Disclosed is a method of improving the growth of plants wherein at least one compound of formula (I)

The present invention relates to a method of improving the growth of plants comprising applying to the plants or the locus thereof at least one compound selected from the class of the neonicotinoids.
Certain methods of improving plant growth are described in the literature. These methods are usually based on conventional fertilizing. The biological effects of those known methods are however not entirely satisfactory in the area of agriculture. There is therefore still a need to improve the growth of the plants basically for obtaining higher crop yields, as well as the reduction of the use of fertilizers needed.
The present invention provides a new method of improving plant growth, more specifically, a method for improving plant growth of crops such as canola (rape) seed, eggplants, rice, potatoes and soybeans, wherein at least one neonicotinoid compound is applied to the plant or the locus thereof.
Preferred is a method of improving the growth of plants wherein at least one neonicotinoid compound of formula (I)
wherein
A is 2-chloropyrid-5-yl, 2-methylpyrid-5-yl, 1-oxido-3-pyridinio, 2-chloro-1-oxido-5-pyridinio, 2,3-dichloro-1-oxido-5-pyridinio, tetrahydrofuran-3-yl, 5-methyl-tetrahydrofuran-3-yl or 2-chlorothiazol-5-yl group,
R is hydrogen, C1-C6alkyl, phenyl-C1-C4alkyl, C3-C6cycloalkyl, C2-C6alkenyl or C2-C6alkynyl;
Y is xe2x80x94N(R)(R2) or SR2;
R1 and R2 are independently of each other C1-C4-alkyl, C1-C4-alkenyl, C1-C4-alkinyl, xe2x80x94C(xe2x95x90O)xe2x80x94CH3 or benzyl; or together form a group xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94NHxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94 or xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94N(CH3)xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94; and
X is Nxe2x80x94NO2 or Nxe2x80x94CN or CHxe2x80x94NO2; or, where appropriate, a tautomer thereof, in each case in free from or in salt form, is applied to the plant or the locus thereof.
The compounds (I) may be in the form of tautomers. Accordingly, hereinbefore and hereinafter, where appropriate the compound compounds (I) are to be understood to include corresponding tautomers, even if the latter are not specifically mentioned in each case.
The compounds of the formula (I) are capable of forming acid addition salts. Those salts are formed, for example, with strong inorganic acids, such as mineral acids, for example perchloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, nitrous acid, a phosphoric acid or a hydrohalic acid, with strong organic carboxylic acids, such as unsubstituted or substituted, for example halo-substituted, C1-C4alkanecarboxylic acids, for example acetic acid, saturated or unsaturated dicarboxylic acids, for example oxalic, malonic, succinic, maleic, fumaric or phthalic acid, hydroxycarboxylic acids, for example ascorbic, lactic, malic, tartaric or citric acid, or benzoic acid, or with organic sulfonic acids, such as unsubstituted or substituted, for example halo-substituted, C1-C4alkane- or aryl-sulfonic acids, for example methane- or p-toluene-sulfonic acid. Furthermore, compounds of formula (I) having at least one acidic group are capable of forming salts with bases. Suitable salts with bases are, for example, metal salts, such as alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salts, for example sodium, potassium or magnesium salts, or salts with ammonia or an organic amine, such as morpholine, piperidine, pyrrolidine, a mono-, di- or tri-lower alkylamine, for example ethyl-, diethyl-, triethyl- or dimethyl-propyl-amine, or a mono-, di- or tri-hydroxy-lower alkylamine, for example mono-, di- or tri-ethanolamine, In addition, corresponding internal salts may also be formed. Preference is given within the scope of the invention to agrochemically advantageous salts. In view of the close relationship between the compounds of formula (I) in free form and in the form of their salts, any reference hereinbefore or hereinafter to the free compounds of formula (I) or to their respective salts is to be understood as including also the corresponding salts or the free compounds of formula (I), where appropriate and expedient. The same applies in the case of tautomers of compounds of formula (I) and the salts thereof. The free form is generally preferred in each case.
Preferred compounds of the formula (I) are those wherein
A is a pyrid-3-yl, 2-chloropyrid-5-yl, 2-chloro-1-oxido-5-pyridinio or 2-chlorothiazol-5-yl group; particularly a 2-chloropyrid-5-yl group or preferably a 2-chlorothiazol-5-yl group;
wherein R is C1-C6alkyl, phenyl-C1-C4alkyl, C3-C4alkenyl or C3-C4alkynyl;
more especially C1-C4alkyl, preferably methyl;
R1 and R2 are independently of each other C1-C4-alkyl or benzyl, or together a group xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CH2NHxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94N(CH3)xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, especially group xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94 or xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, particularly xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94; and
X is Nxe2x80x94NO2 or Nxe2x80x94CN, more especially Nxe2x80x94NO2.
Especially preferred is a method of improving the growth of plants comprising the application to the plant or the locus thereof of an effective amount of a compound selected from the group consisting of: a compound of the formula
imidacloprid, clothianidin (TI-435), nitenpyram, thiacloprid, acetamiprid and MTI-446; particularly the compound of the formula (Ia) (thiarnethoxam).
The compound of the formula (Ia) is known for instance from EP-A-5805 53;
Imidacloprid is known from The Pesticide Manual, 11th Ed. (1997), The British Crop Protection Council, London, page 706;
Nitenpyram from The Pesticide Manual, 11th Ed. (1997), The British Crop Protection Council, London, page 880;
TI-435 from EP-A-376,279;
MTI-446 from EP-A-649,845; and
Thiacloprid from EP-A-235,725.
Surprisingly, it has been found that the application of the compounds of the formula (I) to the plants or the locus thereof results in a quite unexpectedly enhanced plant growth. It has now been found, that the action of the compounds of the formula (I) goes far beyond their well-known pesticidal action. It has been shown, that the compounds of the formula (I) exhibit an action termed plant growth in the frame of the instant invention. Under the term plant growth there are understood various sorts of improvements of plants which are not connected to the control of pests with the said compound (I). For example such advantageous properties that may be mentioned are improved crop characteristics including: emergence, crop yields, protein content, more developed root system, tillering increase, increase in plant height, bigger leaf blade, less dead basal leaves, stronger tillers, greener leaf color, less fertilizers needed, less seeds needed, more productive tillers, earlier flowering, early grain maturity, less plant verse (lodging), increased shoot growth, improved plant vigor, and early germination; or any other advantages familiar to a person skilled in the art.
Especially preferred is the use of the said neonicotiniod compounds in a method for the improvement of the growth plants which are essentially free of insects and representatives of the order Acarina.
It has been shown, that compounds of the instant formula (I) have a good effect on the plant growth. As a rule, a good effect means at least 10% earlier emergence, crop yields, more developed root system, increase in plant height, bigger leaf blade, less fertilizers needed, less seeds needed increased shoot growth, improved plant vigor etc.
A further aspect of the invention is a method of using a neonicotinoid compound in a method for Improving the growth of plants.
A further aspect of the invention is the use of a neonicotinoid compound in a method for improving the growth of plants.
Still a further aspect of the invention is a method of using a composition comprising a neonicotinoid compound in a method for improving the growth of plants. Crops which can be improved according to the present method include cereals, such as wheat, barley, rye, oats, rice, maize and sorghum; beet, such as sugar beet and fodder beet; fruit, for example pomes, stone fruit and soft fruit, such as apples, pears, plums, peaches, almonds, cherries and berries, e.g. strawberries, raspberries and blackberries; leguminous fruits, such as beans, lentils, peas and soybeans; oil plants, such as rape, mustard, poppy, olives, sunflowers, coconut, castor oil plants, cocoa beans and groundnuts; cucurbitaceae, such as marrows, cucumbersand melons; fibre plants, such as cotton, flax, hemp and jute; citrus fruit, such as oranges, lemons, grapefruit and mandarins; vegetables, such as spinach, lettuce, asparagus, cabbages, carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes and paprika; lauraceae, such as avocados, cinnamon and camphor; and also tobacco, nuts, coffee, aubergines, sugar cane, tea, pepper, vines, hops, bananas, natural rubber plants and ornamentals; especially rice, beans, soybeans, rape and potatoes.
The invention accordingly relates also to compositions comprising the compounds of the formula (I) and the use of the said compositions, such as emulsifiable concentrates, suspension concentrates, directly sprayable or dilutable solutions, coatable pastes, dilute emulsions, wettable powders, soluble powders, dispersible powders, wettable powders, dusts, granules or encapsulations in polymeric substances, which comprise at least one of the compounds according to the invention, the type of formulation being chosen in accordance with the intended objectives and the prevailing circumstances.
The compounds of the formula (I) are used in those compositions in pure form, a solid the compounds of the formula (I) being used, for example, in a specific particle size, or, preferably, together with at least one of the adjuvants customary in formulation technology, such as extenders, e.g. solvents or solid carriers, or surface-active compounds (surfactants).
Suitable formulation adjuvants are, for example, solid carriers, solvents, stabilisers, slow-release adjuvants, dyes and optionally surface-active substances (surfactants). Suitable carriers and adjuvants in this case include all substances customarily used in crop protection products, especially in products for controlling snails and slugs. Suitable adjuvants, such as solvents, solid carriers, surface-active compounds, non-ionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, anionic surfactants and further adjuvants in the compositions used in accordance with the invention are, for example, the same as those described in EP-A-736 252; are fully incorporated by reference herein for their disclosure relating to useful formulation adjuvants.
The compositions usually contain from 0.1 to 99%, especially from 0.1 to 95%, of a compound of the formula (I) and from 1 to 99.9%, especially from 5 to 99.9%, of at least one solid or liquid adjuvant, it generally being possible for from 0 to 25%, especially from 0.1 to 20%, of the composition to be surfactants (in each case percentages are by weight). Whereas commercial products will preferably be formulated as concentrates, the end user will normally employ dilute formulations which have considerably lower concentrations of one or more compounds of the formula (I). Preferred formulations have especially the following composition (%=percent by weight):
The compositions according to the invention are prepared in known manner: in the absence of adjuvants, for example, by grinding, sieving and/or compressing a solid compound of the formula (I), for example to a specific particle size, and, in the presence of at least one adjuvant, for example, by intimately mixing and/or grinding the compound of the formula (I) with the adjuvant(s). The invention relates also to those methods of preparing the compositions according to the invention and to the use of compounds I in the preparation of such compositions.
The invention relates also to the methods of applying the compositions of the type mentioned, such as spraying, atomising, dusting, coating, dressing, scattering or pouring, which are chosen in accordance with the intended objectives and the prevailing circumstances, and to the use of the compositions for the improvement of the plants of the type mentioned. Typical rates of concentration are from 0.1 to 1000 ppm, preferably from 0.1 to 500 ppm, of compound of the formula (I). The rates of application per hectare are generally from 1 to 2000 g of compound of the formula (I) per hectare, especially from 1 to 1000 g/ha, preferably from 5 to 600 g/ha.
A preferred method of application is application to the leaves of the plants (foliar application), the frequency and rate of application depending on the desired improvement of the crop plant in question. The compound of the formula (I) may, however, also penetrate the plants through the root system (systemic action) as a result of impregnation of the locus of the plant with a liquid formulation or by incorporation of the compound of the formula (I) in solid form, for example in the form of granules, in the locus of the plant, for example in the soil (soil application). In the case of paddy rice crops, such granules may be applied in metered amounts to the flooded rice field.
In one embodiment, commercial products will preferably be formulated as concentrates whereas the end user will normally use dilute formulations.
The compositions according to the invention are also suitable for the treatment of plant propagation material, including genetically modified propagation material, e.g. seed, such as fruit, tubers or grains, or plant cuttings, The propagation material may be treated with the composition before planting, for example seed may be dressed before sowing. The compounds according to the invention may also be applied to seed grains (coating) either by impregnating the grains with a liquid formulation or by coating them with a solid formulation. The composition may also be applied to the planting site when the propagation material is being planted, for example may be applied to the seed furrow during sowing. The invention relates also to that method of treating plant propagation material and to the plant propagation material so treated.
The compounds of formula (I) are normally applied to plant propagation material in the form of compositions, but also can be applied to the seed or lo the locus of propagation thereof (such as a furrow), simultaneously or in succession, with further compounds. These further compounds can be fertilizers or micronutrient donors or other preparations that influence plant growth. They can also be selective pesticides or mixtures of several of these preparations, if desired together with further carriers, surfactants or application-promoting adjuvants customarily employed in the art of formulation.
In connection with the treatment of plant propagation material, favorable rates of application are in general 0.0005 to not more than 1 kg, in particular 0.01-0.8 kg, more particularly 0.1-0.5 kg of one or more compounds of the formula (I) per 100 kg of material to be protected. However, the application conditions depend essentially on the nature (surface area, consistency, moisture content) of the material and on its environmental factors. Accordingly, within these ranges, those skilled in the art will choose, on the basis of their general body of knowledge and, where appropriate, a few experiments, doses which are non-phytotoxic but effective for improving the plant growth.
The techniques of seed treatment application are well known to those skilled in the art, and they may be used readily in the context of the present invention. The compounds of the formula (I) can be formulated and applied as a slurry, a solid seed coating, a soak, or as a dust on the surface of the seed. There also may be mentioned, e.g., film-coating or encapsulation. The coating processes are well known in the art, and employ, for seeds, the techniques of film-coating or encapsulation, or for the other multiplication products, the techniques of immersion. Needless to say, the method of application of the compounds to the seed may be varied and the invention is intended to include any technique which is to be used.
A preferred method of applying the mixture to the plant propagation material according to the invention consists in spraying or wetting the plant propagation material with a liquid preparation, or mixing the plant material with a solid preparation of the compounds of the formula (I).
The compounds of this invention may be formulated or mixed in the seed treater tank or combined on the seed by overcoating with other seed treating agents. The agents to be mixed with the compounds of this invention may be for the control of pests, or further modification of growth, nutrition, or for the control of plant diseases.
(%=Per Cent by Weight)
The examples which follow are intended to illustrate and not limit the invention, xe2x80x9ccompound of the formula (I)xe2x80x9d being understood as meaning one or several of the compounds of the formula (I).
Emulsions of any desired concentration can be prepared from this concentrate by dilution with water, and can be employed in crop protection and in seed treatment applications.
Ready-to-use dusts are obtained by mixing the compounds of the formula (I) with the carrier and grinding the mixture in a suitable mill. Such powders can be used for dry-dressing seeds.
The compound of the formula (I) is mixed thoroughly with the additives and the mixture is ground thoroughly in a suitable mill affording wettable powders which can be diluted with water to give suspensions of any desired concentration. Such slurries can be used for carrying out furrow treatments on prior to planting crops of plants and also for wet- or moist-dressing material which can be propagated, for example oil seeds or tubers of plants.
This formulation is suitable for mixtures of solid and liquid compounds of the formula (I). The solid compounds of the formula (I) are mixed thoroughly with a portion of the emulsifiers and water and the mixture is ground thoroughly in a suitable mill. Another portion of the emulsifiers and water are mixed with the liquid compounds of the formula (I). The two mixtures are combined along with any other inert ingredients (such as pigments, thickeners, etc.) that are to be used in the formulation. Such suspoemulsions can be used for carrying out in furrow treatments prior to planting crops of plants and also for wet- or moist-dressing material which can be propagated, for example oil seeds or tubers of plants.
(%=Per Cent by Weight Unless Otherwise Indicated)

