A webbing take-up device is obtained capable of securing sealing properties to gas generated by actuation of a gas generator. A switching mechanism of a webbing take-up device is equipped with a body, a gas generator, a piston that is actuated on receipt of pressure of gas generated by the gas generator, and a cylinder that internally houses the piston. A sheet and a support plate are attached to the body. Crushable ribs are provided to the sheet. The crushable ribs press the cylinder through a general portion of the sheet by attaching the sheet and the support plate to the body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a webbing take-up device that permits a spool to rotate in a pull-out direction at a force limiter load or greater when a vehicle decelerates suddenly and the spool is rotated suddenly in the pull-out direction.
2. Related Art
A webbing take-up device is known that a force limiter load is switched by actuating a cylinder and a piston mechanism with using of pressure of gas generated by actuating a gas generator (see for example Japanese National Phase-Publication No. 2003-502204).
However, there is a desire for further enhancement to gas sealing properties in a webbing take-up device that performs force limiter load switching utilizing pressure of gas generated by actuating a gas generator.


An agent for setting and caring for the hair, is based on a synergistic combination of (a) 0.1 to 10 percent by weight of a cationic copolymer of vinylimidazolium methochloride and vinylpyrrolidone as a quarternized copolymer of the vinylpyrrolidone and (b) 0.1 to 5.0 percent by weight of tetraoxyethylene laurylether.

The present invention relates to an agent to set and care for hair, containing tetraoxyethylene lauryl ether and a cationic copolymer of vinylimidazolium methochloride and vinyl pyrrolidone.
Usually agents to set and care for hair consist of solutions of film-forming natural or synthetic polymers. Such natural polymers are shellac, alginates, gelatines, pectines, chitosan salts, and cellulose derivatives. Synthetic polymers that can be used are, for example, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl acetate, polyacryl compounds such as acrylic acid or methacrylic acid polymers, basic polymers of esters of these two acids with aminoalcohols or the salts or quarternization products of these basic polymers, polyacrylnitrile, and copolymers of such compounds, for example, polyvinylpyrrolidone vinyl acetate or polyvinylpyrrolidone dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate.
In addition to the foregoing, agents used to care for hair and to strengthen a set in order to improve wet combability and the feel of the hair, particularly of damaged hair, frequently contain monomer quaternary ammonium compounds such as, for example, alkyltrimethylammonium chlorides, dialkylmethyl- ammonium chlorides, alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chlorides, and alkylpyridinium chlorides.
However, additives containing these kinds of quaternary ammonium compounds reduce the physiological compatibility of such preparations, in particular with regard to the eyes.
Our own DE-OS 34 01 037 describes a cosmetic agent for caring for and strengthening the hair comprising tetraoxyethylene laurylether and a quarternized copolymer of vinylpyrrolidone and dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate, in which an addition of such quarternary ammonium compounds is not required.
However, the hair-conditioning properties of these agents are not completely satisfactory, particularly in the case of damaged hair (see test example 1). Furthermore, because of the high price of the quaternized copolymers of vinylpyrrolidone and dimethylamino ethylmethylacrylate that are used, this agent is comparatively costly.
In contrast to this, it has now been found that a simultaneously outstanding conditioning and good strengthening of the hair can be achieved by the use of a synergistic combination of tetraoxyethylene lauryl ether and a cationic copolymer of vinylimidazolium methochloride and vinylpyrrolidone.

Composition for the strengthening of the hairdo and the care of hair


The invention provides a process for producing a polyphenylene ether by subjecting a 2,6-disubstituted phenol to oxidative coupling by introducing oxygen in the presence of a catalyst system which comprises a manganese compound, a chelant, a base, and an alpha,beta-unsaturated ketone, a beta-diketone, or a vinyl ether. The polyphenylene oxide produced has substantially no amine odor and more stable molecular weight, and is suitable for blending with styrenic or other resins to make thermoplastic resin blends of low odor and good physical properties.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a polymerization process and a catalyst system for the production of polyphenylene ethers of controlled molecular weight and structure. The invention is also directed to polyphenylene ethers made by this process having stable melt behavior, low odor and other advantageous properties, and to thermoplastic blends of these polymers with other thermoplastics, these blends also having advantageous properties.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The polyphenylene ethers and processes for their preparation are known in the art and described in numerous publications, including Hay, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,306,874 and 3,306,875. Other procedures are described by Van Dort, U.S. Pat. No. 3,365,422, Bennett and Cooper, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,639,656, 3,642,699, 3,733,299, 3,838,102, 3,661,848 and 4,092,294, and Olander, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,054,553 and 4,083,828. All of these patents are incorporated herein by reference.
The processes most generally used to produce the polyphenylene ethers involve the self-condensation of a monovalent phenol in the presence of an oxygen-containing gas and a catalyst, generally a metal salt or complex, most typically a copper or manganese compound.
Many processes utilizing manganese compounds as part of the catalyst system have been proposed. Of these, most utilize a manganese compound combined with a basic compound, such as sodium hydroxide, and an amine ligand. Examples of such processes are given in Olander, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,054,553 and 4,083,828, and by Nagaoka et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,276. Systems of this type are noteworthy because of their high catalytic activity, however, the molecular weight of the polymers thus produced cannot be easily controlled. Moreover, in all of these systems, the produced polymers incorporate nitrogen from the amine ligand, giving rise to structures believed to be of the so-called Mannich type, having aminomethyl groups located ortho to the phenolic hydroxyl on end groups of the polymer chain and ortho to the oxygen in position 1 on repeating units of the polymer chain. Such structures are known to be unstable on heating, generating malodorous amines and quinone methide structures which are reactive.
If the amine ligand is omitted, the aminomethyl groups of course cannot form, but in their place, the polymer tends to have relatively unstable benzylic ether structures adjacent to the phenolic hydroxyl on chain ends and adjacent to the position 1 oxygen on repeating units in the polymer chain; this chemistry is described by White and Nye, Macromolecules 1990, 23, 1318ff. Such polymers are more branched than their counterparts made using amine ligands. Polymers of the type made without amine ligands tend to lose molecular weight and increase their polydispersity on heating, presumably due to chain scission and loss of branches. Loss of molecular weight on heating and increase of polydispersity (broadening of molecular weight distribution) is generally considered an undesirable characteristic for a thermoplastic resin, associated with decline of mechanical properties, poor flow properties during processing, problems in compatibility of blends, and difficulty of reworking scrap. The manufacture of wholly satisfactory polymers using manganese catalysts therefore has hitherto not been achieved; with amine ligands the products have had an odor problem, while without amine ligands, the products have had a thermal stability (molecular weight stability) problem.
My invention provides a process for making polyphenylene ethers which affords control over molecular weight and polymer structure. It makes available thereby new polyphenylene ethers of controlled molecular weight and structure, which exhibit stable or slightly increasing molecular weight on heating, and which have little or low amine nitrogen content and consequently little or no amine odor emissions on heating. These new polyphenylene ethers are useful in thermoplastic blends having stable flow properties and reduced odor.

Polyphenylene ether process and resin composition


A method for determining an optimal access network by an apparatus is described. The method may include communicating with a first base station as part of a first access network using a first radio access technology (RAT). Information about access networks available to the apparatus may be received from a mobile broker. An optimal access network and the corresponding optimal RAT may be selected based on the received information. The method may also include switching to communications with a second base station using a second RAT.

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, data, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting simultaneous communication of multiple terminals with one or more base stations.
As used herein, the term "user equipment" refers to an electronic device that may be used for voice and/or data communication over a wireless communication network. Examples of user equipment include cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices, wireless modems, laptop computers, personal computers, etc. A user equipment may alternatively be referred to as a mobile station, a mobile terminal, a subscriber station, a remote station, a user terminal, a terminal, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, etc.
A wireless communication network may provide communication for a number of user equipments, each of which may be serviced by a base station. A base station may alternatively be referred to as an access point, a Node B, or some other terminology.
A base station may be part of an access network. An access network may include one or more base stations with the same network operator. Each of the base stations in an access network may use the same radio access technology (RAT). A user equipment may connect to a base station within an access network if the user equipment has a service level agreement (SLA) with the network operator.
With the current number of RATs available for consumer use being fairly low, a user equipment may scan all the available access networks before deciding on which access network (and corresponding RAT) is best. However, new techniques such as software defined radio and developments to decouple the core network from the access network may boost the development of more RATs. Multi-mode chipsets may enable this development. As the number of RATs increases, a user equipment may have to check more and more supported access networks to determine the optimal access network. This method may be time and battery power consuming.
Procedures for inter-operator handovers (including those that are inter-RAT) have been addressed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The Access Network Discovery and Support Function (ANDSF) has been introduced, thereby providing information on available networks and policies to a user equipment. However, the ANDSF belongs to an operator and is thus not suited to determine the best available access network for a user equipment among different network operators.
A further trend in 3GPP is the introduction of client based mobility. Client based mobility eases inter-RAT handovers from a technical perspective. Although network operators may cooperate sufficiently to enable inter-operator handovers and inter-operator, inter-RAT handovers, network operators may not cooperate enough to determine the best available access network for the UE. Accelerated and efficient access network selection may lead to a better user experience by creating service continuity with seamless handovers.

