Randomly presented physical items can be temporarily stored in a grid-based material handling system, e.g., before they are handled by a robot. The grid-based material handling system arranges the randomly presented physical items within the grid, so that they exit the grid in an ordered sequence, e.g., for pickup by the robot. Programmable modules execute sequencing logic to move the items to target locations within the grid. The modules move interfering items out of the way of other items that are in transit to their target locations, as needed. The programmable modules allow the items to exit the grid when the requirements of a departure policy are met.

In an automated material handling system, items, such as boxes or cartons, are loaded onto pallets by a robot. For example, in automotive assembly plants, mixed-model assembly lines sequence subassemblies or parts for final assembly. Preferably, the parts are delivered in sequence starting from the suppliers for the assembly lines. The sequence can be disrupted as a result of missing parts, delays, rework, parallel workstations, and other factors. Such disruptions require time consuming re-sequencing of the parts.
One approach to item sequencing involves an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), which uses computer-controlled systems to place items into and retrieve items from defined storage locations. Items are retrieved from the AS/RS (typically by cranes) and fed to the robotic pallet building workstations. To do this, a warehouse management system constructs a desired sequence and releases requests to the AS/RS in accordance with the sequence. However, if there are multiple cranes working in parallel, for example, the requests are not always fulfilled in the proper order. As a result, items often arrive out of sequence.
Another way to achieve the sequence of items required by the palletizing robot is to use a circular sortation conveyor. Items enter and loop around the conveyor until they are required at the workstation. Some disadvantages of this system include increased cycle time of requested items, inflexibility with respect to throughput capacity, and poor utilization of floor space.

Automated item sequencing in a high-density grid-based material handling system


The present device discloses a complete body passive exercise machine. A motor drives a crank shaft which rotates two foot plates about a given point. These foot plates are attached to limited slide joint assemblies which cause the foot plates to flex forwardly and rearwardly while they are being moved in a circle thereby exercising the legs and ankles. The crankshaft is also operatively attached to arm levers which are held onto by the user. The arm levers work such that the one of the user's arms is fully extended while the other is close to the user's body thereby working the arms as well as pivoting the torso.

The present invention relates generally to complete body passive exercise devices and more particularly to a machine which moves the arms forwardly and rearwardly, moves the legs up and down, rotates the ankles, and moves the feet.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that individuals who are paraplegic, quadriplegic, or in rehabilitation, have the need for passive exercise machines which work muscles that the user can not work on his or her own. It will further be appreciated by those skilled in the art that all of the muscle groups must be worked and must be worked in specific ways in order to be effective. To this end, there have been several attempts to provide passive motion exercise devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,213 issued to D. Redding on Oct. 23, 1984, discloses a therapeutic limb manipulator. The Redding device only moves the legs. It fails to move the arms and torso.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,501 issued to C. Durham, et al. on Feb. 25, 1986, discloses a non-passive exercise device. The arms crank pedals which, in turn, move the feet. The range of motion of the feet is limited to rotation about a center point.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,399 issued to K. Richardson on Sep. 27, 1988, discloses an exercise device whereby the arms are passively moved forwardly and rearwardly and the feet are moved about a center point. Unfortunately, the movement of the legs is too limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,673 issued to F. Heneger on May 29, 1990, discloses a passive device which exercises the legs and moves the feet about a fixed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,736 issued to Hirschreid on Jul. 23, 1991, is a passive exercise bicycle which moves about a fixed point.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,257 issued to R. Kaiser on Jun. 9, 1987, discloses a device which moves the arms and legs. However, it is intended for a user in a reclined position. It is not accessible by wheel chair. The same is true for U.S. Pat. No. 5,099, 828 issued to C. Duke on Mar. 31, 1992 and for U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,623 issued to L. Mahlandt on Jun. 22, 1975.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,541 issued to A. Parker, Jr. on Sep. 4, 1990, discloses a passive device which moves the user's arms and legs. Unfortunately, the leg movement is limited to an upward and downward motion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,203 issued to D. Wadelton on Dec. 7, 1971, discloses a passive foot and leg exercise device. No work is done on the hands.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,892 issued to F. Sawdon on Jun. 7, 1992, discloses an arch exerciser. Neither the hands nor the legs are moved.
What is needed, then, is a complete passive exercise machine. This needed machine must move and work the hands and arms. This needed device must also work the torso. This needed device must work the ankles as well as the legs. This device must work all of the major muscle groups at the same time. This device must be wheel chair accessible. This device is presently lacking in the prior art.


A method, devices, and an article of manufacture for reducing magnetic instability in a magnetoresistive read head of a combined read-write head after writing data onto a magnetic storage medium. The last write pulse polarity that results in the least amount of magnetic instability in the read head is determined, and is referred to as the designated polarity. Then, after a set of write pulses is written, it is determined whether the last write pulse has the designated polarity. If the last write pulse does not have the designated polarity, then an additional write pulse with the designated polarity is written. Thus, the last write pulse before a read always has the designated polarity, thereby reducing the magnetic instability of the read head, and consequently improving read head performance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improving the read performance of a combined read-write head used for data storage on magnetic media. More particularly, the invention concerns reducing magnetic instability in the read head of a combined read-write head after writing, to improve read performance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Combined read and write heads, which are typically merged heads or piggyback heads, are commonly used for storing and retrieving data on magnetic media such as magnetic disks and tape. Combined read-write heads include both a read head and a write head. In a merged head, the read head and write head share a second shield that is also the first pole of the write head. In contrast, in a piggyback head, the second shield and the first write pole are separate parts separated by a magnetic insulating layer. The read head portion of a combined read-write head frequently employs a magnetoresistive (MR) sensor to read data. The resistance of a magnetoresistive sensor changes when the sensor is exposed to a magnetic field. A positive polarity magnetic field results in a different resistance than a negative polarity magnetic field. To read data, a current is passed through the MR sensor and the sensor is exposed to magnetic fields on a magnetic medium. The resulting voltages across the sensor, which are representative of the data on the magnetic medium, are then detected. Alternatively, a voltage can be applied to the sensor, and resulting changes in current through the sensor which are representative of the data on the magnetic medium are detected.
MR sensors are commonly designed with the magnetization of the head oriented at the optimal angle, also referred to as the optimal bias point, in relation to the direction of the current through the sensor. Exposure of the MR sensor to the relatively large magnetic fields of the pulses from the write head in a combined read-write head can disturb the domain state in the MR sensor, causing the response of the MR sensor, and thus the response of the head, to become nonlinear and/or inconsistent, and can also result in Barkhausen noise. Repeatability of the response of the MR sensor when the MR sensor is successively exposed to magnetic fields, and linearity of the response of the MR sensor when the MR sensor is exposed to a magnetic field, are key to proper operation of the read head. Thus, the nonlinearity and nonrepeatability induced by the write pulses is highly undesirable.
This magnetic instability in the MR sensor, which can be caused by the write pulses, can degrade the read performance of the head, resulting in errors when reading data. One commonly used measure of instability of read heads is the covariance of the head (which can also be referred to as the xe2x80x9cbias Aljohn numberxe2x80x9d). The covariance is a measure of the instability of the voltage amplitude of the read head after writing with the write head, and is given by dividing the standard deviation of the amplitude of the voltage across the MR sensor, by the mean amplitude of the voltage across the MR sensor. Other measures of magnetic instability include the data error rate, the servo error rate, and track misregistration. The data error rate is determined by writing data to the disk and then reading the data and measuring the number of errors. The servo error rate is the number of servo errors in a time period. Position error signals are monitored to determine the amount of track misregistration. For example, the standard deviation of the position error signals can be used as a measure of magnetic instability of the head.
FIG. 1A is a graph relating to the covariance of the voltage amplitude across the MR sensor of a first merged head. FIG. 1A depicts the amplitude of the voltage across the MR sensor at a variety of track positions. The head was tested on a spin-stand, with the polarity of the last write pulse before each read being random. 250 samples were taken at each track position, and the covariance of the voltage amplitude was calculated at each track position. The covariance values, which are indicative of the voltage amplitude instability of the MR sensor at each track position, are printed above the horizontal axis. For example, for this first head, the covariance at track position 1500 (on-track) is 2.3.
FIG. 2A is a similar graph depicting the amplitude of the voltage across the MR sensor of a second merged head. As with the first head, 250 samples were taken at a variety of track positions, with the polarity of the last write pulse before each read being random. Covariance values are printed above the horizontal axis. For this second head, the covariance at track position 1500 is 1.7.
Magnetic storage devices, such as disk drives, commonly employ a number of combined read-write heads, for example, 20 combined read-write heads. Magnetic instability in any of the heads is undesirable. Magnetic instability of heads adversely affects production yields of disk drives, degrades the performance of heads that pass initial testing, causes servo instability in sector servo files, and calls into question long-term magnetic stability during the life of the product. Accordingly, any improvement in the magnetic stability of heads is highly desirable.
Broadly, the present invention concerns a method, devices, and an article of manufacture for reducing magnetic instability in a read head of a combined read-write head, after writing data onto a magnetic storage medium.
The invention is based upon the discovery that, in a combined read-write head having a magnetoresistive (MR) read head, magnetic instability in the MR read head can be reduced or substantially eliminated if the last write pulse before each read always has the same designated polarity. The combined head can be any type of combined read-write head, and will typically be a merged head or a piggyback head. The designated polarity is either always positive or always negative, with one of the polarities usually producing better results than the other for a particular head. This is in contrast to the previous practice wherein the polarity of the last write pulse before a read is dependent upon the data written, and is therefore random. The polarity of last write pulses that results in the smallest amount of magnetic instability is determined empirically. One or more of a variety of methods for determining the amount of magnetic instability can be used. For example, the covariance of the voltage amplitude, the data error rate, the servo error rate, and/or the amount of track misregistration can all be used to determine the amount of magnetic instability after both positive polarity and negative polarity last write pulses.
To practice an illustrative embodiment of the invention, the last write pulse polarity that results in the least amount of magnetic instability for the head is determined, and is then referred to as the designated polarity. Next, after a set of write pulses is written, it is determined whether the last write pulse has the designated polarity. If the last write pulse does not have the designated polarity, then an additional write pulse with the designated polarity is written. Thus, the last write pulse before a read always has the designated polarity.
The invention affords its users with the distinct advantage of improving the magnetic stability of the MR head, which improves the linearity of the response when the MR head is exposed to a magnetic field, and improves the repeatability of the response of the MR head when the MR head is successively exposed to magnetic fields. Accordingly, the performance of the read head is improved. The present invention also provides other advantages and benefits, which are apparent from the following description.

