Data processing systems and methods, according to various embodiments are adapted for efficiently processing data to allow for the streamlined assessment of the risk level associated with particular privacy campaigns. The systems may provide a centralized repository of templates of privacy-related question/answer pairings for various vendors, products (e.g., software products), and services. Different entities may electronically access the templates (which may be periodically updated and centrally audited) and customize the templates for evaluating the risk associated with the entities' respective business endeavors that involve the relevant vendors, products, or services.

Over the past years, privacy and security policies, and related operations have become increasingly important. Breaches in security, leading to the unauthorized access of personal data (which may include sensitive personal data) have become more frequent among companies and other organizations of all sizes. Such personal data may include, but is not limited to, personally identifiable information (PII), which may be information that directly (or indirectly) identifies an individual or entity. Examples of PII include names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, and biometric identifiers such as a person's fingerprints or picture. Other personal data may include, for example, customers' Internet browsing habits, purchase history, or even their preferences (e.g., likes and dislikes, as provided or obtained through social media).
Many organizations that obtain, use, and transfer personal data, including sensitive personal data, have begun to address these privacy and security issues. To manage personal data, many companies have attempted to implement operational policies and processes that comply with legal requirements, such as Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) or the U.S.'s Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) protecting a patient's medical information. Many regulators recommend conducting privacy impact assessments, or data protection risk assessments along with data inventory mapping. For example, the GDPR requires data protection impact assessments. Additionally, the United Kingdom ICO's office provides guidance around privacy impact assessments. The OPC in Canada recommends certain personal information inventory practices, and the Singapore PDPA specifically mentions personal data inventory mapping.
In implementing these privacy impact assessments, an individual may provide incomplete or incorrect information regarding personal data to be collected, for example, by new software, a new device, or a new business effort, for example, to avoid being prevented from collecting that personal data, or to avoid being subject to more frequent or more detailed privacy audits. In light of the above, there is currently a need for improved systems and methods for monitoring compliance with corporate privacy policies and applicable privacy laws in order to reduce a likelihood that an individual will successfully "game the system" by providing incomplete or incorrect information regarding current or future uses of personal data.

Data processing systems and methods for efficiently assessing the risk of privacy campaigns


A parapodium for use by patients having paralysis of the lower extremities, cerebral palsy, or the like, usually children, which permits the user to stand in an upright manner, and is convertible to a seated position. The convertible parapodium supplies body support in either the upright or seated position, and includes a base receiving the user's feet from which lateral columns arise and support pivot plates to which parallelogram linkages are attached. The parallelogram linkages support seat and back structure and legs attached to the back structure engage the floor when the device is converted to a seat configuration.

Parapodiums, also known as ambulation and mobility platforms, are used with victims of lower paralysis, cerebral palsy, and similar diseases and medical problems, particularly with children, wherein the patient is unable to stand unaided. Such patients require significant firm support in either a standing or sitting position, but if adequately supported are able to function well with the arms and hands, and in many cases, become ambulatory by the use of crutches. It is important that such patients spend time each day standing to prevent bone and muscle structure in the legs and hips from softening. Additionally, the use of a parapodium is important from the psychological aspect of permitting the child to participate, within limits, in group activites, and for the child to be ambulatory with the use of crutches reduces the supervision and care required.
Leg bracing devices as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,573,866 and 2,772,674 provide the type of aid which permits patients having paralysis in the lower extremities, to stand and maneuver with crutches. Likewise, the orthopedic device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,423,773 permits smaller children to be supported in a safe manner in a substantially upright position. Crutchless standing devices providing the necessary support to permit patients to remain, unaided, in an upright position are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,750,659 and 4,029,089, and these devices have contributed toward the rehabilitation of paralysis, cerebral palsy and nervous disorder patients. However, prior art devices are usually of such bulk and complexity as to be difficult to use by children, expensive, and usually limited to supporting the patient in an upright, or substantially upright, position.
It is an object of the invention to provide a convertible parapodium orthopedic device especially suitable for use by children which permits crutchless standing in an upright position, or may be easily converted to support the child in a seated position.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a convertible parapodium which is of economical manufacture, relatively concise in configuration, easily transported, may be readily used by the unskilled, and is easily cleaned and maintained.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a convertible parapodium which may be readily adjusted to the size of the user, which permits the patient to be easily placed therein or removed therefrom, and wherein orientation between leg and back supporting portions of the parapodium are maintained at a predetermined angular relationship in both the standing and seating adjusted positions to insure adequate support of the body portions in both operating modes of the device.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a parapodium convertible between standing and seated modes wherein locking means prevent accidental operation of the device between its operating modes, and yet, the device is readily converted between standing and seated conditions by the unskilled and without hardware modification.
In the practice of the invention the convertible parapodium includes a base upon which the patient's feet are supported. Columns are affixed to lateral portions of the base and arise therefrom each having a pivot plate attached to their upper end having leg bracing means extending therebetween. The pivot plates also provide the support for a pair of parallelogram linkages, and latching structure is mounted upon the pivot plates controlling pivoting of the parallelogram linkages between standing and seated conditions.
Back supporting means are pivotally attached to the other end of the parallelogram linkages, and the linkages also constitute the support for seat structure. The seat structure will be disposed at the rear of the patient's legs during the standing mode, and is located below the patient's hips when the parallelogram linkage is pivoted to the seated mode.
The parallelogram support of the back supporting means maintains the back support parallel of the columns in both the standing and seated modes, and patient confining means in the form of a chest pad is mounted upon the back support extending across the patient's chest. Legs affixed to the back support extend in a downward direction having a lower end engaging the floor when the parapodium is in the seated mode.
The latches mounted upon the pivot plates hold the parallelogram linkage in the upright condition, and when it is desired to use the parapodium in the seated mode the latches are operated to permit the desired pivoting of the linkages. The parapodium structure is relatively open and accessible for cleaning and maintenance, and the structural components are of such configuration and fabrication as to be economically manufactured.


