A system and method for sending a secure multicast transmission. The system includes a computer system coupled to a public network and configured to generate a multicast broadcast, and encrypt the generated multicast broadcast. The system also includes a router coupled to the public network, and a user system configured to request to join a multicast broadcast, wherein the user system is associated with the router. The router is configured to retrieve the encrypted multicast broadcast from the computer system over the public network, decrypt the sent multicast broadcast, and send the decrypted multicast broadcast to the user system requesting to join.

A Multicast broadcast is an Internet broadcast with a "Class D" address. The devices that route information in the Internet (routers) recognize a Class D address as a Multicast and forward the Multicast data to requesters of the Multicast. The result is that Multicast saves Internet bandwidth by sharing the information as needed. Multicasting makes the multicast data available to a wide array of users. The wide dissemination over a public network also places the data at risk for interception by unauthorized recipients
Encryption was created for computers to move data in a secure fashion. Many different encryption formats have been used throughout the years. One problem however, is that encrypted data cannot be used by programs that do not possess the data key, and more importantly programs that do not posses the algorithm to de-crypt the data. An example of encryption at work is the Secure Sockets Layer of Transmission Control Protocol. This encryption scheme allows Internet browsers to exchange credit card information without being intercepted by hackers. The problem is that no Multicast programs support encrypted transmission. Therefore, there exists a need to allow the secure Multicast broadcasts.

Method for secure multicast repeating on the public Internet


In a linear motor and its progressive motion or motion control, e.g., for modular transport devices with straight and curved route sections forming a route course, extensive modularity or flexibility of the linear motor may be guaranteed with little expenditure in terms of equipment and software, e.g., with regard to various applications or machine configurations, e.g., when a plurality of secondary parts are used. A secondary part may have at least one permanent magnet and a signal processing device with a progressive motion or motion controller, which generates at least one set value relevant to the coil control. A set value is fed as a magnitude for commutation using a set value interface of a coil control that is stationary relative to the primary part. Device(s) are also provided for rigidly positioning the secondary part, the device(s) guiding the secondary part along a predetermined stretch.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,963 describes a linear motor made up of a secondary component and a primary component (stationary component), the secondary component implementing the triggering of the coils integrated in the path with the aid of position-sensing sensors such as Hall-effect sensors (FIG. 1B, FIG. 3), which are mounted along the path, and with the aid of a magnet situated on a secondary component. This may have the disadvantage that the mechanical system for sensing the position becomes increasingly more and more complex as the number of secondary components is increasing, reaching its limit with four to six secondary components (FIG. 10). Moreover, it is more difficult to expand an existing path since the implementation of rail and secondary component depends on the number of secondary components. Also, the already existing control has been configured for the specific application case, and a modification of the system configuration requires considerable time and technical effort. The concept of using position sensing may also have the disadvantage that the generated signal will be falsified if even a single sensor breaks down, so that an eventual collision or a malfunction is thus virtually preprogrammed. In addition, the wiring required for analyzing all sensor signals is considerable. This may drastically increase the susceptibility to faults, in particular under adverse circumstances.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,495 describes a d.c. linear motor, which theoretically has an infinite number of secondary components that can be controlled independently. Here, the position is sensed with the aid of, for instance, permanent magnets affixed on the secondary component whose magnetic field is sensed by sensors (FIG. 7, reference numerals 8, 46) mounted on the primary component. No further description of the control of the secondary components is provided. The description essentially encompasses the mechanical configuration of primary and secondary component as well as their cooperation. It may be disadvantageous that an external control would have to assume the entire process coordination and only straight movement paths can be realized.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0180279 describes a modular system made up of linear motors. FIGS. 17 through 21 illustrate the flexibility of the system based on the realization possibility of movement paths that, theoretically, have any configuration. In one illustrated potential realization form, the secondary component includes a battery-powered signal-processing device (FIG. 5), which carries out the position sensing by remote control via radio and reports it to a central control unit. However, the configuration of the secondary and primary components is similar to the design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,963 and hence may have the same disadvantages. Here, the movement is controlled by a central motor controller, which communicates with module controllers via a network and therefore controls and administers all secondary components. With the aid of the received position data, the controller network must calculate all information relevant for the movement control such as acceleration, speed, shear force, and trigger the coils accordingly. The control of the secondary components becomes more complex with each increase in the number of secondary components since the position must be detected for every secondary component, and the corresponding coils on the path formed by the primary components must be switched such that all secondary components move completely independently of each other and collisions are prevented. In addition, to avoid losses, only the coils that are directly underneath the secondary component should be triggered.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,517 and European Published Patent Application No. 0 580 107, which both relate to magnetic levitation systems, also should be mentioned in this context. U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,517 discusses the mechanical and electrical aspects of such a system realized with the aid of a linear motor and proposes a design approach for the non-contacting transmission of electrical energy for electrical components on the floatingly supported secondary component. The contents of European Published Patent Application 0 580 107 describes a levitation system, the focus being on, among others, the control of the air gap as a function of the loading of the suspended component. For this purpose, the moved component includes a control unit, which permanently monitors the air gap and initiates appropriate countermeasures as soon as the required setpoint changes. The essence of the distance control are electric magnets, which are mounted on the moved component and via whose current supply the path distance is able to be adjusted.

Linear motor having progressive movement control


Discovering a hardware failure in a processor is disclosed. When an operating system or application fails, a function containing the instruction that failed along with the register set of the CPU at the failure is recorded. The function is analyzed into its basic blocks. The failing instruction, the failing basic block, the definitions that reach the failing instruction, and the CPU register set at the failure provide information to determine whether the failure was caused by hardware or software. If, after a complete search of the definitions reaching the failing instruction, the search discovers a first definition defining the failing instruction and a second definition defining the first definition such that the second definition reaches the failing instruction and the first definition assigns a register value that does not match a register value in the failing instruction, then a hardware failure is the cause of the crash.

When a complex piece of software, such as an operating system or virtualization layer supporting a virtual machine, encounters a fault, a file containing the state of the processor and memory at the point of the failure is saved. However, it is not known at the time of the failure whether the failure is caused by hardware or software. To find out the cause of failure requires close examination of the instructions of the processor and the processor states in the saved file. It is especially important to determine whether the failure is due to hardware or software so that the proper resources can be brought to bear to correct the failure. For example, if the crash is not caused by hardware, then the failure must be due to software, and software expertise can be deployed to search for the program error. If the crash is caused by a hardware failure, then such software expertise need not be employed and the manufacturer of the processor must determine how to correct such faults.

Detecting X86 CPU register corruption from kernel crash dumps


An obturator (1) for an opening (10) has a collar (2) comprising a peripheral lip (3) adapted to come into abutment on a face (10a) of the opening (10), and several teeth (6) mounted pivotally on the collar (2) and adapted to come into abutment on an opposite face of the opening (10) in a locked position of the obturator (1). The teeth (6) are also fixed to a flange (12) mounted pivotally on a pusher (8), the pusher (8) being adapted to pivotally move the flanges (12) between an unlocked position and a locked position of the obturator (1). The obturator is used notably for sealing closing an opening in a motor vehicle body.

This type of obturator is used to close, in a sealed manner, openings produced in steel or aluminium structures, for example a motor vehicle body.
Such an obturator generally has a collar which provides the seal on the contour of the opening which is closed off.
This collar comprises on the one hand a peripheral lip adapted to come to bear, in a sealed manner, on a face of the periphery of the opening. This collar also comprises locking elements adapted to come into abutment on an opposite face of the opening when the obturator is in its locked position.
These locking elements can consist of a series of teeth which are adapted to pivot on the periphery of the opening.

Obturator for an opening produced in a metal sheet


The present invention provides a method and a system for controlling braking equipment with a function for the driveaway assistance of a motor vehicle. After setting an initial operating state of the braking equipment in which the function for the driveaway assistance is selectively switched on or off, an operating state of the motor vehicle in which the motor vehicle is stationary or nearly stationary is determined. If the motor vehicle is stationary and a characteristic control parameter capable of being influenced by the driver is detected, the braking equipment of the motor vehicle is controlled in such a way that, by switching on or off the function for the driveaway assistance of the motor vehicle, an operating state of the braking equipment differing from the initial operating state is produced.

