A method, apparatus and program product for the dynamic reallocation of shared processing resources in a computing system is provided. The method/apparatus/program product attempts to allocate the shared processing resource among the two or more logical partitions in the computing system based on a current utilization of the shared processing resource among each of the two or more logical partitions and a current utilization of shared processing resource for the computing system as a whole. More specifically, the shared processing resource is reallocated from logical partitions having a relatively lower current utilization of their owned portion of the shared processing resource to logical partitions having a relatively high current utilization of their owned portion of the shared processing resource.

Logical partitioning (LPAR) is a mode of machine operation where multiple copies of operating systems run within a single computer system. A logical partition is a collection of machine resources that are capable of running an operating system. The resources include processors (and associated caches), main storage, and I/O devices. Partitions operate independently and are logically isolated from other partitions. In other words, each logical partition is capable of operating as if it were a separate computer system. Each logical partition can be independently reset, initially loaded with an operating system that may be different for each logical partition, and operated with different software programs using different input/output (I/O) devices. In this environment, install, initial program load (IPL), power down, and partition failures all occur without impacting other partitions on the system.
IBM Corporation began the study of logical partitioning for the S/370 architecture in 1976. The project proved that logical partitioning was a workable concept. In 1988, LPAR was first implemented on IBM's S/390 systems and has been available on IBM mainframes for more than a decade. Examples of logically partitioned computing systems are described in, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,903, issued on Jan. 14, 1986, U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,541, issued Jun. 27, 1980, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,040, issued on Oct. 8, 1996.
Over that period, LPAR evolved from a predominantly physical partitioning scheme, based on hardware boundaries, to one that allows for virtual and shared resources, with load balancing capabilities. Today, all major computer manufacturers offer some form of partitioning.
The factors that have driven the evolution of mainframe partitioning over the past decade are now at work in the server system arena. Partitioning is fast becoming a necessity there also. It was estimated that during 2001, all of the major players in the server marketplace offered some degree of partitioning.
As an example, IBM's iSeries servers, and their AS/400 predecessors have offered LPAR technology since 1999 via OS/400. Logical partitioning implementation on iSeries and AS/400 servers is an adaptation of the S/390 logical partitions concept, with flexible and granular allocation of system resources. It also offers flexibility in allocating interactive performance along with high-speed internal communications between partitions.
Logical partitioning offers several advantageous features. For example, logical system partitions reduce the number of physical systems that must be managed. The benefits include easier administration through a single system console and flexibility to shift resources from one partition to another. This is a benefit as applications grow, or when demand reaches peak levels requiring additional resources. Also, workloads that cannot fully use a large system (because of contention, for example), may perform better when the workload is run as multiple images using partitions.
A partitioned system can be shared by multiple projects or departments, simplifying cost justification and cost accounting requirements. Additionally, some workloads that may not run well together on a single machine can be isolated from each other through the use of partitions. For example, there could be a general purpose interactive and batch workload composed of payroll, forecasting and planning, while another workload handles inventory control. Logical partitioning also provides an effective solution for using systems dedicated as an Internet firewall.
Also, in a scenario where some partitions on one system are backed up by partitions on a different system, logical partitioning can make fail-over situations less strenuous. A fail-over occurs when the main system encounters a problem and a backup system takes control in place of the main system. In the case of a software failure confined to a partition, only the workload of that partition shifts over to the backup partition on the second physical system. In a non-partitioned scenario, the entire system will have to fail-over.
Logical partitioning also enables customers having separate production and test environments to continue their test and developmental work without negatively impacting production work. Finally, logical partitions may be used to move an operating system or application software to updated versions. The new software can be tested in isolation before being deployed in a production environment.
One important aspect of a logically partitioned system is the management of workload running within the partitions of that system. In S/390 systems, for example, workload managers are used to manage the workload within and among the partitions. In the AS/400 and i-Series platforms, this function is performed by the hypervisor. The workload manager/hypervisor attempts to balance the workload of the partitions by moving work to the physical resources of the system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,986,137, entitled "Method, System and Program Products for Managing Logical Processors of A Computing Environment, filed Sep. 28, 1999, provides dynamic management and adjustment of the logical processors among logical partitions in a computing environment. This dynamic adjustment is in response to the workload of the logical partition. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,986,137, the determination of whether a logical partition's resources will be adjusted is made by comparing the result of a predefined equation for the partition against one or more predefined thresholds. This resource adjustment only considers a partition's own processor utilization when determining the amount of processing units it should receive.
It is desirable to enhance the dynamic adjustment of processor resource among a plurality of logical partitions within a computing system by not only taking into consideration the processor utilization of a single partition in isolation to the rest of the partitions within the computing system, but the processor utilization of all partitions within the computing system. In this way the overall system condition of the computing system is considered so that resources assigned to one partition can be re-allocated to another partition that needs them more.

Dynamic processor redistribution between partitions in a computing system

International Business Machines Corporation


A hydrostatic journal bearing system for a rotor or shaft includes bearing pads which are self-aligned and self-adjusting. The self-adjusting aspect includes providing for radial movement of the bearing pads. The self-aligning feature includes providing for pivoting of the bearing pads. In one embodiment a pressurizable piston area provides a radial load to establish a substantially constant clearance between the bearing pad and the rotor. Spring preload of the bearing pads, if provided, prevents relative motion between the bearing and shaft, e.g., during transportation and storage.

In many areas of bearing design, and particularly in the field of high pressure turbo machinery, the design of the rotor-bearing system is of great importance to the performance of the machine. Certain previous designs have provided rolling element bearings. However, at high speeds and high pressures, the load capacities and stiffness limits of rolling element bearings are exceeded and performance and life comprises are made. An example of this situation is the space shuttle main engine (SSME) high pressure fuel pump. In this device, ball-bearings were placed at the outboard ends of the shaft to accommodate bearing speed (DN) limits, which lead to super critical (i.e., operating above critical speed) rotor design. In turn, the super critical rotor design resulted in an unstable rotor which was subject to destructive and unpreventable subsynchronous whirl and to large radial deflections.
Because rolling elements bearings are subject to speed limitations, load capacity limitations, and short life, design of high performance rotating devices such as high pressure turbo pumps has included work on fluid film bearings. Fluid film bearing design has centered around two categories of devices, namely those that rely on the dynamics of the fluid, such as those created from the motion of the rotor, to create the desired bearing film (generally referred to as "hydrodynamic" bearings) and those that provide a flow of fluid, generally pressurized fluid from an external source, to create the bearing, with withdrawal of the provided fluid (referred to as "hydrostatic" bearings) often, with recycling of the withdrawn fluid. Although hydrodynamic bearings are useful in many applications, certain disadvantages are associated with hydrodynamic bearings, particularly in the context of high pressure turbo machinery. In applications where a fluid has a low viscosity (such as cryogenic fluids like liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen) the pressure generated by hydrodynamic fluid film bearings is very low (typically having values such as 50 P.S.I., 345 kPa).
The present invention is directed to a fluid film hydrostatic bearing, rather than hydrodynamic bearings. Previous hydrostatic bearings have been associated with a number of problems. In previous hydrostatic bearings, particularly those used in connection with low viscosity fluids, designs intended to produce high direct stiffness (e.g., 3.times.10.sup.6 lb./in.) have also produced undesirably high cross-coupled stiffness (such as about 3.times.10.sup.5 lb./in. or more). Stiffness has particular importance in supercritical devices.
Requirements for bearing performance in connection with subcritical rotor speeds are very different from those used for super critical rotor speeds. Turbo pumps such as those for pumping liquid hydrogen, require high speed, and often super critical rotor speeds to generate the desired pressure. In subcritical designs, the bearing stiffness can be designed very high and can be designed to provide approximately 20% critical speed margin above operating speed. A super critical design, however, typically requires operating between the second and third critical speed and still retaining some margin. As a result, the stiffness requirement has a small range with both a minimum and a maximum bearing stiffness.
Furthermore, the damping characteristics of previous hydrostatic bearings used in connection with low viscosity fluids has been limited. When high pressure turbo machinery used in connection with low viscosity fluids is designed to achieve a small clearances for the hydrostatic bearings, the scale of shaft deflections and tolerances are undesirably large relative to the operating clearances of the bearings. At the high pressures and speeds at which hydrogen turbo pumps operate, deflection of the shaft and housing have a magnitude which is significant relative to the hydrostatic bearing clearances.

Hydrostatic rotor bearing having a pivoted pad


In some embodiments, techniques for secure data entry comprise receiving a request for secure data entry associated with a data recipient; receiving an intended data recipient, and denying the request for secure data entry if it is determined that the data recipient does not match the intended data recipient.

