A selective call receiver (200) includes a receiver (204) which receives paging signals, the paging signals have a preamble (102), a synchronization codeword (104), and at least an address information (108, 110). A synchronization obtaining circuit (206), coupled to the receiver (204), obtains synchronization to the paging signal. The synchronization obtaining circuit (206) has a preamble detector (404) which detects preamble (102), a synchronization codeword detector (406), responsive to the preamble being detected, detects the synchronization codeword (104), and address decoder (408), responsive to the synchronization codeword being detected, decodes the address information (108, 110). A synchronization maintaining circuit (224, 408) maintains synchronization to the paging signals during the address decoding, and a baud rate detector (224) detects valid and invalid baud rates during address decoding. An initiating circuit (412), responsive to the invalid baud rate being detected, initiates the synchronization codeword detector (406) for detecting at least one subsequent synchronization codeword.

With the reduction of the size of selective call receivers and the need for portableness and convenience, selective call receivers now primarily depend upon battery power supplied by limited energy content batteries. Thus, users desire power conserving methods in the selective call receivers to improve battery life. One of the primary current draining circuits in a selective call receiver is the receiver circuitry. The receiver circuitry must necessarily be energized to allow the selective call receiver to receive radio signals intended for reception by the selective call receiver, however, the receiver circuitry can be de-energized during other operations of the selective call receiver.
An example of a conventional power conserving method involves determining whether the carrier frequency indicates transmissions intended for the radio receiver are being received. It can quickly be determined whether a carrier frequency is received, but a radio system may broadcast numerous types of information on the carrier frequency, some of which are not intended for the radio receiver causing the receiver to expend battery power unnecessarily.
Selective call receivers can improve battery life by having the receiver circuitry energized only during portions of the preamble of the signalling protocol received and only during the address portions of selective call messages received to determine if a message is addressed to the selective call receiver. But typical battery saving methods require that the receiver circuitry be energized during the reception of: a sufficient portion of each address received to perform address correlation to determine whether the address is the address of the selective call receiver or not. In addition, typical battery saving methods require that the selective call receiver know when addresses are received within the signalling protocol. For example, conventional battery saving methods can take advantage of the frame assignments and the occurrence of addresses at predetermined positions within the Post Office Code Standardization Advisory Group (POCSAG) signalling protocol. Also, before detection of its address, the selective call receiver must detect the synchronization codeword which enables the selective call receiver to determine word synchronization.
Thus, what is needed is a battery saving method which would conserve power by energizing the receiver circuitry for periods shorter than conventional detection periods for preamble detection, address correlation and synchronization codeword detection.

Selective call receiver with battery saving features and method therefor


A method of custom manufacturing a fluid pressure reduction device for use in a process control valve. The method includes creating the fluid pressure reduction device using an additive manufacturing technique, which generally includes forming a body and forming a plurality of flow paths in the body. The body has an inner wall and an outer wall spaced radially outward of the inner wall. The flow paths are formed in the body between the inner wall and the outer wall of the body. Each of the flow paths includes an inlet section formed in one of the inner and outer walls, a curved intermediate section, and an outlet section formed in the other of the inner and outer walls.

In process control systems, such as distributed or scalable process control systems commonly found in chemical, petroleum, power generation, or other industrial processes, it is often necessary to reduce the pressure of a fluid. However, pressure reduction typically leads to increased levels of unwanted noise and/or vibration, as discussed in the Background section of U.S. Pat. No. 6,935,370 ("the '370 Patent"). Thus, process control systems often employ flow restriction devices that aim to reduce fluid pressure in a manner that does not lead to increased levels of noise and/or vibration. Such flow restriction devices may include, for example, flow control valves, fluid regulators, valve cages, diffusers, silencers.
The '370 Patent illustrates several different examples of fluid pressure restriction devices each taking the form of a plurality of stacked disks that, when employed in a fluid flow control valve, reduce the pressure of a fluid flowing therethrough. One example, illustrated in FIG. 5 of the '370 Patent, features a plurality of stacked annular disks 100 rotated relative to one another to create flow paths 62 that each provide multi-stage pressure reduction. Each disk 60 of the stack 100 has a laser cut profile defining a horizontal, spiral flow path 62 that extends from an inlet section 68, through an intermediate section 70 formed of a series of flat leg portions and including restrictions 74, 76, and to an outlet section 72 having a larger cross-sectional area than the inlet section 68. Another example, illustrated in FIG. 8 of the '370 Patent, features an annular disk 130 that defines intersecting fluid flow paths 136, 138 so that fluid flowing therein collides, thereby releasing energy and reducing fluid pressure.

Method of manufacturing a fluid pressure reduction device


A push-pull amplifier circuit includes an NPN pullup transistor and an pulldown transistor, an emitter of the pullup transistor being coupled to a collector of the pulldown transistor. A first resistor is coupled between an output conductor and the emitter of the pullup transistor, and a second resistor is coupled between an emitter of the pulldown transistor and a supply voltage. A bias circuit includes a phase splitting transistor having an emitter coupled to a constant bias current source and a base of the pullup transistor, a collector coupled to a base of the pulldown transistor, and a control electrode coupled to an input signal. The phase splitting transistor steers a portion of the bias current into a first conductor connected to the base of the pullup transistor and a portion of the bias current into a second conductor connected to the base of the pulldown transistor in response to an input signal applied to the control electrode of the phase splitting transistor. A change in an output current flowing through the output conductor changes a base-emitter voltage of the pullup transistor by flowing through the first resistor and changing the voltage across the first resistor to compensate for steering current from the constant bias current source out of the first conductor to maintain a minimum amount of bias current flowing in the pullup transistor when the pulldown transistor is turned on hard, thereby reducing crossover distortion, maintaining output impedance low, and increasing bandwidth of the circuit.

The invention relates to circuitry and techniques for reducing distortion in the output stage of push-pull amplifiers, preventing bandwidth reduction when a high speed output transistor is turned off in favor of conduction in a slower output transistor, and making the output impedance of the output stage more steady than in prior push-pull amplifier output stages.
Push-pull amplifier stages characteristicly produce distortion due to transistors that turn off as part of the push-pull amplifier operation. Furthermore, the turning off of a high speed output transistor of a push-pull amplifier in favor of increasing current conduction in a slower output transistor of the push-pull amplifier typically results in a reduction in bandwidth and a change in the output impedance of the push-pull amplifier.
The output turn off mechanism of a push-pull amplifier stage can be described with reference to the typical push-pull amplifier circuit 1 of FIG. 1. In this so-called complementary circuit, an NPN pullup transistor 2 and a resistor 4 are connected as an emitter follower to supply an output current i.sub.o through conductor 5, and PNP pulldown transistor 7 is connected with resistor 6 to sink an output current (-i.sub.o) through conductor 5. In order to ease the transition from current "sourcing" of output current by pullup transistor 2 and current "sinking" of output current by pulldown transistor 7 a quiescent bias voltage V.sub.B is applied between the bases of transistors 2 and 7. Usually, bias voltage V.sub.B is developed across diodes such as 9 and 10, which themselves are biased by current source 3.
Bias voltage V.sub.B is absorbed in varying degrees by the current "sourcing" pullup transistor 2 and the current "sinking" pulldown transistor 7 depending on the instantaneous output current i.sub.o. When i.sub.o is zero, the current flowing in transistor 2 and resistor 4 also flows in transistor 7 and resistor 6. Then the sourcing and sinking sides of circuit 1 each "absorb" approximately one-half of V.sub.B.
When an appropriate value of an input drive signal e.sub.i makes i.sub.o positive, more of bias voltage V.sub.B is required to "support" pullup transistor 2 in its "on" condition and less of V.sub.B is available to bias pulldown transistor 7 in its "on" condition. Therefore, an increase in the current through transistor 2 results in a drop in the current flowing through transistor 7. In the circuit of FIG. 1, the only way that current supplied by transistor 2 can be increased is to decrease the portion of the bias voltage V.sub.B absorbed by transistor 7. This operation completely turns transistor 7 off in response to relatively moderate increases in the current through transistor 2. Similarly, an opposite operation turns off transistor 2 when i.sub.o is negative and transistor 7 is sinking output current. The current through transistor 2 is indicated by curve 2A in FIG. 2, and the current through transistor 7 is indicated by curve 7A in FIG. 2.
The above described push-pull operation produces signal distortion because of nonlinearity of transistors 2 and 7 and mismatches between their operating parameters. The nonlinearity results from the exponential current-voltage relationship of the transistor emitter-base junctions of output transistors 2 and 7. As one of these transistors is turning on and the other is turning off, the distortion due to the emitter-base response reaches its maximum, resulting in crossover distortion. Distortion also results from mismatches in the characteristics of transistors 2 and 7. For example, differences in current gains of transistors 2 and 7 cause a change in the output resistance as the output current i.sub.o reverses polarity.
To avoid such distortion, output stages have been developed that ensure continuous bias of the output transistors. Such bias is shown for the complementary emitter follower stage disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,228, in which the bias voltage applied between the bases of the emitter follower transistors is increased as output current increases. This is achieved by means of diodes that couple the circuit output voltage to the bias circuit. Similar circuits are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,059 (Okabe) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,951 (Tanaka). However, the complementary emitter follower stage of such circuits requires both NPN and PNP output transistors; this is frequently undesirable because most integrated circuit manufacturing processes cannot readily produce PNP transistors suitable for the higher current levels needed in the output stage. For this reason, many push-pull amplifier output stages are formed of two output transistors of the same conductivity type. Such stages are push-pull in nature, with fixed bias sources. Therefore, transistor turnoff and its distortion are present in such noncomplementary push-pull output circuit stages.
Such a stage is adapted for continuous bias in U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,021 (Widlar). There, the current in one of the output transistors is sensed and compared to a reference current. The difference found by that comparison is used to drive a feedback loop that adjusts the bias to keep the sensed transistor continuously on. However, that technique greatly increases the complexity of the output stage. For example, implementation of this technique requires addition of a differential amplifier, a reference current, a reference diode, and a sensed diode. Furthermore, this circuit forms a feedback loop containing multiple gain stages each of which adds phase delay and reduces bandwidth.
In "noncomplementary" prior art push-pull amplifier circuits, the collector of the pulldown transistor normally would be connected directly to the output terminal. Under those conditions, the output current has no effect on the bias current of the pullup transistor. The need to turn one of transistors 2 and 7 off in order to turn the other one on strongly is illustrated by the two output transistor collector current curves 2A and 7A in FIG. 2. One of the output devices 2 or 7 always is turned off when there is a significant excursion of the output current i.sub.o, obviously resulting in the crossover distortion referred to above. It should be appreciated that the "classic" complementary output stage shown in FIG. 1 is difficult to implement in integrated circuits because it is difficult to manufacture integrated circuit PNP transistors that have good characteristics under high current conditions. Integrated circuit push-pull amplifiers generally are therefore noncomplementary circuits.
Thus, the most relevant known prior art deals with the output transistor turn off problem by altering the fixed bias source, either a constant bias voltage for complementary implementations or a fixed bias current source for noncomplementary implementations. These techniques use feedback from the output to the fixed bias source in order to increase the potential of the bias source under conditions of high current conduction in one of the output transistors.