Normally, the braking equipment of a motor vehicle or parts of the braking equipment is or are also operated when the motor vehicle is stationary in order to keep the latter stationary. For this, use is generally made of a parking brake device, which is typically actuated by a vehicle driver, or of braking equipment which produces in a controlled manner braking forces required to keep the vehicle stationary.
To drive away the motor vehicle, it is necessary to reduce the braking forces produced when the vehicle is stationary.
In the case of conventional braking equipment to be operated by a vehicle driver, it is necessary for the vehicle driver, in addition to the measures required for driving away, also to take measures to release the brake (parking brake).
In order to assist a vehicle driver when driving away a motor vehicle, it is known from German Laid-Open Application 24 20 252 to deactivate the parking brake of a motor vehicle in dependence on a position of an accelerator pedal. In this case, the parking brake, which produces a fixedly preset braking force when the vehicle is stationary, is deactivated in order to reduce the fixedly preset braking force as soon as the accelerator pedal is actuated.
Driveaway assistance for a motor vehicle on an ascending slope is known from DE 36 18 532 A1, and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,207, both of which are incorporated by reference herein. In this case, a braking system has a valve which is arranged between the master cylinder and the wheel-brake cylinders and which is closed when the vehicle is stationary in order to maintain a brake actuation pressure and opened in order to release the brake actuation pressure and allow the vehicle to be driven away. When the motor vehicle is to be brought from stationary to a driving state, it is checked whether the engine torque preset by a vehicle driver corresponds to a driveaway torque required for driving away. In this case, the required driveaway torque is determined in dependence on a current angle of inclination of the vehicle on an ascending slope and the vehicle weight.
Alternatively, provision is made in the case of this driveaway assistance to detect torques acting on driven wheels of the motor vehicle. If torques acting on the driven wheels are large enough to overcome the braking torques produced by the wheel-brake cylinders and the rolling-back torque brought about by an ascending slope, the valve is opened to release the brake actuation pressure produced when the vehicle is stationary.
A fundamental problem of these known systems is that the function for the driveaway assistance is always activated although it is not desired in all driving situations. For example, when driving away on an ascending or descending slope with a trailer attached or when parking on an ascending or descending slope, undesired driving states may arise owing to the automatic reduction of the braking pressure.

Method and system for controlling braking equipment


A water treatment membrane washing apparatus includes two ozone dissolving tanks for storing filtrate generated by filtering raw water through a water treatment membrane and gas aspirators provided for the respective ozone dissolving tanks, for mixing the filtrate with ozone gas supplied from an ozone supply unit to generate ozone gas containing filtrate, and is configured such that waste ozone gas generated in one of the ozone dissolving tanks is aspirated by the gas aspirator provided for the other ozone dissolving tank. After the filtrate from the raw water is pretreated by being mixed with the waste ozone gas in the aspirator, the pretreated filtrate is mixed with the ozone gas in the other ozone dissolving tank until it reaches a predetermined concentration. The ozone gas containing filtrate is supplied from the secondary side of the water treatment membrane to the primary side thereof to wash the eater treatment membrane.

In a water treatment system such as for drinking water, sewage water, or various waste water, membrane separation using water treatment membrane is employed as a method of removing suspended solids and bacteria. While such a water treatment system separates suspended solids and filtrate by filtering water to be treated through a separation membrane, continuous membrane treatment entails adhesion of the suspended solids inside and on the surface of the water treatment membrane and this may sometimes lead to clogging of pores formed in the water treatment membrane. When the pores of the water treatment membrane are clogged, since separation performance is reduced owing to increase of pressure difference across the membrane or reduction of the amount of filtrate, the inside or the surface of the water treatment membrane needs to be washed to remove the suspended solids.
The method of washing water treatment membrane is generally backwashing, in which a washing liquid is supplied from the secondary side (filtrate side) of the water treatment membrane to the primary side (raw water side) thereof to washing the inside of and the surface of the water treatment membrane. While there are various washing liquid, water or oxidizing agent solution such as sodium hypochlorite solution is used for backwashing. Furthermore, in order to obtain a higher washing effect, ozone water (ozone-dissolved water) exhibiting a high oxidizability is used in some cases (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Water treatment membrane washing apparatus and water treatment membrane washing method


