A gravity-operated anti-surge valve for a turbine pump consists of a poppet adapted to be moveable under fluid pressure between a closed position and a valve seat for the poppet. The weight of the poppet biases the poppet in the closed position against the valve seat in the absence of fluid pressure. Fluid pressure developed by the pump forces the poppet open. As fluid pressure decreases when the pump is shut off, the weight of the poppet allows the poppet to gradually close against continuing fluid flow, preventing water hammer. As fluid pressure approaches zero, the poppet completely closes, preventing the weight of a column of water from rushing down the lineshaft at high speed and driving the pump impellers in reverse. The valve is located above the top bowl of the pump.

A typical deep-running, lineshaft turbine pump of the prior art is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The turbine pump 10 consists of a driver 12, such as an electric motor, a lineshaft 14 driven by the driver 12, a plurality of impellers 16 driven by the lineshaft 14, a column pipe 18 enclosing the lineshaft 14, and a bowl 20 above the impellers 14. The lineshaft 14 runs on a plurality of bearings 22 distributed at intervals along the lineshaft 14. Fluid is brought into the pump 10 through a suction case 24 and is discharged from the pump 10 through a discharge pipe 26. A typical environment in which the turbine pump 10 operates is shown in FIG. 2. The pump 10 is inserted in a well W drilled into the surface S of the earth. A body of fluid F, such as oil or water, is deep in the earth, perhaps several hundreds of feet. The pump 10 is positioned such that the suction case 24 is within the body of fluid F, with the discharge case above the surface S of the earth. Power from the driver 12 is distributed to the impellers 16 by the lineshaft 14, producing suction within the suction case 24, drawing fluid F into the suction case 24. Fluid is forced by the impellers 16 into the bowl 20, and from the bowl 20 into the column pipe 18. Fluid travels up the column pipe 18 to the discharge pipe 26, where it is pumped out. Deepwell lineshaft turbine pumps such as the pump 10 need a device to keep the pump from running backwards if the pump stops due to power failure or normal shutdown. When a pump is shut off, fluid runs back down the column pipe 18 at a very high speed. The force backflow hits and runs the impellers 16 spinning the pump backwards. The centrifugal force developed during backspin can tear the windings out of the rotor of the electric motor which may be used for the driver 12. If a gear drive is used instead, the force will damage the engine that drives it. In addition, pumps 10 are of two types: oil lubricated and product lubricated. In the product lubricated type, the bearings 22 are actually lubricated by the fluid being pumped by the pump. If the pump shuts off, the fluid level drops down the column pipe 18 leaving the bearings 22 running dry, burning the rubber and scoring the shaft 14. In the past, this problem has been addressed by non-reverse ratchets or sprags attached to the driver 12 to prevent the driver 12 from running backward, or by footvalves within the suction case 24. However, such devices can fail during reverse spin because of the horsepower generated by the impellers 16. Furthermore, the pressure developed on footvalves may cause the suction case 24 to fail. Also, these devices stop flow abruptly so that backflow still puts force on the impellers and inflicts torque on the lineshaft. There is a need for an anti-surge valve for such deep-running lineshaft pumps which will solve the backflow problem and avoid the problems of non-reverse ratchets or footvalves.


A processing method and apparatus for reducing noise in an auditory prosthesis, for example a hearing aid or cochlear implant, are disclosed. The noise floor of the input sound signal is estimated, and the base output level of the output signal is moved in response, in a preferred form to substantially the estimated noise floor level, without modifying the maximum output level. This has the effect of maximising the dynamic range of the user in response to the target sound signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to processing audio signals containing noise, particularly for auditory prostheses.
2. Related Art
Auditory prostheses include any acoustic or electrical auditory prostheses, such as hearing aids, bone anchored hearing aids, middle ear implants, intracochlear implants, brain stem implants, implanted acoustic prostheses or any combination of these, for example prostheses providing combined electrical and acoustic stimulation. For those prostheses having an external part and an implanted part, the external part may be continuously, intermittently or occasionally in communication with the implanted part.
Auditory prostheses require, as an input, an electrical signal corresponding to an audio signal for processing in the device. This input is most commonly provided by a microphone. For example, a conventional cochlear implant consists of an external part containing a microphone, a sound processor and a transmitter, and an internal part which contains a receiver/stimulator device and an electrode array. Sound enters the microphone, which outputs a corresponding electrical signal to the sound processor, which in turn codes the sound using one of many possible processing strategies. The coded signal is passed to the transmitter, which sends it to the implanted receiver/stimulator unit. The receiver/stimulator then sends the corresponding stimuli to the appropriate electrodes, so as to provide a percept of hearing for a user.
A significant problem for users of auditory prostheses is listening to a target signal in the presence of noise, such as when talking on the phone, or in restaurants, sports stadiums, supermarkets, and the like. One major source of this problem is that a hearing impaired person has a much smaller range of perceivable sounds than a normal hearing person. This perceivable range of sounds is known as the dynamic range.
One way existing systems combat this problem is by automatically turning down the gain of the system in the presence of noise. By turning down the gain of the system the processor can lower the noise level such that it is mapped to the lower end of the recipient's dynamic range. An example of such an algorithm is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,400, and reproduced in part as FIG. 10.
The problem with such algorithms is that while they turn down the noise level, they also turn down the level of the target signal. This means that while the user may hear less noise, the target signal also becomes more difficult to hear.

Acoustic processing method and apparatus


There are disclosed a flame retardant polyethylene terephthalate resin composition comprising (A) a polyethylene terephthalate resin containing ethylene terephthalate units as a main constituent, prepared by the use of a germanium compound as a catalyst, (B) a halogen flame retardant, (C) at least one compound selected from the group consisting of epoxy compounds and carbodiimide compounds and (D) an antimony compound, and moreover, resin compositions further containing, besides those (A), (B), (C) and (D), at least one selected from the group consisting of (E) a reinforcing filler, (F) at least one inorganic compound composed of silicates and silicic acid and (G) a crystallization accelerator. The resin compositions are excellent in physical properties and wet heat resistance. By the addition of the specific inorganic compounds and the crystallization accelerators, releasability is also improved and thus high cyclization of molding is possible.

Polyethylene terephthalate resins with their excellent mechanical and electrical properties have been widely used to date as materials of fibers, films and the like and also as molding materials. Since their mechanical properties and thermal properties are largely improved when they are admixed with reinforcing fibers especially glass fiber, hence the reinforced resin compositions so obtained are suited for use as materials of so-called functional parts.
In recent years, there has been a growing demand for safety against fire especially in the field of electric or electronic parts and, to meet such demand, effort has been made for impartation of flame retardance to resins by addition of organic halogen compounds or high-molecular halogen compounds. A portion of electric and electronic parts for which such flame-retardant materials are used includes members, which are brought into direct or indirect contact with water or water vapor, and in such a field a high wet heat resistance, which means capability of preventing sudden lowering of mechanical strength even under high temperature and high humidity conditions, is required, in addition to high flame retardance.
As to flameproofing of thermoplastic polyester, there have been proposed a method of adding a halogenated polystyrene resin as disclosed in, for example, Laid-open Patent Publication No. 92346/'75, methods of adding halogenated epoxy resin in Laid-open Patent Publication No. 35257/'75 and Laid-open Patent Publication No. 15256/'87 and a method of adding high polymer halogenated phenoxy resin in Laid-open Patent Publication No. 149954/84.
Further, for improving flame retardance and also its resistance to moisture, a method of adding a high-molecular halogenated and copolymerized phenoxy resin together with an epoxy compound and/or a carbodiimide compound as disclosed in Laid-open Patent Publication No. 129253/84.
When a halogenated polystyrene resin, a halogenated phenoxy resin and the like as mentioned above are used as flame retardants, there are problems with regard to dispersibility thereof in polyethylene terephthalate resins or their individual flow properties (fluidity), while, when the halogenated epoxy resin is used, the flow property at a high temperature is deteriorated due to its reactivity with the polyethylene terephthalate and, in addition thereto, there is a problem of the added resin tending to bleed on the surface of molded articles when heated. Thus, problems are likely to occur about moldability, mechanical strength and surface characteristics.
Further, with regard to the demand for high wet heat resistance, addition of an epoxy compound or a carbodiimide compound alone is insufficient.
The object of the present invention is, therefore, to obtain a polyethylene terephthalate resin composition to which flame retardance is imparted without deterioration of moldability and mechanical strength and which is also improved in wet heat resistance.
After extensive and intensive studies, the present inventors have found out that the aforementioned object can be attained by the use of a polyethylene terephthalate resin produced with a germanium compound as a catalyst, and by the addition of a halogen flame retardant and the specific class of compounds or by the addition of a halogenated epoxy resin, and thus arrived at the present invention.

Flame retardant polyethylene terephthalate resin composition

Kanegafuchi Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha


A method and apparatus for measuring a blood alcohol content value by means of a breath alcohol concentration as well as for securing the reliability of this measured value. The apparatus comprises: sensor elements (1) for obtaining a measured alcohol concentration value from an incoming exhalation air stream; sensor elements (1) for obtaining a measured carbon dioxide concentration value from the same exhalation air stream (9); as well as first output elements (2) for producing, if necessary, a result proportional at least to a blood alcohol content. The apparatus further includes a first memory (M1) for storing a predetermined carbon dioxide lower threshold value or lower threshold values (R1, R2, R3 and/or Rf) and/or an upper threshold value or upper threshold values (R4, R5, R6 and/or Rg) and a first comparing element (C1) for comparing the measured carbon dioxide concentration value to said threshold values as well as a first logic element (L1) for producing outputs of a preset type depending on whether the measured carbon dioxide concentration fails to reach or exceeds the predetermined lower threshold values or upper threshold values.

