A rotary crushing apparatus having a hydraulic motor for driving a crusher includes a load detector for detecting a loading state of the hydraulic motor, a load judging device for judging the loading state of the hydraulic motor, a feeding amount controller that stops a feeding of an object to be crushed by a feeder when the load judging device judges as overloaded or that starts the feeding of the object to be crushed by the feeder when the load judging device judges as underloaded, and a motor capacity controller that changes a capacity of a capacity-variable motor to a large capacity when the load judging device judges as overloaded. Since the capacity of the hydraulic motor is switched to the large capacity when the feeder is stopped, it is possible to crush wood in the crusher with high torque and to reduce the load in order to recover to a former state in a short time.

As the crushing apparatus, a self-propelled crushing machine can be exemplified (see Patent document 1, for instance). As shown in FIG. 18, the crushing machine includes a rotary crusher (crushing unit) 151 and a tub (rotary tub) 152 for feeding the rotary crusher 151 with wood (object to be crushed) that rotates around an independent shaft center. Incidentally, the tub 152 and the crusher 151 or the like are provided to a machine frame 153, and a traveling unit 154 is also provided to the machine frame 153. The wood (object to be crushed) is put into the tub 152 and crushed by the crusher 151, and the crushed articles are fed down below the crusher 151 to be discharged outward by a transport conveyor 155.
The wood as the object to be crushed often includes a tree branch, trunk, stump or the like and the hardness, size or the like thereof often varies, so that the crusher 151 may go in an overloaded state with some kinds of the object to be crushed and often stop, where the operating efficiency may be decreased.
In a wood-crushing machine according to the Patent document 1, a target crushing rotation speed by the crusher 151 is set, and when the actual rotation speed of the crusher 151 is higher than the target crushing rotation speed, the tub 152 is rotated in a forward direction at a predetermined rotation speed.
When the actual rotation speed of the crusher 151 is lower than the target crushing rotation speed but higher than a reference rotation speed that is lower than the target crushing rotation speed, the rotation speed of the tub 152 is gradually decreased from the predetermined rotation speed in the forward direction. And when the actual rotation speed of the crusher 151 is equal to or lower than the reference rotation speed, the tub 152 is stopped or rotated in the reverse direction.
Accordingly, it is prevented that too much objects to be crushed are fed to the crusher 151, thereby avoiding that the crusher goes in the overloaded state.
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3298829 (Pages 3 to 6, FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 5)


In one embodiment, a test interface for testing integrated circuits includes an array of dice. A removable electrical connection (e.g., an interposer) may be coupled between the array of dice and a wafer containing multiple dice to be tested. The removable electrical connection allows electrical signals to be transmitted between the array of dice and the wafer. The test interface may be used in conjunction with a tester.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to integrated circuits, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for testing integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Background Art
A test equipment unit for testing integrated circuits in die form is commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9ctesterxe2x80x9d. A typical tester can be coupled to a probe card, which includes probes for contacting pads of a die being tested. The probe card allows the tester to send and receive test related signals to and from the die.
The cost of testing a die is affected by the throughput of the tester. Generally speaking, throughput is a measure of how many dice can be tested within a period of time. The higher the throughput, the lower the cost of testing. Thus, methods and apparatus for testing multiple dice at the same time are generally desirable.
In one embodiment, a test interface for testing integrated circuits includes an array of dice. A removable electrical connection (e.g., an interposer) may be coupled between the array of dice and a wafer containing multiple dice to be tested. The removable electrical connection allows electrical signals to be transmitted between the array of dice and the wafer. The test interface may be used in conjunction with a tester.
These and other features of the present invention will be readily apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the entirety of this disclosure, which includes the accompanying drawings and claims.

Array of dice for testing integrated circuits


A process cartridge and an image forming apparatus which can stably keep a developing separated state for a long period by a compact construction, and in which when a separating member has been mounted on the process cartridge, the separating member is supported in a center impeller fashion by one frame, and the other frame is supported by a portion therebetween to thereby keep the developing separated state.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and a process cartridge detachably mountable on the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
Here, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus is an apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium by the use of an electrophotographic image forming process, and this term covers, for example, an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (such as, for example, a laser beam printer or an LED printer), a facsimile apparatus and a word processor or the like.
Also, the process cartridge refers to at least one of charging means, developing means and cleaning means and an electrophotographic image bearing member integrally made into a cartridge, which is made detachably mountable on a main body of an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a laser beam printer or a facsimile apparatus effects selective exposure on an electrophotographic photosensitive drum which is an image bearing member uniformly charged by a charging device to thereby form an electrostatic latent image thereon. This electrostatic latent image is then developed as a toner image by a toner being caused to adhere thereto by a developing device, whereafter this toner image is transferred to a recording material such as paper to thereby form an image. The image bearing member after the transfer of the toner image has any residual toner on its surface removed by a cleaning device, and is used for the next image forming operation.
In recent years, there are known the image bearing member, the charging device, the developing device, the cleaning device, etc. integrally incorporated into a cartridge container and made into a process cartridge. This process cartridge is designed to be detachably mountable on a main body of an image forming apparatus. Consequently, a user can mount it on the image forming apparatus main body to thereby simply effect the supply of the toner and the interchange of the image bearing member by himself, thus achieving the ease of maintenance.
Further in recent years, there has also been devised an image forming apparatus for forming a multi-color image, and a process cartridge for use in such multi-color image forming apparatus has also been put into practical use.
As developing means in the above-described process cartridge, there are generally known two types, i.e., a contact developing type which effects development with a developer carrying member brought into contact with the image bearing member, and a non-contact developing type which effects development with a developer carrying member spaced apart by a predetermined gap from the image bearing member.
The developing means of the above-described contact type, however, if left in contact with the image bearing member for a long period, has sometimes affected an image with that portion of the developing means which contacts with the image bearing member being deformed. Also on the surface of the image bearing member, the image bearing member and the developing means frictionally contact each other due to the vibration or the like during the transportation of the process cartridge, and a hysteresis remains as a development memory, and this has sometimes affected an image.
As means for avoiding the above-noted problems, there have heretofore been proposed an image forming apparatus and a process cartridge of a construction provided with a mechanism for separating the image bearing member and the developing means from each other during non-use such as shipping or the long-term stoppage of use (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0185587). The conventional separating member is of a construction which grasps the frame of the process cartridge against a developing biasing member to thereby separate the developing means from the image bearing member.
The present invention is further development of the conventional art.

Process cartridge including first and second frames and separating member moving the second frame to a separated position and image forming apparatus detachably mounting the cartridge


A fastener is provided to be pre-assembled to a substrate. The fastener comprises a shaft having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, and a thread portion adjacent to the second end; a head disposed on the first end; and a unidirectional retention member between the head and the thread portion. The unidirectional retention member is configured to pass through a mounting hole of the substrate in one direction such that the fastener is retained on the substrate once the unidirectional retention member has passed through the mounting hole.

Many parts in a vehicle environment are designed to be removable to meet a customer's need. For example, a console for second-row seats is removable to provide a flat floor after the second-row seats have been taken off. The vehicle parts are usually connected to a vehicle body by fasteners such as clips and screws. The clips may not be stable in the connection while the screws are separated from the vehicle part at a disassembled state and may have an issue of getting lost. Further, the screws consisting of several parts may require multiple assembling steps (e.g., assembling a screw shaft within a nesting hole first and then fastening). Thus, there exists a need for a fastening assembly that provides robust connection while keeps being retained on the vehicle part.


It is a no-touch lamp to be operated with a proximity-capacition-sensing circuit with lamp shade and waterscape-lamp stand; the lamp mainly comprises a lamp stand and lamp shade. when a person moves closely to the lamp, a signal will be generated, and will be amplified through a capacitance induction circuit so as to control the output of a Triac circuit and to turn on the lamp. The lamp stand is loaded with water and decorative objects, whereby a beautiful waterscape can be provided upon the power is turned on for visual pleasure.

This invention is developed because that the inventor has discovered most of the conventional touch-control lamps having more or less leakage, i.e., it is possible to cause a shock upon a person touching the metal parts of a lamp. Moreover, most of the conventional table lamps have neither any waterscape feature, nor a conductive means made of water for transmitting signal. According to the present invention, when a person moves closely to the lamp, the brightness of the lamp can be controlled without actually touching the lamp; therefore, there will be no electric shock to take place.
The inventor has referred to some U.S. Pat. Nos. (4,751,625; 4,625,268; 2,810,066; 3,715,623; 2,632,098) and U.K. patent GB2098715A when designs the present invention; it has been found that none of the aforesaid patents shows the feature of the present invention; for instance, a water is used in the present invention as a conductor for transmitting signal to control the brigntness of a lamp. Moreover, a waterscape is also provided in the lamp stand, and a special designed high capacitance IC is used for controlling the operation of the present invention; therefore, the present invention is deemed a novel and practical lamp device.