Adaptive bias circuit for preventing turnoff in a push-pull stage


The present invention is directed to novel membrane electrode assemblies, and devices and systems incorporating them. Representative membrane electrode assemblies comprise (a) a first, porous electrode; (b) a buffer layer optionally comprising an aqueous solution comprising a pH buffer; (c) a membrane; and (d) a second, porous electrode comprising a catalyst for the generation of oxygen (O2); wherein the membrane is interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the buffer layer is interposed between the membrane and the first electrode.

Flow batteries are electrochemical energy storage systems in which electrochemical reactants, typically redox active compounds, are dissolved in liquid electrolytes, which are individually contained in negative electrolyte or negolyte and positive electrolyte or posolyte loops and circulated through reaction cells, where electrical energy is either converted to or extracted from chemical potential energy in the reactants by way of reduction and oxidation reactions. Optimal performance of the flow battery relies on the ability to maintain balance between the posolyte and negolyte, both in terms of pH and state of charge. Upon extended cycling, flow batteries typically develop an imbalance in both proton and electron content between the posolyte and negolyte due to the presence of parasitic electrochemical side reactions. One reaction is the evolution of hydrogen gas from water at the negative electrode, which results in an imbalance in both the electron (state-of-charge) and proton content between the posolyte and negolyte. This imbalance, if left uncorrected, subsequently results in a decrease in system performance. An imbalanced state may be corrected by processing either the posolyte, negolyte, or both in a balancing cell (synonymously referred to as a "rebalancing cell" in this disclosure).
Various methods have been described for balancing flow battery electrolytes. These methods primarily address balancing the electron (state-of-charge) content between the posolyte and negolyte. Certain methods have been described that can be used to address the simultaneous balancing of both the electron and proton contents of these electrolytes, but none have considered the circumstance where a high pH gradient across the balancing cell membrane is used. The present invention is aimed at addressing at least this deficiency.

pH buffering region in a flow battery rebalancing cell


A pre-loaded spring mechanism includes a piezoelectric device and a pre-loaded spring operatively connected to the device. A voltage source is coupled to the piezoelectric device to apply a voltage to the device. The applied voltage causes the piezoelectric device to undergo a physical dimensional change that changes the pre-load of the spring. The pre-load of the spring is adjusted by selectively varying the voltage applied to the piezoelectric device.

The present invention relates generally to pre-loaded spring mechanisms or assemblies and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for adjusting the pre-load of a spring in a pre-loaded spring mechanism.
Springs are used in assemblies and mechanisms as a device for storing energy as a function of displacement. Energy is supplied to, and stored in, the spring by applying a force through a suitable mechanism to compress the spring. The stored energy is released from the spring by allowing it to extend through a displacement. This energy may be used as a source for motive power (including return motion), shock absorbers, vibration control, force measurement, and the like.
Often, mechanisms or assemblies that include a spring are designed to pre-load the spring to a desired pre-load setting as may be required for a particular application. Thus, the pre-loaded spring mechanism typically includes one or more structural elements that apply an axial force to the spring to compress the spring to the desired pre-load setting. In the example of an armature used to close a valve, if the pre-load of the spring is too high or too low, the armature may unexpectedly close the valve, or may fail to close the valve when doing so is necessary. In some instances, a device may have several springs, each of which should have a similar pre-load. However, each spring will exhibit its own spring characteristic and it is therefore extremely difficult to assemble a mechanism wherein all springs will have an equal pre-load. However, equal pre-loads in the multiple springs of such a mechanism may be necessary for proper and efficient operation of the device.
Since manufacturing springs with identical spring characteristics is not practical, pre-loaded spring mechanisms in the past have accounted for variations in spring pre-load by swapping shims of different thicknesses or by incorporating adjustable set screws that vary the compression of the spring. The drawbacks of these spring pre-load adjustment methods is that the assembly must be disassembled to accomplish this task, and the pre-load adjustment process is typically time consuming and inefficient.
While the invention will be described in connection with certain embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention includes all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, an apparatus and method are provided for adjusting the pre-load of a spring in a pre-loaded spring mechanism. The pre-loaded spring mechanism includes a piezoelectric device operatively coupled to a pre-loaded spring. A voltage source is operatively coupled to the piezoelectric device to apply a voltage to the device. The applied voltage causes the piezoelectric device to undergo a physical dimensional change that changes the pre-load of the spring. The pre-load of the spring is adjusted by selectively varying the voltage applied to the piezoelectric device. Different voltages can be applied to different piezoelectric devices in a spring mechanism having multiple pre-loaded springs so that each spring exhibits generally the same spring pre-load.

Apparatus and method for adjusting the pre-load of a spring


An electrical machine includes a first part-winding, a second part-winding, a core having slots in which the first and the second part-windings are wound, and a switching device for connecting the first part-winding to the second part-winding. In each of the slots, one of the two part-windings forms a bottom layer at the slot base, and the other part-winding is disposed as a top layer parallel above the bottom layer. The two part-windings are capable of being connected in parallel with the switching device during operation of the electrical machine. It is thus possible for a symmetrical field distribution to be achieved in a startup circuit. In addition, no additional components caused by harmonic fields occur in the torque curve which could impede runup.

The present invention relates, in general, to the field of electrical machines
Nothing in the following discussion of the state of the art is to be construed as an admission of prior art.
An electric machine of a type involved here includes a first part-winding, a second part-winding, a core having slots in which the first and the second part-windings are wound, and a switching device for connecting the first part-winding to the second part-winding. In the following description, the term "part-winding" relates to a winding unit which, optionally including a plurality of turns, can be connected to a winding head of the electric machine.
While star/delta startup is conventional in Europe as a starting measure for asynchronous motors for reducing the startup current, in America so-called part-winding circuits or part-winding startups are widespread. This type of startup has also been accepted as standard worldwide in refrigerator technology. With such part-winding circuits, only some of the slots have current flowing through them in the startup phase. The resultant increase in resistance and leakage in comparison with the operating circuit in which in general all of the slots have current flowing through them results in a reduction in the startup current, which naturally brings with it a corresponding reduction in the torque. The advantage of these circuits in comparison with star/delta startup consists in the fact that the motor is not isolated from the power supply system when changed over to the operating circuit, but the second part-winding is connected to the motor which is already "excited" by the first part-winding.
The disadvantage of a part-winding circuit is the asymmetrical field distribution in the startup phase, in which only the first part-winding is connected, since only some of the slots are magnetized. The resultant additional harmonic fields result in corresponding harmonic field moments, which, under certain circumstances, prevent complete runup of the motor. In this case, the motor remains "stuck" at a saddle speed during runup. This is particularly the case for the most widespread type of part-winding, in which the motor winding is split into two entirely identical part-windings.
Published European Pat. Appl. No. EP 0 238 940 B1 discloses a startup circuit which attempts to address the disadvantage of the asymmetrical field distribution in the startup phase. This circuit has, however, first and the second part-windings which are markedly different, and, during operation, currents of different levels flow into the feed lines to the respective part-winding. Accordingly, different switching devices are required for the two part-windings. This entails increased costs for the motor driving.
The object of the present invention consists in ensuring complete runup of an electrical machine with a startup circuit while keeping the costs as low as possible.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved electric machine to obviate prior art shortcomings and to ensure complete runup with a startup circuit while keeping the costs as low as possible.