Proper access for enabling fire hoses to be readily coupled to the hose connections of a fire hydrant is provided without needlessly sacrificing valuable adjacent parking space for motor vehicles by utilizing upwardly oriented fire hydrant hose connections and/or by utilizing open-walled, cage-like protective enclosure components to maintain good and sufficient hydrant clearance and hose connection access space in regions that extend about the hydrant's hose connections. In one preferred form, rounded elbow pipe segments are threaded onto the hose connections of an existing fire hydrant and are rigidly secured in place thereon to provide upwardly oriented fire hydrant hose connections, and/or protective enclosure components are attached to the existing fire hydrant to provide an open-walled cage-like structure that maintains proper obstruction-free access space in regions that extend about the hydrant's hose connections so that fire hoses easily can be coupled to the hydrant. Alternatively, a newly manufactured fire hydrant is provided with upwardly oriented hose connections and/or is provided with protective enclosure components that cooperate, once they are put in place during installation of the hydrant, to ensure that proper obstruction-free access areas are maintained about the hydrant's hose connections so that fire hoses easily can be coupled to the hydrant.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fire hydrants and to attachments therefor, the use of which is intended to ensure that appropriate access to hydrant hose connections is maintained without sacrificing valuable adjacent parking space. More particularly, the present invention relates to the provision and use of structure for defining upwardly oriented hydrant hose connections, and/or to the provision and use of hydrant-connected, open-walled, cage-like structures for maintaining proper obstruction-free access space in regions that extend about the hydrant's hose connections so that fire hoses easily can be coupled thereto.
2. The Referenced Parent Case
Because the invention features that form the subject matter of the co-pending Parent Case provide the core of the subject matter that is disclosed and claimed in this continuation-in-part document, it is appropriate to attribute the benefit of the filing date of the Parent Case to such subject matter.
The terms "hydrant" and "fire hydrant" as utilized in the Parent Case and in the present document are not intended to be interpreted as restricting or limiting the use that is made of invention features to a particular form of fire hydrant. Rather, as those who are skilled in the art readily will understand, invention features that are disclosed in the Parent Case and herein can be utilized with a wide variety of forms of hydrants. Thus, the terms "hydrant" and "fire hydrant" should be interpreted broadly to include such water supply system components as define suitable structure unto which one or more fire hoses can be attached, typically by means of selectively releasable connections, for purposes of communicating the connected fire hoses with mains of waterworks, with standpipes such as frequently are installed in buildings, and the like that are employed to supply pressurized water to or from hoses for use in combating and extinguishing fires.
While familiar forms of fire hydrants of the type that typically are found at curbside locations along city streets (referred to hereinafter as "curbside" style hydrants) are duly depicted in the drawings of both the Parent Case and the present document in disclosing the "preferred form" and the "best mode presently known to the inventor" for carrying out invention practice, it will be understood that such invention features as are disclosed in the Parent Case and in this document are not limited in their applicability to any particular type, style, configuration or construction of hydrant. Thus, while hydrants having some component parts that are connected by means of threaded fasteners are described and illustrated, it will be understood that other suitable forms of fasteners can be substituted; and, likewise, while hydrants are described and illustrated that have threaded hose connections, other forms of hose connections can be substituted without departing from the scope and spirit of such invention features as are disclosed in the referenced Parent Case and in the present document.
3. Prior Art
There are three topics that need to be dealt with, at least briefly, to properly explain the nature of the problem that is addressed with elegance and simplicity by the system of the present invention. One topic has to do with how a conventional fire hydrant typically is constructed and used, for example the familiar curbside style of fire hydrant. A second topic has to do with reasons why "no parking zones" of considerable size have, through custom, come to be associated with locations where conventional fire hydrants are installed. The third topic has to do with the seriously detrimental effects that unquestionably have resulted from the increasingly severe shortage of much needed parking spaces in downtown areas of cities--and how these detrimental effects can be significantly alleviated by effectively addressing, in a novel and improved way, the first and second of these three seemingly unrelated topics.
A typical curbside style hydrant includes an upstanding, generally cylindrical body structure that has a number of features (some being principally ornamental while others are principally functional) that are arranged substantially symmetrically about a substantially vertical center axis of the body. The body usually is formed as a heavy, rigid, impact-resistant casting of metal that has a relatively large diameter passage formed substantially centrally therethrough extending between lower and upper end regions of the body. Hollow formations that project from the sidewall of the cast body of the hydrant usually are formed as integrally cast component portions of the one-piece cast body, and are configured to define hollow hose connections that communicate with the hollow interior of the body.
The hose connections of a typical curbside hydrant normally project from the body in an array of directions that radiate from the substantially vertical center axis of the hollow upstanding body of the hydrant. Ordinarily the hose connections of a hydrant are threaded, with the character of the threads being selected to meet such standards as facilitate the establishment of direct, threaded connections with threaded connectors that are provided at one or both of the ends of fire hoses, preferably without the need to make use of adapters, fittings or other supplemental hardware to quickly establish secure, leak resistant hydrant-to-hose connections.
Near the lower and upper end regions of the body, annular mounting flanges are provided for matingly engaging correspondingly configured mounting flanges of components that connect to the lower and upper end regions of the body. When a pair of mating mounting flanges are ready to be connected, bolts are installed through aligned holes formed through the mating flanges, and nuts are tightened in place on the bolts to form secure, leak-free connections between the mating flanges. At the lower end region of the upstanding body, a bolted connection between mating flanges typically is used to connect the hollow body to a hydrant supply pipe that depends from its point of connection with the hydrant body to an underground location (typically directly beneath the hydrant) where a valve is provided for selectively communicating the supply pipe with an adjacent water main.
Similarly, at the upper end region of the body, a bolted connection between mating flanges typically is used to connect the hollow body to a matingly-flanged crown-shaped cap. An opening typically is formed centrally through the crown-shaped cap, through which the upper end region of an elongate "valve stem" or "operating rod" extends. A suitable seal is interposed between the crown-shaped cap and the upper end region of the valve stem to prevent leakage therebetween while, at the same time, permitting the valve stem to be rotated relative to the crown-shaped cap. A tool-receiving formation is provided to enable the valve stem to be rotated relative to the crown-shaped cap. One type of tool-receiving formation that is widely used is a five-sided head formation that is designed to be engaged by a specially configured wrench.
The valve stem or operating rod depends from within the interior of the crown-shaped cap, extends along the central axis of the body of the hydrant, and depends into the hydrant's supply pipe where it operably connects with the valve that selectively communicates the supply pipe with an adjacent water main. When the valve stem is rotated about the central axis of the body in one direction of rotation, the valve opens to communicate the hydrant's supply pipe with the adjacent water main. When the valve stem is rotated in the opposite direction, the valve closes to terminate such communication.
When a fire hydrant of the aforedescribed curbside style is standing dormant, ready for use, the underground valve normally is closed, the hollow interior of the body of the hydrant normally is not filled with pressurized water, and the hollow hose connections normally are closed by removable caps. The caps are threaded onto the threaded hose connectors of the hydrant for keeping insects, rainwater, debris and other undesirable objects and substances from entering the hollow interior of the body of the hydrant when the hydrant is standing dormant. To aid in preventing unauthorized removal of the caps, each cap usually is provided with a five-sided tool-receiving head formation that can be grasped and rotated by the same specially configured wrench that is carried by authorized personnel for engaging and operating the five-sided tool-receiving head formation that normally is provided atop the hydrant's crown-shaped cap for rotating the valve stem of the hydrant. To prevent the hose connection caps of a hydrant from being lost or otherwise misplaced, it is customary to provide chains or the like to securely connect the caps to other components of the associated hydrant.
In use, hydrant hose connections to which fire hoses are to be coupled are uncapped. To ensure that the hydrant is working and does not contain debris or other unwanted material, pressurized water often is admitted briefly to the hydrant to "flush" the hydrant and check its operation before hoses are attached. After such a check is made, the supply of water is turned off so that fire hoses can be properly connected to the hydrant's hose connections. When the hoses have been extended along appropriate paths for use and are suitably connected to pumper trucks, to other lengths of hose, or to discharge nozzles, a steady flow of pressurized water to the hydrant is initiated by fully opening the hydrant's supply valve. As pressurized water flows into and through the hoses, some hose expansion and increase in hose rigidity will be noted.
Having dealt with the first of the three topics mentioned above, namely the typical construction and manner of use of a conventional fire hydrant, the second topic will be discussed briefly, namely the reasons why "no parking zones" of considerable size customarily have come to be associated with locations where conventional fire hydrants are installed.
Because conventional hydrant hose connections are oriented to project substantially horizontally rather than to project upwardly, it has become somewhat customary to view a fire hydrant as "requiring" a relatively large amount of open, obstruction-free space extending horizontally about the hydrant in order to accommodate horizontally extending reaches of hose, and in order to provide working space for the use by fire department personnel. While there is verity in the viewpoint that a limited amount of protected access space extending about a hydrant is needed in order to effect proper hydrant-to-hose connections, the view that quite a large space "must" be kept entirely open and obstruction free in order for a fire hydrant to be used to its full potential is without sound basis.
An understandably natural extension of the flawed viewpoint that a quite large open space "must" be maintained obstruction free to permit a fire hydrant to be used to its full potential is the equally flawed notion that the only approach that can be taken to ensure needed access to a hydrant is to provide a sizable "no parking zone" adjacent it. While a reasonable degree of access to the vicinity of a fire hydrant unquestionably must be provided, a fire is not fought by stationing a multitude of firefighters within the immediate vicinity of a fire plug. In fact, once hoses have been connected and the hydrant's supply valve has been fully opened, it seldom serves any useful purpose whatsoever for anyone to remain in attendance adjacent a fire hydrant.
Having discussed how fire hydrants are constructed and used, and having discussed why sizable "no parking zones" have come to be associated with locations where fire hydrants are installed, the reader's attention is directed to the third of the three topics mentioned above, namely the severe inadequacy of available vehicle parking space that is confronting many cities, the seriously detrimental effects that are resulting therefrom, and the significant benefits that clearly can obtain if the "no parking zones" that are located adjacent installations of fire hydrants could safely be eliminated--an objective that is addressed by the present invention.
While bringing into service a single pair of parking spaces adjacent a single fire plug may not represent much of a contribution in an effort to deal with the enormous shortage of available parking spaces that is faced daily in downtown areas of large cities, when a pair of restored parking spaces per fire hydrant is multiplied by the tens of thousands of fire hydrant installations that populate the downtown areas of large cities, the cumulative result is a very dramatic increase in the total number of available downtown parking spaces. If vehicles could be parked in the areas that traditionally have been designated as "no parking zones" adjacent fire hydrants, and if this could be done while maintaining such reasonable access as is needed to ensure that fire hydrants can be used safely, reliably, and to their full potential, the significant number of available parking spaces within the downtown area of a city could be increased by as much as ten to twenty percent.
Presently, however, due to acute parking space shortages, commuters often must wait long periods of time and/or conduct time-consuming, fuel-consuming searches to locate needed parking spaces. In downtown areas, parking garages often fill to capacity early during weekdays and/or charge such stiff parking fees (to provide a reasonable return on the rental on property that typically costs in excess of $30,000 per parking space to build) that many commuters simply must make use of parking lots and on-street parking spaces that are located lengthy, inconvenient distances from the commuters' final destinations. Fuel spent by commuters in searching for hard-to-find parking spaces is fuel that, in the public interest, should not be wasted and should not be burned for it adds significantly to air pollution. Time spent by commuters in searching for hard-to-find parking spaces, and in walking long distances to and from parking spaces that are unduly remote is time that, in the public interest, could be put to far more productive use. Dangers encountered by commuters who have no choice other than to walk lengthy distances to and from unduly remote parking spaces are dangers that are in the public interest to eliminate.
While the reasons enumerated above clearly justify the taking of all reasonable steps to address the genuine and increasing need for readily accessible downtown parking space, still another justification resides in the significant increase in revenue for a city that can result from adding between about ten to twenty percent to the city's annual revenue received from parking meters and from rental of parking space in municipal lots and parking garages. At a time when cities are so very much in need of income, and when it clearly is no longer necessary to preserve sizable "no parking zones" adjacent fire hydrants when such space can safely be used both to produce significant revenue and to enhance the availability of premium downtown parking spaces for vehicles, the time is at hand for cities to utilize their "no parking zones" to significant advantage as revenue producing property.
In addition to adding directly, immediately and significantly to the revenues that cities receive on a daily basis from rental of vehicle parking spaces, still another revenue enhancing advantage that obtains from increasing the availability of premium downtown vehicle parking space by between about ten to about twenty percent is the significant increase business that is experienced by downtown merchants if easy-to-find, nearby, on-street parking is made available for use by potential customers. Stated in another way, adding an additional ten to twenty percent to the availability of premium downtown parking space has a positive economic impact that extends well beyond the significant resulting increases in income from parking space rentals.
Thus, while the problem of providing needed vehicle parking space has confronted the public for many years; while the problem and its detrimental effects are becoming increasingly more serious; and while reasonable steps to address these issues would have been taken long ago if an appropriate solution were known, no prior proposal has provided an appropriately simple, inexpensive and easy-to-implement solution. Nor have prior proposals taken the novel approach of addressing "parking problems" by utilizing fire hydrant improvements that are designed to ensure that ready hydrant access is maintained without an attendant need to sacrifice of adjacent vehicular parking space.

