A hydraulic jack capable of displaying load and overload warning, belonging to the technical field of hydraulic lifting equipment. It comprises: a base, a lifting arm, a pump body, a handle, and a tray, wherein, a signal collection assembly designed to sense the load on the tray is arranged at the end of the lifting arm, and the signal collection assembly is electrically connected to a weighing controller arranged on either the base or the pump body, and the tray is arranged on the signal collection assembly. Since a signal collection assembly designed to sense the load on the tray is arranged at the end of the lifting arm and electrically connected to the weighing controller, the load sensing method by the aid of communication with the oil circuit in the prior art is abandoned and the leakage of hydraulic oil can be avoided; since the signal collection assembly is arranged at the end of the lifting arm, the entire assembly can be easily processed, installed, and maintained.

Hydraulic jacks are widely used due to its advantages including compact structure, stable operation, light weight, portability, etc. In other words, hydraulic jacks are simple hydraulic lifting utilities, and can be used on vehicles as driver's tools; in addition, they are equipped in vehicle maintenance departments, vehicle test departments, fire departments and even engineering construction units. As known by those skilled in the art, the common drawbacks of hydraulic jacks lies in limited lifting height and low lifting speed, leading to low working efficiency; therefore, a great of effort has been made in the industry to overcome the drawbacks, as is manifested by the technical solution of the oil jack lifting to top in idle stroke with one pump disclosed in Chinese Utility Model Patent Publication No. CN 2331648Y. It seems that the load safety of hydraulic jacks has been neglected. The actual situation is: in some special cases, it is difficult to judge whether a lifting jack can jack up a heavy object because the load is not clear; especially in the case where the safety load limit unit of lifting jack is adjusted and thereby the protection of lifting jack is lost, overloading will damage the lifting jack, and even cause adverse chain reactions, for example, the lifted heavy object may drop suddenly and thereby be damaged, and even cause more severe accidents (e.g., personal safety is endangered).
A lifting jack with pressure gauge is provided in Chinese Utility Model Patent Publication No. CN2131847Y. On the lifting jack, a hole that communicates with the bottom of an oil chamber is arranged on the bottom of the base, one end of an oil tube is connected to the hole, and the other end of the oil tube protrudes from the base and is connected with a connector, on which a pressure gauge is mounted. A hydraulic jack capable of weighing and measuring force is introduced in Chinese Utility Model Patent Publication No. CN2371548Y. In the technical solution of CN2371548Y, the oil return valve on the lifting jack is removed and replaced with a pipe joint, wherein, one end of the pipe joint is fitted with the pipe of the oil circuit through thread connection, and the other end of the pipe joint is fitted with a pressure gauge through thread connection. A multi-purpose vertical hydraulic jack with a pressure gauge is put forward in CN2714529Y. The technical solution of the multi-purpose vertical hydraulic jack is: a pressure gauge interface is arranged at a side where the casing of lifting jack base and piston barrel interface is located; the pressure gauge interface communicates with the piston barrel through the oil circuit, and the pressure gauge is connected with the pressure gauge interface via a flexible pipe joint assembly (see line 10 on page 2 to line 2 on page 3 in the description).
A common advantage of the three above mentioned patents is that the load and pressure can be displayed when the lifting jack lifts up, therefore blind operation can be avoided, and the trouble can be nipped in the bud to a certain degree. However, there are undeniable common drawbacks: firstly, since "operations" have to be made to the base of lifting jack, the machining work is complicated; secondly, the leak tightness is a crucial factor for judging the quality of lifting jack and leakage (oil leakage) is taboo for lifting jacks, but in all three of the above-mentioned patents, the pressure gauge communicates with the oil circuit, and consequently increases the probability of leakage from lifting jack. It is inadvisable for the setting mode of pressure gauge to arrange the pressure gauge to communicate with the oil circuit in terms of technical feasibility and actual applicability. Not only does this apply to the leak tightness of pressure gauge positioning units, such as the connector, pipe joint, pressure gauge interface, and base joint as described in the three above-mentioned patents, but also the leak tightness between pressure gauge and connector, pipe joint, and pressure gauge interface, should be considered. In case leakage occurs in any of the sealing links, the lifting jack could not be used. Thirdly, the indication error of the pressure gauge is big, especially, when the observer observes at a position that is offset from the front of the pressure meter, the load judgment may be inaccurate due to viewing angle factor.

Hydraulic jack capable of displaying load and overload warning

Changshu Tongrun Auto Accessory Co., Ltd


Disclosed is a bioinsecticide formulation comprising highly resistant Beauveria bassiana microsclerotia and to its use for insect control, in particular for control of insects in grain silos, and to a method of preparation of said formulation. The microsclerotia are obtained in a culture medium comprising an iron (II) compound at a concentration of approximately 0.2 g/L.

Biopesticides have been widely used for insect control in the last few decades to achieve pest handling in an environmentally friendly manner.
Among said biopesticides are insecticides derived from entomopathogenic fungi, in particular from Metarhizium and Beauveria genuses. Bioinsecticides comprising sclerotia, i.e. resting bodies consisting of a mass of hyphal threads that are highly resistant to desiccation, and in particular mirosclerotia, have also been made available. These dormant forms of entomopathogenic fungi provide bioinsecticides with improved resistance.
The entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana has been used as a bioinsecticide to control several pests such as termites, thrips, whiteflies, aphids and different beetles. However, its use as a bioinsecticide has been limited due to inconsistent results, mainly because of its sensitivity to abiotic stress and low virulence.
No formulations comprising highly resistant Beauveria bassiana microsclerotia are commercially available, and the methods of preparation that have been described are not economically viable due to the long culturing times involved. Genetic engineering has been used to obtain more resistant and virulent forms of these fungi, but without focusing on dormant, highly resistant forms of the fungus to increase the efficiency of a bioinsecticide comprising it.
In general, the use of microsclerotia as bioinsecticides has not yet been successfully exploited, mainly due to the lack of adequate and reproductible culture conditions to obtain these highly resistant forms.
WO 2009/035925 A2 describes microsclerotial propagules by entomopathogenic fungi and their use for control of insects. Experimental results showing the successful preparation of microsclerotia are described for fungi of the Metarhizium genus. However, it has been shown that the methods described cannot be applied to fungi of the Beauveria genus. In particular, the experimental protocol cannot be used to obtain microslerotia in Beauveria bassiana.
In the scientific literature, the preparation of microsclerotia in Beauveria bassiana has been described (e.g. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.12742). However, viable microsclerotia are obtained in only approximately 10 days, and their insecticidal activity has not been assessed.
There is therefore a need to provide a bioinsecticide based on highly resistant forms of Beauveria bassiana obtained with a more efficient method with reduced preparation times, in order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art.

Method of preparation of microsclerotia of

CONSEJO NACIONAL DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTÍFICAS Y TÉCNICAS (CONICET)


An apparatus for extracting an ambient signal from an input audio signal comprises a gain-value determinator configured to determine a sequence of time-varying ambient signal gain values for a given frequency band of the time-frequency distribution of the input audio signal in dependence on the input audio signal. The apparatus comprises a weighter configured to weight one of the sub-band signals representing the given frequency band of the time-frequency-domain representation with the time-varying gain values, to obtain a weighted sub-band signal. The gain-value determinator is configured to obtain one or more quantitative feature-values describing one or more features of the input audio signal and to provide the gain-value as a function of the one or more quantitative feature values such that the gain values are quantitatively dependent on the quantitative values. The gain value determinator is configured to determine the gain values such that ambience components are emphasized over non-ambience components in the weighted sub-band signal.