Methods and apparatus for a mobile broker supporting inter-rat, inter-operator handovers


An ECM including a motor body and a motor controller. The motor body includes a stator assembly. The stator assembly includes a stator winding. The motor controller includes a control circuit board, and the control circuit board includes a power source, a microprocessor, an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) inverter circuit, and a plurality of universal interface modules. The motor controller is configured to be connected to a main control board of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, to receive a command from the HVAC system, and to control the operation of the motor body based on the command. The power source is configured to supply power to each electric circuit of the motor controller. The IGBT inverter circuit includes an output terminal; the stator winding includes a coil winding; and the output terminal is connected to the coil winding.

The disclosure relates to an electronically commutated motor (ECM), a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system comprising the ECM, and a method of signal conversion between the HVAC system and the motor.
In the field of heating, ventilation and air conditioning, there are many kinds of HVAC products and each HVAC product is provided with a specific control panel. Correspondingly, each HVAC product comprises a motor matching the specific control panel. That is, one kind of control panel corresponds to a kind of motor and is incompatible with other kinds of motors. When the control panel or motor of a HVAC product breaks down, a compatible control panel or motor may not be available at once. This is inconvenient for the maintenance of the HVAC product.

Electronically commutated motor, HVAC system comprising the same, and method for signal conversion between HVAC system and motor


An automated teat sanitation system to apply a disinfectant to teats of a dairy cow can include a vision system with a laser to identify a location of rear legs of the dairy cow. A controller can be coupled to the vision system to calculate a distance of the rear legs of the dairy cow, calculate a distance between the rear legs of the dairy cow, calculate a location of the udder based on the location of the rear legs of the dairy cow, and calculate an extension distance based on the location of the rear legs of the dairy cow and the location of the udder. A wand can be disposed in a spray station and can be extendable the extension distance to position a sprayer carried by the wand to spray the udder and teats thereof with disinfectant from the sprayer.

The teats of a dairy cow are often sanitized using an iodine concentration prior to milking. In the past, such sanitizing was performed manually by spraying disinfectant onto the teats, or by dipping the teats into the disinfectant. Automated processes have been proposed. In one type of system, a cow's rear legs are maintained apart by a spreader while a sprayer is pneumatically extended between the cow's rear legs. For example, see the Teatwand™ by Onfarm Solutions Limited. Such systems, however, require a spreader which is believed can be uncomfortable to the cow, and which can be inaccurate. In another type of system, a robotic arm with a sprayer is guided by an IR camera that identifies the teats. For example, see the RotaryMate® robot by Green Source Automation, LLC.; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,568,447. In addition, see the Teat Spray Robot (TSR™) by DeLaval. In addition, see the Sprayrobot SR-1 by BauMatic Robotics. Such systems, however, can be expensive. Another type of system mounts a sprayer in a race to spray the teats as the cow walks over the sprayer. For example, see the Automatic Walk-Over Teatsprayer from Cotsword Dairy Equipment Co. LTD.; and the iNTELSPRAY Walkover Teat Spray System from GEA. Again, such systems can be inaccurate.
Reference will now be made to the exemplary examples illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.


A new and distinct cultivar of Buddleja plant named ‘BUDHUR99’, characterized by its upright and outwardly spreading plant habit; moderately vigorous growth habit; freely branching habit; dense and bushy appearance; durable variegated leaves that resist scorching under full sunlight conditions; narrow conical inflorescences with numerous light purple-colored flowers that are sterile; and good garden performance and winter hardiness.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct Buddleja plant, botanically known as Buddleja davidii and hereinafter referred to by the name 'BUDHUR99'.
The new Buddleja plant originated from an open-pollination in 1999 in an outdoor nursery in Solihul, United Kingdom of an unnamed selection of Buddleja davidii, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown selection of Buddleja davidii as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Buddleja plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant within the progeny of the stated open-pollination in a controlled outdoor environment in Solihul, United Kingdom in 1999.
Asexual reproduction of the new Buddleja plant by softwood stem cuttings in a controlled greenhouse environment in Bressingham, United Kingdom since September, 2009 has shown that the unique features of this new Buddleja plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


The invention relates to early flowering Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) strains that are suitable for culturing in a temperate area for seed production. Mutations are introduced to wild type chia seeds. Desired mutant progeny having normal appearance and an altered flora organ development is subsequently identified.

Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is a member of the Labiateae or Lamiaceae or mint family. This annual seed crop has a chromosome number of 2n=12. Chia and chia oil are used as human food, animal feed, drying oil in paints, ingredient in cosmetics. Chia seed is a good source of natural lipid antioxidants. Flavonol glycosides, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and myricetin are found in chia extracts. The antioxidant activity of a fiber-rich fraction of chia flour was found to be higher than many cereals and similar to drinks such wine, tea, coffee and orange juice. Chia seed coats are high in fiber which becomes mucilagenous and expands considerably when soaked in water. The fiber contains xylose, glucose and glucuronic acid monomers. One report finds that a fiber-rich fraction of chia flour has 56.5 g/100 g total dietary fiber content. The fiber-rich fraction water-holding capacity is 15.4 g/g. Chia seeds are about 20% protein. Chia is very high in omega-3 fatty acids. Diets supplemented with chia have been found to decrease risks from some type of cardiovascular diseases, cancers and diabetes. It has been reported that inclusion of chia in diets decreases tumor weight and metastasis number and also inhibits growth and metastasis in a murine mammary gland adenocarcinoma. Long-term dietary supplementation with chia attenuated a major cardiovascular risk factor and emerging factors safely beyond conventional therapy, while maintaining good glycemic and lipid control in people with well-controlled type-2 diabetes. Omega-3 fatty acids are reported to have a significant benefit in psychiatric disorders such as prevention and/or treatment of unipolar and bipolar depression.
Currently, chia is commercially grown in tropical and subtropical areas, e.g., areas in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico and Peru where latitude are ranged from 20°55′N to 25°05′S. However, in higher latitudes like Choele-Choele, (39°11′S) Argentina and Tucson (32°14′N), Ariz., USA, chia plants do not produce seeds since the seeds are killed by frost before they mature.
Efforts for improving chia seed production has largely been focused on selecting or breeding domesticated varieties of chia strains. However, lack of reliable sources of chia limits the potential to bring chia to the market as a new commercial crop. Therefore, there is a need to generate new chia strains that would allow chia seeds to be produced in much of the United States and other temperate regions.

Early flowering mutant chia and uses thereof

University of Kentucky Research Foundation


A surge absorber has an insulating body having a flat surface on which a pair of electrically conductive thin-film terminal electrodes and, therebetween, one or more electrically conductive thin-film discharge electrodes of a predetermined shape or shapes are formed. Micro discharging gaps are present between each of the terminal electrodes and any of the discharging electrodes adjacent thereto and between any of the discharging electrodes adjacent to each other. The discharging electrodes are typically arranged in a row and column pattern. A thermostatic fuse may be provided on the opposite side of the insulating body from the side of the flat surface on which the terminal and discharge electrodes are present. The substantial part of the surge absorber is hermetically sealed in an enclosure. The enclosure is filled with a gas such as an inert gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surge absorber for protecting electrical circuits from a surge voltage. The surge absorber comprises an insulating body having a flat surface on which electrically conductive elements are formed leaving minute discharge gaps therebetween.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 7 shows one of the typical conventional surge absorbers. In FIG. 7, an electrically conductive thin film 41 is formed on the entire external circular peripheral surface of a cylindrical insulating body 40. The thin film 41 is made of carbon, metal oxides, etc. Terminal caps 42, 42 are fitted to the opposite ends of the insulating body 40. The electrically conductive thin film 41 is cut around the surface of the insulating body 40 by a laser cutter or a diamond cutter, etc. so that the thin film 41 is separated into a plurality of ring-shaped segments and micro grooves 43 are formed therebetween. The entire structure of the insulating body 40, the thin film and the terminal caps 42, 42 are sealed in a glass tube 44 which is filled with an inert gas or nitrogen gas. The Japanese published patent application 63-67918 (published 11-14-88) discloses a surge absorber of this type.
FIG. 7 also shows a thermostatic fuse 45 enclosed in the glass tube 44 for breaking the circuit when the environmental temperature reaches a predetermined level. A thermostatic fuse used for a surge absorber is disclosed in the Japanese laid-open patent application 63-99725 (laid-open 5-2-88).
However, when the thin film as described above is cut by laser cutter etc., the width of the formed micro grooves tends to fluctuate as time lapses and the edges of the micro grooves tend to be formed rough. On the other hand, since the discharge breakdowns occur across the micro grooves, the discharge starting voltage is substantially affected by the widths of the micro grooves and the condition of the edges of the micro grooves. The fluctuation of the discharge starting voltage is translated into a degraded quality of the products. Therefore, the groove cutting process requires an extreme attention and accuracy.
Since the groove cutting must be performed to each piece of the products individually, the products are not quite suitable for mass-production and the production is costly.
Referring back to FIG. 7, the conventional surge absorber sealed in a glass tube 44 with a thermostatic fuse 45 has a potential problem in that a splash of fused metal of the fuse 45 reaches the micro grooves 43, thereby causing the surge absorber to be short-circuited. One method of keeping the metal splash from the micro grooves 43 is to place a shielding plate 46 between the fuse 45 and the surge absorbing element. The reliability of this method, however, has not sufficiently been proved.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,350 (2-23-88) discloses a surge absorber in which micro grooves are formed on a cylindrical insulating body in a combination of a spiral groove and a linear groove which intersects the spiral groove.
Japanese laid open patent application 62-278781 (laid-open 12-3-87) discloses a surge absorber in which a plurality of electrically conductive film elements are formed on a surface of an insulating body, one of the elements being a grounding terminal, and a plurality of micro discharging gaps are provided between the non-grounded conductive film elements and the grounded element.