System for ensuring ready access to fire hydrant without sacrificing adjacent parking space for motor vehicles


Novel compounds are provided which are glycogen phosphorylase inhibitors which are useful in treating, preventing or slowing the progression of diseases requiring glycogen phosphorylase inhibitor therapy such as diabetes and related conditions (such as hyperglycemia, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia), the microvascular complications associated with diabetes (such as retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy and delayed wound healing), the macrovascular complications associated with diabetes (cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, abnormal heart function, myocardial ischemia and stroke), as well as Metabolic Syndrome and its component conditions including hypertension, obesity and dislipidemia (including hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia and low HDL), and other maladies such as non-cardiac ischemia, infection and cancer. These novel compounds have the structure

Approximately 100 million people worldwide suffer from type II diabetes, which is typically characterized by hyperglycemia due to excessive hepatic glucose production and peripheral insulin resistance, the root causes for which are as yet unknown. Hyperglycemia is considered to be the major risk factor for the development of diabetic complications, such as retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy and macrovascular disease.
Accordingly, hepatic glucose production is an important potential target for type II diabetes therapy. The liver produces glucose by glycogenolysis (breakdown of the glucose polymer glycogen) and gluconeogenesis (synthesis of glucose from 2- and 3-carbon precursors). Particularly, glycogenolysis is catalyzed in the liver, muscle and brain by tissue-specific isoforms of the enzyme glycogen phosphorylase. Prior studies suggest that glycogenolysis may make an important contribution to hepatic glucose output in type II diabetes. See, for example, WO 96/39384; WO 96/39385; EP 978279; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1998, 95, 1776–1781; J. Med. Chem. 1998, 41, 2934–2938; Exp. Opin. Invest. Drugs 2001, 10, 439–454; EP 1136071; and WO 03/37864. Thus, glycogen phosphorylase inhibitors are believed to be useful therapeutic agents for treating type II diabetes and delaying the onset of diabetic complications by decreasing hepatic glucose production and lowering glycemia, while providing minimal risk of hypoglycemia and weight gain. See Id.
Based on the aforementioned references and additional references, for example, WO 96/39384; WO 96/39385; WO 00/47206; U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,322; WO 99/43663; EP 1088824; US 2001/0046958; EP 1149580; WO 01/23347; EP 1177791; WO 99/26659; U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,463; EP 1136071; US 2004/0002495 and EP 1041068, it is believed that glycogen phosphorylase inhibitors may be useful in treating, preventing or slowing the progression of diseases such as diabetes and related conditions (such as hyperglycemia, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia), the microvascular complications associated with diabetes (such as retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy and delayed wound healing), the macrovascular complications associated with diabetes (cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, abnormal heart function, myocardial ischemia and stroke), as well as Metabolic Syndrome and its component conditions including hypertension, obesity and dislipidemia (including hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia and low HDL), and other maladies such as non-cardiac ischemia, infection and cancer.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

2-Amino-1-functionalized tetralin derivatives and related glycogen phosphorylase inhibitors

Abstract: or stereoisomers or prodrugs or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein W, R1, R2, Y and Z are defined herein.


A device and a method for managing access rights to a wireless network uses wireless connection devices advantageously based on a smart card, which enable the wireless connection to the network once connected to a terminal. These devices include devices for time and/or geographical management of access to the network and authentication device. These devices can be easily preprogrammed by the entity managing the service and then distributed to the users.

The present invention concerns a device and method for managing access rights to a wireless network.
At the present time, communication networks and more particularly the internet are playing a greater and greater part in communication, whether on a personal level or on a business level. Users express the desire to be able to connect to this network in a way that is if possible permanent or tending to become permanent. In this context, one of the favoured access means is the wireless access that can take place from a mobile communication terminal. In particular, access according to the WiFi standard standardised by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) in the 802.11 family of standards is tending to become general. This access takes place by the deployment of WiFi access points connected to the information network and enabling terminals, typically a portable computer, to establish a connection with this access point. Once this connection is established, the data traffic is relayed by the access point between the terminal and the communication network.
Such access points are deployed by many economic players. Public accesses managed by local authorities in public establishments such as libraries can be cited. Accesses made available to travelers in airports, railway stations or hotels can also be cited. Businesses also tend to deploy points of access to their computing network and to the internet, firstly for their employees and secondly for visitors.
The purpose of some of these accesses is to be open in an unlimited or uncontrolled fashion, typically a public access or in certain cases access for employees in the company. On the other hand, the purpose of other accesses is limited or controlled, whether for reasons of security for visitors in a business or because it is wished to charge for access, typically in an hotel. These limits may be geographical, visitor access being for example limited to a meeting room in a company. These limits may be temporal, where a system of connection credits sold in an hotel or railway station for example can be used.
At the present time, these constraints are generally managed by the AAA system (Authentication, Authorisation and Accounting) in the form of user accounts with which the constraints are associated. This system is expensive to manage, any sale of a service requiring an update on the central system and the distribution of associated connection identifiers to the user.

Device and method for managing access rights to a wireless network


A heating element having at least one filament. The filament(s) are supported by an insulating trough which reflects heat and insulates a rear wall of a refractory tube within which said trough is mounted. The element may incorporate a metal rod located within, and substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the insulating trough. The metal rod enables an external electrical connection to be made with the filament(s) at one end only of the heating element such that all external connections to the outside power source may be made at the opposite end of the heating element.