Unipolar last write which improves magnetic stability

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention is directed to a tray endowed with an improved rigidity and resistance to deformation and bending. The tray comprises a plurality of primary sidewalls and a plurality of chamfered corners having a corner secondary sidewall integrally formed with and extending from the base, wherein the primary sidewalls and corner secondary sidewalls define a product receiving cavity. The tray further includes a plurality of ribs integrally formed with and extending downwardly from the base, and a plurality of channels positioned between and separating adjacent ribs, wherein each channel is substantially perpendicular to a corner secondary side wall.

The present invention relates generally to primary packaging and more particularly, to formed packaging trays for containing a product. Specifically, the present invention refers to a formed solid tray for food and non-food products, endowed with improved rigidity and resistance to deformation and bending, by relying on particular tray features and geometries.
It is known to provide packaged, precooked or partially cooked food products, such as soups, stews, and rice, pasta or wheat products that can be reheated in a short time, for example in a microwave or conventional oven. These products are sometimes referred to as "ready-to-heat" or "one-minute" products. When such products are produced, the food product is placed in a rigid tray, whereupon a flexible plastic lidding film is sealed to the top of the tray. The package with the food product contained therein is then inserted into a microwave tunnel for cooking and/or pasteurization/sterilization of the food product to the ready-to-eat state, and during this cooking and/or pasteurization/sterilization process vapor from the food product is produced creating pressure in excess of the ambient atmosphere. These vapors are permitted to exit through an orifice in the lidding film covering the tray or by some other means. When the cooking and/or pasteurization/sterilization process is completed, the orifice is closed and the package is introduced into a cooling tunnel. A partial vacuum is created inside the package automatically as a consequence of cooling. One problem encountered in packages presently on the market is that if the tray is too soft, the package partially collapses when it cools and evacuates, typically causing the sidewalls and/or bottom of the rigid tray to be drawn inwardly towards the center of the package which dramatically changes the appearance of the package. Any deformation of the tray can jeopardize the hermeticity of the seal between the lidding film and tray. This deformation of the tray can also be intensified by the force exerted on the package by the change in shape of the flexible lidding film during cooling. This change in appearance of the package is aesthetically unpleasing and customers generally tend to reject products having an undesirable appearance. Deformation of the tray can be mitigated by some degree by increasing the rigidity of the tray by increasing its thickness. This however adds material and cost for the manufacture of the tray. Accordingly, there is still a need in the art for a formed tray endowed with an improved rigidity and resistance to deformation and bending, where these improvements are achieved by relying on specific tray features and geometries without requiring increased material cost and/or manufacturing costs.

Tray with enhanced rigidity and crush strength


The subject matter disclosed herein provides an apparatus for smoothing an output signal. The apparatus comprising can include an input, an output, one or more voltage regulator circuit components, and one or more graphene capacitors. The voltage regulator circuit components can be configured to provide for a change in the voltage level of signalling between the input and the output. The one or more graphene capacitors can be configured to provide for smoothing of the signalling provided to the output. Related methods, systems, techniques, and articles are also described.

Power converters are useful in a number of applications, for example, where the power or voltage supply for a device (such as a personal computer or the like) cannot be directly used by a particular circuit/sub-circuit within that device. The power supply needs to be changed from one voltage level to another in order to be suitable to power the circuit. One such type of power converter is a switching DC-DC regulator. Switching regulators or switched-mode regulators are efficient when used in accordance with their design parameters, but periodic loading of capacitors within such regulators can cause ripples in the voltage output when a connected load consumes power from the output stage capacitor.
In addition, the periodic loading (typical frequencies are at 100 kHz-100 MHz, in the future these frequencies are likely to extend even higher) generates high-frequency electromagnetic disturbances. Additional voltage regulation methods are often employed to help to stabilise the output voltage on a pico-second time scale, and to keep the effective regulator output impedance low.
The listing or discussion of a prior-published document or any background in this specification should not necessarily be taken as an acknowledgement that the document or background is part of the state of the art or is common general knowledge. One or more aspects/embodiments of the present disclosure may or may not address one or more of the background issues.

Voltage converter using graphene capacitors


A filter may include a substrate. The filter may include a stepped medium disposed on the substrate. The filter may include a first mirror disposed on the stepped medium. The first mirror may form a stepped mirror surface. Each step, of the stepped mirror surface may correspond to a channel, of a set of channels, of the filter. The filter may include a spacer disposed on the stepped mirror surface. The filter may include a second mirror disposed on another surface of the spacer.

An optical transmitter may emit light that is directed toward an object. For example, in a gesture recognition system, the optical transmitter may transmit near infrared light toward a user, and the near-infrared light may be reflected off the user toward an optical receiver. In this case, the optical receiver may capture information regarding the near-infrared light, and the information may be used to identify a gesture being performed by the user. In another example, information regarding the visible light, such as information regarding different wavelengths of visible light may be captured to image an object.
However, during propagation of light with a wavelength of interest toward a target and/or during reflection of the light from the target toward the optical receiver, ambient light may be introduced along with the wavelength of interest. For example, when an optical receiver is to receive near infrared light reflected off a target, the optical receiver may also receive visible light (e.g., from another light source, such as a light bulb or the sun). Thus, the optical receiver may be optically coupled to an optical filter, such as a bandpass filter, to filter ambient light and to allow one or more wavelengths of light to pass through toward the optical receiver. Additionally, or alternatively, when performing sensing of multiple wavelengths of light, a filter may be provided to ensure that each wavelength of light, of the multiple wavelengths of light, is directed to a different sensor.
A multispectral sensor device, which may be an optical receiver, may be utilized to capture information about the multiple wavelengths of light. The multispectral sensor device may include a set of sensor elements (e.g., optical sensors, spectral sensors, and/or image sensors) that capture the information and are coupled to a multispectral filter. For example, an array of sensor elements may be utilized to capture information relating to multiple frequencies, and the multispectral filter may direct, to each sensor element, light associated with a different frequency. In some cases, a single binary multispectral filter may be disposed to cover each sensor element of the sensor element array, and may form a set of channels for the sensor element array.


Methods and apparatuses are provided to select coefficients for modeling a system. Data collected from the system is used to generate a data matrix. An upper triangular matrix can be generated in accordance with the data matrix, and the upper triangular matrix can be pruned to remove selected rows and columns from the upper triangular matrix, thereby generating a pruned data matrix. A coefficient vector can be generated in accordance with the pruned data matrix. Various alternative methods of selecting coefficients for modeling the system, as well as apparatus, devices, and systems for performing said methods, are also provided.

Linear regressive modeling is a technique used to describe systems using a set of linear equations that share common variables, and has a variety of applications in modern communication networks. For instance, linear regressive modeling is used by digital pre-distortion (DPD) circuits to model non-linear characteristics of power amplifiers (PAs). One challenge in linear regressive modeling is to select an appropriate set of coefficients that produces an accurate, yet stable, model of the system. Specifically, if too few coefficients are selected, then the model may become under-defined such that it is incapable of accurately characterizing the system. On the other hand, if too many coefficients are selected, then the model may become over-defined such that it is unstable and/or overly-complex. In a system including a PA and a DPD circuit, an under-defined model may result in poor system linearity (e.g., relatively non-linear relationship between the system's input and output), while an over-defined model may result in an unstable system having a large dynamic range of coefficients. Accordingly, techniques for identifying a set of coefficients that provide tight and stable modeling are desired.

