The present disclosure discloses a method and a system for storing data in a data storage system of a Virtual Storage Area Network (VSAN). The method comprises receiving, by a server management system, a request message for storing data, from an array controller of a first node among a plurality of nodes of a Virtual Storage Area Network (VSAN) cluster, where each of the plurality of nodes comprises a pair of array controllers and a data storage unit, identifying a second node from the plurality of nodes, for storing the data in a data storage unit of the second node and routing the data to an array controller of the second node, for storing the data in the data storage unit, for effectively utilizing the data storage unit of the VSAN network.

A storage area network (SAN) is a dedicated high-speed network for interconnecting and presenting a shared pool of storage devices to multiple servers. SAN is primarily used to enhance performance of the storage devices as they appear as a single locally attached device to the servers, where the servers are centrally managed. Virtual Storage Area Network (VSAN) is a logical partition in the SAN. The VSAN allows data traffic of the servers to be isolated within specific portions of SAN so that system of storage devices is scaled out and is easy to configure. The main objective of the VSAN is the easy management of subscribers which can be added or relocated without the need for changing the physical layout of storage. Another objective of the VSAN is to provide data redundancy which minimizes the risk of data loss.
A conventional VSAN storage array includes a brick as a basic building block. The brick of the VSAN architecture comprises two storage controllers for receiving Input/Output (I/O) request from host machines connected to the bricks. The brick further comprises a Disk Array Enclosure (DAE) for holding multiple Solid State Drives (SSD) for storing data, and backup units. Each storage controller has multi-core Central Processing Units (CPUs) for processing I/O tasks. In the conventional architecture of VSAN, the bricks may be clustered together to increase performance and capacity of the system. A cluster in VSAN may include two or more bricks. When storage space in a brick of the cluster is utilized up to a threshold, an alert is sent to a user to scale out the system by including additional bricks in the system. For example, the threshold may be 90% of total storage available in the brick. Thus, the user has to manually instruct the system for including additional bricks in the system. Also, inclusion of additional bricks in the system may cost substantial amount of money. Additionally, if the threshold is reached, a new I/O request has to wait in a process queue to be processed, hence increasing latency to process the request.
Furthermore, the existing VSAN architecture only alerts the user, and does not provide automatic inclusion of bricks to the VSAN network, i.e. in the existing architecture, there does not exist a mechanism to route the data to different a secondary data storage unit when primary data storage unit is overloaded. Therefore, the bricks of the VSAN network is not fully utilized. Also, in the conventional VSAN architecture, an I/O request cannot be passed to different bricks of the VSAN. Thus, processing load of a brick is not efficiently managed.
The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

System and method for storing data in data storage unit of virtual storage area network


A drill resistant lock (30) comprises a bolt member (33) for fitting into a similar sized and shaped slot (35) to secure closure of entry to a property, a locking mechanism (31, 32) associated with a bolt member (33), whereby release and/or closure of the bolt member (33) into the slot (35) is effected by insertion and rotation of an appropriate key in the locking mechanism (31, 32), wherein the bolt member (33) is provided with a core (34) containing a material with different mechanical properties to the main body of the bolt member (33), the material of the core (34) being more drill resistant than the material of the main body.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in the security of locks, for example, but not limited to mortise locks. In particular, the invention relates to a novel deadbolt for use in locks, the novel deadbolt having improved resistance to attack by persons attempting unauthorised access to a secure area.
(2) Description of the Art
It is not uncommon for persons to gain unauthorised access to a domestic or business property by destroying a lock on the external door to the property. Typically a lock will comprise a bolt member associated with a keyhole mechanism which, when the lock is closed, fits into a similarly sized slot. The bolt member may then be released from the slot when an appropriate key is fitted in the keyhole and turned in an appropriate manner. One means by which unscrupulous persons gain unauthorised access is by machining into soft materials surrounding the slot and destroying the bolt. For example, where the lock is a mortise lock securing an external door to a domestic property, an unscrupulous person may drill through the door frame into which the dead bolt of the lock fits and penetrate the metal (typically brass) of the deadbolt. The deadbolt is destroyed and the door may be freely opened.
At present, in the UK, insurance premiums for domestic properties may be reduced where the external doors of the property are secured by locks which conform to British Standard BS3621. This standard is expected to be superseded by a European Standard prEN12209-½ which recommends that locks for domestic use be drill resistant. Thus there is a need for a drill resistant lock.
The current trend in European lock manufacture has been to move to changing the material for the entire lock, replacing traditional soft metals such as brass with harder metals such as martensitic steels. Whilst these harder metals are inherently more resilient to attack by machining tools such as drills, their very different physical nature requires the use of different tools and methods of manufacture. It will be understood that retooling can be a costly exercise to industry. Furthermore, present methods of manufacture rely on post process machining to correct small dimensional variations between lock mechanisms and dead bolts in a batch. The use of hard steels in place of softer metals such as brass would likely require high precision casting methods which may be prohibitively expensive. It is also of note that many of these hard steels are prone to corrosion when subjected to prolonged exposure to damp atmospheric conditions. Corrosion resistance may be improved by chemical treatment of the steels but this again raises the overall manufacturing costs.
It is known to provide tamper resistant locks by including in a bolt a core of relatively hard material. For example, FR 2740498, U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,432, U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,707 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,592 all describe arrangements where a core of hardened steel is incorporated in a bolt. Such arrangements are described as "saw resistant". Whilst such arrangements may indeed provide resistance to sawing, it is to be understood that hardened steel is not as hard as tungsten carbide commonly used for the manufacture of drill bits and is accordingly not resistant to penetration by drilling.
GB 1338720 discloses a door lock having an insert of solid, hard ceramic. In that arrangement, the ceramic plate is, necessarily contained on all sides by a metallic material so that particles of the ceramic may be operable to act on the drill bit, even after the ceramic insert has been shattered on initial impact with the bit. Such an arrangement would not work against a drilling operation if the insert were at a surface of the bolt as the ceramic would shatter and fall out of the bolt providing access to the underlying, machinable metal body.
GB 1392268 discloses a padlock having a shackle containing a core of hardened carbide particles in a binder of solder. The carbide particles are closely packed at high density. The shackle is effective against sawing or machining operations in a similar manner to the bolt as described in GB 1338720 and suffers from similar disadvantages. The core is again, necessarily confined on all sides by the metal body of the shackle.


A parachute system includes a payload support configured to operably support a payload below a parachute and an azimuth control device mounted to the payload support and/or the payload. The azimuth control device is configured to operably impart a yaw rotation to the payload in order to adjust an azimuth of the payload. The azimuth control device may include a thrust producing fluid jet device, a thrust producing propeller device, and/or a manipulatable control surface, among others.

Aerial delivery is frequently used for transporting or deploying a payload from an aircraft. In certain situations, deployment of a munitions payload from in-flight aircraft may provide various benefits. Such aerial delivery systems may involve the use of parachute systems to progressively slow the descent velocity of the payload. Use of a series of parachute deployments is often necessary because the force and impulse on the suspension lines and straps of a main parachute (i.e., a parachute large enough to slow the cargo platform to an acceptable landing velocity) deploying at the terminal, free-fall velocity of the cargo platform or vehicle would be excessive, causing the parachute system to fail.
In some instances, it may be desirable to have the payload facing a desired direction during descent. For example, the payload may be configured to deploy/release an item (e.g., a missile). If the payload does not have the proper azimuth orientation, the dispensed item may need to gain momentum before being able to change course to move toward its target. If the item has a propulsion means, fuel will be consumed in the process of changing course and the range of the item will, thereby, be reduced, relative to the target. If the dispensed item is gravity propelled and has a gliding capability, altitude will be lost in the course correction process and, again, the effective range of the item, relative to the target, will be reduced. Certain parachutes may be steerable, and thus azimuth corrections for the payload may be accomplished by controlling/steering the parachute. However, azimuth changes when the payload is suspended beneath a ballistic parachute are not nearly as straightforward.
While certain conventional solutions may utilize a threaded connection between the payload and the parachute, such configurations are somewhat limited by the amount of rotational travel provided by the threaded interface, thereby potentially limiting the extent/duration of azimuth control that can be achieved. For example, if the interfacing mechanism between the payload and the parachute may have a nut and screw structure, such that the azimuth correction can only be made in one direction and the direction is dependent on whether the threads of the nut and screw are clockwise or counter clockwise. For instance, with clockwise threads, if an azimuth change of 10 degrees to the right is desired, it is quite straightforward, but, if a 10 degree change to the left is desired, a right turn of 350 degrees would be required. Moreover, in some instances, there may be some system asymmetry involved that will cause the system to continuously rotate in one direction. In such a scenario, it may be necessary to continuously make azimuth corrections in the opposite direction to maintain a desired heading. Such a continuous azimuth correction might well prematurely consume all the azimuth correction capability of the mechanism.
In an attempt to combat the limitations of the gravity powered mechanism, a motor could be added to cause either the nut or the screw to rotate. But, because the mechanism is positioned by flexible elements between two masses, one mass being the payload and the other mass being the air trapped inside the parachute canopy, and these flexible elements would mostly likely twist instead of imparting an azimuth change to the payload. Accordingly, improved systems and methods for azimuth control of a payload remain desirable.


Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. Generally, the described techniques provide for configuring group indices for uplink transmissions from a user equipment (UE) such that the UE may be able to determine whether to combine uplink transmissions scheduled on overlapping time resources. Specifically, the UE may combine uplink transmissions associated with a same group index for transmission in a single channel, and the UE may avoid combining uplink transmissions associated with different group indices. In some cases, the indication of a group index associated with an uplink transmission from a UE may be explicit (e.g., provided in a downlink control information (DCI) message), and, in other cases, the indication of a group index associated with an uplink transmission from a UE may be implicit (e.g., corresponding to a resource allocated for the uplink transmission).

The following relates generally to wireless communications and more specifically to uplink channel multiplexing and piggybacking.
Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM).
A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations or network access nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE). Some wireless communications systems may support communications between a base station and a UE on multiple channels. In such systems, a UE may be scheduled to transmit uplink signals on different channels at the same time. That is, the base station may allocate overlapping time resources for uplink transmissions from the UE on the different channels. Conventional techniques at a UE for transmitting on the uplink when the UE is scheduled to transmit on different channels at the same time may be deficient.

Uplink channel multiplexing and piggybacking


A light emitting diode (LED) module includes a substrate, an LED package, a light sensor and a lens. The LED package includes a light emitting region and is mounted on an upper surface of the substrate. The light sensor includes a light receiving region and is mounted on the upper surface of the substrate horizontally adjacent the LED package. The lens is vertically aligned over the light emitting region of the LED package and at least partially overlaps the light receiving region of the light sensor.

Example embodiments of the present inventive concept relate to light emitting diode (LED) modules equipped with a flash LED and a light sensor, and to electronic devices including the same.
Incandescent flash light bulbs have long been used in conjunction with cameras to illuminate an object to be photographed in low illumination settings. These bulbs have largely been replaced with light emitting diodes (LEDs) (called "flash LEDs" herein) in modern digital camera devices, such as those embedded in mobile phones. In addition, and separately, modern digital camera devices may also be equipped with an ambient light sensor that is used for calibration of camera parameters to enhance the quality of an image captured by the camera.
In the meantime, industry demands continue to require miniaturization of components utilized in electronic devices. Such demands apply in camera design as well, particularly in the case of cameras embedded in mobile products such as mobile phones. While the inclusion of a flash LED and ambient light sensor in a camera design provides photographic benefits, these components take up valuable space in the limited available footprint for camera components.

Light-emitting diode (LED) module and device including the same


A refrigerator includes a cabinet, a first inner case that defines a freezing compartment, a second inner case that defines a refrigerating compartment, a thermal siphon unit that is configured to carry a working fluid for heat transfer and that has a closed loop shape that includes a first part arranged at an outer side of the first inner case and a second part arranged at an outer side of the second inner case, and a cool air storage unit arranged in a space partitioned in the first inner case. The cool air storage unit is configured to accommodate cool air of the freezing compartment and transfer the cool air to the first part of the thermal siphon unit arranged outside of the first inner case.

A refrigerator is a home appliance that may store and keep food in a refrigerated or frozen state by driving a cooling cycle for cooling an inside of the refrigerator. The cooling cycle may include a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator that are connected to one another through a refrigerant pipe that defines a circulation loop. The compressor and the condenser may be mounted in a mechanical compartment disposed at the lower side of the refrigerator, and the evaporator may be disposed at the rear side of a freezing compartment or a refrigerating compartment.
In some cases, a refrigerator may maintain, when a power is normally supplied to the refrigerator to normally operate the compressor, a constant internal temperature by supplying cool air generated in the evaporator into the refrigerator through a fan. In some cases, if a power failure or a compressor failure occurs during the cooling cycle, the cooling cycle may stop and the internal temperature of the refrigerator may increase.
It is of interest to maintain a low temperature of a refrigerating compartment for a long time to prevent food from going bad even in case of a power failure.


A carrying harness for an optical device is provided and consists of a strap loop worn about an upper torso of a person, while a pair of slide fasteners connect the optical device to a front portion of the strap loop. The slide fasteners will normally position the optical device against an abdominal area of the person, when in a carrying mode and selectively allows the optical device to be slid into an eye level position when in an operating mode.

The instant invention relates generally to article carriers and more specifically it relates to a carrying harness for an optical device.
Numerous article carriers have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be worn on the front of the torso of a person to retain a camera, binoculars and similar articles to his/her person. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,326,430 to Banks; 4,461,411 to Harrow and 5,016,797 to Rowledge and German patent numbered 245,405 to Stein all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purpose of the present invention as hereafter described.


An integrated voice gateway system for use within a company which can route a voice telephone call between parties at two different locations over an IP network or over the PST NETWORK. The system can route a voice telephone call from a first location within the system to a second location within the system via the IP network, and then from the second location to a third location via the PST NETWORK. The integrated voice gateway system includes a gateway server which serves as an intranet/Internet telephony gateway. The gateway server routes intra-company voice or facsimile (fax) calls, over the company's intranet or the public Internet. The gateway server provides an alternate voice network to the PST NETWORK for a company. This alternate network is provided at a much lower cost. The gateway server is a combination of hardware and software components which reside on a PC server platform. The gateway server is coupled to a customer premise telephone system, i.e. a PBX via a T1 or E1 trunk for larger systems, or an analog trunk for smaller systems. The gateway server is coupled to the company's intranet via industry standard connections. The gateway servers in a multi-site company are coupled together via the company's intranet or wide area network (WAN) into a gateway network. The gateway server uses PBX call status links to provide many unique and useful features which are otherwise unavailable. The gateway server uses T1 inband ANI, PRI, QSIG or industry standard CTI applications programming interfaces (API) and works with any PBX which supports any of these call status links. The gateway server is equipped with a database of user and gateway objects and attributes, and provides many unique features including caller's name based on caller phone number, address translation, gateway network routing information, user authentication, etc. This database can be integrated with industry standard enterprise directory services systems including any directory which supports the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (X.500) (LDAP) interface.

The widespread popularity of the Internet has provided new means of rapid and comprehensive communication between users located in distant and diverse locations around the world. Methods of sending, finding and retrieving information, previously confined to the domain of government, academia and industry, are now available in business, in the community, and in the home. Formerly arcane technical terms such as telnet, electronic mail (e-mail), file transfer protocol (FTP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and world wide web (WWW or web) are now widely used.
Very soon after the popularity of the Internet became widespread, new applications of the underlying technology began to emerge. With the concomitant growth of multimedia, a predominately text-based medium quickly expanded to include graphics, imagery, motion pictures and sound. A natural extension of the capability to transmit recorded, digitized sound between personal computers (PC), was the advent of PC based telephony. Although the initial users of PC to PC telephone calls over the Internet were primarily computer hobbyists and the like, there was an early recognition of the fact that the Internet provided the potential for the average user to make a telephone call anywhere in the world for the cost of a local telephone call to an Internet service provider (ISP).
PC to PC telephone technology is limited by the need to be logged on to a PC and the Internet to place or receive a call. Software incorporating proprietary algorithms limit the ability to call to others having the same or similar software. The sound quality is often degraded because of packet loss and delays in forwarding packets from the sender to the receiver over the Internet, operation in a half-duplex mode, and the use of low quality PC speakers and microphones.
With the expectation of improved performance and reduced cost of telephone calls in the business environment, voice gateways have facilitated the interconnection of the private branch exchange (PBX) and the computer network. As used herein, PBX includes hybrid, key systems, and other such systems. Thus, through a PBX coupled to an Internet protocol (IP) network (e.g., intranet, wide area network (WAN), Internet), telephone calls between different sites within a company, or other institution, organization or enterprise (hereinafter referred to as "company"), or between companies, the company or companies having installations at two or more locations which locations may be geographically distant from each other, may be routed over the IP network rather than via the public switched telephone network (PST NETWORK). As used herein, the PST NETWORK includes both public and private networks. This can result in significant cost savings and can also help to improve communication within and between companies by providing a variety of related services which are not available via the PST NETWORK.
The level of integration achieved in current voice gateway systems is quite low, and such systems are limited in the services they can provide. In particular, current voice gateway systems are capable of only routing a nominal telephone call from a calling party at point A to a called party at point B. However, if, for example, the called party is not present, or if the called party's telephone is currently busy, current voice gateway systems do not provide important additional services to facilitate making a connection between the calling party and the called party at a later time or at another location or by an alternative method.
One of the reasons for the limitations is that current voice gateway systems are limited in their ability to obtain, store, update and retrieve necessary information about both the calling party and the called party in order to do anything other than simply attempt to make a straight forward connection between the two points. If the telephone system had sufficient information about both parties, then the system could facilitate making the connection at a later time, at another location or by an alternative method. However, in current voice gateway systems, there is no way to obtain the necessary call status and call control information, nor is there an accessible central data base in which to store and from which to retrieve this information. Current voice gateway systems have no real-time call control/call status information link with the PBX, nor do they have any storage of telephone user information. For example, current voice gateway networks have no information regarding the calling party's name, telephone number, or status of the called party, e.g., busy or idle. It is this information about the calling and called parties which is not readily available, but which is necessary to provide important additional services.
There is a need for a highly integrated voice gateway system for use within a company and between companies having installations at two or more locations which locations may be geographically distant from each other. The integrated voice gateway system should have the ability to route telephone calls between parties at two different locations over the IP network as well as the PST NETWORK, and to automatically select which of the IP network and PST NETWORK over which to route telephone calls. The integrated voice gateway system should have the means to obtain, store, update and retrieve information about calling and called parties. For example, in instances in which a calling party is unsuccessful in making a connection to a called party, the integrated voice gateway system should have the means to use information about the calling and called parties to provide services which facilitate making an alternate or subsequent connection between the calling party and the called party.
The following standards are incorporated herein by reference:    ITU-T Recommendation H.323—Packet-based multimedia communications systems;    ITU-T Recommendation X.500—Open systems interconnection—The directory: Overview of concepts, models and services; and    IPNS Forum QSIG Handbook.

