A method for design template pattern optimization, comprises receiving a design for a fin field effect transistor (FinFET) device, wherein the design includes a configuration of fins, creating a design template pattern for the design for use in connection with directed self-assembly (DSA) patterning using graphoepitaxy, and optimizing the design template pattern to minimize pattern density gradients, wherein the design template pattern includes a plurality of guiding lines for guiding a block-copolymer deposited during the DSA patterning and the optimizing comprises altering the guiding lines.

Field effect transistors (FETs) composed of discrete silicon (Si) active regions or "fins," referred to as FinFETs, have desirable electrostatic properties compared to planar devices. In connection with FinFETs, sublithographic line space patterning can be based on the directed self-assembly (DSA) of block copolymers (BCPs). DSA is a technique that utilizes phase separation of a BCP thin film in order to form a sublithographic line space pattern. BCP films naturally phase separate into periodic patterns with a feature size pre-defined by the molecular weights of the BCP. By combining bottom up lamellae forming self-assembling materials with top down lithographically defined template patterns, gratings at relatively small pitches can be achieved. Features, such as, for example, resolution and the critical dimension (CD) of a pattern are dependent on a composition of the copolymer used in DSA processing.
In a DSA process, phase separated copolymers can be aligned using self-assembly guided by, for example, surface topography, referred to as graphoepitaxy, and/or surface chemical patterning, referred to as chemoepitaxy. More specifically, DSA uses a template layer to cause desired alignment of phase separated polymers. For example, DSA by chemoepitaxy utilizes a chemical pattern to align a block copolymer deposited on the chemical pattern. DSA by graphoepitaxy utilizes surface topography (e.g., trenches) to align a deposited block copolymer to create desired line and space patterns.
Since the BCPs self-assemble at a certain pitch, DSA can provide relatively simple processing, compared to multiple exposures or multiple depositions and etching, and high resolution of features at small dimensions (e.g., less than 10 nm). DSA is compatible with existing lithography techniques, and allows for frequency multiplication and space subdivision.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for template pattern optimization for DSA patterning using graphoepitaxy

International Business Machines Corporation


Methods, apparatus and systems for facilitating explicit flow control for RDMA transfers using implicit memory registration. To setup an RDMA data transfer, a source RNIC sends a request to allocate a destination buffer at a destination RNIC using implicit memory registration. Under implicit memory registration, the page or pages to be registered are not explicitly identified by the source RNIC, and may correspond to pages that are paged out to virtual memory. As a result, registration of such pages result in page faults, leading to a page fault delay before registration and pinning of the pages is completed. In response to detection of a page fault, the destination RNIC returns an acknowledgment indicating that a page fault delay is occurring. In response to receiving the acknowledgment, the source RNIC temporarily stops sending packets, and does not retransmit packets for which ACKs are not received prior to retransmission timeout expiration.

Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) is a direct memory access mechanism that enables a computer to access memory from another computer without involving the computers' operating systems. RDMA supports zero-copy networking by enabling a network adapter to transfer data directly to or from application memory, eliminating the need to copy data between application memory and the data buffers in the operating system. Such transfers require no work to be done by CPUs, caches, or context switches, and transfers continue in parallel with other system operations. When an application performs an RDMA Read or Write request, the application data is delivered directly to the network, reducing latency and enabling fast message transfer.
To efficiently communicate with remote systems via user space (i.e., the non-kernel memory space allocated for applications by an operating system), conventional RDMA devices require pre-registered, pre-pinned memory regions for all data transfers over the fabric or network. This consumes large amounts of system memory that could be used by other applications. In order to avoid page faults, memory may often be overallocated to (hopefully) address worst-case traffic conditions. However, under heavy traffic loads even this approach may fail, leading to page faults under which the amount of memory allocated to a pre-pinned memory region is insufficient, resulting in temporary use of virtual memory that is accessed from local or remote secondary storage devices rather than system memory; these devices, such as hard disk drives, have access speeds that are an order of magnitude or more slower than typical system memory. Under conventional approaches, page faults are either transparent to RDMA senders or are otherwise identified indirectly well after the page fault has occurred (e.g., lack of ACKnowledgements within a timeout period may indicate some type of fault or congestion).
There are several RDMA capable network interface cards (RNIC) available on today's market that provide both open source and proprietary methods for implicit memory registration. They all attempt to remove the requirement of pre-pinning memory regions for RDMA transfers. In these cases, the RNIC essentially acts as a memory management unit (MMU) and provides some form of synchronization with system MMU. This MMU synchronization comes in many forms but essentially guarantees that the adapter will participate in all user memory region accesses and tolerate a page fault and page pinning during data transfers. These paging events are indeterminist and can stall the data stream significantly, especially if the system is busy or if the fault requires paging from a local or network attached drive.

Explicit flow control for implicit memory registration


Embodiments described herein include a composite feeding mechanism configured to process one or more jobs using a stack of feeder trays. The composite feeding mechanism can include the stack of feeder trays, a base unit, and a feeder unit. The feeder trays can hold substrate media to satisfy jobs and the base unit can support the stack of feeder trays. The feeder unit can remove the substrate media from a feeder tray located at the top of the stack to satisfy a job requirement.

1. Technical Field
The presently disclosed embodiments are directed to composite substrate feeding mechanisms having stackable feeder trays for holding a variety of substrate media.
2. Brief Discussion of Related Art
Conventional substrate feeders for use with printing systems generally include drawers for holding a predetermined size and quantity of paper. For example these drawers typically can hold between 550 and 3000 sheets of paper. These inflexible drawers limit the functionality of some printing systems. For example, because of the size of these drawers, only a limited number of drawers can be included in a substrate feeder. For long job runs such drawers provide an acceptable level of performance, since a user requires a larger number of sheets of paper to be available for each job run. However, for users who wish to perform shorter job runs, in some cases with more variability in job size, paper size, and paper type, these conventional substrate feeders can be burdensome and impractical.
Users typical implement "work arounds" so that these conventional substrate feeders function in a desired manner. For example, users may insert false loading material, such as cardboard, into a drawer of a substrate feeder to create a feeding jam at the end of a job run to stop the sheet feeding process so that the next job can be identified, prepared, and started. This mode of operation is not only inconvenient for the user, but also can lead to wear and tear of the substrate feeder and/or the printing system.


A device and method of reinforcement for towers, such as those used for electrical communications and telephonic devices, is provided. Elongated stiffening members are provided for indirect attachment to a tower by means of spacer elements. The spacer elements, which are structurally connected to the tower, provide a location for attachment of the stiffening members such that the tower is reinforced while minimizing any damage to the actual tower through the attachment of reinforcement. In one embodiment an external structural support shell, fastened concentrically about a tower, is also provided. The support shell forms an exterior wall, spaced apart from the antenna tower and fastened thereto with structural elements, such that the antenna tower is strengthened. The placing of the support shell about the tower has the added benefit of creating a space for feeding electrical and communication cables such that communication devices may be added to an existing tower without having cables showing on the exterior surface of the tower.

The present invention concerns a device and method for stiffening tall thin tower structures. More particularly, the present invention concerns a device and method for stiffening long, tapered, antenna towers.
Because of the number of telephones, fax machines, cellular phones, and other communication devices currently used, the need for more, stronger and even taller, antenna towers has become prevalent throughout the country. As a result, long, slender antenna towers are appearing nationwide. Typically, these towers are thin, tubular structures, which start out with a large diameter base and taper down to a thinner cross-section. The towers are usually bedecked with a number of devices such as microwave relay stations, cellular telephone cells, satellite dishes and other types of communication hardware. Each such tower can be designed to hold a number of such devices, depending on its structural abilities.
Further, these types of antennas are often placed on top of tall structures such as buildings and/or in open fields, where they can receive and transmit signals without interference. As a result of isolated location placement, the towers are typically subjected to buffeting winds and other potentially damaging weather conditions.
Further, the towers which act somewhat like cantilevered beams (in that they are attached at one end, the ground, and are unattached at the top), are affected by the weight of the electronic equipment, and other equipment, placed near the top of the tower, such that a moment force acts on the tower. As a result, great forces are placed on the tower causing, often times, the tower to sway and/or have a pronounced bend or lean. This can make these towers unsightly, and give the impression of imminent collapse. In extreme wind or other conditions, these towers can receive such severe forces that they can collapse, causing extensive and expensive damage to communications devices, as well as the destruction of the antenna tower and disruptions in communications. Such collapses also pose dangers to persons and property in the vicinity of the tower at the time of the collapse.
It has been found, that the present design of a monopole tower, is one of the most popular as it presents a most appealing shape. Use of more heavily reinforced or structurally complex towers, including those made with lattice frames, such as high tension electrical towers, or having a variety of Guy wires attached, such as to the apex of a tower and then in a radius about the base of the tower, can be unsightly, more costly, undesirable and difficult to fit in a small space. It is, therefore, desirable to produce a monopole type tower, that can be structurally strengthened so that it can withstand the weight of several pieces of generally heavy communications equipment, at the tower's upper regions. It is desirable that such towers withstand wind and other natural forces that cause present and prior art towers to have the problems described above.