For first write request to a virtual volume, the first storage apparatus performs processing by a method of either a first write processing method that stores write data in a first logical volume associated with the virtual volume as well as transfers a first write request, to the second storage apparatus, for storing the write data in a second logical volume associated with the virtual volume of the second storage apparatus or a second write processing method that transfers a first write request, to the second storage apparatus, then selects a processing method according to a first IO load on a first area of the virtual volume of the first storage apparatus and a second IO load on the first area of the virtual volume of the second storage apparatus to perform a processing for the first write request.

PTL 1 discloses an information system including a virtual storage apparatus 1000L and a virtual storage apparatus 1000R. The virtual storage apparatus 1000L provides a volume 3000LA to which the storage areas of its own HDDs 1030 are allocated, while the virtual storage apparatus 1000R provides a volume 3000RA to which the storage areas of HDDs 1030 in the virtual storage device itself are allocated. A same identifier is assigned to the volume 3000LA and the volume 3000RA. When receiving a write request for the volume 3000LA from a host, the virtual storage apparatus 1000L returns a response indicating that IO has succeeded to the host after confirming that both writing to the volume 3000LA and writing to the volume 3000RA of the virtual storage apparatus 1000R have been completed.

Storage system and method of controlling the same


A method of controlling an engine and a transmission coupled to the engine. The method including the steps of receiving and proceeding. The receiving step receives a signal value from a sensor. The signal value is representative of a desired ground engaging device speed of a vehicle. The proceeding step proceeds along a shift path defined by a one-to-one correspondence between the signal value and the ground engaging device speed. The proceeding step includes the steps of controlling a speed of the engine and selecting of a gear of the transmission along the shift path dependent upon the signal value.

An automatic gearbox is a type of a vehicle transmission that automatically changes gear ratios during operation of the vehicle. Automatic transmissions have a defined set of gear ranges that are utilized in the shifting in both the upshifting and downshifting of the automatic transmission. Additionally, there are semi-automatic transmissions that allow a driver to have the option of shifting the transmission or the transmission will shift itself. Additionally, there are continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) that offer a wide range of ratios as the vehicle travels. The CVT is utilized to provide essentially an infinite number of gear ratios between a low and a high ratio. A CVT transmission, such as the one in some models of Subaru vehicles allows for the shifting by use of shift paddles associated with the steering wheel, thereby allowing the operator to shift manually from one gear to another.
Most vehicles sold in North America since the 1950s have been available with an automatic transmission. The concept is that a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission is less complex to drive freeing the operator from the manual shifting and interaction with the clutch and the transmission shifter thereby allowing the operator to keep both hands on the steering wheel. The automatic transmission may have several operating modes that are selected by the driver, typically while the vehicle is at a standstill.
Automatic transmissions typically have several manually initiated control features, including a throttle kick-down. The throttle kick-down allows for a forced downshift in order to allow the vehicle to be mainly controlled by the engine speed in selected situations where additional acceleration is needed, such as when the operator decides to pass another vehicle. The driver can also choose between different preset shifting programs, for example, an economy mode or a performance mode. The selection of a preset shifting mode allows for either higher economy in the economy mode or delayed shifting for maximum acceleration during the performance mode. Some transmissions have a mode in which the driver has full control of the ratio changes by way of a manual selection of the ratio by way of a button or a paddle thereby overriding many of the automated features of the automatic transmission. The usefulness of such a control schema is demonstrated in such situations as in a vehicle cornering situation when a shifting of gears during the cornering operation could result in a compromise of the vehicle's balance. In the 1990s Porsche introduced a shifter that allows for the manual shifting of an otherwise automatic transmission. Additionally, some automatic transmissions, include a winter mode, such as Mercedes having a summer and winter mode that allows for the transmission to start in a gear other than first gear. When the winter selection is made the transmission will start in the second gear, rather than the first gear, to thereby reduce the tendency to lose traction.
Inputs sensors are utilized in a transmission control unit including sensors that indicate the current speed of the vehicle, a wheel speed sensor, as well as a throttle position sensor. The throttle position sensors are often utilized to determine the optimal time for selecting a gear change based on the load the engine is encountering. Additionally, the throttle position sensor can be utilized by the transmission control unit along with the vehicle speed sensor to determine the desired acceleration of the vehicle, and compare this with a nominal value, to see if the actual value is a higher or lower to thereby detect a higher load to thereby alter the characteristics of the transmission gear shift pattern. Throttle position control by the vehicle operator is the emphasis of vehicle speed control as is clear to anyone who drives a vehicle.
The problem with the speed control systems of the prior art are that the operator is utilized to provide a throttle input so that the speed of the vehicle is then regulated by the operator's continuous adjustment of the throttle input. In some instances this causes the operator to have to vary the throttle position in order to cause the transmission to shift and the operator is part of the control loop to ensure that the vehicle speed is being regulated by the throttle position maintained by the operator.
What is needed in the art is a method and apparatus to effectively control a vehicle speed based upon an operator selected speed.


Methods and Systems are provided for converting a two-dimensional image sequence into a three-dimensional image. In one embodiment, a method for converting a two-dimensional image sequence into a three-dimensional image includes determining camera motion parameters between consecutive images in a monoscopic sequence of reference 2D images, wherein the consecutive images comprise a current reference image and an adjacent image, determining a horizontal disparity map for a target image using the camera motion parameters, determining a disparity probability value for each disparity vector of the disparity map, and determining a target image as a weighted average of pixel values in the current reference image using the disparity probability values, such that the target image and current reference image comprise a stereoscopic image pair.

In general, stereoscopic image conversion is a process that involves converting two-dimensional (2D) images or video into three-dimensional (3D) stereoscopic images or video. In one conventional process, a stereoscopic image can be generated by combining two monoscopic views (left and right eye perspective views) captured by two separate cameras positioned at different points, where each camera captures a 2D perspective image (left and right eye views) of a given scene, and where hereby the two 2D perspective images are combined to form a 3D or stereoscopic image. In other conventional methods, 3D or stereoscopic images are generated from original 2D monoscopic images captured by a single video camera, whereby corresponding 2D monoscopic image pairs are estimated using information extracted from the original 2D images. With such methods, the original 2D image can be established as the left perspective view providing a first view of a stereoscopic pair of images, while a corresponding right perspective image is an image that is processed from the original 2D image to generate a corresponding right perspective providing a second view of the stereoscopic image pair.
In one particular conventional scheme, 2D to 3D conversion systems can be configured to generate stereoscopic image pairs from a single sequence of 2D monoscopic images (e.g., 2D video image sequence) using camera motion data that is estimated between sequential 2D images in the source image data. With such techniques, the input 2D image data is often a video segment that is captured with camera motion. After camera motion is analyzed, the right image then can be derived from the 2D image in the input video and the inferred camera motion. 2D to 3D conversion systems can be used to convert 2D formatted image and video data (movies, home videos, games, etc.) into stereoscopic images to enable 3D viewing of the 2D formatted source image data. Together with the first image sequence, the second sequence makes it possible to view the originally two-dimensional images in three dimensions when the first and second image sequences are transmitted to the left or right eye.
Conventional approaches for generating stereoscopic image pairs from a sequence of 2D images using camera motion use depth maps, which are computed from the videos image data with camera, to render/generate the corresponding stereoscopic image pair. In general, these techniques involve estimating camera motion between two consecutive 2D images in monoscopic sequence of 2D images such that they become canonical stereo pair, followed by depth estimation to extract depth maps from the two or more consecutive images using the estimated camera motion. The estimated depth maps are then used to re-render the left eye image into the right eye image. More specifically, assuming two consecutive 2D images, Li, Li+1, where the input 2D image sequence is deemed to provide the left eye perspective views, a depth map can be estimated from the 2D images by minimizing a cost function F(D|Li, Li+1) with respect to the depth map D. Assuming the optimal depth map is {circumflex over (D)}i, the right image can be rendered by a rendering function: Ri=Render(Li, {circumflex over (D)}i).
This conventional approach works well, theoretically, if the depth map can be accurately estimated. An advantage of this approach is that camera motion can be arbitrary. On a practical level, however, the depth estimation process is problematic and, in most cases, the depth map is corrupted by noise. As a result, the estimated depth map will contain a noise component: {circumflex over (D)}i=Di+Dierror, where Di is the true depth map, and Dierror is the error component. When rendering the right eye image, the error component would be propagated and most likely be magnified by the rendering function, resulting in undesirable artifacts.
Other conventional methods based on camera motion use planar transform techniques to avoid depth map computation but such approaches have significant limitations as applied to video data with general, arbitrary camera motion. In general, planar transformation techniques involve estimating camera motion from the input video sequence by, for example, computing a fundamental matrix using adjacent frames. The estimated camera motion parameters are then used to derive a planar transformation matrix that is used to transform the current image in the input video image sequence to the hypothetical right eye image. However, the transformation matrix can only be derived when the camera motion only contains horizontal movement. If the camera also moves in the vertical direction, vertical parallax would be created and vertical parallax cannot be removed under any planar transformation. Most depth perception (i.e., 3D or stereo effect in viewing a scene, for example) is obtained in a generally horizontal plane rather than in a vertical plane because the viewer's eyes are spaced apart usually in a generally horizontal plane and respective views are seen according to the stereo base of the distance between the viewer's two eyes. As such, vertical motion or disparity between a pair of sequential images can be incorrectly interpreted by a 2D to 3D conversion system as motion indicative of depth. The planar transform can, though, remove camera rotation, and zooming, therefore create the canonical stereoscopic image pair (i.e. the left and right images are aligned to have the same focal length and parallel focal plane). Under these conditions, if camera motion is limited to horizontal translation, the input video stream of 2D images can be treated as a series of stereo image pairs with small separations.