The present invention relates to a method for confirming the reliability of a blood alcohol concentration value to be measured from respiratory air. In this method, the incoming exhalation air is sampled during exhalation, for at least one measured alcohol concentration value and, during the same respiratory stage, it is sampled for at least one measured carbon dioxide concentration value. A result is produced which is proportional to the blood alcohol concentration value and which is based on one or more measured alcohol concentration values obtained during exhalation from the lungs.
The invention relates also to an apparatus for implementing such measurement, said apparatus comprising sensor elements for obtaining a measured alcohol concentration and carbon dioxide concentration value from the incoming exhalation air stream as well as output elements for producing, if necessary, a result which is proportional at least to the blood alcohol concentration.
For quite some time, the detection of blood alcohol content has been effected by means of testing devices which measure the air stream exhaled by a subject for its alcohol concentration which, as known, is to a certain degree proportional to the blood alcohol content, provided that the measured exhalation air originates in the deep lungs, and thus consists of so-called alveolar gases. Hence, the measurements are based on the hypothesis that a given alcohol concentration value measured from exhalation air always corresponds to a given blood alcohol concentration value. However, an effort to determine blood alcohol concentration by means of the alcohol concentration in exhalation air involves several sources of error. The publication DE 2,928,433 pursues a solution to the problem that the alcohol concentration of exhalation air fluctuates in time with the heart rate, which of course is not the case with the concentration of blood alcohol. As a solution to this problem, the cited publication discloses a control device capable of logical functions and calculation. On the other hand, the publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,555 describes an arrangement for eliminating the effect of possible, so-called mouth alcohol at the initial stage of sampling the respiratory air. The fact is, namely, that if alcohol has been ingested just prior to measuring, the alcohol contained in the mouth as a result thereof produces a relatively high concentration peak in the alcohol content measured at the start of a breath sample. The effect of this peak is eliminated as described in the cited publication by making use of the carbon dioxide concentration also measured at the early stage of exhalation. If this is not done, the result may be a high breath alcohol concentration and, on the basis of presumed correlation, a too high estimate for blood alcohol content that does not correspond to true blood alcohol content. Thus, an object of the cited publication is to eliminate the incorrectly excessive alcohol concentration caused by mouth alcohol.
In addition to the above sources of error, there are other sources of error which produce too low an alcohol concentration measure with respect to true blood alcohol content. For example, if a subject takes a few or several very deep breaths to create a hyperventilation prior to measuring alcohol concentration from alveolar air, the alcohol concentration measure obtained thereafter will be lower than it would be had the subject breathed in a normal manner. As a result of this, the estimate of blood alcohol content made on the basis of the measured value is also too low. This is the case even if the air exhaled by a subject in actual alcohol measuring has a sufficient volume and comes from the deep lungs in a proper manner and, thus, consists of alveolar gases. This hyperventilation has been described e.g. in the book Z. Kalenda: MASTERING INFRARED CAPNOGRAPHY, 1989.
An incorrect result is also obtained if a subject, during measuring, restricts the amount and/or duration of his or her exhalation. Also in this case the measured alcohol concentration will be lower than what it would be had the subject exhaled from the deep lungs in a normal manner and also the estimate of blood alcohol content made on the basis of the measured value will be too low.
A solution to this latter problem has been pursued e.g. by training the measuring device operating personnel, whereby the measuring device operator aims to oversee that a subject being examined exhales properly into the measuring device. However, this procedure is highly unreliable and different persons have substantially different pulmonary capacities and, thus, there are no guarantees regarding a sufficient exhalation time and/or exhalation volume.
There are also situations which can produce an excessive measured alcohol concentration value. Such a situation is for example hypoventilation which is a reverse situation to the above hyperventilation and in which a subject breaths less than normal. In a hypoventilation situation, the CO.sub.2 concentration and alcohol concentration of an alveolar gas are higher than which would be the values correctly corresponding to the concentrations in blood. Thus, the alcohol concentration determined from an alveolar gas in a hypoventilation situation is higher than the equilibrium alcohol content of the human body and blood. In hypoventilation, a subject can be falsely convicted of intoxicated driving if the hypoventilation is not detected.
The publication U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,630 discloses a system, wherein a resistance bridge consisting of filaments is used for measuring both CO.sub.2 -content and alcohol content from exhalation air. These two content measurements are linked to each other such that, if the measured carbon dioxide content rises to a minimum value of 4.5%, the resulting alcohol measurement is found to be correct. The cited publication states further that the CO.sub.2 -content and alcohol content are in equilibrium with blood alcohol content when the carbon dioxide content is 5%-5.25%. As for the above-described error situations, this prior art system only eliminates those caused by hyperventilation and even that requires that it indeed be alveolar exhalation air which is being measured. The publication mentions nothing about the necessity of monitoring this, nor does it describe any means for securing this aspect. This system may cause further errors for the reason that various persons have individual differences in the carbon dioxide concentration of a normal alveolar gas, the fluctuation range being roughly 4.7%-5.5%. If, for example, the normal alveolar CO.sub.2 -content of a person is 5.5% and the person blows into an alcohol measuring device and stops exhalation before the exhalation air comes from the sufficiently deep lungs, the exhalation may have a maximum CO.sub.2 -content of for example 4.6%. According to the cited publication, this result is acceptable. As a matter of fact, the alcohol content measured from this particular exhalation is too low.

Blood alcohol concentration measuring from respiratory air


A three-dimensional mouse is disclosed for interfacing with a central processing unit. The mouse comprises a hand-held housing adapted to be used in free space. The housing has a generally vertical orientation relative to the user. A mechanism, mounted in the housing, is provided for locating the mouse with respect to at least one of spatial dimension and orientational dimension, which locating mechanism includes a mechanism for transmitting the location to a central processing unit.

The present invention relates generally to mouses adapted to interface with a central processing unit, and more particularly to such a mouse which is three-dimensional and has tactile feedback.
A conventional mouse is well designed to work on flat surface. When a person's hand rests on a flat surface at desk height, the hand automatically goes pronate. The mouse fits easily into the hollow of the palm when it is in that position. If there is more than one button on the mouse, it is easy to let the mouse rest on the table and reorient the hand to use the index finger on any button. A user rarely will use different fingers for different mouse buttons. To adapt a mouse to work in three-dimensions, "wings" have been added in one design, and another design pinches a waist into the mouse to make it easier to hold. These incremental alterations to a flat mouse do make it possible to hold in free space. However, this horizontal orientation is inappropriate and difficult to maintain. Furthermore, it is awkward to use the index, second and third fingers to activate different buttons, as this design expects. In fact it is virtually impossible to press the third button with the third finger and maintain a constant position and orientation. Even when it is done, this takes attention, thereby breaking the user's concentration on the real task being attempted, such as analyzing a molecular docking procedure wherein the object is to minimize the binding energy of two molecules by correctly positioning and orienting one molecule with respect to another.
In addition to the physical configuration drawbacks of available devices, none of them have any type of tactile feedback, which could enhance positioning ability by providing energy level readings via vibrations in a docking task, or clicking when an object is penetrated in other tasks for which the mouse could be used.
One type of tactile man-machine communication system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,691. In this system, a movable arm or control stick generates data regarding the three-dimensional position of the arm. A central processing unit develops a mathematical representation of the surface of an object and compares the surface representation of the object with the actual position of the arm. The CPU generates force components to alter the mobility of the arm to enable the user to probe the contents of the three-dimensional surface of the object. For example, when the probe is indicated as touching the surface of an object presented on a display, the CPU impedes further movement of the probe, thereby providing a feel of actually "touching" the surface of the displayed object. However, this reference does not disclose an input device freely movable in three dimensions, nor does it create vibrations or clicks in the movable arm which are transmitted to the user to indicate a closing approach to the object.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ergonomic, hand contoured, comfortable to use, three-dimensional mouse. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a mouse specifically for use in space, having a generally vertical orientation with respect to the user, following the natural position of the hand when suspended in front of a person's body. It is a further object of the present invention to provide tactile feedback in the three-dimensional mouse in order to enhance its usefulness in various applications. Still further, it is an object of the present invention to provide pressure sensors in the three-dimensional mouse to yet further enhance its usefulness as an input device.

Three-dimensional mouse with tactile feedback


In a valve apparatus comprising a controlling arrangement which is for controlling a flow of a beverage in a beverage path, the controlling arrangement comprises a valve member which is movable between an open and a close position for opening and closing the beverage path and which is urged to the close position through a force transmission member by a compression spring. When the force transmission member is moved against the urging arrangement, the valve member becomes movable towards the open position. However, movement of the valve member is restricted at the open position by a stopper. Preferably, the stopper has a position which can be adjusted by operating of an operator or a user.