The invention provides a pickup head used in an optical data storage system. The pickup head contains a diffractive optical element (DOE) stack on a semiconductor substrate. The DOE stack includes multiple diffractive lenses for providing several diffractive surfaces and a middle layer serving as a beamsplitter and servo-generating element for a light reflected from an optical storage medium. The middle layer is sandwiched by the diffractive lenses that are located on both outer parts of the DOE stack. The semiconductor substrate includes at least a laser source and several photodetectors. The middle layer serving its function preferably includes a polarization-selective DOE and a quarter-wave retarder oriented to rotate a polarization state of the laser source, so that only the light reflected from the optical storage medium is diffracted by the polarization-selective DOE.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an optical electronic technology. More particularly, the present invention relates to a diffractive stack pickup head for an optical disk drive and a method to fabricate the diffractive stack pickup head.
2. Description of Related Art
Pickup heads are an opto-electronic means by which a signal is written to or read from an optical disk. FIG. 1 is a system drawing, schematically illustrating a conventional optical disk pickup system. In FIG. 1, the generic optical disk pickup system includes a laser diode light source 20, a beamsplitter 22, and at least one lens 24 for precisely focusing the light from the laser diode 20 onto an information bearing surface of the optical disk 26. The system further includes a multi-element photodetector 28 for receiving light that is reflected from the disk 26, and a servo-generating element 30, such as the cylindrical lens, which is used to alter the reflected beam from the disk 26 into some form whereby the state of focus and tracking can be easily extracted from the signals generated by the light incident on the multi-element photodetector 28. This conventional system can be referred to A. B. Marchant, Optical recording, A Technical Overview, Addison-Wesley Publishing, Menlo Park Calif., 1990, p.197. The general mounting arrangement for these optical elements into a pickup head unit is shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, each component is mounted separately, one at a time, into a pickup head housing 32. The size of the housing 32 is directly related to the image distance of the focusing lens(es) 24, i.e., the distance from the laser diode 20 to the focused image of the laser diode 20 on the disk 26 of FIG. 1. With current technology of refractive molded aspheric lenses, this distance is typically in the range of 25-40 mm, and the size of the housing is roughly of the same order. In some designs, the servo-generating element can be an integral part of the beamsplitter 22 and sometimes is implemented using a diffractive or holographic optical element (DOE). FIG. 3 is a pickup system drawing, schematically illustrating an alternate generic pickup design where the beamsplitter and servo-generating elements are combined into a single DOE and the complete optical system excluding the objective lens is packaged in a small module. In FIG. 3, the design of the pickup system 38 has the advantage that most of the opto-electronic components 40, except the focusing lens/actuator 42, are assembled in a miniature module. The components 40 are also assembled one at a time to form the miniature module. To complete the pickup system, the components 40 are mounted in a pickup housing similar to the one shown in FIG. 2. However, the general size of the pickup system 38 is still determined by the imaging distance of the focusing lens. In other words, the holographic module approach has certain advantages but it does not significantly change the size or weight of the complete pickup system.
The invention provides an optical disk pickup head with the current state-of-the-art technology having an objective that the invention allows many pickups to be made simultaneously in parallel, thereby significantly reducing manufacturing cost.
The invention also includes another objective that the entire pickup, including the focusing lens, can be made in a very small dimension, such as a few millimeters on a side. This allows multiple pickups to be utilized in a single drive.
As embodied and broadly described herein, the invention provides a pickup head used in an optical data storage system. The pickup head includes a diffractive optical element (DOE) stack on a semiconductor substrate. The DOE stack includes multiple diffractive lenses for providing several diffractive surfaces and a middle layer serving as a beamsplitter and servo-generating element for a light reflected from an optical storage medium. The middle layer is sandwiched by the diffractive lenses that are located on both outer parts of the DOE stack. The semiconductor substrate includes at least a laser source and several photodetectors.
The middle layer""s function preferably includes a polarization-selective DOE and a quarter-wave retarder oriented to rotate the polarization state of the laser source, so that only the light reflected from the optical storage medium is diffracted by the polarization-selective DOE.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

Diffractive stack pickup head for optical disk drives and method to fabricate the pickup head


