Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for signaling in a network. A method of signaling in a network includes determining in a first end station a destination telephone network address of a second end station and determining in the first end station an intermediate Internet address corresponding to the destination telephone network address. In response to determining the intermediate Internet address, the method retrieves an Internet address of the second end station from an address list at the intermediate Internet address and establishes an end-to-end Internet connection between the first end station and the second end station with the Internet address of the second end station.

The present invention relates to mobile device networking, and more particularly to end-to-end Internet connections establishment.
A traditional cellular (e.g., wireless) telephone accesses its called party through a cellular network, which provides the traditional cellular telephone access to a circuit switched network (e.g., Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)), which is able to transport the voice traffic to the called party. The establishment and the maintenance of a circuit switched connection for the duration of the call is expensive.
Current technology developments in wireless communication provides mobile devices with IEEE 802.11 interfaces. IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards carrying out wireless local area network (WLAN) computer communication in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands; they are implemented by the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee (IEEE 802). At the same time the so called "hot spots", i.e., areas where the Internet can be accessed via IEEE 802.11 connections, has proliferated in public places such as airports, hotels, homes and home offices, and so forth. Current IEEE 802.11 technologies have advanced to the point where coverage from a wireless router extends to miles or tens of miles.
The advances of IEEE 802.11 technologies and WiMAX promise wireless data coverage similar to the voice cellular coverage. Here, WiMAX refers to Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, which is a telecommunications technology that provides wireless transmission of data using a variety of transmission modes, from point-to-multipoint links to portable and fully mobile Internet access.
At the same time, advances in building mobile devices, smart phones and personal portable computers open unprecedented opportunities to develop networking solutions to the benefit of the end user of the basic services offered by the Internet.

End-to-end internet connections establishment


An automated method of monitoring a state of an analyzer is provided including a mass spectrometer (MS) with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source coupled to a liquid chromatography (LC) stream, including monitoring an electrospray ionization current of the ESI source and identifying a condition of multiple conditions of the analyzer based on the monitored ionization current of the ESI source, one of the conditions being a presence of a dead volume in a liquid chromatography stream of the analyzer downstream of an LC column of the LC stream.

Automated analyzers (e.g., in-vitro analyzers) are widespread in today's laboratory and hospital environments. These devices tend to become more and more complex due to added functionalities and increased throughput and a requirement to perform analytical tasks in an automated manner. As a consequence, errors and malfunctions can occur in a multitude of components which might lead to decreased productivity of the analyzer or less reliable measurement results. In some examples, external service personnel might be required to spot and fix an error which can take many hours or even days during which an analyzer or part of it might not be available.

Techniques for checking state of analyzers


An electronic device includes a power management unit, a touch panel including a first touch area and a second touch area, a first indicator, a second indicator, and a processing unit. The first touch area and the second touch area are respectively located on two sides of the touch panel, and is used to produce touch signals in response to a user's touch. The position of the first indicator and a second indicator are respectively corresponding to the first touch area and the second touch area. The processing unit controls the power management unit to provide power to the first indicator only when determining the first touch area is touched by the user according to the touch signals received by it, and control the power management unit to provide power to the second indicator only when determining the second touch area is touched.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to electronic devices, particularly, to an electronic device with a touch panel.
2. Description of Related Art
Nowadays, electronic devices, such as mobile phones, remote controllers, and media players, with a touch panel, are more and more popular due to the convenience of using touch panel as input device. However, conventional touch panels cannot indicate touch position of the touch panel, and thus lacking of fun to play with when being operated.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an electronic device with touch panel to overcome the described limitations.

HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD.


The present disclosure provides a foot step for a vehicle and a vehicle. The foot step includes: a step body and a light unit. The light unit is disposed on the step body and at least includes a warning light group. The warning light group is configured to emit light to warn traffic participants nearby of a width and an expected driving route of the vehicle.

A conventional foot step for a vehicle generally does not have a decorative light bar, thus causing a poor appearance of the foot step. Even if some foot steps for the vehicle are provided with the decorative light bar, the decorative light bar only plays a decorative role and has a poor cost-effectiveness.


Systems and techniques are described for colorizing vector images. Color raster images that correspond to the vector images are used to perform a color mapping to colorize the vector images. The vector images are represented using non-overlapping planar arrangements of faces of the vector images, so that the color mapping may be performed with respect to the faces. The faces may be processed in parallel, to further facilitate a speed and scalability of the describes processes and results.

Digital image editing refers generally to the use of computer software and associated hardware to access a digital image file and perform modifications on the image of the digital image file. In particular, it may be desirable to perform colorization of such an image. That is, for example, one aspect of the technical field of digital image editing includes editing an image to change a color of an object in that image.
In practice, digital images may be constructed, stored, and rendered on a screen, using different techniques. For example, a raster image generally defines a digital image on a pixel-by-pixel basis. In another example, a vector image generally defines a digital image in terms of geometric shapes.
Existing colorization techniques include the use of machine learning, e.g., neural networks, to colorize a raster image. Raster images, however, may have varying levels of resolution or other measures of quality. For example, a raster image may have a given pixel density, e.g., dpi (dots per inch). In general, a raster image may not be scalable to a desired extent. For example, a raster image with a given number of pixels may appear suitable at a first size, but may appear pixilated or otherwise distorted if scaled up to a second, larger size.
On the other hand, vector images are generally scalable to a desired size. For example, a vector image can be scaled by mathematically increasing each of the included geometric shapes proportionally, and then rendering the result.
As referenced above, existing colorization techniques are optimized for raster images. As a result, colorized vector images may be low-quality, and/or may be laborious and time-consuming for users to construct (e.g., may be constructed manually). Thus, even to the extent that automated colorization may be available, the existing techniques produce low-quality results, and require excessive computing resources and/or time to reach a desired result.


A system for retracting the drive spindle of a power tool includes a drive shaft which has a spline portion and a threaded portion. During normal operation, the drive spindle is rotated by interconnection of a drive gear with the splined portion of the drive spindle. When it is desired to retract the drive spindle, a drive spindle feed gear is locked into position and the threaded engagement of the drive spindle feed gear and the drive spindle causes the drive spindle to retract.

The present invention pertains to power tools. More particularly, the present invention pertains to retraction systems for the drive spindles of power tools.
Power tools, particularly air or electrically driven power tools, include a drive spindle. The drive spindle normally operates at high rpm and rotates a drill chuck or other device in order to perform work on a work piece. The operation of the device requires advancement of the drive spindle into the work piece. For optimum performance of work on the work piece, the drive spindle is kept at high rotation speeds.
When the work has been accomplished, it is necessary to retract the drive spindle from the work piece. The fabrication of a rapid, reliable retraction system to retract a drive spindle from a work piece has caused problems for power tool designers for many years. Some prior art systems employ a drive dog mechanism for retraction of the drive spindle from the work piece. Such drive dog systems have a tendency to jam when operated at high speeds.
There is, therefore, a need in the art to provide a rapid, reliable retraction system for drive spindles of power tools that can be operated at high speeds.

Retraction system for a power tool drive spindle


Provided are a reader-tag integrated RFID apparatus and a method for controlling the same. The apparatus includes a tag unit for communicating with an external reader, and transmitting a response signal and data corresponding to a signal transmitted from the external reader to the external reader, a reader unit for selecting a channel between other reader and the reader-tag integrated RFID apparatus with a different delay time, and communicating with an external tag using a random value to minimize collision; and a controller for selectively activating one of the tag unit and the reader unit if it necessary.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that recognizes, traces, and manages objects or animals with a tag attached by obtaining or recording information from the tag having unique identification information in contactless manner using a radio frequency (RF).
In general, the RFID includes a RFID tag including unique identification information and attached at an object and an animal and a RFID reader for receiving information from the tag or writing information to the tag. The RFID is classified into a mutual induction type and an electromagnetic type according to a communication method between the reader and a tag, or into a long wave type, a medium wave type, a short wave type, and a microwave type.
A RF unit having a reader, often referred as an interrogator, is a portable unit or a stationary unit for receiving a signal from the RFID tag and decodes the received signal.
When a plurality of RFID tags are in the tag-recognizable coverage of the RFID reader, a plurality of a RFID tags in the tag-recognizable coverage simultaneously respond to the signal of the RFID reader, thereby arising a collision problem.
Therefore, an anti-collision algorithm is required to identify a plurality of tags. The anti-collision algorithm is generally divided into a tree-based deterministic algorithm and a slot-aloha based probabilistic algorithm.
Recently, a UHF band has been recognized as a band suitable for the distribution industry. In order to satisfy the strong demand of the RFID market, the related standard has been rapidly progressed compared to other frequency bands. Among the introduced standards, ISO/IEC 18000-6 A, ISO/IEC 18000-6 C, 18000-7, and EPC C1 use the slot aloha based anti-collision algorithm.
In the slot aloha based anti-collision algorithm, a transmission time is divided into a plurality of time slots, and each tag selects one of time slots and transmits data using the selected time slot. In a general RFID system, a reader transmits a command with the number of slots as a parameter to each of tags in the coverage thereof. Then, each of the tags generates a random number, selects a slot, loads the information to transmit into the corresponding slot, and responds to the reader. Although a slot having one information is recognized by a reader, a slot having a plurality of information, a slot with collision generated, is not recognized by a reader. Herein, the slot having one information denotes a slot occupied by one tag or is referred as an identification slot. The slot having a plurality of information is a slot occupied by a plurality of tags. Due to the collision, the tags must retransmit the information in the next round or the next frame.
In order to effectively identify tags, the number of slots is set to have higher system efficiency, that is, a higher rate of identification slots in entire slots. Excessively large number of slots compared to the number of tags causes slots to be wasted, and excessively small number of slots compared to the number of tags increases a collision generation rate among tags. That is, the number of tags in the same coverage and the set number of slots decide the system efficiency.
Conventionally, a RFID tag and a RFID reader are independent devices. There is no tag/reader integrated RFID apparatus and a method thereof introduced lately.
Therefore, there is a demand for developing a tag/reader integrated RFID apparatus that performs both of a tag function and a reader function and a method of controlling a tag and a reader in the tag/reader integrated RFID apparatus without collision.

