A wind turbine blade (10, 610) for a rotor of a wind turbine (2) having a substantially horizontal rotor shaft is described. A surface mounted device (70, 70′, 170, 270, 370, 470, 570, 670, 770) is attached to a surface of the wind turbine blade (10). The surface mounted device (70, 70′, 170, 270, 370, 470, 570, 670, 770) is attached to the surface of the wind turbine blade (10, 610) via at least a first attachment part (77, 77′), which is connected to a part of the surface mounted device (70, 70′, 170, 270, 370, 470, 570, 670, 770). The attachment part (77, 77′) comprises a flexible housing (80, 80′, 680, 780) that forms a cavity (81, 81′, 681, 781) between at least the housing (80, 80′, 680, 780) and the surface of the wind turbine blade (10, 610). The cavity (80, 80′, 680, 780) is filled with an adhesive that provides an adhesive bonding to the surface of the wind turbine blade (10, 610).

Ideally, a wind turbine blade of the airfoil type is shaped similar to the profile of an aeroplane wing, where the chord plane width of the blade as well as the first derivative thereof increase continuously with decreasing distance from the hub. This results in the blade ideally being comparatively wide in the vicinity of the hub. This again results in problems when having to mount the blade to the hub, and, moreover, this causes great loads during operation of the blade, such as storm loads, due to the large surface area of the blade.
Therefore, over the years, the construction of blades has developed towards a shape, where the blade consists of a root region closest to the hub, an airfoil region comprising a lift-generating profile furthest away from the hub and a transition region between the root region and the airfoil region. The airfoil region has an ideal or almost ideal blade shape with respect to generating lift, whereas the root region has a substantially circular cross-section, which reduces the storm loads and makes it easier and safer to mount the blade to the hub. The root region diameter is preferably constant along the entire root region. Due to the circular cross-section, the root region does not contribute to the energy production of the wind turbine and, in fact, lowers this a little because of drag. As it is suggested by the name, the transition region has a shape gradually changing from the circular shape of the root region to the airfoil profile of the airfoil region. Typically, the width of the blade in the transition region increases substantially linearly with increasing distance from the hub.
As for instance blades for wind turbines have become bigger and bigger in the course of time, and they may now be more than 60 meters long, the demand for optimised aerodynamic performance has increased. The wind turbine blades are designed to have an operational lifetime of at least 20 years. Therefore, even small changes to the overall performance of the blade may over the lifetime of a wind turbine blade accumulate to a high increase in financial gains, which surpasses the additional manufacturing costs relating to such changes. For many years, the focus areas for research have been directed towards improving the airfoil region of the blade, but during the recent few years, more and more focus has been directed towards also improving the aerodynamic performance of the root and transition regions of the blade.
WO2007/065434 discloses a blade wherein the root region is provided with indentations and/or projections in order to decrease the drag from this part of the blade.
WO2007/045244 discloses a blade, wherein the root region and the transition region are designed so as to have at least two separate airfoil profiles in order to increase the lift of these regions.
WO0208600 describes a wind turbine, where the output of the wind turbine is increased by providing the root section of a wind turbine with a member that is designed in such a way that the assembly consisting of the member and the root section can absorb wind energy and increases the overall efficiency of the wind turbine.
WO2007/118581 discloses a blade, where the inboard part of the blade is provided with a flow guiding device on the pressure side of the blade in order to increase the aerodynamic performance of the blade by increasing the lift. However, the design proposed is very rigid due to the triangular shaped cross-section and consequently the flow guiding device has a tendency to separate from the surface of the blade, when the blade bends.
WO2011/042527 discloses a wind turbine blade provided with a plurality of flow guiding device parts attached to the pressure side of the blade. The longitudinally extending flow guiding parts are grouped together to form a first flow guiding device group in the transition region of the blade. The modular construction of the flow guiding device makes the construction more flexible and reduces peel forces at the ends of the flow guiding device parts. However, the flow guiding device parts are designed with a base part and a protruding plate-shaped element, and loads are still to a large degree transferred to the plate-shaped element, when the blade bends.
Further, state of the art methods of attaching devices to the surface of a wind turbine blade are tedious and complicated. The previous surface attachment techniques have required grinding of gelcoat to reveal fibre material for bonding, applying of adhesive, positioning of the device, removal of excess adhesive, and finally post-treatment, such as painting, for surface visual purposes, thus involving a large number of steps and tools for carrying out the method.

Wind turbine blade provided with surface mounted device


A two-cycle engine has an lubricating system for lubricating rubbing parts in a crankcase. A fuel injector is provided on a wall of an intake passage for injecting fuel toward an intake port of the engine. An oil injecting port is formed in the wall of the intake passage, and the fuel injector is provided for injecting fuel toward the port so as to mix with the lubricating oil.

The present invention relates to a lubricating system for a two-cycle engine, and more particularly to a system for mixing lubricating oil with injected fuel.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open 63-255543 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open 58-169117 disclose two-cycle engines each having an independent lubricating system where the lubricating oil and fuel are separately stored in respective tanks. The lubricating oil is fed at a location adjacent an intake port of the engine. The lubricating oil and the fuel passing through the intake port are led into a crankcase, wherein the air-fuel mixture is compressed, and mixed therein. Hence, the lubricating oil is atomized and applied to necessary parts in the crankcase.
However, such a simple method does not cause the lubricating oil to sufficiently mix with the fuel. As a result, the lubricating oil is not sufficiently atomized, so that uniform lubrication can not be obtained. In addition, the spark plug of the engine may be stained by the lubricating oil, which may cause misfire and hence deterioration of emission control.

Lubricating system for a two-cycle engine


On each of carriages are disposed a group of transfer cams and a group of receiving cams. A leftward movement of the carriages makes it possible to transfer a knitted loop from a front needle bed provided with one carnage to a rear needle bed provided with another carriage. A rightward movement of the carriages makes it possible to transfer the knitted loop from the rear needle bed provided with the other carriage to the front needle bed provided with one carriage. The transferring can be freely carried out between the needle beds, and it is possible to temporarily place a knitted loop from one needle bed to another needle bed and keep a holding, and further retain the knitted loop separately from a fabric being knitted on the other needle bed and when needed, return the knitted loop from the other needle bed to the one needle bed.

Conventionally, in a weft knitting machine, a large number of knitting needles are arranged on a needle bed, and a cam apparatus for knitting a fabric is mounted on a carriage moving along the needle bed. The carriage is driven in the cam apparatus for knitting a fabric so that a knitting needle selectively moves forward into and backward from a needle bed gap, and supplies a knitting yarn to a knitting needle at the needle bed gap, thereby knitting a fabric. At least a pair of the needle beds is often disposed at front and back. In a weft knitting machine in which at least a pair of the needle beds is disposed at front and back, a fabric is basically knitted at each needle bed. By use of the front and rear needle beds, it is possible to knit textures such as a rib stitch, and also knit a pouched fabric by knitting a fabric at each of the front and rear needle beds and making both ends in a width direction of the knitted fabrics continuous. Moreover, it is also possible to carry out a transferring that a knitted loop is made to move between front and rear needle beds (Refer to Japanese Examined Patent Publication JP-B2 2946325, JP-B2 2917146, JP-B2 2995464, and JP-B2 3292836, for example).
The Japanese Examined Patent Publication JP-B2 2946325 discloses a basic idea of a method for temporarily placing a knitted loop, by use of compound needles for the knitting needles on the front and rear needle beds, from the facing needle bed onto a tongue of a slider of the compound needle retaining a knitted loop on a hook of a needle body. The Japanese Examined Patent Publication JP-B2 2917146 discloses a knitted loop forming method for split-knitting, a cam structure for the method, and the like, in which method the compound needles are used for the knitting needles on the front and rear needle beds, and a knitted loop formed through previous course is not knocked over but retained on a tongue of a slider, and transferred to the knitting needle on the facing needle bed and further, both of racking for shifting the needle bed and the transferring are applied. The Japanese Examined Patent Publication JP-B2 2995464 discloses an apparatus for the transferring and the temporal placement of a knitted loop, in which apparatus the compound needles are used on the front and rear needle beds and further, separately from the front and rear needle beds, a transfer jack is provided. The cited reference 4 discloses a structure of a weft knitting machine using the compound needles for the knitting needles on the front and rear needle beds, by which apparatus the transferring and the split-knitting can be carried out.
According to the related art disclosed in the aforementioned Japanese Examined Patent Publications JP-B2 2946325, JP-B2 2917146, JP-B2 2995464, and JP-B2 3292836, by means of the weft knitting machine using the compound needles on the front and rear needle beds, it is possible to knit not only a basic fabric, but also various fabrics by inclusion of the transferring and the like. However, the Japanese Examined Patent Publication JP-B2 2946325 does not disclose specific structures such as a cam apparatus for effectively driving the knitting needles. According to the Japanese Examined Patent Publication JP-B2 2917146, the transferring knitted loop is received by a hook of a needle body on the facing needle bed, so that the method of temporarily placing a knitted loop as disclosed in the Japanese Examined Patent Publication JP-B2 2946325 cannot be applied.
The Japanese Examined Patent Publication JP-B2 2995464 discloses a cam structure for temporarily placing a knitted loop by use of a transfer jack, and a cam structure for temporarily placing a knitted loop, having a slider holding cam provided on a slider cam on the same phase of a transferring cam and a knitting cam. However, theses cam structures are complex.
Further, in a structure having a transfer cam disposed on a knitting cam, as shown in the Japanese Examined Patent Publications JP-B2 2995464 and JP-B2 3292836, a needle is selected to one of three positions of A, H, and B, at each position of which a presser is disposed, so that change-over between driving and non-driving of needle body, slider, or the like is carried out. Such a structure requires not only a complex cam structure, but also a raising cam having right and left apexes with long distance therebetween. Accordingly, such a structure is not suitable to a knitting machine for producing knitted products having a short knitted width such as a glove and a sock, for which knitting machine frequently repeats back-and-forth motions at a high speed because the structure would cause a larger time loss.


