A wheel bearing apparatus incorporating a rotation speed detecting apparatus has an outer member, an inner member, double row rolling elements, a pulser ring, a cup-shaped sensor cap and a rotation speed sensor. The sensor cap is press-formed from anti-corrosion steel sheet into a cup-shaped configuration with a cylindrical fitting portion, to be press-fit into the end of the outer member, and a bottom portion, extending radially inward from the fitting portion to cover the inner-side end of the inner member. The rotation speed sensor is oppositely arranged so that it abuts or is positioned in close proximity to the bottom portion and accordingly the pulser ring. The rotation speed sensor and pulser ring oppose one another a predetermined axial air gap via the bottom portion. An elastic member is pressed and elastically deformed between the fitting portion of the sensor cap and the end of the outer member.

A wheel bearing apparatus that can support a wheel of vehicle, with respect to a suspension apparatus, and incorporating a rotation speed detecting apparatus to control the anti-lock braking system (ABS) and detecting the rotation speed of the wheel is generally known. Such a bearing apparatus is generally provided with a sealing apparatus arranged between the inner and outer members rotating relative to each other via rolling elements contained between them. The sealing apparatus is integrally formed with a magnetic encoder with magnetic poles alternately arranged along its circumference. A rotation speed detecting apparatus includes the magnetic encoder and a rotation speed sensor to detect change of magnetic poles of the magnetic encoder caused by the rotation of a wheel.
A rotation speed sensor mounted on a knuckle, after the wheel bearing apparatus is mounted on the knuckle forming a suspension apparatus, is generally known. However, recently there has been proposed a wheel bearing apparatus incorporating a rotational speed detecting apparatus. The rotation speed sensor is built into the wheel bearing in order to solve complexity in adjusting operation of the air gap, between the rotation speed sensor and the magnetic encoder, and to reduce the size of the wheel bearing apparatus.
FIG. 8 is one example of a wheel bearing apparatus incorporating a rotational speed detecting apparatus. This wheel bearing apparatus has an outer member 51 to be secured to a knuckle (not shown) forming a stationary member. An inner member 52 is inserted into the outer member 51 via double row balls 53, 53. The inner member 52 includes a wheel hub 55 and an inner ring 56 fit onto the wheel hub 55.
The outer member 51 has an outer circumference with an integrally formed body mounting flange 51b. The outer member inner circumference includes double row outer raceway surfaces 51a, 51a. The inner member 52 is formed with double row inner raceway surfaces 55a, 56a arranged opposite to the outer raceway surfaces 51a, 51a of the outer member 51. One inner raceway surface 55a of the double row inner raceway surfaces 55a, 56a is integrally formed on the outer circumference of the wheel hub 55. The other inner raceway surface 56a is formed on the outer circumference of the inner ring 56. The inner ring 56 is press-fit onto a cylindrical portion 55, axially extending from the inner raceway surface 55a, of the wheel hub 55. Double row balls 53, 53 are contained between the outer and inner raceway surfaces and are freely rollably held by cages 57, 57.
The wheel hub 55 is integrally formed with a wheel mounting flange 54 for mounting a wheel (not shown) on its outer circumference. The inner ring 56 is axially secured by a caulked portion 58. The caulked portion 58 is formed by plastically deforming the end of the cylindrical portion 55b. A seal 59 and a cover 63 are mounted on both ends of the outer member 51 to prevent leakage of lubricating grease sealed within the bearing and entry of rain water or dust from the outside into the bearing.
A magnetic encoder 60 is press-fit onto the outer circumference of the inner ring 56. The magnetic encoder 60 has an annular supporting member 61 formed from magnetic metal sheet. The annular support member 61 has a substantially L-shaped cross-section. An encoder body 62 is adhered to the side of the annular supporting member 61. The encoder body 62 is a permanent magnet formed of rubber mingled with ferrite powder. The magnet has N and S poles alternately arranged along the encoder body 62.
The synthetic resin cover 63 is formed with a bottomed cylindrical configuration. Its cylindrical portion 63a is press-fit into the inner circumference of the inner-side end of the outer member 51. The lid (or bottom) portion 63b closes an opening of the outer member 51. The cylindrical portion 63a is formed with a flange 64 that abuts the end face of the outer member 51. Thus, it is possible to exactly position the whole cover 63 relative to the outer member 51 in the axial direction. Accordingly, it is possible to easily carry out the position control of the sensor 69 mounted on the cover 63.
Also as shown in FIG. 9, the lid portion 63b of the cover 63 is formed with a cylindrical sensor mounting portion 65. An insert portion 69a of a sensor 69 is inserted into a sensor mounting bore 66 formed in the inner circumferential side of the sensor mounting portion 65. A metal core 67, with a bottomed cylindrical configuration, is integrally molded with the cover 63 over a region from the inner circumference of the cylindrical portion 63a to the inner surface of the lid portion 63b. The metal core 67 has a cylindrical portion 67a integrally molded with the cylindrical portion 63a of the cover 63. A lid portion 67b forms a bottom of the cylindrical portion 67a and closes an opening of the sensor mounting bore 66 opposing the encoder body 62.
The metal core 67 is formed from non-magnetic steel sheet with a thickness of about 0.3 mm. The presence of the lid portion 67b increases the strength of the cover 63. The non-magnetic property of the metal core 67 does not provide negative influence to the accuracy of detecting the rotation speed.
The sensor 69 has an outer cover of synthetic resin and is mounted on the cover 63 by inserting the insert portion 69a into the sensor mounting bore 66 of the cover 63. The insert portion 69a opposes the encoder body 62 via a predetermined axial gap with the lid portion 67b of the metal core 67 sandwiched between. The insert portion 69a at a position near the opposing portion of the encoder body 62 includes a detecting portion (not shown) to detect change of the magnetic field generated by rotation of the magnetic encoder 60. This detecting portion can output electric signals of the sensor 69 via an output cable 68.
As described above, the opening portion of the sensor mounting bore 66 of the cover 63 opposing the encoder body 62 is perfectly closed by the lid portion 67b of the metal core 67 by the non-magnetic steel sheet. Thus, no foreign matter can enter into the inside of the wheel bearing apparatus. It has excellent sealability of the whole wheel bearing apparatus as compared with a sensor mounting bore of through-bore type which is not covered by any member (see Japanese Patent No. 4286063).
In such a wheel bearing apparatus incorporating a rotation speed detecting apparatus of the prior art, peeling (or separation) or small gaps tend to be caused by a difference of thermal expansion caused by the change of temperature due to thermal shock in the joined portions between the metal core 67 and the synthetic resin cover 63. The joined portions are between the cylindrical portions 67a of the metal core 67 and the cylindrical portion 63a of the cover 63 as well as between the lid portions 67b of the metal core 67 and the lid portion 63b of the cover 63. Thus, it is difficult to maintain the initial sealability for a long term. In addition, it is also difficult to firmly keep sealability if there is any chatter marks or scratches caused by cutting on the inner circumference of the end of the outer member 51 into which the cover 63 is press-fit.

Wheel bearing apparatus incorporated with a rotation speed detecting apparatus


A gas monitoring image recording device, a gas monitoring image recording method, and a gas monitoring image recording program according to the present invention involve: acquiring gas monitoring image data including a plurality of time-series images for use in monitoring a gas leak; extracting a leakage candidate area as a candidate for a gas leak based on the gas monitoring image data acquired; extracting predetermined features related to the gas leak in response to extracting the leakage candidate area; and causing a storage unit to store the features extracted in association with the gas monitoring image data from which the leakage candidate area has been extracted.

Early action is required in the case of leakage of gas such as flammable gas, toxic gas, and organic solvent vapor from a pipe or a tank, for example. For this reason, devices that seek gas such as leaking gas have been researched and developed. One example of such devices is the gas leak detection device disclosed in Patent Literature 1.
The gas leak detection device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 detects a gas leak in an inspection target area, and has an infrared camera that captures the inspection target area, an image processing unit that processes the infrared image captured by the infrared camera, and a gas leak determination unit that determines a gas leak based on the result of processing in the image processing unit. The image processing unit has a fluctuation extraction unit that extracts dynamic fluctuations caused by a gas leak from a plurality of infrared images arranged in time series. The gas leak determination unit determines that a gas leak has occurred in response to the fluctuation extraction unit extracting dynamic fluctuations.
Generally, image data obtained by monitoring a gas leak with a monitoring camera such as the gas leak detection device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 are stored. Such stored image data can be utilized in the event of a gas leak as materials indicating the situation, and/or utilized as materials for maintenance work on gas facilities. However, because image data are usually obtained and stored continuously every day, an enormous amount of image data is accumulated, and thus it is difficult to find target materials (image data) from the enormous volume of image data.