System and method for pruning an over-defined system model


A bird feeder is made from a paperboard container, such as those commonly employed to contain milk. In a first embodiment, two slots are cut in the container above the floor in opposing vertical walls, and two holes are formed near the floor, one hole located below each slot. Feed troughs are attached to the container by tabs which expand inside the container after being passed through a slot, each slot serving one trough. In this embodiment, a separate perch is provided by a rod or stick projecting from the container. The perch is supported by the container floor, and held in place by frictional fit as it penetrates the two opposing holes below the slots. In a second embodiment, there is only one hole and one slot, the slot being located at the level of the hole. The perch and trough are provided as a unitary structural element, the trough having a peg projecting outwardly, so as to provide a foothold for a bird. The trough penetrates the slot, and an attached rod portion extends from the trough to the opposing wall, passing through the hole. A groove formed in the rod assures securement of the perch and trough component with the container by engaging the wall of the container.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bird feeder, and more particularly, to a construction employing a paperboard container therefor, e.g., a common milk container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bird feeders have been the subject of prior art patents. The prior art has also employed paperboard containers as base structures for subsequent modification to provide bird feeders. A primary example is U.S. Pat. No. 2,775,226, issued on Dec. 25, 1956 to Robert L. Early. A metal or plastic trough is combined with a paperboard container, the latter being scored, cut, and folded as appropriate to form a suitable, cooperating base for receiving the trough. The trough remains external to the container, and provides a suitable perch enabling a bird partial entry to the interior of the container. The bird has access to feed available within the container from this position.
Further examples of bird feeders based on paperboard containers are seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,441,002, issued to Harold L. Lawalin et al. on Apr. 29, 2969, and 4,233,941, issued to Ralph K. Webster on Nov. 18, 1980. Lawalin et al. '002 provides a flap or opening projecting inwardly into the container, thus providing access to food. '002 also includes a wire or rod perch which engages this opening. A bird sits on the perch, and avails itself to seed or other food matter within the container by inserting its head into the container.
Webster '941 modifies the container such that a tab formed therein, and formerly providing a member reinforcing the floor of the container, now projects outwardly, in the manner of a ledge, to provide a perch. The perch is secured against leaning downwardly in response to the weight of a bird by two triangular buttressing members attached to the body of the container. A small opening discharges seed or other food matter onto the perch. This food supply is replenished by gravitational migration of the food supply stored within the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,462, issued to Virgil C. Brockman on May 14, 1963, discloses a paperboard container preconfigured to fold into a configuration essentially similar to Webster '941 and to Early '226.
Another combination container and feeder is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 2,943,600, issued to Arthur M. Rosoff on Jul. 5, 1960. A feed dispensing tray or drawer pulls out from the container.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


Systems and methods are provided for estimating a diagnosis of a vehicle in need of repair in advance of performing any diagnostic tests on the vehicle. The invention further estimates the costs for a repair to a vehicle in need of repair in advance of performing any diagnostic tests to the vehicle. The system is particularly useful at a point-of-sale system in a vehicle repair center or in a off-site customer access tool.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for estimating a diagnosis of a mechanical system in need of a repair prior to evaluating the mechanical system, as well as systems and methods for estimating the costs to repair the mechanical system in view of the estimated diagnosis. More particularly, the invention relates to such systems and methods where the mechanical systems are automotive vehicles.
2. State of the Art
Automotive vehicles are complex mechanical system and, at times, break down or fail to operate at optimum performance such that repair or servicing is necessary. When a potential customer brings a vehicle to a vehicle service center (VSC) for servicing, it is difficult to provide a diagnosis of the problem before an experienced technician connects a diagnostic code reader to the vehicle's computer and analyzes diagnostic codes received from the vehicle's computer, places the vehicle on a lift and physically examines the vehicle, and/or takes the vehicle for a test drive. In addition, limited technician resources at a VSC can result in significant wait times before a vehicle is evaluated. Therefore, in order for the potential customer to receive diagnostic feedback as to the problem or otherwise service the vehicle, as well as an estimate of the costs to repair the problem, the vehicle may need to be left at the VSC for an uncertain period of time before the results of any diagnostics are reported to the potential customer. This can greatly inconvenience or frustrate the potential customer. Further, as some potential customer may be unwilling to wait or leave the vehicle for the time required for the initial diagnostics, the potential customer may leave without having the appropriate repair performed which can result in lost revenue for the VSC.

System and method for pre-evaluation vehicle diagnostic and repair cost estimation

PRECISION AUTO REPAIR CENTER OF STAMFORD, LLC


A seat airbag apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed. A side cushion is deployed so as to protrude forward from a seatback in order to protect the lateral sides of an occupant, and a front cushion is deployed so as to protrude from the side cushion to the front of the occupant in order to protect the front side of the occupant. The deployment of the side cushion and the front cushion is limited by an upper dual-surface tether structure, formed by an upper-side surface tether and an upper-front surface tether, and a lower dual-surface tether structure, formed by a lower-side surface tether and a lower-front surface tether, thereby increasing force with which movement of the occupant is restricted, thus further enhancing an occupant protection effect.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
An autonomous vehicle is a kind of smart vehicle employing autonomous driving technology by which the vehicle is capable of autonomously travelling to a set destination by itself without manipulation of the steering wheel, the accelerator, the brake, or the like by a driver. These days, the development of such autonomous vehicles is accelerating.
When autonomous driving technology is commercialized, a driver will be able to select a relaxation mode to take a rest while traveling in a vehicle, rather than directly driving the vehicle, and in the relaxation mode, an occupant will be able to freely move or rotate a seat or to variously change the posture of the seat as desired.
However, we have discovered that in the event of an accident, a conventional airbag apparatus for a vehicle is not capable of effectively restricting the movement of occupants in different sitting postures in an autonomous driving situation.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the present disclosure and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the related art already known to a person skilled in the art.


An abrasive article includes a substrate having opposed first and second surfaces, a make coat on at least a portion of the first surface, abrasive mineral particles on at least a portion of the make coat to provide an abrasive surface and a size coat arranged over at least a portion of the abrasive surface, wherein the size coat has a Young's modulus of less than 100,000 psi.

The usual objective of any sanding operation is to remove unwanted material from the surface being sanded and to prepare that surface for subsequent coating operations. Typically, these two objectives are diametrically opposed. Removing unwanted material from the surface in a reasonable amount of time requires the use of a coarse abrasive while preparing the surface for subsequent coating operations requires the use of a fine abrasive. Thus, the operator must sand the surface multiple times with a succession of increasingly finer grit sandpaper to achieve both objectives. The coarse sandpaper removes unwanted material quickly. However, a progression of increasingly finer sandpaper is often needed to remove the unacceptably deep scratches left in the surface by the coarse sandpaper. This entire sanding process is viewed by many as laborious, time consuming, and generally distasteful. Sandpaper manufacturers recognize this dilemma and have offered many products in an attempt to solve the problem.
Conventional sandpaper is usually produced by combining a relatively thin inflexible backing (paper, film etc.), a relatively stiff make adhesive (urea formaldehyde resin, hide glue, phenolic resin, etc.), abrasive mineral, and a relatively inflexible size resin (urea formaldehyde resin, hide glue, phenolic resin, etc.). Conventional sandpaper is thus fairly stiff and inflexible, but has an aggressive cut.
Conventional sanding sponges are relatively flexible and produce a fine scratch pattern, but lack significant cut. Flexible sanding cloths combine thick, conformable screen-like backings to make a product that has both the comfort and ease of use of conventional foam sanding sponges and the aggressive cut of conventional sandpaper. The open spaces adjacent each of the resilient bodies of the sanding cloth mesh serve as reservoirs to collect the dust generated during the sanding process. This effectively removes the sanding dust from the abrasive surface, resulting in less abrasive surface clogging and improved stock removal.
Surprisingly, the results of scratch finish testing of the sanding cloth and a conventional sanding sponge demonstrate that a significantly finer scratch pattern is left in the sanded surface by a sanding cloth than a conventional sanding sponge of comparable abrasive grit. These results can be explained by the checkerboard arrangement of small abrasive coated resilient bodies. Each of the abrasive coated resilient bodies is essentially a small sanding sponge that collectively provide unique properties. The checkerboard arrangement of the abrasive coated resilient bodies, however, also contributes to the fine finish left in the sanded surface. Because each abrasive coated resilient body is connected to an adjacent abrasive coated resilient body with an inherently flexible joint, each abrasive coated resilient body is free to follow a slightly different path across the sanded surface. This results in multiple overlapping sanding paths with a fine scratch finish. Many of the individual sanding paths will overlap each other during the surface finishing process yielding an unexpectedly fine sanding scratch pattern.
As described above, the sanding cloth material can provide desirable cut (i.e. stock removal) with less scratching (i.e. smoother finish). Certain applications outside traditional wood or metal sanding, however, require very low scratch or less harsh minerals. The fine scratch pattern and the conformable backing of the sanding cloth can be combined with "soft mineral" to achieve these desired results. Examples of low scratch applications include cleaning and scouring, polishing and buffing, cosmetics, and medical and dental applications. Furthermore, encapsulated materials may be coated as particles on the sanding cloth material. The material contained within the encapsulant would be released with product use. This would allow delivery of many types of material to the work surface, such as polishes, cleaners, and medical compounds.