Apparatus and method for integrated reader and tag

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A communications headset includes bone vibrating transducers supported over the temporal bones of a wearer in front of each ear and an earpiece. The earpieces, when not in use, are selectively securable in a holster formed on each transducer housing. Radio signals received by a wearer or vehicular mounted radio are processed by and distributed through a communications interface to both the transducers and the earpiece speakers. Ambient or external noises picked up by one or more microphones on each earpiece are processed to reduce ambient noises above a certain level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communications headsets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional communications headsets include acoustic speakers for directing sound waves generated by a radio receiver or other circuitry into a wearer's ear canal and the auditory mechanism responsible for hearing. In the headset industry, it is also known to use bone vibrating transducers mounted in housings incorporated into a headset to transmit sound waves generated by a radio receiver through the temporal bones or other cranial bones of a wearer directly to the inner ear cochlea, allowing sounds to bypass the eardrum. See for example, U.S. Design Pat. No. D550,656. Headsets incorporating bone vibrating transducers are known to be particularly useful in applications in which the wearer wants to leave the auditory canal of the ear unoccluded to hear sounds in the ambient environment. Bone vibrating transducer headsets are also advantageous in that they allow the wearer to engage and disengage various forms of hearing protection while having no negative impact on the wearer's ability to hear radio transmissions.
There remains a need for improved communications headsets for military and law enforcement tactical applications.

Bone conduction communications headset with hearing protection


The vehicle door hardware assembly includes exterior and interior housings each having a handle or paddle for opening the door. The outer housing includes a plunger which is normally extended, and can be retracted by either the exterior or interior handle when the door is unlocked. A deadbolt is also provided on the exterior housing. A main lock can be slid between locked and unlocked positions to preclude or allow movement of the paddle. A pair of key cylinders is provided on the exterior housing for actuating the deadbolt and the main lock. Power units can be connected to the lock and deadbolt via actuators. The deadbolt and lock are also movable by a pair of knobs on the inside housing.

Hardware for vehicle door handles come in numerous configurations. For motor home and recreational vehicle doors, the hardware is typically different than on automobiles and trucks. For example, on a motor home door, the door panel is sandwiched between interior and exterior handle housings, with pivotal exterior and interior handles or paddles to retract the plunger or rotate a rotary latch for opening the door. Locks are provided on the handle assembly to lock the exterior paddle so that the door cannot be opened by unauthorized personnel. Generally, there is a main door lock with a dead bolt optionally provided for extra security. Current motor home and RV door handle assemblies have several drawbacks. One shortcoming of conventional handle assemblies is the lack of a power lock for the deadbolt, due primarily to space and dimensional limitations. Also, standard motor home door hardware prevents the door from being closed when the lock cylinder is in the locked condition, since the plunger bolt will not retract when the door is locked. Also, the plunger channel in the housing is relatively thick to meet load requirements, which complicates manufacture of the housing, particularly for die cast processes.
Therefore, the primary objective of the present invention is the provision of improved hardware for a door handle assembly which overcomes the problems and limitations of the prior art.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a motor home door hardware assembly which allows the main lock and/or deadbolt to be actuated with a power lock actuator.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of an RV door handle assembly having a slidable lock which, when locked, allows the door to be closed.
Yet another objective of the present invention is the provision of a vehicle door handle assembly having a lock which blocks the inside and outside handles from actuation when the door is locked.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved door handle assembly for a motor home or RV having reinforcement plates under the load pins and through which the plunger moves so as to reduce the mass of the plunger channel in the hardware housing.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved door handle assembly for a motor home or RV which is durable in use, and which provides enhanced features for the vehicle door and user.
These and other limitations will become apparent from the following description of the invention.


An electronic face-identification device, which performs face scanning with ultrasonic waves, includes a housing and an ultrasound device disposed within the housing. The ultrasound device may be configured to transmit ultrasonic waves through air to a face and scan the face with the ultrasonic waves, to receive reflected waves through the air corresponding to reflections of the ultrasonic waves from the face, and to perform a recognition process for the face based on reflections of the ultrasonic waves from the face. The ultrasound device may include a plurality of ultrasound transducers, and electronic circuitry configured to transmit signals to the ultrasound transducers and receive signals from the ultrasound transducers. The face-identification device may be incorporated into various electronic equipment, such as hand-held equipment in the form of smartphones and tablet computers, as well as in larger scale installations at airports, workplace entryways, and the like.

Ultrasound systems may be used to perform diagnostic testing and imaging on an object, using acoustic or sound waves with frequencies that are higher than those audible to humans. Such testing and imaging may be performed non-destructively on the object. That is, the object need not undergo a physical transformation in order to be evaluated using ultrasonic sound waves. Sound waves classified as "ultrasonic" may have a frequency in a range of 20 kHz to 50 MHz.
When sound waves are transmitted into a body structure, such as that of a living mammal, at least some of the sound waves reflect off soft-tissue organs and other objects in the body structure, with different tissues and objects reflecting varying degrees of the sound waves. The reflected sound waves may be transformed into an electrical signal, which may then be recorded and displayed as an ultrasound image. The strength or amplitude of the reflected sound waves, and the delay or time it takes for the sound waves to travel to and reflect from the organs and other objects of the body structure, provide information that may be used to produce the ultrasound image. Different types of images can be formed using ultrasound technology. For example, images can be generated that show two-dimensional cross-sections of tissue, blood flow, motion of tissue over time, the location of blood, the presence of specific molecules, the stiffness of tissue, and the anatomy of a three-dimensional region.
Some ultrasound imaging devices may be fabricated using micromachined ultrasound transducers, which may include a flexible membrane suspended above a substrate. A cavity may be located between part of the substrate and the membrane, such that the combination of the substrate, the cavity, and the membrane may form a variable capacitor. When actuated by an appropriate electrical signal, the membrane may generate an ultrasound signal (i.e., ultrasonic waves) by vibration. Similarly, in response to receiving an ultrasound signal (i.e., ultrasonic waves), the membrane may vibrate and, as a result, may generate an electrical signal that in turn may be outputted for further processing.

Ultrasound face scanning and identification apparatuses and methods


A diffuser includes a diffuser element made of silicon carbide having conductivity, conductive holding members for holding the diffuser element, conductive gaskets that seal between the diffuser element and the holding members. Static electricity on the diffuser element is eliminated through the gaskets, and the holding members.

In semiconductor fabrication steps, the processing apparatus is depressurized and thermal treatment is carried out in a depressurized atmosphere. After completion of the thermal treatment, the pressure inside of the processing apparatus is turned to the atmospheric state from the depressurized state, and semiconductor wafers are taken out from the apparatus.
In such a semiconductor processing apparatus, a gas outlet and a gas inlet are provided usually to equate the atmosphere (pressure) in the processing apparatus to the atmosphere (pressure) of the outside thereof when the wafers to be processed are transferred into the apparatus from the outside or processed wafers are transferred to outside.
The processing apparatus is configured that the atmospheric gas in the apparatus is exhausted to a depressurized state through the gas outlet and the depressurized state is released by introducing gas through the gas inlet.
When the depressurized state is released by introducing the gas through the gas inlet, a diffuser is installed at the gas inlet to reduce pressure variation and to prevent particles in the apparatus from soaring up. The diffuse is also called a break filter.
A diffuser disclosed in the Japanese patent No. 5032937 is shown in FIG. 7 and described based on FIG. 7. Here, FIG. 6 shows an outline construction of a semiconductor processing apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,937.
As shown in FIG. 6, a diffuser 50 is provided in a semiconductor processing apparatus 10 to be used when the depressurized state is released by introducing a gas. Since the diffuser 50 is provided at the gas inlet, a pressure variation upon opening a closing valve 40 can be reduced and particles in the apparatus can be prevented from soaring up.
When evacuating the processing apparatus, since an adjusting valve 42 is provided in parallel to a closing valve 41 for evacuation, slow evacuation is achieved by operating the adjusting valve 42 when evacuation started. A numeral W denotes a wafer to be processed.
As shown in FIG. 7, in the diffuser 50, one end and the other end of a diffuser element 51 made of alumina are supported by a pair of metal holding members 52a and 52b through gaskets 53 and 54 both made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
Further, in the diffuser element made of alumina, a pipe 55 for gas introduction is provided. The pipe 55 is a metal hollow-shaped, a cylinder, having a large number of through-holes 55a are bored on the circumferential wall and penetrates the holding members 52a and the diffuser element 51.
By opening the closing valve 40, a gas is introduced through the gas inlet pipe 55 at the holding members 52a and into the processing apparatus further through the through-holes 55a and the diffuser element 51 to release the depressurized state in the processing apparatus.
The flowing speed of the gas introduced into the processing apparatus is reduced by the diffuser element 51 functioning as a resistance to the gas flow, and this results to prevent particles from soaring up and dew occurrence in the processing apparatus.
The pair of the holding members and the gas inlet pipe is made of metal and have electric conductivity, but the diffuser element made of alumina is no-conductive and the gaskets are also non-conductive because they are made of PTFE.
Though diffusers made of metal material are for sale on the market, diffusers made of alumina having excellent corrosion resistance are preferred because there are opportunities where gas plasma or corrosive gases are used in the semiconductor processing apparatus.
However, when static electricity charges on the diffuser element due to some reasons, a technical problem arises that the static electricity causes particles floating in the air outside the processing apparatus or in the atmosphere inside the processing apparatus to adhere to the outer circumferential surface of the diffuser element.
When such a diffuser is used inside the processing apparatus, since particles are brought into the processing apparatus, or the particles inside the processing apparatus adhere to the diffuser, the particles soaring up increase inside the processing apparatus during use.
As a result, even if rapid changes in atmospheric pressure and the gas flow inside the processing apparatus are suppressed by the use of the diffuser, there arises a technical problem that soaring up of the particles increases, and deterioration of yield occurs.

