The invention is directed to an arrangement for transferring irradiated f rods from a trough-shaped receptacle into a canister intended for terminal storage. The canister is docked at a pass-through opening formed in a partition wall of a nuclear facility. The arrangement includes a trough-shaped insert which is movable out of the terminal storage canister while empty and through the pass-through opening into the trough-shaped receptacle whereat it is filled with the irradiated fuel rods and then returned back through the opening and into the terminal storage canister. In this way, and with little effort, a transfer of fuel rods is achieved without components disposed between the receptacle and canister becoming contaminated by radioactive particles.

When fuel rods are handled such as when laying the fuel rods into the first receptacle, the condition cannot be avoided that radioactive particles drop from the irradiated fuel rods. The fuel rods are customarily pushed out of the first receptacle through the partition wall and into the terminal storage receptacle. During this displacement of the fuel rods, the disadvantage occurs that components such as seals and the like become contaminated with the radioactive particles dropping from the fuel rods into the first receptacle. The components are exchangeable via remote manipulation and are located at the pass-through opening of the partition wall.

Arrangement for transferring fuel rods from a first receptacle to a second receptacle

Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Wiederaufarbeitung von Kernbrennstoffen mbH


An apparatus includes a wheel having an axle, and a round disk connected to the axle. The round disk has a disk middle connected to the axle and a disk circumferential surface surrounding the disk middle. Further, a round ring having an inner ring surface is connected to the disk circumferential surface of the round disk. The round disk is positioned within the round ring. The round ring contacts the round disk along a first plane, and the axle is coplanar with the first plane. Additionally, the round ring has a ring circumferential outer surface having threads. A threaded cylinder having an inner threaded cylinder surface is connected to the threads in the ring circumferential outer surface. The round ring is positioned within the threaded cylinder. Further, a worm gear is positioned between the threaded cylinder and the round ring.

Embodiments herein generally relate to casters and more particularly to a protected caster assembly.
Casters used on heavy items, such as printing equipment, are sometimes easily bent and damaged during installation and subsequent use because of the moment arm between the axle of the caster wheels and the attachment point to the device. Additionally, the frame to which the caster is fastened can be deformed during installation or movement of the unit because of this moment arm. For example, if there is enough momentum, the damage to the casters and/or frame occurs when the caster is caught in irregular floor surfaces, such as carpet edges, elevator cracks, chasms in the loading dock areas, etc.
The bending moment on typical casters is high and acts like a lever on the mounting point of the caster assembly if the caster is suddenly stopped. The current approach is to replace the broken caster for no charge, or to pay special handling charges to the rigging organization to de-palletize devices at the installation site. Furthermore, during leveling of the casters, excess time is used when the features for height adjustment are relatively inaccessible, and the operator is required reach underneath or behind the unit to adjust the vertical position of the unit or level the unit.


An armrest attaching mechanism wherein armrest attaching brackets are attached to arms arranged at the seat back of a reclining seat. The arm is a member different from the seat cushion and seat back of the seat and the process of attaching the arm to the bracket can be thus made independent of the seat assembly process, thereby making the seat assembly process easy. The bracket is swingably attached to the arm to swing the armrest between its used position and its not-used position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an armrest attaching mechanism which enables the armrests to be easily attached to a seat back in a car, for example.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various kinds of vehicles such as cars have seats to which armrests are attached to make the person, who is seated on the seat, sit comfortably. An example of the conventional armrest attaching mechanism employed in the case of these vehicles is shown in FIG. 1, wherein reference numeral 11A represents a frame for forming the seat back, and an armrest 2 is attached directly to the frame 11A in such a manner that a bracket 3 is swingably attached to each of the sides of the frame 11A by a pin 13 and that the armrest 2 is fixed to the bracket 3 by pins 14 and 15.
Conventionally, the bracket 3 to which the armrest was attached was attached to the frame 11A which was housed in the seat back. The attaching of the armrest 2 to the bracket 3 must be therefore done during process of seat assembly, thereby making the production process difficult.


In a method for operating a hybrid drive device for a motor vehicle having at least one internal combustion engine, another drive unit and a separating clutch, to start the internal combustion engine the separating clutch is engaged, and during the start of the internal combustion engine, a setpoint rotational speed is predefined for the other drive unit. This setpoint rotational speed for the other drive unit is determined with the aid of a drivetrain model.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a device for operating a hybrid drive device having an internal combustion engine, another drive unit, and a separating clutch which is engaged to start the internal combustion engine.
2. Description of Related Art
Such methods and devices are already known from the related art. Hybrid vehicles having a parallel hybrid drive usually have an internal combustion engine, at least another drive unit, in particular an electric machine, and a transmission for setting the transmission ratio between input and output in the drivetrain. If there is a separating clutch between the internal combustion engine and the other drive unit, then the vehicle may be driven jointly by the internal combustion engine and the other unit, or by only the other unit alone. If the vehicle is driven only by the other unit, then the internal combustion engine may be started by engaging the separating clutch. As long as the internal combustion engine is not yet generating any drive torque, it counteracts the torque of the other drive unit. As soon as the internal combustion engine is started, the drive torque of the internal combustion engine is added to the drive torque of the other drive unit. The start of the internal combustion engine is a dynamic process, which exhibits an irregular pattern of the drive torque of the internal combustion engine. To ensure comfortable driving of the vehicle, the drive torque of the drivetrain should not be disturbed by this dynamic start. Instead, the drive torque of the drivetrain should always correspond to the driver's torque request.
A method for operating a hybrid drive device is known from published international patent application document WO 2008/043712 A1. To start the internal combustion engine, a separating clutch is engaged. It is provided that, as a function of the rotational speed of the turbine wheel of the torque converter, such a rotational speed is predefined for the electric machine that no torque jump occurs at the hybrid drive during the starting process of the internal combustion engine.

Method and device for operating a hybrid drive device during the start of an internal combustion engine


The disclosure provides a screen projection method, a screen projection apparatus and a storage medium. The method includes: determining, in response to a meeting screen projection request of a user, at least one candidate meeting reservation notification that meets a preset condition from current meeting reservation notifications of the user; obtaining and displaying meeting prompt information corresponding to each candidate meeting reservation notification; obtaining a first screen projection code corresponding to the meeting prompt information; and performing, in response to detecting a screen projection instruction of the user for a target meeting prompt information of the meeting prompt information, a screen projection connection with a screen projection device based on the first screen projection code and the target meeting prompt information.

In an office scenario, in order to organize a meeting to present prepared documents for easy understanding and discussion of meeting content by participants, generally, computer/mobile screen is projected onto a projector or TV in a meeting room.
In the related art, relevant software is used for screen projection. Regardless of whether the terminal device is a desktop or a mobile terminal, the user needs to see and remember a projection code provided by the projector in the meeting room before screen projection. Then, the corresponding projection code is input on the computer or mobile phone for screen projection.

Screen projection method and apparatus, and storage medium

BEIJING BAIDU NETCOM SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


An alignment mark formed by using a first mask used in forming a same memory cell pattern on a substrate and formed together with the memory cell pattern includes: a first pattern for position detection used for alignment in forming a first wiring pattern; and a first irregular reflection prevention mark that suppresses, when a position detection signal is irradiated as alignment in forming a second wiring pattern further on an upper layer side than the first wiring pattern, irregular reflection of a position detection signal from a second pattern for position detection formed further in a lower layer than the first pattern for position detection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an alignment mark, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and a mask set.
2. Description of the Related Art
A stacked cross-point memory such as a resistance random access memory (ReRAM) is configured by stacking memory cells having the same pattern a plurality of times. When such a stacked cross-point memory is manufactured, alignment marks are formed in respective layers in advance. When a pattern in an upper layer side is formed, mask alignment (alignment of the upper layer with the lower layer) is performed by using an alignment mark formed in a pattern on a lower layer side.
When it is attempted to stack memory cells of the stacked cross-point memory using only one mask set, the same mask is used a plurality of times. Therefore, a memory cell pattern on the upper layer side is stacked on a memory cell pattern on the lower layer side. The alignment mark on the upper layer side is also stacked on the alignment mark on the lower layer side. Therefore, after memory cells of two or more layers are formed, when a word line and a bit line are aligned with a memory cell of an uppermost layer, an alignment mark formed in a memory cell is present in a lower layer side of an alignment mark of the uppermost layer. When position detection signals for detecting the positions of the alignment marks is irradiated, the position detection signals interfere with each other in the alignment mark on the upper layer side and the alignment mark on the lower layer side. This makes it difficult to accurately detect the positions of the alignment marks. In this way, in the stacked cross-point memory, although the memory cells in the respective layers are the same pattern, the memory cells cannot be stacked with only one mask set.
Therefore, even if internal data of memory cell patterns are the same, to align memory cells, it is necessary to prepare mask sets of memory cells equivalent to the number of stacks having different arrangements of alignment marks. Respective masks of the memory cells equivalent to the number of stacks are masks having the same data of the memory cells and different arrangements of alignment marks (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H2-158120).
However, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H2-158120, it is necessary to manufacture mask sets of memory cells equivalent to the number of stacks. Therefore, a large number of masks are used to form the memory cells and high cost is required to manufacture and maintain the mask sets.