Modern computer usage requires that data be provided to a variety of entities, both local and remote, such as over the internet. This has given rise to fraudulent obtaining of data, for example via identity theft such as "phishing." Current approaches do not effectively prevent this from occurring.
Existing ways to provide data do not provide a guarantee of who may obtain the data. Data may be misused by a party who should not have access to the data. Examples of such data include passwords, financial identifiers such as credit card numbers and bank account numbers, and personal information such as social security numbers and driver's license numbers. Additionally, input intercepting hardware and software such as keyloggers and screenloggers can compromise data.
Further complicating the task of providing security with respect to the intended recipient of data, users tend to ignore confirmation screens and automatically approve most actions that are called to their attention.
It would be useful to ensure that provided data is received and/or usable only by an intended recipient of the data. It would further be useful to do so in a manner that ensures that users have reviewed the intended data recipient in a meaningful manner.


An image display device includes a laser source for emitting a laser beam, an image forming element which uses the laser beam to emit image light for displaying an image, a first diffraction element for diffracting the image light, and a controller for controlling a display position of the image on the basis of a wavelength of the laser beam and a temperature of the first diffraction element.

There are various proposed image display devices configured to display an image by means of laser beams generated by laser sources such as laser diodes. An electronic printing device (laser printer or copier), which scans a beam to form an image, is exemplified as the image display device. A photo-plotter, which directly irradiates recording paper with red, green and blue laser beams to burn-in a photo, is exemplified as another image display device. A projector, which irradiates a screen, instead of the aforementioned recording paper, with red, green and blue laser beams in order to display an image, is exemplified as yet another image display device. Another projector, which is used as an image display device, irradiates a two-dimensional modulator such as an ultra-small liquid crystal element or digital mirror device to display an image.
Semiconductor laser diodes (LD) and semiconductor light emitting diodes (LED) are exemplified as laser sources used for the aforementioned various image display devices. It is known that temperature rises of light emitting elements such as semiconductor laser diodes (LD) and semiconductor light emitting diodes (LED) shift the central wavelength of the emission spectrum toward a longer wavelength range or change the spectrum shape itself. It is also known that specific semiconductor laser sources and light emitting diodes change the central wavelength or spectrum shape in response to the input current value.
Patent Document 1 discloses an LED drive method for suppressing the emission spectrum variations during adjusting LED brightness of the projector. According to Patent Document 1, several light quantity control modes are switched in response to analysis results about color components of image signals.
Patent Document 2 discloses a method for preventing the temperature rise of the light source from shifting the central wavelength of the emission spectrum to a long wavelength range. According to Patent Document 2, the light source is pulse-modulated. A ratio of a turn-on period to a turn-off period of the laser source is adjusted to suppress the temperature rise of the light source. As a result, it becomes less likely to shift the wavelength.
Patent Document 3 discloses a head-mounted display provided with a hologram mirror. The disclosed technologies in Patent Document 3 aim to decrease variations in diffraction efficiency and diffraction angle of the hologram mirror, which are caused by the wavelength shift that is induced by temperature changes of the laser source. Patent Document 3 teaches a method for dissipating heat from the light source to maintain a constant temperature of the laser source and a method for providing several different light sources in the central wavelength.
The disclosed technologies in the aforementioned Patent Documents 1 and 2 contain problems about control under actual usage conditions. Under the actual usage conditions, the wavelength shifts caused by temperature variations go along with input power variations. Therefore, it is difficult to suppress variations in the emission spectrum and prevent the central wavelength of the emission spectrum from shifting.
Variations in the current supplied to a laser source with a narrow spectrum band may widen the spectrum band. Therefore, it has not been verified whether or not only the wavelength shift caused by temperature is compensated by the input current.
Variations in wavelength shift may not be suppressed only by the temperature control of the light source suggested in the technologies disclosed in Patent Document 3. In addition, the disclosed technologies in Patent Document 3 require several different light sources in the central wavelength of the emission spectrum. Therefore, the disclosed technologies in Patent Document 3 are also problematic in terms of cost.    Patent Document 1: JP 2008-102442 A    Patent Document 2: JP 2009-99701 A    Patent Document 3: JP 2007-226190 A


The present disclosure is directed to a portable lighting device having an external switch configured to allow a user to control and/or configure the functionality portable lighting device while the light is in use and without the need for extra equipment. In one aspect, a portion of a switch may be configured to control some functionality provided by the light, while another portion of the switch may be configured to control the remaining functions. In another aspect, the circuit board may include a microcontroller which includes an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). Advantageously, the EEPROM may function to save any settings and/or modes configured by the user such that the settings/modes do not need to be reset after the portable lighting device is turned off and then back on.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure is directed to a portable lighting device suitable for the general public. For example, a cyclist may benefit from the use of the portable lighting device to ensure that he/she is visible to nearby pedestrians, other riders or motorists.
2. Description of Related Art
There are approximately a billion bicycles in existence in the world today. Each year, over a hundred million new bicycles are produced. The people that own and ride these bicycles range from recreation riders peddling for pleasure or health, professional riders racing for a career, or individuals who ride a bicycle as a primary form of transportation. Accordingly, the bicycling industry is constantly improving available technology so that riders can use their bicycles more efficiently, more safely and the like.
Conceivably, a substantial segment of bike riders use their bicycles after dark. Indeed, bicycle lighting remains an important aspect of bike riding. A good bicycle light serves many functions. For example, riders who otherwise would be afraid of being struck by a vehicle because they are not visible in the dark may be encouraged to ride at night. Alternatively, some riders who use bicycles as a form of transportation may be able to pursue jobs that require travel at night. The possibilities that a bicycle light provides a rider may be endless.
Bicycle light technology has been improving in recent years. More particularly, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have become more and more popular with bike enthusiasts because they increase lighting at a reduced size and weight. However, current bicycle lights powered by LEDs are still lacking in functionality. For example, as darkness falls, it would be advantageous for the light to increase in brightness, but during dusk or early nightfall, an overly bright light might not be efficient and may unnecessarily reduce battery life. Accordingly, there is a need for an adjustable portable LED-based light system that provides improved functionality.


An air pump includes a body being composed of two semi-housings. A sleeve is received in an opening at a top of the body. A rim is formed at a top of the sleeve and an annular recess is defined at a bottom of the sleeve. By fasteners through the rim, the sleeve is secured in the body. A motor is mounted on the body for driving a gear assembly in the body. A piston has a movable block movably received in the sleeve and a linkage eccentrically connected to the gear assembly. A discharge valve with a nozzle is mounted on the sleeve for discharging compressed air out from the nozzle. Whereby, the sleeve can be made with a small thickness, so its cost is low. Moreover, it is easy to install the sleeve in the correct position to ensure the piston to smoothly reciprocate in the sleeve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air pump, and more particularly to an air pump which is easily installed.
2. Description of Related Art
An air pump for inflating tires is generally composed of a body and a motor mounted on the body. The body has a gear assembly and a piston provided therein. The gear assembly has two gears engaged with each other, wherein a first gear is mounted on an output axle of the motor, and a second gear is eccentrically connected to the piston by a linkage. The piston is movably received in a sleeve mounted in an opening at a top of the body. A one-way discharge valve is mounted on the sleeve and in communication with the sleeve.
When the motor is actuated, the gear assembly is rotated to reciprocate the piston in the sleeve, so air flows in the body and is compressed in sleeve and then discharge out from a nozzle of the valve.
However, in assembly, the sleeve is directly installed in the opening in tight fit. Therefore, the sleeve should be formed with a large thickness of inner wall for ensuring good roundness of the sleeve, so the sleeve has a high cost.
Furthermore, because the sleeve is tightly received in the opening, it is difficult to control the sleeve installed in the correct position, so the piston is not coaxial with the sleeve. Thus, air in the chamber may leak out to cause an inadequate air capacity. In the reciprocation of the piston, the friction between the piston and sleeve is large so that a noise of the piston are great. Therefore, it is easy to wear out the sleeve after being used for a short term.
Therefore, the invention provides an air pump to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


A downhole control method for use in a wellbore that includes deploying a first stand-alone hydraulic reservoir downhole; measuring a first downhole fluid parameter; and actuating a first inflow control device, based on the first measured downhole fluid parameter, using the first stand-alone hydraulic reservoir. In one aspect, the first stand-alone hydraulic reservoir and the first inflow control device comprise an open-hole completion system.

After a well is drilled and a target reservoir has been encountered, completion and production operations are performed. Often, a casing will extend within the wellbore. A lower completion string that includes a plurality of hydraulically actuated valves and corresponding sensors may then be lowered into and positioned within the casing. The casing will generally be perforated to allow formation fluids to enter the casing and flow into the lower completion string via the hydraulically actuated valves. The sensors may monitor downhole fluid parameters, and the hydraulically actuated valves may be activated based on the measured downhole fluid parameters. Generally, a hydraulic system and a power source is located at the surface of the well, from which hydraulic lines and electrical lines extend downhole to the valves and sensors. Thus, often miles of hydraulic lines must be pressurized to actuate each of the valves, which may delay response of the valves and increase expense associated with the completion and production operations. Similarly, miles of electrical lines may be run from the surface to the sensors or to other components of the lower completion string. Additionally, since the lower completion string has an inner diameter that is less than an inner diameter of the casing, the lower completion string limits the flow rate at which the well fluids may flow towards the surface of the well.