Provided are a non-volatile dual inline memory module (NVDIMM) supporting a DRAM cache mode and an operation method of the NVDIMM. The NVDIMM includes a DRAM chip, an NVM chip, and a controller that controls the DRAM chip to operate as a cache memory of the NVM chip. The controller sends a read command to the DRAM chip with reference to a cache address of data requested to be written from a host to the NVM chip, and sends a write command to the NVM chip with reference to an address of the data requested to be written at a time point when a read latency (RL) of the DRAM chip and a write latency (WL) of the NVM chip coincide with each other.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are related to a memory system, and more particularly, to a non-volatile dual inline memory module (NVDIMM) for supporting a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) cache mode and an operation method of the NVDIMM.
In a field of information processing devices such as servers, there is an increasing demand for high-speed access of large data such as a database (DB) for the big data era. As for computing capability of information processing devices such as servers that handle big data, data loading capability is a bottleneck. To further improve performance of the information processing devices, it is conceivable to mount a large memory on a central processing unit (CPU) memory bus having a large throughput band.
A type of memory module that includes both volatile and non-volatile memories mounted on the CPU memory bus is being developed. The memory module of this type is called an NVDIMM. The NVDIMM may include a combination of non-volatile memories such as DRAM and a flash memory. Alternatively, the NVDIMM may include a combination of DRAM and a resistive memory of 3D-cross point type that can be overwritten.
The NVDIMM possesses a high-speed processing technology of DRAM and at the same time, a large capacity of non-volatile memory. The NVDIMM is drawing attention as demand grows for big data, cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), a high-speed network, and the like.

Non-volatile dual inline memory module (NVDIMM) for supporting dram cache mode and operation method of NVDIMM


A display sign of considerable brightness for prominently displaying a name or message. In one form, the sign is formed in an elongate, rectangular fashion, while in another form, the sign is formed in an elongate, rotatable cylinder. In either form of the sign, the light source extends substantially the length of the sign, and a reflector is poised behind the light source for enhancing illumination.

This invention relates to display signs, and in particular to a display sign that is exceptionally bright and clear.
Back lit display signs are common, and are used for endless advertising and informational purposes. In a typical sign, a logo or message is printed on a glass or plastic plate, and the remainder of the plate is darkened or coated to be opaque to the passage of light. When the plate is back lit, only the logo or message imprinted thereon is visible.
It is important that the display of the sign be as clear and visible as possible. Therefore, in the past, diffusers or reflectors have been employed for focusing and directing the light which is back lighting the logo or message.


A thermoelectric unit for a thermoelectric insulated container. The thermoelectric unit is configured to be inserted in a small opening in the insulated container. A cold side heat sink is mounted on the portion of the thermoelectric unit that extends inside of the insulated container, and a hot side heat sink is mounted on a portion of the thermoelectric unit that extends outside. The thermoelectric unit is arranged so that a thermoelectric module for the thermoelectric unit, the cold side heat sink, and the hot side heat sink are aligned linearly. A hot side fan and motor unit is mounted on the outside of the hot side heat sink and a cold side fan and motor unit is mounted on the outside of the cold side heat sink. The hot and cold side fan and motor units may also be mounted linearly with the hot and cold side heat sinks.

Insulated containers, also called "coolers," are prevalent in contemporary life. The insulated containers are often used for picnics or for outdoor activities such as camping or sporting events. In addition, insulated containers are becoming more prevalent in the medical industry, where they are used to move transplant organs and other articles that need to remain cold during transport. Also, the need to transport commercial goods such as perishable food, drink, medicine, and environmental samples is becoming more important.
One downside to current insulated containers is the limited length of time that an insulated container can keep something cold. For example, if ice is used in the insulated container, the ice will often melt because the cooler cannot maintain the colder interior temperatures needed to prevent melting of the ice. Frozen ice packs do not last much longer. Traditional vapor cycle systems, while efficient, are quite large and heavy. Most of these systems require a 110-volt outlet to operate. A few 12 volt or 24 volt systems are available today; however, these systems are also large and heavy. The vapor cycle 12 and 24-volt systems also may have problems with vibrations during transportation. In addition, there exists absorption and adsorption refrigerators, but these fail if enough vibrations exist and improper orientation may also cause the units to fail. Like the vapor cycle refrigerators, these cooler systems are heavy, and must use ammonia in order to freeze.
One solution that has been used for providing insulated containers that can maintain cold temperatures for long periods of time is to incorporate solid state heat pumps such as thermoelectric modules in the insulated containers. Such devices are typically provided power through a DC power input such as a car cigarette lighter adapter.
Many of the newer insulated container refrigeration units utilize a thermoelectric module. Thermoelectric modules are solid state heat pumps based on the Peltier Effect, by which DC current applied across two dissimilar materials causes a temperature differential. A thermoelectric cooler utilizes a thermoelectric module that is capable of providing this temperature differential.
The typical thermoelectric module is manufactured using two thin ceramic wafers with a series of proton (P) and neutron (N) doped bismuth-telluride semiconductor materials sandwiched between them. The ceramic material on both sides of the thermoelectric adds rigidity and electrical insulation. The N type material has an excess of electrons, while the P type material has a deficit of electrons. One P and one N make up a couple. The thermoelectric couples in a thermoelectric module are connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel. A thermoelectric module can contain one to several hundred couples.
As the electrons move from the P type material to the N type material through an electrical connector, the electrons jump to a higher energy state, absorbing thermal energy and providing a cold side of the thermoelectric module. Continuing through the lattice of material, the electrons flow from the N type material to the P type material through an electrical connector, dropping to a lower energy state and releasing energy as heat to the heat sink, providing a hot side of the thermoelectric module.
The fact that a thermoelectric module includes both a hot side and a cold side permits a thermoelectric module to be used to heat or to cool. For insulated containers in which cooling is to be provided, the cold side is used to remove heat from the insulated container.
The fact that a thermoelectric module has a hot side and a cold side presents problems, however. For a thermoelectric insulated container to operate efficiently, the hot side is typically arranged on the outside of the insulated container. However, the cold side needs to be in communication with the interior of the insulated container so that it may remove heat from the interior of the insulated container. Thus, the insulated container must be arranged to effectively allow the hot side and cold side to be mounted in the proper locations. This arrangement usually requires at least a portion of the insulation of a container be removed for the purpose of installing the thermoelectric module and its associated heat transfer components. Removing some of the insulation of the cooler can cause an associated heat loss, which can greatly affect performance of a thermoelectric insulated container.
Another problem with thermoelectric insulated containers is that their assembly is labor intensive. This presents a problem in that labor is expensive. Moreover, because insulated containers are often too large to ship economically, labor for a thermoelectric insulated container often may not be performed at more cost efficient labor areas, such as overseas.