This invention relates to a valve apparatus included in a dispensing unit for dispensing a beverage, such as a syrup or the like, in particular, to controlling of a flow of the beverage.
Various dispensing units of the type are already known. For example, a dispensing unit as a post-mixed beverage dispenser is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 493,441 and 4,688,701 issued to Jason K. Sedam et al and assigned to The Coca-Cola Company. The dispensing unit is for dispensing a beverage contained in a bottle and comprises a valve apparatus for controlling of a flow of the beverage. The valve apparatus comprises a body defining a plurality of beverage paths which is for conducting the beverage.
Each of the beverage paths has an inlet end, an outlet end, and an intermediate portion therebetween. The beverage is introduced into the inlet end and is discharged from the outlet end through the intermediate portion.
Each of the beverage paths is provided with an adjusting element in addition to valve mechanism which is for opening and closing it. The adjusting element is for adjusting a flow rate of the beverage in the beverage path. Each of the valve element and adjusting element extends through the body from the intermediate portion to a front end of the body. The valve element can be operated by an operating lever which is provided on a front end of the body. The adjusting element can also be operated at the front end of the body.
It is advantageous that the beverage dispenser can be placed in a limited space because an external form of the beverage dispenser may be compact.
However, it is assumed that the beverage leaks from each of the beverage paths of the valve apparatus through clearances which are left around the valve and the adjusting elements, respectively. In order to seal all of the clearances, a plurality of sealing elements must be provided in relation to each of the beverage paths. Therefore, it is necessary to use a great number of the sealing elements. Nevertheless, there is great danger of leakage of the beverage.
In addition, the valve apparatus is relatively large in a size thereof. This is because the valve and the adjusting elements are placed at positions which are different from one another.

Valve apparatus for preventing leakage of a beverage


The present disclosure includes a continuous carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastic composite. The continuous carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastic composite includes a continuous carbon fiber impregnated in thermoplastic resin, and the continuous carbon fiber is a continuous carbon fiber has the width of 4 times to 8 times as wide as the original fiber bundle.

Carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastic composites, in which carbon fibers are dispersed in matrix resin, are utilized in broad areas such as automobiles, planes, electrical/electronic optical devices, precision devices, amusement/toys, home/office products, construction materials, etc. in terms of being excellent in light weight, dynamic characteristics, dimensional stability, conductivity, etc., and its demand is increasing yearly.
For a method of obtaining formable substrates from this carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastic composite, a method for impregnating carbon fibers in a tub comprising matrix resin, etc. may be given.
To industrially stably form a high quality carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastic composite, in an impregnation process in which matrix fiber is impregnated in carbon fibers, a carbon fiber bundle comprising thousands of filaments and carrying out matrix fiber impregnation easily and completely is required.
But, because carbon fibers have low elongation, and vulnerable properties, lint may be easily be generated from mechanical friction, and also lacks wettability in respect to matrix resin. Because of this, it is difficult for carbon fibers used as strengthening agents to have excellent properties as described above. To improve this, until now, treatment by sizing agents is carried out in respect to carbon fibers used in strengthening agents of fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastic composites. That is, by carrying out treatment by sizing agents in carbon fibers, along with improving handling of carbon fibers, wettability of matrix resin is also improved.
As an example of this sizing agent, a condensate of epoxy resin, unsaturated dibasic acid, and alkylene oxide adduct of phenol, and a sizing agent alkylene oxide adduct having alkylene oxide adduct of phenol as an essential component was proposed. Also, a sizing agent composed of epoxy resin, alkylene oxide adduct of monocyclic or polycyclic phenol and unsaturated dibasic acid or its ester forming derivative, and a polyester condensate of acid value of 40 or below with alkylene oxide adduct of bisphenol was proposed. Generally, in carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastic composites in which carbon fibers are dispersed in matrix resin, as carbon fibers are dispersed into single fibers, it is advantageous in uniformity of characteristics and surface appearance quality. But in the case of sizing treatment of carbon fibers, it inherits problems of mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastic composites degrading in accordance with spreading characteristics of carbon fiber bundles in impregnation process.
Meanwhile, for manufacturing fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastics using continuous carbon fibers, normally filaments having 3000 fiber bundles are used. In the case of continuous carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastic composites having 3000 fiber bundles, it inherits problems of having high manufacturing costs due to high raw material costs and low productivity. For related prior publications, there is Japan laid-open patent JP 2009-263406 (made public Nov. 12, 2009).

Continuous carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic plastic composite having excellent impregnation properties and a method for manufacturing the same


A method of continuously producing an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer in a polymerization vessel containing a reaction liquid containing ethylene, vinyl acetate, a polymerization initiator and methanol, the polymerization vessel being connected via piping to a heat exchanger circulating a coolant, the method includes the steps of: supplying ethylene, the polymerization initiator and methanol to the polymerization vessel; introducing pressurized gas containing ethylene present in a gas phase portion of the polymerization vessel into the heat exchanger; supplying vinyl acetate cooled to between −50° C. and 23° C. to an upper portion of the heat exchanger; flowing vinyl acetate down in the heat exchanger while absorbing ethylene; letting vinyl acetate dissolving ethylene out of a bottom portion of the heat exchanger and adding to the reaction liquid in the polymerization vessel; and taking the reaction liquid out of the polymerization vessel. This provides a method of efficiently removing heat during polymerization of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

Ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers (hereinafter, may be referred to as EVOHs) are thermoplastic resins excellent in gas barrier properties, fuel barrier properties, chemical resistance, stain resistance, antistatic properties, mechanical strength, and the like. Taking advantage of such characteristics, they are shaped in the form of a film, a sheet, a bottle, a cup, a tube, a pipe, and the like to be used in various applications including packaging containers. Such an EVOH is generally produced by saponifying an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (hereinafter, may be referred to as an EVA) and there is an expectation for a method of efficiently producing a high-quality EVA.
An EVA is produced by copolymerizing ethylene and vinyl acetate, and since the polymerization reaction is exothermic reaction, the heat of polymerization has to be removed from the reaction liquid. Various methods have been proposed to efficiently remove the heat of polymerization from the reaction liquid.
Patent Document 1 describes a method of continuously polymerizing an EVA using a polymerization vessel having a cooling mechanism provided by a jacket and/or a coil under the conditions that the heat transfer area of the jacket and/or the coil and the amount of heat generated by the polymerization satisfy a specific relationship. However, use of the cooling jacket causes difficulty in increasing the contact area between the inner wall of the cooled polymerization vessel and the reaction liquid and thus causes a problem of reducing the efficiency of heat removal for a greater volume of the polymerization vessel. Meanwhile, use of the cooling coil facilitates improving the efficiency of heat removal by increasing the contact area with the reaction liquid, whereas retained portions are likely to be formed in the reaction liquid and there is a risk of forming deteriorated products of the polymer in the retained portions. Use of either the jacket or the coil causes the reaction liquid to be partially at low temperatures and thus an increase in viscosity is inevitable in these portions, thereby promoting the retention of the reaction liquid.
Patent Document 2 describes a method of removing heat from a reaction liquid, during polymerization of an EVA in the reaction liquid containing ethylene, vinyl acetate, methanol, and a polymerization initiator, by condensing vapor vaporized from the reaction liquid with a heat exchanger. In this case, cooling is performed in the gas phase portion not in the liquid phase portion and thus the problem of retention of the reaction liquid does not arise while there is a problem of adhesion of scales in the heat exchanger. In addition, this method includes direct cooling and condensing the vapor of vinyl acetate and methanol, and thus the efficiency of heat removal is not necessarily good.
Meanwhile, Patent Document 3 describes a method of continuously polymerizing an EVA while cooling a top plate of the polymerization vessel by mounting a cooling coil outside the top plate. In this case, the problem of scale adhesion is less likely to occur while it is not easy to increase the top plate area and thus reduction in the efficiency of heat removal is inevitable for a greater volume of the polymerization vessel.
Patent Document 4 describes a method of continuously polymerizing an EVA in a polymerization solution containing ethylene, vinyl acetate, methanol, and a polymerization initiator, the method comprising: introducing vinyl acetate into a heat exchanger to cause ethylene let out of a polymerization vessel to be absorbed by vinyl acetate in the heat exchanger; and introducing vinyl acetate with ethylene dissolved therein into the polymerization vessel. In this method, vinyl acetate contacts with ethylene in a countercurrent flow in the heat exchanger. This method is described to allow not only cooling of vinyl acetate in the heat exchanger but also removal of latent heat of ethylene dissolution and thus to be capable of efficient heat removal. The efficiency of heat removal is, however, sometimes insufficient. In addition, while rising in the heat exchanger, the gas containing ethylene sometimes lifts vinyl acetate that is flowing down to spout vinyl acetate into an upper portion of the heat exchanger. Such a phenomenon is so-called flooding, which interferes with stable production.
Patent Document 5 describes, similar to Patent Document 4, a method comprising: causing ethylene let out of a polymerization vessel to be absorbed by vinyl acetate in a heat exchanger; and then introducing vinyl acetate with ethylene dissolved therein into the polymerization vessel while vinyl acetate contacts with ethylene in a parallel flow in the heat exchanger. This method is described to allow preventing the flooding in the heat exchanger. The efficiency of heat removal is, however, still sometimes insufficient.

Method for producing ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer


An improved orthodontic device defining an anchor for an elastic, ligature or spring along an archwire or a stop on a wire member, which includes a crimpable hook or stop having a tubular body with inner wire-engaging surfaces coated with an abrasive material to produce an anti-sliding and anti-rotating engagement with the wire when crimped down upon the wire.

