In a system according to an embodiment of the invention, a data requester submits a query having a query characteristic to a data resolver. Based at least in part on the query characteristic, the data resolver obtains data responsive to the query from one among a plurality of data providers. Data normalization may also be performed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to data management. More specifically, this invention relates to managing multiple data providers.
2. Description of Related Art
Many modern computing environments may be characterized at least in part by a distributed model. In most business and academic settings, for example, users share access to resources such as storage, printing, and communications facilities over a local-area network. Distributed applications on a broader scale are supported by connections to larger networks such as the Internet. Yet even within individual computing devices, management of distributed resources and functions is becoming increasingly common. One reason for this trend is the establishment of multitasking operating systems and multiprocessor hardware.
One consequence of distributed systems is that acquisition and management of system information becomes even more important to the proper configuration, operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of a system. Such information may include data relating to device and/or network operation such as the characteristics and operating status of hardware and software components, the capacity and level of use of network pathways, and the history of usage of resources such as storage and printing devices. When different parts of a network are executing on different platforms, or when different components are supplied by different vendors, problems of incompatibility may arise.
Several distributed management schemes attempt to overcome vendor and platform differences by providing a standard framework for communication of management data. These schemes include:
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), as described and developed in such documents as RFCs (Requests for Comments) 1157 (May 1990), 1514 (September 1993), and 2578 (April 1999) (available from University of Southern Californiaxe2x80x94Information Sciences Institute (ISI, www.isi.edu), Marina Del Rey, Calif. and also available at www.rfc-editor.org). SNMP uses management models called MIB (management information base) objects or modules;
CMIP (Common Management Information Protocol), an extension of SNMP that is described in RFC 1189 (October 1990) (available from ISI);
DMI (Distributed Management Interface), as defined in the DMI 2.0s specification (available from Distributed Management Task Force, Inc. (DMTF, www.dmtf.org), c/o Mackenzie Kesselring, Portland, Oreg.). DMI uses management models called MIF (management information format) files; and
CIM (Common Information Model), as defined in the CIM specification version 2.2 (Jun. 14, 1999) and CIM schema version 2.3 (available from DMTF).
It may be desirable to support more than one such scheme in any particular system. For example, it is possible that no one scheme will be supported by all of the devices within the system. Alternatively, a component that is managed by one scheme may be added to a system that supports a different scheme. In cases where more than one management scheme exists in the same system, it is possible that multiple schemes may manage information of the same kind under different names, units, or relations or by association with different behaviors. Therefore, while it is desirable to accommodate multiple management schemes, it is also desirable to avoid confusion among the datasets they provide.
A similar problem may be encountered in accessing information from data providers other than distributed management schemes. For example, with respect to an access directed across a network including a number of databases or an access directed across a wider network such as the Internet, it is possible that data responsive to a query relating to any particular subject may be available from more than one provider. A request submitted to an Internet search engine, for example, may be fulfilled in a similar fashion by a number of different search engines. Likewise, a request for a stock quotation may be answered similarly by a number of financial information sites. Requests for directions to a particular location, a review of a particular movie or restaurant, or a price quotation for a new car may also be handled by more than one data provider. In any one of these cases, each such provider may process the request somewhat differently and/or may provide a result in a different format than another provider.
A certain provider may be preferred for a particular type of query, if not for a different type of query. It is desirable to direct a query to a preferred provider. However, a requesting entity may not have the information or the capacity to support a decision as to which provider is preferred for a particular type of query.

System, method, and apparatus for managing multiple data providers


A current limit circuit regulates the current flow through a power switch 90 by measuring the current through the switch 90 and comparing it to a reference voltage VREF that represents the limit current. When the current through the power switch 90 is greater than the limit current, the current in the power switch 90 is pulled lower by a driver circuit 92 which controls the power switch 90. By using a current limit reference voltage that has two levels, the power switch 90 has two current limit thresholds. Using a comparator 94 to compare the input voltage of the power switch 90 to the output voltage of the power switch 90, an output signal is generated to control the current limit threshold. When the input voltage and output voltage has a large differential voltage, a lower current limit threshold voltage is selected. When the input voltage and output voltage has a small differential voltage, an upper limit threshold voltage is selected.

Many USB peripherals need bulk capacitance on the input voltage supply rail greater than 10 uF but the USB 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0 specifications require that peripherals not exceed a load of 10 uF in parallel with 44 ohms. When bulk capacitance is needed in a peripheral, a power switch is utilized and turned on slowly usually 1 ms to 2 ms to minimize the inrush current. This method is useful in most applications but does not solve the problem when very large input capacitors are used because the current through the power switch increases until the current limit is invoked between 0.7 A and 1 A which exceeds the 44 ohms specification required for USB peripherals.
FIG. 1 shows a simple circuit diagram of a prior art power distribution switch 20 along with resistor 22, capacitors 24, 26, and 28, and load 30 that is used in applications to minimize inrush currents to large capacitive loads 28 (e.g. 22 uF). The power distribution switch includes input node IN, output node OUT, enable node EN, over current signal node OC, and ground node GND. Large capacitors 28 are needed in distributed power systems to minimize voltage ripple and voltage spikes associated with load transients. Adding large capacitors to a distributed power system increases the inrush currents when powering up. One method to minimize inrush current is to employ a power switch that turns on slowly as shown by equation (1).I(t)=C*dV(t)/dt  (1)
I(t) is current, C is capacitance, and dV(t)/dt is the change in voltage with respect to time.
FIG. 2 shows an internal block diagram of the prior art power distribution switch of FIG. 1. The most important internal circuit blocks include the power switch (NMOS transistor 40), driver 42, charge pump 44, and current limit circuit 46. The circuit of FIG. 2 also includes thermal sense 48, current sense 50, UVLO 52, OR gate 54, transistor 56, diode 58, enable EN, output OUT, and over current signal node OC. The NMOS transistor 40 is used because it is more cost effective than a PMOS transistor for applications requiring higher currents. Since NMOS transistors require a positive gate to source voltage, a charge pump 44 is required to boost the driver output voltage above the input voltage supply IN. Driver 42 controls turn-on and turn-off of transistor 40. A weak (low current) driver 42 and charge pump 44 are used to turn on the power switch slowly. This slow turn on time is fixed internally and varies slightly over the input voltage and temperature. This fixed turn on time is a limitation for applications that have specifications for maximum allowable inrush currents and have requirements for wide variations of bulk capacitance, such as the Universal Serial Bus (USB). The current limit is fixed at a value that is sufficiently higher than the rated load current and does not add any inrush current control.
Another prior art method for inrush current control is to use a dual current limited switch that also turns on slowly to control the inrush current. FIG. 3 shows a prior art dual current limit solution. This solution consists of a power switch 70 (with similar internal functions as the device of FIG. 2) with adjustable current limit at node ILIM and an input voltage threshold circuit 72 that is used to adjust the current limit threshold by changing the current limit adjustment resistance that is set by resistors 74 and 76, and transistor 78. This method requires prior knowledge of the components and voltage levels to function appropriately in the application.

Inrush current control method using a dual current limit power switch


A coated cutting tool includes a substrate and a coating layer formed onto the surface of the substrate. The coating layer contains an outermost layer. The outermost layer contains NbN. The NbN contains cubic NbN and hexagonal NbN. When a peak intensity at a (200) plane of cubic NbN is made Ic, a peak intensity at a (101) plane of the hexagonal NbN is made Ih1, and a sum of peak intensities at a (103) plane and a (110) plane of the hexagonal NbN is made Ih2 in X-ray diffraction analysis, a ratio [Ih1/(Ih1+Ic)] of Ih1 based on a sum of Ic, and I1 is 0.5 or more and less than 1.0, and a ratio [Ih1/(Ih1+Ih2)] of Ih1 based on a sum of Ih1 and Ih2 is 0.5 or more and 1.0 or less.

