The present invention relates to absorbent articles for solving the problem of stopping the excessive accumulations of sweat from building up inside a prosthetic liner. The four layers of materials include: a first layer of a cellulose pulp material having a thickness use for a desired absorbency, a second layer of a wicking cloth material having a thickness use for a desired absorbency, a third layer of a non-toxic double side adhesive tape material one side will stick to both layer, and a fourth layer that is the opposite side which are cover with paper material that can be peeled from the third layer to adhere the inside of a prosthetic liner base sheet to stop the excessive accumulation build-up of sweating.

The present invention relates generally to a disposable dry absorbent layered system. More specifically, it relates to an assortment of absorbent layers used for keeping a prosthetic liner dry.
Any discussion throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field. While there are designs of disposable absorbent articles relating to solving many of the problems in the field of medicine, industry, hygiene, and the household, there are no disposable dry absorbent article products that have been created in the prosthetic industry that can keep a prosthetic liner dry from the dangerous buildup of sweat inside the unpleasant, wet, thermal conditions found in a prosthetic liner.
Prosthetics liners are designed to be used directly against a user's skin, which results in excessive sweat accumulation inside the prosthetic liners that can be very uncomfortable, and known to be very possibly dangerous, for the user. For example, the user may feel like he or she is wearing a sweat suit against the skin where the prosthetic liner contacts the user's skin. The longer the moisture remains on the skin and in contact with the prosthetic liner, the greater chance for dangerous adverse health issues to develop. Once the top layer of skin (e.g., sheath) is soaked with sweat, the skin can become softer such that when friction occurs on the surface between the sheath, the damp skin can cause blisters or macerations. The compromised skin can become prone to develop infections which becomes very painful when left untreated, leading to further dangerous life-threatening infections and complications.
Further, in hot and humid conditions, sweat accumulates much faster inside the prosthetic liner. As a result of the sweating buildup, a user constantly needs to remove the prosthetic liner to wipe away excessive sweating from inside the liner throughout the day, even when other parts of the wear's body are not sweating. About 80% of user's are required to use a sock with their prosthetic liners in order to function against accumulation of sweat within their prosthetic liner.
When dangerous excessive sweat is present inside a prosthetic liner, the prosthetic liner can slip off of a user's limb, thereby increasing the danger and risk of further injury due to unsteady balance due to the dangerous excessive sweat buildup in the wet prosthetic liner. However, the use of a sock to prevent sweat buildup can alter the fit of the prosthetic liner, as well as cause chafing to the user due to the moisture and sweat buildup. When the fit is altered by the liner or sock, the user is susceptible to further injuries.
While there are many designs of disposable absorbent materials in the field of medicine, industry, hygiene, and household sectors, the prosthetic liners industry has failed to invent a method to this day for keeping a prosthetic liner dry and to solve the problem of excessive accumulation of sweat buildup inside of the wet, thermal environment found inside the prosthetic liner.


The present invention is related to a diesel engine fuel pipeline heating device and particularly to a diesel engine fuel pipeline heating device consisting of an electric heating device and a water (or air) temperature heating device provided to the exterior of diesel engine fuel pipe. A diesel engine equipped with such a heating device can be easily started through the electric heating device to heat the fuel in the fuel pipe up to a suitable starting temperature around 40.degree. C. (or 104.degree. F.) before starting the engine; and after starting the engine for some time, namely, when the temperature in the heating cylinder of water (or air) heating device has risen to the said suitable combustion temperature around 40.degree. C. (or 104.degree. F.), the power source of electric heating device is automatically turned off to stop the heating action. Then the hot water from the water return pipe of radiator or the hot air from the exhaust pipeline of exhaust pipe keeps continued preheating of fuel pipe for a constant temperature through the water (or air) heating device so as to continuously keep the full fuel combustion, easily and smoothyl start and run the engine, save fuel and enhance the horse power of engine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a diesel engine fuel pipeline heating device and particularly to a heating device provided to the diesel engine fuel pipe so as to heat fuel pipe, promote full fuel combustion (explosion), start and run the engine easily and smoothly, save fuel, and enhance the horse power of the engine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional vehicles or machine tools have never been equipped with a fuel heating device, so when starting the diesel engine in the cold winter or in the countries and regions in the frigid zone such as those north of the United States in North America, north of England and Germany in Europe, and north of Japan in Asia, it is extremely difficult to start the diesel engine or it tends to run unsmoothly after starting. Some manufacturers have tried to install a heating device in the fuel tank; However, the volume of the fuel tank in general is rather large, so that heating the fuel as a whole in such a large fuel tank to a suitable combustion (explosion) temperature (approximate 40.degree. C., namely, 104.degree. F.) takes substantial heating time and consumes a significant amount of electric power and is uneconomical.
Applicant has found that there is the foregoing trouble of starting the diesel engine in frigid zones and therefore invented a diesel engine fuel pipeline heating device.

Diesel engine fuel pipeline heating device


A fuel cell stack casing for housing a fuel cell stack. The fuel cell stack casing may include a resin and an electromagnetic wave damping material, for example, a conductive material. In addition, the fuel cell stack may be electromagnetically shielded by the electromagnetic wave damping material. The fuel cell stack casing may include a plurality of members coupled to each other such that conductive materials contained in the members are electrically connected to each other. An inside surface of the casing may be an insulating surface. A plurality of apertures for ventilation may be formed in a wall of the casing such that the apertures are spaced from each other. The apertures may be covered with a cover.

A fuel cell includes separators and an MEA disposed between the separators. A plurality of fuel cells layers form a fuel cell stack. The fuel cell stack is housed in the fuel cell stack casing.
Conventional fuel cell stacks may be made of materials such as aluminum or iron, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication 2002-362164, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. However, there are the following problems with conventional fuel cell stack casings: (i) because metal is used, the weight of the casings may be large; (ii) in a case where a ventilation aperture is provided, the casing size is determined so that a necessary ventilation may be obtained, thus a electromagnetic shield may be decreased, and as a result, an electromagnetic wave may pass through the aperture; and (iii) certain materials may cause the rigidity of the casing to be decreased.


The invention pertains to dispersible tablets comprising as active ingredient N-{3-[5-(2-Amino-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3-thiazol-4-yl]-2-fluorophenyl}-2,6-difluorobenzenesulfonamide, methanesulfonate salt, processes for preparing the same, and processes for using the same.

N-{3-[5-(2-Amino-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3-thiazol-4-yl]-2-fluorophenyl}-2,6-difluorobenzenesulfonamide (hereinafter Compound B) is a compound which is disclosed and claimed, as a free base, along with pharmaceutically acceptable salts and solvates thereof, as being useful as an inhibitor of BRAF activity, particularly in treatment of cancer, in International Application No. PCT/US2009/042682, having an International filing date of May 4, 2009; International Publication Number WO/2009/137391 and an International Publication date of Nov. 12, 2009, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Compound B is the compound of Example 58a.
Compound B can be prepared as described in International Application No. PCT/US2009/042682. Compound B can be prepared as described in United States Patent Publication No. US 2011/0172215, published Jul. 14, 2011, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Suitably, Compound B is prepared in the form of a methanesulfonate salt, or Compound A or dabrafenib mesylate as defined herein. Other suitable pharmaceutically acceptable salt forms of Compound B include sulfate, hydrochloride and sodium salt forms. Salt forms can be prepared by one of skill in the art, for example from the description in International Application No. PCT/US2009/042682 or United States Patent Publication No. US 2011/0172215. Compound A is prepared in Examples 58d-e of United States Patent Publication No. US 2011/0172215.
Solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms are popular and useful forms of medications for administering pharmaceutically active compounds. A variety of such forms are known, including tablets, capsules, pellets, lozenges, and powders.
However, the formulation of an acceptable solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form on a commercial scale is not straightforward. When administered in vivo, the pharmacokinetic properties of pharmaceutically active compounds may vary substantially depending on the formulation. The formulation must be able to deliver a specific amount of the pharmaceutically active compound sufficient to achieve desired therapeutic drug levels while also minimizing undesirable effects (e.g., toxicity) associated with suboptimal therapeutic drug levels. Moreover, the formulation and process of manufacture must be such as to provide an integral dosage form that maintains its integrity until used. The dosage form must also possess acceptable disintegration and dissolution properties so as to provide the desired profile in use.
Pharmaceutically active compounds, such as Compound A, present particular challenges in preparing high quality dosage forms. While the mesylate salt form has been found to enhance the bioavailability of Compound A, Compound A is a high permeability and a low solubility compound that is very slightly soluble in strongly acidic aqueous media and practically insoluble in slightly acidic, neutral pH, and basic media. The formulator must balance the drug's unique chemical properties with the properties of each excipient in order to prepare a safe, efficacious and easy to use solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form.
Solid dosage forms of Compound A, such as tablets and capsules, are disclosed in International Application No. PCT/US2009/042682. Compound A, in the form of 50 mg and 75 mg capsules, has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of BRAF V600E mutation-positive metastatic melanoma as monotherapy or in combination with trametinib. The combination of Compound A and trametinib has also been approved by the FDA for the treatment BRAF V600E mutation positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. The safety and effectiveness of Compound A is currently being evaluated for pediatric treatment of BRAF-mutation positive solid tumors in a recent Phase I study. However, the target doses of Compound A projected for the pediatric patient population may be substantially lower than those afforded by the current capsule formulations.
While tablets and capsules may be acceptable for use in adults, such formulations may be either undesirable or impractical in children or individuals with difficulty swallowing tablets and capsules. In pediatric populations, it is often more desirable to provide a dispersible composition for oral administration, such as a powder or tablet, which can first be dispersed in an ingestible aqueous media, before consumption by the patient. Unlike a powder for oral suspension, a dispersible tablet formulation usually provides shorter reconstitution time for suspension in aqueous media without drug waste.
It would be desirable to provide Compound A in a dispersible solid composition, specifically a pharmaceutical dispersible tablet for oral administration as a suspension (herein also referred to as "dispersible tablet for oral suspension") on a commercial scale that is convenient to administer to children and provides a daily dosage amount of Compound A.