In one embodiment, a method for ensuring quality of a media message is provided. The method includes receiving information for a media message. At least a portion of the media is analyzed to determine a media quality for the media message. The method then determines if the media quality is acceptable. If the media quality is not acceptable, then an alert may be sent regarding the media quality of the media message. For example, a caller may be prompted to re-record a media message.

As callers leave media messages using a media system, most systems monitor the power of the recorded message. If the power of the message is below a preconfigured threshold, the media system alerts the caller that the recipient may have a hard time understanding the message. For example, the media system may play a suitable prompt, such as "We did not receive your message. Please press 1 and re-record the message at the sound of the beep."
Power monitoring is used because old systems wanted to save disk space and because this simple measurement requires little CPU processing power. Measuring the power may be acceptable for detecting silence; however, additional factors may affect the quality of a media message other than power. Thus, even if power is monitored, a recipient may still not be able to understand a media message.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Methods and systems for facilitating alignment of optical systems and optoelectronic systems are disclosed here. The methods and systems include passively detecting images, determining relative positions of components and aligning components. An imaging component can detect images and determine relative positions and repositioning instructions.

Advances in technology have made communication using electromagnetic waves the most reliable and fastest ways of communicating information between points. In general, electromagnetic communication systems generate information at a source (e.g., transmitter). Information is transmit as a signal through a channel, such as free space in radio applications, electronic lines in telephone and internet applications, or optic fibers in fiber optic applications. During transmission, a channel propagating information usually induces loss in a signal and/or distorts the signal. Likewise, various other mechanics may introduce noise in a signal. A signal is typically received by a receiver which can utilize and/or decode the signal.
In a general, optical fiber based communication systems transmits optical signals to, or receives optical signals from, one or more optical fibers. The optical fibers are affixed (e.g., via epoxy) or mated in a fiber optic connector that positions the ends of the optical fibers in close proximity to the optoelectronic component. In many systems, a lens is used to focus optical signals emitted from a optic fiber.
Optoelectronic component must be aligned relative to a lens, and a lens must be aligned relative to the end of a optical fiber. If the optical transmission path is not aligned, a quality of the optical communication can be degraded or an optic signal can be completely lost. Aligning the optoelectronic device, the lens, and the core of the optical fiber can be difficult because of the small dimensions and low fault tolerances in systems.
Today, devices can achieve the required alignment. However, such devices suffer from one or more shortcomings. The shortcomings typically involve increases in time, inability to automate, increases in cost, or low precision. In many cases, an entire optical system is assembled, then it is discovered that the components are not aligned and the system must be discarded or reassembled.
The above-described deficiencies are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of conventional systems, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with conventional systems and corresponding benefits of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein may become further apparent upon review of the following description.

Imaging system for passive alignment of engines


A multilayer ceramic electronic component includes a body including a dielectric layer, first and second internal electrodes, a stacked portion including first and second surfaces opposing each other in a stacking direction of the first and second internal electrodes, third and fourth surfaces connected to the first and second surfaces and opposing each other, and fifth and sixth surfaces connected to the first and second surfaces, connected to the third and fourth surfaces, and opposing each other, and a coating layer disposed on the first to sixth surfaces of the stacked portion and having first and second connection portions; and first and second external electrodes connected to the first and second internal electrodes, respectively, and arranged on the third and fourth surfaces of the body, wherein the first and second internal electrodes are respectively connected to the first and second external electrodes through the first and second connection portions.

Among the capacitor components, the multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) may be relatively small in size, may have a relatively high capacity, and may be relatively easy to be mounted.
Recently, it has been required to increase the capacity of a ceramic electronic component, particularly a stacked capacitor. In order to cope with this, methods for maximizing the effective volume of multilayer ceramic electronic components are being studied.
Among the methods of maximizing the effective volume, a method of attaching a separate margin portion in the width direction of the internal electrode may be proposed, but this method has a complicated process. In addition, there may be a problem that reliability for moisture resistance may be deteriorated, due to adhesion of the margin portion and thinning of the margin portion.
Therefore, there may be a need to develop a multilayer ceramic capacitor structure capable of improving the reliability for moisture resistance while maintaining a connection between the internal electrode and the external electrode for commercial applications of the ultra-high capacity multilayer ceramic capacitor.