Heretofore, it has been well known to provide orthodontic crimpable hooks and stops/spacers which may be adjustably positionable on an archwire or other orthodontic wire for a variety of uses. For example, crimpable ball hooks which are mounted on orthodontic archwires are commonly used for intermaxillary fixation during orthodontic and/or surgical treatment. Another example which is well known is to provide orthodontic crimpable stops that are adjustably positionable on a lip bumper or a face bow wire member. Exemplary of some of these types of mechanisms heretofore known are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,219, which provides a comprehensive background on the use of crimpable ball hooks.
A crimpable ball hook includes a crimpable member or body for receiving an orthodontic archwire and a ball hook extending from the crimpable member, as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,219. The crimpable member may be closed and slidable over an end of the archwire or open and applied to any part of the archwire. Both types of crimpable members are adjustably positionable along the archwire. Even when these crimpable bodies are crimped, they tend to slide along the archwire when forces are applied to them. This is considered a disadvantage or problem by some orthodontists who would prefer the crimpable ball hook to remain in a fixed location on the archwire at all times. Thus, all known crimpable or collapsible hooks and/or stops suffer from a lack of adequate friction to keep them from sliding along the wire even when they are forcibly crimped onto the wire.


In one embodiment, in accordance with the present invention, a method, computer program product, and system for performing actions based on captured interpersonal interactions during a meeting is provided. One or more computer processors capture the interpersonal interactions between people in a physical space during a period of time, using machine learning algorithms to detect the interpersonal interactions and a state of each person based on vision and audio sensors in the physical space. The one or more computer processors analyze and categorize the interactions and state of each person, and tag representations of each person with the respectively analyzed and categorized interactions and states of the respective person over the period of time. The one or more computer processors then take an action based on the analysis.

The present invention relates generally to the field of machine learning, and more particularly to utilizing machine learning to detect interaction during a meeting.
Online meetings, also referred to as web conferencing and video conferencing, began in the 1970s and greatly increased in the 1980s with the computer revolution and rapid growth of the internet. Video conferencing is a cost-effective solution today for holding business meetings with people in multiple locations (i.e., physical spaces), by reducing the need for business travel expenses such as hotel and airfares.

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to a polyester synthase gene coding for a polypeptide containing the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 or a sequence where in the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2, one or more amino acids are deleted, replaced or added, the polypeptide bringing about polyester synthase activity; a gene expression cassette comprising the polyester synthase gene and either of open reading frames located upstream and downstream of the gene; a recombinant vector comprising the gene expression cassette; a transformant transformed with the recombinant vector; and a process for producing polyester by culturing the transformant in a medium and recovering polyester from the resulting culture.

It is known that a large number of microorganisms biosynthesize poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P(3HB)) and store it in the form of ultrafine particles as an energy source in the body. P(3HB) extracted from microorganisms is a thermoplastic polymer with a melting temperature of about 180.degree. C., and because of its excellent biodegradability and biocompatibility it is drawing attention as "green" plastic for preservation of the environment. Further, P(3HB) is "green" plastic which can be synthesized from regenerable carbon resources including sugars and vegetable oils by various microorganisms. However, P(3HB) is a highly crystalline polymer and thus has the problem in physical properties of inferior resistance to impact, so its practical application has never been attempted.
Recently, polyester P(3HB-co-3HH) as a random copolymer of 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) and 3-hydroxyhexanoate (3HH) and a process for producing the same have been studied and developed, and these are described in e.g. Japanese Patent Laid open Publication Nos. 93049/1993 and 265065/1995 respectively. In these publications, the P(3HB-co-3HH) copolymer is produced from alkanoic acids or olive oil by fermentation with Aeromonas caviae isolated from soil. It is revealed that because the degree of crystallinity of the P(3HB-co-3HH) copolymer produced through fermentation is reduced with an increasing ratio of the 3HH unit in it, so that the copolymer becomes a soft polymeric material excellent in thermostability and formability and can be manufactured into strong yarn or transparent flexible film (Y. Doi, S. Kitamura, H. Abe, Macromolecules 28, 4822-4823 (1995)). However, the yield of polyester (content of polyester in dried microorganisms) according to the processes described in Japanese Patent Laid open Publication Nos. 93049/1993 and 265065/1995 is low, and thus there is demand for developments in a process for producing the copolymerized polyester P(3HB-co-3HH).

Polyester synthase gene and process for producing polyester

The Institute of Physical & Chemical Research


A likelihood indicating the distribution of the frequency of use of each specification of the existing device is calculated for each version of a software component used in the control software of the existing device, and a prior probability indicating the distribution of the frequency of use of each version is calculated for each software component used in the control software of the existing device. A posterior probability indicating the reusability of each version of the existing software component is calculated for each specification of a device to be developed, on the basis of the likelihood and the prior probability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a software reuse support technique for supporting the reuse of the existing software when new software is created.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in the technical fields of vehicles and mobile phones, a control target is controlled by so-called embedded software. The embedded software has advantages in that it can perform control more flexibly and accurately than the control method according to the related art using a mechanical mechanism or an electric circuit and it is possible to partially change the software to develop many products derived from the software.
In recent years, with the expansion of the application range of the embedded software, the number of derivative products and the size of software have increased. Therefore, it is necessary to significantly increase the efficiency of development and effectively reuse the existing products in the development of derivative products.
The embedded software used in a vehicle engine system is given as an example. The engine meets non-mechanical requirements, such as a destination and emission regulation, as well as mechanical requirements, such as the number of cylinders, engine displacement, a fuel injection type, and an intake control type. These requirements are set as specifications. There are many choices for the specifications. For example, the number of cylinders may be 4, 6, or 8. The existing embedded software is developed so as to correspond to a specific combination of these specifications.
Therefore, it is difficult to use the existing embedded software without any change in order to develop a new embedded software product. It is desired to maximize the reuse of the existing software in order to improve the efficiency of development. For this reason, a software reuse support apparatus for supporting the reuse of the existing software has been proposed.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 8-147152 discloses an example of a software reuse support apparatus for reusing the previously created software. The software reuse support apparatus generates a search path for determining the specifications to be reused, on the basis of the relationship between the previous component specifications or a creation history and presents it to the user.
JP-A No. 10-63494 discloses a program component use support system that searches for the reusability of the existing software component. The support system detects the record of use of each existing software component and sets the software component that is frequently used as a candidate with high reusability.
However, the techniques disclosed in JP-A Nos. 8-147152 and 10-63494 are applied to business software, not embedded software. The embedded software is characterized in that it is incorporated into vehicles and apparatuses, such as mobile phones. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the specifications of an apparatus into which the software is incorporated, in addition to the specifications of the software.

Software reuse support method and apparatus


A cutting plotter includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores computer-readable instructions that cause the processor to perform setting, counting, storing, and notifying when executed. The setting sets a plurality of partial areas by dividing a cuttable area of a holding member, the cuttable area is an area in which a cutting object is to be detachably adhered. The counting counts a number of cuts by a cutting blade within the cuttable area for each of the plurality of partial areas. The storing stores each of count values associated with each of the plurality of partial areas in a storage portion, each of the count values is counted by the counting for each of the plurality of partial areas. The notifying notifies, based on the count values stored in the storage portion, information relating to the number of cuts for each of the plurality of partial areas.

Conventionally, a cutting plotter that automatically cuts a sheet, e.g., a paper, has been known. The sheet is to be adhered to a base member which is an example of a holding member. An adhesive layer is provided on a surface of the base member. The cutting plotter pinches both side edges of the base member in an up-down direction by a driving roller and a pinch roller of a driving mechanism, and move the base member in a first direction. The cutting plotter moves a carriage that includes a cutter in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. A desirable pattern is cut from the sheet by relative movements between the base member and the cutter.
After finishing the cut of the pattern, the cutting plotter moves the base member to the first direction by the driving roller and the pinch roller, and ejects the base member therefrom. The pattern cut from the sheet and residuals of the sheet are removed manually from the base member by a user. If another pattern is cut sequentially, a new sheet is adhered to the base member. The base member is used iteratively.