In the following, an introduction will be given.
Introduction
Multi-channel audio material is becoming more and more popular also in the consumer home environment. This is mainly due to the fact that movies on DVD offer 5.1 multi-channel sounds and therefore even home users frequently install audio playback systems, which are capable of reproducing multi-channel audio.
Such a setup may e.g. consist of three speakers (L, C, R) in the front, two speakers (Ls, Rs) in the back and one low frequency effects channel (LFE). For convenience, the given explanations are related to 5.1 systems. They apply to any other multi-channel systems with minor modifications.
Multi-channel systems provide several well-known advantages over two-channel stereo reproduction, e.g.:                Advantage 1: Improved front image stability even off the optimal (central) listening position. Due to the center channel the "sweet-spot" is enlarged. The term "sweet-spot" denotes the area of listening positions where an optimal sound impression is perceived.        Advantage 2: An increased experience of "envelopment" and spaciousness is created by the rear channel speakers.
Nevertheless, there exists a huge amount of legacy audio content with two audio channels ("stereo") or even only one ("mono"), e.g. old movies and television series.
Recently, various methods for generating a multi-channel signal from an audio signal with fewer channels have been developed (see Section 2 for an overview of the related conventional concepts). The process of generating a multi-channel signal from an audio signal with fewer channels is called "upmixing".
Two Concepts of Upmixing are Widely Known.
1. Upmixing with additional information guiding the upmix process. The additional information may be either "encoded" in a specific way in the input signal or may be stored additionally. This concept is frequently called "guided upmix".
2. The "blind upmix", whereas a multi-channel signal is obtained from the audio signal exclusively without any additional information.
Embodiments according to the present invention are related to the latter, i.e. the blind upmix process.
In the literature, an alternative taxonomy for upmix processes is reported. Upmix processes may follow either the Direct/Ambient-Concept or the "In-the-band"-Concept or a mixture of both. These two concepts are described in the following.
A. Direct/Ambient-Concept
The "direct sound sources" are reproduced through the three front channels in a way that they are perceived at the same position as in the original two-channel version. The term "direct sound source" is used to describe a sound coming solely and directly from one discrete sound source (e.g. an instrument), with little or without any additional sounds, e.g. due to reflections from the walls.
The rear speakers are fed with ambient sounds (ambience-like sounds). Ambient sounds are those forming an impression of a (virtual) listening environment, including room reverberation, audience sounds (e.g. applause), environmental sounds (e.g. rain), artistically intended effect sounds (e.g. vinyl crackling) and background noise.
FIG. 23 illustrates the sound image of the original two-channel version and FIG. 24 shows the same for an upmix following the Direct/Ambient-Concept.
B. "In-the-Band"-Concept
Following the "In-the-band"-Concept, every sound, or at least some sounds (direct sound as well as ambient sounds) may be positioned all around the listener. The position of a sound is independent of its characteristics (i.e. whether it is a direct sound or an ambient sound) and only dependent on the specific design of the algorithm and its parameter settings. FIG. 25 illustrates the sound image of the "In-the-band"-Concept.
Apparatus and methods according to the invention relate to the direct/ambient concept. The following section gives an overview of conventional concepts in the context of upmixing an audio signal with m channels to an audio signal with n channels, with m<n.
2 Conventional Concepts in Blind Upmixing
2.1 Upmixing of Mono Recordings
2.1.1 Pseudo-Stereophonic Processing
Most of the techniques to produce a so-called "pseudo-stereophonic" signal are not signal adaptive. This means that they process any mono signal in the same way, no matter what the content is. Those systems often work with simple filter structures and/or time delays to decorrelate the output signals, e.g. by processing two copies of the one-channel input signal by a pair of complementary comb filters [Sch57]. A comprehensive overview of such systems can be found in [Fa105].
2.1.2 Semi-Automatic Mono to Stereo Upmixing Using Sound Source Formation
The authors propose an algorithm to identify signal components (e.g. time-frequency bins of a spectrogram) which belong to the same sound source and should therefore be panned together [LMT07]. The sound source formation algorithm considers principles of stream segregation (derived from the Gestalt principles): continuity in time, harmonic relations in frequency and amplitude similarity. Sound sources are identified using clustering methods (unsupervised learning). The derived "time-frequency-clusters" are further grouped into larger sound streams using (a) information on the frequency range of the objects and (b) timbral similarities. The authors report the use of a sinusoidal modeling algorithm (i.e. the identification of sinusoidal components of a signal) as a front end.
After the sound source formation, the user selects sound sources and applies panning weights to them. It should be noted that (according to some conventional concepts) many of the proposed methods (sinusoidal modeling, stream segregation) do not perform reliable when processing real-world signals of average complexity.
2.1.3 Ambience Extraction Using Non-Negative Matrix Factorization
A time-frequency distribution (TFD) of the input signal is computed, e.g. by means of Short-term Fourier Transform. An estimate of the TFD of the direct signal components is derived by means of the numerical optimization method of Non-negative Matrix Factorization. An estimate of the TFD of the ambient signal is obtained by computing the difference of the TFD of the input signal and the estimate of the TFD of the direct signal (i.e. the approximation residual).
The re-synthesis of the time signal of the ambient signal is carried out using the phase spectrogram of the input signal. Additional post-processing is optionally applied in order to improve the listening experience of the derived multi-channel signal [UWHH07].
2.1.4 Adaptive Spectral Panoramization (ASP)
A method for the panoramization of a mono signal for playback using a stereo sound system is described in [VZA06]. The processing incorporates an STFT, the weighting of the frequency bins used for the re-synthesis of the left and right channel signal, and the inverse STFT. The time-varying weighting factors are derived from low-level features computed from the spectrogram of the input signal in sub-bands.
2.2 Upmixing of Stereo Recordings
2.2.1 Matrix Decoders
Passive matrix decoders compute a multi-channel signal using a time-invariant linear combination of the input channel signals.
Active matrix decoders (e.g. Dolby Pro Logic II [Dre00], DTS NEO:6 [DTS] or HarmanKardon/Lexicon Logic 7 [Kar]) apply an analysis of the input signal and perform signal-dependent adaptation of the matrix elements (i.e. the weights for the linear combination). These decoders use inter-channel differences and signal adaptive steering mechanisms to produce multi-channel output signals. Matrix steering methods aim at detecting prominent sources (e.g. dialogues). The processing is performed in the time domain.
2.2.2 A Method to Convert Stereo to Multi-Channel Sound
Irwan and Aarts present a method to convert a signal from stereo to multichannel [IA01]. The signal for the surround channels is calculated by using a cross-correlation technique (an iterative estimation of the correlation coefficient is proposed in order to reduce the computational load).
The mixing coefficients for the center channel are obtained using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). PCA is applied to calculate a vector, which indicates the direction of the dominant signal. Only one dominant signal can be detected at a time. The PCA is performed using an iterative gradient descent method (which is less demanding with respect to computational load compared to the standard PCA using an eigenvalue decomposition of the covariance matrix of the observation). The computed vector of direction is similar to the output of a goniometer if all decorrelated signal components are neglected. The direction is then mapped from a two-to a three-channel representation to create the 3 front channels.
2.2.3 An Unsupervised Adaptive Filtering Approach of 2-to-5 Channel Upmix
The authors propose an improved algorithm compared to the method by Irwan and Aarts. The originally proposed method is applied to each sub-band [LD05]. The authors assume w-disjoint orthogonality of the dominant signals. The frequency decomposition is carried out using either a Pseudo Quadrature Mirror Filterbank or a wavelet-based octave filter-bank. A further extension to the method by Irwan and Aarts is the use of an adaptive step size for the iterative computation of the (first) principal component.
2.2.4 Ambience Extraction and Synthesis from Stereo Signals for Multi-channel Audio Upmix
Avendano and Jot propose a frequency-domain technique to identify and extract the ambience information in stereo audio signals [AJ02].
The method is based on the computation of an inter-channel coherence index and a non-linear mapping function that allows for the determination of the time-frequency regions that consist mostly of ambience components. Ambient signals are subsequently synthesized and used to feed the surround channels of the multi-channel playback system.
2.2.5 Descriptor Based Spatialization
The authors describe a method for one-to-n upmixing, which can be controlled by an automated classification of the signal [MPA+05]. The paper contains some errors; therefore it might be that the authors aimed at different goals than described in the paper.
The upmix process uses three processing blocks: the "upmix tool", artificial reverberation and equalization. The "upmix tool" consists of various processing blocks, including the extraction of an ambient signal. The method for the extraction of an ambient signal ("spatial discriminator") is based on the comparison of the left and right signal of a stereo recording in the spectral domain. For upmixing mono-signals, artificial reverberation is used.
The authors describe 3 applications: 1-to-2 upmixing, 2-to-5 upmixing, and 1-to-5 upmixing.
Classification of the Audio Signal
The classification process uses a supervised learning approach: Low-level features are extracted from the audio signal and a classifier is applied to classify the audio signal into one of three classes: music, voices or any other sounds.
A particularity of the classification process is the use of a genetic programming method to find                optimal features (as compositions of different operations)        optimal combination of the obtained low-level features        the best classifier from a set of available classifiers        the best parameter setting for the chosen classifier            1-to-2 upmixing The upmix is done using reverberation and equalization. If the signal contains voice, the equalization is enabled and reverberation is disabled. Otherwise, the equalization is disabled and reverberation is enabled. No dedicated processing aiming at the suppression of speech in the rear channels is incorporated.    2-to-5 upmixing The authors aim at building a multi-channel soundtrack whereas detected voices are attenuated by muting the center channel.    1-to-5 upmixing The multi-channel signal is generated using reverberation, equalization and the "upmix tool" (which generates a 5.1 signal from a stereo signal. The stereo signal is the output of the reverberation and the input to the "upmix tool".). Different presets are used for music, voices and all other sounds. By controlling reverberation and equalization, a multi-channel soundtrack is build that keeps voices in the center channel and has music and other sounds in all channels.
If the signal contains voice, the reverberation is disabled. Otherwise, reverberation is enabled. Since the extraction of the rear-channel signal relies on a stereo signal, no rear-channel signal is generated when reverberation is disabled (which is the case for voices).
2.2.6 Ambience-Based Upmixing
Soulodre presents a system, which creates a multi-channel signal from a stereo signal [Sou04]. The signal is decomposed into so-called "individual source streams" and "ambience streams". Based on these streams a so-called "Aesthetic Engine" synthesizes the multi-channel output. No further technical details of the decomposition and the synthesis steps are given.
2.3 Upmixing of Audio Signals with Arbitrary Number of Channels
2.3.1 Multichannel Surround Format Conversion and Generalized Up-Mix
The authors describe a method based on spatial audio coding using an intermediate mono downmix and introduce an improved method without the intermediate downmix. The improved method comprises passive matrix upmixing and principles known from Spatial Audio Coding. The improvements are gained at the expense of increased data rate of the intermediate audio [GJ07a].
2.3.2 Primary-Ambient Signal Decomposition and Vector-Based Localization for Spatial Audio Coding and Enhancement
The authors propose a separation of the input signal into a primary (direct) signal and an ambient signal using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) [GJ07b].
The input signal is modeled as the sum of a primary (direct) signal and an ambient signal. It is assumed that the direct signals have substantially more energy than the ambient signal and both signals are uncorrelated.
The processing is carried out in the frequency domain. The STFT coefficients of the direct signal are obtained from the projection of the STFT coefficients of the input signal onto the first principal component. The STFT coefficients of the ambient signal are computed from the difference of the STFT coefficients of the input signal and the direct signal.
Since only the (first) principal component (i.e. the eigenvector of the covariance matrix corresponding to the largest eigenvalue) is needed, a computationally efficient alternative for the eigenvalue decomposition used in standard PCA is applied (which is an iterative approximation). The cross-correlation needed for the PCA decomposition is also estimated iteratively. The direct and ambient signal add up to the original, i.e. no information is lost in the decomposition.