Abstract: wherein

Abstract: Y is xe2x80x94N(R)(R2) or SR2;

Abstract: X is Nxe2x80x94NO2 or Nxe2x80x94CN or CHxe2x80x94NO2; or, where appropriate, a tautomer thereof, in each case in free from or in salt form; is applied to the plant or the locus thereof.


An intercom system for use in combination with a multi-line telephone system wherein the intercom system utilizes the same wire pair for communications between intercom units that is used for normal telephone communications. The intercom system transmits voice signals on two or more frequency modulated channels over a wire pair of a local telephone network. Each intercom unit includes a microprocessor which controls communication activity and protocol in each unit and communicates with other intercom unit miroprocessors via a separate frequency modulated digital signal channel.

In the past, multi line telephone products with built-in intercoms have utilized separate sets of wire pairs to implement the telephone communications and the intercom communications, respectively. However, the use of a separate wire pair to implement the intercom communication connections is problematic. Most buildings and houses are equipped with in place wiring for telephone systems only. In order to implement a typical intercom system, the in place wiring of the buildings or houses must be modified. The cost and inconvenience of such modifications can be significant.
It would be advantageous to be able to implement an intercom channel or channels on the same wire pair used for telephone communications. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an intercom system in which the intercom communication channels are implemented on a local telephone network.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an intercom system wherein voice signals are transferred between intercom units on a series of frequency modulated channels that are carried on a wire pair of a local telephone network.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for controlling access to the intercom channel or channels.


Degree of freedom of a device structure is increased to equalize processor loads by separating the function of executing data read and write processing from the host interface and the disk interface. A disk array device including a disk enclosure and a disk control unit, wherein the disk control unit includes a host interface connected to a host computer which accesses the disk array device, a disk interface connected to the disk enclosure, a plurality of processors that execute data read and write processing between the host computer and the disk enclosure, and a switch which connects the host interface and the disk interface, and the plurality of processors, wherein the switch having a function of selecting a processor which executes the data read and write processing.

