An oil and fat composition for food processing machines comprises polyglycerides of medium chain saturated fatty acids and/or mixed polyglycerides of medium chain saturated fatty acids and long chain saturated fatty acids and, optionally, triglycerides of medium chain saturated fatty acids. The composition is safe for food sanitation, has excellent oxidation stability and lubricating property and a suitable degree of viscosity and cloud point as well as a high viscosity and a low temperature fluidity which cannot be attained by MCT and is favorably utilized as lubricating oil for food processing machines and tools and agricultural machines and tools.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel oil and fat composition and to methods for using it to lubricate machines and tools for agriculture and food processing and like machines and tools. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel oil and fat composition for food processing machines which is safe for food sanitation, has excellent lubricating and antioxidation properties and is favorably utilized for machines and tools for food and agricultural products processing, like machines and tools, and items for food or agricultural products storage, preparation, cooking and handling.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For processing of agricultural products, livestock products, marine products and for preparation of food stuffs, various processes, such as selection, classification, grinding, mixing, baking, heating, fermentation, boiling, freeze drying and the like, are generally applied to the material and various kinds of food processing machines are utilized in these processes.
Examples of the machines for processing of agricultural products are machines and tools for collecting leaves from tea plants, rice cleaning machines, flour mills, brewing apparatus for production of sake, soy sauce, miso and the like and machines for the production of noodles, bread, cookies, fruit juice, jam, pickles and the like. Examples of machines for processing of livestock products are machines for processing milk, machines for production of milk products, such as cheese and butter, machines for processing meat and the like. Examples of machines for processing of marine products are machines for processing of fish meat, sea weeds and the like. Other examples of the food processing machines are apparatus for production of food additives, natural flavor and pharmaceutical products, such as a vacuum thin layer evaporator and a mixing apparatus.
For the purpose of lubrication of these food processing machines, oils of mineral origin, such as mineral oil and liquid paraffin, liquid vegetable oils, such as soy bean oil, cotton seed oil and rapeseed oil and animal oils and fats, such as beef tallow and lard are generally utilized. However, when oils of mineral origin are utilized, it is unavoidable that the oils are scattered or mixed into the foods or the agricultural products through rotating parts of the machines during long operation of the machines and the scattering and mixing of the oils of mineral origin into the foods and agricultural products are not desirable for food sanitation reasons. When liquid vegetable oils or animal oils and fats are utilized, oxidation stability is not sufficient even though they do not cause food sanitation problems.
The following oils and fats have been proposed as materials useful for food processing machines: (1) oil and fat utilized for spraying which comprises a transesterification product of 30 to 90 weight parts of oil and fat for foods containing less than 20 wt. % of saturated fatty acid and 70 to 10 weight parts of a composition containing a triglyceride of medium chain saturated fatty acids having 6 to 10 carbon atoms (MCT) as the main component (Laid Open Japanese Patent Publication Showa 56-72651); (2) a transesterification product of oil and fat made to contain increased amounts of monoene acids, such as oleic acid, and decreased amounts of polyene acids, such as linoleic acid and linolenic acid, by hydrogenation of vegetable oils, such as camellia oil, sasanqua oil, olive oil, safflower oil of high oleic acid content, hazelnut oil and rapeseed oil (Laid Open Japanese Patent Publications Showa 57-67695 and Showa 62-32841); (3) an oil of high oxidation stability and low cloud point which is prepared by transesterification of MCT and oil and fat of the vegetable oils described in (2) or hydrogenation products of oil and fats of the vegetable oils described in (2) (Laid Open Japanese Patent Publication Showa 61-173743).
However, the oils and fats of (1) through (3) contain large amounts of unsaturated acids such as oleic acid because they utilize soy bean oil, cotton seed oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil or oils which were made to contain increased amounts of oleic acid by reducing the content of polyene acids by hydrogenation to enhance oxidation stability. These oils have insufficient oxidation stability.
Another material proposed is a lubricating oil composition for food processing machines prepared by compounding triglycerides having linear alkyl group of 5 to 21 carbon atoms as the essential component and fatty acids of 12 to 22 carbon atoms (Laid Open Japanese Patent Publication Heisei 2-209995). However, this composition is based on the low viscosity MCT and has a problem that adjustment of the viscosity of the composition to a desired value is not always easy.
When vegetable oils are utilized as lubricating oils for food processing machines, they have problems that degradation of the oils takes place or seizure of machines takes place by hardening of the oils by polymerization because of unsaturated bonds in fatty acid molecules. The rate of oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids is larger than the rate of oxidation of saturated fatty acids. For example, the rates of oxidation of linoleic acid and linolenic acid at 20.degree. C. are 12 to 20 times and 25 times, respectively, larger than the rate of oxidation of oleic acid. Esters of saturated fatty acids are stable against oxidation. For example, the rate of oxidation of methyl stearate at 100.degree. C. is 1/11 and 1/100 of methyl oleate and methyl linoleate, respectively.
Oxidation stability and cloud point are, in general, related therefor each other. Oils and fats which contain larger amounts of unsaturated acids having higher oxygen absorption, such as oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid, in glyceride have lower oxidation stability and also a lower value of cloud point. Cloud point, pour point and solidifying point are also, in general, related therefore each other and a material having a higher cloud point has a higher pour point and a higher solidifying point. The properties of a material can be compared by utilizing either one of cloud point, pour point and solidifying point. An oil which is prepared by transesterification of MCT and an oil containing a large amount of oleic acid in which the contents of linoleic acid and linolenic acid are reduced by hydrogenation to enhance oxidation stability has a lower cloud point but is not sufficient in oxidation stability because oleic acid is also an unsaturated fatty acid.
Oils and fats containing larger amounts of saturated fatty acids having lower oxygen absorption, such as myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid and the like, in glyceride have higher oxidation stability but higher cloud point at the same time.
Because lubricating oils are utilized for driving parts of various machines and tools, oils having viscosities suitable for each of the machines and tools are required. MCT which is considered to be the best material for the lubricating oil for food processing machines has satisfactory quality concerning high oxidation stability and low cloud point. However, MCT has too low viscosity when it is utilized without other components because the viscosity is 15 to 20 centipoises at 25.degree. C. and 10 to 15 centipoises at 40.degree. C.

Oil and fat composition for lubricating food processing machines and use thereof


A system for cross-connecting network elements of different types through a common universal media. In the system, a media conversion interface is electrically connected to a network element. This media conversion interface passively maps the connector and cable type of the network element to a universal connector type. This media conversion interface is electrically connected to a cross-connect module in a universal distribution frame. This electrical connection uses a universal cable group and universal connectors. This cross-connect module is connected to another cross-connect module, also in a universal distribution frame, using a universal cable group and universal connectors. This second cross-connect module is electrically connected to a second media conversion interface, using a universal cable group and universal connectors. This second media conversion interface is electrically connected to a second network element, and passively maps the connector and cable type of the second network element to the universal connector.

The present invention is generally related to cabling between telecommunications equipment and, more particularly, to a system for providing universal cross-connect connectivity in a Central Office.
Telecommunications switching centers are the critical hubs at which all signals transported to the Central Office for distribution to the subscribers whose access to the network is through this office, or to other offices, are broken down to the constituent destinations and then repackaged to their destinations. Because of differing requirements regarding the sequential nature of signals and reliability of the network, signals from the PSTN, CATV and ISPs generally are switched and handled separately. This has led to three distinct logical networks having to be built and supported.
The physical infrastructure of the switches and the media that interconnects the equipment that does the switching are also different. In the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), communications equipment, such as multiplexers and lightwave terminals, is installed in standard network bays. This equipment is cabled using several different types of media (e.g., unshielded twisted pair, shielded twisted pair, coaxial, and fiber) to an appropriate distribution frame for connection to another piece of communications equipment.
PSTN distribution frames are defined by the type of signal (analog or digital), the rate of the signal, and the physical media used to carry the signal within the office. These distribution frames all use standard interfaces which have been developed to support evolving applications. An MDF frame distributes analog voice signals (300-4000 Hz) using wire-wrap or insulation displacement connectors. A DSX-1 frame distributes DSX-1 signals (digital, 1.544 Mb/s) using wire-wrap, bantam or 800-type connectors. A DSX-3 frame distributes DS-3 or STS-1 signals (digital, 44.736 or 51.84 Mb/s) using BNC, 358-type or 440-type connectors.
A different type of distribution frame is used for packet-based signals such as ATM, Frame Relay, and IP. This distribution frame has its own associated cable media (typically UTP) and associated standard interfaces (8-pin modular or insulation displacement connectors), different than those used by the PSTN distribution frames.
The general consensus among telephony experts is that the current circuit-based PSTN network will migrate to, and eventually be replaced by, a packet-based network. In such a network, signals from different applications and providers will no longer be separated and directed to different switching systems. This provides a huge potential saving in reduced infrastructure and operations costs. However, as the PSTN network migrates to an all packet-based network, an infrastructure must continually be built that supports both packet-switched and circuit-switched network elements. Because each type of network element has different cabling requirements, this migration period is very expensive.
The present invention provides a system for cross-connecting network elements of different types through a common universal media.
Briefly described, the system can be implemented as follows. A media conversion interface is electrically connected to a network element. This media conversion interface passively maps the connector and cable type of the network element to a universal connector type. This media conversion interface is electrically connected to a cross-connect module in a universal distribution frame. This electrical connection uses a universal cable group and universal connectors.
This cross-connect module is connected to another cross-connect module, also in a universal distribution frame, using a universal cable group and universal connectors. This second cross-connect module is electrically connected to a second media conversion interface, using a universal cable group and universal connectors. This second media conversion interface is electrically connected to a second network element, and passively maps the connector and cable type of the second network element to the universal connector.
An advantage of the present invention is that it allows its potential users a smooth upward migration path from current circuit-switched network elements to faster and more efficient packet-based network elements without having to re-cable or change out/replace the units at the cross-connect type at the distribution frame.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional features and advantages be included herein within the scope of the present invention.