Waterscape lamp with shade of proximity-capacitance-sensing type device

1st Floor No. 12, Lane 179, Lee Shing Rd., Sec. 1


Processes for the thermal reduction of sulfur dioxide to elemental sulfur in a single reaction furnace are disclosed. The reaction furnace contains an alumina monolith that performs as an active catalyst. The reaction furnace is followed by a Claus conversion zone, wherein H2S and SO2 react to produce additional elemental sulfur. Three methods to eliminate soot formation and two methods to consume produced H2 and CO are described. One or combination of these methods may be employed which consists of a) adding steam (water vapor), b) adding recycled sulfur or c) adding recycled tail gas.

This disclosure relates generally to Processes for the thermal reduction of sulfur dioxide to elemental sulfur. Sulfur dioxide is reduced in a single reaction furnace zone. The design of the reaction furnace includes an alumina monolith that performs as an active catalyst to reduce the residence time required in the reaction furnace and to enhance completion of the reduction reactions. The reaction furnace is followed by the Claus conversion zone, wherein residual H2S and SO2 are further reacted to produce additional elemental sulfur. Three methods to eliminate soot formation and two methods to consume produced H2 and CO are described. Wherein one or a combination of these methods could be employed which consists of a) adding steam (water vapor), b) adding recycled sulfur and c) adding recycled tail gas.

Thermal reduction of sulfur dioxide to sulfur in a single reaction furnace


Provided is a contents providing system capable of inducing excitement of a spectator in a battle game. One embodiment of the present disclosure is a contents providing system including: an acquisition part acquiring, as player information, at least one of a posture, an amount of activity, and biological information from each of multiple players playing a battle game where multiple events occur simultaneously in one game space; and a processing part processing the player information acquired by the acquisition part into information-for-spectator to be provided for the spectator or an organizer of the battle game.

The present disclosure relates to a contents providing system, a contents providing method, and a contents providing program.
In a battle game where multiple players play, there are spectators including an audience directly watching the game on-site and a viewer watching a play video distributed online off-site.
For such online viewers, a system has been conceived in which progress status of the game can be tracked (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-81895).

Contents providing system, contents providing method, and contents providing program


In various embodiments, an illumination apparatus includes an air gap between a sub-assembly and a waveguide attached thereto at a plurality of discrete attachment points, as well as a bare-die light-emitting diode encapsulated by the waveguide.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are gradually replacing incandescent light bulbs in various applications, including traffic signal lamps, large-sized full-color outdoor displays, various lamps for automobiles, solid-state lighting devices, flat panel displays, and the like. Conventional LEDs typically include a light-emitting semiconductor material, also known as the bare die, and numerous additional components designed for improving the performance of the LED. These components may include a light-reflecting cup mounted below the bare die, a transparent encapsulation (typically silicone) surrounding and protecting the bare die and the light reflecting cup, and electrical leads for supplying the electrical current to the bare die. The bare die and the additional components are efficiently packed in an LED package.
LEDs also represent an attractive alternative light source for general lighting applications and for backlights for liquid crystal displays, where they enable extremely low-thickness (or "low-profile") solutions. One conventional geometry for such illumination solutions is the so-called edge-lit configuration, in which a packaged LED is attached to the shorter, narrow side (or "face") of a waveguide, and the light is emitted through the broader "top" face of the waveguide. Increased coupling efficiencies may be obtained by embedding the bare LED die within the waveguide itself, rather than by separately encapsulating or packaging the die before coupling it to the waveguide. However, since the geometric dimensions of a waveguide typically are far larger than those of the LED die, it is often challenging to achieve and maintain the high coupling efficiency enabled by embedding the bare die while also forming a strong mechanical connection between the various components of the completed system. The LED die is typically mounted on a platform, or a "sub-assembly" that provides mechanical support and electrical connectivity to an external power source. The presence and geometry of the LED sub-assembly may present difficulties when attempting to embed the LED die within the waveguide with high coupling efficiency.
FIGS. 1A (cross-section) and 1B (bottom view) depict an illumination device 100 that features an LED 105 mounted on a sub-assembly 110 and coupled within a recess 115 in a waveguide 120. As shown, the waveguide 120 has the shape of a thin plate with flat top and bottom faces, which may be parallel, as shown, or may be angled toward each other, giving the waveguide 120 the shape of a wedge. Mirrors (or mirror coatings) may be present along the bottom and side faces of waveguide 120. During operation of the illumination device 100, light from the LED 105 is coupled in to an input region 130 of the waveguide 120 via an input coupling element 135. The light then propagates toward an output region 140 by means of total internal reflection (TIR) off of the top and bottom faces of the waveguide 120. (As known to those of skill in the art, TIR depends at least on the refractive-index difference of two materials at the boundary therebetween, as well as the angle of the light impinging upon the boundary.) In the output region 140, the light is out-coupled from the waveguide 120 by, e.g., embedded scattering elements 145 that disrupt the TIR propagation, resulting in emitted light 150.
Devices such as illumination device 100 present an extremely difficult challenge—the need to, within the small thickness of the waveguide 120, convert light not emitted from the LED 105 in the TIR condition into light propagating in waveguide 120 via TIR. This conversion generally must be performed within a very small area in order to prevent additional loss of light from impingements of light on the waveguide faces in non-TIR conditions. This, in turn, constrains the area of the LED sub-assembly 110, as the top face of the sub-assembly 110 generally does not reflect light at TIR conditions and/or may even absorb light from the LED 105, diminishing overall efficiency.
However, for devices such as illumination device 100 to have adequate mechanical stability, the area of the "joint" between the waveguide 120 and the LED sub-assembly 110 is typically much larger than that of the LED die itself, resulting in the above-described efficiency-diminishing area of the sub-assembly surrounding the LED die. This additional sub-assembly area increases the cross-section of contact between the waveguide and the sub-assembly, strengthening the connection, but also results in decreased input coupling efficiency.
FIG. 2 depicts one conventional approach to addressing this trade-off, in which only the "optical connection" (i.e., the proximity enabling in-coupling of light from the LED) between the LED and the waveguide is made in immediate proximity to the LED, and the mechanical support between the waveguide and the sub-assembly is provided separately. As shown, an illumination device 200 features an LED 210 mounted on a larger sub-assembly 220 that is joined to a waveguide 230. The LED 210 is flanked by two mechanical connections 240 that provide mechanical support when the sub-assembly 220 is joined to the waveguide 230. In many such designs, it is recognized that light emitted from the LED in one or more lateral directions (e.g., the indicated x-direction) will not reach the output region even in the absence of mechanical connections that may block or absorb such light. Specifically, much of the light reaching the side faces of the waveguide in such directions will not reach the output region due to their multiple reflections, in the x-direction, in the input-region. Thus, conventional designs may place the mechanical connections 240 in such locations, as light lost via interaction therewith may well not have been efficiently coupled into the bulk of the waveguide anyway; thus, losses associated with the mechanical connections may have little additional impact on the input coupling efficiency.
Exacerbating the impact of mechanical supports on the input coupling efficiency is the fact that the optical connection between the LED and the waveguide is typically achieved via a "dam and fill" process, in which a low-viscosity dam of encapsulant is formed between (and in contact with) the sub-assembly and the waveguide and then filled with higher-viscosity index-matching material. Such processes fill the entire in-coupling region near the LED with the index-matching material, which increases the size of the surrounding region incapable of TIR-based confinement of the LED light (because, since the index-matching material contacts the waveguide and the light-absorbing sub-assembly, light propagating toward the sub-assembly is simply absorbed or otherwise lost rather than reflected into a TIR mode and efficiently in-coupled). Thus, in view of the challenges and disadvantages of conventional waveguide-based illumination devices described above, there is a need for illumination devices having increased mechanical stability without associated in-coupling losses that adversely impact overall efficiency.

Illumination apparatus confining light by total internal reflection and methods of forming the same


Disclosed herein are methods of treating cancer and/or reducing cellular proliferation in a patient, comprising identifying a patient in need of treatment and administering a therapeutically effective amount of at least one cationic steroid antimicrobial (CSA), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. Kits comprising such compositions and instructions on such methods are also contemplated herein.

Field
Cationic steroidal antimicrobials ("CSAs") for treating certain diseases such as cancer and/or reducing cellular proliferation.
Description of the Related Art
Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and may invade other tissues. Cancer cells may also spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems.
There are more than 100 different types of cancer, with most cancers named for the organ or type of cell in which they start. For example, cancer that begins in the colon may be referred to as colon cancer; cancer that begins in basal cells of the skin may be referred to as basal cell carcinoma. Common types of cancer in the United States are Bladder Cancer, Lung Cancer, Breast Cancer, Melanoma, Colon and Rectal Cancer, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Endometrial Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Kidney (Renal Cell) Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Leukemia, and thyroid Cancer.
Cancer types can also be grouped into broader categories. The main categories of cancer include: carcinoma—cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs; sarcoma—cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue; leukemia—cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and enter the blood; lymphoma and myeloma—cancers that begin in the cells of the immune system; central nervous system cancers—cancers that begin in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord.
Several techniques for treating cancer are known in the art. Such techniques include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, and transplantation. Each of these techniques, however, have undesirable side effects and varying success rates. Indeed, U.S. statistics for 2012 indicate that there will be an estimated 1,638,910 new cases of cancer (not including non-melanoma skin cancers) and 577,190 estimated deaths from cancer. Therefore, a need exists to develop new methods for treating cancer and/or diseases associated with cellular proliferation.