Apparatus and method for extracting an ambient signal in an apparatus and method for obtaining weighting coefficients for extracting an ambient signal and computer program

Frauhnhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V.


A broiling device including a housing having a generally rectangular configuration. The housing has an open upper end, a closed lower end, a front wall, a rear wall, and opposed side walls. The front wall and the rear wall each have a pair of upper and lower support tabs extending inwardly from inner surfaces thereof to support grilling grates thereon. The opposed side walls each have corresponding upper and lower apertures therethrough. A dome-shaped lid is hingedly coupled with the open upper end of the housing. A heating element is disposed within an interior surface of the dome-shaped lid. A handled skewer selectively extends between the upper and lower apertures of the opposed side walls of the housing.

The present invention relates to a portable broiling device and more particularly pertains to providing heat from above food items so as to properly cook the food items.
Today's health conscious society is always seeking healthier methods of preparing foods. Frying and baking are usually seen as less than healthy preparation methods. The use of outdoor grills provides heat from below the food. Charcoal that is used in these grills tend to emit carcinogens that can be trapped in the foods. The only remaining healthy cooking alternative involves broiling. Most broiling is done indoors in an oven. What is needed is a device that will allow for broiling outdoors such that heat can be directed downwardly on the food items that are being cooked.
The present invention attempts to solve the abovementioned problem by providing a device that will enable outdoor broiling, while providing additional cooking variations to allow food items to be properly cooked.
The use of barbeque devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, barbeque devices heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of cooking food are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,897 to Stanfa discloses a gas broiler for outdoor use comprised of a cooking rack below ceramic burner blocks. U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,634 to Va Horn II discloses a portable broiler apparatus and grease tray utilized with a cooking range. U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,180 to Scott discloses a grill that simulates a broiler, for use indoors.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a portable broiling device for providing heat from above food items so as to properly cook the food items.
In this respect, the portable broiling device according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing heat from above food items so as to properly cook the food items.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved portable broiling device which can be used for providing heat from above food items so as to properly cook the food items. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A valve assembly includes a valve body having a valve body central axis. A valve actuator is operably connected to the valve body and is located such that a central axis of the valve actuator is nonparallel to the valve body central axis. A strut extends from the valve body to the valve actuator to support the valve actuator in a fixed relationship to the valve body. A pneumatically-actuated butterfly valve includes a valve body having a valve body central axis and a valve disc. A pneumatic actuator is located such that its central axis is nonparallel to the valve body central axis. The actuator includes a piston disposed in a cylinder, the piston operably connected to the valve disc. A strut extends from the valve body to support the actuator in a fixed relationship to the valve body.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to valves. More specifically, the subject matter disclosed herein relates to butterfly valves with pneumatic actuation.
A typical butterfly valve is controlled by a pneumatic actuator. The actuator includes a piston positioned in a cylinder. The piston is connected to a linkage assembly that converts linear motion of the piston in the cylinder to rotary motion of the shaft. The shaft is, in turn connected to a butterfly disc located in a valve body or other flow structure. Rotation of the shaft, via the linkage assembly, rotates the butterfly disc in the valve body, thus opening or closing the valve.
In a typical butterfly valve, the valve body is connected to an actuator body of the pneumatic actuator, with an actuator central axis and a valve body central axis arranged coplanar and in some instances parallel to each other. In such configurations, the actuator is, in effect, cantilevered off the valve body. As such, the actuator is susceptible to vibrations during operation. The actuator can exhibit vibration amplitudes high enough to result in binding of, damage to, or failure of the linkage system and, in turn, failure of the butterfly valve.


A variety of the Cactaceae family produced in a controlled hybridization ‘Elise’. The variety possesses the desirable characteristics of: a strong growth habit with erect stems; a red colored bloom; relatively large flowers; a strong propensity to branch with minimal pruning; and flowers that stay open for as long as two weeks.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of the Cactaceae family. The inventor is Dr. Thomas H. Boyle, a citizen of the United States.
Many members of the Cactaceae family can be forced to bloom in the Northern Hemisphere in the winter. Because they can bloom in the winter there is a large market for these varieties.
This new variety was produced by the inventor by a controlled process of hybridization. The new plant variety, 'Elsie', was developed in Massachusetts, and is a hybrid obtained by cross pollinating flowers of 'Evita' (a nonpatented variety) with pollen collected from flowers of 'Andre' (a non-patented variety). 'Evita' was developed in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands and released in 1983.
'Elsie' is similar to its maternal parent in branching architecture, upright habit and flower longevity and is more similar to its paternal parent in tepal color, although the tepal color is not identical and its paternal parent does have similar branching architecture.
'Elsie' is similar to the commercial variety 'Cetus' in flower color, but 'Elsie' has a more erect habit, larger flowers, and better disease resistance than 'Cetus'.
'Elsie' is similar to the variety H.×graeseri 'Rio' in branching architecture, upright habit, flower longevity and flower color, but has shorter phylloclades and slightly larger flowers.
The following chart compares the present invention to its parent 'Evita' and the variety 'Rio'.
TABLE 1H. × graeseriH. × graeseriH × graeseriTrait'Elsie''Evita''Rio'Length ofBetween 40Between 40Between 50matureand 55 mmand 60 mmand 65 mmphyl-locladesWidth ofBetween 22Between 20Between 13matureand 27 mmand 26 mm andand 28 mm andphyl-averaging aboutaveraging aboutloclades23 mm25Color ofOverall RHS 45ARHS 74B/COverall RHS 45A,perianthat apices andRHS 46B in the uppersegmentsRHS 74D at baseportion and RHS 47Dat maturityat baseColor ofRHS 74BRHS 74 B/CRHS 74 B/Cfilamentsat maturityFlowerAbout 60 mmAbout 55 mm50 to 57 mmdiameter
The overall red appearance of the flower is due to the generally even-toned color of its tepals.
The distinguishing characteristics of the new variety are retained by asexually reproduced, successive generations.
The new variety possesses the desirable characteristics of:                1. a strong growth habit with erect stems        2. a red colored bloom;        3. relatively large flowers;        4. a strong propensity to branch with minimal pruning; and        5. flowers that stay open for as long as two weeks.
Blooming flowers on the plant can last as long as two weeks at temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold temperatures slow down the rate at which buds mature into flowers. Strong light is also necessary for bud development.
The new variety has been asexually reproduced under the direction of the inventor at a commercial nursery in Half Moon Bay, Calif. The new variety has been asexually reproduced through three successive generations by cuttings, and it has been found that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed remain firmly fixed.


A method extracts high-level features from a video including a sequence of frames. Low-level features are extracted from each frame of the video. Each frame of the video is labeled according to the extracted low-level features to generate sequences of labels. Each sequence of labels is associated with one of the extracted low-level feature. The sequences of labels are analyzed using learning machine learning techniques to extract high-level features of the video.

