The present invention relates to a system for the automatic movement of material in a working area comprising at least one movable piece of equipment, wherein the system has a control for the automatic movement of the piece of equipment with an automatic recognition of obstacles. In accordance with the invention, the control has a first obstacle processing function which moves an obstacle in the working area automatically using the movable piece of equipment; and/or in that the control has a second obstacle processing function which automatically removes an obstacle from the working area using the movable piece of equipment.

The present invention relates to a system for the automatic movement of material in a working area comprising at least one movable piece of equipment, wherein the system has a control for the automatic movement of the piece of equipment with an automatic recognition of obstacles.
Such a system is advantageously used in a working area in which the movable piece of equipment automatically loads material at one or more loading sites and unloads it again at one or more unloading sites. Free areas are usually disposed between the loading sites and the unloading sites which have to be negotiated in driving operation.
The movable piece of equipment usually has a tool, in particular a bucket, which can advantageously be raised via a lifter and is moreover pivotable, for the taking up and transportation. In particular a wheeled loader is advantageously used as a movable piece of equipment in the system in accordance with the invention. In this connection, all the loading and unloading work as well as the transportation work is advantageously carried out driverless.
Such a system for the automatic movement of material in a working area in particular complies with the constantly increasing demands on construction machinery and construction equipment with respect to capacity, efficiency and damage minimization since conventional systems can only be operated under a high cost effort due to increasing labor and wage costs and to the high qualification of the operators required for the optimum workload of the work machines.

System for the automatic movement of material


A power amplifier arrangement comprises a power amplifier in a semiconductor body. At least one first input terminal on the surface of the semiconductor body is provided for feeding in a signal to be amplified. A first output tap of the arrangement is designed for outputting a signal with a first center frequency; a second and a third output tap are designed for outputting a second signal with a second center frequency. A line wire is respectively connected to the second and third output taps on the surface of the semiconductor body. According to the invention, a charge store is provided, which is coupled to the third output tap and is designed for forming a series resonant circuit with the line wire connected to the third output tap.

The increasing miniaturization and the required flexibility of mobile radio systems make it necessary to design power amplifiers for the transmission path of a mobile radio device as integrated circuits in a semiconductor body with increasingly smaller dimensions. Moreover, modern mobile radio devices are embodied such that they operate with a plurality of different mobile radio standards which transmit their signals at different frequencies. One example thereof is devices for the WLAN standards 802.11a,b and 802.11g, the frequency bands of which lie in the region of 2.4 GHz and 5.1 GHz. At different frequencies, it may become necessary to provide a plurality of different power amplifiers for the individual frequency bands. However, such a solution is not expedient for cost and space reasons.
One alternative to this is an integrated power amplifier having a plurality of amplifier sections arranged in parallel, each individual amplifier section being optimized for a specific frequency band. In this case, the signal to be amplified is applied to different inputs that are assigned to the amplifier sections. The outputs of the amplifier are connected to a common or to different antennas by suitable means. One example of a power amplifier is the PMB 8825 amplifier from Infineon Technologies AG. This amplifier is designed principally for amplifying signals according to the Wireless LAN mobile radio standard. The standard uses the freely available frequency bands (ISM bands) in the range of 2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz and also 5.15 GHz to 5.825 GHz. The PMB 8825 power amplifier is based on Si—Ge technology and has in each case dedicated input terminals and output taps for the individual frequency bands.
Particularly in the region of the two frequency bands for the Wireless LAN standards IEEE 802.11a, 11b and 11g it is necessary to ensure sufficient adjacent channel rejection. What is problematic in the case of power amplifiers having a plurality of parallel amplifier types for individual frequency bands is crosstalk of harmonic frequency components of a signal into another amplifier section. By way of example, crosstalk is readily possible precisely in the case of amplifiers for the frequency bands 2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz and 5.15 GHz to 5.825 GHz. Crosstalk is effected inter alia when, in the case of an output signal of 2.4 GHz, the signal component of the second harmonic of the output signal at 2.4 GHz couples over to the 5 GHz output of the power amplifier. Harmonic components or harmonics for short represent signals whose frequency corresponds to integral multiples of the frequency of the actual useful signal.
Important harmonic components are the second harmonic at double the useful signal frequency, and the third harmonic at triple the frequency. Harmonic components are generated by nonlinear behavior in active components of the amplifier, for example in the power transistors. Crosstalk of the harmonics into the parallel-arranged amplifier sections of other frequency ranges necessitates complicated shielding measures within and outside the chip.

Power amplifier arrangement and method for processing a radiofrequency signal


A non-invasive aortic blood flow sensor is disclosed. The sensor determines the blood flow in the aorta of a patient based on the pressure difference between the right and left subclavian arteries. The pressure of the subclavian arteries is non-invasively measured by determining the blood pressures in the arteries of the patient's right and left arms by means of tonometric blood pressure sensors. The signals from the tonometric sensors are first equalized to account for any pressure waveform distortion due to propagation of the pulse from the aorta to the sensor locations. Next, a correction is made for DC offset. The modified pressure signals are then compared, and the pressure difference determined. The blood flow is determined from the pressure difference by known pressure/flow relationships.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for non-invasively measuring aortic blood flow in a patient. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for determining aortic blood flow by measuring the pressure differential between the left and right subclavian arteries.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional flow apparatus and method, aortic blood flow is measured by one of several techniques that involve injection of a "bolus" of foreign material into the ventricle of the heart or into the aorta. The movement of the "bolus" is then monitored by thermal or nuclear (x-ray, gamma ray) sensors. All of these techniques have the severe disadvantage of being invasive. The foreign material injected is usually harmless, but some patients may have adverse reactions to it. These procedures usually must be performed in a "cath lab", which is a relatively expensive facility. This, in addition to the need for the services of a skilled cardiologist, make these procedures relatively expensive.
An alternative conventional apparatus and method uses ultrasonic imaging techniques to measure the blood flow velocity profile in the aorta. Total volumetric blood flow can be found by integration of the velocity profile. However, this method is very sensitive to movement artifacts. The equipment is also too large and sensitive to movements to be used on an ambulatory patient, or during surgery. The equipment is also relatively expensive.

Non-invasive aortic blood flow sensor and method for non-invasively measuring aortic blood flow


A cover member is fixed to a head chip in an area in the vicinity of a nozzle plate but does not constitute a communication path, and thus causes no liquid leakage. The head chip discharges droplets of a discharge liquid that is supplied via the communication path which is formed from nozzles thereof without depending on the cover member. A surface of the nozzle plate is positioned on a side further apart from a printing medium than from a surface of the cover member and is surrounded. As a result, abutting of the printing medium against a side surface of the nozzle plate is avoided.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a liquid ejecting head that ejects a liquid from a nozzle, and a liquid ejecting apparatus. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to a liquid ejecting head that ejects ink, and a liquid ejecting apparatus.
2. Related Art
An ink jet type recording head is a representative example of a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid drops. The link jet type recording head includes a pressure generation chamber that communicates with a nozzle and a piezoelectric actuator that is disposed to face the pressure generation chamber. A pressure change is generated in the pressure generation chamber by a displacement of the piezoelectric actuator so that the ink drops are ejected from the nozzle.
Various structures have been proposed as the structure of such ink jet type recording heads. In general, a plurality of members are set (bonded together) using an adhesive or the like (for example, refer to JP-A-2012-196882).
In the structure of the ink jet type recording head shown in JP-A-2012-196882, a surface of the liquid ejecting head that faces the printing medium is almost covered by a cover member formed of stainless steel with the exception of an almost minimum nozzle plate that is formed from a silicon substrate.
Also, the cover member forms an ink flow passage on an inner side surface of the liquid ejecting head.
In the structure of the ink jet type recording head shown in JP-A-2012-196882, the cover member, which forms the ink flow passage on the inner side surface, is widely exposed to the printing medium. In a case where the printing medium collides with or impacts the cover member, the cover member is likely to be peeled away from or separate from the case member. When the cover member is peeled off of or away from the case member, liquid leakage results. This is a fatal defect for the ink jet type recording head.
This disadvantage is present not only in ink jet type recording heads that eject ink but also in liquid ejecting heads that eject liquid other than ink.

Liquid ejecting head and liquid ejecting apparatus


A method and system may allow for adjusting network latency experienced by a user. A first computing device may send a request to adjust the latency experienced by a terminal associated with a user. The request may be received at a second computing device which may identify a buffer size for the terminal associated with the user. A new buffer size may be determined and adjusted for the identified buffer based on the received request.

High latency has become a complex problem for modern day networks. Network users continue to demand high bandwidth access. However, as the bandwidth increases, buffer sizes also increase which has an unintended consequence of increasing latency due to delays in filling the much larger buffers. For example, a small buffer fills up quickly and hence packets are not stored as long. However, as the buffer fills, flow control limits the connection speed associated with the buffer. A large buffer takes much longer to fill and hence supports much higher connections. However, as the larger buffer fills up latency is increased substantially. As the latency increases to provide higher bandwidth, the latency can have detrimental effects on a number of software applications. For instance, applications that require faster real-time communication (e.g., real-time applications such as video gaming, video-conferencing, IP telephony, etc.) can be significantly impacted by a high latency connection. If the latency increases beyond a certain level, pauses, delays, and jitter may be encountered and in some cases a connection may be lost.
Further, even where the connection is maintained, often the quality will degrade as the codec switches to a much lower speed and/or lower resolution image/voice mode to attempt to correct for the latency issues. Hence quality suffers and the user's experience is impacted. While some systems attempted to address latency with quality of service (QoS) priority settings, these QoS priority settings are different on every network, difficult to manage on a global network, are not supported on a universal basis, and do not fully address the latency issues, e.g., associated with buffer size. Accordingly, there is a need to better manage networks, including needs to manage latency to lessen its negative effects on performance, to improve user experience and to implement a system that works universally and globally.


