A glass pane is provided. A marking field that includes an uneven surface structure is located on a limited area of a smooth side surface of the glass pane. The limited area is smaller than a total area of the side surface of the glass pane, and the uneven surface structure is more rough than portions of the side surface of the glass pane that are outside of the limited area of the side surface of the glass pane. A marking layer is located on the marking field so as to create an intimate adhesive bond between the marking layer and the marking field. The marking layer includes a color containing a thermochromic pigment that visually indicates that a heat treatment has been carried out on the glass pane by being irreversibly modified at a temperature at which the heat treatment is conducted.

The initial characteristics stem from WO-A1-00/02825, which describes a method for marking glass panes after a heat treatment. According to a preferred application case mentioned in this description, tempered glass panes, that have undergone an aging test following the tempering operation, are provided with a local colored marking. This marking is produced by means of a special thermochromic organic color, that is applied locally, for example by screen printing, after the tempering but before the aging at a predetermined point on the surface of the pane, or alternatively on a thin film covering the latter.
It has been shown that, using the heat soaking test, tempered glass panes do not contain critical nickel sulfide inclusions. It is known that such inclusions can lead to sudden spontaneous fracture, with unpredictable consequences, during the life of the tempered glass panes. During the heat soaking test, in which the panes are heated to maximum temperatures of generally between 180 and 340° C., especially around 300° C., according to a predetermined time-temperature curve, panes break in a random fashion before they are mounted. The tempering of the panes has still not disappeared at these temperatures. In any case, this heat soaking test takes a great deal of time and necessarily incurs relatively high installation costs.
If the thermochromic color has been applied before the test, it undergoes a permanent change by an irreversible conversion of the color. Consequently, it is possible immediately to detect that the heat soaking test has been carried out on the completed, heat-tested/treated, tempered glass panes. Even very small residues of color may be clearly identified, by suitable methods, after the heat soaking test has been carried out.
For the application described here, thermochromic colors that contain the chemical compound iron (II, III) hexacyanoferrate as thermochromic pigment may be suitable. An example of such a commercially available pigment is "Mannox Blue 510". The color must exhibit good adhesion to the glass because of its composition.
Colored markings of this kind cannot be compared with inter alia an enamel. They cannot penetrate the surface of the glass or bond in a lasting manner thereto. On the contrary, it is possible in principle to remove them from the surface of the glass, completely and virtually without any trace, using a blade or steel wool after a heat soaking test. As a result, no reliable identification of the tested panes is possible or, put another way, it is not possible to exclude with certainty the fact that panes with no color mark have not undergone a heat soaking test. Thus, the indicative value of the color mark and the visible evidence of quality that stems therefrom are undesirably limited.
In addition, it should however not be possible to apply the marking color before the tempering, and produce the color change only by dint of the thermal tempering, without subsequently carrying out a heat soaking test. The aforementioned color loses all adhesion to the surface of the glass after the action of high temperatures substantially above 300° C., such as those necessary for tempering the glass (well above 600° C.), so that they can no longer be used for the marking.
Also known, from document DE-C1-3 940 749, is a method for the durable marking or printing of glass panes, in which, in a layer deposited by screen printing, local color changes are induced via which the individual characteristics of the pane in question are indelibly displayed. This occurs in the known method by the fact that a marking composed of an organic material (color or ink) is applied locally, in a predetermined design, on the surface of the pane before printing with the inorganic screen-printing paste. During the high-temperature baking of the subsequently applied screen-printing paste, the organic compounds volatilize. Thus, local perturbations, or even holes, appear in the organic coating and these are clearly perceptible visually. Modification or removal of these designs is possible only by simultaneously removing the baked inorganic coating.
It is also known (DE-C2-4 111 625 and EP-B1-0 281 351) to produce fine structures, in the form of striations or similar features, in coatings deposited on a substrate by screen printing. In the aforementioned cases, these local heterogeneities serve to improve the brazability of the screen-printing paste that is necessarily electrically conducting after the baking operation, or alternatively to improve the adhesion of the spots of braze.

Glass segments including identification marking


The “dual stack” capability of a network supporting two or more address spaces is used to perform host discovery in the network address space of one network address format using the network address space of another network format (e.g., via a PING sweep in the network address space of the other network format). The host discovery can be performed using addressing in a smaller network address space (e.g., IPv4 network address format) to discover hosts in a larger network address space (e.g., IPv6 network address format), or vice versa.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements can vary between different applications, information handling systems can also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information can be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems can include a variety of hardware and software components that can be configured to process, store, and communicate information and can include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
When implemented as a node within a network, an information handling system typically is assigned a unique network address from the address space of the network protocol implemented in the network. Nodes within the network typically use a host discovery technique, such as a conventional PING sweep, to discover other nodes, or hosts, within the network or subnetwork. While PING sweeps and other conventional host discovery techniques can be efficiently implemented in networks implementing a relatively small network address space, the evolution of network protocols and the growth in the number of networked information handling systems can lead to the implementation of a network address space that is too vast to make conventional host discovery techniques practicable. To illustrate, Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) specifies network addresses of 32 bits that can only represent approximately 4.3 billion individual hosts, whereas the newer Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) specifies an 128-bit address space in part to permit far more hosts to be uniquely identified on a large network (such as the Internet). While a PING sweep of an IPv4 host assigned field of 8 or 16 bits can be performed in a matter of minutes or hours at present network performance capabilities, the typical IPv6 host address field of 96 bits or more would take millennia to completely sweep. Accordingly, an improved technique for host discovery in a network utilizing a relatively large network address space would be advantageous.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.

Host discovery across different address spaces


A furniture spacer (1) that maintains an even gap between a piece of furniture and a wall thereby protecting the furniture and wall from damage while providing an attractive design aesthetic.

Furniture in homes and offices is commonly placed against walls. Such furniture may include sofas, couches, headboards, desks, tables, bureaus, and so forth, that can accidentally rub or scrape against walls, thereby causing damage to the walls and/or damage to the furniture. For this reason, a space is normally left between a piece of furniture and a wall. However, furniture still has a tendency of being pushed against walls during regular use, especially on wood and tile floors.
In addition to aesthetics and preventing damage to furniture and walls, a user may also want to position furniture away from walls to provide space for electrical outlets, wires, baseboard heaters, and other objects that require air flow to prevent fire hazards.
Therefore, a need exists for a furniture spacer that maintains an even gap between a piece of furniture and a wall thereby protecting the furniture and wall from damage while providing an attractive design aesthetic.


The present invention provides a management table that uses only specific symbols for upstream signals and other symbols for downstream signals, within a hyperframe (ADSL communication unit). Communication is performed by switching streams between the upstream and downstream, in accordance with the symbols stored in the management table. Upon transmitting a predetermined number of hyperframes, a processor transmits a SEGUE signal instead of a REVERB signal in the beginning of the next hyperframe.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ADSL communication modem apparatus that adheres to the ITU-T recommended G.992.1 (hereafter referred to as G.dmt) and G.992.2 (hereafter referred to as G.lite), and an ADSL communication and an ADSL communication method that improve the above communication method.
2. Description of Related Art
During an ADSL communication based on ANNEX.C of G.hs/G.lite, carriers of carrier indexes #48 and #64 are used for a C-PILOT signal (C-PILOT1 signal or C-PILOT1A (accompanied pilot) signal), which are included in a downstream of an initialization sequence. This PILOT signal is used in order to establish a hyperframe synchronization at the remote side. When the center and remote sides establish both hyperframe synchronization and symbol synchronization, it is possible to accurately count and recognize each symbol for an important signal, and to execute communication sequences.
However, carrier frequencies (#48 and #64) assigned to the PILOT signal included in the downstream have a large attenuation amount during a long distance communication, due to their high frequencies, thereby preventing an adequate communication and hindering the realization of long distance ADSL communications.