Heating elements commonly utilize metal resistors containing iron, chromium and aluminum alloys. These resistors are commonly constructed in a helical form and are mounted within a tube formed of quartz, vitreous silica, or vitrified ceramic composition.
Heating elements such as those described above have many uses in industry. They are, in particular, very widely used for drying papers, fabrics, paints, wood, agglomerated or stratified plates and panels and various granulates. Frequently they are installed in heating containers, wherein they are typically arranged parallel to one another in front of a reflecting metal plate.
Radiant heating elements in which the active element comprises a helical resistor exposed to air, have a limited operating temperature, e.g., 1000.degree. C . The mechanical resistance of the metal alloy used in the resistor, the effects of oxidation, and the desired wavelength of operation all restrict the operating temperature. An extreme operating temperature is associated with short wavelength emission, and thus the medium wavelength is the desired energy form. Since lower operating temperatures are used to produce medium wavelength radiation, in order to produce enough thermal energy for practical use it is desirable to utilize several resistor filaments positioned parallel to one another. Most commonly, two such resistors are utilized.
Moreover, it is common to install the two resistors parallel to each other in a single tube, such as a silica based tube. Two methods have been utilized in the prior art for separating two resistors housed within the same tube. In the first method, the tube was divided into hemi-sections (i.e., with a cross-section shaped like the figure "8") by a septum running the length of the tube. In a second method, a second, smaller tube is placed as an insulator through the center of the main tube. This tube may, for example, be formed from the same material as the main tube.
One problem with the use of the first method is the necessity of utilizing electrical connections at both ends of the tube. The second system, by contrast, could allow sufficient room between the smaller tube and the wall of the main tube to permit such a connection at the ends of both resistors. It is also possible to pass an electric cable through the smaller tube so as to make a connection with the resistors at the end of the main tube and thus to obviate the need for electrical connections at either end of the heating element. However, even though it might be possible to utilize a form of tube within a tube design to gain a single end electrical connection heating element, the system has the drawback of creating a vibratory phenomena during actual operation.
Depending on the characteristics of each filament, such as diameter, length, temperature, and wavelength, it may be advantageous to supply electrical power to two resistors in either a parallel or a series circuit configuration. In the prior art embodiment discussed above having a cross-section shaped like the figure "8", it will be necessary to make connections to the heating element at either end of its tube. Junction boxes can be connected to the filaments at either end of the tubes to allow either series or parallel configuration.
If the heating element design utilized is the small tube within the main tube embodiment, it might be possible to make all electrical connections from one end of the tube only by passing a connecting wire behind the smaller tube in order to connect to the ends of the resistors distal to the electrical terminus of the heating element. The disadvantage to this arrangement is that once the heating element is configured for either parallel or series circuitry, changing the configuration requires disassembly of the heating element. There are no known heating elements in the prior art comprising a heating element tube with all the electrical connections at one end only, in which the configuration of multi-resistors within the element could be changed easily without the need to disassemble the heating element.
In the prior art, heating elements utilizing the vitreous silica tubes described above have been provided with a thin layer of gold on their rear face. This technique effectively diminishes the amount of thermal radiation released at the rear aspect of the heating element. This technique has been less than satisfactory, however, in that the gold layer is mechanically fragile and its presence necessarily limits the operating temperature of the heating element. If any overheating of the silica/gold interface occurs i.e., if the temperature exceeds 800.degree. C., the gold layer becomes virtually useless and no longer exerts any effect upon the radiation. Furthermore, prior to the installation of the heating element tube, the gold layer is extremely susceptible to mechanical damage. Moreover, utilizing gold in a heating element also significantly adds to the expense associated with this item.
Other means have been used in the past for reflecting and concentrating radiation emitted by the incandescent filaments of heating elements. U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,622 discloses, for example, a high-temperature linear filament of tungsten placed eccentrically towards a rear wall of a circular tube of quartz and parallel to the tube axis. The tube itself is embedded in a coaxial semi-cylinder of ceramic fibres in such a manner as to focus the radiation along a straight line parallel to the axis on the other side of the filament, outside the tube. This design, which is well adapted to photocopying technology, is not suited, however, to precise positioning of multiple heating filaments. This design also lacks the utility of a one end only electrical connection design utilized in a heating element. It also lacks the versatility of simple selection of series, or parallel electrical configuration.
Both the ceramic fibre design of U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,622, and the existing gold reflector technology result in unnecessary heating of the wall of the tube proximate to the gold or ceramic layer. Radiation traverses this wall once upon initial emission, and again at reflection thus reducing the rigidity of the tube wall and lowering the thermal efficiency of the system.


This invention describes a protective device and associated method for protecting (including the protection from water and dust) a mobile terminal whether or not the terminal is in use, and for providing a hands-free operation of the mobile terminal, wherein the mobile terminal can be a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a MP3 player, or any similar portable communication device or a mobile electronic device.

Wireless communication has advanced significantly over the past few decades. Today, mobile terminals (such as mobile phones, pagers, personal digital assistants, and similar devices) play an important role in society. An increasingly large percentage of the population carries some sort of mobile terminal. People of all ages and walks of life use these mobile terminals to communicate, access the internet, play games, store information, and organize their calendars. People often rely on having easy access to their mobile terminals at all times.
One of the most important characteristics of a mobile terminal is its portability. Consumers constantly demand smaller and lighter mobile terminals that are easier to carry around on a day-to-day basis. In response to consumer demand, today's mobile terminals are often designed to be easily carried in a pocket or handbag or attached to a belt. To achieve smaller sizes and weights, today's mobile devices often lack any kind of significant protection from the elements. Most of the mobile terminals today are highly susceptible to water, dust, and dirt, and few have any significant shock protection.
As consumers increasingly rely on their mobile terminals, they desire to take their mobile terminals everywhere they go and have access to them at any time of day. As a result, today's mobile devices are frequently used in environments hostile to the mobile terminal's electronics. For example, a person who takes a cell phone, PDA, or similar device, to the beach risks harming the device by getting the device sandy or wet. Likewise, someone who works outdoors and is exposed to the elements may desire to have a mobile terminal that is water, dirt, and shock resistant. Even, sitting by the pool or on a boat talking on a mobile phone could be disastrous if the phone is splashed or accidentally dropped in the water. Countless other situations exist, like jogging, hiking, camping, or attending sporting events, where a person may desire to have their mobile device handy but at the same time may not wish to risk exposing the device to potentially harmful environments.
Since a mobile terminal is often a significant investment for the user and would, at the least, be inconvenient to replace, a means of adequately protecting the terminal is needed. Typical protective cases that are currently available consist of flexible leather or plastic jackets that fit snuggly over the terminal. In order for the mobile terminal to be useable with these protective covers in place, these covers generally have cutouts that expose the input and output components of the terminal, such as the keypads, speakers, and microphones. As a result, such covers provide little protection from water, sand, and dirt, and provide almost no added shock protection if the terminal is dropped.
Hard plastic cases that exist in the art, such as that described by U.S. Pat. No. 6,456,487, are generally not waterproof and may require covers to be sealed against the elements. Also, some cases require that the terminal be removed from the case prior to use. Similarly, a person could wrap their terminal in a waterproof plastic bag, but again this would require removal of the terminal prior to use. As a result, cases that require the terminal to be removed for use provide no protection to the terminal during use, when the terminal is often most vulnerable.
Wireless headsets can be used to access a mobile phone while the phone is stored in a secure location. These headsets generally communicate with the mobile terminal using BLUETOOTH wireless technology. BLUETOOTH wireless technology enables cable-free connections by using radio frequency signals to communicate with the mobile terminal. For the headsets to work, the mobile terminal must be in close proximity to the headset. As a result, the mobile terminal must typically be with the user anyway and, therefore, will still need some means of protection. The small size of the headset limits the input, output, and power components that can be placed on the headset. Furthermore, a person using a headset with a mobile phone while the phone is protected in a handbag or backpack cannot see the display on the phone. To see the phone, the person would have to take it out of the bag, thus exposing it to the harsh environment from which the person was protecting it. Finally, these headsets are not waterproof themselves.
Accordingly, a device is needed that allows consumers the ability to use their small, lightweight, mobile terminals in all kinds of environments without worrying about harming or destroying the terminal. Ideally, the protective device should be waterproof, buoyant, and able to absorb the shock associated with dropping the mobile terminal. At the same time, it would be beneficial to be able to easily use a mobile device and enjoy much of its rich functionality while it is protected.
The mobile telephone is the most commonly used mobile terminal. Mobile telephones are in every day use in many different settings including home, automobiles, bicycles, carried on the person in pocket, and in various recreational activities, many of which are outdoors. Some of these outdoor activities can involve proximity to the beach and other water-related activities such as boating, water skiing, etc. Other outdoor activities may involve proximity to dirt and dust and from which it may be desirable to protect one's mobile phone. It is also desirable in some outdoor activities to be able to carry the mobile phone on the person without having to use one's hands so that operation may be conducted in a "hands-free" manner. Mobile phones are now equipped with many different functionalities and may include functions beyond simple voice telephony. Such may include music downloads, radio, multimedia messaging, etc. It would be desirable to have a means for protecting a mobile phone in harsh outdoor environments while still being able to use the phone in a hand-free manner and utilize many of the new functionalities besides voice telephony.