A laminating system and a method of making a laminated product can include a roll of substrate material and a roll of film material to be laminated together to form a laminate. The system includes a sheeter station and, optionally, a breaker bar station and/or a registration station. The sheeter station is configured to cut the laminate at desired locations based on either signals received from the registration station or other system components. The breaker bar station is configured to remove any roll set curl that may reside in the laminate as a result of the substrate and/or film materials being fed to the system directly from rolls. The registration station is arranged, during an automated registration mode, to detect markings on the laminate and instruct the sheeter station to cut the laminate into individual sheets for subsequently processing into cards such as credit cards, gift cards, ID cards, etc.

Laminated sheets and cards are used in many industries for many purposes. Typical uses of laminated sheets include packaging, banners, decorative/informational signs, point of purchase displays and the like. Typical uses of laminated cards made from these sheets include credit cards, driver's licenses, ID cards, phone cards, gift cards, loyalty cards, game cards, key cards and the like. These laminated sheets and cards are constructed from multiple layers of plastic or paper based substrates, holographic, metalized, printed or clear films or foils, and adhesives and coatings. These laminated cards also usually include printing, graphics, and/or other features such as security elements. Such laminated sheets are typically manufactured using roll-to-roll or sheet-to-roll laminating processes. Conventional examples of a sheet-to-roll laminating process can be performed by machines such as the Billhofer EK laminator, a D&K Group, Inc. laminator, a GBC laminator, and a Steinemann laminator, for example. One particular sheet-to-roll laminating machine and process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,544,266 to Herring et al. Conventional examples of a roll-to-roll laminating process can be performed by machines such as an Egan coater/laminator, a Faustel coater/laminator, and a Black Clawson coater/laminator, for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,544,266 describes that difficulties arise in the production of laminated cards using the conventional roll-to-roll process because the cards must ultimately meet certain standards, such as with respect to peel strength or resistance to delamination. Further, according to Herring et al., defects such as bubbles or wrinkles between layers, and warping, curling or bowing of the final laminated cards may occur during or after the manufacturing process. Warping may occur as a result of a roll laminating process wherein rolls of material constituting each layer are adhered together as they are unrolled, coated, and fed into a lamination press with unbalanced tension. Further, Herring et al. describe that conventional roll-to-roll laminating requires the heavier plastic materials to be stored on wound rolls and thus they tend to take on roll set curl (i.e., a memory of having been wound up into a coil).
A balanced, symmetrical construction is optimal in order to prevent curling or bowing in the finished cards. Thus, even if only one side of the card requires a laminated film, such as a metalized film or diffraction surface, the opposite side of the composite construction should have a matching film type (though may be clear, printed, metalized, etc.). Accordingly, one such known card laminate comprises a split core substrate of two adjacent layers of 12 mil (300 micron) white PVC copolymer substrate. Laminated to one side of each of the PVC split cores is 0.48 gauge (12 microns), 0.60 gauge (15 microns), 0.75 gauge (19 micron), or 0.92 gauge (23 micron) PET holographic, metalized, brushed, coated, printed or clear film, with or without tie coat. A tie coat or primer may be used to improve the bond between the adhesive and the metalized surface of the film. This lamination involves a roll to roll lamination process using a conventional water-based adhesive, for example.
The resulting laminate is then sheeted off-line in a process whereby sections of the laminate are cut to a desired length, for example, to a size of 24″×28.5″ or 24.75″×29″, for example, and then using a guillotine or other cutting method to square the sheet. Registration of the holographic imagery to the sheet is not conventionally instrument controlled or automated. These sheets are next printed, and then fused back to back with two adhesive coated 2 mil (50 micron) PVC overlays on top and bottom to form the outer skins in a second and final lamination step, which is typically performed by the card manufacturer. The printed sheets are then reduced to card size in any manner known in the art. Features such as signature panels, holograms and/or decorative foils are often applied to the individual cards as required or desired. These cards are then embossed on standard personalization equipment.
The above-described card laminate and process of producing the same has many benefits, such as heat resistant holography and metallization, bright holography, stable oriented PET, excellent bond strength of coatings to PET to prevent delamination, and tie coat on metal to improve bond between adhesive and metal. However, the above described card laminate and process of producing the same has many drawbacks as well. For example, according to Herring et al., PVC in roll form possesses roll set curl which causes sheet curl and rippled edges, and PVC in roll form may limit certain product constructions. As such, Herring et al. describe that the roll-to-roll laminating process requires specialty sheeting to achieve registered imagery, heavier adhesive coat weights that can create visual defects, and final lamination cycle required to activate adhesive and achieve peel strength requirements for the typical end uses, such as ANSI/ISO specifications. In order to alleviate the known problems with roll-to-roll laminating processes, Herring et al. describe a process that introduces the heavier plastic materials as flattened individual sheets. In the sheet-to-roll lamination process described by Herring et al., the thinner films can be supplied on rolls, while the heavier plastic sheets are supplied from a stack and are individually inserted into the process to be laminated by the film or films. This assertedly reduces and/or eliminates roll-set-curl and overcomes the problems and disadvantages of roll-to-roll systems.
While sheet-to-roll processes such as that disclosed by Herring et al. can substantially reduce and/or eliminate roll set curl, they are susceptible to other inefficiencies. For example, when the individual sheets are loaded into the process and laminated with the foils or other films, the foils and films are provided from continuous rolls, but the individual sheets are typically loaded in an overlapping arrangement, as depicted in FIG. 1 of the Herring patent discussed above, for example. Accordingly, each individual sheet includes an unlaminated trailing edge portion, which is often referred to as a "gutter" portion. To facilitate further processing, the gutter portion can be trimmed and recycled or otherwise discarded. Trimming and recycling require additional efforts, while discarding is wasteful. Moreover, when the foils or films include markings such as logos, names, holographs, etc., the foils and films must be registered with the individual sheets in order to ensure proper placement of the markings. Such registration must occur before the film and sheets are laminated because the sheets are pre-cut. Difficulties can arise when registering the pre-cut sheets, however, because they can be prone to dimensional variations and positional misalignments, etc., due to the basic tolerances of the material handling equipment that is conventionally utilized.

System and method for making laminated sheets


A test system and method utilizing a single storage device through a network, which includes a server and at least a test object connected to a storage device that supports multi-system operations. The storage device provides many kinds of test environments and test tools for different test objects. The storage device includes a test program, a plurality of virtual test sections and test tools. When a correspondent virtual test section does not exist in the storage device, the associated test disk image is obtained from the server for establishing a new virtual test section in the storage device. Through the network operation, the test environment management is simplified and the test efficiency is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a testing system and method, and particularly relates to a system and method for testing information processing devices by utilizing a single storage device.
2. Related Art
Under the violent competitions of current markets, the quality of products is the most frequent demand being requested by people. The "Quality" is not only asked for the product itself, but is also asked for the design, manufacture, selling and service, and even a total quality of the image of the enterprise. Many enterprises have noticed that so as to promise and practice the quality improving actions for obtaining customer's satisfaction.
Recently, triple-C (computer, communication and consumer electronics) industry is a trend of technology integrations. Quality of the products has to be strictly monitored in order to prevent the products from defects. Tests for the finished products or assemblies are very important processes in the quality system. The tests reflect the quality of outgoing products, and also reflect the quality of manufacturing process. To test a computer, for example, a hard disk with operation system and associated driving programs and test tools have to be installed one after another before performing the tests.
The aforesaid hard disk, driving programs and test tools have to be prepared according to different models of the test objects. Moreover, as driving programs and test tools are being updated frequently, the disk and the data have to be updated accordingly that makes the maintenance of test system and device more bothersome. Also, a hard disk usually has a storage capacity of gigabytes, while the test programs and the data occupy only 200 or 300 megabytes that much wastes the space of the disk.