Method and system for converting 2D image data to stereoscopic image data


A signal receiver divides frequency conversion into multiple steps based on a Log2(N) number corresponding to the number N of Nyquist zones that are to be covered. This binary structure used Track and Hold (T/H) amplifiers as samplers for wideband frequency conversion where the frequency coverage is defined by a number of cascaded segments. The receiver system includes a plurality of conversion stages coupled in series with one another. Each conversion stage includes a bandpass filter at its input node with a T/H amplifier configured to receive a respective T/H clock signal. Each conversion stage is either bypassed or implemented depending on the frequency bandwidth being processed. Each bandpass filter is configured to have a respective bandwidth range that differs from the bandwidth range of the other bandpass filters. Each T/H amplifier is configured to receive a respective T/H clock input signal.

RF receivers with increased coverage of the RF spectrum are necessary in order to meet ever increasing mission capabilities. Known RF receiver systems use a large number of pre-selection filters and ultra-wideband local oscillators (LO) to achieve a wide RF spectrum coverage. Current approaches also rely on a Zero-IF receiver architecture with a VCO/PLL to cover the larger RF spectrum range at the expense of limited IBW (<200 MHz). Multiple LO tones separated by the IBW to achieve wideband coverage are required
Frequency conversion through a mixer is limited in spectrum coverage due to balun designs. Either the RF/LO ports are limited or the IF port is limited in BW as the IF BW of track-and-hold amplifiers is broadband and covers up-to the 1st Nyquist null frequency.
Other known approaches utilize multiple Nyquist zones folding to cover the desired RF spectrum but suffer from low sensitivity due to the large number of aliases and require signal processing to determine the actual frequency of the signals of interest.
Complex LO generation and the large number of RF pre-selection filters, however, require a large amount of space, weight and power to accommodate them in a design.
What is needed is a receiver architecture that does not need large filter banks and avoids complex LO generation but still obtains ultra-wideband RF spectrum coverage.


An adjustable-weight exercise device includes a body having a through-hole; a handle centrally located in the body and disposed within the through-hole; and at least one internal compartment having a number of insertion slots therein, each adapted to receive a weight. The device may include a covering member disposed over each of the internal compartments, each fastened to the body. The adjustable-weight exercise device may be employed in a variety of physical activities to seamlessly move from one desired position or movement to the next without inconvenience or interruption.

Exercise devices used to aid athletes are well known in the art. For example, foam or hardwood blocks are currently used while performing certain yoga poses or during stretching. These blocks provide numerous benefits including: shortening the distance between the ground and the body for difficult poses, modifying poses for practitioners requiring increased flexibility, aiding the practitioner to hold a pose more comfortably for longer periods of time, reducing the chance of injury due to muscle strain and fatigue, and/or providing support by allowing the body to maintain proper alignment.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,156,791 to Edwards discloses an exemplary yoga grip block having one or more block sections and a grip section that provides support and comfort in the practice of yoga exercises. Similarly, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0274078 to Andrews discloses a wrist saver block that decreases the amount of stress and strain felt by a user's wrist joint by providing a handle that is gripped when performing upper-body weight-bearing exercises. Both the yoga grip block and the wrist saver block are said to reduce wrist-strain of yoga practitioners. However, they do not allow the user to customize a workout to incorporate the benefits of another sporting activity, such as weight training.
While lightweight devices, like yoga blocks, are well suited for assisting specific physical activities (e.g., certain stretches or yoga positions), they are ill-suited for activities that require the use of handheld weights, such as hybrid workouts. Such workouts are growing in popularity and provide various health benefits for the participant. For example, combining weight training with yoga allows the participant to effectively tone and strengthen muscles simultaneously in a way that cannot be obtained from practicing weight training or yoga alone.
Dumbbells are often the first choice of a yoga practitioner who wishes to add weight-lifting to a yoga routine, or otherwise increase the resistance of certain yoga exercises. Dumbbells are used for providing resistance training in a wide variety of exercises such as bicep curls, weighted squats, shoulder presses, triceps extensions, and the like. However, due to the number of exercises that may be performed with dumbbells, users often need many different dumbbells, each with different weights, to perform an exercise routine. Moreover, a yoga practitioner will still require a separate yoga block for certain exercises.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0023563 to Liang discloses a body tone exercise brick having a recessed portion that houses weights and a handle. The handle can be placed within the recessed portion of the brick to decrease the amount of stress and strain felt by user's wrist joint when performing upper-body weight-bearing exercises, and can also be attached to the weights to create a free weight dumbbell that can be used for weight training exercises. However, the body tone exercise brick requires assembly of the weights with the handle to be used as a dumbbell and further requires disassembly to use the handle within the brick to reduce wrist stress and strain. Assembling and disassembling the components of the body tone exercise brick causes frequent interruption to a workout and does not allow a user to flow from one position to the next efficiently or effectively.
In light of the aforementioned and other limitations and failings of known exercise devices, there is a clear need for an exercise device that combines the benefits of handheld weights with the posture and stretching-assistance benefits of a yoga-type block. It would be beneficial if the weight of such a device was easily adjustable by a user.


A high-speed scanning method uses a K(K.gtoreq.3)-number of semiconductor switch elements each having a first main electrode responsive to an input signal, a second main electrode, and a control electrode responsive to a control signal for controlling the transmissive and intransmissive states of said input signal from the first main electrode to the second main electrode; and capacitive loads connected respectively with the second main electrode of each of said K-number of semiconductor switch elements, for shifting one of the K-number of semiconductor switch elements sequentially with a predetermined period from the transmissive state to the intransmissive state or vice versa, wherein, the time, for which an arbitary L(K>L.gtoreq.2)-number of semiconductor switch elements of adjacent scans are rendered transmissive, and the time, for which the L-number of semiconductor switch elements are rendered intransmissive, are included in at least one frame period, to elongate the period for which the scanning signals fluctuate, thereby permitting use of low-frequency semiconductor switches.

