movable between an erected configuration and a collapsed configuration includes a valve and regulator assembly and a tank blocker. The valve and regulator assembly includes a tank connector configured to removably couple a fuel tank to the valve and regulator assembly. The tank blocker is configured to prevent the portable grill from being moved from the erected configuration into the collapsed configuration when the portable grill is in the erected configuration and the fuel tank is coupled to the tank connector.

Portable grills are intended to be transported from a storage location (e.g., a home, a garage, a shed, a commercial storage unit, a vehicle, etc.) to a variety of remotely-located destinations which may be suitable for using the portable grill to cook food. For example, portable grills are commonly transported to campsites, tailgating sites, hiking sites, parks, beaches, etc. for use at such destinations. Portable grills are conventionally configured to cook (e.g., grill, smoke, bake, roast, broil, sear, and/or otherwise heat) food items located within (e.g., placed on one or more cooking grate(s) positioned within) a cooking chamber of the portable grill. In some instances, the cooking chamber of the portable grill is fueled by a combustible supply of liquid petroleum gas (LP gas) that is contained under pressure within a fuel tank, with the fuel tank being removably couplable to and/or from a valve and regulator assembly of the portable grill, and/or removably couplable to and/or from one or more other mechanical structure(s) of the portable grill. In some such instances, the portable grill includes a cookbox having one or more burner tube(s) that is/are operatively coupled to the valve and regulator assembly, with the burner tube(s) being configured to generate, carry, and/or otherwise provide flames within the cookbox and/or within the cooking chamber of the portable grill in response to ignition and/or combustion of the LP gas as the LP gas flows from the fuel tank, through the valve and regulator assembly, and into the burner tube(s) of the portable grill.
Many portable grills are capable of being transitioned (e.g., via one or more foldable and/or collapsible leg(s) of the portable grill) between an erected configuration that is intended and/or purposed for cooking food, and a collapsed configuration that is intended and/or purposed for transporting and/or stowing the portable grill at a time when it is not being used to cook food. Such portable grills typically have a reduced form factor (e.g., a reduced height and/or a reduced width) when positioned in their collapsed configuration relative to the corresponding form factor when positioned in their erected configuration. In some instances, the reduced form factor associated with the collapsed configuration of the portable grill facilitates loading the portable grill into a storage compartment (e.g., a trunk, a flatbed, a cargo area, etc.) of a vehicle. In some such instances, the portable grill may be unable to fit within the storage compartment when the portable grill is positioned in the erected configuration, but is able to fit within the storage compartment when the portable grill is positioned in the collapsed configuration.
Certain examples are shown in the above-identified figures and described in detail below. In describing these examples, like or identical reference numbers are used to identify the same or similar elements. The figures are not necessarily to scale and certain features and certain views of the figures may be shown exaggerated in scale or in schematic for clarity and/or conciseness.
Descriptors "first," "second," "third," etc. are used herein when identifying multiple elements or components which may be referred to separately. Unless otherwise specified or understood based on their context of use, such descriptors are not intended to impute any meaning of priority or ordering in time but merely as labels for referring to multiple elements or components separately for ease of understanding the disclosed examples. In some examples, the descriptor "first" may be used to refer to an element in the detailed description, while the same element may be referred to in a claim with a different descriptor such as "second" or "third." In such instances, it should be understood that such descriptors are used merely for ease of referencing multiple elements or components.


A new and distinct cultivar of Verbena plant named xe2x80x98USBENAL17xe2x80x99, characterized by its semi-upright and outwardly spreading plant habit; vigorous growth habit; large red purple-colored flowers; and resistance to Powdery Mildew.

Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Verbena hybrida cultivar USBENAL17.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Verbena plant, botanically known as Verbena hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98USBENAL17xe2x80x99.
The new Verbena is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Hikone, Shiga, Japan. The objective of the breeding program is to develop new disease-resistant and high temperature-tolerant Verbena cultivars with semi-upright plant habit and attractive flower coloration.
The new Verbena originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor on Apr. 20, 1999 of an unknown selection of Verbena hybrida, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed proprietary selection of Verbena hybrida, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar USBENAL17 was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny from this cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Bonsall, Calif. on Jun. 10, 2000.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by cuttings taken at Bonsall, Calif., since Jun. 20, 2000, has shown that the unique features of this new Verbena are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98USBENAL17xe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98USBENAL17xe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Semi-upright and outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Vigorous growth habit.
3. Large red purple-colored flowers.
4. Resistant to Powdery Mildew.
In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Hikone, Shiga, Japan, plants of the new Verbena differed from plants of the female parent selection in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Verbena were not as upright as plants of the female parent selection.
2. Plants of the new Verbena were more vigorous than plants of the female parent selection.
3. Plants of the new Verbena were resistant to Powdery Mildew whereas plants of the female parent selection were susceptible to Powdery Mildew.
In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Hikone, Shiga, Japan, plants of the new Verbena differed from plants of the male parent selection primarily in flowering time as plants of the new Verbena flowered earlier than plants of the male parent selection.
The new Verbena can be compared to the cultivar, Temari Coral Pink, not patented. However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted in Bonsall, Calif., plants of the new Verbena differed from plants of the cultivar Temari Coral Pink in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Verbena were more upright than plants of the cultivar Temari Coral Pink.
2. Plants of the new Verbena flowered earlier than plants of the cultivar Temari Coral Pink.
3. Plants of the new Verbena had larger flowers than plants of the cultivar Temari Coral Pink.


The implant implantation unit (2), at a determined position in the tubular element (51) with a wall comprising a cavity (50), is pushed there by a catheter (60) and the unit comprises deformable feelers (31) to, under the control of remote activation elements (42), change from a stowed form to a deployed functional form, to detect the cavity (50) and position itself there with reference to the position of the cavity.

Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,063 thus describes a unit carrying replacement heart valves, the unit comprising a tubular implant in synthetic material carrying internally a replacement valve in natural material.
Documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,855,601 and 5,868,783 describe new heart valve implantation methods, which offer the advantage of avoiding open heart surgery. These methods provide the implantation, by movement through the blood circulation system, of a heart valve replacement unit comprising a radially expandable intra-vascular cylinder carrying a biological valve internally. An inflatable part of a balloon catheter is placed inside the carrier cylinder and the implantation is done by introduction into a vein and movement as far as the failed valve using A catheter. A two dimensional image screen display allows the detection that the carrier cylinder has reached the required position and the cylinder is then dilated by inflating the balloon through the catheter and maintains its expanded shape. The balloon is then deflated and withdrawn with the catheter.
The carrier cylinder presents a sealed casing, which is thus forced against the artery wall, so as to avoid the blood flow bypassing the replacement valve.
However, when the aorta is involved this procedure is not applicable because the coronary arteries open close to the failed native valves, so that the carrier cylinder is likely to block them, provoking the death of the patient.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A cordless telephone system in which a battery of a mobile unit can be charged with use of a cordless charger. The charger, which is provided separately from a base unit, has a chargeable battery which is larger in current capacity than the battery within the mobile unit. When the mobile unit is mounted on the charger, the battery of the mobile unit is charged with the battery of the charger. So long as the charge level of the battery within the charger is sufficiently high, the battery of the mobile unit is charged with the battery of the charger and without use of a commercial AC power source.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cordless telephone system in which a battery of a mobile unit is chargeable from a cordless charger.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been so far known a cordless telephone system of multi-channel type which comprises a base unit connected to a wired line (public line) and a mobile unit coupled with the base unit through a spatial communication circuit and which controls call transmission and reception between the base and mobile units on a control channel and then detects idle one of a plurality of speech channels to realize a speech.
In such a cordless telephone system, in order that the mobile unit can talk with the party at an arbitrary position away from the base unit, the mobile unit incorporates a chargeable battery therein as its operational power source and the battery is designed to be charged through a charging mechanism of the base unit when the mobile unit itself is mounted on the base unit.
Referring to FIG. 9, there is schematically shown an arrangement of such a prior art cordless telephone system as stated above, which comprises a base unit 1 connected to wired lines (public line) 2 and a mobile unit 3 coupled with the base unit 1 through a spatial communication circuit 4. Connected to the base unit 1 is a power source adapter 6 which converts an AC voltage of a commercial AC power source 5 into a DC voltage. When the mobile unit 3 is mounted on the base unit 1, the base unit 1 supplies an output voltage from the power source adapter 6 to the mobile unit 3 to charge a battery housed within the mobile unit 3.
The aforementioned arrangement, however, imposes such a use restriction that the base unit 1 must be connected with the wired lines 2 and also be installed at such a specific location that can be connected with the commercial AC power source 5. For this reason, such an arrangement that the battery of the mobile unit 3 must be charged from the power source adapter 6 of the base unit 1, is inconvenient in handling.
To overcome such an inconvenience, there has been suggested a charge-only charger which is provided as a device separated from the base unit and which uses a commercial AC power source to charge the battery of the mobile unit 3.
However, the aforementioned charge-only charger, though it can be charged at a location different from the installation location of the base unit 1, must be positioned at a place close to a commercial AC power source, which results in that, in an outdoor field or such a place where it is difficult to have access to the commercial AC power source it becomes impossible to charge the charger. Thus, in the case where the battery of the mobile unit 3 is decreased down to its to-be-charged level beyond its normal charge level, it is disadvantageously required to carry the mobile unit 3 to a place where the charger is disposed close to the commercial AC power source.