Various embodiments of a heat sink assembly are disclosed. In one embodiment, the heat sink assembly includes a processor mounted onto a circuit board; a heat sink located in thermal contact with the processor at the side of the processor opposite circuit board; and an electromagnetic shielding member located between the circuit board and the heat sink. The electromagnetic shielding member is releasably attached to the circuit board. Additionally, or in the alternative, the heat sink is biased toward the processor by a load spring and the electromagnetic shielding member is configured to provide a spring force between the circuit board and the heat sink, counter directional to the bias from the load spring.

The present invention relates to support and grounding structures and in particular, but not exclusively to central processing unit cooler support and grounding structures within a computer system.
One application for the present invention relates to computer systems where physical robustness is required. Examples of such systems include portable computing (so-called "laptop" and "notebook" computers) and in multiple processing engine server systems having replaceable processing engine cartridges or "blades". Blade based computer systems are typically high density computer systems, which systems are typically rack mountable, with one or more processor systems occupying a shelf in the rack. In blade computer systems physically robust blades may be replaceable by unskilled workers and may be expected to be subjected to vigorous or rough handling by those workers. The trend in recent times is to make the computers with smaller form factors. This means that more computers can be located in a rack. This has the advantage of increasing the processing density within the racks, and also the advantage of reducing the distance between the computer systems.
The present invention relates to providing robust and effective cooling and grounding for a central processor unit within a computer system.


A method of die casting a cylinder block of aluminum wherein cylinder liners of another material are cast in. A cylinder insert component (14) is placed in the liner, leaving a gap (a) between the outer surface of the insert component and the inner surface of the liner. Pressurized aluminum melt flows against the outside of the liner and is allowed to flow into the gap via a passage (22) between the lower edge of the liner and a lower insert component (15), so that there will be the same pressure on the outside and inside of the liner. The aluminum inside the liner is then machined away.

Today's aluminum engines of aluminum with cast-in cylinder liners are manufactured by die casting, which means that the aluminum melt is pressurized during the injection and hardening stages. In order to prevent the melt from penetrating into the cylinder liners, upper casting die insert components in the form of cylindrical bodies are used, which fill the liner, as well as lower casting die insert components, which abut the lower edges of the liners and the upper insert components, filling what is to become the cylinder block crank case.
The upper casting die insert is dimensioned so that a gap of about 0.2 mm is formed between the liner and the insert component when the liner is cold. This gap increases by about 0.5 mm to a total of about 0.7 mm upon heating to about 500.degree. C. upon contact with the melt. The pressure in the melt subjects the liners, however, to great pressure from the outside, and the liners are deformed so much that they come into contact with the insert component. The result is that the liners are subjected to great stresses during the casting process. These stresses are not desirable since they can give rise to out-of-roundness at a subsequent stage of the manufacturing process, and this in turn can require extra machining of the liners themselves.


A method for registering for an appliance event notification comprises scanning a machine-readable code by a device and sending a request to register for an event notification to an appliance. A user interface corresponding to the appliance is displayed and the user interface includes an identification of at least one appliance specific event. A selection of an appliance specific event is received and a request to register for an event notification corresponding to the selected appliance specific event is sent to the appliance. An event notification is received upon occurrence of the event at the appliance. Additionally, the user interface includes an identification of at least one appliance specific control function. A request to register for control of the appliance corresponding to a selected appliance specific control function is sent to the appliance. Accordingly, instructions for control of the appliance are sent from the mobile device.

There are various devices and appliances for which it may be useful to control operation of the device when a user is not present, e.g., by using a mobile device. Home automation systems may provide the user with the option to receive an event notification such as "dryer cycle has completed" or "front door opened." Such notifications are useful but can be difficult to configure due to the variety of devices that may generate such a notification (e.g., front door, dryer, washer, etc.), variety of events that could trigger a notification, variety of destinations to send the notifications (e.g., which user or which user's device), means of notifying (e.g., text message, email, pop-up alert, etc.). Accordingly, a simple way for the user to request the notification type, source, and destination may be helpful.

Device event notification registration through direct interaction with mobile device


The invention provides a sealant applicator machine for dispensing sealant onto an insulating glazing unit. The insulating glazing unit may include two panes separated by a spacer having a spacer width. The sealant may be dispensed around a periphery of the insulating glazing unit. In certain embodiments, the sealant applicator machine includes both a fixed width sealant-dispensing head comprising a fixed width dispensing nozzle, and an adjustable sealant-dispensing head having a plurality of adjustable dispensing nozzles. The fixed width sealant-dispensing head and the adjustable sealant-dispensing head may be operably coupled to one or more sealant supplies.

The present invention is in the field of insulating glazing unit ("IG unit") manufacturing. IG units have at least two spaced-apart, parallel panes. A peripheral spacer, typically formed of metal and/or plastic, is commonly provided between the panes adjacent their peripheral edges to maintain the panes in a spaced-apart configuration.
Conventional spacers are often provided in hollow, tubular form. In such cases, the spacer may have side walls adhered to the confronting inner pane surfaces. The spacer may extend all the way around the perimeter of the IG unit.
To seal the edges of the IG unit, one or more sealants are usually provided between the panes and the sides of the spacer. In addition, sealant is commonly applied over the outside face of the spacer. The resulting sealant arrangement provides resistance to water vapor and unwanted atmospheric gas permeating into the between-pane space(s) of the IG unit. In addition, if the between-pane space is filled with thermally insulative gas, the seal provides resistance to such gas escaping from the between-pane space. Known sealant materials include polyisobutylene (PIB), silicone, a combination of PIB and silicone, and various other materials.
The sealant beads that form the sealant arrangement may be applied by dispensing the sealant from nozzles. The resulting sealant arrangement may provide a seal around the perimeter of the IG unit. The sealant arrangement may, together with any spacer, extend from the inner surface of one pane to the inner surface of an adjacent pane. In some cases, the sealant around the perimeter of the IG unit entirely covers the outside face of the spacer, thus encapsulating the spacer between the panes.


A method of preparing submicron particles of a therapeutic or diagnostic agent which comprises grinding the agent in the presence of grinding media having a mean particle size of less than about 75 microns. In a preferred embodiment, the grinding media is a polymeric resin. The method provides extremely fine particles, e.g., less than 100 nanometers in size, free of unacceptable contamination.

Various grinding media, such as stainless steel, zirconium silicate, zirconium oxide, glass, and the like, typically in the form of spherical beads, are commonly used in various mills, including media mills, for grinding materials. Heretofore, efforts have been made to control the size and size range of drug particles in pharmaceutical compositions by a variety of methods, including various milling techniques, such as airjet milling and wet milling. However, there tends to be a bias in the pharmaceutical arts against milling techniques, particularly wet milling, due to concerns associated with contamination. For example, in the preparation of pharmaceuticals for oral and parenteral applications, it is desirable to have total contamination, e.g., of heavy metals, below about 10 parts per million. The need to control and minimize contamination is particularly critical in the milling of parenteral products due to potential safety issues associated with injection of contaminants.
Liversidge et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,684, and European Patent Application 498,492, describe dispersible particles consisting of a drug substance or an x-ray contrast agent having a surface modifier adsorbed on the surface thereof in an amount sufficient to maintain an effective average particle size of less than about 400 nm. The particles are prepared by dispersing a drug substance or imaging agent in a liquid dispersion medium and wet grinding in the presence of rigid grinding media.
Bruno et al, commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/981,639 filed Nov. 25, 1992 entitled Method for Grinding Pharmaceutical Substances discloses polymeric grinding media for fine grinding pharmaceutical compositions. Bruno et al disclose that the media can be in the size range of 0.1-3 mm (100-3000 microns). The media specifically exemplified in the working examples have a mean particle size in the range of 0.3-0.6 mm (300-600 microns).
In practicing the methods described by Liversidge et al and Bruno et al, dispersions comprising therapeutic and diagnostic agents having particle sizes as small as about 100 nm have been obtained on some occasions. However, for many applications, e.g., when further increased bioavailability and/or targeting to a specific tissue site is desired, it would be highly advantageous to produce dispersions free of unacceptable contamination having a particle size of less than 100 nm.