The present invention relates to a scanning method and a scanning circuit and, more particularly, to a scanning method and a scanning circuit which use a display element of a liquid crystal or the like and are suitable for an active matrix type display having a driver built therein.
The so-called "active matrix display", which is formed on a substrate of glass or the like with switching elements such as thin film active elements, e.g., diodes or thin film transistors (which will be referred to as the "TFTs" for brevity) and which are combined with a substance having an electro-optical effect such as a liquid crystal, is featured by capability of forming a large-area, high-fineness and high-quality display. In addition, the display using the TFTs constitutes a driver of the TFTs so that it forms on the glass substrate not only a display unit but also a circuit for driving the display unit to reduce the number of connecting lines from the outside and the number of external drivers. This makes it possible to drop the production cost and to prevent the reliability from dropping due to inferior connection. Thus, many displays having the driver built therein are proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Opens Nos. 56 - 92573 and 57 - 100467 and so on since they have been proposed in Proceedings of IEEE, 59, P1566 (1971). These circuit structures can constitute a signal circuit for generating a signal voltage to be applied to the wiring at a signal (or data) side, of a smaller number of TFT elements per line but still has room for improvements in the following points. First of all, the voltage applied to the signal electrode (or data line) of the display unit has its signal voltage applied to the signal electrode through a TFT element at the output step of a driver, when the TFT element is on. When the TFT element is then turned off, the voltage is held by the capacitor Cl of the signal electrode. These operations are accomplished for a period, in which one of the scanning lines is selected so that a scanning voltage for turning on the TFT element of the display unit is applied to the scanning electrode. This makes it necessary for the voltage applied to the signal electrode for that period to be held till the end of the scanning period of the one line. If the insulating resistance of the signal electrode to another unit is insufficient, the voltage applied to the signal electrode capacitor till the end of the scanning period is released so that the voltage applied to the TFT of a pixel unit drops. As a result, each pixel connected with that signal electrode has an uneven luminance for each signal electrode because the applied voltage is always low. In order to prevent this, the TFT element at the output step of the driver should be held on till the end of the scanning period of one line so that an electric current may be supplied to an extent corresponding to the discharge of the voltage from the signal electrode.
Next, it is necessary to consider the problems of the ON characteristics of the TFT elements of the display unit and the output step. As the display is of a higher capacity, i.e., a larger display area and more scanning lines, the scanning periods of one line and one pixel become shorter. Since the electrostatic capacity per line becomes higher, on the contrary, a relatively higher electrostatic capacitive load has to be charged up for a short period for either a so-called "sequential dot scanning method", by which signal lines are sequentially scanned by one signal line for one scanning period, or a scanning method of sequentially scanning by a plurality of signal lines (the latter method will be called the "sequential block scanning method by making one block of a plurality of lines to be once scanned). The TFT element at the output step of the driver should also have a high mutual drain conductance gm. According to the aforementioned scanning methods, moreover, the ON voltage of the TFT elements of the display unit are so reduced that an insufficient voltage is applied to the liquid crystal and the contrast ratio of the display is reduced. This makes it necessary to enlarge the channel width W of the TFT elements to thereby increase the mutual conductance gm. As a result, the circuit area is increased, and the ratio occupied by the display electrode of the display unit is reduced together with the display characteristics. In order to avoid this, the so-called "sequential line scanning method", by which the TFT element of the display unit is turned on for the substantially whole address period of one scanning line with the signal voltage being applied, is desired as the driving method.
Next, the structure of a built-in driver or a driver at a signal side (or data voltage generating side) is required to have high-speed operations so that care should be taken with regard to the circuit design. If the number of the pixels of the display unit of a display is assumed to be expressed by N (i.e., the number of vertical pixels) .times.M (i.e., the number of horizontal pixels) and if the frequency for rewriting one frame (which will be called the "frame frequency") is denoted at f.sub.F (Hz), for example, the maximum frequency f.sub.max of a signal voltage inputted to the display is calculated by N.times.M.times.f.sub.F. With the pixel number of the display unit being N=400, M=640.times.3 (assuming the display of three colors R, G and B) and f.sub.F =60 Hz, for example, the maximum frequency f.sub.max takes such a very high value as is expressed by f.sub.max =46.08.times.106 Hz=46.08 MHz. Since the circuit operating within such frequency band is very difficult to be constructed of TFTs of amorphous or polycrystalline silicon, for example, it is necessary to improve the circuit structure or the signal applying method having characteristics matching the TFT elements. The above-specified example of the prior art is a circuit structure which has been devised to apply input data in parallel to thereby to drop the aforementioned maximum frequency f.sub.max with the number of the input data. However, the part for receiving the signals from the outside and the part for applying the input signals to the display unit are of the voltage distribution type resorting to the electrostatic capacity, in which the common TFT elements are used or in which the TFT elements are used as transfer gates. As a result, the example of the prior art requires the TFT elements of the input part to drive a high electrostatic capacitive load so that it is defectively difficult to respond to an input signal of high frequency.
In the aforementioned embodiment, moreover, the timing for applying or the circuit structure for generating the drive voltage such as scanning pulses for operating the TFT elements for processing the input data signals divides the selection period of one scanning line with the number of blocks, each of which is composed of a plurality of signal lines. Since the pulse width of the scanning pulses becomes smaller for a larger frame and the higher fineness, a circuit for generating the scanning pulses is required of high-speed operations.
The prior art thus far described has failed to efficiently process the high-speed input data of a built-in signal driver using TFTs to apply them to the display unit so that it has been troubled in its own operating speed and the display characteristics of the display unit.

Method and circuit for scanning capacitive loads


There is disclosed a method of de-icing a component of an engine assembly having a common-rail fuel injection system, including: pressurizing fuel to circulate the fuel through the common-rail injection system; drawing a portion of the fuel upstream of common-rail injectors of the common-rail injection system and directing a remainder of the fuel toward the common-rail injectors; and transferring heat from the drawn portion of the fuel to the component.

Combustion engines include at least one combustion chamber into which fuel is provided, typically by a fuel injector. Some fuel injectors, such as common-rail injectors, generate a backflow of fuel that can reach high temperature during engine operation. More specifically, heat is generated as a result of the decompression of the fuel backflow from high pressure to low pressure. The fuel has to be highly pressurized first before being expanded. This thermal energy of the backflow is typically wasted, as the fuel backflow is usually returned directly back to the fuel tank. Better and more efficient fuel management in such fuel systems is therefore desirable.

Method of using heat from fuel of common-rail injectors


A replacement LED lamp module for a street light includes a heat dissipating cover (10), a driver (20), and an LED module (30). The heat dissipating cover (10) has a receiving cavity (14) and a receiving recess (15) disposed inward of a bottom of the heat dissipating cover (10). The driver (20) is installed in the receiving cavity (14). The LED module (30) is disposed corresponding to the receiving recess (15) and fixed to the heat dissipating cover (10); the LED module (30) is electrically connected to the driver (20). Thus, the replacement of the LED lamp module can be achieved without affecting the main structure of the conventional street light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an LED (Light Emitting Device) lamp module and, in particular, to an LED lamp module for a street light.
2. Description of Related Art
Traditional street lights are quite common to be used in city streets, highways, and tunnels. They not only beautify the city, but also significantly improve the traffic safety and public order. However, with the developments of the times and the LED street lights as new energy, replacing the traditional street lights with the LED ones, which extends the lifetime of the street lights and lowers energy consumption and carbon emissions, obviously becomes a main research topic worldwide at the current stage.
Therefore, related manufacturers have developed LED street lights having various shapes or meeting various specifications. However, the developed LED street lights are not compatible with the currently traditional street lights. Thus, the traditional replacement of the street light is mostly made by a complete replacement, which signifies the high cost of the LED street light and the large manpower and associated equipment for the replacement. Accordingly, people desiring the replacement may step back, which needs to be overcome.

Replacement LED lamp module for street light


A vacuum-pressure swing absorption concentrator includes a motor driven compressor having pressure and vacuum heads that are connected to a pressure reservoir and a vacuum reservoir respectively. The pressure and vacuum reservoirs are selectively and alternately interconnected in sequence through a main valve to a pair of nitrogen filtering sieve beds. A controller operates the valve to alternately and cyclically interconnect the sieve beds to the pressure and vacuum reservoirs respectively. During each cycle, a respective bed is pressurized and enriched oxygen is produced and delivered to a tank for use by a patient. At the same time, the other bed is evacuated through the vacuum reservoir. A crossover valve delivers oxygen from a pressurized bed to an evacuated bed to facilitate purging of impurities previously collected in the evacuated bed.

Oxygen concentrators are commonly used to provide enriched oxygen to patients having respiratory problems. Conventional concentrators typically operate on the principles of pressure swing absorption, vacuum swing absorption or vacuum-pressure swing absorption. According to these techniques, air is delivered under pressure to a sieve bed wherein nitrogen and other impurities are absorbed by a filter medium such as zeolite. The trapped air impurities are then purged and vented under reduced pressure or vacuum conditions. In some devices, pressurized air is delivered sequentially to two or more beds in an attempt to improve the efficiency of the system.
Despite advancements in medical concentrator technology, known products are still far from optimally efficient. The compressor used in most such products must generate pressure and air flow that are sufficient to produce an adequate volume of enriched oxygen for the patient. This typically requires the compressor and associated motor to draw a substantial amount of electrical power. Portable concentrators utilize consumable batteries and the significant power demands of such concentrators tend to shorten battery life considerably. In addition, the body of a typical portable concentrator is apt to heat up excessively when operating under the high pressure generated by the compressor. This further reduces the operating efficiency of the apparatus. Moreover, if a compressor operating under high pressure delivers a volume of air to the sieve beds faster than those beds can process the air, the motor driving the concentrator's compressor is apt to stall.
A further disadvantage exhibited by standard concentrators is that the motor is usually controlled to operate at a constant speed (RPM). This tends to produce an inadequate volume of air over the concentrator cycle. If the operating speed is increased to increase air flow, excessive power is consumed and battery life is shortened.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Vacuum-pressure swing absorption concentrator