Protective devices for a mobile terminal


An apparatus for controlling an automotive vehicle including an engine and an automatic transmission. The apparatus is operable upon generation of an engine-output control command requiring an output of the engine during a shift-up action of the transmission initiated in the absence of the engine-output control command, and includes a shifting-progress calculating portion operable to calculate a degree of progress of the shift-up action of the transmission after a moment of generation of the engine-output control command, on the basis of a change of a rotating speed of a rotary element which changes with the progress of the shift-up action, and a gradual-engine-torque-increase control portion operable to control the engine on the basis of the degree of progress of the shift-up action calculated by the shifting-progress calculating portion, so as to gradually increase an output torque of the engine with the progress of the shift-up action.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a vehicle control apparatus operable to control an automotive vehicle during a shifting action of an automatic transmission of the vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle control apparatus which is operable, upon generation of an engine-output command requiring an engine of the vehicle to provide a desired output during a shift-up action of the automatic transmission initiated in the absence of the engine-output command, to efficiently establish an output torque or drive torque of the engine according to the engine-output command, while preventing or minimizing a racing phenomenon of the engine, an excessive increase of a thermal load of frictional coupling devices of the automatic transmission, or an excessive shifting shock of the automatic transmission.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In the field of an automotive vehicle, there is widely used an automatic transmission of a type arranged to transmit an output of an engine to drive wheels of the vehicle, at a selected one of a plurality of speed ratios by establishing a corresponding one of operating positions of the automatic transmission, by selecting a corresponding one of different combinations of operating states (engaged and released states) of a plurality of frictional coupling devices incorporated in the automatic transmission. JP-A-7-247873 discloses an example of a control apparatus to control an automotive vehicle provided with an automatic transmission of this type, which apparatus includes shift control means for shifting the automatic transmission by engaging one of a plurality of frictional coupling devices while releasing another of the frictional coupling devices, and engine-torque-increase restricting means operable upon an operation of an accelerator pedal during a shift-up action of the automatic transmission to reduce its speed ratio (input speed/output speed), which shift-up action is initiated while the accelerator pedal is in the non-operated position. The engine-torque-increase restricting means is arranged to restrict an increase of the engine torque irrespective of the operation of the accelerator pedal, to prevent a shifting shock of the automatic transmission due to a racing of the engine, until the frictional coupling device to be engaged to effect the shift-up action has been filled with a pressurized working fluid and brought into a state capable of transmitting a torque.
The conventional vehicle control apparatus described above is not arranged to control the engine torque in an inertia phase of the frictional coupling device to be engaged to effect the shift-up action of the automatic transmission, in which the torque capacity of the frictional coupling device is gradually increased. Instead, this vehicle control apparatus is arranged to control the hydraulic pressure applied to the frictional coupling device in question, according to an angle of opening of a throttle valve, for thereby preventing the engine racing, in the inertia phase of the frictional coupling device. However, this hydraulic pressure control inevitably suffers from a delayed control response of the hydraulic pressure. Further, the frictional coupling device in its inertia phase is required to provide the torque capacity including an inertia torque due to a speed variation of an input rotary member of the frictional coupling device. Accordingly, the conventional vehicle control apparatus undesirably suffers from an increase of an amount of slipping of the frictional coupling device, a tendency of the engine racing, an excessive increase of the thermal load and a consequent deterioration of durability of the frictional coupling device, and an increase of a shifting shock of the automatic transmission due to an excessive increase of the engine torque.

Vehicle control apparatus operable during shifting of transmission


The un-winder for hay bales has a frame having a pair of opposite arms, and a link bridging the pair of arms. One of the arms is to be drivenly mounted at least in part to a roof, particularly the roof of a barn. The other arm is provided with means to unwind a bale of hay. This enables unwinding a bale of hay in a barn particularly when space for unwinding is limited using a compact self-driven suspended un-winders for hay bales.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an un-winder for hay bales. This invention in a particular embodiment, is directed to a compact self-driven suspended un-winders for hay bales to be used in barns.
2. Description of Related Art
The prior art offers no solution for unwinding a bale of hay in a barn particularly when space for unwinding is limited.
De Marce teaches, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,321,991 dated Nov. 18, 1919, a hay spreader for barns and hay sheds having a tiltable platform.
Popiolek teaches, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,733 dated Mar. 14, 1978, an apparatus for separating and distributing rolled bales of agricultural material by placement between a pair of inclined endless conveyers, the apparatus being attached to a tractor.
Forster teaches in U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,331 dated Aug. 2, 1983, a bale feeding attachment for a large round bale handling machine to be pulled with a tractor.
Townsend teaches, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,573 dated Oct. 25, 1983, a bale handling apparatus for tractors.
Godberson teaches, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,940 dated Jul. 13, 1976, another bale handling apparatus for tractors.
Bishop teaches, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,656 dated May 3, 1988, a cylindrical bale feeder for field vehicles.
Wilson teaches in U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,289 dated Dec. 6, 1988, another bale loader handler and feeder for a trailer.
Stack feeders which are less relevant, have also been described by Brooks in U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,051 dated Jun. 26, 1973; Garrison et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,438 dated Aug. 20, 1974; Lundahl et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,524 dated Aug. 7, 1979.
Liet et al teach, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,732 dated Jun. 29, 1982, a device to transport a silage block.
As far as applicant is aware there is no existing simple un-winder for hay. They generally require tractors.


The invention is directed to methods and apparatus for automatically changing from bi-ventricular pacing, in which an implantable medical device (IMD) applies pacing stimuli to both ventricles of a heart during a cardiac cycle, to single-ventricle pacing, in which the IMD paces one ventricle and inhibits pacing of the other. An IMD applying the techniques of the invention automatically changes from bi-ventricular pacing to single-ventricle pacing, or vice versa, as a function of the reliability of left ventricular pacing. Exemplary techniques for determining the reliability of left ventricular pacing include impedance measurement, capture testing, capture threshold testing, or any combination thereof.

Some patients receive an implantable medical device (IMD), such as a pacemaker, that is capable of applying pacing stimuli to the left ventricle of the heart, or to the right ventricle, or to both ventricles. Pacing both ventricles during a cardiac cycle, a technique known as "bi-ventricular pacing," may be useful for treating inter—and/or intraventricular electrical-mechanical dysynchrony. In some patients, however, pacing the left ventricle alone may be as beneficial as bi-ventricular pacing, or perhaps more beneficial than bi-ventricular pacing.
When a patient first receives an IMD that can perform bi-ventricular pacing, the physician for the patient typically enables bi-ventricular pacing, causing the IMD to pace both ventricles. Bi-ventricular pacing is often seen as a safety measure. In the event of failure or dislodgement of the left ventricular pacing lead, pacing only the left ventricle may result in a failure of pacing to "capture" the ventricles, i.e., to cause the ventricles to activate. Left ventricular pacing that fails to activate the ventricles does not help the patient. Because of considerations such as these, physicians are hesitant to rely on left ventricular pacing, and may program the IMD to apply bi-ventricular pacing.

Bi-ventricular and single-ventricle pacing


Disclosed is a method for detecting nucleic acid hybridization by using intercalator binding to hybridized nucleic acid, wherein oxidation-reduction of transition metallic complex is induced to cause electrochemiluminescence, thereby providing a method for detecting nucleic acid hybridization without a special labeling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for detecting nucleic acid hybridization, in which electrochemiluminescence is promoted by using intercalator which is peculiarly binding only to double-stranded nucleic acid.
2. Description of the Background Art
Methods for detecting a result of nucleic acid hybridization generally include nucleic acid hybridization detection methods by a radioautography, a laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and an electrochemical method.
The radioautography method which detects nucleic acid hybridization by labeling target nucleic acid as radioactive isotope is the most widely used in molecular biology. 32P is used as the radioactive isotope, and photographic films are used to detect a binding state of target oligonucleotide and probe oligonucleotide which are labeled. The radioautography method does not require much basic knowledge, thereby easily being applied. However, the radioautography method has several disadvantages that long analysis time such as several hours and a day makes it impossible to know a result fast, a resolution ability is low with orders of 0.1˜10 μm, and radioactive isotope used in excitation is not stable.
Recently, a laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) method is much used in DNA hybridization detection because several kinds of fluorescence material is used, a resolution ability is excellent, and a result is immediately known. Nowadays, if a charge coupled device (CCD) camera to which fluorescence analysis and image technique are combined is introduced, molecules labeled as fluorescence materials can be imaged real time. However, said method also has several disadvantages that DNA of a sample has to be labeled as fluorescence material before measuring the DNA of a sample, a process to separate and refine the DNA is complicated, a stability for experiments is required, and expensive equipments such as a laser and an attached device for optical detection and an expensive image scanner for scanning a two-dimensional substrate are required.
The method for detecting DNA hybridization by an electrochemical method is one to detect DNA hybridization by using a binding of metallic complex having activity electrochemically and double-stranded DNA. Even if the method is enough simple to provide a cheap detection apparatus, sensitivity is not good.
Since the aforementioned conventional methods for detecting nucleic acid hybridization have several disadvantages, a new detecting method having a high sensitivity is necessary. Especially, a development of a small and cheap system for detecting nucleic acid fast without a process that a sample is bound to label material is required as a portable diagnosis device.