Charger for charging a rechargeable battery


Embodiments of a pre-mold assembly for a distribution cable having one or more tether cables are provided. The assembly includes a first shell having a first inner surface and a first outer surface, a second shell having a second inner surface and a second outer surface, and a clip that couples the first shell to the second shell. The clip has a first leg configured to engage the first outer surface of the first shell and a second leg configured to engage the second outer surface of the second shell. In an assembled state, the inner surfaces of the shells define a first channel configured to hold the distribution cable. Further, the inner surfaces of the shells define a second channel that originates within the shells. The second channel is angled relative to the first channel and is configured to hold the one or more tether cables.

The disclosure relates generally to optical fiber cables and more particularly to optical fiber cables that have tethers branching from a main distribution cable. Optical fiber cables are used to transmit data over distance. Generally, large distribution cables that carry a multitude of optical fibers from a hub are sub-divided at network nodes, which are further sub-divided, e.g., to the premises of individual subscribers. Preferably, these subdivisions are provided for during the manufacturing process of the cable such that higher quality splices are achievable and so that the splice locations can be adequately stabilized and protected.

Pre-mold assembly for branched optical cable and related method

CORNING RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION


The present embodiment relates to method and system for dynamically identifying the optimal servers from among a plurality of VPN servers. The method and system to score or rank the plurality of VPN servers through mathematical operations to produce a scored list of servers. The servers are dynamically scored based on several server conditions including but not limited to server location, server hub score, server creation time, server load, and other like information. The method and system further calculate server penalty scores for a plurality of VPN servers and dynamically identifies optimal servers based on the least server penalty score. Further, the method and system provide means for the VPN service provider to direct their users to connect with the optimal servers consistently.