A chemical feeding system for adding either liquid or 100% water soluble solid chemicals including fertilizer, insecticide and a herbicide to a lawn sprinkler system either above or below ground level. The system has one or two vertically oriented mixing chambers containing a removable sponge filter. An effluent tube is attached to the bottom of the mixing chamber for recycling through an adjustable flow meter valve. A drain tube with a shutoff valve and a one-way check valve leads to the main sprinkler system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a fertilizer system. More specifically, 100% water soluble granular (up to 3 inch pellets) or liquid fertilizer can be added by a mixing and feeding device connected above or below ground to an existing water sprinkling system.
2. Description of Related Art
There is a need for a simplified but effective chemical feeding system for adding fertilizer chemicals for an existing or to be installed lawn sprinkler system. An above ground installation can have its mixing chamber doubled in volume and made automatic in operation. Optionally, the fertilizer feeding system can be constructed so it can be added as an underground covered installation for those who do not wish the visual exposure in the lawn. The instant invention provides such a chemical feeding system with a recycling feature of the mixture back to the mixing chamber.
The related art of interest describes various chemical feeding systems to an aqueous distribution system, but none discloses the present invention. The related art of interest will be discussed according to the perceived relevance to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,987 issued on Sep. 16, 1997, to Glenn A. Combs describes a chemical dispersing apparatus employing a vertical cylindrical vessel having a capacity up to 1,000 gallons of water which mixes the fertilizer solid or liquid contained in the vessel outside one or two vertical cylindrical screens. The dissolved fertilizer passes upward and to an outlet product valve 18 (for excessive gas) to the product mixture outlet valve 24 and distribution. A bypass line 23 and bypass valve 22 can feed pure water to dilute the mixed fluid. The mixing water enters the vessel from the bottom through a Globe valve 4, an intake valve 5 and a check valve 5A. A drain valve 15 is positioned on a drain nozzle at the bottom of the mixing vessel. The apparatus is distinguishable for lacking a recycling system employing a flowmeter valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,641 issued on Sep. 5, 1995, to John D. Wittig describes a plastic poultry water chlorinator with calcium hypochlorite positioned above ground and comprising a chlorinator housing or mixing chamber with a removable cover positioned in parallel with the main water line. Shutoff valves are positioned in each line, i.e., main line, inlet line and outlet line, a pressure gauge in the inlet line, and a vent valve in the outlet line. The housing has a manual flow control knob proximate its base. The chlorinator device is distinguishable for its housing lacking a recycle line and a drain tube and the requirements for a pressure valve and a chlorine vent valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,030 issued on Nov. 15, 1994, to James L. Murdock describes a solution injector apparatus positioned permanently above ground for underground sprinkler systems. A sealed tank containing liquid fertilizer or pesticide has an intake pipe from the sprinkler pipe controlled by only one intake valve. The outlet pipe begins with a vertical tube (inside the tank with screened pin holes) which returns to the sprinkler pipe. A bypass valve between the two tees controls passage of water through the tank. The solution injector apparatus is distinguishable for lacking volumetric or quantitative control of the additive to the sprinkler system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,364 issued on Mar. 24, 1998, to Robert M. Gertie describes an automatic fertilizing device comprising an inverted T-shaped chamber with a threaded cap on a vertical rod with a disc which presses down on a solid chemical tablet at the bottom. The tablet is trapped between two screens in the bottom horizontal portion of the inverted T-shaped cylinder which is connected to an underground sprinkler line. The device is distinguishable for its lack of any volumetric or quantitative control of the dissolution of the solid fertilizer fed to the sprinkler system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,729 issued on Apr. 19, 1994, to Peter DeMarco describes a lawn chemical delivery system which can be utilized for sprinkler systems distributing fertilizer, herbicide, fungicide, and insecticide for gardens, and chlorine for pool systems. A cylindrical tank has a flow head separated by a control plate. The flow head has an intake port for feeding water into the chemicals stored in the container portion to be mixed and siphoned through siphon tubes and the exit port for distribution. The delivery system is distinguishable for its required siphoning system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,690 issued on Aug. 9, 1994, to E. Wayne Worth describes a water and fertilizer dispensing apparatus comprising a portable cylindrical tank on legs positioned above ground for hook-up with a garden hose. A whirlpool effect is created by an inlet distributing pipe having an apertured vertical pipe and a curved and apertured horizontal pipe. A horizontal outlet pipe has a non-apertured vertical portion supporting an apertured horizontal portion. A manual diverter valve controls the water fed to the two main feeder pipes. The apparatus is distinguishable for its required internal apertured pipes.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,763,374 issued on Jun. 10, 1930, to Gustave C. C. Schrader describes an apparatus for distributing fertilizer in soluble condition. A vertical tank containing a saturated fertilizer solution is added in parallel by two pairs of Y-fittings to an apertured distributing pipe system having a stop cock in the main line. The inlet pipe has a stop cock and a drain cock for the Y-fitting. A nozzle feeds the water upwardly into the tank. The apparatus is distinguishable for its lack of volumetric or quantitative control of additive to the sprinkler system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,073 issued on Aug. 15, 1995, to Francis B. Hoadley describes an apparatus for a controlled venturi release of an erodible solid into a liquid. A fertilizer or chlorine capsule is entrained in the vertical capped activation chamber by a capped and perforated hydro-injector body containing an apertured swirler plate. The hydro-injector body is L-shaped with an inlet opening and a small regulating exit hole leading to the outlet of the lower body member or hydro chamber which is inserted in a water distribution pipe. The apparatus is distinguishable for its reliance on a venturi system containing a swirler plate and an impaled venturi plate.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,699,827 and 5,775,593 issued, respectively, on Dec. 23, 1997, and Jul. 7, 1998, to Virgil A. Delorme et al. describe an automatic lawn treatment dispensing liquid fertilizer or pesticide device connectable either permanently to (1) an underground sprinkler system or (2) momentarily to a water faucet. An upright cylindrical transparent tube or container contains a center pipe which contains the liquid additive fed from a closable filling port on top. The center pipe is open on top and does not extend to the top of the mixing tube. In invention (1) a flexible aspirator tube or siphon extends from the main water source up into the center pipe and back down to the bottom of the transparent tube to force the additive solution into the bottom exit pipe. In invention (2) an aspirator tube is substituted with an anti-siphon valve assembly on top of the upright transparent tube or container and has a check valve. The bottom cap portion of the mixing tube has an apertured control plate. An external shutoff valve is provided in both patents. The devices are distinguishable for requiring an additional internal mixing chamber for the liquid additive and a siphoning feature.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,665 issued on Nov. 24, 1998, to Adrian G. DiVittorio describes a sprinkler system including buried cone-shaped fertilizer reservoir and a separated ground-level ball valve in each zone. The reservoir has a filling and sealing cap at ground level. The reservoir is directly inserted into the pipeline of each zone in the sprinkler system. The sprinkler system reservoir is distinguishable for its cone-shaped structure and lack of drainage control.
French Patent No. 2,545,685 issued on Nov. 16, 1984, to Rhone-Poulenc Agrochimie describes a liquid fertilizer being supplied to an agricultural irrigator line. A venturi tube is connected to a bypass line with inlet and outlet pipes of small diameters being inserted in the main water line on opposite sides of a shutoff valve. A separate tank containing the liquid additive feeds the venturi tube. The additive supplying system is distinguishable for its venturi feature for adding liquid fertilizer.
Japanese Patent No. 5-15221 issued on Jan. 6, 1993, to Yoshio Hosokawa describes an apparatus for mixing liquid fertilizer from a mixing apparatus receiving the additive from a separate supply tank. The mixing apparatus is inserted in a bypass pipe line attached across a ball valve in the main water supply line. A flowmeter is shown inserted in the main pipeline downstream. The apparatus is distinguishable for its separated mixing container and supply tank.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


A method and system for concealing errors in one or more bad frames in a speech sequence as part of an encoded bit stream received in a decoder. When the speech sequence is voiced, the LTP-parameters in the bad frames are replaced by the corresponding parameters in the last frame. When the speech sequence is unvoiced, the LTP-parameters in the bad frames are replaced by values calculated based on the LTP history along with an adaptively-limited random term.