Electrical machine with part-winding circuit


A pull-out guide for drawers includes a body rail to be fastened to a furniture body and at least one pull-out rail that can be moved relative to the body rail. The guide also includes an adjustment device by which a position of a drawer that is connected or can be connected to the pull-out rail can be adjusted. The adjustment device includes at least one retaining pin that can be inserted in a provided borehole of the drawer and a bearing part mounted on the pull-out rail. The bearing part is arranged at the rear end of the pull-out rail and extends at a distance to an upper side of the pull-out rail in a substantially horizontal direction in the longitudinal direction of the pull-out rail, wherein the bearing part is mounted adjustably inside the retaining pin.

The present invention concerns a pull-out guide for drawers, comprising a carcass rail to be fixed to a furniture carcass and at least one extension rail displaceable relative to the carcass rail, and an adjusting device by which a position of a drawer which is or can be connected to the extension rail is adjustable. The adjusting device has at least one holding projection which can be fitted in a provided bore in the drawer, and a mounting portion is mounted at the extension rail. The mounting portion is arranged at the rear end of the extension rail and extends in spaced relationship with a top side of the extension rail in a substantially horizontal direction in the longitudinal direction of the extension rail.
The invention further concerns a drawer and an article of furniture having a drawer pull-out guide of the kind to be described.
EP 1 147 725 B1 to the present applicant discloses a pull-out guide assembly for drawers of the general kind set forth, wherein the rearward end of a drawer can be connected to the drawer extension rail without the use of a tool by a mounting portion which is mounted to the extension rail and which is in the form of a holding nose. The holding nose is arranged at an inward end of the extension rail and extends in a substantially parallel spaced relationship relative to the top side thereof. Mounting and removal of the rearward end of the drawer relative to the extension rail is effected by pushing the drawer onto the holding nose or pulling it back therefrom. After mounting has been effected by pushing the drawer onto the holding nose, the drawer is secured at its rear end region against lifting and against lateral displacement. In order to permit inclination of the front panel of a drawer which has already been mounted in position without a substantial change of the height position of the front panel relative to the carcass, EP 1 147 725 B1 proposes making the holding nose adjustable in the heightwise direction.
DE 20 2006 003 035 U1 and DE 20 2007 014 954 U1 describe the way in which additional lateral displacement of the drawer relative to the extension rail can also be implemented. In that arrangement, a receiving component is fixed to the drawer rear wall, the receiving component having a slot-shaped opening for receiving a plate connected to the drawer extension guide. The plate is displaceable by a predetermined amount within the slot-shaped opening whereby lateral displacement of the rear end region of the drawer is also possible.


Long distance soliton lightwave communications systems are considered for next generation application in terrestrial and transoceanic environments. These systems employ a chain of lumped fiber amplifiers interconnected by long spans of dispersion shifted optical fiber. In such systems, resultant pulse distortion and dispersive wave radiation are minimized when the soliton period is long relative to the perturbation length which is the longer of either the amplification period defined in terms of the length of the optical fiber span between consecutive amplifiers or the dispersion period defined in terms of the length over which the dispersion exhibits a periodic characteristic. Additional system parameters for optimized soliton transmission include the relationships of both the path-average soliton power to the normal soliton power and the path-average dispersion from one optical fiber span to the next. Single channel and wavelength division multiplexed systems are disclosed.

Lightwave communication systems, especially, long-haul lightwave communication systems, remain under active development worldwide. Techniques and apparatus are being reported for achieving much longer communication distances at progressively higher bit rates. In such systems, fiber nonlinearities and dispersion tend to limit the available alternatives for modulation formats which can accommodate the data speed requirements while being relatively unaffected by the nonlinearities.
Since propagation of soliton pulses in optical fiber depends on the presence of group velocity dispersion in the fiber, soliton pulse propagation has been proposed as one method for transporting lightwave information in a telecommunications system. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,921 which discloses a soliton-based optical fiber telecommunications system and U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,339 which discloses a wavelength division multiplexed soliton-based optical fiber telecommunications system employing periodic Raman amplification to compensate fiber loss. In order to overcome intrinsic losses in the optical fiber, non-electronic amplification elements are disposed along the telecommunication system to amplify the soliton pulses. Non-electronic amplification elements provide amplification of the signal as a photon pulse without changing it into an electron pulse. These amplification elements include doped-fiber amplifiers, semiconductor traveling wave amplifiers, Raman amplifiers, and phase coherent, continuous wave, injection amplifiers. In the '921 patent, non-electronic amplification elements are taught as providing the additional required capability of decreasing the width of the soliton pulses while simultaneously increasing their peak power.
As the length of the entire telecommunication system exceeds several hundred kilometers, it is necessary to space amplification elements apart by a predetermined distance to form an amplification chain along the length of the optical fiber. That is, a plurality of optical amplifiers are interconnected by individual lengths of optical fiber. Spacing of amplification elements continues to be a relatively inexact science for single channel systems owing perhaps to the specification by long haul telecommunication systems designers that, for cost and future system maintenance reasons, the interamplifier spacing should be on the order of 100 km. Such a specification disregards effects on system performance and quality. In wavelength division multiplexed soliton systems, the spacing of Raman amplifier pump sources was determined to be an appropriate distance which would introduce only a small velocity (wavelength) shift of the soliton pulses. For the '339 patent, the interamplifier spacing L for Raman pump sources was determined in relation to the soliton period, z.sub.0, as z.sub.0 >L/4. In that patent, it was also recommended that the interamplifier spacing satisfying z.sub.0 <L/16 was also recommended as desirable to overcome soliton stability problems in the vicinity of z.sub.0 .apprxeq.L/8. While these guidelines exist for Raman amplification systems, there are no clear guidelines for interamplifier spacings in lumped amplifier systems such as those systems including doped-fiber amplifiers.

Long distance soliton lightwave communication system


Contact lenses are cleaned by contacting the lenses with a composition containing an effective amount of one or more cyclodextrins. The compositions can also be employed at elevated temperatures or may contain suitable antimicrobial agents in order to simultaneously clean and disinfect the lenses.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method and composition for cleaning contact lenses. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a method and composition for cleaning contact lenses with cyclodextrins while in another aspect it relates to a method for simultaneously cleaning and disinfecting contact lenses by contacting the lenses with compositions containing cyclodextrins either under elevated temperatures or in the presence of antimicrobial agents.
2. Description of Art
In the normal course of wearing contact lenses, tear film and debris consisting of proteinaceous, oily, sebaceous, and related organic matter have a tendency to deposit and build up on lens surfaces. As part of the routine and proper care regimen, contact lenses must be cleaned to remove these tear film deposits and debris. If these deposits are not properly removed, both the wettability and optical clarity of the lenses are substantially reduced causing discomfort for the wearer.
Conventionally, the cleaning of contact lenses is accomplished with one or both of two general classes of cleaners. Surfactant cleaners, generally known as "daily cleaners" because of their recommended daily use, are effective for the removal of most carbohydrate and lipid derived matter. However, they are not as effective for the removal of proteinaceous matter such as lysozyme. Proteolytic enzymes derived from plant, animal, and microbial sources are generally used to remove the proteinaceous deposits. These "enzyme" cleaners are typically recommended for weekly use and are conventionally employed by dissolving enzyme-containing tablets in suitable solutions. Both cleaners are currently recommended for proper care of contact lenses, particularly those made from hydrophilic materials.
Cyclodextrins have been known for nearly a century being first isolated from the degradation products of starch. They are cyclic oligosaccharides produced by the enzymatic degradation of starch. The degradation enzymes used are typically produced by various microorganisms such as bacilli. Generally, cyclodextrins have been commercially employed in the pharmaceutical industry as inclusion or entrapment agents for the purpose of solubilizing relatively insoluble compounds preventing the evaporation of volatile compounds stabilizing volatile or heat labile compounds, enhancing the bioavailability of certain drugs and related purposes. Hence, conventional uses of cyclodextrins involve the inclusion of an active compound into the cyclodextrin molecular structure prior to use and employ the cyclodextrin as a means for delivering the active compound.
It has now been found that cyclodextrin compositions can be employed under ambient and elevated temperatures to remove many of the deposits, which adhere to contact lenses during normal wear including, proteinaceous matter, typically the most difficult deposits to remove. These compositions contain cyclodextrins which do not contain active compounds incorporated into the cavity of the cyclodextrin. Moreover, it has been surprisingly found that the continued and regular use of cyclodextrin cleaning compositions result in an effective technique for preventing proteinaceous deposit build-up on contact lenses.