Methods for reducing cellular proliferation and treating certain diseases


A silicone composition is provided comprising (A) an alkenyl-containing organopolysiloxanc having a viscosity of 1.0-100 Pa·s at 25° C., (B) an organopolysiloxane of formula (1), (C) an organohydrogenpolysiloxane of formula (2), (D) an organohydrogenpolysiloxane of formula (3), (E) a filler, (F) a platinum group metal catalyst, and (G) a reaction inhibitor. The composition has a low viscosity and good moldability prior to curing and cures into a dilatant product that exhibits a low storage elastic modulus at a low strain rate and a high storage elastic modulus at a high strain rate.

A dilatant fluid is a mixture of liquid and particles and behaves as a fluid under slow deformation and as a solid in response to rapid deformation. This nature is utilized in a variety of industrial fields (see Patent Documents 1 to 4).
Recently, the dilatant fluid is used for protecting a fuel cell stack mounted inside fuel cell vehicles (see Patent Document 5). In the fuel cell stack, the dilatant fluid conforms to slow deformation as in the case of cell deflection, to prevent the cells from being further deformed or damaged. On the other hand, when large deformation is applied as in the case of a minor collision, the dilatant fluid behaves as a solid to prevent misalignment of the cell stack. However, the fuel cell stack of Patent Document 5 has the problem that since the dilatant fluid is received in a bag, the dilatant fluid leaks out upon breakage of the bag.
If a solid material like rubber exerts dilatant properties, the problem of Patent Document 5 would be overcome. However, the prior art crosslinked rubber does not always exhibit a high storage elastic modulus at a high strain rate. In order to increase the storage elastic modulus at a high strain rate, the amount of a filler added must be increased. A heavy loading of the filler, however, causes a viscosity buildup to the composition prior to curing, making the composition difficult to handle.


In one aspect, a method is provided for providing resources provided in a first communication component to a second communication component, the components in a packet-switched communication networks. The resources being provided by software which runs on the communication components and which accesses the hardware of the communication components. A service examines the hardware of at least one of the communication components in order to determine whether a resource can be provided by a software on said communication component. If the result is positive, the resource-specific software is transmitted to the communication component and provides the resource to be used.

Communication networks whose components communicate with one another on a packet-switched basis are replacing circuit-switching communication networks to an increasing extent. Such networks are frequently also referred to as Voice Over IP (VoIP for short) networks when the Internet protocol (IP) is used for interchanging the audio information provided in the form of data. In this case, the networks may either be used exclusively for transmitting voice data or else for transmitting a mixture of voice data and other information.
The interconnected devices arranged in communication networks are referred to generally as communication components. When a communication component of this type is used as a terminal, for example as a telephone or a multimedia terminal, this component is also referred to as a client component. Other components are not used as a terminal, but rather provide services in the communication network. The services may be a gateway functionality, a voice mail server, an address directory or the like, for example. Such communication components are also referred to as server components. The services and functions provided by the server components are frequently referred to as resources in the literature.
Both the client components and the server components normally comprise a piece of computer hardware (for example a PC) which uses appropriate hardware extensions and a piece of adapted software to perform appropriate functionalities. In this case, a piece of computer hardware may also have more than one software application installed on it, which means that a single physical component in the network may in principle exercise both client and server functionalities. Such communication components are also referred to as servents in the literature, an artificial word derived from the terms "client" and "server".
The communication components connect to one another by interchanging addressed data packets with one another. In this case, each communication component in the packet-switching network has a network address which is uniquely associated with it. In the networks which interchange data on the basis of the Internet protocol (IP networks), this is the IP address and the IP port number, for example. If a communication component is intended to connect to or interchange data with another communication component, then it is first necessary to find out the network address of the other component. The network addresses are not always permanently associated with the communication components over time, but rather may also be allocated dynamically in the network, which means that communication components may each have a different address whenever they have been turned off and turned on again or after predetermined events. For this reason, at least one network component in the known packet-switching communication networks is equipped with an address directory (address database) for all of the communication components which are available in this network. These server components are normally referred to as gatekeepers.
Alternatively, data interchange without a central address database in the manner of a gatekeeper is known, for example using "The Gnutella Protocol Specification V 0.4" method, which communication components on the Internet can automatically use to find other communication components for file interchange. In this case, the file and hence data interchange thus takes place not using a central server component or a "gatekeeper", but rather directly between the individual components. Networks which provide direct data interchange between communication components without a superordinate entity are called Peer-to-Peer networks. The communication components which comprise functionalities both of "clients" and of "servers" are the aforementioned "servents".
In the Peer-to-Peer network based on the Gnutella specification, each communication component (for example a PC) holds files ready for interchange with other components. In order to be able to interchange data, the searching component requires the network address of the component which holds the sought file ready for retrieval. To this end, it first of all sends a first search message, the "ping". Communication components which receive a "ping" search message respond to the searching communication component using a hit response, the "pong". This hit response contains the respective network address of the responding communication component and the number of files which this component provides for interchange. In the next step, the searching component sends a second search message "Query" to a limited selection of those communication components which have responded to the "ping" search message with a "pong". The second search message already contains the file name of the file which is being sought. If a component receives a second search message "Query" but does not itself hold the sought file ready for interchange, then it forwards this search message to other communication components in the network whose addresses it has ascertained, for example by means of a "ping" method which has already been carried out in the past. If the communication component can provide the desired file for interchange, however, then it responds to the second search message "Query" with a hit response "Query Hit", as a result of which the searching communication component can initiate the file transfer using commands defined in the Internet protocol.
The Gnutella method is used when a particular file is being sought among other communication components. The search method is terminated at the very instant at which the sought file has been found for the first time.
While the correct file need only be found once when searching on the basis of the Gnutella method, it is frequently important in the case of the services in communication networks—the resources—to gain access to a plurality of resources of the same type in order to be able to choose between them when required. This case frequently arises with gateways, for example, which provide the client components in packet-switching networks with connections to components in circuit-switching communication networks. In this context, the client components in a packet-switching communication network require the use-related information about a plurality of resources of this type, because the gateways always support only a limited number of communication connections at the same time in line with their number of channels. Hence, if a gateway is already being utilized to the full extent or has failed, it is necessary to be able to move to another gateway. To this end, the client components or a central location in the network store lists containing the addresses of a plurality of gateways. In searching for a free gateway, that is to say one which is not yet fully utilized, a client component successively contacts all gateways which are held on the list until a gateway with sufficient (residual) capacity has been found. Such lists containing the available resources in the network are administered from a central location in the network. In the event of changes to the network topology or in the event of changes relating to the available resources, the list is changed and is then made available to the client components again in updated form.
In the packet-switching communication networks customary today, the resources are usually software applications which run on PC hardware. In this case, a plurality of resources may also have been installed on one common piece of PC hardware. The software applications access installed hardware components of the PC. By way of example, ISDN cards are used for connections to the circuit-switching communication network ISDN, sound cards are used for inputting and outputting audio information etc. As soon as a PC has the respective hardware components, it can provide the desired resource in the network for use by the other communication components in the communication network by installing an appropriate piece of software.
The document EP 0 964 334 A2 McNally et al. "System, method and computer program product for resource discovery in a distributed computing environment" shows an arrangement and a method for finding and using resources in computer networks. In this case, search programs ("discovery agents") are sent in the computer network which are placed in the computers for execution and which search these computers for characteristics (hardware, software) which are a requirement for the execution of particular software. If the respective computer's characteristics mean that it has the requirement for executing the software in question, this software is transferred to the computer and is executed there, which means that the computer then provides the resource formed by the software in the computer network.
The known communication networks have been found to have the drawback that resources are not available in a required number in the network. Permanently monitoring the utilization level of the various resource types, additionally installing further resources and uninstalling excessive resources entail a high level of complexity, which is often manual.

Method for providing resources from a first component to a second component in a communication network


A novel process allows a simple preparation of highly pure halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohols by reduction of the corresponding halogen-substituted terephthalic acids and reaction with an alkylating agent, sulfuric acid, alkyl- or arylsulfonic acids. The highly pure halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohols obtained are suitable in particular for preparing pharmaceutically or agrochemically active compounds.

