A coding system includes methods and apparatus for producing a (0,6) run length limited rate 16B/18B code. The code produced is dc balanced and capable of operating near the theoretical performance limits for a 16B/18B code. This means the code is near optimum for run length and digital sum variation for a 16B/18B code. In one aspect of the invention, each 16-bit input data stream or block is broken into a 9-bit and a 7-bit sub-block and encoded separately while maintaining both dc balance and run length constraints across all block and sub-block boundaries. The present invention also provides a plurality of special purpose control characters such as commas, delimiters, idle characters, etc., by using the extra bits in the coded blocks whereby the special characters may be readily distinguished from data, while at the same time maintaining the dc balance and run length limitations in such characters. The 16B/18B transmission coding system of the invention also provides error correction techniques.

The primary purpose of transmission codes is to transform the frequency spectrum of a serial data stream so that clocking can be recovered readily and ac (alternating current) coupling is possible. The code must also provide special characters outside the data alphabet for functions such as character synchronization, frame delimiters and perhaps for abort, reset, idle, diagnostics, etc. Codes are also used, often in combination with signal waveform shaping, to adapt the signal spectrum more closely to specific channel requirements. In most cases a reduction in bandwidth by constraints on both the high and the low frequency components is desirable to reduce distortion in the transmission media, especially electromagnetic cables, or in the band limited receiver, and to reduce the effects of extrinsic and intrinsic noise.
Another aspect of codes is their interaction with noise and errors in the line digits. The redundancy associated with line codes can be used to supplement other error detection mechanisms or to monitor the quality of the channel with a minimal amount of circuitry.
Such codes generally exhibit the undesirable feature of enlarging error bursts in the decoded data, making detection by a cyclic redundancy check more difficult. A good transmission code should minimize these effects.
For fiber optic links and intra-establishment wire links, interest centers for many reasons on the family of two-level codes. For wire links one prefers codes with no dc (direct current) and little low frequency content in order to dc isolate the transmission line from the driver and receiver circuitry, usually by transformers, and to reduce signal distortion on the line. Although these factors do not apply to the fiber optic case, good low frequency characteristics of the code are helpful for a number of reasons.
The high gain fiber optic receivers need an ac coupling stage near the front end. The control of the drive level, receiver gain, and equalization is simplified and the precision of control is improved, if it can be based on the average signal power, especially at top rates. DC restore circuits tend to lose precision with rising data rates and cease to operate properly below the maximum rates for other circuits required in a transceiver. Finally, if the time constants associated with the parasitic capacitances at the front end of a receiver are comparable to or longer than a baud interval, a signal with reduced low frequency content will suffer less distortion and will enable many links to operate without an equalizing circuit.
The Manchester and related codes are simple two-level codes and solve the clocking and low frequency problems very well. They translate each bit into two bits for transmission and are a good choice whenever the high clocking rates cause no problems in the logic or analog circuits, the transducers or on the transmission line. They also reduce the data transmission rate by a factor of two since they encode 2 bits for every data bit (i.e., rate 1/2).
Simple 5B/6B codes translate 5 binary bits into 6 binary digits and raise the number of information bits transmitted per baud interval to 0.833. Unfortunately, the implementation of a 5B/6B code in a byte-oriented (8 bit) system causes burdensome complexities. If the encoding and decoding is done serially, most of the circuits needed have to operate at the baud rate, which sometimes is at the technology limits. Also, there is no simple relationship between the byte clock and the coder clock. Finally, if the frames are not multiples of 5 bytes, the character boundaries will not align with the frame boundaries, which is unattractive, whether corrected or not. If the coding and decoding is done in parallel, there is no simple mechanism to align a byte parallel interface with a 5B/6B coder; the most straightforward way requires shift registers operating at the baud rate.
An article by T. Horiguchi and K. Morita, "An Optimization of Modulation Codes in Digital Recording," IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. MAG-12, No. 6, November 1976, page 740, is in essence a survey article which cites a great many possible formats for run length limited codes having various d, k values and varying coding rates. It is cited for reference purposes, it being noted that there are no codes suggested in this article having parameters even remotely approaching those of the presently disclosed coding system. Similarly the article is not concerned with maintaining dc balance in the resulting code stream.
An article entitled "Encoding/Decoding for Magnetic Record Storage Apparatus," by R. C. Kiwimagi, IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 18, No. 10, March 1976, page 3147, discloses a (0,6) rate 4/5 run length limited code which attempts to maintain a dc balance. It is noted that this code is significantly different from the present coding system in that both the codes produced and the coder configuration are quite different than that of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,635 to Candiani, entitled "Channel Monitor for Depressed-Code PCM Transmission System," discloses an 8-bit to 12-bit code expansion system. It does not disclose the present system's dc balanced run length limited codes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,142 to McMillin, entitled "Code Translation System," discloses a system for translating a 12-bit code into a 8-bit code and is cited as background but does not relate to the present run length limited coding systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,560 to Stanley, entitled "Digital Expander Circuit," discloses a simple expander for precompressed data and not otherwise related to run length limited coding systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,739 to Franaszek et al., entitled "Byte Oriented DC Balanced (0,4) 8B/10 B Partitioned Block Transmission Code," the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a dc balanced code that translates an 8-bit byte of information into 10 binary digits for transmission.
A research report entitled "The ANSI Fibre Channel Transmission Code," IBM RC 18855, Apr. 23, 1993, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses an 8B/10B transmission code for use in accordance with the Fibre Channel Standard (FCS) developed under the auspices of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,186 to Widmer, entitled "Apparatus and Method for Error Correction Based on Transmission Code Violations and Parity," the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses techniques for correcting errors in binary transmission coded data.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,304 to McMahon et al., entitled "Data and Forward Error Control Coding Techniques for Digital Signals," discloses a 16B/20B code using balanced vectors in a 8B/9B and 10B/11B sub-encoding scheme.
An article entitled "Binary Codes Suitable for Line Transmission," Electronics Letters, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 79-81, Feb. 20, 1969, generally describes dc balanced rate 5/6 and 3/4 codes but does not suggest combining same nor does it show similar embodiment circuitry.
No prior art is known to the inventor, which partitions an 16-bit input block into 9-bit and 7-bit sub-blocks for encoding purposes nor discloses coding apparatus for concurrently doing the logic manipulations for computing the proper code words, the disparity of said code words and, depending upon the disparity of the preceding sub-block, concurrently determining whether a given code word or its complement will be coded.

Partitioned DC balanced (0,6) 16B/18B transmission code with error correction

International Business Machines Corporation


Downsizing a piston stroke dimension in a compressor that reciprocates pistons is accomplished by changing a radial directional component of a shaft of a motion that is transferred to a link from a revolving member revolved by the shaft when transferred to the link attached to the pistons. Thereby, when the revolving member, driven by a shaft, revolves once, a center of a sliding pin appears to reciprocate once in a vertical direction as it goes back and forth on both sides interposing a piston axial line. Thus, when the revolving member revolves once, the piston reciprocates twice in a cylinder bore in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the driving shaft.