ADSL modem apparatus and ADSL modem communication method


A highly retrovirus-producing DNA construct, which comprises a gene encoding retrovirus which is incorporated into a vector for gene amplification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a provirus DNA construct for producing retrovirus.
2. Description of the Background
The introduction of genes into cells is now used as an important research technique. For example, the function of a gene may be studied by introducing the same into cells. The gene may be introduced into primary culture cells or it may be introduced into reproductive cells to produce transgenic animals, mainly transgenic mice.
Alternatively, instead of studying the function of the gene, the function of a region encoding protein in the introduced gene may be studied. Also, the function of a gene region which regulates gene expression may also be studied.
In evaluating the progress of differentiation in a specific cell or the kinetics of a specified cell in vivo, a marker gene (for example, neomycin-resistant gene) is introduced into the specific cell to distinguish over other cells. This is also an important technique.
Next, it is likely that upon introducing a gene into productive cells to prepare a new transgenic animal, the transgenic animal may be utilized as livestock, an experimental animal or a pet animal.
Furthermore, it is also possible for humans to receive genetic treatment. Many genetic diseases caused by defects of a specific gene are known. It is also suspected that ordinary diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disease, diabetes, hypertension, infectious diseases, etc. are caused by deficiencies of a plurality of genes in combination. An attempt has thus been made to cure diseases by compensating for the defective gene or replacing the defective gene with a normal gene. At present, the introduction of a gene into productive cells of humans has been precluded due to moral considerations but attention has been focused, instead, on introducing genes into somatic cells for genetic treatment. The somatic cells to be so used are stem cells of the blood cell system, skin stem cells, hepatic stem cells, for example.
It is currently recognized that the most efficient method for introducing a gene into cells comprises using retrovirus. If circumstances require, a gene can be introduced into 100% of cells. In general, however, it is not easy to introduce a gene into primary culture cells or cells in vivo with a high efficiency as compared to the introduction into a cell line, even though retrovirus is used. In any case, it is important to contact a sufficient amount of retrovirus with cells, in order to enhance efficiency of gene introduction. Particularly in the case that the latter (primary culture cells or cells in vivo) is used, an amount of retrovirus greatly affects the efficiency.
When the cell line harbouring DNA for producing retrovirus particles is cultured, retrovirus can be obtained in the culture supernatant as virion. In such a state that retrovirus is suspended in medium, however, retrovirus is liable to be inactivated. Retrovirus is also liable to be inactivated by concentration operations. Accordingly, in order to efficiently perform gene introduction, it is necessary to obtain a medium having a high number of virion (which is referred to as titer and expressed by cfu/ml) having an activity of introducing a gene per unit volume. That is, virus-producing cells having a high titer are necessary.
Taking as an example gene introduction into blood cell stem cells used for genetic treatment using retrovirus, it is presumed that the stem cells into which a gene is to be introduced would be less than 0.1% of bone marrow cells, indicating that the density is very low. For this reason, a virus solution containing virion in an amount at least equivalent to, if possible, 10 times or 100 times 10.sup.9 to 10.sup.10 counts of bone marrow cells is generally required for bone marrow transplantation in a medium.
However, the upper limit of titer in the retrovirus-producing cell line for gene introduction obtained by introducing retrovirus vector pZipNeoSV(X)1 (C. L. Cepko et. al., Cell, 37, 1053, 1984) into helper cells .phi.2 (R. Mann et. al., Cell, 33, 153, 1983) ordinarily used is generally on the order of 10.sup.4 cfu/ml.
Provirus DNA encoding protein required for producing virion is incorporated into chromosomes of the retrovirus-producing cell line which is used for gene introduction, wherein components of virion are permanently produced by LTR (long terminal repeat) having the function of regulating DNA expression in the provirus. The components are produced from provirus DNA via mRNA; this mRNA per se is enveloped in these components to complete virion and virion is further released extracellularly. Natural virus infects other cells to release mRNA and enzymes in the virion. From this mRNA and enzymes, provirus DNA is formed and provirus DNA is further incorporated into chromosomes of the cells. By repeating this procedure, retrovirus proliferates.
However, retrovirus for gene introduction is defective in a part of the provirus DNA (packaging signal sequence, .phi.). Therefore, the virus components produced from provirus DNA fail to envelope mRNA likewise produced from provirus.
On the other hand, when a DNA construct wherein DNA other than LTR and packaging signal of provirus is removed and instead, a DNA construct having inserted therein a gene to be introduced (gene construct so designed as to incorporate an optional gene, retrovirus vector) is introduced into helper cells, mRNA formed from this DNA is selectively enveloped in the virus components formed from provirus DNA to produce virion; this virion infects other cells and DNA is transcripted from the enveloped mRNA and this DNA is incorporated into chromosome. Since DNA capable of producing virus is not present in the incorporated DNA, there is no chance to reproduce virion. By such procedures, an optional gene can be introduced into cells, using retrovirus.
As described above, a method for gene introduction using retrovirus may be considered to be logically ideal but involves various problems for practical use. Firstly, an amount of retrovirus produced by helper cells should be increased, as described above. Secondly, while it occurs with a poor frequency, provirus DNA or mRNA formed thereby and retrovirus vector DNA or mRNA formed thereby are recombined with each other, whereby provirus might sometimes take up packaging signal therein to form natural virus capable of persistent infection. Where the two have high homology on their sequence, this phenomenon occurs (R. A. Bosselman et. al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 7, 1797, 1987). Natural retrovirus has an ability of persistent infection so that there might be a danger of injuring the living body.
Thus, a need continues to exist for highly safe helper cells that do not allow natural virus to generate, and which overcome the above disadvantages.

Highly retrovirus-producing DNA construct and cell line


An air-bag is disclosed which has a vent hole formed therein. The periphery of the vent hole has first and second opposed part, wherein a tuck is formed in the air-bag. The tuck is formed in the region of the first part of the vent hole periphery such that the second part of the vent hole periphery extends past the first part in a direction extending substantially outwards from the interior volume of the air-bag, when the air-bag is inflated.

The present invention relates to an air-bag, and more particularly relates to an air-bag having a vent hole formed therein.
It is known to be desirable to vent an air-bag provided for use as a safety arrangement in a motor vehicle to protect an occupant of the vehicle in the event that an accident should occur. It is known to be particularly important to vent an air-bag if the air-bag is of the type intended to provide protection in the event that a front impact should occur.
An air-bag that is intended to provide protection in the case that a front impact should occur is generally located so that, when inflated, the air-bag is positioned in front of the occupant of the vehicle to be protected. During the front impact, the motor vehicle will decelerate very suddenly. Due to inertia, the occupant of the vehicle tends to continue moving, and thus the occupant of the vehicle is, in effect, moving forwardly relative to the rest of the vehicle, and thus the occupant moves forwardly relative to the air-bag itself. The function of the air-bag is to decelerate the occupant, preferably in such a way that the occupant suffers no or only relatively slight injuries. The air-bag must be inflated very swiftly in the event of an accident and thus, typically, contains relatively high-pressure gas when inflated. If the air-bag were not vented, then because of the high pressure of gas within it, the air-bag would not decelerate the occupant gently, but instead would stop the occupant extremely swiftly and hence may injure the occupant. It is thus known to provide air-bags with one or more vent holes formed in them so that, when the air-bag is struck by the occupant in a crash situation, gas can escape from the air-bag through the vent hole or holes, so that the air-bag serves the function of decelerating the occupant more gently, to avoid serious injury.
It has been found to be advantageous to configure the or each vent hole of an air-bag so that the venting flow of gas passing through the vent hole as an occupant strikes the air-bag can be directed along a predefined flow path. It is particularly advantageous to be able to direct the flow of venting gas from the interior of the air-bag, away from the occupant, because typically, the gas used to inflate air-bags in motor vehicles is generated at high temperature which can cause serious burns if it is directed towards an occupant during a crash situation.
JP01277991-A discloses a prior arrangement to direct the venting flow of gas from the interior of an air-bag, such that the gas flows in directions substantially tangential to the outermost surface of the air-bag rather than generally orthogonal to the outermost surface of the air-bag. This is achieved by providing each vent hole with a cover flap which is configured to form a duct to direct the venting gas flow as desired. However, the provision of a separate fabric cover over the vent hole, in addition to the fabric of the air-bag, is considered to be disadvantageous, because it necessitates stitching together of the two pieces of fabric, thereby complicating the manufacturing process to produce the air-bag.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved air-bag having a vent hole formed therein.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an air-bag having a vent hole formed therein, the periphery of the vent hole having first and second opposed parts, wherein a tuck is formed in the air-bag in the region of said first part such that said second part extends past said first part in a direction extending substantially outwards from the interior volume of the air-bag, when the air-bag is inflated.
Numerous embodiments and implementations of the invention may be implemented, including:                a) The tuck defines a pleat in the air-bag;        b) The tuck is tapered;        c) The tuck is formed by a fold in the air-bag, the fold intersecting the first part of the vent hole periphery;        d) The tuck is at least partly defined by a seam intersecting said first part of the vent hole;        e) The tuck is formed by stitching together two regions of the air-bag;        f) The tuck is formed so as to lie inside the interior volume of the air-bag;        g) The tuck is folded and secured against the interior surface of the air-bag; and        h) The tuck is secured against the interior of the air-bag by stitching.
Conveniently, the air-bag has a plurality of said vent holes, each vent hole having a respective said tuck provided in the region of its periphery.
So that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:


A toy having a treat dispensing and sound recording and playback capability. The toy preferably comprises a ball that has an opening and an exit. A sound unit having recording and playback capability is removably secured to the opening. Treats are loaded into the interior space of the ball through the opening by removing the sound unit. A ring closure member is secured to the exit and restricts the size of the exit. A plurality of barriers are disposed about the interior of the ball. The barriers are preferably affixed to the inner surface of the ball. When the sound unit and ring closure are installed, treats are released from the ball, via the exit, by navigating past the barriers. Sounds can be recorded on the sound unit. The recorded sounds are selectively played back when the ball is manipulated by the user.

The invention relates generally to a toy. In particular, the invention relates to a toy for a pet or child that can record and playback sounds, and dispense treats or other desirable objects when manipulated.
There are a number of amusement devices and toys in the prior art for entertaining and stimulating their users, often pets or children. Some toys are designed to stimulate the user, be that user a pet or a child, by emitting sounds. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,839 discloses an impact sensitive talking ball that emits a message when the ball is hit or bounced. Other toys are designed to dispense desired objects, such as pet treats. U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,571 provides an example of such a device. The device disclosed in that patent provides an inner housing that is movable within an outer housing. As the device is motioned by a pet, the device delivers treats placed in the inner housing through openings associated with the outer housing.
These devices in the prior art, however, provide only limited stimulation. A device might provide an audio-based stimulation that is designed to engage a user""s attention. Another device may attract a user""s attention by delivering treats when the device is used. Such limited stimulation reduces the likelihood that a user, such as a pet, will be sufficiently interested in the toy to use it as intended.
For these reasons, an improved treat dispensing toy is desired. Such an improved treat dispensing toy benefits from providing multiple sensory stimuli. For example such a toy provides a visually attractive toy that is of an appropriate size and shape to engage the target user""s attention. The toy also provides the capability to selectively deliver desired objects, such as treats, when the toy is manipulated by the user. Likewise, the toy provides audio stimulation to keep the target user""s attention once engaged. Such stimulation is preferably user definable.
The invention meets the above needs and overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing an improved treat dispensing toy. This is accomplished by providing a toy that attracts the intended user""s attention by providing multiple levels of stimulation. Such stimulation preferably includes audio stimulation and reward stimulation. By allowing recording of messages and sounds that can be selectively played back as the toy is used, the intended user""s attention is engaged. Further, by allowing treats to be dispensed as the toy is manipulated, the user is rewarded for using the toy.
Briefly described, a toy embodying aspects of the invention includes a housing having an interior space, an inner surface, and an exterior surface. A first portion of the interior space defines a treat cavity into which one or more treats are loaded. An opening in the housing is adjacent the treat cavity. One or more treats are loaded into the treat cavity through the opening. The toy also includes a plurality of barriers, at least one of which is positioned in a second portion of the interior space. The one or more treats are dispensed from the second portion of the interior space when the toy is manipulated by a user. An exit from the housing is positioned adjacent the second portion of the interior space. The one or more treats are dispensed through the exit. A sound unit selectively plays a pre-recorded sound. The sound unit is removably secured to the opening such that it substantially closes the opening when secured therein. When the sound unit is secured to the housing, the one or more treats can exit the toy only through the exit by navigating past the plurality of barriers.
Another toy embodying aspects of the invention includes a housing having an interior space, an inner surface, and an exterior surface. A first portion of the interior space defines a treat cavity into which one or more treats are loaded. An opening on the housing is adjacent the treat cavity. The one or more treats are loaded through the opening. An exit from the housing is adjacent a second portion of the interior space. The one or more treats are dispensed through the exit. Barrier means retard the movement of the one or more treats when the housing is manipulated by a user. The barrier means are positioned in a second portion of the interior space between the treat cavity and the exit. A sound producing means selectively plays a pre-recorded sound. The sound producing means is removably secured to the opening and substantially closes the opening when secured therein. When the sound producing means is secured to the housing, the one or more treats can exit the toy only through the exit by navigating past the barrier means.
Still another toy embodying aspects of the invention includes a substantially spherical housing having an axis, an inner surface, an interior space, and an exterior surface. A treat cavity is disposed within the interior space. One or more treats are loaded into the treat cavity. An opening in the housing is adjacent the treat cavity. One or more treats are loaded into the treat cavity through the opening. An exit from the housing is positioned about the axis. The exit permits the one or more treats to exit the housing when the housing is manipulated by a user. A plurality of barriers is positioned between the treat cavity and the exit. The plurality of barriers restricts movement of the one or more treats along the inner surface between the treat cavity and the exit when the housing is manipulated by the user. A sound unit is removably secured to the opening. The sound unit has a recording capability and a playback capability. The sound unit also has a switch that selectively activates the playback capability when the housing is manipulated by the user.
Alternatively, the invention may comprise various other methods and systems.
Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.


A scroll compressor is provided. The scroll compressor includes a fixed scroll and an orbiting scroll, each with a wrap extending from a plate. The wrap or the plate may have different heights so as to prevent a gap from forming between the end of one of the wraps and the opposite plate. Accordingly, performance of the compressor may be enhanced even if manufacturing tolerances are not precisely controlled or the compressor operates for an extended period of time. Furthermore, frictional loss due to increased frictional area of an edge of the plate may be prevented, and refrigerant leakage due to separation between the wrap and the plate may be prevented.

1. Field
This relates to a compressor, and more particularly, to a scroll compressor.
2. Background
Compressors convert mechanical energy into compressive energy. Compressors may be classified into a variety of different types, including, for example, reciprocating, scroll, centrifugal and vane types. Scroll compressors may be further classified into low pressure and high pressure types, based on whether a suction gas or a discharge gas is filled in a casing thereof. In a scroll compressor, two scrolls perform a relative orbiting motion, and a pair of substantially symmetrical compression chambers are formed between the two scrolls. As the compression chambers consecutively move towards a center of the scroll, a volume of the compression chamber is decreased, thus compressing a refrigerant held therein. The pair of compression chambers may include a high pressure side compression chamber and a low pressure side compression chamber. In some instances, refrigerant inside the high pressure side compression chamber may leak into the low pressure side compression chamber, thus degrading performance of the compressor.