Method and composition for cleaning contact lenses with cyclodextrins


A method, system, and computer program product for creating step-based answers from multimedia content are provided. The method receives a search query including a set of search terms. A set of question characteristics is determined for the search query. The set of question characteristics are based in part on the set of search terms. The method generates a set of steps for an answer to the search query. The set of steps are generated based in part on the set of question characteristics. The method identifies media content relevant to the set of steps and segments the media content to generate a set of media segments. Each media segment of the set of media segments represent a portion of the media content. The method combines the set of media segments based on the set of steps to generate a media answer to the search query.

Network resources may contain information useful or desired by users. Users may access such network resources using search engines or search functionality to retrieve information from these network resources. Search engines and functionality often access text-based documents using natural language processing and text analysis operations to match words in a document to keywords of a search query. In searching video or other multimedia content, search engines and functionality often rely on parsing or comparing metadata describing such content in order to match keywords and retrieve relevant search results.

International Business Machines Corporation


Systems and methods for dynamically coordinating a plurality of tasks are provided. Such tasks include a priority rank and at least one of a target date, a classification, an associated application, an associated action, and an associated priority rank adjustment parameter. A particular task can be processed relative to other tasks to generate a first scheduling scheme that defines a prioritized arrangement of the tasks. Based on the priority rank adjustment parameter(s), further scheduling schemes can be generated in lieu of the first scheduling scheme, thereby accounting for the respective priority rank adjustment parameters by influencing the arrangement of the tasks relative to one another. Additionally, based on a status notification, the tasks can be processed to generate a scheduling scheme that accounts for the status notification by influencing the arrangement of the first task and the stored tasks relative to one another.

Time and project management applications, such as those that allow for the creation and management of a calendar are well known. Applications such as Microsoft Outlook enable a user to create calendar entries (such as appointments and meetings), and to further manage such entries (e.g., editing the calendar entries). Additionally, many such programs (including Outlook) incorporate 'To Do List'-type applications or features, whereby a list of items can be generated. Such a list serves as a reminder to a user to accomplish the listed items, upon which the user can designate a particular item as 'completed,' thus removing it from the list.
While such applications may suffice in certain constant and predictable scenarios, they generally do not properly account for the fact that not all tasks are of equal importance. Accordingly in such existing applications, all items are presented in a sequential or chronological manner, without regard for the fact that certain of the items are more important than others.
In addition, when unexpected circumstances arise (which can happen frequently to certain users) existing applications are often ill equipped. For example, at any given times certain items may be completed (and thus should be removed from a list and/or calendar) while other previously scheduled items remain incomplete, and thus must be rescheduled: It can be appreciated that in such traditional applications, any scheduling or rescheduling operations must be performed manually by the user. For example, if a scheduled item is not completed at the initially designated time/date, traditional scheduling applications require that the user manually adjust the scheduling parameters of the item in order to reschedule it to another time/date. Additionally, given that in traditional applications the burden of rescheduling uncompleted tasks rests solely on the user, such tasks can be easily overlooked and/or forgotten about once their initially scheduled time has passed.
Moreover, existing time and project management applications are generally configured to achieve only the limited scheduling functions for which they are configured. Accordingly, users traditionally refer to such scheduling applications to identify a particular item to perform, and then such users must proceed to take further steps to actually perform the scheduled item (e.g., manually place a phone call or compose an email message), resulting in considerable inefficiency over time. Also, such applications generally do not define or otherwise identify a particular time during which a particular task can and/or should be performed or completed.
Additionally, traditional 'To Do List' applications generally require that a user manually indicate when a particular item on the list has been completed. Accordingly, users must generally expend additional effort to return to such an application only to indicate that a particular item has been completed. Such extra steps, though necessary, result either in inefficiency (on the part of users who conscientiously mark their items upon completion), or lack of accuracy (on the part of users who are less conscientious and thus do not manually indicate the completion of each item as completed).
It can be further appreciated that traditional applications are configured to schedule items in relatively rigid ways. That is, a meeting expected to take two hours will generally be scheduled as such, after which the schedule is free and another task can be scheduled. However, in reality, the ability of a user to accurately estimate the amount of time that one or more items might take on a given day can vary widely from day to day. For instance, despite diligent planning and time estimation, during the initial stages of a project various changes and/or unexpected events can often arise, resulting in delays, time overruns, etc. Conversely, during the later stages of a project, fewer delays, overruns, etc. are expected. However, current static scheduling applications are unable to effectively account for this discrepancy.
As such, it can be appreciated that existing applications do not enable a user to effectively schedule/plan the totality of the various tasks and items that the user must attend to in a dynamic manner.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.

System and method for dynamically coordinating tasks, schedule planning, and workload management


A method of manufacturing compound semiconductor crystals, comprising the steps of, providing a compound semiconductor melt in a crucible, said melt having a composition ratio which deviates from stoichiometry, pulling a compound semiconductor crystal from said crucible by using a seed crystal, and during the pulling step, adding to the melt a constitutional element of said compound semiconductor melt which is present in less than a stoichiometric amount, the element being added in a quantity sufficient to maintain said composition ratio of the first step. An apparatus for manufacturing compound semiconductor crystals is also provided.

This invention relates to a manufacturing method of compound semiconductor crystals and to an apparatus for carrying out this method.
Recently, because of their large mobility at room temperature compared with Si single crystals, GaAs single crystals have come into widespread use as the substrate for super high speed ICs. For use as the IC substrate, there is desired a crystal that is semi-insulative and exhibits uniformity of electric properties. Especially, the undoped semi-insulative GaAs single crystal which has higher purity and shows high mobility and which is made by the direct compound LEC (liquid-encapsulated Czochralski) method using a PBN (pyrolitic boron nitride) crucible is undergoing a vigorous development.
Concerning this undoped crystal, however, the quality of being semi-insulative is sensitive to the composition. For instance, the relationships between the properties of the crystal and the composition ratio are well known (R. N. Thomas et al, "Semiconductors and Semimetals" Vol. 20, chapter 1.1, Academic Press, New York (1984)).
FIG. 1 shows the relationship between the melt composition and resistivity as well as mobility of GaAs. From this figure, it is understood that the resistivity and mobility are low in the Ga-rich compositions. In another example, the relationship between the solidified ratio of the GaAs melt and the resistivity is shown in FIG. 2 for several melt compositions. FIG. 2 shows that a crystal made from a melt in which the Ga/As mole ratio is greater than 1 does not become semi-insulative for the whole ingot. Furthermore, as shown in the following, a crystal made from a Ga-rich composition is poor in thermal stability, so that its use for semiconductor devices such as MESFET or integrated devices is not preferable. Concerning this point, FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the GaAs melt composition and the resistivity for various annealing conditions after growth. The thermal stability decreases as the Ga/As melt composition ratio exceeds 1.
As described in the previous examples, the melt composition is extremely important for the growth. Therefore, pulling of a GaAs single crystal is usually performed by setting the initial melt composition at a slightly As-rich (Ga/As mole ratio.ltoreq.1) condition.
However, uniformity of electrical properties along the pull up axis is not sufficient, and the unevenness of the electric properties in the resulting wafer plane increases as the solidifying proceeds. Furthermore, polycrystallization is observed to a large degree. These effects occur because the As ratio in the As-rich GaAs melt increases as the solidifying proceeds.
On the other hand, an attempt has been made by introducing As vapor into a Ga-rich melt to control the GaAs melt composition (32th Spring Conference, p. 724, 1985, Japan Applied Physics Society). In this attempt, the tip opening of an ampoule containing As lumps is inserted upside down into the surface region of a GaAs melt, and then the ampoule is heated with a heater during the pulling process. This experimental result showed that the crystal is grown in the form of a Ga-rich to As-rich crystal along the GaAs ingot. Furthermore, it is difficult to detect the GaAs melt composition and the amount of introduced As during the pulling step because of the use of the As vapor, and it is thereby also difficult to control the composition of GaAs melt.