Cutting plotter and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium


A new variety of Lantana named ‘WHITE GOLD’ that is characterized by mounding spreading habit, medium-green colored foliage, and inflorescence that is predominantly white composed of pure-white florets with yellow eyes. In combination these traits set ‘WHITE GOLD’ apart from all other existing varieties of Lantana known to the inventor.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Lantana that is grown for its predominantly white inflorescence composed of pure-white florets with yellow eyes. The new cultivar is known botanically as Lantana camara and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name 'WHITE GOLD'.
The inventor discovered and selected 'WHITE GOLD' in August 2004 at his nursery in Newnan, Ga. in the United States. 'WHITE GOLD' was discovered as a naturally occurring branch sport on an individual plant of Lantana 'New Gold' (unpatented). Selection was based on the criteria of inflorescence color.
When compared with Lantana 'New Gold', the new variety 'WHITE GOLD' exhibits identical habit, growth rate, and flower characteristics with the single distinguishing difference being the color of the inflorescence. The inflorescence of Lantana 'New Gold' is solid pure-yellow, whereas the inflorescence of 'WHITE GOLD' is predominantly white, being composed of pure-white florets with yellow eyes.
Lantana 'New Gold' has won many awards for its garden and landscape performance, due to the absence of seed set, and therefore absence of berry production. The berries of Lantana are highly poisonous. 'New Gold' is highly floriferous, due to its sterility. No seed or fruit has been produced to date by the new cultivar 'WHITE GOLD'.
The inventor has grown crops of the parent plant Lantana camara 'New Gold' since 1990. Each year, the inventor sets up fresh stock of 'New Gold' mother plants in order to produce cuttings for the following season's commercial crop. In 2003 the inventor purchased three thousand cuttings of 'New Gold' specifically for the 2004-2005 season. These cuttings were stuck into propagation plugs. Once rooted, three plugs were potted into 2-liter containers, which served as stock plants for that current year's propagation cycles. Thus, by spring 2004 the inventor possessed approximately one thousand stock plants, each grown from these individual cuttings.
Because Lantana cuttings root and grow rapidly, the inventor was able to take the first three thousand cuttings, as tip cuttings, within one month. By summer 2004 the inventor had used the stock plants for a total of four propagation cycles and had rooted and grown approximately thirty thousand plants.
Lantana blooms in the southern region of the United States within three to four weeks of rooting. During spring and summer 2004 the inventor observed that all of the plants grown from the harvested cuttings described above, flowered true to type for Lantana 'New Gold'—that is, they all bore solid pure-yellow flowers. In August 2004, the inventor observed that one single plant, which had been grown from the fourth cycle of cuttings, bore an inflorescence, which appeared predominantly white in color. The inventor removed and isolated this one plant and potted it into a 2-liter stockpot. The inventor considers this one plant, which is a naturally occurring white-flowering branch sport of Lantana 'New Gold', to be new and distinct, and the subject of the present invention Lantana plant named 'WHITE GOLD'. The inventor has found no evidence of a similar white flowered form in commerce.
The first asexual reproduction of 'WHITE GOLD' was conducted by the inventor in 2004 at the inventor's nursery in Newnan, Ga. in the United States. The method used for asexual propagation was shoot cuttings taken from the single plant discovered by the inventor. All plants thus propagated bore the same inflorescence as the original single plant of 'WHITE GOLD'—that is, predominantly white, composed of pure-white florets with yellow eyes. From fall 2004 until March 2005, the inventor has repeatedly asexually propagated 'WHITE GOLD' and has observed that all the plants have grown and flowered identically. Thus the inventor has determined that the characteristics herein described, of the new Lantana cultivar 'WHITE GOLD' are fixed, stable, and reproduce true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar considered by the inventor to be most similar to WHITE GOLD in habit is the parent variety Lantana 'New Gold' which appears to be identical in all respects except for the color of the inflorescence. The color of the inflorescence of Lantana 'New Gold' is orange-yellow, closest to the color reference 23A of The Royal Horticultural Society's Colour Chart, whereas the color of the inflorescence of 'WHITE GOLD' is predominantly pure white, as further described within the detailed botanical description.
The cultivar considered by the inventor to be most similar to WHITE GOLD in the color of its inflorescence is the unrelated variety Lantana 'Silver Mound' (unpatented). Whereas the flowers of 'WHITE GOLD' open with a clear white coloration and remain clear white (apart from the yellow center), the flowers of Lantana 'Silver Mound' open with a buttery-yellow coloration, and remain that color. In the landscape, the overall effect of 'WHITE GOLD' is of a much brighter, clearer white flowering display than is produced by Lantana 'Silver Mound'.


The present invention provides a current-sense bias circuit for use with a magnetoresistive head. In one embodiment, the current-sense bias circuit includes a voltage biasing portion configured to provide a bias voltage across the magnetoresistive head thereby establishing a bias current through the magnetoresistive head. Additionally, the current-sense bias circuit also includes a current sensing portion coupled to the voltage biasing portion and configured to sense a change in the bias current based on a resistivity change of the magnetoresistive head.

The magnetic recording industry has constantly and dramatically increased the performance and capacity of hard disk drives to meet the insatiable demand of the computer industry for more and better storage. Applications such as multimedia, real-time audio and video, graphical user interfaces and increasing program sizes are driving this increase. Hard disk areal density storage capacity has been increasing at an average yearly growth rate of at least 25 percent. Sustaining this growth in capacity has required progressive advances in many technologies used to provide a hard disk drive.
Historically, the read-write head technology was based on the inductive voltage produced when a permanently magnetized area on a rotating disk moved past a head employing a wire-wrapped magnetic core. Increasing areal density requirements drove a steady progression of inductive recording head advances, which culminated in advanced thin-film inductive read-write heads. Further advancements in this technology, and the ability to cost-effectively produce these heads has reached a point of diminishing return. Additionally, another critical limitation of the inductive head is that it must alternatively perform the conflicting tasks of writing data onto the disk and reading this previously-written data.
This limitation may be overcome by separating the write and read functions into two physically distinct heads. This allows using an inductive head that is optimized for writing data and a magnetoresistive head structure that is optimized for reading data. The magnetoresistive read head consists of a read element that is sandwiched between two highly-permeable magnetic shields. The shields assist in focusing the magnetic energy from the disk and rejecting stray fields. The magnetoresistive read element is made from a ferromagnetic alloy whose resistance changes as a function of an applied magnetic field. In the hard disk drive, this magnetic field is derived from the magnetized regions placed on the rotating disk by the write head and is used to modulate the resistivity of the magnetoresistive read element.
The magnetoresistive read element is biased using constant current sources that provide a constant bias current through the read element. As the resistivity of the read element changes due to the influence of the applied magnetic field, the voltage across the read element changes in direct proportion since the current through it is constant. This read element voltage is further conditioned by a high input impedance circuit to provide a read signal from the hard disk drive. Several problems arise due to this arrangement. The magnetoresistive read element is sensitive to voltage overstress and may be damaged if the voltage across it becomes too high. The bias current from the constant current sources is dynamically altered in an effort to prevent this voltage overstress. However, time delays associated with the high impedance circuits may be too long to avoid damage to the read head. Additionally, various device and parasitic capacitances combined with the high impedances also limit frequency bandwidth and signal responses.
What is needed in the art is a more effective way to bias a magnetoresistive head that reduces the present voltage overstress and signal response limitations.

Current-sense bias circuit for a magnetoresistive head and method of sensing a current therethrough


Disclosed is a device for sustaining different vacuum degrees for an electron column, including an electron emitter, a lens part, and a housing for securing them, to maintain the electron column and a sample under different vacuum degrees. The device comprises a column housing coupling part coupled to the housing to isolate a vacuum; a hollow part defined through the center portion of the device to allow an electron beam emitted from the electron column to pass therethrough; and a vacuum isolation part having a structure of a gasket for vacuum coupling, wherein a difference of no less than 10 torr in a vacuum degree is maintained between both sides of the device by selecting an appropriate diameter of a lens electrode layer which is finally positioned in a path along which the electron beam is emitted or by using the hollow part.

As is generally known in the art, an electron column is used to generate an electron beam by emitting electrons. A microcolumn is a very small electron column constructed by miniaturizing an electron column, which uses a principle of controlling an electron beam conventionally employed in a CRT, in an electron microscope, for electron beam lithography, and in various electron beam apparatuses.
FIG. 1 illustrates the structure of a microcolumn 100 as a typical very small electron column. The microcolumn 100 includes, as its basic component parts, an electron emitter 110, a source lens 140, deflectors 160, and a focus lens 170.
An electron emitter holder 120 is defined with a through-hole 121 in the center portion thereof, and the electron emitter 110 is inserted into the through-hole 121. The electron emitter holder 120 having the electron emitter 110 inserted therein is concentrically coupled to a holder base 130.
The source lens 140 is coupled to the lower surface 131 of the holder base 130. The source lens 140 can be directly coupled to the lower surface 131 of the holder base 130 by bonding, etc. The holder base 130, having the source lens 140 coupled thereto, is inserted into a column base 150.
The column base 150 has a hollow cylindrical configuration and includes an end portion 151 which has a through-hole (not shown) defined in a center portion thereof so that the electron beam emitted from the electron emitter can pass through the through-hole. The column base 150 has a space in which the holder base 130 is received and coupled to. A plurality of through-holes are radially arranged and formed through the column base 150, and the deflectors 160 are inserted through the through-holes. The focus lens 170 is coupled to the lower end of the end portion 151 of the column base 150 by bonding, etc. Therefore, the vertical position of the focus lens 170 can be determined by the position of the end portion 151.
Generally, in an electron column, in order to allow the electron emitter to stably emit electrons, it is necessary to maintain a high vacuum. A microcolumn, as a typical electron column, must be employed in an ultra high vacuum of about 10−9 Torr due to the characteristics of the electron emitter. The ultra high vacuum is created by using an ion pump or a getter pump. In order to quickly create the ultra high vacuum, bake-out must be conducted.
However, the electron beam generated by the electron column can be sufficiently utilized even in a vacuum of about 10−3 Torr, which is not an ultra high vacuum. That is to say, when the electron beam generated by the electron column is incident on a sample, the chamber or space in which the sample is placed need not be maintained in an ultra high vacuum state, and it is sufficient to maintain the chamber or space in a (normal) vacuum state.
In this regard, if the electron column and the sample are employed in an ultra high vacuum, it takes a long time to change a sample, and the cost of manufacturing the chamber to form the ultra high vacuum increases. That is to say, it is not preferable to maintain the chamber, in which the sample is placed to allow the electron beam emitted from the electron column to be incident thereon, in an ultra high vacuum state, because substantial costs are incurred.
Therefore, when using the electron column, it is necessary to separate the chamber in which the electron column is used and the chamber in which the sample is placed, and to maintain different pressures in the two chambers.

