Liquids, such as petroleum fuels, are tagged with chemical compounds having a light-absorbing identifying chemical moiety and at least one polymerizable chemical moiety. The marker is identified in a specimen of the liquid by polymerizing the marker compound, generally along with additional co-polymerizable material.

It is well known to add dyes and markers to liquid petroleum products as a means of identification for various purposes. For example, a fuel sold for agriculture purposes and taxed at a low rate may be tagged with a marker so that it can be identified if the fuel is illegally used in highway vehicles for which fuel is taxed at a higher rate. Markers may be used by a petroleum retailer to identify their brand at local filling stations.
While a large number of chemical compounds have been proposed as markers for petroleum fuels, in practice, the number of such dyes actually used is limited to a few accepted compounds. To be suitable as a petroleum fuel marker, a chemical compound must first of all be soluble and otherwise compatible with the petroleum fuel. Furthermore, there must be a way of identifying the presence of the marker in the tagged petroleum fuel, and for certain purposes, such as brand identification, this identification should be quantitative. Frequently, the method of identification involves extraction with an aqueous medium, e.g., either an acidic or alkaline medium, depending upon the marker, and often a chemical reaction which develops a color or a more intense color in the marker. It is desirable that a marker be silent, that is, while in the petroleum fuels at the tagging level, the marker should be colorless or substantially colorless, or else masked by natural colorants in the petroleum fuel or by other dyes added to the petroleum fuel. With the several rigid requirements for a good marker, the availability of commercially suitable markers remains limited.
While the use of markers has been most explored in respect to petroleum fuels, the use of such markers is expanding into other areas as well. For example, manufacturers of asphalt additives or concrete additives may wish to tag their product so that it can be determined if their additive in the recommended amounts was, indeed, added to a product in the correct amounts.
The present invention is directed to the use of polymerizable markers as a means of tagging and identifying materials, particularly liquid materials.


The invention relates to cooling element (5) having a fastening device (16) for upgrading any standard, commercially available photovoltaic module (1) for increasing the efficiency of the photovoltaic module (1). According to the invention, it comprises a heat insulation mat (6) having an upper surface (7), in which pipe channels (8) aligned parallel with each other are created, wherein the borders of the pipe channels (8) and the upper surface (7) of the heat insulation mat (6) are constructed with heat conduction plates (9), preferably aluminium plates. It further comprises a pipe (10) that is routed in loops (11) in all of the pipe channels (8) constructed with the heat conduction plates (9). The invention also relates to a method for attaching a cooling element (5) according to the invention to a photovoltaic module (1).

When electricity is generated by photovoltaic (PV) means, a large fraction of the solar radiation that reaches the module is converted into heat. Heating of the module reduces its efficiency noticeably. Measurements have shown a performance loss of about 0.5% per degree of heating, with the result that estimates assume a loss of 10-30%. The combined use of electricity and heat in a hybrid module is not yet very widespread. Hybrid modules that are available are pre-installed on a given module or have a fixed absorber mass. The solutions offered are also very expensive.
A device for cooling photovoltaic systems that are arranged in stowage spaces underneath the photovoltaic modules by absorbing and draining the heat generated on the surface and supplying it to a place of use is known from DE 102012017382 A1, Such devices are always disposed at a distance from the photovoltaic module, and thus absorb the heat by convection and radiation. The disadvantage of such devices is that a relatively complicated frame system with crossmembers and U- or L-shaped mountings must be provided on the roof, into which the devices can be inserted. The heat pickup through convection and radiation is also relatively low.
EP 1191606 A2 describes a solar roof panel element in which the underside is furnished with pipes, wherein the pipes are surrounded by an insulating material. This element is prefabricated at the factory and is therefore bonded to a specific solar laminate which is manufactured using thin film technology.
EP 2352197 A2 also describes a photovoltaic module having a plurality of pipes embedded in the substructure thereof, of which some may carry water, and others may carry air. These modules are called "solar roof tiles" and include connecting devices which can be attached to each other.
All devices are unsuitable for upgrading any previously installed or newly chosen photovoltaic modules without altering the installation construction of the photovoltaic modules.
A solar module with a plurality of thin cooling pipes incorporated in the back thereof is known from DE 202011109473 U1. This piping arrangement is covered with metal foils on both sides and further covered on the back first with a flexible equalisation mat and secondly with a thermal insulation material. A firm construction applies pressure evenly over the full area of the assembly to press it against the photovoltaic module from the rear. Since the second metal foil—facing away from the photovoltaic module—must surround the cooling pipes, it is exposed to substantial stresses from the equalisation mat during pressing. Since this foil is also thinner than the other foil, which lies flush against the photovoltaic module, there is a danger that the foil may tear and in turn that the heat dissipation may be interrupted. This solar module is also prefabricated by the manufacturer with all of the thin cooling pipes already embedded therein. Connectors on the underside of the solar module ensure that the cooling medium can flow into and out of the cooling pipes.
The purchaser is able to choose from a wide range of photovoltaic modules to meet his wishes and needs. Apart from their technical modes of operation and efficiencies, these also differ in terms of availability in a given region, size, country of origin, external design, price structures and so on. In a very small number of cases, a use for heating is also offered in combination with the photovoltaic modules. Moreover, many home owners already have a photovoltaic system, which they would like to upgrade to improve its efficiency and to be able to use the recovered heat for their own heating needs. A commercial solution for this is does not exist.

Cooling element for upgrading a photovoltaic module and method for upgrading the same


A non-reciprocal radio frequency transceiver front end utilizing multiple time-varying transmission lines (TVTLs) implemented using distributed modulated capacitors (DMC) to exploit time-varying properties of transmission line structures to isolate the transmit and receive signals. The TVTLs are coupled at an input side to an antenna and ground through a first 90 degree coupler, and the outputs of the TVTLs are coupled through a second 90 degree coupler for connection to a receiver and transmit circuit, respectively. The apparatus allows simultaneously operating a transmitter and receiver sharing a single antenna (or single antenna array).

1. Technological Field
This technical disclosure pertains generally to isolating transmitting and receiving channels in a radio receiver front end, and more particularly to utilizing transistor circulators for isolating transmitter and receiver channels.
2. Background Discussion
Separating the transmitting and receiving channels connected to a single antenna is currently realized utilizing circulators which are often made of non-reciprocal magnetic material, such as ferrite. These circulators are not compatible with standard integrated circuit processing and can only provide suitable performance over a relatively narrow frequency band. Circulators based on optical links can provide broadband performance, however, they are also too physically bulky for integration on-chip.
As an alternative, active circulators based on transistor amplifiers have been developed, yet these add noise in the receiver and limit the maximum operating power of the transmitter.
A previous solution from the inventor ("Parametric conversion with distributed modulated capacitors (DMC) for low-noise and non-reciprocal RF front-ends", S. Qin and Y. E. Wang, 2013 IEEE International Microwave Symposium, Seattle, June, 2013.) overcome the above problems, while it was limited to a maximum isolation of 13 dB over a broad bandwidth.
Accordingly, a need exists for a method and apparatus for separating the transmitting the receiving channels within a radio frequency front end which provides deeper levels of isolation and can be incorporated into integrated circuitry.

Non-reciprocal components with balanced distributedly modulated capacitors (DMC)

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA


Processes comprising: providing a starting material comprising monoethanolamine; and reacting the starting material with ammonia in the presence of a heterogeneous transition metal catalyst to form a reaction product comprising one or more ethylene amines; wherein the catalyst comprises a catalytically active composition, which prior to treatment with hydrogen, comprises a mixture of oxygen-containing compounds of aluminum, copper, nickel and cobalt; and wherein the catalyst is present as one or more shaped catalyst particles selected from spheres, extrudates, pellets and other geometries, wherein the sphere or extrudate has a diameter of <3 mm, the pellet has a height of <3 mm, and the other geometries have an equivalent diameter L=1/a′ of <0.70 mm, where a′ is the external surface area per unit volume (mms2/mmp3), as defined by