Alignment mark, method of manufacturing semiconductor device, and mask set


A printing system, in which a printing job based on a same printing target is registered in each of a plurality of printers and one of the plurality of printers performs printing in response to a print instruction of the printing job thereto, the printing system including; a determination unit that determines, when registering the printing job in each of the plurality of printers, a registration destination of the printing job for each of the plurality of printers such that both a printer having the printing job registered in a volatile memory and a printer having the printing job registered in a non-volatile memory exist.

A technology of registering a common printing job in a plurality of printers and executing a printing of the printing job by one of the plurality of printers is well known. For example, related-art discloses a technology of registering a same secure job in each of a plurality of printers and starting printing of the secure job after authentication is performed by one of the plurality of printers.
However, the related-art printing system has the following problems. When the printing job is registered in volatile memories of the respective printers, data is lost when the printer is turned off. Accordingly, it is preferable to register the printing job in non-volatile memories of the respective printers so as to improve certainty of the printing. However, the non-volatile memory is more expensive than the volatile memory with respect to cost per unit data amount. Thus, it is not preferable to simply use the non-volatile memory. That is, a tradeoff problem in that, when all printers use the volatile memory, the certainty of the printing is deteriorated, and when many printers use the non-volatile memory, the efficiency in the use of the memory is lowered, is caused.

Printing system and information processing apparatus


An adjustable light fixture for photography that is versatile in mobility and utility. The light fixture includes a light socket, a handle, an umbrella-mounting hole, a hot shoe mount, a stand adaptor, and a lockable pivot joint. The light socket receives a light bulb and includes a housing and an electrical interfacing cavity. The intermediate spar is adjacently connected to the housing to connect the handle to the light socket. The electrical interfacing cavity traverses into the housing, opposite the intermediate spar. The handle is adjacently and perpendicularly connected to the intermediate spar, opposite the housing. The umbrella-mounting hole traverses through the handle, oriented parallel to a main axis of the electrical interfacing cavity. The hot shoe mount is adjacently connected to the intermediate spar, opposite the handle. The stand adaptor is pivotably attached to the handle by the lockable pivot joint, opposite the intermediate spar.

Lighting is one of the most important aspects in cinema and photography. The type of lighting used for a photoshoot or a recording directly affects the quality of the resulting end product. The proper implementation of light can mean the difference between a good quality and a mediocre picture. A variety of aspects contribute to different type of lighting including light angle, lighting intensity, natural light, and artificial light. In order to manipulate these aspects, personnel in the field utilize different lighting sources and light manipulation devices. Two of the main lighting sources is a light bulb and an electronic flash unit. The light bulb provides a constant stream of light and a variety of different light bulbs may be used to vary said light depending on the needs of the user. The electronic flash unit produces an artificial light for an extremely short amount of time at a high temperature. This is used to illuminate a dark scene. The light produces by these lighting sources may be altered and modified by a lighting umbrella. A lighting umbrella is reflector which utilizes a reflective surface to modify light produces by a lighting source. A lighting umbrella may be used to diffuse, soften, redirect, or focus light; essential for illuminating a variety of scenes and creating quality photos. Conventional photo/video light sources are broadly divided into 4 types, tungsten, fluorescent, flash, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Tungsten and fluorescent based light sources offer not only lower power but also poor portability due to fragile nature of the bulb. Flash based light sources offer higher power but due to its size and weight, its portability is poorly rated. LED lights provide 10 times higher output than conventional tungsten photo/video light source at equal wattage, yet consumes significantly less energy. The present invention offers high power, robust construction, and minimal weight as a perfect for studio or location assignments.
The present invention provides allows for the combination of light sources and light manipulation devises in a single, easy to use device. The present invention is a light fixture which includes a light socket, a hot shoe mount, and an umbrella mount. The light socket allows for the present invention to utilize various photographic bulbs. The hot shoe mount allows the present invention to utilize various photographic accessories such as electronic flash units. The umbrella mount allows the present invention to utilize a variety of lighting umbrellas to manipulate and redirect light. Additionally, the present invention includes a handle and a stand adaptor for increased versatility. With the ability to use both an LED bulb and an external camera flash the present invention forms a complete flash light source with high wattage LED modeling bulb which can be used simultaneously as a continuous LED light source. This creates a light source of flash and continuous lighting within the same color temperature spectrum.
The present invention utilizes LED light sources and therefore can perform under the 85 volts to 240 volts, thus compatible in countries such as Europe and Asia with higher voltage, where conventional tungsten, fluorescent, or flash light sources cannot. Additionally, when combined with 12 volt LED bulbs, the present invention can perform on a small 12 volt battery pack that are commercially available in the photo/video industry. The LED light portion of the present invention works as the modeling light of the external flash unit on the hotshoe portion, resulting in a complete flash light source with higher wattage modeling light in a portable format.

Adjustable light fixture with an umbrella mount and a hot shoe mount


A method for a mobile device in a wireless power system includes transmitting a request to a server of the wireless power system for acquiring operation state information of a first wireless power spot in the wireless power system, wherein the request at least comprises a required power threshold; and receiving a response comprising the operation state information of the first wireless power spot, wherein the operation state information at least comprises a capacity and an availability of the first wireless power spot.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for a wireless power system, and more particularly, to a method of acquiring operation state information of the spots providing the wireless charging service in a wireless power system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the proliferation of portable electronic devices such as mobile device (MD), smart phone and tablet PC, the demand for charging devices, especially for those provided in public areas, is increasing. In addition, people would like to get rid of annoying wires if possible. One technology which realizes this desire is wireless charging, in which portable electronic device(s) comprising a wireless power receiver is placed on and charged through a wireless power base station (e.g. a power base station comprising a wireless power transmitter).
When running out of the battery of the portable electronic devices, the user desires acknowledging the information of nearby spots which provide the wireless charging services. However, the user may run into an awful experience if the wireless power base stations of the nearby spots have been occupied when the user arrives the nearby spot or if the wireless power provided by the wireless power base stations of the nearby spots is not sufficient for the wireless power required by the portable electronic devices. Thus, how to acquire sufficient operation state information of the spots providing the wireless charging service becomes a topic to be discussed.

Method of acquiring operation state information of wireless power system


The bottle-sealing and preservation device provides for the sealing of necked bottles, including those designed to hold pressure such as champagne bottles, using mechanical advantage to compress an O-ring against the inner surface of the bottle neck. The device can accommodate a wide range of bottle-neck diameters and includes a stabilizing ring that engages the bottle mouth. Optionally, the device may be fitted with a cylindrical cage in which an oxygen-scavenging sachet may be inserted to pull oxygen out of the bottle headspace, thereby preserving any remaining liquid therein that is susceptible to oxidation.

Bottle closures for non-threaded bottle necks such as corks and stoppers are well known. Corks are difficult to re-insert as they expand substantially upon being pulled, especially champagne corks that must hold considerable pressure. A typical bottle of sparkling wine at room temperature has a pressure of about 90 psig, which translates to about 33 lbs of force on a cork of 0.685″ in diameter—typical of a champagne cork.
Typical replacement stoppers for champagne bottles have a mechanism that swings down and engages the bottle annulus and uses wedging action or a lever to cinch the stopper down against the bottle mouth. However, variations in exterior bottle-neck geometry makes it difficult for a single device to close a wide range of bottles properly. Further, such closures typically don't work well on wine bottles where the ring or collar, similar to champagne annulus, is largely ornamental.
While champagne stoppers primarily seal against the bottle mouth, replacement wine-bottle stoppers typically seal against the inner bottle neck. The challenge is that there is no standard bottle-neck inner diameter, and wine stoppers must accommodate a wide range of diameters. The typical approach to this problem is to configure the stopper with a series of thin, flat rubber rings that flexibly conform to the bottle neck. The downside is that the fit in the bottle neck can be loose to the point where the bottle can't be laid on its side, and a loose fit also translates to a non-optimal seal. Another less-effective approach is a weighted stopper configured with a cone covered by a thin elastomer that seals at the inner edge of the bottle mouth. The seal integrity is low as the pressure on the contact area is only a function of the stopper weight, necessitating that the bottle be kept upright.
A related class of stoppers aim to preserve perishable bottle contents such as wine and whiskeys through the scavenging of oxygen by attaching a scavenger to the stopper that is affixed to a partially-consumed bottle. If the stopper seal is not tight, the scavenger won't be able to work to its full effectiveness.