Conductive diffuser and manufacturing method of the same


A torque oscillation compensation system and circuit that senses battery current to compensate for electrical motor torque pulsations. An input source provides a torque/current command input signal that drives the motor, and a summing device has one input coupled to receive the torque/current command input signal. A controller is coupled to the summing device and to power switching circuitry that is coupled between the battery and the electric motor. An oscillation compensation circuit is coupled between the battery and the summing device that generates a compensation signal that is combined with the torque/current command input signal and compensates for output shaft oscillators. The oscillation compensation circuit comprises an AC coupling capacitor, an amplifier having a predetermined transfer function that is designed to provide for the proper amount of compensation. The present invention compensates for the torque fluctuations caused by induction motors and permits stable operation thereof. The novelty of the present invention is that compensation is achieved by sensing the AC ripple component of the battery or DC power supply input to power switching circuitry used to drive the motor. This signal is an indication of torque fluctuation and is used to to modulate the motor current and/or motor slip and/or commutating angle and/or the motor field current to eliminate the torque fluctuations of the motor output shaft.

The present invention relates generally to torque oscillation compensation for electric motors, and more particularly, to a torque oscillation compensation system and circuit that senses battery current to generate a compensation signal.
Electric drive train systems can exhibit torque pulsations. These torque pulsations can cause motor bearing and tire wear. The torque pulsations can also cause undesirable drive train/vehicle vibration. Prior art devices for use in stabilizing electric vehicles have attempted to implement vehicle stabilization using gyroscopic compensation. However, gyroscopic techniques have not yet proved to be feasible for use on electric vehicles. Other conventional approaches include in-line torque transducer feedback, DC bus voltage modulation, and external series/parallel element for motor, and the like.
It has also been known for some time that induction motors that are driven by variable frequency controllers exhibit torque fluctuations, especially at low speed. Electric vehicles that are propelled by such induction motors therefore exhibit torque fluctuations. This results in unstable operation at low speed and can affect the marketability of the vehicle. Consequently, the prior art approaches are not cost effective and/or technically suited for use in many electric drive train applications.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide for a torque oscillation compensation circuit that senses battery current to generate a compensation signal to compensate for pulsations experienced at the output shaft of an electric motor.

Torque oscillation compensation utilizing battery current sensing


Methods and systems are provided for a sealing system for a dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) system. In one embodiment, a system comprises: a reservoir including an inlet opening; an outer tube; and a tapered seal shaped to seal against the inlet opening and the outer tube, the tapered seal including: a first section removably coupleable to a second section; and a through-hole formed by a first plurality of inner surfaces of both the first section and the second section, the through-hole shaped to encircle the outer tube. In this way, the tapered seal may be coupled around the fluid passage without inserting a tip of the fluid passage through the through-hole of the tapered seal, and a sterility of the system may be maintained.

A dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) system may be utilized to prepare contrast agents (e.g., 13C1-Pyruvate) for imaging via imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Increasing a polarization of the nuclear spins of the contrast agents may increase a sensitivity of the imaging modalities. In order to provide conditions for increasing the polarization of the nuclear spins, a temperature of the contrast agents is decreased by positioning the contrast agents within a container (e.g., a vial) and submerging the container into a bath of liquid helium within a vacuum chamber of the DNP system. In order to retain the liquid helium within the vacuum chamber, an inlet opening of the vacuum chamber may be closed by a sterilized sealing system. A magnetic field is produced across the vacuum chamber by one or more magnets of the DNP system, and the contrast agents are hyperpolarized by microwave radiation at an appropriate frequency from a microwave radiation source of the DNP system. The hyperpolarized contrast agents may be mixed with a dissolution medium such as an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide and tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane and may be transported to a location external to vacuum chamber for analysis via MRI, NMR, or other imaging modality.

Systems and method for a dynamic seal assembly for a fluid delivery system


Certain embodiments described herein are generally directed to techniques for computing grouping object memberships in a network. Embodiments include receiving a plurality of network configuration updates. Embodiments include identifying delta updates to a plurality of grouping objects based on the plurality of configuration updates. Embodiments include determining a parallel processing arrangement for the delta updates based on dependencies in a directed graph comprising representations of the plurality of grouping objects. Embodiments include processing the delta updates according to the parallel processing arrangement in order to determine memberships of the plurality of grouping objects. Embodiments include distributing one or more updates to one or more endpoints based on the memberships of the plurality of grouping objects.

Software defined networking (SDN) comprises a plurality of hosts in communication over a physical network infrastructure, each host having one or more virtualized endpoints such as VMs, containers, or other virtual computing instances (VCIs) that are connected to logical overlay networks that may span multiple hosts and are decoupled from the underlying physical network infrastructure. Though certain aspects are discussed herein with respect to VMs, it should be noted that they may similarly be applicable to other suitable VCIs. Furthermore, certain aspects discussed herein may similarly be applicable to physical machines. Some embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applicable to environments including both physical and virtual machines.
Any arbitrary set of VMs in a datacenter may be placed in communication across a logical Layer 2 network by connecting them to a logical switch. Each logical switch corresponds to a virtual network identifier (VNI), meaning each logical Layer 2 network can be identified by a VNI. The logical switch is collectively implemented by at least one virtual switch on each host that has a VM connected to the logical switch. The virtual switch on each host operates as a managed edge switch implemented in software by the hypervisor on each host. Forwarding tables at the virtual switches instruct the host to encapsulate packets, using a virtual tunnel endpoint (VTEP) for communication from a participating VM to another VM on the logical network but on a different (destination) host. The original packet from the VM is encapsulated at the VTEP with an outer IP header addressed to the destination host using a mapping of VM IP addresses to host IP addresses. At the destination host, a second VTEP decapsulates the packet and then directs the packet to the destination VM. Logical routers extend the logical network across subnets or other network boundaries using IP routing in the logical domain. The logical router is collectively implemented by at least one virtual router on each host or a subset of hosts. Each virtual router operates as a router implemented in software by the hypervisor on the hosts.
SDN generally involves the use of a management plane (MP) and a control plane (CP). The management plane is concerned with receiving network configuration input from an administrator or orchestration automation and generating desired state data that specifies how the logical network should be implemented in the physical infrastructure. The management plane may have access to a database application for storing the network configuration input. The control plane is concerned with determining the logical overlay network topology and maintaining information about network entities such as logical switches, logical routers, endpoints, etc. The logical topology information specifying the desired state of the network is translated by the control plane into network configuration data that is then communicated to network elements of each host. The network configuration data, for example, includes forwarding table entries to populate forwarding tables at virtual switch(es) provided by the hypervisor (i.e., virtualization software) deployed on each host. An example control plane logical network controller is described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,525,647 entitled "Network Control Apparatus and Method for Creating and Modifying Logical Switching Elements," which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
SDN often uses network controllers to configure logical networks throughout a datacenter. As SDN becomes more prevalent and datacenters cater to more and more tenants, controllers are expected to perform more operations. For example, a network controller may manage a plurality of managed forwarding elements (MFEs) (e.g., virtual routers, virtual switches, VTEPs, virtual interfaces, etc., running on host machines, which are physical computing devices that support execution of virtual machines (VMs) or other virtualized computing instances) that implement one or more logical networks. The MFEs may implement various logical entities (e.g., logical routers, logical switches, etc.) of each logical network. A particular logical entity may be implemented on a subset of the MFEs managed by the controller. The controller may receive an update (e.g., change to the desired state) of the particular logical entity. Accordingly, the controller may need to determine the subset of MFEs that implement the logical entity (i.e., the span of the logical entity) to send the update so the logical entity can be updated.
An important part of network configuration that is computed on a network controller is network security configuration. SDN uses the concept of grouping objects to allow groupings of different combinations of fundamental networking layer components, like internet protocol (IP) addresses, ports, media access control (MAC) addresses, L2 logical switches, L3 logical routers, and the like. Such grouping objects allow a security layer to be defined based on user defined rules that reference the grouping objects. A basic example is a security rule that blocks traffic sent from Group 1 to Group2. Group 1 and Group2 are grouping objects that are defined to include combinations of networking elements. For extensibility, grouping objects may be a composition of other grouping objects as well. As such, a hierarchy of grouping object may be defined, and may be visualized as a forest data structure where both very-deep and very-wide hierarchies are possible.
Given a current state of all grouping objects, for any network configuration change that impacts grouping membership, the network controller identifies all high level grouping objects in the hierarchy that will be updated. The nature of computation involved in determining grouping membership is incremental (e.g., for each given network configuration update) and iterative (e.g., as each given network configuration update is propagated to each grouping object in the hierarchy). Existing solutions leverage the incremental nature of computing grouping membership, such as by maintaining a current state and computing the difference resulting from each successive network configuration update on top of the current state. However, these techniques can become inefficient when large amounts of network configuration updates need to be processed, as each successive network configuration update cannot be processed until the preceding network configuration update has been propagated to all grouping objects in the hierarchy.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved techniques of determining grouping membership by a network controller based on network configuration updates.