FIG. 16 shows an example of a structure of a disk array device according to related art. A disk control device of the disk array device comprises host interfaces (Host I/F) 501 and 502 to be connected to a host computer which accesses to the disk array device, a plurality of disk interfaces (Disk I/F) 503 and 504 to be connected to a disk enclosure, a plurality of processors 201 through 204 which execute processing of writing and reading data to/from the host computer and the disk enclosure, and switches 400 and 401 which connect the host interface and the disk interface, and a plurality of processors. In the figure, the interface indicated as xxI/F functions as either a host interface or a disk interface.
The host interfaces 501 and 502 and the disk interfaces 503 and 504 each have a processor 600 which, upon receiving an access request from the host computer, selects a plurality of processors which execute data read and write processing and communicate with the selected processors, and they are each structured by the same unit as that of the processor 600. The processors 201 through 204 have caches 301 through 304.
In the conventional disk array device shown in FIG. 16, assignment of the processors 201 through 204 to the host interfaces 501 and 502 and the disk interfaces 503 and 504 is fixed to fix an internal flow of data.
Related art of thus structured disk array device is recited, for example, in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2.    Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-107019.    Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-252019.
The structure of the above-described disk array device according to the related art has the following problems.
First problem is that because assignment of processors to a host interface and a disk interface is fixed, the degree of freedom of unit expansion is low, so that an optimum structure is hard to be adopted according to costs and necessary performance of a disk array device.
Second problem is that because assignment of processors to a host interface and a disk interface is fixed, under some conditions of use of a disk array device, it is impossible to distribute processor loads, so that a heavy load processor is liable to bottleneck performance of the entire device.
Third problem is that because processors on a host interface and a disk interface select a processor which will execute data read and write processing and communicate with the selected processor, this is one of factors in increasing a load on a processor which executes data read and write processing.
Fourth problem is that because a host interface and a disk interface comprise a processor which selects a plurality of processors that execute data read and write processing and communicates with the selected processors, a unit forming the host interface and the disk interface is increased in size to limit the number of interfaces mounted.

Disk array device, disk control device and load distribution method in disk array device


An apparatus for introducing articles into a storage device includes a feeder conveyor for advancing articles toward the storage device in a direction of advance; a support for movably supporting the feeder conveyor such that its discharge end is movable in a direction transverse to the direction of advance of articles on the feeder conveyor and generally parallel to a direction of motion of article-supporting elements of the storage device at the inlet thereof; a drive for moving the feeder conveyor in the direction of advance; a drive for moving the support to thus displace its discharge end transversely to the direction of advance; and an arrangement for synchronizing the motion of the discharge end of the feeder conveyor with the motion of a selected one of the article-supporting elements for transferring articles from the feeder conveyor to the selected article-supporting element during simultaneous motions of the article-supporting elements, of the feeder conveyor in the direction of advance, and of the discharge end in a direction transverse to the direction of advance.

This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for introducing flat products, arranged in consecutive rows, to a storage device, particularly a flow-through article-storing device. The apparatus includes a feeding device disposed externally of the storage device, in the region of an article inlet thereof for transferring the article rows to storage shelves of the storage device. The storage shelves move, for example, consecutively past the inlet and consecutively present the stored articles at an outlet of the storage device.
In the packaging operation for wrapping flat products such as biscuits or chocolate bars, frequently a so-called FIFO-storage cabinet (first-in, first--out storage cabinet) is used in which the products are, according to requirements, stored temporarily after it receives the articles from a simple article-feeding device. Such known article-feeding devices have, however, the disadvantage that their output is inherently low and consequently, the storing speed for charging the FIFO storage cabinets is not optimally high.

Apparatus for introducing articles into a storage device


A fuel injector for injecting water, in particular into the gas flow of fuel cells, has a valve needle having joined to its spray-discharge end a valve-closure member, which cooperates with a valve-seat surface formed on a valve-closure member a sealing seat. A spray-discharge orifice is provided downstream from the sealing seat, at least a portion of the surfaces of the fuel injector that come into contact with water being coated by a corrosion-inhibiting and/or friction-reducing coating.

In fuel cells as they are commonly used in motor vehicles, in particular in the case of fuel cells having a proton-conducting polymer membrane, which are also known under the English term of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM-FC) or polymer electrolyte fuel cell, the membrane forming the electrolyte must be kept moist at all times during operation. If the moisture drops below a certain value, the ion conductivity of the membrane decreases. To keep the moisture of the fuel cell membrane at a specific optimum level, deionized water is often metered to the supplied gas flow.
The German Published Patent Application No. 199 53 803 describes a device for moistening the gas flow where water is added to the gas flow via a simple nozzle that projects into the gas flow.
However, the water should be metered into the gas flow as precisely as possible as a function of the gas flow across a broad dosing range, largely independently of the water-pump pressure, and it should be able to be regulated across a plurality of parameters in a cost-effective and reliable manner. For these reasons, the use of fuel injectors, for instance, which are already known from reciprocating engines having internal combustion, is advantageous for the metering of water. Such a valve is known from German Published Patent Application No. 199 53 803, for example.
A similar type of application is the precise metering of a watery urea-water solution to reduce the nitrogen oxides in the exhaust tract of diesel vehicles for exhaust-gas aftertreatment or in the case of generally non-lubricatable media.
For the system known from German Published Patent Application No. 199 53 803, disadvantages result that are mainly due to the fact that the device disclosed there has been optimized for the processing of fuels, which have considerably different chemical properties than water. For instance, most fuels such as gasoline have their own lubrication characteristics and have an inhibiting effect on chemical corrosion or do not promote chemical corrosion by themselves, in particular on metallic surfaces. Water, on the other hand, has no intrinsic lubricating characteristics and promotes chemical corrosion on metallic surfaces, in particular on metal surfaces containing iron. In the fuel injector mentioned, such iron-containing metallic surfaces are quite frequently in contact with the particular fluid to be injected.
It is also disadvantageous that the known fuel injector is designed for use in higher temperature ranges such as above 100° C. For that reason, metallic materials, which have excellent thermal resistance, were used in the valve-sealing seat in the manufacture of the fuel injector. However, the use of thermally resistant material such as iron-containing metal in the region of the sealing seat allows only a certain measure of tightness of the sealing seat, even when cost-intensive small manufacturing tolerances are used. Furthermore, due to their lack of elasticity, thermally resistant metals increase the forces acting in the sealing seat or in the force-transmitting components during the valve opening and closing operations.

Injection valve with a corrosion-inhibiting, wear-resistant coating and method for the production thereof


A charcoal dispensing system for storing and dispensing charcoal. The charcoal dispensing system includes a bin member being designed for receiving and storing charcoal. A dispensing assembly is coupled to the bin member. The dispensing assembly is designed for permitting charcoal to be dispensed from the bin member when the dispensing assembly is actuated by the user. A receiving member is selectively coupled to the bin member. The receiving member is in communication with the dispensing assembly whereby the receiving member is designed for receiving the charcoal dispensed by the dispensing assembly. The receiving member is designed for being carried by the user to dispense the charcoal into the grill.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to charcoal storage devices and more particularly pertains to a new charcoal dispensing system for storing and dispensing charcoal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of charcoal storage devices is known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,125 describes a system for receiving and burning charcoal briquettes to cook food. Another type of charcoal storage device is U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,644 has an apparatus containing charcoal that is inserted into a gas burning grill to allow the charcoal to be burned to cook food in the gas burning grill. U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,614 has a duel fuel barbecue grill that can burn either gas or charcoal to cook food placed in the grill.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the need remains for a system that has certain improved features allowing for the storage and dispensing of charcoal.
The present invention meets the needs presented above by providing a bin member for storing the charcoal and a dispensing assembly coupled to the bin member to allow the charcoal to be dispensed from bin member.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new charcoal dispensing system that provides the user with a receiving member to allow the user to transport the dispensed charcoal without coming into direct contact with the charcoal.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new charcoal dispensing system that keeps the charcoal dry to prevent the charcoal from being damaged from rain.
To this end, the present invention generally comprises a bin member being designed for receiving and storing charcoal. A dispensing assembly is coupled to the bin member. The dispensing assembly is designed for permitting charcoal to be dispensed from the bin member when the dispensing assembly is actuated by the user. A receiving member is selectively coupled to the bin member. The receiving member is in communication with the dispensing assembly whereby the receiving member is designed for receiving the charcoal dispensed by the dispensing assembly. The receiving member is designed for being carried by the user to dispense the charcoal into the grill.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.


An autostereoscopic presentation system (10) that allows a perceived three-dimensional volumetric image (26) to be viewed without any viewing implements. The system (10), in its preferred embodiment, consists of an enhanced film strip (12) having first and second photographic frames (14), (18) where each frame consists of a two-dimensional optical image (16), (20) further having a conventional image (16a), (20a) and a matted image (16b), (20b). The film strip is back projected onto two stationary screens (30), (32) that are juxtaposed in planar separation and where each screen operates in either a translucent mode or a clear mode. A timing and synchronizing circuit (40) in combination with a pair of light responding circuits (48), (49) selects and controls the operational modes of the screens (30), (32) and synchronizes the screen operational modes with the respective alternating projection of the two-dimensional optical images (16), (20). By rapid alternate projections of the optical images onto the screens (30), (32) that are operating in their respective operational mode, the perceived three-dimensional image is produced.

