A super-toughened multiphase thermoplastic composition is provided by incorporating with an .alpha.,.omega.-polyamide at least one functionalized, selectively hydrogenated alkenyl arene/conjugated diene non-network forming block copolymer to which has been grafted an effective amount of carboxyl functional groups primarily in the alkenyl arene blocks thereof.

Thermoplastic polyamides, such as nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 are a class of materials which possess a good balance of properties comprising good elongation, high strength, high energy to break and stiffness which make them useful as structural materials. However, thermoplastic polyamides are quite sensitive to crack propagation. Consequently, a major deficiency of thermoplastic polyamides is their poor resistant to impact and their tendency to break in a brittle rather than ductile manner, especially when dry.
In general, improvements in the impact resistance of thermoplastic resins have been achieved by incorporating a low modulus rubber. Such a material facilitates the formation of triaxial stress distributions needed for optimum toughening. Moreover, good dispersion of the rubber phase as well as developing adhesion between the rubber and matrix contribute to efficient impact modification of these resins.
It is well known to those skilled in the art that hydrogenated block copolymers of styrene and butadiene possess many of the properties useful for impact modification of plastics. These low modulus rubber materials display low glass transition temperature, a characteristic advantageous for optimum toughening at lower temperatures. Furthermore, these blocks copolymers contain little unsaturation which facilitates their blending with high processing temperature plastics without degredation of the elastomer phase.
Block copolymers are unique impact modifiers compared to other rubbers in that they contain blocks which are microphase separated into domains over the range of applications and processing conditions. These polymer segments may be tailored to become miscible with the resin to be modified. Good particle-matrix adhesion is obtained when different segments of the block copolymer reside in the matrix and in the rubber phase. This behavior is observed when hydrogenated block copolymer of styrene and butadiene are blended with resins such as polyolefins and polystyrene. Impact properties competitive with high impact polystyrene are obtained due to the compatibility of polystyrene with the polystyrene endblock of the block copolymer. Other polyolefins are toughened due to enhanced compatibility with the rubber segment.
Although the hydrogenated block copolymers do have many of the characteristics required for plastic impact modification, these materials are deficient as impact modifiers for many materials which are dissimilar in structure to styrene or hydrogenated butadiene. In particular, significant improvement in the impact resistant of polyamides with the addition of these hydrocarbon polymers has not been achieved. This result is due to poor interfacial interactions between the blend components and poor dispersion of the rubber particles. Poor interfacial adhesion affords areas of severe weakness in articles manufactured from such blends which when under impact result in facile mechanical failure.
The placement of functional groups onto the block copolymer may provide sites for interactions with such polar resins and, hence may extend the range of applicability of this elastomer. Such interactions, which include chemical reaction, hydrogen bonding and dipole interactions, are a route to achieving improved interfacial adhesion and particle dispersion, hence improved impact modification of polar thermoplastics.
Many attempts have been made to improve the impact properties of polyamides by adding low modulus modifiers which contain polar moieties as a result of polymerization or which have been modified to contain polar moieties by various grafting techniques. To this end, various compositions have been proposed utilizing such modifiers having carboxylic acid moieties and derivatives thereof, for example, Epstein in U.S. Pat. No. 4,174,358; Saito et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,076; Hergenrother et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,828; and Shiraki et al. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,628,072 and 4,657,971.
Epstein discloses a broad range of low modulus polyamide modifiers which have been prepared by free radical copolymerization of specific monomers with acid containing monomers. Alternatively, Epstein discloses the modification of polymers by grafting thereto specific carboxylic acid containing monomers. The grafting techniques allow for therein are limited to thermal addition (ene reaction) and to nitrene insertion into C--H bonds or addition to C.dbd.C bonds (ethylenic unsaturation). Though Epstein does disclose a broad range of polyamide modifiers, Epstein does not disclose or suggest the utilization of hydrogenated copolymers of alkenyl arenes and conjugated dienes nor, more particularly, modified selectively hydrogenated copolymers of alkenyl arenes and conjugated dienes as polyamide modifiers.
Saito et al. disclose polyamide compositions which contain a modified unsaturated aromatic vinyl compound/conjugated diene block copolymer as a polyamide modifier. The unsaturated block copolymer has been modified by grafting a dicarboxylic acid group or derivative thereof (e.g. anhydride moieties) at a point of ethylenic unsaturation via thermal addition (ene reaction). However, such modifiers and compositions containing same are deficient in that the weatherability and resistance to thermal deterioration are poor; and, therefore, the polymers and compositions have been used only in the fields where such properties are not required. Furthermore, it is also noted that the ene reaction is a reversible reaction.
Hergenrother et al. and shiraki et al. also describe a polyamide composition containing a block copolymer similar to that of Saito et al. However, in order to improve the weatherability and resistance to heat aging, both partially hydrogenate the block copolymer in their respective blends to an ethylenic unsaturation degree not exceeding 20 percent of the ethylenic unsaturation contained in the block copolymer prior to hydrogenation. Once the block copolymer is partially hydrogenated, the block copolymer is modified by grafting a molecular unit containing a carboxylic acid group and/or a group derived therefrom (e.g. anhydride moieties). Hergenrother et al. disclose grafting via thermal addition (ene reaction) utilizing the available residual unsaturation in the block copolymer. As such, Hergenrother et al. retained the deficiencies associated with the reversibility of the ene reaction. On the other hand, Shiraki et al. utilized free radical initiators to perform the grafting therein.
As is readily apparent in each of the foregoing prior art polyamide compositions utilizing alkenyl arene/conjugated diene block copolymers as polyamide modifiers, improved impact modification of the particular polyamide is achieved via specific interactions, between the modified diene block and the polyamide. Thus, to the extent that impact modification and strength mechanisms rely on the elastomeric properties of the diene block of the copolymer, these properties have been adversely affected by modifying the diene block in this manner.
On the other hand, Gergen et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,503, describe a polyamide composition containing a block copolymer which is a thermally stable, modified, selectively hydrogenated, high 1,2 content alkenyl arene/conjugated diene block copolymer grafted with at least one functional group utilizing the metalation process. Therein, the functional groups are grafted primarily in the alkenyl arene block. The grafting is conducted with excess butyllithium which neutralizes a portion of the carboxylic acid groups.
Further research and experimentation demonstrated that polyamide compositions containing the modified network forming block copolymers of Gergen at al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,503 yielded unexpected and significant impact property improvements. These new polyamide blend compositions contained network forming block copolymers having the carboxyl functional groups present in the acid form or in both acid and neutralized metal carboxylate salt forms.

High impact resistant blends of thermoplastic polyamides and modified diblock copolymers


A method for recognizing an individual based on attributes associated with the individual comprises the steps of: pre-storing at least two distinctive attributes of the individual during at least one enrollment session; contemporaneously extracting the at least two distinctive attributes from the individual during a common recognition session; segmenting the pre-stored attributes and the extracted attributes according to a sequence of segmentation units; indexing the segmented pre-stored and extracted attributes so that the segmented pre-stored and extracted attributes corresponding to an identical segmentation unit in the sequence of segmentation units are associated to an identical index; and respectively comparing the segmented pre-stored and extracted attributes associated to the identical index to each other to recognize the individual.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for performing recognition (identification/verification) of individuals and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for synchronizing biometric and/or non-biometric indicia attributable to the individuals in order to perform such recognition.
2. Discussion of Related Prior Art
In many instances it is necessary to verify that an individual requesting access to a service or a facility is in fact authorized to access the service or facility. Such services may include, for example, banking services, telephone services, credit card services, while the facilities may be, for example, banks, computer systems, or database systems. In such situations, users typically have to write down, type or key in (e.g., on a keyboard) certain information in order to send an order, make a request, obtain a service, perform a transaction or transmit a message.
Verification or authentication of a customer prior to obtaining access to such services or facilities typically relies essentially on the customer's knowledge of passwords or personal identification numbers (PINS) or by the customer interfacing with a remote operator who verifies the customer's knowledge of information such as name, address, social security number, date of birth, or mother's maiden name. In some special transactions, handwriting recognition or signature verification is also used.
However, such conventional user verification techniques present many drawbacks. First, information typically used to verify a user's identity may be easily obtained. Any perpetrator who is reasonably prepared to commit fraud usually finds it easy to obtain such personal information such as the social security number, mother's maiden name or date of birth of his intended target. Regarding security measures for more complex knowledge-based systems which require passwords, PINS or knowledge of the last transaction/message provided during the previous service, such measures are also not reliable mainly because the user is usually unable to remember this information or because many users write the information down thus making the fraudulent perpetrator's job even easier. For instance, it is known that the many unwitting users actually write their PIN on the back of their ATM or smart card.
The shortcomings inherent with the above discussed security measures have prompted an increasing interest in biometric security technology, i.e., verifying a person's identity by personal biological characteristics. Several approaches are known, such as, for example, the recognition of voice print, facial bone structure, signature, face temperature infrared pattern, hand geometry, writing instrument velocity, writing instrument pressure, fingerprint, and retinal print, to name a few.
Of the known biometric approaches, one such approach is voice print identification (or speaker identification), which characterizes a speaker based on his or her voice. Voice print identification is based on the premise that each person can be uniquely identified by their voice. Speaker recognition (identification/verification) can be performed in text-dependent or textprompted mode (where the text of an utterance is prompted by the speech recognizer and recognition depends on the accuracy of the words uttered as compared to the prompted text), or text-independent mode (where the utterances of the speaker are used to perform recognition by comparing the acoustic characteristics of the speaker with acoustic models of previously enrolled speakers, irrespective of the words uttered). Regardless of the mode employed, speaker recognition usually involves the comparison of the utterance with a claimed speaker model. A measure of the match between the model and utterance is thereafter compared to a similar measure obtained over competing models, for instance, cohort or background models. Cohorts are composed of previously enrolled speakers who possess voice (acoustic) characteristics that are substantially similar, i.e., closest, to the speaker who tries to access the service and/or facility. Cohort models are the acoustic models built from acoustic features respectively associated with the cohort speakers. A background model is an average model built from acoustic features over the global population.
Traditionally, recognition systems employing more than one biometric recognition technique such as, for example, face and voice recognition, typically acquire and analyze each biometric feature (facial feature or voice print) sequentially and independently and merely combine the results (i.e., scores) returned by each separate recognition technique in order to obtain a combined result. However, such traditional systems do not utilize the interaction of the biometrics with respect to one another in making the identification or verification. For instance, conventional systems which independently employ face recognition and speaker recognition merely perform face recognition and speaker recognition in a mutually exclusive manner, but do not attempt to synchronize a person's lip movement with his produced speech in order to verify not only the validity of the speaker by speaker recognition, but that indeed the person interacting with the recognition system is indeed speaking the testing utterances rather than synthesizing them or playing them back from a recorder.
Thus, it would be desirable and highly advantageous to provide recognition (identification/verification) systems and methods for permitting individuals access to a service and/or facility that combine and synchronize biometric and/or non-biometric features with one another in order to provide a significant increase in the degree of accuracy of an identification or verification and thus a decrease in fraudulent and/or errant access to the service and/or facility.