Speech and audio coding algorithms have a wide variety of applications in communication, multimedia and storage systems. The development of the coding algorithms is driven by the need to save transmission and storage capacity while maintaining the high quality of the synthesized signal. The complexity of the coder is limited by, for example, the processing power of the application platform. In some applications, for example, voice storage, the encoder may be highly complex, while the decoder should be as simple as possible.
Modem speech codecs operate by processing the speech signal in short segments called frames. A typical frame length of a speech codec is 20 ms, which corresponds to 160 speech samples, assuming an 8 kHz sampling frequency. In the wide band codecs, the typical frame length of 20 ms corresponds to 320 speech samples, assuming a 16 kHz sampling frequency. The frame may be further divided into a number of sub-frames. For every frame, the encoder determines a parametric representation of the input signal. The parameters are quantized and transmitted through a communication channel (or stored in a storage medium) in a digital form. The decoder produces a synthesized speech signal based on the received parameters, as shown in FIG. 1.
A typical set of extracted coding parameters includes spectral parameters (such as Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) parameters) to be used in short term prediction of the signal, parameters to be used for long term prediction (LTP) of the signal, various gain parameters, and excitation parameters. The LTP parameter is closely related to the fundamental frequency of the speech signal. This parameter is often known as a so-called pitch-lag parameter, which describes the fundamental periodicity in terms of speech samples. Also, one of the gain parameters is very much related to the fundamental periodicity and so it is called LTP gain. The LTP gain is a very important parameter in making the speech as natural as possible. The description of the coding parameters above fits in general terms with a variety of speech codecs, including the so-called Code-Excited Linear Prediction (CELP) codecs, which have for some time been the most successful speech codecs.
Speech parameters are transmitted through a communication channel in a digital form. Sometimes the condition of the communication channel changes, and that might cause errors to the bit stream. This will cause frame errors (bad frames), i.e., some of the parameters describing a particular speech segment (typically 20 ms) are corrupted. There are two kinds of frame errors: totally corrupted frames and partially corrupted frames. These frames are sometimes not received in the decoder at all. In the packet-based transmission systems, like in normal internet connections, the situation can arise when the data packet will never reach the receiver, or the data packet arrives so late that it cannot be used because of the real time nature of spoken speech. The partially corrupted frame is a frame that does arrive to the receiver and can still contain some parameters that are not in error. This is usually the situation in a circuit switched connection like in the existing GSM connection. The bit-error rate (BER) in the partially corrupted frames is typically around 0.5–5%.
From the description above, it can be seen that the two cases of bad or corrupted frames will require different approaches in dealing with the degradation in reconstructed speech due to the loss of speech parameters.
The lost or erroneous speech frames are consequences of the bad condition of the communication channel, which causes errors to the bit stream. When an error is detected in the received speech frame, an error correction procedure is started. This error correction procedure usually includes a substitution procedure and muting procedure. In the prior art, the speech parameters of the bad frame are replaced by attenuated or modified values from the previous good frame. However, some parameters (such as excitation in CELP parameters) in the corrupted frame may still be used for decoding.
FIG. 2 shows the principle of the prior-art method. As shown in FIG. 2, a buffer labeled "parameter history" is used to store the speech parameters of the last good frame. When a bad frame is detected, the Bad Frame Indicator (BFI) is set to 1 and the error concealment procedure is started. When the BFI is not set (BFI=0), the parameter history is updated and speech parameters are used for decoding without error concealment. In the prior-art system, the error concealment procedure uses the parameter history for concealing the lost or erroneous parameters in the corrupted frames. Some speech parameters may be used from the received frame even though it is classified as a bad frame (BFI=1). For example, in a GSM Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) speech codec (ETSI specification 06.91), the excitation vector from the channel is always used. When the speech frames are totally lost frames (e.g., in some IP-based transmission systems), no parameters will be used from the received bad frame. In some cases, no frame will be received, or the frame will arrive so late that it has to be classified as a lost frame.
In a prior-art system, LTP-lag concealment uses the last good LTP-lag value with a slightly modified fractional part, and spectral parameters are replaced by the last good parameters slightly shifted towards constant mean. The gains (LTP and fixed codebook) may usually be replaced by the attenuated last good value or by the median of several last good values. The same substituted speech parameters are used for all sub-frames with slight modification to some of them.
The prior-art LTP concealment may be adequate for stationary speech signals, for example, voiced or stationary speech. However, for non-stationary speech signals, the prior-art method may cause unpleasant and audible artifacts. For example, when the speech signal is unvoiced or non-stationary, simply substituting the lag value in the bad frame with the last good lag value has the effect of generating a short voiced-speech segment in the middle of an unvoiced-speech burst (See FIG. 10). The effect, as known as the "bing" artifact, can be annoying.
It is advantageous and desirable to provide a method and system for error concealment in speech decoding to improve the speech quality.

Method and system for speech frame error concealment in speech decoding


A vehicle bumper beam including: a resin beam having an elongate body extending along a vehicle-width direction, two tubular shock-absorbing portions disposed at the beam body's opposite longitudinal end portions extending in front-rear direction, the beam body and shock-absorbing portions being formed with each other; a metal beam disposed outside the resin beam in the front-rear direction, fixedly fitted to the resin beam. Further, flat attachment portions, formed with inner end portions of the shock-absorbing portions in front-rear direction; bent portions bent in a crank extending from attachment portions outward in front-rear direction, the beam body being to attachment portions via bent portions, the metal beam fixedly fitted to an outer surface of the beam body's intermediate portion; metal beam's opposite end portions extending beyond bent portions covering the right and left sides, fixedly fitted to distal end portions; each space defined by shock-absorbing portion, metal beam and bent portion.