The present invention relates to a process for preparing halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohols from the corresponding halogen-substituted terephthalic acids, to the halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohols obtainable by this process and to their use for preparing pharmaceutically and agrochemically active compounds.
2,3,5,6-Tetrahalodibenzyl alcohols are known to the person skilled in the art as important intermediates, for example for preparing pharmaceutically or agrochemically active compounds such as insecticides. 2,3,5,6-Tetrafluorodibenzyl alcohol, in particular, is an important intermediate in the preparation of insecticidally active pyrethroids.
The use of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorodibenzyl alcohol as a starting material in the preparation of household insecticides is described, for example, in EP-A-0 963 976, EP-A-0 959 065, EP-A-0 302 612 and EP-A-0 926 129.
The preparation of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorodibenzyl alcohol by borohydride reduction from derivatives of tetrafluoroterephthalic acid is described in GB-A-2,127,013. Here, the reduction of tetrafluoroterephthalic acid chloride is carried out using sodium borohydride in diglyme at a temperature of 20xc2x0 C. giving the tetrafluorodibenzyl alcohol in a yield of only 64.4%. Nothing is said about the purity.
Furthermore, WO-A-00/68173 describes the synthesis of tetrafluorodibenzyl alcohols by catalytic reduction of the corresponding tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile via the intermediates tetrafluoroterephthalaldehyde tetraalkyl acetal and tetrafluoroterephthalaldehyde. However, in the case of the preparation of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorodibenzyl alcohol, a purity of only 93.4% is obtained. The total yield, starting from 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile, is 48% (see Examples 15 and 18 in this document). Also described is the synthesis of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzyl alcohol by the same process. The yields of about 80% and the purities of  greater than 99% described in a number of examples in this document are considerably higher than those in the synthesis of the corresponding dibenzyl alcohol.
The synthesis of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorodibenzyl alcohol is also described in the as yet unpublished German patent application with the reference 100 03 320, by hydrogenation of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile to 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorodibenzylamine and subsequent diazotization and heating of the amine. The 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorodibenzyl alcohol obtained in this manner has a purity of 74.5%; however, for certain applications, this is still not entirely satisfactory. According to the example, the total yield starting from 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile is 52.1%.
WO-A-00/68173 describes a process in which, comparably to the process of the German patent application with the reference 100 03 320, 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzyl alcohol is prepared from 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzonitrile. The purity of 99.3% and the yield of 85.1% achieved here are considerably higher than those achieved in the synthesis of the corresponding 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorodibenzyl alcohol.
DE-A-37 14 602 describes a process for preparing 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzyl alcohols which may be substituted in the 4-position by a methyl radical, by reacting 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzoic acids which may be substituted in the 4-position by a methyl radical with sodium borohydride and then with an alkylating agent in the presence of a diluent at temperatures between xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. and +150xc2x0 C. The reaction of the tetrafluorobenzoic acids is preferably carried out at 0-30xc2x0 C. and the subsequent reaction with the alkylating agent is preferably carried out at 0-100xc2x0 C., where from 0.5 to 0.9 mol of an alkylating agent are employed per mole of starting material. The process affords the 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzyl alcohol in a yield of 96.7% and a purity of 98%.
The hydrolysis with sulfuric acid of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile to 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroterephthalic acid is described in EP-A-0 749 409.
As is known to the person skilled in the art, the use of insecticides, in particular household insecticides, is preceded by intensive toxicological studies. As a consequence, it is desirable to be able to employ the active compounds in a defined form which is as pure as possible. In the synthesis of insecticidesxe2x80x94in particular when 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorodibenzyl alcohol is usedxe2x80x94the byproducts which are substituted asymmetrically in the benzyl position, such as 1-(benzyl alcohol)-4-benzylamines, 1-benzaldehyde-4-benzyl alcohols and 1-(benzoic acid)-4-benzyl alcohols are disruptive, since these compounds can pass through the entire synthesis and even into the end product, and may therefore remain in the active compound and can exert undesirable toxic effects.
All of the three processes for preparing 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorodibenzyl alcohols mentioned above (GB-A-2,127,013, WO-A-00/68173 and DE-A-100 03 320) have in common the disadvantage that, starting from tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile, the reaction proceeds via more than one intermediate. An additional, decisive disadvantage is the fact that in all other processes used both for preparing monobenzyl alcohols and dibenzyl alcohols, the dibenzyl compound is in each case obtained in a considerably poorer yield and purity. The conclusion that had to be drawn from these facts was that apparently the dibenzyl function of the desired product and the asymmetric intermediates formed during a synthesis greatly affect both purity and yield.
Accordingly, it was an object of the present invention to provide a process which allows the preparation of halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohols starting from the corresponding halogen-substituted terephthalic acids, with high yields and purities and in particular substantially free of compounds substituted asymmetrically in the 1- and 4-positions.
The invention relates to a process for preparing a halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohol of the general formula (I):
wherein the radicals X are identical or different and are hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine or bromine and at least one X is fluorine, chlorine or bromine. The process comprises reacting (1) a halogen-substituted terephthalic acid of the general formula (II)
wherein the radicals X are as defined for the general formula (I) with (2) sodium borohydride and then with (3) an alkylating agent or sulfuric acid or an alkyl-sulfonic acid or an arylsulfonic acid, wherein the sulfuric acid or the alkyl-sulfonic acid or the arylsulfonic acid comprises at most 5% by volume of water and the sodium borohydride reacts in an organic solvent at a temperature ranging from about 0 to about 150xc2x0 C.
The invention also relates to a halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohol of the general formula (I):
wherein the radicals X are identical or different and are hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine or bromine and at least one X is fluorine, chlorine or bromine, wherein the alcohol is obtained by a process comprising reacting (1) a halogen-substituted terephthalic acid of the general formula (II)
wherein the radicals X are as defined for the general formula (I) with (2) sodium borohydride and then with (3) an alkylating agent or sulfuric acid or an alkylsulfonic acid or an arylsulfonic acid,
wherein the sulfuric acid or the alkylsulfonic acid or the arylsulfonic acid comprise at most 5% by volume of water and the sodium borohydride reacts in an organic solvent at a temperature ranging from 0 to about 150xc2x0 C.
The invention also relates to a halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohol of the general formula (I)
wherein the radicals X are identical or different and are hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine or bromine and at least one X is fluorine, chlorine or bromine, wherein the alcohol comprises at most 1.0% of compounds which are substituted asymmetrically in the 1- and 4-positions. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims.
The invention provides a process for preparing halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohols of the general formula (I)
where the radicals X are identical or different and are hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine or bromine and at least one X is fluorine, chlorine or bromine, by reacting (1) halogen-substituted terephthalic acids of the general formula (II)
where the radicals X are as defined for the general formula (I), with (2) sodium borohydride and then with an alkylating agent or sulfuric acid or alkyl- or arylsulfonic acids, where the sulfuric acid or the alkyl- or arylsulfonic acids comprise at most about 5% by volume of water and the reaction with sodium borohydride is carried out in an organic solvent at a temperature in the range of from about 0 to about 150xc2x0 C.
The borohydride reduction according to the invention of the halogen-substituted terephthalic acids of the general formula (II) under the conditions mentioned and the subsequent reaction with alkylating agent, sulfuric acid or alkyl- or arylsulfonic acid succeeds with an unexpectedly high purity and simultaneously high yield. Products of the formula (I) obtained are substantially free or, in the preferred case, completely free of compounds which are substituted asymmetrically in the 1- and 4-positions, in particular of halogen-substituted 1-(benzyl alcohol)-4-benzylamines, halogen-substituted 1-benzaldehyde-4-benzyl alcohols and halogen-substituted 1-(benzoic acid)-4-benzyl alcohols.
Starting materials for the process according to the invention are halogen-substituted terephthalic acids of the general formula (II) where the radicals X are identical or different and are hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine or bromine and at least one X is fluorine, chlorine or bromine. Preference is given to using 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro- and 2,3,5,6-tetrachloroterephthalic acid, i.e. all four substituents X are fluorine or chlorine. The use of terephthalic acids having mixed substituents, where two X are hydrogen and in each case one X is chlorine or fluorine has also been found to be useful.
The person skilled in the art is familiar with the preparation of such halogen-substituted terephthalic acids of the general formula (I). The halogenated terephthalic acids of the general formula (II) are preferably prepared by acid hydrolysis of halogenated terephthalonitrile of the general formula (III)
where the radicals X are as defined for the general formula (III).
This acid hydrolysis can be carried out in a simple manner and with high purities. If this group is chosen for preparing the halogen-substituted terephthalic acid, the halogenated dibenzyl alcohol which is finally obtained by the process according to the invention is particularly pure. This variant has been found to be particularly useful for preparing 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroterephthalic acid from 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile. In the process according to the invention, the reaction with sodium borohydride is carried out at a temperature in the range of from about 0 to about 150xc2x0 C., preferably from about 20 to about 80xc2x0 C. and in particular from about 40 to about 65xc2x0 C.
The reaction according to the invention with sodium borohydride is carried out in an organic solvent. Preference is given to using an aprotic polar organic solvent, such as, for example, diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, diisobutyl ether, methyl t-butyl ether, 1,2-dimethoxyethane, diglycol dimethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran and 1,4-dioxane. Particular preference is given to 1,2-dimethoxyethane. In a particular embodiment, sodium borohydride is initially charged and 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroterephthalic acid is added as a solution in this solvent.
In cases where an alkylating agent is added after the borohydride reduction, it has been found to be useful to employ from about 2.0 to about 2.5 mol, preferably from about 2.1 to about 2.4 mol, particularly preferably from about 2.1 to about 2.3 mol of sodium borohydride per mole of halogenated terephthalic acid of the general formula (II) for the reduction.
In contrast, in cases where sulfuric acid or an alkyl- or arylsulfonic acid is employed after the borohydride reduction, it has been found to be useful to employ from about 2.0 to about 4.0 mol and preferably from about 2.5 to about 3.0 mol of sodium borohydride per mole of halogenated terephthalic acid of the general formula (II) for the reduction.
Suitable for use as alkylating agents are, for example, alkyl halides, dialkyl sulfates and sulfonic esters of the general formulae (IV), (V) and (VI):
Rxe2x80x94Hal ROxe2x80x94SO2xe2x80x94OR2 Rxe2x80x94SO2xe2x80x94OR2 (IV) (V) (VI)
where R and R2 independently of one another are methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, tert-butyl, phenyl or tolyl and Hal is Cl, Br or I.
Here, from about 1.0 to about 2.0 mol and preferably from about 1.4 to about 2.0 mol of the alkylating agent are employed per mole of the halogenated terephthalic acid of the general formula (II) originally employed.
In the process according to the invention, it is furthermore also possible to employ, instead of an alkylating agent, sulfuric acid or an alkyl- or arylsulfonic acid which comprises at most about 5% by volume of water. Suitable for use as alkylsulfonic acid are, for example, methyl-, ethyl-, propyl- or butylsulfonic acid. Phenyl- or tolylsulfonic acid have been found to be suitable arylsulfonic acids. In this case, from about 0.5 to about 1.0 mol of sulfuric acid or from about 1.0 to about 2.0 mol of an alkyl- or arylsulfonic acid are usually employed per mole of the halogenated terephthalic acid of the general formula (II) originally employed, where the sulfuric acid or alkyl- or arylsulfonic acid comprises in each case at most 5% by volume of water.
The alkylating agent, too, can be added diluted with an inert solvent. For this purpose, it is possible to use the polar aprotic organic solvents which can be employed for the borohydride reduction. Other inert solvents suitable for diluting the alkylating agent are C5-C30-, preferably C6-C12-alkanes, C5-C30-, preferably C6-C12-cycloalkanes, C6-C20-, preferably C6-C12-aromatics, C2-C10-esters and C2-C30-ethers. Preference is given to using hexane, heptane, petroleum ether, cyclohexane, decalin, benzene, toluene, the xylenes, chlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene, trichlorobenzene, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, diethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran and diphenyl ether. Particular preference is given to toluene and xylene.
In the process according to the invention, the reaction with the alkylating agent, the sulfuric acid or the alkyl- or arylsulfonic acid is carried out, for example, at temperatures in the range from about 0 to about 150xc2x0 C., preferably from about 30 to about 80xc2x0 C., particularly preferably from about 40 to about 70xc2x0 C. and especially from about 50 to about 65xc2x0 C.
The process according to the invention is usually carried out at atmospheric pressure or at an elevated pressure of up to about 10 bar.
Work-up and isolation of the reaction product can be carried out by customary methods. Preferably, the reaction mixture is diluted with a solvent which is virtually water-immiscible. Also advantageous is the option of solvent exchange by distillation. Particularly advantageous is the use of the diluent of the alkylating agent for this purpose. It is then possible to hydrolyze using water or an aqueous acid. The aqueous phase can be extracted, if appropriate at elevated temperature, and the product can then be crystallized from the extraction agent, for example after concentration or again after solvent exchange, to reduce the solubility of the product in the solvent, and be isolated by filtration.
In the work-up steps, such as, for example, the distillation, it has been found to be useful to lower the pressure to about 0.001 bar.
By the simple process steps of a borohydride reduction and reaction with alkylating agent, sulfuric acid, alkyl- or arylsulfonic acid, the process according to the invention affords the desired halogenated dibenzyl alcohol of the general formula (I) in a purity of more than about 98.5%, with at the same time excellent high yields.
Accordingly, the invention furthermore provides the halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohols of the general formula (I) which can be obtained by the process according to the invention.
These halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohols of the general formula (I) obtainable by the process according to the invention have a purity of at least about 98.5%. They comprise at most about 1.0%, preferably at most about 0.1%, particularly preferably at most about 0.01% of compounds substituted asymmetrically in the 1- and 4-positions, in particular halogen-substituted 1-(benzyl alcohol)-4-benzylamines, 1-benzaldehyde-4-benzyl alcohols and 1-(benzoic acid)-4-benzyl alcohols, and, in particular, they are completely free of these compounds. The proportion required to make up 100 is due to other impurities which enter the system via the starting materials in the initial steps leading to the halogen-substituted terephthalic acids and are carried over into the end product.
These particularly pure halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohols are suitable for use as intermediates in the preparation of pharmaceutically and agrochemically active compounds.
Here, the person skilled in the art can refer to the extensive literature for example on the preparation of household insecticides, for example EP-A-0 963 976, EP-A-0 959 065, EP-A-0 302 612 and EP-A-0 926 129.
The invention is further described in the following illustrative examples in which all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated.