Apparatus and method for integrated voice gateway


It is an object of the present invention to provide round fiber-reinforced plastic strand, a manufacturing method thereof, and a fiber-reinforced sheet which eliminate limitation in forming speed and limit on number of products capable of being manufactured at a time, do not require use of a release agent, eliminate the necessity of operations such as roughing after forming, and thus permit a considerable reduction of the manufacturing cost and a remarkable increase in the product quality. The manufacturing method of the round fiber-reinforced plastic strand of the present invention comprises (a) a step of continuously feeding reinforcing fiber bundles f1 each comprising a plurality of reinforcing fibers arranged in a direction while twisting the reinforcing fiber bundles f1; (b) a step of impregnating the reinforcing fiber bundles f1 fed continuously with a matrix resin R; and (c) a step of heating the resin-impregnated reinforcing fiber bundles f2 while tensioning to a prescribed intensity, thereby forming the reinforcing fiber bundle into a circular cross-section and hardening the resin, and manufactures a fiber-reinforced plastic strand 2 having a circular cross-section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a small-diameter, round fiber-reinforced plastic strand, a manufacturing method thereof, and a fiber-reinforced sheet in which such fiber-reinforced plastic strands are arranged in a sheet shape. Particularly, the fiber-reinforced sheet is applicable for bonding, for reinforcement, to, for example, a concrete structure or a steel structure which is a civil-engineering structure (in the present specification, such structures including a concrete structure and a steel structure are simply referred to as "structure").
2. Description of the Related Art
For the purpose of reinforcing a structure, a bonding process of attaching or winding continuous fiber-reinforced sheets onto or around the surface of an existing or a new structure has recently been developed.
This bonding process is however only simple bonding. A limitation is imposed on reinforcing effect of the ultimate bearing force because of early destruction of structure caused by peeling of FRP (fiber-reinforced plastics) reinforcing members, and furthermore, the cracking inhibiting effect of, for example, a concrete structure has its limits. In addition, high performance of FRP reinforcing materials is not effectively utilized in many cases. Cracking damages in existing structures cannot be restored or structures cannot be reinforced against a dead load.
To solve these problems, a process known as the strained bonding process is now applied in practice, comprising the steps of achieving a tensioned state by inputting a load onto a sheet-shaped reinforcing member, and bonding the sheet-shaped reinforcing member in the tensioned state to the structure surface. The sheet-shaped reinforcing member used in this strained bonding process is a sheet in which fibers not impregnated with a resin are arranged in a direction, known as a reinforcing fiber sheet, or a fiber-reinforced plastic flat plate having a width lager than 50 mm.
However, in a fiber-reinforced sheet using fibers not impregnated with a resin, the reinforcing fibers are not always arranged uniformly in a direction because of the problems in manufacture or in handling. As a result, partial thread breakage occurs upon tensioning a fiber-reinforced sheet by imparting a load to introduce a tensioning force, and this may prevent from introducing a sufficient tensioning force. In other words, the fiber-reinforced sheet cannot sometimes display a force necessary for tensioning. The tensioning force is usually reduced by about 50 to 30% of the final breaking force.
When using a fiber-reinforced plastic flat plate, a large sheet width tends to cause a problem upon bonding in that it is difficult to obtain a sufficient adhesive strength due to mixture of voids onto the joint surface. In order to avoid occurrence of voids, a conceivable counter-measure is to provide holes in the fiber-reinforced plastic sheet. This is not, however, preferable since holes would cut reinforcing fibers of the fiber-reinforced plastic flat plate.
The present inventors have therefore proposed a fiber-reinforced sheet, as disclosed in Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2004-197325, in which a plurality of continuous fiber-reinforced plastic strands, impregnated with a matrix resin and cured, are arranged in the longitudinal direction in a blind shape, and these strands are then fixed by a fixing fiber material.
Such a fiber-reinforced sheet permits solving the problem of thread breakage upon tensioning, avoidance of occurrence of voids upon execution, thereby ensuring a sufficient adhesive strength for the surface to be reinforced, and particularly makes it possible to accomplish reinforcement of a concrete structure based on the strained bonding process at a very high workability.
It has been the usual and conventional practice to manufacture a round continuous fiber-reinforced plastic strand used in the aforementioned fiber-reinforced sheet by the application of a pultrusion forming process known as the pultrusion process.
In this process, however, a problem is encountered in that use of a heating die for forming a round strand causes generation of resistance during passage of strands through the die, thus preventing from raising the forming speed. Another problem is that the size limitation of die imposes a limit in the number of holes to be provided in the die, limiting the number of strands capable of being manufactured at a time to 20 to 30 strands.
The process suffers from still another problem in that a release agent is used for preventing sticking of the matrix resin and the die, and outflow of the release agent onto the strand surface prevents smooth bonding of the adhesive and the strand surface when bonding the strand to a structure, when using the strand as a sheet-shaped reinforcing member (fiber-reinforced sheet) for reinforcing the structure. This causes further another problem that, when using the fiber-reinforced sheet, surface roughing should be carried out with sand paper or the like after curing of the strand.
These problems have caused an increase in the manufacturing cost, and a decrease in quality due to flawing of strands upon surface roughing.

Round fiber-reinforced plastic strand, manufacturing method thereof, and fiber-reinforced sheet


Provided are an electronic device and a fabrication method thereof. The electronic device according to the concept of the present invention includes auxiliary interconnections disposed on a substrate, a light extraction layer that is provided on the substrate and fills between the auxiliary interconnection, and a first electrode provided on the auxiliary interconnections and the light extraction layer, wherein the light extraction layer may have a first surface facing the substrate and a second surface opposite to the first surface, the first surface may have protrusions, and the auxiliary interconnections may include a material having a lower resistance than the first electrode. Since electrical properties of the electronic device are improved, uniform light emission characteristics may be realized.

The present invention disclosed herein relates to electronic devices, and more particularly, to methods of fabricating a substrate for an electronic device.
Recently, in line with the emergence of various environmental issues, a technique using organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs), which do not use heavy metal such as mercury and lead, as a light source has received attention as an eco-friendly advanced lighting technique. An OLED is a self light-emitting device that emits light by electrically exciting an organic light-emitting material. The OLED includes a substrate, an anode, a cathode, and an organic emission layer. The OLED may have excellent display characteristics such as wide viewing angles, fast response speeds, a thin profile, low manufacturing costs, and high contrast. The internal quantum efficiency of a light source may be improved as a technique of the OLED advances. However, the OLED has a limitation in that only about 25% of total luminous power is discharged to the outside of the device and the remaining 75% are isolated within the OLED.