There has been proposed a vehicle bumper beam of a hybrid type including (a) a resin beam having an elongate beam body disposed so as to extend along the vehicle-width direction, and a pair of tubular shock absorbing portions respectively disposed at opposite longitudinal end portions of the beam body so as to extend in the vehicle front-rear direction, the beam body and the shock absorbing portions being formed integrally with each other, and (b) a metal beam disposed on one of an outside and an inside of the resin beam in the vehicle front-rear direction and fixedly fitted to the resin beam. A device described in Patent Document 1 is an example of the above-described vehicle bumper beam, and the inside of each of shock absorbing portions is filled with metal foam and end portions of the shock absorbing portions are fixed to a vehicle body via separately-prepared support plates.


An improved apparatus for manufacturing roofing shingles having multiple ply appearance, in which an elongated strip of a dry organic or mineral material previously saturated in an asphalt tank and with at least one uniform longitudinally continuous strip of a first coating of granules is fed into the apparatus. The apparatus automatically and repeatedly applies spaced apart bands of varying widths of an adhesive material onto the first coating of granules. A second coating of granules is then automatically applied by the improved apparatus to the asphaltic bands. The application of the adhesive bands and the subsequent granule distribution are synchronized so that the granules are distributed only upon the bands of adhesive.

This invention relates generally to asphaltic roofing covering, and more particularly, to an apparatus for manufacturing mineral coated asphaltic shingles having textures, colors, and cuts to simulate wood shapes or the like.
In the art of roofing shingle manufacturing, substantial efforts have been devoted to the simulation of wood or other such "natural" appearance and textures. For example U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,142,181 and 2,070,571 exemplify a class of schemes for imitating the appearance of the grain of weathered wooden shingles.
Others have sought to created the image of depth by utilizing bands of different colored grit. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,368,947 utilizes stripping along adjacent edges of installed shingles to give an appearance of shading caused by thickness in shake or thatched roofs. U.S. Pat. No. 1,898,989 teaches the use of different colored sequential stripes for adjacent shingles.
Also, the prior art includes another class of shingle construction wherein the lower edge of the shingles is irregularly cut or scalloped to give a random thatched appearance.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for manufacturing roofing shingles which accurately imitates thatch or shake type roofing materials.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for manufacturing roofing shingles which accurately imitates thatch or shake type roofing materials which is easily adapted to present shingle manufacturing apparatus.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for manufacturing roofing shingles which accurately imitates thatch or shake type roofing materials which is economical and easy to operate.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which the preferred form of this invention is illustrated.

Apparatus for manufacturing roofing shingles having multiple ply-appearance


A feed channel for feeding elongated cylindrical workpieces longitudinally includes a channel bottom portion on which the workpieces are deposited from above. Flexible bands extend transversely across the channel bottom portion for receiving workpieces moving downwardly toward the channel bottom portion and then lowering the workpieces onto the channel bottom portion. The bands are movable between an upper workpiece supporting position spaced above the channel bottom portion and a lower workpiece releasing position in which a workpiece is released from the bands and supported on the channel bottom portion.

This application relates to the art of work-piece feed channels and, more particularly, to such feed channels into which workpieces are dropped from above. The invention relates to means for smoothly lowering workpieces into the feed channel for minimizing any noise associated with dropping of the workpiece into the channel. Although the invention is particularly applicable to feed channels of the type described, it will be appreciated that certain aspects of the present invention may be used in other workpiece handling apparatus.
Elongated cylindrical workpieces, such as rods, pipes and wire, are commonly fed longitudinally through peeling or straightening machines. During feeding of such workpieces through the peeling or straightening machine, the workpiece is supported in a feed channel which is substantially circumferentially continuous to surround the workpiece. The workpiece is rotated about its longitudinal axis and moved longitudinally from the feed channel through the peeling or straightening machine.
In apparatus of the type described, a workpiece is commonly dropped from above down into the feed channel which can be opened and closed for respectively receiving a new workpiece and then feeding same longitudinally. Dropping metal workpieces of the type described down into the feed channel through a relatively great distance produces very loud noises which are objectionable in modern manufacturing facilities. Mechanical devices have been developed for smoothly lowering the workpieces into the feed channel and thereby reducing the noise. However, the mechanical devices for smoothly lowering the workpieces are very expensive to manufacture and maintain, and the controls for such devices further increases the costs.


A method of separating ions according to a physicochemical property is disclosed. The method comprises causing ions to perform a plurality of cycles along or around an ion guiding path such that the ions separate according to said physicochemical property. The ions are ejected from an ion exit region by applying a force to the ions such that only having a physicochemical property value that is either above or below a threshold value are ejected as they pass through the exit region, but ions having a physicochemical property value either below or above said threshold value, respectively, remain within the ion guiding path. The force applied to the ions within the exit region is varied with time such that the physicochemical property value of the ions ejected from the ion guiding region varies with time.