Ethylene amines are used, inter alia, as solvents, stabilizers, for the synthesis of chelating agents, synthetic resins, drugs, inhibitors and surface-active substances.
Diethylenetriamine(bis(2-aminoethyl)amine; DETA), in particular, is used as solvent for dyes and is a starting material for the production of ion exchangers, pesticides, antioxidants, corrosion inhibitors, complexing agents, textile assistants and absorbents for (acidic) gases.
Numerous processes for preparing ethylene amines are described in the literature.
According to PEP Report No. 138, "Alkyl Amines", SRI International, 03/1981, in particular pages 7, 8, 13-16, 43-107, 113, 117, the reaction of dichloroethane with ammonia at a molar ratio of 1:15 gives diethylenetriamine (DETA) in a proportion of greater than 20% by weight based on the ethylene amines formed. However, 40% by weight of higher ethylene amines are formed in addition to 40% by weight of ethylenediamine (EDA).
The formation of these higher ethylene amines (i.e. ethylene amines having a boiling point above that of triethylenetetramine (TETA)) can be substantially suppressed in favor of ethylene diamine by amination of monoethanolamine (MEOA) with ammonia (cf., for example, the abovementioned PEP Report, U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,933 (BASF AG)). However, aminoethylethanolamine (AEEA) and piperazine (PIP) are formed as by-products in this reaction.
Ind. Eng. Chem. Prod. Res. Dev. 1981, 20, pages 399-407, (C. M. Barnes et al.) describes the ammonolysis of MEOA to EDA over nickel catalysts on a mixed SiO2—Al2O3 support. Addition of water and the powdered catalyst is said to be advantageous in increasing the yield of EDA.
Disadvantages of these technologies involving suspension catalysis result, inter alia, from the need to separate the catalyst from the product. In addition, the selectivities, e.g. for the formation of DETA, are in need of improvement.
WO-A-05/014523 (BASF AG) relates to a process for preparing ethylene amines (e.g. DETA) by reaction of monoethanolamine (MEOA) with ammonia in the presence of a catalyst in a reactor (1) and fractionation of the resulting reaction product mixture, with ethylenediamine (EDA) obtained in the fractionation being reacted in a separate reactor (2) in the presence of a catalyst to form diethylenetriamine (DETA) and the resulting reaction product mixture being fed to the fractionation of the reaction product mixture resulting from reactor 1.
The earlier German patent application No. 102005019373.0 of Apr. 26, 2005 (BASF AG) relates to a process for preparing ethylene amines in which ethylene oxide is reacted continuously with ammonia under water-free conditions over an inorganic ion exchanger in a first reaction step to give a reaction product comprising monoethanolamine diethanolamine and triethanolamine in a particular weight ratio and the reaction product is subsequently reacted continuously with ammonia in the presence of hydrogen and a hydrogenation catalyst in a second reaction step.
A parallel German patent application filed on the same date (BASF AG) relates to a process for preparing ethylene amines by reaction of ethylenediamine (EDA) in the presence of specific shaped heterogeneous catalyst bodies.
A parallel German patent application filed on the same date (BASF AG) relates to a process for preparing aminodiglycol (ADG) and morpholine by reacting diethylene glycol (DEG) with ammonia in the presence of specific shaped heterogeneous catalyst bodies.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Abstract: a    ′    =            A      p              V      p      where Ap is the external surface area of the catalyst particle (mms2) and Vp is the volume of the catalyst particle (mmp3).


A delivery system for remotely driving an eddy current probe through the tubing of a heat exchanger. The system uses a flexible shaft and air pressure to move an inspection probe through the heat exchanger tubes. The flexible shaft initially drives the probe through a sealed conduit to deliver the probe to the tube end at which point a seal on the shaft near the probe head contacts the tube inner surface allowing a buildup of air pressure behind the seal, thus driving the probe through the tube.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to a tool delivery system and more particularly to a method and apparatus for remotely delivering a tool to the interior of a heat exchanger tube.
2. Related Art
In pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants, steam generator heat exchangers convert the thermal energy of water from the reactor core to steam to drive turbine electric generators. In order to transfer the heat while maintaining separation between the high pressure water that flows through the reactor core and the lower pressure water that is converted to steam, steam generators are constructed of thousands of small diameter tubes which provide a large surface area for heat transfer. The number of tubes in a steam generator typically ranges from about 4,000 to 15,000. Some steam generators utilize straight length tubes each about 60 feet (18.3 meters) long. Most of the steam generators are constructed of U-shaped tubing or long vertical sections with two 90 degree bends joined by a shorter horizontal length of tubing. All the tubes terminate in a thick plate, commonly known as a tube sheet, with an array of holes drilled in it that capture the ends of the tubes and interface with a channel head that forms the inlet and outlet plenums for the primary coolant from the reactor core. During plant operation, the high pressure water that flows through the reactor core transports some amount of radioactive particles through the steam generators and some particles become deposited on the interior surface of the tubes. After plant operation, the steam generators become a source of radiation.
Periodic inspection with eddy current probes is widely utilized to ensure the structural integrity of the steam generator tubing. Due to the elevated radiation fields within the steam generators, robotics and remote controlled motorized devices are used to position and translate eddy current probes through the tubes. The cost of equipment, labor, plant down time and the benefit of minimizing personnel radiation exposure make it highly desirable to optimize the performance and capability of the eddy current inspection process.
The inspection is performed by pushing spooled probes located outside the steam generator through a flexible conduit into a steam generator plenum in the channel head to the robotic manipulator which then routes the probe in a tube of the steam generator. Current systems typically use only a stiff shaft to push the probe through the conduit and tube. These systems are prone to jamming, making the inspection difficult. A few systems use an open air jet directed at the tube end to move the probe through the tube, but the resultant probe driving force is small and the jet of air tends to disperse radioactive contamination making the method undesirable.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an eddy current delivery system that will ease passage of an eddy current probe through a delivery conduit and through a heat exchange tube with a minimum of resistance.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a delivery system that can be deployed efficiently and will minimize the spread of radioactive contamination.

Method and apparatus for delivering a tool to the interior of a heat exchange tube


An antenna device that can suitably be provided on the exterior of a vehicle is provided with low cost. An antenna case includes a top cover and a bottom plate joined with each other. The top cover stores an antenna module that receives a signal and a packing member provided at the joining part between the top cover and the bottom plate to keep the antenna case tightly sealed. The antenna case has a notch positioned at the joining part through which a signal line is externally extended, and the packing member integrally forms a base part that covers the entire surface of the antenna module and a gasket part that covers the outer periphery of the signal line connected to the antenna module in the position of the notch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a GPS receiving antenna device that receives a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a system to receive signal waves transmitted from multiple artificial satellites that orbit around the earth by a receiver and detect the present position of the receiver based on information included in the received signal waves has come into widespread use. The system is generally called GPS (Global Positioning System) in countries including Japan and the United States of America and typically uses the GPS satellites controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense, while there are similar systems such as Galileo in Europe and Glonass in the Russian Federation. Herein, the positioning system using artificial satellites, the artificial satellites for the positioning system, signal waves transmitted from the artificial satellites, and receivers receiving the signal waves will be referred to as GPS, GPS satellites, GPS signals, and GPS receivers, respectively for ease of representation.
The GPS allows the present position of a moving body to be detected highly accurately and almost in real time, and therefore the system is primarily used for measuring the present position of a moving body such as an automobile, an airplane, and a mobile telephone using a receiver provided in the moving body.
Today, GPS receivers suitable for automobiles, in other words, vehicle GPS receivers have rapidly come into widespread use. When such a GPS receiver is provided in an automobile, an antenna device for receiving a GPS signal is provided on the exterior of the automobile such as on the roof.
As shown in FIG. 7, a conventional antenna device 100 includes an antenna case 103 having a top cover 101 and a bottom plate 102 joined with each other, an antenna module 104 stored in the top cover 101, and a packing member 105 provided at the joining part between the top cover 101 and the bottom plate 102 for keeping the antenna case 103 tightly sealed, and a signal line 106 connected to the antenna module 104.
The antenna module 104 includes an antenna element 110 having an antenna for receiving a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite, and a circuit board 111 having a circuit for carrying out various kinds of signal processing such as signal amplification to the GPS signal received at the antenna element 110. The antenna element 110 and the circuit board 111 are joined with each other for example with a length of double-faced adhesive tape.
The circuit board 111 is connected with a signal line 113 for extracting the GPS signal to the outside of the antenna case 103. The circuit board 111 is provided with a shield case 114 for shielding the circuit on its main surface opposite to the side of the antenna element 110. The signal line 113 is externally extended through a notch 101a formed in the top cover 101, and a gasket 115 is attached in a position corresponding to the notch 101a.
In the antenna device 100, the antenna module 104 and the packing member 105 are stored in the internal space of the top cover 101, while the top cover 101 and the bottom plate 102 are integrally joined by securing four screws 120.
The bottom plate 102 has two recesses 120a (only one of which is shown in FIG. 7) and a permanent magnet (not shown) is provided in each of the recesses 120a. These permanent magnets are provided to fix the GPS receiving antenna 100 on the roof of the automobile by the magnetic attraction. At the main surface of the bottom plate 102 facing the outside, a thin aluminum name plate 121 having the model number and the name of the GPS receiving antenna 100 and the like inscribed thereon is provided. A transparent resin sheet 122 to protect the automobile roof against damage is attached over the nameplate 121 and about on the entire main surface (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-68912).
Now, the conventional antenna 100 having the structure described above is produced by assembling 16 parts altogether. In recent years, there has been a demand for reduced cost in the field of such GPS receiving antennas, and therefore the number of parts has been reduced or the assembling process has been simplified for the purpose of reducing the product cost.