In recent years, demand of high efficiency in cutting has been increased. Accompanying with increase of this demand, a cutting tool having a longer tool life than those of the conventional ones has been required. Therefore, as characteristics required for the tool materials, it is important to improve characteristics relating to lifetime of a cutting tool. For example, it is more important to improve wear resistance and fracture resistance of the cutting tool. To improve these characteristics, a coated cutting tool which comprises a substrate such as a cemented carbide, cermet, cBN, etc., and one layer or two or more layers of a coating layer such as a TiN layer, a TiAlN layer, etc., formed on the surface thereof has widely been used.
Thus, various techniques to improve characteristics of such a coating layer have been proposed. In Patent document 1, for example, it has been disclosed a coated cutting tool in which a value Ih/Ic which is a ratio of a sum Ih of a diffraction peak intensity at a (103) plane of hexagonal niobium nitride and a diffraction peak intensity at a (110) plane of the hexagonal niobium nitride with a diffraction peak intensity Ic at a (220) plane of cubic niobium nitride is 2.0 or less when a hard coating layer is measured by X-ray diffraction. The coated cutting tool is disclosed to be excellent in cutting performance of a Ti alloy.
In Patent document 2, it has been disclosed a coated cutting tool in which a value Ic/Ih which is a ratio of a sum Ih of a diffraction peak intensity at a (103) plane of hexagonal niobium nitride and a diffraction peak intensity at a (110) plane of the hexagonal niobium nitride with a diffraction peak intensity Ic at a (200) plane of cubic niobium nitride is 0.05 to 1.0 when a hard coating layer is measured by X-ray diffraction. The coated cutting tool is disclosed to be excellent in lubricity and wear resistance.


The present invention relates to methods and systems for binary scrambling, and applications for cybersecurity technology aimed at preventing cyber-attacks.

As the world becomes increasingly digital, and digitally connected, cyber security continues to grow in importance. In today's world, cyber security is unfortunately asymmetric—and it favors the attacker. One fundamental aspect of the asymmetry today is the inherent "break once, run many" nature of contemporary systems.
Today's cybersecurity environment is stymied by asymmetric economics of this "break once, run anywhere" nature. This 'break once, run many' nature makes the economics of cyber-attacks significantly favor the attacker. The effort applied to find and develop and exploit can be leveraged across a large number of targets. Once a vulnerability is found and exploited, it can often be run on millions if not billions of computers. Often times these attacks can be launched remotely from anywhere in the world. To make a cyber-attack worthwhile, the only remaining question is the value of the targeted data or systems.
Malware, or malicious software, is often linked to cyber-attacks. Cyber attackers often take advantage of vulnerabilities in computer programs, and are thus able to infect, damage and often disable the programs with computer viruses, malware and other malicious code. It is worthwhile for attackers to spend significant time engineering malware, and in particular to create viruses that can bypass or otherwise evade traditional cybersecurity defenses like anti-virus, firewalls, and security analytics packages.
One common set of techniques for writing malware uses approaches like return oriented programming (ROP) and jump oriented programming (JOP) to literally trick the target into behaving the way the attacker desires. In essence, the victim becomes the virus. Malware based on these techniques can be extremely hard to detect, and as a result, many "Zero Day" malware attacks are based on these techniques.
Fundamentally, malware based on these techniques requires knowledge of the target system. In simple terms, in order to 'trick' the victim into becoming the virus, the attacker needs to know very specific details about the victim, including but not limited to, the specific binary instructions used by the victim program.
Prior to the present invention, the state of the art to defend against ROP/JOP style attacks was address space layout randomization (ASLR). The goal of this approach is to randomly move binaries into different memory locations, making it more difficult for attackers to know where to find the code needed to create the virus. This approach, while worthwhile, is fairly easy to work around—simply figuring out one number (e.g. a single memory address) is often sufficient to completely defeat ASLR defenses.
There is therefore a long-felt, significant and unmet need in the art for improved methods and systems for preventing and disabling the unwanted effects of malware. As long as targets remain static, attackers will be able to exploit vulnerabilities economically. It is not sufficient to just move binaries around, the binaries themselves need to be different across systems.


A container of the present invention is designed for shipping and holding various items. The container is formed from a blank of a material, such as corrugated material, plastic, paperboard, etc. and includes side panels extending between a top portion and a bottom portion. A tear line extends around the side panels for disengaging the top portion from the container thereby exposing all of the items extending along the side panels. An improved configuration of the perforations or slits along the tear line prevents the corners defined between the side panels from being damaged and deformed and provides for smooth tearing of the tear line from the container. A second tear section is defined in the a portion of the container by a perforation line with the tear section being separable from the top portion thereby partially exposing the items contained in the container.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to containers, such as for example corrugated containers, paperboard containers, etc. having tear lines and blanks for making such containers. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the word container is being used broadly to include, but not be limited to boxes, cartons, bags etc. and not limited in anyway to the material used.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Today, many types of containers have been developed for the attractive packaging of articles, such as food products, drug items, cosmetics, and the like. Conventionally, the containers are formed from a one-piece blank of material which is cut, scored and folded to produce a generally rectangularly shaped box.
The art is replete with various other designs of cartons, which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. D436,859 to Botsford et al.; 5,881,884 to Podosek; 5,979,749 to Bozich; 6,073,833 to Desrosiers et al.; 6,102,277 to Krapohl, Sr.; 6,435,351 to Gibb; 6,752,262 to Boriani et al.; 6,766,941 to Tokarski; and 6,935,557 to Aubry et al.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,749 to Bozich, for example, teaches a carton that includes a front panel, a back panel, and side panels. The carton includes a top panel and a bottom panel. The carton includes a tear line extending about the periphery of the carton. The tear line extends into a gripper used by a consumer (not shown) to tear the tear line to expose the carton to an open top as a top cover is removed from the carton. A display section is defined in the front panel and can be separated from the front panel by a perforation or tear line. All items contained in the carton are exposed to and are accessible to the consumer when the top cover is removed from the carton. The items are only available for display purposes when the display section is severed from the front panel.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,277 to Krapohl, Sr., for example, teaches a carton having a front panel, a back panel, and side panels. The carton includes a top panel and a bottom panel. The carton includes a tear line extending about periphery of the carton. The tear line extends into a gripper used by a consumer to tear the tear line to expose the carton to a first opening as the bottom of the carton is removed. The top panel is defined by a pair of flaps with each flap being integral with and extending from the front panel and the back panel, respectively. The flaps are mechanically interconnected with one another and present a second opening. The carton is designed for holding a bag containing perishable goods. One of the most common problems associated with the prior art patents is a configuration of the perforations or slits along the tear line, which results in the corners, defined between the front, back, and side panels, being damaged and deformed.
There is a constant need in the area of the packaging industry for an improved carton adaptable for dual dispensing of a product contained therein at a user's preference and an improved configuration of the perforations or slits along the tear line.


An image sensing apparatus in which a plurality of lens units can be exchanged and attached. The image sensing apparatus includes an acquiring unit configured to acquire, from an attached lens unit, lens information including at least an exit pupil distance of the lens unit, an image sensor including a plurality of pixels for converting incident light into electrical charges corresponding to the amount of incident light, a shutter unit configured to shield the image sensor from light, a reset unit configured to sequentially reset the pixels of the image sensor in a traveling direction of the shutter unit prior to starting to shield the image sensor from light using the shutter unit, and a control unit configured to control a timing for resetting the pixels, based on the acquired lens information, where photography is prohibited when the lens information fails to be acquired.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image sensing apparatus and a control method for the image sensing apparatus, and more particularly, to an image sensing apparatus in which an electronic shutter function and a mechanical shutter function are used in combination to carry out photography, and a control method for the image sensing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are some singe-lens reflex digital cameras in which a focal-plane shutter that is a mechanical shutter and an electronic shutter are used in combination to carry out photography. In this type of shutter mechanism, the mechanical shutter constitutes a rear curtain, and photography is carried out by, prior to traveling of the rear curtain, driving the electronic shutter for scanning pixels of an image sensor to start charge accumulation.
In a case in which the electronic shutter is used to carry out photography, for example, in an image sensor using a CMOS sensor, reset scan is first carried out for setting the amount of accumulated electric charge in pixels for each pixel or for each region composed of a plurality of pixels (for example, for each line) to zero. After that, scan for reading out signals after a predetermined period of time for each pixel or each region subjected to the reset scan is carried out, thereby photography using the electronic shutter can be achieved.
In a case in which the above-described electronic shutter and mechanical shutter are used in combination to control exposure of the image sensor to light, reset scan is first carried out sequentially for each region composed of a plurality of pixels of the image sensor (for example, for each line) in the traveling direction of the mechanical shutter as scan of the image sensor for starting charge accumulation. Then, after a predetermined period of time, the image sensor is sequentially shielded from light using the rear curtain of the mechanical shutter, and reading scan is then carried out for sequentially reading out electric charge accumulated in each pixel. Therefore, the scan pattern for this reset scan is adapted to traveling characteristics of the rear curtain of the mechanical shutter (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-41523)
Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-101492 proposes an image sensing device in which a scan pattern for starting exposure is corrected using a difference between a first image, for which both start and end of exposure are controlled using an electronic shutter, and a second image, for which scan for starting exposure is carried out using the electronic shutter while the exposure is ended using a mechanical shutter.
Singe-lens reflex digital cameras are generally capable of connecting to exchangeable photographing lenses, and the focal length and the exit pupil distance (the distance from an image plane to an exit pupil position of the lens) vary depending on the attached photographing lenses. Therefore, in a case in which an image sensing apparatus is configured so that an electronic shutter and a mechanical shutter are used in combination to carry out photography as described above, the following problems arise. Specifically, the electronic shutter functions on the plane of the image sensor, whereas the mechanical shutter is located a little away from the plane of the image sensor in the direction of an optical axis. Accordingly, the position on the plane of the image sensor for the mechanical shutter providing a shield from light varies depending on the focal length, the exit pupil distance, and the like of the photographing lens. Therefore, particularly when the exposure time from reset scan to shielding from light by the mechanical shutter is short, unevenness of exposure will arise in the traveling direction of the shutter depending on the focal length, the exit pupil distance, and the like of the attached photographing lens. Since it is not possible for a photographer to notice this unevenness of exposure before photography, there is a problem in that the photographer will notice the unevenness when checking a photographed image.
Therefore, in an image sensing apparatus in which an electronic shutter and a mechanical shutter are used in combination, further improvement is needed in order to reduce unevenness of exposure in the scan direction of the shutter, which varies depending on the type of a lens.