Scroll compressor having variable height scroll


A configurable electrical circuit element housing used as a building block in prototyping and demonstrating electric circuits. A label (10) with a circuit element graphic (11) attaches on an electrically insulated housing top (20). Underneath is an alternating arrangement of electrically insulated connector guide walls (22) and guide posts (21) forming a square-like perimeter surrounding a circuit element (40). Circuit element leads (41) attach to bent coil connector binding posts (31) inside the housing. The bent coil connector binding posts, on sides for which they are installed, are the ends of bent coil connectors (30). The bent coil connectors bend around the guide posts forming arcs external to the square-like perimeter. The guide walls help form the arcs by pinching the bent coil connectors. The arcs of the bent coil connectors are resilient connectors which interface with similar connectors forming a bent coil connector coupling (50) interweaving their coil loops.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to electrical connectors, specifically to such electrical connectors used in electrical circuit elements for prototyping electric circuits by electrical engineers, electronic circuit enthusiasts, and students of electronics.
2. Description of Prior Art
Electric circuits are typically prototyped by attaching discrete electrical components to a breadboard. Discrete electrical components are commonly referred to as circuit elements and include, but are not limited to, resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, transformers, transistors, batteries, light emitting diodes, and wires. As an electric circuit is constructed, a breadboard provides a place to interconnect such circuit elements. A breadboard is typically a printed circuit board, a shorting pin breadboard, or a wire wrap breadboard. Depending on the type of breadboard, circuit elements are attached to the breadboard by soldering, circuit element lead insertion, or wire wrapping.
Electrical circuit elements are housed in insulating materials with exposed conducting contacts called leads. The broadest categories of such elements, according to lead type, are through-hole and surface mount. Both of these types of housings are intended for mass production purposes but are also used for prototyping. It would be useful if these circuit elements could be housed in a way that would facilitate faster and easier preproduction processes such as design, development and prototyping of electric circuits. It would also benefit the preproduction processes if the housing was independent of the use of any breadboard. Such independence from breadboards facilitates removal of some prototyping problems associated with typical breadboards.
In the case of a breadboard of the printed circuit board variety, an insulated surface is plated with a layout of conducting material interconnecting a plurality of plated through-holes or surface mount pads. Circuit elements are either inserted into the holes or glued into place depending on whether the circuit element is a through-hole or surface mount design. In both cases, the circuit elements are soldered into position. The process of etching a layout in the conducting material and subsequent soldering of circuit elements is time consuming. With surface mount components, the process is especially difficult due to the small sizes of the circuit elements to be soldered. Printed circuit board type of breadboards may also require the use of toxins such as when using lead based solder for soldering or when using certain chemicals required to etch a printed circuit board layout. Additionally, a circuit built using this method almost never resembles a schematic drawing of the same circuit as designed. Such a mismatch between the resulting circuit and the schematic drawing translates into difficulty for a user who needs to test and troubleshoot the resulting circuit.
In the case of breadboards that use shorting clips, each connecting wire must be inserted into the proper shorting clip as a circuit is being constructed. The shorting clips are usually very close to each other and the circuit very rarely resembles a schematic drawing of the circuit. After many parts are connected it may be difficult or even impossible to remove devices buried under the wires used to connect the circuit elements. Also, the circuit on this type of breadboard is very difficult to trace for errors. Shorting clips can loose their resiliency after much use. Also, circuit element leads can get worn through readjustment from one circuit prototype to the next.
In the case of wire wrapped breadboards, connecting together individual circuit elements is a time consuming process typically requiring a user to wire wrap each lead of each circuit element. A circuit built using this method may have many wires crossing and will most likely not resemble a schematic drawing of the circuit. Circuit elements cannot be removed easily to study the effect of such a removal or demonstrate their function.
It would be desirable to facilitate a method of electric circuit construction which would considerably reduce the time needed to construct, test, and modify a prototype circuit. It would further be preferable if such a method depended on a resilient electrical connector. Such a resilient connector would more readily connect to a similar complementary connector in order to join circuit elements together during circuit construction.
Conducting helical coils have been used in a subset of electrical connectors. Such coils can be constructed to conform to a variety of shapes when connected in a circuit. Furthermore, such coils can also resiliently preserve a predetermined shape after breaking a connection with a circuit. U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,213 to Chabot (1989) discusses the use of conducting helical coils as a method of maintaining the electrical contact of a connector in certain positions. The turns of coils provide a multiplicity of engaged surfaces acting in parallel which are free to adjust themselves independently to make good electrical contact. However, all of the arrangements which Chabot suggests present only one connector of the mating pair as having a conducting coil with the opposite side of the connection having a solid conducting surface despite the many orientations suggested.
Helical conducting coils find application as connectors between substrates. U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,109 to Dery (1991) takes the idea of helical coils as stacking connectors between interconnecting substrates. While he does point out the advantage of redundant conducting paths of the contact of the loops of the coils to circuit pads of the substrates, there is still a dependency of having circuit pads on substrates without any indication of a complementary connector similar to a conducting coil. U.S. Pat. No. 6,666,690 to Ishizuka (2003) reiterates another particular application of conducting coils between substrates with the feature of radial deformation of the coil where the benefit of such deformation is additional pressure for a stronger contact with the connecting substrates. However, there is no similar complementary coil connector to the radial deformed coil implied or suggested.
In all of the above cases discussing conducting coil connectors, the application of any conducting coil is only to one side of an electrical connection. There is no mention of any method of interfacing two conducting coils as complementary connectors to each other. It would therefore be beneficial if there was a radial deformed arrangement of conducting coils such that such a conducting coil could be connected with a similar complementary coil. Such an electrical connector would leverage the benefits of a multiplicity of redundant conducting surfaces and make use of radial deformation for a stronger contact both physically and electrically. An electrical connector with the described benefits would largely aid in the building and testing of electric circuits if combined with an appropriate electric circuit element housing and an accompanying method of constructing electric circuits.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,449,167 to Seymour (2002) is an attempt at facilitating a method of electric circuit construction which would considerably reduce the time needed to construct, test, and modify a prototype circuit for a production layout, but that invention requires circuit elements housed with magnets which are attracted to a special breadboard. The requirement of magnets can be expensive and can affect some circuit elements due to the presence of the extraneous magnetic fields. While circuit element housings using such a system can be laid out similarly to a schematic drawing of the same circuit, such a system presents confusion without a clear label depicting which circuit element is being placed on the breadboard. For example, transistors with different electrical properties often share the same type of physical housing but transistor leads are often in a reconfigured order. In any such similar case, a user may confuse the leads of a circuit element unwittingly and construct a circuit incorrectly.
Another alternative, the SNAP CIRCUITS™ circuit building system, manufactured by Elenco Electronics Inc. of Wheeling, Ill., uses snaps as connectors interconnecting circuit elements. The SNAP CIRCUITS™ system uses a matrix of preset positions on an insulator base grid for supporting placement of circuit elements in housings having the snap connectors. The base grid dictates discrete positions where circuit elements may be placed and can limit the positions of circuit elements. While this approach has circuit elements represented graphically along side the actual components in the pieces that connect with snaps, these pieces do not have uniform housings and so the result can be messy. A circuit constructed using this system may require unintended cleverness on the part of a user who needs to get unaligned sections of a circuit connected. Snaps of different sections of the circuit may be at a different heights and will not meet snaps together of physically adjacent circuit elements without extra snapping interfaces. Considering the above, the circuit constructed by this method may not even look like a layout of an original schematic diagram even though each circuit element housing in the constructed circuit has a graphic depicting the circuit element within or attached to the housing.
U.S. patent application 2004/0096812 of Goh (2004) presents a breadboard for educational purposes. The breadboard of Goh is designed to allow circuit elements housed within schematically labeled component blocks to be placed in such a way that the end result looks similar to a circuit schematic diagram. However, necessitating a breadboard is a bulky feature, and the shorting pins of the breadboard will lose resiliency over time. Additionally, the circuit built, whose sum of all the component block labels would look similar to a schematic, is forced to conform to the breadboard. This conformity to the breadboard can result in an awkward arrangement of component blocks whose resulting sum of all the component block labels looks appreciably different than the original circuit schematic diagram.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,312 to Crawford (1986) is an attempt to use modularly uniformed sized and labeled electric circuit element housings, or units, to build electric circuits. These modular units may be connected by means of joining units next to each other and interconnecting wires to and from various units to build a circuit. However, that invention requires the modular units to be stacked vertically in such a way as to render difficult the swapping in and out of the units. In addition, the connecting wires used to interface one unit with another can get messy by crossing over other connecting wires and obstructing the view of the labels of other units. Finally, the end result is a working electric circuit, but only marginally looking like the complete schematic which is not easily verified by quick visual check.
In all of the above cases, circuit element housings of different types of circuit elements vary in size and shape, combine together through a stacking process, or require an intervening breadboard. The variance in shape and the process of stacking circuit elements causes barriers in interfacing circuit elements when trying to construct electrical circuits quickly and with ease. A circuit element that fits in one location may not fit in another location because the space between the places where the leads connect differs in orientation or shape, or removing a circuit element and replacing it with another circuit element may involve significant deconstruction of the original circuit before being able to replace the circuit element. It would be beneficial if there was a configurable or standardized housing that could be used for a standard set of circuit elements and facilitates connections which do not depend on stacking the circuit elements.
It is even more desirable if the final layout of a prototyped circuit resembles a schematic drawing diagram of the circuit with increased accuracy while removing dependence on the use of a breadboard or other printed circuit board as the intermediary between the circuit elements either as an arrangement of conductors or simply an insulating spacer. Additionally, if each circuit element had a graphical representation affixed unto itself which corresponded directly it a connector which interfaced with not a wire or a breadboard but a complementary connector of another similarly housed circuit element, then the combination of these circuit elements could be made to look significantly similar if not identical to the schematic diagram of the electrical circuit under construction. Likewise, if circuit element housings were uniformly shaped with connectors that allowed easy swapping in and out of different circuit elements in such housings without stacking such housings, then in general the circuit construction would be easier, faster and look attractive. Additionally, circuit elements used in circuit construction would have reusability for future prototyping. Finally, if such circuit element housings were configured with resilient conducting coil connectors which interface with similar complementary connectors by way of a simple and easy insertion and extraction method, then the circuit construction process would become even easier and faster.
It is, therefore, desirable to facilitate an improved method of constructing circuits, which attains the preceding objectives and overcomes most, if not all, of the preceding problems.