Differential dataflow approach for computing grouping membership in network controllers


A device for inspecting the external surfaces of containers using a radiation device which directs light onto a container to be inspected. The device includes a transport device for transporting the container with respect to the radiation device, and an image capturing device which captures the container illuminated by the radiation device, with a background being located behind the container with respect to the image capturing device, with respect which the container can be imaged. The background has both a lighter area and a darker area by comparison with this lighter area.

The present invention relates to an inspection device and in particular to an inspection device for containers. It is customary in the field of the beverage processing industry to inspect not only the filled containers or containers to be filled themselves, but also the labels attached to these containers. Thus, such labels might have faults such as warpages, tears or the like, which are intended to be detected in this way.
In this context, inspection devices are known from the prior art, wherein the containers to be inspected are transported on a conveyor belt and are inspected from several sides for example by means of deflection mirrors. Particular problems are encountered here in the case of so-called metallic labels, which generate desired reflections which are partially erased (unintentionally) while being monitored through polarising filters.
A container inspection machine is known from DE 199 04732 A1. Here, the containers to be inspected are carried on a conveyor belt and are monitored by means of CCD cameras. Further, light sources are provided which illuminate the containers from the back side with regard to the CCD camera.
DE 103 22 459 B3 describes an inspection device for bottles. In these devices, the bottles are illuminated from above by means of illumination devices, and cameras monitor the containers from the side or transversely to the bottle axis. Also, a light image background is used, in order to be able to generate an advantageous image of the bottle compared thereto.
DE 20 2005 006 220 U1 describes an inspection device for inspecting closed containers. Here, a housing is provided, within which an illumination device and cameras are disposed.
It is also known to equip the entire internal space in a homogenous way, in order to provide a diffuse illumination of the inspection space, with a great emphasis being put on the optical properties with respect to reflection and diffusion. It is also known to adapt the characteristics of the transport device correspondingly, in order to achieve in this way that all of the surfaces of the housing and inside the housing radiate light onto the container to be inspected, so that all of these surfaces inside the housing are used as a source of illumination.
During image capturing, however, the problem arises that the containers are not always in the same position relative to the conveyor belt, and therefore differences in the captured image may occur from one bottle to another. In the prior art, however, these positioning inaccuracies of the containers are not addressed in more detail. The known devices always assume an ideal position of the container, which is not a realistic assumption in view of processing rates as high as 50,000 containers or more per hour.
In real-life systems, the containers are not always exactly in the same position in the transport direction and laterally thereto. In the transport direction, each system has some delay and some jitter. If, for example, a delay of one millisecond is assumed, which is a typical value, and if a conveying speed of two meters per second is used as a basis, then this may result in deviations in the order of two millimeters. If one additionally assumes that, during braking and accelerating of the conveyor belt, some slipping of the containers relative to the conveyor belt may occur, then this may result in overall positional inaccuracies in the order of 5 mm.
Also, the lateral position relative to the transfer direction is not precise. If, for example, a conveyor clearance of approx. 10 mm is assumed, the lateral position relative to the direction of travel may vary by up to 5 mm. This will cause substantial interferences to the inspection task. If, for example, it is also assumed that a camera inspects a range of 300 mm and is positioned at a distance of 600 mm from the object, with four cameras being offset from each other by 90°, respectively, then 300 mm will be projected onto approx. 600 pixels, i.e. 0.5 mm correspond to 1 pixel.
If a container is displaced by e.g. 5 mm in the transport direction, the distance to a camera will be increased by 3.5 mm and the distance to a further camera will be reduced by 3.5 mm. As a result, an imaging error may occur at the interface from −4 pixels in the case of one camera and +3 pixels in the case of the other. If the four views are to be equalised and to be merged into one overall sequence, an imaging error of 7 pixels relative to 600 pixels will occur at the interface between the two cameras. This error will be visible most of all in the edge regions of the camera.
Apart from the imaging changes, the lateral offset in the camera image is of importance. The correction mask no longer coincides with the theoretically ideal position and areas will be evaluated with incorrect elongation factors, i.e. the error may integrally propagate.
For these reasons it is of advantage to know the actual position of the container. To this end, in the simplest scenario, the contour of the container will at least partially be determined. To this end, however, there must be a contrast between the contour and the background. It is therefore necessary to localise exactly the bottle edges in the captured images, which is in principle possible by using software solutions, provided that a sufficient contrast is present. Further, due to the curvatures of the bottles towards the sides of the bottles, the distortion of the labels in the image increases. Thus, in order to achieve an advantageous correction of the image, an exact localization of the bottle contour is required. Often, however, the labels have not been attached to the bottles around the entire circumference thereof, so that the bottle contour has to be determined also in places where no label is attached. If darker bottles are used, it is possible to use a correspondingly light background, in order to achieve an exact localization of the position of the containers. If lighter bottles are used, a darker background could be used, in order to facilitate the localization of the bottles in this case. If, however, different bottles are used, their backgrounds need to be changed, in order to create the respective contrast against the background in each case.
As mentioned above, in the prior art the housings are either completely black or are illuminated in a homogenous, diffuse and light manner. In the case of black housings, only the contours of light, milky containers may be detected, not those of dark containers or those with products such as cola or red wine or those of a dark beer bottle.
Conversely, if light housings are used, only the contours of dark containers may be detected, the contours of clear, light containers containing a clear, light product, such as e.g. water in white glass, water in disposable PET, possibly even milk in white glass or similar can not be detected. The contrasts are not sufficient for a determination of the contour to be carried out. In this case, at least the housing would have to be replaced in each case, if both light and dark products are to be inspected.


Examples herein include apparatus and techniques that can be used to perform rotational spectroscopy on gas-phase samples. Such techniques can include using a spectrometer providing frequency synthesis and pulse modulation to provide excitation (e.g., pump or probe pulses) of a gas-phase sample at mm-wave frequencies. Synthesis of such mm-wave frequencies can include use of a frequency multiplier, such as an active multiplier chain (AMC). A free induction decay (FID) elicited by the excitation or other time-domain information can be obtained from the sample, such as down-converted and digitized. A frequency domain representation of the digitized information, such as a Fourier transformed representation, can be used to provide a rotational spectrum.

Molecular rotational spectroscopy is a technique that offers high chemical selectivity and sensitivity and can be used to analyze mixtures of gas samples. The technique is applicable to volatile species (e.g., having a minimum vapor pressure of about 0.1 Pascal (Pa)). Molecular rotational spectroscopy generally relies on a polar conformation of a molecule for detection (i.e., the molecule has a non-zero dipole moment). For room-temperature samples, a peak of the spectral intensity of a rotational spectrum typically occurs in the range of millimeter-wave ("mm-wave") frequencies (e.g., from about 200 Gigahertz (GHz) to about 1000 GHz), particularly for molecules with 2-10 "heavy" nuclei (non-hydrogen atoms). A molecular rotational spectrum of most molecules will contain multiple, spectrally narrow transitions in any fixed mm-wave frequency range of modest bandwidth (e.g., a bandwidth of about 30 to about 50 GHz). Accordingly, a chemical analysis of a multiple component gas mixture can be made using a single mm-wave frequency range because all species will have spectroscopic transitions in the measurement range. However, the presence of overlapping spectra presents challenges to identifying the rotational spectrum of a single gas mixture component.

Apparatus and techniques for Fourier transform millimeter-wave spectroscopy

University of Virginia Patent Foundation


A package of coasters comprises a plurality of coasters arranged in a stack and a flexible binding. The flexible binding engages a side portion of each of the plurality of coasters within the stack. The flexible binding includes an adhesive layer to retain each of the plurality of coasters within the stack. The adhesive layer permits at least one coaster to be releasably removed from an original position within the stack. A clear cover may be placed on the uppermost one of the coasters. And, a peelable strap may be affixed to the stack on another side surface of the stack.