Provided are systems and methods for a storage adapter device for communicating with network storage. In some implementations, the storage adapter device comprises a host interface. In these implementations, the host interface may be configured to communicate with a host device using a local bus protocol. In some implementations, the storage adapter device also includes a network interface. In these implementations, the network interface may communicate with a network using a network protocol. In some implementations, the storage adapter device may be configured to communicate with a remote storage device. In some implementations, the storage adapter device may also be configured to translate a request from the host interface from the local bus protocol to the network protocol. The storage adapter device may further be configured to transmit the translated request to the remote storage device.

Server computers often communicate with different local and remote storage devices for various purposes. For example, server computers may use storage devices for storing data, archiving, databasing, warehousing, data processing, and so on. Generally, operating systems executing on server computers access local and remote storage devices using device drivers. In many cases, operating systems execute different device drivers to support the different storage protocols supported by local storage devices. For example, an operating system may use a device driver that implements a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) or an Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) driver to communicate with a SATA-based storage device. As another example, an operating system may use a device driver that implements a Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) driver to communicate with a Solid State Drive (SSD) over a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) interconnect. Standards such as SATA, AHCI, NVMe, and PCIe provide a framework for developing commonly available storage device drivers. Such storage device drivers may be readily available, and allow a server computer to quickly and easily access local storage devices.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Storage adapter device for communicating with network storage


A novel security seal which cannot be removed without destroying or defacing the seal, thereby rendering tampering detectable. The novel seal comprises a strap having a tongue end, a locking head at the other end, with a key and stop plate disposed therebetween. To engage the seal, the tongue is looped around and inserted through the locking head. As it is pulled tight, the key engages a lock plate inside the head. When the key is fully engaged, the stop plate abuts the head, preventing undetected tampering or withdrawal of the tongue. In locked position, the tongue remains exposed and is therefore a convenient location for coded information.

Security seals are used to limit access to, or prevent tampering with, items that are under strict inventory control, items such as company equipment, materials being shipped in bond, or government controlled commodities. The security seals commonly used are tags or labels that lock or glue on the inventoried items in a manner that prevents the seals from being removed without leaving evidence of the post-inventory tampering in the form of damaged or destroyed seals.
Security seals are used to track wildlife hides and other wildlife products that are traded commercially under government license, regulation, quota, or export/import permit. For example, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international treaty with 116 signatory member nations that is administered by the United Nation Environment Programme, prohibits international trade in some wildlife commodities unless the articles are tagged with self-locking, non-reusable security seals. The security seals must be on raw (untanned) wildlife hides moving in international commerce during exportation from the country of natal origin, during transshipment through intermediate countries, and during importation into the final destination country. The seals must also remain on the hides through the tanning process and up to the point that the hides are cut into the pieces that will be used in manufacturing the retail product. Similar tagging regulations are mandated by U.S. federal and state wildlife agencies in relation to commercial trading in several North American wildlife species.
The seals usually bear a distinctive logo or emblem and a unique number or alphanumeric code. In order to track a series of inventoried items, seals may bear consecutive numbers or sequential codes. To deter alteration, the numbers or codes usually are permanently imprinted, embossed, or burned into the seal, and they may be in the form of human readable characters or electronically readable bar codes. To discourage counterfeiting, the color of the material the seal is made from, the color and design of the logo/emblem, the form of the numbering or coding, the sequence of numbers or codes, and the color of the numbering or coding (human readable or bar code) may be varied periodically.
During tanning, some types of wildlife hides are soaked sequentially in a series of extremely alkaline (pH 11.0) and strongly acidic (pH 1.0) chemical solutions. To pass unscathed through the tanning process, the seals used on wildlife hides must be inert to these corrosive chemicals.
Although a number of seals are currently used to tag CITES or U.S. government controlled raw wildlife hides, none are completely satisfactory.
The seals most widely used on wildlife hides are plastic door seals. They consist of polyethylene or nylon straps, one end (the tongue) of which loops around to lock into the other end (the lock or head). A plastic door seal is usually chemically inert, but when the seal is inserted through the hide and the ends locked together, it forms a large open loop which, during tannage, snags on other hides and on tanning equipment. When that occurs, the chemically-softened hide tears and the tag falls off. In addition, plastic door seals can be unlocked and reused, an undesirable characteristic for a security seal.
The metal loops in plastic-and-metal padlock seals are not inert to tanning chemicals, and both plastic-and-metal and all plastic padlock seals snag on other hides and on tanning equipment, tear the hide, and fall off.
Plastic pull-tight seals, such as bundle ties of the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,605,199 or 3,735,449, can be removed, which allows illegal dealers to remove the tags from inventoried hides for reuse on poached hides.
Metal door seals and metal ball seals are not inert and react with the chemicals used to tan raw hides. The resulting metal salts stain the hides, and during tanning the eroded tags cut and scratch the chemically softened hides.
Lead-and-wire seals and cable seals are easily counterfeited. In addition, they are not chemically inert and fall off after being attacked by the chemicals used to tan raw hides, and the resulting metal salts stain the hides and contaminate the tanning formula.
Permanently glued polyolefin door seals are sufficiently inert to withstand most tanning chemicals, but when the hides are dyed, the tags readily accept the color, which obscures the numbers and codes.
As is made evident from the foregoing, a need exists for an inert, tamper-proof, snag-resistant seal capable of containing coded information.


An auto-checking testing funtion generator is provided for generating auto-checking testing functions for procedures of a software interface from a formal specification specifying the procedures. The procedures are specified with procedure semantic expressions identifying the procedures and specifying their arguments, returning results, raisable exceptions, exceptional and normal terminations. Each exception or normal termination specifies the correct post-execution exception or normal termination state for the procedure given a particular pre-execution state. The procedure semantic expressions are boolean expressions constructed using comparison and boolean operators, calls to the procedure, auxiliary and special functions. The auxiliary functions are user supplied, and the special functions are supplied by the auto-checking testing funtion generator. An auto-checking testing funtion is generated for each procedure. Each generated auto-checking testing funtion has the same execution flow for determining whether the procedure behaved properly or improperly when executed. The execution flow makes the determination by evaluating the specified exceptional and normal terminations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of software testing. More specifically, the present invention relates to automatic generation of auauto-checking test functions.
2. Art Background
Traditionally, software testing was done on an ad-hoc basis. As the complexity of software increases with increasing function being offered, various approaches, techniques and tools have been developed to provide a more structured or disciplined approach to software testing. From a process perspective, typically a phase approach is used to divide software testing into different stages, such as requirement testing, design testing, unit testing, function testing, and system testing. For each stage, different testing techniques, such as boundary value testing and sampling, are applied to improve test coverages. Additionally, various testing tools, such as test case generators and simulators, are developed to improve testing efficiency.
Traditionally, software specification and design were also done on an informal basis. Similarly, as the complexity of software increases with increasing function being offered, various techniques and tools have been developed to provide a more formal approach to software specification and design. Particular examples of formal design techniques include top down design and data flow analysis. Particular examples of formal design tools include formal specification and design languages and various Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools.
The advent of formal specification and design languages offers a new opportunity for further imposing structure and discipline to software testing. The formal specifications can be submitted to machine based analysis. If the proper behavior of a software interface can be adequately described by its formal specification, then test functions can be automatically and systematically generated for the software interface from the formal specification. Furthermore, the generated test functions can be auto-checking. An auto-checking test function is a function that can invoke and execute a procedure to be tested and knows enough about the procedure to be able to determine whether the procedure behaved properly or improperly when the procedure was tested.
Thus, it is desirable to be able to formally specify the proper behavior of a software interface, automatically and systematically generate test functions for the software interface from its formal specification. It is further desirable that these generated test functions are auto-checking.
As will be disclosed, the present invention provides methods and apparatus for formally specifying software interfaces, automatically and systematically generating auto-checking test functions from these formal specifications, which achieves the desired results described above.