A non-volatile storage apparatus receives first data from an entity external to the non-volatile storage apparatus, combines the first data with other data being stored in the non-volatile storage apparatus to create combined data, performs a programming process to program the first data into a first location, determines that the programming process failed, intentionally corrupts the first data programmed into the first location, recovers the first data from the combined data, and reprograms the recovered first into a second location.

Semiconductor memory is widely used in various electronic devices such as cellular telephones, digital cameras, personal digital assistants, medical electronics, mobile computing devices, non-mobile computing devices and data servers. Semiconductor memory may comprise non-volatile memory or volatile memory. A non-volatile memory allows information to be stored and retained even when the non-volatile memory is not connected to a source of power (e.g., a battery). Examples of non-volatile memory include flash memory (e.g., NAND-type and NOR-type flash memory), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and others.
Memory systems are used to store data. It is important that writing and reading are performed accurately so that data is not lost.

Non-volatile storage system with program failure recovery


An optical connector ferrule molding die 1 for molding an optical connector ferrule having a plurality of optical fiber holes comprises an upper die 10, a lower die 11, and an intermediate die 12, whereas the intermediate die 12 comprises a plurality of optical fiber hole forming pins 126 for forming optical fiber holes. The lower die 11 is provided with a protrusion 114 for forming a window hole of the optical connector ferrule, whereas the optical fiber hole forming pins 126 projecting from the intermediate die 12 are secured by through holes 115 penetrating through the protrusion 114 and V-grooves 113.

Known as one of optical connector ferrules is an MT (Mechanically Transferable) connector ferrule. This MT connector ferrule has been standardized as IEC60874-16 (1994) and JIS C5981, and comprises a pair of guide holes into which guide pins are inserted and a plurality of fiber holes, disposed between these guide holes, for receiving respective optical fibers.
FIG. 29 shows an example of molding die for molding such an MT connector ferrule. The molding die 60 is constituted by an upper die 69a, a lower die 69b, and an intermediate die 65 inserted therebetween. In the intermediate die 65, a pair of planar holding members 65a, 65b sandwich and hold therebetween two guide hole forming pins 61 for forming optical connector ferrule guide holes. Held between these guide hole forming pins 61 are a pair of holding members 70a, 70b which are thinner and narrower than the holding members 65a, 65b. A plurality of optical fiber hole forming pins 63 projecting from distal ends of the holding members 70a, 70b so as to form optical fiber holes of an optical connector ferrule are arranged. The inner faces of the upper die 69a and lower die 69b are processed so as to form a space corresponding to the outer shape of the optical connector ferrule when all the dies are assembled together, and are further provided with grooves 72, 62 for positioning the respective guide hole forming pins 61, and grooves 64 for positioning the respective optical fiber hole forming pins 63. The lower die 69b is provided with a protrusion 71 for forming a window frame for the ferrule.
When molding an optical connector ferrule by using such a molding die 60, the intermediate die 65 is initially disposed between the upper die 69a and lower die 69b. Specifically, the guide pin forming pins 61 of the intermediate die 65 are placed in the grooves 72 of the upper die 69a and the grooves 62 of the lower die 69b, and the optical fiber hole forming pins 63 are arranged in the grooves 64 of the lower die 69b. Here, as shown in FIG. 31, the holding member 70b of the intermediate die 65 is held on the protrusion 71 of the lower die 69b. Then, the space between the upper die 69a and the lower die 69b is filled with a molten resin, which is subsequently set and taken out of the die, whereby the optical connector ferrule can be formed.
Thus formed MT connector ferrule is used for connecting optical fibers on an optical transmission line to each other or an optical fiber to an optical member. Here, not only a method in which MT connector ferrules are connected to each other as they are, a method in which the ferrules are provided with housings so as to be formed into connectors for connection has widely been carried out. Widely known as examples of such optical connectors are a connector (generally known as MPX connector) disclosed in Japanese Translated PCT International Patent Application No. 2000-515986A and a multi-fiber connector (generally known as MPO connector) specified in TIA/EIA-604-5-A. When these multi-fiber connectors are used, devices and wiring systems can be made much smaller and denser than those with single-fiber optical connectors. Therefore, backplane wiring, optical interconnected wiring, and the like using these optical connectors as an interface have widely been in use.

Method and metal mold for manufacturing optical connector ferrule, optical connector ferrule manufactured by using the method, and optical connector and optical wiring system using the ferrule


A method is implemented in a network element for modifying the characteristics of tree construction for use in virtual network connectivity in a network that includes the network element. A virtual network is associated with a set of virtual network attachment points that are mapped to network elements in a topology of the network where the virtual network is individually associated with an equal cost tree (ECT) set. The method generates individual ECT sets to interconnect sets of virtual network attachment points for connectivity establishment and maintenance of the connectivity in the network. The method modifies link metrics across the topology of the network to be used for computing an ECT set to bias a tie-breaking process for selecting between equal cost paths toward either producing minimal cost shortest path multicast trees or maximizing unicast path diversity in the multiple ECT sets that are generated.

In network environments paths are calculated between nodes using network topology information. These paths are commonly shortest paths between the nodes and the set of shortest paths from a given node to a set of destination nodes can be considered a shortest path tree. These shortest path trees can be utilized for establishing general routing between nodes or service related routing to interconnect a set of virtual network attachment points for connectivity establishment and maintenance. The determination of the paths can be based on a link based metric. As shortest path trees are added to the network the load associated with each tree can alter the metrics.
Load distribution or load spreading is a method by which breadth of connectivity is more effectively utilized and overall performance is improved in a network. Most automated load distribution and load spreading techniques deployed today, especially those in networks with a distributed control plane, operate with only a very local view, whereby these load distribution and load spreading techniques only consider the number of paths or the next hops to a given destination and do not consider the overall distribution of traffic in the network.
Equal cost multi-path (ECMP) is a common strategy for load spreading of unicast traffic in routed networks that is utilized where the decision as to how to forward a packet to a given destination can resolve to any one of multiple "equal cost" paths, which have been determined to be tied for being the shortest path when running calculations on a topology database. ECMP can be used in conjunction with most unicast routing protocols and nodes equipped with the required supporting data plane hardware, since it relies on a per hop decision that is local to a single router and assumes promiscuous receipt and forwarding of frames combined with a complete forwarding table at every intermediate node. Using ECMP at any given node in a network, the load is divided pseudo-evenly across the set of equal cost next hops. This process is implemented independently at each hop of the network where more than one next hop to a given destination exists.
In many implementations, when the presence of multiple equal cost next hops is encountered, each packet is inspected for a source of entropy such as an Internet Protocol (IP) header and a hash of header information modulo the number of equal cost next hops is used to select the next hop on which to forward the particular packet. For highly aggregated traffic, this method will on average distribute the load evenly in regular topologies (i.e., symmetric topologies) and does offer some improvement in less regular topologies.
ECMP is suitable for networks that have very large communities of interest as the traffic matrix cannot be predicted. However for networks with many small communities of interest and networks that require congruent unicast and multicast forwarding, ECMP is not a good solution, and ECMP solution can demonstrate superior load spreading properties, combined with guaranteed ordered delivery and superior operations, administration and management (OAM) coverage and capability.
In a network where congruent unicast and multicast trees are computed a tie-breaking mechanism is required to tie-break between paths of equal or near equal cost, which is different from dealing with equal cost next hops. Standard 802.1aq defines one such basic tie-breaking mechanism.

Metric biasing for bandwidth aware tie breaking


An automotive service system and associated methods for facilitating communication between an automotive service shop and its customers are described. According to some aspects, the automotive service system may send a customer access to an inspection video including a demonstration in which one or more components of the customer's vehicle are shown and a recommendation for an automotive service involving the one or more components is given. In some embodiments, the automotive service system may include various modules that provide different functions to the customer, such as allowing a customer to: self-diagnose issues with the vehicle, book an appointment at an automotive repair shop, receive service recommendations and quotes, receive financing options, and/or receive appraisal options.

When a customer's vehicle requires repair or other services, the customer will typically bring the vehicle into an automotive service shop such as an automotive repair shop. Repair shops will often have a service advisor who interacts with the customer directly, as well as a technician who works to repair or otherwise service the vehicles. The service advisor typically serves as a liaison between the technician and the customer, and will often provide the customer with information including the recommended services for the customer's vehicle, cost estimates, timing estimates, the status of the work, and so on. In smaller shops, the technician may interact directly with the customer instead of having a service advisor as a liaison.

Systems and methods for management of automotive services


Exemplary embodiments provide materials and methods for bonded articles using dendrimers for facilitating adhesion between an adhesive and a substrate with low surface free energy.