Image sensing apparatus and control method for the same


A stabilized heteropoly molybdate catalyst precursor in calcined form and containing anionic molybdenum in defect state is surface impregnated with certain metal cations. The stabilized precursor is one obtained by incorporating into the reaction product of a molybdate and a soluble phosphate, silicate or arsenate, an aqueous chloride ion and a compound of phosphotungstate, silicotungstate, vanadium arsenate, silico-arsenate, phosphovanadate, or silicovanadate, followed by drying and calcining. During the chloride ion stabilization step other metals may be optionally incorporated in forming the stabilized precursor.. The obtained precursor is catalytically active in the conversion of the unsaturated aldehydes to the corresponding unsaturated carboxylic acids with or without incorporation of the metal cation during the chloride ion stabilization step. When the obtained calcined precursor is surface impregnated with a Group VIII metal cation, preferably cobalt and/or iron, and with a compound of selenium or tellurium, the resulting catalysts are highly active and are capable of direct conversion of C.sub.3 -C.sub.4 monoolefins in a single step to the corresponding unsaturated carboxylic acids.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to methods for the preparation of stable heteropoly molybdate catalysts and use of certain of the obtained catalysts particularly in the conversion of C.sub.3 and C.sub.4 olefins to their corresponding unsaturated aldehydes and unsaturated acids.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The preparation of acrylic acid from propylene and the preparation of methacrylic acid from isobutylene are generally carried out in two stages under independently selected conditions for each stage and most often employing different catalysts selected for each stage. In the first stage the olefin is catalytically oxidized to the aldehyde with the formation of possibly a small amount of the corresponding C.sub.3 or C.sub.4 unsaturated acid. The obtained aldehyde is converted to the acid in the second stage generally in the presence of a different catalyst. Among the better known commercial processes, the production of acrolein is effected by catalytic oxidation of propylene with oxygen over supported CuO catalyst at about 350.degree. C.; or by air oxidation of propylene over BiO.sub.3 /MoO.sub.3 catalyst at 300.degree.-360.degree. C. The oxidation of the acrolein formed by the foregoing or other processes is carried out in a second catalytic reactor generally at a temperature of about 250.degree. C.
Numerous different catalysts have been proposed in the prior patented art for the conversion of acrolein and methacrolein to the corresponding unsaturated acis, more generally comprising metal molybdates and phosphomolybdates combined with various metal cations. Typical among such are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,326,817; 3,865,873; 3,875,220; 3,882,047; 3,925,464; 3,976,888; 3,998,876; 4,000,088; 4,001,316; 4,017,423; 4,025,565; 4,035,262; 4,042,533; 4,042,625; 4,045,478; 4,051,179; 4,070,397; 4,072,708; 4,075,123; 4,075,124; and 4,075,244.
As an example of such prior art methods is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,163. As therein described, a solution of antimony trichloride in hydrochloric acid is combined with phosphomolybdic acid, and tungsten trioxide is then added to the obtained solution. The resulting mixture when dried and calcined forms a catalyst having the empirical formula EQU Sb.sub.1 Mo.sub.12 W.sub.1 P.sub.1 O.sub.41.5
U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,008 discloses the oxidation of alpha, beta unsaturated monoolefins with molecular oxygen to produce the unsaturated acid as well as the unsaturated aldehyde. The reaction is carried out in the presence of steam at about 350.degree.-450.degree. C. over catalyst comprising a major portion of molybdena associated with oxides of bismuth, iron, silica, nickel or cobalt, antimony or ruthenium and optionally containing chloride ion. At best only about 1 to 2 parts by weight of acrylic acid are obtained along with about 13 to 15 parts acrolein or about 1 to 2.65 parts acrylic acid with 16 to 19 parts acrolein.

Stable molybdenum catalysts for high conversion of C.sup.3 and C.sup.4 olefins to corresponding unsaturated aldehydes and acids


A portable puppet theater, stage or playhouse comprises hanging wall structure for hanging the puppet theater or playhouse from a door or other vertical surface, enclosure structure for suspending from the hanging wall structure, the enclosure structure being shaped to form an enclosure, and shaping means associated with the enclosure structure for extending the enclosure structure away from a door or other vertical surface. The shaping structure within the enclosure structure may be disposed to be pivotable between a first position extending the enclosure structure away from the door or other vertical surface, and a second position maintaining the enclosure structure substantially flush against the door or other vertical surface.

A variety of different portable puppet theaters, stages and playhouses have been designed and developed for portable usage. Typically, such theater devices are made to be free-standing or to be placed on a table or other device to be carried. Some portable puppet theaters are so small that they can be easily carried. U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,093 (Avital) discloses a miniature puppet theater and book combination, in which a tiny portable puppet theater is contained within a book that can be easily collapsed and carried. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,849 (French), a miniature theater is designed for interchangeable platforms so that performance may be given using either hand puppets or marionettes.
Other portable puppet theaters have been designed to break down into sections or pieces to be carried. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,171 (Taylor), a small puppet theater is structured in sections that may be collapsed for compact storage in a carry case. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,609 (Haberle), a puppet theater is designed to be dissembled into upper and lower halves which may be folded onto each other. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,028 (Conrad), a playhouse for small children is provided in which the unit may be disassembled into adjacent walls to be folded on each other. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,047 (Cabell), a portable theater assembly is provided for storing, setting up and rapidly changing scenery elements.
In most cases, the portable puppet theaters are made to be free-standing, so they can be assembled anywhere. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,028 (Pail), a puppet theater kit is provided which is easily dissembled to fit in a compact portable carrying case. The case has holes for corner rods to extend upwards to support the top of the theater. Curtains may be hung from the top to simulate a theater. In U.S. Published Patent Application 2006-0150530 (Davey), a small theater system is comprised of multiple modules that can be easily assembled or dissembled to change staging and scenery.
The foregoing examples tend to take up space in a room and are not readily assembled and disassembled. Furthermore, they do not usually provide for usage in a home or other play area where space may be at a premium. They often do not have interior space within where one or more people can set up a puppet theater or playhouse for easy usage.

Portable puppet theater, stage, or playhouse apparatus and methods

Abstract: A method of using a portable puppet theater or playhouse, comprises hanging the puppet theater or playhouse on a surface of a door so that an enclosure member in the puppet theater or playhouse is disposed in a first position extending outward from the surface of the door to provide an enclosure between the surface of the door and the enclosure member, and pivoting the enclosure member towards the surface of the door so that the enclosure member is flush with the surface of the door in a second position.


Disclosed is a check valve for a variable capacity compressor of a vehicle, which includes a valve seat including a refrigerant introduction hole, a valve case disposed above the valve seat, and including refrigerant discharge holes along a circumferential surface of a cylindrical body thereof, a spool valve disposed within the valve case to selectively open and close the refrigerant introduction hole and the refrigerant discharge holes, and an elastic member disposed between the valve case and the spool valve.