This application is based on and incorporates herein by reference Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-384250 filed on Dec. 18, 2000, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-280049 filed on Sep. 14, 2001.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fluid machinery that takes in and discharges fluid by reciprocating pistons, and more specifically, to fluid machinery that is applied to a compressor for a vapor compression refrigeration cycle.
2. Description of Related Art
In a compressor disclosed in JP-B No. 4-51667, by revolving a revolution disk around a shaft, pistons reciprocate in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the shaft. In the invention disclosed in the above-described publication, because the pistons reciprocate in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the shaft, a dimension in a radial direction of the compressor (dimension in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the shaft) becomes large. That is, the stroke is large.
In view of the above, the present invention achieves its object of maintaining a smaller dimension in the direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of a shaft in a fluid machine that takes in and discharges fluid by reciprocating pistons.
In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention has a shaft that rotates, a revolving member that revolves by being driven by the shaft, a piston that reciprocates in a direction parallel to a longitudinal direction of the shaft, and a link having one end movably connected to the piston while another end is movably connected to the revolving member. When the revolving member revolves, the piston reciprocates as the link swings with respect to the piston. Alternatively, when motion is transferred to the link from the revolving member when the revolving member revolves, only a radial directional component of the shaft is transferred to the link. Thereby, it is possible to reduce a dimension orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the shaft.
In another alternative, a connecting portion of the link swings with respect to the revolving member in a plane parallel to a swinging plane of the link with respect to the piston. Thereby, it is possible to reduce a dimension of the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the shaft. Further yet, a regulating link may be pivotably connected to the revolving member with one end thereof being fixed to the housing so as to swing only in a surface parallel to a swinging surface of the link, while another end thereof is movable with respect to the revolving member in the direction orthogonal to the swinging surface. Thereby, it is possible to reduce a dimension of the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the shaft. Moreover, with the regulating link, it is possible to easily prevent the revolving member from rotating.
Continuing with alternate embodiments, there may be a linkage constituted of a first and second link rotatably connected to each other. One end of the first link is swingably connected to the piston and another end thereof is rotatably connected to a connecting portion provided on one end of the second link. Another end of the second link has a swing center fixed to the housing so that the second link can swing in a surface parallel to a swinging surface of the first link with respect to the piston. The second link is also swingably connected to the revolving member with a portion between the swing center and the connecting portion of the second link being movable in a direction orthogonal to the swinging surface. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce a dimension of the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the shaft.
The present invention may also be constructed so that the link swings with respect to the piston so that a connecting position of the link with the revolving member passes through a center of the piston and reciprocates on both sides of the piston with regard to the piston axial line (Lp) parallel to the longitudinal direction of the shaft. Accordingly, it becomes possible to have the piston reciprocate twice as the shaft rotates once. Thus, for example, in comparison to a swash plate type or a waffle-type compressor whose piston reciprocates once while the shaft thereof makes one rotation, it is possible to obtain an equal discharge amount with half the number of cylinders (a number of pistons). Thus, it is possible to reduce a number of pistons and parts related thereto, thus allowing for a lighter fluid machine as well as reducing manufacturing costs thereof.
Furthermore, the introduction of a rotation prevention mechanism (R) for preventing the revolving member from rotating with respect to the housings comprises a piston that reciprocates in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the shaft, and a link having one end movably connected to the piston while another end is movably connected to the revolving member. The device further requires that when the revolving member revolves, the piston reciprocates by the link swinging with respect to the piston. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the revolving member from revolving by the rotation prevention mechanism (R), and at the same time, to have the piston reciprocate in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the shaft, and thus, it is possible to downsize a dimension of the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the shaft.
Additionally, by providing a balancer controlling means for changing an inertial moment of the balancer by interlocking with the operation of a stroke controlling means, it is possible to prevent an amplitude of the fluid machinery from increasing even when the discharge volume is variably controlled. In this case, it is desirable to change the inertial moment of the balancer by displacing a position of a gravity point of a plurality of weights with respect to the shaft.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.


A method for bracing a concrete form assembly by the interconnection of a first beam member and a second beam member by an inclined beam member. Each beam member is of a generally rectangular shape in transverse cross section and includes a pair of end plates. An adaptor unit of a right isosceles triangular shape in side elevation is used to connect the inclined beam to the first and the second beam. The hypotenuse section of a first adaptor unit is mounted on the first beam and the hypotenuse section of a second adaptor unit is mounted on the second beam. The locations of attachment are selected such that the distance between oppositely facing side sections of the adaptor units is equal to the length of the inclined beam member, which is inserted therebetween. Each end plate of the inclined beam member is bolted to the adjacent side section of an adaptor.

The present invention relates generally to concrete form systems and brace structures therefor and, more specifically, to a method for bracing an upright elongated concrete form assembly for a wall structure.
Concrete form systems are well known and widely used in the construction of diverse concrete structures. Certain of these systems make use of supporting members, such as beams, each of which is generally rectangular in cross section and provided with terminal end plates. The beam members are used as upright and horizontal structural beams, inclined bracing beams, columns, shores, or walers, and the like. When used as an inclined brace or prop, known systems make use of an adjustable length jack that extends between adjacent beams and is secured by bolts to the facing end plates by a rod. All of the forces acting on the beam members are, accordingly, borne by the rod and its connections to other parts of the form assembly.
The present invention provides a method for interconnecting a brace or prop beam member to other beam members of a beam structure by the use of a triangular shaped adaptor attached to the end plates at each end of the inclined beam member and releasably secured over a broad surface area to upright and horizontal beam members of the beam structure.

Method of assembling a concrete form brace


A method for providing Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service to a group of subscribers over respective subscriber loops in the presence of another, existing digital network service provided on at least some of the subscriber loops. Lower, middle and upper frequency bands are assigned for transmission over the subscriber loops, such that the existing digital network service is provided on the lower band. DSL signals are transmitted downstream on the upper band and are received upstream on the middle band, generally without transmitting or receiving DSL signals on the lower band, over those subscriber loops on which the existing digital network service, is provided. Over those subscriber loops on which the existing digital network service is not provided, the DSL signals are transmitted downstream on the lower and upper bands and are received upstream on the lower and middle bands.