Method of grinding pharmaceutical substances


The present disclosure is directed to numerical test data reporting using an image file and subsequent analysis of the test data. A method for capturing and analyzing test data in accordance with an embodiment includes: capturing multi-bit integer values of test data; writing each multi-bit integer value to a multi-bit vertical field in an image file; extracting the multi-bit integer values from the multi-bit vertical fields in the image file; and analyzing the extracted multi-bit integer values.

The disclosure relates to the testing of integrated circuits, and more specifically relates to numerical test data reporting using an image file and subsequent analysis of the test data.
Integrated circuit testers typically log functional test data in two different ways. One method is by performing a logging of every measurement to an American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) file. The large amount of functional test data collected using this approach typically requires periodically pausing test execution and queries of the tester hardware during generation of the ASCII file. This results in a very large ASCII file which can take an excessive amount of time to generate and an excessive amount of time to analyze during post-processing.
One approach to address this situation is to limit the number of failures identified to a predefined maximum. Unfortunately, this approach mandates not capturing all of the functional test data. In addition, this approach may add complexity in those cases where the number of failures reaches the predefined maximum. Another approach includes performing a binary dump of the functional data to an image file. Although this can be completed in a much shorter time, the functional data in the image file is not provided in a way that is conducive to statistical analysis during post-processing.

Numerical test data reporting in an image file and subsequent analysis


The disclosure is a composition for treating, preventing, ameliorating, or suppressing cancer, or inhibiting cancer metastasis, comprising a plant fermentation extract as an active ingredient, wherein the plant fermentation extract comprises a yeast that is viable in an environment at pH 1 and that is capable of forming spores in a complete medium.

Over the past few decades, cytotoxic chemotherapy has dominated the systematic management of cancer according to the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). In MTD therapy, in order to achieve the best therapeutic effects, the administration of the highest tolerable dosage of a drug to a patient is required. Due to low tumor selectivity, MTD treatments cannot be protracted in order to allow recovery of healthy tissue and to reduce myelosuppression. Rapid tumor growth and metastasis during the therapeutic breaks may cause a burst of cancer cell proliferation accompanied by chemoresistance and accelerated angiogenesis. Accordingly, a reappraisal of advanced-stage cancer management is ongoing, moving from the maximum tolerable dose to the minimum effective dose, by combining treatment with a supplement. As a typical example, although an anti-PD-1 antibody has a very rough dose-response relationship with regard to efficacy and safety, a clear "dose-response curve" is not likely to be observed, and there is a case in which a very small dose of the anti-PD-1 antibody provides a safe and effective treatment (Non-patent Literature 1).

Composition for treating, preventing, ameliorating or suppressing cancer or inhibiting cancer metastasis


The present invention provides an information processing apparatus which comprises separating means for separating inputted data into identification data and data to be encrypted, determination means for determining an encryption method specified by a combination of an encryption key and an encryption algorithm in accordance with the identification data separated by the separating means, encryption means for encrypting the data to be encrypted by utilizing the encryption method determined by the determination means and generating encrypted data having the number of bits same as that of the data to be encrypted, and locating means for locating the identification data showing the encryption method used for encrypting the data to be encrypted in a predetermined position in the encrypted data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus with a software protecting function and in particular relates to an information processing apparatus having an encryption unit which encrypts processed data or a decryption unit which decrypts the encrypted data to be processed, or both.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In the case where created programs or data are distributed (hereinafter, programs and data are simply and inclusively referred to as "data" unless otherwise noted), it is necessary to protect the data from being stolen, tampered with or used in unauthorized manner. As the protection means, so far, methods, such as storing the data in a ROM, floppy disk, or the like to render them copy-protected, have been employed. However, these methods allow the contents of the data being read without difficulty; therefore the data cannot be protected perfectly.
In another way, it is possible to enable only the user who has a decryption key to decrypt and use data upon decrypting the data and distributing them. However, according to this method, the decrypted programs or data are unprotected, which results in a security hole and may allow theft, tampering or unauthorized use of the data.
As a technique for resolving the above-described problems, a Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei. 2-155034 (1990) has disclosed an information processing apparatus in which the data is encrypted and stored in a memory or the like and then decrypted when executed in a CPU so that decrypted programs or data may not be accessed in unauthorized manner. According to the method, the encryption unit and the decryption unit are disposed inside of the information processing apparatus for protecting the data, and thereby software is protected. The information processing apparatus is now described more specifically below.
FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a conventional information processing apparatus designed to protect the software. The information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 18 has a CPU 510, a storage device 523, an input device 521, an output device 522 and a key input device 524. The CPU 510 further comprises an arithmetic unit 511, a control unit 512, an encryption/decryption unit 513 and a key storage unit 514.
The CPU 510 functions as the center of the information processing apparatus and performs data operation, control of other units, and so forth. The storing unit 523 stores data, and transmits/receives data to/from the encryption/decryption unit 513 in the CPU 510 under the control of the CPU 510.
The input device 521 receives data from the outside of the information processing apparatus under the control of the CPU 510. The output device 522 outputs the data processed by the information processing apparatus to the outside under the control of the CPU 510. The key input device 524 sets a group of keys necessary to perform encryption or decryption in the CPU 510.
The arithmetic unit 511 in the CPU 510 performs arithmetic operation or logical operation on the data given by the input device 521 or storage device 523. The control unit 512 interprets instructions provided by the storing device 523 to control all over the information processing apparatus. The key storing unit 514 stores the keys set by the key input device 524. The encryption/decryption unit 513 is located between the storing device 523 and the arithmetic unit 511, which decrypts the instructions and data having been encrypted by utilizing a key in the key storage unit 514 so that the arithmetic unit 511 may interpret them, and also encrypts the result of operation performed in the arithmetic unit 511 by utilizing the key in the key storing unit 514 and then stores it in the storage device 523.
With the above-described construction, the data to be stored in the storage device 523 can be constantly kept encrypted. Accordingly, if the data in the storing unit 523 is stolen, it is difficult to analyze its content, and thereby the secrecy of the data can be improved.
In such information processing apparatus with a software protecting function, the programs or data which have been encrypted and stored should be decrypted one after another when they are executed. Therefore, overhead in decryption process must be taken into consideration, and thereby an encryption method adopting a relatively simple algorithm with a small computation amount, XOR for example, should be used. As a result, a problem occurs that the encryption security is deteriorated. Accordingly, it is necessary to raise the level of the encryption security as high as possible even though the encryption method adopting a relatively simple algorithm is used.
For raising the encryption security level, efforts have been made in changing the encryption method to be rendered secret. However, if such method is employed, another problem occurs that interchangeability between data is greatly lost, and besides, in each apparatus, it does not necessarily follow that the encryption security is increased because the encryption algorithm or encryption key may be analogized based on the frequency of a specific instruction code appearing in the program or correspondence between the encrypted program and operation of the apparatus.
As described above, sufficient encryption security level cannot be obtained by simply rendering the encryption method secret, and therefore some other methods for obtaining high encryption security level with a small computation amount have been considered, which are described as follows.
A first example is a method of changing the encryption algorithm per every memory address (area), which is disclosed by a Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Sho. 63-184853 (1988), as "portable electronic device". For the device, a data memory unit divided into plural areas, a control unit for reading/writing data from/to the data memory unit are provided, wherein one of different encryption algorithms is assigned to each area of the data memory unit. Accordingly, the encryption algorithm or encryption key can be changed per every address or area, and thereby the secrecy of the data is increased.
A second example is a method of encrypting a piece of data on an address in a memory and all other data by the piece of data itself, which is disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei. 4-229346 (1992), as "encryption of addressed information stream to be used for program code protection". The object of the method is to test or transfer the protected programs or data stored in the Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM) without disclosure. According to the method, it is unnecessary to especially provide a key byte for storing an encryption key because the encryption key is a piece of data stored in the memory; therefore the silicon area of the EPROM is not wasted. Moreover, since the data region used as the encryption key is also encrypted by itself; therefore, if the exclusive NOR gate is used as the encryption method, for example, the data region used as the encryption key may be the output byte of the logical value FFh, whereby the encryption key can be kept secret.
A third example is the method of raising the level of the encryption security by utilizing the Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) or the Cipher Feed Back (CFB), which is the operation mode of the Data Encryption Standard (DES: an encryption algorithm disclosed by the Standards Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, currently the American National Standards Institute on 1977) instead of plural encryption keys. The CBC and CFB modify the input of the next encryption step by using the output of the preceding encryption step.
In the DES, the data to be encrypted is divided into data blocks of 64 bits, and then the blocks are processed one by one. The CBC uses not only the data and decryption key of every block, but also a value obtained by encryption of the preceding block. The CFB encrypts the first block and uses the encrypted data obtained thereby as the input to the DES to generate a pseudo random output. The output is further concatenated to the data of the next block for generating a cipher text. The cipher texts are sequentially concatenated by repeating the process. According to the method of CBC or CFB, the encrypted blocks are influenced with each other; and therefore, it is possible to relate not only an encrypted block to an immediately preceding encrypted block, but also each of all other encrypted blocks to another one. Consequently, the blocks cannot be decrypted in an order other than the predetermined one.
As a fourth example, "an encryption-communication method" is disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei. 4-101529 (1992), wherein an encrypted electronic filing document in which an encryption key is embedded is transmitted, and the encryption key is extracted from the received encrypted electronic filing document, and then the encrypted electronic document is decoded and interpreted by using the extracted encryption key. In the encryption-communication method, the encryption key is directly embedded in the encrypted electronic document and the position where the key is embedded is determined by a random number value provided by the number of times of communication with the receiver. Each of the transmitter and the receiver has a counter of the number of communication times and random number generation means for generating a random number corresponding to the value of the counter. With this construction, it is possible to change the encryption key in every communication and thereby make it difficult for any third person to tap the key.
However, each of the above-described methods designed for raising the level of the encryption security with a small computation amount has the problems as follows.
The method shown as the first example which changes the encryption algorithm or encryption key corresponding to the address or area has a good effect on a memory in which the relation between the data and data address is not changed, such as a ROM. However, currently the computer having a virtual memory is the mainstream, and the method cannot be applied thereto.
That is, in the computer having the virtual memory, the storage unit used by a processor has a hierarchical structure comprising a main memory and a secondary memory. In this case, the address of the encrypted data on the main memory is frequently changed whenever the encrypted data is swapped in the main memory from the secondary memory, or is swapped out of the main memory to the secondary memory. As a result, a problem occurs that the encrypted data on the data address does not match with the encryption algorithm or encryption key.
In the method shown as the second example, the region to be encrypted is determined by the address; therefore, as same as the method of the first example, it cannot be applied to the computer having a memory with the hierarchical structure.
The method shown in the third example uses only a single encryption key in practice, which causes a problem that if the encryption key is found, all other data are readily analyzed and interpreted.
The method shown in the fourth example is the encryption method applied to the communication, wherein the encryption key itself is embedded in the encrypted electronic document so that the transmitter and the receiver may not need to share the encryption key. Consequently, if the position where the encryption key is embedded is known to the person with the intent to commit tapping, the encryption key itself is found by him. To avoid this problem, the fourth example changes the position where the encryption key is embedded in accordance with the random number value determined based on the number of times of communication. Therefore, the transmitter and the receiver are required to operate synchronously for accurate communication of the data therebetween, that is, the order of encryption and decryption must be the same. However, in a memory of an information processing apparatus on the basis of random access, it is impossible in practice to adopt the method. I
In many cases, the unit of data processed by the information processing apparatus may be the same number of bits (for example, 32 bits or 64 bits) for improving the processing efficiency. Therefore, the data having the number of bits of the encryption key is added, the difference occurs in the data size between the data before encryption and the encrypted data. Software should be designed on the premise that the encryption causes difference in the data size, which results in a great loss of versatility of the software; and besides, information about the partial encryption method must be published to a software developer, and accordingly the encryption security is extremely deteriorated.
To maintain the versatility of the software, the change of the data size should be made up for by the hardware; therefore drastic design change of architecture of the information processing apparatus is required.
In addition, the unit of data to be processed by the information processing apparatus is generally shorter than that used in communication; therefore the ratio of the size of the encryption key data to the size of whole data to be encrypted becomes too large. As a result, a problem occurs that the memory space of the storage device cannot be effectively used. If the size of the encryption key data is reduced to prevent waste of the space in the memory, the encryption security level is lowered.
As means for resolving the problem in the method shown in the first example, it is possible to have the encryption algorithm or encryption key match with the encrypted data on the address by making the address or area correspond to the virtual memory space, on condition that such virtual address must be administrated by an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS). In general, the OS is provided as the software, and consequently, OS is easily tampered with by concentratively cryptanalizing a part of the OS where control of switching of the encryption algorithm or encryption key is performed, especially in the case of such system with relatively low level of encryption security. As a result, tampering such as to directly output the data once decrypted in the apparatus to the outside is possible, which causes a problem that all data are analyzed and interpreted by tampering with only a part of the OS.
As described so far, conventionally it has been difficult to obtain high level of encryption security with a small computation amount independent of the memory administration method of a computer. The encryption method using plural keys or encryption algorithms makes it possible to obtain the high level of encryption security with a small computation amount, on condition that, even in this case, there is no complex key administration carried out by the OS.