The invention provides litter box assemblies useful for managing animal waste. In a general aspect, the litter box assembly includes an animal litter box, a litter fragmenting device attached to the litter box, and an optional hopper attached to the litter fragmenting device. The hopper can store an animal litter that has improved absorption capabilities after being fragmented by the litter fragmenting device. The invention also provides kits useful for making the litter box assemblies and using such litter box assemblies for managing animal waste.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to litter box assemblies and particularly to litter box assemblies having a litter fragmenting device.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous animal litter boxes and animal litter box assemblies are known in the art, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,088 entitled "Pet Litter Box Assembly", U.S. Pat. No. 7,290,499 entitled "Self-cleaning Pet Litter Box Assembly", and U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,837 entitled "Litter Box Having Shelf Formed in Side Wall Thereof Supporting Fine and Coarse Grid Assembly." These and other known litter boxes and animal litter box assemblies function for their intended purpose but none of the known litter boxes and animal litter box assemblies have an integral litter fragmenting device that permits a user to make fragmented litter at the point of use or to make animal litter with improved properties.
Animal waste management products such as animal litter are commonly used to collect and process animal waste, e.g., the waste of a pet such as a cat. The litter is poured into a litter box or tray and collects the animal's waste products. However, conventional litter boxes and animal litter contained in the litter box can be problematic for the user. For example, the animal litter may not be suitable for absorbing large amounts of urine. In addition, the animal litter may not typically absorb any substantial portion of the obnoxious odors produced by animal excrement. These odors caused by excessive waste can escape into the surrounding area and become an annoyance to the user and others. Additionally, the aggregate size of the litter used in the box may not be appealing to the pet. Cats in general for example prefer smaller aggregate pieces as elimination substrates.
Animal litter comprises particulates that can be scattered when poured into the litter box. The used litter can be dusty and have a high bulk density leading to difficult cleaning once the litter needs to be changed. Consequently, to keep the litter boxes in a sanitary condition and minimize obnoxious odors emanating therefrom, the absorbent litter must be changed regularly. This involves periodically disposing of soiled litter and replacing it with unsoiled litter, which involves unpleasantly close contact with litter soiled by animal wastes.
Animal litters having superior or improved absorption capacity can decrease the frequency of cleanings while still absorbing large amounts of animal waste, e.g., urine. However, these animal litters are usually more costly. An alternative is to provide a litter box that can modify and improve the absorption capacity of animal litter at the point of use, e.g., a pet owner's home. Additionally, this size modification can enhance the pet appeal for the litter substrate. There is, therefore, a need for litter box assemblies capable of producing animal litter at the point of use, particularly animal litters having improved properties such as absorption capabilities and pet appeal.

Litter box assembly having a litter fragmenting device


A bicycle control device is provided with a mounting bracket, a first lever and an adjustment arrangement. The first lever is pivotally arranged relative to the mounting bracket about a first-axis and about a second axis being non-parallel to the first axis. The first lever is configured relative to the mounting bracket such that a free end of the first lever moves closer to the mounting bracket as the first lever pivots about the first axis from a rest position to an operated position. The adjustment arrangement adjusts the rest position of the first lever relative to the mounting bracket around the second operating axis.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a bicycle control device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a bicycle control device having an adjustment arrangement for adjusting a rest position of an operating lever.
2. Background Information
Bicycle control devices are usually provided on a bicycle for a rider to operate various bicycle components such as operating brakes and changing gears. The bicycle control devices that are used for changing gears are often called shifters. Most mechanical shifters use a control cable that connects the shifter to a gear changing device for shifting the gear changing device between gears. Some shifters use a single operating lever to perform both upshifting operations and downshifting operations, while other shifters use a first operating lever to perform upshifting operations and a second operating lever to perform downshifting operations. Also some shifters integrate braking into one of the operating levers. In the case of a road bicycle with a dropdown handlebar, shifters that perform a dual function of shifting and braking are sometimes referred to as a brifter. In some cases, a brake lever that is integrated into to the shifter such that the brake lever has the dual function. Examples of brake/shift operating devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,675 to Nagano (assigned to Shimano, Inc), U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,683 to Romano (assigned to Campagnolo) and U.S. Publication Patent No. 2007-0012137 to Dal Pra' (assigned to Campagnolo).


A process and apparatus for producing compressed, gas-stabilized tampons are disclosed. The gas-stabilized tampons include tampons having preferably multiple folds for improved leakage protection and comfort through improved expansion characteristics. The number of folds can vary from 3 to 20 and greater. The process includes the step of forcing a gas through the compressed tampon. The gas can include steam.

It is well known in the art, that during the production of tampons, tampon pledgets have a tendency to re-expand to their original dimensions after a compression step. Heat setting has been utilized to overcome this tendency. Heat setting is the application of heat to a compressed tampon pledget designed to "set" or stabilize the tampon in the compressed state. Currently, tampons are set or stabilized by either conductive heating or microwave heating, both of which have drawbacks.
Commonly, conductive heating methods do not uniformly stabilize the tampon and may result in the alteration of absorbent qualities in the outer layer of the tampon because the dense, compacted material on the outside of the tampon dries more quickly than the inside. Conductive heating methods may also be time intensive because the air inside the tampon must be heated to dry the fibers via conduction from outside the pledget to the inside. As well, high temperatures that may decrease cycle times cannot be utilized in conductive heating methods because these temperatures may be above the melting point of tampon overwraps resulting in a melted product.
While microwave heating can be a faster method of stabilizing tampons than conductive heating, microwave heating does not uniformly stabilize tampons and may create "hot spots" within the tampon and may also melt the overwrap of the tampon. As well, only a small fraction of the outputted energy in microwave heating actually goes into stabilizing the tampon, thus energy costs of this method are relatively high.
The present invention addresses the problems associated with both the conductive heating and the microwave heating by providing a time-efficient process for uniformly stabilizing a compressed tampon pledget by forcing a gas through the compressed tampon pledget. Furthermore, the process of the present invention has the benefit of more consistent stabilization while at the same time being less dependent on incoming moisture.
The present invention is also directed to a gas-stabilized tampon having multiple folds for improved leakage protection and comfort through improved expansion characteristics.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Process for producing a stabilized compressed tampon


The present application generally relates to the introduction of a renewable fuel oil as a feedstock into refinery systems or field upgrading equipment. For example, the present application is directed to methods of introducing a liquid thermally produced from biomass into a petroleum conversion unit; for example, a refinery fluid catalytic cracker (FCC), a coker, a field upgrader system, a hydrocracker, and/or hydrotreating unit; for co-processing with petroleum fractions, petroleum fraction reactants, and/or petroleum fraction feedstocks and the products, e.g., fuels, and uses and value of the products resulting therefrom.