This invention relates generally to multimedia content, and more particularly to extracting high-level features from low-level features of the multimedia content.
Video analysis can be defined as processing a video with the intention of understanding its content. The understanding can range from a xe2x80x9clow-levelxe2x80x9d understanding, such as detecting shot boundaries in the video, to a xe2x80x9chigh-levelxe2x80x9d understanding, such as detecting a genre of the video. The low-level understanding can be achieved by analyzing low-level features, such as color, motion, texture, shape, and the like, to generate content descriptions. The content description can then be used to index the video.
The proposed MPEG-7 standard provides a framework for such content description. MPEG-7 is the most recent standardization effort taken on by the MPEG committee and is formally called xe2x80x9cMultimedia Content Description Interface,xe2x80x9d see xe2x80x9cMPEG-7 Context, Objectives and Technical Roadmap,xe2x80x9d ISO/IEC N2861, July 1999.
Essentially, this standard plans to incorporate a set of descriptors and description schemes that can be used to describe various types of multimedia content. The descriptor and description schemes are associated with the content itself and allow for fast and efficient searching of material that is of interest to a particular user. It is important to note that this standard is not meant to replace previous coding standards, rather, it builds on other standard representations, especially MPEG-4, because the multimedia content can be decomposed into different objects and each object can be assigned a unique set of descriptors. Also, the standard is independent of the format in which the content is stored.
The primary application of MPEG-7 is expected to be search and retrieval applications, see xe2x80x9cMPEG-7 Applications,xe2x80x9d ISO/IEC N2861, July 1999. In a simple application environment, a user may specify some attributes of a particular video object. At this low-level of representation, these attributes may include descriptors that describe the texture, motion and shape of the particular video object. A method of representing and comparing shapes has been described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/326,759 xe2x80x9cMethod for Ordering Image Spaces to Represent Object Shapes,xe2x80x9d filed on Jun. 4, 1999 by Lin et al., and a method for describing the motion activity has been described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/406,444 xe2x80x9cActivity Descriptor for Video Sequencesxe2x80x9d filed on Sep. 27, 1999 by Divakaran et al.
To obtain a high-level representation, one may consider more elaborate description schemes that combine several low-level descriptors. In fact, these description schemes may even contain other description schemes, see xe2x80x9cMPEG-7 Multimedia Description Schemes WD (V1.0),xe2x80x9d ISO/IEC N3113, December 1999 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/385,169 xe2x80x9cMethod for representing and comparing multimedia content,xe2x80x9d filed Aug. 30, 1999 by Lin et al.
The descriptors and description schemes that will be provided by the MPEG-7 standard can be considered as either low-level syntactic or high-level semantic, where the syntactic information refers to physical and logical signal aspects of the content, and the semantic information refers to conceptual meanings of the content.
In the following, these high-level semantic features will sometimes also be referred to as xe2x80x9cevents.xe2x80x9d
For a video, the syntactic events may be related to the color, shape and motion of a particular video object. On the other hand, the semantic events generally refer to information that cannot be extracted from low-level descriptors, such as the time, name, or place of an event, e.g., the name of a person in the video.
However, automatic and semi-automatic extraction of high-level or semantic features such as video genre, event semantics, etc., is still an open topic for research. For instance, it is straightforward to extract the motion, color, shape, and texture from a video of a football event, and to establish low-level similarity with another football video based on the extracted low-level features. These techniques are well described. However, it is not straightforward to automatically identify the video as that of a football event from its low-level features.
A number of extraction techniques are known in the prior art, see for example, Chen et al., xe2x80x9cViBE: A New Paradigm for Video Database Browsing and Search Proc,xe2x80x9d IEEE Workshop on Content-Based Access of Image and Video Databases, 1998, Zhong et al., xe2x80x9cClustering Methods for Video Browsing and Annotation,xe2x80x9d SPIE Conference on Storage and Retrieval for Image and Video Databases, Vol. 2670, February, 1996, Kender et al., xe2x80x9cVideo Scene Segmentation via Continuous Video Coherence,xe2x80x9d In IEEE CVPR, 1998, Yeung et al., xe2x80x9cTime-constrained Clustering for Segmentation of Video into Story Units,xe2x80x9d ICPR, Vol. C. August 1996, and Yeo et al, xe2x80x9c,xe2x80x9d IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology, Vol. 5, No. 6, December 1995.
Most of these techniques first segment the video into shots using low-level features extracted from individual frames. Then, the shots are grouped into scenes using the extracted features. Based on this extraction and grouping, these techniques usually build a hierarchical structure of the video content.
The problem with these approaches is that they are not flexible. Thus, it is difficult to do a detailed analysis to bridge the gap between low-level features and high-level features, such as semantic events. Moreover, too much information is lost during the segmentation process.
Therefore, it is desired to provide a system and apparatus that can extract high-level features from a video without first segmenting the video into shots.
It is an object of the invention to provide automatic content analysis using frame-based, low-level features. The invention, first extracts features at the frame level and then labels each frame based on each of the extracted features. For example, if three features are used, color, motion, and audio, each frame has at least three labels, i.e., color, motion, and audio labels.
This reduces the video to multiple sequences of labels, there being one sequence of labels for feature common among consecutive frames. The multiple label sequences retain considerable information, while simultaneously reducing the video into a simple form. It should be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, that the amount of data required to code the labels is orders of magnitude less than the data that encodes the video itself. This simple form enables machine learning techniques such as Hidden Markov Models (HMM), Bayesian Networks, Decision Trees, and the like, to perform high-level feature extraction.
The procedures according to the invention, offer a way to combine low-level features that performs well. The high-level feature extraction system according to the invention provides an open framework that enables easy integration with new features. Furthermore, the invention can be integrated with traditional methods of video analysis. The invented system provides functionalities at different granularities that can be applied to applications with different requirements. The invention also provides a system for flexible browsing or visualization using individual low-level features or their combinations. Finally, the feature extraction according to the invention can be performed in the compressed domain for fast, and preferably real-time, system performance. Note that the extraction need not necessarily be in the compressed domain, even though the compressed domain extraction is preferred.
More particularly, the invention provides a system an method for extracting high-level features from a video including a sequence of frames. Low-level features are extracted from each frame of the video. Each frame of the video is labeled according to the extracted low-level features to generate sequences of labels. Each sequence of labels is associated with one of the extracted low-level feature. The sequences of labels are analyzed using learning machine learning techniques to extract high-level features of the video.

Extraction of high-level features from low-level features of multimedia content

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc


A tube forming machine for making a tube from a sheet is disclosed. The forming rolls of this invention include various V-shaped rolls at least some of which are used as part of a three-point bending technique. The three-point bending technique entails the use of a V-shaped bottom roll and a narrow top roll. The sheet is shaped running the sheet through a gap between the narrow top roll and the V-shaped bottom roll. The technique allows a wide variety of tubing to be made from the same set of forming rolls, because the curvature obtained in a sheet can be varied by opening or closing the gap. A V-shaped forming roll disclosed herein is also used at a pinch roll stand with a second complementary V-shaped roll. The pinch roll stand of this invention creates an initial V-shaped sheet which facilitates the threading of the sheet at the start of a forming operation. Brimmed rolls are also disclosed. Brimmed rolls have a relatively sharp included angle, and are used to engage the edges of a sheet and to press the sheet against a single bottom roll in brimmed roll stand.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing tubing from sheet stock using a series of rolls. In particular, the invention relates to an improved tube forming machine and method which utilizes new roll shapes and bending techniques which provide a number of advantages over prior art machines and methods.
Steel tubes have for many years been produced by forming an initially flat sheet or strip into a round shape using cage rolls, cluster rolls and fin-pass rolls, and eventually welding the edges of the sheet together to form a seam. Conventional equipment utilizing such rolls for the formation of steel tubing from strips can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,673,579 and 5,784,911.
Because a large component in the cost of producing steel tubing from sheet material is the cost of the sheet material itself, producers of steel tubing are often forced by competition to use the least expensive sheet steel available. However, inexpensive sheet stock often has more variability in the hardness, thickness and other important properties of the sheet as compared to more expensive sheet stock. When inexpensive steel sheet is used with traditional tube forming machines and techniques, a number of problems arise. Those problems include twisting of the sheet as it passes through the various rolling stands, difficulty in controlling the position of the sheet, and difficulty in feeding the sheet at the start of a continuous tube forming operation. Conventional tube forming machines require rolls to be changed frequently in order to form tubing having different sizes and wall thicknesses. It is therefore desirable to provide a tube forming machine which has improved ability to handle inexpensive sheet steel and which has increased capacity to make tubing from different forming rolls.
Important objectives in the design of tube forming equipment include ease of initial threading of the strip into and through the machine, consistent positioning of the sheet both at the forming stands and at the point in the process where the edges of the sheet are welded to form a seam, efficient handling of the strip without damaging either the edges or the surfaces of the sheet, and ability for the machine to handle a wide range of tubing sizes and wall thicknesses without changing the forming rolls.
The present invention utilizes three point bending techniques at various stages in the tube forming operation. One of the three point bending techniques of the present invention involves the use of a V-shaped roll and an opposing narrow roll, with the extent of curvature obtained depending on the relative position, i.e., the proximity, of the two roll. If the narrow roll is brought closer to the V-shaped roll with which it cooperates, a smaller diameter is obtained. Conversely, if the gap between the narrow roll and the V-shaped roll is increased, a larger diameter results. The present invention also utilizes a V-shaped bottom and top roll at an initial or pinch roll stand. The flat surfaces of opposing V-shaped rolls at the first stand in the machine results in improved gripping of the sheet for purposes of driving the sheet through subsequent stands. The resulting V-shaped profile of the sheet after it leaves the initial pinch roll stand is a strong shape for purposes of driving the sheet as it is threaded through the remaining non-driven stands. The initial forming stand is equipped with a duplex regulating system in which hydraulic pressure is used to pinch the sheet between the two V-shaped rolls. Each side of the top roll of the initial station may be independently controlled for purposes of adjusting pressures applied to each side of a sheet being processed to compensate for variability of thickness of the sheet material.
The tube forming machine described below also includes the use of a brimmed roll in which a circumferential slot is formed between two angled surfaces. A pair of brimmed rolls are used to engage the edges of a sheet, and the two brimmed rolls cooperate with a concave bottom roll to form the sheet into a smoothly rounded cross-section.
More detailed descriptions of the inventions disclosed herein are set forth below and will be better understood upon a reading of the following specification read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Tube forming machine using three point bending


A solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals includes a capacitor element having an anode lead drawn out therefrom in an offset manner, an anode terminal, a cathode terminal, and an insulating casing resin. At a rectangular mount surface having a first and a second side parallel to each other and forming an outer bottom portion, four terminal exposed portions are provided such that a terminal pair composed of the two terminal exposed portions are located at the first side and a terminal pair composed of the other two terminal exposed portions are located at the second side. The two terminal exposed portions located at the first side serve as mount-surface exposed portions of the anode terminal and the cathode terminal, while, the two terminal exposed portions located at the second side serve as dummy terminals that are not electrically connected to the capacitor element.