Global Internet users increasingly rely on virtual private network (VPN) services to preserve their privacy, circumvent censorship, and access geo filtered content. Originally developed as a technology to privately send and receive data across public networks, VPNs are now used broadly as a privacy-preserving technology that allows Internet users to obscure not only their traffic but also their personal information, such as their web browsing history, from third parties including Internet service providers (ISPs) and Spywares, etc. A VPN service provider offers a secure private networking environment within a shared public insecure infrastructure through encapsulation and encryption of all traffic from the VPN application within the VPN user's device to the remote access VPN server.
Most VPN providers rely on tunneling protocol to create a private network to add a layer of security that protects each packet on its journey over the Internet. Tunneling is the process of placing the entire packet within another packet before it is transported over the internet. The outer packet protects the contents from public view and ensures that the packet moves within a virtual tunnel. This virtual tunnel is a point to point tunnel established between the user device and the VPN server. This layering of packets is called encapsulation. Computers or other network devices at both ends of the tunnel, called tunnel interfaces, can encapsulate outgoing packets and reopen incoming packets. Additionally, in a VPN network, devices at each end of the tunnel encrypt the data entering the tunnel and decrypt them at the destination.
Encryption is the process of changing the data from a transparently readable format to an encoded, unreadable format with the help of an encryption algorithm. This encoded format can only be decoded with the right decryption key. VPN encryption, as mentioned before, renders the user's online traffic indecipherable to any third-party monitoring them. At the fundamental level, when a user launches a VPN application and connects to a VPN server, all the subsequent user's requests are encrypted before they are sent to the server. Then they are decrypted by the server and forwarded to the intended target on the Internet. After which the requested data is encrypted when the server receives them and sends the received data back to the user device. Once the data reaches the user device, the data is decrypted by the VPN application so that the user can view them.
VPNs generally use different types of encryption algorithms to encrypt and decrypt user's online traffic. Symmetric encryption is one of the algorithms that rely on the identical public key and private key. This form of encryption is considered relatively fast, and one example of symmetric encryption is the AES encryption cipher. Another type of encryption algorithm is the Asymmetric encryption; it is also known as public key cryptography. This algorithm uses different keys for the encryption and decryption process. An example of asymmetric encryption is the RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) protocol.
VPN encryption keys are a randomly generated string of bits that is used to encrypt and decrypt data. Each encryption key is generated in such a way that it is unique. The length of an encryption key is calculated in bits, and usually, the longer the key is, the stronger the key encryption. There are two types of encryption keys that are being used—Private key and Public key. They are mathematically related, since any kind of information that is encrypted with a public key can only be decrypted with a private key associated with it. The public key is usually available through a public directory, while the private key remains confidential and is only accessible by the key owner.
When a user accesses a VPN client application, the user is first taken through the procedure of authentication. User authentication is the verification of credentials required for confirmation of a user's authenticity. In other words, authentication is used to prove a user is allowed access, and so provides a form of access control. A typical user authentication consists of verifying a simple ID and password combination. However, more authentication factors are added to improve the security of the VPN user. The primary authentication factors are knowledge, possession and inherence. Knowledge factors include all things a user must know in order to log in to the VPN client application, e.g. usernames or ID, passwords and PINs. In the same way, possession factors consist of anything a user must have in their possession, such as one-time password (OTP) tokens. Finally, the inherence factors include any inherent trait the user has that are confirmed for accessing the VPN client application such as fingerprint scans, retina scans, iris scans, etc.
A typical VPN service consists of a network of servers, typically spread across several geographical locations. VPN server is a physical or a virtual server that is configured to host and deliver VPN services to users worldwide. The server is a combination of hardware and VPN server usually has more logical and physical communication ports. The VPN client application connects with a VPN server and sends the user's traffic to it through an encrypted tunnel. After receiving all the encrypted traffic, the VPN server will decrypt and forward the traffic to the designated web server. As soon as the web server sends the requested data, the VPN server receives and encrypts the data before sending it to the user. The VPN client application will then decrypt the data for the user's view.
A VPN client application is a software-based technology that establishes a secure connection between the user and a VPN server. Some VPN client applications work in the background of the user's device automatically, while others have front-end interfaces that allow users to interact with and configure them. VPN client applications are often installed on a computer, though some organizations provide a purpose-built VPN client application that is a hardware device pre-installed with VPN software. Generally, VPN client applications operate on more than one VPN protocol to encrypt and decrypt the data. Some of the commonly used VPN protocols are OpenVPN, SSTP, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, IKEv2, SoftEther
Most of the VPN services allow users to select or switch between different servers in the private network according to the user's choice of location or requirements. For instance, if a user wants to connect to a VPN server that is located in the US, the user can simply choose the location through the graphic user interface and the connection will be instantly established to the US server. It is also the same when the user wants to switch to a different server in that particular country. The existence of multiple servers in a VPN service network makes it possible for users to choose the location of servers. Without this provision of choice, users generally will be assigned random servers without the ability to choose the servers with certain parameters that they want. The more VPN servers a VPN service provides, the better it is for the users. This is because the users will have more servers to choose, and they can access even the remotest websites that are only available in certain countries.
However, most VPN services do not have an inbuilt system or a method to recommend or identify an optimal server for a particular user from the VPN Servers available. Average users often do not have clarity for identifying and selecting the optimum server to serve their purpose. Therefore, users mostly tend to randomly choose a server in a VPN service provider without weighing the servers' various parameters and conditions. Without evaluating the server conditions, the user is left in ambiguity while choosing a random server. One cannot be assured that all servers in a VPN service can be ideal so, it is important for the VPN service provider to evaluate and recommend servers to users accessing their services. This ensures reliability, connectivity, and improves user experience significantly.
Not all servers in a VPN network are suitable for servicing the user. In some instances, there can be poor connectivity between the chosen server and the user device; there can be occasional lag or other difficulties when connected with a certain server in a VPN network. These impediments in a VPN network are due to various unavoidable factors that tend to affect VPN servers' performance. Therefore, a VPN service provider must analyze and evaluate the server conditions before servicing the user. Moreover, the server conditions can be volatile over time and must be monitored at regular intervals.
For instance, location can be an important condition in evaluating a server for a particular connection request. If the chosen server is significantly far from the user's actual location, then there are chances of poor connectivity and lower server speed. The reduction in the server speed correlates to how far the connection must travel since chances of packet losses also rise with the longer server distance, which reduces the network speed. Other than location, load of a server can also be another condition in evaluating the servers. A server load is the amount of total server bandwidth currently being used and it directly correlates to the number of users sharing the server at once. Overloading of servers in a VPN network is the most common reason for experiencing lag or poor connectivity. When numerous users are connecting with the same server simultaneously, there is a chance for the particular server to overload with plenty of requests, affecting the server performance. Availability of fewer servers in a given location is one reason for overloading, due to the lack of choice for the users which makes it impossible to distribute the users' request load across multiple VPN servers.
Apart from the distance of a server and overloading, if the chosen VPN server is not located on or not in proximity with an international Internet exchange hub, then there are chances for slower network speed. Servers that are in close proximity to an international Internet exchange hub have significant server speed, and all connections that pass through these exchange hubs are faster. The better speed and connectivity are because of how international Internet cables are laid. For instance, if a user intends to connect with servers in the UK and chooses servers in Manchester over London due to the US's distance proximity, the user may experience lag or reduced server speed. Because London is one of the exchange hubs on the international Internet exchange hub and all connections to Manchester pass through London. Therefore, all connections to London servers tend to be faster compared to other locations that are considerably far away from the international Internet exchange hub. For that reason, it will be beneficial to develop systems and methods to identify servers that are in proximity to an International internet hub so that potential lag and network problems can be avoided.
Several other conditions render specific servers suitable or not so suitable for servicing the user. Therefore, the VPN service provider must develop methods or systems to evaluate conditions pertaining to several VPN Servers to efficiently service their users. Identifying and recommending an optimal server from among the given set of VPN servers can improve server response time, data throughput and overall user experience. To address this issue, the current embodiment provides systems and methods to dynamically evaluate, identify, and connect the user with an optimal server from among a given set of VPN Servers.