In an automatic transmission, a hydraulic pressure control valve produces hydraulic pressure according to a pilot pressure fed thereto. A duty solenoid valve controls the pilot pressure. An oil temperature sensor detects the temperature of the hydraulic oil and a driving period changing circuit changes the driving period of the duty solenoid valve according to the temperature of the hydraulic oil so that the driving period is long when the temperature of the hydraulic oil is low and short when the temperature of the hydraulic oil is high.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates a duty solenoid valve control system for an automatic transmission.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known, in an automatic transmission, the gear-shifting is effected by the alternate engagement and disengagement of friction elements such as a clutch, a brake and the like. The friction elements are actuated by hydraulic control valves which control the hydraulic pressure to be fed to the friction elements according to the pilot pressure given thereto.
Generally, the friction element is engaged when a hydraulic pressure higher than a predetermined value is fed thereto, and is disengaged when the hydraulic pressure fed thereto is lowered. It has been proposed as disclosed, for instance, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62(1987)-18780 to carefully control the hydraulic pressure to be fed to the friction element by use of a duty solenoid valve which controls the pilot pressure given to the hydraulic control valve, thereby smoothly effecting the alternate engagement and disengagement of the friction element, and suppressing torque shock when the gears are shifted.
However, there is a problem in that the hydraulic pressure control properties change with the viscosity of the hydraulic oil which changes with temperature. The hydraulic pressure control properties are evaluated on the basis of the pressure regulation performance, the hydraulic pressure oscillation and the response performance.
In FIG. 6, line A1 is a pilot pressure change curve (a curve representing the change in the pilot pressure with duty cycle of the duty solenoid valve) for a hydraulic oil temperature of 80.degree. C. and a long driving period (frequency of 35 Hz), and curve V1 shows a pilot pressure oscillation waveform for a hydraulic oil temperature of 80.degree. C. and a long driving period (frequency of 35 Hz). Line A2 is a pilot pressure change curve for a hydraulic oil temperature of 80.degree. C. and a short driving period (frequency of 70 Hz), and curve V2 shows a pilot pressure oscillation waveform for a hydraulic oil temperature of 80.degree. C. and a short driving period (frequency of 70 Hz). Line A3 is a pilot pressure change curve for a hydraulic oil temperature of -10.degree. C. and a long driving period (frequency of 35 Hz), and curve V3 shows a pilot pressure oscillation waveform for a hydraulic oil temperature of -10.degree. C. and a long driving period (frequency of 35 Hz). Line A4 is a pilot pressure change curve for a hydraulic oil temperature of -10.degree. C. and a short driving period (frequency of 70 Hz), and curve V4 shows a pilot pressure oscillation waveform for a hydraulic oil temperature of -10.degree. C. and a short driving period (frequency of 70 Hz).
The duty solenoid valve regulates the pilot pressure by draining the hydraulic oil in response to receipt of an ON-signal, and the pilot pressure oscillation waveform curves V1 to V4 represent the change in the pilot pressure which occurs in response to the opening and closure of the duty solenoid valve.
A controller determines the value of a duty signal, which is expected to produce a target pressure, on the basis of the pilot pressure change curve selected according to the oil temperature and the driving frequency, and inputs the duty signal into the duty solenoid valve. The pressure regulation performance is evaluated on the basis of the deviation of the pilot pressure actually obtained in response the duty signal from the target pressure. The value of the duty signal determined by the controller is converted into an electric signal and then input into the duty solenoid valve. Since an electric signal is affected by voltage, the electric signal actually output can differ to some extent from the electric signal which the controller intends to output. That is, the driving duty cycle represented by the electric signal actually input into the duty solenoid valve differs from the driving duty cycle the controller has determined, which causes an error in the actual pilot pressure.
Further, as can be understood from the comparison of the pilot pressure change curves A1 to A4, the rate of reduction of the pilot pressure in the low duty cycle range (where the draining time is short) becomes very low when the oil temperature is low as compared with when the oil temperature is high. This is because, when the oil temperature is low, the viscosity of the hydraulic oil is high and the amount of oil drained in a unit time is small. This tendency is enhanced as the driving period is shortened and the draining time in one cycle becomes shorter. These facts cause the rate of change of the pilot pressure for a given change in the value of the duty signal to vary depending on the oil temperature and the driving period. Also the control width is caused to vary depending on the oil temperature and the driving period.
Accordingly, if it is assumed that the driving duty cycle which the controller determines corresponding to a target pilot pressure P1 is d1 and the driving duty cycle represented by the electric signal actually input into the duty solenoid valve is d2 with the pilot pressure corresponding to the driving duty cycle d2 represented by P2, the difference between the target pilot pressure P1 and the actual pilot pressure P2 corresponding to the driving duty cycle d2 is relatively small when the oil temperature is high and the driving period is short, while the difference between the target pilot pressure P1 and the actual pilot pressure P2 for the same difference between d1 and d2 is relatively large when the oil temperature is low and the driving period is short. That is, when the oil temperature is low and the driving period is short, the pressure regulation performance deteriorates. In other words, as the inclination of the pilot pressure change curve increases, the pressure regulation performance deteriorates more rapidly. Since the control width narrows as the inclination of the pilot pressure change curve increases, the pressure regulation performance deteriorates more rapidly, as the control width becomes narrower.
The pilot pressure oscillation is generated in response to the on and off states of the duty signal and is evaluated on the basis of the driving period and the amplitude of the oscillation. In the case of the pilot pressure oscillation waveforms V2 and V4 for the shorter driving period (70 Hz), the duty solenoid valve is turned on and off twice as often as in the case of the pilot pressure oscillation waveforms V1 and V3 for the longer driving period (35 Hz).
The pilot pressure oscillation generated while gear-shifting is being effected fluctuates the working hydraulic pressure to the brakes or the clutches and causes fluctuation in the torque transmitted by the brakes or the clutches. As a result, the pilot pressure oscillation is felt as a vibration of the vehicle body. Generally, vibration of the vehicle body is harder to feel as the frequency of the vibration increases. From this viewpoint, pilot pressure oscillation having a shorter period is preferable to that having a longer period.
The amplitude of the pilot pressure oscillation is affected by the oil temperature and the driving period. That is, so long as the driving period is the same, the amplitude of the pilot pressure oscillation is larger when the oil temperature is high than when the oil temperature is low as can be understood from the comparison of the pilot pressure oscillation waveforms V1 and V3 or V2 and V4. This is because the viscosity of the hydraulic oil is lowered as the oil temperature increases and the flow of the hydraulic oil during the on times increases, whereby the fluctuation in the pilot pressure increases. Even when the oil temperature is the same, the amplitude of the pilot pressure oscillation for a given duty cycle is larger when the driving period is longer than when the driving period is shorter as can be understood from the comparison of the pilot pressure oscillation waveforms V1 and V2 or V3 and V4. This is because when the driving period is long, the on time in each cycle is long, and accordingly, the amount of the hydraulic oil which flows in the on time in each cycle is larger.
The response performance is defined to be the rate of change of the pilot pressure in response to a change in the duty cycle, and tends to deteriorate as the oil temperature is lowered and the fluidity of the hydraulic oil drops. Further, the response performance improves as the driving period becomes shorter.
When a shorter driving period (e.g., 70 Hz) is adopted, the pilot pressure regulation performance is unsatisfactory when the oil temperature is low though the pilot pressure control properties are acceptable when the oil temperature is high. On the other hand, when a longer driving period (e.g., 35 Hz) is adopted, the pilot pressure oscillation and the response performance deteriorate when the oil temperature is high though the pilot pressure regulation performance is acceptable.

Duty solenoid valve control system for an automatic transmission


A machine having multiple stationary weighing and filling platforms serviced by parallel straight line in-feed and discharge container or material conveyors. Positive grippers transfer the containers or other material to be weighed transversely to stationary weighing and filling platform and the same or similar grippers transfer the containers from the platform to a parallel discharge track. This eliminates centrifugal forces, increased throughput reduces floor space and permits greater sensitivity in weighing since there is no inherent motion or vibration at the weighing station.

Heretofore, in order to maintain a relatively high speed, the containers were moved along a circular track or transferred by a pivoted arm to filling and weighing stations or positions. While high speeds have been achieved with such arrangements, filling accuracy is reduced by the vibration and movement of the containers during filling. Moreover, centrifugal forces limit the usefulness and speed of such a device, particularly where the container is fragile, such as a glass or earthenware container. Sloshing or spilling from centrifugal forces further limits the speed of such machines.
Reference is made to the following patents:
______________________________________ Inventor Patent Dated ______________________________________ Salmonsen et al. 4,344,493 8/82 Patzwahl 4,514,953 5/85 Tisma 4,578,929 4/86 Schaltegger 4,625,775 12/86 Schaltegger 4,657,054 4/87 Schaltegger 4,848,479 7/89 ______________________________________
The patent to Shaltegger '479 is owned and subject to assignment to the same person or entity as this application. The other patents are cited in Schaltegger.

Straight line sorting and/or fill-to-weigh machine


The invention provides a polymeric medical sealant. The medical sealant is useful for application to the tonsils and adenoids, wherein the sealant performs at least one of the following functions, a) inhibit the colonization of bacteria, b) inhibit the binding of bacteria to tissue, c) reduction of tissue morbidity, d) hemostasis, e) coating and protection of tissue during healing. f) promotion of healing, and g) reduction of pain.

Adenoids (pharyngeal tonsils) and tonsils (palatine tonsils) are involved in a number of diseases of the ear, nose, and throat including chronic otitis media with effusion (COME), recurrent acute otitis media (RAOM), adenoiditis, pediatric chronic sinusitis, tonsillitis, pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), adult OSA, and chronic strep throat. Lingual tonsils can also become infected and be problematic. Treatment for these diseases is primarily achieved first by use of oral medications or, in the case of pediatric and adult sleep apnea through the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Otitis media is most often treated primarily with ventilation tube surgery. Failure of these therapies is often followed by surgical removal of the tonsils and/or adenoids to remove them either because they are a harbor for bacteria or as obstructing anatomy. Complications related to these procedures include post-operative bleeding, dehydration, weight loss, peritonsillar abscess, torticilis (neck stiffness), regrowth of tissue, redo surgery due to incomplete removal of tissue, continued COME or RAOM, continued OSA, and occasionally death. Post-operative treatment has traditionally been limited to dietary limitation, rinses, and use of oral antibiotics to prevent post-operative pain and infections.
It has now been discovered that a polymeric film-forming medical sealant composition may be applied to the throat to provide multiple treatment and/or prophylactic functions such as reduction of bleeding, prevention of post-operative infections, tissue protection, reduction in pain, and the like. It is also anticipated that such sealant could be used in the throat, especially on the tonsils, adenoids or the post-operative adenoid remnant to treat otitis media, given the involvement in the disease.
Useful polymeric film-forming medical sealants of the invention may be applied directly to the affected area, are generally resorbable materials which may have residence times of one day or many days or weeks.