Gas monitoring image recording device, method, and program


When produced as a single crystal ingot, a rare earth silicate single crystal 1 can be formed by cutting out from the single crystal ingot. The single crystal 1 has a crystal face F100 whose Miller indices can be determined by X-ray diffraction. The crystal face F100 is composed of a plurality of smooth partial region surfaces (for example, the partial region surface f100A and partial region surface f100B), the plurality of partial region surfaces each have an area detectable by X-ray diffraction, and the angles θ formed between the normal vectors of the plurality of partial region surfaces satisfy the following inequality:0.1°≦θ≦2.0°.  (1)

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rare earth silicate single crystals used for scintillators and the like, as well as to a process for production of the rare earth silicate single crystals.
2. Related Background Art
A "melt process", whereby single crystals are produced from molten liquid obtained by heating starting material, is known as a process for production of single crystals used in electronic devices and the like, such as Ce-added Gd2SiO5 single crystals (hereinafter referred to as "Gd2SiO5:Ce single crystals" or "GSO single crystals", as necessary) used as scintillator materials (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-103398 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-187880). This production process is designed to obtain single crystals with low residual distortion and high crystallinity.

Rare earth silicate single crystal and process for production of rare earth silicate single crystals


A laser-jet apparatus for creating a penetration through a stress region adjacent to a wellbore includes an outer tool housing, the outer tool housing having a housing central bore. A laser assembly includes a lens case with an outer diameter that is smaller than an inner diameter of the housing central bore, defining an annular passage between the outer tool housing and the lens case. A focusing lens and a collimating lens are located within the lens case. The focusing lens is shaped to control the divergence of a laser beam and the collimating lens is shaped to fix the diameter of the laser beam. A jet fluid path is located in the annular passage, the jet fluid path shaped to merge jet fluid with the laser beam. The outer tool housing has a frusto-conical tip for directing the combined jet fluid and laser beam to the stress region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to operations in a wellbore associated with the production of hydrocarbons. More specifically, the invention relates to systems and methods for enhancing flow from a targeted hydrocarbon formation by creating a penetration through a region adjacent to the wellbore.
2. Description of the Related Art
The branch of petroleum engineering called wellbore stimulation includes the task of enhancing flow of production fluids from a hydrocarbon formation to the wellbore. To produce hydrocarbons from the targeted hydrocarbon formation, the hydrocarbon in the formation needs to be in communication with the wellbore. The flow from the hydrocarbon formation to the wellbore is carried out by the means of formation permeability. In tight formations when such permeability is low, stimulation can be applied around the wellbore and into the formation to enhance the flow and build a network of communication lines between the hydrocarbon formation and the wellbore.
The first stage of initiating this network of communication is commonly by pumping fluids through an isolated downhole device in the wellbore. The pressure is pumped at a high rate, exceeding the formation breaking pressure and causing the hydrocarbon formation and surrounding rocks to break and become fractured. This procedure is called hydraulic fracturing and is carried out mostly using a water based fluid called hydraulic fracture fluid. Hydraulic fracturing produces fractures in the hydrocarbon formation and creates networking between the hydrocarbon formation and the wellbore. However, hydraulic fracturing usually requires the use of an isolation device as well as rig intervention. There is very little control over the direction of the fracture and no control of where and when these fractures will be created.
Fluid jetting can alternately be used to create a hole in the formation. However, the diameter and depth of such holes are limited. In order to obtain a deeper hole the hole must be small, such as less than 1″. Alternatively, holes can have large diameter but be shorter.

High power laser-fluid guided beam for open hole oriented fracturing


A protective winter covering for swimming pools including an open mesh weave of scrim material, the mesh having warp and weft strips forming a substantially thin layer having opposed major surfaces, where both the warp and weft strip materials are of a heat absorbing material, and at least one of the major surfaces of the scrim material has a discontinuous coating having heat reflecting properties opposite to that of the warp and weft strip, the discontinuous coating theron at least partially covering the surface.

The present invention relates to a method to protect and a protective cover for swimming pools.
The present invention provides a development in the form of an improved protective cover for swimming pools, particularly as protective covers which find use as a winter protective cover for swimming pools.
In general terms, the average winter pool cover has various drawbacks that allow for such covers to permit debris or other unwanted foreign articles to pass into the pool, or that do not readily permit the passage (drainage) of the rain or melting snow that accumulated over the winter months into the swimming pool.
Many winter covers for swimming pools are composed of non-permeable generally flexible sheets of plastic material, with the cover either stretching across the opening of the swimming pool or lying on top of the pool water, in either case, the covers are anchored with weights or by tying means (ropes or other fastening devices) in which the ropes are fastened at one end to the pool cover and at the other end to an anchor or other fixed structure. Depending on the amount of precipitation, the conventional covers can be subjected to significant stress when the water or melting frozen precipitate accumulates on top of the cover, particularly at the end of a winter season. Depending on the amount of accumulated liquid, damage to the cover can occur particularly in the case where there is little or no water beneath the cover.
The requirements for swimming pool covers in terms of the material used for winter protection also requires that the material be able to stand up to the generally harsh winter elements, including the capability of being able to withstand thaw/freeze cycles, the weight of the accumulated snow on top of the cover, and the fact that debris (branches, leaves, large dirt particles etc.) can accumulate on the cover over the winter months, with a proviso that the cover not be subjected to tearing.
In the spring, it is desirable that such a cover to permit the accumulated snow to melt and drain into the pool, as opposed to trying to remove water located on the top of the pool cover. In addition, another desirable attribute would be where the cover would be able to absorb heat from the atmosphere and at the same time, reflect retained heat beneath the cover, which would allow not only for an increase in the melting of the snow but also would heat up water in the pool to further aid in the melting of snow. In addition, by permitting water to be filtered through the pool cover while providing the heating and retention properties, a cover would also desirably keep debris out of the pool during winter and during the melting of the snow.
A protective cover of this development, suitable for use in outdoor swimming pools, will thus ease the removal of debris from the cover surface after the spring melting of material on top of the cover; moreover, the cover will protect the pool liner by keeping such debris from passing through the cover.
More particularly, there is provided a protective swimming pool cover capable of absorbing light from the light spectrum in order to providing a heating effect and at the same time, the cover is provided with heat reflective properties on one side to retain heat in the pool.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an improved heat absorbing winter protective covering material for swimming pools, comprising an open mesh weave of scrim material, the scrim material having warp and weft strips forming a thin layer with opposed major surfaces, wherein both the warp and weft strips are of a heat absorbing material; one of the major surfaces of the scrim material has a discontinuous coating thereon partially covering the surface; the coating being provided with heat reflecting material opposite to that of the warp and weft strips.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the protective material is a continuous sheet of a one-piece xe2x80x9copenxe2x80x9d weave thermoplastic scrim material which may be provided with suitable stabilizing additives conventional in the industry as represented by ultraviolet stabilizers, extenders, anti-oxidants and the like.
Desirably, the scrim layer comprises an open-mesh weave of thermoplastic scrim material, the mesh comprising one or more substantially thin layers of intersecting strands of thermoplastic material forming a substantially closed formation when in a lay-flat condition having opposed major surfaces. Desirably, the mesh has a plurality of slits formed by intersecting strands of the open-mesh weave thereby permitting the passage of water there-through upon moisture or water pressure against the material.
The plastic material forming the strips of said composite can be made of any suitable material such as a polyolefin, the preferred polyolefin being a polyethylene or polypropylene (or a copolymer). The lace coating and the warp and weft strips can be each made of the same or a different polyolefin compatible with the polymer of the other components.
With respect to the above described field, the protective covering material includes both the warp and weft strips having heat absorptive properties, as it has been found that having both of the warp and weft strips with heat absorptive properties increases the amount of heat absorption of the product. Most preferably, the warp and weft strips form a substantially thin layer with opposed major surfaces.
Desirably, in a preferred embodiment, one of the major surfaces of the scrim has a discontinuous coating thereon, e.g. a lace coating which at least partially covers the surface, where the coating has heat reflecting properties opposite to that of the warp and weft strips.
The thickness of the scrim material used in the method of the present invention for the above field is not critical per se, as long as the product remains flexible and to the extent that water is generally able to permeate the surface through the slits or apertures; the thickness can be e.g. from 1 mil to e.g. 30 mils. or more if desired. The lace coating may likewise be relatively thin so that an overall lightweight covering can be obtained. For various types of applications, it may be desirable to provide a border surrounding the sheet material to provide an integral product.
Typically, preferred materials for the scrim layer and lace coating are thermoplastic in nature and by way of example such materials may be formed from a polyolefin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, copolymers, etc.
The coating component of the covering material of the present invention is of a discontinuous or intermittent nature, desirably in the form of a lace coating, and which forms an irregular pattern on one surface of the scrim layer. As will be described hereinafter, the lace coating can be in the form of irregular islands of coating with the islands being connected by strands or narrow strips of coating material. This coating tends to stabilize the warp and weft strips of the scrim layer and thus forms an integral product, particularly when the warp and weft strips of the scrim layer are not otherwise adhesively associated with one another. The lace coating may be formed from a heat reflective material or a material having a heat reflective component such as coloured material or reflective particles, strips etc. Desirably, the coating will cover between 5% to 80% of the scrim layer on one face thereof, most desirably 10% to 65% and preferably 15% to 50% of that surface. The coating may be applied to the scrim layer by suitable conventional techniques such as calendering, spraying, co-extrusion, or even adhesively bonded.
With respect to the heat absorbing function of either the lace coating or the warp or weft strips, such characteristics can be achieved by either selecting a thermoplastic material which has the capability of absorbing heat from the atmosphere (using selected additives in the material) or alternatively, by utilizing a colouring agent of a suitable characteristic which absorbs the energy emitted via the normal spectrum of light waves. Likewise, the other of the lace coating which is provided with reflective characteristics is produced, for example, by applying a colouring agent to the surface area from the normal light spectrum having heat specular properties such as white, silver, gold, bronze, etc., or from suitable material added thereto, for example reflective strips. Such a reflective quality of the scrim allows for heat to be reflected back toward the swimming pool or alternatively into the snow or ice built up on the cover over the winter months, helping increase the rate of melting of the accumulated snow or ice.
In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a heat absorbing and heat reflective composite layer which comprises the steps of providing an open-mesh weave of scrim material in which the material has warp and weft strips forming a substantially thin layer and having opposed surfaces; wherein the warp and weft strip materials are of a heat absorbing material, and coating at least one of the surfaces of said scrim material with a coating to at least partially cover the surface, in which the coating has heat reflecting properties opposite to that of the warp and weft strips.
If desired, one or more reinforcing layers or threads may be included in the product structure where very thin covering products are used. Such a reinforcing layer or threads can strengthen the product as desired, particularly for large products covering large surfaces. For example, depending upon the desired use of the protective cover in the above noted field of the invention, such reinforcing layers can be in the form of additional reinforcing scrims incorporated into the material on one or both sides, desirably below the lace coating. Reinforcing techniques are known in various arts; they may be incorporated into the product on an in-line basis when the product is manufactured, or by extrusion, coating or like techniques. Any added reinforcing layer should not reduce the total slit availability of the material in such a manner as to close off substantially all of the slit apertures between adjacent strands; it may contribute to a reduced slit availability when this is desired to thereby provide different water permeability characteristics for different areas of the woven material.
As otherwise outlined herein, heat retention or heat absorption properties for the covering materials of the present invention, can also be varied by different means such as using concentrated or strong colours, or by including heat absorption additives in the warp/weft strips or lace coating. Thus, by way of example, reflective or absorptive particles could be included in the lace coating and/or the warp/weft strips to increase the properties desired. In addition, in the case of extruded polymeric materials for use in the lace coating, or the warp/weft strips, a co-extruded product could be employed to vary the amount of heat absorption/heat reflection characteristics of the product.
It will be obvious to those skilled in the relevant art that different degrees of heat absorption and heat radiation can be achieved for different purposes in the products of the present invention to permit products to be tailored for different applications and locations. One particular advantage of the present invention is that since only one lace coating is required, there is a savings in material, savings in the time required for producing the product, and costs are reduced.
Such a protective cover as described above finds advantageous use in both rural and urban areas where it is desirable to use the protective cover as a protective winter swimming pool cover. A protective cover utilized in such a manner is very desirable in areas where, for example, water is at a premium, and further helps reduce the cost of filling a pool with additional water in spring. Such a cover as contemplated by the present invention allows a more natural source of water to enter into the pool due to the porous mesh, while keeping large debris such as leaves, branches and other foreign particles out of the pool thereby helping protect the pool liner. Additionally, the cover of the present invention prevents light from entering the pool, which could cause algae to build up when the filtering system is not in operation, for example during the closing of the pool. Further, due to the water filtering into the pool from the cover, stagnant bodies or pools of water are reduced and therefore reduce areas for mosquitoes to thrive.
According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, there is provided a using of a protective cover having a structure generally described as a winter pool cover for a swimming pool wherein the protective cover is applied to the surface of water in a pool.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a protective cover as a winter swimming pool as described above, as a protective winter pool cover comprising providing a protective cover, positioning the cover having a sufficient size over a corresponding swimming pool, and securing the protective cover through securement means over the surface of the pool to be covered.
In a further alternative embodiment, there is provided a heat reflecting, heat absorbing protective covering material for use as a winter protective swimming pool cover, comprising an open mesh weave of scrim material, the scrim material having warp and weft strips forming a thin layer with opposed major surfaces, where the warp or weft strips have heat absorbing properties, and one of the major surfaces of the scrim material has a discontinuous coating thereon partially covering the surface, the coating having heat reflecting properties opposite to that of the warp and weft strips.
In an alternative embodiment, the winter swimming pool protective cover includes a higher percentage of the lace coating, and desirably, a higher percentage of heat absorptive and heat reflective material in each respective element thereof as possible.