This invention relates to a solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals having electrodes directly drawn out to its board mount side.
Solid electrolytic capacitors using tantalum, niobium, or the like as a valve-action metal are small in size, large in capacitance, and excellent in frequency characteristic and have thus been widely used in decoupling circuits or power circuits of CPUs and so on. Following the recent development of portable electronic devices, there has been increasing commercialization of solid electrolytic capacitors with face-down terminals for the purpose of achieving low ESR (equivalent series resistance) and low ESL (equivalent series inductance) particularly at a high frequency range.
As a technique disclosed as such a solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals, there is an example of Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2002-367862). FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals according to prior art 1, wherein numeral 51 denotes a capacitor element, 52 an anode lead, 53 an anode terminal, 55 a cathode terminal, and 64 a casing resin.
However, as shown in FIG. 11, the distance between the cathode terminal 55 and the anode terminal 53 at the mount surface is long and thus the distance of a current path becomes long when the capacitor is mounted on an external circuit board, and therefore, the ESR and ESL of the entire capacitor cannot be said to be minimal.
As a technique disclosed for the purpose of achieving low ESR and low ESL at a higher frequency range, there is an example of Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2003-133177 (FIG. 15)). FIGS. 12A and 12B show a solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals according to prior art 2, wherein FIG. 12A is a longitudinal sectional view of the capacitor alone and FIG. 12B is a longitudinal sectional view in which the capacitor is mounted on a circuit board. Herein, 62 denotes a circuit board, 66 a solder, and 67 a land.
As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, in the solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals according to this technique, a cathode terminal 55 is provided so as to extend to the vicinity of an anode terminal 53 and thus the distance of a current path formed by the anode terminal 53, an anode lead 52, a capacitor element 51, and the cathode terminal 55 can be shortened with respect to the external circuit board 62, thereby enabling a further reduction in ESL. However, there is a problem that since a difference in area between a cathode exposed portion and an anode exposed portion increases, the solder 66 applied on the land 67 corresponding to a cathode terminal exposed portion 56 and thus having a larger area shrinks due to surface tension, so that the solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals mainly placed on this solder 66 is raised and subjected to position offset, thus resulting in occurrence of failure in appearance and, further, occurrence of connection failure on the anode terminal side.
As a technique disclosed as means for solving this problem, there is an example of Patent Document 3 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2004-349270). In this example, the shape as shown in FIGS. 13A to 13C and FIG. 14 is proposed as that of a solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals which can be well soldered to a circuit board or the like. FIGS. 13A to 13C and FIG. 14 show a solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals according to prior art 3, wherein FIG. 13A is a front view thereof, FIG. 13B is a bottom view thereof, FIG. 13C is a right side view thereof, and FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the state where the capacitor is mounted on a circuit board.
At the bottom surface of the solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals, a cathode terminal 55 has a first cathode exposed portion 58 exposed at a position near an anode exposed portion 54 where an anode terminal 53 is exposed, and a second cathode exposed portion 57 exposed at a position symmetrical to that of the anode exposed portion 54. As shown in FIG. 14, the cathode terminal 55 is provided with a concave portion by sputtering or the like between the first cathode exposed portion 58 and the second cathode exposed portion 57 and a casing resin is filled in the concave portion, thereby forming a cathode embedded portion 68.
The anode exposed portion 54 and the second cathode exposed portion 57 respectively extend to opposite ends (left and right ends in FIG. 13B) of the solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals in a draw-out direction (implant direction) of an anode lead 52 of a capacitor element 51. On the other hand, the first cathode exposed portion 58 has extending portions 59 respectively extending to opposite ends (upper and lower ends in FIG. 13B) in a direction perpendicular to the draw-out direction of the anode lead 52, using the bottom surface of the solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals as a reference.
However, in the solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals in which the terminal shapes exposed at the bottom surface are not completely symmetrical on the left and right sides, when fixing it to a circuit board 62 through a solder 66, there is a possibility that a difference in surface tension occurs between the left and right sides during contraction of the solder and hence the capacitor is not accurately fixed to lands 67 on the circuit board 62, resulting in position offset and thus in occurrence of failure in appearance. Further, since the first cathode exposed portion 58 has the extending portions 59, the capacitor has a structure in which terminal cut surfaces are exposed on its four sides and, therefore, all the four sides should be cut into predetermined shapes by dicing or the like, leading to an increase in the number of processing steps and thus to an increase in production cost of products.
The foregoing prior art problems are summarized as follows. In the prior art of Patent Document 1, although the exposed terminals are symmetrical on the left and right sides, the current path distance between the anode and the cathode becomes long and thus the ESR and ESL of the entire capacitor increase at the high frequency range. In the prior art of Patent Document 2, since the area of the cathode exposed portion is greater than that of the anode exposed portion, the anode side is raised during contraction of the solder and thus the connection failure tends to occur. According to the prior art of Patent Document 3, in the solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals in which the terminal shapes exposed at the mount surface are not completely symmetrical on the left and right sides, when fixing it to the circuit board through the solder, there is a possibility that a difference in surface tension occurs between the left and right sides during contraction of the solder and hence the capacitor is not accurately fixed to the lands on the circuit board, resulting in position offset and thus in occurrence of failure in appearance. Further, since the first cathode exposed portion has the extending portions, the capacitor has the structure in which the terminal cut surfaces are exposed on its four sides and, therefore, all the four sides should be cut into the predetermined shapes by dicing or the like, leading to an increase in the number of processing steps and thus to an increase in production cost of products.

Solid electrolytic capacitor with face-down terminals


According to an aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure a method of database connection management includes measuring a pattern of database connection use between a database and a client application. The pattern may include a number of database connections used by the client application under multiple conditions and a number of database connections in a connection pool under the plurality of conditions. The method may include identifying a first condition under which an increase in the number of database connections in the connection pool results in a decrease in connection delay. In response to existence of the first condition, the method may include adding a new database connection to the connection pool such that the new database connection is available to the client application in advance of a connection request for the new database connection.

In some computing systems or networks of computing systems, client application systems may communicate with database systems via database connections. The database connections may be established by supplying a connection string to a driver or a provider. The connection string may provide an address of the database system. After the database connection is established, it can be opened and closed relatively easily. However, it is time consuming to establish a new database connection. Accordingly, connection pools may be implemented. Database connections may be established and stored in the connection pools. When needed, a client application system may request a database connection. Instead of establishing a new database connection, the client application system may be assigned an existing database connection from the pool. After use, the client application system may return the database connection to the connection pool.

Intelligent database connection management


In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a microcontroller unit to store instructions into an execution queue. The apparatus also comprises an execution queue unit to generate a widely decoded functional execution instruction based on at least one instruction stored in the execution queue. Additionally, the apparatus comprises a functional unit to execute the widely decoded functional execution instruction asynchronous to the generation of the widely decoded functional execution instruction.

Communication networks and the number of users of such networks continue to increase. On-line sales involving both business-to-business and business to consumer over the Internet continues to proliferate. Additionally, the number of people that are telecommuting continues to grow. Both on-line sales and telecommuting are examples of usage of communication networks that typically involve private and sensitive data that needs to be protected during its transmission across the different communication networks.
Accordingly, security protocols, (e.g., Transport Layer Security (TLS), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 3.0, Internet Protocol Security (IPSec), etc.), have been developed to establish secure sessions between remote systems. These security protocols provide a method for remote systems to establish a secure session through message exchange and calculations, thereby allowing sensitive data being transmitted across the different communication networks to have a measure of security and/or untamperability.
Moreover, different operations related to encryption and decryption (such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Data Encryption Standard (DES), RC4, hashing, etc.) have been developed to allow for these secure communications using such different security protocols. One current approach for the processing of these data encryption/decryption operations is to have a general-purpose processor execute software applications associated with the different data ciphering operations. While flexible enough to typically accommodate the different permutations of a given data ciphering operation, such an approach is typically slow in its execution of the operation. Further, this approach can include a very complex set of microinstructions associated with a given encryption/decryption operation. Accordingly, a large amount of memory is needed to store these microinstructions. In turn, the processor designed to process such instructions is typically very complex.
Another conventional approach for the processing of these data ciphering operations is to have a specific hardware state machine for each of the different data ciphering operations. While typically faster in execution in comparison to the software approach described above, such an approach lacks the flexibility to handle variations on the different data ciphering operations. One approach to this lack of flexibility could include having a different hardware state machine for the different variations of the different data ciphering operations. However, this approach can be prohibitively too expensive, complex and can require too large of an area in terms of the size of the chip handling all of the different variations of the different ciphering operations.