Electronic device and method of fabricating the same

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE

KOREA ELECTROTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

KOREA INSTITUTE OF MACHINERY & MATERIALS


A stereolithography machine (1) includes: a container (2) suited to contain a fluid substance (3) that solidifies through exposure to predefined radiation (4a); an emitter (4) suited to emit the predefined radiation and to solidify a layer of the fluid substance having a predefined thickness and arranged adjacent to a bottom of the container; a modelling plate (5) supports the solidified layer (6); an actuator (7) that moves the modelling plate perpendicular to the bottom of the container; a leveler (8) in contact with the fluid substance, associated with a power source suited to move them with respect to the container so as to redistribute the fluid substance in the container. The power source moves the container in each one or the two opposite senses of a direction of movement (Y) and the leveler includes two paddles (9, 10) that are opposite each other with respect to the modelling plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a stereolithography machine and a stereolithography method applicable to said stereolithography machine.
2. Present State of the Art
As is known, the stereolithography technique is used to produce three-dimensional objects through the successive deposition of several layers of a light-sensitive liquid resin capable of polymerizing through exposure to a light to source.
In particular, each resin layer is superimposed to the preceding layer of the three-dimensional object to be produced and is allowed to selectively solidify in the points corresponding to the volume of the object itself.
A stereolithography machine according to a known embodiment comprises a container suited to contain said liquid resin and provided with a transparent bottom.
There is also a light source, generally a laser emitter or a projector, capable of selectively irradiating the layer of liquid resin arranged adjacent to the bottom of the container so that it solidifies.
The machine comprises also a modelling plate suited to support the solidified layers of the three-dimensional object, associated with actuator means suited to provide for moving the plate in a direction perpendicular to the bottom of the container.
According to a stereolithography method of the known type using the above mentioned machine, first of all the modelling plate is arranged at a distance from the bottom of the container that is equal to the thickness of the layer to be solidified.
Successively, the liquid resin layer adjacent to the bottom of the container is selectively irradiated by means of the light source in order to solidify it.
The modelling plate is configured so that the solidified layer adheres to it while, in the contrary, the bottom of the container is provided with a covering that reduces such adhesion.
The modelling plate is successively moved away from the bottom of the container, so as to make the solidified layer emerge from the liquid resin and thus make it possible to restore the thickness of the liquid resin that is necessary for processing a successive layer of the object.
In fact, lifting the modelling plate and the solidified layer means leaving a depression in the liquid resin, which is filled by the spontaneous flow of the resin itself.
Said levelling action restores the thickness of the liquid resin that is necessary to solidify a new layer of the object and furthermore prevents air bubbles from remaining trapped into the liquid resin during the successive lowering of the modelling plate, which may affect the integrity of the successive layer of the three-dimensional object.
Once said spontaneous levelling is completed, the modelling plate is immersed again in the liquid resin and a further layer of the object is solidified.
The method described above poses the drawback that the overall processing time of the three-dimensional object is considerably prolonged due to the waiting time needed after the solidification of each layer of the object for the liquid resin to level out.
Since the number of layers that form an object obtained through stereolithography can reach several hundreds, it can be understood that the waiting times mentioned above result in a considerable increase in the processing time.
Obviously, the waiting times are proportional to the viscosity of the liquid resin.
Therefore, the drawback mentioned above is particularly important when resins of the so-called "hybrid" type are used, which comprise particles in ceramic or other materials mixed with the polymeric component.
Said hybrid resins are suitable for producing objects with high mechanical resistance but on the other hand their viscosity is much higher compared to the other resins commonly used in stereolithography.
In a known embodiment, described in the Patent application WO 2010/045950, the stereolithography machine includes a circular revolving tank and a fixed levelling paddle arranged in contact with the resin, developing radially with respect to the tank.
Before the solidification of each layer, the tank is rotated so that the levelling paddle fills the depression left by the modelling plate when it is lifted.
This embodiment poses the drawback that the diameter of the tank is at least twice the length of the paddle and therefore occupies a considerably larger space compared to the minimum surface required for modelling.

Stereolithography machine for producing a three-dimensional object and stereolithography method applicable to said machine


A pedal exerciser includes a worm shaft meshed with a worm wheel. A crank drives rotation of the worm wheel through two pedals. A rotary disc assembly is journaled to and rotatable with the worm shaft. The rotary disc assembly has a conductive member that is non-magnetizable and that is rotatable around an axis of the worm shaft. A magnetic assembly is disposed near the conductive member and has a magnet facing the conductive member. The magnet produces a drag force to resist an exercising force when the conductive member is rotated to move past the magnet. An adjustment assembly moves the magnetic assembly toward or away from the rotary disc assembly to vary the magnitude of the drag force.

FIG. 1 illustrates an existing pedal exerciser 1, disclosed in Taiwanese Patent No. M419585. The pedal exerciser 1 includes a stand assembly 11, a cylindrical housing 12, a crank 13, two pedals 14 and a resistance adjuster 15. The cylindrical housing 12 is disposed above the stand assembly 11. The crank 13 rotatably extends through the cylindrical housing 12. The pedals 14 are respectively connected to two opposite ends of the crank 13. The resistance adjuster 15 rotatably extends through the cylindrical housing 12 and frictionally contacts the crank 13. A frictional force between the resistance adjuster 15 and the crank 13 is adjustable by rotating the resistance adjuster 15, and is used as a rotation-resisting force to resist an exercising force applied by the user to the pedals 14.
However, when the speed of pedaling the pedal exerciser 1 is high, the rotation-resisting force of the resistance adjuster 15 becomes dynamic friction force, which can cause the user to feel that he/she is pedaling effortlessly. The exercise effect of the pedal exerciser 1 is therefore poor.


Drugs useful for the treatment and prevention of hyperlipidemia, moreover drugs useful for the treatment and prevention of cholestasis-caused hepatopathy, particularly primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis, and drugs for the treatment and prevention of obesity, fatty liver and steatohepatitis, containing as active ingredients benzothiazepine compounds having a thioamide bond and a quaternary ammonium substituent, represented by formula (1) below are provided.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel benzothiazepine compounds having a thioamide bond and a quaternary ammonium substituent and to pharmaceutical compositions which contain them. Moreover, the present invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of cholestasis-caused hepatopathy and the like.
2) Description of the Related Art
Hyperlipidemia means a state where neutral fat, cholesterol and the like in blood are at higher levels than the normal levels and has been known to deserve a treatment since it is a main risk factor in ischemic diseases. Moreover, hyperlipidemia is also known to cause arteriosclerosis and in particular, to decrease blood cholesterol level is effective for the prevention and treatment of arteriosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis is also known as a cause of myocardial infarction cerebral thrombosis, peripheral arterial obstruction, and arteriosclerosis obliterans. Syndrome X was advocated by Reavens et al. ("Diabetes", 37, 1595-1607, 1988) and means a multiple risk factor syndrome which develops arteriosclerosis by accumulation of risk factors such as hyperinsulinemia, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and abnormality of glucose tolerance on an individual, although the factors are not so serious as to indicate the conditions of diseases when they exist independently of each other. A cholesterol-lowering agent is considered to be effective for the prevention or treatment of these diseases (Japan Clinical Hyperlipidemia - Volume 1 -ISSN0047-1 852).
At present, commercially available drugs for the treatment of hyperlipidemia include HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, anion exchange resins and so forth. These drugs are used for the prevention and treatment of hyperlipidemia, in particular, hypercholesterolemia and arteriosclerosis. Furthermore, these drugs are also used in the prevention or treatment of myocardial infarction, cerebral thrombosis, peripheral arterial obstruction, and arteriosclerosis obliterans, which are diseases caused by hypercholesterolemia or arteriosclerosis.

Abstract: Also, drugs containing ileal bile acid transporter inhibiting compounds as active ingredients for the treatment and prevention of cholestasis-caused hepatopathy are provided.


An adapter preferably of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene is provided for use with a conical centrifuge tube in an ultracentrifuge swinging bucket rotor hole and is designed to allow the easy removal of the adapter and tube after centrifugation. At the top of the adapter is an integral annular rim with an outside diameter equal to that of a cylindrical upper portion of the centrifuge tube and with a minimal clearance to the diameter of the rotor hole. Immediately below the annular rim and adapter diameter reduces to a lesser diameter and continues until intersection with a hemispherical bottom region. The internal configuration of the adapter has a tapered conical section ending in a reduced diameter hemisphere, the internal taper and hemisphere of the adapter exactly matching the exterior of supported conical portion and hemispherical termination end of the sample tube.