Conductive coil connector for reconfigurable electrical circuit element


A detection system for detecting a target flying over water, which includes a detector positioned to receive radiation reflected by the target off water, and producing a detector output signal having an amplitude proportional to the amount of received radiation, a high-pass filter for passing portions of the detector output signal having a frequency greater than a prescribed threshold frequency, and for blocking portions of the detector output signal having a frequency lower than the prescribed threshold frequency. The prescribed threshold frequency is sufficiently high to ensure that only the portions of the detector output signal produced by the radiation reflected by the target off the water are passed by the high-pass filter, and that portions of the detector output signal produced by solar glitter are not passed. In a specific embodiment, the system is designed to be installed on a ship for the purpose of detecting low-flying, fast-moving targets, such as cruise missiles.

The present invention relates generally to infrared target detection systems, and more particularly, to a novel method and apparatus for indirectly detecting a low-flying, fast moving target by utilizing an infrared detector to detect the radiant energy reflected by the target off of the rough ocean surface, despite the presence of solar clutter on the ocean.
Presently available infrared target detection systems for detecting the presence of a low-flying, fast-moving target (e.g., a cruise missile or an enemy aircraft) over the ocean rely upon direct detection of the target, which means that the power of the radiant energy within the field of view of the detection system increases monotonically as the target moves directly towards the infrared sensor array of the detection system. Such presently available infrared target detection systems have difficulty in discriminating the target from the solar energy reflected off of the water (i.e., the solar clutter or solar glitter), thereby necessitating the use of complex signal analysis algorithms and/or higher-resolution sensors. However, even with such expensive measures, the existing infrared target detection systems do not have sufficiently rapid response times and/or are not sufficiently reliable for certain applications, e.g., for detection of surface-skimming cruise missiles in the presence of solar clutter.
Based on the above, it can be appreciated that there presently exists a need in the art for an infrared detection system which is capable of accurately and reliably detecting low-flying, fast-moving targets over the ocean, in the presence of solar glitter. The present invention fulfills this need in the art.

Method and apparatus for infrared detection of a moving target in the presence of solar clutter

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A method of sealing an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) assembly is disclosed. According to the method, a liquid adhesive is applied to substantially all of a surface of an OLED assembly. A region of increased thickness of liquid adhesive is formed adjacent to a first edge of the OLED assembly. A first edge of the protective cover is placed adjacent to the first edge of the OLED assembly. A second edge of the protective cover is moved toward a second edge of the OLED assembly such that the region of increased thickness of liquid adhesive is moved from being adjacent to the first edge of the OLED assembly to being adjacent to the second edge of the OLED assembly. The liquid adhesive is allowed to stabilize and is then cured.

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) displays are light-emitting diodes that incorporate semiconducting organic polymers. OLEDs are beginning to penetrate new markets and are used in many different applications as OLED technology matures. However, because the organic materials used in OLED technology are sensitive to oxygen and humidity, these materials must be sealed to prevent penetration by air or water. One solution has been to adhere a capping or protective layer such as a sheet of glass upon the OLED materials by sealing the perimeter of the combined OLED/glass assembly with a moisture-proof edge seal. However, known processes do not provide an effective seal between the capping layer and the OLED materials. Known bonding processes often result in bubbles and defects in the adhesive interface or in the OLED layer itself. What is needed is a reliable method of adhering a protective layer to an OLED assembly.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a reliable method of adhering a protective layer to an OLED assembly.
A feature of the invention is adhering a protective layer to an OLED assembly using a liquid adhesive.
An advantage of the invention is improved isolation of the OLED.

Process for applying a protective cover on an organic light-emitting diode using a liquid adhesive


In a computer network comprising a stack device and a plurality of network devices, the plurality of network devices are each connected to the stack device via a respective aggregation link comprising a plurality of member links and the stack device comprises a first stack member and a second stack member connected to the first stack member via a stack link. A correspondence is formed between a first route and the first stack member. The first route is used by the first stack member for forwarding traffic from a first network device to a second network device of the plurality, and comprises a member link via which the traffic is forwarded from the first stack member. Upon detecting a link problem in the member link of the first route, the first route is found, the first stack member is identified based on the correspondence, and traffic information is sent to cause the first network device to migrate at least a proportion of the traffic to have been forwarded via the first route to a route that does not include the link having a link problem.

Link aggregation, or Ethernet link aggregation, is to form a logical aggregation link by aggregating a plurality of physical Ethernet ports. Each of the plurality of physical links that constitute the aggregation link is referred to as a member link. Link aggregation may be implemented using protocols such as a Link Aggregation Control Protocol LACP based on the IEEE 802.3ad standard (incorporated herein by reference).
The term "stacking" technology as used herein means to connect a plurality of devices together and "virtualize" (configure) them as a single virtual device. The virtual device is referred to as a stack device, and each of the plurality of devices that constitutes the stack device is referred to as a stack member, with the connection between each stack member being referred to as a stack link.

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT LP


An entertainment system includes a playing surface divided into discrete fields each having distinct indicia such as a color. The system includes a plurality of game pieces, such as letter tiles, each having an indicia corresponding to a respective field as well as having an alphanumeric or user-choice indicia. The entertainment system includes an input device for actuating a timer or processor. A display is included for displaying instructions, aesthetic elements, or even a sound emitter. A method of playing the entertainment system includes a plurality of players initially selecting a predetermined number of game pieces and then, in turn, arranging game pieces on playing surface fields having like color indicia to form words, selecting additional game pieces or taking other actions relative to game pieces, and rearranging game pieces to form other words. Electronic components are included to provide elements of chance, instructions, or aesthetic appeal.

The present invention relates to games and, more particularly to an entertainment system and method of playing the same.
Games have in the past and continue to be popular sources of entertainment amongst families and friends. The best games have an element of competition, strategy, and chance while enabling players who are skillful, clever, or observant to excel and win. In addition, popular games are often those that teach or enable player to improve their education or experience.
Various games are known in the art that require players to assemble letter tokens to construct words and provide point systems for such combinations. Other games utilize elements of chance to increase or decrease a player's collection of game pieces so as to regulate game play. Although assumably effective for their intended purpose, the existing game systems do not provide a multi-functional and multi-colored game board with associated letter tiles in which letters may not only be combined into words, but re-arranged into different words in order to use all of one's letter tiles and win the game.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have an entertainment system having multiple letter tiles that may be positioned to form words on game board areas having corresponding colors. Further, it would be desirable to have an entertainment system in which letters may be combined to form words and then be rearranged to form different words. In addition, it would be desirable to have an entertainment system having electronic means for randomizing the number of letter tiles a player is required to possess, it being understood that the object of the game is to eventually use all of one's tiles.

Entertainment system and method of playing a word game


Disclosed is a drum type washing machine, including a cabinet configured to form an outer appearance; a tub in the cabinet and configured to contain water therein; a drum in the tub and configured to accommodate laundry therein; and a lifter on the drum, configured to lift the laundry in the drum by upward rotation of the drum. The lifter comprises a lifter housing fixed to the drum and having an opening in one or more ends or sides thereof; and a lifter plate pivotally coupled to the lifter housing, the lifter plate being configured to hold water in the lifter during the upward rotation of the drum.