In general, a compressor for a vehicle air conditioner selectively receives power from a power source according to connection/disconnection operations of a clutch, receives refrigerant gas from an evaporator, compresses the refrigerant gas according to a linear reciprocation operation of a piston, and transfers the compressed refrigerant gas to a condenser.
Particularly, variable capacity compressors, which control an inclination angle of a swash plate to vary the discharge capacity thereof, are widely used.
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical variable capacity swash plate type compressor 1 includes: a cylinder block 110 having cylinder bores 112 therein, and including an intake port 114 and an intake muffler chamber 116; a front housing 120 coupled to the front portion of the cylinder block 110, and forming a crank chamber 122 therein; an intake chamber 132 and a discharge chamber 134, which are disposed behind the cylinder block 110; and a rear housing 130 provided with a discharge passage 136.
A valve plate 140, through which refrigerant is introduced and discharged, is disposed between the front housing 120 and the rear housing 130, and has a circular plate shape. The valve plate 140 includes a plurality of refrigerant intake ports 140a and a plurality of refrigerant discharge ports 140b. The refrigerant intake ports 140a are arrayed along an outer circular arc about the front center of the valve plate 140, and the refrigerant discharge ports 140b are arrayed along an inner circular arc about the front center thereof.
An intake reed valve 142 is disposed on the front portion of the valve plate 140, and a discharge reed valve 144 and a retainer 146 are sequentially disposed on the rear portion thereof. A check valve 100 prevents a back flow of the refrigerant to the front side of the valve plate 140.
Further, the swash plate type compressor 1 includes: a driving shaft 160 rotatably disposed in the central portion of the cylinder block 110 and the front housing 120; a swash plate 170 connected through a hinge part 174 to a rotor 172 installed on the driving shaft 160 within the crank chamber 122 wherein an inclination angle of the swash plate 170 is varied according to a pressure variation within the crank chamber 122; and a plurality of pistons 180 connected through a shoe 176 to an edge of the swash plate 170, and reciprocating within the cylinder bores 112 according to a rotation of the swash plate 170 so as to introduce or compress the refrigerant.
A compression coil spring 178 is disposed between the swash plate 170 and the rotor 172 to return the swash plate 170 to the initial position thereof. Thus, the driving shaft 160 and the swash plate 170 integrally rotate so as to discharge the refrigerant compressed within the cylinder block 110, to a condenser through the discharge passage 136, and a discharged amount of the refrigerant is varied according to inclination angles of the swash plate 170.
When an air conditioner of a vehicle is turned off, the swash plate 170 is maintained at a minimum inclination angle, but the minimum inclination angle is not zero. Thus, even when the air conditioner is turned off, a portion of the refrigerant may be discharged from the swash plate type compressor 1 to the condenser. Thus, the check valve 100 is disposed on the rear end of the valve plate 140 in order to prevent refrigerant from being discharged when the air conditioner is turned off, and simultaneously to prevent discharged refrigerant from being returned from the condenser to the swash plate type compressor 1.
Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, the check valve 100 includes: a valve seat 200 including a refrigerant introduction hole 210 in the central portion thereof; a valve case 300 disposed above the valve seat 200 and including first and second refrigerant discharge holes 310 and 320 along a circumferential surface of a cylindrical body thereof at front and both lateral sides thereof; a spool valve 400 disposed within the valve case 300 to selectively open and close the refrigerant introduction hole 210 and the first and second refrigerant discharge holes 310 and 320; and an elastic member 500 inserted between a support part 330 of the valve case 300 and a stepped part 440 of the spool valve 400.
The first refrigerant discharge hole 310 and a pair of the second refrigerant discharge holes 320 are asymmetrically arrayed along the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body of the valve case 300. Thus, when refrigerant pressure is equal to spring force of the elastic member 500, and the spool valve 400 is vertically moved, the spool valve 400 tightly contacts a wall surface of the valve case 300 provided with the first and second refrigerant discharge holes 310 and 320, and thus, is prevented from moving left and right.
The spool valve 400 includes grooves 420 that longitudinally extend along a circumferential surface of a cylindrical body thereof.
The grooves 420 include a plurality of first grooves 420a and a plurality of second grooves 420b. The first grooves 420a longitudinally extend along the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body of the spool valve 400, and are spaced a constant distance from one another. The second grooves 420b are disposed, respectively, in two pairs of the first grooves 420a facing each other, and extend from a bottom surface of the valve case 300 to introduce the refrigerant, and have a depth greater than that of the first grooves 420a.
Thus, when the spool valve 400 is initially opened, and the refrigerant is introduced through the refrigerant introduction hole 210, the refrigerant sequentially passes through the second grooves 420b and the first grooves 420a to slowly open the spool valve 400, thereby decreasing valve noise.
However, although the first and second refrigerant discharge holes 310 and 320 are asymmetrically arrayed, and the grooves 420 are configured as described above, when back pressure of the refrigerant exceeds a certain level, the spool valve 400, which would otherwise tightly contact an inner wall of the valve case 300, is spaced apart from the inner wall, and is moved left and right. Thus, the check valve 100 has a limitation in decreasing the valve noise according to back pressure of the refrigerant.

Check valve for variable capacity compressor of vehicle


An acceleration sensor that comprises a body of non-magnetic construction having a linear internal cavity of uniform cross section, and a pair of permanent magnetics movably mounted within such cavity with like magnetic poles opposed to each other, such that the magnetics are urged to opposite ends of the cavity by force of magnetic repulsion therebetween. At least one weigand wire is positioned externally of the cavity between the cavity ends, and has a longitudinal dimension parallel to the lineal dimension of the cavity. The weigand wire is characterized by two stable magnetic flux-generating states dependent upon application of an external magnetic field of appropriate polarity for switching between such states. An electrical coil is positioned adjacent to the weigand wire, and is responsive to switching between the two flux-generating states for generating a sensor output signal as a result of acceleration forces on either of the magnets sufficient to overcome the force of magnetic repulsion therebetween, and thus to bring one of the magnets into proximity with the wire. Additional magnets preset the weigand wire. Permeable material is used so that the magnetic force on the magnets does not change with a change in the position of the magnets.

A number of impact sensors have heretofore been proposed for activating vehicle restraint systems and other similar applications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,549 discloses a sensor in which a spherical ball is biased toward one end of a cavity by a permanent magnet positioned externally of the cavity. Severe deceleration of a vehicle, on which the sensor is mounted and appropriately oriented, exerts sufficient force on the ball to overcome the force of attraction to the magnet, and to propel the ball longitudinally through the cavity against a pair of switch contacts. The switch contacts are connected to suitable devices for inflating an air bag or the like to prevent impact of a vehicle occupant against the steering wheel or dashboard.
A disadvantage of this design is that closely controlled tolerances are required between the ball and the surrounding cavity, which are difficult and expensive to control in manufacture. Furthermore, the ball must be sufficiently large to generate reliable contact force against the switch elements, necessitating use of a large magnet and consequently decreasing responsiveness of the sensor to impact forces. Weight of the ball may be reduced by plating the switch contacts with gold or the like, increasing the cost of manufacture. Dust particles and the like decrease reliability of the mechanical switch contacts. Additionally, the sensor disclosed in this patent is not well adapted to respond to impacts from all directions, necessitating use of more than one sensor in automotive applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,091 discloses an impact sensor in which a permanent magnet is longitudinally movable within a cavity of a non-magnetic body. The magnet is biased toward one end of the cavity by magnetic attraction to a ring positioned externally of the cavity. One or more coils surround the cavity for sensing movement of the magnet therewithin. In addition, electrical switch contacts may be positioned at the opposing end of the cavity for abutting electrical and mechanical engagement with the magnet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,041 discloses an impact sensor in which a permanent magnet is movably mounted within a cavity of a non-magnetic body, and normally held by magnet attraction against a magnetically permeable element that closes one end of the cavity. Application of acceleration forces on the body sufficient to overcome the force of magnetic attraction propels the magnet against a spring at the opposing end of the cavity, which returns the magnet to its normal position when the acceleration forces are removed. A reed switch is positioned adjacent to the cavity to detect motion of the magnet against the spring.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,563 discloses a sensor in which a pair of magnets are movably mounted within the cavity of a non-magnetic body and oriented such that like poles on the magnets are opposed to each other and hold the magnets against opposing ends of the cavity. A reed switch is positioned adjacent to the cavity and generates an output signal when acceleration forces on either magnet are sufficient to overcome the force of magnetic repulsion and move the magnet toward the center of the cavity.
A general object of the present invention is to provide an acceleration sensor that has particular utility as an impact sensor for activating a vehicle safety restraint system, that is compact and rugged in construction, that is reliable in operation, that activates quickly on application of vehicle impact forces, and/or that is inexpensive to manufacture. Another and more specific object of the present invention is to provide an impact sensor of the described character that embodies efficient, economical and reliable solid state technology. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle restraint system that employs such a sensor.