Decoupled architecture for data ciphering operations


An anti-skid brake control system derives a projected vehicular speed representative data by summing a time dependent acceleration and deceleration value and a latched wheel speed data which is periodically updated. The time dependent acceleration and deceleration value is derived by integrating a vehicular acceleration/deceleration gradient indicative data. According to one particular feature of the invention, the integrated value is reset for minimizing error to be accumulated at a given timing. For detecting reset timing of the integrated value, the instantaneous wheel speed data is continuously compared with a predetermined zone which is set about the projected vehicular speed representative data. Namely, resetting of the integrated value is performed by detecting entry of the wheel speed data into the predetermined zone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an anti-skid brake control system for an automotive brake system. More specifically, the invention relates to an anti-skid brake control system including a technique for deriving a projected vehicular speed with an improved precision level which is satisfactory for establishing precise anti-skid control.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is well known that vehicular braking performance becomes optimum when wheel slippage becomes a certain value, e.g. 10% to 20%. Therefore, as is well known, anti-skid or anti-lock brake control is generally performed for maintaining the wheel slippage within a predetermined optimal range. For this, wheel slippage is monitored for controlling operational modes of a vehicular braking system for increasing braking pressure in APPLICATION mode, holding braking pressure constant in HOLD mode and decreasing braking pressure in RELEASE mode. In the vehicular anti-skid brake control, the APPLICATION mode is selected in normal operational condition for allowing linearly decelerating the vehicle according to increasing of the braking pressure. Anti-skid control is initiated upon detection of wheel deceleration during braking operation, in a greater magnitude than a preset deceleration threshold to switch operational mode of the brake system from APPLICATION mode to HOLD mode. Therefore, at the initial stage of an anti-skid brake control cycle, the braking pressure is held constant at an increased pressure at which the wheel deceleration increased across the wheel deceleration threshold is obtained, in HOLD mode. Because of the increased pressure in this HOLD mode, wheel speed further decelerates at a greater rate than deceleration of the vehicle speed. Therefore, wheel slippage which represents a ratio of difference of the vehicle speed and the wheel speed versus the vehicle speed, becomes greater than a target speed which represents the optimal wheel speed for obtaining optimum vehicular braking characteristics. When the wheel slippage becomes greater than a wheel slippage threshold and thus the wheel speed becomes decreased across the target speed, operational mode of the brake system is again switched into the RELEASE mode for decreasing the braking pressure for resuming the wheel speed toward the target speed. By this, the wheel speed resumes across the target speed. Therefore, wheel acceleration increases across a preset acceleration threshold. Then, the mode is again switched into the HOLD mode. Because of decreased braking pressure, the wheel speed overshoots to increase across the vehicle speed and then decelerated to the vehicle speed. Accordingly, the wheel acceleration again decreases across the acceleration threshold. Then, mode is switched to APPLICATION mode again.
In the anti-skid control set forth above, it becomes necessary to monitor the vehicle speed for deriving the wheel slippage. It is possible to directly measure the vehicle speed by means of an appropriate sensor, such as a doppler sensor. However, such sensor is unacceptably expensive and therefor is not practical for use in the anti-skid control system in view of the cost. Therefore, it is usual way for monitoring the vehicle speed in anti-skid control to latch a wheel speed upon initiation of anti-skid control as vehicle speed representing data, because upon initiation of the anti-skid control where the wheel deceleration increased across the wheel deceleration threshold, is approximately coincident with the vehicle speed. This vehicle speed representing data will be hereafter referred to as "projected speed". Based on the latched value, a vehicle speed represented data is projected utilizing a given vehicle deceleration indicative gradient which can be derived in various ways.
In another approach, the projected vehicular speed representative data has been derived on the basis of a longitudinal acceleration exerted on the vehicular body. In case that the longitudinal acceleration is used as a parameter for deriving the projected vehicular speed representative data, slop on the road can influence for monitoring longitudinal acceleration as will be naturally appreciated. For instance, the vehicle is in hill-climbing, the forward acceleration can be smaller than that of actual value due to influence of backward component of gravity force. On the other hand, when the vehicle is in down-hill driving condition, the forward acceleration can be greater than that of the actual value due to influence of the forward component of gravity force. In order to avoid influence of such gravity force in measurement of longitudinal acceleration for improving accuracy in derivation of the projected vehicular speed representative data, Japanese Patent Second (examined) Publication (Tokko) Showa 48-27710 proposes correction of the measured longitudinal acceleration value with a correction value which is derived on the basis of a road slop angle indicative data obtained immediately before initiation of vehicular braking operation.
Such prior proposal is not satisfactory because it cannot follow slop angle variation during vehicular braking operation. For instance, when the braking operation is performed on the flat road condition and the vehicle then enters into slopped road, correction value derived with respect to flat road may not satisfactorily compensate the gravity force component.
Additionally, in either case, the gradient data as well as the projected vehicular speed representative data may contain error even after improvement of the precision level. Such error may be accumulated through operation to cause malfunction in anti-skid control.

Anti-skid brake control system for automotive brake system including projection of vehicular speed representative data


An optical coupler having two refractive lenses for coupling an optoelectronic element and an optical medium to each other. One lens may be in contact with the optical medium. The refractive index of the one lens may be similar to the index of the optical medium. The optoelectronic element may be a light source or a detector. The light source may be a laser. The lenses may be glass ball lenses. One of the ball lenses may be a half ball lens. If the optical medium is an optical fiber, one of the lenses may a fiber stop for the fiber when inserted in a receptacle of the coupler.

The invention relates to optical couplers and particularly to such devices that couple optoelectronic elements and optical fiber. More particularly, the invention relates to couplers having lenses.
Several patent documents may be related to optical coupling between optoelectronic elements and optical media. They include U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,263 by Selli et al., issued Jul. 11, 2000, entitled "Active Device Receptacle" and owned by the assignee of the present application; U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,596 B1 by Cohen et al., issued Oct. 16, 2001, and entitled "Small Form Factor Optoelectronic Receivers"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,083 by Bennet, issued Nov. 25, 1997, and entitled "In-Line Unitary Optical Device Mount and Package therefore"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,959 B2, by Kuhn et al., issued Mar. 25, 2003, and entitled "Coupling Configuration for Connecting an Optical Fiber to an Optoelectronic Component"; which are herein incorporated by reference.
In the context of the invention, the optoelectronic element may be understood as being a transmitter or a receiver. When electrically driven, the optoelectronic element in the form of a transmitter or light source converts the electrical signals into optical signals that are transmitted as light signals. On receiving optical signals, the optoelectronic element in the form of a receiver or detector converts these signals into corresponding electrical signals that can be tapped off at the output. In addition, an optical fiber may be understood to be any apparatus for forwarding an optical signal with spatial limitation, in particular preformed optical fibers and so-called waveguides.
A problem with couplers may involve light reflected back to the light source. This may be an issue because, for instance, some fiber optic transmitters suffer from undesirable and performance degrading reflections from the face end of the optical fiber back into the coupled optoelectronic element device (e.g., a semiconductor laser). Here, the fiber's surface and facing surface of the optoelectronic element device form a Fabry-Perot cavity which may modulate the light from the laser transmitter or semiconductor laser and consequently produce unwanted fluctuations in the power coupled to the optical fiber. Further, the optical energy reflected directly into the laser cavity may cause additional noise in the laser's output. For these reasons, it would be desirable to reduce and minimize the return reflections from the fiber face in the coupler.

Pluggable optical optic system having a lens fiber stop


A system for facilitating a project between owners and contractors. The system includes a program for receiving owner, project and contractor data. The program determines a contractor rating for each of a plurality of contractors and a project rating for at least one project. The program then identifies contractors having a contractor rating that is compatible with the project rating. The program may further provide notifications, bid letting support, project finance support, project scheduling assistance, construction support and/or bond acquisition support.

When undertaking a new project, such as a construction project, an owner usually contacts a prime contractor or one or more subcontractors to perform the project. In the building industry, for example, a perspective owner may contact a prime contractor and convey to the prime contractor ideas regarding a new building. The prime contractor or an architect will then draft building plans and contact subcontractors to bid on various tasks to complete the building.
The contractor or owner must ensure that each of the contractors has the correct bonding (if necessary) or finances to complete the various tasks required to finish the building. The owner and/or prime contractor is also responsible for providing the subcontractors with change order notifications, bid letting notifications, project award notifications, and scheduling information. Also, the owners and/or prime contractors have to research various subcontractors to ensure that they are competent to complete the project. This research and notification process can be very costly, ineffective and time consuming. Furthermore, such research may not reveal the best subcontractor for a particular task.
An owner or prime contractor may also favor certain subcontractors or only rely on a few competent subcontractors for a plurality of projects. This may result in only a few subcontractors receiving all of the projects in a particular area. Such favoritism is disadvantageous to up-and-coming subcontractors and certain minority subcontractors. Accordingly, a need exists for an automated database system for identifying compatible subcontractors and projects. A need also exists for a system that facilitates the working relationship between the owner, primary contractor and subcontractors during the progression of a project.