Method and apparatus for recognizing identity of individuals employing synchronized biometrics

International Business Machines Corporation


Subscription management system and method provides real time subscription data dissemination to multiple computer devices of respective clients based on client subscriptions, using a UI message framework that decreases size and frequency of transmission of UI messages to service the subscriptions.

Subscription management systems provide client devices with updates of data of various subjects subscribed to by users of the respective client devices. For example, in the financial industry, traders that electronically trade financial instruments using an electronic trading system often subscribe to services that provide trading related data including, for example, trading portfolio information and real time market information related to financial instruments in a trading portfolio from external data sources. The staggering amount of trading information available for electronic delivery to clients from subscription management systems that provide financial instrument trading information, and the need to ensure that clients electronically receive current trading information in real time according to client specific requirements for select financial instrument trading information available from the subscription management systems, result in use of substantial bandwidth of a communication network, and a significant amount of computer processing and data storage resources, at the computer(s) of a subscription management system that provides the subscription data to computers of respective clients and the computers of the respective clients. The technical problems of large processing burdens on computers of servers of subscription management systems and computers of clients receiving the subscription data are particularly acute for subscriptions having real time data contexts, in which updated subscription data needs to be disseminated to computers of clients in real time as updates occur.
Accordingly, there exists a need for method, apparatus and system that uses an improved computer and networking architecture to minimize processing resource usage, bandwidth usage, memory consumption and processing latencies, and to increase reliability, efficiency and speed of processing in disseminating subscription data with real time updates to computers of clients in accordance with subscriptions of respective clients.

Method, apparatus and system for subscription management


An inkjet printer includes a recording head, a spacer, a wiping member, a first ink absorbing member, and an ink releasing member. The recording head includes an ejection surface in which a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink are defined. The ejection surface faces a medium transport path. The spacer is disposed in a periphery of the recording head and includes a facing surface, which faces the medium transport path. The wiping member wipes the ejection surface. The first ink absorbing member that is disposed a gap between the ejection surface and the spacer and absorbs ink flowing into the gap between the recording head and the spacer when the wiping member wipes the ejection surface. The ink releasing member is connected to the first ink absorbing member and discharges the ink absorbed by the first ink absorbing member from the gap between the ejection surface and the spacer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wiping technique of wiping away ink adhering to a recording head in an ink-jet printer that ejects ink from nozzles of the recording head onto a printing medium to form an image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inkjet printers that ejects small ink droplets from plural nozzles disposed in a recording head to conduct a printing operation are classified into a so-called serial head printer and a so-called line head printer. The serial head printers conduct a printing operation by a combination of a moving operation in a main scanning direction (the width direction of a sheet) in which ink is ejected while moving the recording head in the main scanning direction, and an operation in which the sheet is moved in a sub-scanning direction. The line head printers include a line head having a printing width that is equal to the width of a sheet functioning as a printing medium, and conduct a printing operation while relatively moving the line head and the sheet. In a line head printer, particularly, it is not required to move a recording head in the main scanning direction of a sheet. Hence, the printing speed can be made higher than that in a serial head printer.
In both the serial head printer and the line head printer according to the related art, in order to obtain an image of excellent quality, ink ejection from minute nozzles disposed in the recording head must be kept in satisfactory condition. Therefore, a wiping operation is conducted to wipe an ejection surface where ink ejection ports of the nozzles are disposed, thereby removing excess ink droplets or foreign matters adhering to the ejection surface.
The serial head printer described above has a structure in which the recording head can be moved in the main scanning direction. Therefore, a wiping operation can be conducted after the recording head is retracted to a region, which is on an extended line in the main scanning direction and is outside the printing region.
However, an ink jet head of the line head type has an ink ejection surface, which is larger than that of an ink jet head of the serial head type. When a printer is configured so that such a recording head is horizontally moved to a region outside the printing region and a wiping operation is then conducted, the size of the printer is inevitably increased. Therefore, in a line head inkjet printer according to the related art, a maintenance unit, which conducts a wiping operation, is inserted between the ink jet head and a medium transporting apparatus while a recording head is kept to be horizontally fixed, and a wiping operation is then conducted.
JP-A-2003-1855 (pages 10-12; and FIG. 20) discloses a line head inkjet printer in which ink absorbing members are disposed between plural recording heads, so that after an ejection surface of one of the recording heads is wiped, ink adhering to a wiper is prevented from adhering to another recording head to be next wiped by the wiper, thereby eliminating color mixture.


The present application relates to a biodegradable material comprising opened starch or a mixture of opened starch and destructurised starch. The biodegradable material comprises about 50 to about 100 wt. % of opened starch or of a mixture of opened starch and destructurized starch, based on the total weight of the biodegradable material, said biodegradable material having a bulk density of 1.0 to 1.5 kg/dm. The biodegradable material is used for manufacturing biodegradable shaped articles, wherein said biodegradable shaped articles are suitable for delivery of a biologically or pharmaceutically active component in or to a vertebrate, e.g. a mammal.