It is known that glasses and containers having cold liquids may collect condensation from the ambient air. The water may run down the side of the glass or container and drip onto the furniture. Alternatively, hot containers also have been known to damage furniture surfaces, especially those made of wood.
Drink coasters have been used to alleviate the problems associated with the glasses or containers that may harm the underlying furniture. The coasters separate the glasses or containers from the underlying furniture. Coasters have been made of a variety of materials, including paper and polymers. Oftentimes, the coasters are disposable in that they are discarded after a few uses. Additionally, coasters may include artwork or advertising materials.
One problem with current coasters is related to the manner in which they are assembled and packaged for shipping, distribution, retail display, and storage. Another problem relates to the fact the set of coasters cannot be retained in an assembled state while readily displaying to the user the different artwork and/or advertising that is printed on the coasters within the set. Another problem with existing coaster sets relates to storing them before and after use. The present invention is directed to solving these problems.

Packaging and assembly of drink coasters


An AMZ tibial tuberosity transfer system and method of treatment of patellofemoral joints. The AMZ system includes 1) a retractor with a better conformation to anatomy and more curve (not just a bend), and also with a larger radius on the front of the retractor to allow for easier insertion; 2) a cutting block that can fully accept a collared pin; 3) a rod preferably formed of stainless steel; 4) a tuberosity pin guide; 5) an exit indicator that engages tightly the cutting block so there is no slope on exit indication; and 6) a horizontal bar provided with markings to measure the medial shift.

The patellofemoral joint presents a complex challenge to surgeons. Patellofemoral dysfunction (instability or pain) is often a result of an abnormal, lateral position of the tibial tuberosity. One method of treating patellar problems is tibial tuberosity osteotomy, wherein the tuberosity is moved to allow treatment of patellar pain and/or instability.
The assumption that the original tuberosity position is abnormal or suboptimal for distributing force is the reason for moving the tuberosity to a new position. Anteromedialization (AMZ) of the tuberosity is typically achieved by an oblique cut between the sagittal and coronal planes of the tuberosity. The obliquity can be altered to achieve the same degree of elevation with various degrees of medialization (the steeper the cut, the less the medialization). The desired slope of the osteotomy is determined preoperatively. The AMZ procedure begins by lateral release of subcutaneous tissues along the patellar tendon. A guide is used to position the tuberosity pin perpendicular to the posterior wall of the tibia. A horizontal guide, with a predetermined angle, is placed over the tuberosity pin. A cutting block is attached to the horizontal guide on the medial aspect of the tuberosity. The horizontal guide and cutting guide are adjusted so that the position of the cutting block is medial to the tuberosity in a posteromedial to anteromedial orientation as it travels distally. The obliquity of the jig will allow the distal cut of the tuberosity to exit laterally, fully freeing the tuberosity.
Two breakaway pins are inserted into the tibia to help secure the cutting block. The angle of the slope is visualized as the slope selector outrigger-aiming device is temporarily applied to the block. The tip of the slope selector is placed posteriorly on the lateral face of the tibia (this predetermines where the osteotomy will exit).
Once the slope and planned cut exit have been determined, the cutting block is attached to the tibia with fixation pins (placed through holes in the cutting block) into drill holes in the tibia. A custom retractor is placed posterior to the tibia to protect deep neurovascular structures. An oblique cut is made from the proximal extent of the posterior cut to the lateral proximal attachment of the patellar tendon to the tuberosity. Once the tuberosity is fully released, and after the desired (final) tuberosity position is achieved, the newly-repositioned tuberosity is typically fixed by employing two interfragmentary screws.
Improved instrumentation and methods of quantifying the shift in the anterior and medial direction of the tibial tuberosity when performing the AMZ procedure are needed.


A polymer film that has an in-plane retardation Re(λ) and a thickness-direction retardation Rth(λ) satisfying formula (i) and (ii), and that further has a surface energy of at least one surface is from 50 mN/m to 80 mN/m:0≦Re(630)≦10, and |Rth(630)|≦25; and  (i)|Re(400)−Re(700)|≦10, and |Rth(400)−Rth(700)|≦35.  (ii)                in the formulae, Re(λ) and Rth(λ) are measurement values at the wavelength of λ nm, and an optically-compensatory film, an optical material such as a polarizer and a liquid-crystal display device using the polymer film.

Heretofore, cellulose acylate films have been used in photographic supports and various optical materials because of their good toughness and flame retardancy. In particular, recently they have become much used for optical transparent films for liquid-crystal display devices. As having high optical transparency and high optical isotropy, cellulose acylate films are excellent as optical materials for devices for polarization such as liquid-crystal display devices. Heretofore, they are used as protective films for polarizers and supports for optically-compensatory films capable of bettering the display images in the oblique direction (as viewing angle compensation).
A polarizer, a part of a liquid-crystal display device comprises a polarizing element and a protective film for the element attached to at least one side of the element. In general, a polarizing element is obtained by coloring an oriented polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film with iodine or a dichroic dye. In many cases, a cellulose acylate film, especially a triacetyl cellulose film is used for the protective film for a polarizing element, as the film can be directly stuck to PVA. In attaching a protective film to a polarizing element, the surface of the protective film that is to be stuck to a polarizing element is subjected to surface treatment for hydrophilication for the purpose of bettering the adhesiveness of the film surface to a polarizing element. For the hydrophilication treatment, generally employed is alkali treatment, plasma treatment or corona treatment (for example, JP-A 2002-328224, JP-A 2000-356714). It is important that the protective film for a polarizing element has good optical isotropy, and the optical properties of the protective film for a polarizing element have significant influences on the properties of the polarizer that comprises the protective film.
Recently, liquid-crystal display devices have been much more required to have further improved viewing angle characteristics, and the optical transparent films for the protective films for polarizing elements and for the supports for optically-compensatory films are also required to have further increased optical isotropy. For the optical isotropy, it is important that the retardation, which is represented by the product of the birefringence and the thickness of an optical film, is small. In particular, for bettering the image display in the oblique direction, not only the retardation in the in-plane direction (Re) but also the retardation in the film thickness direction (Rth) must be reduced. Concretely, when the optical properties of an optical transparent film are evaluated, it is important that Re measured in the in-plane direction of the film is small and Re does not change even when measured in different angles.
Heretofore, cellulose acylate films having a reduced in-plane Re are known. However, cellulose acylate films of which the angle-dependent Re change is reduced, or that is, those having a reduced Rth are difficult to produce. Given that situation, optical transparent films having a reduced angle-dependent Re change have been proposed by the use of polycarbonate films or thermoplastic cyclo-olefin films in place of cellulose acylate films (for example, JP-A 2001-318233 and JP-A 2002-328233; commercial products of ZEONOR (by Nippon Zeon), ARTON (by JSR)). However, when these optical transparent films are used for protective films for polarizers, they are problematic in point of their adhesiveness to PVA as they are hydrophobic. Another problem with them is that the overall in-plane optical properties of the films are not uniform.
For solving the problems, it is strongly desired to improve the adhesiveness to PVA of optical transparent films of optical isotropy. Concretely, the optical anisotropy of cellulose acylate films is lowered, and more concretely, the in-plane Re of cellulose acylate films is reduced to almost zero, and the angle-dependent retardation thereof is reduced, or that is, Rth of the films is reduced to almost zero. As a result, the thus-improved films could be optical transparent films of optical isotropy, and their adhesiveness to PVA is desired to be further improved.
In producing cellulose acylate films, a compound serving as a plasticizer is generally added for the purpose of bettering the film-forming property of the film materials. Some plasticizers are disclosed, including, for example, phosphoric acid triesters such as triphenyl phosphate, biphenyldiphenyl phosphate, and phthalates (for example, Lecture of Plastic Materials, Vol. 17, by Nikkan Kogyo Shinbun, "Cellulose Resins", p. 121 (1970)). Of those plasticizers, it is known that some are effective for lowering the optical anisotropy of cellulose acylate films. For example, specific fatty acid esters are disclosed (for example, JP-A 2001-247717). However, the effect of such known compounds for lowering the optical anisotropy of cellulose acylate films is not satisfactory.
Recent liquid-crystal display devices have become further required to have improved color display capability. For this, the optical transparent films for the protective films for polarizers and for the supports for optically-compensatory films must be so improved that not only their Re and Rth in the visible right region falling within a wavelength range of from 400 to 800 nm but also the wavelength-dependent Re and Rth change, or that is, the wavelength-dependent Re and Rth distribution of the films could be small.

Polymer film, and optically-compensatory film, polarizer and liquid-crystal display device comprising the same


A catalyst is present for use in an olefin cracking process. The catalyst is a zeolite that has been loaded with an alkaline earth metal. The alkaline earth metal loaded catalyst has an increased steaming tolerance and increases the useful life of the catalyst during the cracking process and the regeneration cycle.