System for facilitating a project between contractors and owners


A carbonated beverage container includes a bottle having a flexible sidewall of generally circular cross section, a cap for closing a top opening of the bottle, pairs of coupling elements provided on diametrically opposite portions of the sidewall respectively and configured to be pushed towards each other and couple together, thereby partially collapsing the bottle and expelling a predetermined amount of air therefrom. A method of preserving the taste of carbonated beverage in a container is also disclosed.

The present application relates to a carbonated beverage container and a method of preserving the taste of a carbonated beverage in a carbonated beverage container.
Carbonated beverages such as Coca-Cola™ are becoming more popular. Many families would buy family size bottles to satisfy the need of the entire family. However, the taste of carbonated beverage inside the bottle would change quite easily after the carbonated beverage bottle is open and stored in a refrigerator after a few days.
One existing method of solving the problem is the use of a Fizz Keeper. The Fizz Keeper is a pump connectable to a bottle neck to pump air into the bottle thereby increasing the pressure inside the bottle and keeping the amount of carbon dioxide inside the bottle. However, one disadvantage of this method is that it requires a user to pump air into the bottle many times and generate great pressure inside the bottle in order to prevent the escape of carbon dioxide from the bottle. Furthermore, it has been shown that the effect of Fizz Keeper can only last for a few hours.
The above description of the background is provided to aid in understanding a carbonated beverage container, but is not admitted to describe or constitute pertinent prior art to the carbonated beverage container disclosed in the present application, or consider any cited documents as material to the patentability of the claims of the present application.


A system that has a pseudorandom number generator and a mapping system. The pseudorandom number generator generates a random number that is mapped by the mapping system to an output value that is selected from a set of predetermined output values. To increase the randomness of the sequence of numbers generated by the pseudorandom number generator, a tap and/or seed value of the pseudorandom number generator can be varied.

Pseudorandom numbers have many applications in communications, testing, and radar systems. Pseudorandom numbers are usually generated as a sequence of numbers. When generating pseudorandom numbers, it is desirable that each pseudorandom number is maximal (random and doesn't repeat often) and uniform, (each number in the sequence occurs with the same probability).
A linear feedback shift register (LFSR) can be used for generating pseudorandom number sequences. The typical LFSR is a serial shift register that uses feedback taps, such as exclusive-or gates, at one or more of the memory cells to generate the pseudorandom states. If the LFSR is initialized in a non-zero state, it cycles through a sequence of states and eventually returns to its initial state. The sequence can be varied by changing the feedback taps, or by using a different seed value.
One problem that can occur with an LFSR is when the LFSR does not run its full sequence. Over the entire length of the sequence of the LFSR, the distribution will be uniform as all values will eventually occur. However, for a shorter subsequence, the codes generated can lack uniformity. Long strings of 0's or 1's can occur in a subsequence of less than the maximal sequence, causing non-uniformity. For example, a three bit LFSR can be used to pseudo-randomly generate two numbers [0,1] by taking the value of the least significant bit. For the full eight number sequence, zero will appear four times, and one will appear four times. However, for less than the full sequence, e.g. a six number subsequence, it is possible that either value (0 or 1) can appear twice as often as the other, depending on the seed used.
Another problem with using an LFSR is that a value produced by an LSFR cannot be used directly when the modulo is not a power of 2. This is because there will be values produced by the LFSR that are not to be included in the sequence. For example, if it is desired to generate a three number sequence, a two bit, or larger, LFSR can be used. However, the two-bit LFSR has four possible values; therefore, there can be a value generated in the sequence that cannot be used.

System and method for generating pseudorandom numbers


The invention relates to a chip-type solid elelctrolytic capacitor which uses a capacitor element having an anode lead protruding from one end face of an anode body of a valve metal. The capacitor element is covered by an insulating resin cover layer except a cathode end face and the protruding part of the anode lead. A cathode terminal is formed on the cathode end face and the resin cover layer in an area near the cathode end face, and an anode terminal is formed on the resin cover layer so as to make contact with the protruding anode lead. The anode terminal is made up of a conductive layer which is formed on the resin cover layer only in a limited area so as not to make contact with the anode lead and has a microscopically rough surface, a plating layer which is formed on the conductive layer and the resin cover layer in the area over the aforementioned end face of the anode body and covers the protruding anode lead and a solder layer formed on the plating layer. In the anode terminal the rough surface of the conductive layer enhances the adhesion of the overlaid plating layer, and the separation of the conductive layer from the anode lead eliminates the problem about different thermal expansion coefficients of the conductive layer and the anode lead. Therefore, when the chip-type capacitor is mounted on a printed circuit board the bonding strength is enhanced.

This invention relates to a chip-type solid electrolytic capacitor having an improved anode terminal.
In conventional chip-type solid electrolytic capacitors, the capacitor element is enclosed in an insulating resin cover layer. Usually the capacitor element uses a cylindrical (or prismatic) anode body made of a valve metal such as tantalum or aluminum, and a pin-like anode lead made of the same valve metal is planted into the anode body so as to protrude from one end face of the anode body. On the opposite end face and the cylindrical side face of the anode body there is a dielectric oxide layer formed by an anodization process, and the dielectric oxide layer is overlaid with a solid electrolyte layer, which is overlaid with a cathode conductor layer.
In rather primitive chip-type solid electrolytic capacitors, an external anode lead is soldered to the anode lead of the capacitor element and an external cathode lead to the cathode conductor layer of the element, and an insulating resin cover layer is formed by transfer molding so as to tightly enclose the entirety of the capacitor element except the extended end portions of the external anode and cathode leads. A disadvantage of this construction is the lowness of volumetric efficiency because of bulkiness of the resin cover layer in which the joints of the anode and cathode leads are embedded together with the capacitor element.
With the aim of reducing the overall size of a chip-type solid electrolytic capacitor and thereby raising volumetric efficiency, it has already been proposed to first cover the capacitor element with an insulating resin cover layer so as to leave the protruding anode lead and the cathode conduct layer on the opposite end face exposed and then form an anode terminal on the resin cover layer so as to make direct contact with the anode lead and a cathode terminal over the opposite end area so as to make direct contact with the exposed area of the cathode conductor layer. The anode terminal has a three-layer structure consisting of a conductive layer which lies on the surface of the resin cover layer and adheres to the protruding anode lead, a plating layer formed on the conductive layer and a solder layer on the plating layer. The conductive layer is formed by a thick-film process using a conductive paste. The overlying plating layer makes good adhesion to this conductive layer.
However, the anode terminal of the above described three-layer structure has a shortcoming. That is, the thermal expansion coefficient of the conductive layer (formed by using a conductive paste containing a binding resin) is larger than that of the anode lead (valve metal) by a factor of more than 10, so that there is a possibility of partial peeling of the conductive layer from the anode lead. Therefore, the electrical connection between the anode lead and the anode terminal is not sufficiently high in reliability, and there is a possibility of an increase in the dielectric loss of the capacitor.
To solve the above explained problem, there is a proposal of modifying the three-layer structure of the anode terminal to a two-layer structure by omitting the conductive layer. That is, in the modified anode terminal a plating layer makes direct contact with the anode lead, and the resin cover layer is overlaid with a solder layer. In this case there is little problem about the electrical connection between the anode Lead and the plating layer. However, the strength of adhesion of the anode terminal to the resin cover layer becomes weak since the plating layer is formed directly on a very smooth surface of the resin layer formed by molding. Therefore, when the chip-type capacitor is mounted on a printed circuit board by soldering the bonding strength of the capacitor chip is not sufficiently high.