Insulated container with thermoelectric unit


Thermoformable, Long Lasting Phosphorescent Acrylic Resin for Castings, Adhesives, Moldings, Coatings and Liquid Inlays are manufactured from thermosetting acrylic syrup, promoters, additives, fillers and phosphorescent pigments and are used to manufacture thermoformed, cast, coated, inlayed, molded articles and reinforced composites. These phosphorescent resins glow-in-the-dark, and exhibit a long lasting, bright glow after exposure to light (photoluminescence). The use of suspending agents keeps the heavy phosphorescent pigments in suspension and results in a phosphorescent resin that has a long shelf life. The Phosphorescent Acrylic Resin compositions disclosed herein may be used in thermoform and thermoset applications to produce solid-surface acrylic resin products with a robust glow-in-the-dark property.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention consists of a significantly improved long lasting thermoformable phosphorescent acrylic resin blend, filled or unfilled, for casting, molding, coatings, liquid inlays and adhesives. Specifically, the present invention relates to the thermoformable, photoluminescent, thermoluminescent and electroluminescent properties. These polymer composites are characterized by unique, long lasting glow-in-the-dark properties exhibited after being exposed to light. The visual afterglow lasts for 10 hours or more after proper exposure to light.
2. Description of the Background
Products of the general character of acrylic resins as mentioned above are commercially available under many trade names such as Corian, LG Hi-Macs, Lucite, Staron, Formica, etc. Acrylic resin materials have long been known and commonly available for use as kitchen and bathroom surfaces, cubicle dividers and wainscoting, etc. Broadly speaking these materials are formed from thermoset acrylic and or unsaturated polyester resins. Fillers range widely and are used to improve thermal and mechanical properties, impart rigidity, flame retardance and are used to give particular visual effects to the product. Many prior existing patents are directed to these types of products. Examples of those patents include "Filled Polymethylmethacrylate Article and Process for its Manufacture" in Duggins et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,933; "Thick Cured Polymethylmethacrylate Article and Process for its Preparation" in Slocum U.S. Pat. No. RE. 27,093: "Use of Alumina Trihydrate in a Polymethylmethacrylate Article" in Duggins U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,865, these being but a few of the many U.S. patents that exist in this field.
The aforementioned products have experienced tremendous commercial success as surfacing especially for countertops and tabletops in kitchen and bathroom surfaces as well as vertical applications like wall cladding and signage. The said products (broadly termed as Solid Surface), are non-porous, solid materials that are manufactured in a variety of colors and patterns that run throughout the product yielding a soft, translucent warm look. This material is repairable, thermoformable, resistant to heat, impact, fungal and bacterial growth. The material can be easily repaired when damaged (breaks or cracks) and renewed (normal wear, staining, etc.) to its original look:
Pigments commonly used in these products are composed of small particles of inorganic compounds, generally metallic oxides that are approximately spherical in shape. Other pigments, fillers and aggregates (larger pieces of colored material) are used to produce various visual effects. Alumina Trihydrate (ATH) is commonly used filler due to its particular fire retardant properties.
Luminescence has been a long observed natural phenomenon. Heat has long been known to excite and cause liquids and solids to emit shorter wavelengths of light as their temperature increases. Examples of this would be a metal that is increasingly heated proceeding through a red glow until becoming 'white hot'. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as incandescence or a light produced by heat. Incandescence has been a useful method of producing light for many years and includes fire, candles, various types of oil and gas lamps and electrically stimulated bulbs using tungsten as a filament. Electrical current has been well known to cause certain gases like neon to become luminescent.
In contrast there is also a phenomenon of fluorescence/phosphorescence that does not require the application of heat. Fluorescence differs from phosphorescence only in the duration of the afterglow. Fluorescence afterglow is measured in seconds, while phosphorescence is measured in minutes/hours. Examples of naturally occurring 'cold luminescence' (hence termed phosphorescence) include organisms that exhibit bioluminescence, examples of which are foxfire (a fungus-growing on decaying material that produces light), lightning bugs, glow worms and various deep sea denizens. Certain naturally occurring chemicals like phosphorous exhibit a dim glow Other compounds like phosphors for example, are luminescent (phosphorescent) after exposure to sunlight, x-rays or electron beams.
There are many phosphorescent substances including sulfides, silicates, metal aluminum oxides, silicates and rare earth oxides. Zinc sulfides are the most well known phosphorescent pigment. Zinc sulfide can be activated by adding various activators, the most common of which is copper (forming ZnS:Cu). Aluminum, gold, gallium, manganese, indium, scandium, lead, cerium, terbium, europium; gadolinium, samarium, praseodymium or other rare earths and halogens can all be used to activate the zinc sulfide by incorporating into the crystal lattice structure. Other sulfide phosphors include ZnCdS:Cu, ZnCdS:Ag, CaS:Bi, CaSrS:Bi alpha barium zinc sulfides, barium zinc cadmium sulfides, strontium sulfides and others. Various patents describe the use of the aforementioned substances. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,595,804 (1971) to Martin, Jr. discusses the method used to improve the zinc sulfide and zinc cadmium sulfide phosphors having aluminum and being activated with silver or copper. U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,817 (1996) to Bredol, et al. explains the method of manufacturing luminescent zinc sulfide activated by copper and aluminum. U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,582 (1976) to Fan, et al. deals with luminescent materials comprising alpha barium zinc sulfides or barium zinc cadmium sulfides activated with cerium, europium, lead, manganese or terbium and their method of manufacture. U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,678 (1976) to Dikhoff, et al. also deals with a method of manufacturing zinc sulfide and or cadmium phosphors.
Aside from the previous patents mentioned, describing the manufacture of the pigments themselves, there are many patents to describe zinc sulfide type phosphorescent pigments and their use specifically in thermoplastic and thermoset applications. Some examples are: U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,813 (1980) to Gravisse, et al. (Photoluminescent textiles using metal sulfides), U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,895 (1997) to Farzine-Nia, et al. (Photoluminescent orthodontic appliances using zinc sulfide with calcium cadmium and strontium), U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,734 (1997) to Yeh, et al. (Phosphorescence carpets with directional signs using copper or zinc sulfide doped with copper and manganese), U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,437 (1997) to Geisel (luminescent fibrous material using metal aluminate oxide pigments with a thermoplastic polymer. The luminescent comprised as a thermoplastic polymer such as polypropylene, polyamides, polyesters, polymethacrylics, polyacrylates, polycarbonates, PVC, polyethylene, acrylic resins, polyurethane, halogenated polymers, etc. U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,621, (1977) to Ishihara, et al. covers making phosphorescent resins and formed articles using zinc sulfide doped with copper and resinous materials such as ABS resins, acrylic, acetals, PET, nylon, PVC, etc.
However, all zinc sulfide derivatives suffer from the problems of being degraded by UV light in the presence of moisture and especially from a relatively short afterglow. These limitations negate the use of zinc sulfide combinations by themselves in any phosphorescent product that requires long lasting afterglow or are exposed to any UV light source.

Long lasting thermoformable phosphorescent acrylic resin for casting, molding, coatings, and adhesives


A sensor device for measuring the vital parameters of a fetus during birth. The sensor device includes a sensor having a wire spiral for attaching the sensor to the fetus, and a placement device for placing the sensor on a leading part of the fetus. A measuring device is connected to the sensor, and the sensor has on a front side facing the fetus at least one light emitter and at least one receiver which are conductively connected with the measuring device. The conductors are arranged in a cable branching off the sensor towards the measuring device, and the cable is introduced laterally, and essentially tangentially, onto a back surface of the sensor and extending in front of an insertion point into the sensor to form a helical partial winding approximately in a plane that extends approximately perpendicular to a center axis of the wire spiral. This arrangement is advantageous in that the cable does not interfere with the tight contact of the sensor with the tissue of the fetus, either during the placement of the sensor or during birth, ensuring that reliable signals will always be received from the fetus during the entire duration of the birth.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sensor device for measuring the vital parameters of a fetus during birth.
2. Field of the Invention
A sensor device for measuring the vital parameters of a fetus is known, for example, from German patent DE 38 100 08. Such a sensor device includes a sensor, a placement device for placing the sensor on the leading part of the fetus, and a measuring device connected to the sensor, whereby the sensor has on its front side facing the fetus and, arranged in the center of the sensor, a wire spiral for attaching the sensor to the fetus, and at least one light emitter and at least one receiver which are connected by way of conductors with the measuring device, said conductors arranged in a cable branching off the sensor towards the measuring device.
In this known sensor, the cable exits the sensor through the back of the sensor on the opposite side of the wire spiral, approximately in the direction of the main axis of the wire spiral.
Praxis has shown that usable signals can be received reliably only when the sensor is in tight contact with the tissue of the fetus for the duration of the birth. But during birth, a rotation of the fetal head frequently causes the sensor to move below the cervix.
In the process, the cable is bent and thus exerts a tilting moment on the sensor, possibly having an adverse effect on its attachment to the fetus. This risk is increased if in addition a pull is exerted on the sensor via the cable. Actually, such a risk already exists during the placement of the sensor.

Sensor device for measuring the vital parameters of a fetus during birth


Three-dimensional (3D) depth imaging systems and methods are disclosed for automatically determining shipping container fullness based on imaging templates. A 3D-depth camera captures 3D image data of a shipping container located in a predefined search space during a shipping container loading session. A container fullness application (app) receives the 3D image data, and determines therefrom a 3D container point cloud representative of a shipping container. An imaging template that defines a 3D template point cloud corresponding to a shipping container type of the shipping container is loaded into memory. A fullness value of the shipping container is determined based on a 3D mapping that is generated from alignment of a 3D container front portion of the 3D container point cloud with a 3D template front portion of the 3D template point cloud.

In the transportation industry, shipping containers (e.g., shipping containers as used in air and/or ground transportation and shipping, such as unit load devices (ULDs)) are typically loaded using a variety of different techniques that take into account a variety of different sizes and configurations of boxes, packages, or other items for shipping or transit. In addition, shipping containers, themselves, typically have various sizes and storage capacities (e.g., where such shipping containers are constructed to handle different cargo sizes, loads and/or configurations). All of the various loading techniques, box sizes/configurations, and shipping container sizes/configurations create various permutations of loading strategies, techniques, and differences in overall loading operations that are difficult for loaders and/or managers overseeing loading of such commercial trailers to manage.
Such various permutations of loading strategies, sizes, and configurations create problems in tracking performance or quality of loading metrics across different personnel (e.g., loaders), each of which may be located in different geographic locations and/or employ different loading regimens. In particular, loaders or managers may desire a greater understanding and improved metrics relating to the efficiency of how their shipping containers are loaded so that they can employ or make better management decisions to improve loading time or otherwise loading efficiency for logistical operations associated with shipping containers.
In addition, problems arise from traditional shipping container loading strategies and techniques (e.g., such as traditional loading strategies for ULD containers). For example, during loading, it is often difficult to track the loading progress or status of a shipping container, as loaders move and arrange packages in or around the shipping container. This creates problems with loading logistics and decreases operational efficiencies within warehouses or other loading facilities, especially within large facilities that house tens of hundreds of shipping containers, which must be processed within a set period of time to meet shipping deadlines or other shipping standards.
Conventional techniques, including manually monitoring loading status of shipping containers, including container fullness, can be untenable, especially at large facilities. Such manual techniques tend to fail to provide an updated or current status of loading of shipping containers within a shipping facility, especially at large shipping facilities where there is generally a desire to track status of great many shipping containers across a wide storage area.
Existing systems attempt to solve these problems, but are often ineffective as they require weeks of algorithm adjustment to support various container types (e.g., such as additional code, parameter estimation/fitting, testing, etc.). In particular, existing techniques fail, especially within large scale shipping operations, as existing techniques require separate software coding for each shipping container, with numerous parameters that must be experimentally configured. For example, existing systems typically apply a "scaling factor" to estimate fullness, which are typically very slow to develop as such techniques require experimental calculations on each shipping container type to determine their specific "scaling factor." In addition, existing systems assume a cuboid container shape, most of which are actually not a cube, and, are therefore inaccurate as to their measurements as a result.
Accordingly, there is a need for three-dimensional (3D) depth imaging systems and methods for automatically determining shipping container fullness based on imaging templates as described further herein.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Three-dimensional (3D) depth imaging systems and methods for automatically determining shipping container fullness based on imaging templates