Ethylene and propylene, light olefin hydrocarbons with two or three atoms per molecule, respectively, are important chemicals for use in the production of other useful materials, such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Polyethylene and polypropylene are two of the most common plastics found in use today and have a wide variety of uses for both as a material fabrication and as a material for packaging. Other uses for ethylene and propylene include the production of vinyl chloride, ethylene oxide, ethylbenzene and alcohol. Steam cracking or pyrolysis of hydrocarbons produces essentially all of the ethylene and propylene. While hydrocarbons used as feedstock for light olefin production include natural gas, petroleum liquids, and carbonaceous materials including coal, recycled plastics or any organic material, an important source is naphtha where larger paraffins and naphthenes are cracked to produce olefins.
One means of producing ethylene and propylene is an olefin cracking process, where larger olefins in the C4 to C8 range are cracked to produce propylene and ethylene in high propylene to ethylene ratios. Typically, an olefin cracking process is integrated with a naphtha cracking unit, and the propylene is dramatically increased. The use of an olefin cracking unit can take lower value C4 to C6 byproducts to produce additional propylene and ethylene.
The olefin cracking process uses a catalyst that deactivates during regeneration. This leads to replacement of the catalyst when regeneration no longer sufficiently reactivates the catalyst.

OCP catalyst with improved steam tolerance


Fastener comprises a flat head nut having a specially designed shape and includes a complimentary bolt, for use in a cryogenic environment. Opposed heads of the nut and bolt each have an underside connecting the heads to neck and body portions, respectively, which are of a conical shape and which fit into correspondingly tapered openings of two support members of a superconducting magnetic storage device. The shape of the fastener permits a predetermined contact pressure to be maintained for the support structure as the superconducting magnet is cooled to cryogenic temperatures. The fastener produces a rigid structure to eliminate frictional heating of the magnet. A specially designed tool is provided for torquing the nut and/or the bolt. At least the nut includes three tapered slots in its head portion, and tool having three correspondingly tapered fingers. In this manner, the nut can be sufficiently held, and yet the head of the nut remains flush with the surface of the support member.

The electrical properties of superconducting materials, or superconductors, have led to the development of superconducting coils for storing large quantities of electrical energy in superconducting magnets. Typically, these are in the form of an annular solenoid installed such that it has a vertical axis. These solenoids are designed to have a substantial axial height and diameter, the diameter being on the order of about 500 to 1000 meters or more. Superconductive materials which are used in these devices, such as NbTi, are maintained at a temperature of approximately 1-4 degrees K (Kelvin) in order to exhibit superconducting properties. These temperatures can be maintained by surrounding the superconducting material within successive envelopes of cryogens having progressively higher boiling points.
Generally, the very low temperatures can be maintained by immersing the superconducting magnet in helium which can be made to have a boiling point lower than 4 K surrounded by, for example, another envelope of nitrogen which has a boiling point of about 77 K. Each of these cryogens can be maintained in the liquid state with a suitable refrigeration system.
During operation of such a superconducting magnet, the varying magnetic fields generated during operation can cause adjacent layers of the magnet structure, and particularly the layers of insulating material, to slide relative to one another thereby producing heat due to friction. This build up of heat must be prevented since sufficient heat generation can produce local hot spots within the magnet structure which can bring the conductor above its superconducting temperature. This can result in further heat generation which can cause the entire superconducting magnet coil to lose its superconducting properties and become normal. Such a sequence of events can cause catastrophic failure to the superconducting magnet due to heat build up from the extremely large electrical charge carried by the coil--on the order of about 50,000 Amps in the superconducting state, when the coil, in the normal state is capable of carrying only about 50-500 Amps.
A typical configuration for the superconducting magnet energy storage device includes several superconducting coils within a support structure, the support structures being secured together. The superconducting structures are joined at a lap joint, several structures joined to form the overall superconducting magnet. See FIG. 1. It is important to maintain a high contact pressure at these lap joints to prevent relative motion of one member with respect to another. Also, at certain times in the operation of the device, the joint is designed to conduct electricity from one member to the next; the amount of current that the joint can transmit is dependent upon the contact pressure. It is important that foreign materials be prevented from entering the superconducting magnet structure which could also cause loss of the superconducting properties. Thus, welding, brazing, and soldering of the lap joint are unacceptable due to the attendant problems of dirt and handling after the connection of the lap joint. Moreover, the joint must be able to withstand shear loads so that the joint itself is not damaged.
The superconducting magnet support structure is typically made of aluminum, and any fastener used must not damage this structure. Since this special care must be taken in the construction of the superconducting magnet, conventional hardware is not suitable for this purpose.

Fastener for use at cryogenic temperatures, and tool therefor


A method for reducing springback in a press-formed part according to the present invention includes an analytic model forming step including forming an analytic model of the part from plane elements and/or solid elements; a stressed-state setting step including setting each of the elements of the analytic model to a stressed state that causes a springback; a rigidity-contributable-portion detecting step including performing an optimization analysis for shape on the analytic model with the elements set to the stressed state in the stressed-state setting step to detect a portion of the part that highly contributes to the rigidity of the part; and a rigidity improving step including applying a rigidity improving means to the part on a basis of the portion detected in the rigidity-contributable-portion detecting step.

In consideration of environmental problems in the automotive industry, in particular, weight reduction of automotive bodies has progressed in recent years, which requires metal sheet materials used for automotive bodies to have smaller thickness while having high strength and rigidity. In view of these requirements, high-strength steel sheets have gradually been adopted as a metal material.
When, however, a high-strength steel sheet is used, a phenomenon, specifically, a large amount of springback occurs in the steel sheet during forming. If a large amount of springback occurs in a sheet, the sheet is described as having a defective shape and fails to be assembled by joining or by other methods. Thus, a springback reduction method is an extremely important technology and various different methods have been developed.
Patent Literature 1 is taken as an example of the springback reduction method. Patent Literature 1 discloses a die for press forming with which a metal material is processed so as to have a hat-shaped cross section without deep drawing and a compressive force is applied to a vertical wall portion of the metal sheet material immediately after the bending step is finished.
In addition, a method for analyzing a cause of springback before performing the springback reduction method is disclosed in, for example, Patent Literature 2. Patent Literature 2 discloses an analysis method for press forming with which a portion of a press-formed part that highly contributes to springback is accurately calculated in a short period of time. As specific measures against springback, Patent Literature 2 describes optimization of press forming conditions such as the shape of a die of press forming, the shape of a blank, or the way how a drawbead is inserted ([0031] of Patent Literature 2).

Method for reducing springback and apparatus for analyzing springback of press formed parts


A system for preparing a beverage includes an exchangeable capsule, an apparatus including a receptacle for holding the exchangeable capsule, and a fluid dispensing device for supplying a fluid to the exchangeable capsule. The exchangeable capsule includes a circumferential wall, a bottom, and a lid. The wall, bottom and lid enclose an inner space including the extractable product. The receptacle includes bottom piercing means for piercing an entrance area of an alternative capsule for creating an entrance opening for supplying the fluid to the extractable product. The entrance area of the capsule includes an entrance filter for supplying the fluid to the extractable product therethrough. The filter is a multi-layer filter including at least a first layer and a second layer bonded together. The first layer has a higher tear strength than the second layer and the second layer has a higher stiffness than the first layer.

The invention relates to a system for preparing a predetermined quantity of beverage suitable for consumption using an extractable product, comprising an exchangeable capsule, and an apparatus comprising a receptacle for holding the exchangeable capsule, and a fluid dispensing device for supplying an amount of a fluid, such as water, under pressure to the exchangeable capsule, wherein the exchangeable capsule comprises a circumferential wall, a bottom and a lid enclosing an inner space comprising the extractable product, wherein the bottom comprises an entrance area and the system is arranged for bringing the fluid dispensing device in fluid connection with the entrance area for supplying the fluid to the extractable product for preparing the beverage, and wherein the lid comprises an exit area and the system comprises an outlet which, in use, is in fluid communication with the exit area for draining the prepared beverage from the capsule and supplying the beverage to a container such as a cup.
Such a system using a capsule enclosing an inner space comprising the extractable product is known per se. The exit area of the lid may be provided with a filter sheet or other perforate and/or porous filter. The capsule may for example comprise roasted and ground coffee as extractable product. The capsule may be used for preparing a predetermined quantity of coffee in a suitable apparatus. A drawback of such a capsule may be that the reproducibility of the prepared beverage may be poor. Due to for example poor stability, deformation, rupture, tearing and/or widening of e.g. openings of the filter under influence of e.g. fluid pressure in the capsule, the quality of the prepared beverage may be poor and/or the quality of the prepared beverage may not be reproducible and/or may vary from capsule to capsule.

System, method and capsule for preparing a beverage


An evanescent-mode cavity filter with an improved MEMS tuner design is disclosed. The MEMS tuner design allows for the independent control of individual poles in a multi-pole filter, which increases the adaptability of the filter in a crowded RF environment. The filter is further designed to minimize tuning voltages and hysteresis effects. A closed loop control system provides highly responsive tuning of the filter. The closed loop control allows for accurate and stable tuning that compensates for temperature and vibrational effects, while the tuner design enables fast tuning and significantly increases the resolution of the feedback measurement by eliminating charge buildup in the tuner substrate.

An evanescent-mode cavity filter is a resonant cavity that can be capacitively loaded by including a conical post in the center of the cavity. The post forms a parallel-plate capacitance in a small gap between the top of the post and the ceiling of the cavity. The ceiling of the cavity can be a movable structure, such as a flexible piezoelectric or MEMS electrostatically actuated membrane, so as to change the loading capacitance, thus allowing for tuning of the center frequency of the resonant cavity. Further details about tunable, evanescent-mode cavity filters may be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 9,024,709 to Joshi et al., the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
There is a need to increase the responsiveness, accuracy, and stability of a series of tunable filters that cover a frequency range from approximately 1 to 110 GHz, while greatly reducing C-SWAP (Critical-Size, Weight and Power) and improving the filter performance beyond that of existing switched fixed filter systems.