Process for preparing halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohols, these halogen-substituted dibenzyl alcohols and their use


Poly(ether ketone ketones), which are important engineering resins, are thermally stabilized by being contacted for at least 15 minutes above their glass transition temperature with an organic hydroperoxide containing at least 0.1 mg of active oxygen per gram, having a boiling point above about 130.degree. C., and degradable between 130.degree. C. and the contacting temperature, the hydroperoxide being made from a precursor comprising at least one benzylic or allylic hydrogen in its molecule.

This invention relates to a process for the stabilization of certain poly(ether ketone ketones), which contain units derived from diphenyl ether as well as 1,4-benzenedicarbonyl and 1,3-benzenedicarbonyl units.
Poly(ether ketone ketones), hereinafter sometimes referred to as PEKK's, especially those having the above chemical structure, are well known engineering polymers, which find wide use in certain high value applications such as, for example, in fabricating panels for aircraft interiors. They have high melting points, yet are melt processable and are reasonably well resistant to ignition.
PEKK's are made industrially by Friedel-Crafts catalyzed condensation of diphenyl ether with terephthalyl chloride and isophthalyl chloride in an inert solvent such as, e.g., o-dichlorobenzene, nitromethane, or ethylene chloride. The most commonly used catalyst is aluminum chloride, which always is employed in a large excess. The so-produced PEKK's usually have xanthydrol end groups which result from acylation in the ortho position of diphenyl ether. Those xanthydrol groups are thermally unstable and decompose on heating with the liberation of xanthone and formation of a phenyl free radical, which reacts with the polymer, causing crosslinking and degradation by hydrogen abstraction.
This thermal degradation is illustrated below in the following equation: ##STR1##
While this elimination of xanthone can be retarded by heating the polymer with formic acid, and thus reducing the xanthydrol groups to xanthene groups, exposure of the polymer to oxygen regenerates xanthydrol, which then rearranges to xanthone. Thus, the formic acid treatment simply slows down the degradation process but does not eliminate it.
It thus is very important to be able to permanently thermally stabilize PEKK's.

Stabilization of poly(ether ketone ketones)


An end cap adaptable for use with either a dual hydraulic pump unit having two pumps in a side-by-side arrangement or a pair of separate hydraulic pumps having separate housings. The internal structure of the end cap is arranged in such a manner to permit the separation of the single end cap into two separate end caps. An adapter plate may also be used to attach separate end caps to a single pump housing for use as a dual pump unit.

This application relates in general to hydraulic pumps and in particular to an end cap device for sealably enclosing one or more hydraulic pumps within a pump housing. Hydraulic pumps are used in driving vehicles such as tractors and other off-road devices. Such pumps are also used in a wide variety of industrial applications other than vehicles. Single and dual pump configurations are common.
Typical hydraulic pump units include one or more pumps enclosed in a pump housing when an end cap is sealably mounted to the pump housing. Known designs include those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,332,393; 6,487,857; 6,705,840; and 6,672,843, all of which are under common assignment with this invention. All of the above patents are incorporated herein by reference.
In one known arrangement, a plurality of pumps may be mounted in individual housings on a vehicle frame. In such a configuration, each pump transmits hydraulic fluid through a high-pressure hose to a hydrostatic motor. Individual end caps sealably secure each pump within its respective pump housing and the end caps form porting chambers that provide fluid communication between the pump, the hoses leading to a hydrostatic motor and one or more valves.
End caps are generally configured and manufactured for use in either single, dual or multiple pump configurations, with each pump requiring a separate and unique end cap design. Thus, depending on the pump configuration desired, a different end cap must be manufactured or cast for use with a single, dual or multiple end cap configuration.