Electrochemiluminescence detection method for nucleic acid using intercalator and transition metal complex


An optical device includes a vertically aligned liquid crystal cell that holds a liquid crystal material, a compensating element made of a negative uniaxial refractive material having an optical axis tilted with respect to a system optical axis, and having a fixed positional relation with the liquid crystal cell, an adjustment element having a planar shape and a phase difference in a plane perpendicular to the system optical axis, and a rotary adjustment mechanism that rotates the adjustment element in the plane perpendicular to the system optical axis to adjust the phase difference influencing light transmitted through the adjustment element.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an optical device provided with a vertically aligned liquid crystal panel and a phase compensating element, and a projector incorporating the optical device.
2. Related Art
As past liquid crystal projectors, there have been projectors for forming image light by controlling transmitted light with liquid crystal light valves each provided with a pair of polarization plates disposed in front of and behind a liquid crystal panel. Further, as such a projector, there has been a projector using a negative uniaxial compensating element, for example, for view angle compensation of the vertically aligned (VA) liquid crystal panel (see e.g., JP-A-2006-11298 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,412).
However, the compensation principle using the negative uniaxial compensating element for the VA liquid crystal with pretilt requires a space for tilting the element, which causes problems such that fine adjustment after combining the RGB pixels causes pixel misalignment, or that the integration with the liquid crystal panel is not achievable. All of the problems described above are caused by the fact that the negative uniaxial compensating element must be tilted.
In more specific explanations, in the case in which the VA liquid crystal panel is compensated with the negative uniaxial compensating element, it is required in principle to align the pretilt of the liquid crystal with the optical axis of the compensating element with good accuracy. However, since manufacturing variations existing in pretilt of liquid crystal is larger than the required adjustment accuracy, as a result, there arises necessity of tilting the compensating element to fit the pretilt of each of liquid crystal members. As described above, adjustment by tilting the compensating element requires the space for the tilt. Further, even if the adjustment of the tilt of the compensating element is possible, there is caused the pixel misalignment by the thickness of the compensating element in the three LCD projectors after adjusting positions of the pixels of the respective liquid crystal members. Still further, although it is desirable to integrate the compensating element and the liquid crystal panel also from a viewpoint of space saving, if the tilt adjustment is executed individually for each of the liquid crystal panels, the integration can hardly be realized.


A motor includes a permanent magnet rotor having opposed magnetic poles supported for rotation about an axis. A stator surrounds the rotor and consists of conductors extending parallel and uniformly around the rotor axis, in order to provide a uniform current sheet and a constant force per unit current acting on the rotor.

This invention relates to a transducer motor having a rotor comprising a permanent dipole magnet and a stator comprising coils wound in a particular fashion to interact with the magnet.
Several proposals have been made to use rotary motors to drive the radiator of a transducer or loudspeaker. This is in contrast to conventional loudspeakers having linear drives, in which a cylindrical voice coil is suspended around its axis between the poles of a magnet and is axially movable along the axis to a limited extent.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,358, the rotary shaft of a motor is connected directly to a vane and enclosed within a baffled enclosure. The motor employed is of the commutated type, in which the current in the coil of the rotor is switched to the active portion of the coil as it rotates. As a result, the force per unit current on the shaft remains constant, irrespective of the rotary position or degree of rotation of the shaft.
Another loudspeaker driven by a motor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,727. In this patent, the rotary motion of the shaft of a commutated motor is converted to linear motion and is used to drive the radiator of the speaker.
The use of rotary motors to drive loudspeakers offers numerous improvement over conventional drives. Rotary motors are generally more efficient, may have an unlimited degree of movement, and, with commutation, can provide a constant force per unit of current. Linear drives of conventional voice coil speakers are limited by the mass of the moving coil, limited excursion, maximum available magnet strength, and the like. On the other hand, conventional commutated rotary motors are relatively complicated in design and expensive to produce, and also may have limited velocity and acceleration values.


Control of the exothermic chemical reaction between an oxidizing agent and an associated fuel, particularly potassium permanganate and ethylene glycol, is produced by binding the oxidizing agent such that there is a controlled exposure of the oxidizing agent to the fuel, the controlled exposure of the oxidizing agent to the fuel corresponding to a predetermined rate of reaction.

The invention relates to apparatus and methods for providing controlled exothermic chemical reactions which produce a heat output of a predetermined, controlled duration and intensity. Particularly, the invention relates to apparatus which produce heat by use of controlled exothermic chemical reactions.
The oxidation of alcohols and the associated liberation of heat energy during the oxidation reaction is well documented. The number of oxidizing agents available to oxidize alcohols is quite extensive, yet the most common oxidizing agents are those comprising manganese and chromium. For instance, primary alcohols can be oxidized into carboxylic acids, usually by heating with aqueous potassium permanganate. Alternatively, potassium chromate may be used to oxidize primary alcohols into aldehydes, which are in turn readily oxidized to acid.
Additionally, secondary alcohols may be oxidized to ketones by a variety of agents; for instance, by chromic acid, aqueous potassium chromate (K.sub.2 Cr.sub.2 O.sub.7), chromium sesquixoide in glacial acidic acid or chromium dioxide (CrO.sub.2) in pyridine.
However, use of exothermic oxidation reactions to provide heat under controlled conditions is fraught with a number of inherent difficulties. For instance, common oxidizing agents are strong oxidizers and may produce a fire hazard if not properly contained in a controlled environment. Also, the reaction rate of oxidation reactions may be very rapid, thus producing an instantaneous and intense release of heat when the oxidizing agent and the fuel come in contact.
In light of these difficulties, it is important that precise control and containment of the intensity and duration of the reaction be obtainable and available. To provide such control, we have determined that the oxidizing agent and the fuel must be selectively exposed to each other in amounts which both produce a specific, calculated amount of heat evolution and also react in a sustained and controlled fashion without combustion or extreme fluctuations in heat evolution. Thus, by controlling the exposure of the reactants to each other the rate, intensity and duration of the chemical reaction may be controlled. Particularly, when the use of an exothermic chemical reaction is desirable for use in conjunction with a heating device, preferably a food heater, the control and containment of the chemical reaction achieves an even greater importance.
To provide optimal heating characteristics for a food heater, a chemical heater should have the following attributes: (1) the heater should have a high heat output per unit mass of reactants; (2) the reaction rate of the reactants should be easily controllable over a wide range of times and temperatures; and (3) the reactants should have as their major component a liquid such that heat transfer is optimized between the heat provided by the reaction and the material to be heated by conduction. These particular attributes are provided by a controlled exothermic chemical reaction.
Accordingly, it is one object of this invention to provide a novel method of providing a controlled exothermic chemical reaction and the use of such a method in conjunction with a heating apparatus. Another object of this invention is to provide a food heater which provides a controllable and accurate rate of heat input to the material to be heated.


A device for compensating friction of a motor driven power steering system, comprising a sensing unit for sensing at least one of a steering angle, an angular speed and a vehicle speed, and a steering torque corresponding to the at least one of the steering angle, the angular speed and the vehicle speed; and a control unit for storing the steering torques sensed through the sensing unit in a storage unit when the at least one of the steering angle, the angular speed and the vehicle speed sensed through the sensing unit falls into the respective setting range. The control unit calculates an average value of the stored steering torques when the number of steering torques stored in the storage unit is equal to or higher than a reference number, and computes a friction-compensating torque based on a result obtained by comparing the average value with a reference value.

1.Field
The present disclosure relates to a motor driven power steering system of a vehicle, and more particularly to a device and method for compensating friction of a motor driven power steering system.
2. Description of Related Art
A power steering system for a vehicle serves as a steering system for providing a power to aid a driver's manipulation to a steering wheel of a vehicle. As such a power steering system, a type of power steering system that uses a hydraulic pressure has been widely used, but recently a type of Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS) system using an electric motor is increasingly used. The MDPS system has the advantages that it is light weight, has less occupied space and dispenses with oil exchanges, compared to a conventional hydraulic type power steering system.
Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 10-2010-0056312 published on May 27, 2010 and entitled "Method for compensating steering of motor drive power steering system" discloses a motor drive power steering system.

Device and method for compensating friction of a motor driven power steering system


Provided is a composite metal-wide-bandgap semiconductor tip for scanning tunneling microscopy and/or scanning, tunneling lithography, a method of forming, and a method for using the composite metal-wide-bandgap semiconductor tip.