Xerographic digital presses, for example, the Xerox iGen3, have been used for production of publications including books-on-demand, brochures, and manuals. These publications often require bookbinding which can be accomplished by, for example, applying a hot melt adhesive between binding surfaces.
In a typical imaging or printing process, a latent image is formed upon a photosensitive member (e.g., photoreceptor), and the latent image is subsequently rendered visible by the application of resin and pigment particles, or toner. The visible toner image is in a loose powdered form and can be easily disturbed or destroyed. The toner image is usually fixed or fused upon a substrate, which may be a substrate sheet of a plain paper, using a fuser roll.
To ensure and maintain good release properties of the fuser roll, release agents are applied during the fusing operation. Typically, these release agent materials are applied as thin films of, for example, nonfunctional silicone oils or mercapto- or amino-functional silicone oils, to prevent toner offset on to the fuser roll.
Problems arise, however, because xerographic prints are unavoidably contaminated by the release agents during fusing. The trace amount of release agents significantly reduces surface free energy of the prints and cause poor adhesion or separation between the prints and hot melt adhesives that is usually used in the art. For example, the surface free energy (SFE) of xerographic prints, as estimated by Lewis Acid-Base method, may range from 10 to 25 mN/m for most of printed substrates, while most of commercially available hot melt adhesives, however, work only for a substrate or print having a SFE of at least about 30 mN/m.
Thus, there is a need to overcome these and other problems of the prior art and to provide a bonded article and its method using dendrimers to facilitate adhesion between an adhesive and a substrate or a print that has low surface free energy.

Bonded article with nanoscopic dendrimers and method of preparing same


The present invention is a control method of color temperature and luminance for an LED device and a control system thereof. The control method has the following steps: executing a cold-start motion; determining whether a warm-start motion is executed during a preset time; if yes, adjusting the color temperature of the LED device, and determining whether the warm-start motion is executed again during the preset time; if not, adjusting the luminance of the LED device, and determining whether the warm-start motion is executed again. A user can adjust the color temperature and the luminance of the LED device by turning off and on a switch of the control system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting diode (LED) control method, and particularly to a control method of color temperature and luminance for an LED device and a control system thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
An LED device can emit lights of a plurality of different colors and illumination modes. Consumers can buy the LED device for their preference. The colors or illumination modes of a commercially available LED device may be adjusted. However, between the functions of colors and illumination modes, only one function can be adjusted in one LED device.
On the other hand, when the LED device has a function for adjusting the colors or the illumination modes, a controller must be mounted in the LED device. The controller can adjust the colors or the illumination modes of the LED device. A circuit of the controller is complex, and therefore the LED device with the controller becomes more expansive than the LED device without the controller. The consumers may not want to buy the LED device with the controller because of the higher prices of the LED device.

Control method of color temperature and luminance for LED device and control system thereof


A cartridge system for a cable reel. The cartridge system includes a case configured to hold the cable reel and a pair of reel roller elements inside the case. Each of the reel roller elements has ends that are connected to opposite sides of the case. Each of reel roller elements has a roller rotatable within the case. The roller is configured to receive a flange of the cable reel such that the cable reel is rotatable within the case.

Communication cables, such as electrical and fiber optic cables, provide fast and reliable media for communications. These cables are used in deployable communication environments, such as broadcasting or military applications, and are often placed on reels for ease of deployment, retrieval and maintenance of the cable. During storage and transportation, cable reels may be placed in shipping containers to protect the cable.
However, different accessories may be used in performing common uses of cables, such as storing, deploying, retrieving and transporting of the cables. This requires that operators purchase, switch out and maintain different cable accessories to use the cable.
Accordingly, there is a need for a cartridge system for use in storing, deploying, retrieving and transporting cables.

Fiber optic/electrical cable cartridge system


A traffic control device and a traffic control system are provided, and the traffic control device includes a route calculating unit configured to detect candidates of a route to a destination, and decide a guidance route from the detected route candidates, an infrastructure communicating unit configured to acquire signal cycle information related to a cycle at which a display of a traffic signal at a traffic signal location on the route calculated by the route calculating unit is switched, and a fuel consumption simulating unit configured to perform fuel consumption simulation including fuel economy improvement assistance executed at a time of passing the traffic signal location with respect to the route candidates based on the signal cycle information acquired by the infrastructure communicating unit, and the route calculating unit decides the guidance route based on the fuel consumption simulation calculated corresponding to the route candidates by the fuel consumption simulating unit.

Vehicles such as automobiles have various kinds of functions for improving a fuel economy. As one of the functions for improving a fuel economy, there is a function of extracting a route capable of further improving a fuel economy in view of a fuel economy at the time of traveling using route candidates in the case of guiding a route to a destination. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a route search device that acquires cycle information capable of specifying a period of time between a start and an end of a stop instruction in each of traffic signals installed on route candidates from an information center, calculates a stoppage fuel consumption amount consumed while a vehicle is temporarily stopping according to a stop instruction of each traffic signal using the cycle information of each of the traffic signals installed on the route candidates, and searches for a guidance route causing a total fuel consumption amount to be minimum using the stoppage fuel consumption amount and the fuel consumption amount of each zone.
In recent years, so-called hybrid vehicles including both an internal-combustion engine (engine) that burns a fuel as a power source and a motor (motor generator) that is driven by electric power have been developed as vehicles such as automobiles. The hybrid vehicle includes a control device that controls switching among traveling using the engine as a power source, traveling using the motor generator as a power source, and traveling using both the engine and the motor generator as a power source. For example, Patent Literature 2 discloses a car navigation device that detects a charging amount of a battery supplying a motor with electric power, and performs simulation related to a traveling method in which a hybrid vehicle travels along each of guidance routes formed between a current location and a destination based on the detected charging amount of the battery and map data. In the simulation, the car navigation device subdivides each guidance route for each traveling method, weights each subdivided zone according to each traveling method, and proposes a guidance route capable of reducing a fuel consumption amount of an engine based on a sum of the weights of the respective zones.

Traffic control device and traffic control system


Nanoparticles comprising surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) reporter molecules of the formula A-Y and methods of their use are disclosed, wherein A is:

The presently disclosed subject matter relates to near-infrared dyes and their use as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) reporter molecules.
When a molecule is irradiated with photons of a particular frequency, the photons are scattered. The majority of the incident photons are elastically scattered without a change in frequency (Rayleigh scattering), whereas a small fraction of the incident photons (approximately 1 in every 108) interact with a vibrational mode of the irradiated molecule and are inelastically scattered. The inelastically scattered photons are shifted in frequency and have either a higher frequency (anti-Stokes) or a lower frequency (Stokes). By plotting the frequency of the inelastically scattered photons against their intensity, a unique Raman spectrum of the molecule is observed. The low sensitivity of conventional Raman spectroscopy, however, has limited its use for characterizing biological samples in which the target analyte(s) typically are present in small quantities.
When a Raman-active molecule is adsorbed on or in close proximity to, e.g., within about 50 Å of, a metal surface, the intensity of a Raman signal arising from the Raman-active molecule can be enhanced. This enhancement is referred to as the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect. The SERS effect was first reported in 1974 by Fleishman et al., who observed intense Raman scattering from pyridine adsorbed on a roughened silver electrode surface. See Fleishman et al., "Raman spectra of pyridine adsorbed at a silver electrode," Chem. Phys. Lett., 26, 163 (1974); see also Jeanmaire, D. L., and Van Dyne, R. P., "Surface Raman spectroelectrochemistry. 1. Heterocyclic, aromatic, and aliphatic-amines absorbed on anodized silver electrode." J. Electroanal. Chem., 84(1), 1-20 (1977); Albrecht, M. G., and Creighton, J. A., "Anonymously intense Raman spectra of pyridine at a silver electrode," J.A.C.S., 99, 5215-5217 (1977). Since then, SERS has been observed for a number of different molecules adsorbed on the surface of metal surfaces. See, e.g., A. Campion, A. and Kambhampati, P., "Surface-enhanced Raman scattering," Chem. Soc. Rev., 27, 241 (1998).
The magnitude of the SERS enhancement depends on a number of parameters, including the position and orientation of various bonds present in the adsorbed molecule with respect to the electromagnetic field at the metal surface. The mechanism by which SERS occurs is thought to result from a combination of (i) surface plasmon resonances in the metal that enhance the local intensity of the incident light; and (ii) formation and subsequent transitions of charge-transfer complexes between the metal surface and the Raman-active molecule.
The SERS effect can be observed with Raman-active molecules adsorbed on or in close proximity to metal colloidal particles, metal films on dielectric substrates, and metal particle arrays, including metal nanoparticles. For example, Kneipp et al. reported the detection of single molecules of a dye, cresyl violet, adsorbed on aggregated clusters of colloidal silver nanoparticles. See Kneipp, K. et al., "Single molecule detection using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), Phys. Rev. Lett., 78(9), 1667-1670 (1997). That same year, Nie and Emory observed the surfaced enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERRS) signal, wherein the resonance between the absorption energy of the Raman-active molecule and that of the nanoparticle yield an enhancement as large as about 1010 to about 1012, of a dye molecule adsorbed on a single silver nanoparticle, where the nanoparticles ranged from spherical to rod-like and had a dimension of about 100 nm. See Nie, S., and Emory, S. R., "Probing single molecules and single nanoparticles by surface-enhanced Raman scattering," Science, 275, 1102-1106 (1997); Emory, S. R., and Nie, S., "Near-field surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy on single silver nanoparticles," Anal. Chem., 69, 2631 (1997).
Even with the enhanced signal due to the SERS or SERRS effect, the use of Raman spectroscopy can be limited in diagnostic assays and applications requiring a high sensitivity. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for SERS-active reporter molecules that give rise to an increased Raman signal when compared to SERS-active reporter molecules known in the art. The presently disclosed subject matter addresses, in whole or in part, these and other needs in the art.