Method for and protective winter covering for swimming pools


An ice making housing which is mounted in a refrigerator door and forms an ice making chamber including an ice making tray which has a rotational shaft to be rotatably accommodated in the ice making housing, and an ice generating unit to freeze supplied water; an ice separating unit which is mounted in the ice making housing and separates ice cubes from the ice making tray; an overflow preventing member which is rotatably coupled to the ice making housing along a lengthwise direction of the ice making tray and prevents overflow of water accommodated in the ice making tray; and a driving unit which is provided in the ice making tray and the overflow preventing member and allows the overflow preventing member to reciprocate between an ice separating position separating ice cubes from the ice generating unit and a cover position covering the ice generating unit.

1. Field
Apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator which prevents overflow of water accommodated in an ice making tray mounted in a door.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a refrigerator is a device which has a freezing compartment to store therein food at temperatures below the freezing point and a refrigerating compartment to store therein food at temperatures relatively higher than those of the freezing compartment. The freezing and refrigerating compartments are closed by a freezing compartment door and a refrigerating compartment door, respectively.
An ice making tray is installed in the freezing compartment or the freezing compartment door of the refrigerator to make ice cubes from supplied water. The ice making tray is installed in the freezing compartment door in the case of a side by side (SBS) refrigerator and a top mount freezer (TMF) refrigerator. Meanwhile, the ice making tray is installed in the refrigerating compartment door in the case of a bottom mount freezer (BMF) refrigerator.
The conventional ice making tray which is installed in the door includes an overflow preventing member. The overflow preventing member covers a lateral side of the ice making tray to thereby prevent water supplied to the ice making tray from overflowing to the outside by the opening and closing of the door.
However, the overflow preventing member which is installed in the conventional ice making tray contacts the ice making tray or an ice separating unit when ice cubes are separated from the ice making tray. Therefore, the ice cubes are not separated easily.
If used for a long term, the ice making tray is deformed by the contact with the overflow preventing member in the ice separation, which possibly lowers credibility of the product.


A guidebushing assembly for use with an electric router. A guidebushing holder clamps to the router base, and a guidebushing is secured within the holder and used for cutting an inlay by reference to a female pattern. An appropriately shaped and sized recess is cut by reference to the female template while contacting the template with a tapered sleeve secured to the guidebushing. Movement of the guidebushing and sleeve along the axis of rotation of the router cutter permits adjustment in the size of the recess cut by reference to the template.