A process for preparing an ultrahigh molecular weight linear polyethylene (UHMWLPE) exhibiting a combination of properties including a creep resistance of less than 1% demonstrated under exposure to a temperature of 23.degree. C. (+ or -1.degree. C.) and a relative humidity of 50 (+ or -2% for 24 hours under a compression of 1000 psi) without sacrificing excellent tensile and flexural properties. The invention includes the use of an inert gas and a prescribed pattern of heating and cooling including a further heat and cooling treatment to create the superior properties of the UHMWLPE. Also included is the product of the process invention.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novel process for making ultrahigh molecular weight linear polyethylene (UHMWLPE). This novel UHMWLPE, in the form of a shaped article, exhibits a unique combination of properties making the material useful as a bearing surface, in general, but particularly useful as a prosthetic hip joint cup and as other prosthetic shapes for replacement of other joints of the human body. This article is the subject of copending U.S. Ser. No. 07/426,916 filed on Oct. 24, 1989 which is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. Ser. No. 07/288,576 filed Dec. 22, 1988, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. Ser. No. 07/278,913, filed Dec. 2, 1988.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,536 (March 1976), Lupton et al describe UHMWPE in the form of a fabricated article exhibiting an elastic modulus of 340,000 to 500,000 psi, a tensile impact strength of 140 to 600 ft lb/in.sup.2, a density of 0.95 to 0.98 g/cc at 25.degree. C., a crystalline melting point of 142 to 148.degree. C. (as measured by differential thermal analysis) and a unique crystalline form characterized by the absence of fold spacings of 50-2000 Angstrom units (.ANG.) and the presence of crystal spacings of about 10,000 .ANG.. The critical feature of the process of producing this UHMWPE is disclosed to involve inducing crystallization of the molten polymer above 150.degree. C. by rapidly increasing the applied pressure from an initial level of 1 to 1000 atmospheres to a second level of 2000 to 7000 atmospheres and then cooling rapidly while maintaining a pressure sufficient to maintain the polyethylene in the solid phase until the temperature is below the crystalline melting point of the polyethylene at atmospheric pressure.
In Kunstuffe German Plastics 77 (1987) pp. 617-622, in an article entitled "Ultrahigh Molecular Polyethylene for Replacement Joints", Eyrer et al. point out that the service life of joint replacements made of UHMWPE is limited. Analysis of the damage to over 250 explanted hip cups and tibial plateaus revealed a changed property profile which they explained by post-crystallization resulting from oxidative chain decomposition. They suggested optimizing the processing of polyethylene under higher pressure and higher temperature to increase the degree of crystallinity. The Eyrer et al. product displays a creep of above 5% at a compression of 1000 psi (6.9 N/mm.sup.2) for 24 hours at 37.degree. C.
One of the most remarkable advances in the medical field in recent years is the development of prosthetic joints, particularly the load bearing hip. The crippled and sometimes bed ridden elderly can walk again. The key to this development is UHMWPE because, not only does it have the necessary impact strength, but it initiates no adverse blood reactions. But at present, these prosthetic joints are limited to the older, less active segment of the population because the polymer tends to creep under the pressure that a younger more active person might develop while involved in recreation or employment. The creep would cause the loss of the desired tolerance required between the plastic socket and the polished metal ball attached to the femur. These changes in dimensions disturb the distribution of walking forces which in turn accelerates more creep and wear. Eventually the increased pain requires a traumatic revision operation. One objective of this invention is to provide a process for making UHMWPE prosthetic joints with improved creep resistance hence removing some of the age restriction existing with regard to the present polyethylene joints.

Process of manufacturing ultrahigh molecular weight linear polyethylene shaped articles


Provided herein is a method for removing a chemical stain from a dental surface or inhibiting chemical staining of a dental surface, comprising contacting the dental surface with an oral care composition comprising zinc phosphate and an orally acceptable carrier.

A tooth is comprised of an inner dentin layer and an outer hard enamel layer that protects the dentin layer. The enamel layer of a tooth is naturally an opaque white or slightly off-white color. The enamel layer can become stained or discolored. The enamel layer of a tooth is composed of hydroxyapatite mineral crystals that create a somewhat porous surface. It is believed that the pores of the enamel layer allow staining agents and discoloring substances to permeate the enamel and discolor the tooth.
Many substances that a person confronts or comes into contact with on a daily basis can "stain" teeth. In particular, foods and fluids such as tea and coffee that one consumes tend to stain one's teeth. These products or substances tend to accumulate on the enamel layer of the tooth and form a pellicle film over the teeth. These staining substances can then permeate the enamel layer. This problem occurs gradually over many years, but imparts a noticeable discoloration of the enamel of one's teeth.
Abrasive agents (for example, silica-based agents) are often used in oral care compositions for stain removal. However, brushing with compositions comprising such agents often leads to enamel damage. This can cause problems such as dentinal hypersensitivity. Peroxide-based agents are also known to have teeth whitening effects. However, peroxide-containing compositions are often unstable and lose whitening efficacy during storage. It is also known to use polyphosphate compounds (for example, pyrophosphates, tripolyphosphates and hexametaphosphates) for stain removal. However, such polyphosphate compounds may interfere with enamel remineralization (i.e. the reformation of crystalline hydroxyapatite—the main constituent of enamel) due to their crystal growth inhibiting properties.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide further methods of stain removal and prevention which overcome these disadvantages.


A control system for a working machine includes a device for changing direction of the working machine, an operator controlled lever, and an electronic control unit adapted to receive an input signal indicative of desired direction from the position of the operator controlled element and to generate an output signal for producing a change of direction of the working machine, corresponding to the position of the operator controlled element, via said device. The control system includes an electronic safety device adapted to be controlled by the position of the operator controlled element and adapted to allow control of the device via the output signal and to block control of the device via the output signal, respectively, depending on the position of the operator controlled element.

The present invention relates to a control system for a working machine, comprising a device for changing direction of the working machine, an operator controlled element and an electronic control unit adapted to receive an input signal indicative of desired direction from the position of the operator controlled element and to generate an output signal for producing a change of direction of the working machine, corresponding to the position of the operator controlled element, via said device. The operator controlled element is preferably constituted of a steering lever.
Such a control system is found, for example, in different types of articulated working machines comprising a front and a rear frame, said frames each carrying at least one wheel axle. The frames are articulately connected to each other via a vertical axis and the frames are pivotally mounted relative to each other about said joint via two hydraulic cylinders arranged between the two sections. A loading machine, such as a wheel loader or a dumper, is an example of such a working machine.
Below, the invention will be described for the case when the control system is arranged in a wheel loader for controlling its steering cylinders. This is to be regarded as a by no means limiting example within the field of application of the invention.
Traditionally, the device for changing direction of the working machine comprises a hyDraulic system adapted to control the movement of the hydraulic cylinders via control valves.
The steering in a wheel loader has high security requirements. As a rule, a wheel loader has a conventional steering wheel control, but can in parallel also be equipped with a lever control. The steering wheel is used during transport, and the lever is used for work at lower speeds such as, for example, when loading a dumper or truck, this in order to increase the operator's comfort. Accordingly, the operator uses the steering lever to request steering direction and steering speed.
The control system is usually designed such that the operator, by means of the steering wheel control, mechanically regulates a hydraulic valve which, in its turn, transfers hydraulic power to the steering cylinders. The lever control also transfers hydraulic power to the steering cylinders, but its hydraulic valve is normally controlled by electrical signals, that is to say the operator tilts the lever, which in its turn generates an electrical signal. In certain cases, it is desired to manipulate the electrical signal from the lever, which can be done by transferring the signals from lever to hydraulic valve via the control unit (machine computer). Examples of this are ramp elements (filters) and a steering speed which is depending on the speed of the machine, with the purpose of obtaining a smooth control in a loading operation, but still a directionally stable (non-wobbling) steering during transport.
In order to increase the safety, the control system can be designed such that the steering wheel control has the highest priority, that is to say, if the steering wheel and the lever are used at the same time, it is the steering wheel which is dominant.
Higher and higher demands are placed on the electronics for safety critical functions, such as the lever control, in the machine. The lever control with its electronics is a complex system with many sources of malfunction. A particular problem is that malfunctions can occur in the lever control (for example that steering takes place even if the lever is in a neutral position or the lever has locked in a certain position). Therefore, very high quality demands are placed on the machine computer and other electronics, which results in high costs.
It is desirable to produce a control system which offers a high safety in a cost efficient way. In particular, it is desirable to provide a control system which remedies the problem when malfunctions occur in the lever control (for example that steering takes place even if the lever is in a neutral position).
According to an aspect of the present invention, a control system comprises an electronic safety device adapted to be controlled by the position of the operator controlled element and adapted to allow control of the device via said output signal, and to block control of the device via said output signal, respectively, depending on the position of the operator controlled element.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the safety device comprises a control assembly arranged between the control unit and said device for changing direction in such a way that an output signal generated by the control unit is only allowed to pass when the output signal corresponds to the position of the operator controlled element.
The control assembly (for example comprising two relays) is then arranged on the lines for transferring the output signals to the device (for example in the form of a hydraulic circuit). By means of automatically opening and closing, respectively, the lines depending on the lever position, a safe system is obtained.
According to another embodiment, said electronic safety device comprises a means adapted to sense a first angular interval of the operator controlled element, said angular interval being associated with a first steering direction, and a second angular interval of the operator controlled element, said angular interval being associated with a second steering direction. In the safety device, the position of the operator controlled element is preferably sensed fully independently of the input signal to the control unit from the position of the operator controlled element. This means that the safety assembly becomes a parallel, independent system, relative to the traditional lever control. Preferably, said means for sensing said angular interval of the operator controlled element comprises a first switch associated with the first angular interval of the operator controlled element and a second switch associated with the second angular interval of the operator controlled element.
Further preferred embodiments and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following description.