Methods of manufacturing compound semiconductor crystals and apparatus for the same


Some of the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a transistor comprising a p-type well; and an n-type well; wherein at least a part of one of the p-type well and the n-type well overlaps with at least a part of another of the p-type well and the n-type well. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) devices are generally used in high voltage applications. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a cross sectional view of a laterally diffused n-type metal oxide semiconductor (LDNMOS) transistor 100 (also referred to herein as LDNMOS 100). LDNMOS 100 is formed on a semiconductor wafer 102-1. P-type well (also referred to herein as PW) 120-1 and n-type well (also referred to herein as NW) 124-1 are formed on the wafer 102-1. A junction between PW 120-1 and NW 124-1 is labeled as 128-1 in FIG. 1.
LDNMOS 100 includes body region 104-1, source region 108-1, drain region 112-1, and poly gate 116-1. The LDNMOS 100 also includes shallow trench isolation (STI) regions 132-1, 134-1, 136-1 and 138-1. Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, the poly gate 116-1 is coupled to one or more other components of the LDNMOS 100 (e.g., to portions of the source region 108-1, PW 120-1, NW 124-1, and/or STI region 136-1) through one or more layers (e.g., a gate oxide layer).
A channel is formed in PW 120-1 between the source region 108-1 and the junction 128-1. A width of the channel is indicated as Lch-1. Also, an extension of the NW 124-1, between the STI region 136-1 and the junction 128-1, is marked as Ld-1.
Although the LDNMOS 100 exhibits high voltage tolerance, in various applications, it is desirable to further increase the voltage tolerance of the LDNMOS device 100. Such relatively high voltage tolerance may make the LDNMOS device suitable for even higher voltage applications.
The description in this section is related art, and does not necessarily include information disclosed under 37 C.F.R. 1.97 and 37 C.F.R. 1.98. Unless specifically denoted as prior art, it is not admitted that any description of related art is prior art.

Laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) device with overlapping wells


A device for the filtration of a complex fluid composition such as blood, includes a base (12) with a bottom (18), a top (14) with a bottom (30), and a membrane (16) that is arranged between the base and the top so as to define a low chamber C1 and a high chamber C2, with an input tap (26) of the complex composition that is to be filtered emptying into the low chamber C1, an output tap (28) of the retentate with elements for adjusting the flow rate emptying into this same low chamber C1, and an output tap (36, 36-1) of the high chamber C2, whereby this output tap (36, 36-1) of the permeate is subjected to negative pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for the filtration of a complex liquid such as blood, in particular able to be integrated in a device for processing blood for the purpose of an autotransfusion.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that the filtration of blood so as to remove impurities or certain compounds in particular in the case of an autotransfusion poses numerous problems, in particular the clogging of filtering surfaces.
The pores of these filtering surfaces are modified as the filtration conditions proceed, although the filtration flow rate decreases until it becomes zero.
Hereinafter, the example that is adopted is blood, which is a heterogeneous medium, the filtration device according to this invention being applied for any liquid composition that has identical problems. Thus, the presence of proteins of more or less significant molecular weights as well as cellular elements is found in the blood. If a filtration threshold is provided to eliminate them, these protein chains and cellular elements will block the pores of the filtration surface preventing the passage of elements to be filtered, and even water.
It is also noted that the permeation in the existing membranes occurs perpendicular to the surface, whereby the liquid volume that is to be filtered is placed above the membrane, and the filtrate is below. Placing under vacuum also makes it possible to promote the passage unless clogging occurs, because then the negative pressure promotes the plating of the clogging layer and on the contrary emphasizes this phenomenon.
This phenomenon can also be aggravated by the deposition of certain elements that compose the liquid phase that is to be filtered. In this case, gravity has a tendency to make these elements accumulate on the filtering surface, accelerating the clogging phenomenon, all the more if there is negative pressure. One solution would consist in stirring the composition that is to be filtered, but this is not easy to achieve if simple systems are sought.
If it is desired, for example, to integrate such a filtration device, for example in an autotransfuser such as the one that is described in French Patent Application No. 2,874,327, such stirring means are not conceivable.

Device for the filtering a complex liquid such as blood, in particularly applicable to an autotransfuser


Wheelchair devices and systems that have wheels with adjustable camber. The device has a bracket attached to a wheelchair and a receiver configured to couple to the axle of the wheel. The position of the receiver relative to the bracket can be adjusted by the user to alter the position of the axle relative to the bracket, thereby altering the camber in the rear wheel. A top portion of the rear wheel can remain in a vertical plane of travel regardless of the amount of camber in the wheel and a bottom portion of the rear wheel can remain in a horizontal plane.

Wheelchair camber is an angling of the rear wheels of a wheelchair relative to a conventional wheel that is vertical. If the wheelchair has cambered rear wheels, the top of the wheels are closer to the rider and the bottom of the wheels are farther away. Camber is conventionally measured in degrees from perpendicular relative to the surface on which the wheel rests. A higher degree represents a more angled wheel (relative to a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the ground). For example, a zero degree camber is defined as a wheel camber where the axle of the wheel is positioned horizontally and thus the wheels are located perpendicular to the ground in a vertical plane.
As camber is increased, the width of the wheelchair across the bottom increases. This adds lateral stability to the system by increasing the wheelchairs footprint which can be useful, for example, on hills. Increasing the camber can also place the push rims in a more ergonomic position for pushing and makes turning the wheelchair quicker.
Too much camber, however, can make fitting through doorways and other tight spaces a problem. What is needed then is a wheelchair with a wheel camber that can be easily be adjustable lower or having a smaller degree of camber to fit through doorways, and easily adjustable higher or having a greater degree of camber to give the rider stability, better control of the wheelchair and other benefits.

Adjustable camber wheelchair devices, systems and methods


A toner including a petroleum wax, wherein the petroleum wax comprises a paraffin wax having a polarity.

Images and letters are conventionally formed by printings on cover sheets of brochures and books and used for predetermined purposes. It is desired that the cover sheets of brochures and books are protected with a film according to their applications, e.g., protected from water and contamination, or for having gloss. Methods of protecting the cover sheets include overprint, vinyl coating, press coating, filming, etc. These methods make printed surfaces treated after printed. Among these methods, varnish applications are mostly used to form a protection (film) layer to protect printed surfaces with films.
Meanwhile, information frequently changes, and printers capable of producing variable information, e.g., partially changing the information increase. On-demand printings are used for this, and printings at higher speed are desired.
Electrophotographic and inkjet image forming apparatuses are used for on-demand printings, and the electrophotographic image forming apparatuses using a toner are mostly used to produce printings including images.
The electrophotographic image forming method reproduce an image color by transferring a powdery color material called a toner to a recording material such as papers. A fixer fixing a toner uses a roller, etc., formed of a material having good releasability. In order to further improve separability between the roller and a recording material after the toner is fixed, a large amount of oil is applied to the surface of the roller.
However, when a large amount of oil is applied to the surface of the roller, the recording material is contaminated with the oil. In addition, the fixer needs a space containing the oil and becomes complicated and large, resulting in cost increase.
Therefore, recently, electrophotographic image forming apparatuses have needed oilless mechanism without offset prevention mechanism with silicone oil for the purpose of simplifying the fixer and preventing the oil from influencing images such as oil contaminations and oil stripes. In addition, the oil is not applied to the fixing roller to improve fixability of a toner at from low to high temperatures. Instead, a wax is included in a toner.
Offset printings use some commercially-available varnishes to form protection layers on their printed surfaces. However, when the commercially-available varnishes are used in the electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, the wax included in a toner and the varnish do not match each other.
In order to solve this problem, Japanese published unexamined application No. 2007-277547 discloses a varnish composition and a preparation method thereof improving coatability on a toner layer with a water-based film former excluding ammonium and having a low static surface tension to oil-coated printed materials produced by electrophotographic oil fixing methods.
This prevents the varnish composition from being repelled by a fixing oil from the fixing roller applied all over a printed material due to its low static surface tension when applied thereto.
However, even when the varnish can be coated on a toner image formed of a wax-containing toner without being repelled on a printed material produced by electrophotographic image forming methods using a wax-containing toner, adherence between the varnish layer hardened after coated and the toner image is low, resulting in possible peeling of the varnish layer.
Japanese Patent No. 2522333 discloses electrophotographic image forming methods on metallic containers. Directly or through an electroconductive covering layer, a photoconductive titanium oxide photosensitive layer, a toner image layer and a finishing varnish layer are sequentially layered on a metallic container. However, high-frequency induction heating instead of a fixer including a fixing roller is used to heat metallic containers to fix a toner image thereon, and therefore there is no problem of adherence of a recording material to the fixing roller. A wax is used as a binder such that the toner adheres to the metallic container and is different from a wax preventing a recording material from adhering to the fixing roller.
Because of these reasons, a need exists for a wax-containing toner forming a toner image on which a varnish layer having a practical adhesion strength and glossiness for long periods can be formed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Toner, printed material, method of preparing printed material and image forming apparatus having varnish application means


An assembly for securing roof panels at selectable pitch angles includes a ridge beam having a horizontal ledge for contacting the underside of the upper edge of roof panels and a horizontally extending drip flange which overlies this ledge and provides a downwardly open cap channel. A sealing strip of elongated elastomeric material is slidably received in this cap channel and also is provided with a downwardly open flange channel therein which coextends therewith and receives and grips the upper edge of an elongated ridge cover flange therein and the lower portion of the cover flange extends over the top of the upper edge of the roof panels. This ridge cover flange is thus permitted to pivotly adjust vertically within the elastomeric strip to mate with the pitch of the roof panels to be covered by the cover flange at the upper ends of the roof panels. The roof panels are supported by roof support bars or rafters which in turn are supported at their upper ends from the ridge beam by pivot brackets, which, in turn, are comprised of a ridge clip support for securement to the ridge beam, which support is provided with a shelf having an upperwardly facing concave seat, and a ridge clip for securement to the upper end of a rafter beam. The ridge clip has a head portion that rests on the seat of the ridge clip support for vertical pivotal hinge movement of the clip.