This invention relates to electric routers and guidebushings utilized with such routers in order to form wood veneer or other inlays and recesses for such inlays.
Guidebushings and sleeves are used with electric routers to form inlays of wood veneer or other routable materials like Corian(copyright) and other brands of solid surface countertop materials and to form recesses in workpieces within which such inlays are positioned. Generally, such conventional guidebushings and sleeves are sized to provide an appropriate off-set for a specific routing cutter, such as a {fraction (1/16)}xe2x80x3, xe2x85x9xe2x80x3 or xc2xcxe2x80x3 diameter cutter. Sleeves are also available for use with larger cutters. Such conventional guidebushings and sleeves are used, for instance, by forming an inlay by using a particular cutter and a bushing in contact with a female template. Then the same template can be used with a sleeve larger in diameter than the guidebushing by an amount twice the diameter of the cutter. This offsets the position of the cutter relative to the same female pattern by the diameter of the cutter so that the recess will be equal in size to the inlay.
However, if the cutter is oversize, the recess will be oversize and the inlay will be undersize, with a poor fit as a result. If the router cutter cuts undersize, the opposite is true. The recess will then be too small and the inlay will be too large.
There is, therefore, a need for apparatus and techniques that can accommodate variations in cutter size and allow adjustment of the relative size of the inlay and recess within which it fits to permit control of the fit.
This invention provides components and techniques permitting adjustment of the relative size of an inlay and a recess for that inlay cut with an electric router. This permits accommodation of variations in cutter size and greater control of the inlay and recess cutting processes.
A guidebush holder is secured to a router base at least reasonably concentric with the router collet. A guidebushing is secured in the holder in a manner permitting the position of the guidebushing to be adjustable along the axis of rotation of the collet. For instance, the holder maybe internally threaded to receive an externally threaded guidebushing that engages the holder internal thread and is selectively positionable along the axis of the router collet by rotation and consequent travel of the guidebush along the threaded inside of the holder. The guidebush has a protruding cylindrical bushing concentric with the router collet and through which a router cutter protrudes during use. Router position is controlled during formation of an inlay by contact between the outer wall of the guidebushing and a female template.
A guidebush sleeve having an appropriate nominal diameter is then slid over the cylindrical guidebushing and secured in place on that bushing by cooperation between an O-ring positioned in an internal annular groove in the sleeve and a recess in the upper portion of the guidebushing wall or other wall structure suitable for capturing the O-ring. The guidebushing sleeve is externally tapered so that the effective diameter of the guidebushing sleeve in contact with a template is a function, in part, of the position of the sleeve along the axis of the router collet, which position is adjustable by screwing the guidebush into or out of the holder. The smaller diameter portion of the sleeve is the portion most distant from the router collet. The nominal diameter of the guidebushing sleeve should be greater than the guidebushing diameter by twice the diameter of the cutter being used.
By taking a first cut to form a recess within which an inlay is to be positioned with the guidebushing positioned within the holder lower in the router assembly (and thereby further from the router collet), a relatively larger diameter portion of the sleeve will contact the template, resulting in a relatively smaller recess. Adjustment in the size of the recess may be accomplished by moving the guidebushing further into the holder (and thereby nearer the router collet) to cause a relatively smaller diameter portion of the sleeve to contact the template. In a threaded holder and guidebushing configuration this is accomplished by screwing the guidebushing into the holder. Successive cuts are made following such adjustments until the needed size recess is obtained.
A resilient plug of nylon or other suitable material within the guidebushing engages the holder to create friction between the guidebushing and holder to permit smooth turning of the guidebushing during its adjustment while eliminating the risk of unintended rotation of the guidebushing during use of the apparatus.
Structure may also be provided to facilitate removal of sleeves from the guidebushing. For instance, an annual groove can be formed in the sleeve near its end to facilitate grasping the sleeve. Alternatively an ejector structure can be provided, such as an ejector ring with legs that pass through the guidebushing in order to contact the top side of the sleeve. Such an ejector ring can be used by pressing down on the ring in order to force the legs to in turn force the sleeve down on and off of the guidebushing.

Adjustable guidebushing and inlay techniques


In a toroidal type continuously variable transmission having a center shaft, input and output discs mounted on the center shaft, friction rollers confined in a toroidal cavity formed between the input and output discs, and a loading cam mechanism for applying an axial thrust load on the input disc in accordance with an input torque, there is provided an annular oil receiving member which forms an annular oil reservoir around the center shaft for collecting a lubricating oil discharged from a hole of the center shaft, and storing the oil so as to immerse cam rollers and/or a thrust bearing of the loading cam mechanism.

The present invention relates to a toroidal type continuously variable transmission (CVT), and more specifically to a loading cam mechanism for producing an axial thrust load in accordance with an input torque.
Japanese Patent Provisional (Kokai) Publication No. 63-106456 shows a conventional example. A toroidal type transmission of this example has a center transmission shaft, input and output discs which are mounted on the center shaft and which form a toroidal cavity therebetween, and friction rollers which are installed in the toroidal cavity for transmitting torque between the input and output discs, and which are inclined to continuously vary a transmission ratio. In order to prevent slippage of the friction rollers, there is further provided a loading cam mechanism for producing an axial thrust load in accordance with an input torque, and applying the axial thrust load on one of the input and output discs so as to push one toward the other.
As shown in FIG. 5, the loading cam mechanism 1 of this conventional example includes a drive plate 3 mounted on the center transmission shaft 2 at the side of the input disc 4, and cam rollers 5 confined between cam surfaces 3a and 4a of the drive plate 3 and the input disc 4. The drive plate 3 is splined to the center shaft 2, and an axial movement of the drive plate 3 is limited by an outward flange of the center shaft 2. When the input torque is varied, the drive plate 3 and the input disc 4 rotate relative to each other, and the cam rollers 5 roll on the cam surfaces 3a and 4a and varies the axial thrust load applied on the input disc 4 by varying the axial distance between the drive plate 3 and the input disc 4.
The drive plate 3 is formed with at least one radial oil hole 6 for carrying a lubricating oil discharged from a radial hole 7 of the center shaft 2, to the cam rollers 5. The lubrication of the cam rollers is very important in order to ensure the smooth and accurate operation of the cam mechanism.
In this conventional loading cam mechanism 1, however, the lubrication is not satisfactory. Each cam roller 5 is rotatable relative to the drive plate 3. Therefore, the oil hole 6 is not always held at a position appropriate to direct the oil to the cam roller 5, and the lubrication becomes insufficient when the oil hole turns aside from the cam roller 5. The shortage of the lubricating oil causes wear and seizure in the cam rollers 5 and the cam surfaces 3a and 4a.

Loading cam mechanism for toroidal type continuously variable transmission


A vertical aeroponic growing apparatus is disclosed which includes a hollow structure having a top wall, a sidewall, and a bottom wall. A plurality of openings is formed through the sidewall. A thermal, light refractive cover is wrapped around the sidewall. The cover has a plurality of openings formed therethrough which correspond to the plurality of openings formed in the sidewall. A fitting is positioned in each of the plurality of openings in which a plant will be supported. A cap closes off any of the plurality of openings which are not needed to support the fitting. A drain pipe is secured to the bottom wall for allowing excess nutrient laden water to be removed. Lastly, an irrigation tube routes nutrient laden water to the hollow structure. A nozzle attached to an end of the irrigation tube delivers a fine mist of the nutrient laden water to the plant roots.

Aeroponics is a technique for growing plants without soil by suspending them and constantly misting the roots with nutrient laden water. Many different systems and apparatuses have been invented to grow plants in this manner. However, each such system and apparatus lacks the efficiency and usefulness of the present invention.


A stationary exercise device with flexible support elements may include a frame with a base portion. A crank system with crank arms is coupled to and supported by the frame. Right and left pivotal linkage assemblies may each have an arcuate motion member and a foot support member. The arcuate motion member may be coupled to the frame. The foot support member may be coupled to the arcuate motion member. The arcuate motion member may be oriented in a generally vertical position and the foot support member may be oriented a generally horizontal position. Flexible element coupling systems couple the right and left foot support members to the crank system.

It can be appreciated that exercise devices have been in use for years. Typical of exercise devices that simulate walking or jogging are cross country ski machines, elliptic motion machines, and pendulum motion machines. Typical exercise devices that simulate climbing are reciprocal stair climbers.
Ellliptic motion exercise machines provide inertia that assists in direction change of the pedals, which makes the exercise smooth and comfortable. However, rigid coupling to a crank typically constrains the elliptic path to a fixed length. Therefore, the elliptic path may be too long for shorter users, or too short for tall users. Further, a running stride is typically longer than a walking stride, so a fixed stride length does not ideally simulate all weight bearing exercise activities. Therefore, typical elliptic machines cannot optimally accommodate all users. Some pendulum motion machines may allow variable stride length, but the user's feet typically follow the same arcuate path in both forward and rearward motion. Such a motion does not accurately simulate walking, striding, or jogging, where the user's feet typically lift and lower. Reciprocal stair climbers typically allow the user to simulate a stepping motion, but that motion is generally constrained to a vertically oriented arcuate path defined by a linkage mechanism. Such a motion does not accurately simulate a wide range of real world climbing activities such climbing stairs or climbing sloped terrain.
What is needed is an exercise device that overcomes some or all of the above-described disadvantages of the designs of the prior art, and provides a user with the advantages of variable stride length and more accurate simulation of real world activities.

Exercise device with flexible support elements


The present invention provides devices, methods and kits for detecting the presence of an analyte in a liquid sample. The invention provides devices having a positive control area covered with an opaque, movable material, such as an ink, dye, or other material, that is moved on the device by the flow of liquid sample, thereby exposing the positive control area underneath. Using the interaction of colored signals from the positive control area and the analyte binding area, a recognizable symbol is revealed on the device that correlates with the test results, and appears as the test is conducted.

The following Background of the Invention is intended to aid the reader in understanding the invention and is not admitted to be prior art.
The inclusion of positive and negative control tests in the performance of an assay is an important component for verifying the validity of the results of any assay. A variety of methods have been used to introduce and include control testing in various assay format. For example, control tests have been included in immunological test formats by utilizing a control zone where analyte is bound to a control line in the assay. Thus, a colored line appears when a labeled control reagent is bound at the control line. These and other types of control tests are effective for verifying that the assay device is functioning correctly, but they also result in added expense and inefficiency in manufacturing the devices and performing the assays, particularly when the specific binding molecules used in the control test are produced as a result of elaborate procedures. Additionally, these types of controls can be confusing for the untrained general consumer and lead to improper test interpretation. There is therefore a need for better and more efficient devices and methods for performing sample testing.