Impact sensor for vehicle safety restraint system


A method for assembling a lens module with an image sensor, includes providing a holder having first and second receiving spaces, disposing the image sensor in the second receiving space, locating lens barrel at a first position in the first receiving space, casting a light beam on the lens module to allow the lens module to converge the light beam into a light spot on the image sensor, determining if the light spot is at its smallest to determine if a distance between the lens module at the first position and the image sensor is equal to a focal length of the lens module, moving the lens module to a second position in the first receiving space to achieve a predetermined distance from the first position, and positioning the lens module at the second position.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for assembling a lens module with an image sensor.
2. Description of Related Art
Lens modules and image sensors are main components of digital camera modules. In some electronic devices that utilize digital camera modules, the lens modules and image sensors are fixed.
How a lens module is assembled with an image sensor and the results achieved are critical for determining the camera performance of the electronic device. A desirable distance between the lens module and the image sensor, and proper alignment are important considerations to camera performance.
However, it is difficult to identify an optical central axis and an optical center of the lens module based on the position and orientation of the lenses. Likewise, it is difficult to check whether a distance between the lens module and the image sensor is equal to a desirable distance, and whether the lens module and the image sensor are center-aligned with each other.
What is needed, therefore, is a method for assembling a lens module with an image sensor which is time-efficient and can achieve a high precision.

Method for assembling lens module with image sensor


A generally sickle shaped needle having a short shank is disclosed. An optional perpendicularly aligned grooved needle holder may be utilized in combination with the needle to rapidly close deeply lying trocared fascial wounds to prevent sequela and hernia formation after laparascopic surgery.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved surgical needle. More specifically, it relates to an inexpensive, simply designed sickle shaped needle having a short shank utilized to rapidly close deeply lying trocared fascial wounds after laparascopic surgery. An optional modified needle holder is also disclosed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of surgical needles have been proposed in the past. Typically, prior needles have been formed of wire into a circular arc ranging from 1/4 to 2/3 of a circle and having a sharpened point or edge for cutting. A variety of specialized needles utilized for a particular purpose have been proposed in a variety of other shapes. Examples of such needles are described below.
In R. J. Barry, U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,095, a needle is disclosed for use on the surface of the head for hair transplants. The needle has a curved or hook-like pointed terminal 21 adapted to penetrate the scalp and a long shank portion 20 to which a Teflon tube attachment 22 is provided. Because of the long shank, it would be completely impossible to suture deeply located fascial closures which are located below the subcutaneous fatty layer with such a needle. Further, the size and shape of the needle will not fit through the small laparascopic puncture wound into the abdomen.
In L. D. Kurtz et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,811,157, a needle is shown in the drawings which bears a superficial resemblance to the shape of the needle of the present invention. The shape of the needle is described merely as being of the well-known variety and may be straight or curved with the suture fixed within the end of the needle. The needle has a cutting edge designed to penetrate the tissue easily and may have a non-cutting portion used for more delicate tissue. The invention is mainly used for minimal traumatic surgeries. It could not, however, be effectively used to suture deeply located fascia below the subcutaneous fatty layer through a 10 mm. trocared opening in the abdominal wall because of the shape disclosed would result in an increased risk that the point of the needle would puncture tissue during insertion.
In J. R. Scott, U.S. Pat. No. 2,811,971, multiple needles are hooked to the skin, opposite one another to close a wound at the surface of the skin. Each needle has a handle which is taped fast to the skin. The needles are left in place until the wound is healed. Because such needles have long handle style shanks, they would be completely unsuitable for suturing fascia which is located below the subcutaneous fatty layer. The goose neck of the needle and the long handle would clearly prevent rotation of the needle and removal from the fascia.
In Shah, U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,207, a variety of V and U shape needles are disclosed. Because of their shape, it would be extremely difficult to rotate needles out of one end of the skin to the opposite side of the skin end and would be especially difficult to suture multiple layers at one time.
These needles use a blind approach and there is a significant risk involved of inadvertently catching and puncturing the bowels, stomach, omentum, or internal organs. Although a blunt probe is used, there is still risk involved with the process disclosed because of the uncertainty of the depth of needle penetration and length of needles on different thicknesses of each individual abdominal wall, especially on the obese patient. Further, it is difficult to pass the needle and rotate it to bring it out of the skin using the V or U shape needles on different thicknesses of the abdominal wall at one time. Therefore, this invention's range of skin entrance by needle on either side is 1.0 cm. to 5 cm. of distance depending on the abdominal wall thickness of the tissue. This is a tremendous distance on a skin puncture and suggests that some rotating difficulty of the needle may be encountered on the overweight patient.
Still further, when suturing multiple layers of the abdominal wall, the skin can become inverted and wrinkled. Also, a great amount of pressure is exerted on the skin surface from the tied knots which prevent separation of the deep layers. Sutures must remain in place to heal deep layer of the fascia, at least three weeks. During this time, undesirable scar formation may occur at the knot area and puncture site.
Laparascopic surgery usually involves four puncture wounds in the abdominal wall. Using Shah's needle would create even more puncture wounds resulting in needless undesirable scar formation. Most laparascopic surgeons utilize subdermal dissolving skin sutures for cosmetic reasons.
In McGregor et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,771, a needle is disclosed strictly for corneal transplants of the eye under a microscope. It has a sharp, hook-type tip and a tapered shaft to pick up small bits of delicate eye tissue. The needle is fine and small and is used for surface work; not heavy tissue in the deep abdominal wall.
The needle has a fish-hook type needle with a mildly curved end. The radius of curvature is from 0.040 inches to 0.075. The length curvature is from 0.063 inches to 0.105 inches. The blunt end of the needle has a radius of curvature from 0.081 inches to 0.015 inches. It has a gentle curvature and can therefore smoothly penetrate delicate tissue by circular motion for surface work. This fish-hook type needle clearly does not have sufficient curvature and does not have a heavy enough gauge needle to suture deeply located fascia in the abdominal wall through a 10 mm. puncture wound; especially on the overweight patient. This type of needle would likely break if it were to be used to encircle heavy tissue. Still further, the curved end of the needle makes it difficult to grasp and stabilize the needle while suturing deep tissue, unless surface work is being sutured.
Thus, there remains a need for an inexpensive and effective surgical needle which may be utilized to rapidly close deeply lying trocared fascial wounds after laparascopic surgery.


Described herein are methods and devices that employ a dual shutter button feature associated with an image capture device to recommend a capture mode to a user based on one or more parameters analyzed by the image capture system. As described, providing a primary shutter button and a secondary shutter button enables the user to capture in both a standard capture mode by using the primary shutter button and in an alternate mode by using a secondary shutter button.

Digital imaging capabilities have been integrated into a wide range of devices, including digital cameras, tablet computers, and mobile phones. Digital imaging devices or image capture systems can refer to any device that can capture one or more digital images, including devices that capture still images or videos.
The integration of digital processing technology with imaging devices has enabled more powerful and easier to use photographic products. For example, digital imaging devices may employ a variety of image capture modes. Each capture mode can correspond to optimized capture and processing settings for a particular image scene, such as a portrait or a low light scene.
Existing approaches implement alternate capture modes through a user interface which requires the user to find and manually select the capture mode. This complicated process has led many users to not activate the alternate capture modes. Average users may not find these alternate capture modes useful, as it can take a high level of knowledge on the available modes as well as an understanding of the scene to select the right mode. Further, the time and effort required to go through a user interface to select an alternate image capture mode may lead to nonuse of the alternate capture modes. Other existing approaches attempt to solve this problem by allowing the image capture device to select the capture mode based on automatic scene recognition with no input from the user. However this approach can deny the user the flexibility to determine whether the suggested capture mode is the correct choice for capturing a particular scene of interest.

Method and apparatus for dual camera shutter


In one embodiment of the present invention a portable massage table is provided, comprising a chest support element having a top side and a bottom side; a chest cushion affixed to the top side of chest support element; a pair of hinge support elements attached to bottom side of chest support element; a pair of support legs rotational mounted to the pair of hinge support elements, wherein the pair of support legs comprise a plurality of positional holes; a pair of head support beams rotational mounted to the pair of hinge support elements, wherein the pair of head support beams are designed to support a face cushion; and a base plate removable attached to the plurality of positional holes via removable hardware.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to massage tables, and more particularly a portable massage table.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, massage tables are often bulky and difficult to transport to one location to another. Likewise, massage tables take up a lot of space when not in use. Furthermore, when performing a massage on a person without a table, such as on a bed or a floor it is often uncomfortable for the person receiving the massage. Consequently, there is a need for a massage table that provides the benefits of a massage table while being portable and occupying minimal space when stowed.