The present invention relates to a method and device for separating ions according to a physicochemical property, such as ion mobility or mass to charge ratio.
A conventional ion mobility spectrometer or separator ("IMS") employs a static potential gradient to drive ions along a drift tube such that the ions separate according to their ion mobility as they pass along the drift tube. It is well established that increasing the length of the drift tube can lead to improved resolution or resolving power of the device. This is also true for IMS devices that employ a travelling DC potential, rather than a static potential gradient, to drive the ions along the drift tube. Such a device employing a DC travelling potential has the advantage that there is no requirement for a DC field along the whole length of the drift tube. This enables the entrance of the IMS device to be at the same DC potential as the exit of the device.
WO 2007/066114 discloses an IMS device that exploits the above-mentioned benefit by configuring the drift tube as a closed loop configuration, which enables the drift length of the device to be increased by causing ions to perform multiple passes around the closed loop drift region. Whilst this technique enables the effective length of the drift region to be increased significantly, a problem arises when the ions are to be ejected from the device for further analysis. More specifically, at any given position within the device ions of different mobilities will have undergone a different number of cycles around the closed loop drift region. This leads to the resolution of the device being ion mobility dependent, which is undesirable.
WO 2013/093515 discloses a device wherein ions are separated according to their ion mobility as they pass down a DC potential gradient arranged around a closed-loop drift region. The DC potential gradient moves around the drift region with time, along with an exit region, such that ions are ejected from the drift region as they reach the lower end of the DC potential gradient. Although this technique offers advantages, it may be complicated to implement, as it requires the exit region to move around the device. Furthermore, ions of different ion mobilities travel different lengths around the drift region before being ejected and so the resolution of the device is ion mobility dependent.
WO 2013/093513 also discloses a device wherein ions are separated according to their ion mobility as they pass down a DC potential gradient arranged around a closed-loop drift region. The device is configured to ensure that higher mobility ions do not pass around the closed-loop ion guide and remix with the lower mobility ions by restricting the drift length of the experiment. Although this technique offers advantages, it may provide a relatively low resolution as it restricts the number of cycles of the ions around the closed loop drift region.
It is desired to provide an improved method of separating ions according to a physicochemical property.

Method for separating ions according to a physicochemical property


A rotor yoke manufactured by a process comprising preparing a molded rotor yoke in a closed cavity tool and possibly machining at least one portion of the molded rotor yoke to form the rotor yoke. In the preferred embodiment, the preparing of the molded rotor yoke is accomplished by applying layers of uncured low-flow composite material and a layer of uncured high-flow adhesive; substantially enclosing the uncured molded rotor yoke in the closed cavity tool; and applying pressure so as to compress the uncured molded rotor yoke; and curing the uncured molded rotor yoke. During the curing process, the high-flow adhesive bleeds out of the molded rotor yoke, thereby preventing marcels from forming through movement of the low-flow composite material.

Each blade of the main rotor assembly of a rotorcraft must be connected to a main support mast, usually by means of a rotor yoke, in a manner allowing several degrees of freedom. Such an interconnection is subjected to high and repeated stresses of both torsional and centrifugal natures, and is therefore an extremely important component of the aircraft. Each blade must be able to rotate about its longitudinal axis to provide pitch control. Each blade must be able to flap in a direction perpendicular to the rotor plane to accommodate vertical loads. In some instances, each blade must be able to pivot within the rotor plane to provide for lead-lag control. The manner in which the blades are secured to the main support mast enables a rotorcraft to be controlled and maneuvered in flight.
Various types of rotor yokes have been utilized to interconnect the rotorcraft blades and the support mast. Metal rotor yokes have suffered from the disadvantages of weight, cost, high maintenance requirements, and low useful life. There have been several attempts to eliminate one or more of the articulations in such couplings in order to simplify construction and reduce costs. Some rotor yokes are pivotally secured to the support mast, and are characterized by a flat plate construction resilient enough to act as a virtual hinge and thereby accommodate flapping of the blades.
More recently, glass fibers and other composite materials have been employed in the fabrication of rotorcraft rotor system components. In comparison to a machined metal forging, glass fibers and other composite materials have more favorable fatigue characteristics resulting in longer useful life. In addition, the use of such materials simplifies construction and reduces costs. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, composite rotor yokes, such as a rotor yoke 101 are conventionally cured in a rigid, closed mold, such as mold 103, to form the overall shape of the rotor yoke. One of the problems encountered concerning such rotorcraft rotor yokes has been distortion or "marcelling" of the fibers in the rotor yoke during the curing process. Because the uncured rotor yoke is forced to conform to the cavity, such as cavity 105 formed by the closed mold, mechanical stresses can be induced in the uncured rotor yoke. The fibers are substantially unconstrained during certain portions of the curing cycle when the resin matrix in which the fibers are disposed is in a semi-liquid or liquid state. The induced stress in the uncured rotor yoke is relieved via movement or distortion of the fibers within the resin matrix. The fibers can be captured in their distorted or marcelled state when the resin crosslinks in thermosetting composite materials or when the resin is cooled in thermoplastic composite materials.
There are many designs of rotorcraft yokes well known in the art; however, considerable shortcomings remain.
While the system of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the present application to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present application as defined by the appended claims.