Casing-based intelligent completion assembly


A food freezer having a thermally insulated enclosure and an endless conveyor having a loading section, a food freezing section and an unloading section. Blowers circulate gas throughout the interior of the enclosure, and devices for injecting liquid CO.sub.2 to preferably cause CO.sub.2 snow particles to impinge upon the food products on the belt are located at selected positions about the belt and may be at various vertical levels, some of which are preferably at least slightly above the belt. By piping the liquid CO.sub.2 so that it flows only upward and/or horizontally toward the spray nozzles within the thermally insulated enclosure, any solid CO.sub.2 that may accumulate adjacent the upstream side of the spray nozzle orifices is melted by CO.sub.2 vapor which gravitates upward in the vertical piping.

There are many advantages to cryogenic freezing of food products which have come to light in the past several decades, and in a number of instances, carbon dioxide is the cryogen of choice for efficient and economical cryogenic freezing applications. Cryogenic carbon dioxide food freezers often utilize liquid carbon dioxide under pressure sufficient to maintain it in the liquid state and supply it to spray nozzles through which it is injected into the interior of a thermally insulated enclosure wherein the food products to be frozen are delivered to a freezing region, as by being transported on an endless conveyor or the like. In a CO.sub.2 food freezer, the low temperatures which can be achieved by the creation of solid CO.sub.2, can create a tendency for liquid CO.sub.2 in the lines leading to the spray nozzles to freeze, particularly at times when there is no flow or only very low flow. Gassing systems have been devised and utilized to clear the lines of liquid CO.sub.2 at certain times to prevent such freezing.
Freezing of food products is typically accomplished by heat transfer to the colder gas that is being circulated past the food products, although some heat may be withdrawn by direct removal to a vaporizing cryogen at the surface of such a food product. Accordingly, the movement of the gas and its velocity become important in accomplishing efficient freezing of the food products, and one or more blowers is generally always provided to assure the food products are exposed to and in contact with the circulating cold vapor.
U.S. Pat. No 4,356,707, in FIGS. 10-12, shows cabinet freezers including one having a spiral or helical conveyor wherein CO.sub.2 injectors fed from an upper liquid CO.sub.2 source are located in corner regions of the cabinet to inject CO.sub.2 snow and cold vapor and to induce additional vapor flow generally horizontally and in a direction concurrent with the movement of the food products along the helical path. U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,110 shows a cryogenic food freezer wherein liquid CO.sub.2 from an upper supply line 38 is injected through nozzles and discharged countercurrently into streams of moving gas or vapor from fans to effect rapid vaporization of the injected CO.sub.2. U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,848 shows a food freezer wherein a header 82 extending along the roof of a freezer enclosure supplies spray nozzles that inject CO.sub.2 into discharge streams from vertically elongated blowers having vane-carrying squirrel cage rotors which rotate about vertical axes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,394 shows a spiral freezer designed for cold gas to flow through the various regions of a helical belt by driving a center drum of circular cross-section having both its axial ends open and having a varied perforation pattern in its sidewall wherein gas sucked from the interior of the drum by a motor-driven is fan is discharged past a plurality of injectors in the top wall of the freezer where CO.sub.2 vapor is injected to effect cooling of the gaseous atmosphere.
When liquid CO.sub.2 is injected through spray nozzles located within a thermally insulated enclosure, it is possible for solid cryogen to begin to form in the lines leading to the nozzles as by freezing liquid CO.sub.2 which is in contact with the cold metal surfaces of the lines within such cold environment and/or the nozzles, which can cause the nozzle orifices to clog. Moreover, there is always the possibility that small amounts of CO.sub.2 snow will also form in the lines through momentary pressure drops, and because of the cold environment, such snow will be relatively slow to redissolve in liquid CO.sub.2 and will generally be carried along to the snow nozzles where buildup and blockage can occur.
Inefficiencies result from such clogged spray nozzles in a freezer, and accordingly, solutions to such problems were sought.


An aircraft tire has an inflation pressure greater than 9 bar and a deflection greater than 30%. The tire includes a crown, two sidewalls and two beads, a carcass reinforcement anchored in the two beads and a crown reinforcement. The carcass reinforcement includes at least one circumferential alignment of reinforcement elements and the mechanism for anchoring the reinforcement elements within each bead includes circumferentially oriented reinforcement elements axially bordering the circumferential alignments of said reinforcement elements of the carcass reinforcement. The reinforcement elements of the carcass reinforcement and the circumferentially oriented reinforcement elements are separated from each other by a bonding rubber mix of very high elasticity modulus. The circumferentially oriented reinforcement elements are in the form of cables having a penetrability of between 80 and 100%, the breaking load of the cables being greater than 150 daN, and the cables having an elongation at break greater than 4%.

The invention relates to an aircraft tire. Aircraft tires are distinguished in particular by the combination of an inflation pressure greater than 9 bar and a relative deflection greater than 30%.
The deflection of a tire is defined by the radial deformation of the tire, or variation in the radial height, when it changes from a non-loaded state to a statically loaded state, under rated load and pressure conditions.
It is expressed in the form of a relative deflection, defined by the ratio of this variation in the radial height of the tire to half the difference between the external diameter of the tire and the maximum diameter of the rim measured on the hook. The external diameter of the tire is measured statically in a non-loaded state at the rated pressure.
The reinforcement armature or reinforcement of tires and in particular of aircraft tires is currently—and most frequently—constituted by stacking one or more plies conventionally referred to as "carcass plies", "crown plies", etc. This manner of designating the reinforcement armatures originates from the manufacturing process, which consists of producing a series of semi-finished products in the form of plies, provided with cord reinforcing threads which are frequently longitudinal, which are subsequently assembled or stacked in order to build a tire blank. The plies are produced flat, with large dimensions, and are subsequently cut according to the dimensions of a given product. The plies are also assembled, in a first phase, substantially flat. The blank thus produced is then shaped to adopt the toroidal profile typical of tires. The semi-finished products referred to as "finishing" products are then applied to the blank, in order to obtain a product ready to be vulcanized.
Such a type of "conventional" process involves, in particular for the phase of manufacture of the blank of the tire, the use of an anchoring element (generally a bead wire), used for anchoring or holding the carcass reinforcement in the zone of the beads of the tire. Thus, in this type of process, a portion of all the plies constituting the carcass reinforcement (or only a part thereof) is turned up around a bead wire arranged in the tire bead. In this manner, the carcass reinforcement is anchored in the bead.
The fact that this conventional type of process is becoming more widespread in the industry, despite numerous variants in the manner of producing the plies and assemblies, has led the person skilled in the art to use a vocabulary modeled on the process; hence the generally accepted terminology, comprising in particular the terms "plies", "carcass", "bead wire", "shaping" to designate the change from a flat profile to a toroidal profile, etc.
There are nowadays tires which do not, properly speaking, comprise "plies" or "bead wires" in accordance with the preceding definitions. For example, document EP 0 582 196 describes tires manufactured without the aid of semi-finished products in the form of plies. For example, the reinforcement elements of the different reinforcement structures are applied directly to the adjacent layers of rubber mixes, the whole being applied in successive layers to a toroidal core the form of which makes it possible to obtain directly a profile similar to the final profile of the tire being manufactured. Thus, in this case, we no longer find "semi-finished products", nor "plies", nor "bead wires". The base products, such as the rubber mixes and the reinforcement elements in the form of cords or filaments, are applied directly to the core. As this core is of toroidal form, the blank no longer has to be shaped in order to change from a flat profile to a profile in the form of a torus.
Furthermore, the tires described in this document do not have the "conventional" upturn of the carcass ply around a bead wire. This type of anchoring is replaced by an arrangement in which circumferential cords are arranged adjacent to said sidewall reinforcement structure, the whole being embedded in an anchoring or bonding rubber mix.
There are also processes for assembly on a toroidal core using semi-finished products specially adapted for quick, effective and simple laying on a central core. Finally, it is also possible to use a mixture comprising both certain semi-finished products to produce certain architectural aspects (such as plies, bead wires, etc.), whereas others are produced from the direct application of mixes and/or reinforcement elements.
In the present document, in order to take into account recent technological developments both in the field of manufacture and in the design of products, the conventional terms such as "plies", "bead wires", etc., are advantageously replaced by neutral terms or terms which are independent of the type of process used. Thus, the term "carcass-type reinforcing thread" or "sidewall reinforcing thread" is valid as a designation for the reinforcement elements of a carcass ply in the conventional process, and the corresponding reinforcement elements, generally applied at the level of the sidewalls, of a tire produced in accordance with a process without semi-finished products. The term "anchoring zone", for its part, may equally well designate the "traditional" upturn of a carcass ply around a bead wire of a conventional process and the assembly formed by the circumferential reinforcement elements, the rubber mix and the adjacent sidewall reinforcement portions of a bottom zone produced with a process with application to a toroidal core.
In what follows, "linear density" is understood to mean the weight in grammes of one thousand meters of a reinforcing thread. The linear density is expressed in tex. The stress to which a reinforcing thread is subjected or the modulus of this reinforcing thread are expressed in "cN/tex", cN meaning centinewton.
"Axial" is understood to mean a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the tire; this direction may be "axially inner" when it is directed towards the inside of the tire and "axially outer" when it is directed towards the outside of the tire.
"Radial" is understood to mean a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the tire and passing through this axis of rotation. This direction may be "radially inner" or "radially outer" depending on whether it is directed towards the axis of rotation or towards the outside of the tire.
"Elasticity modulus" of a rubber mix is understood to mean a secant modulus of extension at 10% deformation and at ambient temperature.
As far as the metal cords or metal cables are concerned, the measurements of breaking load (maximum load in N), tensile strength (in MPa) and elongation at break (total elongation in %) are carried out under tension in accordance with Standard ISO 6892 of 1984.
As far as the rubber compositions are concerned, the measurements of modulus are carried out under tension in accordance with Standard AFNOR-NFT-46002 of September 1988: the nominal secant modulus (or apparent stress, in MPa) at 10% elongation is measured in a second elongation (i.e. after an accommodation cycle) (normal conditions of temperature and relative humidity in accordance with Standard AFNOR-NFT-40101 of December 1979).
As far as the textile cords or textile cables are concerned, the mechanical properties are measured on fibers which have been subjected to prior conditioning. "Prior conditioning" is understood to mean storage of the fibers for at least 24 hours, before measurement, in a standard atmosphere in accordance with European Standard DIN EN 20139 (temperature of 20±2° C.; relative humidity of 65±2%). The mechanical properties in extension (tenacity, modulus, elongation and energy at break) are measured in known manner using a ZWICK GmbH & Co (Germany) 1435-type or 1445-type tension machine. The fibers, after having received a slight prior protective twist (helix angle of approximately 6°), are subjected to traction over an initial length of 400 mm at a nominal speed of 200 mm/min. All the results are an average of 10 measurements.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,102 describes an aircraft tire comprising a crown, two sidewalls and two beads, a carcass reinforcement and a crown reinforcement in which the carcass reinforcement comprises two circumferential alignments of reinforcing threads of high elasticity modulus, anchored in the two beads, and the crown reinforcement comprises at least one working block with at least one ply of reinforcing threads of high elasticity modulus. The carcass reinforcement is anchored in the beads by turning up, around a bead wire, the two circumferential alignments of first reinforcing threads of high elasticity modulus.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Means are provided for adjustably setting and determining the time duration of flow of a purge gas through process gas supply conduits which supply process gases to semiconductor manufacturing operations. These features are used advantageously to facilitate the changing of certain components of the system, such as a tank of toxic process gas, and/or a filter. A plurality of gas storage and distribution cabinets can be controlled from a single remote personal computer. Alternatively, each individual unit can be controlled by means of its own control system. Setpoints defining, for example, time intervals and pressures to be used in controlling the functions of the gas cabinets may be selected and entered through a front panel on the gas cabinet, or through the remote terminal. A print-out of the selected setpoints is provided by the terminal for improved record keeping of safety procedures used. The invention increases the safety of operation of the gas distribution system, and particularly the safety of the component changing procedures, and reduces the time and cost of such procedures, while improving the records kept regarding safety and other operations of the system.