A vessel for containing substances includes a body adapted to containing beverages or snacks, a light source, a sound module, activation switches, and a power source. The body may be provided in the shape of a guitar or other musical instrument, and may optionally include a threaded opening for receiving the substances and apertures adapted to receive ends of a strap so the vessel may be worn or otherwise supported. The vessel may further include a closure having an opening adapted to receive a straw or coins. A removable insert may be provided to slide into the opening formed in the body and rest therein.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vessels for containing beverages, snacks, or coins.
2. Brief Description of Related Technology
Current devices adapted to containing beverages, snacks or other substances include containers of plastic, glass, ceramic, or plastic foam material. These containers are typically used by proprietors of restaurants, taverns, nightclubs, and other venues that serve beverages and snacks. Proprietors may prefer reusable containers to disposable containers for economical and ecological advantages.
Proprietors recognize the benefit of encouraging their patrons to retain a single vessel during an excursion to the venue. In particular, it is beneficial for patrons to use a vessel and present the vessel for refilling in order to cut down on costly and time consuming washings. Also, by reusing a single container, the patron reduces the possibility of inadvertently exchanging vessels with another patron, thereby decreasing exposure to harmful pathogens. Furthermore, retaining and repurposing a vessel as a storage container for other items after its initial use as a drinking vessel provides ecological and environmental advantages by reducing waste attendant with disposable vessels. Therefore, there is also a need for a vessel adapted to accommodate and store both consumable and collectible items.

Novelty food and beverage vessel and coin bank


The present invention provides methods for transforming monocot plants via a simple and rapid protocol, to obtain regenerated plants capable of being planted to soil in as little as 4-8 weeks. Associated cell culture media and growth conditions are also provided, as well as plants and plant parts obtained by the method. Further, a method for screening recalcitrant plant genotypes for transformability by the methods of the present invention is also provided. Further, a system for expanding priority development window for producing transgenic plants by the methods of the present invention is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to plant biotechnology. More specifically, it relates to improved methods for transformation of monocots with a gene of interest.
2. Description of the Related Art
Genomics-based approaches in plant biotechnology have enabled identification and isolation of a large number of genes and have necessitated the need for reliable and efficient high-throughput transformation production systems for testing the utility of these genes by transforming them into economically important monocots such as corn. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of monocots such as corn, rice, and wheat is a widely used experimental approach, often with the use of meristematic tissue such as immature embryos as the explants of choice (e.g. Ishida et al., 1996; Zhao et al., 2001; Frame et al., 2002). For rice, transformation of imbibed seeds has also been reported (Toki et al., 2006). To date, the most common methods following the contacting of cells with Agrobacterium include: culturing explant tissue such as immature embryos ("co-culture"), possibly including a "delay" or "resting" (non-selective) step, and followed by culture on selection medium containing auxin(s) allowing de-differentiation of cells to form callus. During this callusing phase, transformed resistant callus tissue is selected in the presence of an appropriate selection agent on a selection medium. This is followed by growth of cells under conditions that promote differentiation of the callus and regeneration of the callus into plants on regeneration and rooting media. This process has typically required at least 10-12 weeks to produce plants that can be transferred to soil for further growth. The process also requires several manual transfers of tissue throughout the transformation process and uses several different types of media.
Thus use of standard transformation and regeneration protocols is time consuming and inefficient, and negatively impacts the transgenic product development timeline, given that there is usually a seasonally limited "priority development window" for making decisions regarding which genetic constructs to prioritize for use in larger scale transformation work based on results obtained during initial research. There is therefore a need in the art of monocot transformation to produce transgenic plants quickly to provide more time and flexibility for making research and product development decisions during a priority development window. Such a high throughput system for corn transformation could produce a large number of transgenic plants for testing genes and creating useful plants while lowering material and labor costs.
Further, embryogenic culture responses of different breeding lines differ greatly, limiting the genotypes of crops such as corn that can be transformed. Accordingly, some lines can form embryogenic callus readily, although many, in general, fail to form any embryogenic callus. Such lines are often considered "recalcitrant" lines. This can require use of non-elite lines for transformation, which can require many generations of breeding to produce agronomically-elite transgenic varieties. Thus there is further a need for transformation methods that allow transformation of hitherto "recalcitrant" corn genotypes to allow a wider choice of transformable lines for product development, as well as for screening such genotypes for their potential transformability.

Methods for rapidly transforming monocots


An airbag includes a body cloth made of polyamide woven fabric and constituting a circumferential wall of the airbag. The body cloth includes on the inner surface a bond area having a coating layer of polyamide elastomer and to which a supplementary cloth made of polyamide woven fabric is bonded, an extended area having a same coating layer of polyamide elastomer as on the bond area, and an uncoated area that has no coating layer. The coating layer on the bond area is used as heat sealable adhesive that adheres the supplementary cloth to the body cloth whereas that on the extend area is arranged in such a manner as to be exposed to inflation gas upon airbag inflation so as to act as a protective membrane for preventing gas leakage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an airbag inflatable with inflation gas.
2. Description of Related Art
JP8-104194 A discloses an airbag that includes a body cloth constituting a circumferential wall, a supplementary cloth applied to the inner surface of the body cloth for reinforcement or the like and an adhesive arranged between the body cloth and supplementary cloth for adhering the supplementary cloth to the body cloth. The airbag is manufactured only by adhesion and without sewing work.
JP6-227346 A discloses an airbag that includes a body cloth, a supplementary cloth and an adhesive used to heat-seal the supplementary cloth to the body cloth and is manufactured by sewing as well.
In the airbags disclosed in above two references, the adhesives are used solely to bond a supplementary cloth to the body cloth. The adhesives are not applied to other area than the area of the supplementary cloth, i.e., not used as a countermeasure against gas leakage of airbag.
JP 2004-218138 A teaches an airbag that is fabricated of a fabric having a layer of water-soluble or water-dispersible coating composition for reducing gas permeability. In this airbag, the coating composition is not used to bond a supplementary cloth to a body cloth.
Moreover, JP 10-129380 A discloses an airbag that is made of two pieces of body cloths each provided with a coating layer of unvulcanized rubber or thermo-plastic polyurethane for preventing gas leakage. The body cloths are coupled together by outer peripheral edges by bonding by vulcanization or heat sealing.
The airbag disclosed in this reference does not include a supplementary cloth. The coating layer is formed all over the body cloths, and thus increasing the weight of the base cloths. Further, if the coating is composed of rubber or polyurethane whereas the fabric forming the base cloths is formed of polyamide fiber, the difference of materials of the coating and fabric would make the airbag unrecyclable.
In this kind of airbag, to summarize, using the same coating composition both for bonding of supplementary cloths and prevention of gas leakage is expected to contribute to simplification of and cost saving in manufacturing of an airbag with means for preventing gas leakage. Specifically, prevention of gas leakage of the body cloth includes prevention of gas leakage through interstices of the texture of woven fabric and prevention of gas leakage caused by scorching and holing of a circumferential wall of the airbag due to hot mist droplets of inflation gas, or the like.
Moreover, reducing an application area of such coating would be desired for weight reduction whereas forming a base cloth of an airbag and coating applied thereto from the same type of material would be desirable from the viewpoint of recyclability.


The present invention provides a system and method for provisioning Cloud services by establishing a Cloud services catalog using a Cloud service bus within a Cloud computing environment. In one embodiment, there is a Cloud services catalog manager configured to connect a plurality of Clouds in a Cloud computing environment; maintain a catalog of integrated Cloud services from the plurality of connected Clouds; and display an index of the integrated services on a user interface. Using this system and method will allow for multiple disparate services, offered by different partners, across unrelated, physically distinct Clouds to be presented as an index of integrated services.

Cloud computing has become a popular way to offer various Information Technology (IT) concepts as services. In traditional IT environments, clients have basic expectations around qualities of service. As Cloud computing adoption continues to grow, the same expectations will emerge for services to be broadly available, scalable, and have more dynamic attributes attached to them. To satisfy these requirements, Cloud providers must recognize that existing enterprise service bus designs do not adequately address the scale, heterogeneous participation, and dynamics associated with a mature (i.e., fully developed) Cloud computing services bus model.

Provisioning services using a cloud services catalog

International Business Machines Corporation


Some embodiments of the present invention provide a vehicle seat that is movable to different positions with respect to a vehicle and that is coupled to a lockable strut that is variable in length. In some embodiments, a user-manipulatable control is coupled to a lock associated with the strut, and can be manipulated to unlock the lock, and to thereby enable the vehicle seat to be moved. Also, in some embodiments the vehicle seat has a seat back movable to different positions with respect to a seat base and that can be selectively secured against movement with respect to the seat base.

Stowable vehicle seats can be used to provide increased storage space within a vehicle, such as to provide room for a wheelchair or other items. Some types of stowable seats include a cantilevered seat base coupled to a seat back. In some cases, the seat back can be moved between folded and upright positions, enabling a user to sit on the seat when the seat back is in its upright position and to stow the seat while the seat back is in its folded position. Also, some types of vehicle seats are stowed by moving the seat from a horizontally deployed position to a substantially vertical stowed position. Stowable seats are often latched in the stowed position to prevent unintentional movement of the seat to an unstowed position.