Biomass has been a primary source of energy over much of human history. During the late 1800's and 1900's the proportion of the world's energy sourced from biomass dropped, as the commercial development and utilization of fossil fuels occurred, and markets for coal and petroleum products dominated. Nevertheless, some 15% of the world's energy continues to be sourced from biomass, and in developing countries the contribution of biomass is much higher at 38%. In addition, there has been a new awareness of the impact of the utilization of fossil fuels on the environment. In particular, the contribution of greenhouse gases, as a result of consuming fossil fuels.
Biomass, such as wood, wood residues, and agricultural residues, can be converted to useful products, e.g., fuels or chemicals, by thermal or catalytic conversion. An example of thermal conversion is pyrolysis where the biomass is converted to a liquid and char, along with a gaseous co-product by the action of heat in essentially the absence of oxygen.
In a generic sense, pyrolysis is the conversion of biomass to a liquid and/or char by the action of heat, typically without involving any significant level of direct combustion of the biomass feedstock in the primary conversion unit.
Historically, pyrolysis was a relatively slow process where the resulting liquid product was a viscous tar and "pyroligneous" liquor. Conventional slow pyrolysis has typically taken place at temperatures below 400° C., and over long processing times ranging from several seconds to minutes or even hours with the primary intent to produce mainly charcoal and producing liquids and gases as by-products.
A more modern form of pyrolysis, or rapid thermal conversion, was discovered in the late 1970's when researchers noted that an extremely high yield of a light, pourable liquid was possible from biomass. In fact, liquid yields approaching 80% of the weight of the input of a woody biomass material were possible if conversion was allowed to take place over a very short time period, typically less than 5 seconds.
The homogeneous liquid product from this rapid pyrolysis, which has the appearance of a light to medium petroleum fuel oil, can be considered renewable oil. Renewable oil is suitable as a fuel for clean, controlled combustion in boilers, and for use in diesel and stationary turbines. This is in stark contrast to slow pyrolysis, which produces a thick, low quality, two-phase tar-aqueous mixture in very low yields.
In practice, the short residence time pyrolysis of biomass causes the major part of its organic material to be instantaneously transformed into a vapor phase. This vapor phase contains both non-condensable gases (including methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and olefins) and condensable vapors. It is the condensable vapors that constitute the final liquid product, when condensed and recovered, and the yield and value of this liquid is a strong function of the method and efficiency of the downstream capture and recovery system.
Given the fact that there is a limited availability of hydrocarbon crude and an ever increasing demand for energy, particularly liquid transportation fuels, alternative sources are therefore required. The abundance and sustainability of biomass makes this renewable feedstock an attractive option to supplement the future demand for petroleum. The difficulty with biomass is the fact that it contains oxygen, unlike conventional hydrocarbon fuels, and historically has not been readily convertible into a form that can be easily integrated into existing hydrocarbon based infrastructure.
A significant amount of work has been done to investigate the production of liquid hydrocarbon fuels from biomass by various thermal and thermocatalytic schemes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,792,340; 5,961,786; Lappas et al., Biomass Pyrolysis in a Circulating Fluid Bed Reactor for the Production of Fuels and Chemicals, Fuel 81 (2002), 2087-2095); and Samolada et al., Catalyst Evaluation for Catalytic Biomass Pyroloysis, Fuel & Energy 2000, 14, 1161-1167, describe the direct processing of biomass or other oxygenated carbonaceous feedstocks in a circulating fluid bed reactor using a catalyst (zeolite FCC catalyst) as the solid circulating media in an effort to directly deoxygenate the biomass and produce transportation fuels or fuel blends, as well as other hydrocarbons. Although some hydrocarbon products were produced, the yields were unacceptably low, and there was a high yield of char or coke and by-product gas produced. In addition, there were frequent issues with reactor fouling and plugging, and other serious technical difficulties associated with catalyst performance. Not only were the liquid yields lower, much of liquid product produced would require further upgrading and treatment to enable any direct immediate use in place of fossil fuel-based hydrocarbons.
Given the above limitations, another alternative for hydrocarbon production from biomass is to convert solid biomass first into a thermally-produced or thermocatalytically-produced liquid, and then feed this neat liquid (i.e. 100% liquid biomass product) into a circulating fluid bed reactor using a FCC catalyst or other appropriate catalyst as the solid circulating media (Adjaye et al., Production of Hydrocarbons by Catalytic Upgrading of a Fast Pyrolysis Bio-oil, Fuel Processing Technology 45 (1995), 185-192). Again, in this case, unacceptable hydrocarbon yields were achieved, reactor plugging and fouling was often evident, and much of the feedstock was converted to char/coke, gas and an oxygen-rich liquid that tended to separate into different liquid phases.
The use of catalytic cracking of a solid or liquid biomass, a biomass-derived vapor, or a thermally-produced liquid as a means to produce hydrocarbons from oxygenated biomass is technically complex, relatively inefficient, and produces significant amounts of low value byproducts. To solve the catalyst and yield issues, researchers looked at stand-alone upgrading pathways where biomass-derived liquids could be converted to liquid hydrocarbons using hydrogen addition and catalyst systems in conversion systems that were tailored specifically for the processing of oxygenated materials (Elliott, Historical Developments in Hydroprocessing Bio-oils, Energy & Fuels 2007, 21, 1792-1815). Although technically feasible, the large economies-of-scale and the technical complexities and costs associated with high-pressure multi-stage hydrogen addition (required for complete conversion to liquid hydrocarbon fuels) are severely limiting and generally viewed as unacceptable.
As a means to overcome the technical and economic limitations associated with full stand-alone biomass upgrading to transportation fuels, researchers (de Miguel Mercader, Pyrolysis Oil Upgrading for Co-Processing in Standard Refinery Units, Ph.D Thesis, University of Twente, 2010 ("Mercader"); Fogassy et al., Biomass Derived Feedstock Co-Processing with VGO for Hybrid Fule Production in FCC Units, Institut de Recherches sur la Catalyse et l'Environnement de Lyon, UMR5236 CNRS-UCBL ("Fogassy"); Gutierrez et al., Co-Processing of Upgraded Bio-Liquids in Standard Refinery Units—Fundamentals, 15th European Biomass Conference & Exhibition, Berlin May 7-11, 2007) are looking at various schemes for partial upgrading of the oxygenated biomass to reduce oxygen, followed by the co-processing of this intermediate biomass product with petroleum feedstocks in existing petroleum refinery operations. These initiatives are all focused on hydrodeoxygenation of the biomass-derived liquid prior to co-processing with petroleum, and are predicated on the consideration that hydrotreatment of the thermally produced liquid is necessary prior to petroleum co-processing in order to avoid rapid FCC catalyst deactivation and reactor fouling, and to preclude excessive coke and gas production. Hence, the published studies and prior art include the co-processing of petroleum in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) refinery units with upgraded liquids that have been hydrotreated after their initial thermal production from biomass.
The early FCC units traditionally used dense phase bed reactor systems to enable good contact between the catalyst and the hydrocarbon feedstock. Long residence times were required to ensure sufficient conversion of the feedstock to the desired product. As catalyst systems improved and the catalyst became more active, the FCC was redesigned to incorporate a riser configuration. The riser configuration enabled contact times between the catalyst and hydrocarbon feedstock to be reduced to somewhere around 2 to 3 seconds (does not include any residence time in the reactor vessel or termination section).
One drawback of many, if not most of the early FCC designs was the riser termination systems that essentially linked the riser to an open reactor vessel that housed the solids separation devices. It had been recognized for several years that significant post riser thermal cracking occurs in commercial FCC units resulting in the substantial production of dry gas and other lower value products. The two mechanisms by which this occurs are through thermal and dilute catalytic cracking. Thermal cracking results from extended residence times of hydrocarbon vapors in the reactor disengaging area, and leads to high dry gas yields via non-selective free radical cracking mechanisms. Dilute phase catalytic cracking results from extended contact between catalyst and hydrocarbon vapors downstream of the riser. While much of this was eliminated in the transition from bed to riser cracking, there is still a substantial amount that can occur in the dilute phase due to significant catalyst holdup which occurs without an advanced termination system design.
Many FCC vendors and licensors offer advanced riser termination systems to minimize post-riser cracking, and many if not most units have implemented these in both new unit and revamp applications. In addition, some refiners have implemented their own "in-house" designs for the same purpose. Given the complexity and diversity of FCC units as well as new unit design differences, there are many variations of these advanced termination systems such as "closed" cyclones, "close-coupled" cyclones, "direct coupled" cyclones, "high containment systems", "vortex separation system", etc. There are differences in the specific designs, and some may be more appropriate for specific unit configurations than others, but all serve the same fundamental purpose of reducing the undesirable post-riser reactions.
Contact time of the catalyst with the feedstock is comprised of the residence time in the riser and often includes the residence time in the advanced riser termination system as described above. Typical riser residence times are about 2 to 3 seconds and the additional termination system residence time may be about 1 to 2 seconds. This leads to an overall catalyst contact time of about 3 to 5 seconds.
One innovative embodiment that forms part of the present application may be to processes employing thermally-produced liquids in conjunction with petroleum based materials in FCCs or field upgrader operations. For example, a method that includes the co-processing of an non-hydrotreated biomass derived liquid in small amounts with VGO or other crude oil based liquids in the FCC or field upgrader operations.
Another innovative embodiment that forms part of the present application may be for biomass conversion that the prior art has overlooked and intentionally avoided: the co-processing of non-upgraded, thermally-produced liquid with hydrocarbons in a manner which removes the complexity of intermediate upgrading steps and yet may be still compatible with crude oil feedstock processing. As already indicated, the prior art has clearly shown that non-treated, thermally-produced biomass liquids are not suitable for conversion to liquid hydrocarbons directly in FCC and other catalytic conversion systems. Therefore when various schemes of co-processing with petroleum in existing refinery operations are considered in the prior art, including FCC co-processing, the co-processing of non-upgraded, non-treated thermal biomass liquids may be excluded from these co-processing options (Mercader; Fogassy). However, as set forth in the present disclosure, unexpected technical and economic benefits are in fact evident in the co-processing of thermally-derived biomass products with petroleum feedstocks in various refinery operations.


The invention relates to a method for producing blanks from paper, cardboard, paperboard, corrugated cardboard, or plastic. The method according to the invention does not process panels or sheets into blanks in a multistage process but rather produces the blanks directly from the material web i.e. the corrugated cardboard web or from the paper, paperboard, plastic or cardboard web. The machining process is scalable. Advantageously, the method according to the invention can be adjusted in terms of the required production or packaging quantity by the juxtaposition of additional processing centers in terms of production speed and quantity.