Rotor yoke and method of making the same


To provide a three-dimensional acoustic effect to a listener in a reproduction field, via a headphone in particular, a three-dimensional acoustic apparatus is formed by a linear synthesis filter having filter coefficients that are the linear predictive coefficients obtained by performing a linear predictive analysis on an impulse response which represents the acoustic characteristics to be added to the original signal to achieve this effect. By passing the signal through this acoustic characteristics adding filter, the desired acoustic characteristics are added to the original signal, and by dividing the power spectrum of the impulse response of these acoustic characteristics into critical bandwidths and performing this linear predictive analysis based on impulse signal determined based from power spectrum signals representing the signal sound of each of these critical bandwidths, the filter coefficients of the linear synthesis filter are determined.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to acoustic processing technology, and more particularly to a three-dimensional acoustic processor which provides a three-dimensional acoustic effect to a listener in a reproducing sound field via a headphone or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, to achieve accurate reproduction or location of a sound image, it is necessary to obtain the acoustic characteristics of the original sound field up to the listener and the acoustic characteristics of the reproducing sound field from the acoustic output device, such as a speaker or a headphone, to the listener. In an actual reproducing sound field, the former acoustic characteristics are added to the sound source and the latter characteristics are removed from the sound source, so that even using a speaker or a headphone it is possible to reproduce to the listener the sound image of the original sound image of the original sound field, or so that it is possible to accurately localize the position of the original sound image.
In the past, in order to add the acoustic characteristics from the sound source to the listener of the original sound field and remove the acoustic characteristics of the reproducing sound field from the acoustic output device such as a speaker or a headphone up to the listener, a FIR (finite impulse response, non-recursive) filter having coefficients that are the impulse responses of each of the acoustic spatial paths was used as a filter to emulate the transfer characteristics of the acoustic spatial path and the reverse of the acoustic characteristics of the reproducing sound field up to the listener.
However, when measuring the impulse response in a normal room for the purpose of obtaining the coefficients of an FIR filter in the past, the number of taps of the FIR which represent those characteristics when using an audio-signal sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz is several thousand or even greater. Even in the case of the inverse of the transfer characteristics of a headphone, the number of taps required is several hundred or even greater.
Therefore, when using FIR filters, there is a huge number of taps and computation required, causing the problems that in an actual circuit implementation it is necessary to have a plurality of parallel DSPs or convolution processors, this hindering a reduction in cost and the achievement of a physically compact circuit.
In addition, in the case of localizing the sound image, it is necessary to perform parallel processing of a plurality of channel filters for each of the sound image positions, making it even more difficult to solve the above-noted problems.
Additionally, in an image-processing apparatus which processes images which have accompanying sound images, such as in real-time computer graphics, the amount of image processing is extremely great, so that if the capacity of the image-processing apparatus is small or many images must be processed simultaneously, the insufficient processing capacity produces cases in which it is not possible to display a continuous image, and the image appears as a jump-frame image. In such cases, there is the problem that the movement of the sound image, which is synchronized to the movement of the visual image, becomes discontinuous. In addition, in cases in which the environment is different from the expected visual/auditory environment of, for example, the user""s position, there is the problem of the apparent movement of the visual image being different from the movement of the sound image.
In consideration of the above-noted drawbacks of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to perform linear predictive analysis of the impulse response which represents the acoustic characteristics to be added to the original signal for the purpose of adding characteristics to the acoustic characteristics, the linear predictive coefficients being used to form a synthesis filter, thereby greatly reducing the number of filter taps, so as to achieve such effects as reduction in size and cost of the related hardware, and an increase in the processing speed achieved thereby. In the case of performing the above-noted linear predictive analysis and using a filter of lower order than the original number of impulse response samples to approximate the frequency characteristics, a three-dimensional acoustic processor is provided in which in particular in the case of high complexity in which the sharp peaks and valleys existing in the original impulse response frequency characteristics, in order to prevent a loss of approximation accuracy, before the linear predictive analysis is performed, to eliminate any auditory change the frequency characteristics of the original impulse responses are smoothed and compensated in the frequency domain, thereby approaching the original impulse response frequency characteristics and enabling a reduction of the number of filters without causing a change in the overall acoustic characteristics.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a three-dimensional acoustic processor in which the acoustic characteristics from a plurality of positions from which a sound image is to be localized are divided into characteristics common to each position and individual characteristics for each position, the filters which add these being disposed in series to control the position of the sound image, thereby reducing the amount of processing performed. In the case in which the sound image is caused to move, by localizing a single sound image at a plurality of locations and controlling the difference in acoustic output level between the different locations, the sound image is smoothed therebetween, interpolation being performed between the positions of the visual image which moves discontinuously, thereby achieving moving of the sound image which matches the thus interpolated positions. In addition, a three-dimensional acoustic processor is provided wherein, in the case in which a reproducing sound image is reproduced using a DSP (digital signal processor) or like, to avoid complexity of registers and like, and to perform the desired sound image localization, localization processing is performed for only the required virtual sound source.
According to the present invention, a three-dimensional acoustic processor is provided which localize a sound image using a virtual sound source, wherein the acoustic characteristics to be added to the sound signal are formed by a linear synthesis filter having filter coefficients that are the linear predictive coefficients obtained by linear predictive analysis of the impulse response which represents those acoustic characteristics, the desired acoustic characteristics being added to the above-noted original signal via the above-noted linear synthesis filter.
The above-noted linear synthesis filter includes a short-term synthesis filter having an IIR filter configuration and which uses the above-noted linear predictive coefficients which adds the desired frequency characteristics to the above-noted original signal, and a pitch synthesis filter having an IIR filter configuration and which uses the above-noted linear predictive coefficient which adds the desired frequency characteristics to the above-noted original signal. The above-noted pitch synthesis filter is formed by a pitch synthesis section with regard to direct sounds with a large attenuation factor, a pitch synthesis section with regard to reflected sounds with a small attenuation factor, and a delay section which applies a delay time thereto. Furthermore, the inverse acoustic characteristics of an acoustic output device such as a headphone or a speaker are formed by means of a linear predictive filter having filter coefficients which are the linear predictive coefficients obtained by linear predictive analysis of the impulse response which represents the acoustic characteristics thereof, the acoustic characteristics of the above-noted acoustic output device being eliminated via this filter. The above-noted linear predictive filter is formed as an FIR filter which uses the above-noted linear predictive coefficients.
According to the present invention, a three-dimensional acoustic processor which uses linear prediction is provided, wherein the desired acoustic characteristics to be added to the original signal are formed by a linear synthesis filter having filter coefficients that are the linear predictive coefficients obtained by means of linear predictive analysis of the impulse response which represents those acoustic characteristics, these desired acoustic characteristics being added to the above-noted original signal via this filter, the power spectrum of the desired impulse response representing the above-noted acoustic characteristics being divided into a plurality of critical frequency bands, the above-noted linear predictive analysis being performed based on impulse signals determined from the power spectrum which is used to represent the signal sounds within each of the critical bands, thereby determining the filter coefficients of the above-noted linear synthesis filter.