The present application relates to a constant pressure switch apparatus and a water heating system. The constant pressure switch apparatus includes: a body inside which a flow passage is provided, the flow passage having an inlet and an outlet; a first blocking member and an attraction member that can be magnetically attracted to each other; the first blocking member having a blocking position and a communicating position that are spaced apart at a preset distance; the first blocking member being able to move towards the communicating position when a pressure difference between both sides of the first blocking member in a direction from the inlet to the outlet is greater than an attraction force between the first blocking member and the attraction member; and the first blocking member being able to move towards the blocking position when a pressure difference between both sides of the first blocking member in a direction from the inlet to the outlet is less than an attraction force between the first blocking member and the attraction member. The constant pressure switch apparatus and water heating system provided in this application can enable the circulating pump to maintain a connected state of the flow passage without increasing pressure, and can also avoid the problem of series flow of cold and hot water.

Water heater has become one of the necessary household equipments, which can provide not only hot water for bath but also hot water for use in kitchen. However, no matter how the water heater is mounted, there is generally a water pipe between the water heater and each water consuming point. When there is no water demand at the water consuming point for a long time, the hot water in the water pipe will gradually cool down, and at the next time when there is a water demand at the water consuming point, especially at the time of the next bath, the water coming out first is the cold water. This not only causes great waste of water resources, but also brings uncomfortable bathing experience to the user. According to an estimation of investigations, in a residential building of ten floors, the length of the above mentioned pipeline is more than 5 meters in average. Take the diameter of the pipeline as 20 mm, the cold water discharged before having a bath each time by each household is about 1.6 litres. If each household uses the gas water heater for twice every day in average, then the water wasted by one household every year is about 1150 litres. If the whole residential building has 300 households, then the total amount of water wasted in one year reaches up to 345 tons.
In order to improve the degree of comfort of bathing for users while saving water resources, the researchers have tried to develop a technique of preheating and circulating the cold water in the pipeline using a circulating pump. The relevant prior art discloses a water heating system, which adds a circulating pump and a return pipeline inside the water heater, and thereby pumps the cooled water in the pipeline connecting the water consuming point and the water heater back to the water heater to be preheated, and in this way, the user can use hot water in time at the water consuming point. In the water heating system, a one-way valve is provided between the return pipeline and the hot water pipeline. In a case of normal water use, the one-way valve is in an off state, and only when the circulating pump is started to perform the preheating and circulation, the one-way valve is opened to communicate the return pipeline with the hot water pipeline, so as to finish the cyclic heating.
However, at present, the employed one-way valve usually uses a spring as a reset mechanism. When the water heater controls the circulating pump to open the one-way valve with a certain initial pressure, the spring will generally be compressed, and thus the resilience acting on a blocking mechanism will increase. In order to prevent the problem of pressure relief springback formed after the one-way valve is opened, the circulating pump needs to increase the pressure constantly to maintain the open state of the one-way valve, so as to ensure a stable return water circulation, and this has a high requirement for the circulating pump.
Besides, some times the water pressures of the cold water pipeline and the hot water pipeline will have fluctuations, which cause a situation where the pressure difference between two sides of the one-way valve is greater than its initial open pressure. Even if the pressure difference is maintained for a short time, the above one-way valve will still be opened in this case, which will cause cold and hot water to form series flow, resulting in a waste of heat energy.

Constant pressure switch apparatus and water heating system


For mailing use, a balance scale devoid of springs, electrical components, gradations, indicia and moveable pointers. Said scale is designed for use in determining postage due for UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE:. 1. FIRST CLASS MAIL wherein postage fee is based on one ounce minimum weight and one ounce weight increments up to and including eleven ounce PA0 2. PRIORITY MAIL wherein there is a single fee for mail weighting more than eleven ounces but not more than two pounds.

Postal scales in general domestic use are of the spring type and their most general use is for weighing letter mail of approximately one ounce. Frequently, after some use, these scales get an unloaded reading of more than zero. The fact that the unloaded reading is not accurate and the fact that there is often the difficult visual task of determining where a pointer is located amongst close gradation lines often causes a person to either affix an extra stamp to be sure of correct postage or causes incorrect reading with resultant insufficient stamping of the mail. This insufficient stamping causes the POSTAL SERVICE to waste time from its high volume, automated processing to individually reject the mail, make proper notation and then return it to sender; the mailer then wastes time and money in placing the mail in a new, properly addressed and stamped enclosure and mail delivery time has been prolonged. Electronic scales are expensive for home use and there is always the need to set a proper unloaded zero reading and check on the condition of a battery.
There is need for a simple inexpensive mechanical domestic mail scale that maintains an accurate zero reading after prolonged intensive use and after long periods of non-use; a scale that accurately determines postage due without necessitating a judgement based on the difficult visual task of determining where a moveable indicator is positioned on a background of fine and close gradation lines.

Scale with rolling-fulcrum and cylindrical-weights


A cold start air control device for an internal combustion engine of the type having an air delivery system in which the delivery of air to a vacuum generating manifold is controlled by a throttle valve and a by-pass valve and parallel with the throttle valve includes a casing that defines a passageway in parallel with the throttle valve and the by-pass valve and which has a cross-sectional area greater than that of the by-pass valve so as to offer a less restricted air flow path than that offered by the by-pass valve. The passageway provides communication between the manifold and atmosphere and a valve is disposed within the passageway for opening and closing the passageway in response to the vacuum level generated by the manifold.

The present invention relates to a cold start air control device for an internal combustion engine and more particularly to a device to be used in an air delivery system in which the delivery of air to a vacuum generating manifold is controlled by a throttle valve and a by-pass valve in parallel with the throttle valve.
A number of U.S. patents have dealt with the control of air flow to an engine during the cold start of the engine. More specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,315 regulates the air flow through the use of thermo expansive and electro expansive materials. U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,352 utilizes a different approach in which a hole is provided in the throttle valve.
Devices such as these are expensive to manufacture and/or require modification of the throttle valve.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cold start air control device having a minimum of moving parts and capable of being used without any modification to the throttle valve.
Since it has become customary to utilize idle air by-pass solenoids in conjunction with throttle valves on internal combustion engines, it is a further object of this invention to provide a cold start air control device that may be utilized in conjunction with the throttle valve and the idle air by-pass. More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a cold start air control device that will bypass both the throttle valve and the idle air by-pass solenoid.


A flash storage device comprises a plurality of data blocks, each data block comprising a plurality of data segments, a system memory, and a controller. The controller is configured to cache in the system memory a plurality of data sectors to be written, to write to a first one of the plurality of data segments a first one of the plurality of data sectors, to write to the first one of the plurality of data segments a first portion of a second one of the plurality of data sectors, and to write to a second one of the plurality of data segments a second portion of the second one of the plurality of data sectors.

Flash memory is an improved form of Electrically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM). Traditional EEPROM devices are only capable of erasing or writing one memory location at a time. In contrast, flash memory allows multiple memory locations to be erased or written in one programming operation. Flash memory can thus operate at higher effective speeds than traditional EEPROM.
Flash memory enjoys a number of advantages over other storage devices. It generally offers faster read access times and better shock resistance than a hard disk drive (HDD). Unlike dynamic random access memory (DRAM), flash memory is non-volatile, meaning that data stored in a flash storage device is not lost when power to the device is removed. For this reason, a flash memory device is frequently referred to as a flash storage device, to differentiate it from volatile forms of memory. These advantages, and others, may explain the increasing popularity of flash memory for storage applications in devices such as memory cards, USB flash drives, mobile phones, digital cameras, mass storage devices, MP3 players and the like.
A host system to which a flash storage device is attached may send and receive data to and from the flash storage device in data sectors. The particular size of a data sector is usually determined by the host device. Some host devices utilize data sectors with a size of 2n bits, where n is a positive integer (e.g., 32 bits, 64 bits, 128 bits, 256 bits, 512 bits, 1024 bits, 2048 bits, etc.). Other host devices may use data sectors with non-standard sizes other than 2n bits, such as 520 bits, 524 bits, 528 bits, etc. As the size of a data segment in a flash storage device is determined at the time of manufacture, and is usually also a size of 2n bits (e.g., 1K, 2K, 4K, 8K, 16K, etc.), efficiently accommodating host devices that use non-standard data sectors presents a challenge. In this regard, storing larger, non-standard size data sectors in a flash storage device may leave a significant portion of the potential storage space thereof unused.