Dynamic system and method for identifying optimal servers in a virtual private network


Method and apparatus for image enhancement involving smoothing and thinning input image data, segmenting adjacent characters in the smoothed and thinned data, and identifying a segmented character based on a comparison of the segmented character to a dictionary of characters. Smoothing and thinning may be provided by applying to each pixel of input image data a filter whose spread depends on variations in image intensity of surrounding pixels to obtain filtered image data, deriving inverted image data from first difference data of the filtered image data and multiplying the inverted image data and the filtered image data to obtain smoothed and thinned image data. The filters may be Gaussians whose spreads are inversely proportionate to variations in input image intensity plus a constant and the filters may be applied to the image data using a variably filled mask of filter values.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention pertains to a method and apparatus for image enhancement, including smoothing and thinning degraded images such as camera images, scanned images, facsimile-transmitted images and images containing letters, numbers, symbols, characters and the like. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a method for processing image data so as to enhance the quality of the image.
Text or pictorial images today are often replicated or transmitted by a variety of techniques, such as photocopying, facsimile transmission, and scanning images into a memory device. Due to a variety of factors, the process of replication or transmission often tends to degrade the resulting image. Degraded images are characterized by noise spots, indistinct or shifted edges, blended or otherwise connected characters and distorted shapes. A reproduced or transmitted image that is degraded in quality may be unusable in certain applications. For example, if the reproduced or transmitted image is to be used in conjunction with character recognition apparatus, the noise spots, indistinct edges, connected characters, etc. may preclude accurate or successful recognition of characters in the image. Also, if the degraded image is printed or otherwise rendered visible, the image may be more difficult to read and in general, less visually distinct.
FIG. 6 is an example of a degraded image of the word "This." As seen in FIG. 6, a noise spot 1 clutters the image making analysis difficult. Additionally, the letters "T" and "h" are connected at 2, while the letter "h" is distorted at 3 by a break in the letter.
To improve image quality, in the case of pixel image data stored in a computer memory, it has been proposed to improve the stored image data by applying a low pass filter to it. Typically, a Gaussian filter is applied to smooth the data. Such filters purport to remove noise spots, but do so only at the expense of further blurring and/or connecting of the image and further degradation in edge sharpness.

Method and apparatus for image enhancement using intensity dependent spread filtering