Device for sustaining differential vacuum degrees for electron column


A computer system for recycling value instruments in an automated teller machine has a memory storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the system to receive an image of a value instrument obtained by an automated teller machine for deposit. The image of the value instrument is analyzed to determine its condition. Then, based on the condition of the value instrument, it may be determined that the value instrument is suitable for recycling to fulfill withdrawals. Upon determining that the value instrument is suitable for recycling to fulfill withdrawals, recycling of the value instrument by the automated teller machine is initiated and an indication reflecting the recycling is generated so as to influence when a next servicing of the automated teller machine will occur. Related methods and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Automated teller machines (ATMs) or automated banking machines (ABMs) allow certain banking activities to be performed without resort to a human teller. For example, withdrawals can be made and fulfilled by value instruments (in many cases, banknotes) dispensed by the machine. In another example, deposits can be made with value instruments inserted into the machine.
Deposits are made up of one or more value instruments. In most existing ATMs, value instruments making up deposits are packaged by the depositor into an envelope and are then inserted into the ATM using an envelope. These envelopes are then retained by the ATM and the amount of each deposit is verified after the ATM is serviced and the envelopes are opened.
More recently, some so-called "envelope-free" ATMs allow value instruments to be received by an ATM without using an envelope. Such ATMs may include a scanner that captures images of value instruments received by the ATM. This may facilitate technologies such as image-based cheque clearing (sometimes referred to as "cheque truncation") which can allow the handling of the physical cheque in the cheque clearing process to be replaced with electronic transfers of images.
When the cassette(s) from which cash is dispensed to fulfill withdrawals are low or empty, the ATM must be serviced. For example, an armored car service may visit the ATM to refill those cassettes. An ATM may also require servicing if a deposit cassette used to retain deposit items has become full. Indeed, servicing may also involve picking up value instruments retained from deposits.
Like reference numerals are used in the drawings to denote like elements and features.

Recycling value instruments in an automated teller machine


The invention concerns a photoactive nanocomposite (3) comprising at least one donor-acceptor couple of semiconductor elements. One of the elements is made of doped nanowires (7) with sp3 structure, and the other of the elements is an organic compound (8). The elements are supported by a device substrate (1). The invention also concerns a production method. According to a first embodiment, after their growth, the nanowires (7) are retrieved, functionalised and solubilised in the organic component (8). The mixture is deposited by coating on a device substrate. According to a second embodiment, the nanowires (7) are formed on a growth substrate (5) which is also the device substrate. The organic component (8) is combined with the nanowires (7) so as to form an active layer (3). Such a photoactive nanocomposite (3) allows production of a photovoltaic cell.

1. Fields of the Invention
The present invention concerns a photoactive nanocomposite capable of being used in a solar cell to induce the photovoltaic effect, in a light emitter or in a photodetector.
2. Description of the Related Art
This type of photoactive component conventionally comprises a donor-acceptor couple of semiconductor elements. It is known that to see a charge transfer between donor and acceptor, the respective energy levels of the former and the latter must be compatible.
Photovoltaic devices based on amorphous or thin film microcrystalline silicon are familiar. These devices deliver a significant output of 6 to 10%. However, they are not very stable (ageing). Materials of the interpenetrating network type—conjugated polymer and fullerene or its derivatives—are also familiar. The usefulness of these systems is limited in particular by the flow of charge in organic materials. Indeed, in most organic conductors, charge mobility is poor (less than 10−4 cm2Vs−1) because of the presence of charge traps such as oxygen. Furthermore, they are not very stable in air. A way of addressing this limitation in charge flow is to combine, for example, a conjugated polymer electron donor with an inorganic semi-conductor as the electron acceptor. The present invention concerns a new type of interpenetrating network including an organic compound and silicon nanowires. The organic compound may be an electron donor or acceptor and the silicon nanowires an electron acceptor or donor. The development of solar cells using such a material has not been considered to date.
Currently, entirely organic solar cells, which use an active material in interpenetrating networks, made of a mixture of conjugated polymer such as polyphenylenevinylene (donor), a fullerene derivative (acceptor), show photovoltaic conversion output of more than 3%, with a life of one hundred hours in controlled light and atmospheric conditions.

Photoactive nanocomposite and method for the production thereof

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique


Improved transporter compositions effective for detecting or killing cells in acidic areas of tumors are described. Each composition includes a transporter peptide which at pH 7.2 and above is poly-anionic and so repels from cells in normal tissues, but at lower pH in hypoxic areas of tumors the transporter peptide converts to a non-ionic lipophilic form which transports across membranes of cells. Each composition also includes a cargo component which can be pulled across cell membranes by the transporter peptide and which is effective for detecting or killing cells into which the transporter composition has entered.

Tumors larger than microscopic size have inadequate and abnormal vasculature. As a consequence, areas of tumors that are more than a few tens of microns from a capillary are generally hypoxic. Cells in such hypoxic areas of tumors either die or convert to anaerobic metabolism which results in their excreting lactic acid. Because of the poor circulation in tumors, that excreted lactic acid builds up in the interstitial space in hypoxic areas of tumors.
There are two important consequences of this process.
1) While the pH in the interstitial space in normal tissues ranges from about 7.2 to 7.5, the interstitial space in hypoxic areas of tumors is acidic, with pH ranging from as low as about 6.0 in areas most distant from capillaries, up to about 7.0 closer to capillaries.2) While tumor cells in close proximity to capillaries are characterized by high metabolic rates and fast cell division, the tumor cells in acidic areas more distant from capillaries have lower metabolic rates and are slower-dividing or non-dividing. The slow-dividing and non-dividing tumor cells are referred to as quiescent.
Conventional cancer therapies, including chemotherapy and radiation, are generally fairly effective in killing fast-dividing cells, but because conventional cancer therapies are explicitly selected on the basis of their ability to spare slow-dividing and non-dividing cells typical of most normal tissues, said cancer therapies are also relatively ineffective against slow-dividing and non-dividing quiescent tumor cells. As a consequence, cancer treatments typically kill predominantly the fast-dividing cells of a tumor, while sparing the quiescent cells of the tumor. The initial killing of the fast-dividing tumor cells causes the tumor to go into remission. After those killed cells have been disposed of by the body's normal cleanup processes, all too often the treatment-resistant quiescent cancer cells in the hypoxic areas of the tumor slowly regain access to adequate oxygen, nutrients, and waste disposal, thus allowing them to revert to high metabolic rate and fast cell division. Reversion of the previously-quiescent cancer cells manifests as the dreaded relapse that so often kills cancer patients.
To achieve more effective treatment of tumors it is desirable to have a means for sensitive detection of quiescent cancer cells in virtually all tumors. Also desired is to have a broadly effective means for selectively killing those treatment-resistant quiescent cancer cells without concomitant killing of cells in normal tissues.
1. Related Art
There are two distinct types of compositions for detecting and treating cells in acidic areas of tumors: embedder compositions and transporter compositions. Compositions of the embedder type position their cargos on the outer surface of cells, as illustrated in Comparative FIG. 1a [RELATED ART]. In contrast, compositions of the transporter type of the instant invention carry their cargos into the cytosol of cells, as illustrated in FIG. 1.
Embedder compositions are described in a co-submitted and co-pending patent application by applicant cited supra and relating to embedder compositions and methods. Said embedder compositions repel from cells at the pH in normal tissues, but embed into membranes and thereby position their cargos on the outer surface of cells in acidic areas of tumors. Embedder compositions contain cargos which are effective on external cell surfaces. Such cargos can be relatively large and/or polar because it is not necessary to pull them across the cell membrane. One important difference between embedder compositions of said co-pending patent application and the transporter compositions of the instant invention is that for therapeutic application the cargo of the embedder composition can be designed to exploit a component of the body's natural extracellular cell-killing machinery, such as phagocytic cells or the innate immune system.
2. Prior Art
In the mid-1990s applicant pioneered the development of transporter peptides designed to transport substances from a low-pH environment across a lipid layer to a higher-pH aqueous compartment. The original transporter peptides are described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,941, issued to Summerton and Weller and assigned to AVI BioPharma, Inc. When 941 was filed in 1997 it was believed by applicant that structures with the highest practical pH of transition (pT) had been devised and were claimed in 941. Those high-pT peptides comprise peptides containing either of the two core repeating sequences [LELLE]n or [ELLLE]n. Furthermore, results from early octanol/buffer partitioning studies suggested that those high-pT peptides should be adequate for delivering substances into virtually all cells in acidic areas of tumors.
However, in subsequent studies of entry of transporter peptides into mammalian cell membranes and into mammalian cells at 37 degrees C., applicant discovered that the high-pT peptides claimed in 941 only enter cell membranes at a substantially lower pH than would be expected on the basis of the early partitioning results. The implication of this new finding is that the early high-pT peptides claimed in 941 will likely be effective only in the most acidic areas of tumors most distant from capillaries. This leaves a substantial portion of the acidic areas of tumors undetected or untreated by transporter compositions utilizing such prior art peptide sequences. This is illustrated in Comparative FIG. 2a [PRIOR ART].
The discovery of the limitations of the high-pT transporter peptides claimed in 941 led applicant to search for transporter peptide sequences having even higher pT values, which it was hoped would be effective to enter cells in a substantially wider range of acidic areas of tumors. Those efforts led to the discovery by applicant of a number of improved transporter peptide sequences patentably distinct from the claims of 941. The improved transporter peptide sequences disclosed and claimed herein have been found to enter mammalian cells at appreciably higher pH values and so should allow one to effectively detect or treat a much larger portion of the acidic areas of tumors, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
Table 1 lists key differences between the prior art transporter peptides described and claimed in 941 and the newly devised improved transporter peptides of the instant invention. These properties will be further described in the detailed description of the invention.
TABLE 1PropertyPrior Art (941)Current Inventionacid side chain content in core40% or moreless than 40%peptide sequence:acid side chains selected from:glutamic and asparticglutamicaverage of axial rotations500 degrees or lessmore than 500between pairs:degrees
Table 2 illustrates these differences for representative core transporter peptide sequences.
TABLE 2PropertyPrior Art (941)Current Inventioncore repeating sequence[LELLE]n (40% E)[ELLELELLLEL]n(36% E)axial rotation between pairs500 degrees550 degreescore repeating sequence[ELLLE]n (40% E)[ELLLELELLEL]n(36% E)axial rotation between pairs500 degrees550 degreescore repeating sequence[ELLLEL]n (33% E)axial rotation between pairs600 degrees
While these differences between the prior art (941) and the current invention may appear modest, because of the typical pH distribution in tumors the improved peptides of the current invention are expected to afford a substantial increase in diagnostic sensitivity, and a dramatic improvement in therapeutic efficacy (when used in combination with conventional cancer therapy to kill the fast-dividing cells of the tumor), as illustrated in Comparative FIG. 2a [PRIOR ART] and FIG. 2.