This invention relates generally to an assembly for supporting roof panels at selected pitch angles and standardized components thereof which can be adjusted to provide the selected roof pitch.
The variable pitch ridge beam assembly of the present invention is particularly adaptable to lean-to type structures which are added to new or existing construction, the most popular of which are referred to as solar or sun rooms, in which at least a greater portion of the roof and walls are constructed of glass pannels. Of course, solid pannels may be substituted for the glass pannels where and as desired.
A better understanding of the background of the present invention may be obtained by referring to U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,646 which issued on Feb. 16, 1988 for Variable Pitch Roof Support Assembly And Components Thereof.
When constructing a variable pitch ridge beam assembly for supporting roof panels at selectable pitch angles, it has to be kept in mind that these lean-to or sun room structures will be going out to many different contractors with varied experience for erection. Accordingly, the lean-to construction and assembly must be as simple as possible and readily understood by all contractors who will have to construct the sun room package, yet provide a structure which is effectively sealed from the elements. This problem is even further complicated when attempting to incorporate a variable pitch roof assembly into the lean-to structure.
Existing variable pitch beam assemblies are plagued with problems of either inadequate weather sealing or they are over complex.
For example, all existing variable pitch ridge beam assemblies incorporate a ridge cover flange, which is in some manner secured to the ridge beam and overlies the top of the roof panels to seal the upper edge of the roof pannels from the outside elements. However, some rely on caulking as the only and final seal between the cap or cover flange and the ridge beam.
For example in one variable pitch beam assembly presently on the market, the horizontally extending ridge cover flange that covers the top of the roof panels has an upwardly extending and coextending flange extension portion that is secured to the ridge beam by nails or screws and this portion of the cover flange permits the entire flange to vertically rock up or down against the ridge beam on the nails or screws so that the bottom portion of the cover flange that over laps the roof panels will mate with the roof panels for the designated variable pitch that is selected for the roof.
This construction means that the screws or nails must pass through a portion of the cover flange thereby providing areas for possible air leaks and water leaks, and in addition, an air tight seal is not provided between the ridge beam and the cover flange.
Another type of variable ridge beam assembly, as is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,646, which issued on Feb. 16, 1988 for Variable Pitch Roof Support Assembly And Components Thereof, apparently provides an effective seal, unlike the above-mentioned product, but it is more complex and expensive to manufacture and install. In this patented structure, a long horizontally extending arcuate flange projects laterally outward from the ridge beam and curves downward, and this arcuate flange is further provided with longitudinal grooves so that this arcuate elongated flange may be shortened by breaking off longitudinal segments thereof along these longitudinal grooves or scores so that the arcuate flange will meet the roof panels at their selected pitch. In addition, this arcuate downwardly curving cover flange is not of a flexible nature in that the flange as a whole cannot pivot and therefore the cover flange as a whole cannot pivot to meet slight variations in roof pitch, as the ridgid arcuate flange is designed to be broken off only at specific or along designated break points. In addition, because the arcuate ridgid flange in an integral extruded part of the ridge beam, there is no thermal break between the cover flange and the ridge beam.
It is an important object of the present invention to provide a variable pitch ridge beam assembly which is inexpensive to manufacture and assemble and which is also convenient and readily understood by construction personnel, thereby minimizing any possible construction errors while still providing a quality variable pitch ridge beam assembly which will not leak and which further provides a maximum seal from the elements.

Variable pitch roof ridge beam assembly and components thereof


A self-locking parcel delivery apparatus and method includes a tamper-resistant compartment beneath a bench seat and insulated for protecting delivered parcels. The apparatus includes a lid that is held open magnetically until proactively released to close and locked by a remote user via a software application running on a mobile communications device. The apparatus may be operated in conjunction or cooperation with a software application associated with a video motion detection system so that a remote user can authenticate a supposed delivery person and then, using another software app, activate a remote delivery container to be made ready to receive a delivered parcel.

This invention relates generally to parcel delivery devices having "smart" components for remote access and, more particularly, to a smart parcel delivery system that enables an owner to open a magnet secured parcel receiving apparatus after first authenticating an on-premises or on-porch motion detection via a video motion detection system (e.g. a video doorbell). In other words, a resident may be notified by a video motion system (such as the video doorbell system marketed as the RING™ doorbell) that a potential delivery man is approaching and then, once confirmed by a resident, an associated delivery container having a magnet locking assembly may be remotely actuated so that a parcel may be left and then automatically locked or locked until a next delivery is made in the same manner.
Online shopping continues to grow nationally and internationally. In the U.S., online retail sales estimates range from $250 billion to $459 billion. In recent years there has been an estimated 5.9% to 8.8% increase per year across the board. This same upward trend is expected in the future because of convenience to the consumer and efficiency for the seller. However, the downside of e-commerce for sellers is that packages are frequently stolen: burglars may tail a delivery driver and pounce on the merchandise as soon as the driver is out of sight. In 2015, 11 million Americans have had packages stolen from their homes and, in 2018, it is estimated that 23 million Americans will have packages stolen.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a package delivery system that may be placed on the premises of a residence or business that securely receives delivered parcels in a manner that is secure, clandestine, and convenient. The package delivery system may have one or more secure and tamper-resistant compartments that may also serve as a bench seat and may also be insulated for protecting delivered parcels, such as those with perishable items, from weather and temperature elements.

Tamper resistant self-locking package delivery system


A tray attachment is provided for use with household items. A first embodiment and a second embodiment allow the tray attachment to be used with horizontal features (e.g. tables) and vertical features (e.g. arm rests). For use with horizontal features, the first embodiment uses a pair of clamps and handles connected below a planar surface. The clamps can be pressed against the bottom of a table, held in place thanks to the interaction between a locking mechanism and retention mechanism. A planar body serves is connected atop the carriage and serves as a tray, including an indent for holding items such as plates or cups. In the second embodiment a moveable clamp jaw is clamped against a stationary clamp jaw by means of a carriage which slides along an elongated track. The planar body again serves as a tray, effectively extending the usable area of a table or similar feature.

Raising a child is a challenging and stressful task. Eighteen years of care and responsibility can amount to immense stress and joy. A significant portion of that stress is a result of kids being messy and unorganized, the majority of the time occurring during a meal of some sorts. This is especially prominent in food service institutes such as restaurants and cafeterias. Due to their small size, children usually can't sit at the table comfortably so most food service companies provide a booster seat for kids. While this seat adequately compensates for the child's lack of height, it doesn't provide an eating surface. The present invention seeks to provide a universally adaptable tray device for horizontal and vertical surfaces of furniture, like the booster seat. The present invention is a quick and easy to use tray that may be attached to the vast majority of furniture. It is ideal for providing an eating surface for kids wherever they sit. Since one of the top priorities restaurants and other food service institutes have is cleanliness, this invention is ideally suited for them. Providing a child with a tray to eat off reduces the amount of food and other food service items that will end up on the surrounding surfaces and the floor. This reduces the stress on the parents since in such situations the parents feel embarrassed of their kid's actions. In addition, as a result of the present invention, the work load for the employees of said restaurant is lighter. Furthermore, due to the present invention's universal fastening means, it may be used in conjunction with a multitude of different chairs and tables. The present invention may also be utilized in the same manner at home. The present invention may be attached to a crib, a children's chair, and on any table surface. The present invention may also act as a normal flat surface. One could use it to hold writing utensils, make-up, remotes, wireless mouse and keyboards, flowers, paint palettes, and other light items. The present invention is an ideal accessory to have around the house because it is compatible with majority of the furniture in a household. The present invention is not limited to use with children, and indeed may be applied in any situation or environment where table space is limited or unavailable.
Another potential application of the present invention is the medical field; health care professionals may find themselves in situations where temporary planar surfaces are desirable. For example, the present invention may be used to provide a temporary table or tray for the placement of medical devices, tools, or even personal belongings. The present invention could be secured to counters, bed frames, chairs, and other existing items. Beyond household and medical use, other examples of potential applications include but are not limited to restaurants, office settings, and travel.