Control system and working machine comprising the control system with electronic safety device


The object of the present invention is to provide an optical laminate capable of reducing reflectance not only with respect to light incident vertically but also light incident obliquely, and further capable of obtaining a neutral reflected color tone even when light is incident obliquely. The optical laminate includes a base material, an antireflection film provided on one surface of the base material, and a light shielding film provided on the other surface of the base material. The optical laminate satisfies all of the following characteristics (i) to (iii):0.5<R(λ1a,θ1a)/R(λ1b,θ1b)<1.5;  (i)Y(θ2)≤3%; and  (ii)Y(θ3)≤10%;  (iii)in which R (λ, θ) designates reflectance when light of a wavelength of λ nm is incident at an angle of θ, provided that λ1a=380 nm, θ1a=60° and λ1b=650 nm, θ1b=60°; and                Y (θ) designates luminous reflectance at an incident angle of θ, provided that θ2=5° and θ3=60°.

In an image display device (such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, a plasma display, etc.) provided in a smartphone, a cellular phone, an instrument panel of a vehicle, etc., visibility deteriorates due to a reflected image when indoor lighting or external light such as sunlight is reflected on a display surface.
A method in which an antireflection film is disposed on the display surface side of an image display device to reduce reflection of incident light thereby making a reflected image unclear has been known as a method for reducing reflection of external light. A single layer film composed of a low refractive index material, or a multilayer film in which layers of a low refractive index material and layers of a high refractive index material are combined has been known as the antireflection film (for example, Patent Document 1).
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2017-206392

Optical laminate having antireflection film and light shielding film


A retractable horizontal lifeline assembly includes a lifeline windable about and paid out from a rotatable drum and a housing. The housing includes a first connector and is configured and arranged to house the drum and the lifeline wound about a base of the drum. The first connector is operatively connected to a first anchorage structure, the lifeline is pulled outward from proximate the housing thereby paying out at least a portion of the lifeline from the drum, a second connector operatively connected to the lifeline is operatively connected to a second anchorage structure, and the lifeline is tensioned using a crank that rotates the drum to increase the tension in the lifeline and provides indication when the tension in the lifeline reaches a predetermined level.

Various occupations place people in precarious positions at relatively dangerous heights thereby creating a need for fall protection and fall arrest apparatus. As a result, many types of safety apparatus have been developed to reduce the likelihood of a fall and/or injuries associated with a fall. Among other things, such apparatus typically include an interconnection between at least one anchorage point and a safety harness worn by a user performing tasks in proximity to the at least one anchorage point. One type of interconnection commonly used is a horizontal lifeline interconnected between at least two anchorage points, along the length of which the user may move and perform tasks. The user's safety harness is typically connected to the horizontal lifeline with a lanyard or other suitable device.

Retractable horizontal lifeline assembly


A system including a data center rack enclosure, a first aisle emulator, and a second aisle emulator. The data center rack enclosure is configured to retain a data center rack, which has a first side and a second side. The first aisle emulator is coupled with the data center rack enclosure and provides a first controlled test environment with first temperature and a first gas flow to the first side of the data center rack. The second aisle emulator is coupled with the data center rack enclosure and provides a second controlled test environment for the second side of the data center rack.

Large networks, such as those that support social media and other applications having large numbers of users, employ data centers to house network components. Typically, multiple network components, such as servers and battery backup units, are housed in a data center rack. Multiple data center racks are located in a data center. Prior to deploying new configurations of network components in data center racks, it is desirable to determine how individual components will perform. Accordingly, a mechanism that tests the performance of network components is desired.


A method and system for detecting temporal segments of talking faces in a video sequence using visual cues. The system detects talking segments by classifying talking and non-talking segments in a sequence of image frames using visual cues. The present disclosure detects temporal segments of talking faces in video sequences by first localizing face, eyes, and hence, a mouth region. Then, the localized mouth regions across the video frames are encoded in terms of integrated gradient histogram (IGH) of visual features and quantified using evaluated entropy of the IGH. The time series data of entropy values from each frame is further clustered using online temporal segmentation (K-Means clustering) algorithm to distinguish talking mouth patterns from other mouth movements. Such segmented time series data is then used to enhance the emotion recognition system.

1. Field
Example embodiments of the following disclosure relate to image processing, computer vision and machine learning, and more particularly, relate to emotion recognition in a video sequence.
2. Description of the Related Art
With recent developments in technology, significant attention has been given to enhancing human computer interaction (HCl). In particular, engineers and scientists are attempting to capitalize from basic human attributes, such as voice, gaze, gesture and emotional state, in order to improve HCl. The ability of a device to detect and respond to human emotions is known as "Affective Computing."
Automatic facial expression recognition is a key component in the research field of human computer interaction. Automatic facial expression recognition also plays a major role in human behavior modeling, which has significant potential in applications like video conferencing, gaming, surveillance, and the like. Most of the research in automatic facial recognition, however, is directed to identifying six basic emotions (sadness, fear, anger, happiness, disgust, surprise) on posed facial expression datasets prepared under controlled laboratory conditions. Researchers have adopted static as well as dynamic methods to infer different emotions in the facial expression datasets. Static methods analyze frames in a video sequence independently, while dynamic methods consider a group of consecutive frames to infer a particular emotion.
The mouth region of the human face contains highly discriminative information regarding the human emotion and plays a key role in the recognition of facial expressions. However, in a general scenario, such as, video conferencing, there will be significant temporal segments of the person talking, and any facial expression recognition system that relies upon the mouth region of the face of the person talk for inferring emotions may potentially be misled by the random and complex formations around the lip region. The temporal segment information regarding talking segments in a video sequence is quite important in this context as it can be used enhance the existing emotion recognition systems.
Few major works in the field of emotion recognition have addressed the condition of 'talking faces' under which the Action Units (AU) inferred for the mouth region may go potentially wrong, resulting in an erroneous emotion classification. Currently, known methods are directed at determining active speakers in a multi-person environment and do not intend to temporally segment lip activities of a single person into talking and non-talking (which includes neutral as well as various emotion segments) phases. As a result, the current systems suffer from drawbacks of failing to capture exact emotions.
Due to the abovementioned reasons, it is evident that there is a need for methods that intend to temporally segment lip activities into talking and non-talking phases and exact classification of emotions.

Method and apparatus for detecting talking segments in a video sequence using visual cues


Provided is a GPS receiver, including: a navigation signal receiving unit receiving navigation signals from satellites; a navigation signal processing unit acquiring position information of each satellite from the received navigation signal and measuring a pseudo-range; a pseudo-range estimating unit determining whether a satellite of which the pseudo-range may be estimated exists among the satellites from which the navigation signals are transmitted in the case where the number of satellites from which the navigation signals are transmitted is 3 or less and estimating the pseudo-range of the determined satellite; and a navigation solution calculating unit calculating a navigation solution by using the measured pseudo-range and the estimated pseudo-range.

A global positioning system is a technique of receiving navigation signals transmitted from satellites to calculate a current position of a receiver. As is generally known, in order to calculate the position of the receiver, the navigation signals need to be received from at least four satellites and thus as the number of satellites from which the navigation signals are transmitted increases, an accurate position of the receiver may be generally calculated.
However, in the case where the navigation signals are blocked by obstacles such as a mountainous terrain, buildings in urban areas, trees, and the like, the number of satellites from which the navigation signals are transmitted decreases and thus navigation performance is deteriorated and when the number of satellites from which the navigation signals are transmitted decreases to 3 or less, the position of the receiver may not be calculated.

GPS receiver and calculation method of navigation solution thereof

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


An applicator syringe for containing and dispensing moisture-sensitive or moisture-reactive adhesives comprises a generally sealed barrel containing a plunger having a non-stick polymeric seal and a hydrocarbon grease disposed between the seal and the adhesive contained in the barrel. As the plunger advances in the barrel, a sealing, thin film of the hydrocarbon grease is deposited on the interior walls of the syringe barrel to provide a moisture-impervious seal between the polymeric seal and barrel and to aid in smooth advancement of the plunger in the barrel.