Stowable vehicle seat apparatus and method


A laser warning sensor having a directional resolution capability based on a pulse frequency encoding of the directions at which laser light beams are received, is equipped with a plurality of light signal delay units. The directional or angular information is encoded by closed loop fiberglass light conductors, one of which is part of each light signal delay unit, each closed loop has a different length so that the respective signal delay signifies the respective directional information. The closed loop light conductors transform received light pulse signals into pulse sequences or pulse trains each having a given frequency. The respective frequencies are separated by filters in an electronic evaluating circuit which receives its input signals from a photodiode which receives the output light signals from all delay units.

German Patent (DE-PS) 3,525,518 describes a laser sensor of the type mentioned above. Such sensors convert the angular information of azimuth and elevational sequences into defined propagation time differences by means of glass filer delay conductors, each having a different length to provide an encoding which signifies the directional information. The delay time is counted between a start and a stop.
It has been found that a precise detection of the angular information requires a high precision in the electronic components which must measure the propagation time. In order to assure such high precision, it is conventionally necessary to provide relatively large propagation time differences between the various stop conductors so that respectively long light conductor fibers are required. Such long light conductor fibers must be wound up in respective coils which may become quite voluminous.

Laser warning sensor with frequency-coded position information


The present disclosure discloses a waterproof connector including an integral insulating body, a number of conductive terminals, and an insulating block. The insulating body includes a rear end portion, a front end portion, and a middle portion. The rear end portion defines a number of terminal grooves. The front end portion defines a mating space. The middle portion includes a receiving channel communicating with the terminal grooves. The terminals are disposed in the terminal grooves and extend towards the mating space. The insulating block is injection-molded in the receiving channel and seamlessly fixes the conductive terminals in the terminal grooves. The waterproof connector of the present disclosure can prevent water and dust from entering therein. A method of manufacturing the waterproof connector is also provided.

Connectors, as devices those connect two active devices and transmit current or signals, are widely used in electronic products. Due to rapid development of an electronics industry, the electronic product components are required lighter, thinner, and shorter, and also the connectors are required higher and higher performance. In order to improve stability of the internal components of connectors, a waterproof connector has been developed in the electrical connector industry to prevent both water and dust from entering into the electrical connector. A traditional Type-C connector includes a terminal module, a main insulating body, and a shielding shell. The terminal module includes an upper row of conductive terminals, an upper insulating body integrally formed with the upper row of conductive terminals by injection molding, a lower row of conductive terminals, a lower insulating body integrally formed with the lower row of conductive terminals by injection molding, and an intermediate grounding piece between the upper insulating body and the lower insulating body. After the upper insulating body, the lower insulating body and the intermediate grounding piece are assembled to be the terminal module, the main insulating body is injection-molded over the terminal module. The traditional Type-C connector has a segmented waterproof structure in which there is a first injection-molding process between two rows of terminals and two corresponding insulating bodies before assembling the two insulating bodies and then a second injection-molding process is needed after assembling the two insulating bodies. There is an assembly gap between the two insulating bodies and accordingly, waterproof performance is poor.

Waterproof connector and manufacturing method thereof


Systems and methods for generating and using probabilistic filters are provided. One example method includes obtaining a plurality of beacon identifiers respectively associated with a plurality of beacon devices. The operations include determining a plurality of filter shards for each beacon identifier by applying a plurality of hash functions to each beacon identifier. The operations include providing the plurality of filter shards for each beacon identifier for local storage in a probabilistic filter at an observing entity, such that the observing entity can query the probabilistic filter to receive an indication of whether a received identifier is a member of a set that includes the plurality of beacon identifiers. One example system includes a plurality of beacon devices, at least one observing entity, and at least one verifying entity.

Certain systems exist in which a broadcasting device can provide (e.g. broadcasts using a short range wireless communication technology) information that identifies the first device. For example, the information can be a publicly available identifier or an obscured (e.g. encrypted) identifier. An observing entity can receive the information and can communicate with a central verifying entity to learn the identity of the broadcasting device and receive additional information (e.g. semantic information) about the broadcasting device that is stored at the verifying entity. A system configured as described above can be used for various purposes, including communication, information provisioning, asset tracking, retail identification, localization, safety, etc.
However, in the instance in which such systems include a significantly large number of broadcasting devices, the above noted configuration can have several drawbacks. As an example, as the number of broadcasting nodes increase, the airwaves become increasingly crowded with broadcast signals, updates, measurements, or messages. Some of these signals are likely useful and meaningful to a given observing entity (e.g. a smartphone of a user). However, a vast majority of these signals are simply noise and are irrelevant to the observing entity.
Therefore, it is highly inefficient for the observing entity to communicate with the central verifying entity at each instance in which a signal is received, as the vast majority of these communications will result in information that is not useful to the observing entity. In particular, such large number of unnecessary communications can consume vast amounts of communication bandwidth, overload shared communication channels, and can represent a direct cost to an observing entity that is charged by volume of data traffic. In addition, the large number of unnecessary communications can also represent an energy consumption problem, for example, by draining a battery of the observing entity.

Probabilistic message filtering and grouping


An image processing circuit and a method thereof are provided herein. The image processing circuit has a first scaling circuit, a plurality of line buffers, a first sharpness circuit, a second scaling circuit, and a second sharpness circuit. The first scaling circuit enlarges an input image along a first direction to generate a first enlarged image. The line buffers temporarily store the pixel values of a plurality of pixel rows of the first enlarged image. The first sharpness circuit vertically sharpens the first enlarged image to generate a first sharpened image. The second scaling circuit enlarges the first sharpened image along a second direction to generate a second enlarged image. The second sharpness circuit horizontally sharpens the second enlarged image to generate a second sharpened image. Accordingly, it is possible to use the line buffers having shorter data lengths to perform the vertical sharpening.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing circuit and method. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image processing circuit and method that can scale and sharpen images.
2. Description of Related Art
The advancements in the manufacturing process have made high resolution monitors become more and more popular. High resolution monitors can display more image details clearly. Taking a monitor compatible with the High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) standard, the monitor can display images with a 1920×1080 resolution. Those images with the resolution of 1920×1080 are frequently referred to as High Definition (HD) images.
However, most TV programs can only provide images with a resolution of 320×240. Similarly, DVD programs can only provide images with a resolution of 720×480, which is referred to as Stand Definition (SD). When a monitor having a high resolution (e.g. HD) is used to display a TV program or a DVD program, the monitor has to enlarge the images of the program. Because the enlarged images will have relatively obscure object borders, observers will discern deteriorations in the quality of the enlarged images. Therefore, image sharpening is usually performed upon the enlarged images to enhance the sharpness of the enlarged images.
Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a block diagram of an image processing circuit 10 of the related art. The image processing circuit 10 is used to enlarge and sharpen an input image IIN to generate a sharpened image IS. The image processing circuit 10 includes a scaling circuit 12 and a sharpness circuit 14. The scaling circuit 12 enlarges the input image IIN to generate an enlarged image IP. Then, the sharpness circuit 14 sharpens the enlarged image IP to generate the sharpened image IS.
For simplicity of illustration, when this text indicates that an image has a resolution of U×V, it means that the horizontal resolution of the image is U pixels, and the vertical resolution of the image is V pixels. For example, assume that the resolution of the input image IIN is 720×480. The horizontal resolution of the input image IIN is 720 pixels, and the vertical resolution of the input image IIN is 480 pixels. Please note that each of the aforementioned pixels can consist of either a single sub-pixel or a plurality of sub-pixels. Each of the sub-pixels represents a specific color, such as red, green, or blue.
Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a diagram illustrating the input image IIN, the enlarged image IP, and the sharpened image IS of FIG. 1. Assume that the input image IIN with the resolution of 720×480 is to be converted into the sharpened image IS with the resolution of 1920×1080. The scaling circuit 12 first enlarges the input image IIN to generate the enlarged image IP with the resolution of 1920×1080. Next, the sharpness circuit 14 sharpens the enlarged image IP to generate the sharpened image IS with the resolution of 1920×1080.
When the resolution of the sharpened image IS increases, to maintain the quality of the sharpened image IS, the sharpness circuit 14 must have more taps. However, if the sharpness circuit 14 has more taps, the line buffers 18 must also have larger storage capacities. For example, assume that (1) the input image IIN with the resolution of 720×480 is to be converted into the sharpened image IS with the resolution of 1920×1080; (2) the sharpness circuit 14 performs a 7-tap sharpening; (3) each pixel has three sub-pixels corresponding to colors red, green, and blue; and (4) each sub-pixel to has 256 (i.e. 28) gray levels. To facilitate the 7-tap sharpening, the image processing circuit 10 should have at least 6 line buffers 18, each of which should be capable of storing at least 5760 (i.e. 1920×3) bytes.