Devices and methods for analyte assays with built-in result reporting using recognizable symbols


According to one embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for testing linked list integrity. The method includes storing a plurality of link pointers in memory in association with respective integrity parameters. The link pointers point to a next location in the memory storing a subsequent link pointer in the linked list. The method also includes reading the stored integrity parameter for at least one of the link pointers. The method also includes determining whether the value of the read integrity parameter matches the value of the stored integrity parameter.

This invention relates generally to data storage and more particularly to a method and system for testing linked list integrity.
Telecommunications is becoming increasingly important in today""s society. The increased use of the Internet allows people to communicate data between home or business and remote locations. One format for communicating data is asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) format. Many other formats also exist.
Among other criteria, when communicating information according to ATM, cells of data of a specified size are transmitted from one location to another. Often times the cells are stored in memory at an intermediate location before being transferred to the desired destination. An example of such a procedure is the use of an ATM switch at a telecommunications central office for switching data originating from a user""s home over the Internet to an appropriate destination over an Internet backbone. Such cells are often scored in a sequential manner such that data that are received first by the memory are distributed first. To effect such sequential transmission, queues are formed that designate which cells are transferred first. In some implementations, a queue exists for each destination. Such procedures apply to some communications formats other than ATM.
Linked lists are used in some systems to store queues of ATM cells (or other types of data) to facilitate sequential transmissions. Linked lists may be formatted in a variety of fashions; however, linked lists generally link together subsequent addresses in linked memory that are associated in some way with addresses in cell memory. The memory location in cell memory associated with the cell memory addresses actually store that data.
A problem with linked lists is that the entire linked list is lost if any of the pointers become corrupted.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for testing linked list integrity. The method includes storing a plurality of link pointers in memory in association with respective integrity parameters. The link pointers point to a next location in the memory storing a subsequent link pointer in the linked list. The method also includes reading the stored integrity parameter for at least one of the link pointers. The method also includes determining whether the value of the read integrity parameter matches the value of the stored integrity parameter.
Some embodiments of the invention provide numerous technical advantages. Other embodiments may realize some, none, or all of these advantages. For example, according to one embodiment, the integrity of linked lists may be easily determined, which allows selective use of corrupted memory locations without having to reset the entire card that may be associated with the memory. This allows for more robust operation of whatever device utilizes the linked list, whether the device be an ATM switch or other device. Additionally, according to one embodiment, a count of memory locations that are corrupted may be maintained. Such a count facilitates discarding and replacing a corrupt device at an appropriate time.
Other technical advantages may be readily ascertained to one of skill in the art.

Method and system for testing linked list integrity


A breath sampling device has a body defining an interior space or bore with two open ends. The patient's breath is directed through the device from end to end, thereby continually purging the interior space. At a designated time during the breath, closure devices are actuated to shut both ends, desirably in response to a single actuation movement, thereby capturing a breath sample at a predetermined time. The continual purging action assures that the captured breath sample truly represents the breath at the designated time during the exhalation cycle.

Breath testing has been used in medicine since ancient times.
There have been considerable improvements in tests which can be applied to breath samples for diagnostic purposes. These improvements have prompted renewed efforts to develop breath sample collection devices and methods. A breath sample collection device must meet several conflicting requirements. To avoid the possible infection risks associated with reusable devices, the sample collection device should be disposable. Therefore, the device should be manufacturable at low cost. However, the device should provide for secure capture of a breath sample which truly represents the content of the breath stream at, a particular time during exhalation. The air expelled by a patient during exhalation varies in composition. The first air expelled consists essentially of air disposed in the mouth, nose and upper respiratory tract. Air expelled at a later time during the same exhalation will consist essentially of air from the bronchi and lower respiratory tract, whereas the last air expelled will consist essentially of air from the alveolar or air sacks of the lungs themselves. It is desirable to capture a particular portion of the exhaled air to provide a test sample which truly represents one portion, and one portion only, of the breath. For example, in metabolic testing it is generally desirable to capture alveolar air, and to exclude other portions of the exhaled air. Thus, the sampling device should be capable of selectively capturing a desired portion of the breath stream without substantial contamination by other portions of the breath stream. The device must also provide for secure storage of the captured sample until the same can be transferred to an analytical instrument. The device should be simple to use, both in capturing the sample and in transferring the sample to an analytical instrument. All of these requirements, taken together, have posed considerable technical challenge heretofore.
One device which has been proposed uses a plastic bag with attached mouthpiece into which the patient expels an expired breath stream. While the expired breath is still being expelled, a syringe is used to draw off a sample. Once the sample is collected, a stopcock on the syringe is closed and a needle is affixed to the end of the syringe. A portion of the sample is then placed in a test tube by using the needle to pierce the sealing membrane of an evacuated test tube. The sample captured in the bag will be a mixture of all portions of the exhaled breath, including air present in the lungs, respiratory tract and the mouth. The sample therefore will not accurately represent any particular portion of the exhaled breath. Another device using a flexible bag is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,993, and suffers from similar drawbacks.
Another device uses a test tube-like sample container which has a permanently closed bottom end and an open top end or mouth. A membrane with two crossed slits is fixed at the mouth of the container.
The user inserts a straw through the cross-slits of the membrane, so that an open end of the straw is disposed adjacent to the bottom end of the container. The user then blows through the straw, forcing breath through the container and out of the mouth of the container by way of the slits in the membrane. To terminate the sample, the user must pull the straw out of the container. It is not possible to seal out extraneous air from outside the container during the test. The straw does not provide for complete purging of the container. There is some mixing of the breath entering with the air in the container. While the straw is being withdrawn, the air at the bottom of the container remains undisturbed. Thus, the sample left in the container will be contaminated with air from undesired parts of the exhalation cycle. Also, as the straw is withdrawn so that the sealing cap can be applied, there is a chance of losing a portion of the sample or mixing it with air from outside the tube. Apparently, this technique is not too successful since the instructions state, "if you are not sure the procedure was done correctly, relax and do it again in the same tube." To reuse the tube under these conditions could only make the sample more suspect.
Another breath-collection device is shown and described in an article entitled, "Breath Tests in Medicine" by Michael Phillips in the July 1992 issue of Scientific American. This device is highly complex and extremely large and must be mounted upon a cart, making its usefulness limited. The Phillips device employs activated carbon filters, water traps, breath traps, pumps and many complex interconnections. The size and complexity of the device limits its use to hospitals, clinics, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,213 illustrates a device in which a recess in a slide is positionable within a housing to act first during the gas collection as a part of the flow duct for the exhalation of air and then to act as a part of the detector during a test cycle wherein the content of the recess is directed to the detector. Thus, for at least a short period of time a sample of the exhaled air is retained in the recess and is later subject to analysis. There is no provision for removing the sample from the recess for analysis by anything other than the associated device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,821 shows a free standing gas detection device which includes both the collection and analysis of a breath sample in one unit. U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,827 shows a combined device which contains both a sampling connector for a gas analyzer and spirometer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,320, provides a drift compensation system for a gas analyzer. No effort is made to seal a sample of gas or breath in a batch device for later analysis in an independent analyzer.
Despite all of these efforts in the art, however, there have still been acute needs for improvements in breath sampling devices and methods.


An information handling system may include a processor, a network interface communicatively coupled to the processor, a storage resource communicatively coupled to the processor, and a basic input/output system (BIOS). The BIOS may be configured to, during a pre-boot environment of the information handling system: receive a datagram at the network interface from a network communicatively coupled to the network interface; determine if a variable is set within a header of the datagram indicating that a data payload of the datagram is to be bypassed by at least a portion of a network stack and a storage stack of the BIOS; and responsive to determining the variable is set, bypass the data payload by at least a portion of the network stack and the storage stack of the BIOS.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
In many information handling systems, a basic input/output system (BIOS), for example a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), is capable of operating in a pre-boot mode in which the BIOS executes certain instructions prior to loading and execution of an operating system. In such pre-boot mode, memory management may not be as effective as it is with an operating system, and additionally, a BIOS typically executes in a single-threaded boot environment with no scheduler, kernel, tasklets, work queues, etc., which might be present within an operating system in order to improve performance, including the processing of bulk payloads received via a network or a storage device. Accordingly, pre-boot setup and management activity including bulk image offloading such as firmware updates, operating system deployments, and other images may be very time consuming, which may lead to negative user experience.
To illustrate, offloading bulk images over a network in pre-boot mode involves generating multiple copies (e.g., approximately nine copies) to receive the payload from the bottom layer of a network stack, to the top layer of the network stack, and then to the bottom layer of a file system stack. FIG. 4 depicts a diagram of an example network and file system stack 2 illustrating the generation of such multiple copies. As shown in FIG. 1, when a network datagram (e.g., packet, frame) is received from a network 10 via a network interface card, a network interface card driver layer 12 may transfer (e.g., via direct memory access or "DMA") a copy of such received data into a receive buffer 14 (e.g., a circular ring buffer) of memory 6. A network interface card driver layer 12 may also copy the data of the received packet from receive buffer 14 into an Internet Protocol (IP) buffer 16 of memory 6. In turn, an IP layer 18 may copy data to a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and/or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) buffer 20 of memory 6 by stripping an IP header from the packet. A TCP/UDP layer 22 may copy data into a BIOS network protocol buffer 24 of memory 6 by stripping a TCP/UDP header from the remaining packet. A Common Internet File System (CIFS) and/or Network File System (NFS) file system network protocol layer 26 may perform another copy of data to a BIOS/UEFI application buffer 28 by stripping an application-level protocol header, leaving the payload of the packet remaining. Thus, up to five copies of the payload data may be made to transfer data from a network interface to BIOS/UEFI application buffer 28 for use by a BIOS at BIOS/UEFI application layer 30.
To move the data payload from BIOS/UEFI application layer 30 to storage resource 44, BIOS/UEFI application layer 30 may first copy the data to a file system buffer 32. BIOS file system layer 34 may then copy the data to a block sub-system buffer 36. BIOS block sub-system layer 38 may in turn execute a cache flush to a storage driver buffer 40. A storage device driver 42 may then write the payload to a storage resource 44 (e.g., using DMA). Thus, up to four copies of the payload data may be made to transfer data from BIOS/UEFI application layer 30 to storage resource 44, for a total of nine copies of data to transfer the data from network 10 to storage resource 44. These multiple copies may force a BIOS in pre-boot mode to degrade performance, especially when performing bulk image transfers such as in an operating system deployment, firmware update, or other large file transfers.