Supporting variable sector sizes in flash storage devices


The invention allows a purchaser of lottery tickets to scan multiple lottery tickets at once, send the resulting image to a web site, where the web site will indicate to the purchaser whether any of the tickets are winners and also highlight on the image for the purchaser the location of a winning ticket in the image and also highlight where on the ticket the winning number is. The method for checking lottery tickets comprises the steps of digitizing at least one lottery ticket comprising lottery numbers to form an image, performing optical character recognition on the image to obtain the lottery numbers, comparing the lottery ticket lottery numbers to at least one winning lottery number and reporting the winning status of the at least one lottery ticket.

This invention relates to lottery tickets.
The Pennsylvania State lottery game xe2x80x9cSuper 6 Lottoxe2x80x9d, is exemplary of many. If one were to purchase a $5 ticket, one would receive a ticket with 15 groups of numbers, each group containing six numbers, for a total of 90 numbers, the numbers within each group being selected from 1 through 69. Of course, if all six of the numbers in one group later match the winning 6 numbers, the ticket purchaser is a winner. The ticket purchaser is also a winner if 3, 4 or 5 of the numbers within a group match any of the winning numbers. Comparing the numbers in the ticket to the winning numbers can become tedious, especially if, for example, a group of individuals working together decide to pool their ticket purchases. Ten $5 tickets would have 900 numbers to check. The designated ticket checker could waste upwards of an hour determining if a ticket is a winner. State lotteries fund many worthwhile causes, but the mathematical permutations and combinations required to check if a ticket is a winner is unpleasantly work-like to many individuals and inhibits ticket sales.
The invention includes a method for checking lottery tickets comprising the steps of digitizing at least one lottery ticket comprising lottery numbers to form an image, performing optical character recognition (OCR) on the image to obtain the lottery numbers, comparing the lottery ticket lottery numbers to at least one winning lottery number and reporting the winning status of the at least one lottery ticket.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention allows a purchaser of lottery tickets to scan multiple lottery tickets at once, send the resulting image to a web site, where the web site will indicate to the purchaser whether any of the tickets are winners and also highlight on the image for the purchaser the location of a winning ticket in the image and also highlight where on the ticket the winning number is.

Method of checking lottery ticket numbers


A method of termite proofing a building structure (1, 101), the building structure (1, 101) has a foundation (3) located below an adjacent finished ground level (5) and an external wall (2, 102) formed on the foundation (3) and defining an exterior surface (4, 104) of the building structure (1, 101). The exterior surface (4, 104) is defined at least in part by a cementitious material. The method comprises applying a curable composition (9) to the cementitious material throughout a lower region (8, 108) of the exterior surface (4, 104) extending from the foundation (3) to a predetermined height above the finished ground level (5), such that the composition (9) penetrates into and is retained within the cementitious material. The composition is allowed to cure within the cementitious material throughout the lower region (8). The said composition (9) cures within the cementitious material, thereby protecting the cementitious material against intrusion by termites.

A common method of providing protection for building structures against termites is by the use of physical barriers formed, for example, of stainless steel mesh or aluminium. Alternatively, chemical barriers are often utilised. Chemical barriers may either be in the form of termite poisons or termite repellents.
Metallic barriers are relatively expensive in terms of material and installation costs. Chemical barriers are generally applied at ground level and may be harmful to humans, animals and vegetation. Further, the effectiveness of chemical barriers deteriorates over time.

Method of termite proofing a building structure


A multiband antenna in a wireless communication device includes a main antenna, a first parasitic portion, a second parasitic portion, a first switch, and a second switch, the first switch is used to control functioning of the first parasitic portion. The second switch is used to control functioning of the second parasitic portion. Therefore, the main antenna can resonate alone or in combination with the functioning first parasitic portion and/or the functioning second parasitic portion, the multiband antenna has different operating frequency bands and different operating SAR.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to antennas, and particularly to a multiband antenna used in a wireless communication device.
2. Description of Related Art
Many portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and laptop computers often use multiband antennas to receive/send wireless signals of different frequencies.
However, multiband antennas usually have an unvaried Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), which makes them difficult to satisfy different countries/areas standard of SAR.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Multiband antenna and wireless communication device employing the same


A charging device (51) includes a charging roller (65), a supporting section (71), a guide (73), a first biasing section (75), and a second biasing section (90). The charging roller (65) charges an image bearing member (50). The supporting section (71) supports the charging roller (65) such that the charging roller (65) is rotatable. The guide (73) guides the supporting section (71) in a first direction (D1). The first biasing section (75) biases the supporting section (71) in the first direction (D1) to press the charging roller (65) against the image bearing member (50). The second biasing section (90) biases the supporting section (71 toward the guide (73).

A charging device including a charging roller and a cleaning member is generally known. The charging roller charges a photosensitive member. The charging roller is in contact with the photosensitive member. The charging roller may therefore be contaminated by either or both of a trace of toner left on the photosensitive member and paper dust. Accordingly, the charging roller is cleaned using the cleaning member.
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a charging device including a charging roller supported by a supporting member. The charging roller is pressed against a photosensitive member through a spring member biasing the supporting member. Accordingly, the charging roller passively rotates in accompaniment to rotation of the photosensitive member. In contrast, a cleaning member therein rotates through driving force of a drum gear. As a result, the charging roller is cleaned.

Charging device and image forming apparatus


A respiratory assistance system can provide high flow therapy to patients. The respiratory assistance system can include a patient interface that can deliver a gas flow to a patient and a gas source that can drive the gas flow towards the patient interface at an operating flow rate. The system can include a controller for controlling the operating flow rate of the gas. The controller can apply multiple test flow rate values in a range as the operating flow rate. For each of the test flow rate values, the controller can measure a patient parameter. The controller can determine a new flow rate value based on the measured patient parameters. Patient parameters can include respiration rate, work of breathing, or any other parameters related to the respiratory circuit.

A respiratory assistance system including a humidification apparatus may be used to deliver heated and humidified respiratory gases to a patient through a conduit and a patient interface. The respiratory assistance system can provide a number of therapies for patients requiring respiratory support. One of the therapies includes providing a high flow therapy. In high flow therapy, the respiratory support system delivers relatively high flows of gases through an interface, such as an unsealed nasal cannula. The flow rate of gases can be in the range of 5 L/min to 120 L/min for patients.


Methods, systems, and devices for configuring components in a display template based on a user interface type are described. A template customization application may support configuration of a display template corresponding to multiple user interface types. A user may customize the display template by adding a component to the display template (e.g., where the display template is displayed by the template customization application according to a specific user interface type view). The template customization application may determine whether the added component supports rendering for the current user interface type and may display the component in the template based on the determination (e.g., either as a functional component or as a placeholder). Each user interface type supported by the template may be defined in a single underlying metadata file, so adding the component into one view will automatically add the component for all of the supported the user interface types.

A cloud platform (i.e., a computing platform for cloud computing) may be employed by many users to store, manage, and process data using a shared network of remote servers. Users may develop applications on the cloud platform to handle the storage, management, and processing of data. In some cases, the cloud platform may utilize a multi-tenant database system. Users may access the cloud platform using various user devices (e.g., desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, or other computing systems, etc.).
In one example, the cloud platform may support customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. This may include support for sales, service, marketing, community, analytics, applications, and the Internet of Things. A user may utilize the cloud platform to help manage contacts of the user. For example, managing contacts of the user may include analyzing data, storing and preparing communications, and tracking opportunities and sales.
The cloud platform may support a number of applications and pages for viewing CRM information, updating data records, or performing other CRM or data-related activities. Users may access these applications and pages on different user devices. However, displaying a same application on different types of devices or in different sizes of user interfaces may result in a poor user experience. For example, certain components displayed in the application may be designed for display in one type of user interface (e.g., on a mobile phone or on a desktop screen), and displaying this component in another type of user interface may inefficiently utilize the user interface display resources or—in some extreme cases—may break the application (e.g., causing rendering of the component or the application to fail). Furthermore, defining separate versions of the application for different types of user interfaces may improve the display for each type of user interface, but will also lead to synchronicity issues. For example, changes to an application or a component displayed in the application will not carry across the different user interface types due to the different application definitions. Additionally, such a system may be inefficient with regard to memory resources, as the system needs to store separate application and component definitions for each type of user interface. Such a system scales poorly as support for new user interface types is added.