Information processing apparatus with a software protecting function


A lightweight exercise device comprising a pole of nearly uniform diameter throughout its length. At each end of the pole are knob handles to be manually gripped by the operator. One knob handle is fixed and the opposite end knob handle is rotatable continuously in either direction. The rotating handle can engage a friction assembly within the handle to resist motion while pulling or pushing on the handle. Between the handles and along the pole can be one or two sliding or twisting friction sleeve handles or no sleeve handles depending on the length of the pole and configuration of the exercise device desired by the operator. The sliding or twisting friction sleeve handle resistance can be changed by the operator gripping the sleeve handle with increasing or decreasing pressure by the operator's hands. This exerciser is adapted to assist the user to perform stretching, isometric, isotonic, and isokinetic exercises and to combine them with various aerobic exercises. The operator can exercise various muscles of the body by performing an extremely wide variety of manipulations of the exercise device.

Many portable exercising devices have been developed in the past. By design and operation, however, these prior devices were limited in their functional capabilities to certain types of exercises of the body. None of these exercisers are capable of the full range of exercises available to the operators of this invention.
Furthermore, most of the prior exercise devices that employed mechanical systems were complicated devices, expensive to manufacture, unreliable in their use, and susceptible to malfunctions. The present invention is specifically adapted to eliminate the need for heavy weights, complicated mechanical systems to simulate weights, and systems employing rubber band and spring tensions to simulate weights. The exerciser of the present invention takes advantage of certain mechanical and physical resistance properties to allow the user to perform a complete regimen of upper body and certain lower body exercises to develop most of the major muscle groups of the body. Therefore, the exerciser of the present invention overcomes some limitations in each of the other prior art exercisers in its class.

Upper and lower body frictional resistant-type exercising device


An estimation apparatus 1 includes: a normal index estimation unit 2 configured to estimate, using a second variable output by a second component 21 that influences a first variable output by a first component 21, an index A indicating that the first variable is achieved at a normal time; and an abnormality propagation information estimation unit 3 configured to estimate abnormality propagation information expressing an index indicating that an abnormality propagates to a third variable output by a third component 21 influenced by the first component 21, by changing the first variable.

There is a demand that, in an OT (Operational Technology) system, even if the system has entered an abnormal state, the system is restored as soon as possible. Therefore, a handling method has been proposed for specifying an abnormality factor (fundamental factor of abnormality) that caused the system to enter the abnormal state.
For example, an abnormality detection apparatus that accurately detects an abnormality of a vehicle from operation data (e.g., traveling data) of the vehicle is disclosed in Patent document 1. The abnormality detection apparatus performs learning in advance using operation data in a normal state (normal data), and detects an abnormal state based on the deviation from the normal state. Also, the abnormality detection apparatus calculates, with respect to various multivariate time series data (variable values) included in the operation data, the degree of contribution to the deviation (shift of a variable value from the central value) due to abnormality, and with this, estimates the abnormality factor.
Also, an abnormality diagnostic apparatus that provides, when an abnormality has occurred in a work machine, useful information for specifying the abnormal part to an operator is disclosed in Patent document 2. The abnormality diagnostic apparatus determines a unit space using data in a normal state (normal data), calculates a Mahalanobis distance from the center of the unit space, and detects an abnormal state using the calculated Mahalanobis distance. Also, the abnormality diagnostic apparatus specifies the abnormality factor with reference to information in which data (feature amount) in a known abnormal state is associated with an abnormality factor (abnormality label) indicating the type of the known abnormal state, using data in an abnormal state (abnormal data).