The quest to produce quality and technically-effective three-dimensional images has continued for a number of years. Basically, there are two types of presentation methods or systems that are available for viewing three-dimensional images; these are broadly characterized as either stereoscopic or autostereoscopic.
In stereoscopic systems, pairs of ordinary two-dimensional still photographs or binocular motion pictures are made of an object from two points of view. The two points are separated by a distance equal to the distance between the eyes of a viewer. The pair of photographs or motion pictures are then viewed by a device that allows the right eye to see only the right image and the left eye only the left image. In this viewing system, each eye sees a slightly different image; thereby duplicating the conditions under which the original scene would have been viewed. Consequently, the viewer is aware of only one image that has a three-dimensional effect.
To view objects stereoscopically, the stereo photographs or moving pictures must be separated by an opaque area that allows the right eye to see only the right view and the left eye only the left view. several systems have been devised to permit stereoscopic viewing. For example, red and green tinted monochrome images are both displayed to be viewed by glasses having left and right lenses with corresponding red and green tints; or two color images are projected through mutually perpendicular polarized filters and are then viewed through glasses that are polarized in the same manner.
In autostereoscopic systems, it is not necessary for the viewer to wear special glasses or to use any other viewing implement to keep the two images separated. What the viewer sees is not the pair of two dimensional images as described above, but rather a set of images that either appear to be distributed over three dimensions or are actually distributed over three dimensions. A holographic image is an example of the first type of autostereoscopic imaging. The second type of autosteroescopic imaging is currently achieved by the use of moving screens or vibrating varifocal mirrors that are vibrated by an oscillating frequency that causes the mirror to have a continuously variable focal length. In both types, the image is constantly moved back and forth in the image space provided. This movement causes the images to fuse together and because of the persistence of the eyes a three-dimensional image is perceived.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention however, the following U.S. patents were considered related:
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 4,747,665 O'Brien 31 May 1988 4,714,319 Zeevi et al 22 December 1987 4,571,041 Gaudyn 18 February 1986 3,248,165 Mark et al 26 April 1966 ______________________________________
The O'Brien patent discloses a method for displaying three-dimensional images. The method consists of driving a flexible membrane mirror by a composite waveform that consists of triangle and sinusoidal waves. The composite waveform displaces the flexible membrane mirror so that the mirror's surface is alternatively convex and concave. The driving waveforms are then synchronized to display an alternating sequence of two-dimensional images on a CRT screen such that the viewer perceives a three-dimensional image.
The Zeevi et al patent discloses a method of generating disparate information for imparting depth perception to an image. The depth perception is created by projecting an image of an object using a plurality of energy sources to create a plurality of images having different shadows. A single detector, such as a camera, detects and successively records the object with the object illuminated for successive frames from light sources at spaced apart locations. When viewed, the image will have a three-dimensional effect that in substance, is a shadowgram having an illusion of depth.
The Gaudyn patent discloses a three-dimensional projection arrangement for projecting dual three-dimensional images of objects into space for viewing by an unaided audience. The objects are illuminated by a source of light, and the light rays reflected from the objects are directed so as to be incident on a mirror surface located behind a lens and the combination forms the enlarged three-dimensional images that are projected into space. The lens can be in the form of a modified fresnel lens that provides a substantially large field of view.
The Marks et al patent discloses a moving screen projection system that simulates a three-dimensional presentation. The system includes plural projectors that are combined with at least two viewing screen spaced from each other. The multiple screen system includes (1) a foreground reflecting surface having holes for passing some of the projected light, (2) a polarizing film on the screen which passes only light polarized in a first plane, and (3) a diffusing layer that diffuses the reflections of the incident light. A background screen is mounted behind the foreground screen for receiving and reflecting light passed through the holes.


A vice includes a base, a rectangular positioning body, a block and a fastening assembly. The base has a track and a fixed jaw formed at a first end thereof and a movable jaw provided on the track at a second end thereof. A first rectangular recess is formed on an underside of the base for receiving the rectangular positioning body. The rectangular positioning body has a central slot extending longitudinally and defining two longitudinal side walls. A plurality of holes are formed on each longitudinal side wall of the positioning body. A second recess is provided on an underside of the positioning body and extending along a length of the slot in the longitudinal direction and extending transversely a distance half the width of the longitudinal side walls such that the holes are notched. A projection protrudes from an end of the top surface of the positioning body and is located below the fixed jaw when the positioning body is received in the first recess of the base.

The present invention relates to a vice for machining, plate working, and other precision metal working processes.
In the past, vices used for metal processes have had a jaw A fixed at one end of a base A1 and a movable jaw B engaged in a track along the base A1 so as to fasten a processing material D in cooperation with a fastening means C, as shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings. This vice does not provide compensation for the forces a and b, caused by the clamping function of the device, as shown in FIG. 6. As the movable jaw B is drawn in and tightened against the processing material D, the base A1 will flex because of the vice's rigid nature. This is caused by a series of resultant forces. The processing material exerts a pair of forces a and b on the jaws A and B which in turn cause a pair of forces c and d. Then an upward force on the processing material is the result of forces c and d. Obviously, this will cause inaccurate machining of the material and unnecessary errors.
The present invention intends to provide a vice to eliminate the above-mentioned problems.


An air-fuel ratio control system for an internal combustion engine calculates an amount of fuel to be supplied to the engine in response to the rotational speed of the engine and a parameter indicative of load on the engine, and an amount of fuel injected into an intake passage and adhering to the inner surface of the intake passage, based upon a direct supply ratio and a carry-off ratio. A feedback correction value is set to such a value that an air-fuel ratio in exhaust gases from the engine becomes equal to a desired value, and the amount of fuel calculated as above is corrected by the direct supply ratio, the carry-off ratio, and the feedback correction value set as above. A control speed at which the feedback correction value is corrected is set based upon at least one of the direct supply ratio and the carry-off ratio.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an air-fuel ratio control system which controls an amount of fuel supplied to an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to an air-fuel ratio control system which controls the supply of fuel injected into an intake pipe of the engine in a manner compensating for a fuel amount adhering to the inner surface of the intake pipe.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, air-fuel ratio control systems for internal combustion engines are well known, which control operation of fuel injection valves arranged in an intake system of the engine in a feedback manner responsive to an output from an oxygen concentration sensor (air-fuel ratio sensor) arranged in an exhaust system of the engine such that the air-fuel ratio of a mixture supplied to the engine becomes equal to a desired value.
In air-fuel ratio control systems of this kind, a feedback gain which determines the control speed at which the air-fuel ratio is varied during the feedback control is determined by setting a frequency at which a correction value for correcting the air-fuel ratio is increased and decreased, in response to the rotational speed of the engine or by reducing the above control speed when the engine is in a decelerating condition, as proposed e.g. by Japanese Provisional Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 60-233333, or by varying the above control speed in response to the temperature of engine coolant, as proposed e.g. by Japanese Provisional Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 63-195349. Further, it has been proposed to determine the feedback gain in response to absolute pressure within the intake pipe.
As stated above, conventionally, the feedback gain is determined in response to engine operating parameters such as the engine rotational speed, the engine coolant temperature and the intake pipe absolute pressure.
On the other hand, in conventional internal combustion engines of the type that fuel is injected into an intake pipe, there is a problem that some of injected fuel adheres to the inner surface of the intake pipe, so that a required amount of fuel cannot be drawn into the combustion chamber, resulting in a difficulty of accurately controlling the air-fuel ratio of a mixture supplied to the engine. To solve this problem, there has been proposed a fuel supply control method which estimates a fuel amount which is to adhere to the inner surface of the intake pipe and one which is to be drawn into the combustion chamber by evaporation from the fuel adhering to the intake pipe, and determines a fuel injection amount based upon the estimated fuel amounts (Japanese Provisional Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 61-126337).
To improve this fuel supply control method, a supply fuel amount correction method has been proposed by the assignee of the present application, which calculates a fuel amount adhering to the inner surface of the intake pipe by the use of coefficients Ae and Be which are obtained by correcting a direct supply ratio (the ratio of a fuel amount drawn into the combustion chamber to the whole amount of fuel injected into the intake pipe) and a carry-off ratio (the ratio of a fuel amount carried off the inner surface of the intake pipe to the amount of fuel adhering to the inner surface), the two ratios being determined based upon the temperature of engine coolant and the intake pipe absolute pressure, and corrects the fuel amount to be supplied to the combustion chamber by the use of the amount of fuel adhering to the inner surface of the intake pipe and the coefficients Ae, Be U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,061.
However, according to 60-233333 in which the feedback gain is determined in response to engine operating parameters such as the engine rotational speed and intake air pressure, these engine operating parameters do not directly represent the amount of fuel actually drawn into the cylinders of the engine. As a result, the determined value of the feedback gain cannot always be optimal to operating conditions of the engine. There is the same disadvantage with 63-195349 using the engine coolant temperature for determining the feedback gain and the above-mentioned proposed method of using the intake pipe absolute pressure for determining the feedback gain.
Further, according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,061, an output from the oxygen concentration sensor is used to correct the fuel supply amount by the use of an amount of fuel adhering to the intake pipe inner surface in such a manner that a feedback correction coefficient KO2 is calculated in response to the output from the oxygen concentration sensor and a required fuel amount (required fuel injection amount) Tout is corrected by the calculated correction coefficient. As a result, the amount of correction of the Tout value can be excessive, resulting in degraded exhaust emission characteristics.

Air-fuel ratio control system for internal combustion engines


A pizza box adapted to be broken down after use into pieces to facilitate disposal having top and bottom panels, each having front, rear, left side, and right side edges, a rear panel hingedly connecting the top and bottom panels together at their rear edges, and left side, right side, and front flaps at the left side, right side, and front edges of the top and bottom panels. At least one divider strip extends across at least the top and bottom panels, for dividing the top and the bottom panels into smaller component pieces for easier disposal. According to the method of this invention a pizza box is provided having at least one divider strip extending across at least the top and bottom panels, for dividing the top and the bottom panels into smaller component pieces for easier disposal. After use the divider strip is grasped and pulled to thereby divide the top and bottom panels into smaller component pieces for easier disposal.