System and method for performing product tests utilizing a single storage device


Rejects from a conventional first set of cleaners from a system feeding recycled cellulosic fiber slurry to a paper machine or rejects from the paper machine approach system cleaners are fractionated to produce a first, fine fraction, stream and a second, coarse fraction, stream containing most of the fiber and larger solids. The second stream is acted upon by a disperser, deflaker, or like mechanical agitating device, to disrupt the fiber flocs and reduce the size of solids to produce a third stream containing few or no fiber flocs and no large particles. The third stream may be diluted and cleaned in a second set of cleaners, and then is returned to the first set of cleaners (e.g. to the inlet of the first stage or between the first and second stages). Ink, and other fine undesirable particles may be removed from the first stream via flotation or cleaning, and the cleaned stream may also be returned to the first set of cleaners if desired.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for treating a slurry of comminuted cellulosic fibrous material to remove undesirable material prior to introducing the slurry to a paper machine while minimizing fiber loss. This invention is particularly applicable to the treatment of fibrous slurries produced from recycled paper, especially pre- and post-consumer recycled papers containing undesirable ink and ash particles.
In normal practice, prior to introducing a slurry of cellulosic fibrous material to a paper machine the virgin or recycled pulp slurry must be--among other things--treated to remove contaminants and introduce brightening and conditioning agents. These treatments and processes are typically performed in the pulp mill. After the stock is prepared it is transferred to the paper machine stock processing and preparation system. The processing and preparation system receives its fiber furnish either from an adjacent integrated pulp mill, from a pulp purchased from a market pulp supplier, or from a recycled pulp mill. Typically, the fiber is introduced as a slurry of fiber and liquid from an adjacent pulp mill or is processed from bales of virgin or recycled pulp that must first be re-pulped to produce an aqueous slurry. Typically, conventional stock processing and preparation includes repulsing or thickening and various cleaning, screening, and refining equipment with which the pulp slurry is treated.
Recent environmental concerns about conserving our forest resources has led to both public demand and legislative mandates requiring that more recycled pulp be used in the manufacture of paper, especially in the manufacture of newsprint. Many states now require that newsprint contain at least 15% post-consumer recycled pulp, or higher. For example, as of 1999 the state of California requires that newsprint contain a minimum of at least 50% post consumer recycled pulp. This introduction of recycled pulp to the paper machine increases the load upon the paper machine stock preparation and approach system for removing undesirable contaminants from the furnish. The increased content of ink, stickies, dirt, and other contaminants in the recycled pulp should be removed as efficiently as possible prior to the paper machine, where it can cause runnability problems, efficiency reduction, a loss in brightness, a loss in strength of the resulting paper, and negatively affect the drainability of the slurry on the paper machine itself. Though typically some of these contaminants are removed during stock processing and preparation, some contaminants are passed to the paper machine approach system and cause operating problems and increased fiber loss in the approach system.
In conventional paper machine approach systems, the slurry of fibers is typically cleaned and screened to produce a rejects stream containing oversized particles, pin chips, sand, ink particles and other undesirable debris, and some fiber. This reject stream of undesirable material is typically discarded as unusable.
In many existing systems, rejects from the last cleaning system(s) are taken to the effluent treatment for an associated mill or related installation. In some cases, part of the rejects (or even all of the rejects) are returned to the beginning of the process without any treatment. This then makes a closed loop for undesired solids and contaminants.
In the most recent systems, the last stage of the cleaning system includes a fiber saving device, such as a FIBERMIZER device sold by Celleco, which doesn't change the physical properties of the solids but just have lower separation efficiencies and so concentrates or increases the contaminants in the cleaning process circulation, and in that way reduces fiber losses.
In all the above-described conventional existing technologies the reduction of the losses is done by throttling the reject flow. When the reject outlet flow is throttled, the separation efficiency of the undesired contaminants is also reduced and the only way for these solids is to go into the accepts, and thus the risk of runnability and quality problems is increased. In this invention, this fiber-containing stream is treated to recover the useable fiber. The present invention provides a method and apparatus for minimizing or removing these undesirable contaminants from the stock flow, typically as an adjunct to a conventional approach system, while minimizing the loss of valuable fiber. This is achieved by mechanically agitating the flow of rejected material to reduce pin chip and fiber flocs so that they can be recovered and reused. Though mechanical dispersion or deflaking is common in conventional recycled-fiber treatment, typically only the screening and cleaning accept flow is mechanically treated to improve ink dispersion and for deflaking. The screening and cleaning reject flow is typically untreated and discarded.
According to one aspect of the present invention a method of removing ink and other fine undesirable particles from a slurry comminuted cellulosic fibrous material, containing ink particles and larger contaminants (preferably a slurry containing at least 15% post-consumer recycled pulp, at a consistency of between about 0.5-4.5%, preferably between about 2.5-3.5% by weight, e.g. containing at least 50% post-consumer recycled pulp) which is being fed to a paper machine using a first set of cleaners, is provided. The method comprises the following steps: (a) Cleaning the slurry in the first set of cleaners to produce at least one reject stream containing the majority of the undesirable contaminants including ink particles, and at least one accept stream containing fewer contaminants than the at least one reject stream. (b) Fractionating at least one reject stream to produce a first, fine fraction, stream containing the majority of the ink and other fine undesirable particles, and a second, coarse fraction, stream containing most of the fiber and larger contaminants. (c) Mechanically agitating the second, coarse fraction, stream to disrupt fiber flocs and reduce the size of contaminants to create a third stream containing few or no fiber flocs and no large particles. (d) Returning the third stream containing fiber but few or no ink particles, fiber flocs, or large contaminates, to the first set of cleaners. And, (e) feeding a cleaned stream of slurry from the first set of cleaners to a paper machine.
The first set of cleaners preferably comprises at least three stages of vortex cleaners and step (d) may be practiced by returning the third stream to before the second cleaning stage but upstream of where the reject stream is passed to fractionation. There may be the further steps of removing ink particles from the first stream via flotation or cleaning to produce a fourth stream, and returning the fourth stream to the first set of cleaners, e.g. upstream of where the reject steam is passed to fractionation. Step (b) may be practiced by passing the slurry through screens having slots between 0.001-0.020 inches in width, preferably between 0.006-0.010 inches.
In a preferred embodiment there is an additional step in which the ink-laden first fine-fraction of step (b) is further treated to remove ink particles. This step may comprise flotation for example, dissolved-air flotation, or micro-flotation!, or GSC.RTM. Hydrocyclone flotation as sold by Ahlstrom Machinery, and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,069,751; 5,131,980, or 5,529,190. Another embodiment includes a further cleaning step (f), between steps (c) and (d), in which the third stream is cleaned prior to return to the first set of cleaners, and a diluting step (g) between steps (c) and (f).
The mechanical agitating device used in the practice of step (c) is, for example, a dispersing device, such as an MDR.RTM. disperser as sold by Ahlstrom Machinery, or a deflaking device, such as a deflaker-type pump, or any similar device which agitates the slurry to disrupt fiber flocs and reduce contaminant size and improve contaminant distribution.
In another embodiment of the invention, the first set of cleaners in step (a) includes at least three stages of cleaners, and step (d) is practiced by introducing the third or second stream downstream of the first or second cleaner stage.
According to another aspect of the present invention a system for producing cleaned comminuted cellulosic fibrous material slurry is provided. The system comprises the following components: A first set of cleaners for separating ink particles from a slurry of comminuted cellulosic fibrous material, including a plurality of cleaning stages, at least one inlet, and at least one rejects outlet. A fractionating device having an inlet connected to the at least one rejects outlet from the first set of cleaners, a first, fine fraction, outlet, and a second, coarse fraction, outlet. A mechanical device having an inlet connected to the second outlet for disrupting fiber flocs and reducing the size of contaminants, and having an outlet. And, the mechanical device outlet connected to the at least one inlet of the first set of cleaners.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the first set of cleaners includes of at least four stages of cleaning. In another embodiment, the first and second set of cleaners are vortex cleaners, for example RB 200 cleaners as sold by Ahlstrom Machinery of Glens Falls, N.Y. The fractionating device is preferably a static bow screen or a rotary pressure screen, for example a Micra-Screen.TM. or Ahldecker.TM. screen as sold by Ahlstrom Machinery.
Another embodiment includes a flotation device for further removing ink particles from the fine-fraction discharged from the fractionating device. The flotation device is preferably a micro-flotation device, a dissolved-air flotation device, or a GSC.RTM. Hydrocyclone with or with out a separation vessel.
A further embodiment of this invention includes a second set of cleaners located downstream of the agitation device for cleaning the slurry prior to returning it to the first set of cleaners, and a dilution tank before the second set of cleaners. The mechanical (agitating) device is preferably the device described above.
According to another aspect of the present invention a paper machine stock preparation system is provided comprising the following components: An approach system to a paper machine. A first set of cleaners for separating ink particles from a slurry of comminuted cellulosic fibrous material, including a plurality of cleaning stages, at least one inlet, a cleaned slurry outlet, and at least one rejects outlet. The cleaned slurry outlet connected to the approach system of a paper machine. A fractionating device having an inlet connected to the at least one rejects outlet from the first set of cleaners, a first, fine fraction, outlet, and a second, coarse fraction, outlet. A mechanical device having an inlet connected to the second outlet for disrupting fiber flocs and reducing the size of contaminants, and having an outlet. And, the mechanical device outlet connected to the at least one inlet of the first set of cleaners.
The details of the components of the paper machine system are preferably as described above for the system for producing claimed slurry. Throughout the practice of the invention the slurry preferably has a consistency of between about 0.1-3.0%, preferably between about 0.5-1.0%, by weight.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide maximum fiber recovery while even more effectively cleaning a slurry fed to the approach system of a paper machine. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention and from the appended claims.

Method of recovering fibers from a reject stream generated in a wastepaper treating process


A pharmaceutical composition comprising peptide Leu-Ala-Phe-Val-Leu-Arg-Lys-amide having at least one D-amino acid.