Biodegradable materials based on native starch, (chemically) modified starch and like substances are already known in the art for a long period of time.
For example, EP A 118.240 to Warner Lambert Co., incorporated by reference herein, discloses a process for the preparation of a mouldable starch composition, wherein a starch having a molecular weight of 10,000 to 20,000,000 Dalton and a water content of 5 to 30 wt. %, based on the weight of the dry composition, is formulated. The mouldable starch composition is used for the manufacture of injection moulded products, in particular capsules. In the first step of this process, starch is extruded and melted at a temperature of 80° to 240° C. and at a pressure of 60 to 300 MPa (6×107 to 3×108 N/m2=600 to 3000 bar). In the second step of the process, the melted starch is dissolved in water at a temperature of 80° to 240° C. and at a pressure of 60 to 300 MPa. In the third step of the process, the dissolved starch is plasticized under conditions as employed in the previous step, i.e. at a temperature of 80° to 240° C. and at a pressure of 60 to 300 MPa. Optionally, the starch is mixed with a modified starch. Also optionally, the starch is mixed with additives such as a plasticizer, e.g. polyethylene glycol or glycerol, a lubricant, e.g. a lipid or a phospholipid, or an extender, e.g. gelatine. The injection moulded products, e.g. capsules, are manufactured in the fourth step of the process, wherein the plasticized starch is injected into a mould at a temperature of at least 80° C. and at a pressure of 60 to 300 MPa and a clamping force of 100 to 10,000 kN. However, mechanical properties of the injection moulded products, e.g. the capsules, are not disclosed. Furthermore, cytotoxicity and in vivo degradability properties of the mouldable starch composition are not disclosed. Additionally, as appears from later prior art, the mouldable starch composition can be characterised by the term "destructurised starch" since it is produced from starch that is subjected to a heat treatment that heats the starch to a temperature above its glass transition and melting temperatures with the result that the molecular structure of the starch is at least disordered.
EP A 282.451 of Warner Lambert Co., incorporated by reference herein, also discloses a process for the preparation of a destructurised starch, wherein the starch comprising 10-25 wt. % of water, calculated on the weight of the starch, is further mixed with an inorganic acid, e.g. HCl or H2SO4. The inorganic acid functions as a chain scission catalysts, i.e. as an agent for acidic hydrolysis, and induces breaking of α-1,4-glycosidic bonds so that a destructurised starch having a decreased molecular weight is formed, i.e. that the average molar mass of the starch is reduced by a factor of 2 to 5,000, preferably 4 to 1,000, more preferably 5 to 300. The process can conveniently be performed in an extruder at a temperature of 100° to 200° C., preferably 140° to 190° C. and most preferably 160° to 185° C. and at relatively low pressures, i.e. a pressure of 0 to 15 MPa (0 to 150×105 N/m2=0 to 150 bar), preferably 0 to 7.5 MPa and most preferably 0 to 5 MPa. The starch may be mixed with additives such as plasticizers, lubricants, extenders and the like, wherein the lubricants may be added without plasticizer or extender. Preferred lubricants are hydrogenated or hardened vegetable or animal fats, optionally in combination with mono- or diglycerides or phosphatides such as lecithin. The destructurised starch can be used to manufacture a range of shaped articles by a range of techniques. For example, thicker walled articles can be made by injection moulding the destructurised starch at a pressure of 30 to 300 MPa, preferably 70 to 220 MPa. The destructurised starch according to EP A 282.451 would be advantageous as it exhibits improved flow characteristics and improved processability which enables lower temperatures and lower pressures to be used in the injection moulding process. However, it is to be expected that shaped articles manufactured from the destructurised starch according to EP A 282.451 have a low tensile strength due to the fact that the destructurised starch has a relatively low molecular weight.
Other processes for the preparation of destructurised starch which is used for the manufacture of shaped articles are for example disclosed in EP A 298.920, GB A 2.190.093, EP A 304.401, EP A 474.705, EP 495.056, EP A 774.975 and EP A 994.564, all incorporated by reference herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,973, incorporated by reference, also discloses a process for the preparation of destructurised starch, wherein starch is extruded in the presence of up to 20 wt. % of water (this amount included the intrinsic water content of the starch employed), based on the total weight of the composition supplied to the extruder, wherein the water content is reduced to below 6 wt. % of water (cf. column 4, lines 3-17). According to the examples, the breaking stress (tensile strength) is not more than 10.0 N/mm2.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,953, incorporated by reference, discloses a one-step process for the preparation of polymer-modified starch materials wherein a mixture of starch, an aqueous dispersion of a synthetic polymer and optionally but preferably a plasticizer selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butane diol, glycerol and ethers thereof are extruded. According to the examples, the polymer-modified starch materials have a tensile strength of not more than 4.0 N/mm2.
According to EP A 298.920 of Warner Lambert Co., the starting material is treated with water and/or acid having a pH of 3 or lower to remove electrolytes and divalent cations so that the processability of the starch during the destructurising step is improved.
GB A 2.190.093 of Warner Lambert Co. discloses a process for the preparation of a destructurised starch granulate wherein a mixture of starch, a texturising agent, preferably titanium oxide, silicon dioxide or a mixture thereof, and a lubricant/release agent and/or a melt-flow accelerator are extruded. This granulate would have good flow behaviour used for the manufacture of shaped articles such as capsules by injection moulding.
EP A 304.401 of Novamont S.p.A. discloses shaped articles made from pre-processed starch and a two-step process for the preparation of destructurised starch. In the first step of this process, a composition comprising starch is extruded at a water content of 10-20 wt. %, based on the weight of the composition, at a temperature of 120° to 190° C., preferably 130° to 190° C., and a pressure within the range of the vapour pressure of water at the prevailing temperature and 15 MPa, preferably 10 MPa, more preferably 8 MPa, to form a starch granulate. This starch granulate has a water content of 10-20 wt. %, preferably 12-19 wt. %, more preferably 14-18 wt. %, based on the weight of the starch granulate. The starch granulate is then again processed in a second step in an extruder at a temperature of 80° to 200° C., preferably 120° to 190°, more preferably 140° to 180° C., and a pressure of 0 to 15 MPa, preferably 0 to 10 MPa, and most preferably 0 to 8 MPa to form a melt. The melt is subsequently transferred to a mould while the water content is kept constant and the shaped articles are then formed by cooling the melt to a temperature below the glass transition temperature of the melt. Instead of the second extrusion step, the shaped article can be manufactured by injection moulding, wherein for the injection step a pressure of 30 to 300 MPa (=30,000,000 to 300,000,000 N/m2=300 to 3000 bar), preferably 70 to 220 MPa, is employed. The shaped articles include bottles, sheets, films, packaging materials, pipes, rods, laminates, sacks, bags and pharmaceutical capsules which indicate that these shaped articles have poor biologically degradability. Tests further revealed that the two-step process according to EP A 304.401 provided shaped articles having higher extensions at break when compared with shaped articles formed in a single-step process as disclosed in e.g. EP A 118.240. Tests further showed that extensions at break of moulded test specimen decreased with increasing moisture content (cf. FIG. 5).
EP A 474.705 of Starch Australia Ltd. discloses a process for the manufacture of films, said films having a good mechanical strength and good stretchability. The films are produced from a granulate made from starch having a high amylose content, preferably at least 50 wt. %, in an extruder equipped with a flat die wherein during the extrusion process water is removed by applying a vacuum. Removal of water is said to be beneficial as it would provide a thermoplastic material unknown from the prior art which is compatible with polymer films and which can be co-extruded with other polymers, e.g. polypropylene. EP A 495.056 of Cerestar Holding B.V. relates to a similar process for making a film wherein "superdry" starch, i.e. starch containing less than 8 wt. % water, is employed. In particular, EP A 495.056 discloses a process for extruding or injection moulding starch containing compositions, said process providing substantially transparent products, provided that the starch used contains less than 8% by weight of water, that the water content of the starch in the barrel of the extruder or injection moulding machine is controlled so it is within the range of 5 to 20% by weight (based on the weight of the starch) and that water is removed from the composition immediately before the composition leaves the barrel of the extruder or the injection moulding machine so that the water content of the composition passing through the die and/or entering the mould is less than 3% by weight of the starch.
EP A 774.975 of Van De Wijdeven discloses that the preparation of fully destructurised starch and the manufacture of shaped articles such as implants that are made of the fully destructurised starch, optionally in the form of a granulate, can be made by processes conducted by the methods disclosed in either EP A 282.451, GB 2.190.093 or EP A 304.401. However, it is preferred that the technique employed comprises an extrusion step followed by an injection moulding step as is disclosed in EP A 304.401 wherein it is of utmost importance that by variation of pressure, temperature, residence time, amount of water and the like a shaped article such as an implant is provided that is not toxic and degradable in vivo to a vertebrate, e.g. a mammal. It is furthermore preferred that a starch essentially free from amylose, e.g. waxy maize starch, is used as starting material for the preparation of the granulate. Example 1 of EP A 774.975 discloses the preparation of a granulate of fully destructurised starch by extruding commercially available, pure native starch, optionally in the presence of biocompatible additives, at a pressure of 15 MPa and 160° C. according to the method disclosed in EP A 282.451 (which employs an inorganic acid as a chain scission catalyst) and EP A 304.401 (which does not employ a chain scission catalyst). Example 2 of EP A 774.975 discloses the manufacture of bullet shaped implants from the granulate as obtained in Example 1, wherein the method according to EP A 282.451 or EP A 304.401 is employed. Consequently, the granulate and the bullet shaped articles according to EP A 774.975 are different from those of the present invention.
EP A 994.654 of Aventis Res. & Tech. & Co. discloses a thermoplastic mixture that can be used to manufacture e.g. hollow solid shaped articles. The thermoplastic mixture comprises starch and a polyhydroxy carboxylic acid derived from an aldose or a ketose as a plasticizer or a lactone of said polyhydroxy carboxylic acids.
The use of starch based compositions for producing other materials and products is well known in the art. For example, film materials and fibres are disclosed in EP A 474.705, EP A 495.056, EP A 560.014, EP A 1.035.163 and EP A 1.103.254. Expanded products based on starch derived materials are for example disclosed in EP A 376.201, EP A 544.234, EP A 712.883 and EP A 1.064.330. However, such expanded products have a relatively low bulk density, e.g. 1.6 to 80 kg/m3 (cf. EP A 376.201) and are often used for packaging applications. The use of mixtures of starch and synthetic polymers for all kind of purposes is also well known in the art. Reference is for example made to EP A 327.505, EP A 413.798, EP A 400.532, EP A 436.698, EP A 437.561, EP A 437.589, EP A 494.287, EP A 539.541, EP A 575.349, EP A 519.367, EP A 522.358, EP A 560.244, EP A 670.683, EP A 679.172, EP A 682.070, EP A 711.326, EP A 775.171, EP A 819.147, EP A 1.282.662 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,821,538. However, products based on such mixtures have inter alia a poor biodegradability and are suspicious regarding (cyto)toxicity and suitability for implantation
The biodegradable materials produced by the methods according to the prior art have several disadvantages. For example, many methods employ additives such as plasticizers that are not of natural origin and are undesired in biodegradable materials intended for e.g. human applications. Such additives are in particular undesired as they may give rise to inflammation and other adverse effects such as the formation of granulomas when shaped articles made of these biodegradable materials come in contact with living tissue. Additives such as lubricants and extenders are also commonly used which may cause similar undesired effects. Many methods also employ other sources of starch besides native starch, e.g. (chemically) modified starch, starch derivatives, combinations with hydrophilic (synthetic) polymer compositions (cf. for example EP A 110.824), and the like.
The prior art has also not acknowledged processing factors such as pressure, temperature and residence time, in particular in relation to mechanical properties, (cyto)toxicity properties and in vitro and in vivo degradability of the biodegradable material and of the shaped articles manufactured from the biodegradable material.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Biodegradable material based on opened starch


Systems and methods for folding a single instruction multiple data (SIMD) array include a newly defined processing element group (PEG) that allows interconnection of PEGs by abutment without requiring a row or column weave pattern. The interconnected PEGs form a SIMD array that is effectively folded at its center along the North-South axis, and may also be folded along the East-West axis. The folding of the array provides for north and south boundaries to be co-located and for east and west boundaries to be co-located. The co-location allows wrap-around connections to be done with a propagation distance reduced effectively to zero.