Near-infrared dyes as surface enhanced raman scattering reporters

Abstract: wherein X1 is CR4 or N; and Y is selected from the group consisting of:


A make-before-break edge connector receives an edge portion of a printed circuit board of predetermined thickness. The edge connector includes first and second spring contacts disposed as an opposing pair. Each of the spring contacts includes an entrance end, an intermediate portion and a termination end. At the intermediate portion, the spring contacts include normally closed spring contacts. At the entrance end, the spring contacts include normally open spring contacts.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to an edge connector for a printed circuit board. More particularly, this invention pertains to a make-before-break edge connector.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Make-before-break edge connectors for printed circuit boards are well known. An example of such is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,151 to Robert et al. dated May 2, 1978. As best illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 of the '151 patent, the make-before-break connector is a normally-closed electrical connector. Namely, electrical connection is made through the connector in the absence of an inserted circuit board (as shown in FIG. 1 of '151 patent). Upon partial insertion of printed circuit board into the connector, the connector first makes electrical connection with the printed circuit board before breaking the normal through electrical connection in the connector. The make-before-break position is shown in FIG. 2 of the '151 patent with the circuit made to the printed circuit board before being broken through the connector. FIG. 3 of the '151 patent shows full insertion of printed circuit board into a connector with the circuit made through the connector and broken through the connector.
Additional make-before-break connectors are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,286,121 and 4,106,841, and UK Patent Application GB 2133938A. A make-before-break connector (referred to as a "shorting edge connector") is also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,030 dated Apr. 30, 1985 to Triner et al. In the '030 patent, two opposing spring contacts 28,30 include normally closed contact ends 40,40' and normally closed contact portions 46,46'. Between contact portion pairs 40,40' and 46,46' is a spacing 42,42'. The spacing is slightly smaller than the thickness of an edge of a printed circuit board to be inserted into the connector. FIGS. 4A-4C of the '030 patent illustrate the make-before-break operation of the connector. FIG. 4A shows the connector in an absence of a printed circuit board. In this state, electrical connection is made between contacting pairs 46,46' and 40,40'. Upon partial insertion of a printed circuit board (as shown in FIG. 4B of '030 patent), the printed circuit board passes between pairs 40,40' resulting in electrical contact (i.e. a "making" of a circuit) with electrical contacts (not shown) on the printed circuit board. Further insertion of the printed circuit board into the contact results in the printed circuit board increasing the separation between surfaces 42,42' (as shown in FIG. 4C of the '030 patent). This increase in separation results in separation of the contacts 46,46'. Hence, the normal through circuit through the connector is now broken with the only connection being made through the printed circuit board and any circuit which might happen to be contained on the printed circuit board.
There is a continuing need for development of improved make-before-break connectors notwithstanding the current state of the art. Such connectors should have high reliability to prevent premature breaking of the circuit through the connector. For example, with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,030, the connector is commonly contained within a housing 10 of insulated' material such as plastic and the like. With the structure as shown in the '030 patent, a single contact point of each connector (in the vicinity of bends 38,38') bears against the walls of the housing 10. As a result, due to the resiliency of the spring contacts of the connector, a force is constantly being applied to an isolated location on the plastic walls. In response to the continued presence of such a force, the plastic material may creep or otherwise plastically deform resulting in movement of the spring contacts into the wall. The plastic deformation and creep is particularly heightened during high temperature applications. If this were to occur, the contact portions 46,46' may prematurely separate resulting in an undesired break of the circuit through the connector. Also, the close touching proximity portions 40,40' in the '030 patent, results in a required large displacement of the bends 40,40' upon insertion of a printed circuit board. Namely, the portions 40,40' must each be deflected about half the complete thickness of the printed circuit board. The greater the deflection required, the greater the force applied against the plastic housing 10 which increases the possibility of plastic deformation. Further, the increased displacement results in increased stresses on the bend portions 38,38' which increases the probability of failure of the springs.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved make-before-break connector.

Make-before-break PC board edge connector


Scheduling the processing of threads by scheduling a datagram from an input queue among a plurality of input queues to a thread for processing. The scheduling includes computing an output position in an output queue, communicating with a plurality of threads for processing, and assigning the datagram to one of said plurality of threads for processing. After processing the datagram, the processing thread enqueus the datagram in the output queues at the output position specified by the scheduled output position.

Datagrams that are received on the same interface and destined for the same interface are required by networking protocols to be transmitted in the order that they were received. For each input port, incoming datagrams are enqueued on an input queue in the order they are received. A processing thread dequeues a datagrams, processes it, and enqueues it on an output queue shared with other processing threads. Examples of datagrams processing includes decryption/encryption, routing, filtering and policing. Several processing threads can be working independently and simultaneously on datagrams from the same input port that are destined for the same output port.
Coherency problems arise whenever it is possible for multiple processing threads to simultaneously access a single resource. Mutual exclusion constructs, such as semaphores are often used to ensure data coherency. Techniques employed for maintaining packet order and data coherency often result in systems which use a disproportionate amount of the system's resources attending to these tasks.


An authentication method comprising creating electrocardiogram data of users; calculating a similarity between electrocardiogram data of each user and template data created by averaging electrocardiogram data of each user; creating and training a first NNmodel for every user by using similarities between electrocardiogram data of a user and template data of the same user and similarities between electrocardiogram data of a user and template data of another user, and creating and training second NNmodels for users by using similarities between electrocardiogram data of a user and template data of the user and similarities between electrocardiogram data of the user and template data of another user; and executing a first step in which the similarities calculated using electrocardiogram data for authentication of a user to be authenticated and template data are input to the first NNmodel, and executing a second step in which the similarities are input to the second NNmodels.

As authentication means using biometric information of a person, there have been proposed various authentication methods for authenticating a person in a manner that electrocardiogram signals of the person are measured and an electrocardiogram waveform for each heartbeat extracted from the electrocardiogram signals is used. For example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-176106, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-171983, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-239737, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-126775, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-049449, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-045939, and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-038913.
As is known, characteristic waves such as a P wave, a Q wave, an R wave, an S wave, and a T wave appear in an electrocardiogram waveform of each heartbeat. Personal authentication is performed in a manner that feature information (amplitude, time width, interval between waves, slope, etc.) is extracted, the feature information to be authenticated is compared with feature information of each person registered in advance, and its correlation is determined.