System for providing universal cross-connect connectivity in a central office


The present invention relates to a method and a device for the lateral guidance of a vehicle. A warning device that outputs a warning signal when straying from a traffic lane is able to be turned off by a switching means when driving on a road that is not suitable for lateral guidance, in particular an inner-city road, and be turned on again when reaching a road that is suitable for lateral guidance.

From German Patent Application No. DE 101 14 470, a tracking and vehicle speed control device for motor vehicles is known by which the course of the traffic lane and the position of a vehicle relative to the traffic lane it is driving in are ascertained with the aid of video-based lane detection. Signals derived from the course of the traffic lane and the position of the vehicle are transmitted to a warning device, which outputs an acoustic warning signal, for example, so as to alert the driver of an imminent undesired lane change. Such a video-based lane detection often yields unsatisfactory results in detecting the road course, especially in the case of roads with sharp bends. Much too often this is accompanied by false warnings of the warning device, which alert the driver of a lane change allegedly taking place. As soon as the driver becomes aware of these unfounded error alerts, the warnings tend to be disregard and overridden. The acceptance of this assistance system, which was actually meant to make driving less complicated for the driver, ultimately suffers. The cause of frequent false alerts may be roads that are not designed for such an assistance system and thus overtax it. Frequent errors in the lane detection must be expected, for instance, in the case of roads that have a radius of curvature of less than 100 m. This situation is often encountered on inner-city streets and also on entrance and exit ramps of expressways and highways. Furthermore, especially in inner cities, lane demarcations are disregarded by drivers and sometimes even intentionally ignored, for example, when trying to keep the greatest possible lateral distance from obstacles appearing along the edge of the road or with respect to other persons driving in too unsafe a manner, such as bicyclists. In such situations the emitting of a warning signal alerting the driver to a lane change tends to be undesired since it interrupts the driver and distracts him from the traffic situation.

Method and device for lateral guidance of a vehicle


A hub is closed having a USB cable for connecting to a host computer, a longitudinal wire groove in a back side of the housing thereof and a receiving open chamber in the housing at one end of the longitudinal wire groove for receiving the cable and USB connector of the USB cable, the USB connector of the USB cable having circular retaining projections for friction engagement with respective semicircular retaining notches in the receiving open chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a USB hub and, more particularly, to such a USB hub, which has a longitudinally extended back wire groove and a receiving open chamber adapted for receiving the cable and USB connector of the USB cable thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A USB (Universal Serial Bus) hub is used in a network for connecting a set of computer peripheral apparatus to a host computer. Various USB hubs are known. There are known USB hubs with a USB cable and USB hubs without USB cable. A USB hub with a USB cable requires much storage or delivery space when not in use. A USB cable must be separately prepared when installing a USB hub without USB. When dismounted, the detached USB cable tends to be missed somewhere else. Further, there is also known another prior art USB hub, which has a box for receiving the USB cable when not in use. However, this structure of USB hub is bulky.
The present invention has been accomplished to provide a hub, which eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a hub, which has receiving means for receiving the cable and USB connector of the USB cable thereof when not in use. According to the present invention, the hub comprises a housing holding a USB jack circuit assembly, and a USB cable extended from the USB jack circuit assembly out of the housing for connecting to a host computer. The housing comprises a longitudinal wire groove in the back side and a receiving open chamber at one end of the longitudinal wire groove for receiving the cable and USB connector of the USB cable. The USB connector is secured in position by means of friction resistance when inserted into the receiving open chamber of the housing.

No. 12, Alley 70, Sec. 1, Chung Hua Road


Bath and shower support systems for a bath or shower enclosure have adjustable grab bars bearing on adjustable lower supports and laterally connecting to a parallel tiled wall by suction cups clamped to the tile by locking means. An adjustable length upward extending grab bar attaches to the lower grab bar with its upper extremity attaching to the tiled wall by connection means that includes a suction cup.

Patent application Ser. No. 11/684,661 presents BATH AND SHOWER ASSIST MEANS for installation in a bath or shower enclosure. A horizontal rotatable grip bar spans between two parallel walls perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the bar. Compressible means attached to each end of the bar grip the walls when the bar is rotated to apply a longitudinal force to the compressible means. At intermediate locations along the length of the bar tension members, namely suction cups, connect the bar to a wall parallel to its longitudinal axis. In addition, at intermediate locations along the length of the bar vertical supports extend from the grip bar down to the rim of a bathtub or to the floor of a shower enclosure
The system exceeds the strength requirements and fulfills other requirements of ASTM 446-85 (2004), the specification for testing grab bars, and also meets the requirements of building codes. However, it lacks the means to have a significantly adjustable length grip bar or to significantly adjust the height of the vertical supports above a base support. These shortcomings of the grip bar and vertical supports requires that each installation be made according to specific user requirements and dimensions. It is preferred, therefore, to have lateral support means that provide for a significantly adjustable length grab bar and adjustable height supports that fulfill the needs and requirements of varied users in a single product and accommodate variations in the dimensions and spacing of wall tiles as well.


Methods and systems for the preparation of chlorohydrins are described herein. The methods and systems incorporate the novel use of a high shear device to promote dispersion and solubility of olefins into the chlorinating phase. The high shear device may allow for lower reaction temperatures and pressures and may also reduce chlorination time.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of chemical reactions. More specifically, the invention relates to methods of making chlorohydrins incorporating high shear mixing.
2. Background of the Invention
Chlorohydrins are useful as intermediates in producing various compounds. For example, propylene chlorohydrin and butylene chlorohydrin are used in producing propylene oxide and butylene oxide, respectively.
Various processes are known for the production of chlorohydrins. For example, olefin chlorohydrins are typically prepared by reacting an olefin with chlorine in the presence of water. This process is believed to occur by means of an intermediate cyclic chloronium ion which reacts with the water to form an olefin chlorohydrin. The olefin may be one containing from 8 to about 30 carbon atoms. However, the process also concurrently forms undesirable dichloride byproducts when aqueous chloride ions react with the cyclic chloronium ions. Significant yield losses are typically suffered and the byproducts must be separated from the desired olefin chlorohydrin, an operation that adds to the cost of making the chlorohydrin. Alternatively, the process described above may include a water immiscible solvent. Therefore, the reaction would entail the addition of hypochlorous acid to a long chain olefin in the presence of water in a water immiscible solvent. Suitable solvents include decane, chloroform and petroleum ether.
Other processes for producing chlorohydrins involve reacting olefins with hypochlorous acid, wherein the process requires preliminarily acidifying the olefin with gaseous hydrochloric acid and carrying out the process at a pH of between 2 to 7, and preferably between 5 to 6. Another method of making chlorohydrins involves preparing hypochlorous acid by reacting chlorine and water in the presence of alkaline earth metal hydroxides (maintaining a pH below 7.0), then, reacting the hypochlorous acid mixture with a vinyl group-containing compound. Alternatively the preparation of chlorohydrin may be achieved by reaction of olephins with trichloroisocyanuric acid in alcohols, acetic acid or aqueous acetone.
Various other methods of forming chlorohydrins are also well known such as reacting olefins with t-butyl hypochlorite or hypochlorous acid substantially free of chloride ions. However, these methods typically either result in the production of numerous byproducts or require various, costly processing steps or long reaction times, thus hindering the commercial viability of the methods. For these reasons, there remains a need for a process for producing chlorohydrin that is effective and results in high yields of the desired product.
In light of the above, it is apparent that research has been focused on different reaction pathways in producing chlorohydrins. However, none of these methods discuss improving the solubility and mass transfer of the reactants through improved mixing.
Consequently, there is a need for accelerated methods for making chlorohydrins by improving the mixing of olefins into the liquid chlorinating phase.


A remote upgrade server having a networking module and a processing unit is provided. The networking module provides a network access service. The processing unit receives an update checking request from a mobile communication device via the networking module, and determines a delay time period according to a current networking load in response to the update checking request. Also, the processing unit transmits an update configuration file including the delay time period to the mobile communication device via the networking module, so that the mobile communication device downloads the system update file from the remote upgrade server after the delay time period.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to system update procedures of mobile communication devices, and more particularly, to system update procedures for updating mobile communication devices with networking load balancing of a remote upgrade server.
2. Description of the Related Art
With rapid developments in the mobile communications industry, various devices such as feature phones, smart phones, panel Personal Computers (PCs), and Notebook PCs, etc., are becoming necessities of life. For fixing leaks or bugs in the operating systems (e.g., Android, and iOS, etc.) of the mobile communication devices, periodic or even continual system updates are provided, wherein problems may occur therefrom.
For example, a conventional system update procedure may require manufacturers to retrieve each and every one of their sold devices for system updates thereof, which disadvantageously consumes a great deal of time and manpower. Alternatively, another conventional system update procedure may require the installation of a remote upgrade server which broadcasts information of available system updates to trigger the mobile communication devices for system updates with the remote upgrade server. However, the broadcasts of information of available system updates occupy system and network resources of the remote upgrade server. Also, with many mobile communication devices connecting to the remote upgrade server at the same time for system updates, overflow or crashing of the remote upgrade server may occur.
Thus, it is desirable to have a more flexible way of system updates for mobile communication devices.