Estimation apparatus, estimation method, and computer-readable storage medium


Method for controlling user access to a service available in a data network and/or to information stored in a user database, in order to protect stored user data from unauthorized access, such that the method comprises the following: input of a user's speech sample to a user data terminal, processing of the user's speech sample in order to obtain a prepared speech sample as well as a current voice profile of the user, comparison of the current voice profile with an initial voice profile stored in an authorization database, and output of an access-control signal to either permit or refuse access, taking into account the result of the comparison step, such that the comparison step includes a quantitative similarity evaluation of the current and the stored voice profiles as well as a threshold-value discrimination of a similarity measure thereby derived, and an access-control signal that initiates permission of access is generated only if a prespecified similarity measure is not exceeded.

The invention relates to a method as well as an arrangement for controlling a user's access to a service made available in a data network, or to information stored in a user database in the general sense, which in particular should also be understood as data stored in prepaid and/or credit-card systems.
In conventional access-control systems such as are employed in data networks, identification and/or authentication means of the knowledge-based type are employed in order to fulfill the security demands. In particular, for decades password-based or PIN-based identification/authentication sequences have been known and in general use. Where sensitivity to spying or misuse is involved, for example in home-banking applications, additional specialized security measures such as the provision and obligatory employment of individual transaction codes, or TANs, are also known and widely used. Such supplementary security-enhancing sequences are knowledge-based and hence entail the typical disadvantages of all knowledge-based systems, i.e. on one hand problems associated with the loss of relevant information by the authorized user, and on the other hand risks arising when an unauthorized user gains access to such information.
Therefore in recent years considerable effort has been made to incorporate other types of identification/authentication sequences into the security mechanisms of data networks. Particularly common approaches are to add "possession-based" mechanisms (tokens) and/or "being-based" (biometry-based) mechanisms to the familiar knowledge-based mechanisms. For example, the biometric authentication sequences used in automated teller machines, which are based on fingerprint or retina recognition, have been proposed for controlling access to bank accounts. Furthermore, the fingerprint-based access-control devices which are now commonly used by notebooks and other PCs have been mentioned as a special way to control access to data networks.
Recently voice-based authentication solutions have already been introduced by some firms as a special type of biometry-based identification/authentication, as a supplement to their internal knowledge-based access-control mechanisms.
In the case of internet- and mobile-phone-based services and activities, in particular on internet marketplaces such as Ebay or in financial transaction systems on the internet such as PayPal, as the number of users worldwide rapidly rises, the number of fraudulent attacks is also increasing significantly. The probability of a successful invasion of accounts within a worldwide internet-based service with millions of users is much higher than that of phishing attacks on local banks.
Meanwhile, system providers such as PayPal and Ebay have responded to the growing number of attacks, in that they have introduced a hardware token as second level of security for user accounts. Recently developed solutions of this kind are based on the idea that an individual security code which is generated periodically can protect the user from fraudulent misuse of a personal account.
These recently developed mechanisms unfortunately present additional costs that must be borne by the provider and/or the user, and also suffer from the typical disadvantages of possession-based identification/authentication means.
The applicant's patent DE 10 2007 014 885 A1 is concerned with making available an improved means of controlling access to data networks that is relatively easy to implement and also attractive regarding expense; the applicant has also added to the patent other improved access-control procedures in various usage contexts.
Authentication and access-control systems based on the special characteristics of the human voice and speech encounter the fundamental problem that they can be defrauded to a certain extent by previously prepared recordings of speech samples. So-called challenge-response procedures counteract this in an authentication situation by stochastically selecting previously specified speech samples from a reservoir: during each authentication procedure, the number and sequence of the speech samples to be currently input are determined for the first time during this actual authentication. In practice, this makes it considerably more difficult to defraud the access-control system, but fraudulence cannot be excluded insofar as the defrauder has available a recording of the entire "pool" of speech samples used for training in an initialization phase, and succeeds in responding rapidly enough to the requests made by the user guidance system. Here it should be noted that in practice, for reasons of user acceptance, the reservoir or "pool" of speech samples used during initialization or training is quite small.
Therefore in the context of voice-profile-based access-control systems, as well, it has recently been considered useful to employ not only current speech samples but also supplementary authentication means to obtain a "secure" authentication of a user who is requesting access (the applicant's unpublished German patent application No. 10 2007 033 812.2). However, users tend to find these additional authentication means annoying, which could impair the basically high degree of user acceptance of these systems.

Method and arrangement for controlling user access


Rod-type, polycrystalline silicon having a rod diameter of >100 mm are obtained by deposition of silicon-containing gas according to the Siemens method, wherein the Si rods are brought into contact with hydrogen at the end of the deposition process during cooling in the reactor, and the cooled Si rods obtained have in perpendicular cross section cracks and/or radial stresses having a defined size.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to rod-type polysilicon having improved breaking properties, obtained according to the Siemens deposition method.
2. Background Art
Polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) serves as a starting material for producing monocrystalline silicon for semiconductors according to the Czochralski or floating zone method, and also for producing mono- or multicrystalline silicon according to various pulling and casting methods for the production of solar cells for photovoltaics.
In this case, the polysilicon is principally produced by deposition using trichlorosilane according to the so-called Siemens method. In this method, in a bell-shaped reactor, the so-called "Siemens reactor", thin filament rods composed of silicon are heated by direct passage of current and brought into contact with a reaction gas composed of hydrogen and one or more silicon-containing components. In this case, a preferred raw material is trichlorosilane (SiHCl3) or a mixture thereof with dichlorosilane (SiH2Cl2).
The filament rods are inserted perpendicularly in electrodes which are situated on the base of the reactor and via which the connection to the power supply is effected. High-purity polysilicon deposits on the heated filament rods and on the horizontal bridge that respectively connects two rods, as a result of which the rod diameter increases with time.
After the desired diameter has been attained, the further addition of Si-containing components ceases. The reactor is subsequently purged in order to remove all gaseous reaction products and the residues of the Si-containing components. The purging is generally effected either using hydrogen or using an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon. After purging, the inflow of the purging gas is stopped and the supply of energy is reduced, either abruptly or with a specific ramp to zero, and the resulting Si rods cool then to the ambient temperature.
After the rods have cooled and if the purging was not effected using inert gas, hydrogen in the reactor bell is replaced by an inert gas, the deposition reactor is opened and the carrier bodies with the polysilicon rods are removed from the reactor.
For various uses of the polysilicon rods it is then necessary to break the rods into small pieces in a subsequent step. Si rods produced according to the conventional Siemens method are very hard and therefore require high forces to break them apart. This has the effect that, during the corresponding breaking method, Si fragments on the surface are significantly contaminated with material of breaking tools. Moreover, after a breaking, the intention is for as many Si fragments as possible to be in a preselected size range. The process of breaking Si rods according to the prior art gives rise to many fragments which do not correspond to the desired size and, consequently, have to be sold at significantly reduced prices.
EP 0329163 describes a method for improving the breaking properties of polysilicon wherein the Si rods, after deposition, are once again heated and quenched or subjected to a compression wave in an aftertreatment. However, this method is associated with very high technical complexity, high costs, and risk of contamination.
During the production of thick polycrystalline Si rods it can relatively often be observed that they tilt from the mounts and fall over during the cooling phase in the reactor after the deposition. This phenomenon delays the production process considerably, since the rods that have fallen over can only be removed from the reactor with additional complexity. Furthermore, this also gives rise to high financial damage since tilted or collapsed Si rods can no longer be processed further as envisaged. The financial damage is particularly high in the production of polysilicon for the solar industry, because this material is normally used without additional cleaning steps. Rods that have fallen over subsequently have to be subjected to complex cleaning, which makes the solar material significantly more expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,465 discloses arranging at least one spring element between the current feed and the electrode holder, the spring element permitting a movement of the electrode holder relative to the current feed and cushioning this movement. This arrangement is intended to minimize tilting and falling of the Si rods. What is disadvantageous about this solution, however, is the high technical complexity and the considerable costs associated therewith.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,639,192 recommends the use of carbon electrodes having a high thermal conductivity in order to prevent the rods from falling over in the reactor. This solution has the serious disadvantage, however, that, owing to the high thermal conductivity of carbon electrodes, the latter are not overgrown or are overgrown only little by the silicon during the deposition process. This has the effect that the rods can easily fall over as early as at the beginning of the deposition.