A luminous signalling device comprises a body made of transparent synthetic material, basically in the form of a plate having two larger faces set opposite one another, at least one of which carries an image. A plurality of LED devices of the SMD type which emit white light is coupled externally to at least one of the walls that define the peripheral edge of the aforesaid plate body. The arrangement is such that the rays of white light coming out of the LED devices undergo multiple total reflections within the plate body, which thus functions as a light guide. In areas corresponding to selected areas of the image, the face of the plate body is made up of diffusing optical elements designed to diffuse outwards the rays of light that are incident on said areas within the body.

The present invention relates to luminous signalling devices, for instance luminous signalling panels of the type illustrated in FIG. 1 of the attached drawings. Panels of this type are contemplated in the safety standards currently in force for indicating, for example, emergency exits from premises.
According to traditional techniques, the luminous panels of the type illustrated in FIG. 1 have a hollow supporting body containing inside a light source, for example a phosphorescent lamp, for the backlighting of the face of the panel bearing the image that is to be displayed.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a luminous signalling device which, as compared with known devices, has a far more compact and simple structure and a more efficient operation.
With a view to achieving the above purpose, the subject of the invention is a luminous signalling device comprising:
a body made of transparent synthetic material, basically in the form of a plate having two larger faces set opposite to one another, at least one of which bears an image, two end walls, and two longitudinal walls;
a plurality of LED devices, some of which designed to emit white light, and others designed to emit green light, externally coupled to at least one of said end walls or said longitudinal walls, the arrangement being such that the rays of light coming out of said LED devices undergo multiple total reflections within the plate, which thus functions as a light guide; and
a distribution of diffusing, diffractive optical elements formed on the face bearing the image in areas corresponding to selected areas of the image designed to diffuse outwards the rays of light that are incident on said areas from within the plate.
The above-mentioned plate body may, for example, be made of polymethyl methacrylate or polycarbonate. LEDs (light-emitting diodes) that emit white light have been developed in relatively recent years in a form usable at an industrial scale. Particularly suitable for the purposes of the invention are the models NSCW 100 and NSSW 440 manufactured by the Company NICHIA. These white-light emitting diodes typically have the structure illustrated in FIG. 3 of the attached drawings. The LED proper, designated by 1, is set at the bottom of a cavity 2 made in a support 3 and filled with an epoxy resin matrix 4 englobing multicolour phosphors. The LED 1 is designed to emit blue light with a short wavelength but, following on interaction with the phosphors in the resin 4, the light rays emitted by the device are white-light rays. As indicated above, according to the invention a plurality of white-LED devices of the surface-mounted device (SMD) type, that is, a type suited for being mounted on a surface, is arranged. The various LEDs associated to a wall of the plate body of the device may be supplied by means of a channel and may be rendered adherent to the plate by means of a polymer layer having the additional function of improving LED/plate coupling. The aforesaid diffusing optical elements arranged in areas corresponding to selected areas of the image carried on one or on both of the faces of the plate body may, for example, be diffractive lenses or micro-refractive lenses. These diffusing optical elements are made by moulding or pressing (for instance, by injection-moulding or by a hot-pressing process) on the face of the plate body.
In the typical case exemplified in FIG. 1 of the annexed drawings, in which the image to be displayed presents a lighter-coloured shape on a darker background, for instance a white shape on a green background, the aforesaid diffusing optical elements are formed in areas corresponding to the light-coloured shape. However, it is also possible to arrange optical elements also in areas corresponding to the dark background of the image, differentiating the optical elements from one another so as to control the respective luminances. The image may be obtained on the face of the plate body, for example by means of silkscreen printing.
The device according to the invention may be made like a flag, with the image on both of the larger faces, or else also with the image on a single face. In the latter case, the opposite face is provided with a reflecting coating. The white LEDs may be arranged on a single wall of the plate body, or on two opposite walls of the plate body, or on all the walls that define the peripheral edge of the plate body.
Another subject of the invention is an alternative embodiment, in which the white-LED devices are used to illuminate from outside a panel bearing the image to be displayed, the said panel having diffusing prisms in points corresponding to selected areas of the image, shaped in such a way as to produce a predefined solid angle of light diffusion, the central axis of which is inclined with respect to an axis normal to the panel. This characteristic is exploited for panels designed to be arranged vertically in order to orient downwards the light rays diffused by the diffusing prisms arranged on the panel. This alternative solution is characterized by a higher overall efficiency, which enables a minimal number of LEDs to be used and by the fact that it does not require the use of a costly transparent plate.
In the said embodiment, a lens, preferably operating in total internal reflection and set in front of the LED, enables angular control of the light beam that is incident on the panel. A prism or, alternatively, a reflector, makes it possible to direct the portion of the light beam that diverges in the opposite direction towards the panel.


A method, system, and computer-usable medium are disclosed for, responsive to an attempted connection from a client to a server for establishing communications between the client and the server, redirecting the connection to a proxy and injecting protocol-independent header information into a datagram of the traffic between the client and the server, the protocol-independent header information including information based upon which the proxy enforces a security policy.

In many instances, an enterprise of networked computers may desire to perform an application filtering solution that offers more granular configuration and more detailed reports than a typical firewall solution. Often, it is desirable for this application filtering to be performed by a proxy external to the firewall wherein the proxy executes a content inspection service. Such proxy may be implemented with an external cloud service, another network external to that in which the firewall resides (e.g., remote site owned and maintained by the enterprise), or within the network in which the firewall resides. It is also desirable that such solution work with both unencrypted and encrypted network traffic, and such that a particular proxy is used regardless of setting of a client computer sending or receiving the traffic. Further, in many instances, it is critical that unencrypted user information and end point information is not communicated over a network. Existing network security solutions do not adequately satisfy these desires.

Protocol independent forwarding of traffic for content inspection service


A method, process or system for producing an iron oxide concentrate from a treatment slurry of a low grade mineral assemblage includes mixing a flocculant with the treatment slurry and dewatering the treatment slurry before passing the treatment slurry through a wet high intensity magnetic separator of a type that employs a flux amplifying matrix (i.e., a WHIMS-FAM device) and recovering an iron oxide concentrate fraction and a tailings fraction from the WHIMS-FAM device. Another method, process or system for producing an iron oxide concentrate includes passing the treatment slurry through a WHIMS-FAM device and recovering an iron oxide concentrate fraction slurry and a tailings fraction slurry from the WHIMS-FAM device; mixing a flocculant with the concentrate fraction slurry and dewatering the concentrate slurry to provide a thickened concentrate slurry before filtering the thickened concentrate slurry to provide a concentrate filter cake.