Ultracentrifuge containers or sample tubes have been developed in a variety of sizes, materials, wall thicknesses and sealing means. Tube materials provide a range of chemical resistance, operating conditions, and clarity for observing samples. Wall thickness provides a range of operating speeds, and sample retrieval by puncturing or slicing of the tube. Sealing means include those of heat sealing, screw caps with elastomeric gaskets, crimping, swaging and compressing all to provide degrees of reliability and reusability of the tubes. A range of diameters and lengths provide convenient chambers for particular separations within time and speed constraints. Until recently, all ultracentrifuge tubes were manufactured with cylindrical side walls closed on the bottom with a hemisphere.
Ultracentrifuge tubes with hemispherical bottoms have proven to be the most easily removed from ultracentrifuge rotor holes. Lower speed centrifuge applications, typically less than 25,000 rpm, do not generate sufficient hydrostatic pressures to deleteriously affect the removal of tubes from rotor holes. Ultracentrifuge rotors spinning in the range of about 25,000 to about 100,000 rpm generate extremely high pressures in the liquid contents of the tubes and cause creep, or time-dependent deformation of the tube dimensions. Particularly at the bottom portions of the tube forces of 600,000 g's may be encountered. Pressures of 32,000 psi can exist dependent on the rotor speed and the sample mass. Thus a sample tube weighing just 3 grams may well have a weight of 1 ton in use due to the centrifugal forces. After centrifugation has been completed, appreciable time is required to allow relaxation and removal of the tubes from the rotors. It has been found that a rotor hole with a cylindrical top section and a hemispherical bottom and corresponding to the tube shape facilitates the removal of the tube, as the mating surfaces of the rotor and tube hemispheres provide the least possibility of taper or locking interference.
One disadvantage of the cylindrical tube with a hemispherical bottom is the relatively large surface area provided by the bottom of the tube with the result that sample material to be collected, i.e., a band of precipitate or other desire fraction, is dispersed over the hemispherical internal surface of the tube. An improved tube configuration for sample concentration is a tube with a cylindrical upper section closed on the bottom with a reduced diameter hemisphere, the transition between diameters being accomplished through a conical section. This tube is commonly referred to as a conical tube.
For many years the conical tube has been used in low, medium and so-called superspeed centrifuges up to the rotating speeds of approximately 25,000 rpm. The conical tubes in these applications are made with thick walls, e.g., 0.050 inches (1.5 mm) thick, and are self-supporting in that liquid support by the tube contents is not required to prevent collapse of the tube. Adapters are provided which support the tube in the conical transition between the cylindrical upper portion and the reduced diameter hemispherical portion. The adapters are often made of rigid polymer materials such as polyacetal and polypropylene or elastomers such as Neoprene and thermoplastic rubbers. In these cases the pressures generated by the liquid inside the tube are not high, and the adapters are normally easily extracted from the rotor hole and the tubes easily extracted from the adapters.
Lam and Williams, "Multiangle Adapter for Fixed Angle Centrifuge Rotor," U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,955, describes a centrifuge rotor into which is inserted a long-length adapter at selected rotational alignment to provide various angles of use of centrifuge tubes with a conical transition.
Anthony, "Split Tube Centrifuge Rotor Adapter," U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,137, describes a long-length centrifuge adapter split in two sections longitudinally to facilitate the removal of straight-wall tubes with hemispherical bottoms from the adapters.
Romanauskas, "Inside Adapter for a Sample Container," U.S Pat. No. 4,451,250 describes an application in vertical rotors where the rotor spin axis is coincident with the longitudinal axis of the tube. An adapter is placed inside the normally sealed centrifuge tube and reduced volume of fluid sample resides in a sector-shaped chamber in the adapter.
Adapters for open-top tubes in swinging bucket and fixed angle rotors have previously been developed. Typically the adapters are constructed of polyacetal, a strong, lubricious and dense thermoplastic material. The adapters are sold by many centrifuge companies. The adapters extend to the top of the rotor hole, and a sample tube of a lessor diameter than the rotor hole fits inside the adapter. The speed of centrifugation must be reduced in consideration of the adapter density and the drop of liquid level caused by the additional clearance of the tube diameter in the adapter. Because of reduced speed and extension of the adapter to the top of the rotor hole, removal of the tube from the adapter and the adapter from the hole is relatively easily accomplished.
One recent application of conical tubes in fixed angle rotors is the use of a microcentrifuge tube with attached cap in conjunction with a plastic adapter. The combination of such tube and adapter is sold by Beckman Instruments, Inc. for use in their product number TLA-100.3, fixed angle rotor, and is described as a "conical bottom microcentrifuge tube with special adapters." The microcentrifuge tube is a rigid, self-supporting container with a cap and must be used at speeds reduced 50% from the maximum operating speed of the rotor which is 100,000 rpm. The tube and adapter fit into a hole which is inclined 30.degree. from the spin axis of the rotor. The outside diameter of the overall adapter is straight and slightly less than the inside diameter of the rotor hole. The rotor speed reduction is presumably required to prevent leakage of the tube cap and to facilitate removal of the adapter which otherwise tends to become fixed in the rotor hole.
The first application of a thin wall, open top, conical tube in an ultracentrifuge rotor is sold by Seton Scientific Co. under the trademark "UltraCone." The primary application is in swinging bucket rotors where the longitudinal axis of the tube and rotor during ultracentrifuging is at 90.degree. to the spin axis of the rotor. Thin wall tubes are used for achieving maximum fluid volume and for ease of puncturing the tube wall for sample retrieval at various levels of a tube subsequently removed from the rotor. The conical tube/adapter combination can be used at the maximum speed and density of which the rotor is capable. The adapter is made of a rigid polymer material such a Noryl plastic, and the configuration of the adapter outside surface is a cylinder adjacent to a hemispherical bottom section. The adapter internal surface is a tapered surface adjacent to a hemispherical bottom, and the conical portion of the tube placed into the adapter conforms exactly to the internal mating surface provided by the adapter. The adapter is used at the bottom of the rotor hole under the conical region of the tube, and the upper cylindrical portion of the tube fits the rotor hole. The thin wall tube must be completely filled with fluid sample in order to provide adequate support to the tube wall during centrifugation.
One problem encountered in the use of the Seton UltraCone adapter is the tendency for the adapter to become fixed (stuck) in the bottom of the rotor bucket particularly after long runs at high temperatures. Various thin wall thermoplastic conical tubes when used with an adapter made of a rigid material such as a modified phenylene-oxide based resin also become fixed in the adapter. Both circumstances cause difficulty to the centrifuge user because the separated components of the tube original sample components can be agitated and remixed during the attempt to remove a sticking tube/adapter from the rotor hole. Another problem encountered is the cracking of the adapters after repeated use. The amount of strain experienced by the adapter in tension as it expands to meet the also expanding rotor bucket is not considered high when compared to noncentrifugal strain levels in other plastic applications, but the stress level is extremely high and causes low cycle fatigue in a short period of time. The effects of fatigue are increased by temperature. In ultracentrifugation 20.degree. C. is considered a high temperature but in noncentrifugal environments it is considered a low temperature. This is evidence that plastic applications in the ultracentrifuge impart a stress environment unusual for plastics and do not allow the use of material and design data generated in more conventional environments.
The liquid contents of a typical conical tube can exert more than 35,000 psi in the lower region of the adapter. This tremendous pressure in combination with self-induced load of the adapter and rotor bucket cause the bucket rotor to increase in diameter during centrifugation. The plastic adapter, captured between the highly pressurized fluid at the bottom of the horizontal spinning tube and the expanding internal surface of the rotor bucket, also increases in diameter. The rotor bucket having expanded within its elastic limit immediately returns to its original size after centrifugation, but the adapter and tube, constructed of polymers with visoelastic properties, decrease in diameter more slowly and are therefore tightly held in the rotor hole and adapter hole respectively for periods of 4-10 hours, overnight or longer, particularly after long multi-hour, high temperature centrifuging runs. It is the extremely high pressure and g-force fields and resulting difficulties in adapter/tube behavior that distinguish the application of the conical tube in ultracentrifuges from that of superspeed (i.e. 7000 rpm to 25,000 rpm) centrifuges.
Because clearances between the tube and adapter and adapter and rotor hole are significantly reduced after centrifugation, an adapter made from a material with a low coefficient of friction is desirable to facilitate removal of the tube from the adapter and the adapter from the rotor hole. Since pressures generated are so high, the outside tube surface is essentially hydroformed against the corresponding surface of the adapter. Any surface irregularities from machining or molding also can cause the tube to lock itself into the adapter.
Particularly in long hour runs, for example in concentrating RNA (ribonucleic acid), the use of Noryl plastic adapters of constant sidewell diameter resulted in severe sticking of both the sample tube in the rotor and the adapter in the rotor. Substituting of Delrin plastic adapters for the Noryl adapters to solve a simultaneous cracking problem failed to solve the sticking problem. Water was placed at the bottom of the rotor cavity to absorb the centrifuging stress and shock but this was not successful in solving the sticking problem.
Generally swinging bucket rotors can be operated at design speed with the buckets containing components of density less than 1.2 grams per cc. If any component, such as the tube, adapter material or fluid contents are greater than 1.2 grams per cc, the rotor speed has to be reduced so that the load on the rotor does not exceed design specifications. So that a variety of centrifuge tests can be performed, it is desirable that a tube adapter exhibits good chemical and stress cracking resistance and that it can be sterilized by various means such as a steam autoclaving or solvent immersion.
Although tube adapters have been previously developed for use in ultracentrifuge rotor bores, adapters have not been designed which could be used in swinging bucket rotors at maximum rated speed of the rotor and could be easily extracted from the rotor hole with no agitation of the contents of the tube. The swinging bucket rotor applies a symmetrical pressure and relative high g-field load to all components it contains. The use of tubes and adapters in vertical and fixed angle rotors has not been found to be as difficult since the centrifugal loading on the adapter is asymmetrical and applies a centrifugal vector component perpendicularly to the spin axis allowing a gap to exist between the adapter and hole on the inward or centripetal side of the adapter.