Rod-type polysilicon having improved breaking properties


A gauge for use by woodworkers in setting the height of a router bit to make lock miter joints with a router table. The gauge includes a base for upright positioning upon a router table. The base has a bottom plate and a top plate connected by a crosspiece. A gauging arm is pivotally connected to the crosspiece at a pivot point and having a front portion extending forwardly from the pivot point and a rear portion extending rearwardly from the pivot point. A gauging finger extends laterally from the front portion of the gauging arm. A setscrew extends upwardly from the rear portion of the gauging arm to a location below the top plate.

The 45° lock miter joint is considered by many woodworkers to be one of the most beautiful, yet difficult, to make. Proper tools, like a router table with: a large work surface, a stiff fence, and a powerful motor spinning a sharp lock miter bit, are a necessity. Furthermore, boards being worked must be flat and well prepared to prevent exit tear-out and chipping. Finally, a high degree of skill in adjusting the height and depth of cut of the lock miter bit is needed since a lock miter cut must be made in a single pass.
A careful examination of the two boards joined together by a well-made 45° lock miter joint indicates that the bit that produced the cuts in the boards must have been perfectly centered between the top and bottom surfaces of each of the boards. Of course, the center of a 45° lock miter bit is located at the midpoint of the bottom edge of the bit's protruding notch cutting blade. Obtaining correspondence between the centers of the boards and the lock miter bit is not easy.
Normal set-up of a router table to align the center of a board with the center of a 45° lock miter bit is painstaking and time-consuming. First, the thicknesses of the boards are measured. Then, the lock miter bit is moved up and down and the fence is moved back and forth so that the center of the bit is positioned at a distance, equivalent to one-half of the thickness of the boards, away from the top of the router table. Also, the fence is set the same distance from the outer edge of the notch-cutting blade of the bit. Unfortunately, any movement of the bit to adjust cutting height has an effect on both cutting depth and height and the same is true with movements of the fence. Thus, the adjustment process becomes one of hit or miss, dependent upon the accuracy of the measuring devices at hand.
Woodworkers that are tenacious and brave enough to produce woodwork containing lock miter joints are rewarded with items that are striking in appearance and strong. Lock miter joints, as is well known, are virtually invisible and cannot be seen from the outside of an object constructed with them. Further, such joints are sturdy since they have a large surface for gluing.


A system for in vitro transposition includes a donor DNA that includes a transposable element flanked by a pair of bacterial transposon Tn5 outside end repeat sequences, a target DNA into which the transposable element can transpose, and a modified Tn5 transposase having higher binding avidity to the outside end repeat sequences and being less likely to assume an inactive multimer form than wild type Tn5 transposase.

Transposable genetic elements are DNA sequences, found in a wide variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, that can move or transpose from one position to another position in a genome. In vivo, intra-chromosomal transpositions as well as transpositions between chromosomal and non-chromosomal genetic material are known. In several systems, transposition is known to be under the control of a transposase enzyme that is typically encoded by the transposable element. The genetic structures and transposition mechanisms of various transposable elements are summarized, for example, in "Transposable Genetic Elements" in "The Encyclopedia of Molecular Biology," Kendrew and Lawrence, Eds., Blackwell Science, Ltd., Oxford (1994), incorporated herein by reference.
In vitro transposition systems that utilize the particular transposable elements of bacteriophage Mu and bacterial transposon Tn10 have been described, by the research groups of Kiyoshi Mizuuchi and Nancy Kleckner, respectively.
The bacteriophage Mu system was first described by Mizuuchi, K., "In Vitro Transposition of Bacteria Phage Mu: A Biochemical Approach to a Novel Replication Reaction," Cell:785-794 (1983) and Craigie, R. et al., "A Defined System for the DNA Strand-Transfer Reaction at the Initiation of Bacteriophage Mu Transposition: Protein and DNA Substrate Requirements," P.N.A.S. U.S.A. 82:7570-7574 (1985). The DNA donor substrate (mini-Mu) for Mu in vitro reaction normally requires six Mu transposase binding sites (three of about 30 bp at each end) and an enhancer sequence located about 1 kb from the left end. The donor plasmid must be supercoiled. Proteins required are Mu-encoded A and B proteins and host-encoded HU and IHF proteins. Lavoie, B. D, and G. Chaconas, "Transposition of phage Mu DNA," Curr. Topics Microbiol. Immunol. 204:83-99 (1995). The Mu-based system is disfavored for in vitro transposition system applications because the Mu termini are complex and sophisticated and because transposition requires additional proteins above and beyond the transposase.
The Tn10 system was described by Morisato, D. and N. Kleckner, "Tn10 Transposition and Circle Formation in vitro," Cell 51:101-111 (1987) and by Benjamin, H. W. and N. Kleckner, "Excision Of Tn10 from the Donor Site During Transposition Occurs By Flush Double-Strand Cleavages at the Transposon Termini," P.N.A.S. U.S.A. 89:4648-4652 (1992). The Tn10 system involves the a supercoiled circular DNA molecule carrying the transposable element (or a linear DNA molecule plus E. coli IHF protein). The transposable element is defined by complex 42 bp terminal sequences with IHF binding site adjacent to the inverted repeat. In fact, even longer (81 bp) ends of Tn10 were used in reported experiments. Sakai, J. et al., "Identification and Characterization of Pre-Cleavage Synaptic Complex that is an Early Intermediate in Tn10 transposition," E.M.B.O. J. 14:4374-4383 (1995). In the Tn10 system, chemical treatment of the transposase protein is essential to support active transposition. In addition, the termini of the Tn10 element limit its utility in a generalized in vitro transposition system.
Both the Mu- and Tn10-based in vitro transposition systems are further limited in that they are active only on covalently closed circular, supercoiled DNA targets. What is desired is a more broadly applicable in vitro transposition system that utilizes shorter, more well defined termini and which is active on target DNA of any structure (linear, relaxed circular, and supercoiled circular DNA).


An oscillating headlight assembly for a motorcycle. A light assemblage is provided that contains a light source, wherein the light source produces a beam of light. At least one pivot pin couples the light assemblage to the motorcycle. A drive wheel is provided that is rotated by an electric motor. A linkage is attached to the drive wheel at an eccentric point. The linkage engages said light assemblage. When the drive wheel is rotated by the electric motor, the linkage causes the light assemblage to oscillate about the pivot pins through a range of motion. The result is a head light with a beam of light that sweeps back and forth while the motorcycle is in operation. This makes the motorcycle much more visible to other vehicles that share the road.

1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to headlight assemblies for motor vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to headlight assemblies that enable the direction of the headlight to selectively move relative the direction in which the motor vehicle is driving.
2. Prior Art Description
A disproportionate number of motor vehicle accidents involve motorcycles. One of the largest contributing factors to this high accident rate is that motorcycles have a much smaller visual profile than do other vehicles on the road. Since motorcycles are relatively small and thin, they can easily be obstructed by other vehicles and roadside objects. Furthermore, the small visual profile of a motorcycle makes the motorcycle very easy to miss in the blind spots of larger vehicles. This difficulty in visually detecting motorcycles is compounded by the speed and agility of motorcycles. As such, to larger vehicles, motorcycles seem to come out of nowhere on the road.
To increase the visibility of a motorcycle, a motorcycle is required to have lights if that motorcycle is registered to ride on public roads. However, most motorcycles only have a single headlight. At night, a single headlight presents only a single point of light on a dark roadway. It is very difficult for an oncoming motorist to accurately judge the distance of the motorcycle just by viewing that single point of light.
It is for these reasons that motorcycle manufacturers intentionally design their motorcycles to be loud. The loudness of the motorcycle is intended to provide an audible warning of the motorcycle's presence to other vehicles on the road. However, many automobiles, especially luxury automobiles, are designed to shield out external noises. Furthermore, many automobiles contain powerful sound systems that block external noises.
One way to make a motorcycle more noticeable to other vehicles is to make the lighting of the motorcycle more noticeable. Flashing lights cannot be used because other vehicles perceive flashing lights to be an emergency vehicle. Larger, more widely spaced lights are likewise unusable due to the space limitations of a motorcycle. Consequently, one of the few options to make the lights of a motorcycle more noticeable is to cause the lights to oscillate in direction independent from the movement of the motorcycle.
Trains have some of the same perception problems as do motorcycles. A train typically has a single front headlight. This makes the distance of an approaching train hard to determine. In the prior art, the headlight for a train has been made to oscillate in position. The oscillation is in the vertical plane, wherein the headlight oscillates up and down as the train travels along the tracks. The oscillation of the headlight helps observers visually determine the distance of the approaching train. Vertically oscillating headlights for trains are exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 2,666,193 to Keegan.
In the prior art, headlights for motorcycles have also been made to move. However, the movement imparted to the headlight is typically utilized to keep the headlight pointed in the direction of travel as the motorcycles leans and turns. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,339 to Alphen, a system is disclosed that moves the headlight of a motorcycle to compensate for the lean of a motorcycle during a turn. If the motorcycle is traveling straight, the headlight does not move. Likewise, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,556,410 to Nakano, a headlight system is disclosed where the headlight automatically moves in the direction that a motorcycle is about to turn. If the motorcycle is traveling straight, then the headlight does not move. In both prior art examples, the position of the motorcycle headlight is altered to improve the visibility for the driver of the motorcycle. The movement of the headlight does nothing to improve the visibility of the motorcycle as perceived by other motorists, especially when the motorcycle is traveling straight.
A need therefore exists for a motorcycle headlight assembly that oscillates in such a way that it significantly improves the visibility of the motorcycle at all times and helps other vehicles perceive the distance of the motorcycle on the road. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.