In the semiconductor manufacturing industry, gas cabinets are used to supply high purity process gases used in production. An example of such a process gas is silane, which is used at the processing location, also known as the tool location, in processes such as sputtering and sputter etching. Silane, like many process gases, is highly toxic and it is of the utmost importance for the safety and health of the workers that the flow of these toxic gases be tightly and safely controlled. The equipment and methods of controlling the functions of the gas cabinets supplying the process gas are therefore of great significance in this industry.
There are several problems with prior gas supply systems. In prior systems, the changing of a supply of toxic gas is accomplished with the use of semi-automatic means to purge the toxic process gas from the gas feed lines. Toxic gas first is removed from the feed line leading from the tank, and then a purging gas such as nitrogen is fed into the feed line to dilute the toxic gas in the feed line. This cycle is repeated a number of times by the operator. Then, the original tank is disconnected from the feed line, and a new tank is connected in its place. Next, the purge gas is removed from the feed line and replaced with the process gas from the new tank in a procedure similar to that of the first purge.
The number of times each purge cycle is repeated is fixed, as if the time duration of each cycle. The problem is that different types of process gas require different numbers and times of purge cycles, as well as different pressures. Because the cycle durations and numbers of cycles which are right for one gas, may be dangerous when used for another, and because equipment can be damaged due to incorrect settings, the inflexibility of prior equipment has detracted from its safety and cost-effectiveness.
Another problem with such prior equipment and methods is that if the cycle times and/or the number of purge cycles is larger than necessary, the process of changing the supply tank is more time-consuming and expensive than it need be.
Another problem is that the gas supply system usually has one or more gas filters which become contaminated and must be replaced from time to time. In prior systems, in order to purge the gas lines, purge gas is sent through the entire gas distribution system to the tool location. Then the filter is replaced, and the entire line is re-filled with process gas. This uses relatively large amounts of expensive, purified purge gas and process gas, and is very time-consuming. The use of bypass lines to reduce the conduit length has been suggested, but not how to use the same.
Another problem with such prior gas supply systems is that it is a time-consuming and inefficient process to establish set points for alarms and safety devices. Setpoints are e.g., the gas pressures at which alarms are activated due to pressures which are too low or too high. In an installation including many different gas cabinets, with past equipment it has been necessary to change the setpoint of each cabinet manually--a time--consuming, expensive procedure.
In some prior systems, a separate control panel for each cabinet is located in a single control room remote from the gas cabinets controlled from the room. This requires a great deal of costly hardware and building construction, as well as still being relatively slow to use in establishing setpoints.
A further problem with prior equipment and methods is that a substantial portion of the record-keeping is manual, tedious and costly. Moreover, it is not reliable and may not be adequate to show that the various cycling procedures and setpoints were maintained safely, in accordance with OSHA standards, in case of an accident.

Apparatus and method for controlling functions of automated gas cabinets


A start position and an end position of a sliding operation along a direction in which the main subject moves in the video image is detected respectively as a first position and a second position. It is controlled so as to play a video image over a range between the first position and the second position. The video image constituted with the plurality of images starting with the first image and ending with the second image is played along a forward direction if the first image with the main subject at the first position precedes the second image with the main subject at the second position, and the video image constituted with the plurality of images starting with the first image and ending with the second image is played along a reverse direction if the first image follows the second image.

There is a technology known in the related art that allows a user to view a targeted subject with ease by providing a side-by-side display of enlarged still images of the target subject extracted from a video (see JP 2004-178368A).
Since a full-length video often runs over a significant length of time, many viewers prefer to start watching the video halfway through or to watch only part of the video in order to save time. Conventionally, a viewer wishing to play only part of a video cues up a specific scene by fast forwarding or fast reversing the video and plays the video from the cue point. In addition, while there is a reproduction apparatus known in the related art capable of automatically cueing to a position appended with an index mark, the user of the reproduction apparatus needs to manually input the index mark at the particular position.
There is also a video digest creation method disclosed in the related art whereby scene change points are detected based upon audio data added to the video data, identifying silent scenes, conversation scenes and the like, and creating a digest version of the video based upon the identification results (see JP 2006-50045A).

Reproduction apparatus and image-capturing apparatus


In an assembly incorporating a suspension device and a rapping mechanism for vertically mounted electrodes of a high-voltage supplied electrostatic precipitator, discharge electrodes (9) are suspended from horizontal frame tubes (8'), which are in turn connected to vertical frame tubes (5) having an upper, rod-shaped portion (12). The portion (12) of each of the frame tubes (5) is mounted in vertically aligned holes (14) in the legs of U-shaped support irons (4) attached to the carrier beams (1), which are in turn suspended from the roof of the precipitator housing via carrier rods (3). The upward facing end surface of the portion (12) serves as an abutment for a drop hammer (13) which causes rapping of the electrodes.