Packaging of adhesives and sealants in syringes is more difficult than in tubes or bottles because of the necessity to provide a dynamic seal between the interior surface of the syringe barrel or tube and the circumferential periphery of the plunger of the syringe forcing the contents from the barrel. This interior peripheral seal must be effective to prevent egress of volatile solvents as well as ingress of atmospheric elements and yet readily permit the plunger to move past the interior wall surfaces of the barrel during the dispensing operation. Failure to have an adequate seal can cause deterioration of the adhesive or sealant properties, premature gelling, and short shelf-life, as well as failure or non-functioning of the applicator.
A particularly difficult class of adhesive and sealant materials comprise reactive compositions and in particular moisture-sensitive or reactive compositions. Cyanoacrylate adhesives and sealants, for instance, polymerize spontaneously in the presence of trace amounts of water, whereby setting or hardening occurs within a few seconds after exposure, particularly in small gaps such as might occur between the interior surface of the syringe barrel and the circumferential periphery of the plunger. A prior art container of cyanoacrylic ester adhesive is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,524,537. Prior to the present invention, useful plunger-type syringes did not exist for use in dispensing cyanoacrylate adhesives. A major practical problem relates to internal adhesion and binding between the plunger and interior sidewall of the barrel due to some curing of the adhesive. Similarly, other adhesive compositions, such as moisture-cure polyurethanes and silicones, require moisture-free, sealed syringes operative to dispense the adhesive and yet maintain the adhesive contents remaining in the barrel free of moisture and other atmospheric contaminants.

Applicator for highly reactive materials


Methods and apparatus are described for the measurement of honey plant origin characteristics via fluorescence.

Honey analysis can be important to determine characteristics of honey such as honey plant or botanical origin, honey contamination and honey that has been processed in ways that influence the purported activity. Determining honey plant origin is of particular interest for quality control purposes e.g. for determining medical grade high activity honey from those with less medical activity. Reassurance of origin is also important as the value of some honeys e.g. manuka honey, may be markedly higher than that of other honey types.
Measuring plant origin characteristics can be difficult, particularly as there are many different measures that can be analysed to measure honey quality. In addition, many of the existing tests can take 24 hours or more before the results are obtained. This delay in receiving results can impact on processing by delaying blending operations and delaying quality control inspections, both of which may impact on processing costs.
It is known that honey will fluoresce. This is understood to be due to the presence of aromatic compounds in the honey (mainly phenolic compounds) that may be excited by light and that then emit light in response to the excitation. One prior art patent publication, WO 2010/027286A1 uses the property of fluorescence to analyse honey but only measures the result using two parameters meaning that much of the valuable characteristic finger print fluorescence of a honey is not visible. This therefore results in incorrect readings or the potential of not obtaining a valid result.
It should be appreciated from the above that it would be useful to have a method and apparatus for at least measuring plant origin characteristics of honey. In particular, a faster method than that of present methods would be useful.
It is acknowledged that the term 'comprise' and grammatical variations thereof may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term 'comprise' shall have an inclusive meaning.
Further aspects and advantages of the presently described devices and methods will become apparent from the ensuing description that is given by way of example only.

Method and apparatus that utilises fluorescence to determine plant or botanical origin characteristics of honey


An electric connection box 111 comprises a stationary unit 11 and a movable member 12. The stationary unit 11 is formed integrally with a box body 113. The movable member 12 is removably attached to the stationary unit 11. When the movable member 12 is detached from the stationary unit 11, the power supply from a battery to an electric load is interrupted.

The present invention relates to an electric connection box having a protecting function to block the power supply from a vehicle-mounted power source to an electric load at the time of maintaining the electric load.
In the prior art, there are mounted on an automobile a number of electric loads such as a radio or a navigation device. Especially in recent years, the electric loads to be mounted has a tendency to increase more and more. In order to cope with the power capacity of the individual electric loads, a battery of 36 B has also been used in addition of the existing battery of 12 V.
For the works to maintain those electric loads, it is not preferable to leave the individual electric loads supplied with the voltage of the battery. Before the maintaining works, therefore, the power supply to each electric load has to be interrupted by detaching the electric wires in advance from the battery.
Therefore, it is proposed that a protecting device for interrupting the power supply from the battery to each electric load at the maintaining time is attached to the vicinity of the battery through an attaching structure such as a connector. The protecting device is proposed, for example, in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. 2000-222999 or Hei10-83753. This protecting device is basically arranged in the vicinity of an electric connection box and is electrically connected with the electric connection box through electric wires.
However, the protecting device, as disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. 2000-222999 or Hei10-83753, is mounted in the engine room while being independent of the electric connection box. Therefore, a structure (or electric wires) for connecting the protecting device and the electric connection box with each other is required to raise a problem that the cost for connecting the protecting device and the electric connection box rises. As the more parts are mounted in the engine room for the higher function of the vehicle, moreover, the space for mounting the protecting device may be unable to be retained in the engine room. As a result, another problem is that it is difficult to mount the protecting device in the engine room.
The present invention is conceived in view of the problems thus far described and has a first object to provide an electric connection box having a protecting function, which can mount a construction corresponding to a protecting device reliably. Moreover, a second object is to provide an electric connection box having a protecting function, which can lower the cost for attaching the construction corresponding to the protecting device.
In order to solve the above-specified objects, according to the invention of Aspect 1, there is provided an electric connection box having a protecting function, comprising a protecting function unit including a stationary unit formed integrally with a box body, and a movable member attached removably to the stationary unit, wherein the supply of an electric power from a vehicle-mounted power source to an electric load is interrupted by removing the movable member from the stationary unit.
In the invention of Aspect 1, according to the invention of Aspect 2, the stationary unit is a mounting recess arranged on the upper side of the box body for housing the movable member.
In the invention of Aspect 2, according to the invention of Aspect 3, that face of the box body, in which the mounting recess is formed, is covered with an upper cover.
In any of the inventions of Aspects 1 to 3, according to the invention of Aspect 4, the movable member is provided with a lever which can be tilted in an opposite direction away from the side of an electric part mounting portion capable of mounting an electric part.
Here will be described the xe2x80x9cactionsxe2x80x9d of the present invention.
According to the invention of Aspect 1, the stationary unit constructing the protecting function unit together with the movable member is formed integrally with the box body so that the attaching structure for fixing the protecting function unit need not be manufactured separately of the electric connection box. Therefore, it is possible to lower the cost necessary for mounting the construction corresponding to the protecting device in the electric connection box. According to the invention having the electric connection box provided with the protecting function unit, moreover, the protecting function can be given to the electric connection box even if the space for mounting the protecting device in the engine room cannot be retained. Moreover, the stationary unit is integral with the box body so that the construction for connecting the stationary unit and the box body electrically need not be provided. Thus, it is possible to improve the reliability of the electric connection box.
According to the invention of Aspect 2, the stationary unit is arranged on the upper side of the box body so that the movable member is exposed to an easily visible position at the working time for maintenances. Therefore, it is possible to improve the controllability of the movable member.
On the other hand, the movable member is mounted in the mounting recess so that the portion of the movable member projecting from the box body is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the electric connection box. At this time, the movable member is held not only at its bottom face but also its side faces by the mounting recess. Therefore, it is possible to improve the attaching strength of the movable member. Moreover, the external force hardly acts directly on the movable member thereby to prevent the movable member from being detached by the external force. Therefore, the electric connection between the movable member and the electric connection box can be reliably kept to stabilize the power supply from the vehicle-mounted power source to the electric load. Moreover, the exposed position of the movable member can be reduced to improve the water-proofness of the movable member.
According to the invention of Aspect 3, the movable member and the stationary unit are covered with the upper cover so that the construction having the protecting function can be housed in the electric connection box. Therefore, it is possible to protect the protecting function unit reliably against water.
According to the invention of Aspect 4, the movable member is provided with the lever so that it can be easily attached/detached. Moreover, the lever is tilted in the opposite direction away from the side of the electric part mounting portion so that it can be prevented from obstructing the maintaining works of the electric parts. When the lever is gripped, moreover, the hands of the worker can be prevented from touching the electric parts or the like.

Electric connection box having a protecting function


A heat-stable binder for use in the vulcanization of natural or synthetic rubber mixtures onto metallic or other substrates, comprising a mixture which is free from oxidizing agents that oxidize quinone dioxime and which contains chlorinated rubber, after-brominated dichloropolybutadiene, and quinone dioxime.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to primers or binders for the production of composite structures by vulcanization of rubber mixtures onto metals and other substrates stable under vulcanization conditions.
2. Statement of Related Art
For economic reasons, higher vulcanization temperatures and shorter heating times are being increasingly used in the rubber-processing industry for the production of rubber/metal metal composites. To obtain the desired values, particularly of natural rubber mixtures, necessary in rubber technology under such modified vulcanization conditions, it is necessary to use low-sulfur crosslinking systems. However, such systems have a distinct effect on bonding behavior, generally an adverse effect. Defective composites are often obtained, particularly when metal parts coated with binder are additionally exposed to prolonged preheating.

Rubber-to-metal binders from chlorinated rubber and brominated polydichlorobutadiene