Automatic generation of auto-checking testing functions


The present invention relates to a drying plant which is intended for drying one or more objects (3, 3') having a cylindrical outer surface, e.g. tubular cores for paper rolls, and which utilizes high frequency apparatus with associated electrodes (10, 11), and means (12, 13) for moving the object between the electrodes during the drying process. In accordance with the invention the object is rotated about its longitudinal axis or rolled along a horizontal flat path formed by the lower electrode (10) during passage of the object through the drying plant.

It is known to dry cylindrical objects and in particular tubular cores for paper rolls, in drying plants, by arranging the moist tubes in rows and columns and to introduce the tube formation into a special drying plant or drying chamber which is ventilated with hot air.
The tubes are dried very slowly and are held in the drying chamber for a very long time, so that no distortion will occur in the tubes, such as curving of the tubes along their longitudinal axes or deviation from a true circle in cross-section.
It is also known with such drying plants to take measures which will ensure that respective tubes are maintained in their given order of formation.
It can be mentioned that the lengths of tubes which are used as cores for paper rolls normally vary from between 1 and 12 meters.
Various high frequency dryers are known to the art for different specific fields and technical applications. An example of such dryers is described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,329,796. Reference is also made to the apparatus described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,597,923.


An apparatus to preserve liquid from a medicine vial may include a vial coupling member forming a vial coupling member cavity and a container forming a cavity. The apparatus may further include a first fluid pathway forming a first lumen that is in fluid communication with the vial coupling member cavity and the cavity and a second fluid pathway forming a second lumen that is in fluid communication with the vial coupling member cavity and the cavity. The vial coupling member cavity, the cavity, the first lumen, and the second lumen may form a sterile environment that is sealed from contaminants in an ambient environment. The apparatus may include a disengaging member configured to permit the container to disengage from the first fluid pathway and the second fluid pathway while permanently sealing at least one of the first lumen or the second lumen.

In the United States alone, over $1 billion is spent every year on prescribed medications that are never administered to patients due to waste. (See, B M J 2016; 352:i788 doi: 10.1136/bmj.i788 (Published 1 Mar. 2016.) As biological protein drugs (biologics) that require intravenous (IV) infusion become more prominent and replace orally-administered small molecule drugs, the amount of money wasted will continue to increase. For example, in 2015, 11 of the 45 new drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were biologics, while only 6 of the 29 new drugs approved by the FDA in 2011 were biologics. In 2016, 7 of the 19 new drug approvals were biologics.
Biologics (as well as many other IV infused drugs) may ordinarily be dosed based on a patient's weight or based on a patient's estimated skin surface area to achieve a therapeutically effective concentration of drug while attempting to minimize the rate of severe adverse events for the patient and on the target tissue. Many of the biological protein drugs may be provided in single-use vials with only one or two volume sizes. Accordingly, a full patient-specific dose of a biological protein drug from single-use vials may often lead to an excess quantity of the drug remaining in the last vial after the full dose is administered. This excess drug quantity is currently discarded because sterility of the excess drug cannot be ensured for a reasonable period of time or upon re-penetrating the membrane or septum of the vial for use of the remaining drug in another patient.
For example, the drug, Avastin (generic name bevacizumab) is frequently used to treat many types of cancer. Avastin is currently sold in 100 mg and 400 mg single-use vials, yet the FDA has approved dose ranges from 5-15 mg/kg based on the tumor type. The FDA approved dose for lung cancer patients is 15 mg/kg dose of Avastin. A patient with lung cancer weighing 70 kg would require 1050 mg of Avastin for a full dose. Therefore, after the patient receives the full dose of Avastin, a minimum of 50 mg of excess Avastin will be remaining in the last vial. Recently published wholesale acquisition costs for Avastin indicate that 50 mg of Avastin costs approximately $360. Thus, discarding 50 mg of Avastin costs a patient, a hospital, or an insurance company, for example, approximately $360. Assuming the patient receives the 1050 mg dose of Avastin every two weeks for a year, approximately $9,360 of Avastin is wasted in treating that patient per year.
Accordingly, systems, apparatuses, and methods to maintain a sterile environment for a remaining portion of medicine from a vial after a portion of the medicine from the vial is extracted for use on a patient is provided. The systems, apparatuses, and methods provide a safe and reliable means to reduce drug waste and extend the beyond use date of medicine. It should be understood that the beyond use date may be the amount of time that a drug may be safely used before attaining an unsafe amount of contamination after the drug is reconstituted for use in a patient. It should also be understood that contamination may include at least one of microbial contamination, bacterial contamination, viral contamination, chemical contamination, or any other type of contamination known by those having ordinary skill in the art. In addition, the systems, apparatuses, and methods discussed herein may be used to reduce healthcare worker (such as a nurse or pharmacist) exposure to hazardous drugs, prevent leakage, and surface contamination from spills. In some cases, the systems, apparatuses, and methods may be used without the need for a biosafety cabinet providing the required amount of air changes during drug extraction. Such features may have a significant impact on public health services.

System, apparatus, and method for extending the useful life of medicine


This invention relates to a cold infusion process for fortifying coffee beans with one or more vitamin, non-vitamin, mineral, non-mineral, botanical, hormone, herb, neutraceutical, lipid, carbohydrate, amino acid, acid, salt, prebiotic, or probiotic functional additives. This invention also discloses an infused coffee bean produced by the process of infusing the coffee bean at a temperature of less than about 120° F. with a solution comprising water, a bridge initiator for acid salt bias, fortifying agent(s), and an acid in a quantity sufficient to reach a pH of about 3.65. Further, this invention provides a method for the infusion of a coffee bean with at least one fortifying agent at approximately room temperature.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, most Americans consume too many calories and not enough nutrients. Moreover, most Americans do not eat balanced meals and their daily staples do not provide them with the health benefits they need. This problem, however, does not just affect Americans. Rather, vitamin and mineral deficiencies are a problem for people throughout the world.
There are several strategies that work to prevent and control vitamin and mineral deficiencies. These strategies are 1.) supplementation (e.g., ingesting tablets or capsules of vitamins and/or minerals); 2.) dietary modification (e.g., increasing consumption of micronutrient-rich foods); 3.) public health measures (e.g., controlling infections and/or improving water and sanitation); and 4.) fortification (e.g., adding vitamins and/or minerals to commonly consumed staples).
These four strategies are well known, and many countries have adopted public health programs that are aimed at implementing these strategies. However, fortification of one's daily staples is the most advantageous strategy as it can efficiently and cost-effectively deliver vitamins and minerals to large volumes of people without requiring those people to change their dietary habits. Yet, very few daily staples are fortified with vitamins and/or minerals. Thus, there is a need for a product, such as a daily staple, that provides additional health and wellness benefits to people throughout the world.

Cold infusion process for fortifying coffee beans


A node in a wireless communication system announces a channel switch operation to facilitate a smooth transition to other channel. The node detects a requirement to discontinue communications at a first channel and sends a message to a plurality of neighboring nodes in response to detecting the requirement. Generally, the message comprises at least a reason for discontinuation of communications at the first channel and a duration for the channel switch operation after which the node is available for communications at the first channel or an alternate channel. Each of the plurality of neighboring nodes can determine based on the message and the neighborhood conditions a requirement to scan alternate channels to initiate communications with other nodes.