Authentication device, authentication method, and computer program

THE PUBLIC UNIVERSITY CORPORATION, THE UNIVERSITY OF AIZU


One of the controls on a page can call an information map at the time that the page which contains the control is being rendered. The information map interface provides access to the structure of both the title and the content within the title. The control can then display this structural information in any form it desires since it renders itself on the page at the customer computer. Navigation through the title is based on the customer's interactions with the information map control, i.e., clicking on a navigation link causes the title to navigate to that location. The information map determines which piece of the title and content structure to show, and the visual form in which it is shown. Information maps may have other applications including the efficient creation and modification of timelines and geographic maps in multimedia encyclopedias (e.g., Microsoft Encarta), as well as virtual reality programs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic publishing systems and, more specifically, to automatically creating navigation links in a publication.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Content providers wish to frequently update the content within their titles. Traditionally, this requires hand-authoring display and navigation tools within the title, e.g., the Table of Contents, every time the content changes. This is a time-consuming and error-prone process, involving:
hand-authoring the items in the list PA1 hand-authoring links to the actual content PA1 formatting the items in the list to make them visually compelling
This is a serious impediment to quick release of time-sensitive content (e.g. stock trade reports, news reports, special discounts on merchandise).
Related systems such as file viewers, desktop publishing software and existing electronic publishing systems do not solve this important problem.
The display of hierarchical structures is commonly used in files systems. As examples, the File Manager in Microsoft Windows or the Explorer in Windows 95 provide such a capability. In such a system, when a user activates a file, by clicking on a mouse, the application program associated with the file is started by the operating system, or the application itself is started. This type of hierarchical display does not, however, allow for navigation of a single integrated hypermedia document, i.e., a single document containing links to multiple media.
Many different systems exist for publishing documents on a computer system. These systems are used to, for example, create newsletters or brochures to promote a particular company. In addition, publications can be used to disseminate information to a variety of customers. A number of programs exist for allowing a user to design complicated layouts for a particular application. Well-known programs such as Microsoft Publisher.RTM., Ventura Publisher.RTM., PageMaker.RTM., and PrintShop.RTM. help a user to produce attractive newsletters and brochures.
Another category of publication systems include software for electronically publishing stories across on-line networks such as CompuServe, America On-Line, or the Internet. Most of these systems create and display stories that are formatted in a Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) or Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). Both the HTML and SGML are standards for tagging text in documents to be displayed in an on-line network. Documents that are formatted in HTML or SGML can be viewed by several widely distributed browsers such as Mosaic and NetScape for the Internet. These browser programs read SGML and HTML tagged documents and display them with proper formatting.
Several programs exist for producing documents that are tagged in either the SGML and HTML format. Programs such as Interleaf's WorldView 2 allow a user to create an SGML document with, for instance, bold-face text and hyperlinks to other documents. A hyperlink, also known as a navigation link, is a user selectable portion of a screen display which, when activated by a user event such as a mouse click, causes the viewing program to navigate to another portion of the displayed document.
Once a document has been saved in an SGML format, it can be read by either the Mosaic or NetScape browser. Unfortunately, all of the navigation links for text or graphics in an SGML or HTML document are embedded within the document. The Mosaic or NetScape browsers do not reformat these tagged documents, but rather only display the commands embedded in the SGML or HTML documents to a user. For this reason, the designers that produce the SGML and HTML documents must add navigation links to every new document. Therefore, the process of creating documents for display using SGML or HTML is very inefficient for the document designer.
Other commercially available software programs for producing on-line publications are available in the marketplace. One type of electronic publisher that generates its own specific format of text while retaining the specific layout of the document is the Adobe Acrobat.TM. software package. Acrobat.TM. reads and stores documents in a specialized format known as the Portable Document Format (PDF) for use on the Internet. Other electronic publishing programs are produced by Interleaf, Inc. (Waltham, Mass.), Farallon Computing (Alameda, Calif.) and Common Ground Software (Belmont, Calif.).
None of the known file viewers, desktop or on-line electronic publishing systems provide a way to automate the insertion of navigation links which is desired to overcome the shortcomings of known systems.


An end mill is provided that includes a shank section and a fluted section. One or more helical teeth are disposed along an outer surface of the fluted section. Each helical tooth has a cutting surface and a relief wall that intersect to form an angle defining a helical cutting edge. The cutting surface of each helical tooth includes a first section, a second section, and a take-off peak disposed between the first section and second section. The cutting edge of each helical tooth includes a first portion having a first constant angle, and a second portion having a second constant angle unequal to the first constant angle, and an arcuate transition section connecting the first portion and second portion. Some embodiments of the present invention include more portions than the aforesaid first and second portions.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to machine tool rotary cutting tools in general, and to end mills in particular.
2. Background Information
A variety of end mills for use with rotating milling cutters are available and well known. Depending on design, such end mills are generally used in right hand cutting, right hand spiral and center cutting.
Some prior art end-mills have helical flutes that follow a single continuous cutting edge angle. For example, it is known in the art to form flutes at a low helix angle or a high helix angle. A "low helix" (or low helical flute) is a flute that helically "winds" around a cylinder at an angle of no more than 45 degrees. A "super" low helical flute would be a flute that winds around a cylinder at an angle of at no more than 15 degrees. A "high helix" (or high helical flute) is a flute that helically winds around a cylinder at an angle of greater than 45 degrees, while a "super" high helical flute winds around a cylinder at an angle of at least 65 degrees.
Other prior art end mills have one or more flutes with a cutting edge that continuously changes along its length. For example, prior advancements relating to material removal and feed rate of end mills have been accomplished by: (1) varying the spiral lead angle; (2) increasing the depth of the flutes in the body portion of the end mill; (3) changing the radial rake angle; (4) changing the clearance angles of the cutting edges; and (5) forming chip splitting grooves in the flutes.
While such variations have proven successful in various applications, they are also the source of certain disadvantages and limitations. For example, such variations may weaken portions of the tool and may not be suitable for particular applications (e.g., regarding milling time, rough cut, finish cut, etc.). Furthermore, existing end mills are typically not efficient for both rough cutting and finish cutting. It is often advantageous when performing an end-mill machining operation to create many small chips, rather than fewer elongated curlicue chips. This allows, for example, rapid rate of removal of material from a work piece without undue heating of the end-mill tool.
What is needed, therefore, is an end mill that has improved characteristics relative to the end mills currently available.

Helical flute end mill with multi-section cutting edge


The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of a coating by. a) applying to a water-resistant substrate an aqueous coating composition containing water and a binder which consists essentially of at least one hydrophilically-modified organic polyisocyanate or polyisocyanate mixture which has an NCO content of 5 to 30, preferably 10 to 23% by weight, and is dispersible in water and PA0 b) curing the composition in the presence of moisture to form a polyurea coating.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel process for the preparation of coatings on water-resistant substrates using an aqueous coating composition wherein the binder consists essentially of a hydrophilically modified, water-dispersible polyisocyanate having free isocyanate groups.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Compositions containing polyisocyanates having free NCO groups or isocyanate prepolymers have been known for a long time. They cure in the presence of moisture to form N-substituted polyurea compounds. Such products form the basis of one-component polyurethane coating technology (cf. e.g. Kunststoff Handbuch (Plastics Handbook), Volume 7, "Polyurethane" ("Polyurethanes"), Carl Hanser Verlag Munich/Vienna (1983), pages 545 et seq.).
Binders for the one-component compositions may be based on prepolymers prepared by reacting difunctional to polyfunctional isocyanate compounds with difunctional and/or polyfunctional alcohols. The NCO/OH equivalent ratio used for the preparation of the prepolymers is selected so that the prepolymers are soluble in organic solvents and also still contain free NCO groups. After application to a substrate, the NCO groups react with atmospheric moisture to provide crosslinked polyurea coatings. This produces films with a high crosslinking density and, thus, a high level of properties.
Conventional polyisocyanates derivatives, such as those generally used as crosslinking components in two-component polyurethane coating compositions, can be used for these applications, provided that they possess the property spectrum demanded by the market. These polyisocyanates derivatives may contain urethane, isocyanurate, uretdione, biuret and/or allophanate groups.
Because the NCO prepolymers and many of the polyisocyanate derivatives have viscosities of greater than 2000 mPa.s at room temperature, they require the addition of organic solvents to obtain a viscosity suitable for formulating and processing. Obviously, the higher the viscosity of the polyisocyanate derivative or NCO prepolymer, the greater the amount of solvent which must be added to obtain the necessary viscosity. For ecological and safety reasons (fire hazards), the use of coating compositions containing organic solvents is continually decreasing in practice. They are being increasingly replaced with aqueous coating compositions for coating a very wide variety of substrates.
The use of organic polyisocyanates having free isocyanate groups analogously to solvent-containing one-component systems as binders for aqueous lacquers has previously not seemed possible because these binders cure in the presence of moisture and there is an excessive supply of water in these aqueous compositions. Accordingly, it would not be expected to be possible to prepare aqueous compositions based on polyisocyanates having free isocyanate groups as essentially the only binder component.
The fact that aqueous two-component polyurethane coating compositions have been disclosed does not affect the preceding conclusion because, in the two-component systems, certain polyhydroxyl compounds are preferably used in combination with hydrophobic polyisocyanates. Therefore, it is possible to assume that the polyisocyanate is to some extent enveloped by the organic polyhydroxyl compound to prevent a reaction between the free isocyanate groups and water, which forms the continuous phase of the emulsions.
Surprisingly, however, it has now been found that certain hydrophilically-modified polyisocyanates or polyisocyanate mixtures, which are described in greater detail below, are excellent binders for aqueous coating compositions and provide a processing time which is sufficiently long for practical purposes.

Process for the preparation of coatings from moisture-curing coating compositions


The subject matter described herein includes methods, systems, and computer program products for load balanced and symmetric SPF path computations for VoIP traffic engineering. One method includes advertising an output interface cost in a first direction over a first network segment between a source IP device and a destination IP device that is different from an output interface cost in advertised in a second direction over the first network segment. A plurality of available network paths between the source IP device and the destination IP device is identified. A path cost is calculated for each of the available network paths from the source IP device to the destination IP device. Calculating a path cost includes, for paths that include the first network segment, substituting the output interface cost advertised in the first direction with the output interface cost advertised in the second direction. The path costs are ranked based on the calculated costs. A lowest cost path is selected from the ranked paths. Both directions of a media session are assigned to the lowest cost path.