The invention relates to a suspension device and a rapping mechanism for vertically mounted electrodes, preferably rod-shaped, tubular, helical or plate electrodes in a high-voltage supplied electrostatic precipitator for the cleaning of smoke gases from the combustion of fossil fuels, waste material and the like in industrial plants, such as for instance power supply plants, combustion plants, cement plants and the like.
During filtration of smoke gases in such electrostatic precipitator an electrical high-voltage field is established between the collecting and discharge electrodes of the precipitator, in which field an ionisation of the dust particles passing through the precipitator occurs. Some of the particles charged thereby travel towards the collecting electrodes and the oppositely charged particles travel towards the discharge electrodes due to the corresponding opposite polarity in the relevant electrodes and there they accumulate, thus necessitating periodical vibration or rapping of the electrodes to remove the accumulated particles.
The discharge electrodes are metal electrodes and generally rod-shaped, tubular or plate electrodes or consist of wire helices and are suspended between a conductive top and a conductive bottom frame which may be connected by means of a vertical frame construction which is also conductive. The aggregate frame construction, together with a corresponding frame construction for the collecting electrodes which are generally plate electrodes, in the precipitator is surrounded by a precipitator housing to which the frame constructions are secured. The rod-shaped, tubular or plate discharge electrodes may be provided with a number of rod- or bow-shaped protrusions over their entire length to increase the corona discharges and thus to increase the precipitator effect when the precipitator is in use. In the hitherto known electrostatic precipitator types, e.g. SE patent No. 224,799, the frame is constituted by a comparatively heavy construction in order to support the suspended electrodes. The frame is suspended by means of vertical rods in insulators which are mounted in or on the precipitator housing roof, and may furthermore be connected to the supporting construction of the housing by means of inserted insulators and helical, plate or leaf spring mechanisms in order to limit the transfer of rapping or vibration energy from the electrodes to the housing and the insulators.
A bottom frame may, in addition to securing the electrodes at their lower ends, serve to maintain a convenient spacing between the discharge electrodes and the collecting electrodes to prevent the discharge electrodes from oscillating towards the collecting electrodes, thereby releasing a spark discharge. Such spark discharge temporarily reduces the electrical energy in the electrode spacings and impairs the precipitator efficiency. Often, the known precipitator constructions have the disadvantage that due to the comparatively excessive length of the electrodes the bottom frame oscillates back and forth relative to a top frame, thereby increasing the risk of sparkover between the electrodes.
The rapping mechanism for discharge electrodes in the known precipitators usually comprises electrically or pneumatically operated impact means, e.g. drop hammers, which are caused to rotate about a horizontal axis mounted above the precipitator housing, or weights on a crankshaft mounted horizontally in the same place. The impact means is brought by their rotation to abut anvils which are, in a number corresponding to the number of hammers or weights, secured to the top frame. Thus the top frame will absorb a portion of the impact energy produced which will, instead of being transferred in its entirety to the electrodes, partly be transmitted to the precipitator housing construction irrespective of any damping means optionally inserted between the latter and the frame.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an assembly of a suspension device and a rapping mechanism for electrodes in an electrostatic precipitator, in particular the discharge electrodes of such precipitator, which remedies the above-mentioned disadvantages of the hitherto known precipitators.

Suspension device and rapping mechanism for electrodes in an electrostatic precipitator


Systems, methodologies, media and other embodiments associated with configuring a port are described. One exemplary system embodiment includes a computing system that includes a port configured to operably connect an external device to the computing system. The example system may also include a mode controller operably connected to the port and that is configured to configure the port between a powered mode and a non-powered mode in accordance with a programmatically selected port configuration.

Some electronic devices such as a computer may include one or more serial ports that allow connection to an external peripheral device like a modem. If a peripheral device required power from the computer, the serial port could be changed to a powered mode. However, to change the serial port mode, the computer would need to be shut down, its cover removed, and one or two jumpers would need to be changed within the electronics. If a computer has four configurable ports that used two jumpers per port, a user could possibly need to move eight jumpers to reconfigure all four ports. In some computers, the manufacturer pre-configures the ports to be powered or not powered by performing the same process. However, once configured and the housing is closed, a customer has no indication of which mode the serial port is configured in. If a port is in a powered mode, an external device that does not require power should not be connected into the powered port. Manually configuring serial ports between powered mode and non-powered mode can be time consuming and may need special knowledge of the internal electronics of a computer.

Systems and methods for configuring ports

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A load control system, in certain aspects, may be configured to decrease the amount of noise pollution of a prime mover (e.g., engine) of a service pack in that it may not require the prime mover to operate at higher discrete operating speeds to deliver small amounts of air from the air compressor. The load control system may also only increase the speed of the prime mover to a minimum discrete speed required, keeping noise at a minimum. The load control system may also maximize fuel efficiency by not operating the prime mover at the highest discrete speed at all times. More specifically, the lower operating speeds may lead to less fuel consumption.

The invention relates generally to a system for controlling the speed of a prime mover (e.g., an engine). More specifically, the invention relates to the control of a prime mover of a work vehicle service pack based on loads of an air compressor of the work vehicle service pack.
The prime mover of the work vehicle service pack generally drives various loads, such as the air compressor, an electrical generator, and a hydraulic pump. These various loads can potentially overload the prime mover, reduce fuel efficiency, increase pollutant emissions, and so forth. In addition, the prime mover may become extremely noisy when driving the loads of the air compressor. More specifically, the prime mover may only operate at a limited number of discrete operating speeds. As such, in order to meet the pneumatic loads, the prime mover may frequently operate at one of the higher discrete operating speeds, increasing the fuel usage of the prime mover.

Compressor control for determining maximum pressure, minimum pressure, engine speed, and compressor loading


A non-invasive medical imaging system includes: an imaging scanner capable of generating an imaging signal from a subject under observation inside the imaging scanner; a signal processing system in communication with the imaging scanner, and a data storage unit in communication with the signal processing system, wherein the data storage unit is suitable for storing a first image corresponding to a tissue region of the subject, wherein the signal processing system is capable of generating a second image encoding the tissue region of the subject by performing a reconstruction based on the imaging signal, the imaging signal acquired at a later time than the first image; wherein the signal processing system is constructed to receive the imaging signal from the imaging scanner and the first image from the data storage unit respectively, wherein the signal processing system is adapted to provide a registered first image by registering the first image to the second image via a transformation in a space of diffeomorphism, wherein the signal processing system is further adapted to compute a difference image between the second image and the registered first image; and wherein the signal processing system is further adapted to output the difference image.

1. Field of Invention
The current invention relates to systems and methods for computer-aided detection and quantification of soft tissue changes.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The recent advent of modern radiological imaging devices leads to an overwhelming amount of anatomical information, which often exceeds the ability of radiologists to inspect within a short enough period of time. For example, a modern multi-detector row CT (MDCT) can produce images of the entire torso with 1 mm resolution within a few seconds, which comprises hundreds of axial slices. For detection and monitoring of a tumor, MDCT is often repeated during the course of therapy, which further multiplies the amount of anatomical information. Characterization of growth or shrinkage of tumor masses, as well as identification of metastasis, are an essential part of CT-based diagnosis. Computer-aided detection and quantification of time-dependent anatomical changes are, therefore, highly desirable. The automated detection of tissue shape change is conceptually straightforward; images from two time points can be three-dimensionally registered and a subtraction image can be generated. However, the vast majority of our organs are highly deformable and the registration could be challenging. Among the organs in our torso areas, the lung could be one of the simplest, and therefore most researched organs for such automated detection of anatomical changes. Nonetheless, precise registration of the soft tissue organs remains a challenge, especially for those organs that have undergone substantial shape changes. Thus, there is a need in the art to take advantage of the recent progress in radiological imaging devices and improve the quality of computer-aided detection and quantification of time-dependent anatomical changes.

Automated characterization of time-dependent tissue change


An electrical device with a retractable plug has a body and a plug-moving assembly. The body has a chamber, a partition and a plug. The partition is formed in the chamber, separates the chamber into a plug chamber and an electronics chamber. The plug chamber has a longitudinal sidewall, a slot and an opening. The longitudinal sidewall is disposed parallelly with the partition and has an inner surface. The slot is formed through the longitudinal sidewall. The opening is formed through the end wall. The plug-moving assembly is mounted in the plug chamber and connects to the plug to selectively retract the plug into the plug chamber. Therefore, the plug of the electrical device may be selectively retracted to prevent prong damage, improve safety and aesthetics of design.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical device with a plug, especially to an electrical device with a retractable plug.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
Conventional electrical appliances and devices have a body, a cable and a plug. The cable is connected between the body and the plug.
However, the plug is not aesthetically pleasing and the wire of the apparatus may become tangled on a floor of a house. Furthermore, when traveling, cables are awkwardly shaped and may jut out of soft cases, or their prongs broken by hard cases.
Furthermore, when left unplugged, the plug may be trodden on causing painful annoyance and the prongs to be broken, leading to disposal of the plug, or the prongs may be damaged causing unsafe connection and risk of electrocution or fire.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides an electrical device with a retractable plug to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