The present invention describes a bacterium belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae which has L-cysteine-producing ability and has been modified to decrease the activity of a protein encoded by the d0191 gene. This bacterium is cultured in a medium, and L-cysteine, L-cystine, derivatives thereof, or a mixture thereof is collected from the medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing L-cysteine or related substances. More precisely, the present invention relates to a bacterium suitable for the production of L-cysteine or related substances and a method for producing L-cysteine or related substances utilizing such a bacterium. L-cysteine and L-cysteine-related substances are used in the fields of drugs, cosmetics, and foods.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Microorganisms which are able to produce L-cysteine are known, for example, a coryneform bacterium with increased intracellular serine acetyltransferase activity has been described (Japanese Patent Laid-open (Kokai) No. 2002-233384). Increasing L-cysteine-producing ability by incorporating a mutant serine acetyltransferase which is desensitized to feedback inhibition by L-cysteine has also been described (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 11-155571, U.S. Patent Published Application No. 20050112731, U.S. Pat. No. 6,218,168).
Furthermore, microorganisms in which the ability to produce L-cysteine is enhanced by suppressing the L-cysteine decomposition system are also known, for example, coryneform bacteria or Escherichia bacteria have been reported in which the activity of cystathionine-β-lyase (U.S. Patent Published Application No. 20050112731), tryptophanase (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-169668), or O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase B (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-245311) is attenuated or deleted.
Furthermore, the ydeD gene, which encodes the YdeD protein, participates in secretion of the metabolic products of the cysteine pathway (Dabler et al., Mol. Microbiol., 36, 1101-1112 (2000)). Other techniques for enhancing L-cysteine-producing ability are known, including by increasing expression of the mar locus, emr locus, acr locus, cmr locus, mex gene, bmr gene, or qacA gene. These are all genes which encode proteins which function to secrete toxic substances out of cells (U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,663). The emrAB, emrKY, yojIH, acrEF, or cusA genes are also known (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-287333).
Furthermore, an L-cysteine-producing Escherichia coli has been reported in which the activity of the positive transcriptional control factor of the cysteine regulon encoded by the cysB gene is increased (International Patent Publication WO01/27307).
The d0191 gene is a novel gene of Pantoea ananatis which was found by the inventors of the present invention. Although presumably homologous genes to d0191 have been found in various bacteria by homology searches, the functions of all of them are unknown, and their relation with L-cysteine production is also unknown.

L-cysteine producing bacterium and a method for producing L-cysteine


Element isolation regions are first formed on a silicon substrate. Active regions other than the isolation regions are formed with an oxide film. Then, a first oxidization prevention layer, a semiconductor layer and a second oxidization prevention layer are formed on the substrate in that order. A resist pattern having a hole in a P-channel MOS transistor formation region is formed. The second oxidization prevention layer in the P-channel MOS transistor formation region is removed and an impurity is ion-implanted using the resist pattern as a mask. After removing the resist pattern, the substrate is thermally treated in the presence of an oxidizer substance to transform an exposed portion of the semiconductor layer into an oxidized semiconductor layer and at the same time to diffuse the implanted impurity in the substrate to thereby form an N-well. After removing the remaining second oxidization prevention layer and the semiconductor layer located under the remaining second oxidization prevention layer, an impurity is ion-implanted into the substrate using the oxidized semiconductor layer as a mask, to thereby form a P-well in a N-channel MOS transistor formation region of the substrate. Then the P-channel and N-channel MOS transistors are formed in respective regions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device producing method, and more particularly to a method of producing a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional CMOS device production involves the processes of well formation, element isolation region formation, N-channel transistor channel-stop implantation, N-channel transistor channel implantation, P-channel transistor channel implantation, gate electrode formation, LDD (Lightly Doped Drain) N.sup.- implantation, LDD P.sup.- implantation, source and drain N.sup.+ implantation, source and drain P.sup.+ implantation, contact hole formation, and metal wiring. Among those processes there are about twelve processes which require use of a mask.
FIGS. 1(a) to 1(f) show an example of such a conventional CMOS device production method, wherein step (d) in FIG. 1(a) is continued on step (e) in FIG. 1(e). The conventional method requires at least three masking or lithography processes before the gate electrode formation starts, as described below.
In more detail, a 60 nm thick silicon oxide film 52 and a 120 nm thick silicon nitride film 53 are formed on a surface of a silicon substrate 51 at step (a).
Then at step (b) a resist pattern 54 having an opening in an N-well formation region N is formed through photolithography, and the silicon nitride film 53 in the region N is removed. Subsequently, about 1.1.times.10.sup.13 cm.sup.-2 of phosphorus ions are implanted using the resist pattern 54 as a mask.
Then at step (c) the resist pattern 54 is removed and the substrate is subjected to an oxidization process to form a 390 nm thick oxide film 55 in the region N. At this time, an N-well 56 is formed in the substrate 51. After removing the remaining silicon nitride film 53, about 1.2.times.10.sup.13 cm.sup.-2 of boron ions are implanted. The ion implantation energy is so set that the ions do not pass through the oxide film 55, whereby the boron ions are implanted only in a silicon substrate region P which is not covered with the oxide film 55.
Then at step (d) the substrate is thermally treated to form a P-well 57 having a depth of 1.5 .mu.m.
According to this conventional method, the P-well 57 is formed without requiring a resist pattern formation step and using the oxide film as a mask, that is, the P-well is self-aligned. However, disadvantageously a difference in level of 0.17 .mu.m takes place at the boundary between the N-well and the P-well.
Then at step (e) an oxide film 58 and a silicon nitride film 59 are formed on the entire surface of the silicon substrate 51. Subsequently, using a second resist pattern (not shown) having an opening for each element isolation region 60, the silicon nitride film 59 in each element isolation region 60 is removed. In order to increase the concentration of boron in the P-well 57 underneath each element isolation region 60, a third resist pattern 61 is formed which has an opening in each element isolation region 60 of the P-well 57, and about 3.times.10.sup.12 cm.sup.-2 of boron ions are implanted from above the resist pattern 61.
The reason for the implantation of boron ions in the P-well is as follows. Boron ions constituting the P-well tend to be segregated from the P-well into an oxide film during the formation of the oxide film through heat-treatment. Therefore, when the element isolation regions are formed by a LOCOS method involving a heat-treatment after completion of the wells as in the conventional method described herein, boron ions in the P-well are segregated into the oxide layer of each element isolation region and the boron concentration decreases at a portion below the LOCOS oxide layer. This in turn causes a field inversion because positive electric charges exist at the interface between the oxide layer and silicon. In order to prevent this from occurring, in the conventional method, boron ions are preliminarily implanted in portions corresponding to the element isolation regions in only the P-well to compensate the decrease in the boron concentration during the heat treatment of the substrate.
For the above reason, an extra dosage of impurity was implanted only in the element isolation regions in the P-well. It is noted that the ion implantation energy is set to such a level that the boron ions do not pass through the silicon nitride film 59 in order to prevent the boron from entering into the active regions.
At step (f), after removing the resist pattern 61, the whole substrate is subjected to an oxidization process to form an oxide film 62 having a thickness of 0.4 .mu.m as isolator. At this time, a heavily boron-doped region 63 being a channel-stop layer is formed under each element isolation region in the P-well. Subsequently, the oxide film 5 is removed and an oxide film 64 is newly formed on the top surface of the substrate, and about 3.times.10.sup.12 cm.sup.-2 of boron ions are implanted for controlling the threshold voltage of transistors to be formed.
In the process of forming source and drain diffusion layers after the gate electrode formation, all the ion implantation processes are completed in at least two masking or lithography processes.
There is also proposed a seven mask CMOS process using a special oxide deposition method (K. Kanba et al., "A 7 Mask CMOS Technology Utilizing Liquid Phase Selective Oxide Deposition" EDM 91, treatise No. 25.1.)
As described above, the conventional method has an advantage that self-alignment can be used for the formation of the P-well. However, since the formation process of the element isolation regions involving a heat-treatment of the substrate follows completion of the wells, an additional ion-implantation process is required for formation of a channel-stop layer for the above-described reason. This additional ion-implantation requires an additional masking or lithography process.
The number of steps required for producing an LSI is approximately proportional to the number of masking processes. Increase in number of processes leads to the reduction of yield, which in turn results in increase of prices more than the natural increase of production costs due to the mere increase in number of processes.
If it is attempted to produce the channel-stop layer without using the masking process for defining the channel-stop region, each element isolation region in the P-well is required to have a significantly great width. Furthermore, since a difference in level takes place between the N-well region and the P-well region, a focus margin in an optical exposure process for pattern formation is reduced, which disadvantageously causes a constriction to take place in a pattern which intersects a stepped portion formed between the wells due to the difference in level. Furthermore, since the impurities are distributed in the substrate through diffusion in both the wells, it is impossible to achieve an accurate control of the distribution profile of impurities in the channel section of each transistor. Accordingly, it is impossible to take appropriate measures against the short channel effect of the transistor.

Semiconductor device producing method requiring only two masks for completion of element isolation regions and P- and N-wells


A new cultivar of Pelargonium particularly characterized by white flowers with purple eyes, an ivy trailing habit with medium vigor, good outdoor performance and tolerance to heat and rain, is disclosed.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Pelargonium, botanically known as Pelargonium peltatum, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'KLEPP07195'. 'KLEPP07195' was discovered as a seedling resulting from a cross in July 2003 in Stuttgart, Germany between the female parent, the proprietary Pelargonium plant 'CC-W 04' (unpatented) and the male parent, the proprietary Pelargonium plant 'P 22 061' (unpatented). A single plant selection was subsequently chosen for further evaluation and for asexual propagation.
The new cultivar was created in 2003 in Stuttgart, Germany and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings in Stuttgart, Germany over a 4 and one-half-year period. 'KLEPP07195' has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations.
Plant Breeder's Rights for this cultivar were applied for in Switzerland on Jul. 6, 2007. 'KLEPP07195' has not been made publicly available more than one year prior to the filing date of this application.