Laterally oscillating motorcycle headlight assembly


The invention as described herein consists of a pitch-changing arrangement as may be used in a pedal steel guitar to improve the quality of the sounds emanating therefrom. The invention incorporates a tone ring for transferring the string energy from the neutral position raising lever directly into the guitar cabinet. The invention also allows for the pitch-changing device to be stopped in the raised position by the guitar cabinet slot thus imparting the string energy directly into the guitar cabinet.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to pedal steel guitars and more particularly to a pitch-changing arrangement which improves the tonal quality of the sounds generated by said pedal steel guitar.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The pedal steel guitar is a lute-type instrument which normally comprises one or two necks, each neck having from eight to fourteen strings. A pedal or lever-actuated pitch-changer is generally provided which allows the pitch of selected strings to be raised or lowered in order to expand the number of musical chords available to the player. In this regard, the strings of the pedal steel guitar are normally tuned to a standard tuning wherein the tension on each string is adjusted to produce a selected pitch. Pitch-changing devices allow the tension on selected strings or groups of strings to be selectively increased or decreased, thereby selectively altering the pitch of the strings. For example, a typical pedal steel guitar is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,214, herein incorporated by reference. A typical all-pull pitch-changing device of the prior art is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,075, herein incorporated by reference.
Nowadays the prior art design which is considered the "benchmark" for tonal quality in pedal steel guitars is commonly known as the "Emmons" guitar, such as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,447,413, commonly invented by Lashley and Emmons. The mechanism of this guitar has also been given a popularly-used name, i.e., it is commonly referred to in the industry as a "push-pull" mechanism. The design featuring this push-pull mechanism was likely designed around the prevalent technology circa the time of the invention (i.e., 1965). That is, among other things, the design featuring this push-pull mechanism uses the guitar cabinet slot as the forward mechanical stop for the raising pitch-changing levers. In any event, the resultant tone of this instrument was far superior to anything else before, and possibly anything else to date subsequent to its design. Technically speaking, this "push-pull" mechanism is inferior to most any "all-pull" mechanism of today. It is believed by the inventor hereof (who has been in the business of designing and manufacturing pedal steel guitars for twenty-nine years) that no one has ever used the cabinet slot of the guitar body as a forward stop for the raised pitch of the string (such as used in the "Emmons" patent reference of U.S. Pat. No. 3,447,413) within the design environment of an "all-pull" mechanism. The patent reference of Carter, U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,075 can be distinguished in this respect because it stops the raise lever in the neutral position.
To a large degree, the tonal quality of pedal steel guitars is determined by the transmission of the string energy through the guitar. This includes transmission of energy through the various components of the guitar including the end plates, pitch-changer, levers, keyheads, return stops, etc., but primarily and foremost, through the guitar cabinet soundboard itself. The guitar cabinet soundboard may be defined as that section of guitar cabinet top that lies between the pitch-changing bridge and the tuning keyhead assembly at the opposite end of the guitar top. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to improve the tonal qualities of a pedal steel guitar by means of a pitch-changing arrangement and/or mounting design which distinctively transfers the string energy into the guitar cabinet soundboard of the pedal steel guitar by an improved way over the prior art.
An existing problem in today's typical all-pull pedal steel guitar is the effect of temperature on the tuning of the raised pitch-changers. Since the raise lever is actuated by a metallic pull rod being of a possible overall length of approximately thirty inches, a change in ambient room temperature can cause this pull rod to expand or contract, thus affecting the raised pitch of the string. It will become apparent that the present invention eliminates this problem by its inherent design.
A number of additional features and objects will be apparent in connection with the following discussion of preferred embodiments and examples.

Pitch changing arrangements for pedal steel guitar


The present invention is a cover assembly including a cover for covering at least one compartment of a medication dispenser. The cover includes an inner and outer end portion. A locking tab is formed in the inner end wall of the cover for being received in a slot formed in the medication dispenser for securing the cover to the medication dispenser. The locking tab includes a weakened portion for allowing the cover to be fractured and separated from the locking tab as the outer end potion is lifted away from the medication dispenser during removal of the cover. The weakened portion fractures before the outer end portion of the cover is lifted a distance from the medication dispenser less than or equal to a minimum dimension of a pill for preventing removal of the pill from the at least one compartment without removal of the cover from the compartment.

United States Pharmacopoeia Xix defines a unit-dose container as a single-unit container so designed that the contents are administered to the patient as a single dose, direct from the container. A single-unit container is defined as one that is closed in such a manner than none of the contents may be removed without obvious destruction of the closure, the contents of which are intended for use promptly after it is opened. Accordingly, each compartment of a single-unit container must meet the above definitions in order to be used in compliance with current federal regulations.
One type of unit-dose container which is currently available permits a pharmacist to place the unit dosages in the individual compartments and to seal the same therein (such containers are commonly referred to in the market as punch cards or bingo cards). A nurse simply breaks the seal on the individual pocket when the dosage is to be administered. Although this packaging has been generally successful, the removal of medication from an individual compartment requires potentially destructive pressure to be exerted against the medication in order to force the medication through the perforated seal on the opposite side of the compartment. Further, the required pressure to be exerted by a healthcare professional for medication dispensement may over time contribute to such professional developing various adverse health conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Furthermore, the slits in the compartment seals may permit the undetected removal of certain forms of medication and finally, the outer shell of that container requires a paper seal or other adhesive means to prevent removal of the entire compartment containing insert therefrom.
An additional form of unit-dose container disclosed in the prior art is one in which the cover assembly for the individual compartments is simply frictionally held in place with no positive locking of the covers onto the compartments. Such design is unsatisfactory for it does not prevent the undetected removal of medication for medication may be removed and the cover replaced without detection.
The assignee of the instant invention has previously patented many types of cover assemblies for medication dispensers including a plurality of individual covers connected together by fracturable links. Each of the compartment covers includes an integral fracturable tab designed to be independently snap-fitted onto the container to hold the lines in place and to provide a secure and tamperproof closure of each compartment. In some of the fracturable links, the separation of the link from the remainder of the cover was enhanced by the utilization of a notch formed in the tab positioned adjacent the juncture of the tab to the cover top plate. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,372,445; 4,735,318; 4,741,441; and 5,011,018.
Although the tabs of the earlier patents identified hereinabove did fracture in a satisfactory manner, there is a perception in the field that the covers of the prior art may be slightly raised, without fracturing the tab, so that medication may be removed from the compartment and then replaced in the compartment without detection. Further, there is the perception in the field that a cover may be removed from its compartment by fracturing the tab thereon with the cover then being able to be replaced on its compartment without the fracturing being visible. For example, if medication is returned to a pharmacy, the pharmacy must check each individual cover to ascertain if the cover has been fractured since the same is not readily perceptible or the medication must be discarded as a safety precaution.
Although Applicants believe that the aforementioned perception is in error, Applicants present invention is directed to address and correct such perception. Further, plastic manufacturers continue to modify the plastic used for constructing the covers. For example, polymer manufacturers have developed polymers which yield more flexible covers which are more difficult to fracture. For example, users are required to exert more pressure in order to fracture the cover. Consequently, such modifications require the lids to be re-designed in order to allow for tolerance in the plastic and to minimize the amount of pressure that a user must exert in order to fracture the cover.
Therefore, it would be desirable to configure a unit-dose container which was designed to positively prevent medication tampering.