For the global merchandise trade, packagings in various sizes and formats and made of different materials are needed. The packagings are usually made from blanks of paper, cardboard, paperboard, corrugated cardboard, or plastic. For example, paper envelopes, shipping boxes, or shipping packagings made of corrugated cardboard or cardboard, or plastic boxes are used. Additionally, there is a need for displays or stands for the presentation and promotion of goods. Displays or stands are also made from blanks made of paper, cardboard, paperboard, corrugated cardboard or plastic.
The manufacture of the packagings conventionally takes place so that firstly an endless material web e.g. a corrugated cardboard web or cardboard roll, is produced, and, at the end of the production method, panels or sheets are cut. These panels or sheets are stacked. The stack is transported after a certain number of pieces is reached or when switching to a different sheet format or different printing.
For corrugated cardboard blanks for packagings or displays, corrugated cardboard panels are produced from multiple paper webs using starch glue, steam and other auxiliaries on a corrugated cardboard production line (WPA). These corrugated cardboard panels are conveyed out in the form of stacks from the corrugator and must be stored for further processing until no more dimensional changes to the surface area of the corrugated cardboard panels occur. This dimensional stability is achieved when the corrugated cardboard panels have reached the equilibrium moisture content with the ambient air and the corrugated cardboard panels have cooled to the ambient temperature. In one or more downstream processes, the corrugated cardboard panels are optionally printed, stamped, scored, glued and processed to produce packagings.
FIG. 1 shows a device including a wet section A and a dryer section B for producing corrugated cardboard according to the prior art (source: Verband der Wellpappe-Industrie e.V.). The corrugated cardboard raw papers are transported as paper rolls to the device and are suspended in the holders of the roll-out stands 1. The roll-out stands 1 are equipped with brakes so that the papers can run under sufficient tension into subsequent machinery assemblies.
For the production of an endless corrugated cardboard web, two roll-out stands are connected to a splicer 2. As soon as the end of a paper roll of paper on a roll-out stand 1 is reached, the splicer 2 serves to connect the end of the paper roll to the beginning of a new paper roll by means of a double-sided adhesive tape.
The paper first passes through a preheating and moistening device 3, 4. In the corrugating assembly 5, the corrugated paper is guided through two heated corrugating rollers that interengage in the manner of toothed wheels and imprint the desired form of corrugation into the paper. The corrugated paper is guided between the corrugating rollers until the corrugated paper is fixed by bonding to the cover sheet. For this purpose, the glue applicator spreads starch glue onto the tops of the corrugations using an applicator roller. The corrugated paper and cover paper are combined in the corrugating assembly and heated further, so that the starch glue gels and thus ensures a firm connection between the corrugated paper and cover paper.
The upper transport means 6 conveys the single-sided corrugated cardboard onto the bridge 7, which serves as a web storage and thus can compensate for different speeds between the individual assemblies. Since the single-sided corrugated cardboard is still limp, it can be stored in the form of loops on the bridge 7, to increase the web storage on the shortest possible section of the apparatus.
In the bonding machine 9, the single-sided corrugated cardboard, which is delivered via the bridge 7 of the single-sided corrugator, is bonded to a second cover sheet with the aid of starch glue to produce single-corrugation corrugated cardboard, both the cover paper and the single-sided corrugated cardboard web being guided over the preheating cylinder 8 and are thereby heated to just below the gelling point of the starch glue used.
In the heating and traction section 10, the corrugated cardboard web slides overheated steel plates. Here, the necessary heat is supplied to the splices and the paper. At the same time the excess moisture is removed, so that the adhesive gels. The operation then continues to short cross cutter 11. Thereafter, a belt system conveys the corrugated cardboard to the scoring and cutting assembly 12.
In the scoring and cutting assembly 12, rotating blades divide the still endless corrugated cardboard web in the direction of travel into a plurality of webs in the machine direction. In addition to the blades, running scoring elements provide the corrugated cardboard with scorings, which later allow the bending when the packaging is set up. Since the corrugation is transverse to the corrugated cardboard web, cuts and scorings run perpendicular to the corrugation.
In a second cutting operation, the rotating cross cutter 13 divides the individual webs transversely to the machine direction. This creates the final sheet size. After the cross cutting, the finished corrugated cardboard blanks pile up like scales on one or more shelves 14. There, the cut sheets are fully automatically formed into corrugated cardboard stacks.
For cardboard blanks, e.g. for packagings, the blank is also produced from a sheet or a panel. After the paper or cardboard web has been rolled up on the paper or cardboard machine into a master roll (reel), in a downstream process, the paper or cardboard roll is cut by means of a cross cutter into sheets which are stacked one above the other. If necessary, these stacks are then printed, stamped, scored, glued and processed into packagings in one or more downstream processes.
There is a problem, when continuously transporting the panels or sheets away, particularly when small amounts of a sheet size are produced for a particular individual blank format. For example, if only 10 packagings of one size are to be produced, this represents a significant problem, to transport exactly these 10 panels away quickly enough, so that the production plant, e.g. the corrugator, does not have to be stopped or the production speed thereof drastically reduced. Particularly in the production of corrugated cardboard, due to the continuous corrugated cardboard production, the transport speed of the material web must be extremely high. The transportation of the stacked 1o sheets of one format and one size must be adapted corresponding to the transport speed of the corrugated cardboard web or cardboard or paper web. Similarly, the transport of very small stacks causes a significant logistical effort, since the stacks should not be mixed together and thus cause a large area of storage space to be required.
A further problem is that the choice of shapes that can be stamped out is restricted by the shape of the panels or sheets. Even with optimal arrangement of the blanks on the panel, therefore, pieces of waste are produced. Some blanks, which would be attractive for stability or structural reasons, cannot be produced economically due to the nonoptimal arrangement options on the panel. The stamping tools by which the blank is cut out of the panel are also comparatively expensive, since a stamping tool costs about 1,000.00 EUR. A fast and simple variation of the stamping shape is therefore not possible.
WO 2013/164810 describes a dynamic multiscanner system, which is used in the production of various packagings made of cardboard, paperboard, corrugated cardboard, or plastic. Here, sheets of the appropriate material are cut with laser cutters. The shapes on the sheets are correspondingly more freely selectable and easier to switch. The shape of the blank is dictated by a stamping roller from which the laser reads the shape to be cut out. This method allows a faster and more flexible processing of the sheets, but is tied to a sufficiently fast transport and removal of the sheets to be processed.
A method for the production of single- or multi-ply corrugated cardboard is known from DE 10 2008 062 964 A1. In the method, sheets are initially produced conventionally. Since laminating, trimming and scoring are carried out in one operation, the production times for the blanks are shortened.
The object of the invention is to provide a method for the production of blanks from corrugated cardboard, by which the disadvantages described above are overcome, and in particular to provide a production of blanks from corrugated cardboard which is faster, more cost-effective and more flexible in terms of the shape of the blank produced. Furthermore, the method should be able to produce blanks economically, ranging from an individual copy, i.e., number of pieces 1, up to mass production.
The object is achieved according to the invention by a method according to claim 1.
Further embodiments are the subject matter of the subclaims or are described below.

Method for producing corrugated cardboard blanks, and device


Disclosed embodiments relate to adaptively and dynamically monitoring and managing a proximity status between securely communicating devices. Techniques include identifying a secure connection session established between an endpoint computing resource and an auxiliary computing device associated with a user; receiving real-time proximity data associated with at least one of the user or the auxiliary computing device; receiving proximity data associated with the endpoint computing resource; determining, based on the real-time proximity data associated with at least one of the user or the auxiliary computing device and the proximity data associated with the endpoint computing resource, whether at least one of the auxiliary computing device or the user has left the proximity to the endpoint computing resource; and implementing, based on the determining, an automatic session control action for the secure connection session.