Configuring components in a display template based on a user interface type


An illuminated siphon includes a directional light source attached adjacent the upper end of the siphon tube. The siphon includes a transmission path for the light source along the siphon inlet tube, with an illumination emission point near the inlet end of the siphon tube, and provides utility for the siphon in darkened and confined areas, such as vehicle fuel tanks. The light source and transmission path are disposed to one side of the siphon inlet tube, thus allowing a clear sight line for the operator along the opposite side of the tube. The inlet end of the siphon tube is inserted into the tank and the light source is activated, whereupon the siphon tube may be maneuvered to observe any water or other contaminates in the tank and to position the inlet end of the tube to withdraw those contaminates from the tank. The tube or pipe to which the light is attached is preferably relatively inflexible in order to provide for maneuverability of the light and inlet end from the opposite end. Additional flexible tubes or hoses may be secured to the tube to which the light is attached, and a hand or motor operated siphon pump may be secured to the remainder of the apparatus. Preferably, the various tubes and hoses are transparent to enable the user to observe any contaminates flowing within, and are also resistant to degradation due to contact with most types of fuels. Use of the siphon provides a great savings to the operator of the vehicle, especially diesel powered trucks and the like.

Contaminated fuel is a common problem in the trucking industry. Fuel contamination may occur in many ways, as each time fuel is transferred (e.g., from distribution center to tank truck, from tank truck to retail storage tank, and from retail storage tank to vehicle) some opportunity arises for small particles of dirt and debris, as well as other contaminants, to enter the tank with the fuel.
Moreover, it is well known that partially filled tanks of any sort or capacity are subject to internal condensation, wherein water vapor suspended in the air volume within the tank condenses onto the inner walls of the tank and runs down the walls. As water is heavier than fuel and will not dissolve in most fuels, such condensate will form a pocket or puddle at the lowest point(s) in the tank, below any fuel in the tank. While most pumping systems endeavor to avoid ingesting such condensate or other foreign matter, the possibility exists any time such foreign matter enters a fuel tank. The pumping of debris or water into a fuel tank is consequently and unfortunately an all too common occurrence.
While carbureted engines are generally somewhat more forgiving of such foreign matter mixed with the fuel, fuel injected systems generally include relatively small diameter injection nozzles in order to break up the fuel charge into smaller droplets more readily and thus to provide more efficient combustion. This is particularly true of diesel truck engines, which are relatively susceptible to injector and other engine damage, particularly due to water ingestion.
Means for the removal of such water and foreign matter have generally consisted of relatively costly filters installed between the tank and the injectors on the truck. Such filters are relatively inefficient, and it may take quite a number of filters (e.g. up to 25 filters) to filter one gallon of water from 100 gallons of fuel. It would be more desirable to remove the contamination from the tank directly, rather than attempting to filter it out as it passes through the fuel system.
While siphons and other extraction systems and devices have been developed, they have been only partially effective at best due to the difficulty in seeing the pocket of water or other contamination in the bottom of a darkened fuel tank. The interface between water and fuel may be readily observed if there is sufficient light, but of course lights are not provided in fuel tanks.
The need arises for an illuminated siphon device for the withdrawal of contamination from fuel tanks, particularly the fuel tanks of diesel trucks. The device must provide a safe source of light within the tank, preferably aligned with the end of the siphon installed within the tank. The device should be relatively economical to purchase, allowing virtually anyone with a need for such a device to possess one. Finally, it should be relatively small, compact and light weight in order to be readily carried aboard the vehicle for which it is needed.


The sight mounted to a bow portion for archery, which includes an elevation bar fixed to the bow portion and having a first sliding surface and a second sliding surface; a box mounted so as to be slidable along the first sliding surface and the second sliding surface of the elevation bar; an elastic member mounted to the box so as to be opposed to the first sliding surface; and a pressurizing device that pressurizes the elastic member in a direction at an angle with respect to the first sliding surface to deform the elastic member, the box being pressurized by the first sliding surface due to the elastic member and pressed against the second sliding surface. By the archery sight, it can solve the problem that a rattling is generated and leads to poor reproduction performance, resulting in rather poor usability for the athlete.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sight used as an archery equipment (hereinafter referred to as a "sight").
2. Related Background Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a bow 1 for use in archery is composed of a bow portion 1 and a string 2. The bow portion 1 is an arcuate plate-like member, to the ends of which the ends of the string 2 are respectively attached. When the string 2 is drawn, the distance between the ends of the bow portion 1 is reduced, and the bow rim is deflected. The deflection of the bow portion 1 causes elastic energy for shooting out an arrow to be accumulated in the bow portion 1. The string 2 transmits the elastic energy accumulated in the bow portion 1 to the arrow.
Further, a stabilizer 3 and a sight 4 are mounted to the bow portion 1 so as to extend forwards from the bow portion 1 respectively. The stabilizer 3 is mounted for the purpose of stabilizing the attitude of the bow and mitigating vibration, impact, etc. The sight 4 is mounted for the purpose of aiming the arrow to the target.
The sight 4 is a device which relates the line of sight of an athlete, the attitude of the bow portion 1 held by the athlete, and the target P. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the sight 4 has an elevation bar 11, a box 12, and a sight pin 6. The elevation bar 11 is fixed by means of a mounting shaft 5 extending forwards from the bow portion 1 such that the elevation bar 11 is positioned substantially along the vertical direction when shooting is performed with the bow portion 1 upright.
The box 12 is mounted to the elevation bar 11 so as to be slidable along the elevation bar 11. Arranged on the elevation bar 11 is a feed screw 13 elongated in the axial direction of the elevation bar 11. The feed screw 13 is threadedly engaged with the box 12 so that the box 12 can make fine movement along the elevation bar 11 through rotation of the feed screw 13.
The sight pin 6 is mounted to the box 12. The sight pin 6 is formed as a thin and narrow cylinder with a small circular section, and is mounted to the box 12 such that the axis of the pin is substantially aligned with the line connecting the eyes of the athlete and the target P when shooting is performed with the bow portion 1 upright. As shown in FIG. 1, in this condition, the athlete firmly holds the bow portion 1 such that the small circular section of the sight pin 6 is aimed at the target P, whereby it is always possible for the athlete to hold the bow portion 1 in the same condition.
In reality, however, the bow portion 1 cannot always be held perfectly in the same condition in the strict sense. Further, even if the bow portion 1 is held perfectly in the same condition in the strict sense, it can happen that, when the athlete shoots with the sight pin 6 of the sight 4 aimed at the target P, the arrow is off the mark depending upon the physical condition of the athlete, the weather, etc. In such cases, the box 12 is moved along the elevation bar 11 in accordance with the deviation amount to shift the position of the sight pin 6 and correct the previous shooting condition of the athlete. The athlete senses a difference between the shooting the target P with the sight pin 6 at the initial position and the shooting the target P with the position of the sight pin 6 shifted, and thereby can refer to it as information for correction for the next shooting.
In this way, the sight 4, which is a device used as a reference for the athlete when performing shooting next, is required to always exhibit highly accurate positional reproducibility. In particular, due to vibration or the like caused by the deformation of the bow portion 1, the box 12 is likely to be displaced with respect to the elevation bar 11. However, in the conventional sight 4, in which the box 12 is caused to slide along the elevation bar 11, it is necessary to perform dimensional processing on the box 12 and the elevation bar 11, with a gap for processing being maintained between the box 12 and the elevator bar 11. Further, in this processing, a dimensional tolerance is naturally required. As a result, between the box 12 and the elevation bar 11, in each dimension, there exists a gap caused by a tolerance required. This gap leads to rattling of the box 12 with respect to the elevation bar 11, and by extension, to a positional error of the box 12 with respect to the elevation bar 11. Such rattling is generated in both the horizontal and the vertical directions of the sections of the box 12 and the elevation bar 11. That is, though needed in terms of processing, this gap leads to rather poor reproduction performance for an archery-sight, resulting in rather poor usability for the athlete.


A hair iron has at least one heat transfer element that includes a substrate and a coating deposited on the substrate, the coating having a composition with at least 50 percent by mass of titanium and zirconium, a heating element, and an insulated grip region.

Hair irons and hair heating devices are currently used for a variety of hair-styling applications. For example, rounded hair irons may be used for curling hair, flat irons may be used for straightening hair or for some curling techniques, and crimping irons, having undulating heatable surfaces, which may be used for crimping hair.
Hair irons typically include at least one heatable surface, heated with a heating element, which may be controlled to stay within a desired temperature range, and an insulated griping region.