Pizza is a very popular food item, and the number of food establishments which provide home delivery of fresh, hot, pizza continues to rise. Pizza is typically delivered in large, square cardboard boxes, although sometimes the boxes may be hexagonal or octagonal. The boxes are usually made of corrugated cardboard which provides insulation to keep the pizza warm and forms strong, rigid container to protect the pizza.
While these cardboard pizza boxes function well to protect the pizza during delivery, they are difficult to dispose of after the pizza is eaten. Their large size makes it difficult to fit them in household trash containers, and their rigidity makes it difficult to fold them. Moreover, even if the box fits in the container it takes up a substantial amount of space. Because of these difficulties pizza boxes are often found hanging out of trash cans or simply left on top of to the side.
The present invention overcomes the foregoing problems by providing a pizza box which, after use, is adapted to be broken down in a plurality of manageable pieces to facilitate disposal, and a method of disposing of such pizza boxes. Generally the pizza box of the present invention comprises top and bottom panels, each having front, rear, left side, and right side edges. A rear panel hingedly connects the top and bottom panels together at their rear edges. There are left side, right side, and front flaps at the left side, right side, and front edges of the top and bottom panels, respectively. At least one divider strip extends across at least the top and bottom panels, for dividing the top and the bottom panels into smaller component pieces for easier disposal. There are preferably at least two divider strips, one extending across the top panel from one side edge to the other, and the other extending across the bottom panel from one side edge to the other. According to a first embodiment of the invention, the divider strip comprises a zip rule extending across the top and the bottom panels. The zip rule is formed by spaced parallel lines of perforations defining a strip which can be separated from its respective panel to divide the panel into pieces. According to a second embodiment of the invention, the divider strip comprises a high-strength tear strip extending across the top and the bottom panels that can be pulled through its respective panel to divide the panel into pieces.
Generally, the method of this invention comprises providing a pizza box having top and bottom panels, each having front, rear, left side, and right side edges; a rear panel hingedly connecting the top and bottom panels together at their rear edges; left side, right side, and front flaps at the left side, right side, and front edges of the top and bottom panels; and at least one divider strip extending across at least the top and bottom panels. After the pizza box is used, the divider strip is grasped and pulled to divide the top and bottom panels into smaller component pieces, which are easier to dispose of.

Pizza box and method of disposing of used pizza boxes


A device comprises a surface that is a hydrogel having a targeted mesh size that permits a low-speed friction coefficient near or lower that that typically reported for cartilage of 0.01 to 0.02, a transition. The device can be a contact lens to sit on the cornea where, during a blink, eyelid slides past the eye surface at about 100 mm s−1. The hydrodynamic lubrication of the hydrogel of the device separates the contact lens surface from the surfaces of the tarsal conjunctiva and marginal conjunctiva of the eyelid. Other devices that can comprise the hydrogel of a targeted mesh size are those that can contact cartilage of articulating joints.

Hydrogels are biocompatible polymers with highly tunable mechanical properties. Synthetic hydrogels are tissue-like in several ways, e.g., being soft, wet, and water-permeable, making them popular biomaterials in tissue engineering applications and biomedical devices. However, bio-tissues generally have a low friction (or high lubricity). For example, it is reported that the coefficient of friction of a bio-tissue, cartilage, is between 0.01 and 0.02 (Caligaris M, Ateshian G. A., Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2008 October; 16(10):1220-7). In contrast, hydrogels may have relatively high friction (or low lubricity). Such an inadequate lubricity may hinder their wide applications as bio-tissue substitutes. It would be desirable for a hydrogel to have a lubricity that would be equal or superior to the lubricity reported for cartilage.
Lubricity describes the slipperiness of a surface, and generally can be characterized by its friction coefficient or coefficient of friction (CoF) which is measured in vitro as the ratio of the horizontal friction force between two bodies and the force pressing them together (or normal force). The lower the CoF is, the more lubricious the surface. Recent studies indicate a correlation between the in vitro measurements of coefficient of friction (CoF) of hydrogel contact lenses and subjective comfort (Brennan N A., Optom Vis Sci 2009; 86:e-abstract 90957; Coles C M L, Brennan N A., Optom Vis Sci 2012; 88:e-abstract 125603; Kern J, Rappon J, Bauman E, Vaughn B., Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2013; ARVO E-Abstract 494; Jones L, Brennan N A, Gonzalez-Meijome J, Lally J, Maldonado-Codina C, Schmidt T A, Subbaraman L, Young G, Nichols J J, members of the TIWoCLD, Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2013; 54:TFOS37-70; Subbaraman L. N. and Jones L. W., Contact Lens Spectrum 28:28-33 (2013); Fonn D., Contact Lens Spectrum 28:28-33 (2013)).
Unlike most physical properties of a material, CoF is not an intrinsic material property, but instead should be considered more correctly as a system property, because it depends upon many variables of a biomedical device (e.g., a contact lens) under testing and of a testing system, including materials used, a probing substrate against which a contact lens under test is moved, contact mode (e.g., a constant point of contact, a moving point of contact), normal force pressure, moving speed relative to each other, and lubricating fluid between the probing substrate and the testing lens, etc. Different methods has been developed/used in measuring in vitro the lubricity of contact lenses, such as, a tribometer (Rennie A. C., Dickrell P. L., Sawyer W. G., Tribology Letters 2005, 18:499-504; Roba M., Duncan E. G., Hill G. A., Spencer N. D., Tosatti S. G. P., Tribology Letters 2011, 44:387-97; U.S. Pat. No. 6,940,580), atomic force microscopy (Kim S. H., Marmo C., Somorjai G. A., Biomaterials 2001, 22:3285-94; Kim S. H., Opdahl A., Marmo C., Somorjai G. A., Biomaterials 2002, 23:1657-66), an inclined plane method (U.S. Pat. No. 8,480,227), lubricity ratings based on digital rubbing of lenses between the fingers (U.S. Pat. No. 8,480,227). However, results obtained by using those previously reported methods may not be compared to judge the true lubricity, because they all are system properties, depending upon the system used. In addition, they are not suitable for determining the in-vivo lubricity of a contact lens or a biomedical device, because a contact lens or biomedical device must interact with a soft-wet cornea or bio-tissue, not with a hard solid substrate.
Recently, Dunn, Sawyer and Angelini developed a method for determining friction coefficients (CoF) of hydrogel materials in a "Gemini" testing system (Dunn A. C., Sawyer W. G., Angelini T. E., Tribology Letters 54:59-66 (2014)). According to this method, CoF tests are carried out by moving a hydrogel sample against a hydrogel substrate, i.e., using "Gemini" soft wet hydrogel surfaces as interaction surfaces in the testing system. The Gemini testing system is similar to a biological system, e.g., the glycocalyx of the eyelid rubbing against the corneal glycocalyx in the eye. But, the CoF obtained by using this Gemini testing system is not an intrinsic material property, but instead is a system property. It would be desirable to use a non-system property to characterize (or measure) lubricity of a hydrogel.
Therefore, there is still a need for methods for determining and controlling the lubricity of a biomedical device made of a hydrogel and for developing and producing biomedical devices with a targeted lubricity. There is also need for a biomedical device with a target lubricity that is equal or superior to the lubricity reported for cartilage.

Mesh size control of lubrication in gemini hydrogels

University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.


An anomaly location identification device includes a determination unit configured to determine presence or absence of an anomaly by inputting part or all of information items output from a plurality of devices into an anomaly detection algorithm; a calculation unit configured to calculate, in response to a determination made by the determination unit that an anomaly is present, with respect to one of the information items, an index indicating a degree of contribution to the anomaly; and an identification unit configured to perform calculation by an analysis algorithm using a causal model receiving the index as input, to identify an anomalous device, to improve the precision and calculation speed related to identification of an anomaly location.

When handling an anomaly in a communication system, it is important to rapidly execute (1) anomaly detection, and (2) anomaly location/cause identification, and for each of (1) and (2), various methods have been proposed (e.g., Non-patent documents 1 to 7).
First, regarding (1), a method has been generally known that individually calculates the outlierness or the like for each device in the system, by using observation information of the device, and if the outlierness exceeds a threshold, determines it as an anomaly to raise an alert. In this method, an anomaly detection method is applied to the respective devices independently; therefore, if an anomaly is detected, it is possible to identify which observation information item of which one of the devices relates to the anomaly. Meanwhile, as in Non-patent document 6, a method has been proposed that determines the presence or absence of an anomaly in the entire system from various observation information items in a system. This method determines an anomaly by taking into consideration the correlation among the observation information items obtained in the entire system. However, in this method, only the presence or absence of an anomalous state in the entire system can be determined, and it is not possible to identify which observation information item of which one of the devices relates to the anomaly. In order to solve this problem, a method has been proposed that uses an anomaly contribution degree calculation algorithm to calculate which observation information item contributes to an anomaly when the anomaly is detected (hereafter, referred to as "contribution degree"), and narrows down anomalous observation information items. This enables to estimate the state of the observation information output by each device while determining the anomaly of the entire system, and to determine which observation information item is anomalous based on the result of the anomaly detection method so as to take measures (Non-patent document 7).
Also, regarding (2), in the conventional anomaly location/cause identification techniques, there are techniques such that the traffic volume is alerted based on a threshold or the like, or by using an alert of syslog as the observation information, and based on a causal relationship between a predetermined device state and the observation information, an anomaly location is identified. Thus, when alerts are issued from devices, one of the devices is identified as the anomaly location. Based on this result, measures can be taken for the anomalous device.