In recent years, a type of mobile communications network known as an ad-hoc network has been developed. An ad-hoc network typically includes a number of geographically-distributed, potentially mobile units, sometimes referred to as "nodes," which are wirelessly connected to each other by one or more links (e.g., radio frequency communication channels). In this type of network, each mobile node is capable of operating as a base station or router for the other mobile nodes, thus eliminating the need for a fixed infrastructure of base stations.
A wireless mesh network is a collection of wireless nodes or devices organized in a decentralized manner to provide range extension by allowing nodes to be reached across multiple hops. In a multi-hop network, communication packets sent by a source node can be relayed through one or more intermediary nodes before reaching a destination node. A large network can be realized using intelligent access points (IAP) which provide wireless nodes with access to a wired backhaul. A mesh network therefore typically comprises one or more IAPs (Intelligent Access Points), and a number of APs (Access Points), which provide data service to STAs (subscriber stations). An AP can connect to IAP directly or through multi-hop route. More sophisticated ad-hoc networks are also being developed which, in addition to enabling mobile nodes to communicate with each other as in a conventional ad-hoc network, further enable the mobile nodes to access a fixed network and thus communicate with other mobile nodes, such as those on the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and on other networks such as the Internet.
Typically, in a mesh network an IAP communicates with the APs by transmitting and receiving packets on radio channels. In certain cases, the IAP switches the channel on which it is communicating with the APs. For example, the IAP switches its channel when it detects a Radar signal on the channel. If during operation, an IAP detects a radar event over the Radio Frequency (RF) channel that the network backhaul uses, it must immediately change to another available RF channel. This is dictated by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standards, and is established to allow the sharing of the five GigaHertz (5 GHz) spectrum between wireless LAN (WLAN) and military or weather radars that use the same frequencies. Alternatively, the IAP can switch channel if it detects a need for a periodic scan, or if it detects a weak radio link with the APs.
In some traditional mesh systems, it takes significant amount of time for an AP to detect the loss of an IAP when the IAP switches its channel of operation. Conventionally, a mesh AP will detect a lost connection with IAP after missing infrastructure hello frames or by timing out. Also, additional time is spent by the AP in scanning for new channels and then associating with the same or a new IAP. Generally, during the transition period of the channel switch operation at the IAP, associated APs are unable to provide meshing services to their clients.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus to select a channel in a wireless communication system to facilitate a smooth channel switch operation.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Method and apparatus for channel selection in a wireless communication system


One embodiment of a Test Signal generated by Test Signal Synthesis 10 being coupled, by a method of Coupling 12, to an Antenna 14, a Receiver 16 and a Method of Verification 18; for the transmission of a Test Signal to verify the operation of the Receiver Chain of equipment in Applications receiving Intermittent Signals.

1. Field
This application relates to Receivers used in services where the received signals are intermittent.
2. Prior Art
Receivers used in services where the received signals are intermittent have a problem in detecting when the Receiver Chain of equipment (e.g. Antenna, cabling, connectors, Receiver, power, etc.) has an impairment or fault.
In RADAR applications, if a response is not detected to an interrogation signal, is it because there are no targets or is it because the Receiver Chain of equipment is impaired or faulty?
In two-way radio applications, if a response is not received from a called party, is it because the called party is not responding or is it because the Receiver chain is impaired or faulty?
Similarly, in one-way (receive-only) radio applications, if a signal is not received within a pre-specified period, is it because there is no information available or is it because the Receiver Chain of equipment is impaired or faulty?
In PRIMARY or AREA SURVEILLANCE RADAR, use is sometimes made of signals reflecting Permanent Echoes, to verify the operation of the Receiver Chain of equipment; if these Permanent Echoes are available and detectable within the RADAR coverage area. However, if the RADAR uses Moving Target Indication, Moving Target Detection or Doppler Processing filters; these (stationary) Permanent Echoes are eliminated from the received signals.
In Secondary Surveillance Radar and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast; use is sometimes made of a Test Transponder, sometimes called a Position Adjustable Range Reference Orientation Transponder or PARROT. This Test Transponder needs to be placed at a distance from the Receiver so it requires real estate and reliable power. It usually also requires reliable communications so it can be monitored by Remote Maintenance Monitoring.
A solution to these problems is to regularly synthesize a Test Signal at a pre-determined interval, inject it into the Receiver, and have a method of verifying that the Test Signal is detected.

Enhancing a receiver for improved impairment/fault detection when handling the reception of intermittent signals


A computer controlled machine for forming longitudinally curved tooth bevel and hypoid gears having a minimum number of movable machine axes for setup and operation. The movable axes include three rectilinear axes (X, Y, and Z) and three rotational axes (T, W and P). The rectilinear axes are arranged in mutually orthogonal directions. Two of the rotational axes (T and W) provide for rotating tool (26, 27) and work gear (42, 43), respectively. The third rotational axis (P) provides for adjusting the relative angular orientations of tool axis (T) and work axis (W). Pivot axis (P) is positioned with respect to both tool axis (T) and work axis (W) at fixed inclination angles. A method of opeating the computer controlled machine provides for controlling the movable axis (X, Y, Z, T, W, and P) in response to setup and operating parameters of conventional bevel and hypoid gear generating machines.