The legacy architecture to which the invention is applied includes SIMD processor arrays that are configured with a ring or a toroidal topology. In a rectangular SIMD array, the top (hereinafter also referred as north) and bottom (hereinafter also referred as south) boundaries are coupled to provide wrap-around in the North-South (NS) direction, and/or the right (hereinafter also referred as east) and left (hereinafter also referred as west) boundaries are coupled to provide wrap-around in the East-West (EW) direction. The purpose of this wrap-around is to allow processing with fewer edge effects, and on occasions to allow data that is shifted "off boundary" to be recovered. There are also algorithms, such as resampling, where shifting across a boundary provides a significant speedup.
Although it is difficult to quantify the improvement due to array wrap-around, programmers of the legacy architecture have traditionally insisted upon this feature as a necessary characteristic of the array. On the other hand, system implementation issues that arise from supporting this feature have been non-trivial. To avoid large propagation distances and loads for wrapped signals, it has been necessary (at both board and chip level) to interleave rows and columns of chips or of PE Groups (PEGs). This has led to very messy signal routing within board/chip layout solutions.
The present invention provides a solution, wherein a flat array is effectively "folded" to co-locate boundaries for making the wrap around connections. Yet further, a "Layered PEG" provides a building block for creating folded arrays.

Folded SIMD array organized in groups (PEGs) of respective array segments, control signal distribution logic, and local memory


Disclosed are several methods, apparatus, and a system to create, expose, and hide embedded secondary content data relevant to a primary content page of an electronic book generated by a content generating device. The method, system, and apparatus is enabled through a Y-axis slide apart gesture that is applied to a notification region of the primary content page such that the secondary content data is made visible when the Y-axis slide apart gesture is applied to the notification region. The method, system, and apparatus is also enabled through a Y-axis pinch close gesture that is applied to a boundary of an exposed pane that is appearing in the primary content page such that the Y-axis pinch close gesture collapses the exposed pane in which the secondary content data is made visible. In one embodiment, the system comprises an association server, an electronic book distribution server, and a content rendering device.

Humans have a curiosity to look behind things. For example, a person may look behind doors, peek out of windows, and open up presents. The sense of anticipation followed by surprise associated with such an act creates feelings of enjoyment and satisfaction at finding what was initially hidden from plain view. This curiosity does not diminish when one is reading a book or magazine. In both cases, the reader will often be curious to learn the meaning of a word or the history behind a subject presented in the text of the book or magazine. For example, a child reading the Harry Potter® book series may want to know the origin of the word "wizard" or brush up on the history of medieval Europe.
One way that a reader can satisfy this curiosity is by having, on hand, reference texts such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, or textbooks related to the various subjects the reader finds interesting. However, such reference texts are often expensive and cumbersome to transport and bringing such texts along whenever one is in the mood for a good story diminishes the reading experience. While electronic books (or e-books) have enabled readers to store multiple texts in one place, the reader is still required to predict which electronic reference texts are necessary to satisfy the reader's sense of curiosity going forward and to have such electronic reference texts loaded on the e-book before starting a new book or story. Unfortunately, the reader cannot always predict which reference texts will be necessary and whether such texts will satisfy his or her sense of curiosity before starting a good book.

Creation and exposure of embedded secondary content data relevant to a primary content page of an electronic book


An uplink control method for use in a communication system based on multiple carriers. The method includes allocating different types of random access channels for different types of uplink operations.

Wireless communication systems based on a multicarrier scheme, such as orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) based communication systems, are gaining worldwide popularity due to their broad applications. The multicarrier scheme allows a multicarrier communication system to operate on multiple carriers including continuous and discontinuous carriers. Each of the multiple carriers corresponds to a relatively narrow frequency band, and may have a different bandwidth.
Traditionally, a separate fast Fourier transform (FFT) and radio frequency (RF) module may be used for each band, and a medium access control (MAC) module may then be used in the multicarrier communication system to support multicarrier functionalities. Based on different capabilities of different user terminals, a network side, such as a base station (BS), a Node B defined in a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) standard, or an access point (AP), may serve different user terminals with different bandwidths. For example, based on the multicarrier scheme, the base station may flexibly use available bandwidth resources to achieve high throughput and capacity.
For controlling and utilizing the multiple carriers, each of the multiple carriers may be classified as a primary carrier, also known as a fully configured carrier, or a secondary carrier, also known as a partially configured carrier. For example, a primary carrier is typically used to transmit both control information and data, and a secondary carrier is typically used to only transmit data. Depending on characteristics of transmission of control information and data, a downlink control method may use different downlink control structures for a primary carrier and a secondary carrier.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional downlink control method 100 for use in a multicarrier communication system based on IEEE standard 802.16m. For convenience of illustration, a frame structure 102 is shown for a primary carrier CH0, a first secondary carrier CH1, and a second secondary carrier CH2 of the multiple carriers of the multicarrier system. For example, the frame structure 102 may include a plurality of super-frames, such as first and second super-frames 104 and 106. Each of the plurality of super-frames may further include a plurality of frames. Based on the IEEE standard 802.16m, each of the plurality of super-frames may include four frames 112, 114, 116, and 118. Traditionally, three control channels, including a synchronization control channel (SCH) 122, a broadcast control channel (BCH) 124, and a unicast service control channel (USCCH) 126, may be used for downlink control.
For example, the SCH 122 may provide a reference signal for time, frequency, frame synchronization, and base station identification. The SCH 122 may be only allocated to the primary carrier CH0. In addition, the SCH 122 may be transmitted on the primary carrier CH0 every one or more frames, such as every four frames as shown in FIG. 1, and a location of the SCH 122 may be fixed in each of the plurality of super-frames. The secondary carriers CH1 and CH2 may share the SCH 122 with the primary channel CH0.
Also for example, the BCH 124 may provide system configuration information and broadcast information, such as neighbor base station information, paging information, etc. The BCH 124 may be only allocated to the primary carrier CH0. In addition, the BCH 124 may be transmitted on the primary carrier CH0 every one or more frames, such as every four frames as shown in FIG. 1, and a location of the BCH 124 may be fixed in each of the plurality of super-frames. The secondary carriers CH1 and CH2 may share the BCH 124 with the primary channel CH0.
Further for example, the USCCH 126 may provide resource allocation for unicast services. The USCCH 126 may be allocated to the primary carrier CH0 and the secondary carriers CH1 and CH2. In addition, the USCCH 126 and the SCH 122 are transmitted at different times, and the USCCH 126 and the BCH 124 are also transmitted at different times.

System and method for multicarrier uplink control

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A two-part plastics ventilator comprises a housing defining a ventilation opening, a flap pivotal to open and close the opening, and spring legs integral with the housing to bias the flap to the open and closed positions.

This invention concerns improvements in or relating to ventilators for controlling air flow and in particular, though not exclusively, for controlling air flow through an air path formed in a frame of a door or window.
Ventilators are known in which a flap is pivotal to open and close a ventilation opening to control air flow through an air path formed in door or window frames. The design and construction of such ventilators is often complex requiring manufacture and assembly of several parts which increases the cost.
In use, the ventilator is mounted on the inner face of the frame and an exterior hood is often mounted on the outer face of the frame to prevent water penetration. It is usual to fit a fine mesh or the like within the hood to exclude insects but this reduces the cross-sectional area of the ventilation opening so that the ventilation opening has to be made larger than required to obtain the necessary air flow.
The present invention has been made from a consideration of the above problems.


A solid stick antiperspirant composition is provided. The antiperspirant composition includes aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex glycine having a concentration from about 10% to about 35% by weight of the composition, an anhydrous liquid carrier, one or more structurants having a concentration from about 15% to about 25% by weight of the composition, wherein the one or more structurants comprises one or more waxes and a non-ionic exthoxylated linear alcohol having a carbon chain length from about 20 to about 40. The solid stick antiperspirant composition is a single phase.

Antiperspirant compositions have become a staple in the personal hygiene routine for many people. Various antiperspirant compositions and methods of making are known in the art. Some examples are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,417,964; 5,490,979; 5,603,925; 5,733,534; 5,833,964; 5,972,319; 6,338,840; 6,752,982; 6,682,749; 7,452,526; 8,187,578; 2007/0092541; 2009/0269292 and WO 02/053109. These compositions, unlike deodorants, have the added benefit of helping to combat wetness. While wetness is generally harmless, there are social stigmas associated with underarm sweat and feelings of uncleanliness. There is, however, room for improvement with respect to the effectiveness of antiperspirant compositions to combat wetness.