Many common security techniques are based on outdated notions of enterprises having well-controlled and clearly defined perimeters. In such environments, firewalls were the primary security tool to protect computing resources within the enterprise. But in modern environments, applications are increasingly being hosted in cloud-based systems, rather than through on-premises infrastructure within an enterprise. Further, many users of computing devices are moving outside the perimeters of enterprises to perform their computing activities. Consequently, many legacy security techniques are not only costly, complex, cumbersome, and ineffective, but they also lead to security vulnerabilities.
Security approaches that rely on all users being within an enterprise perimeter create risks because they allow for unrestricted lateral movement by users within the enterprise. This includes connecting from computer to computer, to applications, and to other resources. Further, such approaches often require a hole in a firewall for outside communications, which is also a risk. Moreover, these approaches limit user freedom, movement, and productivity. They thus result in a poor user experience, require significant IT overhead within the enterprise, and lack visibility into users' actual use of applications.
Other existing security techniques are inadequate in terms of their usability, flexibility, security performance, and speed. For example, some techniques allow users to authenticate themselves through biometrics. Nevertheless, when biometrics alone are used, they are vulnerable in terms of attacks that duplicate biometric information or hashes of such information. Similarly, some techniques rely on the use of passwords. But passwords are also vulnerable to theft or duplication, and further require users to memorize them on a continuous and changing basis. Indeed, passwords are often the weakest link in a security regime. Passwords further require management and IT burdens. Other techniques attempt to authenticate users based on observed environmental factors or calculated risk factors, such as geographic location and user activity. Yet these techniques are prone to false positives and false negatives, and require complex sets of rules to implement. Further, none of these techniques can confirm the current physical proximity between a user, a computing device they are using, and a secured resource they are trying to access. At best, these techniques provide only partial information regarding such a proximity status.
Additional security vulnerabilities and disruptions occur when users needing to securely access devices, applications, files, data, or other resources have no network connection (e.g., because of air travel, lack of network coverage, network downtime, network failures, etc.) or a poor quality connection. When users anticipate a lack of a reliable network connection, they sometimes implement workarounds (e.g., storing sensitive documents or data locally, storing such materials on removable storage like USB drives, bypassing security requirements, etc.). This creates significant security gaps and vulnerabilities. On the other hand, when users wait until they have a reliable connection to access secure resources, this results in a loss of productivity, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities.
Additional security vulnerabilities arise from users keeping secure sessions open longer than needed or leaving the sessions unattended. For example, if a user opens a secure session with an endpoint application or other resource, the user may leave open an application (e.g., browser or other application) participating in the session after the user's activity in the session has ended. The longer the session remains open, the longer it is potentially vulnerable to attacks from third-parties (e.g., man-in-the-middle attacks). Further, sometimes a user will leave open a secure session when they have left their computing device (e.g., stepped away into another room, left the building, left their home, etc.), or will use the secure session while the computing device is in an insecure location (e.g., public area of a hotel, airport, train, coffee shop, etc.) and thus observable by other individuals. When an unauthorized person (e.g., attacker) gains access to the personal computing device, it can sometimes be difficult to trace their unauthorized actions back to the personal computing device they have compromised. Sometimes, the unauthorized use is only discovered after the attacker has completed an attack (e.g., impersonation of the rightful user, data theft, misuse of applications or other resources, corporate espionage, malware injection, etc.).
There are thus technological needs for systems and methods that more securely, flexibly, and quickly authenticate users seeking access to network-restricted resources. It would be advantageous for solutions to not rely on the presence of an agent running on an endpoint device in all situations. Further, it would be advantageous for such solutions to not require passwords or other authentication credentials that users must memorize or supply. It would also be advantageous to allow client devices to access controlled target network resources, following passwordless authentication, without directly connecting the client device to the target resources. In addition, it would be advantageous for such solutions to operate with various different types of identification and verification technologies and protocols. Such solutions may also advantageously utilize authentication techniques such as biometric recognition, voice recognition, body or movement sensing, and artificial intelligence techniques. It may also be advantageous for such solutions to be transparent to users of client devices, to the client devices they are using, or to target network resources they are accessing. Further, in situations where such solutions are implemented using an application (e.g., a mobile app), it may be advantageous to separate any confidential or biometric information about the user from the application itself, and instead store only public or non-sensitive user information in the app (e.g., name, title, contact information, etc.).
In addition, it would be advantageous for solutions to confirm the proximity between a user, their computing device, and a secured resource they are trying to access. By confirming the proximity between these entities, systems may more reliably determine that a user is who they purport to be. Further, it would be advantageous for such techniques to involve secret splitting, so that at least a portion of a secret needed for access control is provided to a computing device controlling access and another portion is provided to the user's personal computing device, such that a combination of the secret portions may enable access. In this manner, even if a malicious actor obtained one of the secret portions, they would not be able to access the secured resource because they would be lacking the other portion(s). According to such techniques, when implemented by a security service provider operating between the user and the secured resource, access control may also be guaranteed to run through the security service provider by requiring its intermediation, thus providing stronger levels of security.
In other embodiments, it would be advantageous to provide users access to secrets or access-protected resources (e.g., logging in to an operating system, running an application, accessing protected data, etc.) even when they have no network connection (or a weak connection). According to embodiments described herein, secrets (e.g., passwords, keys, tokens, certificates, hashes, etc.) may be stored securely on an endpoint device such that the secrets are inaccessible to a user without the user interacting with a separate auxiliary device to decrypt the secret. Through such techniques, even if an endpoint device (e.g., laptop, personal computer, tablet, etc.) is stolen, access to protected secrets on the device may be protected against theft or misuse.
Further techniques related to those discussed above include implementing security controls to limit the use or visibility of secure session applications. For example, embodiments discussed below advantageously utilize the real-time proximity between a personal computing device (e.g., mobile phone, tablet, laptop, etc.) and an endpoint resource with which they have an ongoing session, and perform a control action for the session when the proximity is determined to have been lost. The proximity may be determined using a variety of sensor data, such as wireless network strength, facial recognition, physical presence, activity in the secure session itself, biometric data, or a variety of other types of sensor data. If the physical proximity that was originally present (e.g., during authentication) between the personal computing device and the endpoint has been lost, control actions may be performed such as suspending or terminating the secure session, prompting the user to maintain the session, requiring supplemental authentication, generating an alert, minimizing a tab or window associated with the application, logging the user off of their operating system or machine, lowering or disabling privileges of the user, making the user's session read-only, or various other control actions. Additionally, the disclosed techniques allow for discovery of potential hostile takeovers of personal computing devices. When such potentially threatening activity is detected, similar control actions may be implemented to limit potential vulnerabilities arising from the suspected malicious action.

Adaptive and dynamic access control techniques for securely communicating devices


Improved composite armor designs use optimally shaped ceramic pellets and a web system for patterning the pellets, improving manufacturability, and providing additional structural reinforcement. The result is lightweight, composite hybrid structures for ballistic protection particularly suited to tactical ground vehicles. The preferred embodiment is a combination of three major components: 1) an optimally designed web system that allows armor tiles to be attached to it and that can be easily integrated with existing vehicle structures; 2) an advanced composite armor unit using a patent-pending BTR (Bio-mimetic Tendon-Reinforced) material as the supporting structure; and 3) optimally placed “waiting materials” which can provide enhanced ballistic impact resistance, energy absorption capability and structural integrity. These “waiting materials” are structural members that are not active at the beginning of the ballistic impact, but become active when needed or the active members have failed.

The terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001 in New York City and Washington, D.C., and the current war in Iraq, have heightened the need for ballistic armor. Military vehicles, in particular, are vulnerable to higher-potency weapons such as rocket-launched grenades and other projectiles. Military personnel want lightweight, fast and maneuverable vehicles, but they also want vehicle occupants to be fully protected. Ballistic steel armor plates, while relatively inexpensive, add thousands of pounds to a vehicle, many of which were not designed to carry such loads. This has resulted in numerous engine and transmission failures as well as problems with vehicle suspensions and brakes. The additional weight reduces fuel efficiency and makes it impossible to carry additional personnel in the vehicle in case of emergency. For these reasons, designers are beginning to adopt more lightweight composite armor across the board for military and tactical vehicles.
Various lightweight armor designs are now becoming commercially available. Cellular Materials International, Inc. of Charlottesville, Va. offers a product called Microtruss™, a periodic cellular material designed to absorb a larger amount of energy than solid material of equal mass. When a blast hits the face of the sandwich panel, the face plate will stretch and wrinkle followed by the propagation of the impulse force into the core. The core will then buckle and collapse, absorbing the maximum kinetic energy of the blast. The back face plate takes the remaining blast pressure towards the end of the blast event where the intensity of the impulse force is considerably reduced. Thus, the periodic structure maximizes the absorption of the impulse energy created by the blast and distributes or diffuses the intensity of the force, leading to protection of the assets behind the sandwich structures.
Designs using ceramic pellets are also evolving. U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,908 is directed to a composite armor for absorbing and dissipating kinetic energy from high velocity projectiles. The armor comprises a panel having a layer of a plurality of high density ceramic bodies, the bodies having a specific gravity of at least 2 and being made of a material selected from the group consisting of ceramic material which does not contain aluminum oxide and ceramic material having an aluminum oxide content of not more than 80%. Each of the bodies is substantially cylindrical in shape, with at least one convexly curved end face, and each of the bodies having a major axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of its respective curved end face, wherein the ratio D/R between the diameter D of each of the cylindrical bodies and the radius R of curvature of the respectively convexly curved end face of each of the bodies is at least 0.64:1, and wherein the bodies are arranged in a plurality of adjacent rows and columns, the major axis of the bodies being in substantially parallel orientation with each other and substantially perpendicular to an adjacent surface of the panel.
Ballistic armor utilizing ceramic components is also commercially available. ARES Protection, Le Bourg 38270, Primarette, France offers a product called LIBA, which stands for light improved ballistic armor. The armor is a system consisting of one or more layer(s) of spherical ceramic pellets glued with (or without) a backing material and embedded in a polyurethane matrix. LIBA is for body and vehicle protection applications, especially to stop AP ammunitions. LIBA is developed for protection against WC bullets and hollow charges.
Despite these advances, the need remains for an improved, more optimized lightweight composite armor for military and tactical vehicles and other applications.


Provided is a technique for enabling a liquid of microbial cells having an enzymatic activity to be easily stored and used. The technique is a method for killing a microorganism while maintaining the enzyme titer of a microbial cell liquid, characterized by including adjusting the pH of a liquid of microbial cells having an enzymatic activity, and then performing a heating treatment of the liquid, and also the technique is a method for killing a microorganism while maintaining the enzyme titer of a microbial cell liquid, characterized by including adding a carbohydrate to a liquid of microbial cells having an enzymatic activity, and then performing a heating treatment of the liquid.