The invention relates to machines and methods for generating longitudinally curved tooth spaces in bevel and hypoid gears. In particular, the invention relates to computer numerically controlled bevel and hypoid gear generating machines and methods whereby a reduced number of movable machine axes are provided for setup and operation.
In the context of the present invention, the phrase "bevel and hypoid" is understood to mean either or both types of gears because of a lack of agreement in the art concerning the use of either term (bevel or hypoid) as generic to the other. Accordingly, whether bevel gears are considered a specific type of hypoid gears or visa versa, the present invention contemplates machines and methods for forming longitudinally curved tooth surfaces of either or both gear types.
Machines for generating bevel and hypoid gears are generally arranged to carry cutting or grinding tools in a manner which permits the tools to represent a mating gear member in mesh with a work gear being produced. For example, it is understood in the art that if both members of a mating pair of work gears are separately manufactured with tools representing complementary theoretical generating gears in mesh with each work gear member, the manufactured work gears will mesh properly with each other.
According to usual practice, tooth surfaces of one or both members of a mating work gear pair are manufactured by a relative rolling process with a tool as though the work gear were in mesh with a theoretical generating gear represented by the tool. Such generating processes, however, are quite time consuming and it is often preferred to generate only one member of a gear pair. For example, many bevel and hypoid gear pairs used in automotive applications are manufactured according to a process in which tooth surfaces of a first gear member (usually a ring gear) are formed without generation (i.e., the tool is oriented to represent tooth surfaces of a stationary theoretical gear and work gear tooth spaces adopt the form of tooth represented by the tool) and the tooth surfaces of the other gear member (usually a pinion) are generated using a tool which is oriented to represent tooth surfaces of the first formed gear member in mesh with the other gear member.
For purposes of economy, two types of gear making machines have evolved for producing different members of work gear pairs where only one member of the pair requires generation. Those machines which are arranged to represent the rolling motion of a theoretical generating gear in mesh with a work gear are referred to as "generating machines" and those machines which are arranged to represent a stationary theoretical gear are referred to as "non-generating machines." Generating machines are required to impart additional motions and, therefore, are much more complicated and expensive than non-generating machines. A significant cost savings is associated with the use of less expensive non-generating machines to produce one member of each gear pair. Generating machines may be used to manufacture non-generated tooth gears but non-generating machines do not include required settings and controls to manufacture generated tooth surfaces.
Typical bevel or hypoid gear generating machines include a machine base and separate supports resting on the base for mounting a work gear and a rotating tool. The tool support is arranged to carry a rotary tool in a manner which represents a theoretical generating gear positioned to mesh with the work gear. A machine cradle is journaled in the tool support so that its axis of rotation represents the axis of the theoretical generating gear. A rotary tool, having stock removing surfaces which represent one or more teeth in the theoretical generating gear, is supported on the front face of the cradle. In particular, the rotary tool is mounted on a tool spindle which is journaled in a tilt mechanism carried by the cradle. The tilt mechanism is used to adjust the angular position of the rotary tool axis with respect to the cradle axis so that the stock removing surfaces of the tool are oriented to appropriately represent the position of gear teeth on the theoretical generating gear.
The work gear support generally includes means for adjusting the mounting position of the work gear so that the work gear will fit into mesh with the theoretical generating gear represented by the tool support. The work gear is journaled for rotation in the work support and means for rotating the work gear interconnect with means for rotating the machine cradle so that the work gear may be rotated in a timed relationship with the rotation of the cradle. Tooth sides are generated in the work gear by imparting a relative rolling motion between the tool and work gear as though the work gear were in mesh with another gear member (i.e., the theoretical generating gear) having an axis of rotation coincident with the machine cradle axis and mating tooth surfaces represented by the stock removing surfaces of the tool.
The rotary tool may be arranged to represent a single tooth in a generating gear or may include a number of stock removing surfaces which are specially positioned on the tool body for timed rotation with the work gear to represent a generating gear with a plurality of teeth.
"Intermittent indexing" processes are associated with the use of a rotary tool which is designed to represent a single tooth of a generating gear. According to the known practice of intermittent indexing, each successive tooth space is formed one at a time until all of the desired number of tooth spaces are formed in the work gear. For example, generating motions in which the tool is rotated about the cradle axis in a timed relationship with work gear rotation are performed independently for each tooth space.
A second well known gear making process, known as "continuous indexing", uses a rotary tool arranged with a number of stock removing surfaces which are positioned on a tool body to represent a plurality of teeth on the generating gear. According to this known practice, the work gear is rotated in a timed relationship with the rotation of the tool so that all of the tooth spaces in the work gear are collectively formed. Required generating motions are superimposed on this timed relationship so that an additional amount of work gear rotation is imparted in a timed relationship with machine cradle rotation. Since all of the work gear tooth spaces are treated collectively, only a single rotation of the tool about the cradle axis through the space of one tooth of the theoretical generating gear is required to completely generate all work gear tooth surfaces.
A discussion of the basic machine requirements of bevel and hypoid gear manufacture is found in Chapter 20 of Gear Handbook, The Design, Manufacture, and Application of Gears, Darle W. Dudley, Editor, Copyright 1962 by McGraw-Hill, Inc., Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 61-7304. Pages 1 through 11 of the cited chapter entitled "Bevel- and Hypoid-Gear Manufacture" are hereby incorporated by reference for purposes of indicating the background of invention and illustrating the state of the art.
For purposes of additional background, it may be appreciated that for a number of years, advances in the computer and electronics industry have been routinely applied to machine tools. In fact, most state-of-the-art machine tools now include some sort of computer control. Such machines are referred to in the industry as computer numerically controlled machines or "CNC" machines. It is well known, for example to use computers to control both machine operation and setup. Computers also enable a series of machines performing separate functions to work together in a system to perform many different operations on work pieces and to produce a number of different work pieces without requiring substantial manual intervention.
Although conventional bevel and hypoid type gear generating machines have been recently fitted with computer controls, mainly for monitoring and controlling machine operation, much of the set up of these machines still requires manual intervention. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,746 discloses a "master-slave" servo-system for replacing certain gear trains in a conventional bevel and hypoid gear generating machine which control relative machine motions during use. However, much of the setup of the modified machine still requires substantial manual intervention.
Conventional bevel and hypoid gear generating machines (i.e., those described in the above-referenced Gear Handbook) require nine or more machine settings (also known as "setup axes") for appropriately positioning the tool with respect to the work gear. These settings include: (a) an angular setting of the cradle, (b) three angular settings of the tilt mechanism, (c) a rectilinear feed setting between the tool and work supports, (d) a rectilinear setting of work gear height above the machine base, (e) an angular setting of the work gear axis, (f) a rectilinear setting of the work gear along its axis, and (g) for certain cutting methods, relative settings of the rotational positions of the tool and the work gear. These settings are difficult to make to required accuracy and are time consuming. Most of these settings are accomplished manually because the large number of settings and their often congested locations render computer control of these settings extraordinarily complex and/or prohibitively expensive.
For example, known tool tilt mechanisms on bevel and hypoid gear generating machines are associated with a number of particularly difficult settings. These settings are made to incline and orient the tool axis with respect to the cradle axis so that the stock removing surfaces of the tool are positioned to appropriately represent tooth surfaces of the theoretical generating gear. Three coordinated settings known in the art as "eccentric angle", "swivel angle" and "tilt angle" are usually required for this purpose.
The tool drive which acts through the tilt mechanism also involves an extraordinary amount of complexity. This drive is required to impart rotation to the tool at variable angular orientations and positions with respect to the cradle axis. Thus, both the complex settings of the tool tilt mechanism and the tool drive at variable orientations take place within the space of the machine cradle which is itself rotatable.
Accordingly, machine cradles tend to be quite large and cumbersome. The diameter of the theoretical generating gear represented by the tool support is also substantially determined by the diameter of the machine cradle. For example, a 60 centimeter diameter cradle may be required to support a rotary tool in position to represent tooth surfaces of a 30 centimeter diameter theoretical generating gear. Machine cradles are difficult to manufacture and mount to required precision, and account for a significant portion cf the size, weight and cost of conventional generating machines. It has been proposed on occasion to replace the customary machine cradle with a pair of rectilinear slides. For example, FIG. 20-7 on page 8 in the incorporated chapter of "Gear Handbook" illustrates this possibility for non-generating machines. As explained therein, non-generating machines require positioning of a tool axis with respect to a work gear axis in the manner of a machine cradle but they do not require any motion of the tool axis equivalent to cradle rotation. Thus, it may be readily understood that the just-mentioned slides may be used to move a tool axis to the same position otherwise effected by a cradle in non-generating machines. This general concept has also been proposed for bevel and hypoid generating machines in SU, A, No. 724287 (V. A. KONDYURIN) and DE, A, No. 36 43 967 (YUTAKA SEIMITSU KOGYO K.K.). In the proposed machines disclosed in these patents, the customary machine cradle is replaced by a pair of rectilinear slides which can be controlled to move the tool axis along an arcuate path corresponding to cradle rotation during generation.
However, neither of these proposed generating machines suggests any means for inclining the tool axis with respect to their intended representation of the customary cradle axis. In fact, even if a known tool axis tilt mechanism were to be added to either of the proposed machines, the arcuate translation of an inclined tool axis along the rectilinear slides of the proposed machines would not reproduce the rotational motion of the inclined tool axis about the cradle axis of a conventional machine. In other words, translation of an inclined axis about another axis to which it is initially inclined, is not the same as rotation of the inclined axis about another axis.
Thus, neither of the proposed generating machines disclosed in the patents just referred to above is appropriate for manufacturing the variety of gears traditionally produced by conventional bevel and hypoid generating machines which utilize large machine cradles and complex tilt mechanisms for appropriately positioning and operatively engaging a tool and work gear. Furthermore, even when generating without any provision for tool axis tilt, neither of the proposed machines appears to account for the change in angular position of the tool about its axis which should accompany their respective translational representations of cradle axis rotation, and the lack of such a change in angular position would undesirably affect the required timed relationship between tool and work rotations during continuous indexing operations.
Another known alternative configuration for a computer controlled bevel and hypoid- gear generating machine operates according to a different method and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,474. This machine uses a CNC system for controlling machine axes for purposes of both setup and operation. However, even for the generation of only one of the flanks of longitudinally curved tooth spaces, the machine requires a large number of movable axes for setup and operation. Of these required axes, the most difficult and expensive ones to control are rotational (or pivot) axes for angularly moving the tool and work gear axes with respect to each other. For the generation of a single flank of longitudinally curved tooth gears, the machine includes a first axis for pivoting the tool with respect to the work gear, a second axis for pivoting the work gear with respect to the tool, and a tool tilt mechanism (e.g., the mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 4,370,080) for inclining the tool with respect to a third axis. These three just-named axes are in addition to axes for rotating the tool and work gear, and also in addition to three rectilinear axes of relative movement between the tool and work gear. If the other flank of the tooth spaces is to be generated simultaneously, a second tool is required along with further additional axes for rotating and pivoting the second tool, two more rectilinear axes for moving the second tool with respect to the work gear, and presumably, a second tool axis tilt mechanism.
The machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,474 operates according to limit conditions in which a single generating line of constant shape (e.g., analogous to a straight or curved rigid wire) is used to generate ruled tooth surfaces. The generating line is defined by an intersection of the stock removing surface swept by a rotating tool with a plane of action which comprises a locus of points of contact between the tool and work gear. The tool penetrates the plane of action at a fixed depth, and the constant shape generating line in the plane of action is rotated about an axis perpendicular to the plane in a predetermined relationship with rotation of the work gear in a manner such that the plane of action rolls together with a base cone surface of the work gear. Generated thereby in the plane of action is a ruled tooth surface defined by relative movement of the constant shape generating line with respect to the work gear.
These limitations which define the method of U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,474 prevent the disclosed machine from duplicating tooth surfaces now being provided by conventional machine motions which represent the rolling motion of a theoretical generating gear in mesh with the work gear. Conventional machine motions provide for rotating the tool about the axis of a theoretical generating gear (i.e., cradle axis) which defines a relative path of movement between the tool and work gear that is disposed angularly with respect to the plane of action between them. Contact between the tool and work gear progresses along various points on the tool's stock removing surface which is itself inclined to a normal (perpendicular) of the plane of action by a pressure angle corresponding to the generating gear tooth surface represented by the tool. Thus, the tool according to conventional methods is moved along a path inclined to the plane of action, penetrating the plane of action at changing depths along a tool surface also inclined to a normal of the plane of action, thereby generating tooth surfaces, not by a single generating line of constant shape, but rather, by an enveloping process in which the generated tooth surfaces are defined by the stock removing surface of the tool and its relative motion with respect to the work gear. Also, since the stock removing surfaces of tools used in conventional machines are inclined to the plane's normal and moved angularly with respect to the plane of action, it is possible to simultaneously generate both flanks cf tooth spaces in a work gear with a single tool arranged to represent both flanks of a generating gear tooth.
Another important consideration relating to the generation of longitudinally curved tooth bevel and hypoid gears is the determination of appropriate setup and operating parameters for such machines. Because of the complexity of tooth surfaces formed by conventional bevel and hypoid generators, such tooth surfaces can only be exactly defined geometrically by the machine motions which are used to produce them. That is, although certain general parameters of gear design may be specified, e.g., tooth numbers, pitch angle, etc., the equations which are used to define bevel and hypoid tooth surfaces are the motion equations of generating machines. Since tooth surfaces are not defined independently of machine motions, the design of tooth surfaces is often an iterative type of process known in the art as "development."
Much know-how has been accumulated, particularly in the form of computer software, for developing tooth surfaces by appropriate adjustment of the operating parameters of conventional bevel and hypoid generating machines.
It should be appreciated that much of this extremely valuable, painstakingly accumulated know-how would be of little use in controlling the operation of non-conventionally configured machines which require different operating parameters for controlling machine motions. Instead, such alternatively configured machines would require new sets of formulas and other know-how to determine appropriate machine settings and operating parameters for producing known gear tooth geometry and mating characteristics. For example, a machine described in an article in the July 1983 issue of American Machinist magazine on pages 85 through 88, entitled "Generating Gears Via Software," describes such a method for determining the operating parameters of a non-conventionally configured machine. (The machine referred to in the article appears related to the machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,474.)
It will be appreciated that the determination of such appropriate machine settings and operating parameters, based on general information of desired tooth geometry and mating characteristics, corresponds to the above-mentioned process of development utilized with conventional machines. While it may be relatively practicable to add software to a CNC machine for determining such required machine motions for producing easily defined straight tooth gears, the additional complexity of longitudinally curved bevel and hypoid gear teeth, particularly those which are produced by conventional generation, would require extensive and complicated developments that would add considerable cost and complexity to any CNC system which otherwise is primarily responsible for controlling machine motions along prescribed paths.
Further, little or no benefit would be derived from the large amount of existing know-how which relates such desired tooth geometry and mating characteristics to conventional machine settings. This is particularly true of "higher order" modifications which are expressed directly in terms of known machine motions or in terms of a theoretical generating gear.
In general, it is already known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,746 to incorporate computer numeric controls in conventional bevel and hypoid generating machines for automatically setting up and operating certain of their movable machine axes. However, the large number and congested locations of the conventional machine axes makes the application of computer controls to all of these axes especially complicated and expensive. Although it is also known from SU, A, No. 724287 and DE, A, No. 36 43 967 to replace the large and cumbersome machine cradle of conventional machines with a pair of rectilinear slides, neither of these two proposals discloses any means for inclining the tool axis with respect to the original cradle axis or for replacing the rotational function of the conventional machine cradle in so far as the latter rotates the inclined tool axis about the cradle axis. Further, the computer controlled gear generating machine of U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,474, which includes a much different configuration of machine axes, still requires a large number of controlled axes for generating longitudinally curved tooth gears. Also, the disclosed method of controlling these axes undesirably limited to the generation of ruled surfaces and does not benefit from accumulated know-how relating to development of tooth designs producible on conventional machines. Finally, none of the known art, considered separately or in combination, suggests any means whereby the conventional arrangement of a tool tilt mechanism carried on a machine cradle can be entirely replaced by computer controlled axes arranged in a more simplified configuration.