The present invention relates generally to high-speed data communication systems, and specifically to Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) systems.
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a modem technology that enables broadband digital data to be transmitted over twisted-pair wire, which is the type of infrastructure that links most home and small business subscribers to their telephone service providers. DSL modems enable users to access digital networks at speeds tens to hundreds of times faster than current analog modems and basic ISDN service. A range of DSL standards have been defined, known generically as xe2x80x9cxDSL,xe2x80x9d wherein the various standards have different data rates and other associated features but share common principles of operation.
The present patent application is concerned mainly with Asymmetric DSL (ADSL) service, which allows data to be conveyed downstream to the subscriber at a rate of about 8 Mbit/s, and to be returned upstream from the subscriber at about 640 kbit/s. ADSL is based on a discrete multi-tone (DMT) transmission system, in which data are encoded using 256 different xe2x80x9ctones,xe2x80x9d each corresponding to a frequency band 4.3125 kHz wide. Recommendation G.992.1 (ex-G.dmt) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is incorporated herein by reference, specifies the physical layer characteristics of the ADSL interface to the subscriber line, including the allocation of the tones in the frequency spectrum to upstream and downstream service.
Annex A of G.992.1 specifies requirements for ADSL operating on a telephone line in the frequency band above that used for xe2x80x9cplain old telephone servicexe2x80x9d (POTS). Upstream ADSL service is allocated tones 6 through 31 (25.875 to 138 kHz). Downstream service may use all of tones 6 through 255 (25.875 up to 1104 kHz), as long as echo cancellation is applied in the upstream service range. Alternatively, downstream service may be limited to tones 32 through 255 if necessary to reduce near-end crosstalk (commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cNEXTxe2x80x9d) with the tones of the upstream signals. The range below about 25 kHz is left for POTS audio signals.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing allocation of frequencies when ADSL and ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network) services are provided over a common subscriber loop, as specified in Annex B of G.992.1. The diagram schematically illustrates a set of spectral masks 20 given in the standard. The shapes of the masks are simplified here for clarity of illustration, the horizontal axis is not drawn to scale, and the vertical scale of power spectral density (PSD) is arbitrary, As shown in the figure, the range below 138 kHz (corresponding to tones 0-31) is unavailable to ADSL, as it must be left clear for ISDN transmission in a lower band 22. Tones 32 through 63 are allocated to ADSL upstream transmission in a middle band 24, while tones 32 through 255 are allocated to ADSL downstream transmission in an upstream band 26. In practical implementations, however, it is frequently necessary to limit the downstream transmission to an upper band 25, roughly covering the range of tones 64-255, in order to reduce NEXT.
ADSL service providers must be concerned not only with crosstalk between upstream and downstream transmissions on a single subscriber loop, but also with crosstalk between different loops in the same central office. This crosstalk can be particularly severe in the range of tones 32 through 63, which is allocated to downstream transmission in Annex A and to upstream transmission in Annex B. For this reason, service provider""s may find it necessary to use the Annex B ADSL spectrum not only when ADSL is provided over an ISDN line, but also for ADSL over POTS. This solution wastes valuable bandwidth and can severely degrade the ADSL downstream performance.
A range of variations on the standard ADSL spectral profiles have been proposed, in order to increase the upstream and/or downstream data rates while reducing crosstalk interference. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,731, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a DMT transmission scheme for use in ADSL, which is intended to mitigate T1 crosstalk noise in the ADSL signals. The scheme uses 512 subchannels, rather than the conventional 256 tones. Some of the added subchannels may be made available for Upstream communications, so as to increase the upstream data rate.
ITU Temporary Document NG-079r1, which is incorporated herein by reference, proposes an optimal asymmetric power spectral density mask for all-digital services, particularly for ADSL. In this proposal, the band of tones 0-6, which is set aside for POTS in the above-mentioned Annex A, is shared between upstream and downstream ADSL transmissions. In other words, both upstream and downstream masks are allowed to extend down to tone 0 in order to increase their data rate. Because NEXT typically increases strongly with frequency, however, the tones in the upper range of the upstream band, between about 90 and 138 kHz (roughly tones 21-32), are masked out of the downstream band.
It is an object of some aspects of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for reducing crosstalk in ADSL transmissions.
It is a further object of some aspects of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus that enable improved exploitation of the spectrum available for ADSL, particularly in the presence of other network services, such as ISDN.
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, an improved spectral utilization scheme is introduced for use in ADSL service on a group of subscriber loops, at least some of which are also used for an existing digital network service, such as ISDN. Lower, middle and upper frequency bands are defined for transmission over the subscriber loops. The existing digital network service is provided on the lower band, and the middle and upper bands are used respectively for upstream arid downstream ADSL transmission. This scheme accords with G.992.1 Annex B. For those subscriber loops that do not receive ISDN service, however, the lower band, at least down to the POTS range, is exploited to provide additional transmission bandwidth for both upstream and downstream ADSL transmissions.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention offer a number of advantages over ADSL spectral utilization schemes known in the art. The use of both the lower and middle bands for upstream transmission by non-ISDN subscribers increases the available upstream bandwidth. On the other hand, because there is no downstream transmission in the middle band, crosstalk in this band is substantially eliminated, including both NEXT on individual subscriber loops and inter-subscriber crosstalk between the non-ISDN and Annex B subscriber loops that are served by the same central office. Non-ISDN subscribers thus receive ADSL service with substantially greater bandwidth than can generally be offered in a mixed Annex B and non-ISDN environment that uses methods and apparatus known in the art.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, a modem is configurable so as to provide either Annex B service, combining ADSL and ISDN transmission, or ADSL service (with or without POTS) using the novel spectral utilization scheme described hereinabove. This type or modem may then be used for all of the subscribers served by the central office. The choice of Annex B or non-ISDN service is implemented simply by switching the lower frequency band in or out of ADSL use, using either hardware or software switching. Alternatively, different modems may be used for different subscribers, depending on their choice of services.
Although preferred embodiments are described herein with reference to ADSL and ISDN services and certain specific spectral bands used for these services, it will be appreciated that the principles of the present invention may similarly be applied to other types of digital transmissions, and particular to transmissions in accordance with other standards in the xDSL family.
There is therefore provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service to a group of subscribers over respective subscriber loops in the presence of another, existing digital network service provided on at least some of the subscriber loops, the method including:
assigning lower, middle and upper frequency bands for transmission over the subscriber loops, such that the existing digital network service is provided on the lower band;
transmitting DSL signals downstream on the upper band and receiving DSL signals upstream on the middle band, generally without transmitting or receiving DSL signals on the lower band, over those subscriber loops on which the existing digital network service is provided; and
transmitting DSL signals downstream on the lower and upper bands and receiving DSL signals upstream on the lower and middle bands over those subscriber loops on which the existing digital network service is not provided.
Preferably, the existing digital network service includes an Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) service, and the DSL service includes Asymmetric DSL (ADSL) service. Most preferably, transmitting the DSL signals over those subscriber loops on which the existing digital network service is provided includes transmitting ADSL signals substantially in accordance with Annex B of standard G.992.1 of the International Telecommunications Union. Alternatively or additionally, the method includes transmitting plain old telephone service (POTS) signals over those subscriber loops on which the existing digital network service is not provided.
Preferably, the DSL service includes Asymmetric DSL (ADSL) service, and wherein the lower band includes approximately the range of ADSL tones 6 through 31, and the middle band includes approximately the range of ADSL tones 32 through 63.
In a preferred embodiment, transmitting the DSL signals over those subscriber loops on which the existing digital network service is not provided includes transmitting the signals via a filter that is configurable for transmitting the DSL signals on the lower band, and transmitting the DSL signals over those subscriber loops on which the existing digital net-work service is provided includes switching the configurable filter so as not to transmit the DSL signals over the lower band.
Preferably, receiving the DSL signals upstream on the lower and middle bands over those subscriber loops on which the existing digital network service is not provided includes canceling echoes due to the DSL signals transmitted downstream in the lower band. Most preferably, receiving the DSL signals upstream on the lower and middle bands includes substantially eliminating reception of upstream signals in a range of tones near an upper edge of the middle band, and wherein transmitting the DSL signals downstream includes substantially eliminating transmission of downstream signals in a range of tones near a lower edge of the upper band, whereby only echoes in the lower band need be canceled.
There is also provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) service to a subscriber over a subscriber loop, the method including:
transmitting ADSL signals downstream over the subscriber loop in a lower band consisting approximately of the range of ADSL tones 6 through 31 and in an upper band consisting approximately of the range of ADSL tones 64 and above, but substantially not in a middle band between the lower and upper bands; and
receiving ADSL signals upstream from the subscriber loop in the lower band and in the middle band.
Preferably, receiving the ADSL signals Upstream includes receiving and processing signals only in the lower band when the subscriber is not equipped to transmit signals in the middle band.
There is additionally provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) service to a subscriber over a subscriber loop, the method including:
transmitting ADSL signals downstream over the subscriber loop in a lower band consisting approximately of the range of ADSL tones 6 through 31 and in an upper band consisting approximately of the range of ADSL tones 64 and above, but substantially not in a middle band between the lower and upper bands; and
receiving ADSL signals upstream from the subscriber loop in the lower band.
There is further provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, apparatus for providing Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service to a subscriber over a subscriber loop, the modem including:
downstream processing circuitry, configured to generate DSL signals to be transmitted over the subscriber loop in a lower frequency band, having A low-frequency cut-off above a plain old telephone service (POTS) band, and in an upper frequency band, but substantially not in a middle frequency band between the upper and lower bands; and
upstream processing circuitry, configured to receive DSL signals upstream from the subscriber loop in the lower band and in the middle band.
In a, preferred embodiment, the downstream and upstream processing circuitry is configurable so as to limit the DSL signals to the middle and upper bands, whereby the lower band is made available for another digital network service.
Preferably, the apparatus includes a line coupling circuit, which is adapted to couple both the downstream and upstream DSL processing circuitry and signals associated with the other digital Network service to the subscriber loop. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus includes a high-pass filter, operative to implement the low-frequency cut-off of the lower band in the DSL signals, at approximately an upper edge of the plain old telephone service (POTS) band, and a low-pass filter, operative to implement a high-frequency cut-off in the signals associated with the other digital network service, at approximately a high-frequency limit of the other digital network service, substantially above the upper edge of the POTS band. Preferably, the upstream processing circuitry includes a configurable filter, which cuts off signals in the lower band when the lower band is used for the other digital network service.
There is furthermore provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) subscriber equipment, adapted to be coupled to a subscriber loop over which another existing digital network service may also be provided on a lower frequency band, the equipment including:
a first DSL modem, which is configured to receive DSL signals transmitted upstream on a middle frequency band above the lower frequency band and to transmit DSL signals downstream on an upper frequency band above the middle frequency band, such that the lower frequency band is substantially free of the DSL signals, over a first one of the subscriber loops, on which the existing digital network service is provided; and
a second DSL modem, which is configured to receive DSL signals transmitted upstream on the lower and middle bands and to transmit DSL signals downstream on the lower and upper bands over a second one of the subscriber loops, on which the existing digital network service is not provided.
Preferably, the first and second DSL modems include circuitry that is configurable so as to enable selection of either the DSL signals or the existing digital network service for transmission on the lower band.
Further preferably, the system includes subscriber equipment, coupled to at least one of the first and second subscriber loops so as to communicate with the respective first or second DSL modem, wherein the subscriber equipment includes circuitry that is configurable so as to enable selection of either the DSL signals or the existing digital network service for reception on the lower band.
There is furthermore provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) subscriber equipment, adapted to be coupled to a subscriber loop over which another existing digital network service may also provided on a lower frequency band, the equipment including:
a DSL modem; and
a splitter, which is coupled to convey signals having frequencies above the lower frequency band between the subscriber loop and the DSL modem, and which is switchable so as to couple signals on the lower frequency band either to equipment associated with the existing digital network service or to the DSL modem.
There is additionally provided, in a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service environment, wherein DSL service is provided to a group of subscribers over respective subscriber loops in the presence of another, existing digital network service provided on a lower frequency band on at least some of the subscriber loops, a method for accessing the DSL service on the subscriber loops on which the other, existing digital network service is not provided, the method including:
transmitting upstream DSL signals on the lower band and on a middle band above the lower band; and
receiving downstream DSL signals on the lower band and on an upper band above the middle band, generally without receiving downstream signals on the middle band.