Anomaly location identification device, anomaly location identification method, and program

NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION


Disclosed embodiments relate to systems and methods for securely verifying encoded visual codes together with network address information. Techniques include: obtaining a first capture of a visual display, the visual display being generated on a display medium; applying a display detection technique based on the obtained first capture; determining, based on the display detection technique, whether a boundary of the display medium is identified; identifying, within the first capture, an encoded visual representation of a data element and a network address; determining whether the network address is valid; and determining whether to validate the encoded visual representation based on the determination of whether the network address is valid.

With the increased threat of hacking and phishing attacks to computer systems, there are greater needs for effective and efficient user authentication techniques to prevent malicious users from gaining access to secure resources. Some methods for securing internet resources have been attempted, but these solutions are insufficiently secure, are inefficient, or are vulnerable to phishing attacks.
QR codes and other encoded visual representations permit quick data transfer between mobile devices and other computing devices. Different systems currently use QR codes to transfer data, authenticate users, or identify products. Such QR codes permit mobile devices to interact directly with other computing devices to quickly receive or transfer data. For example, a mobile device can scan a QR code displayed on a screen or other display medium, decode the QR code, and thereby obtain data for authorizing user access to certain restricted locations or systems. QR code authorization systems, however, may be susceptible to phishing attacks in which a malicious user attempts to access a restricted online resource. For example, the malicious user may use phishing techniques to send the QR code to an authorized user, who may scan the code and validate themselves for authorized access to a secure resource, thereby giving the malicious user access to the resource or to the authorized user's data.
Accordingly, in view of these and other deficiencies in existing techniques involving QR codes and access to secure resources, technological solutions are needed for effective, efficient, and secure authorization through encoded visual representations. Solutions should also guard against phishing attacks and other attempts by malicious users to gain access to secure resources. Such systems should authenticate a user only if the QR code or other visual representation originates from a trusted website or other source.

Dynamic display capture to verify encoded visual codes and network address information


In a method of transcoding of a video bitstream by a transcoder arrangement, performing the steps of receiving (S10) a video bitstream with a predetermined input video format, receiving (S20) side information related to the video bitstream, the side information comprising at least one of mode or motion or in-loop filter information relating to at least one other predetermined video format for the video bitstream. Further, performing the steps of decoding (S40) the received side information to generate transcoding guiding information, and encoding (S50) a representation of the received video bitstream based at least on the generated transcoding guiding information, to provide a transcoded video bitstream with a predetermined output video format.

When video media is transmitted in a fixed or wireless communication system it is typically adapted or transcoded at some intermediate node between a source e.g. media provider, and a sink e.g. viewing device such as a mobile device. During the adaptation the video media is typically compressed which necessitates a selection of bitrate etc at the source node. An optimal bitrate would take both the network capabilities and the sink capabilities into consideration in order to utilize both the uplink and the downlink most efficiently. Thereby at time of encoding the video at the source, the source node is unaware of the end user capabilities and the network capabilities, and thus the intermediate node needs to adapt the video in order to provide it to the sink at a desired or necessary format. This requires a high quality from the source and a high level of computational complexity on the adaptation or transcoding node in order to optimize the use of downlink capabilities.
With reference to the above, there is a need for means and methods enabling adaptation or transcoding of video media in an improved manner in order to optimize the utilization of the uplink and downlink resources.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and arrangement for video transcoding using mode or motion or in-loop filter information


A pre-ignition estimation/control device includes: an octane number estimation module for estimating an octane number of a fuel based on detection signals received from an intake air temperature sensor, a water temperature sensor, etc; a pre-ignition-occurrence-index calculation module for calculating a pre-ignition occurrence index based on the estimated octane number and the like; a pre-ignition-occurrence-index correction module for correcting the pre-ignition occurrence index so as to cause the pre-ignition more likely to occur; an effective-compression-ratio-boundary calculation module for calculating a boundary of an effective compression ratio based on the pre-ignition occurrence index; an intake-cam-phase-advance calculation module for calculating a phase advance of an intake cam based on the boundary of the effective compression ratio and the like; and an intake-cam-phase control module for controlling an intake-cam variable phasing system based on the phase advance of the intake cam, to thereby restrict a change in phase advance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pre-ignition estimation/control device for an internal combustion engine, which is installed on a vehicle or the like and can prevent pre-ignition.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pre-ignition causing combustion noises and fluctuations in output may occur in a high-compression-ratio spark-ignition internal combustion engine. The pre-ignition refers to a phenomenon of an excessively large fluctuation in pressure inside a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, which results from combustion. Pre-ignition which occurs before the spark ignition is generally known. In addition to this type of pre-ignition, there are phenomena including pre-ignition in which a mixture (mixed gas of the air and a fuel) in the combustion chamber reaches high temperature by compression and is auto-ignited, and pre-ignition in which a deposit or the like at a tip of a spark plug forms a hot spot and causes ignition. Moreover, there is known a knock in which an end gas at a periphery of the combustion chamber is auto-ignited in the combustion process after the ignition.
These phenomena cause noises and vibrations as well as damages in the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, and the internal combustion engine may finally become no longer operable.
To address this, methods of estimating occurrence of pre-ignition based on environmental conditions and operation conditions, thereby preventing the pre-ignition, have conventionally been proposed.
In a conventional method of preventing the pre-ignition, pre-ignition, which occurs at low rotation speed, under a high load, and at high temperature, is determined based on the temperature and operation states of the internal combustion engine, and an effective compression ratio is reduced as the temperature increases, thereby preventing the pre-ignition (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-76466, for example).
Moreover, in another conventional method of preventing the pre-ignition, the octane number of a fuel is estimated, and a likelihood of occurrence of the pre-ignition is determined based on the estimated octane number of the fuel, thereby preventing the pre-ignition on startup by decreasing the effective compression ratio on the startup according to the environmental temperature of the internal combustion engine (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-114973, for example).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-76466 describes that the pre-ignition is prevented by decreasing the effective compression ratio according to the increase in the temperature of the internal combustion engine. However, causes of the occurrence of the pre-ignition include fuel properties in addition to the temperature in the internal combustion engine and the increase in temperature caused by the compression in the combustion chamber, and it is known that the pre-ignition occurs more frequently as the octane number of the fuel becomes low.
In view of the above, even in a case where the environmental temperature (temperature of an intake air to be introduced into the combustion chamber as an ambient temperature around the internal combustion engine, for example) is low, if the octane number of the fuel is low, pre-ignition possibly occurs. The opposite holds true, and even if the octane number is high, high environmental temperature possibly causes pre-ignition.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-114973 describes that a likelihood of occurrence of the pre-ignition is determined, and the pre-ignition on startup is prevented by setting the effective compression ratio on the startup according to the determination. However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-114973 describes only the prevention of the pre-ignition that occurs on the startup (prevention of the pre-ignition refers to prevention of such an operation state that possibly causes the pre-ignition), and does not consider pre-ignition which occurs "after the startup". Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-114973 does not consider a method of avoiding pre-ignition after the preventive operation of the pre-ignition (avoidance of pre-ignition refers to a change of an operation state to prevent pre-ignition from occurring any more when pre-ignition actually occurs). In addition, though it is assumed that the likelihood of the occurrence of the pre-ignition depends on the intake air temperature, the coolant temperature, and the octane number of the fuel, which are considered independently, the likelihood of the occurrence of the pre-ignition is not considered under a combined condition thereof. There are a plurality of conditions which cause the pre-ignition more frequently, and it is necessary to consider the respective conditions, thereby producing an index of the likelihood of the pre-ignition.
The method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-114973 describes that the likelihood of the pre-ignition is determined according to the octane number. When a fuel having a high octane number is used, at whatever high intake air temperature and whatever high water temperature the startup may be conducted (hot start at 50° C. of the intake air temperature and 110° C. of the water temperature in a desert, for example), control of reducing the effective compression ratio is not provided. However, even if a fuel having a high octane number (high octane fuel of 95 [RON], for example) is used, it is experimentally known that pre-ignition may occur at high intake air temperature and high water temperature.

Pre-ignition estimation/control device for an internal combustion engine


A procedure for processing meat to tenderize it and/or improve its texture and its appearance during storage or preservation, characterized by the steps of introducing the meat into an enclosure, placing it under vacuum, pressurizing it to a pressure above atmospheric pressure with a compressed gas, which is preferably sterile, and then returning the enclosure to atmospheric pressure.