A washing machine uses power from an electric motor as main power, and performs washing, rinsing, and drying processes to remove dirt or stains on laundry through the action of detergent and water. The washing machine includes an electric motor, which is a power apparatus, a mechanical part that transfers energy from the motor to the laundry, a controlling part controlling the washing process, a water supply apparatus, and a water draining apparatus.
Washing machines may be classified into agitator type washing machines, pulsator type washing machines, and drum type washing machines, depending on their washing scheme. An agitator type washing machine performs washing by horizontally rotating a wing-shaped agitator in the center of the washing tub, and the pulsator type washing machine performs washing using waves generated by rotating a disk-shaped pulsator. A drum type washing machine includes a drum having a plurality of protrusions formed thereon. The drum type washing machine performs washing using impact generated when the laundry is lifted by a lifter in the drum and then dropped into the wash water and detergent in the drum as a result of rotating the drum around a horizontal axis.
The drum type washing machine performs washing of the laundry by dropping the laundry lifted up by a lifter. However, when the laundry is not lifted up sufficiently, the drum type washing machine suffers from a decreased washing efficiency. Moreover, it is not easy to lift the wash water using the lifter, which may result in less than ideal circulation of the wash water in the drum.
Therefore, there is a need to solve the problems.


Certain embodiments provide systems and methods for unlocking, opening, closing and locking a vent sash. The system may include a push arm configured to extend to open the vent sash and retract to close the vent sash. The system may include a guide arm configured to extend to unlock the vent sash and retract to lock the vent sash. The system may include a handle extension configured to radially rotate substantially one hundred eighty degrees in a first direction on a single plane to extend the push arm and the guide arm. The handle extension may be configured to radially rotate substantially one hundred eighty degrees in a second direction on the single plane to retract the push arm and the guide arm.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which affects many public and private commercial buildings, is intended to ensure equal access to all persons regardless of physical disabilities. Section 309.4 of the ADA accessibility guidelines related to window and door hardware sets forth that "[o]perable parts shall be operable with one hand and shall not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist. The force required to activate operable parts shall be 5 pounds (22.2 N) maximum." The Department of Justice Standards for Accessible Design (4.27.4) and the International Building Code (ANSI 309.4) set forth similar guidelines.
Architects prefer larger vents for exterior window designs to meet fresh air ventilation requirements. Using a larger quantity of smaller vents is typically more expensive than using a fewer quantity of larger vents. Additionally, current energy codes and specifications require low thermal insulating values for windows. Insulated glass has a better insulating value than metal, so the more metal used in a window system, the lower the insulating value. Because the exterior seal of a vent is subject to lower insulating values by nature and is a weak thermal point in the window system, a larger vent size helps to offset the overall insulating value due to the greater percentage of glass. A larger vent helps in the insulating performance but a larger vent takes more force to open.
Although using larger vents may improve insulating performance and decrease costs for architects, larger vents are typically more difficult to open and close. More specifically, an insulated glass unit weighs approximately seven (7) lbs. per square foot and can weigh as much as eight and one half (8.5) lbs. per square foot for insulated laminated glass. When aluminum and other materials are added to construct the vent frame and sash, a vent can weigh around nine (9) lbs. per square foot or more. As such, a four (4) foot by five (5) foot vent may weigh approximately one hundred and eighty-nine (189) lbs. or more, which may be difficult to open using not more than five (5) lbs. of operational force as required by applicable ADA and other guidelines.
In addition to generally being more difficult to open and close, larger vents are also typically more difficult to lock and unlock. Vents, like other window systems, are manufactured and installed to meet strict air and water performance specifications. As such, to compress a sash to a vent frame of the window system, a great deal of compressive force can be needed to make the system air and water tight. The compression of the sash to the vent frame is commonly achieved by the locking of the sash using the vent handle, which moves one or more transmission bars inside a euro-grove (or vent track) around the perimeter of the sash when the vent handle is rotated in one direction.
For example, FIG. 1 is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary awning vent 100 with an exemplary locking mechanism as is known in the art. Referring to FIG. 1, the exemplary locking mechanism of the exemplary awning vent 100 may comprise, as an example, a handle 101, handle connectors 102, main transmission bars 103, transmission device connectors 104, 105, 110, corner transmission device housings 106, keepers 107, locking points 108, side transmission bars 109, and friction hinges 111. The handle 101 can attach to an inner portion of the sash. Certain components on an underside of the handle 101 may extend through the sash to an outer portion of the sash.
The handle connectors 102 may couple to the underside of the handle 101 at the outer portion of the sash and slidably fit in a euro-grove (not shown) that extends around an outer perimeter of the sash. Transmission bars 103 can attach to the handle connectors 102 at one end and corner transmission device connectors 104 at the other end, and may slidably fit in the euro-grove. The corner transmission device connectors 104 may slidably fit into corner transmission device housings 106. An outward, horizontal force on corner transmission device connectors 104 may cause the corner transmission device connectors 104 to extend into the corner transmission device housings 106, which in turn may cause the corner transmission device connectors 105 to extend vertically in the exemplary awning vent illustrated in FIG. 1.
Referring still to FIG. 1, side transmission bars 109 may attach to the corner transmission device connectors 105 at one end and transmission device connectors 110 at the other end, and may slidably fit in the euro-grove. Friction hinges 111 can attach to the sash and vent frame on both sides of the exemplary awning vent 100 and may be operable to guide and support the sash when venting as well as limit the opening range of the sash.
Locking points 108 may be attached to, or integrated with, one or more transmission bars 103, 109, or other components of the vent locking mechanism such as the transmission device connectors 104, 105, and 110, and may engage (or mate) with keepers 107, positioned at corresponding points on the vent frame, when moved by the handle 101 to the locking position. The engaging of the locking points 108 with the keepers 107 results in compression of the sash to the vent frame to make a tight seal. The larger the vent 100, the more locking points 108 and keepers 107 are needed to achieve an adequate seal. Further, the more locking points 108 and keepers 107, the more force is needed to lock and unlock the vent.
Many current vent designs for exterior windows require in excess of five (5) lbs. of force to open/close a sash. For example, many current vent designs do not use any mechanisms to open/close a sash (e.g., push open and pull closed), which may require more than five (5) lbs. of force, particularly for larger vents. Further, current vent designs that do have mechanisms for opening/closing a sash may not alleviate the force necessary to open/close the sash to meet the ADA guidelines. Instead, some mechanisms, such as cranks, not only may require more force to open, but also require excessive twisting. Additionally, many current vent designs for exterior windows require in excess of five (5) lbs. of force to lock/unlock a sash, particularly for larger vents having locking mechanisms with more locking points. Also, many current vent designs that do have mechanisms for opening/closing a sash use different mechanisms to unlock/lock a sash. Further, several existing vent designs require separate, independent movements in different planes to unlock/lock and/or open/close a sash.
As such, there is a need for providing systems and methods for unlocking/locking and opening/closing windows without excessive force and twisting by combining operations (e.g., unlocking and opening, or locking and closing) into a single fluid movement in a single plane (i.e., a single axis movement) using a single mechanism.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Systems and methods for unlocking/locking and opening/closing windows


An improved low-cost pressure sensor assembly incorporates a stainless steel sensor element welded to an outboard face of a stainless steel insert captured in a low-cost metal pressure port adapted for attachment to a pneumatic valve. The pressure port includes outboard and inboard cavities separated by neck portion; the stainless steel insert is captured in the outboard cavity, while the inboard cavity is adapted for attachment to the pneumatic valve. The stainless steel insert includes a base portion that seats against an O-ring in a floor of the outboard cavity, and a stem portion within the O-ring that extends axially through the neck portion of the pressure port and into its inboard cavity. The insert has a first bore that extends axially from its outboard face into, but not through, the stem portion, and a second bore that intersects the first bore and opens into the inboard cavity of the pressure port. When the pressure port is attached to the pneumatic valve, the stem portion of the insert depresses a spring-biased plunger that opens the valve, and fluid (gas or liquid) escaping through the open valve is placed in direct communication with the sensor element via the first and second bores of the stainless steel insert.