Additional background for therapeutic use of peptide fragments in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other amyloidoses can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/938,275 filed Aug. 22, 2001, and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/962,955 filed Sep. 24, 2001, the text and drawings of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference into the present application as if fully set forth herein.
Beta-Amyloid Protein as a Therapeutic Target for Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the deposition and accumulation of a 39-43 amino acid peptide termed the beta-amyloid protein, Aβ or β/A4 (Glenner and Wong, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 120:885-890.1984; Masters et al, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82:4245-4249, 1985; Husby et al, Bull. WHO 71:105-108, 1993). Aβ is derived from larger precursor proteins termed beta amyloid precursor proteins (or APPs) of which there are several alternatively spliced variants. The most abundant forms of the APPs include proteins consisting of 695, 751 and 770 amino acids (Kitaguchi et al, Nature 331:530-532, 1988; Ponte et al, Nature 331:525-527, 1988; Tanzi et al, Nature 331:528-530, 1988). The small Aβ peptide is a major component that makes up the core of amyloid deposits called "plaques" in the brains of patients with AD. In addition, AD is characterized by the presence of numerous neurofibrillary "tangles", consisting of paired helical filaments which abnormally accumulate in the neuronal cytoplasm (Grundke-Iqbal et al Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83:4913-4917, 1986; Kosik et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83:4044-4048, 1986; Lee et al, Science 251:675-678, 1991). The other major type of lesion found in AD brain is the accumulation of amyloid in the walls of blood vessels, both within the brain parenchyma and meningeal vessels that lie outside the brain. The amyloid deposits localized to the walls of blood vessels are referred to as cerebrovascular amyloid or congophilic angiopathy (Mandybur, J. Neuropath. Exp. Neurol. 45:79-90, 1986; Pardridge et al, J. Neurochem. 49:1394-1401, 1987). The pathological hallmarks of AD therefore are the presence of "plaques", "tangles", and cerebrovascular amyloid deposits.
For many years there has been an ongoing scientific debate as to the importance of "amyloid" in AD and whether the "plaques" and "tangles" characteristic of this disease, were a cause or merely the consequences of the disease. Recent studies indicate that amyloid is indeed a causative factor for AD and should not be regarded merely as a consequence. The Alzheimer's Aβ protein in cell culture has been shown to cause degeneration of nerve cells within a short time period (Pike et al, Br. Res. 563:311-314, 1991; J. Neurochem. 64:253-265, 1995). Studies suggest that it is the fibrillar structure, characteristic of all amyloids, that is mainly responsible for the neurologic effects. Aβ has also been found to be neurologic in slice cultures of hippocampus (Hadrian et al, Neurobiol. Aging 16:779-789, 1995) and induces nerve cell death in transgenic mice (Games et al, Nature 373:523-527, 1995; Hsiao et al, Science 274:99-102, 1996). Injection of Aβ into rat brain also causes memory impairment and neuronal dysfunction (Flood et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88:3363-3366, 1991; Br. Res. 663:271-276, 1994). Convincing evidence that Aβ amyloid is directly involved in the pathogenesis of AD comes from genetic studies. It was discovered that the increased production of Aβ could result from mutations in the gene encoding, its precursor, APP (Van Broeckhoven et al, Science 248:1120-1122, 1990; Murrell et al, Science 254:97-99, 1991; Haass et al, Nature Med. 1:1291-1296, 1995). The identification of mutations in the APP gene which causes early onset familial AD is a strong argument that Aβ and amyloid are central to the pathogenetic process underlying this disease. Four reported disease-causing mutations have now been discovered which demonstrate the importance of Aβ in causing familial AD (reviewed in Hardy, Nature Gen. 1:233-234, 1992). Lastly, recent studies suggest that a reduction in amyloid plaque load in APP transgenic mice lead to improvements in behavioral impairment and memory loss (Chen et al, Nature 408:978-982, 2000; Janus et al, Nature 408:979-982, 2000; Morgan et al, Nature 408:982-985, 2000). This is the strongest argument to date that implicates that reduction of Aβ amyloid load in brain should be a central target for the development of new and effective treatments of AD and related disorders.
Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Population
Alzheimer's disease is a leading cause of dementia in the elderly, affecting 5-10% of the population over the age of 65 years (Jorm, A Guide to Understanding of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, New York University Press, New York, 1987). In AD, the parts of the brain essential for cognitive processes such as memory, attention, language, and reasoning degenerate. In some inherited forms of AD, onset is in middle age, but more commonly, symptoms appear from the mid-60's onward. AD today affects 4-5 million Americans, with slightly more than half of these people receiving care in many different health care institutions. The prevalence of AD and other dementias doubles every 5 years beyond the age of 65, and recent studies indicate that nearly 50% of all people age 85 and older have symptoms of AD (NIH Progress Report on AD, National Institute on Aging, 2000). Thirty-three million people of the total population of the United States are age 65 and older, and this will climb to 51 million people by the year 2025 (NIH Progress Report on AD, National Institute on Aging, 2000). The annual economic toll of AD in the United States in terms of health care expenses and lost wages of both patients and their caregivers is estimated at $80 to $100 billion (NIH Progress Report on AD, National Institute on Aging, 2000).

Small peptides for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other beta-amyloid protein fibrillogenesis disorders


Methods, systems, and media for generating and rendering immersive video content are provided. In some embodiments, the method comprises: receiving information indicating positions of cameras in a plurality of cameras; generating a mesh on which video content is to be projected based on the positions of the cameras in the plurality of cameras, wherein the mesh is comprised of a portion of a faceted cylinder, and wherein the faceted cylinder has a plurality of facets each corresponding to a projection from a camera in the plurality of cameras; receiving video content corresponding to the plurality of cameras; and transmitting the video content and the generated mesh to a user device in response to receiving a request for the video content from the user device.

Many users enjoy viewing immersive video content, such as virtual reality content, three-dimensional content, 180-degree content, or 360-degree content, that can provide a viewer with an immersive experience. Additionally, these users may enjoy viewing computer-generated content in an immersive format, such as gaming videos or animations.
Immersive video content is frequently rendered by applying video content to a mesh, such as a fish-eye mesh or a three-dimensional equirectangular mesh, which causes the video content to be rendered as if it were filling a portion of a sphere rather than as appearing flat. However, rendering computer-generated content using a fish-eye projection or a three-dimensional equirectangular projection can be resource intensive, particularly when rendering graphics in real-time.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide new methods, systems, and media for generating and rendering immersive video content.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A system and a method for rapid database application deployment and use. A system includes a host server that includes a database and a database application framework. The database stores a virtual relational database structure and a virtual relational database implementation. The database may store the virtual relational database structure and virtual relational database implementation in an existing relational database structure. The virtual relational database structure includes one or more object types and one or more object properties. Object types are definitions of types of objects for which data may be stored in the database and object properties are definitions of types of data that may be stored for objects and are associated with the one or more object types. The virtual relational database implementation includes one or more actual objects that are based on the one or more object types and one or more populated properties that are based on the object properties and which include data for the one or more actual objects. The database application framework enables a user to define virtual relational database structures and create virtual relational database implementations. The database application framework communicates with the database and includes user interface software that creates and processes user interface displays that enable a user to view, edit and search the database and which adapt to changes to the virtual relational database structure to immediately reflect such changes on the user interface displays.