Generally, once fresh meat is cut up, it is conserved for a period of time before being consumed. In some cases, in particular for beef, relatively long storage is necessary in a cold room to let the meat go stale, otherwise it is improper for consumption.
During storage in a cold room, the meat releases liquids which are lost, the nutritional value of which is not negligible. Of course there is an overall measurable loss of weight. Furthermore, the liquids which are released are prone to germs and bacteria.
For red meats, storage in a cold room can last in principle for up to ten days at temperatures of between 2 to 4.degree. C. If the meat is stored somewhat longer, it takes on a brown coloring which makes it unappetizing and difficult to sell.
In the event the meat is frozen, these inconveniences do not occur during storage, however the loss of liquids, and consequently the loss of weight which occurs during thawing still present a problem.
The present invention comprises subjecting the meat to a process which either considerably reduces or totally eliminates the release of liquids, thereby enabling cold room storage or preservation of meat over extended periods of time without the risk of weight loss and color change.
The process according to the present invention also results in considerable tenderizing of the meat. Until now, it was known to tenderize meats with an apparatus provided with needles for penetrating and vibrating pieces of meat. This process, although providing satisfactory results, has been found to present severe hygiene risks. The needles have been found to introduce germs deep into the meat or, in the event the needles are inserted into and withdrawn from a defective piece of meat, other pieces of meat subsequently treated by the same needles have been found to become contaminated. The use of such apparatus has now been disallowed. Since this prior art approach was the only known tenderizing process, an important percentage of the production, in particular of red meat, is now not available although having excellent nutritional and taste qualities.
Thus, another purpose of the invention is to tenderize the meat without the prior art negative consequences in terms of poor hygiene.


An illuminated house light display system and a telephone operated emergency indicator device for activating the display. The circuit responds to the dialing of the numeric emergency sequence "9-1-1" and the test sequence "#-9-1-1" and activates the display to provide a visual warning signal to guide summoned emergency personnel. Reset may be accomplished anytime by lifting the handset and dialing a "#". The generally cubical address display is externally mounted in a clearly visible place. The illuminated display comprises a resilient housing preferably fitted with a translucent, marked screen bearing the appropriate indicia. A bright strobe warning light is housed within the address box. The electronic circuit is mounted within a control box, and it is interconnected with the telephone line via a conventional jack. The circuit comprises a decoder which senses the dialing of digits, and an Initiation circuit interconnected with the decoder. The initiaition circuit comprises a counter, a recognition circuit, and a gate logic circuit for actuating an incrementer when the target dialing sequence occurs. The initiation circuit recognizes the symbol #, which may be dialed at the beginning of a test string of numbers to test telephone equipment. Thus the test sequence #-9-1-1 may be dialed to test the apparatus, without completing an emergency call. A disabling circuit enables a user to hang up the phone after summoning help and make a subsequent call, without stopping the alarm state.

The present invention relates both to telephone-activated alarm systems and to illuminated address display fixtures. More particularly, the present invention relates to residential address display fixtures which are equipped with emergency signaling apparatus to alert local authorities and neighbors when an emergency situation results. The instant invention relates further to alarm-equipped signaling devices which are activated by telephone.
The prior art reflects numerous illuminated housings or fixtures which display certain indicia. For example, it has long been known to provide a generally cubical enclosure with some form of lighting system to back-light numbers or letters displayed on a front side. In this manner, particularly at night, passers-by may readily see the street address of a building equipped with the apparatus. Illuminated indicia-displaying signs of this general nature are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 1,786,155 issued Dec. 23, 1930 to Farrell and U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,005, issued to Hunt on May 6, 1980. U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,457, issued Mar. 3, 1981 to Lordier, discloses a basic illuminated display for house numbers. An internal incandescent bulb disposed within a generally box-like enclosure illuminates a front face member with numerals indicating the address.
It is also known to combine a basic house address display device with an emergency flashing light. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,265 issued to Davis on Sept. 9, 1986, discloses an address display system in which the house numerals are disposed on a translucent wall illuminated by a conventional internal bulb. A flashing emergency light is also disposed within the housing. The emergency light may be actuated by the occupant from a remote switch within the residence to warn passers-by of the need for assistance. A reflector is associated with the emergency light. U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,753 issued May 13, 1986 to Harper provides an indicia display system which flashes a red light to warn of an emergency situation within the house.
However, structure disclosed by the aforementioned prior art patents must typically be activated by the user from a remote switch located somewhere within the house. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the average person confronted with an actual emergency would remember to activate the light switch. Moreover, in the event the path to the switch were blocked, as by smoke or fire, the person may be unable to reach the apparatus. And, a visitor or person unacquainted with the residence or the particular alarm system probably would not realize that the system existed.
Hence it would seem desirable to provide an emergency light signal which is automatically activated in response to behavior typically associated with an emergency situation. Suggestion for a response-oriented system is found in the Skarman U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,155, issued Feb. 11, 1986. Therein is disclosed a portable emergency light which is activated in response to an audible smoke alarm signal. The light may be selectively positioned to assist users to escape from smoke-filled or darkened buildings.
With the recent widespread deployment of the 9-1-1 emergency telephone system, the first response of the average person to an emergency may be to simply pick up the telephone and dial the numbers 9-1-1. Further, such a response might be typical of visitors or other strangers to a residence who may find themselves in an emergency situation, especially where panic or extreme stresses are encountered. Hence we have provided a system for generating an emergency signal in combination with a house lighting system, which automatically generates an emergency warning signal when the telephone number 9-1-1 is dialed.

Phone activated emergency signaling system


The invention relates to an electric cable comprising a braid which consists of crossed metallic braiding elements and surrounds the cable core, in which braided non-metallic elements of a high tensile strength are braided. Improved values for resistance to interference radiation and damping are obtained in that the metallic braiding elements and the non-metallic elements are arranged radially one over the other in parallel.

The invention relates to an electric cable comprising a braid which consists of crossed metallic braiding elements and which surrounds the cable core, in which braided non-metallic elements of a high tensile strength have been braided.
In the cable of this type, known from DE-A 35 40 684, non-metallic threads of a high tensile strength have been united with metallic wires of a high electric conductivity to form a mixed braid. The electrically conductive wires which consist of soft copper or aluminium, cannot stand high tensile forces. The non-metallic threads which consist, for example, of aromatic polyamide fibers such as Kevlar are added to the braid to withstand high tensile stress in the cable. As a result of the non-metallic threads which in the braid replace so to say a metal thread, metal-free open areas occur towards the interior of the cable. As a result of this, higher dampings occur in such a high-frequency cable, the resistance to interference radiation decreases.

Electric cable comprising a braid surrounding the cable core


A method for determining the driving resistance of a vehicle by taking into account a value for the vehicle mass is described. Before beginning to drive, the vehicle mass and driving resistance coefficients are estimated with an estimation method by taking into account sensor signals, and an initial value for the driving resistance is calculated from the vehicle mass and the driving resistance coefficients. A corrected value for the driving resistance and the vehicle mass is calculated while driving, based on measured driving-related values, which are measured in chronological succession.

The invention relates to a method for determining the driving resistance of a vehicle.
Due to dwindling resources and simultaneously increasing environmental awareness, it is increasingly important to develop as much as possible environmentally friendly vehicles. Very low emission levels can be achieved with hybrid vehicles that are equipped with an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. Especially with hybrid vehicles, but also with other vehicles, it is important for the driver to know the remaining driving range based on the current energy storage contents or the fuel quantity. Especially important for determining the residual driving range is the driving resistance of a vehicle, which is dependent on the number of occupants, the load, the type of the tires, and additional vehicle characteristics.
The exact knowledge of the driving resistance of a vehicle under different operating conditions can also be used for control tasks within the vehicle. For example, DE 10 2006 022 170 A1 discloses a method for determining the driving resistance of a vehicle wherein, in conjunction with an automatic transmission, driving resistance values are determined before the start of a gear shift and at a later time. If a change in driving resistance is detected in this context, the shifting operation can be corrected if necessary.
DE 601 13 226 T2 discloses a method for determining the driving resistance of a vehicle under the assumption of constant driving resistance coefficients and a predetermined vehicle mass. While driving, a threshold comparison is carried out which can be used to iteratively and more precisely determine driving resistance coefficients and the vehicle mass. However, only stored constants are used in these known methods to calculate the driving resistance at the beginning of the trip.
It is the object of the invention to provide a method for determining the driving resistance of a vehicle, which is capable of providing accurate information about the actual driving resistances and the mass of the vehicle at the beginning of the trip and while driving continues.

Method for determining the driving resistance of a vehicle


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and an apparatus for transmitting a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The method includes: determining a time domain location for transmitting the PUSCH according to a downlink transmission time interval TTI for receiving a scheduling grant; and transmitting the PUSCH in the determined time domain location; wherein the scheduling grant comprises at least one of: indication information for indicating whether to transmit a demodulation reference signal DMRS; first time domain location related information for transmitting the demodulation reference signal DMRS; second time domain location related information for transmitting data; information on frequency domain density of the demodulation reference signal DMRS; and frequency domain offset information of the demodulation reference signal DMRS.