Hair iron and heat transfer material for hair iron


Lubricant is applied to a lubrication point by moving an emitter in a first portion of a movement path through lubricant in a reservoir and then moving the emitter through a second portion of the movement path. The emitter is loaded with lubricant in the first portion of the movement path and is drained from a drain port during the second portion of the movement path. The lubricant drained from the emitter is distributed to the lubrication point. A distribution device may be positioned below the emitter to collect the lubricant drained from the emitter and to distribute the collected lubricant to a lubrication point or position other than a position below the emitter during the second portion of the movement path.

Machines having at least one rotating component are frequently used in a variety of situations, such as industry, farming, and construction. Such machinery is typically operated outdoors and often may be too large to be stored indoors during periods of nonuse. Machinery used outdoors is exposed to a wide variety of weather and environmental conditions such as precipitation, wind, dirt and temperature extremes. Due to the exposure in difficult conditions, continual lubrication of moving parts may be required to maintain the equipment in proper operating condition.
A self-propelled irrigation system used on a farm is an example of machinery which is subject to these concerns. Some self-propelled irrigation systems use chain drives for rotating the wheels which propel these systems. The chains, sprockets and other rotating drive elements of the propulsion power transmission are constantly exposed to the ambient environmental conditions and to water from the irrigation system. Without constantly reapplying lubricant to the chains, the lubricant is quickly washed off and the chains fail, disabling the whole irrigation system.
In these situations, lubrication is typically applied manually at intervals which, in many cases, are irregular. Significant time may be required to lubricate the moving parts of the irrigation systems, and to maintain the parts lubricated under the difficult conditions of constant exposure to water. Even the most thorough and repeated manual lubrication effort is sometimes inadequate to prevent failure of the chains. Similar problems exist with other types of equipment having moving parts which are exposed to constant difficult environmental and use conditions.
Attempts have been made to continuously lubricate machinery drive elements by placing the drive elements in a rigid enclosure and filling the enclosure with a reservoir of lubricant in contact with the drive elements. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,643, entitled "Irrigating Apparatus," illustrating a rigid enclosure surrounding a power transmission of a self-propelled irrigating apparatus. While such an arrangement accomplishes the purpose of continuous lubrication, such a lubrication system is typically an integral part of an entire irrigation apparatus and thus cannot be easily added to existing machinery. Furthermore, many types of machinery utilize extensive drive devices, such as large sprocket wheels or long drive chains, which could not be feasibly enclosed within a lubricant reservoir.
It is with regard to this background information that the improvements available from the present invention have evolved.

Rotating lubricating technique for equipment


An apparatus for feeding a label into a mold cavity of a bottom tool which can move up and down in a apparatus for thermoforming plastic containers from a film includes a feeder for the intermittent advancement of a strip of labels by a predetermined amount, a cutting means for cutting off a single label each time from the leading edge of the label strip, and transport means for transferring the single label to a final position in the mold cavity in which it lies against a side wall of the mold cavity and is held in place. The transport means is a transfer arm which grips the label strip and before the label is out off and, after it is cut off, carries it over the top edge of the mold cavity of the bottom tool while the latter is in its bottom, starting position, and lays it against one side wall of the mold cavity.

The invention relates to an apparatus for feeding a label into a mold cavity of a bottom tool which can be moved up and down in a molding device for thermoforming plastic containers from a plastic film.
In a known apparatus of this kind, a tangential slot is provided within reach of the mold cavity for the introduction of the label previously cut to length from the label strip, and the transport means include a rotatable winding mandrel disposed in alignment with the mold cavity, which during the molding process forms with its end face the bottom of the mold cavity, and toward which the molding device is displaceable in the longitudinal axis of the mold cavity until the winding surface of the winding mandrel lies completely within the mold cavity. The individual label is first wound onto the winding mandrel and, after its introduction into the mold cavity, is unwound from the winding mandrel by rotating the latter in the opposite direction, so as to apply itself to the lateral wall of the mold cavity. When the plastic film is shaped by the thermoforming process with the input of heat, the label is then sealed or adhered to the outer wall of the thermoformed plastic container.
In this known configuration of a label feeding apparatus the molding device is complicated in its construction and troublesome due to the providing of the tangential label introduction slot on the mold cavities. This is contributed to also by the multiple successive movements including the rotatory movement of the winding mandrel in opposite directions to the label insertion, which also greatly retard the process of putting the label into the mold cavity, and also inaccuracies are introduced in the placement of the label on the lateral wall of the mold cavity in the label insertion process.

Apparatus for feeding a label to a cavity of a molding device for thermoforming plastic containers


A controller (50) controls the supply of oil pressure to a primary pulley (41) and a secondary pulley (42) of a belt-drive continuously variable transmission (1) in accordance with the depression amount of an accelerator pedal (81) of a vehicle. When slippage is detected in a V-belt (43) that is wrapped around the primary pulley (41) and secondary pulley (42), the controller (50) reduces the output torque of an engine (70) of the vehicle to stop the V-belt (43) from slipping. Meanwhile, damage to the V-belt (43) caused by slippage is prevented by reducing the oil pressure supply to the secondary pulley (42).

A belt-drive continuously variable transmission for use in a vehicle comprises a primary pulley which inputs engine torque, a secondary pulley which is connected to the drive wheel, and a V-belt which is wrapped around the pulleys. The V-belt engages with grooves formed respectively in the primary pulley and secondary pulley. The width of the grooves varies according to the oil pressure that is applied to the primary pulley and secondary pulley, and the radius of contact between the V-belt and each pulley varies accordingly. By means of these variations in the contact radius, the speed ratio of the pulleys changes continuously.
Control of the speed ratio is performed by a controller which is constituted by a microcomputer. The controller sets a target speed ratio on the basis of vehicle operating conditions such as the engine rotation speed and throttle opening. Meanwhile, the actual speed ratio is calculated from the rotation speed of the primary pulley and secondary pulley. The amount of oil pressure supplied to the primary pulley and secondary pulley is then increased or decreased such that the actual speed ratio matches the target speed ratio.
In such a belt-drive continuously variable transmission, if for some reason the oil pressure falls temporarily, the holding force of the pulleys in regard to the belt decreases, possibly causing the V-belt to slip along the pulleys.
Tokkai Hei 11-139184, published by the Japan Patent Office in 1999, proposes that in such a case, the engine output torque be reduced in order to decrease the input torque of the transmission.

Control of belt-drive continuously variable transmission


The invention provides a system and method for writing data to a removable media device in accordance with a security policy. According to a method of the invention a request to write data to a first file on the removable media device is detected. Dummy data is written to the first file instead of writing the requested data. The requested data is written instead to a corresponding second file on a fixed media device. The corresponding second file is compared to a security policy. Response to the write request is based on the results of the comparison.

Removable media devices enable users to extract significant amounts of sensitive data from a data source. Moving data using thumb drives or other removable media devices has become a common a practice, even among information technology and security specialists. Such data transfers go largely undetected. Once sensitive data has moved to a removable storage device it is easily removed from the enterprise and compromised. Thus companies, governments and other organizations risk losing the data or exposing it to unauthorized recipients. Further risks include violations of laws and regulations requiring audit trails or encryption when moving of sensitive data.
Banning the use of removable media or rendering removable media devices inoperable is not a viable solution. Removable devices have many legitimate business applications. Encrypting the data when moving it to removable media is one solution. However, encryption has drawbacks as a security mechanism for removable media. Encrypting large amounts of data can be time consuming and encryption policies are difficult to enforce. Without user diligence and willingness to comply with encryption requirements, encryption is a relatively weak security mechanism for removable media.
What are needed are systems and methods for writing to removable media that would automatically enforce a removable media security policy without relying on a user to take action such as encrypting data to be transferred. Further needed are systems and methods for enforcing a removable media security policy that are transparent to a user

System and method for writing to removable media


An adjustable spindle assembly comprising a spindle housing, a keyed spindle shaft rotatably connected to the spindle housing, a mow ball rotatably connected to one end of the keyed spindle shaft, and a string carrier assembly adjustably connected in between the spindle housing and the mow ball. The string carrier assembly includes a pair of string guides and string holders for securing cutting string to the string carrier assembly without the use of tools. In addition, the string carrier assembly may be moved along the spindle shaft between the spindle housing and the mow ball without the use of tools. A pulley may be connected to a second end of the keyed spindle shaft. The mow ball may have a removable wear point.