Conventional shortest path first (SPF) routing protocols cause an IP device to select a path across a network to a destination IP device by computing path costs for all available network paths, as determined from link state information received at the IP device on a regular basis from neighboring SPF nodes in the network. Each path cost is calculated by summing the assigned cost for each network segment in the forward direction from the source IP device to the destination IP device. The segment costs are typically assigned by a network administrator to reflect a variety of attributes about each segment including geographic distance, equipment cost, and queue delays. Public networks utilizing SPF routing protocols and methods for defining paths most commonly use the published Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) specification. Networks intended to carry real-time interactive or delay-sensitive traffic such as VoIP or video may use a version of OSPF, called OSPF-TE, whose cost definitions and calculation methods have been modified for such delay-sensitive traffic. Regardless of the SPF protocol utilized, the SPF routing instance in an IP device conventionally determines the preferred path by using the path with the lowest total cost. If more than one path has the same lowest cost, the SPF routing instance may use all paths with the same lowest cost and distribute traffic across them in a load balanced fashion. The SPF routing protocol may modify assigned network segment costs when required by a network administrator, when a network node fails, or when a failure is detected on a network segment. When such a change occurs, routing protocol messages propagate the change to all SPF routing instances using standard protocol messages.
When the costs assigned to different directions of a network path are asymmetric, problems can result for bi-directional, delay-sensitive applications, such as RTP media streams. For example, if costs assigned to different directions of a network path are asymmetric, media gateways at each end of the path may select different paths for different directions of an RTP media stream. If one direction of an RTP media stream from a first media gateway to a second media gateway follows a different path from the reverse direction of the same media stream between the media gateways, the paths may experience different delays, resulting in an overall degradation of media stream quality. In addition, if one path fails while the other path remains active, network resources may be wasted.
Accordingly, in light of these difficulties associated with conventional methods for defining load balanced and symmetric paths through a network, there exists a need for improved methods, systems, and computer program products for load balanced and symmetric path computations for VoIP traffic engineering.

Methods, systems, and computer program products for load balanced and symmetric path computations for VoIP traffic engineering


A database system may implement database cache survivability across database failures. In various embodiments, a database cache may be maintained independent of a failure of a database. A database cache may be maintained in a non-volatile memory device or maintained in a shared memory segment of system memory. Upon recovery from a database failure, a recovery point may be determined that indicates a consistent state of the database. Cache entries of the database cache inconsistent with the consistent state of the database may be invalidated, and the database cache may be made available for access requests directed toward the database. Valid cache entries from before the database failure may be made available without accessing a back-end data store for the database.

As increasing amounts of data are stored and maintained for a variety of different purposes, optimizing the performance of access requests and other operations performed by database systems with regard to stored data is becoming increasingly important when handling larger amounts of data and greater numbers of access requests. Typically, database systems have implemented database caches that are efficient to access and/or modify. However, in order to maintain their efficiency database caches are generally implemented in a ways that leaves data maintained in the database cache vulnerable to loss to due to system or process failure. Upon losing data maintained in a database cache, the burden on database systems to respond to access requests, as well as perform other management operations, increases dramatically.
While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). The words "include," "including," and "includes" indicate open-ended relationships and therefore mean including, but not limited to. Similarly, the words "have," "having," and "has" also indicate open-ended relationships, and thus mean having, but not limited to. The terms "first," "second," "third," and so forth as used herein are used as labels for nouns that they precede, and do not imply any type of ordering (e.g., spatial, temporal, logical, etc.) unless such an ordering is otherwise explicitly indicated.
Various components may be described as "configured to" perform a task or tasks. In such contexts, "configured to" is a broad recitation generally meaning "having structure that" performs the task or tasks during operation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the task even when the component is not currently performing that task (e.g., a computer system may be configured to perform operations even when the operations are not currently being performed). In some contexts, "configured to" may be a broad recitation of structure generally meaning "having circuitry that" performs the task or tasks during operation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the task even when the component is not currently on. In general, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuits.
Various components may be described as performing a task or tasks, for convenience in the description. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to." Reciting a component that is configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph six, interpretation for that component.
"Based On." As used herein, this term is used to describe one or more factors that affect a determination. This term does not foreclose additional factors that may affect a determination. That is, a determination may be solely based on those factors or based, at least in part, on those factors. Consider the phrase "determine A based on B." While B may be a factor that affects the determination of A, such a phrase does not foreclose the determination of A from also being based on C. In other instances, A may be determined based solely on B.
The scope of the present disclosure includes any feature or combination of features disclosed herein (either explicitly or implicitly), or any generalization thereof, whether or not it mitigates any or all of the problems addressed herein. Accordingly, new claims may be formulated during prosecution of this application (or an application claiming priority thereto) to any such combination of features. In particular, with reference to the appended claims, features from dependent claims may be combined with those of the independent claims and features from respective independent claims may be combined in any appropriate manner and not merely in the specific combinations enumerated in the appended claims.

Database cache survivability across database failures


A concentrated cherry nutraceutical is prepared by extracting cherry juice from cherries and repeatedly freezing the cherry juice and separating cherry juice of increased concentration while maintaining the juice at freezing conditions.

In recent years it has become known that the juice of cherries contains a number of ingredients, which have a beneficial health effect. Thus cherry juice has been found to contain a number of valuable antioxidants and related compounds that have anti-inflammatory properties. In particular tart cherries of the Montmorency variety have been found to be rich in anthocyanins and other organic constituents, which have been shown to have beneficial health effects. Anthocyanins have been found to reduce size of varicose veins. Recent studies have shown that antioxidant compounds in cherries are ten times stronger than aspirin or ibuprofen in relieving pain. Daily consumption of cherries or cherry juice has been shown to ease the pain of arthritis, headaches and even gout. Researchers have also discovered that cherries are packed with perillyl alcohol, a natural chemical that not only flushes cancer-causing substances out of the body, but also helps stunt the growth of cancerous cells. Perillyl alcohol is so powerful, it can slash the incidence of cancer by as much as 50 percent Melatonin is another powerful anitoxidant contained in cherries that acts on problems mentioned above as well as improving the natural sleep pattern of the human body.
It is impractical from a standpoint of commercially utilizing cherries as a nutraceutical product to either dry the fresh cherries as such or to simply extract the juice from the cherries, although such products do find utility as food and beverage products. Thus it is commercially necessary to produce a concentrated juice containing a high percentage of the ingredients benefiting human health. There are various factors, which make the concentration of cherry juice a problem. Thus the juice from conventional tart cherries, and particularly Montmorency cherries, contains an enzyme {believed to be polyphenyloxidase}, which contributes to poor flavor and color instability of its juice. Although the enzyme obviously needs to be removed for a commercially viable product, heating the juice, which causes the enzyme to decompose, also causes the antioxidants and other organic components to degrade and lose some of their efficacy. There is therefore a need to provide a method of concentrating cherry juice, which separates the undesirable enzymes and also concentrates cherry juice to a concentration at which it finds commercial utility as a nutraceutical without decomposing the antioxidants and other beneficial components contained in cherries.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,708 discloses a method of preparing a concentrated cherry juice of improved flavor by a freezing and thawing process. The resulting product, although useful as a food additive or beverage, does not have a high enough concentration of the nutraceutical components of cherry juice to serve the purpose of a nutraceutical product.


An augmented reality optical module includes a relay lens group and a reflection lens group. The relay lens group receives and converges the light emitted by the image source. The reflection lens group comprises a first lens and a second lens. The light emitted by the image source is incident to the relay lens group and converged to form the relay image at least once, the light of the last relay image is incident to a first surface of the first lens and reflected, the reflected light is incident to a first surface of the second lens and reflected, and then incident to the first lens and transmitted through the first lens to form imaging light. The ambient light is transmitted in such a manner that the ambient light is transmitted through the second lens and the first lens, sequentially, and then emitted to be superimposed on the imaging light.

Augmented Reality (AR) technology is a technology that uses a projection system to generate information superimposition of a virtual image and a real-world to improve users' perception of the real world, and a purpose of such a technology is to interact the virtual world with the real world on the screen. AR technology is widely used in many fields such as military, medicine, construction, education, engineering, film and television, entertainment and the like.
FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an augmented reality optical module known in the prior art. The augmented reality optical module includes a first transflective lens 1, a second transflective lens 2, and a third lens 3, for superimposing light emitted from a display screen 4 and ambient light to produce an augmented reality effect. A basic principle thereof is as follows: the light emitted from the display screen 4 is irradiated onto the first transflective lens 1 after passing through the third lens 3, reflected by the first transflective lens 1 to the second transflective lens 2, and reflected again by the second transflective lens 2, then passes through the first transflective lens 1 and then is emitted into a human eye 5. The ambient light directly transmitted through the second transflective lens 2 and the first transflective lens 1 is incident on the human eye 5 and imaged on a retina. Thus, a virtual image generated by the display screen 4 is superimposed in a real environment to form the augmented reality effect. Since both a size L2 of entrance pupil of the human eye and a size L3 of the image source are fixed values, a system magnification is unchanged, an object distance L1 is limited by an overall contour size, resulting in a similarly limited image distance. Due to a limitation of a height L4 of the third lens 3, an upper half-field of view θ of an external real scene is positively related to the height L4 of the third lens 3, the field of view of an external field of view is limited, and the human eye will feel a sense of occlusion during actual observation.