Electrical device with a retractable plug


A driving circuit for a gyroscope device provided with a micromechanical detection structure having a driving mass, which is driven in resonance condition and elastically coupled to which is a sensing mass for enabling detection of angular velocity; the driving circuit has: a set of driving electrodes, coupled to the driving mass; a driving stage supplying driving signals to the set of driving electrodes to cause oscillation in resonance condition of the driving mass; and a reading stage, which detects movement of the driving mass to implement a feedback control of the driving signals. In particular, the reading stage is selectively coupleable to the set of driving electrodes in a way temporally alternative to the driving stage, for discrete-time detection of the movement of the driving mass.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a driving circuit for a microelectromechanical gyroscope and to a related microelectromechanical gyroscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is known, micromachining techniques enable manufacturing of microelectromechanical structures or systems (MEMS) within layers of semiconductor material, which have been deposited (for example, a layer of polycrystalline silicon) or grown (for example, an epitaxial layer) on top of sacrificial layers, which are removed via chemical etching.
Inertial sensors, such as accelerometers and gyroscopes, built using said technology are enjoying an increasing success, for example, in the automotive field, in inertial navigation, or in the sector of portable devices.
In particular, integrated gyroscopes made of semiconductor material using MEMS technology are known. These gyroscopes operate based on the theorem of relative accelerations, exploiting Coriolis acceleration. When an angular velocity is applied to a mobile mass that is driven with a linear velocity, the mobile mass "feels" an apparent force, known as Coriolis force, which determines a displacement thereof in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the linear velocity and to the axis about which the angular velocity is applied. The mobile mass is supported via springs that enable a relative displacement thereof in the direction of the apparent force. According to Hooke's law, the displacement is proportional to the apparent force, in such a way that, from the displacement of the mobile mass, it is possible to derive the Coriolis force and the value of the angular velocity that has generated it.
The displacement of the mobile mass may, for example, be detected in a capacitive manner by determining, in a resonance condition, the variations of capacitance (or, likewise of the quantity of charge) caused by the movement of mobile electrodes, fixed with respect to the mobile mass (or constituted by parts of the same mobile mass) and coupled to fixed electrodes.
In greater detail, MEMS gyroscopes have a rather complex electromechanical structure, which comprises two masses that are mobile with respect to a same fixed body (usually defined as "stator") and are coupled together so as to have one relative degree of freedom.
One of the mobile masses is dedicated to driving (and for this reason is commonly defined as "driving mass") and is kept in oscillation at its resonance frequency by means of a suitable electronic driving circuit (or forcing circuit). The other mobile mass (usually known as "sensing mass") is drawn along in the oscillatory motion by the driving mass and, in case of rotation of the microstructure with respect to a preset axis at a given angular velocity, is subject to a Coriolis force proportional to the same angular velocity. The sensing mass thus operates as an accelerometer that enables detection of Coriolis acceleration.
As regards implementation of the electronic driving circuit, a first known solution envisages supplying, in open loop, of periodic stresses at the resonance frequency of the MEMS structure. The solution is simple, but also far from effective, because the resonance frequency is not known precisely on account of the inherent dispersions in the processes of micromachining of semiconductor materials. Moreover, the resonance frequency of each individual device may vary over time, for example, on account of temperature gradients or, more simply, owing to ageing.
Feedback driving stages have thus been proposed, in which a feedback loop is used for controlling the driving signal so as to maintain the resonance condition.
In particular, in order to enable driving and provide an electromechanical oscillator in which the sensor mechanical structure performs a role of selective frequency amplifier with a second-order transfer function of a low-pass type and high merit factor (the so-called "Q factor", equal to at least 20, but also of the order of 100 or 1000), the driving mass is coupled to two differential capacitive structures: a set of driving electrodes and a set of driving-sensing electrodes.
The driving electrodes have the purpose of enabling sustaining of self-oscillation of the mobile driving mass in the driving direction, by means of electrostatic forces generated by the spectral component of the noise at the mechanical resonance frequency of the driving mass. In particular, a driving signal is applied to the driving electrodes, for example, a voltage signal of the square-wave type, with suitable amplitude and frequency such as to cause resonance oscillation.
The driving-sensing electrodes have the purpose of enabling detection, through the transduced charge, of the translation or rotation movement of the driving mass in the driving direction in such a way as to enable a feedback control of the driving signal. In particular, movement detection is performed continuously, by processing analog signals, generally voltage signals.
Although effective for controlling resonance oscillation of the driving mass, a solution of this type is not, however, optimized from the standpoint of area occupation and costs on account of the additional presence of a set of electrodes dedicated to detection of the driving movement, which do not contribute to the system operation and to the detection of angular velocities. In particular, this solution may prove for this reason not applicable in systems where size reduction represents a fundamental design criterion.

Driving circuit for a microelectromechanical gyroscope and related microelectromechanical gyroscope


A cleaning mechanism for injection molding machine includes a base including a mounting frame, a driving member, a pushing member connected to the driving member, a first movable plate, a first clipping plate, a connection shaft rotatably connected to the first pushing plate, a second movable plate parallel to the first pushing plate, and a second clipping plate. First and second movable plates are movably mounted on the mounting frame. First and second clipping plates are mounted on the mounting frame. The first movable plate is fixed to and perpendicular to a first pushing plate of the pushing member. The second movable plate is corresponding to the first movable plate, and perpendicular to the first pushing plate. When the pushing member is driven by the driving member, the first movable plate moves relative to the first clipping plate, and the second movable plate moves relative to the second clipping plate.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to cleaning mechanisms, and particularly to a cleaning mechanism used for an injection molding machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an injection molding process, plastic waste is left behind in the molding cavity, so that after molding process, the injection molding machine should be stopped to be cleaned by operators. Because the injection molding machine needs to be started and stopped repeatedly, and the cleaning process is performed manually, a cleaning efficiency is relatively low. In addition, there is a risk of some plastic waste still left behind in the injection molding machine because of operator's carelessness, which causes a relatively low yield of the injection products.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Cleaning mechanism for an injection molding machine


A luminous body mounted in a watch below hands and a protective crystal and controlled by a switch to produce light, the luminous body including an insulative layer sandwiched in between a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer, electroluminescent means arranged on the insulative layer for producing light upon electric connection of electricity to the first and second conductive layers, the electroluminescent means having a first electroluminescent layer formed of a plurality of electroluminescent indices respectively arranged on the insulative layer around the border area of the insulative layer and a second electroluminescent layer of annular shape arranged on the center area of the insulative layer, a plurality of marks covered on the electroluminescent indices of the first electroluminescent layer, and a light penetrable layer covered on the first conductive layer, the light penetrable layer having a plurality of raised portions corresponding the electroluminescent indices of the first electroluminescent layer for refracting light.

The present invention relates to watches, and more specifically to a luminous body for a watch.
Various watches with luminous means have been disclosed, and have appeared on the market. These watches commonly comprise an electroluminescent layer covered over the bottom surface of a transparent dial. When electrically connected, the electroluminescent layer is energized to produce light and, to illuminate the markers at the dial. Because the electroluminescent layer covers the whole area of the bottom surface of the dial, much electric energy is consumed during its operation.


In general, aspects of the present invention relate to approaches for forming a semiconductor device such as a FET with reduced gate stack height variance. Specifically, when a gate stack height variance is detected/identified between a set of gate stacks, a hard mask layer and sets of spacers are removed from the uneven gate stacks leaving behind (among other things) a set of dummy gates. A liner layer and an inter-layer dielectric are formed over the set of dummy gates. The liner layer is then removed from a top surface (or at least a portion thereof) of the set of dummy gates, and the set of dummy gates are then removed. The result is a set of gate regions having less height variance/disparity.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to the field of semiconductors and, more particularly, to approaches for removing gate height variances in devices such as field effect transistors (FETs).
2. Related Art
During fabrication, semiconductor devices such as FETs often include a stage in which a dummy gate is formed and later removed. Various layers such as hard mask layers, spacers, etc., may be formed over/around the dummy gates. In many cases, this leads to an uneven gate stack height among the gate stacks. Such a condition is then propagated through the various stages of device formation that follow. For example, when the dummy gates are later removed, the uneven height that existed often leads to uneven spacer heights. This can lead to performance issues unless corrected before the device formation is completed.

Reducing gate height variance during semiconductor device formation


A mixing apparatus dispenses a composite material blended from metered components, at least one of which may be a viscous material. The apparatus includes a blending assembly for blending the components into the composite material and for thereafter dispensing the composite material out of a dispensing nozzle. The apparatus also has metering assemblies which are in communication with a respective component and which are each switchable between a measuring mode and a discharge mode. A control system concurrently places the metering assemblies in the discharge mode, and an ejection assembly concurrently ejects the selected quantities of the components into the blending assembly and thereafter out of the dispensing nozzle. The blending assembly is disclosed to be a static or a dynamic, and, where a static system is used, a plurality of static elements are disposed in a serpentive flowpath. The metering assemblies may include metering cylinders that are mechanically linked or otherwise controlled to measure and dispense the components, and structure is provided to allow variation in the ratios and quantities of the components.