Swinging bucket ultracentrifuge rotor, sample tube and adapter


A transmission system of a hybrid electric vehicle may include first and second motor/generators, a planetary gear set, first and second output gears, and first and second clutches on an axis of an input shaft receiving torque of an engine in a transmission housing, a hollow shaft disposed at a radial exterior of the input shaft and adapted to transmit the torque of the engine or torque of the first motor/generator to the second output gear, an outer shaft disposed at a radial exterior of the hollow shaft and adapted to transmit torque of the second motor/generator to the first output gear, and a rear cover coupled to a rear end portion of the transmission housing, in which the planetary gear set includes a sun gear, a planet carrier and a ring gear as rotation elements thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmission system of a hybrid electric vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a transmission system of a hybrid electric vehicle that can achieve electric vehicle (EV), continuation mode and parallel mode including direct-coupling and overdrive (OD).
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a hybrid electric vehicle is a vehicle which uses two different power sources efficiently.
Such a hybrid electric vehicle typically uses an engine and a motor/generator. The hybrid electric vehicle uses the motor/generator having relatively better low-speed torque characteristics as a main power source at a low-speed and uses an engine having relatively better high-speed torque characteristics as a main power source at a high-speed.
Since the hybrid electric vehicle stops operation of the engine using the fossil fuel and uses the motor/generator at a low-speed region, fuel consumption may be improved and exhaust gas may be reduced.
The power transmission system of a hybrid electric vehicle is classified into a single-mode type and a multi-mode type.
A torque delivery apparatus such as clutches and brakes for shift control is not necessary, but fuel consumption is high due to deterioration of efficiency at a high-speed region and an additional torque multiplication device is required for being applied to a large vehicle according to the single-mode type.
Since the multi-mode type has high efficiency at the high-speed region and is able to multiply torque autonomously, the multi-mode type can be applied to a full size vehicle.
Therefore, the multi-mode type instead of the single-mode type is applied as the power transmission system of a hybrid electric vehicle and is also under continuous investigation.
The power transmission system of the multi-mode type includes a plurality of planetary gear sets, a plurality of motor/generators operated as a motor and/or a generator, a plurality of torque delivery apparatus controlling rotation elements of the planetary gear sets, and a battery used as a power source of the motor/generators.
The power transmission system of the multi-mode type has different operating mechanisms depend on connections of the planetary gear sets, the motor/generators, and the torque delivery apparatus.
In addition, the power transmission system of the multi-mode type has different features such a durability, power delivery efficiency, and size depend on the connections of the planetary gear sets, the motor/generators, and the torque delivery apparatus. Therefore, designs for the connection structure of the power transmission system of a hybrid electric vehicle are also under continuous investigation to achieve robust and compact power transmission system having no power loss.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

Transmission system of hybrid electric vehicle


A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine detects an amount of particulate matter contained in an exhaust gas in an exhaust passage, according to an electrical property across electrodes of a particulate matter sensor disposed in the exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine. The term “electrical property” here refers to a property that changes with the amount of particulate matter deposited, for example, a current value of when a predetermined voltage is applied. After the internal combustion engine is started and detection of the amount of the particulate matter is completed, an element section of the particulate matter sensor is set to a predetermined temperature range. The particulate matter deposited on the element section is thereby burned and removed. The control apparatus maintains the element section in the predetermined temperature range after burning and removing the particulate matter until the internal combustion engine stops.

Patent document 1, for example, discloses a sensor that detects an amount of particulate matter (hereinafter referred to also as "PM") contained in an exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine. The sensor disclosed in patent document 1 includes an insulating layer on which the PM is deposited and a pair of electrodes spaced apart from each other at the insulating layer. When the exhaust gas contacts with the sensor, PM in the exhaust gas is deposited between the electrodes. Conductivity across the electrodes varies in accordance with the amount of PM deposited, and resistance across the electrodes varies. Thus, the amount of PM deposited between the electrodes can be detected by detecting the resistance across electrodes of the sensor, and the amount of PM contained in the exhaust gas can be accordingly estimated to detect a fault in a PM trapping filter, etc.
If the amount of PM deposited between the electrodes exceeds a predetermined level in this sensor, a value of the resistance across the electrodes no longer changes. The sensor then cannot output a value corresponding to the amount of PM deposited. In such situation where a lot of PM deposit between the electrodes, in the technique disclosed in patent document 1, a PM reset that burns the deposited PM to remove them is performed by heating the sensor for a predetermined period of time with a heater embedded in the sensor.

Control apparatus for internal combustion engine


An aerial vehicle is configured to operate in a base fuel cell operating mode and a fuel cell boost operating mode. A method for controlling the aerial includes providing a base fuel cell upper power limit. The method further includes controlling the fuel cell power level below the base fuel cell upper power limit when the aerial vehicle is operating in the base fuel cell operating mode. The method further includes operating the fuel cell above the base upper fuel cell power limit when the aerial vehicle is operating in the fuel cell boost operating mode.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Aerial vehicles are utilized in increasingly diverse applications such as, for example, air and surface combat, reconnaissance, logistics, research, and rescue applications. Aerial vehicle designs include very diverse shapes, sizes, configurations and characteristics, wherein each of the different aerial vehicle designs can be optimized for one or more specific application. For certain applications, fuel cell powered aerial vehicles are highly desirable because fuel cells provide a robust, low vibration, low emission, high-energy density power source for the aerial vehicle. Therefore, fuel cell powered aerial vehicles can operate for extended time period and over extended distances. Further, aerial vehicles utilizing fuel cells produce low noise level and low thermal signatures, which makes detection difficult.
Aerial vehicles can utilize hybrid fuel cell power systems comprising a fuel cell and a secondary battery. Both the secondary battery and the fuel cell are electrically coupled to a power bus supplying power to system components of the aerial vehicle. The fuel cell can continuously convert stored fuel to electrical power to the power bus at high energy efficiencies. The secondary battery can provide electrical power to the power bus by discharging the secondary battery and can receive electrical power from the power bus to charge the secondary battery.
Fuel cell power and battery power can be actively managed to efficiently power components of the aerial vehicle including the propulsion module, the system control, sensing components, and payload components of the aerial vehicle. For example, the secondary battery can be discharged to meet short-term component power requirements; however, typically much less energy is stored as battery charge than is stored as fuel supplied to the fuel cell. Therefore, while the secondary battery can be discharged to power aerial vehicle components for short periods of time, when the rechargeable battery is discharged over extended periods of time the battery state-of-charge will drop to a lower state-of-charge limit making battery power unavailable.
Therefore, new autonomous and manual methods for efficiently controlling power and energy within aerial vehicles are needed.

Method for managing power boost in a fuel cell powered aerial vehicle


A smart traffic control device transmits information to approaching vehicles regarding its current and future state enabling vehicles to control their speed to avoid arriving at the traffic control device until it permits the passage of traffic, thus avoiding stopping, idling and reaccelerating when reaching the traffic control device. In other embodiments the traffic control device or systems receives information from vehicles, transmitting it to other vehicles.

The present invention relates generally to the field of transportation, and more specifically to a process for improving the traffic flow on roads that utilize lights and signage to control the flow of vehicles through intersections.
While traffic lights work effectively to allow for the safe passage of vehicles through intersections, they have limited capabilities to manage traffic flow in their current configuration. Some traffic lights operate in response to detecting the relative traffic volume in the cross streets they regulate, providing a greater interval of time for vehicles to pass in proportion to the higher traffic load in one direction, with a shorter travel interval to the opposing traffic. However, even when traffic lights are optimally efficient to manage a difference in traffic flow on second by second needs basis, vehicles are necessarily stopped in lines at the traffic light for some period of time, creating traffic congestion.
Increasing population density has generated growing traffic congestion problems that increase air pollution and fuel inefficiency.
It is therefore the primary object of the invention is to reduce traffic congestion.
Accordingly, the inability to better coordinate individual vehicle speeds on roads with intersections is a major cause of traffic congestion, air pollution, and fuel inefficiency.
Another object of the invention is to provide for more fuel-efficient transportation on roads utilizing traffic lights and signage at intersections.
Another object of the invention is to provide for more fuel-efficient transportation on freeways and roads without intersections, especially during periods of heavy traffic.
Another object of the invention is to increase transportation system capacity with minimum capital cost and taking of land for infrastructure.
A further object is to improve safety by more effectively regulating and coordinating the flow of traffic through intersections and on freeways.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.