Multi-axis bevel and hypoid gear generating machine


A charging control system for charging a secondary battery from a solar battery, including a first path for transmitting power from the solar battery to the secondary battery, a second path for sensing the voltage of the secondary battery, and a comparison unit for comparing the solar battery voltage with the sensed voltage of the secondary battery. The first path includes a first interrupter, controlled by the comparison unit, which interrupts the first path to prevent discharge of the secondary battery through the solar battery when the solar battery voltage falls below the secondary battery voltage. The second path includes a second interrupter that interrupts the second path after the first path is interrupted, to prevent the secondary battery from discharging through the second path when not being charged through the first path.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a charging control system and a charging control device for controlling the charging of a secondary battery from a solar battery and reducing the loss of power from the secondary battery when the charging path is interrupted.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known type of charging control system, disclosed by Yamada et al. in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-261861, controls the charging of a secondary battery from a solar battery by means of a switching element that prevents the secondary battery from discharging through the solar battery when not being charged by the solar battery.
The circuit configuration of this charging control system is shown very schematically in FIG. 1. The main elements are a solar battery 1, a secondary battery 2, and a charging path 3 interconnecting the solar battery 1 and secondary battery 2. For clarity, reference characters 3H and 3L are used to distinguish the side of the charging path 3 interconnecting the anodes of the solar battery 1 and secondary battery 2 from the side of the charging path 3 interconnecting the cathodes of the solar battery 1 and secondary battery 2. The system also includes a current path 4 interconnecting the high side charging path 3H and low side charging path 3L through resistors R1 and R2, a current path 6 interconnecting the high side charging path 3H and low side charging path 3L through resistors R3 and R4, a comparator 7 for comparing the voltage of the solar battery 1 as divided by resistors R1 and R2 with the voltage of the solar battery 1 as divided by resistors R3 and R4, and a p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor (PMOS) transistor 12 inserted in high side charging path 3H between current path 4 and current path 6 to interrupt the charging path 3 responsive to the output of the comparator 7. The secondary battery 2, part of the charging path 3, and current path 4 form a closed circuit.
This conventional system operates as follows. The comparator 7 compares the voltage of the secondary battery 2 as divided by resistors R3 and R4 on current path 4 with the voltage of the solar battery 1 as divided by resistors R1 and R2 on current path 6. If the difference between the voltage of the solar battery 1 and voltage of the secondary battery 2 exceeds a threshold value, the comparator 7 outputs a low-level signal to turn on the PMOS transistor 12, thereby charging the secondary battery 2 from the solar battery 1; if the difference is equal to or less than the threshold value, the comparator 7 outputs a high-level signal to turn off the PMOS transistor 12, thereby interrupting the charging of the secondary battery 2 from the solar battery 1.
A problem in this conventional charging control system is that even when the switching element is turned off to interrupt the charging of the secondary battery from the solar battery, current continues to flow from the anode of the secondary battery 2 to the cathode of the secondary battery 2 through current path 4, thereby discharging the secondary battery 2 and wasting some of the power stored in the secondary battery 2.


A method begins with a payment entity device receiving an accounts payable data file from a client entity processing module. The method continues with the payment entity device determining a method of payment for an account payable of the accounts payable data file in accordance with a payables profile. The method continues with the payment entity device initiating a first type of payment for the account payable when the method of payment is a first type; initiating a second type of payment for the account payable, when the method of payment is a second type, or initiating a third type of payment for the account payable when the method of payment is a third type.