The optical recording medium includes: an information recording substrate; and pits formed on the information recording substrate, each of the pits corresponding to a recording information unit comprising a plurality of bits, and having one of predetermined patterns for respectively generating different optical characteristics by projecting a light spot onto the pits.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to optical recording media for storing a variety of information, such as image information and audio information, an apparatus for reproducing the information recorded on such optical recording media, and a method of recording and reproducing the information recorded on such optical recording media.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical recording media, such as optical-disks, are used for recording a large amount of information. An optical disk has a center hole formed at the center thereof, and a plurality of turns of a track spirally formed on a circumferential recording area of the optical disk.
As shown in FIG. 1A, an optical disk has a transparent disk substrate 15 made of, for example, PMMA (PolyMethyl MethAcrylate), and information pits 10 are formed on the transparent disk substrate 15 so that they project therefrom. Information pits 10 correspond to information recorded on the optical disk. An aluminum film 12 having a high reflection rate is vapor-deposited on the disk substrate 15 on which the information pits 10 are formed. A protection film 11 made of, for example, plastics is formed on the aluminum film 12.
The information recorded on the optical substrate 15 is reproduced as follows. A light beam LB, such as a laser beam, is projected onto the optical disk from the side of the disk substrate 15 so that the light beam LB is projected onto the track. As shown in FIG. 1B, a light beam LB.sub.R reflected by a mirror plane portion between adjacent pits is detected as "a bright light". The information pits 10 irregularly reflect the light, and change the reflection rate so that the amount of the reflected light beam LB.sub.R decreases. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1B, the reflected beam LB.sub.R obtained by projecting the light beam LB onto an information pit portion 2 is detected as "a dim light". As shown in FIG. 1C, information corresponding to recording pits 20a, 20b, 21 . . . of the information pit portion 2 can be reproduced by detecting the "bright" and "dim" reflected lights.
As described above, the recording of information is based on the presence/non-presence of the information pits 10, which modulate the amplitude (intensity) of the reflected light used for reading information recorded on the optical disk. The reproduction of information is carried out by detecting changes in the amount of the reflected light which has been amplitude-modulated by the information pits 10. The presence/non-presence of an information pit corresponds to a one-bit binary signal. In principle, it is possible to increase the recording density by decreasing the distance between adjacent information pits. As the distance between adjacent information pits decreases, it is necessary to reduce the size of the light spot projected on the optical disk. If the light spot does not have a sufficiently reduced size, adjacent information pits will be simultaneously illuminated, as shown in FIG. 1C. This prevents information from being accurately read from the optical disk. Hence, the optical disk as shown in FIG. 1A has a limited information recording density per unit area.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 50-119517 discloses a recording carrier (recording medium) intended to overcome the above problem. The recording medium disclosed in the above publication has a track area in which at least two types of diffraction lattices having respective lattice lines oriented in different directions are provided. When one track is read, this track serves as an intermediate area between adjacent tracks located on respective sides thereof. With this arrangement, it becomes possible to obtain a recording density approximately twice that of the optical disk shown in FIG. 1A, with respect to a light spot of same size.
However, the recording carrier disclosed in the above mentioned publication has a disadvantage in that a plurality of signal detectors are needed because a plurality of types of diffraction lattices respectively having different directions of diffraction are used. In addition, the recording carrier disclosed in the publication has a recording density increased to be approximately twice that of the optical disk shown in FIG. 1A, and thus cannot provide a drastically increased recording density.

Optical recording medium, apparatus for reproducing the same and method of recording and reproducing the same


Presently disclosed are systems and methods for wireless communication devices (WCDs) to share relevant performance-metric data with nearby devices having similar configurations. One embodiment takes the form of a method carried out by a WCD. The method includes receiving into a first WCD from a second WCD, via a direct wireless link between the WCDs, data indicating a configuration of the second WCD. The method also includes making a determination as to whether the configuration of the second WCD is at least threshold similar to the configuration of the first WCD and, if so, sharing with the second WCD, via the direct wireless link, performance-metric data for the wireless communication network.

The use of wireless communication devices (WCDs) is becoming increasingly prevalent and popular in modern life. To provide cellular wireless communication service to WCDs, a wireless service provider typically operates a radio access network (RAN) that defines coverage areas (such as cells and/or sectors) in which subscribers' WCDs can be served by the RAN and obtain connectivity to other networks such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the Internet.
A typical RAN includes one or more base transceiver stations (BTSs), each of which may radiate to define one or more coverage areas in which these WCDs can operate. Further, the RAN may include one or more base station controllers (BSCs) or the like, which may be integrated with or otherwise in communication with the BTSs, and which may include or be in communication with one or more switches and/or gateways that provide connectivity with one or more transport networks. Conveniently, with this arrangement, a WCD positioned within the coverage of the RAN can communicate with a BTS and in turn with other served devices and/or with other entities via the one or more transport networks.
In each coverage area, a RAN will typically broadcast (via, e.g., a BTS) a pilot signal that notifies WCDs of the coverage area. In operation, when a WCD detects a pilot signal of sufficient strength, it may transmit a registration message to the RAN to notify the RAN that the WCD is in the coverage area and is requesting service from the RAN via the BTS. If the request is granted, the WCD may then operate in the coverage area in what is typically known as "idle" mode, where the WCD is not actively engaged in a call or other traffic (e.g., packet-data) communication, but does regularly monitor overhead signals in the coverage area to obtain system information and page messages, as examples.