This invention relates to a low-cost pressure sensor assembly incorporating a stainless steel sensor element for attachment to a pneumatic valve.
Stainless steel pressure sensor technology has been successfully utilized in automotive applications involving high pressure fluids such as engine oil, brake fluid, and so on. The sensor element is usually formed as a shallow cylinder, closed at one end to define a diaphragm, and is welded to a pressure port adapted for attachment to a pressure vessel by a threaded fitting or the like such that the fluid contained by the vessel contacts the inboard side of the sensor diaphragm. Piezo-resistive elements formed on the outboard side of the diaphragm exhibit an electrical resistance variation corresponding to deflection of the diaphragm by the fluid pressure, and signal-conditioning circuitry responsive to the sensor element resistance develops an electrical signal representative of the fluid pressure. To permit welding of the stainless steel sensor element to the pressure port, the pressure port is usually also formed of stainless steel material. However, since weldable stainless steel material is relatively expensive and difficult to machine, it has been suggested to utilize a multi-piece assembly that minimizes the stainless steel content. See, for example, the U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,050,147, issued on Apr. 18, 2000, and 5,939,637, issued on Aug. 17, 1999, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In the U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,147, the sensor element is welded to a stainless steel pressure port having a central axial bore, and a low-cost metal casing is attached to the stainless steel pressure port by means of an interlocking press-fit. In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,637, the sensor element is welded to a stainless steel insert having a central axial bore, where the insert is captured in a low-cost metal pressure port, and an O-ring is compressed between the insert and pressure port to provide sealing therebetween.
Despite being cost-effective, the above-referenced pressure sensor assemblies are not directly adaptable for usage in connection with a pneumatic valve having a spring-biased valve plunger. In such an application, a central stem or boss is required to depress the plunger as the pressure sensor assembly is attached to the valve, and such requirement is incompatible with a central axial bore. Accordingly, what is needed is a low-cost stainless steel pressure sensor assembly that is adapted to be attached to a pneumatic valve having a spring-biased plunger.
The present invention is directed to an improved low-cost pressure sensor assembly in which a stainless steel sensor element is welded to an outboard face of a stainless steel insert captured in a low-cost metal pressure port adapted for attachment to a pneumatic valve. The pressure port includes outboard and inboard cavities separated by neck portion. The stainless steel insert is captured in the outboard cavity, while the inboard cavity is adapted for attachment to the pneumatic valve. The stainless steel insert includes a base portion that seats against an O-ring in a floor of the outboard cavity, and a stem portion within the O-ring that extends axially through the neck portion of the pressure port and into its inboard cavity. The insert has a first bore that extends axially from its outboard face into, but not through, the stem portion, and a second bore that intersects the first bore and opens into the inboard cavity of the pressure port. When the pressure port is attached to the pneumatic valve, the stem portion of the insert depresses a spring-biased plunger that opens the valve, and fluid (gas or liquid) escaping through the open valve is placed in direct communication with the sensor element via the first and second bores of the stainless steel insert.

Low-cost stainless steel pressure sensor assembly for a pneumatic valve


The subject matter disclosed herein relates to gas separation membranes and, more specifically, to polyimide gas separation membranes. In an embodiment, a gas separation membrane includes a porous substrate, a substantially continuous polyimide membrane layer, and one or more layers of boehmite nanoparticles disposed between the porous substrate and the polyimide membrane layer to form a bond-coat layer. The bond-coat layer is configured to improve the adhesion of the polyimide membrane layer to the porous substrate, and the polyimide membrane layer has a thickness approximately 100 nm or less.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to gas separation membranes and, more specifically, to polyimide gas separation membranes.
One method of purifying a gas mixture is through the use of a gas separation membrane. In general, a gas separation membrane relies upon a partial pressure differential across a porous membrane material to selectively drive gas molecules across the membrane. For a gas separation membrane to be effective, the membrane should have a sufficiently high permeance and high selectivity. Permeance is a measure of how easily a particular gas flows across the membrane, while selectivity is a measure of how much more of one component of the gas mixture (e.g., hydrogen) crosses the membrane compared to a second component of the gas mixture (e.g., carbon dioxide). Generally, as the permeance of a membrane increases, the selectivity of the membrane is reduced, making a selective membrane with a high throughput difficult to achieve.

Systems and methods for using a boehmite bond-coat with polyimide membranes for gas separation


A method and apparatus for selectively harvesting multiple components of a plant material. A grain component is separated from the plant material such as by processing the plant material through a primary threshing and separating mechanism. At least one additional component of the plant material is selectively harvested such as by subjecting the plant material to a secondary threshing and separating mechanism. For example, the stems of a plant material may be broken at a location adjacent one or more nodes thereof with the nodes and the internodal stem portions being subsequently separated for harvesting. The at least one additional component (e.g., the internodal stems) may then be consolidated and packaged for subsequent use or processing. The harvesting of the grain and of the at least one additional component may occur within a single harvesting machine, for example, during a single pass over a crop field.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to harvesting crop materials and, more particularly, to the selective harvesting of multiple components of such a crop material desirably in a single pass across a crop field with a harvesting machine.
2. State of the Art
In known combine harvesters, a crop or plant material is cut from the field and passed through a threshing and separating mechanism to separate the grain therefrom. The grain, along with other impurities such as, for example, chaff, dust, leaves or other straw particles, is fed to a cleaning mechanism to further clean and separate the grain from such impurities. Such a cleaning mechanism might include one or more sieves with an air stream directed therethrough to assist in the removal of chaff and residual straw.
The grain, now separated and cleaned from the crop material, is collected and temporarily stored in a grain tank located on the combine harvester while the residual material (i.e., material other than grain) is conventionally discharged from the combine harvester back onto the crop field. In some combine harvesters the residual material may be xe2x80x9crethreshedxe2x80x9d such as by recycling it through the threshing and separating mechanism to increase the amount of grain recovered.
The residual materials, such as the straw and chaff, may be discharged from the combine harvester in scattered manner for reintroduction into the soil as a nutrient therefor, or they may be discharged in a narrow row for subsequent collection by another machine. For example, a baler may pass across the field to collect and package (bale) the discharged residual material. However, a conventional baler has no separation equipment associated therewith and packages everything it collects from the field. For example, the baler cannot separate the straw from the chaff. Rather, it consolidates and packages the chaff and the straw along with any other residual material discharged from the combine harvester.
The requirement of returning to the field to collect and package residual material introduces additional time and costs to the harvesting of a given crop. Further, this conventional approach is generally inefficient in the sense that it may be desirable to use some components of the crops as a soil nutrient, while other components may be better suited for other uses. However, as noted above, current baling technologies are xe2x80x9call or nothingxe2x80x9d since they do not offer the ability to further separate the residual material.
One process which attempts to minimize the amount of material which is discharged back to the field is known as the xe2x80x9cMcLeod Harvestxe2x80x9d and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,226 issued to McLeod on Feb. 23, 1999. The McLeod Harvest threshes the grain in the field and then separates the crop into two portions. The first portion contains substantially all of the straw from the threshed crop and a second portion includes substantially all of the chaff, grain, grain leavings and weed seeds. The first portion is returned to the field during separation while the second portion comprising its various components is transported to a processing plant for separation of the grain from the chaff, grain leavings and weed seeds. The chaff, grain leavings and weed seeds are collectively compacted and crushed in a mill for use as animal feed. The process is purported to increase the amount of grain recovered and to remove weed seeds from the field. The straw is collected in a separate pass over the field as with harvesting with a conventional combine harvester.
One of the principal objectives of the McLeod Harvest is the removal of weed seeds from the crop field. However, the McLeod Harvest process requires a separate mill for separation of the grain from the weed seeds, grain leavings and chaff. Further, the process still requires another pass with a baler to collect the straw as the straw is not the component of a crop conventionally used as a soil nutrient.
As noted above, some uses of the residual material (regardless of the process used to separate the grain therefrom) may provide a farmer with additional revenues from the crop (e.g. by selling the residual materials as animal feed). However, such returns are relatively small and farmers are continually looking to improve such peripheral revenues. Thus, it would be advantageous to target specific revenue generating components of a crop, in addition to the grain, in an effort to increase the return of a given crop. Additionally, it would be advantageous to provide an apparatus and method for selectively harvesting a specified revenue generating component of a crop at substantially the same time as the harvesting of the grain material. For example, it would be advantageous to provide a combine harvester or other machine which provides for the harvesting of at least one additional specified revenue generating component of the plant material, along with the harvesting of the grain, during a single pass over the crop field.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention a method is provided for selectively harvesting multiple components of a plant material. The method includes gathering an amount of plant material from a crop field utilizing a harvesting machine. A grain component is harvested from the plant material and then conveyed to a storage area such as, for example, a storage tank located on or within the harvesting machine. At least one additional plant component is also selectively separated from the plant material. The residual material (i.e., the plant material other than grain and other than the at least one additional plant component) is discharged from the harvesting machine back to the crop field. The at least one additional plant component may be, for example, an internodal stem component of the plant material wherein stem of the plant material is broken adjacent the nodes and the nodes are then separated from the internodal stem portions.
The method may include effecting each of the above steps within the harvesting machine during a single pass across a crop field. In other words, the harvesting machine need not return to the field to effect the selective separation of the at least one additional component of the plant material. Further, the method may include consolidating and packaging the at least one additional plant component, which may also be effected by the harvesting machine if so desired.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of harvesting a plant material is provided. The method includes gathering an amount of plant material, separating a grain component from the plant material and storing the grain component. The method further includes separating an internodal stem component from the plant material. The internodal stem component may be subsequently consolidated and packaged such as, for example, by a baler. In packaging the internodal stem component, a biodegradable and/or combustible packaging material may be at least partially wrapped about a consolidated mass of the internodal stem component.
Another aspect of the invention comprises a harvesting machine. The harvesting machine includes a primary threshing and separating mechanism configured to separate a grain component from a plant material. A secondary threshing and separating mechanism is configured to selectively separate at least one additional component from the plant material. For example, the secondary threshing and separating mechanism may be configured to break a stem component of the plant material at a location adjacent a node of the stem component and then separate the node therefrom. The node and the resulting internodal stem component may then be separated from one another.
The harvesting machine may further include additional cleaning and separating mechanisms such as, for example, sieves, associated with the cleaning of the grain component, the at least one additional component, or both.
Further, the harvesting machine may include a packing mechanism positioned and configured to receive the at least one additional component from the secondary threshing and separating mechanism. The packaging mechanism may be configured to consolidate and package the at least one additional component for subsequent use.
Another embodiment of the present invention encompasses a harvesting system. The harvesting system includes a harvesting machine having a primary threshing and separating mechanism configured to separate a grain component from a plant material. A secondary threshing and separating mechanism is configured to selectively separate at least one additional component from the plant material. A packing mechanism is configured to receive the at least one additional component from the secondary threshing and separating mechanism. The packaging mechanism may be operatively associated with a secondary vehicle. The secondary threshing and separating mechanism may be operatively associated with the harvesting machine or, alternatively, with the secondary vehicle. Such a secondary vehicle may be mechanically coupled to, and pulled by, the harvesting machine.