Remote upgrade servers and load balancing methods thereof


A flange member includes a first cylindrical portion, a second cylindrical portion disposed inside the first cylindrical portion coaxially with the first cylindrical portion, an inwardly protruding portion protruding from an inner circumference of the second cylindrical portion, a first wall extending in the central axis direction and connecting the first cylindrical portion and the second cylindrical portion together and is in contact with a shaft member between the first wall and the second wall to receive a driving force, a second wall opposed to the first wall, and a connecting portion connecting the first cylindrical portion and the second cylindrical portion and connecting the first wall and the second wall. A groove is provided inside the first cylindrical portion and outside the second cylindrical portion. The connecting portion is disposed adjacent to the inwardly protruding portion with respect to the shaft member in the central axis direction.

Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an electrophotographic photosensitive drum unit of a cartridge (a process cartridge) for use in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and relates to a flange member for use in the electrophotographic photosensitive drum unit.
The electrophotographic image forming apparatus is an apparatus for use in forming an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming method. Examples of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus include electrophotographic copiers, electrophotographic printers (for example, LED printers and laser beam printers), fax machines, and word processors.
The process cartridge is a combination of an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and a processing unit for the electrophotographic photosensitive drum and is detachably mounted in the electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body. One example is a combination of an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and at least one of a developing unit, a charging unit, and a cleaning unit (the processing unit).
Description of the Related Art
In the electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as "image forming apparatus"), an electrophotographic photosensitive member serving as an image bearing member, which is generally drum-shaped, is uniformly charged with electricity. Next, the charged electrophotographic photosensitive drum is selectively exposed to light to form an electrostatic latent image (an electrostatic image) on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum. Then, the electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is developed into a toner image with toner serving as a developer. The toner image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is transferred to a recording medium, such as a recording sheet or a plastic sheet, the toner image transferred onto the recording medium is subjected to heat or pressure so that the toner image is fixed to the recording medium, and thus the image is printed.
Such image forming apparatuses generally need replenishing of toner and maintenance of the processing units. To facilitate the replenishing of toner and the maintenance, a process cartridge detachably mounted in an image forming apparatus main body is in practical use. The process cartridge contains, in a frame, the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, the charging unit, the developing unit, the cleaning unit, and so on.
This process cartridge system changes the operability because a user can perform maintenance by himself/herself, thus providing a usable image forming apparatus. This process cartridge system is widely used in image forming apparatuses.
The process cartridge employs a flange member integrally connected to the electrophotographic photosensitive drum. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-079243 discloses portions (transmitted portions 87g) of the flange member subjected to a driving force transmitted from an image forming apparatus main body to a coupling member. This flange member works to transmit the driving force to the electrophotographic photosensitive drum.
If the flange member has low rigidity, the portion of the flange member subjected to the driving force from the coupling member rotates in a deformed state, and the amount of deformation can change with a change in load. The change in the amount of deformation of the flange member can change the rotational speed of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum unit, which can decrease the quality of an image formed by the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

Electrophotographic photosensitive drum unit, cartridge, and flange member


A system and method for concurrently measuring odorant concentration and also compensating for changes in relative air density when measuring odor intensity levels may be used to provide more accurate and reliable readings from an odorometer. Odorometers typically measure the concentration of a given target gas in a gas-air mixture. Because changes in air density make it difficult to accurately determine how much air is in the gas-air mixture sample, a method of compensating for changes in the air density is able to produce a more accurate concentration reading. By measuring the relative temperature and pressure of the air at calibration and when a particular reading is taken, the final reading can be corrected to account for changes in the air density. By correlating the odor intensity readings with odorant concentration readings a wide array of advantages may be realized.

Combustible gases are commonly odorized to provide a simple, effective, and safe way for an individual to detect the presence of a combustible gas. An odorant is frequently deployed into the combustible gas stream. This odorization allows potential gas leaks and other dangerous conditions to be detected by an individual with an average sense of smell. Detection of the odor does not require the use of any particular tools or equipment, but equipment may be used to detect the odor. It is to be appreciated that references to "gas" or "target gas" in a gas-air mixture implies odorized gas which is not 100% composed of any particular gas (e.g., methane or propane).
Multiple separate regulatory schemes are commonly used for regulating combustible gases world-wide. The relative concentration of a target gas in gas-air mixtures which produces a readily detectable odor intensity to a human with an average sense of smell is a commonly used factor for regulatory compliance in the United States. This system relies on human operators to gradually increase the relative concentration of a target gas in a gas-air mixture until the gas odor is readily detectable by the operator. The operator may then use a device to measure the gas concentration in that gas-air mixture. Alternate regulatory schemes may involve direct measurement of the odorant concentration in the combustible gas stream, frequently using an electro-chemical sensor. It is to be appreciated that the concentration of odorant in a target gas stream is a completely separate measurement from the concentration of a target gas in a gas-air mixture.
In order to accurately determine the concentration of gas in a gas-air mixture, the quantities of both gas and air entering a testing apparatus must be accurately known. Traditionally, a mass flow sensor has been used to accurately quantify the amount of gas entering the apparatus while air enters the apparatus via a blower or fan. Mass flow sensors are less affected by changes in elevation, weather, and/or time of year as compared to volumetric flow sensors. Many complicating factors can change the pressure and temperature of the ambient air and thus its density. This makes accurately determining the precise amount of air that has been mixed with a gas more difficult. What is needed is an alternate solution for compensating for changes in air density, such that instruments sensitive to such changes may provide accurate readings despite changing atmospheric conditions.
Due to the potential danger associated with combustible gases, many areas have developed regulatory schemes governing the odorants frequently added to combustible gases. Stand-alone odor intensity meters or odorometers, may be used to determine the relative concentration of gas in a gas-air mixture at which a human operator determines there is a readily detectable odor. Odorant concentration devices may alternatively be used to determine the actual concentration of an odorant as opposed to the human perceived intensity of the odor. Each of these techniques has benefits and limitations. In order to provide high quality of odor intensity and odorant concentration data, what is needed is a device which allows for the concurrent measurement of odor intensity and odorant concentration from substantially the same sample.

Apparatus for providing corrected readings in odor intensity level monitoring instrumentation and concurrent odor intensity and odorant concentration measurements


A two-piece connector having a header, a receptacle, a first group of contacts incorporated in the header, and a second group of contacts incorporated in the receptacle. The header can be inserted into the receptacle. When the receptacle is inserted into the header, the contacts of the first group are electrically connected to those of the second group. Lock lever engaging bodies are formed on both sides of the header. Lock levers are provided on both sides of the receptacle. Each lock lever has a lift pawl and a lock pawl. These pawls can engage with the upper and lower surfaces of the lock lever engaging body corresponding to the lock lever. They are arranged such that the lock lever engaging body is located between them when the receptacle is inserted in the header. The header and the receptacle are designed so that no surface contacts occur between the lock levers and the lock lever engaging bodies once the header has been inserted into the receptacle, with the lock pawls set in a closed state.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a two-piece connector comprising a receptacle and a header (plug) detachably connected with each other and to a method of press-connecting a flat cable with a two-piece connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a two-piece connector is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. Sho 58-145074. FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of this conventional two-piece connector which comprises a receptacle (male connector) 60 and a header (female connector) 64. The receptacle 60 has handles 61 pivoted to the right and left sides of an insulator by means of pins 62 and a flat cable 63 pressed against contacts (not shown) in the insulator and project outwards therefrom. As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, each handle 61 is provided with a pawl 61a and a lifting portion 61b, and also has a holding portion 61c at its upper portion. On the other hand, the header 64 has pawl engaging portions 64a provided on the right and left sides of the insulator and received in grooves between the pawls 61a and the corresponding lift portions 61b. The header 64 has contacts 65 penetrating through and fixed to the insulator.
This structure allows an operator to remove the receptacle 60 from the header 64 fixed to a printing board 66 with his single hand. Specifically, when the header 64 is removed from the receptacle 60, the holding portions 61c of the handles 61 are strongly held by the operator with the thumb and the index finger of his single hand, as shown in FIG. 16. The left and right handles 61 are rotated so as to approach each other and the pawls 61a are disengaged from the pawl engaging portions 64a of the header 64. At the same time, the lift portions 61b of the handles 61 push the insulator of the header 64 to permit the insulator at the side of the receptacle 60 to be pulled out of the header 64.
In this conventional connector, however, it is necessary to insert the receptacles 60 in the header 64 in a state in which the right and left handles 61 are opened, i.e., the pawls 61a and the lift portions 61b are set in an outwardly rotated state as shown in FIG. 17. If the receptacle 60 is to be inserted in the header 64 with the handles 61 left in an inwardly rotated state as shown in FIG. 16, the pawls 61a and the lift portions 61b hit against the insulator of the receptacle 60, preventing the receptacle 60 from being placed in the header 64. If the receptacle 60 were forcibly inserted in the header 61, on the other hand, the handles 61 would be broken. Since most users do not know the structures of OA devices (office automation devices), wrong handling incurs fatal trouble or breakage of the devices.