Although spindle assemblies for rotary grass trimmers are known in the art, the current versions have several problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,770, issued to Smothers on May 24, 1994 and entitled "Jam-Proof Rotary Weed Cutter," discloses a push-type grass trimmer having a spool rigidly connected to a drive shaft. The shaft and spool are driven at a high rate of speed by a motor and, when the trimmer is used, the spool comes into contact with the ground a significant amount of time. As a result, the spool rubs against the ground, wears down, and must be replaced. This result is undesirable because replacing the spool costs time and money. As a result, there is a need for a spindle assembly that reduces the amount of wear on the spool when the spool is in use.
Current spindle assembles also require the use of tools to secure the cutting string or filament to the spool and to adjust the cutting height of the string. U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,655, issued to Altamirano et al. on Jan. 26, 1999 and entitled "Adjustable Mowing and Trimming Apparatus," discloses a push-type grass trimmer that includes an adjustable trimmer head that is connected to a spindle head using a threaded fastener, i.e., a bolt and nut. In addition, the cutting string is also connected to the trimmer head using a bolt and nut. U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,974, issued to Harb on Apr. 25, 2000 and entitled "Adjustable Height Head For String Trimmer," also discloses a string trimmer that uses bolts to secure the cutting string to the trimmer head and to secure the adjustable trimmer head in place.
Since bolts are used to secure the trimmer head and cutting string, a separate tool, such as a wrench, must be used to loosen or tighten the bolts in order to adjust the cutting height or to replace the cutting string. The requirement for a separate tool is undesirable because, in some cases, the required tool may not be readily available. Furthermore, the use of a bolt and nut to secure the trimmer head and cutting string increases the amount of time it takes to replace the cutting string or adjust the height of the trimmer head. Thus, there is a need for a spindle assembly that includes a means for adjusting the cutting height of the trimmer head and attaching the string to the trimmer head that does not require the use of a separate tool.
What is needed, then, is a spindle assembly that reduces the amount of wear on the spool and eliminates the need for a separate tool to adjust the cutting height and to replace the cutting string.

Adjustable spindle assembly for a grass trimmer


A heat insulating plate (1), preferably a covering plate (5a;b), especially for thermal isolation of molten metal, especially of molten steel, in a metallurgical vessel (6), wherein the plate (3) includes a binding agent matrix (2) of at least one, set, temporary, organic binding material and aggregate grains (3) with and/or of biogenic silicic acid, preferably with and/or of rice husk ash, which grains (3) are incorporated into the binding agent matrix (2), and to a method for production of the plate (1) and its use.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and several definitions for terms used in the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
In metallurgy it is common to cover the free surface of the molten metal, in particular the molten steel, located in an open metallurgical vessel, with a covering material. The covering material forms a protective and heat insulating layer. Firstly, it shields the molten metal bath from atmospheric gases in order to prevent undesirable chemical reactions of the molten metal. Secondly, it is used for isolation or for thermal insulation, respectively. Thus the covering material ensures a good surface quality.
As covering material, usually loose bulk material made of refractory materials is used, in particular materials made from rice husk ash. Rice husk ash is produced in large quantities in many rice-producing countries. It is produced as a byproduct of the combustion of rice husk (spelt). When this material is burned, rice husk ash is produced which is chemically very pure and is composed 94-96% of amorphous SiO2. Rice husk ash is thus also called biogenic silicic acid. It has a very high melting point of about 1,650° C. In its production, the volatile constituents burn off, but a unique, microporous structure of the SiO2 is retained. From this structure there results both an extremely low thermal conductivity and also a low bulk weight of the rice husk ash. Consequently, rice husk ash does indeed have an outstanding thermal insulation, however, due to its great fineness, in particular when applied onto the surface of the molten metal, it causes a significant generation of dust which can be hazardous to health. This is because the minute dust particles can move into the human body and can cause, for example, eye injury. Therefore, ventilation equipment, for example, has to be installed, which in turn, owing to the suctioning of the rice husk ash, can result in loss of material.
For this reason, it is also known in the prior art, to use granulates as covering material, instead of the pure rice husk ash. These granulates consist of granulated refractory materials which are solidified by means of a binding material. Granulates of this kind are known, for example, from DE 10 2013 000 527 A1, DE 197 28 368 C1 and DE 197 31 653 C2.
The granulates in DE 10 2013 000 527 A1 contain primarily and preferably up to 90 wt % of kieselguhr. As binding material, for example, bentonite, water-glass or cellulose is used. Also, the granules can contain polyvinyl polypyrrolidone as binding material. The granulate itself melts after a certain amount of time.
The granulate known from DE 197 28 368 C1 comprises granules which are produced from rice husk ash, an organic, gel-forming binding material in quantities from 1 to 10 wt %, and water in quantities from 20 to 100 wt %.
The beads/pellets of the granulate known from DE 197 31 653 C2 consist of rice husk ash which is mixed with a surface-active substance and a binding material. The surface-active substance can be sodium alginate, a sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium hexametaphosphate or mixtures thereof. With regard to the binding material, it can be polyvinyl alcohol, molasses, sodium hexametaphosphate, Portland cement, sodium silicate and precipitated calcium carbonate and mixtures thereof. The beads/pellets after mixing and compaction, are dried and then fired at a temperature of 800-1400° C.
The granulates do indeed result in a significantly reduced dust pollution in comparison to pure rice husk ash. But they also comprise a greater bulk weight and thus provide a poorer insulation. In addition, due to their manufacture they are also considerably more expensive than bulk material made of pure rice husk ash.
The metallurgical vessels to be covered pertain in particular to casting distributors, preferably to a continuous casting distributor (tundish), a steel ladle or to an ingot mold for rising ingot casting. In ingot casting, the liquid metal is filled into a standing mold (ingot mold) and solidifies therein. The mold can be filled either from above, or also from below (rising) through a feeding system. After solidifying, the ingot mold is stripped off, that is, it is removed from the solidified metal and the ingot is further processed.
In the case of the rising ingot casting in the production of steel, usually first a retaining plate or metal rod is set onto the ingot mold. The retaining plate usually consists of heat-supplying materials (called "exothermal plate") of mixtures of various, refractory oxides with metal powder, and frequently fluoride-containing components. A bag of casting powder is attached to the retaining plate or the metal rod, by means of a cord. After a short time, the bag burns up due to the high heat of the molten steel, so that the casting powder is distributed onto the molten steel and acts as a separating agent between the ingot mold and the steel bath. Next, the retaining plate or the metal rod is removed and the particular bulk material is manually poured as covering material onto the surface of the molten metal. This method is very cumbersome and due to the immediate proximity to the hot ingot mold, it is dangerous to the performing personnel.

Plate, in particular covering plate for molten metal, and method for producing the plate and use thereof


A metal-theft detection device includes a first sensing terminal configured to be electrically coupled with an earth wire of a mains electricity circuit, a second sensing terminal configured to be electrically coupled with a neutral wire of the mains electricity circuit, a wireless communications module, and circuitry configured to measure a resistance of a conductive path connected between the first and second sensing terminals, and to cause the wireless communications module to transmit a wireless message based on the measured resistance.

Theft of conductive materials, such as metal, has long been a problem due to the high monetary value of the materials. For instance, the high scrap value of copper and aluminium, which are commonly used in the manufacture of electrical cables, water pipes and the like, makes the cables, pipes etc. an attractive target for theft. Such theft can be both expensive to repair and extremely disruptive to people who rely on the infrastructure of which the cables, pipes etc are part. Metal theft commonly occurs in respect of rail systems and electricity networks and, in both cases, is very disruptive. Metal theft can occur if a network is energised or de-energised. Thieves stealing from an energised network may first isolate the network or may instead sever the network (thereby to de-energise it) prior to removal of the metal.


Techniques for determining a location of a vehicle in an environment using sensors and determining calibration information associated with the sensors are discussed herein. A vehicle can use map data to traverse an environment. The map data can include semantic map objects such as traffic lights, lane markings, etc. The vehicle can use a sensor, such as an image sensor, to capture sensor data. Semantic map objects can be projected into the sensor data and matched with object(s) in the sensor data. Such semantic objects can be represented as a center point and covariance data. A distance or likelihood associated with the projected semantic map object and the sensed object can be optimized to determine a location of the vehicle. Sensed objects can be determined to be the same based on matching with the semantic map object. Epipolar geometry can be used to determine if sensors are capturing consistent data.

Data can be captured in an environment and represented as a map of the environment. Often, such maps can be used by vehicles navigating within the environment, although the maps can be used for a variety of purposes. Vehicles can capture sensor data and can determine a location of the vehicle relative to the map. As such, it is important for the sensors to be calibrated, to provide accurate input to vehicle computing systems.