Due to the high demand for iron oxides that has existed over many decades, sources of high grade ore have become depleted or, in some areas, exhausted. As a result, a great deal of attention has been given to the development of technology to recover iron oxides from low grade iron ore materials. As used herein, the term "low grade iron ore" refers to a material that is composed of a mixture of one or more iron oxide and substantial amounts of one or more non-iron impurity, commonly one or more of quartz, chert, carbonate or the like. One example of a low grade iron ore material is the iron ore commonly referred to as taconite, an iron-bearing sedimentary rock, typically having an iron oxide content of from about 15% to about 40%, with the balance being non-iron impurities. For purposes of the present disclosure, the term "taconite" is used to refer to any natural iron ore material that is composed of a mixture of one or more iron oxides and substantial amounts of one or more non-iron impurities.
Because the iron oxide material in many taconite formations is at least partially in the form of magnetite, which is a mineral strongly influenced by a magnetic field, technology was developed many decades ago that utilized low intensity magnetic fields to separate magnetite and other minerals strongly influenced by a magnetic field, such as, for example, martite, and maghemite, from the other materials in taconite ores. The term "low intensity magnetic separator" refers to a separator that separates highly magnetically susceptible particles such as magnetite particles from particles that are weakly susceptible or non-susceptible to a magnetic field. Low intensity magnetic separators effect separation by subjecting a stream of mixed particles to a relatively low magnetic field having a strength. A wide variety of such separators, some of which are structured to separate a feed stream of dry particles and others structured to separate a feed stream of particles suspended in water (i.e., slurries), are described in the prior art. Low intensity magnetic separators are effective to separate the taconite ore into a magnetite concentrate fraction, which includes a higher concentration of magnetite than the starting taconite ore, and a tailings fraction, which includes a higher concentration of the non-magnetite materials than the starting particulate taconite ore.
Taconite ores, in addition to including magnetite, typically also include substantial amounts of iron oxides in the form of hematite or other iron oxides that are only weakly influenced by magnetic fields. In a low intensity magnetic separator, these non-magnetite iron oxides pass into the tailings fraction of the low intensity magnetic separation operation together with non-iron impurities. A substantial quantity of taconite tailings from prior low intensity magnetic separation operations have been placed in reject tailings deposition basins through the years. Other tailings materials that also include usable quantities of iron oxides include, for example, iron oxide tailings from natural iron ore wash, density separation, sluicing plants, or heavy media processing plants. In addition, other taconite ores and other iron-bearing ores have been mined and ground to particulate form, but subsequently deemed unsuitable for further processing with low intensity magnetic separators due to a determination that they include insufficient quantities of magnetite to make the operation economically feasible. Many tons of such materials have been placed in lean ore stockpiles. These tailings basins and stockpiles represent a collection of elements in a form that already has considerable energy, manpower and "carbon footprint" invested into the mining and size reduction of the rock involved and therefore such occurrences have even greater economic and environmental appeal in view of concerns regarding pollution and climate change. For purposes of the present disclosure, such tailings and stockpiled lean ores (whether referred to as taconite ores or by another name), together with lean ores in their natural state (i.e., unmined and/or unground), whether or not they include some amount of magnetite, and whether they include hematite, iron oxides other than hematite, or both, are referred to herein as "low grade mineral assemblages."
Economically feasible extraction of iron oxides from low grade mineral assemblages, whether present in their natural state, in lean or stockpiles or in tailings of prior mining or mineral processing operations, requires the use of energy efficient processes effective to separate the low grade mineral assemblages into a particulate fraction that includes iron oxides having iron concentrations that are sufficiently increased to have commercial value (referred to herein as a "concentrate"). The separation process can be very simple, involving few unit processes, or very complex, involving many unit processes. Substantial attention has been given over many decades to the development of processes for producing a concentrate from low grade mineral assemblages. Generally, such processes involve one or more unit processes within the general categories of comminution, separation and dewatering.
Comminution (also referred to as size reduction) typically involves crushing, followed by grinding, to reduce the size of the ore to a point that the minerals are liberated from one another and to prepare the material for physical and/or chemical separation. Comminution by crushing and/or grinding can be accomplished using, for example, a cone crushing device, a jaw crushing device, a roll press, a rod mill, a ball mill or a tower mill, each of which is well known in the relevant field and commercially available. In the case of tailings and lean ore stockpiles, the low grade ore materials have already been comminuted to a certain degree; however, further comminution may be required in some cases to optimize iron oxide recovery.
Once the ore has been sized, the mineral assemblages are then separated into fractions by one or more of the following unit processes: size separation, gravity separation, electrical or magnetic separation and froth flotation. Size separation uses the difference in particle size of the different minerals (e.g., washing clay from sand on a screen). Gravity separation uses the difference in density or specific gravity of the minerals. Equipment commonly used for gravity separation includes dense or heavy media, shaking tables, spirals, barrel washers, or jigs. Electrical or magnetic separation uses those respective physical properties of the minerals to effect separation. Froth flotation uses surface chemistry differences in the minerals. As will be appreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art, the term "separated" as used herein is not intended to require complete separation of iron oxides from gangue materials, but rather refers to the separation of the low grade ore material into a fraction having a higher concentration of iron oxides/lower concentration of gangue materials (referred to herein as a "concentrate fraction") and a fraction having a lower concentration of iron oxides/higher concentration of gangue materials (referred to herein as a "tailings fraction"). An object of all large-scale separation processes is to optimize the efficiency, productivity and profitability of the separation process by balancing the degree of separation of iron oxides from non-iron materials present in a mineral assemblage with the cost of each incremental increase in the degree of separation.
To use the above separation unit processes, a mineral assemblage typically must first be put into a slurry form. The term "slurry" is used herein to refer to a fluid-mineral suspension of the mineral assemblage in which the mineral particles are suspended in liquid water. A mineral assemblage can be provided as a slurry by mixing the mineral assemblage with water either during or subsequent to mining excavation of the mineral assemblage. Because the above separation unit processes require the suspension of the low grade mineral assemblage in water to form a slurry prior to the separation treatment, the resulting concentrate fraction slurry and tailings fraction slurry, respectively, need to be dewatered so they can be transported (in the case of concentrate) or disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner (in the case of tailings). Examples of dewatering devices that can be used for this purpose include deslimers, hydro-cyclones, spiral classifiers, thickeners, clarifiers, vacuum filters, pressure filters, multi-roll filters, centrifuges and elutriator sumps. A variety of suitable dewatering devices are known in the art and are available commercially, and it is well within the purview of a skilled artisan in view of the present descriptions to select, obtain and use a suitable dewatering device in the methods described herein.
Substantial efforts have been made to develop processes for producing iron oxide concentrates from low grade mineral assemblages. Until recently, however, such processes had not proven to be sufficiently effective, or sufficiently economically feasible, for use on a large scale. Recent developments in magnetic separation technology, however, have provided breakthroughs that enable extraction of large volumes of weakly magnetically susceptible iron oxides from low grade mineral assemblages. In these processes, a particulate mineral assemblage is suspended in water and the resulting aqueous suspension is passed through a magnetic separator that produces a relatively high intensity magnetic field, to separate the mineral assemblage into a concentrate fraction having a higher iron oxide concentration than the mineral assemblage and a tailings fraction having a lower iron oxide concentration than the mineral assemblage. Due to the relatively strong magnetic field that is necessary to influence the trajectories of iron oxides that are only weakly susceptible to magnetic fields, and the need to suspend the low grade mineral assemblages in water to form a slurry before passage through the magnetic field, devices that are used in this type of process have come to be referred to as wet high-intensity magnetic separation devices, or WHIMS devices.
One type of WHIMS device includes flux amplifying matrix materials to provide points of high magnetic attraction within a flow path through which a mineral assemblage slurry is passed. Such devices are a particular subset of the more general WHIMS category of magnetic separators, and are referred to herein as WHIMS-FAM devices (Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separation using Flux Amplifying Matrix). A WHIMS-FAM device defines at least one flow path (and typically several flow paths) for passage of aqueous slurries of the mineral assemblages in particulate form, includes sources of at least one (and typically several) high intensity magnetic field whose flux lines pass through the flow path, and include flux amplifying matrix materials contained within the flow path. The flux amplifying matrix can be, for example, iron or steel shot, steel rods, steel wool, steel parallel plates, wire mesh, machined iron or steel plates, V-shaped steel parallel plates, iron or steel hex nuts, or other discrete iron or steel pieces or shapes. The flux amplifying matrix operates in a high intensity magnetic separation device by concentrating flux lines between magnet poles so as to produce localized points of very high magnetic attraction within the slurry flow path, which attract faintly magnetic particles to separate the faintly magnetic particles from non-magnetic mineral particles. Using discrete object flux amplifying matrix materials in a high intensity magnetic separator, a higher concentration of flux lines can be achieved, producing higher localized magnetic field strengths at the contact points between the discrete objects when present in a magnetic zone.
By intermittently passing the matrix materials into a magnetic field where a low grade mineral assemblage treatment slurry is passed in contact with the flux amplifying matrix and iron oxide particles are held in contact with the matrix, and then out of the magnetic field to flush the iron oxide particles from the matrix, the mineral assemblage slurry can be separated into a concentrate fraction and a tailings fraction. Examples of WHIMS-FAM devices are those described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,913, issued Feb. 15, 2011, U.S. Pat. No. 8,292,084, issued Oct. 23, 2012, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/452,420, filed Apr. 20, 2012, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
One challenge that has been encountered in the use of WHIMS-FAM devices is that they tend to become clogged during normal operation. For example, debris and organic matter such as leaves and vegetation, and/or oversize particles in the treatment slurry and/or magnetite or other highly magnetically susceptible particles or objects can become lodged in the matrix, and then additional particles can build up thereon irrespective of their magnetic susceptibilities. This particle build up can significantly impair the flow of a treatment slurry through the flow path, resulting in substantial productivity losses. One manner in which the clogging problem has been addressed is to use pre-separation slurry preparation steps to carefully control the particle sizes in the treatment slurries to be introduced into such devices, to carefully remove debris and organic matter such as leaves and vegetation, and/or oversize particles from the treatment slurry and to remove magnetite particles from the treatment slurry. Another approach for addressing the clogging problem has been to implement back-flushing steps in the separation process and/or to develop separator devices in which matrix material components and/or other separator components that contain matrix materials can be quickly replaced without causing unacceptable delays and shut-down times for the separators.
Another challenge associated with the use of WHIMS-FAM devices is that there is a practical limitation to the volume of slurry that can be treated in a given period of time. One cause of this limitation is the nature of the slurry flow paths in such a separator. Because the flow paths contain relatively high surface area flux amplifying matrix materials and because thorough separation of weakly magnetic particles in the mineral assemblage from non-magnetic materials requires thorough contact between the treatment slurry and the matrix materials, a substantial amount of turbulence and mixing of the slurry occurs in the flow path. As a result, the volumetric rate at which slurry can pass through the WHIMS-FAM device is limited.
Yet another challenge associated with iron ore upgrading processes utilizing WHIMS-FAM separator devices is that the processes required to provide a treatment slurry in a form suitable to be passed through a WHIMS-FAM device require the addition of a substantial amount of process water to the slurry. For example, when passing mineral assemblage slurries through screening devices and other size separators, a significant amount of process water is added to agitate the feed material, to rinse undersize particles through the screen and to remove oversize particles from the screen to an oversize fraction. As a result, in order to efficiently operate the separator, a substantial amount of excess water must subsequently be removed from the treatment slurry prior to introduction of the treatment slurry into a WHIMS-FAM separator.
Excess water can be removed from a slurry by passing the slurry through a dewatering device, such as, for example, a deslimer, hydrocyclone, thickener, hydroseparator or elutriator sump. The overflow water from the dewatering device(s) can be conveyed to a reservoir or a settling pond and can optionally be recycled for further use in the process as process water. However, because low grade mineral assemblages often include fine or ultrafine particles (e.g., particles having dimensions of less than about 100 microns), these dewatering treatments can result in substantial losses of iron oxide materials in the overflow streams of the dewatering device, and associated loss of productivity of the process. The dewatering step(s) theoretically could be omitted to prevent this loss of ultrafine particles; however, eliminating the dewatering step(s) would also result in unacceptable productivity losses due to the lower solids to water ratio that would result and the limitations on volumetric flow rates through a WHIMS-FAM device, as discussed above.
In addition, process water is also used within a WHIMS-FAM separator to rinse and flush collected iron oxide particles from the flux amplifying matrix into a concentrate fraction after it moves out of a magnetic zone. Therefore, an iron oxide concentrate fraction recovered from a WHIMS-FAM device also must be dewatered to produce a final concentrate product. The concentrate fraction slurry also can be dewatered by passage of the slurry through a dewatering device, such as, for example, a deslimer, hydrocyclone, thickener, hydroseparator or elutriator sump prior to filtering and/or other final drying operations, and the overflow water from such a dewatering device can also be conveyed to a reservoir or settling pond and optionally can be recycled for further use in the process as process water. Dewatering operations used to dewater the final concentrate fraction recovered from a WHIMS-FAM device, however, are also susceptible to the same problems discussed above, i.e., the unintentional loss of fine or ultrafine iron ore particles into an overflow stream removed from the dewatering device(s), which also can result in substantial losses of iron oxide materials, and associated loss of productivity of the process.
There is an ongoing need, therefore, for advancements relating to the recovery of iron oxide from low grade mineral assemblages and, in particular, advancements in the productivity of WHIMS-FAM devices. The present disclosure addresses this need.