Tunable evanescent-mode cavity filter with closed loop control

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


An aircraft projection device includes a projector that displays an image by projecting the image onto a floor surface of a passage in an interior of an aircraft; and a controller that controls the projector to display the image onto the floor surface of the passage in the interior of the aircraft.

In addition to the exterior lights such as anti-collision lights or aviation lights, an aircraft includes interior lights such as reading lights or cabin lighting used as lighting of the interior of the aircraft.
Meanwhile, some aircrafts are provided with an aircraft projection device that is used in the interior and displays an image by projecting the image (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 06-305488). An example of an aircraft projection device including a video projector that projects an image (video) on a screen in the cabin is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 06-305488.


A control mechanism locks open a spring-loaded valve and automatically releases the spring-loaded valve to close upon a predetermined lesser weight load being applied. The spring-loaded valve includes a flow valve, a valve lever that pivots between open and closed positions, and a valve spring that biases the valve lever to the closed position. The control mechanism includes a pivotal release lever having an engagement arm and an opposite load arm, and a release spring that biases the release lever from a blocking position with the engagement arm retaining the valve lever in its open position to a release position with the valve lever free to pivot past the engagement arm and to the closed position under the valve spring force. The load arm includes an additive-container support for a load of an additive fluid to be mixed with a carrier fluid whose flow is controlled by the valve.

Many grocery stores and other food-handling facilities have back areas for handling and/or packing food, and those areas commonly have sinks for cleaning food utensils, pans, and trays. Typically, the sinks have three sections: the first for cleaning with water and sanitizer, the second for rinsing with water, and the third for sanitizing with water and sanitizer. The clean and sanitize sinks thus use a chemical concentrate liquid sanitizer that is provided in a container (e.g., a plastic jug) and metered into a stream of water to form a liquid sanitizer solution that fills these two sinks. During use, the container eventually empties of the chemical concentrate, and a worker has to be alert to this. Upon visual detection of depletion of the chemical concentrate, the water must be shut off and the chemical concentrate replenished. Otherwise, running the sink water without the chemical concentrate additive would allow contaminants (bacteria, dirt, etc.) to remain on the food-handling items to be cleaned and then come in contact with food items to be consumed by people.
Accordingly, it can be seen that needs exist for improvements in systems and methods for delivering chemical solutions for uses such as sanitizing food-handling items. It is to the provision of solutions meeting these and other needs that the present invention is primarily directed.


This chip package includes a substrate having a multilayer electroplated stack disposed on a surface of the substrate. The multilayer electroplated stack may include one or more instances of alternating layers of gold and tin, where relative thicknesses of the alternating layers, when melted, result in a chemical composition having an initial melting temperature to form a bump and a subsequent melting temperature to reflow the bump that is higher than the initial melting temperature. For example, the chemical composition may correspond to a non-equilibrium gold-tin alloy.

1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to a chip package for semiconductor dies or chips. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a chip package that includes an interconnect with a multilayer electroplated stack that has an initial melting temperature to form a bump that is different from a subsequent melting temperature to reflow the bump during package assembly.
2. Related Art
An increasingly popular technique to increase the functionality per unit volume in a system is to heterogeneously integrate chips built on different technology platforms (such as digital, photonics, MEMS, analog circuits, mixed-signal circuits, radio-frequency circuits, etc.) onto a common substrate and package platform in which the chips are arranged and stacked in three dimensions. Assembling such a system often involves a step-wise technique in which the individual chips are put together. For example, a flip-chip bonding technique may be used to maximize the number of connections at the interfaces between the chips.
Flip-chip bonding is typically achieved using a thermocompression or reflow technique. In systems in which chips are flip-chip bonded to other chips, and then multiple chips are flip-chip bonded to a common substrate, there may be multiple different flip-chip bonding operations. Because the flip-chip bonding operations usually involve the use of high-temperature processing, it is often important that pre-attached components are not harmed by subsequent or downstream reflow operations. For example, if a first flip-chip bond is between a first chip and an interposer, then a subsequent reflow/attachment technique between the interposer and the common (package) substrate should not degrade the quality interconnection between the first chip and the interposer. However, existing solder bumps and, more generally, interconnects often can be degraded by subsequent thermal processing, which poses a challenge to integrated multiple chips on a common substrate in a system.
Hence, what is needed is a chip package without the above-described problems.

Electroplated solder for high-temperature interconnect


A universal tool for the fitting and removal of brake shoe return springs of trucks, truck trailers and omnibuses in the form of a slender bar which may be used as a first, second or third class lever and has at least one draw hook member pivoted thereon so as to be able to swing through an angle of at least 90.degree. in relation to the lever. The lever furthermore bears a spur and its distal or outer end is in the form of a hook.

The invention relates to a tool for fitting and removing brake shoe return springs in the wheel hubs of commercial vehicles.
Owing to the lack of space and the resulting cramped arrangement of internal parts in the hub of a commercial vehicle whell and of the powerful force of the brake shoe return springs, the fitting and removal of the return springs is quite frequently a considerable problem. For different wheel sizes and different vehicle types and makes a large variety of fitting tools is used such as pliers, hooks and levers. Frequently, the removal and fitting of the shoe return springs is not possible without detaching the hub in order to find a point at which conventional tools may be brought to bear when manipulating the springs. In the case of one wheel this means about 11/2 hours of fitter's time are required so that in the case of replacement of all the brake linings on a 4 wheel vehicle, at least 6 hours of fitter's time will be required. Furthermore the vehicle will be out of service for this time.

Tool for fitting and removing brake shoe returns springs


A method for topically treating rosacea is disclosed. In this method, an active material having the formula given below is applied to the patient at the site of said rosacea:

The present invention relates to methods for the topical treatment of rosacea.
Rosacea is a common chronic skin condition characterized by a spectrum of clinical indications including flushing episodes, erythema, telangiectasia, inflammatory papulopustular eruptions resembling acne, and ocular symptoms. Although accurate incidence data for the U.S. are not available, data obtained in Sweden suggest that some form of rosacea may be present in up to 10% of the average population. Sufferers are mostly of European origin, generally with fair skin and blue eyes. Women are more prone to develop rosacea than men, with flushing episodes and erythema being the most common symptoms found.
The etiology of rosacea is unknown, but it is presumed to be a genetically determined anomalous vascular response that develops in the third to sixth decades of life. The hypothesis that the basic pathogenesis of the disease is a flushing disorder is based on several findings. The disease appears to more prevalent in northern climates where cold exposure is experienced more often, and in light-skinned persons in whom flushing is common and sensitivity to sunlight is particularly high. Accordingly, rosacea may represent a type of hypersensitivity reaction disease in which vascular sensitivity is a central mechanism in its etiology. The correlation between sensitive blood vessels and sensitive skin has, however, not yet been determined. Epidemiological studies suggest that the regulatory mechanism of blood vessels may be of importance in the onset and development of rosacea. Studies show that 27% of rosacea patients were found to suffer from migraine and 42% from a tendency to flush, both of which represent about twice the level that would typically be found in a control group.
An etiological role has also been proposed for the Demodex species, mites that normally inhabit human hair follicles and are reported to appear in greater numbers in rosacea patients. A number of dietary factors, for example hot drinks, alcohol, spicy foods, and environmental conditions (e.g., temperature changes), are well-recognized triggers of the disease. In literature, there are also reports of possible involvement of altered immune function and anomalously low skin surface lipids in the pathogenesis of rosacea.
The key to successful management of rosacea is early diagnosis and treatment. Treatment is generally aimed at controlling the symptoms and making the skin look better. At the present time, rosacea cannot be cured, though the frequency of its flare-ups can be diminished and their severity alleviated. Most cases of rosacea can be controlled with anti-inflammatory medications, combined with the avoidance of lifestyle and environmental factors that may aggravate the disorder in individual cases. Treatment generally works best at improving the pimples and bumps of rosacea; the redness of the skin is harder to treat. Therapeutic agents for inflammatory rosacea conditions are generally classified in two groups: (1) systemic and topical antibiotics; and (2) retinoids. Systemic and topical antibiotics include tetracycline, metronidazole, erythromycin, minocycline and clindamycin, but the use of these agents is often accompanied by drug side effects, the development of resistance, and changes in the normal microbial flora. Retinoids include tretinoin (vitamin A or retinoic acid), which is applied topically to inhibit follicular keratinization, and isotretinoin (13-cis-retinoic acid), which is administered systemically to suppress activity of the sebaceous glands. Retinoids are often irritants and are not advised for individuals with sensitive skin. Retinoids can also be phototoxic and they can induce thin and easily bruisable, fragile skin.
Metronidazole (5-methyl-5-nitroimidazole-1-ethanol), an antibacterial, is currently one of the more frequently prescribed treatments for rosacea in the United States. It is available as a topical cream under the name Metrogel(trademark) from Galderma. Metronidazole is structurally similar to some materials which are believed to be carcinogens and is, in fact, listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. See Merck Index, 1996, page 1051.
Thus, there is a need for a safe and effective topical treatment of the symptoms of rosacea which not only act quickly and effectively, but which present reduced side effects when compared to the current treatment modalities.
Methods for treating rosacea have been described in the patent literature. Recent examples include the following patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,215, De Lacharriere, et al., issued Aug. 3, 1999, describes a method for the topical and systemic treatment of rosacea using an antagonist of CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,993, Ptchelintsev, issued Oct. 26, 1999, describes a method for treating rosacea and sensitive skin conditions using certain specifically-defined antioxidant materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,372, McDaniel, issued Sep. 14, 1999, describes a method for treating rosacea using oral or topically applied ivermectin. This method of treatment is aimed at reducing or eliminating the Demodex organisms which are frequently found on the skin of rosacea patients.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,312, Andrulis, Jr., et al., issued Aug. 5, 1997, describes a method for the systemic or topical treatment of inflammatory or autoimmune dermatoses using thalidomide, either alone or in combination with a cytokine inhibitor or a growth factor inhibitor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,395, Kligman, issued Dec. 7, 1999, describes a method for suppressing inflammation in an inflammatory dermatosis, such as rosacea, using a topically applied composition containing both a corticosteroid and a retinoid.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,118, Dupont et al., Feb. 22, 2000, describes the use of a shark cartilage extract as an anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-collagenolytic material which may be used in the treatment of rosacea.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,994,330, El Khoury, issued Nov. 30, 1999, describes the treatment of acne and other inflammatory skin conditions using topically administered muscarinic agents. The therapeutic effects of the invention are said to include a decrease in redness, swelling and inflammation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,532, De Lacharriere, et al., issued Oct. 19, 1999, describes the use of an ethylene diamine derivative in a cosmetic or dermatological composition containing a material having an irritant side effect. The ethylene diamine derivative is said to minimize skin irritation, erythema and sensations of inflammation or rosacea stemming from the use of the cosmetic/dermatological product.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,955, Elias, et al., issued Jun. 6, 2000, describes the use of juvenile hormone III to treat acne or acneiform conditions. The compounds is said to act as an activator of the receptors XFR, PPARA and LXRA.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,595, Corey, et al., issued Mar. 23, 1999, describes a cosmetic composition which includes a retinol fatty acid ester. The composition is said to be effective for treating chronoaging conditions of the skin and dermatological disorders including acne, follicular and lesional papules, actinic keratoses, oily skin and rosacea.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,649, De Lacharriere, et al., issued Apr. 20, 1999, describes a method for treating neurogenic red skin blotches, including those present with rosacea, using the topical application of a TNF-alpha antagonist.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,541, Murad, issued Jun. 6, 2000, describes the use of a topical composition which contains a hydroxy acid or tannic acid to exfoliate a portion of the skin, stabilized hydrogen peroxide to facilitate cleansing of the skin, and an antimicrobial agent to inhibit or reduce microorganisms on the skin. The composition is said to be effective in the treatment and management of inflammatory skin conditions, such as acne and acneiform rosacea.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,892, De Lacharriere, et al., issued Oct. 26, 1999, describes a therapeutic composition for topical application containing at least one material having an irritant side effect together with a substance P antagonist for reducing or eliminating the irritant effect of this material. The substance P antagonist may be a peptide compound or a nitrogen-containing compound or a nitrogen-, sulfur- or oxygen-containing heterocyclic compound.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,057,341, Charpentier, issued May 2, 2000, describes pharmaceutical or cosmetic compositions which include novel bi-aromatic dibenzofuran derivatives. The compositions are said to exhibit pharmacological responses of the retinoid agonist type and are further said to be effective in treating keratinization disorders, including acne rosacea.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,054,475, Martin, et al., issued Apr. 25, 2000, describes the use of substituted dihydrobenzofuran-based phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitors for the treatment of proliferative, inflammatory and allergic dermatoses, including acne rosacea.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,057,453, Yang, et al., issued May 2, 2000, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,604, Yang, et al., issued May 9, 2000, describe a novel class of polyamines substituted with electron-affinic groups. These materials are said to be effective in the treatment of dermatological conditions caused by anaerobic and microaerophilic microorganisms.
Organic alcohols, diols and polyols have been disclosed for use in the treatment of a variety of dermatological conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,937, Brown, et al., issued Sep. 18, 2001, and which has been withdrawn from issue by the Patent Office, described a series of pharmaceutical compositions which were said to increase the melanin content of mammalian melanocytes and which were also said to be useful for treating skin proliferative disorders, such as acne vulgaris. The compositions disclosed may utilize C3-C50 diols as the pharmaceutically active agent; 1,2-cis- and 1,2-trans-cyclohexanediol are specifically disclosed as active ingredients. In addition, 1,2-cis-cyclopentanediol was among the preferred active compounds. The treatment of rosacea was not disclosed or suggested. Since this patent has been withdrawn from issue, it does not constitute prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,422, Barbier, et al., issued Feb. 6, 2001, discloses a group of unsaturated long-chain (for example, C12) derivatives of cyclohexanediol. These materials are taught to be useful topically for the treatment of hyperproliferative diseases and diseases of the sebaceous glands, such as acne. See also related U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,190.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,233, Steinmeyer, et al., issued Mar. 23, 1999, describes cyclohexanone derivatives used to synthesize vitamin D compounds. The compounds are said to be useful for treating skin, such as in the treatment of acne.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,837, DeLuca, Jr., et al., issued Aug. 21, 2001, describes a group of vitamin D-related compounds which include a cyclohexanediol moiety. The compositions are taught to be useful for the treatment of cell proliferation diseases, such as psoriasis. See also related U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,127,559; 5,945,410; 5,936,133; and 5,843,928.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,809, Hagen, et al., issued Jun. 24, 1997, describes a skin treatment composition that includes lanolin together with an ester of a lanolin acid. The patent teaches that lanolin includes C9-C22 diols as one of its components. The treatment of rosacea is not disclosed or suggested.
The present invention relates to a method of treating rosacea in humans comprising topically applying to a patient in need of such treatment a safe and effective amount (for example, from about 0.05 to about 1 mg/cm2) of the compound having the following formula, at the site of said rosacea or where said patient is prone to exhibit rosacea:
wherein R1 is selected from xe2x80x94OH and C1-C3 alkyl OH (alkanols), and R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 are each independently selected from xe2x80x94H, xe2x80x94OH, C1-C6 alkyl and C3-C6 cycloalkyl.
Particularly preferred compounds are cyclohexanol, 1,2-cyclohexanediol, 1,3-cyclohexanediol, and 1,4-cyclohexanediol, and mixtures of those materials. The active material may be administered with a pharmaceutical carrier.
The present invention also encompasses a method for treating acne vulgaris in humans comprising topically applying to the affected site of a patient in need of such treatment a safe and effective amount of an active compound defined herein, such as 1,3-cyclohexanediol, 1,4-cyclohexanediol, and mixtures thereof.
Finally, the present invention encompasses the treatment of conditions characterized by inflammatory or allergy symptoms, such as colds, flu, sinusitis, and ear infections, by the topical application of an effective amount of the active materials defined herein.
All percentages and ratios given herein are by weight, unless otherwise specified.
All patents and other publications cited in this application are incorporated herein by reference.

Abstract: wherein R1 is selected from xe2x80x94OH and C1-C3 alkyl OH; and R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 are independently selected from xe2x80x94H, xe2x80x94OH, C1-C6 alkyl, and C3-C6 cycloalkyl. Preferred active materials include 1,2-cyclohexanediol, 1,3-cyclohexanediol, 1,4-cyclohexanediol, and mixtures of those materials. Methods for treating acne vulgaris, as well as colds, flu, sinusitis, and ear infections, using these actives are also disclosed.


Embodiments of a recorder vacation mode are described. In various embodiments, a recording scheduler is implemented to schedule recordings of media assets according to a standard profile that includes a priority list of the media assets to be recorded. The recording scheduler initiates a user interface for display from which a vacation mode can be enabled to manage recordings of a subset of the media assets when a digital video recorder is likely to be unattended for a duration that is associated with a vacation. The recording scheduler can enable the vacation mode to activate a vacation profile that includes a vacation priority list of the subset of the media assets.

A television client device implemented as a digital video recorder typically includes a scheduling system that manages when media content, such as television programs and movies, are recorded, saved, and deleted. Generally, scheduled recordings are prioritized at the time of recording, but later deleted when storage space is needed for new recordings based on a first-in, first-out assessment. This can result in the untenable effect of deleting earlier recorded media content that may have had a higher priority to a viewer only to save media content that is recorded later, but that has a lower priority to the viewer.
This type of recording management may be undesirable to users that utilize digital video recorders, and particularly for those who may not be able to proactively manage the scheduled recordings on a daily basis. For example, when a user goes on a business trip or on vacation for an extended duration, episodes of daily news shows and other programs may continue to be recorded, filling up the limited amount of storage space available with a digital video recorder. When storage space is needed for new recordings, these lower priority recordings will be saved while earlier recorded movies and first-run programs will be deleted. When a user goes on a business trip or on vacation, it is likely that episodes of a daily news program do not need to be recorded because the user is unlikely to return and watch two-weeks of past news. Contrary, the user will likely want to watch a new movie that was recorded either previous to the user leaving for vacation, or while the user was on vacation, provided that it has not been deleted by the scheduling system.