Implementation of relational databases and user interfaces typically requires a close coordination between domain information/subject matter experts, database developers/engineers, and software application developers/engineers to create a responsive database and user interface that meets the needs of a given end-user. From the users' perspective, the combined functionality of underlying system operating system, relational database engine, defined constraints, data relationships, data structure, and the complete family of user interface screens required for viewing, editing, and searching are often collectively referred to as "a database." From the technical perspective, the end product is typically the result of complex, planned integration and software development activities required to (1) define and (2) build required relational database structure (e.g., required database tables, columns, constraints, views, sequences, grants, rules and other database elements) within the relational database using a specifically designed database language (e.g., a structured query language), and then to (3) design a suitable user interface environment using applicable software programming languages (e.g., VisualBasic, HTML, Java, C, etc.) to develop a number of interrelated user interface screens and/or pages whereby a user can perform required functions. A relational database is a database in which the database is perceived by its users as a collection of tables and operators at the user's disposal (e.g., for data retrieval) are operators that generate new tables from old. See, e.g., "An Introduction to Database Systems," C. J. Date, Vol. I, Fourth Edition, pg. 20 (1986).
Note that the user interface design and development (step 3) usually includes high level design, detailed design, coding, testing, system integration, and deployment phases. As such, the user interface design and development is usually the most time consuming activity. As a simple example, a complete database and user interface effort might require two (2) months to derive the database structure (step 1), one (1) month to implement the structure (step 2), and twelve (12) months to create the user interface (step 3). Moreover, after the database and user interface development is completed, any required data structure changes will necessitate a repeat of all three steps, although typically at a smaller scale than the original development effort. Such changes and iterations are normal during the lifetime of any database application.
Common Complexities in Database Development
User input received from the developed user screens, such as search parameters, data editing requests, and data additions or deletions, are communicated to the underlying relational database engine for action, then results are received from the database for display to satisfy the initiating user request. This input is validated through data checking and rule application. Errors must be handled by the application where they originate from the operating system, the database, the interface application software, or user input. Additionally, if the database application is intended to support distributed use by separate classes of users (e.g., edit, view, "super user"), additional structure, logic, screens, and security mechanisms must be in place to create, manage, and protect information related to user accounts, privileges, and accountability. In a government mandated secure data environment, e.g., decreed by DoD Directive DCID 6/3, the operating system, database, and user environment additionally detect, manage, process, and protect individual database elements based on a security classification labeling model. Information retrieval in this data environment includes capabilities to determine the level of classification a user may receive, and restrict data retrieved from the relational database for display to a level not exceeding the user's authorized level.
A Nominal Database Development Approach
A conventional approach to database and user interface development following the described model would entail dedicated time between technical staff (e.g., database and software engineers) and the information domain/subject matter experts in developing an information hierarchy, model, and general rule set. A formal relational data structure would then be built based on this knowledge containing the required data tables, linking tables, constraints, rules, and triggers required to maintain data integrity throughout the planned database lifecycle. User interface screens would be typically developed by separate software specialists to provide the required user functionality, display characteristics, and input validation, with integration of each screen into a composite application directly linked to the underlying database structure. Deployment of the initial database application would entail exhaustive testing of data entry, retrieval, error trapping, desired application flow, and an initial population with test or demonstration data. If the database application is required to operate in a secure environment, e.g., a DoD mandated secure environment, specific tests demonstrating handling, protection, storage, and retrieval of classified data will additionally be necessary prior to end user delivery. Upon successfully demonstrating the database and its associated user interface screens meet the user's test criteria, the database may be declared formally available for end-user training and the initial population begins.
A typical deployment of a database and application will result in user-identified errors and requests for changes in the interface, functionality, or underlying data structure. To accommodate these requests, or correct errors, the development team must identify the source, if an error, and correct it through recoding and recompiling, or for change requests, modify the database or user interface elements through redesign, recoding, and recompiling, prior to deploying a next version of the database application. Depending on the severity of the error, or the significance of the requested change, this may entail a complete halt in use of the database during the maintenance period, resulting in a loss of productivity where use of the database was required. This cycle of error/change, identification, modification, change, and redeployment must occur to some degree for nearly any adjustment in the deployed database application. Changes in the underlying data structure must be reflected in updates to user interface screens and options. Changes required in the user interface, may or may not impact the underlying logic or constraints of the data structure, but thorough examination and testing must demonstrate this prior to redeployment.
Consequently, the conventional approach for developing and deploying an integrated user interface and supporting relational database infrastructure requires substantial planning, design, development, and testing prior to delivery to the end user. In many cases, particularly in government functional domains, the underlying information domain or required data content may substantially change during the course of the development process. This results in an immediate need to begin redesign, integration, and test as soon as the database is officially declared an operational capability. In other cases, the cost of the time required to follow a conventional database development process cannot meet the need for relational database and user interface support required for the critical analyses or operational tasks increasingly common in government and commercial activities today.

System and method for rapid database application deployment and use


A depth setter bit holder formed in accordance with the present disclosure includes a main bit holder body having a first receptacle, a drive bit removably receivable within the first receptacle of the main bit holder, and a depth setter body removably securable on the main bit holder body such that the depth setter body partially encloses the drive bit.

Modern construction practices assemble wall and ceiling surfaces by using manufactured panels that are placed adjacent to one another and affixed to the structural "studs" of the building. These manufactured panels, generally referred to as "drywall," are available from several manufactures in stock sizes. Drywall panels are configured as a filler/structural material sandwiched between two outer surface layers of paper. The structural integrity of the drywall panel relies on the bond between this paper and the internal filler material.
The drywall panels are typically attached to the building studs with drywall screws. Drywall screws typically have a tapered countersink head with a flat face. The drywall screw is installed through the drywall panel and into the stud of the building. The drywall screw is installed in the drywall so that the head of the screw is at least below the outer surface of the drywall. In this manner, the drywall panel can be coated with joint compound, drywall mud, etc. to aesthetically finish the drywall without the screw head protruding therefrom.
The drywall panel is secured to the stud by the interference of the screw head pulling the panel against the underlying stud. If the installer uses too much pressure and sets the drywall screw head too deep into the drywall panel, the outer paper layers and underlying filler layers can be damaged. Thus, it is important that the drywall screws be installed within the panel at a proper depth.
To install the drywall screws at a proper depth, there are several commercially available options for installers. There are task specific power tools, such as drywall electric screw guns or drywall screwdrivers, which have adjustable depth and clutching features to set the drywall screw at a desired depth within the drywall panel. The draw back is that these power tools are only useful for this particular job. The cost and limited use of these tools makes them impractical for users who are not professional drywall installers.
There are also simple driver bits that can be used with a standard hand drill.
These are typically referred to as "depth setter bits," "screw indenters," "dimpler bits," etc (hereinafter collectively referred to as "depth setter bits"). An example of a prior art depth setter bit is shown in FIG. 4. Depth setter bits are a permanent assembly of two components. Specifically, depth setter bits include a ring R that is permanently affixed to an insert bit B (such as a one inch, Phillips bit) at a preset position. The ring R acts as a depth stop for the bit B when the bit is driving a screw within a drywall panel. More specifically, with the ring R engaging the drywall panel, further driving action by the installer results in the bit tip disengaging the screw head as the screw is driven to its finished depth in the drywall.
The prior art depth setter bit is a simple and effective installation tool, but it has some inherent drawbacks. The stop ring R makes the bit B more expensive and limits its use to the specific task of installing drywall panels. It is known in the art that the stop limit and disengagement caused by the ring R accelerates wear to the bit driver tip and therefore requires frequent replacement. Since these specialty depth setter bits are more expensive and harder to obtain than standard drive bits, the cost often outweighs the benefits of using a depth setter bit.
In addition, with the ring R being permanently attached to the bit B, the depth setter bit cannot be used in edge or corner installations. More specifically, the drive bit tip cannot sufficiently extend into the drywall panel due to the interference of the stop ring R with the drywall corner. In these situations, the ring R can cause the bit B to disengage the screw head prematurely, thereby leaving the screw head exposed above the drywall surface. In order to properly install the drywall screws in a corner, the entire depth setter bit must be removed from the chuck or receptacle of the hand tool and replaced with a standard bit, which is time consuming and inefficient.
Furthermore, the ring R and bit B combinations are used in conjunction with industry standard magnetic bit holders H that add length to the bit B for ease of use. The magnetic bit holders H have receptacles that magnetically retain the end of the bit B therein. The bit holders H also increase the magnetism of the bit B to help hold the driven screw in place on the bit end during installation. The depth setter bit rings R are generally produced from steel so that they may be press fit onto the bit B. The magnetic properties of these steel rings R diminish the magnetic force of the bit holder H and the bit B. In most bit holders H, magnetic force is typically all that is used to secure the bit within the holder. If the tip of the bit B sticks in the screw head, the pulling force being exerted on the bit B can easily overpower the holding force of the magnet, and the bit B can become dislodged from the bit holder H.
Based on the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a low-cost depth setter bit having improved magnetic properties and versatility is desired.


Disclosed are methods for waterproofing civil engineering structures using flexible, sheet-like waterproofing laminates which are applied to structures at temperatures as low as 0.degree. F. Also, disclosed are low-temperature-applicable waterproofing laminates having a bituminous layer comprising 29 to 54 weight percent asphalt, 25 to 50 weight percent process oil, and 16 to 35 weight percent thermoplastic block polymer of styrene and butadiene monomers.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods for waterproofing or dampproofing various water-penetrable construction materials in which improved, pre-formed, flexible sheet-like waterproofing laminates are applied to structures at temperatures below about 40.degree. F. Included in this invention are improved, pre-formed, flexible sheet-like waterproofing laminates which are applicable to various buildings and other civil engineering structures at temperatures below 40.degree. F.
2. Description of Related Art
Various materials used in building construction and other civil engineering projects such as roads, bridges, buildings, foundations, and plaza decks are susceptible to water penetration resulting, in part, from their inherent properties. Reducing or eliminating water penetration through structures formed of these materials often is desirable and may be critical in certain structures such as those housing sensitive electronic equipment or tunnels moving vehicular or pedestrian traffic under bodies of water. For many year, flexible, sheet-like waterproofing laminates of support films and bituminous layers pre-formed in a factory have been employed as waterproofing agents.
Although pre-formed, flexible sheet-like waterproofing laminates of support films and bituminous layers have been used for many years, use of these laminates continues to be limited by the widely recognized but unmet need for laminates which can be applied confidently at cold temperatures. Thus, when ambient temperatures fall below about 40.degree. F., particularly below 25.degree. F., application of waterproofing laminates generally is abandoned and replaced by hot applied waterproofing agents. Weak lap adhesion, i.e., laminate to laminate adhesion at joints between laminate sections, is the primary factor restricting low temperature application. Even specialized laminates recommended for application at temperatures below 40.degree. F. are not applied at temperatures below 25.degree. F. because of weak lap adhesion.
Flexible, pre-formed laminates of the type mentioned above and their use to form waterproofing layers in various kinds of building structures are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,741,856; 3,583,682; and 3,900,102 to Hurst. U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,830 to Rosenberg et al. is another of many examples disclosing sheet-like flexible materials used for waterproofing.
Currently there are available waterproofing laminates recommended for application down to 25.degree. F. These products include a polyethylene layer and a bituminous layer including asphalt, process oil, rubber, and filler.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,545 to Lalwani describes a self-sealing roofing adhesive blend including 50-95% by weight of a bituminous component, 4-40% by weight of an inert filler, and 1-6% by weight of a thermoplastic block polymer of styrene and butadiene monomers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,399 to Fujihara et al. discloses a composition effective for sealing cracks and joints in asphalt and concrete streets and highways that includes paving grade asphalt, process oil (not over 32%), and styrene-butadiene rubber or rubbers.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,328,147 and 4,382,989 to Chang et al. describe asphaltic compositions useful as roofing asphalts which include 39-99% by weight of oxidized asphalt and from 1-8% oxidized polyethylene.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,157 to Koons describes a composition of an asphalt blend in which a butadiene-styrene elastomeric block copolymer is dispersed and contains 5-45% by weight of catalytic petroleum cracker bottoms oil. This composition is characterized further by a low asphaltene content.