Augmented reality optical module and augmented reality apparatus


Provided is an ink-jet head and an ink-jet type recording apparatus for improving an impact position accuracy of ink droplets by eliminating a discharge speed difference of ink droplets when an ink volume is changed gradually in a plurality of steps to perform gradation expression. Among discharge pulse signals to be applied a plurality of times for gradually changing and discharging the ink droplet volume, a signal waveform of a final drive pulse and a signal waveform of an initial drive pulse to be operated at least once before the final drive pulse, are varied from each other so as to establish a predetermined relation therebetween.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of driving an ink-jet head for discharging ink droplets to record an image on a recording medium, and an ink-jet recording apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known an ink-jet type recording apparatus for recording a character and an image on a recording medium by employment of an ink-jet head having a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an ink-jet head 100, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view thereof, and FIG. 3 is an exploded diagram showing a periphery of a driving part for generating a pressure necessary for discharge of ink and of a nozzle part from which ink is finally discharged.
As shown in FIG. 3, in a piezoelectric ceramic plate 1, a plurality of grooves 5 are arranged in parallel with each other, and the grooves 5 are separated from each other by side walls 7. One end of each of the grooves 5 in a longitudinal direction thereof extends to one end surface of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1. The other end thereof does not extend to the other end surface of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1, and a depth of each of the grooves 5 gradually decreases. In addition, on the side walls 7 on both sides of each of the grooves 5 on the opening side, there are formed an electrode 4 and an electrode 9 for driving electric field application in the longitudinal direction.
Further, on the opening side of the grooves 5 of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1, there is formed a head chip 26 which is joined to an ink chamber plate 2. To the end surface at which the grooves 5 of a joined body of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 1 and the ink chamber plate 2 are opened, a nozzle plate 3 is joined. In the nozzle plate 3, a plurality of nozzle holes 11 are formed at positions opposite to every other groove 5. The nozzle plate 3 and the head chip 26 are each fixed by a head cap 12. The electrode 4, the electrode 9, and a drive circuit substrate 14, which are formed on the head chip 26, are electrically connected to each other via a flexible substrate 19.
Further, on the ink chamber plate 2, an ink flow path 21 for supplying ink to each of the grooves 5 is fixed, an ink inlet 41 for introducing ink is formed at a central portion of the ink flow path 21, and the ink inlet 41 is connected to a pressure absorbing unit 20 for absorbing a pressure fluctuation caused during a printing operation.
Next, a method of driving the ink-jet head 100 structured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 20A to 20C, 4A, and 4B. FIGS. 20A to 20C are diagrams each showing a discharge signal waveform of the ink-jet head 100 according to a related art. FIGS. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional diagrams each showing a wiring state of the electrodes of the ink-jet head 100. FIG. 20A is a diagram showing a discharge signal waveform in a case of discharging ink with a volume of one droplet according to the related art. FIG. 20B is a diagram showing a discharge signal waveform in a case of discharging ink with a volume of two droplets according to the related art. FIG. 20C is a diagram showing a discharge signal waveform in a case of discharging ink with a volume of three droplets according to the related art. FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional diagram of the ink-jet head when the ink-jet head is not driven, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional diagram of the ink-jet head when the ink-jet head is driven. The arrow 6 indicates a polarization direction. When an electric field is applied to the electrode 4 and the electrode 9 which sandwich the side wall 7, each of the side walls 7 deforms in a desired direction. In other words, the side walls 7 are each structured as an actuator which is deformed and operated in response to an applied voltage to be applied to each of the electrode 4 and the electrode 9.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the ink-jet head 100 has an electrode structure in which the electrode 4 formed in each of the grooves 5 is a common electrode with a ground potential, and the electrodes 9 sandwiching the electrode 4 are each applied with a drive pulse from an outside. When a positive electric field pulse, which is represented by a discharge signal waveform for the ink with the volume of one droplet as shown in FIG. 20A, is applied to each of the electrodes 9, the side walls 7 are each deformed due to a potential difference between the electrode 9 and the electrode 4 as shown in FIG. 4B. The side walls 7 are each deformed for a time T1b during which the positive electric field is applied to each of the electrodes 9. When a potential of the electrode 9 becomes 0 after the elapse of the time T1b, the side walls 7 each return to a state shown in FIG. 4A again. Note that the time T1b is set as a most efficient time at which the discharge speed is increased as being apparent from FIG. 19 showing a relation between an electric field application time and a discharge speed. Due to the deformation of each of the side walls 7, the ink filled in each of the grooves 5 changes in pressure, whereby one ink droplet is allowed to fly from the nozzle hole 11.
Further, the positive electric field is applied a plurality of times so as to change a discharge volume of the ink flying onto the recording medium from each of the nozzle holes 11, thereby making it possible to perform gradation expression. For example, in order to discharge the ink with the volume of two droplets from each of the nozzle holes 11, the positive pulse (application time T2b) is operated before the positive electric field pulse (application time T1b) during an interval of a time T4b as shown in FIG. 20B. In a similar manner, in the case of discharging the ink with the volume of three droplets, the positive electric field pulse (application time T3b) is operated before the positive electric field pulses (application times T1b and T2b) as shown in FIG. 20C. As a result, the ink with the volume of three droplets can be allowed to fly from the nozzle hole 11. The times for application of the positive electric field pulse and the pulse interval times (rest times) of this case are represented as T1b=T2b=T3b=T4b=T5b. In other words, the times for application of the positive electric field pulse with a predetermined voltage for deforming and operating the actuator formed of each of the side walls 7 to allow the ink to fly from each of the nozzle holes 11, are set to be equal to each of the rest times between pulse application operations, during which the actuator is not driven. As a result, the ink can be discharged with efficiency.
FIG. 21 shows a relation between a fluctuation of a pressure P of each of the nozzle holes 11 and a drive voltage between the electrode 4 and the electrode 9. In FIG. 21, a time T1 corresponds to the time T1b of FIG. 19. FIGS. 22A-I to 22D-II each schematically show a behavior of each of the side walls 7, a change in pressure of each of the nozzle holes 11, and the ink flow path. FIGS. 22A-I to 22D-II are cross-sectional diagrams each showing the nozzle plate 3 and the head chip 26. FIGS. 22A-I, 22B-I, 22C-I, and 22D-I each show the nozzle plate 3 and the head chip 26 viewed from an axial direction of the nozzle holes 11, and FIGS. 22A-II, 22B-II, 22C-II, and 22D-II are side views thereof. FIGS. 22A-I and 22A-II each show a state obtained before application of the drive pulse in FIG. 21, FIGS. 22B-I and 22B-II each show a state at a time (time t11) when the drive pulse application is started in FIG. 21, and FIGS. 22C-I to 22D-II each show a state at a time (time t12) when the drive pulse application is finished in FIG. 21.
When the drive pulse is applied at the time t11, the pressure P of each of the nozzle holes 11 is rapidly changed into a negative pressure P1 simultaneously with the fluctuation (increase in volume) of each of the side walls 7 (see FIG. 22B-I and 22B-II). Then, the ink is gradually filled, and the pressure once returns to 0 (pressure P2). Further, the pressure fluctuates to a positive side by a force of a caused wave. When the ink is supplied from an ink supply port formed in the ink chamber plate 2, the pressure in the flow path is increased, and the pressure P becomes a peak value after the elapse of the time T1 (pressure P3) (see FIG. 22C-I and 22C-II) Then, when the drive voltage is returned to 0 at the time t12 after the elapse of the time T1 when the pressure P becomes the peak value, the side walls 7 are each returned to the original state shown in FIGS. 22A-I and 22A-II. When the volume of the ink is reduced as compared with that in the state shown in FIGS. 22B-I to 22C-II, the ink can be allowed to fly from each of the nozzle holes 11 with efficiency (FIGS. 22D-I and 22D-II). After that, the fluctuation in pressure of each of the nozzle holes 11 is repeatedly caused with a time twice as much as the time T1 being as one cycle, and gradually decreases.
However, in the case of the method of driving the ink jet head according to the related art by employment of drive waveforms shown in FIGS. 20A, 20B, and 20C, as apparent from the relation between the electric field applied voltage and the discharge speed shown in FIG. 23, there is a problem in that there is generated a discharge speed difference among one droplet, two droplets, and three droplets of ink. The discharge speed in each case of discharging the ink with the volumes of two droplets and three droplets is higher than that in the case of discharging one droplet. This is because an effect of the pressure change generated during the driving operation at the time T3b and the time T2b remains, and an remainder of a vibration due to the driving operation is added, thereby increasing the discharge speed. There is a problem in that, when the printing operation is performed by an ink-jet printer, the difference in discharge speed generated in this case is appeared as a difference in impact positions of ink droplets, thereby deteriorating an image quality of a printed material.

Method of driving an ink-jet head, ink-jet head, and ink-jet recording apparatus