Systems and methods for efficient file transfer in a boot mode of a basic input/output system


The present invention comprises methods and compositions comprising metal nanoparticles. The invention comprises metal nanoparticles and surfaces treated with a metal nanoparticle coating. The present invention further comprises compositions for preparing nanoparticles comprising at least one stabilizing agent, one or more metal compounds, at least one reducing agent and a solvent. In one aspect, the stabilizing agent comprises a surfactant or a polymer. The polymer may comprise polymers such as polyacrylamides, polyurethanes, and polyamides. In one aspect, the metal compound comprises a salt comprising a metal cation and an anion. The anion may comprise saccharinate derivatives, long chain fatty acids, and alkyl dicarboxylates.

Silver, which is commonly used in jewelry, is also known for its antimicrobial properties and has found widespread use in biological and medical applications. A large number of commercial medical products with antimicrobial silver are used in wound care and other medical applications. Silver has high electrical conductivity (63.01×106 S/m at 20° C.) and thermal conductivity (429 W/m·K) which has led to its application in electrical, electronics and thermal transfer fields. In addition, silver has very high reflectivity and low emissivity and has found uses in adaptive optics and in making items such as optical mirrors and reflectors.
Silver has been used to make conductive elastomers. Such elastomers may be found as sheets or gaskets and are filled with up to 60% of a fine powder silver and such constructs have high conductivities. These elastomers typically can maintain their conductivities even after being stretched by 300%. An example of use of such products is a sheet form of a silver powder-filled elastomer applied to the surface of a large object, such as an airplane. The silver powder-filled sheet absorbs radio frequencies thus making the surface invisible to radar. Such silver-powder elastomeric covered objects are potentially useful in military applications. Covering surfaces with these materials adds considerable weight to the object because sixty percent of the weight of the covering is silver or other conductive metal.
One approach to making lighter conductive elastomers is to apply a metallic layer only on the surface. The layer or coating is applied by traditional methods such as electro-less plating or vapor deposition. In general, coated fibers are not robust as the metal does not adhere well to the underlying elastomer substrate and often fail under even small strains. Coatings or layers of metals, such as silver, have been used on many types of fibers or other surfaces to render the surface antimicrobial or to resist growth of organisms, or to provide for a highly reflective surface. These coatings or layers often release metal, due to chemical or mechanical forces, and thus provide an unhealthy amount of metal to the environment or the surface fails to meet its intended use.
What is needed are methods and compositions for treating surfaces with metals, such as silver and others, so that the metal is retained on the surface and the surface is capable of meeting its intended usage for an extended time.

Methods and compositions for metal nanoparticle treated surfaces


A computer system implements a counterparty management module and a payment module for processing employee direct payroll deposits. The counterparty management module permits an employer to add employee bank accounts to a funds transfer system provided by a banking institution. The employee bank accounts are respectively associated with different employees of the employer. The employer has a bank account at the banking institution. The counterparty management module is accessible to the employer by way of an online banking area of a website of the banking institution. The counterparty management module also permits the employer to specify a payroll-related pay group that includes the employee bank accounts and to specify characteristics of the transferring of funds to the pay group as a whole. The payment module generates payment instructions for transferring funds from the employer bank account to the employee bank accounts.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the transfer of funds. More particularly, the present invention relates to an on-line payments facility.
2. Description of Related Art
There are currently several problems that make it difficult for individuals or small businesses to send money to or receive money from groups of individuals or businesses using an on-line interface to one or more payment systems. Prior art solutions tend to be too complex or too simple. Complex solutions require a detailed understanding of the underlying characteristics of individual payment systems for even minimal use. In addition, they fail to provide automatic response to exception conditions such as refused or returned payments.
Simple solutions allow for only a single payment to be made at a time, restrict the system to a single user per customer, have insufficient controls over release of payments, or fail to provide for explanatory information to accompany the payment.
It would be advantageous to provide a payment interface that was both simple and powerful; the automated the enrollment process; that supported multiple users per customer, with proper roles and financial controls; that hid the details of underlying payment systems and automatically routed payments to the appropriate system; that allowed the user to create, save, and schedule groups of payments, where those groups would be independent of grouping capabilities of underlying payment systems; that provided notification of important events to users and payment recipients; and that could automatically process and take proper action when it encountered exception conditions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A medical assembly is disclosed comprises a stent and a catheter having a balloon, wherein the coefficient of friction and/or the adhesion at the stent/balloon interface are reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of polymer coated stents. More specifically, this invention relates to coating treatments for polymer coated stents and delivery balloons to prevent or reduce deployment damage caused by the balloon to a polymer coated stent.
2. Description of the State of the Art
Stents are being modified to provide drug delivery capabilities. A polymeric carrier, impregnated with a drug or therapeutic substance is coated on the surfaces of a stent. The conventional method of coating is by applying a composition including a solvent, a polymer dissolved in the solvent, and a therapeutic substance dispersed in the blend to the stent by immersing the stent in the composition or by spraying the composition onto the stent. The solvent is allowed to evaporate, leaving on the stent strut surfaces a coating of the polymer and the therapeutic substance impregnated in the polymer. The dipping or spraying of the composition onto the stent can result in a complete coverage of all stent surfaces, i.e., both luminal (inner) and abluminal (outer) surfaces, with a coating. However, having a coating on the luminal surface of the stent can have a detrimental impact on the stent's deliverability as well as the coating's mechanical integrity.
Briefly, an inflatable balloon of a catheter assembly is inserted into a hollow bore of a stent. The stent is securely crimped on the balloon. The balloon is inflated to implant the stent, deflated, and then withdrawn out from the bore of the stent. A polymeric coating can increase the coefficient of friction between the stent and the balloon of a catheter assembly on which the stent is crimped for delivery. Additionally, some polymers have a "sticky" or "tacky" consistency. If the polymeric material either increases the coefficient of friction or adherers to the catheter balloon, the effective release of the stent from the balloon after deflation can be compromised. If the stent coating adheres to the balloon, the coating, or parts thereof, can be pulled off the stent during the process of deflation and withdrawal of the balloon following the placement of the stent. Adhesive, polymeric stent coatings can also experience extensive balloon sheer damage post-deployment, which could result in a thrombogenic stent surface and possible embolic debris. The stent coating can stretch when the balloon is expanded and may delaminate as a result of such shear stress. Accordingly, there is a need to eliminate or minimize damage caused to a coating of a stent by the delivery balloon.

Coatings for preventing balloon damage to polymer coated stents


A structural cryogenic tank wall has an outer skin and an inner skin between which is a cavity containing a thermally insulative structure. The cavity is empty of any gas and contains at least one sensor for continuously verifying that the vacuum is maintained in order to monitor the structural integrity of the outer and inner skins and sealing of the cryogenic tank.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a structural cryogenic tank wall having an outer skin and an inner skin between which there is a cavity containing a thermally insulative structure.
The invention also concerns a cryogenic tank including a wall of the above kind and equipping terrestrial, maritime or aerospace vehicles necessitating the storage of cryogenic fuels, for example reusable space launch vehicles.
The invention also concerns a method of manufacturing a wall of the above kind and a method of diagnosing faults to which such walls are susceptible.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Reusable space launch vehicles are a promising way to reduce launch costs. Building a launcher of this kind entails solving technical problems such as minimizing the structural mass of the launch vehicle and continuously monitoring the structural integrity of the tanks. To reduce the mass of the launch vehicle it is advantageous for the wall of a cryogenic tank to assure the tank, structure and functional surveillance functions simultaneously.
Most prior art methods for monitoring the functional integrity of the wall of a cryogenic tank are not of a global nature in that they assume that the fault will occur at a particular location where a sensor is installed. Apart from the fact that such methods are complex and incomplete, repairing the tank generally entails total demounting of the faulty structure.
The aim of the invention is to provide a cryogenic tank wall which has a structural function and a tank functional integrity monitoring function.
Another aim of the invention is to facilitate locating and replacing faulty parts of the wall to avoid replacing the entire cryogenic tank.
Another aim of the invention is to prevent atmospheric cryo-pumping.