Process for wet high intensity magnetic separation with flux amplifying matrix


Methods, systems, and computer program products for pre-packaging and pre-configuring software products using chatbot message exchanges with users are described. Embodiments may include receiving a user inquiry, initiating a first chat session comprising a primary chatbot within a user interface, receiving user request data corresponding to a first string of communications, and determining a product based on the user request data. Responsive to determining the product, embodiments may include initiating a second chat session comprising a secondary chatbot configured to elicit product feature information about the product within the user interface; receiving product data corresponding to a second string of communications comprising the product feature information; determining product package parameters based on product information; determining executables to provide the product based on user request data, product feature information, and product package parameters; and compiling the executables in respective groups based user requirements and user characteristics.

The present invention relates generally to the field of recommending software or services, and more particularly to pre-packaging and pre-configuring software products using chatbot conversations with users.
Chatbots are becoming an increasingly popular online method for product and service providers to interact with their customers and users. Chatbots are a form of software agent and may be referred to as chatterbots, Artificial Conversational Entities, conversational agents, smart assistants, chat robots, or other such terms. A chatbot is a system that mimics conversation, either by voice or text, with a user so as to provide the user with information and services and also solicit and receive information from the user. The objective is for a chatbot to accurately understand a user query and to respond accordingly. For example, a chatbot may receive a user query, determine the intent and purpose of the user query and return a relevant response, or perform a task or action.
A chatbot is typically designed for a limited number of use cases, in many cases a single use case. For example, users may ask a weather chatbot for a weather forecast, book tickets for travel or entertainment by accessing the chatbot for the relevant supplier, purchase products from retailers, and record information such as receipts with an accounting system chatbot. Chatbots allow users to interact with product and service providers in a simple and intuitive manner.
During a chatbot session with a client, lots of time is wasted to gather requirements used to select appropriate software components, dependencies, packaging, and configurations due to a communication gap between client and seller and because downstream team members get involved in the sales process at different times. This results in project execution delays and ultimately revenue loss.

Pre-packaging and pre-configuration of software products using chatbots


A managed modular sub-environment for a computer system. In one embodiment, a plurality of modular managed sub-environments are included within an outer enclosure of a computer system. In one embodiment, the modular managed sub-environments have a managed thermal environment and a managed electromagnetic interference (EMI) environment. The computer system components enclosed within each sub-environment are less likely to be affected by the EMI or thermal energy from another neighboring sub-environment. Each of the plurality of modular managed sub-environments are coupled to a computer system backplane including a common bus, which distributes communications and power among the plurality of modular managed sub-environments.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer systems generally and, more specifically, the present invention relates to the environment inside a computer system enclosure.
2. Background Information
When the personal computer (PC) architecture was originally designed in the early 1980s, the internal electronic components used operated at substantially slower clock speeds and consumed substantially less power. Since then, the electronic components have continuously become more advanced resulting in tremendously smaller, faster and more powerful computer systems. Thus, the electronic components used in present day PCs consume much more power and operate at much greater clock speeds. Correspondingly, present day electronic components generate much more heat and emit much more electromagnetic interference (EMI) than their earlier counterparts.
Notwithstanding the technology leaps made in the electronic components of PCs, the design of the architecture established in the early 1980s has changed very little, if at all. That is, the PC box used to enclose advanced present day electronic components is basically of the same design as the PC box originally designed in the early 1980s. When the PC engineers originally designed the PC box, they did not need to consider the power and thermal requirements of present day electronic components. In addition, the PC engineers also did not need to consider the consequences of the EMI emitted by present day high frequency electronic components.
With PC technology constantly advancing, the environment inside the PC box is continuously becoming much more hostile for electronic components due to the increasing amounts of EMI and temperature. Consequences of the hostile environment inside the PC box include decreased reliability, increased costs and limits on clock speeds and power consumption.
A managed sub-environment for a computer system is disclosed. In one embodiment, the managed sub-environment includes an electromagnetic interference (EMI) and thermal enclosure. An enclosure connector is disposed on the enclosure and is adapted to be engaged with a backplane connector of a computer system backplane. A computer system device is enclosed by the enclosure and is coupled to the enclosure connector such that the computer system device is adapted to be coupled to the computer system backplane. The enclosure is to isolate an EMI environment of the computer system device from EMI outside the enclosure. Additional features and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description, figures and claims set forth below.

Method and apparatus for providing managed modular sub-environments in a personal computer


A cross beam is mounted in a vehicle body between cowls on opposite sides of the vehicle body in a position to support a steering column. A bracket on one end of the beam has two slots which engage two locator studs on one of the cowls and provide increased body torsional stiffness. A second bracket is sleeved on the opposite end of the beam and has one slot engageable with a locator stud on the other cowl. The beam can be hung in the vehicle on these locator studs prior to driving fasteners which rigidly secure the brackets to the cowls. The second bracket may then be rigidly bolted to the beam.

The steering column of an automotive vehicle must be securely mounted so that it does not vibrate. A vibrating steering column is very annoying to the driver. The steering column support assembly of this invention extends across the vehicle from cowl to cowl. A feature of the invention is its ability to accommodate variations in the distance from cowl to cowl while providing a robust torsional joint. Another feature is its ability to be installed quickly and accurately to minimize labor and tooling costs.
In accordance with the embodiment of the invention about to be described, the left end of the beam assembly is installed by hanging the beam on one and preferably two studs in the left cowl. The right end is hung on a stud in the right cowl. At this point, the beam is supported in the vehicle without any bolts having been driven. Bolts can now be installed to fully secure the assembly. The design is self-locating, eliminating the need for fixturing.
When the bolts on the left are driven, the beam will set itself against the left cowl. Any gap remaining at the right cowl, which may vary from vehicle to vehicle, is taken up by a slip joint to accommodate this gap. The right end of the beam has a bracket which slips over the beam and bolts to the right cowl. As the operator installs the bolts, the bracket slides along the beam until it sets against the cowl. The bracket is then secured to the beam in longitudinally adjusted position.
One object of this invention is to provide a steering column support structure having the foregoing features and capabilities.
Another object is to provide a steering column support structure which is composed of a relatively few simple parts, is rugged and durable in use, is easy to assemble, is self-locating, and has structural integrity, while optimizing cost and weight.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent as the following description proceeds, especially when considered with the accompanying drawings and claims.

Cross car steering column support and method of installation