Two-piece connector and method of press-connecting flat cables together


Systems and methods are disclosed for providing alerts to one or more customers at an optimized time and communication channel based on at least customer preferences, transactions, activities, usage patterns, and other information; and for allowing customers to directly respond and communicate feedback to alerts that are provided to complete various account actions, including to “snooze” one or more alerts.

With personal computers, mobile devices, television and the Internet, today's informed customers demand instant access to up-to-date information. Nowhere is this truer than in the financial services industry. In dramatic contrast to what it was even just a few years ago, bank customers today require access to their bank accounts and portfolio from a wide range of devices and access methods and demand that such access methods be available and the information contained therein be updated up to the minute. By logging into a bank's website, an account holder may determine how much he or she has charged on his or her credit cards, download account statements, track net-worth, transfer funds between accounts, and perform other functions.
While this allows the account holders to determine the status of their accounts, such methods of information update are unilateral in nature. Apart from monthly financial statements that may be provided by a bank, account holders must otherwise take it upon themselves to stay updated on the recent events and transactions on each of his or her accounts by manually accessing the bank's Internet website portals, logging into each account and authenticating his or her identity. There are many disadvantages to such an approach including diminished financial security. By its natural burdensome nature, requiring a customer to log in and to access his or her accounts increases financial risks and vulnerability to all parties involved as customers are less likely to be aware of and receive notice of fraudulent and mistaken transactions and are less likely to identify these transactions as such, thereby increasing costs to not only the customers but also the financial institution.
Apart from these fraudulent transactions, customers and banks also incur other costs. Customers may miss credit card, mortgage and other payment deadlines, incurring late fees, processing fees and interest fees simply because they forget such deadlines exist or simply have not recently logged into their accounts.
Just as important, the unilateral approach decreases customer awareness in their individual financial health along with the banks' financial resources. Customers are less likely to have contact with the banks and are less likely to take advantage of additional features that a bank may provide to customers, such as specialized bank accounts, increased lines of credits and unique promotions.
Recently, financial institutions have attempted to overcome some of these deficiencies by the use of alerts, which provide notifications to customers for various reasons. For example, alerts may be provided for payments due or for account activities. However, the current implementations of alerts are limited and offer minimal benefits to the customer and to the financial institution. Account holders of the presently known systems have little input regarding the type, timing, and method of delivery for such alerts. Instead, it is the computer system of the financial institution that determines what alerts are sent. But even then, these systems provide alerts in simplistic and static fashion.
As a result, one difficulty with the existing systems is that they fail to take into consideration the customer's account conditions and history. The current systems utilize basic—and often elementary—methods in determining when an alert should be sent. For example, the systems will simply send an alert via a default setting—e.g., telephone voicemail—when a payment is received for an account, without considering whether the method, timing, and type of alert provided will effectively reach the customer in an optimal manner and time frame for the customer to properly respond. Even if a customer actually receives and reads an alert of suspicious activities on a checking account, he or she may ignore the alert because the message was delivered inconveniently during the morning rush hour and through a text message. Similarly, an alert delivered by a bank may not reach customer in a timely fashion because it was delivered through an automated voice message at the customer's home answering machine while the customer is away during the holidays.
The existing systems also do not act beyond their initial delivery of an alert and do not react to customer responses (or the lack of customer responses). Instead, the systems employ a send-and-forget method of alert delivery. In other words, the systems do not take into consideration that whether the customer actually received the alerts it provides. Once an alert is sent, the current systems assume that the customer has or will receive the alert and make no attempt to ensure that notice was actually provided in a reasonable manner, but instead, simply shift the burden to the customers to find the alert. Given their already suboptimal delivery of alerts in the first place, this flaw serves only to compound the problems of the current systems, making it even less likely that a customer would garner any benefit from alerts of the current implementations. As a result, alerts are not always particularly useful to account holders of these financial institutions despite these attempts.
Accordingly, there is an important need for an improved method and system for dynamically providing alerts to a customer through one or more optimal channels at an optimal time, taking into consideration at least the user preferences and usage patterns of the customers. The solution should not only optimally provide alerts to the customers but also ensure that such alerts provide proper notice to customers.


The invention relates to anti-α2 integrin antibodies and their uses. Humanized antibodies are disclosed that bind to the I domain of α2 integrin and inhibit the interaction of α2β1 integrin with collagen. Also disclosed are therapeutic uses of anti-α2 integrin antibodies in treating α2β1-mediated disorders, including anti-α2 integrin antibodies that bind to α2 integrin without activating platelets.