A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is an instrument that provides images of solid surfaces with atomic resolution. The operation of the STM is based on the tunneling current, which flows when a very sharp tip biased relative to a conducting substrate approaches the conducting surface at a distance of approximately one nanometer. The tip is mounted on a piezoelectric tube, which moves the tip vertically (perpendicularly to the sample surface) and horizontally (parallel to the sample surface) by applying voltages to its electrodes. Thereby, the electronics of the STM system control the tip position in such a way that the tunneling current or the distance between the tip and the surface is kept constant, while at the same time scanning a small area of the sample surface. This movement is recorded by the computer, which can generate an image of the surface topography. Under ideal circumstances, the individual atoms of a surface can be resolved and displayed.
In a similar way STM is used for surface modification of a metallic or semiconductor surface allowing controlled nano-patterning of those surfaces. One of the first demonstrations was made by T. C. Shen et al. (Shen, T. C., Wang, C., Abeln, G. C., Tucker, J. R., Lyding, J. W., Avouris, Ph., Walkup, R. E. Atomic-Scale desorption through electronic and vibrational excitation mechanisms. Science 268, 1590-1592 (1995)) using an STM to control surface reactions with adsorbed atoms and molecules. Shen et al. demonstrated that it was possible to use an STM tip to desorb hydrogen from hydrogen terminated silicon (100) substrates, using a multiple vibrational excitation technique with tunneling electrons at low applied voltages, and proposed that single H atom desorption was possible. However their results showed that in general the high current densities employed often meant that both H atoms on a single silicon dimer were desorbed. Today when we discuss surface modification using STM tips, we refer to applications including but not limited to: reconstruction of annealed surface of semiconductors and metals; modification through surface chemistry and annealed surfaces of semiconductors and metals; lithography; creation of memory sites for storage and digital information and quantum computing.
The recent technical developments in STM, however, have shown that this technology does not allow large areas of patterning with a high yield. The problem is that the tip usually is modified by the large field applied, with atoms moving in response to the large applied fields thereby changing the atomic scale morphology and giving uncontrolled shifts and distortions to the lithographic pattern. This modifies the atomic details of the STM tip apex, which impacts its ability to write consistently.
Through the years several methods of preparing STM tips have been developed. Many different materials have been used. Some of the most common materials used today are tungsten (W), platinum iridium (PtIr) and gold (Au). Tips made with those materials can be prepared by various methods. Typically electrochemical etching or wet etchings are employed. These are all crystalline, polycrystalline, or amorphous metals with relative high atomic mobilities along the surface that show significant changes to the tip under continued writing conditions, limiting the amount of writing before reconditioning of the tip is required.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Rugged, single crystal wide-band-gap-material scanning-tunneling-microscopy/lithography tips


A method and apparatus for measuring optical power or insertion loss within an optical cross-connect system utilizing a plurality of parallel light beams sampled at switch fabric input and output portions via imaging devices.

The invention relates generally to an optical communication system and, more particularly, to a power monitoring arrangement suitable for use within a free-space optical switching system.
Optical switching including free-space, beam-steering optics is known. Beam-steering switches are capable of providing a large number of connections within a single stage because each of the individual input and output ports may be configured to a very large number of states. For example, an optical beam from a specified input port may be steered to different angles, thus directing the beam to a large number of output ports.
To ensure that the beam-steering switches direct as much optical energy from an input port to an output port, a training process is utilized whereby optical signals propagated through a switch fabric by various beam-steering switches are measured prior to communication to an input node and after communication to an output node to determine beam attenuation or insertion loss associated with each connection.
A conventional optical power monitor comprises a power tap, which diverts a portion of an optical signal to an optical to electric (O/E) converter such as a p-i-n diode. The p-i-n diode provides a signal that is processed by a trans-impedance amplifier to produce therefrom an output signal suitable for processing by a controller to determine therefrom a power level.
Typically, each of N input ports and M output ports of an Nxc3x97M optical cross connect are associated with a respective optical power monitor. A conventional optical power monitor is provided at each of the N input ports and M output ports to facilitate input and output power measurements and derive therefrom insertion loss data associated with each optical connection within a switch fabric. Unfortunately, the cost of performing such power monitoring is relatively high.
The invention provides a method and an apparatus for measuring optical power within, for example, an optical cross-connect system.
Specifically, a method according to an embodiment of the invention comprises arranging a plurality of light beams according to a parallel configuration; diverting a first portion of the parallel light beams to a first imaging device; propagating a remaining portion of the parallel light beams through a medium; diverting a first portion of the propagated parallel light beams to a second imaging device; and determining an optical loss parameter using imaging data provided by the first and second imaging devices.

Power monitoring arrangement for optical cross-connect systems


An outrigger for mounting a dual-panel sign to a display system, the dual-panel sign having a first panel and a second panel positioned opposite the first panel. The outrigger includes a support end configured to be selectively coupled with the display system, an attachment end configured to be selectively coupled with the dual-panel sign between the first panel and the second panel, and an intermediate portion extending between the support end and the attachment end. The first panel and the second panel shield the attachment end from view. The support end, the attachment end, and the intermediate portion are each integrally formed of a rigid material. Sign assemblies and display systems provide additional advantages.

Businesses typically use a wide variety of display systems to display products to consumers. Common display systems in retail environments include horizontally oriented display shelves, hooks secured to a vertical peg board or support wall system, racks, end caps, display cases, and other devices. In order to draw attention to the items displayed and/or assist the consumer in locating the particular item for which they are searching, flags or signs may be mounted to the display systems indicating the type of product, brand of product, advertising, or other information helpful to the consumer. Such flags or signs should extend from the display systems, be effective in communicating the product type, brand name, logo etc. to the consumer, and be aesthetically pleasing so as not to distract from the product display itself.


A yaw rate sensor, including a substrate and a main extension plane, for detecting a yaw rate around a first direction in parallel to the main extension plane, a first Coriolis mass, and a second Coriolis mass, and a drive device configured to drive the first and second Coriolis masses in parallel to a drive direction perpendicular to the first direction, the first and second Coriolis masses, for a yaw rate around the first direction, experiencing a Coriolis acceleration in parallel to a detection direction, which is perpendicular to the drive and first directions, the first and second Coriolis masses having first/second partial areas and third/fourth partial areas, respectively. The first and third partial areas are farther from the axis of symmetry in parallel to the first direction, and the second and fourth partial areas are closer to the axis of symmetry in parallel to the first direction.

Yaw rate sensors are known from the related art. For example, a yaw rate sensor having two oscillating mass elements is discussed in publication WO 03064975 A1. Micromechanical yaw rate sensors for measuring yaw rates around a direction in parallel to the main extension plane of the substrate of the sensor are typically configured with planar oscillating masses or as masses rotating in the plane, which experience a Coriolis force in a detection direction, i.e., perpendicularly to the main extension plane, upon the occurrence of a rotational movement around the direction in parallel to the main extension plane. This Coriolis force is either ascertained via the electrostatic counterforce required for the location feedback (closed-loop regulation) or, for example, measured via the capacitance change due to the distance change to the substrate (open-loop operation).
Such yaw rate sensors may have two oscillating masses (partial oscillators), which are driven into an anti-parallel mode. If a yaw rate is present, an anti-parallel detection oscillation is initiated by the Coriolis force, which is capacitively detected and converted into a yaw rate with the aid of analysis electronics. It is related art that a partial oscillator is constructed from a drive oscillator and a Coriolis oscillator. The drive oscillator only participates in the drive movement and not in the detection oscillation. The Coriolis element participates in both the drive oscillation and the detection oscillation.
In addition to the Coriolis force, there are further forces for practically relevant usage cases, to which sensors or parts thereof are subjected and which may also induce a signal or which could corrupt the signal assigned to the Coriolis force, in particular inertial forces induced by linear accelerations and by rotational accelerations. The occurrence of these forces disadvantageously results in false signals during operation, because, for example, a rotational acceleration, for example, in the form of a rotational oscillation around the sensitive axis, directly results in a yaw rate signal. In particular if the rotational oscillation occurs at the frequency at which the yaw rate sensor is driven and occurs in phase with a Coriolis force, a particularly large possibility for interference results.