ADSL transmission in the presence of low-frequency network services


A golf bag frame and an outer covering form a golf bag, and the golf bag frame has a base, multiple posts, a top frame and a leg assembly. The base has a bottom frame and foot attached pivotally to the bottom frame. The posts are attached to the bottom frame. The top frame is attached to the posts. The leg assembly is attached to the top frame and has a bracket, a pivot rod, a cord and two legs. The bracket is attached to the top frame. The pivot rod extends rotatably through the bracket, has two ends and comprises an activating lever and two springs. The activating lever is connected to the pivot rod. The springs mount around and bias the pivot rod. The cord is connected to the foot and the activating lever. The legs attach respectively to ends of the pivot rod and extend away from the body when the foot is pivoted to an inclined position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf bag frame, and more particularly to a golf bag frame with a leg assembly that can stand stably on the ground.
2. Description of Related Art
Golf bags hold golf clubs. A conventional golf bag is cylindrical and has a flat bottom so that the golf bag can stand upright on the ground. However, the grassy of most golf courses is not flat. A golf bag standing on the grass may easily fall over.
With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a conventional golf bag with an integral bipod stand can stand stably on sloping grass and comprises a bag body (91), two legs (92), a pivot bracket (93), two activating rods (94) and multiple guide brackets (95). The bag body (91) has an open top, a bottom and a sidewall. The legs (92) are attached pivotally on the sidewall of the bag body (91) close to the top, and each leg (92) has a proximal end. The pivot bracket (93) is mounted pivotally on the bottom of the bag body (91), has a flat bottom and contacts the ground when the golf bag (91) stands on the ground. The activating rods (94) are connected pivotally to the pivot bracket (93), and each activating rod (94) has a distal end. The distal ends of the activating rods (94) are pivotally attached respectively to the legs (92) near the proximal ends of the legs (92). The guides (95) are mounted on the sidewall, and each guide (95) has two through holes through which the activating rods (94) respectively extend. Inclining the bag body (91) relative to the pivot bracket (93) causes the activating rods (92) to pivot the legs (92) away from the bag body (91) so that the golf bag can stand obliquely and stably on the ground.
However, the activating rods (94) are exposed and are damaged or broken easily in the course of normal use, and dust, dirt, corrosion or other debris easily accumulates in the through holes in the guides (95) and restricts the movement of the activating rods (94) through the guides (95).
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a golf bag frame with a leg assembly to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


A position sensorless control methodology for an electrical machine is provided. In particular, one aspect provides a method for position sensorless operation of an electrical machine using direct position error computation from stator flux observation results and stator current measurement.

Generally, for most of the known Back Electromotive Force (bemf) model-based Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) position sensorless control schemes, the rotor position is estimated from the stator voltage and stator current relationship.
Due to the rotor saliency item of an IPM machine, the voltage equation-based bemf model has to be simplified by ignoring some dynamic transition related items. The position accuracy is thus greatly deteriorated in dynamic load transition and dynamic speed transition.
Another common disadvantage of the voltage equation based bemf model methods is that the position accuracy is sensitive to the generator inductance variation, the generator stator resistance variation, and the rotor flux magnitude variation. In practical operation, the generator inductance variation is significant due to magnetic circuit saturation. The generator stator resistance and rotor flux magnitude variation may also be significant due to generator operation temperature change.

Method of position sensorless control of an electrical machine


A power amplifier having a gain factor of G for generating an output signal from a low power amplitude and phase modulated input signal. The power amplifier generates first and second constant envelope signals. Each constant envelope signal has the same frequency as said input signal. The first constant envelope signal has the same amplitude as the second constant envelope signal but differs in phase from the first constant envelope signal by an amount depending on the amplitude of the input signal. The output signal is generated by vectorially adding the first and second constant envelope signals. The amplifier has a feedback loop which operates by determining the difference in amplitude between the input signal and a signal having an amplitude 1/G times the amplitude of the output signal. The phase difference between the first and second constant envelope signals is altered so as to reduce the determined difference in amplitude. In one embodiment of the present invention, the difference in phase between the input and output signals is also measured. The phase difference is used to determine a phase increment that is added to both constant envelope signals so as to reduce the measured phase difference between the input and output signals.

Mobile wireless phone and data communication have become increasingly popular. These applications, however, pose two special problems. First, the RF carrier modulation by which information is transmitted must demand the smallest bandwidth possible due to the general shortage of available spectrum. As a result, both the amplitude and the phase (i.e., frequency) of the carrier must be modulated. Amplifying the modulated carrier without excessive distortion in the transmitter output stage imposes significant linearity constraints on the output stage amplifier.
Second, the power efficiency of the mobile transmitter is very important because the mobile end of wireless communication link is battery powered. Typically, the transmitter output stage is the largest power consumer; hence, improvement in this stage are the most important. One of the most efficient power amplifiers are the class C RF amplifiers in which the output transistor conducts current only at the time when the collector-emitter voltage is at its lowest value. Unfortunately, these amplifiers are very nonlinear and introduce substantial amplitude distortion. Because of this distortion, class C amplifiers are used mainly in FM transmitters in which the amplitude or "envelope" of the RF carrier is constant, and hence, such distortion has no effect.
One method for avoiding this distortion with class C amplifiers that still allows linear amplitude modulation is to generate two signals with constant amplitude using the class C amplifiers and then combine these signals. The amplitude modulation is achieved by modulating the relative phase of the two constant amplitude signals. Denote the two signals by V.sub.1 and V.sub.2, respectively. EQU V.sub.1 =V sin [.omega.t+mt(t)+a(t)] (1) EQU and EQU V.sub.2 =V sin [.omega.t+mt(t)-a(t)] (2)
These two signals are added vectorially in a "power combiner" to generate a phase and amplitude modulated carrier V.sub.out =2q(t)V sin [.omega.+m(t)], where V is the amplitude of both V.sub.1 and V.sub.2 and O<q(t)<1. Here m(t) and q(t) are the desired phase and amplitude modulations of the resulting carrier v, and a(t) and -a(t) are the additional phase modulations of the two constant envelope components V.sub.1 and V.sub.2. If the power combiner generates the output signal V by vectorially adding V.sub.l and V.sub.2, the resulting amplitude modulation q(t) will be q(t)=cos [a(t)]. If the power combiner vectorially subtracts V.sub.1 and V.sub.2, q(t) will be q(t)=sin [a(t)].
In all of the following discussions we will assume that the bandwidth of phase modulation m(t), amplitude modulation q(t), and phase modulation a(t), is only a small fraction of the carrier frequency.
Methods of generating the two signals V.sub.1 =V sin [.omega.t+m(t)+a(t)] and V.sub.2 =V sin [.omega.t+m(t)-a(t)] resulting in the desired signal V.sub.out =2q(t)V sin [.omega.t+m(t)] at the output of the power combiner are known to the prior art. For example, F. J. Casadevall, RF Design, February 1990, pp. 41-48 produces the components V.sub.1 and V.sub.2 starting with a low power, low frequency .omega.' version of the desired phase and amplitude modulated output signal. Casadevall generates a signal v'.sub.in =q(t)V.sub.in sin [.omega.'t+m(t)]. Here, .omega.'<<, the final carrier frequency. This signal is digitized and a digital signal processor is used to generate Cartesian components I.sub.1, Q.sub.1 representing V.sub.1, and I.sub.2, Q.sub.2, representing V.sub.2 but at the low frequency .omega.'. Then, V.sub.in, is upconverted with the aid of an RF oscillator, a phase shifter and mixers. This is accomplished by upconverting the two sets of I and Q components to frequency .omega.. Next, the upconvened I and Q components are summed to generate the constant envelope components V.sub.1 and V.sub.2 which are then used to drive two highly efficient power amplifiers which, in turn, drive the power combiner.
This approach has several disadvantages. First, the circuitry has a high degree of complexity. Second, any phase or amplitude errors in the mixers and in the power amplifiers appear as distortion at the power combiner output. Third, this circuit cannot simply be substituted for a conventional RF power amplifier because the input frequency must be low to match the speed of the digitizer and digital signal processor.
A second prior art solution to this problem is presented in D. C. Cox, IEEE Transactions on Communications, December 1974, pp. 1942-1945. This system generates a(t)=arc sin [q(t)] by starting with a low power, phase and amplitude modulated input signal v.sub.in =q(t)V.sub.in sin [.omega.t+m(t)] at the final frequency .omega.. This signal is processed in parallel by a limiter to generate a constant envelope, phase modulated only signal u=U sin [.omega.+m(t)], and an envelope detector to generate a baseband replica of the amplitude modulation q(t). A feedback loop which includes a phase modulator feeding a phase detector is also used. The phase modulator modulates the signal from the limiter (u=U sin [.omega.t+m(t)] by an amplified error signal causing the phase detector output to follow q(t). This implements an inverse sine function so that the signal at the input of the phase modulator, when amplified by the constant envelope amplifier, is V.sub.1 =V sin [.omega.t+m(t)+a(t)], where a(t)=arc sin [q(t)]. Signal V.sub.2 with phase angle -a(t) is derived in a similar way.
This approach has two disadvantages. First, it is not suitable for modulation schemes in which the carrier assumes temporarily zero amplitude, such as BPSK and QPSK. The limiter supplying u=U sin [.omega.t+m(t)] loses its output signal during the zero carrier amplitude period. Second, any amplitude or phase errors in the power amplifiers appear as distortion at the power combiner output.
A third prior art solution to this problem is presented in D. C. Cox and R. P. Leek, "Component Signal Separation and Recombination for Linear Amplification with Nonlinear Components", IEEE Transactions on Communications, November 1975, pp. 1281-1287. This system uses essentially the same method as the above-described Cox publication, except frequency multiplication is used. The frequency multiplication decreases the operating range, and thus, improves the linearity of the phase modulator. The phase modulator is driven by a frequency equal to one third of the operating frequency (.omega./3), its output frequency is then multiplied by 3 to .omega. in a frequency multiplier. Since frequency multiplication multiplies phase changes, the phase modulator operates over a third of the phase angle range required by a(t). Unfortunately this approach suffers from the same problems as that described with reference to Cox's original proposal.
A fourth prior art attempt to solve this problem is described in Leon Couch "A VHF Linc Amplifier", Conference Proceedings IEEE Southeastcon '82, Apr. 4-7, 1982. In this system, analog signal processing is used to develop the I and Q components of both V.sub.1 and V.sub.2 in a manner analogous to that described in the Casaderail reference. The circuits first separate the input signal into a limited phase modulated signal and a baseband envelope signal. The envelope signal is acted on by various circuitry including squaring and square rooting circuitry. This solution suffers from the same disadvantages as the systems taught by Cox. In addition, an analog squaring and an analog square rooting circuit are required which increases the system cost and complexity.
Finally, A. Bateman, "The Combined Analogue Locked Loop Universal Modulator (CALLUM)", IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference Digest, 1992, pp. 759-763 teaches a system which generates V.sub.1 and V.sub.2 from the baseband I and Q components of the input signal. In this circuit, low power versions of V.sub.1 and V.sub.2 are generated by two voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs). The frequency control input of each VCO is driven so that the correct frequency and phase are generated for V.sub.1 and V.sub.2. This is done by generating I and Q signals from the output signal obtained by adding V.sub.I and V.sub.2. These I and Q signals are compared with the original input I and Q signals. Any error between compared signals is amplified and drives the VCO frequency control input, forcing the error to zero.
The approach also has two disadvantages. First, for full 4-quadrant operation, the CALLUM modulator must be complemented by a switching matrix not described in the paper. Further, the CALLUM modulator cannot be simply substituted for conventional power amplifiers because it requires baseband I and Q inputs.
Broadly, it is the object of the present invention to provide an improved circuit for generating phase and amplitude modulated signals with high efficiency.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a modulation circuit in which any amplitude or phase errors in the power amplifiers do not appear as distortions at the power combiner output.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a modulation circuit that can be simply substituted for a conventional RF power amplifier
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