The integrin α2β1 (Very late antigen 2; VLA-2) is expressed on a variety of cell types including platelets, vascular endothelial cells, epithelial cells, activated monocytes/macrophages, fibroblasts, leukocytes, lymphocytes, activated neutrophils and mast cells. (Hemler, Annu Rev Immunol 8:365:365-400 (1999); Wu and Santoro, Dev. Dyn. 206:169-171 (1994); Edelson et. al., Blood. 103(6):2214-20 (2004); Dickeson et al, Cell Adhesion and Communication. 5: 273-281 (1998)). The most typical ligands for α2β1 include collagen and laminin, both of which are found in extracellular matrix. Typically the I-domain of the α2 integrin binds to collagen in a divalent-cation dependent manner whereas the same domain binds to laminin through both divalent-cation dependent and independent mechanisms. (Dickeson et al, Cell Adhesion and Communication. 5: 273-281 (1998)) The specificity of the α2β1 integrin varies with cell type and serves as a collagen and/or laminin receptor for particular cell types, for example α2β1 integrin is known as a collagen receptor for platelets and a laminin receptor for endothelial cells. (Dickeson et al, J Biol. Chem. 272: 7661-7668 (1997)) Echovirus-1, decorin, E-cadherin, matrix metalloproteinase I (MMP-I), endorepellin and multiple collectins and the C1q complement protein are also ligands for α2β1 integrin. (Edelson et al., Blood 107(1): 143-50 (2006)) The α2β1 integrin has been implicated in several biological and pathological processes including collagen-induced platelet aggregation, cell migration on collagen, cell-dependent reorganization of collagen fibers as well as collagen-dependent cellular responses that result in increases in cytokine expression and proliferation, (Gendron, J. Biol. Chem. 278:48633-48643 (2003); Andreasen et al., J. Immunol. 171:2804-2811 (2003); Rao et al., J. Immunol. 165(9):4935-40 (2000)), aspects of T-cell, mast cell, and neutrophil function (Chan et. al., J. Immunol. 147:398-404 (1991); Dustin and de Fougerolles, Curr Opin Immunol 13:286-290 (2001), Edelson et. al., Blood. 103(6):2214-20 (2004), Werr et al., Blood 95:1804-1809 (2000), aspects of delayed type hypersensitivity contact hypersensitivity and collagen-induced arthritis (de Fougerolles et. al., J. Clin. Invest. 105:721-720 (2000); Kriegelstein et al., J. Clin. Invest. 110(12):1773-82 (2002)), mammary gland ductal morphogenesis (Keely et. al., J. Cell Sci. 108:595-607 (1995); Zutter et al., Am. J. Pathol. 155(3):927-940 (1995)), epidermal wound healing (Pilcher et. al., J. Biol. Chem. 272:181457-54 (1997)), and processes associated with VEGF-induced angiogenesis (Senger et al., Am. J. Pathol. 160(1):195-204 (2002)).
Integrins are heterodimers comprised of one α and one β subunit, and comprise a large family of cell surface proteins that mediate cell adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) as well as plasma proteins and are central to some types of cell-cell interactions. Integrins interact with ECM components through their extracellular domains. (Pozzi & Zent, Exp Nephrol. 94:77-84 (2003)) Upon binding to ligands, integrins transduce intracellular signals to the cytoskeleton that modify cellular activity in response to these cellular adhesion events, referred to as outside-in signaling (see, e.g., Hemler, Annu Rev Immunol 8:365:365-400 (1999); Hynes, Cell. 110(6):673-87 (2002)). Such signaling can also activate other integrin subtypes expressed on the same cell, referred to as inside-out signaling. Inside-out signaling further occurs via regulatory signals that originate within cell cytoplasm such as a disruption of the clasp between an α and β subunit, which are then transmitted to the external ligand-binding domain of the receptor. Integrins can play important roles in the cell adhesion events that control development, organ morphogenesis, physiology and pathology as well as normal tissue homeostasis and immune and thrombotic responses, and in addition, they serve as environmental sensors for the cell. These proteins are characterized as being in a closed conformation under normal conditions that, upon activation undergo rapid conformational change that exposes the ligand binding site. X-ray crystal structure is a recent tool that has been used in the study of integrin structure and mechanisms of activation. The understanding of integrin structural features facilitates the better understanding of binding sites, differentiated states and their active and inactive formations. In general, the binding site for ligand/counter-receptor for all integrins lies within the α domain and is comprised of a metal ion dependent binding site, referred to as the MIDAS domain (Dembo et al, J Biol. Chem. 274, 32108-32111 (1988); Feuston at al., J. Med. Chem. 46:5316-5325 (2003); Gadek at al., Science 295(5557):1086-9 (2002)); Gurrath at al., Eur. J. Biochem. 210:911-921 (1992)). In the α subunits of the collagen-binding integrins, which include α1, α2, α10 and α11 integrins, the MIDAS site is located within an extra inserted domain at the N-terminus known as the I, A or I/A domain, a feature they share with the α subunits of the leukocyte β2 family of integrins (Randi and Hogg, J Biol Chem. 269: 12395-8 (1994), Larson et al, J Cell Biol. 108(2):703-12 (1989), Lee et al., J Biol Chem. 269: 12395-8 (1995); Emsley et al, J. Biol. Chem. 272:28512-28517 (1997) and Cell 100:47-56 (2000)). The I domains are structurally homologous to the A1 domain of von Willebrandt factor, with a Rossman-fold topology of six β-sheet strands surrounded by seven α-helices (Colombatti and Bonaldo, Blood 77(11):2305-15 (1991); Larson et al, J Cell Biol. 108(2):703-712 (1989); Emsley et al, J. Biol. Chem. 272:28512-28517 (1997); Nolte et al; FEBS Letters, 452(3):379-385 (1999)). The collagen-binding integrins have an additional α-helix known as the αC helix (Emsley et al, J. Biol. Chem. 272:28512-28517 (1997) and Cell 100:47-56 (2000); Nolte et al; FEBS Letters, 452(3):379-385 (1999)).
Integrin/ligand interactions can facilitate leukocyte extravasation into inflamed tissues (Jackson et al., J. Med. Chem. 40:3359-3368 (1997); Gadek et al., Science 295(5557):1086-9 (2002), Sircar et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. 10:2051-2066 (2002)), and play a role in downstream events following the initial extravasation of leukocytes from the circulation into tissues in response to inflammatory stimuli, including migration, recruitment and activation of pro-inflammatory cells at the site of inflammation (Eble J. A., Curr. Phar. Des. 11(7):867-880 (2005)). Some antibodies that block α2β1 integrin were reported to show impact on delayed hypersensitivity responses and efficacy in a murine model of rheumatoid arthritis and a model of inflammatory bowel disease (Kriegelstein et al., J. Clin. Invest. 110(12):1773-82 (2002); de Fougerolles et. al., J. Clin. Invest. 105:721-720 (2000) and were reported to attenuate endothelial cell proliferation and migration in vitro (Senger et al., Am. J. Pathol. 160(1):195-204 (2002), suggesting that the blocking of α2β1 integrin might prevent/inhibit abnormal or higher than normal angiogenesis, as observed in various cancers.
Platelets normally circulate in the blood in an inactive resting state, however, they are primed to respond rapidly at sites of injury to a wide variety of agonists. Upon stimulation, they undergo shape changes and become highly reactive with plasma proteins, such as fibrinogen and von Willebrand factor (vWf), other platelets, and the endothelial lining of the vessel wall. These interactions all cooperate to facilitate the rapid formation of a hemostatic fibrin platelet plug (Cramer, 2002 in Hemostasis and Thrombosis, 4th edition). Upon binding ligand, platelet receptors transduce outside-in signal pathways which in turn, trigger inside-out signaling that results in activation of secondary receptors such as the platelet fibrinogen receptor, αIIbβ3 integrin, leading to platelet aggregation. Antibodies or peptide ligand mimetics that bind to or interact with platelet receptors are anticipated to induce a similar signaling cascade leading to platelet activation. Even minor activation of platelets can result in platelet thrombotic responses, thrombocytopenia and bleeding complications.
α2β1 integrin is the only collagen-binding integrin expressed on platelets and has been implicated to play some role in platelet adhesion to collagen and hemostasis (Gruner et al., Blood 102:4021-4027 (2003); Nieswandt and Watson, Blood 102(2):449-461 (2003); Santoro et al., Thromb. Haemost. 74:813-821 (1995); Siljander et al., Blood 15:1333-1341 (2004); Vanhoorelbeke et al., Curr. Drug Targets Cardiovasc. Haematol. Disord. 3(2):125-40 (2003)). In addition, platelet α2β1 may play a role in the regulation of the size of the platelet aggregate (Siljander et al., Blood 103(4):1333-1341 (2004)).
α2β1 integrin has also been shown as a laminin-binding integrin expressed on endothelial cells (Languino et al., J Cell Bio. 109:2455-2462 (1989)). Endothelial cells are thought to attach to laminin through an integrin-mediated mechanism, however it has been suggested that the α2 I domain may function as a ligand-specific sequence involved in mediating endothelial cell interactions (Bahou et al., Blood. 84(11):3734-3741 (1994)).
It is anticipated that a therapeutic antibody that binds α2β1 integrin, including the α2β1 integrin on platelets, could result in bleeding complications. For example, antibodies targeting other platelet receptors such as GPIb (Vanhoorelbeke et al., Curr. Drug Targets Cardiovasc. Haematol. Disord. 3(2):125-40 (2003) or GP IIb/IIIa (Schell et al., Ann. Hematol. 81:76-79 (2002), Nieswandt and Watson, Blood 102(2):449-461 (2003), Merlini et al., Circulation 109:2203-2206 (2004)) have been associated with thrombocytopenia, although the mechanisms behind this are not well understood. It has been hypothesized that binding of an antibody to a platelet receptor can alter its three dimensional structure, and expose normally unexposed epitopes which then leads to platelet elimination (Merlini et al., Circulation 109:2203-2206 (2004). Indeed, the bleeding complications associated with oral doses of GP IIa/IIIb antagonists have been described as the "dark side" of this class of compounds (Bhatt and Topol, Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 2(1):15-28 (2003)). If α2β1 integrin plays an important role in the movement of leukocytes through inflammatory tissue, it would be desirable to develop therapeutic agents that could target α2β1 for diseases α2β1 integrin-associated disorders and/or cellular processes associated with the disorders, including cancer, inflammatory diseases and autoimmune diseases, if such agents would not activate platelets. Thus, there is a need in the art for the development of compounds capable of targeting α2β1 integrin, such as the α2β1 integrin on leukocytes, which would not be associated with adverse bleeding complications.
The anti-human α2β1 integrin blocking antibody BHA2.1 was first described by Hangan et al., (Cancer Res. 56:3142-3149 (1996)). Other anti-α2β1 integrin antibodies are known and have been used in vitro, such as the commercially available antibodies AK7 (Mazurov et al., Thromb. Haemost. 66(4):494-9 (1991), P1E6 (Wayner et al., J. Cell Biol. 107(5):1881-91 (1988)), 10G11 (Giltay et al., Blood 73(5):1235-41 (1989) and A2-11E10 (Bergelson et al., Cell Adhes. Commun. 2(5):455-64 (1994). Hangan et al., (Cancer Res. 56:3142-3149 (1996)) used the BHA2.1 antibody in vivo to study the effects of blocking α2β1 integrin function on the extravasation of human tumor cells in the liver, and the ability of these tumor cells to develop metastatic foci under antibody treatment. The Ha1/29 antibody (Mendrick and Kelly, Lab Invest. 69(6):690-702 (1993)), specific for rat and murine α2β1 integrin, has been used in vivo to study the upregulation of α2β1 integrin on T cells following LCMV viral activation (Andreasen et al., J. Immunol. 171:2804-2811 (2003)), to study SRBC-induced delayed type hypersensitivity and FITC-induced contact type-hypersensitivity responses and collagen-induced arthritis (de Fougerolles et. al., J. Clin. Invest. 105:721-720 (2000)), to study the role of α2β1 integrin in VEGF regulated angiogenesis (Senger et al., Am. J. Pathol. 160(1):195-204 (2002); Senger et al., PNAS 94(25): 13612-7 (1997)), and to study the role of α2β1 integrin in PMN locomotion in response to platelet activating factor (PAF) (Werr et al., Blood 95:1804-1809 (2000)).
The use of murine monoclonal antibodies, such as those described above, as human therapeutic agents in non-immunocompromized patients has been limited by the robust immune responses directed against administered murine antibodies, particularly in repeated administration. This response cannot only curtail the effective half-life of the murine antibody in circulation but also can lead to profound injection site and/or anaphylactic responses (Shawler et al., J. Immunol. 135(2):1530 (1985)). In addition, the rodent effector functions associated with the constant regions (Fc) are much less effective than their human counterparts when administered to humans, resulting in a loss of potentially desirable complement activation and antibody-dependent, cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity.
Thus, there is a need for the development of antibodies directed against α2β1 integrin, including for treatment of α2β1 integrin-associated disorders, mechanisms, and cellular processes including inflammatory diseases and autoimmune diseases. Moreover, it would be desirable to develop anti-α2β1 integrin antibodies that would not be associated with the development of an anti-murine antibody response in a patient.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Anti-alpha2 integrin antibodies and their uses


According to one example of the present invention, there is provided a method of routing data packets to a plurality of packet processors in a computer network. The method comprising obtaining workload data from the packet processors, determining a workload distribution across the packet processors, and updating a balancing table used by a switching element in the network based on the determined workload.