Method and apparatus for selectively harvesting multiple components of a plant material


The present invention relates to novel dopamine D2 receptor ligands. The invention further relates to functionally-biased dopamine D2 receptor ligands and the use of these compounds for treating or preventing central nervous system and systemic disorders associated with dysregulation of dopaminergic activity.

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), also known as 7-transmembrane receptors, are the single largest class of drug targets, with more than 800 members in the human genome (Lefkowitz, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences (2004), 413). Dopamine receptors represent prototypic examples of GPCRs that mediate neurotransmission (Missale et al., Physiological Reviews (1998), 189). Dopamine is a monoamine neurotransmitter that exerts its action on neuronal circuitry via dopamine receptors. As dopaminergic innervations are most prominent in the brain, dopaminergic dysfunction can critically affect vital central nervous system (CNS) functions, ranging from voluntary movement, feeding, reward, affection, sleep, attention, working memory and learning (Carlsson, Science (2001), 1021, Beaulieu et al., Pharmacological Reviews (2011), 182). Apart from CNS functions, dopamine is also involved in important physiological roles such as the regulation of olfaction, cardiovascular functions, sympathetic regulation, hormonal regulation, retinal processes, immune system and renal function. Dysregulation of dopaminergic neurotransmission has been associated with multiple neurological and psychiatric conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mood disorders and schizophrenia (Carlsson, Science (2001), 1021), as well as various somatic disorders such as hypertension and kidney dysfunction (Missale et al., Physiological Reviews (1998), 189, Beaulieu et al., Pharmacological Reviews (2011), 182).
With the complex array of critical cellular functions mediated by dopamine receptors, and the multilevel interactions that are known to occur between dopamine and other extracellular messengers in the signaling pathways, there remains a need to better manage dopamine-related pathologic conditions by precise targeting of post-receptor intracellular signaling modalities, either directly or through ligand-biased signaling pharmacology.
As drug targets, GPCRs known to mediate dopamine functions can be broadly classified into D1 and D2 class receptors. D1 class receptors (D1R and D5R) are mostly coupled to Gαs and positively regulate the production of second messenger cAMP and the activity of protein kinase A (PKA) (Missale et al., Physiological Reviews (1998), 189). D2 class receptors (D2R, D3R and D4R) couple to Gαi/o, downregulating cAMP production and PKA activity (Missale et al., Physiological Reviews (1998), 189). Additionally, D2 class dopamine receptors also modulate intracellular Ca2+ levels, resulting in changes in activity of Ca2+ regulated signaling proteins such as protein phosphatase calcineurin (Nishi et al., J. Neurosci., 1997, 17, 8147).
D2 class dopamine (D2R) receptors are presently the best-established targets for antipsychotic drugs. Recent studies suggest that β-arrestin 2 deficiency in mice results in reduction of dopamine-dependent behaviours (Beaulieu et al., Cell (2005), 261). The connection between β-arrestin 2 and dopamine-associated behaviours suggests that β-arrestin 2 could be a positive mediator of dopaminergic synaptic transmission and a potential pharmacological target for dopamine-related psychiatric disorders (Beaulieu et al., Cell (2005), 261).
Currently, all clinically marketed antipsychotics modulate dopamine by targeting D2R either as antagonists/inverse agonists (first- and second-generation antipsychotics, for example, chlorpromazine, clozapine) or partial agonists (third-generation antipsychotics, with aripiprazole as the sole example of this ligand class in the clinic). Antagonism of dopamine D2 receptor/β-arrestin 2 interaction has been found to be a common property of clinically-effective antipsychotics (Masri et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2008), 13656).
Structure-functional selectivity relationship studies of β-arrestin-biased dopamine D2 receptor agonists, based on the aripiprazole scaffold, have been conducted (Chen et al., Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (2012), 7141, Roth et al., US 2013/0137679, Shonberg et al., Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (2013), 9199). Known antipsychotics, even those that share a common mechanistic pathway such as haloperidol, clozapine, and risperidone, show highly diverse effects on D2R/G protein signaling and are not selective across GPCR receptors. There remains a lack of clinical drug candidates that offer highly functionalized targeting of dopamine D2 receptors that improve the clinical efficacy of antipsychotics, while at the same time limiting the undesirable side effects associated with D2-dopaminergic activity.
Selectively antagonizing the β-arrestin pathway at the D2 receptor could be sufficient to produce an antipsychotic effect, while at the same time, reduce potential side effects that could arise from antagonizing the cAMP pathway. Modulation of the β-arrestin-2 dependent pathway could lead to modulation of AKT and GSK3β target genes (Beaulieu et al., Frontiers in molecular neuroscience (2011), 38). Development of compounds with cAMP biased agonist or antagonist or β-arrestin biased agonist or antagonist activity could offer a functionally selective means to modulate or treat dopamine-associated disorders, including Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, mood disorders, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), restless legs syndrome (RLS), pituitary disorders such as pituitary adenoma or pituitary tumor (prolactinoma) or endocrine disorders, e.g., galactorrhea. Further, development of ligands that exhibit functional selectivity as agonists, antagonists, and partial agonists, as well as selectivity against other GPCRs, allows modulation of activity at the dopamine D2 receptors to be more finely-tuned to increase selectivity and hence clinical efficacy and safety in treatment. By increasing selectivity at dopamine D2 receptors while minimising undesirable side-effects, drugs in this category would also offer greater success potential with patient acceptance and compliance.