Power amplifier utilizing the vector addition of two constant envelope carriers


The purpose of the present invention is to train a learning model and thereby create a utility model, and assist with an operation for making practical use thereof. Provided is a computer system 50 for preparing learning models in one or more learning units 102; receiving an input of learning data from a data source 111, and training said one or more learning models using the learning data. One or more utility models are finalized on the basis of said one or more trained learning models, and said one or more utility models are deployed to one or more inference units 114. Each of said one or more inference units 114: receives an input of utility data from the data source 111; provides the utility data to the utility models and executes an inference; and transmits, to a data target 113, inference result data outputted from the utility models.

In recent years, inference which uses a neural network configured to be practically usable has been used in image recognition, automated stock trading, automated translation, and the like. For example, PTL 1 discloses that training data which is images checked by experts can be applied to a neural network (hereinafter NN) (see paragraphs 0056 and 0058).

Computer system and method for machine learning or inference


A process for the preparation of thermostable enzyme glucose oxidase of high Transition temperature (Tm) useful for biological processes of high temperature, said process comprising steps of silanizaton of the activated glass beads by evaporative deposition of Aminopropyl triethoxysilane in acetone, heating the silanated glass beads overnight at about 115° C., treating the heated glass beads with glutaraldehyde in phosphate buffer of pH about 6.0 for one hour each, both with and without vacuum, exposing the treated beads to the enzyme at about 30° C. and for time duration ranging between 3-5 hours with intermittent shaking, reducing the Schiff's base obtained in preceeding step by treating the beads of step (d) with sodium cyanoborohydride, obtaining thermostable enzyme immobilized on the beads, blocking the unoccupied regions of the glass beads with glycine, and a method of using the said thermostable enzymes, and a thermostable enzyme thereof.

Reference may be made here to Gouda, M. D., Thakur, M. S. and Karanth, N. G, (2001), "Stability Studies on Immobilized Glucose Oxidase Using an Amperometric Biosensor-Effect of Protein Based Stabilizing Agents", Electroanalalysis 13 (10) 849-855, wherein they have reported on the stabilization of glucose oxidase against thermal denaturation by the use of protein based stabilizing agents. The protein based stabilizing agents are expensive and are suitable for immobilization of enzymes on Membranes and are not suitable for use in Flow Injection Analysis based systems where column reactors are usually used with enzymes immobilized on solid matrices. Therefore present invention will be useful in immobilization of enzymes in a simpler manner to be used in Flow Injection Analysis based biosensor system or any other bioreactor for bioconversions with increased stability.
Reference may be made to Boahong, L., Renqi Hu and Jiaqi, D., (1997), "Characterization of immobilization of an enzyme in a modified Y-Zeolite matrix and its application to an amperometric glucose biosensor"., Anal. Chem., 69, 2343-2348, wherein they have reported the stabilization of glucose oxidase by immobilization of the enzyme in a modified Y-Zeolite matrix for its application to an amperometric glucose biosensor using carbon paste electrodes. The draw back is that it is not suitable for Flow Injection Analysis systems as Y-Zeolite matrix is in the form of a fine powder and will hinder the flow of liquids in a packed bed column.
Silanization as a technique has been used for the surface modification of solid supports for the efficient immobilization of enzymes, wherein the non-reactive groups in silane such as alkyls provide hydrophobicity (Slobodianokova, 1979) and render the surface charged. The efficiency of this action is dependent on the surface roughness, concentration and type of used (Bhatia. 1999, Crass 1999) the concentration of silane used for this purpose is generally lower than 2%. However, there are no reports on the use of silane for increasing stability of immobilized enzymes.

Process for preparation of thermostable enzyme

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research


Described are various processes for the production of multi-layer bodies having at least one partially shaped functional layer and at least one further partially shaped layer and the multi-layer bodies produced in that way. The multi-layer body has at least one partially shaped functional layer in register relationship with at least one further partially shaped layer, which preferably supplement each other to provide a geometric, alphanumeric, pictorial, graphic or figurative colored representation.

The invention concerns a process for the production of a multi-layer body having at least one partially shaped functional layer in register relationship with at least one further partially shaped layer, and a multi-layer body which can be obtained in accordance therewith. The invention further concerns in particular a security element for security documents and value-bearing documents having such a multi-layer body.
Optical security elements are frequently used to make it difficult to copy and misuse documents or products and as far as possible to prevent such copying and misuse. Thus optical security elements are frequently employed for safeguarding documents, bank notes, credit cards, cash cards, identity cards and passes, packagings and the like. It is known in that respect to use optically variable elements which cannot be duplicated with conventional copying processes. It is also known to provide security elements with a structured metal layer in the form of a text, logo or other pattern.
The production of a structured metal layer from a metal layer which is applied over an area for example by sputtering requires a plurality of procedures, in particular if fine structures are to be produced, which have a high degree of forgery-proof nature. Thus it is known for example for a metal layer which is applied over the full surface area involved to be partially demetallized by positive/negative etching or by laser ablation, and thus to be structured. As an alternative thereto it is possible for metal layers to be already applied in structured form to a carrier by means of the use of vapor deposition masks.
The greater the number of production steps afforded for production of the security element, the correspondingly greater is the significance in terms of register accuracy of the individual process steps or the degree of accuracy of positioning of the individual tools when forming the security element in relation to features or structures already present on the security element.
GB 2 136 352 A describes a production process for the production of a sealing film provided with a hologram as a security feature. In that case a plastic film is metallized over its full surface area after the embossing of a diffractive relief structure and then demetallized in region-wise fashion in accurate register relationship with the embossed diffractive relief structure. The demetallization operation in accurate register relationship is costly and the degree of resolution which can be attained is limited by the adjustment tolerances and the procedure employed.
EP 0 537 439 B2 describes processes for the production of a security element with filigree patterns. The patterns are formed from diffractive structures covered with a metal layer and are surrounded by transparent regions in which the metal layer is removed. It is provided that the contour of the filigree pattern is introduced in the form of a recess into a metal-coated carrier material, in that case at the same time the bottom of the recesses is provided with the diffractive structures and then the recesses are filled with a protective lacquer. Excess protective lacquer is to be removed by means of a scraper blade. After application of the protective lacquer the metal layer is removed by etching in the unprotected regions.

Method for producing a multi-layer body, and multi-layer body


A forum for user interaction is provided. A clone of the forum is created, thereby allowing any number of users to be in the same forum while limiting the number of users in each instance of the forum. It is determined whether a relationship exists between a user entering the forum and one or more other users entering the forum or with one or more other users already in the forum. If a relationship exists, the user entering the forum is placed in a clone of the forum based on the relationship.