Transporter compositions and methods for detecting and killing cells in acidic areas of tumors


In a method of spectroscopically analyzing a sample, a plasma is generated. A magnetic field is generated by a magnetic dipole wherein the plasma is confined within the magnetic field. Sample atoms are introduced into the plasma wherein energized atoms of the sample are confined. The spectral composition or mass-to-charge ratio of the energized sample atoms is analyzed. In a spectroscopic system a magnetic dipole has an associated magnetic field. A plasma is confined within the magnetic field and a sample of energized atoms introduced into the plasma. A spectrometer analyzes the energized atoms for the mass-to-charge ratio or for their spectral composition.

Conventional Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy ICP-OES and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy ICP-MS systems typically utilize a solenoid receptive of an RF electrical current for confining a plasma and material sample in an associated magnetic field for analysis. However, such a device generates an uneven magnetic field over the length of the interior of the solenoid due to the helical configuration of the solenoid. This results in an uneven temperature distribution within the plasma affecting sample excitation and the trajectory of ions in the plasma. In addition, the solenoid is a single element, which lacks flexibility in controlling the associated magnetic field and the plasma/sample excitation.


This disclosure is directed to techniques for directly managing, via a cellular modem device, an in-home Internet service subscription plan for using an in-home Internet service from a wireless carrier network. The cellular modem device may facilitate adjustment of the in-home Internet subscription plan by monitoring Internet service usage at the cellular modem device and then comparing a monitored Internet service usage with a corresponding threshold value. Based on this comparison, the cellular modem device may present to the subscriber a selection that correspond to different adjustments in the subscription plan. The cellular modem device may then send a request for adjustment to Internet service provider based on a user-entered selection and a notification is thereafter received by the cellular modem device for the adjustment of the subscription plan by the Internet service provider.

Internet access over a wireless telecommunications network is becoming prevalent due to advances in wireless technologies and user convenience of accessing high-speed Internet from portable devices such as a cellphone, laptop, and/or the like. While the accessibility of Internet access over the wireless telecommunications network is continuously improving, most subscribers generally select subscription plans based on the prices of the subscription plans. The subscribers may change to a different subscription plan after a particular period depending upon their average consumption and financial needs. Accordingly, the subscribers oftentimes may access their respective accounts and check for possible improvements or optimizations in their current subscription plan.

Internet subscription management in a cellular-based network


Vapor phase coating techniques with improved control over the co-transfer and co-deposition of aluminum and reactive element(s) from sources to the article being coated. One method includes providing a reactive element source, wherein at least a portion of the reactive element source comprises a non-halide compound of a reactive element, providing an aluminum source, providing a halide activator, and heating an article having a metallic surface, the reactive element source, the aluminum source, and the halide activator under conditions effective to cause species comprising aluminum and the reactive element to be co-deposited onto said surface to form a coating.

The drive to improve engine combustion efficiency and reducing emissions has resulted in a significant increase of the Turbine Entry Temperatures (TET) within gas-turbine engines since 1940s. Presently, the high-pressure turbine blades and vanes exposed to hot gases in commercial aeronautical engines typically experience metal surface temperatures of about 1000° C., with short-term peaks as high as 1100° C. In this service environment, significant advances in high temperature capabilities have been achieved through the development of iron, nickel and cobalt-base superalloys and the use of oxidation-resistant environmental coatings capable of protecting the superalloys from oxidation, hot corrosion, etc.
For instance, the surfaces of the articles to be protected can be protected with an aluminum-containing protective coating whose surface oxidizes to form an aluminum oxide scale that inhibits further oxidation. The protective coating therefore is sufficiently rich in Al to promote thermal growth of this oxide scale. The scale is also referred to as a thermally grown oxide (TGO). Optionally, a ceramic topcoat is further applied over the aluminum-containing protective layer to help provide a thermal barrier that extends service life. In addition to imparting oxidation resistance, the TGO helps bond the ceramic topcoat to the protective coating. Together, the protective coating (also referred to as a bond coat), the TGO layer, and the ceramic topcoat provide a Thermal Barrier Coating System (TBC) to protect the coated article.
Notwithstanding the protection provided by the thermal barrier coating system, the spallation and cracking of the thickening TGO scale layer often is the ultimate failure mechanism of conventional thermal barrier systems. Thus, improving the adhesion and integrity of the interfacial TGO scale is critical to the development of more reliable thermal barrier systems. Ideally, when exposed to high temperatures, the aluminum-containing protective coating should oxidize to form a slow-growing, non- or less "rumpling," nonporous TGO layer that adhere well to the protective coating and the ceramic topcoat.
A conventional bond coat is typically either an MCrAIY overlay (where M is Ni, Co, Fe, or combination of them) or a diffusion aluminide coating. An MCrAIY overlay is generally applied by Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition (EB-PVD), High Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF), Low Pressure Plasma Spray (LPPS) or Vacuum Plasma Spray (VPS). Diffusion aluminide coatings are generally formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), slurry coating, or by a diffusion process such as pack cementation, above-pack, or vapor (gas) phase deposition. Diffusion aluminide coatings have particularly found widespread use as protective coatings for superalloy components of gas turbine engines due to: (1) the diffusion process is not a line-of-sight process allowing components with complex geometry or with internal surfaces to be coated; and (2) the diffusion process is generally cost-effective as compared with overlay process.
Reactive elements have been incorporated into aluminide coatings to improve the oxidation protection provided by these coatings. Examples of reactive elements that have been proposed for aluminide compositions include Hf, Zr, Y, La and/or Ce. With small additions of reactive elements to aluminide coatings, the adherence of the protective oxide scale to the coatings/alloys and the oxidation resistance of the coatings/alloys at high temperature under aggressive atmospheres can be improved.
The significant improvement of oxidation resistance due to Hf addition has been indicated in many cases, such as Hf addition to β-NiAl cast alloys (Pint et al., "Effect of quaternary additions on the oxidation behavior of Hf-doped NiAl," Oxidation of Metals, Vol. 59, Pages 257-283, 2003), and Hf addition to MCrAlY coatings materials (Giggins Jr., et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,454, and Gupta et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,481). In addition, Hf addition has also been proved that hafnium decreases the propensity for rumpling when it diffuses into the coating and to the growing aluminum oxide increasing their creep resistance (Tolpygo et al., "Effect of Hf, Y and C in the underlying superalloy on the rumpling of diffusion aluminide coatings," Acta Materialia 56, Pages 489-499, 2008) as well as decreases the voids formed in the coating alloy at the metal-oxide interface during oxidation (Provenzano et al., "Void formation and suppression during high temperature oxidation of MCrAlY-type coatings," Surface and Coatings Technology, 36, Pages 61-74, 1988).
Recently, U.S. Pat. No. 7,273,662 to Gleeson et al. taught two-phase γ-Ni+γ′ Ni3Al alloy compositions with a purpose of reducing the progressive roughening or "rumpling" of the bond coat surface during thermal exposure. Due to the significant beneficial effect of Hf addition, diffusion coating processes to incorporate Hf into diffusion aluminide coatings have been studied for several decades. As early as the 1970s, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,951,642 and 3,996,021 to Chang et al. disclosed a pack cementation process to produce Hf modified aluminide coatings. Later, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,989,733, 6,136,451, 6,689,422 to Warnes et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,602,356 to Nagaraj et al. disclosed a CVD process to produce Platinum (Pt)-aluminide coatings with or without Hf addition. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,514,629 and 6,582,772 to Rigney et al. taught Hf—Si-modified Pt-aluminide coatings formed by the steps of providing a substrate, depositing layers containing the platinum, aluminum, hafnium, and silicon, and heating the layers so that the aluminum, hafnium, and silicon diffuse into the layer of platinum to form a protective layer.
Pack cementation, CVD and vapor phase process are three potential industrial diffusion coating processes for forming Hf-modified aluminide diffusion coatings. Among them, the vapor phase process has the potential to offer many advantages. The others have drawbacks. Though used with some successes, pack cementation processes for both hafnium-modified aluminide and simple aluminide coatings share the same disadvantages, such as the need for an inert filler, the obstruction of cooling holes, and the embedded particles on the formed coating surface. While avoiding these shortcomings, a significant disadvantage of using a CVD process to form a hafnium-modified aluminide coating is the considerable equipment cost. In view of these disadvantages of pack and CVD processes, alternative deposition methods, such as vapor phase process, have been sought.
The information of vapor phase process for Hf-modified aluminide coatings is limited. U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,931 to Das et al. disclosed a vapor phase coating process to produce aluminide-hafnide coatings by using Hf metal or Hf-containing metallic alloys as Hf donor materials; as a result, the synthesized coatings contain about 0.5 to about 60 weight percent hafnium and about 12 to about 38 weight percent aluminum. However, too high Hf content in aluminide coatings can lead to the formation of Hf-rich precipitated phases in the coating or on the coating surface, such as HfC, HfO2, and Ni2AlHf etc, and furthermore, deteriorate the mechanical properties and the oxidation resistance of the aluminide coatings. Therefore, there is a need to develop low Hf content aluminide coatings whose application on turbine engine components, as either environmental coatings or the bond coat in a thermal barrier coating system, can significantly improve the gas-turbine performance. Due to the difficulty on the control over Hf and Al codeposition and the complex process parameters of the diffusion coating process, even though Hf modified aluminide coatings have been investigated for several decades, very limited information of Hf-modified aluminide diffusion coatings for industrial applications has been reported.
A significant obstacle to the use of vapor phase processes has been the inability to adequately control the co-deposition of aluminum and reactive elements, such as Hf, from suitable sources to the article to be coated. Unfortunately, the resultant aluminide coatings tend to incorporate too much hafnium when vapor phase processes are used. This leads to coatings whose mechanical properties and/or service life can be unduly compromised. Therefore, there is a strong desire and need in the industry to be able to use vapor phase coating techniques in a way that offers improved control over the co-transfer of aluminum and reactive element(s) such as Hf.