The exhaust gas-purifying catalyst includes at least one of a first composite oxide represented by a formula A(Al2-xBx)O4 and a second composite oxide represented by a formula (Al2-yCy)O3, wherein element A is a divalent transition metal other than platinum-group elements, each of elements B and C is a transition metal other than platinum-group elements, x satisfies 0<x<2, and y satisfies 0<y<2.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to exhaust gas purification techniques.
2. Description of the Related Art
Exhaust gas-purifying catalysts for treating exhaust gas emitted from automobiles and the like conventionally contain a precious metal such as a platinum-group element (see, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 1-242149, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKOKU Publication No. 6-75675, and Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication Nos. 10-202101, 2004-041866, 2004-041867, and 2004-041868). The precious metal plays a role as a catalytically active component which promotes a nitrogen oxide (NOx) reduction reaction, and a hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation reaction, and the like.
However, precious metals are expensive and rare, and therefore, the composition of exhaust gas-purifying catalysts should preferably be free of precious metals. Yet, it has been considered very difficult to achieve sufficient exhaust gas purification performance with no precious metal or a small amount of a precious metal.
Exhaust gas-purifying catalysts are often used at high temperature under such conditions that the oxygen concentration changes relatively frequently. Therefore, when exhaust gas-purifying catalysts contain precious metals, the catalytic activity can easily be decreased by grain growth of the precious metals. Accordingly, improving the durability has become a significant challenge to exhaust gas-purifying catalysts containing precious metals.
To suppress the decrease in catalytic activity, for example, there has been developed an exhaust gas-purifying catalyst in which palladium forms a solid solution in a perovskite-type composite oxide (see, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication Nos. 2004-041866, 2004-041867, and 2004-041868). This catalyst allows palladium in the composite oxide to repeat precipitation and solid solution formation in response to the change in the oxygen concentration of exhaust gas, thereby suppressing grain growth of palladium.
However, the perovskite-type composite oxide is relatively low in heat resistance. Therefore, when used at high temperature for a long time, such a catalyst may suffer reduced self-regenerating capability, which is achieved by the precipitation and solid solution formation of palladium. In some cases, therefore, such a catalyst cannot achieve high exhaust gas purification performance after an endurance test.


Improved methods, devices, compositions, and systems are provided for concealing information on articles in commerce, such as pharmaceuticals, to improve detection of counterfeits. Embodiments are provided where Moiré patterns on article surfaces are detectable using a revealing layer only when the surfaces are illuminated at or near particular angles. Embodiments incorporating revealing layers into detection systems, such as microscopes, are also provided. A method comprising: providing at least one pharmaceutical composition which comprises at least one surface which comprises at least one area which is adapted to provide a Moiré base layer; illuminating the area at an angle; imaging the illuminated area with a Moiré revealing layer to generate a Moiré pattern. Such embodiments provide an additional layer of security over previous methods of detecting counterfeit articles.

A need exists to provide for better protection and security against counterfeiting and grey-market trading, particularly for pharmaceuticals. A review of counterfeiting in pharmaceuticals and its economic effects may be found in, for example, (1) "Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals: Current Status and Future Projections," A. I. Wertheimer, N. M. Chaney, T. Santella, J. Am. Pharm. Assoc. 43(6) 710-718 (2003), and (2) Chapter 4 of the book Counterfeiting exposed: protecting your brand and your customers, D. M. Hopkins, L. T. Kontnik, M. T. Turnage (Wiley, Ed. 2003); ISBN: 0471269905. Chapter 12 describes current anti-counterfeiting methods, such as holograms, intaglio printing, color-shifting technologies, and chemical or biochemical taggants.
As counterfeiters become more sophisticated, however, improved means of providing and verifying covert identification on pharmaceuticals and other articles will allow improved detection of counterfeits.

Moiré pattern generated by angular illumination of surfaces


A method for identifying brominated flame retardants in a polymer sample. An infrared spectrometry scan of the polymer sample is obtained. Using a first set of parameters, the obtained IR scan is compared to a first database, and a first hit score is calculated. Based on the results of the first hit score, a second database is selected from among a number of databases, and the obtained infrared spectrometry scan is compared to the various scans contained in the selected database using a parameter set that corresponds to the selected database, and a second hit score is calculated. Using the second hit score, another set of parameters is selected, and the obtained infrared spectrometry scan is compared to the various scans contained in the selected third database using this additional parameter set, and a third hit score is calculated. Based on the second and third hit scores, the identity of the brominated flame retardant in the polymer sample is determined with a high degree of accuracy.

Brominated flame retardants are used as additives in many engineering plastics to meet current safety standards for flammability. These plastics are commonly used in the industrial and consumer electronics markets for applications such as plastic housings, battery packages, printed circuit boards, adhesives, shrink tubing, etc. Most brominated flame retardants consist of at least one aromatic ring and they all carry a high number of bromine atoms. While they substantially reduce the flammability characteristics of these polymers, brominated flame retardants are regarded as an environmental hazard because they are toxic and/or carcinogenic. They contribute to the formation of dioxins when incinerated or exposed to intense heat during recycling. The various types of flame retardants have different levels of toxicity or contribute differently to the formation of dioxins. Legislation in the European Union (EU) has been enacted to reduce the level of brominated flame retardants in the environment. The Restriction of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) act has targeted brominated flame retardants in electronic devices, and provides an outright ban on two types of brominated flame retardants, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).
In order to comply with theses enacted regulations, a method to detect and identify brominated flame retardants in engineering plastics is needed. Such a method should be fast and accurate to enable rapid testing and short turnaround times in keeping with the 'time to market' requirements of the global electronics industry. The detection method also needs to be highly cost effective and it should not have any adverse impact on the environment by using other hazardous substances in the detection procedure, and it should be easy to use.
Historically, a number of methods have been used in the chemical laboratory to determine the presence of additives in polymers, such as high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography/mass spectral analysis (GC-MS), laser thermography, laser plasma emission, x-ray fluorescence, pyrolysis, and infrared (IR) spectroscopy techniques such as multiple internal reflectance (MIR), Raman scattering, and near infrared. Some of these techniques have been used with varying degrees of success in the analysis of brominated flame retardants in polymers. The HPLC detection method, for example, requires a number of sample preparation steps and uses environmentally sensitive reagents. Many techniques require extensive and tedious sample preparation steps which make the determination cumbersome and not amenable to rapid, routine analysis. Others are so inexact as to be of little value in addressing the needs of the RoHS act. A method that rapidly and accurately identifies the presence of brominated flame retardants in polymers would be a valuable addition to the art.

Identification of brominated flame retardant additives in polymers by infrared spectroscopy


The present invention is a proton exchange membrane fuel cell that includes a fuel cell assembly. The fuel cell assembly includes a bipolar separator, which includes an anode separator, a cathode separator and a membrane electrode assembly. The bipolar separator includes a highly porous, electrically conductive, non-metallic interface and a non-porous frame. The highly porous interface includes micro-channels for fluid communication and diffusion. Both the cathodic interface and anodic interface of the bipolar separator contain the highly porous material in a fluid diffusion region that interfaces with the active area of the MEA interposed between two bipolar separators. The highly porous material connects the fluid diffusion regions with their respective external sources of oxidant and fuel. The bipolar separator includes a non-porous frame that seals the highly porous material and isolates the fluids within the proton exchange membrane fuel cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrochemical energy converters such as fuel cells or electrolysis cells. More particularly, it relates to proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) that include a bipolar separator containing highly porous, electrically conductive, non-metallic material having micro-channels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Existing PEMFCs include a fuel cell assembly. The fuel cell assembly has three basic components: (1) an anode separator, (2) a cathode separator, (3) and a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) interposed between the anode separator and the cathode separator. The MEA consists of an ionomeric membrane with catalyst electrodes adhered to either side; the area of the catalyst is known as the active area. Individually, the anode separator and the cathode separator are unipolar separators; unipolar separators need only the MEA interposed between them to complete the most basic PEMFC. Typically, the anode separator and the cathode separator are placed back to back to form a bipolar separator so that the anode separator and the cathode separator may each interface with MEAs. A fuel cell stack is made by alternating bipolar separators and MEAs, with unipolar separators as terminals of the stack.
PEMFCs typically employ three fluids for proper functioning: a fuel (hydrogen or reformed hydrogen gas), an oxidant (oxygen, enriched air or air), and a coolant (air, water, or specialized coolants). The fuel is transported to one side of the MEA in order to react with the catalyst of the active area. The oxidant is transported to the other side of the MEA in order to complete the electrochemical reaction. A gas diffusion layer (GDL) facilitates the diffusion of both the fuel and the oxidant across the MEA active area. The coolant is circulated through the fuel cell in a designated pattern in order to warm up the fuel cell during initialization and, most importantly, to cool the fuel cell during operation.
Existing PEMFCs suffer from six significant problems: (1) inadequate fluid distribution, (2) incomplete fluid diffusion across the active area of the membrane, (3) electrical current transmission, (4) contact resistance, (5) inconsistent mechanical loading, and (6) insufficient fluid sealing. These problems have precluded the PEMFC industry from mass-producing units of commercial utility. These problems result from the structure of existing bipolar separators.
Existing PEMFCs include bipolar separators that contain macro-channels and macro-manifolds that transport fluids to and from the active area. However, the macro-channels restrict the performance of the fuel cell because they distribute fluids to the active area only along the area that the channels traverse. In addition, the macro-channels and macro-manifolds leave gaps in the volume of the fuel cell that are unable to transmit electrical current, seal the fluids, or support mechanical loading.