A method for delineating a data stream transmitted by a communication system using a protocol stack includes: analyzing the redundancy of sequences, the content of which is set on one or more layers in a protocol stack to delineate packets, errored or not, in a continuous data stream; the method to this end including searching in the receiver for sequences corresponding to a known sequence SP present in the received stream, and doing so by detecting sequences similar to this known sequence, the non-similar sequences not being retained; the method further including, in the presence of similar sequences, storing their position to determine the start of the packets.

The term "delineation", also referred to as "packet synchronization", should be understood to mean the step consisting in determining, in a continuous data stream, the length of the packets and their limits, essential in reception.
The current delineation techniques require integrity of the data. When the link is not reliable enough, a transmission error correction step usually precedes the delineation. Furthermore, the current techniques demand, for example, the addition of information such as length information, pointers, in the payload that consumes bandwidth on the transmitted stream.
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a communication system implementing a delineation method according to the state of the art. The communication system comprises a transmission chain with, at the transmit end E, the formation of the transmitted stream FD, a communication channel C and, at the receiving end R, the processing of the received stream FE. In the transmit part, the stream is, for example, coded by a FEC coder then modulated. This stream FD is transmitted via the communication channel C then received by a recipient receiver R. Upon reception, the stream is demodulated and decoded by a FEC decoder 200. The delineation device 210 for the stream is placed after the transmission error correction function which, in this example, is handled by the FEC decoder. In practice, the FEC technique consists, for the sender, in adding redundancy to the payload in order to enable the recipient receiver to detect and correct some of the inevitable transmission errors.
In all cases, the existing techniques are based on the addition of control or redundancy data to the payload stream and delineation following the transmission error correction because this step requires integral data. Typical examples are the delineation in the cases of the MPE/MPEG2, ULE/MPEG2 or AAL5/ATM (Unidirectional Lightweight Encapsulation (ULE); Multi Protocol Encapsulation (MPE); ATM adaptation Layer (AAL5)) protocols.
The aim of the present invention is to remedy this drawback by proposing a non-intrusive, robust delineation solution that can be applied equally to an integral data stream and to a data stream including transmission errors, without the need to add data to the transmitted payload stream (i.e., neither redundancy nor control information).
In the case of a delineation step on an integral data stream, that is to say, at the level where the conventional mechanisms operate, the delineation according to the inventive method can be done without adding redundancy.
In the case of a delineation step on a data stream without transmission error correction, the delineation can also take place, because this step is, according to the invention, made independent of the need for data integrity. The packets of error-tolerant applications such as Voice-over-IP (VoIP) can be transmitted to the higher layers even if errors are present. The adaptation layers such as MPE, ULE or GSE (Generic Stream Encapsulation) can, with this method, have information to improve on delineation applied by a mechanism other than that of the present invention.

Method and device for delineating a data stream and communication system comprising said device


Polyethylene glycol substituted acyl borates, methods for their preparation, and the use of the polyethylene glycol substituted acyl borates for the preparation of polyethylene glycol substituted macromolecules. The polyethylene glycol substituted acyl borate has the general formula (I)

PEGylated peptides and other macromolecules —i.e. macromolecules bearing a polyethylene glycol (PEG) substituent—are widely used, in particular for the preparation of pharmaceuticals, drug delivery vehicles, and other biocompatible materials.
For the purposes of pharmaceutical development, the most common conjugation reaction is the addition of thiols (i.e. cysteine side chains) to a drug, or PEG reagent bearing an electrophilic moiety such as a maleimide or alpha-halo amide. Other solutions include oxime formation (the reaction of a hydroxylamine with a ketone or aldehyde) and non-specific amide formation on lysine side chains. Chemoselective conjugations using the triazole forming reactions of azides and terminal alkynes are also popular, at least in academic research. The main limitations are either the need for toxic copper reagents or slow rate constants requiring an excess of one of the reagents.
Since both the macromolecules and the polyethylene glycol substituents tend to be expensive and complex in preparation, it is important that the PEGylation is selective and highly efficient. Furthermore, it is desirable that a stable natural bond is formed, i.e. a bond that is commonly encountered in naturally occurring materials and which is known to be stable and safe for use in medical and materials applications.
Chemical reactions that allow selective bond formation between two reactants even in the presence of many unprotected functional groups are important but rare. The ideal chemoselective conjugation reaction would allow rapid covalent bond formation between two unique but chemically stable moieties under aqueous conditions using equimolar amounts of the ligation partners, regardless of the size of the substrate or number and nature of unprotected functional groups.
Such feats of bond construction, such as DNA ligation, are routinely accomplished by specific biochemical enzymes and can, in certain circumstances, be co-opted for synthetic applications. But fast, selective strictly chemical ligations are so far unknown. The few known synthetic ligations form unnatural bonds, require the presence of toxic reagents, or do not proceed fast enough to conjugate equimolar quantities of large or valuable starting materials.
Therefore, one of the remaining challenges in this area is the identification of faster ligations (second order rate constants >10 M−1 s−1) that form natural bonds, preferably under aqueous conditions, without added reagents or catalysts.
More general, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is the selective formation of a covalent bond between two large molecules. This technical problem occurs frequently in the synthesis of biologically active molecules including, but not limited to, proteins, peptides, PEGylated biomolecules and peptides, antibody drug conjugates, and functionalized polymers. Typical reactions for covalent bond formation suffer from three problems that make this difficult:                a. Most organic reactions require anhydrous, organic solvents and do not operate properly in the presence of unprotected organic functional groups (i.e. amines, carboxylic acids, alcohols, thiols, etc.).        b. Most organic reactions for joining large molecules are too slow, requiring high concentrations (10 mM or higher), long reaction times, a large excess of one reactant, and/or high temperatures.        c. The best known solutions for joining two large, unprotected molecules give an unnatural connectivity that can be problematic, immunogenic, or which cannot be used to make the natural forms of molecules such as proteins.
In order to join large molecules using equimolar amounts of each reactant—which is important for economic and purification reasons—a second order rate constant of at least 1 M−1 s−1 is required. Faster rate constants are even more desirable.

Abstract: wherein PEG denotes a polyethylene glycol-based substituent; a is an integer from 1 to 12; X1, X2, and X3 are independently of one another selected from the group made of F, OR, N+R3, N+R2OR, N+R2SR, and N+R2NR2, and are optionally forming a cyclic or a bicyclic structure; and R is an organic substituent or H.


A beam exposure device includes a light-emitting unit for emitting light beams from a plurality of light-emitting positions, a scan unit, an optical condensing system for condensing a spot of the light beams onto a surface to be exposed, and a micro-deflection unit for micro-deflecting the plurality of light beams to expose the space between the beams in the plurality of light beams. The optical condensing system includes a first microlens array arranged between the light-emitting unit and the micro-deflection unit and provided with a plurality of microlenses corresponding to the light-emitting positions; and a second microlens array arranged between the micro-deflection unit and the surface to be exposed and provided with a plurality of microlenses each microlens corresponding to the light-emitting unit.

Beam scanning exposure is one known method of refining the spot diameter of a light beam, such as a laser beam, to expose a two-dimensional surface; specifically, a beam scanning device such as a galvano-mirror or a polygonal mirror performs a main scan of the two dimensional surface with a single light beam in one direction while the surface to be exposed moves along a sub-scanning direction that intersects with the main scanning direction. The beam scanning exposure technique requires the beam scanning device to rotate at faster speeds when performing high density exposure of a large surface area in order to minimize the exposure process time, thus leading to concern that the vibrations of the drive source or the beam scanning device itself at that time will adversely affect the optical system.
Multi-beam exposure is another known method of two-dimensional exposure with a light beam; here, a one-dimensional light source array emits a plurality of light beams, and the surface to be exposed moves along a direction intersecting with the arrangement direction of the light source array. Given there is a limit to how narrow the gap may be between light sources in the plurality of light sources, the light source array must be repeatedly shifted along the arrangement direction to expose the space between the light beams, which requires high-precision positioning when shifting the light source array.
In contrast, another method based on the above multi-beam exposure technique performs micro-deflection of the plurality of light beams to expose the space between light beams while keeping the light source array itself stationary (refer to Patent Document 1 below). In the existing technology, the beam scanning device is provided with a light source unit for emitting a plurality of light beams spaced at predetermined intervals in a single direction; a scan unit for scanning a surface exposed to the plurality of light beams; an imaging optical system for forming an image of the light beams emitted from the light source unit onto the surface to be exposed; and a micro-deflection unit for micro-deflecting the plurality of beams all at once to expose the space between the beams in the plurality of light beams. Here, the micro-deflection unit may be an acousto-optical element, an electro-optical element or the like.