‘Colossus’ is a new and distinct southern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) variety distinguished at least by a low chilling requirement, vigorous, semi-bushy to semi-upright growth habit, good field disease resistance, and large, firm fruit that are sweet with a touch of acidity and exhibit small, dry picking scars and are suitable for mechanical harvest.

The invention relates to a new and distinct hybrid variety of southern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) plant 'Colossus' (alternatively designated as 'FL11-35'). 'Colossus', originated as a seedling that was generated from a cross performed in Gainesville, Fla. during February of 2008 between 'FL08-35' (unpatented), as the female (seed) parent, and 'FL04-103' (unpatented), as the male (pollen). The seedling was planted in a high-density field nursery in May of 2009, and the first fruit were evaluated in April of 2010. 'Colossus' was first asexually propagated during 2011 by softwood stem cuttings in Gainesville, Fla. After the second year of fruiting in the field, 'Colossus' was propagated by softwood stem cuttings during the spring of 2011 to establish an experimental 15-plant test plot for a variety test that was conducted during January of 2012 in Waldo, Fla. It was during this variety test that the experimental code 'Colossus' was assigned. Based on the growth, yield and fruit quality of this plot, 'Colossus' was repropagated by softwood stem cuttings and additional experimental test plots ranging from 5 to 45 plants were established for experimental research trials throughout Florida. These plots have been observed during flowering and ripening each year since establishment, and no mutations or off-type plants have been observed.


A system and method for testing a multimeter provides a mechanical arm to set a gear of the multimeter. Values displayed on the multimeter are captured by a camera. The computer obtains the displayed values from captured images using a difference image method. If a difference between each two obtained values is in an allowable error range of the multimeter, the computer displays that the gear is qualified. If the difference between each two obtained values is not in the allowable error range, the computer displays that the gear is out of tolerance.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to electronic device testing systems and methods, and more particularly to a system and method for testing a multimeter.
2. Description of Related Art
A multimeter may be used to read voltage, current, or resistance values of various electrical or computer components. In order to test multimeters, users may have to read and manually input values displayed on a multimeter into a computer because multimeters often cannot be connected to a computer. Thus, the users often have to manually record test results. Therefore, it can be very time-consuming for users to test multimeters.
Therefore, an effective system and method is needed to overcome the above-described shortcomings.

System and method for testing a multimeter

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


A compound type microscope is provided which can observe the measurement sample of an atomic force microscope (AFM) by means of an optical microscope. This compound type microscope is comprised of an optical microscope having an objective and an observation optical system, a cantilever having a reflecting surface and detecting an atomic force, an irradiating optical system for applying a spotlight to the cantilver, a detector for detecting the displacement of reflected light caused by the displacement of the cantilever, and a sample stage for placing a sample thereon. The arrangement can be designed to accommodate the use of a scanning tunnel type microscope (STM) interchangeably with the AFM so that the sample can be measured by the STM instead of by the AFM. To this end, the probe of the STM can be detachably mountable coaxially with respect to the objective of the optical microscope, whereby the probe of the STM and the cantilever of the AFM can be selectively disposed below the objective.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a compound type microscope comprising a combination of a scanning tunnel type microscope (STM), an atomic force microscope (AFM) and an optical microscope.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, there have been actively developed scanning tunnel type microscopes and atomic force microscopes in which a probe is brought close to the surface of a sample and scans the latter and a tunnel current or an atomic force acting between the probe and the sample is detected to thereby observe the minute structure of the surface of the sample.
The principle of the operation of the atomic force microscope (hereinafter referred to as the AFM) will hereinafter be described briefly with reference to FIG. 12 of the accompanying drawings. Light emitted from a light source 71 is condensed by a collimator lens 72, forms a spot on the reflecting surface of a cantilever 73 and is reflected thereby. This reflected light is received by a detector 74. A sample 75 is oscillated by a scanner 76 mounted on a Z stage 115a. The inclination of the cantilever 73 with respect to the sample 75 on a sample holder 77 caused by the atomic force is detected as a variation in the light receiving position on the detector 74. The variation in the light receiving position is converted into a variation in the relative distance between the sample 75 and the cantilever 73.
The observation area of the AFM is determined by the oscillation range of the scanner 76 and is therefore as small as several .mu.m. Accordingly, to find a particular point on the wide sample, it is necessary to move measuring points one after another and thus, a very long time has been required for observation. Even if an attempt is made to limit the measuring points in advance by an optical microscope or the like, it has been very difficult in the prior-art AFM because of the light source 71 and the detector 74.
On the other hand, with regard to the prior-art scanning tunnel type microscope (hereinafter referred to as the STM), as shown in FIG. 13 of the accompanying drawings, there has been developed a scanning tunnel microscope of coaxial construction in which an STM scanner 116 is provided outside a visible optical system provided with the objective 112 of an optical microscope. In this microscope, a sample 117 on a Z stage 115b can first be observed by means of the image pickup device 111 of the optical microscope and the position of a probe 114 fixed to the probe holder 113 of the STM can be confirmed to thereby specify a measuring point.
Also, as shown in FIG. 14 of the accompanying drawings, there has been proposed a coaxial type scanning tunnel microscope having an STM scanner 116 disposed in a through-hole in the objective 118 of an optical microscope having a through-hole.
The AFM and STM are very similar to each other in the control method and the algorithm of observation data obtainment and therefore, as shown in FIG. 15 of the accompanying drawings, there has been developed an apparatus in which portions of the electrical control systems such as an I/V amplifier 119, a feedback circuit 120, a high voltage amplifier 121 and a display 122 are used in common. In this apparatus, only a detecting system and a driving system are changed over by switches 123 and 124, and the STM and AFM are selectively operated.
As described above, in the prior-art AFM, the observation area is several .mu.m, and to find a particular region of several .mu.m from a wide area such as an organismic sample, it has been necessary to move measuring ranges of several .mu.m one after another until the desired point of the target sample is located. This has required a very long time.
Also, in a coaxial type scanning tunnel microscope wherein the prior-art STM and an optical microscope are disposed coaxially with each other, a probe has been provided in the central portion of the optical microscope and therefore, it has been difficult in terms of space to dispose the light source of the AFM and a detector.


The present techniques provide systems and methods for registering images of tissue spots on a tissue microarray (TMA). In studies involving multiple biomarkers being studied on the same TMA, the TMA slide is removed from the microscope, stained, and then imaged, often multiple times. The present techniques relate to validation of the registration of the acquired images of the same TMA. An automatic approach to register the images and detect registration failures as provided herein may enhance the rapid analysis of the tissues. Artifacts such as tissue folding and tissue loss are also determined automatically.