The field of dispensing technology has become increasingly important as a result of the incorporation of automatic packaging equipment into modern production facilities. As noted in my earlier patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,755, issued Dec. 4, 1990, particular problems confront the automated dispensing of viscous materials since, due to their relative high surface tension, the materials cling together onto the dispensing equipment to which they are associated. In my patent, I disclose a dispensing valve assembly and system which is relatively simple and durable yet which is highly accurate in dispensing viscous materials. This improved dispensing valve assembly and system incorporated a "snuff-back" feature directed at the elimination of unwanted spillage, drippage and the like.
Viscous materials, as noted in my patent, are flowable but are difficult to handle; examples of these viscous materials which are subject for automated dispensing equipment were given. In the food industry, such materials as butter, peanut butter, jellies, cheeses and the like fit into this category. In the cosmetic industry, viscous materials include such compositions as thick lotions, gels, creams, etc. In the chemical industry, viscous materials are found both in the household chemical industry and the industrial chemical industry. Household chemicals include such diverse products as shoe polish, greases, hand cleaners, etc.; industrial chemicals include greases and other petroleum products, sealants and adhesives, to name a few.
My earlier patent discussed accurate dispensing of these viscous materials, but yet another problem confronts the packaging industry where a manufacturer desires to dispense a composite viscous product that has been blended from a plurality of components. By way of example, in viscous food products a manufacturer may often want to add a flavoring material, a preservative or a coloring agent to a base viscous material in process. In the cosmetics industry, different coloring agents and fragrances may be added to a common base carrier material to produce cosmetics of different hues and shades and products having different olfactory sensations. Likewise, in the chemical industry, coloring agents and other additives may often be incorporated into a composite viscous product. One such example is in the manufacture of caulking compounds wherein a base compound material may be tinted with different colors so that different decorative appearances may be obtained by the user.
Where low viscosity materials are concerned, mixing of a plurality components together so that they are intimately blended often does not present significant problems. On the other hand, viscous materials resist blending by their very nature; hence, either the intimate blending of a plurality of viscous materials together or an additive component to a base viscous material presents a substantial challenge.
Heretofore, manufacturers have found it necessary to blend multi-component viscous systems in large mixing vats thereby requiring a substantial quantity of the material to be prepared as a "minimum run". Where a manufacturer desires to produce a family of products all having a common base material to which is added a different modifying component, such as a coloring agent, it is often necessary for the manufacturer to pre-blend in excessive quantity of each material. This procedure is quite inefficient and generates excessive inventory on one hand and substantial waste on the other.
The reason for these drawbacks is that a manufacturer, after mixing the minimum quantity of the particular member of the family of products, must package the entire quantity of mixed material or otherwise store the blended material for later use. The need to change production and dispensing among the family members necessitates the purging of the dispensing equipment each time a change is made so that substantial waste often results. Further, the need to purge the mixing and dispensing equipment is time consuming and thus expensive to the manufacturer. It is not unusual to use hazardous cleaning compounds to clean mixing equipment and to otherwise purge the dispensing equipment for the various family members when a switch from one family member to another is made. This of course is costly and environmentally unattractive due to hazardous waste disposal problems.
Accordingly, there has been a long felt need for mixing apparatus especially constructed for viscous materials wherein a composite material may be blended from a plurality of components without the need for pre-blending the components prior to their introduction into dispensing apparatus. There has thus been a need for mixing and dispensing apparatus that allows a manufacturer to use a common base material which is altered at the last possible point in the dispensing operation so that only minimal purging and cleaning is required when varying the blended composite material from one type to another. At the same time, there is the need that the blending of plural components is successfully accomplished so that the plural components are intimately mixed with one another.

Mixing apparatus and method for forming a blended composite material from a plurality of components


The present invention provides for a method and apparatus for purifying carbon dioxide. Sulfur species are efficiently and effectively removed from the carbon dioxide by a series of steps which include heater/heat exchange means, impurity adsorption means and cooling means.

Carbon dioxide is used in a number of industrial and domestic applications, many of which require the carbon dioxide to be free from various impurities. Unfortunately, carbon dioxide obtained from natural sources such as gas wells, chemical processes, fermentation processes or produced in industry, particularly carbon dioxide produced by the combustion of hydrocarbon products, often contains impurity levels of sulfur compounds such as carbonyl sulfide (COS) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). When the carbon dioxide is intended for use in an application that requires the carbon dioxide to be of high purity, such as in the manufacture and cleaning of foodstuffs and beverage carbonation, medical products and electronic devices, the sulfur compounds contained in the gas stream must be removed to very low levels prior to use. The level of impurity removal required varies according to the application of carbon dioxide. For example, for beverage application the total sulfur level in carbon dioxide (CO2) ideally should be below 0.1 ppm. Removal to similar levels is required for electronic cleaning applications.
Various methods for removing sulfur compounds and hydrocarbon impurities from gases such as carbon dioxide are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,781, issued to Lieder et al., discloses the removal of COS and H2S from a gas stream by first removing the H2S from the hydrocarbon gas stream by contacting the gas stream with an aqueous solution of a regenerable oxidizing reactant, which may be a polyvalent metallic ion, such as iron, vanadium, copper, etc., to produce a COS-containing gas stream and an aqueous mixture containing sulfur and reduced reactant. The COS in the gas stream is subsequently hydrolyzed to CO2 and H2S by contacting the gas stream with water and a suitable hydrolysis catalyst, such as nickel, platinum, palladium, etc., after which the H2S and, if desired, the CO2 are removed. This step can be accomplished by the earlier described H2S removal step or by absorption. The above-described process involves the use of cumbersome and costly equipment and liquid-based systems which require considerable attention and may result in the introduction of undesirable compounds, such as water vapor, into the carbon dioxide product.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,858,068 and 6,099,619 describe the use of a silver exchanged faujasite and an MFI-type molecular sieve for the removal of sulfur, oxygen and other impurities from carbon dioxide intended for food-related use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,463 describes the use of hydrolysis and reaction with metal oxides such as ferric oxide for the removal of carbonyl sulfide and hydrogen sulfide impurities from carbon dioxide.
It is known to directly remove sulfur compounds, such as H2S from a gas stream by contacting the gas stream with metal oxides, such as copper oxide, zinc oxide or mixtures of these. It is also known to remove sulfur impurities such as COS by first hydrolyzing COS to H2S over a hydrolysis catalyst and then removing H2S by reaction with metal oxides. Removal of H2S by reaction with metal oxides can become expensive, since the catalyst is non-regenerable and expensive, when impurities such as COS and H2S are present in more than trace amounts. Lower cost materials for the removal of COS and H2S and other sulfur impurities such as mercaptans and dimethyl sulfide are desired to reduce CO2 purification cost.
Since many end users of carbon dioxide require the carbon dioxide they use to be substantially free of sulfur compounds, and because natural sources of carbon dioxide and industrially manufactured carbon dioxide often contain sulfur compounds, economic and efficient methods for effecting substantially complete removal of sulfur compounds from carbon dioxide gas streams, without concomitantly introducing other impurities into the carbon dioxide, are continuously sought. The present invention provides a simple and efficient methods for achieving these objectives.

Method of removing impurities from a gas


An outdoor game for a plurality of players who on a novel game mat having a flat playing surface which bears a plurality of position-identifying indicia. The mat also has a water distributor and a plurality of water spray orifices which are located at preselected positions on the surface of the game mat and connected to the water distributor whereby application of water under pressure to the water distributor forms a plurality of vertical water sprays about the playing surface. In the game, players call out particular commands to each other which are spontaneous or can be selected from randomly stacked game cards and which require the responding player to touch the location of the particular indicium on the mat, and to remain in contact with all previously identified indicia during the remainder of the play. The objective of the play is to disqualify players by causing an opposing player to become so tangled up as to fall, or to render performance of a command without falling impossible. During the play, the numerous orifices in the surface of the mat create vertical fountains of water which soak the players and increase the difficulty of play by imparting a slippery or slick condition to the playing surface.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a game and to a mat used in the game and in particular to an outdoor game with a mat that sprays water on the players.
2. Description of Prior Art
Action games wherein people actively participate with their bodies are well known. The most popular game is called TWISTER marketed by Milton Bradley Company. In this game one or two players are required to touch unnumbered but colored squares on a vinyl mat. Another action game is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,127 in which players are tethered together with removable straps and attempt to obey commands from a remote player who attempts to tangle the players up and thereby force the release of one or more of the tethers.
Various physical action games involving liquids or water are rare. Latex balloons have been filled with water and thrown at objects and other participants in a common outdoor summer pastime for children. Water polo and other games played in a swimming pool are also common. A recent U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,680 describes a game in which a player wears a hat or helmet which contains water and the water is released when a particular valve member is removed. Another recently issued patent, U. S. , discloses a game in which a water-filled ball having a timed release valve is tossed between the players with the object of avoiding becoming wet when the water is released.
There are several other outdoor water activity toys which offer unstructured or non-rule and non-competitive play. A water slide toy is marketed by Wham-0 Manufacturing called SLIP N SLIDE. This toy has a long vinyl mat that is wetted with a garden hose which distributes the water through holes in the mat. Children run up to and slide down the wet, slick surface. A competitive variation of this product is Marchon's SURF SLIDER wherein children run and slide along a long vinyl mat that is wet by a sprinkler located beside the mat. A number of serious safety concerns have recently been voiced by the Consumer Products Safety Commission on the long vinyl mat water toys as they present an injury hazard to the children. This hazard is accentuated by the necessity to anchor the mats to the lawn using metal or plastic anchors which also provide potentially dangerous obstructions to children.
Finally, Wham-O markets a novelty sprinkler called Fun Fountain which has a base in the shape of a clown's head. The base is attached to a garden hose. A stream of water is directed upwardly through the clown's head, raising the head several feet in the air and cascades down on the children as they run or dance around the sprinkler.