In computer networks it is common for the processing of data packets to be distributed over multiple packet processors, which may themselves be distributed over different computer hardware or over different virtual servers.
Data packets from some data streams may be suitably processed by any available packet processor, whereas data packets from other data streams may need processing by one or more specified packet processors.
However, with distributed processing systems it is generally important that the processing load be appropriately distributed across all of the available processors to avoid processing delays and workload imbalances. Load balancing is often further complicated where processor affinity is desired.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An air spring has a pair of axially spaced end members and an intervening elastomeric flexible sleeve extending therebetween which forms a fluid pressure chamber. A pair of recesses are formed on an inner surface of an annular clamp ring which cooperate with a pair of corresponding annular projections formed on an outer surface of each of the end members to positionally locate the ring on the end member and to form a pair of pinch areas sealingly clamping the sleeve therebetween. Expansion grooves are formed between the projections and on opposite sides thereof to receive portions of the sleeve therein to form three elastomeric bead-like members, and to change the direction of reinforcing cords within the sleeve. The clamp ring seats upon a shoulder of each of the end members to reduce movement of the clamp ring during operation of the air spring.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to clamping means and more particularly to the clamping means adapted to affix a resilient elastomeric sleeve member to a relatively rigid piston member or end cap of an air spring. Specifically, the invention relates to a clamp ring assembly employing a clamping ring having at least a pair of recesses on the inner diameter thereof which coact with a corresponding member of projections on the outer diameter of the piston member or end cap to positionally locate the clamping ring on the piston member and to effectively seal the open end of the elastomeric sleeve therebetween.
2. Background Information
Pneumatic springs commonly referred to as air springs, have been used for many applications, including motor vehicles, for a number of years to provide cushioning between moveable parts of the vehicle, primarily to absorb shock loads impressed on the vehicle axles by the wheels striking an object in the road or falling into a depression. The air spring usually consists of a flexible rubber sleeve or bellows containing a supply of compressible fluid and has one or more pistons movable with respect to the flexible sleeve. The piston causes compression and expansion of the fluid within the sleeve as the sleeve compresses and expands as the vehicle experiences the road shock. The spring sleeve is formed of a flexible elastomeric material containing reinforcing cords, and permits the piston to move axially with respect to another piston or end cap secured within open ends of the sleeve.
The open ends of the sleeves are sealingly connected to the piston and/or opposite end cap, and the integrity of this connection is always one of the important and major aspects in producing an efficient and maintenance free air spring. Another problem with existing air springs, and in particular, the clamp ring therefore, is that the clamp ring will move in its clamped position under dynamic air spring conditions causing movement of the clamped elastomeric material therebetween tending to loosen the sealing engagement and deteriorating the clamp integrity and causing ultimate air spring leakage and failure. This ring movement is especially critical during the jounce or collapsing stroke.
Another problem with existing air springs and the clamping of the elastomeric sleeve ends to the piston member and/or end cap is to secure a sufficiently tight seal to be able to withstand high fluid pressures contained in the fluid chamber without premature leakage or bursting even upon experiencing severe air spring movement and being exposed to the harsh environments on the undercarriage of a vehicle.
Some examples of air springs and band sealing devices are shown in the following patents described below:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,628 discloses a pneumatic spring-type system which includes a structure for anchoring the inner ends of a flexible rolling sleeve. The sleeve is positioned between surfaces characterized by having a saw-toothed shape with a circumferential groove and rib on an inner circumferential surface and two ribs on an outer circumferential surface. The opposite sides of the grooves converge at predefined angles with predetermined and matching radius of curvatures, the combination of which provides a gripping action to hold the flexible sleeve firmly in place by means of the saw-tooth design, in cooperation with the matching recess of the ring and sleeve flange.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,286 shows a fluid spring wherein the ends of the rolling sleeve are secured by annular clamping rings which engage against the internal surface of the sleeve. The clamping ring secures the rolling sleeve to the working cylinder. The clamping ring contains an annular groove deformation by which the rolling sleeve is held in place by virtue of this interacting groove-shaped design in combination with the clamping force exerted by the ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,474 relates to means for connecting a tubular flexible member to a piston which includes a recess near the piston end to which is secured a flexible member. The flexible member is wrapped over and around a ring-shaped fitting which secures the flexible member to the piston. The piston comprises a circumferentially extending recess adjacent to its end with the flexible sleeve being positioned and substantially filling the recess of the piston. The ring-shaped fitting is a conventional swaged ring and the end portion of the flexible member is trimmed from the portion extending from the piston ring with the flexible member substantially filling the recess of the shoulder of the piston. The piston employs a serrated edge to assist in griping of the flexible member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,692 discloses an assembly for sealing two members, one of which has a cylindrical surface which supports the seal, wherein a sealing lip is provided to bear against the second member. A cylindrical surface supports the seal which comprises a hollow-cylindrical body having a lip which extends outwardly from the body with an elastomeric band circling the body to hold it firmly in place. The cylindrical surface contains a recess which extends circumferentially around the surface and receives a matching projecting element of the seal which extends from the inside diameter of the cylindrical body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,170 shows a pneumatic spring with a pair of chambers formed by a pair of membranes that are sealingly attached to an axially spaced apart retainer and piston wherein the axial end of the membrane is compressed between a serrated surface of a solid member and a retaining ring. The ring is swaged, fitted or otherwise tightened to produce radial compression against the axial ends of the flexible membrane.
British Patent No. 199,789 discloses a metal securing band which grips a diaphragm and forces it against a tapered end portion of a tubular member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,650 shows an air spring in which the ends of the flexible sleeves are connected to the sealing surfaces of a pair of axially spaced pistons by swaged or crimped clamping rings. The piston clamping surfaces are formed with serrations to assist the retention of the elastomeric material when forced therein by the clamping rings.
Other types of piston and end cap sealing arrangements for air springs are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,784,376; 4,787,607 and 4,787,606, all of which have been assigned to the Assignee of the present invention.
Another known prior art air spring construction includes a radially extending shoulder formed on the piston member on which the clamping ring seats and sealingly clamps the cut end of the flexible sleeve against a plurality of uniformly raised ribs formed on the axially extending sealing surface of the piston member adjacent the annular shoulder. However, such construction presents problems in that the clamp ring is not positively positioned on the annular shoulder, and is free to move in an upward axial direction upon the air spring experiencing severe jounce or extended positioning.
Many of the problems discussed above are solved by the clamping arrangement shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,899,995 and 4,852,861. These patents show the use of a clamp ring having a single centrally located recess which aligns with an outwardly extending projection formed on the sealing surface of the piston and end member in order to position the clamping ring on the piston or end member. A pair of pinch areas are formed on opposite sides of the projection by outwardly extending annular rings or surfaces on the sealing surfaces of the piston and/or end member. These rings form the pinch areas or zones in cooperation with the axially extending inner annular surface of the clamp ring on opposite sides of the concave recess. Although this clamp ring assembly does solve many of the problems discussed above and is extremely efficient for many applications, it has been found that for certain air spring applications, especially for larger air springs having high internal pressure, it may not provide the necessary clamping power.
Therefore, the need exists for a still further improved clamp ring assembly for air springs which provides increased clamping and sealing for the open ends of the elastomeric member between the clamp ring and end member and/or piston.


This application discloses a load relocation method, apparatus, and a system. The method includes determining, by a communications network entity, a target access management entity for load relocation; and sending, to an access network entity, an identifier of an original access management entity and an identifier of the target access management entity or an address of the target access management entity with respect to the access network entity. The access network entity sends a message from UE to the target access management entity based on the identifier of the original access management entity carried in the message from the UE. In the foregoing solution, signaling overheads in a load relocation process are reduced and load relocation efficiency is improved.

In a 4th generation (4G) communications network, when UE (User equipment, user equipment) registers with the communications network, the communications network allocates, to the UE, an Mobility Management Entity (MME) that is responsible for mobility management of the UE. In scenarios such as network upscaling/downscaling and an MME failure in which the MME cannot continue serving the UE, the UE needs to be moved to another MME. In the 4G communications network, a procedure of changing a serving MME of UE is relatively complex. If the UE is in an idle mode, the network pages the UE and instructs the UE to initiate location update, and the UE is handed over to a new MME in a location update process. Therefore, changing a serving MME of UE requires triggering of a relatively large quantity of air interface signaling (for example, in a paging process and a location update process). When a relatively large quantity of UEs need to be moved, air interface signaling increases abruptly. To avoid an air interface signaling storm, an existing solution is handover in batches. However, handover in batches is too slow to reduce a load of the MME in time, and therefore is unhelpful for load balancing on the network.
In a 5th generation (5G) communications network, functional network elements in a core network are to be implemented based on virtualization technologies, and it can be foreseen that frequent upscaling, downscaling, addition, and removal of network functions occur in network deployment of an operator. The MME load relocation method in 4G is inappropriate for such 5G network scenarios characterized by flexible deployment and frequent changes.

Load relocation in a communications network


A wireless charging device is configured to charge a terminal and includes a first transmitting coil and a second transmitting coil. The first transmitting coil and the second transmitting coil are in a layered distribution, and the second transmitting coil is movable between a first position and a second position along a direction perpendicular to a central axis of the second transmitting coil. When the second transmitting coil is located at the first position, an orthographic projection of the second transmitting coil on a preset plane partially coincides with an orthographic projection of the first transmitting coil on the preset plane, where the preset plane is perpendicular to the central axis. When the second transmitting coil is located at the second position, the orthographic projection of the second transmitting coil on the preset plane does not coincide with the orthographic projection of the first transmitting coil on the preset plane.