A method of manufacturing a composite laminate structure of a wind turbine blade part is performed by resin transfer moulding. The fibre-reinforcement material is impregnated with liquid resin in a mould cavity which includes a rigid mould part having a mould surface defining a surface of the wind turbine blade part. The method includes alternately stacking on the rigid mould part: i) a number of fibre-reinforcement layers including electrically conductive fibres and ii) a flow strip layer in form of a layer of flow strips having a strip width and which are arranged so as to form voids having a void width between two juxtaposed strips. The method includes sealing a second mould part against the rigid mould part in order to form the mould cavity, optionally evacuating the mould cavity, supplying a resin to the mould cavity, and curing the resin to form the composite laminate structure.

A wind turbine blade usually comprises a composite laminate structure. The composite laminate structure is typically manufactured using fibre reinforcing material embedded in a polymer matrix. The laminate structure is typically formed by a plurality of stacked fibre layers. Today, the fibre layers are mostly selected from glass fibres or carbon fibres or a hybrid material comprising both glass fibres and carbon fibres.
To protect wind turbine blades from lightning damages, wind turbine blades are equipped with a lightning protection system. For wind turbine blades being reinforced with electrically conductive fibres, such as carbon fibres, the efficiency of the lightning protection system depends on having a conductivity property through the thickness of the composite laminate structures. The electrically conductive fibres are typically potentially equalised to the lightning protection system, advantageously to a down-conductor of the lightning protection system, at different positions or areas along the span of the blade.
The load carrying structure is typically manufactured by infusing stacked fibre layers with resin. To aid the resin flow during infusion, a flow media may be needed. This is particularly the case for carbon fibres due to the small size of the fibres and hence the size of spacings or voids between the fibres. However, placing a conventional flow media isolates or separates each fibre layers from one another. This results in significantly reducing the conductivity in between each carbon fibre layers.
There is thus a need for a solution that provides both flow for the resin to be infused and conductivity through stacked fibre layers.

Method of manufacturing a composite laminate structure of a wind turbine blade part and related wind turbine blade part


A chew for a domestic animal comprises one or more sheets of a chewable bovine rawhide formed into a shape suitable for chewing by a domestic animal, wherein the one or more sheets has a mass loss of at least 45% as measured by the Degradability Standard Test Protocol. The bovine rawhide is made with a process that includes treatment with an enzyme. A process of making a pet chew from a split bovine hide comprises treating the split bovine hide with an enzyme solution.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to chew toys for domestic animals. In one of its aspects, the invention relates to chew toys that have improved degradability. In another of its aspects, the invention relates to a chew toy made of rawhide that retains the toughness and 'chewability' of conventional rawhide chews, thus satisfying the animal's instinctive need to chew, with improved degradability. In another of its aspects, the invention relates to a method of making a chew toy that has the characteristic chewability of conventional rawhide chew toys and has improved degradability.
2. Description of the Related Art
Products for consumption by pets can be evaluated based on a number of characteristics, including entertainment value, chew resistance, toughness, longevity, degradability, nutritional value, and in some cases digestibility, which is related in part to nutritional value. As used herein, digestibility of a substance is defined as a measure of how well the substance is absorbed by the animal's body. Degradability is defined as a measure of how quickly and completely a substance breaks down in the animal's digestive system.
Using these characteristics, products made for pet consumption can generally be classified into two categories. The first category includes food and treats that provide nutritional value to the animal. These products are highly digestible and degradable due to their structural characteristics, but are consumed quickly and do very little to entertain the animal or to satisfy the animal's instinctive need to chew. While they may provide some dental benefits when supplemented with specialized enzymes or other additives, they provide very little mechanical action to clean the teeth or stimulate the gums. The second category includes chew toys and chew resistant articles that provide the 'chewability' needed to satisfy the animal's need to chew, and provide the dental benefits and entertainment value that the food and treats of the first category lack. These products are typically made of rawhide pieces which have little or no food value and do not add calories to the animal's diet. These pieces are eventually broken down into small pieces that may be swallowed by the animal and passed through the digestive system of the animal.
A process of making chew toys from untanned bovine skin (rawhide) is well known. In this process, the cattle hides are received from the slaughterhouse with blood, tallow, and flesh on them. The hides are washed and de-haired. De-hairing is achieved chemically using lime and sulfite. Soda ash may also be used in the de-hairing step as a degreaser. The de-hairing process may also employ the use of enzymes that break down creatine to aid hair removal. After de-hairing, the flesh and excess fat is removed and the hides are split into two layers. The top layer is known as the top grain layer. This layer is often tanned and used for footwear, belts, leather, and apparel. The bottom layer is known as the split layer and is the layer commonly used to make articles like suede, gelatin, collagen and chew toys. In the conventional process, untanned rawhide (either top grain or split layer) is further processed using salt, sulfate, and degreaser. The hides may then be bleached with hydrogen peroxide and treated with titanium dioxide before being formed into shaped chew toys and dried.
With a conventional rawhide chew toy, if the dose is not controlled, for example an animal is given too much rawhide, there may be a build-up of rawhide in the animal's digestive system due to the lack of degradability of the rawhide. The build-up of rawhide in the animal's digestive system can cause digestive distress or discomfort to the animal and can sometimes require veterinary care.
One proposed solution to this problem is to break up the rawhide and incorporate it into pet treats or pet food products to make them more chewable. The breakdown of the hide can be achieved mechanically, through the use of chemical processes using enzymes as catalysts, or by using a combination of mechanical and chemical processes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,925 to Fisher discloses methods for preparing fibrous collagens from hides by treating comminuted hides with dilute acid in the presence of a proteolytic enzyme. The collagen is then incorporated into a molded pet food product and hardened. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,447 to Fisher et al. discloses compacting wetted animal food under pressure with fibers, such as collagen fibers, and baking the product to form a chew-resistant dog treat. U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0003270 to Garcia Martinez and U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0122133 to Zheng disclose additional methods for mechanically breaking the collagen fibers (through milling or grinding), treating them with solutions including enzymes, and reconstituting the product into chewable dog treats.
GB 929137 to Nihon Hikaru Kabushiki Kaisha discloses a method of using enzyme treatments and acid extraction to solubilize collagen fibers in the skin of adult animals. The method produces a colloidal solution of insoluble collagen fibers in a fiber-reproducible state. The solution is then treated with an alkali to reproduce the collagen fibers. Treats and food products that are produced using these processes are more chew-resistant than conventional treats in that they are harder and require more pressure to break. However, because the collagen fibers are mechanically broken, they lack the toughness and 'chewability' of rawhide products. As a result, these products are consumed more quickly by the animal, do not provide the dental benefits of rawhide, and do not satisfy the dog's proclivity for chewing.
To address these issues, pigskins, which are more digestible to animals than rawhide, have been used as a substitute for rawhide for making chew toys. U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,041 to Hague et al. discloses a method of processing pigskins for use in chew toys and treats in which the pigskins are treated with an alkali paste and washed with a pancreatic enzyme to soften the skins. Similarly, U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0292484 to Levin discloses a method that includes treating pigskin with an alkali and enzyme mixture to dissolve the colloidal protein to prepare the pigskin for use in making pet treats. While pigskin products are more digestible than rawhide products, they are more expensive to produce and tend to be thinner and softer than rawhide. As a result, they do not have the chewability of rawhide made from bovine hides and thus do not provide the chew resistance and as much tartar control as bovine rawhide.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,693 to Perlberg et al. discloses a process for soaking untanned animal hides in a humectant to produce a softer rawhide product. While this product makes the rawhide softer and easier for older animals to chew, it has no affect on the collagen fibers themselves and, for that reason, it fails to improve the degradability of the rawhide in the animal's digestive tract.
Still other alternatives involve the addition of enzymes to traditional pet foods or treats to provide additional functionality when the product is consumed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,541 to Montgomery discloses a chewable and consumable composition that contains a compound which, when it comes into contact with saliva, forms an antimicrobial agent. The preferred carrier is described as rawhide. Similarly, U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0148104 Goettert et al. discloses a pet article (which can include rawhide or biscuits) that improves the dental health of animals. The article can comprise an edible chew base and effective levels of antimicrobial compositions. In one embodiment, the use of a therapeutic enzyme that decomposes harmful carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and bacterial substrates in the pet's mouth is disclosed. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 7,691,426 to Axelrod et al. discloses a chew toy which incorporates an edible resin and rawhide. The edible resin composition may include starch, gluten, vegetable based protein, carbohydrate or fat based products that supplement the animal's nutritional feeding regime. The resin may include enzymes and/or co-enzymes. While these types of alternatives may improve the dental or nutritional benefits of pet treats, they do not provide a safe, degradable, chew toy while maintaining the 'chewability,' mechanical teeth-cleaning action, and extended chewability of rawhide.
Methods have also been disclosed for producing artificial rawhide. U.S. Pub. No. 2004/0187794 to Nakata discloses a method of making artificial rawhide to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the dog chew process. The natural rawhide is decomposed, either mechanically or with the help of an enzyme. The collagen fibers are then blended with a binder and water and extruded to form a sheet of artificial rawhide.
It is well known in the art that enzymes are used for various purposes during the tanning process. U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,621 to Pfleiderer et al. discloses a process for the wet degreasing of hides using enzymes, also called bating, which is also carried out in the presence of synthetic surfactants. U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,040 to Christner et al. discloses that proteolytic enzymes can be used to more quickly rehydrate the skins that are delivered dry and to more completely degrease the skins and also, after soaking, to provide a smoother, cleaner, and softer hide. Proteases also support loosening of the hair from the skin. U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,520 to Ibello et al. also discloses the use of enzymes as part of a bating step after liming to soften the hides. U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,759 to Fekete et al. discloses a process for treating hides which includes the use of enzymes in de-hairing. Enzyme use for removal of hair is further disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,957,554 to Saravanabhavan et al., 3,939,040 to Monsheimer et al., 6,708,531 to Thanikaivelan et al., and 5,834,299 to Andersen. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,369 to Fink et al. discloses that it is known to use enzymes to treat hides to solubilize collagen, which can then be extracted and used for purposes such as medical implants.