Systems and methods for sharing of performance-metric data among similarly configured wireless communication devices


An electronic device having a soundproof structure is provided. The electronic device includes a housing including an internal space, an inlet and an outlet formed on one side of the housing, a cooling fan disposed in the internal space, and configured to create an air-flow introduced from the inlet which is discharged to the outlet, and a sound absorbing member disposed to surround, at least in part, a peripheral area of the cooling fan in a direction to not obstruct the air-flow.

Electronic devices, such as mobile phones, tablets, and notebooks, are widely used, by which users may access a variety of contents while carrying the same. This electronic device may adopt various components and modules, such as a module for transmitting and receiving data, a battery, a driving chip, and the like, as well as a circuit board on which internal components are mounted to enable access to various contents.
Some components of the internal modules described above may emit heat of high temperature depending on performance. The high-temperature heat generated from the component may cause deterioration of the performance of the component, or may influence the performance of other components and modules. Therefore, heat-dissipation products having various shapes or structures are provided in electronic devices in order to reduce the high-temperature heat emitted by components. Particularly, an electronic device, such as a notebook which requires high performance, adopts a strong heat source movement using a heat sink or a heat pipe and a method of discharging high-temperature air generated by the heat-emitting components to the outside through air circulation created by the rotation of a cooling fan, thereby solving the heat generation problem.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

Electronic device with soundproof structure


Provided are: a multiplexing apparatus for comparing priorities, selecting multiplexed data in an arbitrary output rate, and outputting the multiplexed data; and a receiving apparatus for combining data outputted from the multiplexing apparatus in a time sequential order, and thereafter outputting the data. A multiplexing apparatus (1) includes: a multiplexing buffer (2) that receives and temporarily stores encoded units to which respective priorities have been added; a multiplexing control unit (4) for sequentially selecting, based on the priorities and data amounts of the encoded units, encoded units each having respective data amounts which can be transmitted in a unit time and also having a higher priority than any other one; and a multiplexing unit (3) for sequentially selecting and multiplexing, under control of the multiplexing control part, encoded units, from among the encoded units stored in the multiplexing buffer, each of which has a respective data amount which can be transmitted in the unit time and also has a higher priority than any other one, and outputting the encoded units.

In a conventional multiplexing apparatus, priorities in multiplexing operations are determined based upon values obtained by weighting delay times occurred in multiplexing buffers in accordance with each of media sorts, and encoded units are selected from buffers having higher priorities so as to multiplex the selected encoded units with each other (refer to, for instance, Patent Document 1).
In this type of conventional multiplexing apparatus, only the priorities among the media are merely considered, so that the priority cannot be changed for each of the encoded units within the same media. In particular, in such a case that there are an important portion and a less important portion within the media, such a function capable of applying a priority with respect to each of the encoded units is required.
On the other hand, there is another multiplexing apparatus that while a priority is applied in the unit of an encoded unit, only such an encoded unit having the highest priority is transmitted (refer to, for instance, Patent Document 2).
However, in this type of multiplexing apparatus, although the priority is applied to each of the encoded units, permission/non-permission of a transmission is determined by comparing encoded units of the same timing with each other. As a result, even when encoded units having a plurality of high priorities are collected at the same timing, only one encoded unit may be merely outputted. Thus, in order to realize an effective multiplexing control operation, such a function is required by which encoded units having high priorities are outputted even if the encoded units are delayed in some degree.
Patent Document 1: JP 2000-209177 A
Patent Document 2: JP 08-279835 A