Peptides encoded by a substantially pure polynucleotide coding for an alpha and/or beta human globin, the globin when part of a hemoglobin molecule conferring lower oxygen affinity than normal hemoglobin to result in a mutant hemoglobin, the mutant hemoglobin having an oxygen affinity measured for stripped hemoglobin characterized by a P.sub.50 of 30 torr to 3 atmospheres and/or by a Hill coefficient between 2.5 and 1.0. Such mutant hemoglobin being useful to increase tissue oxygenation in a patient, to replace hemoglobin in the bloodstream of a patient and to treat patients suffering from burns.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns genetically engineered low oxygen affinity mutants of human hemoglobin and the use of the same to increase tissue oxygenation in a human patient or to replace hemoglobin in a human patient. One aspect of the present invention resides in providing more oxygen to tumors.
2. Background Information
Blood consists of plasma and cells floating within it. The cells comprise white blood cells (leukocytes), platelets and red blood cells (erythrocytes). Red blood cells contain a protein, hemoglobin, which imparts color. It is the hemoglobin (Hb) which is involved in the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide and which plays a role in regulating blood pH.
Each molecule of hemoglobin comprises four smaller subunits, called polypeptide chains. These are the protein or globin parts of hemoglobin. A heme group, which is an iron-protoporphyrin complex, is associated with each polypeptide subunit and is responsible for the reversible binding of one molecule of oxygen. Normal adult hemoglobin is made up of two different kinds of polypeptide subunits. One is called the alpha chain containing 141 amino acid residues and the other is called the beta chain and contains 146 amino acid residues. Two of each kind of such polypeptide chains are arranged in the form of a truncated tetrahedron which has an overall shape of an ellipsoid.
There are almost 300 known mutations of hemoglobin. Mutations lead to changes in the amino acid structure of the polypeptide chains. The abnormal gene responsible for sickle-cell anemia causes the normal glutamic amino acid residue at position six of the beta chain to be substituted by a valine group. Few of the known hemoglobin mutants, however, cause disease. Most mutants contain a mixture of mutant and normal hemoglobin.
The reversible combination of hemoglobin and oxygen is represented by the following reaction: ##STR1##
The equilibrium constants for each step are not the same because an oxygen molecule on one heme group changes (increases) the affinity of the other hemes for additional oxygen molecules. This alteration in binding affinity during oxygenation is called heme-heme interaction or cooperativity. Because of this cooperativity, the relationship between the partial pressure of oxygen and the amount of oxygen bound to hemoglobin is represented by a sigmoid curve. It is customary to characterize this sigmoid curve by two parameters: P.sub.50, the partial pressure of oxygen at which half saturation of the hemoglobin takes place; and n, the so-called Hill coefficient, which is a measure of cooperativity and thus the sigmoid shape of the curve. The Hill coefficient can vary in value from 1.0, corresponding to a lack of cooperativity and a straight line relationship, to 4.0, maximum cooperativity and an extreme sigmoid shape.
The oxygen affinity of hemoglobin is influenced by multiple factors including pH and the presence of certain inorganic phosphate molecules, most importantly 2,3-diphosphoglycerate. The term stripped hemoglobin is used to refer to hemoglobin free of these modulating inorganic phosphates. Stripped normal human hemoglobin has a P.sub.50 value of approximately 10 torr and a Hill coefficient of 2.8 to 3.0. The decrease in oxygen affinity with decrease in pH (more acidic) is known as the Bohr effect. An extreme form of the Bohr effect, known as the Root effect is observed for certain fish hemoglobin for which the value of P.sub.50 at pH circa 6.5 may be as high as several atmospheres.
X-irradiation is an important modality in the treatment of solid tumors. Two-thirds of the biological damage produced by x-rays occurs indirectly and is mediated by the action of free radicals. Oxygen combines with the free radicals and "fixes" the lesion in the cell. Therefore a thoroughly oxygenated tumor will be more responsive to x-irradiation.
Most solid tumors are not uniformly oxygenated. About 10-20% of the cells in experimental tumors are hypoxic. This occurs, at least in part, because tumors outgrow their blood supply. If more oxygen could be delivered to a tumor, cell death would be greater and tumor curability would improve.

Genetically engineered low oxygen affinity mutants of human hemoglobin


A heat exchange device is provided for use as a cross flow heat exchanger, preferably for use as a liquid-liquid cross flow exchanger, having a stack of thin metallic plates having channel walls for defining channels for cold and hot fluid flow paths traversing therethrough on opposite sides of the plates. Improved heat transfer coefficients and heat transfer rates are attained by providing oscillators for inducing oscillation and turbulence in the fluids as they are passed from inlet to outlet chambers through their respective channels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heat exchangers, and more particularly to cross-flow liquid-liquid heat exchangers employing resonant oscillation of two fluids.
2. Description of Related Art
Methods and devices have heretofore been disclosed for transporting heat via sinusoidal oscillations of fluids between a hot and cold region. A U.S. Patent to Gifford (U.S. Pat. No. 3,265,123) discloses a heat exchanger which sinusoidally transports fluids, primarily gases, to heat or cool solid objects.
A further U.S. Patent issued to the inventor of the present invention (U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,993) discloses a device which transports or transfers large quantites of heat without an accompanying net transfer of mass. The heat transfer in that patent is effected by oscillating a working fluid within a set of ducts, the extent of fluid movement being less than the duct length. This patent provides a device which advantageously may be employed as a substitute for a heat pipe, while providing much higher heat transport rates than conventional heat pipes.
These devices are examples of advances in the general technology of heat transfer. However, heretofore lacking in the prior art is an apparatus or device which provides greatly improved heat transfer between a hot fluid and a cold fluid in a heat exchanger, for example a cross-flow heat exchanger, by employing an oscillation of the fluids.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a heat exchange device which provides a heat transfer coefficient which is one or more orders of magnitude greater than that found in conventional heat exchangers.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a heat exchange device which combines a novel heat transfer surface configuration with a means for oscillating a portion of the device inducing oscillation in the hot and cold fluids between which heat is transferred.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a heat exchange device having improved heat transfer capabilities, which can be made in smaller sizes and less expensively that conventional heat exchangers having the same heat transfer capability.

Heat exchanger employing fluid oscillation


Described herein is a process for preparing melt stable polyarylates having a reduced viscosity of from about 0.4 to greater than 1.0 dl/g which comprises reacting a diester derivative of a dihydric phenol with an aromatic dicarboxylic acid to produce a polyarylate having a reduced viscosity of from about 0.5 to greater than 1.0 dl/g, and then adding a stabilizing amount of an aromatic phenol to the polyarylate to form a polyarylate substantially free of anhydride linkages.

This invention is directed to a process for preparing melt stable polyarylates having a reduced viscosity of from about 0.4 to greater than 1.0 dl/g which comprises reacting a diester derivative of a dihydric phenol with an aromatic dicarboxylic acid to produce a polyarylate having a reduced viscosity of from about 0.5 to greater than 1.0 dl/g and then adding a stabilizing amount of an aromatic phenol to the polyarylate to form a polyarylate substantially free of anhydride linkages.
Polyarylates are polyesters derived from a dihydric phenol, particularly 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane also identified as bisphenol-A, and an aromatic dicarboxylic acid, particularly mixtures of terephthalic and isophthalic acids. These polyarylates are high temperature, high performance thermoplastic polymers with a good combination of thermal and mechanical properties. They also have good processability which allows them to be molded into a variety of articles.
Many processes have been described in the literature for the preparation of polyarylate. One such process is the diacetate process. In the diacetate process, a dihydric phenol is converted to its diester derivative which is then reacted with aromatic dicarboxylic acid to form the polyarylate.
A proposed reaction mechanism for the preparation of polyarylates by the diacetate process is illustrated for the reaction of bisphenol-A diacetate and a mixture of isophthalic and terephthalic acids: ##STR1##
In addition to producing the polyarylate (E), the reaction of iso and/or terephthalic acids (B) and bisphenol-A diacetate (A) can produce anhydride (F), either by way of the intermediate mixed anhydride (C) or by the direct reaction of two molecules of the phthalic acid (B), accompanied by the loss of water. Due to the reactivity of anhydride (F), only a low equilibrium concentration of anhydride linkages will remain in the polymer backbone at the end of the reaction. These anhydride linkages are believed to be labile enough to cause loss of molecular weight when the polymer is exposed to high temperatures, i.e., 320.degree.-400.degree. C., which are those needed to fabricate the polyarylate. Therefore, elimination of these anhydride linkages prior to processing the polyarylate is deemed necessary to help prevent the loss of molecular weight.
It has been surprisingly discovered that the addition of an aromatic phenol at the end of the polyarylate forming reaction eliminates the anhydride linkages and stabilizes it without significantly effecting the aromatic ester linkage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,196 describes the addition of a hindered phenol antioxidant or stabilizer in a small or stabilizing amount to a polyester resin-forming reaction mixture during the initial transesterification stage in which a zinc catalyst is used, or during the final polymerization stage before the desired intrinsic viscosity of the polymer is reached.
However, the transesterification process described in this reference would not produce anhydride linkages.
Japanese publication No. J5 0130-845 describes aromatic polyesters prepared from aromatic dicarboxylic acids and bispheols mixed with 0.01 to 1 weight percent of phenolic stabilizers. An example in this publication describes the addition of 0.5 parts of 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol dissolved in acetone to an aromatic polyester derived from 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane and a 1:1 terephthalic and isophthalic acid dichloride mixture.
However, the interfacial polymerization of this reference would not be expected to produce anhydride linkages.