Forming reactive element modified aluminide coatings with low reactive element content using vapor phase techniques


A system, method, and computer program product are provided for determining a duration of time required to render a web page or other content displayed by a native application running on a user device. One embodiment captures screenshots of the application's displayed output on a user device as video frames, and determines when the displayed output image content stabilizes. Another embodiment measures the number of service calls from a mobile client machine and the data requested and/or sent in response to such calls to determine native application performance. In another embodiment, a configuration file updates application executables and runs batch content rendering performance tests. Embodiments timestamp and store test results for subsequent visual depiction, evaluation, and analysis by developer teams and/or users. Performance variations due to changes to a native application or content may be routed to a particular application developer or content designer for possible correction and improvement.

As the use of network-based publication systems and marketplaces such as online commerce services or auction services expands, and the volume of item listings in such applications increases, the speed, ease, and convenience with which product information that is relevant to customers may be retrieved from such marketplaces increases in importance to customers.

Capturing native application content rendering performance


Methods, devices, kits and compositions for detecting the presence or absence of hookworm in a fecal sample are disclosed herein. The methods, devices, kits and compositions of the present invention may be used to confirm the presence or absence of hookworm in a fecal sample from a mammal that may also be infected with one or more of roundworm, whipworm, and heartworm. Confirmation of the presence or absence of hookworm in the mammal may be made, for example, for the purpose of selecting an optimal course of treating the mammal and/or for the purpose of determining whether the mammal has been rid of the infection after treatment has been initiated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compositions, devices, kits and methods for the detection of hookworm in mammals. More particularly, the present invention relates to polypeptides and polypeptide compositions, antibodies and antibody compositions, devices, kits, and methods for detecting the presence or absence of hookworm antigen in a sample from a mammal that may also include one or more of roundworm, whipworm, and heartworm antigen.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hookworms are bloodsucking intestinal parasites that can cause their host to suffer serious illness, such as anemia, wasting and retarded development. For example, the hookworm Ancylostoma caninum causes significant disease in both dogs and humans (Prociv et al., Acta Trop. 1996 September; 62(1):23-44).
Current methods for diagnosis of hookworm infections primarily involve microscopic examination of fecal samples, either directly in fecal smears or following concentration of ova by flotation in density media. Despite this procedure's high adoption, the method has significant shortcomings. These microscopic methods are time consuming, are unpleasant, require specialized equipment and can have low specificity [Dryden et al., 2005, Vet Therap. 6(1), 15-28]. In addition, the accuracy of results of these methods is highly dependent upon the skill and expertise of the operator. (For example, a novice eye often will mistake ova of other parasitic nematodes for those of hookworm and vice versa.) This potential for misdiagnosis is unfortunate because a misdiagnosed animal may be given a treatment that is ineffective against hookworm, and therefore one that would not alleviate the animal's suffering or stop the progressive wasting of its health.
Stool handling is disagreeable and hazardous. Sanitary and inoffensive procedures for processing stool are awkward and often complex. Such procedures may include weighing, centrifuging and storing, and are difficult except in a clinical laboratory equipped with a suitable apparatus, protective equipment, and a skilled technician. Therefore, any reduction in the number of steps required to perform a fecal test and any reduction in contact between test operator and the test material is desirable. Clinical laboratories have been using the immunoassay methods for the detection of various viruses, bacteria and non-helminth parasites and organisms in feces. However, there remains a need for a simple immunoassay method for the detection of a parasitic worm infection, and hookworm infection in particular in feces, whole blood or in serum.
Another significant limitation of diagnosis by microscopic detection of ova is that because hookworm eggs generally are not detectable in host feces until well after infection manifests, it does not allow for early detection of hookworm infection. For example, hookworm ova generally do not appear in canine feces until about 17 days after oral ingestion of the parasite by the canine. This is a problem because symptoms such as severe weight loss and bloody diarrhea often distress the host before hookworm ova first appear in the feces. Early detection therefore is highly desirable.

Compositions, devices, kits and methods for detecting hookworm


A monitoring apparatus for monitoring a subject (14) is disclosed. The monitoring apparatus comprises a storage device (18) for storing first skin secretion data (27) of the subject. A detection unit (12) detects a skin secretion at a skin portion of the subject and provides second skin secretion data (28) of the subject. An evaluation unit (16) evaluates the second skin secretion data and determines at least one physical parameter on the basis of the first skin secretion data and the second skin secretion data. One of the at least one physical parameter is a time value (25, 26) determinable on the basis of a difference between the first and the second skin secretion data.

In the field of monitoring of physiological conditions of a patient, it is generally known that sweat production of the patient corresponds to certain diseases and that a state of the disease can be monitored by measuring the sweat production. A corresponding system for monitoring a sweat rate of a patient by means of an electronic sensor is e.g. known from US 2002/0115921 A1.
It is further known to treat certain diseases like Parkinson's disease by the intake of drugs, wherein the dosage is usually determined and adjusted on the basis of a patient's feedback and clinical reference data and the efficiency of the medication is usually determined on the basis of patient's evaluation during a clinical visit by the patient.
It is the disadvantage of the known methods is that evaluation of the disease state is complicated and that the efficiency of the drug intake and the dosage cannot be precisely and objectively determined so that a precise medication and a precise monitoring of the progression of the disease is not possible.

Sweat monitoring apparatus and monitoring method


A lid is formed with a domed underside that faces the internal space of a vehicle console. The console includes an operating mechanism disposed within an end face of the console basic body and that lies in a plane perpendicular to the pivot axis underneath the lid. The operating mechanism can be used universally both for individual lids as well as for lid wings. The operating mechanism requires as little usable space as possible to accommodate the operating mechanism.

1. Field
The present invention relates to a console for a vehicle, and more particularly to a central console with a pivotable lid.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Consoles for storing personal articles in vehicles are generally known in the art, as are consoles positioned centrally between seats of the driver and forward passenger. Many of such central consoles have a lid that is pivotable in relation to a basic body of the console. The basic body can be shaped as a longitudinally extended box, block or shell-like structure that lies along a substantially horizontal axis extending along the transverse or longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Consoles may also have a lid that is divided and that can be pivoted in a wing-like manner (known as butterfly lids) between an open position and a closed position about two axes that are parallel to one another.
The internal space of the console can be used to hold drink cans, telephone receivers, mobile phone mountings, CD cases or other such objects. The lid or lid wings of the console may be opened to provide access to the internal space so that a person can place articles into or remove objects therefrom. The basic body of the console may also be fitted with appropriate mountings or fixtures for holding such objects securely in place. The upper side of the lid or lid wings can also be padded and may serve, in the closed position, as an armrest for the driver or passenger of the vehicle.
The lid and basic body of the console can be connected by an operating mechanism that consists of a lever connected to a spring or electric motor drive. The console may also have an unlatching element, such as a pushbutton or a pressure area, which co-operate with latching elements, such as hooks, latches or detents. Silicone brakes, friction brakes, and gas springs may be provided as braking elements in such mechanisms.
There is a need, however, for operating mechanisms that comprise fewer numbers of individual parts and/or that require less space to be accommodated by the console. There is also a need for a console with an operating mechanism that requires as little usable space as possible, particularly within the internal space of the console. It is also desirable for the internal space to be able to accommodate the operating mechanism with few discontinuities. Additionally, it is desirable for the individual elements of the operating mechanism to be accommodated as invisibly as possible within the console, so as not to detract from the aesthetic appearance.
Known consoles have attempted to address those needs unsuccessfully. The attempts have led in practice to the most varied constructions and in particular to compromised solutions. By way of example, one of these compromised solutions consists of placing the operating mechanism directly in the lid of the central console. In such a configuration, the usable space on the under side of the lid is restricted.