Method of making a degradable animal chew toy


An epoxy adhesive composition for the bonding of SMC to metal substrates and other SMC parts having an improved cure rate and hence rate of initial lap shear strength development has been discovered. The adhesive composition comprises an epoxy resin and a polyacrylate or polymethacrylate cured with a combination of an amine-functional butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber and at least one polyamidoamine.

1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to epoxy adhesive compositions. More particularly, the invention relates to epoxy adhesive compositions which are suitable for use in bonding rigid fiber-reinforced plastic composite materials to other materials of like or dissimilar composition, including metal materials which are coated with corrosion protection coatings.
The use of rigid fiber-reinforced plastic composite materials in the form of sheet molding compounds (commonly referred to as SMC) as an alternative for steel automotive body panels in an effort to reduce weight and corrosion susceptibility is increasing. Sheet molding compound can be described as reinforced resin compositions typically comprising unsaturated liquid polyester resin, ethylenically-unsaturated monomer, low profile thermoplastic resin, inert filler, magnesium oxide or other maturation aids and shaped or milled glass fiber reinforcement. The molding of the SMC under heat and pressure results in the formation of a rigid, self-supporting, thermoset, fiber-reinforced SMC part.
The rigid SMC parts are typically bonded to other rigid SMC parts, which may or may not originate from the same manufacturer, or to metal panels and structural members, in lieu of mechanical attachments. Reactive multi-component thermoset adhesives such as peroxide-cured unsaturated polyester, polyol polyurethane and epoxy adhesive compositions have typically been the adhesives most commonly employed in bonding these fiber reinforced plastic composite SMC materials. However, there are no adhesives whose performance is sufficiently stellar as to preclude the further development of structural adhesives for bonding reinforced plastic composite SMC materials.
Moreover, automotive adhesives must perform over a wide range of operating conditions, including temperatures on the order of 200.degree. C. which are encountered during paint bake cycles to below 0.degree. C. in cold weather climates, and environmental conditions such as exposure, oils, greases, humidity and high salinity. For example, one specification requires that SMC/metal adhesives withstand a torsional shear impact loading of 17 in. lb. per sq. in. at -29.8.degree. C. Standard epoxy adhesives cured with polyamidoamine curatives barely meet this minimum value, with the failure mode being adhesive to the metal surface. If the metal is coated with an organic corrosion inhibiting coating, the failure is typically between the corrosion inhibiting coating and the metal, rather than the desired failure within the SMC adherent. Another specification commonly required of automotive adhesives is that they be capable of bonding SMC parts without the need to further prepare or treat the SMC surface prior to bonding.
Attempts to improve the low temperature impact performance of SMC/metal assemblies by increasing the flexibility of the adhesive have resulted in impact values per se. However, the failure mode remained adhesive at the metal interface or between the corrosion-inhibiting coating and the metal, when the metal was so coated. In addition, the flexibilized epoxy compositions suffer from a decrease in cohesive strength at higher temperature. These failures have been alleviated in large part by curing the epoxy resin with a combination of amine curing agents that include polyamines, polyamides and amine-terminated acrylonitrile-butadiene rubbers. However, the cure rate and hence the rate of initial lap shear strength development of these adhesive compositions is less than desired.

Rubber-modified epoxy adhesive compositions


In one embodiment, a device receives and stores a broadcast schedule, and may determine whether a neighbor unicast listening schedule is available for a neighboring device. If so, the device may transmit a data frame to the neighboring device pursuant to the neighbor unicast listening schedule. If a neighbor unicast listening schedule is not available, the device may transmit the data frame to the neighboring device pursuant to a broadcast schedule. Once the data frame is received by the neighboring device, pursuant to the neighbor unicast listening schedule or the broadcast schedule, an acknowledgement may be received from the neighboring device, which may include an updated neighbor unicast listening schedule for that neighboring device.

In a frequency-hopping (or channel-hopping) mesh network, devices communicate using different frequencies/channels at different times. To communicate a packet, a transmitter-receiver pair must be configured to the same channel during packet transmission. For a transmitter to communicate with a receiver at an arbitrary time in the future, the transmitter and receiver must synchronize to a channel schedule that specifies what channel to communicate on at what time. Alternatively, all devices in a network may synchronize with a single channel schedule such that all devices transmit and receive on the same channel at any time.

On-demand pair-wise frequency-hopping synchronization


In a measuring device including a magnetic-optic current transformer (2) defining an optical path having an input (4) and an output (6) and having an optical transmission characteristics such that the relation between optical energy supplied to the input (4) and optical energy arriving at the output (6) is a function of an electrical parameter being monitored, an electrically driven photoemitter (8) disposed for supplying optical energy to the optical path input (4), a photodetector circuit (10, 12) optically coupled to the optical path output (6) for producing an electrical signal representative of the optical power arriving at the output (6), and a control circuit (14,16) connected between the photodetector circuit (10,12) and the photoemitter (8) for controlling the light energy supplied by the photoemitter (8) and forming with the transformer (2) a high pass filter having a corner frequency, the control circuit (14,16) is composed of an amplifier (20) and a first compensation unit (24,26) connected to form a negative feedback path of the amplifier (20) for supplying a negative feedback signal which is linearly proportional to the optical power emitted by the photoemitter (8) for causing the corner frequency value to be independent of the relative between the optical power at the input (4) to the path and the optical power at the output (6) of the path; and a second compensation unit (R.sub.3,R.sub.4) is operatively connected for causing the corner frequency value to be independent of the temperature of the control circuit (2).

The present invention relates to arrangements for compensating inaccuracies occurring in measuring devices which include an optical path having an optical transmission characteristic which varies as a function of an electrical parameter being monitored.
For example, magneto-optic current transformers (MOCTs) vary the optical attenuation occurring in an optical path as a function of an alternating current being monitored. Typically, such a transformer is connected in an optical path having an electrically driven light source at its input end and a light receiver at its output end, with a circuit being connected between the light receiver and the light source for suppressing low frequency or long term, changes in the optical energy at the output end of the optical path.
FIG. 1 shows a known circuit for a magnetooptic current transformer (MOCT) 2. MOCT 2 is provided with a light entry port, a light exit port, a light transmission path between the ports, and means responsive to an electric current for influencing the optical characteristic of the light transmission path such that the relation between optical power, or light intensity, supplied at the light entry port and the optical power, or light intensity, appearing at the output port is a function of the instantaneous current amplitude
In the circuit of FIG. 1, an input fiber 4 is coupled to the entry port and an outlet fiber 6 is coupled to the exit port of MOCT 2.
Essentially, the circuit provides an output voltage, V.sub.out, corresponding to the alternating current acting on MOCT 2.
The circuit includes a photoemitter 8, which may be an infrared-emitting LED, for supplying optical energy to fiber 4 and a photoreceiver 10, such as a PIN diode photodetector, connected to receive optical energy emerging from fiber 6.
Photoreceiver 10 is connected to the input of a current-to-voltage converter stage 12 and to a source of a constant reference current, I.sub.o. Stage 12 is composed essentially of a differential amplifier having a resistive feedback connection and operates to produce output voltage V.sub.out proportional to the optical power received by photoreceiver 10.
The remainder of the illustrated circuit serves to suppress long term variations in the optical power received by photoreceiver 10 by adjusting the optical power emitted by photoemitter 8 in a manner to oppose long term variations in the optical power received by photoreceiver 10.
For this purpose, the circuit further includes an integrator 14 connected to receive V.sub.out and a voltage-to-current converter 16 which includes a transistor Q1 and has an exponential transfer characteristic. These two units function in a known manner to control the optical power introduced into fiber 4 in a manner to offset long term, or low frequency, changes in the optical power received by photoreceiver 10.
The output signal from integrator 14 is supplied by a voltage divider composed of resistors R.sub.3 and R.sub.4, the center tap of which is connected to the base of a transistor Q1 to provide the input voltage to converter 16.
Analysis of the circuit shown in FIG. 1 indicates that with respect to the relation between the current being monitored and V.sub.out, and without the exponential voltage-to-current converter 16, the circuit behaves like a single pole high pass filter having a corner frequency, cut-off frequency which varies as a direct function of the total optical attenuation, or reduction in optical power, between the output of photoemitter 8 and the input of photoreceiver 10. This corner frequency variation creates a corresponding phase shift in V.sub.out at the frequency of the current being measured. When V.sub.out is used for the generation of average power reading, this phase shift will result in a possibly significant error.
The use of a voltage-to-current converter 16 having an exponential characteristic reduces the rate of corner frequency variation with attenuation but, in practical devices, an attenuation variation of 10:1 still produces a corner frequency variation of 2:1.