1. Technical field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to communication systems and more particularly to financial transactions communication systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Millions of credit card transactions are accurately processed every day regardless of whether the purchaser is making a purchase in his/her home town, in another part of the world, or via the internet. Each transaction has a two stage process: authorization and clearing & settlement. Authorization is the process of approving or declining the transaction at the commencement of the transaction and clearing & settlement is the process of making the payment and accounting for the payment.
The authorization process begins when a point-of-sale terminal (physical for in-store purchases, virtual for internet purchases) reads a purchaser's credit card information and obtains a transaction amount. The terminal transmits the credit card information and the transaction amount to an acquirer bank, which combines the credit card information and the transaction amount into an authorization request. The acquirer bank transmits the authorization request to a proprietary transaction processing network (e.g., VisaNet®), which routes the authorization request to an issuer bank (i.e., the bank that issued the credit card). Alternatively, the proprietary transaction processing network may perform a stand-in review and authorization.
When the authorization request is sent to the issuer bank, the bank, or a designated third party, reviews the request and approves or denies it. The issuer bank transmits a response to the proprietary transaction processing network indicating its decision. The proprietary transaction processing network forwards the response to the acquirer bank, which in turn, forwards the response to the point-of-sale terminal.
The clearing & settlement process begins with clearing, which, in turn, begins when the point-of-sale terminal, or other merchant processing device, transmits sales draft information (e.g., account numbers and amounts) to the acquirer bank. The acquirer bank formats the sales draft information into a clearing message that it transmits to the proprietary transaction processing network. The network transmits the clearing message to the issuer bank, which calculates settlement obligations of the issuer bank, processing fees, and the amount due the acquirer bank. Settlement begins when the issuer bank transmits funds to a designated bank of the proprietary transaction processing network, which, after processing, transfers the funds to the acquirer bank.
In an alternate credit card transaction processing system, the proprietary transaction network is owned by a single issuer bank. Thus, in contrast with the previously described system, the alternative system includes only one issue bank, not a large number of issuer banks, and, as such, the issuer bank's functions and the proprietary transaction network functions previously discussed are merged. In this alternate system, the processing of the single issuer is less than the multiple issuer system but creates a processing bottleneck due to the single issuer.
Regardless of the type of credit card transaction processing system, such systems provides consumers, whether individuals, small companies, or large corporate entities, an easy mechanism for paying for goods and/or services. For instance, many businesses use credit cards to purchase goods and/or services from a variety of suppliers as part of their procurement and payment processes. While businesses use credit cards to purchase goods and services, they also use other forms of payment as part of their procurement and payment processes. For example, a business may purchase goods and/or services using a check, a wire transfer, and/or an automated clearing house (ACH) debit account.
Software programs have been developed to assist businesses with their procurement and payment processes. Such software programs include provisions for tracking inventory, generating purchase orders, requesting invoices, and initiating and tracking payments for the desired goods and/or services. Once a payment is initiated, depending on the type of payment, it is processed outside of the software via the appropriate system. For example, a credit card transaction is processed as discussed above. After the payment is made, it is reconciled and the reconciled payment information is provided back to the business, or to its software. While this approach reduces the burdens on a business to purchase and pay for goods and/or services, it still requires a fair amount of input from the business to initiate payments, track them, and process the reconciled data.
Recently, proprietary transaction processing network providers have partnered with procurement and payment software entities to further reduce the burdens of a business by integrating the procurement and payment software with credit card payment processing. Such integration provides relatively seamless payment for goods and/or services being purchased with a credit card. Further, in a single issuer system, the system is capable of processing payments made via a check or an ACH debit account. As such, in a single issuer system, check payments and/or ACH debit account payments may be offered to the business.
While such advancements are reducing the payment and tracking burdens of a business, they are still somewhat disjointed, still require additional business involvement, and require involvement of the supplier financial chain (e.g., merchant, merchant's bank, etc.). For instance, in the integrated credit card payment system, the business still needs to process transactions using other forms of payment, which involves the supplier financial chain. In the single issuer system, the business is limited to using a credit card issued by the provider of the single issuer system, which dramatically limits payments options.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus that provides for seamless payment for goods and/or services regardless of the type of payment and/or the type of proprietary transaction processing network.

Payment entity device transaction processing using multiple payment methods


An elastomer bush bearing is disclosed with at least one axial limit stop. An elastomeric bush bearing is provided with a damping characteristic that can be adapted to the respective application and/or to changing preloads. The bearing is constructed in that a stop face formed on the bearing body and the opposing stop face, arranged on the inner sleeve or on a stop element supported by the inner sleeve, which can be rotated relative to each other in the circumferential direction of the bearing by an actuator or can be displaced relative to each other in the axial direction. The mutual separation between the stop faces determined by the gap changes simultaneously with a corresponding relative motion of the stop faces effected by a rotation of the actuator.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an elastomer bush bearing with at least one axial limit stop, which limits the axial spring travel of the bearing body for spring compression for oscillations introduced into the bearing in the axial direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to equip bush bearings in automobiles, which are used, for example, for supporting the connecting rod of chassis suspensions, with limit stops of excursion limiters to limit the compression spring travel of the bearing body subjected to oscillations. This prevents excessive deformations or excessive elongation of the elastomeric bearing body from destroying the bearing. The limit stops, in particular in bearings with a soft spring characteristic, are typically designed so that the produced excursion limit is not abrupt, but starts out rather gradually. This is accomplished by fabricating the stop faces at least partially also from an elastomer. This also prevents annoying vibration effects and noise when the excursion limitation takes effect. The axial limit stops of a rubber bearing or an elastomer bush bearing of the aforedescribed type are formed by two stop faces which face each other in the axial direction and are spaced apart by a gap. The gap determines the free travel during spring compression of the elastomer bearing body, or the amount by which the rubber spring can expand until the excursion limitation takes effect. An operating range is defined for the bearing within the characteristic curve field describing the spring characteristics by specifying the possible spring excursion of the elastomer bearing body until the excursion limitation takes effect. In conventional devices, the stop elements of the excursion limiter are arranged on or in the bearing at a fixed location. If the preload acting on the bearing changes, for example when the vehicle load is increase, the operating range of the bearing disadvantageously shifts within the bearing damping curve toward the progressive branch of the spring characteristic. Stated differently, the free travel of the elastomeric bearing spring is reduced on the spring compression side, while the free travel is simultaneously increased on the spring rebound or expansion travel side. When the preload changes, the bearing no longer operates in a symmetric operating range, with reference to the defined total spring travel of the elastomeric spring, because the limit stop of the spring body is reached sooner in a spring compression direction than in the opposite direction. This results in a noticeable deterioration in the drive dynamics and the comfort of the vehicle.

Elastomer bush bearing with axial limit stop


Systems and methods create partial snapshot for a volume. Files and folders are identified for inclusion in the partial snapshot. In response to writing updated data to the volume, a volume snapshot layer can determine of the updated data is associated with a file or folder in the partial snapshot. If the file or folder is included in the partial snapshot, original data at the volume location is read from the volume and written to the partial snapshot.

A virtual machine is software implementation of a computing machine. A virtual machine can be used to divide a single host computer system into multiple virtual machines, where each virtual machine runs a separate instance, or image, of an operating system (OS). A virtual machine is separate, or isolated, from other virtual machines and may also be isolated from hardware available on a host system. For example, instances of virtual machines can have separate file systems, separate users, separate applications, and separate processes. In other ways, however, the instances of the virtual machines are not separate and can share some resources of the host. For example, the instances of the virtual machines can share the memory, processors, network cards, hard drives, and other hardware of the host computer system.
Virtual machines haven proven useful in many environments. For example, virtual machines can be used to provide different operating systems on a computing system. Further, virtual machines can be used to provide a secure environment in which to execute untrusted software or to browse untrusted web sites. The virtual machine in such cases can be isolated from the main file system and hardware of the underlying computing system. Thus any corruption caused by malware or improperly functioning software is limited to the virtual machine.
Virtual machines typically access a virtual disk that appears to the virtual machine as a physical disk. A virtual disk is typically a copy of one or more file systems stored on a physical disk (or another virtual disk). In conventional systems, the virtual disk typically has a copy of all of the files in a file system. Thus the copy of the file system on a virtual disk may contain more files than are necessary for the virtual machine's intended purpose. Such unnecessary files may include files containing sensitive data such as passwords, financial information, personal information etc.

Partial snapshots in virtualized environments


A method and apparatus form and/or define a network topology in a Layer 3 network with a plurality of nodes, where each node has at least one interface. To that end, the method defines a plurality of neighborhoods, and assigns at least one interface of each node to at least one of the neighborhoods. The method also assigns a communication role to each interface so that each communication role is effective relative to one of the plurality of neighborhoods. The method then enables communication between the interfaces of the plurality of nodes as a function of the neighborhoods and the communication roles.

Routers transmit data across the Internet using the Internet Protocol ("IP"). As known by those in the art, IP serves as the de-facto standard for forwarding data messages ("datagrams") between network devices connected with the Internet. To that end, IP delivers datagrams across a series of Internet devices, such as routers, in the form of one or more data packets. Each packet has two principal parts: (1) a payload with the information being conveyed (e.g., text, graphic, audio, or video data), and (2) a header, known as an "IP header," having the address of the network device to receive the packet(s) (the "destination device"), the identity of the network device that sent the packet (the "originating device"), and other data for routing the packet.
Routers typically communicate with other routers via their interfaces. Configuring peer relationships between routers and their interfaces can be a cumbersome and time consuming process—particularly when hundreds or thousands of routers are peered with a single router within a single administrative authority. The problem becomes more pronounced, however, upon failure or replacement of single router (a hub router) peering with a plurality of other routers (spoke routers). In that case, the new hub router typically requires extensive configuration to peer with the spoke routers.