The present invention stably supplies a side blow gas to a piercing site and prevents the adherence of spatter to a cutting nozzle. A hood, which is attached to a side blow gas nozzle, guides side blow gas jetted from a side blow gas nozzle to the piercing site and prevents spatter from adhering to the cutting nozzle as laser beam and assist gas are respectively radiated or jetted onto a cutting material through a communicating hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser cutter, and more specifically to a piercing device for a laser cutter that is highly efficient at carrying out the piercing operation performed to initiate a cutting operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
When employing a laser to cut a thick (6 mm or more) steel sheet, for example, it is the typical practice to perform a piercing operation first, followed by the intended cutting operation.
In general, as shown in FIG. 7, the piercing operation consists of irradiating a material 3 to be cut, such as a steel plate or the like, with a laser beam 2 from a cutting nozzle 1; supplying an assist gas 4 along the same axis as the laser beam 2, to heat and melt cutting material 3; and expelling molten metal 6 using the kinetic energy of assist gas 4 from a pierced hole 5 which is formed in the cutting material 3. When carrying out the piercing operation, a portion of the molten metal 6 accumulates around the periphery of the pierced hole 5 while another portion spatters onto sites away from the pierced hole 5.
Oxygen is typically used as assist gas 4. When the piercing operation is carried out using oxygen gas, high energy is produced due to oxidation of the steel plate material by the oxygen gas. Accordingly, this is advantageous to carrying out the piercing operation efficiently. A pulse oscillation of 100 Hz or less is typical as the radiating conditions for the laser beam 2 during piercing. However, by placing the laser in a continuous oscillation state, output of the laser beam 2 can be increased, enabling the formation of the desired pierced hole 5 in a shorter period of time. Thus, the time for performing the piercing operation can be reduced.
Various problems arise when the output of the laser beam 2 is increased, however. Namely:
a) The diameter of the pierced hole 5 increases
b) Bubbling of the molten metal 6 becomes excessive
c) Damage may be caused to the cutting nozzle 1 or the condensing lens due to b)
d) Spattered material adhering to the cutting material 3 increases
e) Poor cutting occurs when initiating the cutting operation due to d)
In light of these problems, attempts have been made in recent years to carry out the piercing operation at high speed by increasing the peak output of the laser beam pulse. However, since such problems as adherence of spattering to the lens or nozzle occurs, this has not fundamentally resolved the problem.
Attempts have also been made to prevent bubbling of the molten metal and adherence of spattering by controlling the output of the laser beam during the piercing operation. However, since the piercing speed is contingent upon the control speed, the improvement in speed has been limited.
The present inventors accordingly developed the laser cutter shown in FIGS. 8 through 10 (Japanese Patent Application, Hei 9-29380).
This laser cutter has a side blow gas nozzle 10 provided at the side of a cutting nozzle 1. The side blow gas nozzle 10 is a separate member from the cutting nozzle 1 and is held by a moving means 11 at the side of the cutting nozzle 1. The side blow gas nozzle 10 jets a side blow gas (side assist gas) 12 at the piercing site (i.e., the site where the pierced hole 5 is to be formed). Accordingly, the jetting of side blow gas 12 jetted by the side blow gas nozzle 10 is slanted toward the optical axis of the laser beam 2. The laser beam 2 radiates the cutting material 3 by traveling through a laser beam hole 7 which passes through the cutting nozzle 1. Thus, the jetting of side blow gas 12 is inclined with respect to the assist gas 4 which is being jetted from the laser beam hole 7. The moving means 11 has the structure as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, and is for moving the side blow gas nozzle 10, which it holds, closer to or further away from the piercing site.
In FIG. 9, the moving means 11 is a rotational driving member 13 that is attached above cutting nozzle 1 (i.e., at the upper part of FIG. 9). Using the driving force of an electric motor for example, the moving means 11 supports the side blow gas 12 supply inlet side of the side blow gas nozzle 10 in a manner so as to be freely rotating about an axial line perpendicular to the optical axis of laser beam 2. The rotational driving member 13 moves an end 14 of the side blow gas nozzle 10 near an end 15 of the cutting nozzle 1 during piercing, and rotates the side blow gas nozzle 10 during the cutting operation to move it away from the end 15 of the cutting nozzle 1.
In FIG. 10, the moving means 11 is an elevational driving member 16 that is attached above the cutting nozzle 1 (at the upper part of FIG. 10). Using the driving force of an electric motor for example, the moving means 11 supports the side blow gas 12 supply inlet side of side blow gas nozzle 10 in a manner so as to be freely elevating along the optical axis of the laser beam 2. The elevational driving member 16 moves an end 14 of the side blow gas nozzle 10 near an end 15 of the cutting nozzle 1 during piercing, and elevates the side blow gas nozzle 10 during the cutting operation to move it away from the end 15 of the cutting nozzle 1.
The numeric symbol 17 in FIG. 8 indicates a side blow gas control mechanism. This side blow gas control mechanism 17 is provided with a pressure sensor 18 for measuring the supply pressure of assist gas 4 to the laser beam hole 7; a level converting mechanism 19 that changes and sets the supply pressure of the side blow gas 12 in response to the measured pressure at the pressure sensor 18; and a pressure adjusting mechanism 20 for adjusting the supply pressure of the side blow gas based on the pressure set by the level converting mechanism 19. The pressure sensor 18 is attached to the cutting nozzle 1 and measures the pressure of the assist gas 4 inside the laser beam hole 7.
In other words, at the side blow gas control mechanism 17, when the measurement signal for pressure P1 of the assist gas 4, which is measured by the pressure sensor 18, is input to the level converting mechanism 19, the level converting mechanism 19 calculates a suitable supply pressure P2 for the side blow gas 12 according to this pressure P1, and sends a directive signal to pressure adjusting mechanism 20. As a result, the pressure adjusting mechanism 20 adjusts the supply pressure of the side blow gas 12 to the pressure P2.
The flow rate of the side blow gas 12 which is jetted from the side blow gas nozzle 10 must be adjusted to be within limits that do not impair the supply of the assist gas 4 to the piercing site, and which can promote formation of the pierced hole 5 by ensuring sufficient kinetic energy is imparted to the side blow gas 12. This flow rate is determined based on the supply pressure P2 of the side blow gas 12 with respect to the cross-sectional area of the gas flow path at the end of the side blow gas nozzle 10 from which the gas is jetted.
This laser cutting device performs the intended cutting operation on the cutting material 3 by moving the cutting nozzle 1 in three-dimensional directions using a driving mechanism not shown in the figures. The side blow gas nozzle 10 is also moved accompanying the cutting nozzle 1 at this time, and is typically disposed near the cutting nozzle 1.
When cutting a thick plate using this laser cutting mechanism, the pierced hole 5 is first formed during the piercing operation, after which the process proceeds to the intended cutting operation. In the piercing operation, the side blow gas nozzle 10 is moved to the piercing site by the moving means 11 and maintained there. The assist gas 4 is jetted from the cutting nozzle 1 and the side blow gas 12 is jetted from the side blow gas nozzle 10 so that molten metal is removed as the pierced hole 5 is being formed by irradiating the cutting material 3 with the laser beam 2. When the desired pierced hole 5 is formed, the jetting of the side blow gas 12 from the side blow gas nozzle 10 is stopped, and the side blow gas nozzle 10 is withdrawn from the piercing site. At the same time, jetting of the assist gas 4 from the cutting nozzle 1 is continued and the intended cutting operation using the laser beam 2 is initiated.
In the piercing operation, as the molten metal 6 and spattering is generated, they are gradually blown away from the piercing site because the flow rate of the side blow gas 12 is two-fold or more greater than that of the assist gas 4. Thus, the molten metal 6 and spattering does not adhere to the cutting material 3 or the cutting nozzle 1. In other words, in the piercing operation, the pierced hole 5 is formed as the molten metal 6 and spattering are simultaneously being removed from the cutting material 3 when the molten metal 6 and spattering is generated. Accordingly, the molten metal 6 does not adhere around the pierced hole 5, so that the intended pierced hole 5 can be obtained. Since the adherence of the molten metal 6 and spatter to the cutting material 3, the side blow gas nozzle 10, and the condensing lens incorporated in cutting nozzle 1 are also prevented, there is no concern that poor cutting will occur during the intended cutting operation. Thus, the quality of the cut product is improved.
Thus, in this novel laser cutter, the adherence of molten metal or spatter on the cutting nozzle and the cutting material is prevented, so that piercing can be carried out quickly.
However, the side blow gas may not be stably supplied to the piercing site. For this reason, it is difficult to pierce a steel plate having a thickness of 20 mm or more in which a large amount of spattering occurs during piercing. When the piercing of a 20 mm or thicker steel plate is performed, a large amount of spattering occurs which adheres to the cutting nozzle and the lens. As a result, the cutting operation following piercing cannot be carried out.
The present invention was conceived to resolve the above-described circumstances, and has as its objective the provision of a piercing device for a laser cutter which is capable of stably supplying a side blow gas to a piercing site.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a piercing device for a laser cutter that can perform piercing of a cutting material such as a thick steel plate while strongly limiting spatter adherence.
In order to achieve at least one of the above objectives, the invention according to the present invention is designed such that a laser cutter is provided with a cutting nozzle, in which there is formed a laser beam hole through which the laser beam for radiating the cutting material passes, this cutting nozzle blowing an assist gas sent through this laser beam hole toward the cutting material on the same axis as the laser beam; and a side blow gas nozzle for blowing a separate side blow gas from the side of the laser beam hole toward the laser beam""s radiating site on the cutting material, at an incline with respect to the cutting material""s surface; wherein a hood having a communicating hole which transmits the laser beam and the assist gas is provided in between the cutting nozzle and the side blow gas nozzle.
In this means, the laser beam and the assist gas pass through the hood""s communicating hole and, respectively, radiate or are jetted onto the cutting material, thereby piercing it.
In this case, the hood guides the side blow gas jetted from the side blow gas nozzle to the piercing site, and prevents the adherence of molten metal and spatter to the cutting nozzle.
Highly pure oxygen, air, nitrogen or various other inert gases may be used for the assist gas and the side blow gas. The assist gas and the side blow gas may be the same or different. It is desirable that the angle of inclination of the side blow gas nozzle with respect to the surface of the cutting material be 45xc2x0 or less.
It is preferable to attach the hood to the side blow gas nozzle.
In this design, the hood moves together with the side blow gas nozzle, improving operability.
In the above piercing device for the laser cutter, it is desirable to provide a guide projecting toward the cutting material on either side of the hood along the direction of flow of the side blow gas.
In this design, the hood guide correctly guides the side blow gas to the piercing site by preventing the side blow gas jetted from the side blow gas nozzle from escaping in the horizontal direction.