This invention relates to distributed computer services having online forums.
An online forum is a communications interchange in which people may communicate with others through successive electronic transmissions between respective computer systems. An online forum may be implemented on a distributed computer system such as that shown in FIG. 1. Forum participants may be scattered across a large geographic area and typically communicate with one or more central server systems 100 through respective client systems 102 (e.g., a personal or laptop computer). In practice, the server system 100 typically is not a single monolithic entity, but rather is a network of interconnected server computers, possibly physically dispersed from each other. In such a case, the individual servers are interconnected by a network of communication links (e.g., the Internet).
Each client system 102 runs client software that allows it to communicate in a meaningful manner with corresponding software running on the server 100. The client systems 102 communicate with the server 100 through various channels, such as a modem 104 connected to a telephone line 106 or a direct Internet connection using a transfer protocol such as TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) that may be connected to a network 108. The server 100 is responsible for receiving input from the client systems 102 through an input device, for example, an input buffer, manipulating the collective body of input information (and possibly information from other sources) into a useful format, and retransmitting the formatted information back to one or more clients 102 for output to an output device, for example, a display screen.
As shown in FIG. 2, one type of forum is a "chat room" 200 in which various participants 204 (e.g., "Chatterbox," "BusyB—23," etc.) may enter text that appears in a scrolling window 202 on each participant's computer display screen. In the example in FIG. 2, the chat room 200 has 15 participants whose aliases (or "screen names") are listed in a scrolling window 210. A participant may respond to the comment of another participant 204 by entering text in an edit box 206 and activating (e.g., by clicking with a pointing device, such as a mouse) a SEND button 208 in the user interface, by entering a keyboard command, or by some other action. In response, the text in the scrolling text window 202 scrolls upwards and the newly entered text is displayed at the bottom of the scrolling text window 202. In the illustrated example, the last participant to enter a comment was BusyB—23, who typed "see ya Louie."
In the example in FIG. 2, the chat room 200 has been designated by the server 100 as a forum devoted to the discussion of "Football" in order to attract participants who want to discuss, for example, issues, news, or gossip pertaining to football. The server 100 may create various different chat rooms dedicated to different discussion topics, so that users of the computer service may enter a particular room and discuss a topic with other participants who desire to discuss the same topic. The chat room 200 shown in FIG. 2 is "public," meaning that anyone may enter the chat room, and entry to the room is not restricted by the server 100. Since entry into a public chat room is unrestricted, an unlimited number of users may enter the room. When too many users are in the room and/or are sending a high volume of messages, however, the message traffic become too dense for meaningful discussion to occur, and a participant experiencing such a cacophony may quickly become unsatisfied with the chat room.
Another type of forum is a three-dimensional (3D) virtual world, which presents a 3D graphical scene to users. Multiple users, represented by different avatars in the graphical scene, may enter and navigate the virtual world, interacting with the world and with other users. The interaction with other users may be through an associated chat room or through other textual or graphical communications, for example, by causing the avatars representing the users to interact in the virtual world. As with the presence of too many participants in a chat room, too many users in a virtual world may result in a visual cacophony such that distinguishing the different avatars is difficult, or such that the 3D rendering engine becomes overloaded and cannot update the graphical representation at an acceptable rate.


Compositions and kits for oral administration of a phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibitor and one or more additional active agents that reduces or eliminates a side effect associated with the PDE4 inhibitor are provided. Also provided are methods for use of these compositions and kits for treating conditions treatable with a PDE4 inhibitor therapy and for increasing patient compliance with treatment with PDE4 inhibitors.

Phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4), mainly present in immune cells, epithelial cells, and brain cells, manifests as an intracellular non-receptor enzyme that modulates inflammation and epithelial integrity. Inhibition of PDE4 is predicted to have diverse effects via the elevation of the level of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and the subsequent regulation of a wide array of genes and proteins. PDE4 has been identified as a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of diverse pulmonary, dermatological, and severe neurological diseases. Over the past decades, numerous PDE4 inhibitors have been designed and synthesized, among which Roflumilast, Apremilast, and Crisaborole were approved for the treatment of inflammatory airway diseases, psoriatic arthritis, and atopic dermatitis, respectively. Increasing evidence show that PDE4 inhibitors may be useful in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, Behcet's syndrome and autoimmune diseases. However, the efficacies of these drugs are often accompanied by adverse effects, such as nausea, emesis, diarrhea, headache, dyspepsia and upper respiratory tract infections.
The dose limiting side effects have tempered the enthusiasm of this drug class for the treatment of these diseases. A number of strategies are currently being pursued in attempts to improve clinical efficacy and reduce side effects, including delivery via the inhaled route, and/or development of non-emetic PDE4 inhibitors and mixed PDE inhibitors.
There remains a need for methods and treatments that can lessen the severity of, or even prevent, side effects associated with PDE4 inhibitor therapy.

Phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor combinations, methods of making, and methods of use thereof


A chair with a combination back support and cover plate is provided, which solves a burdensome affair that a user consistently holds up a back support folded on a seat until he or she sits on the seat, makes the back support automatically folded on the seat after use of the seat, to thereby enhance convenience of use, and prevents the back support from being unfolded upwards from the state where the back support has been folded on the seat due to wind, to thereby prevent the seat from being polluted due to dust or rainwater.

In general, there are chairs in a place where a number of people use such as a playground stand, an open theater, a park, etc.
Since the chairs which are installed in the above-described places are exposed in the outdoor environment, it is general to use chairs made of plastic materials having an excellent durability. These chairs are constituted by only a seat, or made of a seat and a back support which are integrally formed, respectively.
However, since the chairs are exposed in the outdoor environment, dust may be collected on the chairs, or the chairs may be wet due to the rain or snow, which causes it inconvenient to manage the chairs.
To solve the problem that the chairs are wet due to the rain or snow among the above-described problems, a seat is formed with an inclined structure to prevent rainwater from being collected, or is formed with the central portion positioned at a low position and having a drain hole to prevent rainwater from being collected. However, it is difficult to prevent the seat from being polluted due to foreign matters such as dust.
Thus, in order to prevent the seat from being polluted due to dust or rainwater, there has been introduced a chair having a structure that a back support hinged and connected with the rear end of a seat is used as a back support when the chair is used as a seat, and is used as a cover plate for the seat when the chair is not used as a seat.
However, in the case of a chair which employs a combined use of a back support as a cover plate for covering a seat of the chair in which the seat and the back support are hinged and connected with each other, a user should fold the back support to cover the seat with it. This causes difficulties of management of chairs.
In order to solve the problems, the same applicant as that of the present invention developed and filed Korean Patent Application No. 2001-16600 on 29 Mar. 2001 (Korean Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-76617 published on 11 Oct. 2002), entitled "A chair with a combination back support and cover plate." Here, a twist spring is installed in a hinge pin combined between a back support and a seat. Accordingly, in the case that a user stands up from a riding state on the seat, the back support is automatically folded on the seat.
However, since the back support is always elastically supported on the upper surface of the seat by the twist spring, a user who wishes to sit on the seat should raise up the back support with one hand until he or she sits thereon.

Chair with a combination back support and cover plate


A weld seam tracking device for tracking weld seams on pipes or the like uses NDT/NDI sensor(s) in conjunction with an NDT/NDI operation, such as an ultrasonic phased array (PA) inspection. Processing of the weld seam tracking data is integrated or combined with the existing data processing element of the existing NDT/NDI inspection devices. Wide scanning areas of phased array probes allow weld seam tracking and inspection to be performed using a single set of probe and data processing elements to achieve both fault scanning and seam tracking with a single run of the PA scan.