Image processing circuit and method thereof


A mining machine that includes a rotor assembly disposed on a mobile frame. A cutter drum assembly includes an intermediate drum section and a pair of end drum sections. The end drum sections are drivingly connected by the intermediate drum section. The end drum sections include an axially fixed drum portion and a drum extension that is axially movable on the drive shaft to extend the length of the cutter drum assembly. A hydraulic piston and cylinder arrangement is disposed in shafts supporting the end drum sections, and extends and retracts the drum extension with respect to the fixed drum portion. A torque transfer arrangement is disposed between the fixed and extension drum portions for mutual rotation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cutter drum assembly for use on a boring type mining machine and, more particularly to a cutter drum having extensible end drums for expanding the cutting width of the cutter drum to dislodge solid material left uncut by the rotor cutter arms from a mine face at the mine roof and floor.
2. Description of Related Art
Related boring machines for underground mining operations typically utilize parallel interlaced rotor arms having cutting elements which cut a generally oval-shaped entry in the mine. Cutter chains or continuous cutter drums are utilized at the roof and floor levels to trim or eliminate cusps left in place because they are out of the cutting paths of the rotor arms. The cutter chain or drum at the mine floor is also used to increase the width of the cut in the mine entry.
To facilitate tramming of the machine into and out of position opposite of the mine face, the lower cutter chain or drum is retracted out of contact with the mine sidewalls and raised out of contact with the mine floor. The upper cutter chain or drum is lowered out of contact with the mine roof.
Other related boring machines also increase the width of the cut at the mine floor beyond the cutting path of the rotor arms by extending the width of the lower cutter drum once its lowered into position on the mine floor at the base of the mine face, e.g., extending the length of a cutter drum assembly on continuous mining machines.
Related continuous mining machines also have a cutter drum assembly that is rotatably mounted on a forwardly extending boom member. Pluralities of cutter bits extend outwardly from the drum member. The drum member includes intermediate drum sections and a pair of end drum sections. The intermediate and end drum sections are telescopically mounted to extend the length of the drum assembly beyond the width of the machine. Extension of the end drum sections is accomplished by lateral movement of a boom member having arm members that rotatably support end drum sections. The lateral movement is generated by hydraulic piston cylinder assemblies that exert lateral pressure on the boom arms.
Another related continuous mining machine has a forwardly extending boom assembly that is pivotally secured to the frame of the mining machine. The boom assembly includes a pair of parallel forwardly extending arm members that are pivotally connected to the mining machine body portion. A pair of parallel support members is movably secured to and extends laterally from the respective arm members. A cutter drum is rotatably supported at the forward end portions of the support members. A pair of cylinder assemblies is secured to respective arm members and each includes an extensible cylinder rod secured to a support member. Actuating the cylinder assemblies extends the end drum sections laterally away from an intermediate drum section. The end drum sections are independently extendable to increase gathering efficiency.
According to related dual rotor boring machines, a lower cutter drum assembly trims material at the mine floor left uncut by the rotor arms. Typically, the cutter drum includes a center or intermediate drum section and a pair of end drum sections separated from the intermediate drum section by gear cases. The gear cases rotatably support the respective cutter drum sections.
According to one dual rotor assembly, each gear case is positioned below and centered on a rotor axis. With this arrangement, when the end drums are extended to increase the length of the lower cutter drum to increase the width of cut, gaps are formed in the cutting paths between the extended end drums and the rotor arms. This leaves uncut material or cusps projecting upwardly from the mine floor at the mine face.
A typical arrangement of these related machines includes a cutter drum section having a fixed portion and an outer extensible portion. The outer extensible portion is supported by and telescopically extends from an outboard end of the fixed portion to increase the width of cut. However, this places additional loads, e.g., bending moments, at the outboard end of the fixed portion. It is believed that the telescopic overlap of the extensible and fixed portions that is necessary to accommodate these additional loads in the extended configuration is at least 1.5 times the telescopic diameter. Moreover, the bearings and structures that support the whole cutter drum section must be made more robust to account for these additional loads.
While it is known to extend the length of a cutter drum assembly on a continuous mining machine, there is a need for an extensible cutter drum assembly on a boring type mining machine that separates the forces required for transferring torque and for extending/retracting an extension drum with respect to a main drum. In particular, there is a need for the extension drum of a lower cutter drum assembly to be supported independently of the main drum for relative extension and retraction.

Extendable cutter drum for a boring machine


A release key for adjustable track hurdles having telescoping members with a biased detent locking assembly located within a pair of longitudinal telescoping members, wherein the detent extends outwardly through aligned apertures in the telescoping members to selectively lock those members in predetermined longitudinal positions. The key features a pressure plate having inner and outer faces, with the inner face having an inwardly extending release protuberance and shaped portion which corresponds in conformation with at least a portion of the outer surface of the telescoping members. The outer face preferably includes a handle to further facilitate manipulation by the user, and the release protuberance is aligned with the biased detent in use and extends at least partially into the aligned apertures when its inner face is placed in contact with the outer surface of the telescoping members. In a preferred embodiment, the key includes a pair of release protuberances longitudinally spaced along the inner face of the pressure plate at intervals corresponding with spacing between adjustment apertures on the hurdle standards to enable quick adjustment of hurdle heights between predetermined, non-adjacent adjustment apertures. The release key also preferably includes a curved pressure plate having a semicircular shape to correspond with the cylindrical outer tube of hurdle standards, and the handle includes a rounded thumb clasp designed to receive the user's thumb and to enable simultaneous release of the locking pin and grasping of the outer circumference of the adjustable hurdle standard.

There are many devices which have adjustable legs, tension members, or other support structures including a pair of extension members telescopingly arranged for longitudinal adjustment between one or more predetermined locking positions. Often a biased detent locking assembly is situated within the innermost telescoping member and arranged to automatically extend outwardly through aligned apertures in the telescoping members to lock the same in a predetermined longitudinal position. Examples of such telescopic arrangements include collapsible tent poles, legs on folding chairs, and the vertical standards on track hurdles and similar devices. Generally, in order to adjust these telescoping members, one must depress the outwardly biased detent locking member inwardly to release the outer telescoped member from locked condition with the inner member. Anyone who has had the opportunity to experience and use apparatuses including telescoping members of this type has no doubt also experienced the tendency of such biased locking assemblies to pinch fingers, and, sometimes, to cause abrasions or cuts on fingers or thumbs used to depress the locking member.
Track hurdles are a prime example of such telescoping longitudinal members having a biased detent locking assembly therewithin. It is very common for track hurdles to feature a variety of predetermined vertical heights, such as thirty, thirty-three, thirty-six, thirty-nine and/or forty-two inches, in order to accommodate different races and different age groups and sexes of competitors. For example, at collegiate men's track meets, the hurdles are first set at the forty-two inch height for the first hurdle race in the meet (usually the high hurdle race). Following that race, the hurdles must be lowered to their thirty-six inch height for the next race, which is often relatively soon after the high hurdle race. Consequently, the hurdles must be quickly adjusted by the crew members, which has heretofore required the manual depressing of the spring-loaded pins extending outwardly through aligned apertures in the telescoping members of the hurdle standards. Because the outwardly biased detent or pin automatically pops outwardly for locking engagement as the telescoping members are adjusted to the next (i.e., thirty-nine inch) height, the crew member will again have to depress the pin in order to continue the adjustment procedure down to thirty-six inches. As can be appreciated, these manual operations can take their toll on the hands and fingers of the crew members.
While there have been a number of adapters, release handles, and other arrangements provided for various telescoping arrangements with spring-loaded pushbutton locking members, heretofore there has not been available a release tool for telescoping members of track hurdle standards and the like which is independent of the telescoping assembly itself and which can be conveniently used to adjust a number of independent telescoping member assemblies. For example, an adapter for manipulating spring-loaded pushbutton is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,115 which issued to M. Thomas. The Thomas structure requires a collar force-fit into position around the outer tubular telescoping member, a plunger having a domed head, and a pressure plate at the outside end of the plunger for contact with the hand of the user.
Similarly, a lock releasing arrangement for a telescoping tubular leg is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,092, which issued to K. Nakatani. The Nakatani telescoping members are illustrated as being generally rectangular in nature, and a U-shaped mounting bracket is dimensioned to fit around the outer leg section. The bracket is held against removal from the leg section by a camming lever attached by a pivotal shaft for movement between locking and release positions. The camming lever creates a friction lock for holding the telescoped legs in a desired position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,413, which issued N. Patel et al., shows a similar quick release handle for patient aid and invalid care devices. The handle includes a collar which extends around the periphery of the outer tube of a pair of telescoped members, and rotation of the collar cams a series of detents either inwardly or outwardly for selectively depressing a spring-biased detent which projects through aligned apertures of the telescopically received tubes.
Other release tool arrangements have been provided for a wide variety of applications including spring biased locking members, from excavation equipment tooling to folding chairs and the like. However, heretofore, there has not been provided a relatively simple release tool for adjustable telescoping members having a biased detent locking assembly, and which was conveniently applicable by a user in the form of an independent release tool for application to a number of separate devices such as track hurdles or the like.