The present invention provides a toilet purging device that ejects gas, when a switch is operated. The toilet purging device includes a pipe body that has a gas channel through the pipe body, a firing unit that includes a firing pin disposed to be longitudinally movable and a switch for moving the firing pin to the pipe body when pushed. The firing pin is coupled to the upper end of the pipe body. The toilet purging device includes a tightening cap that is thread-fastened to the top of the firing unit with a gas container therebetween and moves the gas container to be in close contact with the firing pin when turned, and a connector that is coupled to the lower end of the pipe body and inserted into a drain pipe of a toilet.

In order to unclog a drain or a toilet, generally, users put the sucking plate made of rubber at the end of a bar-shaped support bar to the drain-outlet of the drain or the toiler, and unclog the drain and the toilet, using pressure generated when moving up/down the support bar.
However, there is a problem in that it is difficult to unclog the drain-out of the drain and the toilet, when the sucking plate turns inside out while the support bar is moved up/down or when the pressure generated by the support bar is small.
An "unclogging device for a toilet" (Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2001-0048603) has been proposed in the related art to solve the problem.
As shown in FIG. 1, the unclogging device for a toilet of the related art includes: a gas container 110 that has an inlet sealed with a sealing plate 114 and contains a predetermined amount of gas; a body 120 that has channels formed longitudinally therein to pass a gas and a gas container seat recessed at a predetermined depth from the upper end to make the inlet of the gas container 110 in close contact; a firing pin 130 that disposed at the center of the gas container seat and allows the gas in the gas container 110 to be discharged to the channel by passing through the sealing plate; a cover 140 that has an internal space to receive the side opposite to the inlet of the gas container 110, is thread-fastened to the upper portion of the body to cover the open upper portion of the body 120, and moves the gas container 110 to the firing pin 130 by means of the thread movement when a user turns it; and a connector 150 that is connected to the lower end of the body 120 and guides the gas discharged through the channel to a drainpipe.
That is, a drainpipe is unclogged by sudden high pressure, by inserting the connector 150 of the unclogging device for a toilet into an S-trap of a toilet and turning the cover 140 such that the high-pressure gas contained in the gas container 110 is ejected to the S-trap.
There is a problem, however, in this technology of the related art in that as the gas is ejected under high pressure while the cover is turned, the gas is not ejected in a desired direction when ejected with the turn of the cover, even if the connector is accurately inserted in the S-trap.
Further, there is an interval between the point of time of starting turning the cover and the point of time of finishing turning the cover (the point of time of ejecting the gas), and thus the user has difficulty in accurately estimating the start of ejecting the gas, so the user is startled at the noise generated from the ejected gas.


A method and apparatus for an incipient fire detection system that receives gaseous samples and measures the light absorption spectrum of the mixture of gases evolving from heated combustibles includes a detector for receiving gaseous samples and subjecting the samples to spectroscopy and determining wavelengths of absorption of the gaseous samples. The wavelengths of absorption of the gaseous samples are compared to predetermined absorption wavelengths. A warning signal is generated whenever the wavelengths of absorption of the gaseous samples correspond to the predetermined absorption wavelengths. The method includes receiving gaseous samples, subjecting the samples to light spectroscopy, determining wavelengths of absorption of the gaseous samples, comparing the wavelengths of absorption of the gaseous samples to predetermined absorption wavelengths and generating a warning signal whenever the wavelengths of absorption of the gaseous samples correspond to the predetermined absorption wavelengths. In an alternate embodiment, the apparatus includes a series of channels fluidically connected to a plurality of remote locations. A pump is connected to the channels for drawing gaseous samples into the channels. A detector is connected to the channels for receiving the drawn gaseous samples and subjecting the samples to spectroscopy. The wavelengths of absorption are determined and compared to predetermined absorption wavelengths is provided. A warning signal is generated whenever the wavelengths correspond.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to fire detection systems and more particularly to fire detection systems that are capable of detecting conditions that are indicative of imminent combustion.
2. Related Prior Art
Fire protection regulations in the United States focus on two basic issues, protection of people and protection of buildings. The fire protection industry, who helps form the regulations, also focuses on these two issues with the primary focus on protection of people. In the secondary issue of protecting buildings, the protection of the contents of the building has been traditionally secondary and not as high a priority as the building. It is assumed that the contents of the building are protected by conventional fire systems. Since the value of the contents of a building is usually much less than that of the building, fire insurance coverage is relied upon as the most cost effective way to deal with this problem.
In most situations the focus on building safety is appropriate. However, in some instances, building protection is not where emphasis should be placed. Exceptions to the building first type of focus include high tech facilities where a high concentration of extremely expensive equipment is located or where service interruption is highly undesirable, such as a key defense facility. In general, these facilities are unmanned and personnel protection is not a consideration. Although personnel protection is always the highest priority, in the listed exceptional situations the integrity and operation of the building contents become more important than the building. In addition, this type of equipment is often significantly more vulnerable to fire damage from even small sized fires.
A variety of approaches have been used to solve this problem, Incipient fire detection systems of varying levels of sophistication have been built by a number of facilities. The commercial VESDA (Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus) system is an example of a smoke/aerosol based early warning system which is widely used. In a different approach, Fermi National Laboratory has designed and currently operates an early warning system based on an evolved gas signature in order to protect the CDF detector.
Incipient detection systems of this type are completely site specific. An analysis of the likely ignition scenarios and of the combustible fuels in a given location is performed first. When the most likely fuel is identified, a literature search is performed to try to determine what gasses are given off by this material when it is heated. Typically there are several gasses that are given off and detectors for these specific gases are obtained. The detectors are then either mounted in the area of interest or mounted at the output end of a gas sampling system which samples the areas of interest. Detection of these gases in coincidence triggers a fire alarm.
Prior art systems have several weaknesses, some of which are listed as follows.
Initially, the prior art systems are completely specific to one fuel. If a second source of fuel is present and heated or ignited, the system could be potentially blind to this fuel if the gases given off are different than the ones for which the system is designed. Upgrading the system to detect a new set of gases will increase the number of gas detectors required. In a sequential gas sampling system, this may affect the sampling time at each point depending on the time response of the new detectors. The overall cost of the revised system increases a new gas detectors are added and maintained.
Another weakness is that the transport efficiency of some gases through sampling systems, for example, HCl gas, is known to depend strongly on the sampling tube type and length. For a system with two different tube lengths the gas mixture from a given combustible may be quite different coming from one monitored area than from another.
The precise species and relative concentrations of gases given off and transported through the sampling system depends on the rate of heating and other environmental effects such as humidity.
An additional weakness is that for a given combustible, the available literature may not include all the gases evolved when the material is heated, particularly when it is heated at different rates. Little or no information on unusual combustibles may be available. Therefore, a crucial signature of a fire precursor may be designed out of a system from the start.
Another weakness exists in the entire method. The entire method is predicated on the early apprehension of gases above their ambient concentrations. The time constants for existing electrochemical gas detectors and detectors employing optical filters are typically greater than the gas transit time through long sampling tubes in practical systems. The detector response time is therefore the main delay in any system employing sequential sampling of mote than a few locations, and the overall system delay grows with the number of sampling points.
In prior art systems the overall fire protection system cannot easily be packaged into a commercial product. The system built at one site is not likely to be optimal or adaptable to a different site, unless the combustible inventory and the spatial layout of the two systems are nearly identical. Each individual system is basically a large scale research project.
Examples of prior art systems are illustrated in the following U.S. Patents, all of which have one or more the foregoing deficiencies.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,382, titled "Mobile Fire Detector System", issued to Tim E. Pope et al., relates to a mobile fire detecting system that detects fire conditions st their incipient stage prior to the presence of visible smoke. This system contains an air sampling fire detector mounted to a cart supported by wheels. A tubular network in communication with the air sampling detector has a manifold enclosed by a box with four sensing hoses releaseably connected to the lateral outlets of the manifold and a telescoping mast supporting the manifold to position it at selectable heights. Four sampling heads are connected to the other ends of the sensing hoses and are peripherally spaced equally so that the maximum area is sampled for air to detect fire conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,222, titled "Ruggedized Gas Detector", issued to John D. King, relates to a gas detector having two or more perforated concentric cylinders and having a concentric screen inside the innermost cylinder. A pair of perforated tubes are positioned inside the perforated screen, and an infrared light source is placed adjacent one end of one of the tubes and an infrared sensor is placed adjacent the other tube. A pair of inclined mirrors are positioned adjacent the respective other ends of the two tubes, and an optical light path is created from the IR source through a first tube, reflected by the mirrors to a return optical path through the second tube and ultimately to the IR sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,209, titled "Gas Detector", issued to Arthur E. Brewster, relates to an apparatus for illuminating a gas or gas mixture and filtering the output thereof alternately with two filters. One filter has a passband at an absorption band of a gas to be detected. The other filter has a passband outside the absorption band.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,214, titled "NDIR Gas Analysis Using Spectral Ratioing Technique", issued to Jacob Y. Wong, relates to an instrument for determining the concentration of a particular gas that might be present in a sample using a waveguiding structure to serve both as an optical element and as a sample chamber. As an optical element, the waveguiding structure collects radiation from a black body source located at the entrance end of the waveguiding structure and conducts the radiation through the waveguiding structure, concentrating it on two infrared detectors mounted at the opposite end of the waveguiding structure. As a sample chamber, the waveguiding structure causes the radiation to undergo multiple reflections that result in the average path length being substantially greater than the physical length of the waveguiding structure. Each of the detectors has its own optical filter, and baffling assures that each detector responds only to radiation which has passed through its filter. One filter defines a spectral passband that coincides with the infrared absorption band of the gas to be measured. The other filter defines a non-absorbing or neutral passband. The electrical signals produced by the detectors are processed to provide a ratio, the value of which is related to the concentration of the particular gas to be detected.