The invention relates generally to image processing and image analysis. More specifically, the present techniques relate to analysis of tissue microarrays.
Tissue microarray (TMA) technology has become the standard in large-scale immunohistochemistry (IHC), fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), and mRNA in situ hybridization (RNA-ISH) studies for protein, DNA and RNA expression. To prepare the TMA slides, a tissue core is typically obtained from the patient tissue and inserted in a paraffin recipient block. The resulting recipient block typically has hundreds of tissue cores from multiple patients. This block may then be cut into sections with many different tissue spots corresponding to the tissue cores. The sections may be placed on glass slides for examination and imaging.
The development of TMA technology has generated interest in studies involving multiple biomarkers that may be performed on a single slide, e.g., sequential tissue multiplexing, temporal analysis, change analysis, expression level analysis, and dose analysis. Such studies may allow researchers to investigate complex clinical conditions associated with several different proteins or biomarkers. For certain IHC studies of TMAs, the TMA slide is removed from the microscope after a round of staining and imaging, and bleached to remove the dye that is conjugated with the antibody. The tissue spots on the TMA may then be re-stained with the same dye (or other dyes) that may be conjugated with another antibody targeting different proteins, and the TMA is replaced under the microscope for imaging. This series of staining and bleaching steps on a single TMA may be repeated several times.
Because several images of the same TMA slide are generated from these studies, these images may be registered before further analysis is performed. A bottleneck in automated registration systems is the validation step, which includes the detection and correction of registration failures that may be the result of lost or folded tissue spots on the TMA. This is important because an undetected registration failure may lead to erroneous results in later stages of the automated analysis. In certain types of analysis, such as sequential multiplexing, tools to facilitate validation of the tissue quality in the TMA at each round of staining or bleaching may be advantageous. Tissue quality validation at each step helps to remove damaged tissue from subsequent analysis stages, thus avoiding inaccuracies in biomarker quantitation and tissue scoring. For example, if the registration is not successful for a given step, the protein expression measured at that step may not be correlated with measurement at any other step. Grossly folded or completely lost tissue cores may also influence the accuracy of results. In addition, a tissue core may be neither folded nor lost compared to the baseline state (initial state before any staining or bleaching), but the tissue core selected may have very few cells such that any quantitation will be misleading. Performing this validation for hundreds of tissue cores at each step of a sequentially multiplexed study is highly time-consuming.
Certain techniques for validation of individual tissue spots may involve visual inspection of the combined display of two or more images. For example, this may be accomplished by combining color channels, using two displays with paired cursors, or by using a checkerboard display. One disadvantage with this technique is the time that may be involved with reviewing images of each individual tissue spot. Other techniques provide analysis of an image-to-image metric value. However, this value is highly image-dependent and does not provide information about re-initialization of registration. Another technique involves an analysis of a resulting transformation. This technique is only useful if there is a ground truth to compare with, e.g., when registering to a synthetic image or an atlas. In another technique involving analysis of transformation stability, examining the Jacobian of the transform in the neighborhood of the transform returned by the registration method may be used. However, this approach does not preclude the selection of a local minimum, and does not suggest re-initialization values.

Method and apparatus for detecting irregularities in tissue microarrays


The present invention provides a method and apparatus for mounting a door frame into a door opening of a building and includes a pair of substantially similar brackets, a door support frame, and a trim frame. The brackets are connectable to the door opening, the door support frame is connected to the brackets, and the trim frame is connected to the door support frame. The brackets may have a slotted aperture for adjusting the brackets horizontally along a fastener. The brackets may also have an inward taper or ramp for adjustably receiving the door support frame. The brackets are connected to the door support frame through the use of mounting pins, slots, spring clips, integral pins, or a frame insertion tab.

Welded steel door frame systems are widely used in the construction of commercial buildings. These welded steel door frames are known for their high-strength, long service life, and one-piece finished appearance. Non-welded steel frame door systems are known to be used in the commercial construction industry as well, such as knocked down or multi-pieced designs, but such designs are not perceived as delivering the same value and benefits as a welded steel door frame system.
The installation of these welded steel door frame systems is labor intensive and driven by a complex logistics process. For instance, the design and construction of a typical one-piece steel door frame requires the door frame to be installed during the process of constructing the walls of the building which surround the door frame. As a result, the installation of the steel door frame must take place well in advance of the installation of the associated doors and door hardware. Because the steel door frames are installed early in the construction process, the steel door frames are susceptible to damage from construction activities taking place in and around the door openings.
In addition, the installation of a steel door frame typically requires multiple steps. That is, the steel door frames must first be assembled and installed, and then the associated doors are subsequently installed with their respective hardware. This typically requires several deliveries to the construction site due to the multiple component nature of the door frames and the associated door and hardware. Due to the weight of the door frame and the associated door, as well as the complexity of assembling the door frame and the associated door, the installation of the door frame and the door typically requires at least two laborers and multiple trips to and from the door opening to acquire and install the necessary components. Such installations are therefore inefficient and undesirable in the building industry.
As previously noted, there are typically a number of components involved in assembling the steel door frame, as well as the associated door and hardware. Thus, the site logistics for such components can be difficult, as the frames are often delivered to the job site in large quantities and have to be stored on site where storage space is typically limited. Often such components are moved numerous times prior to the installation of the door frame and associated door and hardware, thereby subjecting the components to possible damage and loss. This, of course, creates further inefficiencies that are undesirable in the building industry.
In light of these problems and inefficiencies with installing steel door frames and their associated doors and hardware, it would be desirable to provide a method and apparatus for mounting a steel door frame to a doorway in a building that reduced the total project costs, shortened construction lead times, improved installed quality, and created more efficient site logistics to increase the efficiency of installing such steel door frames.

Method and apparatus for mounting a door frame in a building


A magnetic recording medium is a magnetic recording medium having a tape-like shape and includes a base substrate and a magnetic layer provided on the base substrate. A plurality of data tracks can be formed in the magnetic layer, a width of a data track is 2900 nm or less, and in a case of defining, as wmax and wmin, a maximum value and a minimum value respectively out of average values of a width of the magnetic recording medium measured under four kinds of environment in which temperature and relative humidity are set to (10° C., 10%), (10° C., 80%), (29° C., 80%), and (45° C., 10%), wmax and wmin satisfy a relation of (wmax−wmin)/wmin≤400 [ppm].

The present disclosure relates to a magnetic recording medium.
In a tape-like magnetic recording medium utilized as a computer data storage, a width of a data track is very narrow in order to improve a recording density of data. Due to this, a change amount that can be allowed maximally as a dimensional change amount of the medium itself caused by environment such as a change in temperature and a change in humidity is reduced more and more.
Patent Document 1 discloses a magnetic tape medium in which a dimensional change in a width direction caused by environment is suppressed to a small amount, and it is possible to secure stable recording/reproducing characteristics with little off-tracking. Additionally, Patent Document 1 discloses that a dimensional change amount in the width direction with respect to a tension change in a longitudinal direction is reduced.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Magnetic recording medium having controlled dimensional characteristics


This homokinetic joint includes a roller assembly (9) having an inner ring (10) with a ring end surface (16) which is directed in a direction (S1), an outer roller (11) having a roller end surface (32) which is directed in the direction (S1), a needle ring (12), and a mechanism (13) for axially retaining the needle ring (12) on the inner ring (10). The ring end surface (16) is axially offset relative to the roller end surface (32) in the direction (S1).

Homokinetic tripod joints typically include a female element with pairs of tracks, a male element having three arms, and a roller assembly on each arm and adapted to engage a pair of tracks in the female element. Roller assemblies can vary. One roller assembly configuration includes an inner ring, an outer roller surrounding the inner ring, and a ring of needle bearings between the inner ring and outer roller. Mechanisms vary for retaining the needle bearing ring and the roller assembly with respect to the arms of the male element.
One example of a homokinetic tripod joint is disclosed in Verbrugge, U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,231. This assembly comprises two washers or "circlips" which axially retain the needle bearing ring and the outer roller on the inner rings. Each washer is received in a groove which is arranged in the outer roller and is pressed on an end surface of the inner ring. The outer roller projects axially beyond the inner ring, at each side, in order to be able to receive the washers. This projection results in a relatively large spatial requirement for a given nominal load of the assembly. Consequently, the socket also takes up a relatively large amount of space.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved homokinetic joint having reduced size or bulk for a given nominal load capacity, while maintaining structural integrity and service life.


Various embodiments of transportation devices that have at least two axes of rotation and employ ride balance based drive control are disclosed. One embodiment is a scooter type device with a platform structure movable in fore-aft. The drive motor may be provided at the platform section or drive wheel or be otherwise located. Other embodiments include inline wheeled board embodiments. Yet other embodiments include those utilizing a continuous track. The continuous track embodiments may have two drive motors, among other features.

Various vehicles are known in the art that use auto-balancing and they include the Segwey, Solowheel and Hovertrak, taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,302,230; 8,807,250; and 8,738,278, respectively, which are hereby incorporated by reference.
In these devices, there is generally one principal axis of rotation. The vehicle performs auto-balancing by speeding up or slowing down in an attempt to bring the platform surface of the vehicle to a steady-state balanced position.
The present invention provides a device with multiple axes of rotation, one forward of the other, such as a front wheel and a rear wheel. A movable rider platform with an associated position sensor permits a user to control the vehicle by leaning forward or rearward. The device is configured to attempt to bring the rider platform into steady state balance, accelerating when the platform is tilted a greater degree and decelerating as the rider platform is tilted less.
This produces a vehicle where platform movement can be independent of the position of the vehicle (or vehicle frame). Thus, it is the rider balance, not the vehicle balance, that is used in a feedback loop to control speed.
Multiple axes auto-balance driven vehicles, as taught by the present invention, have several advantages over single axis auto-balance vehicles. One is that they can travel faster (compare a scooter to a Solowheel or Segway). Another is that they can carry heavier loads. Yet another is that they are generally more stable, easier to ride and safer. Thus, there is a need in auto-balance driven devices to provide multiple-axes, yet maintain the beneficial and inherent feel that comes from auto-balance based drive control.

Transportation device having multiple axes of rotation and auto-balance based drive control