Current monitoring circuit error compensation


A material for the storage and release of gases comprises a plurality of hollow elements, each hollow element comprising a porous wall enclosing an interior cavity, the interior cavity including structures of a solid-state storage material. In particular examples, the storage material is a hydrogen storage material such as a solid state hydride. An improved method for forming such materials includes the solution diffusion of a storage material solution through a porous wall of a hollow element into an interior cavity.

There are many possible applications of hydrogen fuel, such as hydrogen-powered vehicles. However, hydrogen in the gaseous state is highly explosive. In the field of hydrogen-powered vehicles, hydrogen may be stored on board the vehicle in high pressure tanks, for example at 5,000-10,000 psi gas pressure. Such storage systems are not efficient on a volumetric level, and also present serious safety concerns. There is a great commercial need for new methods of storing hydrogen in a safe manner.

Gas storage materials, including hydrogen storage materials

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


An inverter for an escalator control device and an escalator control device are provided. The inverter includes: a control unit for receiving a detection signal from the passenger detector; a frequency inverting unit for inverting current frequency, input terminals of which are connected to the public electrical net, and which is connected with the output terminal of the control unit; a frequency inverting unit contactor, input terminals of which are connected to the frequency inverting unit, and output terminals of which are connected to a motor of the escalator; and a public electrical net contactor, input terminals of which are connected to a public electrical net, and output terminals of which are connected to the motor of the escalator.

An inverter is a device for inverting the current of the public electric net into a current with different frequency through the connection and disconnection of its semi-conductors. With the help of the inverter inverting the current frequency, for example, the running speed of a motor connected with the inverter may be changed.
The inverter is widely used in the movement control of the escalator. The movement control of the escalator at lest relates to the switch between/among a variety of movement modes like mode of low speed running, mode of waiting with zero speed, mode of high speed running etc. In the prior arts, the aforesaid switch is achieved by additionally providing a separate control device, some contactors and so on. Particularly, the control device is connected with the inverter and the contactors, and the control device may control the open and close of the contactors and the output of the inverter.
The way of achieving the control of the movement of the escalator by separately providing a control device and contactors as mentioned above at least have below disadvantages:
First, since a separate control device is needed, the cost of the whole control system of the escalator increases.
Second, since there is a separate control device, the user has to do some operations like line connections between the control device and the inverter. However, the operations are time-consuming, and sometimes there is a risk of wrong connection. What's more, the user is even required to do some programming work and some other works to initialize the system, which results in the increase of the human cost and obstructs the fast installation of the control system of escalator on the spot.
Third, since the control of the inverter and the contactors is via some related programs done by the user, the response of the control may be not so fast.
Thus, there is a need for providing an escalator control device with its inverter which at least may solve some or all of the problems as mentioned above.

Inverter and an escalator control device with the inverter


A hot melt adhesive dispensing apparatus comprises a housing including a supply chamber for receiving and holding a solid adhesive, an electrically powered heater, and a spray nozzle assembly. A pneumatically actuated plunger pushes solid adhesive towards the melt chamber wherein the solid adhesive is progressively melted for passage into the spray nozzle assembly which includes a plurality of air jets which impinge upon the stream of melted adhesive exiting a nozzle to create an adhesive spray.

Hot melt thermoplastic adhesives have been widely used in industry for adhering many types of products and are particularly useful in applications where quick setting time is advantageous. Oftentimes it is desirable to dispense the adhesive as a spray. Prior art adhesive spray dispensers have included a spray head or gun which is supplied with hot melt adhesive in a molten state from a supply thereof such as a melt pot. Such dispensers are suitable for many applications and especially those applications requiring dispensing of large quantities of adhesive. However, the time and cost associated with starting up and shutting down these spray dispensing systems makes them not well suited for those applications where there is a need to spray relatively small quantities of adhesive at irregular intervals.
Another type of hot melt adhesive dispenser uses a solid adhesive typically in cylindrical stick form that is melted in the dispenser on demand. Different mechanisms have been used to advance the adhesive into and through a melt chamber or region, including rachet-type feed mechanisms, cocked ring-type feed mechanisms, and pneumatic feed mechanisms. An exemplary pneumatic hot melt adhesive dispenser is the Hysol 4000 dispenser sold by The Dexter Corporation of Seabrook, N.H. These dispensers, however, have not been known to issue a spray of adhesive. Instead, usually an adhesive bead is dispensed from the nozzle of the gun.
Accordingly, a need exists for a melt-on-demand hot melt adhesive spray dispenser, especially in the form of a hand-held, easily manipulable self-contained unit.


A preferred version of the baseball glove 10 has a flexible hinge 38 which extends across the front panel 12, underneath the web 32, and part-way along the length of the back panel 14. The flexible hinge 38 includes first and second hinge edges 68, 70, 74, 76 connected to each other by a flexible spanning member 88. The glove 10 provides enhanced flexibility, which is particularly beneficial to ball players with developing hand-flex strength, and to ball players who do not want to insert the time, energy, and expense required to break in a conventional glove.

This invention relates to baseball gloves, and in particular, to baseball gloves having enhanced flexibility.
As baseball players of all ages readily will appreciate, a great deal of time and effort is required to "break in" a glove once it has been purchased. A new glove tends to be quite stiff and inflexible, thereby making it difficult to use. In order to compensate for this problem, baseball players try many different tricks. For example, some players attempt to break in a glove by soaking it in water and/or treating it with a glove softening agent such as glove oil. Still other players physically force the glove back and forth in an effort to reduce the stiffness, while others fold a glove and put weight on top of the folded glove, in an effort to reduce the stiffness. However, these various methods are time consuming, frustrating, and sometimes ineffective. Moreover, having spent money on a glove, a player may very well have to spend more money just to make the glove playable. While glove stiffness and inflexibility present a problem for any player, the problem is especially severe for those with a hand-flexing strength which is relatively low or which is just beginning to develop.

Baseball glove having enhanced flexibility


A pasta cooker has a base carrying a bowl having an electrical heater. A basket can move between a lower position immersed in water in the bowl and an upper position largely out of the bowl. A stirring element rotatably mounted on the basket carries a paddle projecting upward into the basket. A controller energizes the heater to bring the water in the bowl to a boil, then lowers the basket into it. The stirring element fits with a drive in the base so it can rotate and stir the water and any foodstuff in the bowl in the boiling water. After an interval preset in a timer elapses, the controller lifts the basket out of the bowl.

Currently, the cooking of pasta is done with pans containing water which is usually made to boil by heating with a burner. When the water boils, the pasta is thrown into the pan and is left to cook for the necessary time. Then, when cooking is complete, the pasta is drained.
The devices of the conventional type have numerous drawbacks which can be summed up as the following. The use of burners, often gas-fired, can be dangerous in particular when the pan is not watched over. An unforeseen bubbling over of water or froth from the pan could, indeed, put out the flame without interrupting the gas supply. The consequences in this case are easy to imagine.
Moreover, conventional devices need to be watched over continuously also because the active presence of an operator to throw in the pasta, to stir, to drain, etc., is necessary. Otherwise the food obtained is of a very poor quality.
Moreover, conventional devices require substantial experience to achieve good results in particular with reference how much the pasta is cooked. In many cases, indeed, precisely due to lack of experience, the pasta is cooked for too long with very poor results.


A charging control system is configured to calculate an internal resistance line indicating a relation between a value of a charging current and a value of a voltage of a battery, which voltage occurs when the charging current has flown into the battery, to obtain a maximum inputtable value point SMAX corresponding to a maximum inputtable power/current and a currently-inputted value point SINP corresponding to a charging power/current currently inputted to the battery, these points existing on the calculated internal resistance line. The charging control system is also configured to calculate a point located between the maximum inputtable value point SMAX and the currently-inputted value point SINP, as a target point STRG corresponding to a target charging power/current point, and to set, based on the calculated target point STRG, a charging power/current for charging the battery.

When charging a battery, generally, during the initial phase of battery charging, a charging current value for battery charging is gradually increased. Thereafter, immediately when the charging current value has reached a predetermined threshold current, the supply amount of the charging current is set to a predetermined constant current for constant-current charging. One such battery charging technology has been disclosed in Patent document 1.


In general, in one aspect, the invention features systems that include a spatial light modulator, a scanning optical component configured to direct light from the spatial light modulator along a plurality of different paths, a projection optical assembly including a plurality of projection lens modules corresponding to the plurality of different paths, wherein each projection lens module is configured to receive light from the spatial light modulator directed along the corresponding path and projects an image of the spatial light modulator to a common image space.

Three-dimensional displays create images that provide one or more stereoscopic depth cues to an observer, such as motion parallax and the ability to elicit an accommodation (focusing) response in the eye. A variety of three-dimensional display methodologies have been developed, including projecting patterns of light onto a moving or spinning surface, gating the transparency of shuttered glasses while gazing at alternating left- and right-eye viewpoints, or using an acousto-optic modulator to diffract laser light and then raster-scanning that light over an image plane.

Optical systems for generating three-dimensional images