In the 21st century, people have entered the information age, and terminals, such as mobile phones, computers, or the like, have become important items in people's lives. There is no need to set a hot connection point between a charging device and the terminal when the terminal is charged by wireless charging. Instead, wireless charging may be employed, thereby avoiding the risk of electric shock.
Existing wireless charging devices are provided with a transmitting coil. In the case where the transmitting coil is powered on, a receiving coil provided in the terminal can generate a current by electromagnetic induction to charge the terminal.
It should be noted that the information disclosed in the Background section above is only for enhancing the understanding of the background of the present disclosure and thus may include information that does not constitute prior art known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Wireless charging device and wireless charging system


A positioning device for a production line of a large and soft infusion bag comprises a driving cylinder (4) and a locating fork (5). The telescoping end of the driving cylinder (4) is connected to one end of the locating fork (5), and the other end of the locating fork (5) is fixed between a soft bag connector nip (2) on the large and soft transfusion bag production line and a filing mouth (1). A stress plate (51) is fixed below the locating fork (5), and located below the soft bag connector nip (2). The device has a simple and compact structure, is inexpensive and reliable to use, and can effectively protect pins, so as to prolong the service life of the pins.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a machinery for packaging which is used in pharmaceutical industries, and more particularly to a locating device used in a production line for filling liquid into large and soft infusion bag.
2. Description of Related Arts
In a large and soft infusion bag production line, after the bag is manufactured, a liquid form medication is then filled into the bag. While filling, it is required that the filling mouth and the opening of the bag are sealed so as to prevent the liquid form medication from leaking through the opening. When the filling mouth and the opening are sealed, a certain pressure is applied on the filling mouth in order to achieve the sealing of the filling mouth and the opening of the bag in a reliable manner. In a general production line of large and soft infusion bag, such as the turnable mechanical arm for magnetic soft bag manufacture in Chinese patent number 20082021167.2, and the positioning clip for automated production line of non-PVC film bag in Chinese patent number 200620050712.5, the connecting clip of the soft bag usually requires a turning pin for rotation at 90° C. so as to ensure that the connecting clip of the soft bag is maintained at a vertical position during bag manufacture and at a horizontal position during filling liquid form medication. Because the filling mouth has certain pressure exerted onto the connecting part of the soft bag and the connecting part of the soft bag is clipped onto the connecting clip of the soft bag, when filling, the need of sealing leads to the pressure of the filling mouth which is exerted on the connecting part of the soft bag being transmitted to the connecting clip of the soft bag while a great proportion of force of the connecting clip of the soft bag is transmitted to the turning pin. Since the of the connecting clip of the soft bag is transmitted to the turning pin. Since the construction of pin structure has a size limitation and its size cannot be very large, strength of the turning pin is relatively low and therefore may pose a hidden concern to the production line of infusion bag. When filling, the force acted on the turning pin will damage the turning pin. After a certain period of time, the turning pin cannot be used because of excessive wear and tear, thereby adversely affecting the normal operation of the production line of the large and soft infusion bag and causing damages to the user.

Positioning device for production line of large and soft infusion bag


A station (100, 330) for use in a mesh network comprising at least one first station (100a) and a second station (100b) wherein the station comprises a controller (210) configured to receive a path request for a path from the first station (100a) to the second station (100b) from a transmitting station (100a); determine a proposed path between the first station (100a) and the second station (100b); and determine a cost for the proposed path. The controller (210) is configured to retrieve a power output level for the transmitting station (100a), and to include the battery level in the determination of the cost for the proposed path, wherein an increase in power output level leads to an increase in cost for the proposed path.

In mesh networks, such as networks operating according to the IEEE 802.11s standard, handsets, such as mobile phones, operating as stations in the network often operate in a mesh mode wherein they may act as repeaters for other stations' communications. This drains the battery of the repeating station. The power consumption in mesh mode is less than in active mode, but higher than in standby mode.
A handset running out of power will no longer be able to operate as a repeater which will significantly affect the mesh network architecture and potentially lead to some stations being isolated. It will also lead to an increased risk of interrupted communications.
It is therefore important to reduce the power consumption of a station so that it lasts as long as possible.
It is common that a station tries to provide as high a signal quality as possible by transmitting at a high power output. However, this high power output is often unnecessary as the signal quality received may be adequate and/or there are no other units that are far enough away from the station to actually benefit from the high output. For example a station transmitting at 100 mW allows for a range of about 100 m. However, if the furthest station away is only 50 m away the output power of 100 mW is unnecessarily high and may be reduced. Path loss in free space (for a given frequency) gives that a reduction in output power of 6 dB will give a range reduction by factor 2. For comparison, a transmit power of 100 mW equals +20 dBm and 500 mw equals +27 dBm. The power may thus be reduced by a factor of 4, while only reducing the range by a factor of 2.
Furthermore, transmitting at a too high power output also induces unnecessary interference in the mesh network as well as battery drain. The increased interference will also lead to a decreased network capacity and the battery drain is thus in vain as it is in fact hurting the quality of service in the mesh network, instead of helping it.
There is thus a need for a method and a station that enables for a stable communication network to be maintained and which provides a high quality of service without draining too much battery.


A silver halide color photographic light sensitive material and a image forming method using the photographic material. The photographic material comprises a support having thereon a silver halide emulsion layer containing silver halide grains having a silver chloride content of not less than 90 mol %, a cyan coupler represented by the following formula C-1 and a nitrogen-containing hetero-cyclic mercapto compound. ##STR1## The photographic material is developed with a color developer substantially not containing benzyl alcohol for a time not more than 2 minutes 30 seconds. An color image having preferable light-absorption characteristics and a high maximum density is obtained. The photographic material is also excellent in storage stability.

In recent years, a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material has been desired to have the characteristics such as a rapid processability, a high image quality, an excellent processing stability, a low cost, and so forth. Among those light-sensitive materials, a rapidly processable silver halide photographic light-sensitive material has been demanded in particular.
As one of the methods for obtaining such a light-sensitive material, it has been known that a color processing is made more rapid by making use of such a silver halide emulsion as that of silver chloride or silver chlorobromide which has a substantially high silver chloride content. For example, the technologies applicable to the above-mentioned method are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,183,756 and 4,225,666; Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection (hereinafter referred to as Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication) Nos. 55-26589, 58-91444, 58-95339, 58-94340, 58-95736, 58-106538, 58-107532, 58-107533, 58-108533 and 58-125612; and So forth.
Meanwhile, in a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material, a light-sensitive silver halide emulsion and a coupler so-called dye-forming coupler capable of forming a dye upon reaction with an oxidized aromatic primary amine developing agent are generally used. Among those couplers, phenol or naphthol-type coupler has popularly been used so far in a cyan coupler, of which are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,369,929 and 2,474,293. The cyan dye images obtained by making use of phenol- or naphthol-type coupler have had serious color reproduction problems raised by having an unsatisfactory sharp-cut spectral absorption in the short wavelength region of the cyan dye and by having an unnecessary absorption in the green spectral region thereof. For the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, an unnecessary absorption correction has so far been tried on negative light-sensitive materials by means of masking or the like. However, such a correction has not been preferable, because the sensitivity of the light-sensitive material has been lowered. While, in the case of reversal type light-sensitive materials or printing papers, there has been no measure for the correction. It has been the present situations where a color reproducibility has been affected considerably.
Taking the above-mentioned situations into consideration, imidazole type cyan couplers each having a novel structure have been proposed in, for example, Japanese patent application Nos. 61-138,868, 61-38,869 and 61-261,488, and so forth. Those cyan couplers are excellent in the spectral absorption characteristics of their cyan dyes formed. To be more concrete, they have excellent characteristics such as a sharp-cut spectral absorption in the short wavelength region, a few unnecessary absorption in both green and blue regions, a high maximum density obtained by a high absorption coefficient of the cyan dye, and so forth.
However, when combining the above-mentioned silver chloride emulsion or a silver chlorobromide emulsion having a high silver chloride content and an imidazole type cyan coupler, for the purpose of preparing a rapid processable light-sensitive material, it was found from the studies made by the present inventors that fog was seriously increased and photographic characteristics of a raw sample were liable to be varied during the storage of the sample on standing. It has, therefore, been difficult to prepare a rapid processing type photographic light-sensitive material containing a cyan coupler capable of displaying excellent characteristics.

High silver halide chloride content color photographic light-sensitive materials including cyan couplers and nitrogen-containing heterocyclic mercapto compounds


The present invention provides a plant disease control agent containing at least one of tetrazoyloxime dirivatives and salts thereof, and at least one selected from the group consisting of fosetyl, propamocarb, basic copper chloride, chlorothalonil, manzeb, cymoxanil, folpet, iminoctadine, cyazofamid, metalaxyl, fludioxonil, tebuconazole, prothioconazole, thiamethoxam, azoxystrobin and salts thereof.