The rapid development of the mobile Internet and the Internet of Things has led to explosive growth of data traffic and the proliferation of diversified and differentiated services. As a new generation of mobile communication technology, compared to 4G, 5G will support higher speed (Gbps), massive link (1M/Km2), ultra-low latency (1 ms), higher reliability, and 100 times of energy efficiency improvement, in order to support new changes in demand. Here, ultra-low latency is a key indicator of 5G technology, which may directly affect development of latency-limited services such as vehicle networking, industrial automation, remote control, and smart grid. A series of current standards for 5G latency reduction are gradually being advanced.
The reduction of Transmission Time Interval (TTI) is an important research direction for the current latency reduction. It aims to reduce the TTI of the current 1 ms length to 0.5 ms or even 1˜2 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, which can reduce the minimum scheduling time by multiple times, and in turn, can reduce the single transmission delay by multiple times without changing the frame structure. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has also discussed the short TTI (short TTI) delay reduction technology. However, there is currently no effective solution for the uplink power control of the short TTI.
In the short TTI technique, since the TTI is relatively short, pilot overhead is relatively large. One way to reduce the pilot overhead is to have multiple TTIs share or reuse DMRS. However, in this way, how to determine the resources for transmitting DMRS and/or data is also a problem to be solved.
For the problem in the related art about effective determination of the resource for transmitting the PUSCH, an effective solution has not been proposed yet.

Method and apparatus for transmitting physical uplink shared


Methods, apparatuses, and systems are presented for automating organization of multiple processes involving maintaining a uniform record of process threads using a server, each process thread comprising a representation of a collaborative process involving a plurality of users, enabling at least one of the plurality of users to carry out a user action while interacting with a different types of application program, and modifying at least one process thread in the uniform record of process threads in response to the user action. Modifying the process thread may comprise generating the process thread as a new process thread. Alternatively or in addition, modifying the process thread may comprise modifying the process thread as an existing process thread. At least one of the process threads may reflect user actions carried out by more than one of the plurality of users.

Traditional enterprise applications automate the repeated execution of a particular set of domain-specific processes. Once deployed, enterprise applications promise to improve the consistency, transparency, security, and efficiency of the processes they automate. Yet traditional approaches to process automation often fail because they assume that these processes can be translated in advance into well-defined work flows, data structures and rules.
Enterprise applications must be implemented, configured/customized and installed before they can be used. Significant changes or extensions to the default process model in the application generally requires significant technical expertise, and require analysis of what process model changes are necessary or pragmatically achievable. Once deployed, the users of such enterprise applications are constrained to a limited range of variations of the processes embedded in the application.
These fundamental characteristics of enterprise applications conflict with how real world business practices are actually conducted, because most business processes are more improvised than structured. This is especially true for managerial, knowledge-intensive, and cross-organizational processes that comprise the majority of high value business activities. Such processes are adapted, pieced together, customized, or defined on the fly by people. They do not fit neatly within the functional boundaries of individual enterprise applications. A given participant may need to have access to information drawn from different activities managed by different organizations and people and/or contained in different applications or systems in order to make informed decisions.
The diversity of processes, both in terms of the different types of processes and the variations within each type, is vast—far larger than could be supported by any given application. Moreover, processes often reflect ad hoc judgments of people dealing with specific situations as opposed to pre-defined and consistently applied rules. Even when a process does follow consistent patterns, its details—the decisions made and the specific people, documents, application transactions, and emails involved—are improvised upon execution.
Because structured automation techniques employed by enterprise applications are simply unable to support improvised processes, people rely heavily on email and personal productivity applications such as spreadsheets or word processors to perform, coordinate and track their work. The characteristics of such shrink-wrapped applications are virtually the antithesis of enterprise applications—they trade off much of the security, consistency, automation, transparency, and auditability benefits promised by enterprise applications in the interests of supporting improvised processes.
Email, for example, is a domain neutral and general purpose collaboration tool which has limited capabilities, specifically the ability to send, reply and forward messages and attachments. While email is incredibly flexible and ubiquitous, it lacks the ability to maintain security, to provide end-to-end transparency, or to automate or enforce consistent processes. Email threads by their nature are fragile and prone to fragmentation with every reply or forward, leaving disconnected messages and attachments scattered across different email servers and clients. Email has no mechanism to enable senders to maintain control or visibility over messages or content they have sent, and there is no reliable or automated way to 'connect the dots' of related email threads. Even so, the ability to support improvisation using email systems and the general purpose capabilities of such systems make them by far the most heavily used software for supporting improvised, collaborative processes.
Therefore, the execution of any given instance of an end-to-end process relies upon a variety of different types of email and collaboration tools, desktop productivity applications, and enterprise applications. Each instance of such a process grows organically, leaving a scattered trail of documents, emails, application transactions, decisions, and fading human memories as they unfold. There is no consistent end-to-end mechanism for storing, linking or otherwise recording the disparate elements of information content and improvised decision context that would be necessary to understand an individual instance of a process. Traditional enterprise applications are fundamentally incapable of accommodating the need for ad hoc collaboration and improvised processes, or the degree of diversity and change in structured processes.
The result is a widespread and profound lack of transparency and accountability in day-to-day business practices. It is often difficult or impossible to find relevant documents, files or application transactions necessary for informed decisions, to determine what decisions have been made or approved by whom on what basis, to see what tasks are pending or completed, or simply to find out who is involved.


An ice-gripping sandal for securement to the sole of a boot or other primary footwear. The sandal comprises a sole and plural attachment straps for mounting the sandal on the boot. The sandal's sole has a bottom surface having plural ice-gripping teeth. The attachment straps are secured to the sole and comprise a short front strap and a long front strap and a pair of short rear straps. The long front strap is arranged to be extended through a loop in the short front strap and about the upper of the boot through loops in the rear straps so that its free end is connected to a buckle mounted on the short front strap at the toe of the boot, thereby forming "figure 8" strap pattern. A pair of cooperating VELCRO.RTM. fastening strips are secured onto the long strap to hold the long strap in the buckle.

This invention relates generally to footwear, and more particularly to attachments in the form of a sandal which is adapted to be worn over other footwear to render it resistant to slippage on ice.
Various ice gripping, sandal-like, attachments for footwear are commercially and have been disclosed in the patent literature. Examples of such patented devices are found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,032,600 (Grout); 2,361,972 (Smith); 3,214,850 (McNair); 3,516,181 (Jordan); 4,344,238 (Peyser); 4,353,172 (Bryant); 4,525,939 (McNeil et al.); and 4,910,883 (Zock, Jr.). While the devices disclose in those patents appear generally suitable for their intended purposes, they never the less appear to leave something to be desired from various standpoints, such as simplicity of construction, ease of mounting, removing, and adjusting.
Various sandals with means for enabling the adjustment of their mounting straps have been disclosed in the patent literature, such as the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: Des. 131,318 (Levin); 2,801,478 (Gilbert); 4,817,302 (Saltsman); 4,869,000 (York); and 4,920,664 (McGregor et al.). However, none of these sandals discloses a strapping arrangement which could be used with an ice gripping sole to obviate the disadvantages of the prior art ice gripping sandals.

Ice gripping sandal for use on other footwear


A first electronic device controls a second electronic device to measure a position of the first electronic device. The first electronic device includes a motion sensor, a network interface circuit, a processor, and a memory. The motion sensor senses motion of the first electronic device. The network interface circuit communicates with the second electronic device. The memory stores program code that is executed by the processor to perform operations that include, responsive to determining that the first electronic device has a level of motion that satisfies a defined rule, transmitting a request for the second electronic device to measure a position of the first electronic device. The position of the first electronic device is sensed and then stored in the memory. An acknowledgement is received from the second electronic device indicating that it has stored sensor data that can be used to measure the position of the first electronic device.

Haptic devices and Mixed or Virtual Reality (MR or VR) devices will be an increasing part of the future device ecosystem used by society for interpersonal communication, gaming and other applications. Mixed reality computer systems augment what a user sees in the real world with computer generated virtual objects having a pose that makes the virtual objects appear to the user as if they exist in the real world. In contrast, a virtual reality computer system generates entirely virtual world of objects, instead of overlaying the objects on the real world. Both types of systems can enable a user to interact in a seemingly real or physical way using special electronic equipment, such as a head mounted display that displays computer generated objects to a user and a haptic device that tracks movement of the user and which may provide haptic feedback to the user. The term computer generated reality (CGR) is used herein to collectively refer to MR type systems and VR type systems. Accordingly, a CGR system described herein may therefore be a MR system or a VR system unless if defined otherwise in a particular example below.
In a CGR system, a haptic device can provide haptic feedback to a user that enables the user to feel virtual objects while viewing the virtual objects through a display of a CGR device. A challenging problem with CGR systems is how to provide alignment between the coordinate system of the haptic device, such as the workspace of the device, and the coordinate system of the CGR device which can be used to display 3D computer generated objects that are generated based on camera images.
Some known mixed reality systems that integrate haptic devices in a CGR world use an external tracking system. For example, the GO TOUCH VR brand system and the Ultrahaptics brand system use the Leap Motion brand hand tracking device. The HTC Vive brand product tracks its peripheral devices and headset device using an external tracking system, which removes the need for a coordinate system alignment since the same tracking system is employed for tracking all devices. A disadvantage of the HTC Vive is that it must be used within a single room and, therefore, is not mobile beyond those confines.
A need therefore exists for providing a CGR system that provides improved automated alignment of coordinate systems of haptic and CGR devices.

Coordinating alignment of coordinate systems used for a computer generated reality device and a haptic device