Channel-less proton exchange membrane fuel cell


The present invention is a substrate for a display device comprising an active matrix substrate and an opposed substrate which are opposed to each other with a display medium layer interposed therebetween, said active matrix substrate including a pixel electrode arranged in a matrix shape on the side of the display medium layer and said opposed substrate including a common electrode opposing to the pixel electrode on the side of the display medium layer, wherein said substrate for a display device includes an electrode slit formed in one of the pixel electrode and the common electrode; and at least one of the electrical connecting portions of said electrode slit is provided outside of a light-blocking region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate for a display device, a method for repairing the same, a method for repairing a display device and a liquid crystal display device and, more particularly to a substrate for a display device which is suitably used in direct-vision type liquid crystal display devices such as a liquid crystal color television and projection-type liquid crystal display devices such as a liquid crystal projector, a method for repairing the same, a method for repairing a display device and a liquid crystal display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As examples of liquid crystal display devices, there are color liquid crystal display devices including an active matrix (hereinafter, referred to as "AM") substrate having a plurality of switching devices such as thin-film transistors (hereinafter, referred to as "TFTs") formed thereon, a CF substrate having a color filter (hereinafter, referred to as "CF") layer of a plurality of colors and a common electrode which are laminated in order thereon, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between both the substrates. The AM substrate includes a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix shape, the CF substrate includes a common electrode opposing to the pixel electrode and an alignment of the liquid crystal is controlled with the field intensity between both the electrodes.
In the event that a conductive foreign substance is intruded between the pixel electrodes formed on the AM substrate and the common electrode formed on the CF substrate in a conventional liquid crystal display device thus resulting in an electrical short-circuiting (hereinafter, referred to as "vertical leakage"), the electric potential difference between the pixel electrodes and the common electrode is nulled, thereby causing a liquid crystal molecule at the portion to be unoriented. This will cause pixel defects such as bright spots in normally-white type apparatuses (which display a white color when a voltage is not applied) and black spots in normally-black type apparatuses (which display a black color when a voltage is not applied). Such the vertical leakage is caused by a conductive foreign substance adhered during TFT processes, CF processes, liquid crystal processes and, in order to find the vertical leakage, it is necessary to conduct lighting inspections at the state where the TFT and CF panels are attached to each other. Furthermore, the probabilities of occurrences of the vertical leakage have been increased with increasing sizes of pixels in association with the increasing sizes of display devices which have been required in recent years and with decreasing cell gaps for realizing high-speed responses. With increasing probabilities of occurrences of the vertical leakage, the yields of panels have been reduced.
The pixel configuration of a conventional liquid crystal display device will be described by exemplifying the pixel configuration of an MVA (Multi-domain Vertical Alignment) type liquid-crystal displaying mode, on the basis of drawings.
MVA type display device employs a band-shaped component (an alignment control protrusion) provided on the CF substrate and a cut-out (a slit) in the pixel electrode provided on the AM substrate which are alternately arranged on these substrate surfaces and generate liquid crystal alignments having directions of director which are different from one another by 180 degrees by using the aforementioned component and the slit as boundaries for dividing the alignment of vertical-alignment type liquid crystals, wherein a plurality of domains having director directions which are different from one another by 180 degrees are provided within a single display pixel region to provide uniform visual angle characteristics (refer to, for example, JP-P No. 11-242225). As described above, the pixel electrode of an MVA type display device is provided with a plurality of slits for restricting the alignment of a liquid crystal molecule, and, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 1-2, an electrode connecting portion between electrode slits (a pixel-electrode connecting portion) 12 is provided in order to provide a continuous electrode pattern within the pixel. In general, the pixel-electrode connecting portion 12 is provided around a pixel electrode 9 and an alignment defect (a disclination) and a light leakage near a data-signal wiring (signal line) 4 is collectively shielded by a light-blocking film called a black matrix provided on the CF substrate for alleviating reduction in the aperture ratio. However, a configuration of conventional MVA type pixel electrode has not enabled repairing a pixel suffering from the vertical leakage thus resulting in a defect on a pixel-by-pixel basis and therefore have been susceptible to improvements.
There is another aspect of an MVA type display device in which a protrusion for controlling alignment is provided on the AM substrate while a slit is provided in the electrode on the CF substrate. In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 4-2, for example, the opposed electrode (common electrode) on the CF substrate is provided with a slit and the opposed electrode is continuous with the adjacent pixel. Therefore, in order to cut away a portion suffering from the vertical leakage, it is necessary to cut away the surrounding area of the pixel electrode having the portion. Therefore, there has been room for minimizing the to-be-cut portion and making the portion suffering from the vertical leakage to be a minute defect which is difficult to recognize as a defect.
There have been disclosed liquid crystal display devices capable of coping with occurrence of the vertical leakage by having a slit portion formed in the pixel electrode, in relation to a conventional technique for repairing a pixel defect (refer to, for example, JP-P No. 2000-221527, JP-P No. 2004-93654, and JP-P No. 2001-83522). However, the liquid crystal display devices in JP-P No. 2000-221527 and JP-P No. 2004-93654 utilize a slit provided at a portion outside of a light-blocking film where there has originally existed no slit and the pixel electrode is cut off resulting in expansion of the slit region. Therefore, these liquid crystal display devices have been susceptible to improvement for maintaining the display quality without inducing an alignment defect. Furthermore, there is a possibility of cutting off a data-signal wiring during cutting away a defective portion which may induce a line defect and, therefore, these apparatuses have been susceptible to improvements.
Further, with the liquid crystal display devices in JP-P No. 2000-221527 and JP-P No. 2001-83522, in the event of occurrence of a defect near the storage capacitor, if the pixel electrode on the portion is cut away, then the pixel electrode constituting the storage capacitor is cut away. Therefore, the apparatuses have been susceptible to improvement for causing the storage capacitor to work sufficiently to maintain the display quality even after repairs.
Further, the liquid crystal display devices in JP-P No. 2000-221527, JP-P No. 2004-93654 and JP-P No. 2001-83522 employ a configuration for supplying a drain electric potential to the pixel electrode through a contact hole near a transistor, and therefore they have been susceptible to improvement for enabling partially repairing the pixel electrode in the event of the vertical leakage between the transistor and the storage capacitor wiring. Further, they have been susceptible to improvement for sufficiently coping with, in addition to the vertical leakage, defect modes such as an electrical short-circuiting between the drain extracting electrode and the storage capacitor wiring (Cs) (hereinafter, referred to as "D-Cs leakage") and the electrical short-circuiting between the data-signal wiring and a capacitance electrode formed on the storage capacitor wiring.

Substrate for a display device, a method for repairing the same, a method for repairing a display device and a liquid-crystal display device


An AM demodulator using totem pole complementary metal oxide semiconductor transistors having a feedback to provide a common gate voltage of approximately half that across the transistors in the totem pole. The AM demodulator used in a hearing assistance device and in a programmer of a hearing assistance device.

Radio communication electronics are increasingly found in devices used everyday. As communication electronics are added to more and more devices new features and technical challenges arise. Communications are supported between an ever increasing array of devices having a rich set of communications features. The movement to wireless devices will continue for some time.
One of the problems associated with the proliferation of communication electronics involves the space and power consumption of the electronics. Additionally, robust designs are needed to ensure reliable communications and low failure rates.
Thus, there is a need in the art for radio communication electronics that require smaller space and power consumption. The electronics should include robust circuits that provide reliable communications with elegant designs providing low cost construction and manufacturing overhead.