Welding is a long practiced process for joining separate metal objects together for the purpose of building support structures and producing pipes, vessles and other products. There are many types of welding techniques including gas welding, electric arc welding and electric resistance welding (ERW). A common characteristic of welded objects is the difference in thickness between the welded and non-welded regions.
Inspection of weld integrity has long been recognized as crucially important because it enables the detection of cracking, porosity, incomplete penetration, inclusions, lack of sidewall fusion, and other defects that can compromise weld strength. Many existing NDT/NDI products are available for weld inspection, such as ultrasonic and eddy current instruments and probes.
For some weld inspection applications, one of the challenges lies in how to efficiently and/or automatically track the position of the welds and therefore guide the inspection probes that are placed in immediate proximity of the welds. For example, for electronic resistance welding (ERW) production, pipes are formed by feeding rectangular metal sheets into the welder to have their opposite sides welded together. Then the weld seam is trimmed on both outer and inner surfaces before leaving the welding and weld verification system.
In one of the existing practices, the weld seam integrity is inspected while being transported through the welding and weld inspection system by an ultrasonic phased array (PA) system. The weld seam position on long pipes has a tendency to drift circumferentially while in transport requiring an operator to visually monitor the weld seam position and adjust the pipe or the PA probe position to remain centered over the weld seam. It should be noted that it is not uncommon for the weld seam location to drift only a few degrees for every 50 meter of pipe's axial movement.
One of the drawbacks of the manual tracking method described above is that it prevents the full automation of the welding and weld inspection system because the operator must be present to monitor and adjust the weld seam location as required.
To overcome the problem of weld seam tracking, some existing efforts came to the applicants' knowledge including a solution provided by Metavision of the United Kingdom. The Metavision device uses laser tracking technology to guide NDI inspection. A limitation presented by this method is that it requires a visible marked line along the pipe to guide the PA probe to follow the weld seam. Painting a visible line (called also the pilot line) at a given distance from the weld seam presents quite some degree of difficulties under industrial operation conditions. In order to be precise, the pilot line has to be painted near the welding process location where the temperature is hot, consequently causing the marked line to lack paint or be partially masked. The laser tracking device, an optical device, is used to monitor the contrast between the dark surface on the pipe and the white line to establish proper position. If the contrast is poor, the device could lose the weld position.
Additional disadvantages of the Metavision device also include the use of a laser sensor and the need for two separate sets of sensors and associated hardware/software for weld seam tracking and inspection tasks, which leads to undesirable higher system investment.
Another solution is described in US patent application (publication number 2009/0132181 A1) by Girndt. The Girndt patent application addresses the weld seam tracking problem by employing an ultrasonic sensor to track the weld seam using two sets of sensors—one for tracking and the other for inspecting the weld seam, which presents increased material and operational costs.
Girndt also fails to mention the usage of phased array ultrasonic system, which prevents obtaining the capability to cover a wider stripe of scanning area along weld seam and its vicinity. Furthermore, Girndt presents the limitation of requiring the scanning of the whole external pipe surface to obtain the weld seam position, which is extremely inefficient compared to scanning only the weld seam and the bordering region.

Weld seam tracking system using phased array ultrasonic devices


Provided is a fiber optic connector including a housing sized to fit within a fiber optic receptacle and having a longitudinal passage for receiving a fiber optic terminus, and a deflectable locking member including a base attached to the housing, a deflectable portion having a first end extending from the base and a second end wider than the first end in a first direction orthogonal to the longitudinal passage, and ledges extending downward from the second end of the deflectable portion toward the longitudinal passage for engaging with a wall of the fiber optic receptacle to prevent accidental separation of the housing from the receptacle.

Military, commercial avionics, and industrial networking equipment manufacturers are adopting fiber optic components for various communication applications. An exemplary communication application is to create an operative communication link between a control system and a sensor or other data collection device. The use of fiber optic links are often used to replace existing electrical (e.g., "copper") wiring architectures. Fiber optic links provide higher speed, improved electro-magnetic interference (EMI) performance, lower weight, and increased density. Other advantages of fiber optic links include higher data capacity using multiple light propagation modes. In addition, the fiber optic cable itself is protocol agnostic. Therefore, system upgrades often may be made without replacing the fiber optic cable.
Most fiber optic products are designed for the telecommunications market. But these products are generally not rugged enough to withstand the environmental factors that would adversely affect fiber optic systems in harsh operating environments where excessive vibration, shock, and debris may be present.
A vulnerable point in the fiber optic system is the interface between the fiber optic cable and an active device (e.g., an optical transceiver, an optical transmitter, an optical receiver, or a sensor that interfaces directly with the fiber optic cable). To improve this interface, fiber optic pigtails are commonly used. Pigtailing is generally accomplished by using adhesive to permanently affix the terminal end of the fiber optic cable (or connector therefor) to the active device. Conventional pigtailing raises manufacturing and servicing issues. For instance, after a conventional pigtail is put into place, if something goes wrong with the fiber optic cable, the active device, or electronics interconnected with the active device, then the entire system must be replaced since pigtails relying on adhesive cannot be effectively disconnected.


In accordance with the invention, there is provided a protective glove for use with protective coveralls of the type having an outer shell fabric of woven aramid fabric covered by a liquid impervious layer and an inner, multilayer thermally insulating liner fabric of at least one layer of low density nonwoven fabric fastened to a woven fabric. The protective glove includes an outer glove fabricated by sewing from the outer shell fabric of the coveralls. A liner glove is provided within the outer glove and is fabricated by sewing from the multilayer liner fabric of the coveralls. The inner and outer gloves are attached together at the cuffs but is otherwise unattached to the outer glove. The protective glove also includes a continuous intermediate glove fabricated from a waterproof breathable expanded polymeric membrane which is provided between the outer glove and the inner glove. The thumbtip and fingertips of the intermediate glove are secured by adhesive to the outside of the thumbtip and the fingertips of the liner glove but is otherwise unattached from the remainder of the liner glove. The intermediate glove is entirely unattached from the outer glove. The cuff of the glove is attachable to sleeves of the coveralls in use.

The present invention relates to garments for providing protection to the wearer in a hazardous environment and more particularly relates to a waterproof glove for use with protective coveralls.
Various types of protective coveralls are shown for use in protecting the wearer of the coveralls from hazards including flame, hot and/or corrosive chemicals, molten metals, and the like. One such type of coveralls includes a one-piece suit for the body, arms and legs and a separate, removable headgear is worn together with the one-piece suit. Protective gloves which are capable of providing generally the same protection as the suit are typically worn with the suit.
Some of the coveralls of this type have a laminated construction with a durable, liquid impervious outer shell which is a barrier to the hazards to be encountered and a liner which increases the protection against high temperature conditions and which may also include additional barrier layers. If gloves are fabricated by sewing from the same materials as the suits, the holes formed by stitching, as well as the seams, can allow the penetration of liquids into the suits which can directly cause injury if such liquids are corrosive and/or hot. In addition, the otherwise harmless entry of water into the lining can impair the thermal insulative protection of the liner increasing the risk of burns.

Waterproof glove for protective coveralls


Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to dependency maintenance when updating a base application and provide a method, system and computer program product for base and stack application dependency synchronization when updating the base application. In one embodiment of the invention, a method for base and stack application dependency synchronization can be provided for when updating the base application in a multi-application software system. The method can include separating an update to the multi-application software system into a core update for a base application in the multi-application software system and multiple different anchors, each anchor corresponding to at least one stack application. The method further can include installing the core update to the base application and only those of the anchors corresponding to those of the stack applications installed for the base application.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of software application installation and more particularly to maintaining application dependencies in a system of base and stack applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Though often overlooked, application installation is a prerequisite to interacting with a software application. Specifically, in most circumstances, an application can be properly executed only subsequent to the completion of a successful installation process. At the minimum, a typical software application installation requires a transfer of files to the file structure of a computing system, and the configuration of the computing system to particularly interact with the software application. Ordinarily, the configuration of the computing system includes the addition or modification of registry settings, the addition or modification of entries to one or more initialization files, or both.
Typically, software programs include as a component installer logic having program code enabled to substantially automate the installation process. In addition, computer operating systems occasionally incorporate installer logic for use in installing drivers or other software. Likewise, many commercial software offerings are provided with companion updater logic supporting self-updating operations. Generally, the updater logic can be included as a component of the software program itself, or the updater logic can be provided externally as a third-party tool.
The provision of an updating process is desirable because software programs are frequently modified by end users, for example by applying bug fixes or enhancements (such as new versions of the software). There are many different processes for installing and/or updating software programs. Some processes are entirely automated and substantially invisible to the user, while other processes are better characterized as interactive. Some processes are known to be complex while other processes are viewed to be simpler in nature. Of importance, the updating of a single application can be simple in nature, whereas the updating of an application upon which other applications depend can be complex in that subtle changes in the composition of the updated application can break the operation of those dependent applications.
In this regard, in a software system of multiple different installed applications, complex dependencies can exist between the applications. The installation of a service or maintenance update to a base application for which other software applications depend, hereinafter referred to as "stack applications", can corrupt the stack applications and cause one or more of the stack applications to fail. Traditional installers only validate dependency prerequisite checking during an initial installation process. Thereafter, no further checking or action is taken to maintain dependencies even if service applied to the base application invalidates dependency relationships causing other stack applications to fail.

Base application and stack application synchronization for software installation and maintenance

International Business Machines Corporation


An antibody or antigen-binding portion thereof which binds to PSMA and comprises a heavy chain variable domain comprising the sequence given in SEQ ID NO:33, wherein SEQ ID NO:33 is: EVQLVQSGX9E X11KKPGASVKV SCKX24SGYTFT EYTIHWVX38QA X41 GKGLEWIGN INPNX55GGTTY NOKFEDRX68TX70 TVDKSTSTAY MELSSLRSED TAVYYCAAGW NFDYWGOGTT VTVSS wherein: X9 is A or P X11 is V or L X24 is A or T X38 is R or K X41 is P or H X55 is N or Q X68 is V or A; and X70 is I or L whereby the heavy chain variable domain comprises up to 3 amino acid sequence modification(s) between positions 1-30, 36-49, 67-98 and 105-115 of SEQ ID NO: 33. The invention also provides compounds that include the antibody or antigen-binding portion thereof, such as conjugates, and their use in the treatment or diagnosis of diseases, in particular cancers, particularly prostate cancer.