There are many microorganisms that have a useful enzymatic activity, and such microorganisms are widely used in the production of functional food materials such as carbohydrates, amino acids, and phospholipids. Among these, there are known many microorganisms which can be used in the production of carbohydrate materials, particularly oligosaccharides, and for example, it has been reported that a galactooligosaccharide is produced by utilizing the β-galactosidase activity of yeast belonging to the genus Sporobolomyces singularis (PTL 1).
Generally speaking, a microorganism is killed by a heating treatment and then stored etc, however, in the case where a microorganism having an enzymatic activity as described above is subjected to a heating treatment, whilst the microorganism is killed, the enzymatic activity is significantly decreased, which is practically useless. Further, as a technique for killing a microorganism while maintaining the enzymatic activity, there has been reported a technique for killing a microorganism while maintaining the enzymatic activity in which a transformed microorganism is treated with a chemical such as an alcohol at 25 to 35° C. (PTL 2). However, this technique has a problem that the use thereof after killing the microorganism is limited because a genetically modified microorganism is used or the alcohol or the like used in the treatment for killing the microorganism remains.


One embodiment comprises data processing system comprising a data store storing a set of inventory records for a program pool of vehicles, a processor and a memory coupled to the processor storing a set of computer executable instructions. The set of computer executable instructions may be executable to receive, from a mobile application, a selection of a vehicle from the program pool, retrieve the inventory record for the selected vehicle, create, at the server, an order to capture information about a transaction, receive a request from the mobile application to view an electronic document associated with the selected vehicle; responsive to the request to view the electronic document, automatically populate the electronic document with the order information; and communicate the electronic document to the mobile application for presentation in the operator interface of a mobile device.

In recent years, Internet-based systems and other computer systems that facilitate purchasing (buying or leasing) automobiles have become increasingly important tools for both consumers and dealers. For example, vehicle search services provided through the Internet have revolutionized the process of searching for a vehicle and dealer management systems (DMS) have transformed the management of finance, sales, parts, inventory and administration of other aspects of running a dealership. Despite the prevalence of these tools, the purchase process remains highly fractured.
The purchase process through a dealership typically involves several distinct steps including: i) vehicle search and selection, ii) a test drive, iii) price negotiation, iv) third party loan approval, v) selection of financing and insurance (F&I) options, vi) document generation and execution. In a typical scenario, a consumer looking to purchase a vehicle wanders dealer lots or uses disparate web sites provided by dealers and third parties to locate vehicles of interest. If the consumer chooses to finance the vehicle, the consumer may also go to a bank or use the bank's web site to apply for a loan. In addition or in the alternative, the consumer may choose to finance the vehicle through a loan process facilitated by the dealer's sales desk or F&I department, in which case the dealer will interact with one or more loan providers to submit loan applications for the consumer.
When the consumer finds a vehicle of interest, the consumer may schedule a test drive with the dealership and, if the consumer chooses to purchase the vehicle, negotiate a price with the dealer. In some cases, technology may facilitate the negotiation. For example, several third-party vehicle search sites are available that allow consumers to research market prices. This can give the consumer confidence walking into the dealership, but serves largely as a negotiation tool. The negotiated price still relies on back and forth negotiation until, optimally, both the consumer and dealer reach the subjective belief that they came to a fair deal.
After negotiating a price with the salesperson, the consumer then goes to the F&I office to workout payment through cash, a loan arranged by the consumer or a loan arranged through the sales desk or F&I office. Prior to finalizing the deal, the F&I office typically tries to sell the consumer additional options such as warranties, paint protection packages, VIN etching or other "insurance" products. This may be the most confusing part for the consumer as the consumer must quickly balance the risk of damage, theft or malfunction with the price of the product being offered.
After the consumer selects the F&I products, the F&I employee enters the final data in the dealer management system. This may require entering information received from the salesperson, consumer, or financial institution and, some cases, reentering information already entered in other systems. Based on these inputs, the dealer management system generates and prints the relevant documents for signature. Often, this is the first time the consumer sees the final contract terms and price, which often includes additional fees, such as document fees or other dealer added fees. Thus, conventional systems are dealer-centric because documents are generated and controlled by a DMS controlled by the dealer and to which the customer has no access.
Despite the high information disadvantage faced by consumers, consumers often give the documents presented by a dealer little more than a cursory review because it is difficult for consumers to back out of the deal at this point due to the high transaction costs. For example, if a consumer decides to cancel a deal after all the documents are finalized, the consumer must go back and repeat the vehicle selection, negotiation, selection of F&I options and, in some cases, the third party loan approval process. These costs are exacerbated if the consumer elects to go to another dealership.
The high transaction costs result in part from the fragmented and incomplete technologies used in the vehicle purchase process. Typically, the consumer must use one system to search for inventory and then another system to request a loan. There is often limited or no coordination between these systems and the consumer may have to setup separate accounts with the systems, provide duplicative information and interact with the systems through different web sites or mobile apps. Furthermore, the dealer may track or otherwise manage sales, finance, parts, service, inventory and back office administration using a dealer management system that has little or no interaction with the inventory search systems or the loan provider systems. Consequently, the consumer must provide duplicative information to the dealer for the dealer to enter into the DMS. Moreover, the consumer or dealer may have to coordinate with a loan provider so that the dealer can enter loan information. Thus, there are significant breaks in data flow that can lead to errors and substantial data duplication.
Furthermore, the document flow was traditionally managed by the DMS and is thus dealer-centric. More particularly, documents that the user had to review and execute as part of the purchase were generated by the DMS at the dealership. The control of documents by the dealer's system makes it difficult, if not impossible, for a consumer to review documents prior agreeing to final terms.

Data processing system and method for facilitating transactions with user-centric document access


Methods and systems for intelligent use of off-peak bandwidth are disclosed. An example method can comprise receiving a request for content from a user device. The content server can transmit the content to the user device. Upon receiving a teardown command to suspend transmission of the content, after transmitting a first portion of the content to the user device, the content server can determine that playback of the content is likely to be resumed at a peak time. The content server can then pre-position a second portion of the content proximate to the user device prior to the peak time.

Video on demand content has grown increasingly popular with users who wish to have more control over how content is viewed and interacted with. Presently, video on demand content can be viewed at any time convenient to a user. In practice, there are times of day when many users wish to access video on demand content and other content concurrently ("peak times"). Accessing video on demand services during peak times can frustrate users because at peak times (e.g., times when the most users view the content), there can be delays/lag in streaming content presented to the user and/or the content can be displayed at a lower quality than the user deems acceptable. These delays and/or reductions in quality can be related to, for example, high server utilization during peak times. However, because the demand for content is not steady, content providers typically must provide a quantity of servers that is sufficient to meet demand at peak times, resulting in increased cost to the provider and underutilized servers at off-peak times. Accordingly, it can be difficult for video on demand and/or instant access video service providers to provide video on demand servers to users that meet user needs at the peak times and remain economical during off-peak times. These and other shortcomings are addressed in the present disclosure.

Methods and systems for intelligent utilization of off-peak network bandwidth


An ultrasonic flow meter is disclosed, including a switching unit for switching electrical transmission signals between a signal generator and at least two ultrasonic transducers and for switching electrical reception signal between the transducers and a receiver circuit, wherein the switching unit is coupled to an output terminal of an operational amplifier of the signal generator and to an inverting input terminal of an operational amplifier of the receiver circuit. Furthermore, a method for characterizing an ultrasonic transducer is disclosed, including the step of determining directly from one or more supply current signals for an active component of a signal generator one or more quantities useful for characterizing the transducer. Furthermore, a method for determining the time delay of an ultrasonic signal in a flow path of an ultrasonic flow meter is disclosed, including the step of comparing physically transmitted, delayed and received signals with simulated non-delayed signals.