An architectural building block including a front terminal wall, a rear terminal wall disposed substantially parallel to the front terminal wall, a pair of side walls adjoining the front terminal wall and the rear terminal wall, a top wall and a bottom wall. The side walls lean toward one another. The pair of side walls converge from the rear terminal wall to the front terminal wall. The bottom wall is disposed substantially parallel to the top wall, wherein each of the top wall and bottom wall adjoins the front terminal wall, the rear terminal wall and the pair of side walls.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to architectural building blocks for constructing cylinders and arches. More specifically, the present invention is directed to masonry architectural building blocks for constructing cylinders and arches.
2. Background Art
In fabricating structures composed of curvilinear parts, typically forms are required for concrete pouring as conventional blocks are often unsuitable for constructing such parts as conventional masonry blocks are unsuitable due to their shapes and sizes. On-site constructions of structures using forms often involve significant custom architectural and engineering preparation work, which not only increases the construction cost but also the lead time in completing the construction projects. Even if conventional masonry blocks are used to construct curvilinear parts, sufficient skills are required to custom shape some masonry blocks so that they can fit in with other unmodified blocks to approximate the structural shape to be constructed. Conventional blocks used for curvilinear parts include rectangular and triangular blocks, etc. In many occasions, sufficient skills may also be required to adjust the amount of mortar used between blocks such that curvilinear parts can be constructed. When built without forms or other supporting structures, the use of conventional blocks does not yield uniform, accurate and repeatable arch structures. It may even be impossible to construct a curvilinear structure using conventional blocks if mortar had not been used.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,392,551 to Roe (hereinafter Roe) discloses a wall structure having a series of superposed courses of building blocks, matching keyways in certain adjacent blocks in a course and keys in the keyways locking the adjacent blocks together. Each of the keys extends from one course into and fits snugly within an opening in a block of an adjacent course, thereby locking adjacent courses together against horizontal shifting, and tongue and groove connections inclined to the longitudinal axes of the keys and interlocking blocks of adjacent courses whereby the first named keys and the tongue and groove connections lock the courses against vertical as well as horizontal shifting, the tongues of the tongue and groove connections being each integral with a block. Although a means for interlocking adjacently disposed blocks is provided, Roe fails to disclose building blocks useful for building arches when used in conjunction with only two rebars.
U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2013/0205705 of Bilka (hereinafter Bilka) discloses a masonry article having one or more sidewalls, top and bottom, and first and second ends configured with a horizontal and vertical locking mechanism, wherein top and bottom includes first axis locking mechanism, wherein the top surface is formed with at least one stepped section having a base that begins with a level footing and the bottom opposite surface formed with at least one other stepped section having a base that begins with a level footing to releasably receive one of the top, and wherein first and second ends include contoured receptacles to releasably receive a matching configured link block having opposite male contour surface to form second axis locking mechanism. Similar to Roe, Bilka fails to disclose building blocks useful for building arches when used in conjunction with only two rebars. Instead, Bilka discloses blocks useful for building cylindrical structures although such structures of Bilka do not contain corrugations and/or ribs that are capable of further resisting against external loading, impacts, high winds, seismic forces, etc.
Thus, there is a need for blocks useful for constructing arches and cylinders that are capable of resisting environmental forces and ones which can be built without using pre-fabricated or in-situ built forms and temporary support structures or scaffolding systems.


In a computer system (1), generated (S2) is a visual code which encodes reference information for identifying a data object linked to a person. Using a camera of a mobile communication device (2), the reference information encoded in the visual code is captured from a visual representation of the visual code and stored (S5) in the mobile communication device (2). In the mobile communication device (2), generated (S8) is a data package which includes the captured reference information and an image (23) of a document (4) of the person. The data package is transferred (S9) from the mobile communication device (2) to the computer system (1). In the computer system (1), the image of the document (4) is stored (S11) linked to the data object (10), defined by the reference information received in the data package.

Very early in their development, computers have been used to record (enter and store) data assigned to a person. For that purpose, data objects have been linked in the computer to a person identifier defining the person, e.g. a unique numeric or alphanumeric code, a biometric record, and/or another code that uniquely identifies the respective person. Further developments of computers and computer peripheral devices, such as scanners or digital cameras, made it possible to generate electronic representations of paper documents and to store these electronic document representations in the computers linked to a person. In applications and scenarios where the computer is operated by a service provider who is separate and remote from the person, paper documents of the person could be sent by paper mail to the service provider where the paper documents were converted (scanned, imaged) to electronic representations of the documents and stored in the computer system. However, depending on the circumstances, linking the documents in the computer to the proper person was not always possible, for example, the documents could not be properly and non-ambiguously assigned to the right person, or several documents were simply mixed up. In applications where the documents originated at the service provider, e.g. (non-anonymous) questionnaires, forms, tax returns, and the like, this problem could be avoided in that the service provider printed a person identifier onto the paper documents, e.g. before the paper documents were mailed to the person. When, at a later point in time, the paper documents were returned to the service provider, the person identifier printed on the paper documents made it possible for the service provider to assign the paper documents to the proper person and to store the electronic representation of the respective document in the computer linked to the corresponding person identifier. For paper documents that do not originate at the service provider, the approach of printing a person identifier onto the paper documents is neither practical nor feasible.

Method and devices for recording data and documents for a person


There is disclosed a highly active catalyst composition for polymerizing alpha-olefins prepared by treating a support with an organomagnesium composition and contracting the thus formed solid support, containing magnesium, in a liquid medium with a transition metal compound, e.g., a tetravalent titanium compound. This catalyst is particularly useful for the production of linear low density polyethylene polymers. Also disclosed are methods of preparing polymers with the catalyst composition and the resulting polymers.

The present invention relates to a method for polymerizing alpha-olefins, a catalyst for such a polymerization and a method for producing such a catalyst. A particular aspect of the present invention relates to a method for producing linear low density polyethylene.
Linear low density polyethylene polymers possess properties which distinguish them from other polyethylene polymers such as homopolymers of polyethylene. Certain of these properties are described in the Anderson et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,698.
The Karol et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,566 describes a process for producing certain linear low density polyethylene polymers in a gas phase, fluid bed reactor.
The Graff U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,547, Stevens et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,787,384, Strobel et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,754 and the Ziegler, deceased et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,009 each describe various polymerization processes suitable for producing forms of polyethylene other than linear low density polyethylene, per se.
The Graff U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,547 describes a supported catalyst obtained by treating a support with both an organoaluminum compound and an organomagnesium compound followed by contacting this treated support with a tetravalent titanium compound.
The Stevens et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,787,384 and the Strobel et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,754 describe a catalyst prepared by first reacting a support (e.g., silica containing reactive hydroxy groups) with an organomagnesium compound (e.g., a Grignard reagent) and then combining this reacted support with a tetravalent titanium compound. According to the teachings of both of these patents, no unreacted organomagnesium compound would seem to be present when the reacted support is contacted with the tetravalent titanium compound.
The Ziegler, deceased et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,009 describes a catalyst which is the reaction product of an organomagnesium compound (e.g., an alkylmagnesium halide) with a tetravalent titanium compound. This reaction with the tetravalent titanium compound takes place in the absence of a support material.

Highly active catalyst composition for polymerizing alpha-olefins


A PIC has first, second and third elements fabricated on a common substrate. The first element includes a structure supporting efficient coupling of one or more free-space optical modes of incident light into one or more waveguide guided optical modes. The second element includes an on-chip interferometer having an input optically coupled to the waveguide guided optical modes; one or more arms; one or more outputs; and a phase tuner configured to change optical path length in one or more of the arms. The third element includes one or more light detecting structures optically coupled to the one or more outputs of the second element, such that variation in optical power in the one or more outputs is detected, allowing an assessment of coherence characterizing the light incident on the first element of the PIC to be provided.

The field of high-powered lasers (both fiber and semiconductor) has improved rapidly in recent years, with power densities increasing by more than an order of magnitude. The need for power was partly driven by demand for industrial cutting machines and long-range (e.g. space) communications, but the same lasers can also be used as directed energy weapons or for target marking that can impact humans (typically eye damage or even burns). Intense research in small, lightweight, high-energy laser systems enabled rapid reduction in the size of directed energy systems, making them easy to disguise.
There is an unmet need for laser alert systems, especially for small size, low weight and low power-consuming (low-SWaP) laser detection systems that can be easily deployed and moved to detect dangerously high levels of laser radiation. Such laser detection systems should be designed to detect only laser radiation and not other background sources. This should be true even if those background sources are of very high brightness such as the sun, headlights, flashes or other bursts of high intensity light not related to lasers.
This present invention includes devices and methods that enable low-SWaP photonic integrated circuit (PIC) based integrated laser detectors (ILD). A PIC is a device that integrates multiple photonic functions and as such is similar to an electronic integrated circuit. The major difference between the two is that a photonic integrated circuit provides functions for information signals imposed on optical waves.
PIC-based realization of the laser detectors of the present invention enables efficient detection of light originating from lasers, without "false positive" detection of light originating from non-laser sources.