Cover assembly for a medication dispenser


One or more information maps are obtained by an agricultural work machine. The one or more information maps map one or more agricultural characteristic values at different geographic locations of a field. An in-situ sensor on the agricultural work machine senses an agricultural characteristic as the agricultural work machine moves through the field. A predictive map generator generates a predictive map that predicts a predictive agricultural characteristic at different locations in the field based on a relationship between the values in the one or more information maps and the agricultural characteristic sensed by the in-situ sensor. The predictive map can be output and used in automated machine control.

There are a wide variety of different types of agricultural machines. Some agricultural machines include harvesters, such as combine harvesters, sugar cane harvesters, cotton harvesters, self-propelled forage harvesters, and windrowers. Some harvesters can be fitted with different types of heads to harvest different types of crops.
Topographic characteristics can have a number of deleterious effects on the harvesting operation. For instance, when a harvester travels over a sloped feature the pitch or roll of the harvester may impede performance of the harvester. Therefore, an operator may attempt to modify control of the harvester, upon encountering a slope during the harvesting operation.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.


Photographic coupler compositions comprise (a) a pyrazolone magenta dye-forming coupler compound, and (b) a sulfoxide compound in an amount sufficient to reduce continued coupling of the coupler compound during the bleach step of a color photographic process. The sulfoxide compound is of the formula ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are individually selected from the group consisting of straight and branched chain alkyl groups, alkenyl groups and alkylene groups; straight and branched chain alkyl groups, alkenyl groups and alkylene groups containing at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of alkoxy, aryloxy, aryl, alkoxycarbonyl, aryloxycarbonyl, acyloxy, carbonamido and carbamoyl groups and halogen atoms; a phenyl group; and a phenyl group containing at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkoxy, aryloxy, aryl, alkoxycarbonyl, aryloxycarbonyl, acyloxy, carbonamido and carbamoyl groups and halogen atoms. Additionally, R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 combined contain at least 12 carbon atoms. Preferably, the coupler composition is substantially free of phenol compounds when R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are other than unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl or alkylene groups.

It is well known in the color photography art that color images are produced by a color dye which is formed by a coupling reaction between an oxidized product of an aromatic primary amine color developing agent and a coupler. Various types of cyan, magenta and yellow dye- forming couplers are well known for use in such coupling reactions. The couplers are often used in combination with one or more solvents and/or other additives. For example, the Aoki et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,177 discloses silver halide color photographic materials containing a cyan coupler which may be dissolved in an organic solvent. Aoki et al. broadly disclose numerous organic solvents which may be employed. Japanese reference No. 61-51063 discloses compositions in which a coupler is dissolved in an organic solvent such as dimethylsulfoxide.
It is often desirable in color photography to provide the coupler compounds with improved properties, for example with improved coupler activity, i.e., improved colorability as indicated by the acceleration of the reaction of the coupler with the oxidized developer in forming the color dye and/or by an increase in the color density of the resulting color dye. It is also desirable to provide the dye which is formed from the reaction of the coupler compound with the oxidized developer with improved light stability. For example, the Yamada et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,488 discloses a method for improving the light fastness of a magenta color image by incorporating into a layer containing the magenta color image at least one light fastness improving phenolic compound and at least one synergistic light fastness improving sulfide or sulfoxide compound.
The Takahashi et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,987 discloses silver halide color photographic materials which contain a magenta coupler and an antistain agent in the form of lipophilic fine particles. The antistain agent comprises a sulfone compound and the material is disclosed as preventing stain formation on the non-color developed areas due to aging and the like after processing. The Lischewski et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,431 discloses additional compositions comprising a light-sensitive diazonium compound and a sulfide, sulfoxide or sulfone compound for increasing the light stability of an azo image dye stuff formed by light imaging and development of the composition. The Hirata et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,498 discloses additional photographic compositions including a sulfone compound for preventing fading of and image dye and staining of white background areas.
Many coupler compositions, however, are disadvantageous in that relatively large amounts of a coupler are required to provide satisfactory color density, the reaction rate of the coupler with the oxidized developer is undesirably low, the colored image which is formed from the reaction of the coupler compound with the oxidized developer exhibits unacceptable light instability, and/or the like. Accordingly, a continuing desire exists for coupler compositions of improved activity for use in color photographic materials and methods.
Additionally, various coupler compounds, for example, 2-equivalent pyrazolone magenta couplers, exhibit a phenomenon which is referred to as continued coupling. That is, the couplers often yield high Dmin values when a stop bath is not used between the development and bleach steps of a color photographic process. The continued coupling may be a function of the low "pKa" property of the couplers and reflects the tendency of the couplers to remain significantly ionized under bleaching conditions, thereby allowing reaction with retained developer. Since it is desirable to maintain processing simplicity in color photographic processing by excluding the need for a stop bath, an alternate means of reducing the continued coupling phenomenon without significantly affecting coupler activity is desired.

Photographic coupler compositions and methods for reducing continued coupling


A system for supporting and assisting physically challenged users for going on foot, the system comprising a supporting assembly, a fixture suspended from the supporting assembly, a body-supporting assembly carried by the fixture for embracing and accommodating the user in seated and standing positions a brake mounted with one of the fixture and the body-supporting assembly for movement in reciprocal directions between a first position spaced from a support surface and a second position for abutting the support surface to stabilize the body-supporting assembly.

The prior art is replete with ambulatory apparatus of the type for supporting and assisting physically challenged users in walking, exercise or otherwise going on foot. Many such prior art ambulatory apparatus can be found not only in private residences for permitting physically challenged users to move about in their homes, but also in elderly care and physical therapy facilities. Although exemplary, known ambulatory apparatus are difficult to construct and prove particularly challenging and dangerous for physically challenged users to use independently.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide improved apparatus and systems for supporting and assisting physically challenged users for walking, exercise or otherwise going on foot.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus and systems for supporting and assisting physically challenged users that are easy to construct.
It is another purpose of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus and systems for supporting and assisting physically challenged that are easy to use.
It is still another purpose of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus and systems for supporting and assisting physically challenged users that are easy to install.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus and systems for supporting and assisting physically challenged users that are inexpensive.
It is still a further provision of the present invention to provide physically challenged users with a sense of independence.
It is yet still a further provision of the present invention to reduce the burdensome costs normally associated with elderly care and with the care of physically challenged people.
It is another provision of the present invention to reduce depression that elderly and physically challenged people normally experience.
It is still another purpose of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus and systems for supporting and assisting physically challenged users that are safe.
It is yet still another purpose of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus and systems for supporting and assisting physically challenged users that require no supervision when in use.

System for supporting and assisting physically challenged users for going on foot


An opening mechanism having a cover assembly, a base mounting plate, and a lever member. The lever member has a first arm and a second arm, which pivot from a first position to a second position. The movement of the arms from the first position to the second position causes one of the arms to move a closure from a closed position to an open position.

There may come a time in a person's life where it is almost impossible to open a door; generally caused by the lack of a free hand. In one instance this may be the result of carrying, for example, groceries, clothes or other types of packages. In order to open the door, one would have to put whatever they were carrying down and pull the door open. In another instance, one may be cooking and working with a product that may cause cross contamination, such as raw chicken, or beef. When working with such food it is important to wash one's hands before touching other objects, such as the handle on a door of lets say a refrigerator or pantry. Prior art opening devices tend to be complex mechanical devices. One prior art foot operated device is used for opening a lid to a waste receptacle. There is a foot operated member that is depressed. A linkage is operated by the depression of the member. The linkage causes a lid to be raised for use.
A basic lever (from old French levier, the agent noun to lever "to raise") is a rigid object that is used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to multiply the mechanical force that can be applied to another object. This is also termed mechanical advantage, and is one example of the principle of moments. The principle of leverage can also be derived using Newton's laws of motion and modern statics. Levers have been around for centuries, from the ancient Egyptians, who used the levers to move and uplift obelisks weighing more than 100 tons, to the modern construction worker, who use levers for a variety of different tasks every day.
In normal operation the force applied (at end points of the lever) is proportional to the ratio of the length of the lever arm measured between the fulcrum and the application point of the force applied at each end of the lever. There are three types of levers, and all follow this same principle: First class levers, as in the present invention, which include, seesaw, crowbar, pliers, scissors, oar, wheel and axle, trebuchet; Second class levers, which include, wheelbarrow, and nutcracker; Third class levers, which include, human arm, tongs, catapult and fishing rod, hoe, rake, baseball bat, and broom.