A support device for supporting a substantially vertical pole within an open-topped receptacle comprising a substantially vertical open-topped tube secured to a first flat plate. The first flat plate is locatable within the receptacle, and a second flat plate is locatable outside the receptacle. The two plates are secured to one another by suitable securing means such that part of the receptacle is trapped therebetween.

Garden umbrellas or the like are usually supported by inserting the umbrella pole through a central aperture formed in a garden table. The lower end of this pole is then inserted into a container, via an aperture therein. The container is situated below the table and is usually filled with water or sand for added stability. However, in the absence of the table, this method of support is inadequate for supporting the considerable weight of a garden umbrella or the like.
Commonly used methods for supporting a rotary clothes line comprise inserting a length of tube or a spike into the ground. In the case of concrete patios, this involves a permanent installation which cannot be moved. In the case of inserting a tube or spike into a lawn, it is especially advantageous to be able to vary the position of the clothes line so that particular areas of the lawn do not get worn due to constant treading. Also, in wet weather, the ground becomes wet and muddy, resulting in the possibility of the installation working loose, which is clearly disadvantageous.
It is known to provide support to the stems of plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, runner beans, etc., and to support saplings throughout their early stages of growth. Typically, such plants or saplings are grown in easily transportable pots or receptacles, prior to being transplanted into the ground. Fruit bearing plants such as tomatoes generally require more support than, for example, young saplings which are inherently more rigid and carry less weight.
A commonly used method of supporting plant stems within plant receptacles, is to use lengths of bamboo cane, or the like, inserted vertically into the earth within the receptacle next to the plant. The stem of the plant may then be loosely tied to the cane in stages as the plant grows. However, a common problem when using bamboo canes, is that they provide only limited support in windy conditions, the canes themselves being easily damaged. It is particularly difficult to provide the plants with adequate support when using a cane inserted into the soil within a small receptacle, since the length of cane inserted within the limited depth of the soil within the receptacle is typically relatively short when compared with the overall vertical length of the cane. In the event that the support, in this case bamboo canes, collapses, then substantial damage occurs to the plant.
A plant support device has been disclosed in published Patent Specification GB2307170A which encloses the stem of a plant. However, although the arrangement disclosed in GB2307170A is clearly effective in supporting the stem of a plant as long as the support device itself is sufficiently stable, it is often difficult to ensure that the support device is in fact stable, thereby reducing its effectiveness. Furthermore, it is often the case that a simple cane, inserted into the soil within a plant receptacle, is more advantageous, under certain circumstances, than more complicated plant support devices, for instance if space is limited. Therefore, it is clearly advantageous to provide a plant support device, such as for example, that disclosed in GB2307170A or, alternatively, a simple cane or the like, with additional stability.
The present invention therefore seeks to provide an improved support device.


The present invention relates generally to human fingerprints. More specifically the present invention relates to assessing the quality of a fingerprint image. An assessment is made by analyzing characteristics of image sub-regions. For example, the characteristics may include statistics that are associated with a sub-region. If a sub-region is found to have unacceptable characteristics, it can be modified through a morphological operation to compensate for the unacceptable characteristics.

Biometrics is a science that can be used to measure and analyze physiological characteristics, such as fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, facial patterns and hand geometry. Some biometrics technologies involve measurement and analysis of behavioral characteristics, such as voice patterns, signatures, and typing patterns. Because biometrics, especially physiological-based technologies, measures qualities that an individual usually cannot change, it can be especially effective for authentication and identification purposes.
Fingerprint-based identification is one of the oldest successful biometric-based identification methods. Each person has a set of unique, typically immutable fingerprints. A fingerprint includes a series of ridges and valleys (or "furrows") on the surface of a finger. The uniqueness of a fingerprint can be determined by a pattern of ridges and furrows, as well as minutiae points. Minutiae points are local ridge characteristics that generally occur at either a ridge bifurcation or at a ridge ending.
Fingerprint matching techniques can be placed into two general categories: minutiae-based and correlation-based matching. Minutiae-based techniques first find minutiae points and then map their relative placement on the finger. Each minutiae point may include a placement location (e.g., an x, y coordinate in an image or spatial domain) and a directional angle. (The curious reader is directed to, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,859,633 and 3,893,080, both to Ho et al., which discuss fingerprint identification based upon fingerprint minutiae matching. Each of these patent documents is herein incorporated by reference.) The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) distributes public domain software for fingerprint analysis. The software is available from the Image Group at NIST under the name NIST FINGERPRINT IMAGE SOFTWARE (NFIS), which includes a minutiae detector called, MINDTCT. MINDTCT automatically locates and records ridge ending and bifurcations in a fingerprint image (e.g., identifies minutiae locations). NFIS also includes a pattern classification module called PCASYS.
Correlation techniques correlate normalized versions of fingerprint images to determine if a first fingerprint image (control) matches a second fingerprint image (sample). (The curious reader is direction to, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,134,340 and 5,067,162, which discuss correlation techniques even further. Each of these patent documents is herein incorporated by reference.).
Other fingerprinting efforts have focused on locating or analyzing the so-called fingerprint "core". U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,224 to Hara discloses an approach for preprocessing fingerprints to correctly determine a position of a core of each fingerprint image for later matching by minutiae patterns. U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,642 to Hsu et al. is directed to a method for determining the actual position of a core point of a fingerprint based upon finding ridge flows and assigning a direction code, correcting the ridge flows, and allocating the core point based upon the corrected direction codes. Each of these patents is herein incorporated by reference.
Despite the work in the prior art, there are still problems to be solved, and improvements to be made. For example, quality of an original fingerprint image can be poor—due to imaging issues or physical conditions (e.g., wetness, dryness, etc.) when sampling a fingerprint. When fingerprint quality is poor, the print may contain local ridge pattern distortion, which may result in an incorrect analysis of the fingerprint.
Accordingly, one inventive aspect of the invention provides a method to assess the quality of fingerprint images using local statistics of a captured fingerprint. Assessing the quality of a fingerprint is vital, e.g., to determine whether a fingerprint should be recaptured or whether a fingerprint image should be modified or enhanced.
This disclosure also includes systems and methods for hiding fingerprint minutiae information in a photographic image (e.g., a photograph carried by an ID document). The fingerprint minutiae information is represented as a so-called digital watermark component.
Digital watermarking is a process for modifying physical media or electronic signals to embed a machine-readable code into the media or signals. The media or signals may be modified such that the embedded code is imperceptible or nearly imperceptible to the user, yet may be detected through an automated detection process.
Digital watermarking systems typically have two primary components: an encoder that embeds the watermark in a host signal, and a decoder that detects and reads the embedded watermark from a signal suspected of containing a watermark (a suspect signal). The encoder embeds a watermark by altering the host signal. The reading component analyzes a suspect signal to detect whether a watermark is present. In applications where the watermark encodes information, the reader extracts this information from the detected watermark. Several particular watermarking techniques have been developed. The reader is presumed to be familiar with the literature in this field. Some techniques for embedding and detecting imperceptible watermarks in media signals are detailed in assignee's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,862,260 and 6,614,914. Each of these patent documents is herein incorporated by reference.
Further features and advantages will become even more apparent with reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Statistical quality assessment of fingerprints


A method for advancing pointers in a memory including a sequence of N data points of a stage M of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) whose first stage is stage 0, the N data points including N/2 a data points and N/2 B data points, the N data points are stored in the memory in 2M groupings of a data points, each of the groupings having 2(Log2N)xe2x88x921xe2x88x92M data points, and each of the groupings is followed by a grouping of 2(Log2N)xe2x88x921xe2x88x92M B data points, the method including the steps of a) setting a pointer index Ap equal to the binary value of the data point memory index corresponding to the first A data point in the memory, b) setting a pointer index Bp equal to the binary value of the data point memory index corresponding to the first B data point in the memory, c) setting a first binary bit mask value R1 equal to 2(Log2N)xe2x88x921xe2x88x92M+1, d) setting a second binary bit mask value R2 equal to 2(Log2N)xe2x88x921xe2x88x92M, e) advancing the Bp pointer index to the data point memory index corresponding to the next B data point in the memory by e1) adding the Ap pointer index value to R1, e2) ORing the results of step e1) with R2, and e3) setting the B pointer index value equal to the results of step e2), and f) advancing the Ap pointer index to the data point memory index corresponding to the next A data point in the memory by f1) adding the Ap pointer index value to R1, f2) ANDing the results of step f1) with the bit-inverted value of R2, and f3) setting the Ap pointer index value equal to the results of step f2).