Process for stabilizing polyarylates with an aromatic phenol


A bearing testing machine comprising: a testing machine shaft to which at least one test piece being a bearing is attached, the testing machine shaft being a rotation shaft extending in a Y axis direction being a horizontal direction; a rotational driving unit configured to rotate the testing machine shaft; a test piece holding unit configured to elastically holds the test piece; and an at least one axle driving unit configured to drive the testing machine shaft in a vertical direction and in an X axis direction which is a horizontal direction orthogonal to the Y axis direction.

An axle of a railroad vehicle, a trailer or the like is supported by a vehicle frame via a plurality of axle bearings (e.g., a pair of axle bearings). Various types of loads, such as a radial load or an axial load, are applied to an axle bearing during traveling of a vehicle.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. JP2008-82720A describes a bearing testing machine in which an axle for testing (hereafter, referred to as a "testing machine shaft") is attached to an axle bearing being a testing target, and the testing machine shaft is rotated while applying a radial load and an axial moment load to the axle bearing so that performance of the axle bearing used in an actual vehicle can be simulatively evaluated.


A manifold valve has an intake for receiving a secondary fluid, a passage upwardly extending from the intake, a valve unit for opening and closing a top end of the passage, and a main channel having an opening on a bottom wall thereof, the opening facing the top end of the passage. The secondary fluid is upwardly supplied into the main channel through the intake, passage, and opening when the valve unit opens the top end of the passage and is stopped when the valve unit closes the top end of the passage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manifold valve for properly supplying secondary fluids into a primary fluid.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some factories, a primary fluid such as pure water is supplied to a work site, and depending on the work or products at the work site, secondary fluids, in prescribed quantities, are selected and added to the primary fluid. FIG. 4 shows a manifold valve 30 used for this purpose and arranged in the middle of piping for supplying the primary fluid to the work site. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along a line 5--5 of FIG. 4. For the sake of clear understanding, the sectional view of FIG. 5 cuts across air ports 43 and 44 for vertically driving a valve element 41 of a valve unit 40, and therefore, does not correctly follow the line 5--5 of FIG. 4.
The manifold valve 30 consists of a base block 31 of a rectangular parallelepiped shape and sub-blocks 36 each having the valve unit 40.
The base block 31 has passages 32 formed at given intervals along the length of the base block 31. Each of the passages 32 extends from the top of the base block 31 toward the bottom thereof. A horizontal main channel 33 is formed along the length of the base block 31 under bottom ends of the passages 32. The passages 32 communicate with the main channel 33 through openings 34 formed on the top wall of the main channel 33. Each end of the main channel 33 has a connection port 35.
The sub-blocks 36 are arranged on the base block 31. A lower part of each sub-block 36 has a vertical passage 37 connected to the top of the passage 32 of the base block 31. A side face of the sub-block 36 has a horizontal intake 38 for receiving a secondary fluid. The intake 38 communicates with the passage 37 through a lower part of the valve unit 40. The valve unit 40 is a known one having the valve element 41 that is moved upward by air and downward by a spring 45. The valve element 41 opens and closes the top of the passage 37. The valve unit 40 has a diaphragm 42. In FIG. 4, the base block 31 has five sub-blocks 36.
The manifold valve 30 is inserted into piping for passing a primary fluid, by connecting the opposite ends of the main channel 33 to the piping. Each of the intakes 38 is connected to a unit for supplying a secondary fluid of chemicals. In the left sub-block 36 of FIG. 6, the valve unit 40 is operated to open the top 37a of the passage 37 so that a secondary fluid containing chemicals of a given quantity is supplied down into the main channel 33 through the passages 37 and 32. Secondary fluids containing chemicals of the sub-blocks 36 may be switched from one to another and be supplied into the primary fluid by selectively opening the tops of the passages 37 with the valve units 40.
In FIG. 6, the length of the base block 31 is cut to have only three sub-blocks 36 so that it corresponds to a manifold valve 10 of FIG. 1 to be explained later. The valve units 40 of FIG. 6 are in different states of supplying secondary fluids. In practice, the valve units 40 operate independently of one another, and therefore, may sometimes operate simultaneously and differently depending on the quantities and supplying timing of secondary fluids.
After supplying the secondary fluid into the main channel 33, the valve unit 40 closes the top 37a of the passage 37 to stop the secondary fluid as in the center sub-block 36 of FIG. 6. In this case, a recess 39 is formed to hold the secondary fluid between the top 37a of the passage 37 and the opening 34. Since the top 37a is closed with the valve element 41, the secondary fluid in the recess 39 stays there due to surface tension and gradually drops into the primary fluid in the main channel 33. As a result, the main channel 33 will provide a fluid with unwanted components for a certain time, even though the user wants the primary fluid pure or having specified composition. In this way, the recess 39 deteriorates the efficacy of supply of a required fluid.
When changing a given primary fluid to another, the latter must be supplied to the main channel 33 for a proper time to wash the inside of the valve units 40. Any fluid in the recesses 39 is hardly removed therefrom because the recesses 39 are deeper than the inner surface of the main channel 33. It takes much time, labor, and fluid to completely wash the remaining fluid out of the recesses 39. This is not economical. In addition, chemicals in the recesses 39 may react and solidify to cause trouble.


A low-voltage, low-energy electrochemical system and method of removing protons and/or producing a base solution using a gas diffusion anode and a cathode electrolyte comprising dissolved carbon dioxide, while applying 2V or less across the anode and cathode.

In many chemical processes a base solution is required to achieve a chemical reaction, e.g., to neutralize an acid, or buffer the pH of a solution, or precipitate an insoluble hydroxide and/or carbonate and/or bicarbonate from a solution. One method by which the base solution is produced is by an electrochemical system as disclosed in the above-referenced U.S. patent application, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In producing a base solution electrochemically, a large amount of energy, salt and water may be used; consequently, lowering the energy and material used is highly desired.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


This invention is directed to a panel wall construction comprising a plurality of hollow construction panels. The construction panels are fabricated from sheet metal to define opposite interengaging panel edges. One of said edges is arranged to receive fasteners for securing the panel wall to standards. A unique clip fits over the panel edge arranged to receive fasteners and is held in place by the fastener. The clip has a resilient tab which cooperates to provide snap action engagement of the unfastened edge of the adjacent panel with the fastened edge of the already secured panel.

This invention is directed primarily to an insulated panel wall construction for the exterior of buildings. However, the construction described has utility for interior walls. A typical technique for applying panels or facings to a building wall has been to secure panels directly to the structural members or girts of the building with an intermediate layer of an insulating material. This construction has a serious drawback; namely, the insulating material being crushable does not permit a suitable rigid fastening between the panel and the supporting structures.
Sheet metal panel construction according to this invention have the following advantages: They enable the rigid and positive attachment of the panels to the supporting structure. Moreover, the construction is designed to facilitate assembly thereof under normal working conditions wherein winds may be expected to dislodge panels before they are fastened at each edge. The construction is also designed to hold the panels in place after each end has been fastened even in the face of high winds which create a large negative pressure over the outer face of the panel. The internal positive pressure cannot buckle the panel popping it out of interengagement as explained herein. An added advantage is the workmen assemblying the construction can drill the holes for the fastener without stopping to measure the distance from the edge of the panel to the hole location.