Until now, in the cultivation of agricultural and horticultural crops, although a large number of disease control agents are used against crop disease, since the control effects thereof may be inadequate, the use thereof may be restricted due to the appearance of agrichemical-resistance pathogenic organisms, the plants may be damaged or contaminated by the agrichemical or the agrichemical may demonstrate toxicity to humans, livestock or marine life, a considerable number of these disease control agents are not necessarily considered to be satisfactory. Thus, there is a need to develop a plant disease control agent that can be used safely and has few of these shortcomings.
The present inventors carried out exhaustive research in view of the above-described circumstances, and discovered that tetrazoyloxime derivative and/or the salt thereof are useful as an active ingredient of plant disease control agent, and previously filed a patent application (Patent Document 1).
[Patent Document 1] International Publication No. WO03/016303


In order to fix an equipment (12) to a support (10), such as a support onboard an aircraft, use is made of a locking bolt (16) having a threaded rod (24) articulated by a yoke (18) to support (10) and on which is screwed a manipulating nut (26). A bearing part (28), immobilized in rotation on threaded rod (24), is connected with a certain axial clearance to nut (26) and has on its front face a cup-shaped recess (34) able to cover a lug (14) fixed to the equipment (12). Springs (38) placed in slots (39) of nut (26) permanently apply rods (40) to the rear face of part (28) on which are formed indentations (42).

The invention relates to a locking bolt to be mounted on a support for receiving equipment, e.g. of an electrical or electromechanical nature, more particularly on an aircraft.
Such a locking bolt must permit easy fitting and dismantling of equipment with respect to the support thereof, as well as the plugging in of connectors of the equipment and its support in the case of electrical equipment, particularly when the insertion forces are high. Finally, the bolt must keep the equipment firmly and reliably on the support, even when it is subject to severe mechanical stresses (vibrations, accelerations, shocks), in order to ensure a perfect connection of the electrical equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,746 describes a locking bolt incorporating a threaded rod, whereof one end is articulated to the equipment support and to which is screwed a manipulating nut, whose front face is given a cup-shaped configuration and covers a lug fixed to the equipment. This simply designed bolt complies with the above requirements in a satisfactory manner.
Moreover, the bolt described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,746 comprises an anti-slackening or release device mainly constituted by a sliding latch carried by the nut and which can be moved between two stable positions, one of which prevents any rotation of the nut on the threaded rod. This anti-rotation device suffers from the disadvantage of requiring action on the part of the operator. When the latter forgets to operate the latch, the anti-slackening device consequently has no effect.
Moreover, the locking bolt described in U.S. Pat. 3,212,746 suffers from the major disadvantage that in the case of an inadequate tightening of the bolt, the equipment may move on its support to a sufficient extent for the lug fixed to the equipment to escape from the cup-shaped slot formed on the front face of the nut.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,282,316 also describes a locking bolt having a threaded rod, whereof one end bears in pivotal manner on an equipment support and a manipulating nut screwed to said threaded rod. The screwing of the manipulating nut to the threaded rod makes it possible to apply a T-shaped part to a lug connected to the equipment. At the end of tightening, balls mounted in said part are applied by springs into openings formed in the manipulating nut, so as to prevent the latter from rotating under the effect of vibrations.
Although the locking bolt described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,282,316 requires no particular action on the part of the operator to prevent accidental loosening or release, like the previously described bolt, it suffers from the disadvantage of not preventing a displacement of the equipment on its support in the case of a poor tightening of the bolt.
The present invention relates to a simply designed, inexpensive locking bolt which prevents an accidental loosening or release without involving any action on the part of the operator and which prevents a displacement of the equipment on its support when the said bolt is inadequately tightened.
According to the invention this object is achieved by means of a locking bolt for an equipment support, incorporating a threaded rod, whereof one end can be articulated to the support, a manipulating nut screwed to said rod and a bearing part mounted on the threaded rod so that it can be applied to a member connected to equipment placed on the support during a rotation of the manipulating nut, characterized in that the bearing part has a predetermined travel with respect to the manipulating nut along the axis of the threaded rod, elastic means being placed between the manipulating nut and the bearing part in order to permanently urge the latter towards said end of the threaded rod in the direction of a front abutment formed on the nut, said elastic means also actuating anti-release means opposing with a predetermined force a relative rotation between the manipulating nut and the bearing part.
As a result of these characteristics, when the locking bolt is tightened, even to an inadequate extent, the bearing part moves away from the front abutment formed on the nut counter to the elastic means over a distance which is sufficiently large for said bearing part to remain in contact with the member linked with the equipment, even if the latter moves away from the nut. Moreover, the presence of anti-release means directly actuated by said elastic means makes it possible to avoid an accidental unscrewing of the nut, without any action being necessary on the part of the operator.
In order to prevent premature wear to the bearing part and the member facing one another and fixed to the equipment, said bearing part is mounted on the threaded rod in such a way as to be immobilized in rotation.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the elastic means comprise at least two compression springs displaced with respect to the axis of the threaded rod and received in recesses formed in the manipulating nut, each spring applying an anti-release member to the rear face of the bearing part having at least two indentations which can be positioned facing said anti-release members.
Advantageously, as the end of the threaded rod is articulated by a spindle on a yoke which can be fixed to the support, a torsion spring is mounted on said spindle and bears on the yoke and on the threaded rod, in order to normally maintain the latter in a setting position inclined by, at the most, approximately 30.degree. in the downward direction with respect to the horizontal.

Aerospatiale Societe Nationale Industrielle


The present invention provides for a method and apparatus for removing contaminants from a gas stream such as a flue gas stream from an industrial process. The process utilizes a prescrubber to contact the gas stream before the gas stream contacts an oxidizer in an oxidizer zone. The oxidized gas is then treated to either a first and second scrubber operation or just a single scrubber operation.

The present invention provides for an improved process for separating and removing nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, heavy metals and other contaminants from exhaust gases. These exhaust gases include those that originate from any full or partial combustion source, thermal processes, and process off gases from fossil fuel fired boilers, furnaces, incineration plants, refining, petroleum and petrochemical plants, inorganic, organic, fine and bulk chemical production plants.
Recent federal and local environmental laws require very significant reduction of discharge of harmful gaseous substances into the atmosphere. Chief among such harmful air pollutants are nitrogen oxides (NOx). In response to strict enforcement efforts of these laws, industrial air polluters have made considerable efforts to reduce the amount of these harmful substances into the air in gaseous effluents from industrial or municipal sources. Successful efforts to reduce the concentration of NOx in gaseous effluents often involve reacting the NOx in waste gases with nitrogen-based reducing agents.
Another known method of removing NOx from gas streams involves contacting the NOx with ozone, thereby oxidizing them to higher nitrogen oxides, such as N2O5 and removing the higher oxides from the gas stream by means of aqueous scrubbers.
Specific details of ozone-based NOx oxidation processes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,206,002; 5,316,737; 5,985,223; and 6,197,268, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency has presented information showing mercury levels in the environment are at levels that are likely to lead to adverse health effects. Coal-fired utility boilers are one of the largest sources of harmful anthropogenic mercury emissions but also include the NOx and SOx emissions sources. The present inventors have discovered a process whereby heavy metals as well as NOx and SOx can be removed from the emission from a variety of industrial processes.

Process for the removal of contaminants from gas streams


A bootie is provided for an office chair that has legs mounted on a shaft and rollers attached to the legs. The bootie has a top member and a skirt. The top member defines an opening for the chair shaft to pass through. The top member extends from the shaft along the leg. The skirt is connected to the top member and extends downwardly toward the wheel. The skirt is spaced from the bottom of the wheel a preselected distance. The skirt and top member form a cavity in which the chair legs and rollers fit to insulate the users shoes from contact with the rollers.

Many chairs are equipped with four or five legs with rollers for easy maneuverability about a desk or other work station in an office. Typically, the chairs are constructed of wood, or metal, or both, and are susceptible to damage when the user's shoes contact the legs of the chair, as is the case when resting the feet on the legs of the chair. The user's shoes are also susceptible to damage from the legs and rollers of the chair. On wooden chairs, a metal protective rib can be placed on the back spine of a leg to prevent gouging of the wood by the user's shoe. On metal chairs, a strip of plastic or other material can be attached to the legs to prevent damage to the metal portion of the leg by the user's shoe. While these protective strips minimize damage to the leg of the chair, they are ineffective to prevent damage to the user's shoe caused by the chair legs or rollers.
The damage caused by the legs and rollers of the chair upon the user's shoes is particularly annoying because it ruins the aesthetic appeal of the shoes. Also, people often wear expensive leather shoes that are easily damaged and not easily replaced or repaired. The shoes may become damaged through normal use of the chair whether or not the user rests the shoes on the legs or rollers of the chair. When the chair is moved or scooted about on the rollers, the rollers and the legs sometimes bump the shoes gouging, scraping and scratching the leather or other material which absolutely ruins the shoes.
While the problem of shoe damage exists for both men and women, men's shoes are typically constructed of heavier gauge material that does not gouge or scar as easily as the delicate material of women's shoes. Therefore the problem is particularly acute with women's shoes. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to have a device to help prevent damage to the user's shoes by the rollers when using modern office chairs.
A troubling aspect of the problem of shoe damage is that a person's shoes may be damaged by the chair during ordinary careful use of the chair whenever the legs or rollers come in contact with the shoes. Such contact is typically made when the chair is maneuvered into position during the ordinary course of work. The problem is very serious, causing not only the immediate damage to shoes, but a loss of productive time while repairs are contemplated or damages are commiserated. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to have a device that prevents damage to the user's shoes without interfering with the operation of the chair.