The present invention relates to Digital Signal Processing (DSP) in general, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for improved xe2x80x9cin-placexe2x80x9d memory pointer management in support of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) calculations.
A Digital Signal Processor. (DSP) is a special-purpose computer that is designed to optimize digital signal processing tasks such as Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT), digital filtering, image processing, and speech recognition. DSP applications are typically characterized by real-time operation, high interrupt rates, and intensive numeric computations. In addition, DSP applications tend to be intensive in memory access operations and require the input and output of large quantities of data.
FFT data are made up of a sequence of N data points, where one data point comprises two data values, one real and one imaginary. The data points are grouped into N/2 xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d data points and N/2 xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d data points where each FFT butterfly operation as shown in FIG. 1 operates on one A data point (AR,AI) and one B data point (BR,BI) together with various coefficients (WR,WI) to yield (XR,XI) and (YR,YI) which provide the A and B data points for the next stage of the FFT operation. The selection of data points as A and B data points for each FFT butterfly operation varies with each stage of the FFT.
The following table labeled Table 1xe2x80x94FFT (A,B) Groupings illustrates the (A,B) data point groupings required for each stage of an FFT having a sequence of 16 data points numbered 0 through 15.
The following table labeled Table 2xe2x80x94FFT A/B Dispositions illustrates the A/B disposition of each FFT data point at each stage of a 16-data point FFT:
In DSP architectures that perform FFT calculations data are read from and written to memory in several stages. Some DSP architectures employ separate memory spaces for input data and output data. In such a memory arrangement the results of one FFT stage may be written in the order of the A and B data point selection of the next stage, allowing for incremental advancing of pointers to the A and B data point memory addresses. The following table labeled Table 3xe2x80x94A/B Sort Order illustrates a theoretical FFT data point ordering that is pointer-optimized for each stage of a 16-data point FFT:
In order to reduce the amount of memory required for FFT, xe2x80x9cin-placexe2x80x9d memory management schemes have been developed whereby the FFT input data memory space is overwritten with the results of FFT calculations, thus eliminating the need for an additional memory space for storing the results at each stage of the FFT. Unfortunately, such a memory arrangement results in the data points being stored in memory in data point sort order as shown in Table 2 rather than in A/B sort order as shown in Table 3 for stages subsequent to stage 0, thus precluding incremental advancing of pointers to the A and B data point memory addresses. While memory address look-up tables or hard-coded memory addresses may be used, such approaches negate the memory efficiencies of xe2x80x9cin-placexe2x80x9d FFT.
The present invention seeks to provide methods and apparatus for improved xe2x80x9cin-placexe2x80x9d memory pointer management in support of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) calculations.
There is thus provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present. invention a method for advancing pointers in a memory including a sequence of N data points of a stage M of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) whose first stage is stage 0, the N data points including N/2 A data points and NV/2 B data points, the N data points are stored in the memory in 2M groupings of A data points, each of the groupings having 2(Log2N)xe2x88x921xe2x88x92M data points, and each of the groupings is followed by a grouping of 2(Log2N)xe2x88x921xe2x88x92M B data points, the method including the steps of a) setting a pointer index Ap equal to the binary value of the data point memory index corresponding to the first A data point in the memory, b) setting a pointer index Bp equal to the binary value of the data point memory index corresponding to the first B data point in the memory, c) setting a first binary bit mask value R1 equal to 2(Log2N)xe2x88x921xe2x88x92M+1, d) setting a second binary bit mask value R2 equal to 2(Log2N)xe2x88x921xe2x88x92M, e) advancing the Bp pointer index to the data point memory index corresponding to the next B data point in the memory by e1) adding the Ap pointer index value to R1, e2) ORing the results of step e1) with R2, and e3) setting the Bp pointer index value equal to the results of step e2), and f) advancing the Ap pointer index to the data point memory index corresponding to the next A data point in the memory by f1) adding the Ap pointer index value to R1, f2) ANDing the results of step f1) with the bit-inverted value of R2, and f3) setting the Ap pointer index value equal to the results of step f2).
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the method further includes repeating steps e) and f) more than one time.
Still further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the method further includes repeating steps e) and f) until the Ap pointer index equals the data point memory index corresponding to the last of the A data points in the memory and the Bp pointer index equals the data point memory index corresponding to the last of the B data points in the memory.
It is appreciated throughout the specification and claims that the term xe2x80x9cdata pointxe2x80x9d refers to a pairing of two data values, a real value and an imaginary value.
It is also appreciated throughout the specification and claims that the term xe2x80x9cdata point memory indexxe2x80x9d refers to the minimum number of addressing bits needed to uniquely identify one data point from another within a single memory space.

FFT pointer mechanism for FFT memory management


The invention relates to assays for measuring the effect of a inactive test substance on a lipid bilayer, kits for measuring the effects of test substances on lipid bilayers and an apparatus for performing a high through-put assay that measures the effect of test substances on a lipid bilayer.

The classical, somewhat simplistic, view of the lipid bilayer component of biological membranes is a flexible selectively permeable barrier that separates different cellular compartments. More recently it has been shown that the lipid bilayer is dynamic and actively involved in membrane protein localization and function. A typical membrane contains over 200 distinct types of lipids and changes in bilayer composition can regulate numerous biological functions.
The lipid bilayer is involved in regulating membrane protein function because the bilayer is coupled to its embedded membrane proteins by hydrophobic interactions; the hydrophobic core of the bilayer shields the hydrophobic surface of the membrane proteins and vice versa. The shielding of the hydrophobic surfaces leads to hydrophobic adaptation of the relatively soft bilayer to the more rigid protein. This adaptation incurs an energetic cost, meaning that the hydrophobic coupling between membrane proteins and the host bilayer causes the equilibrium distribution between different membrane protein conformational states to depend on the bilayer's ability to adapt to the transmembrane hydrophobic domains off these different states. Therefore, changes in bilayer composition and material properties can modify membrane protein function—and it is well-established that experimental maneuvers that change the lipid bilayer hydrophobic thickness or monolayer curvature, e.g. by altering acyl chain length or lipid head group size, cause changes in protein function.
The bilayer's collective properties are determined not only by the lipid composition but also by the proteins and amphipathic molecules (amphiphiles) imbedded in the hydrophobic continuum.
Amphiphiles can accumulate at the cell membranes' bilayer/solution interface and thereby change the bilayer properties. A large portion of commercially available drugs are amphiphiles, and it long has been known that many drugs are membrane modulators—meaning that they, in addition to binding to their cognate protein binding sites, adsorb to the bilayer/solution interface to alter bilayer properties. In fact, many drugs and other molecules that are used to manipulate biological functions modify bilayer collective properties at physiologically/pharmacologically relevant concentrations to such an extent as to alter membrane protein function (such as genistein, neurotoxins, capsaicin, butanedione monoxime, anti-fusion peptides, curcumin, and poly-unsaturated fatty acids).
This is important because many new drug leads are amphiphiles, and they seem to be increasingly hydrophobic in nature. That is, many current drug leads have physico-chemical properties that are likely to make them potent modifiers of bilayer collective properties. This means that these compounds are likely to alter the function of a wide variety of membrane proteins, in addition to their desired target(s).
Side effects caused by high doses of these drugs therefore can be due to their effect on the bilayer collective properties. This raises questions as to which drugs and at what concentrations will alter lipid bilayer properties sufficiently to promiscuously alter membrane protein function.
Current drug development relies heavily on high throughput screening for drug lead discovery. Large libraries of millions of small molecules are commonly screened for a desired function often resulting in thousands of potential leads. These molecules need to be further screened to verify their specific interaction with the drug target and their suitability as potential drugs.
There are a number of methods available to measure bilayer collective properties, including: small-angle x-ray scattering (for measuring changes in bilayer thickness and intrinsic lipid curvature), membrane inserted fluorescent probes (to measure changes in the order and dynamics of the bilayer hydrophobic core) and micropipette aspiration methods (for measuring changes in bilayer elasticity). These methods usually detect changes in just a specific subset of bilayer properties under rather non-physiological conditions, and it may be difficult to relate the measured changes to changes in membrane protein function.
A broadly applicable method for determining changes in membrane collective properties in physiological systems is the gramicidin A (gA) channel-based method, because the channels' structural simplicity minimizes the risk that the changes in channel function are due to direct channel-drug interactions. gA single-channel electrophysiology has been studied extensively to examine many different questions, specifically, to measure non-specific membrane effects of marketed and investigational drugs. Using the single-channel technique, changes in bilayer collective properties have been measured for a variety of lipid compositions and after the addition of different small molecules. When working at the single-channel level, it is possible to directly monitor different gA channel properties. But to calculate population averages, it is necessary to collect hundreds of stochastic single channel events for each condition. Additionally the gA signal channel events are tiny (conductance is in the pA range) requiring specialized electrophysiological equipment to achieve the necessary signal-to noise ratio. To successfully test just one compound and/or lipid composition may take a highly trained person days, if not weeks, of collecting/analyzing single channel events. Only a limited number of molecules therefore have been tested in detail with the gA channel method, because the assay requires measurement of large quantities of single channel events, requiring an extensive experimental effort to test a single condition.

High throughput screen for measuring membrane effects