Generally speaking, flow metering by means of the transit time method includes placing two ultrasonic transducers with a suitable mutual distance in the flow path in which the flow of a fluid is to be measured. An ultrasound signal, typically of a frequency of a few megahertz and a duration of a few microseconds, is transmitted through the fluid from the first transducer to the second transducer, and a first transmit time is recorded. Next, a similar ultrasound signal is transmitted through the fluid in the opposite direction, i.e. from the second transducer to the first transducer, and a second transmit time is recorded. Knowing the physical distance between the two transducers, the difference between the two recorded transmit times can be used for calculating the flow rate of the fluid flowing in the flow path. However, the calculated flow rate must be corrected by means of a correction table taking into account the sound velocity and viscosity of the fluid. Both of those characteristics being dependent on the temperature, a correction table with correction values depending on the temperature is sufficient when the type of fluid is known.
One problem to be faced when working with this type of flow meters is that the transducer parameters are not only very likely to differ between samples but also change over time and when the temperature changes. Such differences and changes alter the shape of the received signal, making it difficult to use this shape as basis for the calculation of the absolute transit time
During the last 25 years, ultrasonic flow metering has seen a dramatic development from low volume laboratory instruments to standard equipment produced in very high volume. Technical and commercial challenges have been overcome to a degree that the technology is now competitive against most other methods including mechanical meters in many areas of flow metering. For instance, highly accurate flow meters produced in high volumes are now commonly used as water meters, heat meters, gas meters and other meters used for billing.
Some of the challenges still to be worked on are improving the meters so that they are less sensitive to electrical and acoustical noise while still keeping the meters stable and producible and without sacrificing cost and power consumption. Sensitivity to noise can be decreased by increasing the signal to noise ratio, the most effective method being increasing the signal.
Typical acoustical noise sources in an ultrasonic flow meter are edges in the flow current and external vibrations, both producing a fixed acoustical noise level independent of the ultrasound generated by the meter itself. The sensitivity to the acoustical noise can be reduced by increasing the acoustical signal produced by the transducers or by changing the physical shape of the flow meter.
Electrical noise in an ultrasonic flow meter has many sources, such as thermal noise, externally induced (by electromagnetic, electric or magnetic fields or by wire) voltages and currents, or internally induced (from other signals or docks in the electric circuit) cross coupling, some of which are signal level dependent and some of which are independent of the signal level. The most effective way to reduce the sensitivity to electrical noise is by increasing the electrical signals involved and by keeping impedances of electrical nodes as low as possible in order to reduce the influence of the sources of electrical noise.
Many different electrical circuits relating to these subjects are known in the art, such as GB 2 017 914 (Hemp), U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,407 (Drost), DE 196 13 311 (Gaugler), U.S. Pat. No. 6,829,948 (Nakabayashi), EP 0 846 936 (Tonnes) and EP 1 438 551 (Jespersen), each having strengths and weaknesses.
The two last-mentioned documents (Tonnes and Jespersen) show transducer couplings having the benefit that the impedance as seen from the transducers is the same in the transmit situation and in the receive situation. Discussions in the two patent documents explain that this feature is a prerequisite for the whole flow meter to demonstrate stability and producibility in real life situations, i.e. without unrealistic requirements on matching between components in the meter. The reason for this fact is that the exact impedance match allows the flow meter to fully exploit the reciprocity theorem.
Although the connection between reciprocity and stable flow metering has been known for many years, the couplings shown in these patent documents are the only practical ways, known to date, that fully achieve absorbing the natural tolerances of piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers so that producible and stable flow meters can be produced.
The transducer couplings shown in both of these two documents comprise an impedance, which has the function of converting the current signal received from the transducer to a measurable voltage signal. Unfortunately, as explained in further detail below, this impedance also limits the electrical signal that can be supplied to the transducers, and in order to produce in the largest possible received voltage signal, the size of the impedance is restricted to be in the range between 0.5 and 2 times the impedance of the ultrasonic transducers at the frequency of interest.
Nakabayashi (U.S. Pat. No. 6,829,948) has another approach, in which the generator and the receiver are implemented by two different means, but in this configuration, the received signal strength is sacrificed for stable results at changing transducer parameters
It is an object of the present invention, which is described in the following, to overcome the above-identified problems and to provide a stable, producible flow meter, which is capable of transmitting a high acoustical signal.

Ultrasonic flow meter with subsampling of ultrasonic transducer signals


A carrying assembly for a tablet computer that protects the periphery of the tablet computer from impact, yet does not cover the face surface of the tablet computer. Accordingly, the tablet computer can be operated while still being bound within the carrier assembly. The carry assembly has a frame structure with four side elements, four corners and an open central region. The tablet computer is mounted to the frame structure so that the bottom of the tablet computer rests upon the side elements. At least two mounting connectors are provided, wherein one of the mounting connectors extends upwardly from each of the corners of the frame structure. The mounting connectors have locking fingers that receive and engage the corners of the tablet computer with a snap fit, therein mechanically attaching said frame structure to the tablet computer.

1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to devices that are used to carry tablet computers and similarly sized items. More particularly, the present invention relates to computer bags and other carrying cases that enable a computer to be operated by a user without being removed from the carrying device.
2. Prior Art Description
Carry bags for computers have been in existence for as long as there have been portable computers.
Computer bags keep a computer safe and dry as the computer is carried from one place to another. The computer bags also help prevent a computer from being damaged if it is dropped or otherwise impacted as it is being transported.
The prior art is replete with various types and styles of computer bags that were designed to accommodate the multitude of portable computers that have been commercially marketed. Traditional computer bags are little more than luggage bags that are sized to receive a particular shape of portable computer. Such traditional computer bags typically have straps or handles that make the computer bag easier to carry. However, to access the portable computer, the computer bag must be opened and the portable computer removed from the bag.
Certain specialty prior art computer bags have been designed that enable a portable computer to be accessed within a carrying bag without being fully removed from the carry bag. Such prior art specialty bags typically have a large flap that can be turned away to expose a window to the interior of the bag and the portable computer held within. Such specialty computer bags are exemplified by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0011616 to Rasmussen, entitled Carrying Case For A Computer and U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,777 to Myles, entitled Computer Carrying Bag.
A problem associated with most prior art computer bags is that the bag adds significantly to the bulk of the portable computer. Portable computers are becoming increasingly thinner and lightweight. This enables the computers to be stored in briefcases, folders and backpacks with other paperwork. This is an important marketing feature of modern portable computers. The use of old-fashioned computer bags to hold a modern ultra-thin portable computer makes no sense on a marketing level. People who are attracted to thin lightweight computers would typically mot be interested in carrying that computer around in a heavy bulky bag. Rather, many people who own thin portable computers often do not store that computer in any kind of computer bag. Rather, the computer is merely carried as a book or placed in a school bag or briefcase with paperwork. Since thin, lightweight computers are typically not carried in protective bags, they are highly vulnerable to damage, especially impact damage from being dropped.
Although modern computers are very thin and lightweight and easy to carry, they do need some protection from impact. This is especially true around the edges of the computer. Furthermore, modern portable computers need some type of carrier with a handle or strapping that decreases the likelihood that the computer will be dropped when it is transported from place to place. However, such protection must be provided in a manner that does not increase the bulkiness of the computer or in a manner that inhibits instant access to the computer.
A need therefore exists for a carrying system for a modern thin portable computer that does not add any significant bulk to the computer, protects the computer and does not inhibit access to the portable computer. These needs are met by the present invention as described and claimed below.

Assembly for carrying and protecting a tablet computer or similar item


An optical article comprising a primary mark disposed on the optical article and a secondary mark disposed on the optical article in close proximity to the primary mark. The primary mark comprises a first optical-state change material and the secondary mark comprises a second optical-state change material. The optical article is transformed from a pre-activated state to an activated state when a localized authorized activation method is used that selectively activates the primary mark. The optical article is transformed from a pre-activated state to an deactivated state when a non-localized unauthorized activation method is used that activates the secondary mark along with the primary mark resulting in the second optical-state change material undergoing a reverse color change when compared to the first optical-state change material. An optical article with a single mark including multiple color change optical-state change material is also disclosed. Methods of covering and encapsulating the marks are also disclosed.

The invention relates generally to an optical article for playback in a player. More particularly the invention relates to an optical article with an improved security feature.
Shoplifting is a major problem for retail venues and especially for shopping malls, where it is relatively difficult to keep an eye on each customer while they shop or move around in the store. Relatively small objects, such as CDs and DVDs are common targets as they can be easily hidden and carried out of the shops without being noticed. Shops, as well as the entertainment industry, incur monetary losses because of such instances.
Even though closed-circuit surveillance cameras may be located at such places, theft still occurs. Consumer products sometimes are equipped with theft-deterrent packaging. For example, clothing, CDs, audiotapes, DVDs and other high-value items are occasionally packaged along with tags that set off an alarm if the item is removed from the store without being purchased. These tags are engineered to detect and alert for shoplifting. For example, tags that are commonly used to secure against shoplifting are the Sensormatic® electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags based on acousto-magnetic technology. RFID tags are also employed to trace the items on store shelves and warehouses. Other theft-deterrent technologies currently used for optical discs include hub caps for DVD cases that lock down the disc and prevent it from being removed from the packaging until it is purchased, and "keepers" that attach to the outside of the DVD case packaging to prevent the opening of the package until it is purchased. In some cases, retailers have resorted to storing merchandise in locked glass display cases. In other stores, the DVD cases on the shelves are empty, and the buyer receives the actual disc only when purchased. Many of these approaches are unappealing because they add an additional inconvenience to the buyer or retailer, or they are not as effective at preventing theft as desired. Optical storage media, in particular, pose an additional problem in that their packaging and the sensor or anti-theft tags may be easily removed.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved solution to the long-standing problem. Point-of-sale (POS) activation reduces retail shrinkage because the optical article, for example a DVD, may not be useful i.e., may not be playable, if removed from the store prior to activation. The methods described herein fill this need by providing a technology for improving the level of security of POS-activated optical media. This technology may make it more difficult for shoplifters to defeat the POS technology.