The specificity of antibodies for specific antigens on the surface of target cells and molecules has led to their extensive use as carriers of a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic agents. For example, antibodies conjugated to labels and reporter groups such as fluorophores, radioisotopes and enzymes find use in labelling and imaging applications, while conjugation to cytotoxic agents and chemotherapy drugs allows targeted delivery of such agents to specific tissues or structures, for example particular cell types or growth factors, minimising the impact on normal, healthy tissue and significantly reducing the side effects associated with chemotherapy treatments. Antibody-drug conjugates have extensive potential therapeutic applications in several disease areas.
Prostate cancer, also known as carcinoma of the prostate, is the development of cancer in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Globally it is the second most common type of cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in men. First line therapy for advanced prostate cancer is androgen deprivation. Following progression, chemotherapy offers benefit, but responses are transient and there is no therapy that has been shown to improve survival beyond initial chemotherapy. Metastatic prostate cancer is poorly responsive to conventional chemotherapy. There thus remains a need for improved therapies.
Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) expression is highly associated with prostate cancer and with other solid tumours. PSMA is present on the cell surface of some normal prostatic epithelial cells, normal renal proximal tubular cells, proximal small bowel and some astrocytes (found in the brain). PSMA is highly upregulated/overexpressed on prostate cancer (PCa) cells. Expression levels of PSMA increase along with prostate cancer progression and high PSMA levels in early stage prostate cancer predict an increased likelihood of recurrence. A significant proportion of solid tumours express PSMA in their tumor neo-vasculature whereas normal vascular endothelium is PSMA-negative. It has been observed that PSMA increases available folates by hydrolyzing glutamated folates. It has been postulated that PSMA stimulates the development of prostate cancer by increasing folate levels for the cancer cells to use to survive and grow.
Anti-PSMA antibodies have previously been generated (see for example WO98/03973) and modified antibodies with reduced immunogenicity in humans have been prepared (see for example WO2004/098535). An example of a de-immunised IgG monoclonal antibody that binds PSMA is J591. The amino acid sequence of the variable domain heavy chain of the murine J591 antibody is given herein as SEQ ID NO:23, and the corresponding light chain is given herein as SEQ ID NO:24. The amino acid sequence of the variable domain heavy chain of the de-immunised antibody J591 is given herein as SEQ ID NO: 25, and the corresponding light chain is given herein as SEQ ID NO:26. De-immunised J591 has been used in radiolabelled form in the clinic and it has been shown to be well-tolerated and non-immunogenic (see Tagawa et al., Cancer, 2010, 116(4), 1075-1083).
Further examples of antibodies that bind PSMA are disclosed in WO03/034903 and its family members, including U.S. Pat. No. 8,470,330B. For example, antibody "AB-PG1-XG1-006" has heavy and light chain sequences SEQ ID NO 15 and SEQ ID NO 17 in those publications (given herein as SEQ ID NO's 35 and 36), and antibody "AB-PG1-XG1-026" has heavy and light chain sequences SEQ ID NO 19 and SEQ ID NO 21 in those publications (given herein as SEQ ID NO's 37 and 38).
In addition to having good target binding affinity, low off-target binding and low immunogenicity, an antibody that is to be a candidate as a drug (whether on its own or conjugated to another active component) should have good stability. That is to say it should have a low propensity to denature or aggregate, or disassociate into component fragments. Given this set of demanding properties, there remains a need for the development of further beneficial anti-PSMA antibodies.

Antibodies, uses thereof and conjugates thereof


An apparatus for starting the flow of a compacted material from a hopper trailer is disclosed. The apparatus may include a means of substantially joining the apparatus with the rim of a hopper trailer, an auger shaft having flighting, and a means of turning said shaft on a longitudinal axis in order to displace compacted material and initiate the flow of same. In one embodiment, the auger shaft consists of an internal shaft capable of receiving segmented sleeves having flighting in order to allow for compatibility with a wide variety of hopper trailers. In another embodiment, the drive means of the apparatus may be operated by wireless control.

In the agricultural industry, the delivery and deposit of compacted materials is a difficult and time consuming process. In particular, the unloading of fine materials from a hopper trailer is unnecessarily time consuming and inefficient. Modern hopper trailers comprise a bin, generally in the shape of a rectangular prism, with an open top comprising an interior rim and positioned upon a trailer frame with wheels. Additionally, when in use, hopper trailers are loaded from the top and unloaded from a bottom outlet into a permanent or semi-permanent destination, such as a grain elevator, biofuel plant, or grain bin. For many materials, the pull of gravity is sufficient to achieve timely and consistent discharge. However, some materials are so fine that they may become compacted to the point where gravity alone cannot start the flow from the hopper outlet.
Generally, the task of transporting and depositing the materials is performed by a single person. In instances where the materials have become compacted such that flow cannot be realized, the individual tasked with transporting and depositing the materials must employ some method of manually initiating flow. Most often, those transporting the materials must use their vehicles to rock the material back and forth in order to manually initiate flow. However, this method is unreliable and may result in inaccurate deposit. As a result, unloading such material is time consuming, inefficient and often causes material to be wasted.
Attempts have been made using vibrating panels or other devices to start the flow of material; however, all have proven unreliable in initiating a consistent flow. Furthermore, devices of the prior art are inefficient and impractical for modern usages. For example, International Publication No. WO 88/09614 is directed to an apparatus for dispensing stock feed. The disclosed apparatus employs a towed wheeled frame carrying a conical hopper. A vertical drive shaft passes through an outlet chamber and is connected by a universal joint to the shaft of an oblique travelling auger lying adjacent to the inside face of the hopper. The top of the traveling auger shaft features an inner friction wheel bearing inside the rim of the hopper and brackets carrying outer friction wheels which are spring-loaded against the outside rim of the hopper. The hopper apparatus of International Publication No. WO 88/09614 has drawbacks. The travelling auger's connection to the universal joint at the hopper outlet has the effect of limiting the hopper to a conical shape which is undesirable in the modern agricultural industry. Specifically, the use of a conical hopper severely reduces the volume of grain that may be carried and subsequently discharged per square foot of trailer space when compared to modern, rectangular hopper trailers. Moreover, a conical hopper elevates the center of mass by distributing the carried mass vertically and exponentially. To illustrate, when compared to modern hopper trailers having the shape of a rectangular prism being positioned longitudinally, a conical hopper of the same height has a fifty percent higher center of mass. As grain must often be transported over highways at high speeds in hopper trailers, raising the center of mass increases the danger of rollover and diminishes the transporter's ability to control the vehicle carrying the apparatus. What's more, the height required of a trailer bearing conical hoppers is greater than that of a rectangular hopper carrying the same volume. In some instances, highway regulations may require additional fees, permits, or restrictions in the transportation of taller hopper trailers. As such, a conical hopper is undesirable.
As previously discussed, modern trailer hoppers have rectangular box shapes with shallow walls sloping towards the hopper outlet. Accordingly, because the auger disclosed is of a fixed length and is incapable of navigating corners, the apparatus disclosed could not be utilized in a modern hopper trailer. Furthermore, in transporting grain, it is desirable to protect the agricultural materials from moisture and wind. In protecting the materials, a rigid or flexible covering is attached in order to effectively seal the top of the hopper trailer. Because the apparatus disclosed comprises two friction wheels traveling the inner and outer surfaces of the rim of the hopper in tandem, a covering of the type described could not be used. The drive shaft system implemented by the disclosed apparatus also presents drawbacks. As disclosed in the publication, the drive shaft is driven by the spin of its wheels as the apparatus is moved forward or backward. The referenced publication teaches the advantages of these drive means in distributing material in continuous lines or rows. Accordingly, because operation of the apparatus depends on the movement of the hopper trailer, the disclosed drive means would be incapable of functioning to deposit the materials while stationary. Additionally, there are further draw backs to the disclosed drive shaft system. Specifically, placing the shaft with fighting through the hopper outlet reduces the area through which material could flow. What's more, the overall pervasive design of the drive means of the disclosed apparatus may not be easily retrofitted to modern, non-conical hoppers. Furthermore, because the shaft must extend through the hopper outlet to connect with the drive means, the outlet cannot be closed. Such a hopper trailer incapable of closure could not be used to transport materials as such material would escape through the outlet and be wasted.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an apparatus for starting the flow of a compacted material from a modern hopper trailer. Furthermore, the apparatus should be capable of creating a cavity to assist in the discharge of the grain through a hopper outlet. There is further need in the art for an apparatus that can easily and reliably initiate the flow of compacted materials with minimal effort. Such an apparatus should be capable of functioning with modern hopper trailers. Additionally, such an apparatus should be capable of being easily added to existing standard and non-standard hopper trailers. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the drawings and detailed description to follow.

Apparatus for starting the flow of a compacted material from a hopper trailer