The device and method described herein relates to the field of computer security and, specifically, to the field of protecting confidential personal information which enables encrypted access to the remote server. A device and a method for securing confidential user information and secure exchanges of such information with the servers that host the services is provided. The device and method are based on personalising a smartcard containing the information. The chip card, connected to the user terminal, has a connection enabling the terminal to appear as a standalone host of the user's local network. An encrypted connection is then established directly between the chip card and the server hosting the service for the transmission of confidential data. The data, stored on the chip card, are then exchanged with the server via the encrypted connection. The data are never accessible in plain text on the user terminal.

The present invention concerns the field of computer security and more precisely the field of the protection of confidential personal information allowing encrypted access to a remote service.
At the present time, because of the extensive development of the internet, a user can access an increasing number of so-called "online" services. The majority of these services require authentication of the user to allow him access to data that concern him. As an example of such services, access to bank account data, monitoring reimbursement transactions for medical services or on-line tax returns can be cited.
FIG. 1 illustrates the architecture of the network. The user typically uses a terminal 1.1 such as a personal computer or any similar device such as a personal assistant or a smartphone. This terminal is connected to an information exchange network 1.2, typically the internet. Servers 1.3 hosting the remote services are also connected to this network. The user can therefore access, from his terminal, the services hosted on the servers 1.3 by means of the information exchange network 1.2.
A number of these services process confidential information and it is important to protect access to such services. This protection generally depends on making available to the user secret connection information that he must produce in order to establish connection to the service. Typically it is the user name and an associated password. At the time of connection, the user is requested to enter this name and password, which serve for authentication and for establishing an encrypted connection ensuring confidentiality of the exchanges of information between the user and the remote service. It is usual to protect these connection information exchanges in order to prevent their being stolen while they are being conveyed between the terminal and the server. This protection is typically effected by creating an encrypted connection or an encrypted tunnel between the terminal and the server. This encrypted connection or tunnel may for example be created using the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) protocol, or its successor TLS (Transport Layer Security). FIG. 2 illustrates the use of these techniques. The terminal sends a connection request 2.1, generally by means of its internet browser, to the server hosting the service. This request is not encrypted. It is interpreted by the server during a step 2.2, which responds by means of the message 2.3 comprising a public key corresponding to the certificate identifying the server or service. The terminal determines a pseudorandom symmetrical key during a step 2.4. It enciphers it by means of the public key of the server received in the message 2.3 and sends it to the server in the message 2.5. Only the server is in a position to decipher this symmetrical key by means of its private key associated with its public key. It carries out this deciphering during step 2.6. At this moment, the terminal and server share the same secret key, the symmetrical key, and are therefore in a position to establish an encrypted connection 2.7 by means of this shared key. This encrypted connection then makes it possible to exchange information between the terminal and the server in a secure manner. All the data exchanged are encrypted by means of the shared secret key and are therefore decipherable only by the two ends of the encrypted connection, the terminal and the server, which share the same secret.
It can be seen that this method makes it possible to protect exchanges between the terminal and the server. On the other hand, the data exchanged are manipulated in clear by the server and the terminal. It is assumed a priori that the server is secure because of management by professionals. On the other hand, the security of the terminal poses a problem.
This is because users are rarely conversant with techniques ensuring security of a data processing station. In addition, it is extremely difficult to obtain on their part strict compliance with security rules. It is not rare for the terminal of the user to be infected by viruses, spyware or any type of malicious software (malware). Such malicious software is capable of discovering confidential information manipulated by the terminal and sending it to third parties who can make malevolent use of it. And this even when security techniques such as those described above protect the link between the server and the terminal. It turns out that the weak point of the system, with regard to security, is the terminal of the user. The user can also be seen as a weak security point because for example of a choice of a simple password that is not very robust, or communication thereof.
These security problems pose a real problem in the development of on-line services. They cause significant losses for the economic players in this sector.

Device and method for secure access to a remote server


A structural matching engine for non-deterministic filtering operations is provided. The structural matching engine includes an active node processor (ANP) configured to process a state of an active list to determine possible future states of a non-deterministic finite automaton (NFA). The ANP processes the state according to rules. The structural matching engine includes an active list processor (ALP) configured to initiate a lookup for a token value corresponding to the state of the active list. The ALP provides a next sate of the active list to the ANP for processing according to the rules upon completion of the processing of the state by the ANP, wherein the possible future states of the NFA are linked by the ALP to form a target list, the target list stacked on top of the active list in a data structure. A processor and a method for filtering data associated with non-deterministic states are also included.

Conducting everyday communication through email messages (e-mail) has become routine for millions of people all over the world. Consequently, this medium is being used as a fairly inexpensive way of sending messages to a large number of people. Most of these messages are unsolicited by the Internet user. These unsolicited messages are commonly referred to as "spam." Besides being a nuisance to the Internet user, some of these spam message distributions are so large that it can have a crippling effect on large portions of the Internet.
Apart from being inundated with spam, network systems need to be protected from unwanted intrusion. Intrusion may include viruses that can disable a network system. Other forms of intrusion may include attack from hackers trying to gain unauthorized access to a network system. There are a number of known methods for filtering spam and viruses in order to secure a network system. For example, one method searches for catch phrases by looking at specific strings. Another method involves a challenge response scheme whereby, when someone sends an email, the mail is placed in the recipient's mailbox until it is confirmed that the sender is authorized to sent emails to the recipient. Another approach is to check whether the sender of the email belongs to the white list or black list of the recipient. This method automatically weeds out the senders who are in the black list.
The problem with the approaches described above is that the computing power available to do other tasks is consumed by the filtering process and this can significantly affect the functionality of the client, as well as require excessive memory. Also, the approaches are restricted to certain mail formats and will not allow new mail formats or protocols without updating the filtering software. Another shortcoming of current filtering techniques occurs with regard to publish and subscribe systems where timeliness of delivery is a factor. For example, RSS news feeds are commonly available and people subscribe to them. Alternatively, for stock trading information, the subscriber of the agent, e.g., Charles Schwab, would like to get access to the information. It should be appreciated that with the value of news and financial information disappearing over time, it is imperative to route such data quickly to the subscribers.
Furthermore, with regard to filtering semantic data, there is no known hardware based method, especially in a multi-flow environment. Therefore, it is necessary to have a method and a system to filter content in general and streaming content in particular, according to a set of queries/specifications, without consuming excessive computing power of the system.

Method and system for non-deterministic finite automaton filtering