Network neighborhoods for establishing communication relationships between communication interfaces in an administrative domain


A method for manufacturing a porous ceramic scaffold having an organic/inorganic hybrid coating layer containing a bioactive factor includes (a) forming a porous ceramic scaffold; (b) mixing a silica xerogel and a physiologically active organic substance in a volumetric ratio ranging from 30:70 to 90:10 and treating by a sol gel method to prepare an organic/inorganic hybrid composite solution; (c) adding a bioactive factor to the organic/inorganic hybrid composite solution and agitating until gelation occurs; and (d) coating the porous ceramic scaffold with the organic/inorganic composite containing the bioactive factor added thereto. In accordance with the method, the porous ceramic scaffold may be uniformly coated with the organic/inorganic hybrid composite while maintaining an open pore structure, and stably discharge the bioactive factor over a long period of time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a porous ceramic scaffold having an organic/inorganic hybrid composite coating layer that includes a bioactive factor, as well as a method for production of the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a porous ceramic scaffold for biomedical applications, uniformly coated with a hybrid composite that contains a bioactive factor and is formed of a high bioactivity silica xerogel and a physiologically active organic substance, as well as a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As general medical operations to recover bone defects, autogenous and/or allogeneic bone graft methods have been employed since early times. However, autogenous bones are not provided in a sufficient amount to recover overall bone defects and have a problem of requiring secondary operation at a donor site. Allogeneic bones have disadvantages of causing infection or infectious diseases. Therefore, extensive research and development into bone graft materials using artificial materials with biostability but without worry about infections have recently been conducted.
As such materials, bio-inert (or bio-inactive) ceramic materials such as alumina, zirconia, etc., or bio-active ceramic materials such as hydroxyapatite, calcium phosphate based ceramics (that is, tricalcium phosphate (TCP), biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP)), etc., are broadly employed.
Specifically, in order to fabricate a scaffold similar to biological tissues, attempts to fabricate a scaffold having a pore structure have been implemented. It is known that such a pore structure enables tissue cells to be suitably adhered to a scaffold and may induce and accelerate regeneration of tissues. The foregoing method for fabrication of a porous structural scaffold may include, for example: a salt-leaching process that includes mixing ceramic molecules with insoluble particles such as salt in a solvent and casting the mixture, followed by removal of the solvent and particles to thereby form pores; a sponge-method that includes using a sponge material such as polyurethane foam, as a basic framework, injecting a ceramic slurry thereto to coat the framework, and removing the sponge through heat treatment, to thereby form a porous body; a freeze drying method that includes preparing a ceramic slurry in water and freeze-drying the slurry to form a porous body, or the like. Meanwhile, Korean Patent No. 879127, entitled "Method for controlling pores of porous material through freeze-casting and porous material manufactured by the same," invented by the present inventors, discloses a process for manufacturing a porous ceramic scaffold through freeze-drying using camphene. According to this technique, porosity, pore size, pore arrangement, or the like may be easily controlled while maintaining an open pore structure of the porous material.
In order to induce rapid tissue regeneration in vivo, in addition to the attempts for improvement of structural materials described above, attempts to deliver a variety of body vitality factors (often referred to as 'bioactive factors') capable of directly inducing tissue regeneration as well as the material have recently been conducted. However, such a ceramic material principally needs heat treatment at a high temperature, thus entailing a limitation in delivering bioactive factors. There was an attempt to spray a solution containing bioactive factors over a porous scaffold to thereby deliver the bioactive factors adhered to a surface of the scaffold. However, such method has a difficulty in stably delivering the bioactive factors for a long time. Further, although studies into an improved porous scaffold having a coating layer formed of a biopolymer, in which bioactive factors are loaded, have currently been conducted, this method has also a limitation in controlling loading capacity and discharge capacity of the bioactive factors.

Method for manufacturing a porous ceramic scaffold having an organic/inorganic hybrid coating layer containing a bioactive factor


A method, an apparatus, and a storage medium with executable code to execute a method including accepting camera views of at least some participants of a teleconference, each view from a corresponding video camera, with the camera views together including at least one view of each participant. The method includes accepting audio from a plurality of microphones, and processing the audio from the plurality of microphones to generate audio data and direction information indicative of the direction of sound received at the microphones. The method further includes generating one or more candidate people views, with each people view being of an area enclosing a head and shoulders view of at least one participant. The method also includes making a selection, according to the direction information, of which at least one of the candidate people views are to be transmitted to one or more remote endpoints.

Today's videoconferencing systems have improved in quality to provide a sense of remote conference participants being present. Hence they are commonly called "telepresence systems." One example is the CISCO CTS3000 Telepresence system, by Cisco Systems, Inc. In a videoconferencing room set up for such a videoconferencing system, seating locations are fixed. Cameras have a fixed focus, zoom, and angle to reproduce each member in a life-size "close-up" on the matched video display.
Customers have other conference rooms that they would like to use for telepresence conferencing. In these rooms, the seating locations may vary greatly from meeting to meeting.
Some existing telepresence systems use actual pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) and/or electronic PTZ (EPTZ) cameras. Whether actual pan-tilt-zoom, or electronic, the cameras must be manually steered by a person to achieve a good view. While this is bothersome with one camera, it becomes untenable in a multi-camera situation. Thus, it is desirable to use a plurality of cameras that automatically seek out good close-up people views of each participant.

Multiple video camera processing for teleconferencing


A method and apparatus for chopping long unwound items like fiber, fiber strands, yarn, etc. The chopper has a backup roll comprising a wheel and a working layer on the outer peripheral surface of the wheel and an engaging blade roll. The outer peripheral surface of the wheel contains spiral grooves or ridges that mate with ridges or grooves on an inner peripheral surface of the working layer such that a worn working surface can be quickly and easily unscrewed from the wheel and a new working surface can be quickly and easily screwed into place, making the job of replacing the working surface faster, easier and less costly than prior art practice.

The present invention involves an improved chopper for chopping continuous or very long loose items such as fiber, fiber strands, yarn, wire, string, ribbon, tape and the like by pulling the item(s) into the chopper while the loose items are held tightly against the surface of a rotating backup roll and carrying the item(s) on into a nip between a rotating blade roll and the rotating backup roll where they are separated into short pieces. More specifically the present invention involves a chopper having an improved backup roll and methods of making and using the improved backup roll.
It has long been known to chop continuous fibers or fiber strands into short lengths of about 5 inches or shorter. Billions of pounds of such product including chopped glass fibers and fiber strands are produced each year in process and chopping apparatus such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,970,837, 4,398,934, 3,508,461, and 3,869,268, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The choppers disclosed in these patents comprise a blade roll containing a plurality of spaced apart blades for separating the fibers into short lengths, a backup roll, often driven, having a working surface that the blades work against to effect the separation, and that also pulls the fibers or fiber strands. In the processes disclosed in these patents, the chopper is usually the most productivity limiting equipment in the processes. These processes typically operate continuously every day of the year, 24 hours each day, except during furnace rebuilds every few years. Therefore, improvements in the chopper, that allow the chopper to pull and chop faster and for longer times between maintenance shutdowns, and to have shorter duration shutdowns for maintenance have an extremely positive impact on productivity and production costs.
The working surface layer of the backup roll is a somewhat soft material that starts out about two inches thick. During operation the surface of the working surface layer becomes rough because of the blades penetrating the surface repeatedly to break or chop the strands of fibers into desired lengths. When the surface roughness becomes too severe, some of the fibers in the strands are not chopped and this produces double cuts, long cuts, uncuts, etc., i.e. fibers longer than the desired length and multiples of the spacing between the blades, which is undesirable and causes scrap and defects in the products the fibers are used to make, such as nonwoven webs, composites, etc. Prior to such a condition developing to a costly extent, the surface of the working surface layer is ground down in place on the chopper, or the backup roll, or working surface layer are removed and ground down off-line.
It has been typical to remove the entire backup roll to do this, but more recently it has also been taught to remove only the working surface layer, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,573. The backup rolls are very heavy on most choppers requiring two workers and lifting aids, or one worker and a precise lifting aid to change the backup roll quickly, i.e. within 5-10 minutes. The fiber forming rooms where the choppers operate are typically crowded and it is not practical or desirable to have to bring in bulky equipment to provide lifting aid for a new or reconditioned backup roll. The working surface layer is much lighter and can easily be lifted and placed by one worker. To reduce downtime significantly it is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,573 to use a collapsible mandrel as the wheel for the backup roll and to replace only the working surface layer. This solution works well, but requires replacement of all the existing wheels with a collapsible wheel that is more costly than a standard wheel.
Normally several strands such as up to 14 are fed into the chopper, each strand containing 2000 or more fibers. As more fiber strands and fibers are fed into the chopper it becomes more difficult to pull all of the strands and fibers at the same speed, so more pressure is applied to the cylinder pushing the idler roll against the backup roll with more force.