Multiplexing apparatus and receiving apparatus


The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for the prevention or treatment of neurological disorders, comprising an ICAM-1 (intercellular adhesion molecule-1) protein, or a fragment or a variant thereof as an active ingredient, which can increase the expression of neprilysin to remove amyloid-beta (Aβ), a cause of dementia, and is thus useful in preventing or treating a neurological disease including Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is manifested by the destruction of brain cells, partlydue to accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) protein in the brain. Alzheimer's disease progresses in stages and gradually deteriorates the faculties of memory, reasoning, judgment and speech, as well as an ability to carry out simple tasks.
Parkinson's disease is manifested by the destruction of a specialized brain cells, known as the dopaminergic neurons. Loss of dopaminergic neurons lead to clinical symptoms including, but not limited to, the loss of motor control. The cause of onset of Parkinson's disease is not known.
Depression or major depressive disorder is also a disease of brain. The diagnosis is based on the patient's self-reporting experiences including low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in various activities.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder of the brain. Patients with epilepsy suffer from frequent, unpredictable seizures. An epileptic episode is marked by an abnormally increased neuronal activity in the brain.
Multiple sclerosis is manifested by the inflammation of the myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and the spinal cord. Demyelination leads to, over time, the loss of various physical and cognitive functions.
Mania is a state of abnormally elevated or irritable mood, often lasting for a week or more. Patients suffering from manic episode have been treated with drugs targeting on neurotransmission.
Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a form of motor neuron disease manifested by the degeneration of neurons in the spinal cord. Patients suffering from the disease experience muscle atrophy, weakness, and breathing difficulties.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI, also known as incipient dementia, or isolated memory impairment) is a brain-function syndrome involving the onset and evolution of cognitive impairments beyond those expected based on the age and education of the individual, but which are not significant enough to interfere with their daily activities. It is often found to be a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia. Although MCI can present with a variety of symptoms, when memory loss is the predominant symptom it is termed "amnestic MCI" and is frequently seen as a prodromal stage of Alzheimer's disease. Studies suggest that these individuals tend to progress to probable Alzheimer's disease at a rate of approximately 10% to 15% per year.
Multi-infarct dementia is one type of vascular dementia. Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease (AD) in older adults. Multi-infarct dementia (MID) is thought to be an irreversible form of dementia, and its onset is caused by a number of small strokes or sometimes, one large stroke preceded or followed by other smaller strokes. The term refers to a group of syndromes caused by different mechanisms all resulting in vascular lesions in the brain. Early detection and accurate diagnosis are important, as vascular dementia is at least partially preventable.
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), also known under a variety of other names including Lewy body dementia, diffuse Lewy body disease, cortical Lewy body disease, and senile dementia of Lewy type, is a type of dementia closely allied to both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases. It is characterized anatomically by the presence of Lewy bodies, clumps of alpha-synuclein and ubiquitin protein in neurons, detectable in post-mortem brain biopsies. Lewy Body dementia affects 1.3 million individuals in the United States alone.
Neprilysin is an enzyme that degrades amyloid beta peptide. Deficiency of neprilysin accelerates the extracellular accumulation of amyloid. An increase in neprilysin expression reduces Aβ peptides.
Intracellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is a membrane glycoprotein encoded by the ICAM1 gene. Mice deficient of ICAM1 gene developed normally, were fertile, and had a moderate granulocytosis, but exhibited impaired neutrophil emigration to chemical stimulus and abnormalities in inflammatory responses.

Use of ICAM-1 for prevention or treatment of neurological diseases


A method and apparatus for controlling the addition of a liquid to a continuous flow of material. An algorithm is described for controlling the hydration process within a computerized grain delivery system. The grain delivery system operates by adding moisture to grain moving through the system, testing the moisture level of the hydrated grain and controlling the rate of flow of the wetting agent as a function of the wet grain moisture reading. In addition, a method is described for determining the relationship between dry grain moisture level, hydration level and the expected wet grain moisture level reading. Finally, a communications link is described which connects the grain delivery system to a remote computer.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for increasing the moisture level of a material (in grain this is termed conditioning or tempering), and more particularly to methods and apparatus for adding a liquid to a continuous flow of grain in order to raise its moisture level to a level approximating a target moisture level.


In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a power amplification apparatus, the apparatus comprising: an input part; a first-1 transformer and a first-2 transformer connected to the input part in parallel; a first amplifier and a second amplifier connected to the first-1 transformer and the first-2 transformer, respectively; a first switch connected to one side of the first-2 transformer; a second-1 transformer and a second-2 transformer connected to the first amplifier and the second amplifier, respectively, and connected to an output part in parallel; and a second switch connected to one side of the second-2 transformer.

A power amplifier is a circuit for determining an output power performance of a transmitter, and one of circuit blocks which exert great influence on a communication distance and an accuracy of the entire transmission and reception system. One of important indices of the power amplifier is an output power, but in considering properties of the power amplifier that consumes a great DC power, an efficiency performance calculated as an output power in comparison with a consumption power is also an important performance of the power amplifier.
The disclosure of this section is to provide background information relating to the invention. Applicant does not admit that any information contained in this section constitutes prior art.