Provided are a lubricating oil composition containing a base oil and a specific thiophosphate compound (A) and not substantially containing a molybdenum-based, and a precision reduction gear using the lubricating oil composition. The lubricating oil composition and the precision reduction gear using it exhibit excellent wear resistance and can prevent sludge generation in a broad range of contact pressures ranging from high to low.

A lubricating oil composition for use for reduction gears of various industrial machines is required to have wear resistance for preventing wear of gears, etc.
As a method for improving wear resistance of a lubricating oil, in general, there are known a method of adding a phosphorus-sulfur-containing compound and a sulfur-containing compound to a lubricating oil (for example, see PTL 1), a method of adding a dialkyl trisulfide, a dithiophosphate, an acid phosphate and an alkylamine salt thereof, and further optionally an alkenylsuccinimide derivative, a molybdenum dithiophosphate, a molybdenum disulfide and the like in combination, for improving oxidation stability at high temperatures while securing wear resistance (for example, see PTL 2), etc.

Lubricating oil composition, and precision reduction gear using same


A cushioning device that imparts both stability and cushioning to the midsole of an athletic shoe. The cushioning device includes a bladder that has a plurality of separate fluid chambers positioned around a perimeter. The chambers define an open central portion of the bladder arrangement. Each of the chambers has an inner side, an outer side and a height that increases from a minimum adjacent the inner side to a maximum toward the outer side thereof.

The present invention relates to a cushioning device for an athletic shoe and, more particularly, to such a cushioning device that imparts both stability and cushioning to the midsole of an athletic shoe.
Athletic shoes typically include supporting and cushioning structures to absorb the force of impact associated with running and jumping. The supporting and cushioning structures are often positioned in the rear foot or heel section of the shoe in order to absorb a portion of the shock encountered by the wearer. Such structures may be designed to increase the stability of the shoe by supporting the wearer""s foot against undesirable rotation relative to the leg. Pronation, rotation of the inner, or medial, side of the foot downward relative to the outer, or lateral side, and supination, the opposite rotation of the medial side upward relative to the lateral side, are two types of excessive rotation that can cause foot injury. These rotations are prevented or alleviated by the structures that resist the rotational motion of the foot.
Fluid bladders are one type of structure used to provide cushioning and stabilizing in athletic shoes. Bladders of this type include fluid filled chambers or pockets that are fitted in the midsole of the athletic shoe. The pockets may be pressurized beyond the ambient pressure level, or may be filled with fluid at the ambient pressure. U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,088 discloses a fluid bladder imparting cushioning to a heel section of a shoe. The bladder includes individual, concentric chambers that are connected so as to allow fluid to be communicated between the chambers. The concentric chambers are ring shaped with the inner ring having a lower height than the outer ring. The arrangement forms a cradle for the heel, providing support and stabilization therefor. The pressure within the chambers of the bladder is uniform because fluid pressure equilibrates between the ring sections, which are in fluid communication with one another. U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,459 discloses a bladder in which separate chambers are maintained at different pressures through the use of distinct interconnecting tubes.
The present invention improves upon the cushioning and stabilizing characteristics of existing bladder arrangements. The bladder arrangement of the present invention includes a plurality of separate, fluid filled chambers positioned around a perimeter. The chambers are positioned so that an area having the greatest volume is located towards the outer side thereof. The individual chambers may be connected to one another by connective elements, but are not in fluid communication with one another. Under angled impact by a wearer""s heel, the fluid filled chambers absorb the force of impact. The higher volume section of one or more of the chambers is subjected to compressive forces first. The loading of the higher volume section forces pressure into the lower volume section(s) thereby providing an increasingly greater resistance as the higher volume section is further compressed. The building of resistance provides a gradual reduction of the impact forces encountered by the wearer as the higher volume section(s) deflects.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bladder arrangement includes a rear central chamber, a first side (medial) chamber and a second side (lateral) chamber. The fluid pressure of the medial chamber is maintained at a higher pressure than the fluid pressure in the other chambers in the arrangement. The higher fluid pressure provides increased stiffness of the medial chamber and provides added protection against pronation.
The fluid bladder is preferably encapsulated by a cushioning material such as polyurethane foam. The encapsulated fluid filled bladder arrangement, that comprises the cushioning device, is positioned in the space in the rear foot region of the shoe midsole.


In the terminal device of the present invention, a transmitter can transmit any one of a maximum transmission power information, a maximum power reduction (MPR) information, and a terminal PHR information of the terminal in each one or more serving cells of the terminal among the plurality of serving cells and the PHR information of each one or more serving cells of the terminal, to a base station and can transmit the changed MPR information, the changed maximum transmission power information, or the changed terminal PHR information when a first PHR triggering condition is generated therefrom. A processor controls the transmitter to enable the transmitter to transmit the changed MPR information, the changed maximum transmission power information, or the changed terminal PHR information when the MPR information or the maximum transmission power information is changed.

3GPP LTE (3rd generation partnership project long term evolution: hereinafter abbreviated 'LTE') and LTE-advanced (hereinafter abbreviated 'LTE-A') communication systems are schematically explained as an example of a mobile communication system to which the present invention is applicable.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of E-UMTS network structure as one example of a wireless communication system. E-UMTS (evolved universal mobile telecommunications system) is a system evolved from a conventional UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system). Currently, basic standardization works for the E-UMTS are in progress by 3GPP. E-UMTS is called LTE system in general. Detailed contents for the technical specifications of UMTS and E-UMTS refers to release 8 and release 9 of "3rd generation partnership project; technical specification group radio access network", respectively.
Referring to FIG. 1, E-UMTS includes a user equipment (UE), a base station (BS, eNode B, or eNB), and an access gateway (hereinafter abbreviated AG) connected to an external network in a manner of being situated at the end of a network (E-UTRAN). The base station may be able to simultaneously transmit multi data streams for a broadcast service, a multicast service and/or a unicast service.
One base station contains at least one cell. The cell provides a downlink transmission service or an uplink transmission service to a plurality of user equipments by being set to one of 1.25 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, and 20 MHz of bandwidths. Different cells can be configured to provide corresponding bandwidths, respectively. A base station controls data transmissions/receptions to/from a plurality of the user equipments. For a downlink (hereinafter abbreviated DL) data, the base station informs a corresponding user equipment of time/frequency region on which data is transmitted, coding, data size, HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat and request) related information and the like by transmitting DL scheduling information. And, for an uplink (hereinafter abbreviated UL) data, the base station informs a corresponding user equipment of time/frequency region usable by the corresponding user equipment, coding, data size, HARQ-related information and the like by transmitting UL scheduling information to the corresponding user equipment. Interfaces for user-traffic transmission or control traffic transmission may be used between base stations. A core network (CN) consists of an AG (access gateway) and a network node for user registration of a user equipment and the like. The AG manages a mobility of the user equipment by a unit of TA (tracking area) consisting of a plurality of cells.
Wireless communication technologies have been developed up to LTE based on a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA). Yet, the ongoing demands and expectations of users and service providers are consistently increasing. Moreover, since different kinds of radio access technologies are continuously developed, a new technological evolution is required to have a future competitiveness. Cost reduction per bit, service availability increase, flexible frequency band use, simple structure/open interface and reasonable power consumption of user equipment and the like are required for the future competitiveness.
Recently, ongoing standardization of the next technology of LTE is performed by 3GPP. Such technology shall be named LTE-A in the present specification. Big differences between LTE system and LTE-A system may include a system bandwidth difference and an adoption of a relay node.
The goal of LTE-A system is to support maximum 100 MHz wideband. To this end, LTE-A system uses carrier aggregation or bandwidth aggregation to achieve the wideband using a plurality of frequency blocks.
According to the carrier aggregation, a plurality of frequency blocks are used as one wide logical frequency band to use wider frequency band. And, a bandwidth of each frequency block may be defined based on a bandwidth of a system block used by LTE system. And, each frequency block is transmitted using a component carrier.
Although the carrier aggregation technology is adopted by the LTE-A system, which is a next generation communication system, a conventional technology is unable to support an UL power control operation of a user equipment in a multi-carrier system. In particular, it has never been studied yet on a method of reporting a PHR (power head room) for a multi-carrier, a PHR configuration method for PHR transmission, a format, and the like.

Power headroom reporting in wireless communication system for supporting a plurality of serving cells