The spectral signals which represents the signal sounds within each critical band are taken as the accumulated sums, maximum values, or average values of the power spectrum within each critical band. Interpolation is performed between the power spectrum signals which represent the signal sounds within each of the above-noted critical bands, and the filter coefficients of the above-noted linear synthesis filter are determined by performing the above-noted linear predictive analysis based on the impulse signal determined from the above-noted output interpolated signal. For the above-noted interpolation, first order linear interpolation or high-order Taylor series interpolation are used. In addition, an impulse response which indicates the acoustic characteristics for the case of a series linking of the propagation path in the original sound field and the propagation path having the inverse acoustic characteristics of the reproducing sound field is used as the impulse response indicating the above-noted sound field, a filter to which is added the acoustic characteristics of the original sound field and a filter which eliminates the acoustic characteristics in the reproducing sound field being linked as one filter and used as the above-noted linear synthesis filter for determination of the linear predictive coefficients based on the above-noted linked impulse response. A compensation filter is used to reduced the error between the impulse response of the linear synthesis filter which uses the above-noted linear predictive coefficients and the impulse response which indicates the above-noted acoustic characteristics.
A three-dimensional acoustic processor according to the present invention which localizes a sound image using a virtual sound source has a first acoustic characteristics adding filter which is formed by a linear synthesis filter which has filter coefficients that are the linear predictive coefficients obtained by linear predictive analysis of the impulse response which represents each of the acoustic characteristics of one or each of a plurality of propagation paths to the left ear to be added to the original signal, a first acoustic characteristics elimination filter which is connected in series with the above-noted first acoustic characteristics adding filter, and which is formed by a linear predictive filter having filter coefficients which represent the inverse of acoustic characteristics for the purpose of eliminating the acoustic characteristics of an acoustic output device to the left ear, these filter coefficients being obtained by a linear predictive analysis of the impulse response representing the acoustic characteristics of the above-noted acoustic output device, a second acoustic characteristics adding filter which is formed by a linear synthesis filter which has filter coefficients that are the linear predictive coefficients obtained by a linear predictive analysis of the impulse response which represents each of the acoustic characteristics of one or each of a plurality of propagation paths to the right ear to be added to the original signal, a second acoustic characteristics elimination filter which is connected in series with the above-noted second acoustic characteristics adding filter, and which is formed by a linear predictive filter having filter coefficients which represent the inverse of acoustic characteristics for the purpose of eliminating the acoustic characteristics of an acoustic output device to the right ear, these filter coefficients being obtained by a linear predictive analysis of the impulse response representing the acoustic characteristics of the above-noted acoustic output device, and a selection setting section which selectively sets the parameters for the above-noted first acoustic characteristics adding filter and above-noted second acoustic characteristics adding filter responsive to position information of the sound image.
The above-noted first and second acoustic characteristics adding filters are configured from a common section which adds characteristics which are common to each of the acoustic characteristics of the acoustic path, and an individual characteristic section which adds characteristics individual to each of the acoustic characteristics of each acoustic path. In addition, there is a storage medium into which is stored the calculation results for the above-noted common section of the desired sound source, and a readout/indication section which reads out the above-noted stored calculation results, the readout/indication section directly to the above-noted individual characteristic section the read out calculation results, by means of the readout it performs. In addition to storing the above-noted calculation results of the common section for the desired sound source, the storage medium can also store the calculation results of the corresponding first or second acoustic characteristics elimination filter.
The above-noted first acoustic characteristics adding filter and second acoustic characteristics adding filter further have a delay section which imparts a delay time between the two ears, so that by making the delay time of the delay section of either the first or the second acoustic characteristics adding filter the reference (zero delay time), it is possible to eliminate the delay section which has this delay of zero. The above-noted first acoustic characteristics adding filter and second acoustic characteristics adding filter each further have an amplification section which enables variable setting of the output signal level thereof, the above-noted selection setting section relatively varying the output signal levels of the first and the second acoustic characteristics adding filters by setting the gain of these amplification sections in response to position information of the sound image, thereby enabling movement of the localized position of the sound image. The above-noted first and second acoustic characteristics adding filters can be left-to-right symmetrical about the center of the front of the listener, in which case, the parameters for the above-noted delay sections and amplification sections are shared in common between positions which correspond in this left-to-right symmetry.
In accordance with the present invention, the above-noted three-dimensional acoustic processor has a position information interpolation section which interpolates intermediate position information from past and future sound image position information, interpolated position information from this position information interpolation section being given to the selection setting section as position information. In the same manner, there is a position information prediction section which performs predictive interpolation of future position information from past and current sound image position information, the future position information from this position information prediction section being given to the selection setting section as position information.
The above-noted position information prediction section further includes a regularity judgment section which performs a judgment with regard to the existence of regularity with regard to the movement direction, based on past and current sound image position information, and in the case in which the regularity judgment section judges that regularity exists, the above-noted position information prediction section provides the above-noted future position information. It is possible to use the visual image position information from image display information for a visual image which generates a sound image in place of the above-noted sound image position information. So that the above-noted selection setting section can further provide and maintain a good audible environment for the listener, it can move the above-noted environment in response to position information given with regard to the listener.
In accordance with the present invention, a three-dimensional acoustic processor is provided which localizes a sound image by level control from a plurality of virtual sound sources, this processor having an acoustic characteristics adding filter which adds the impulse response which indicates the acoustic characteristics of each of the above-noted virtual sound sources to the listener and which is given with respect to two adjacent virtual sound sources between which is localized a sound image, this acoustic characteristics adding filter storing filter calculation parameters for the two adjacent virtual sound sources, and when one of the two adjacent virtual sound sources are moved to an adjacent region, without changing the acoustic characteristics filter calculation parameter corresponding to that virtual sound source, the acoustic characteristics filter calculation parameters of the other virtual sound source are updated to the virtual sound source which exists in the adjacent region.
According to the present invention, a linear synthesis filter is formed which has linear predictive coefficients that are obtained by linear predictive analysis of the impulse response which represents the desired acoustic characteristics to be added to the original signal. Then compensation is performed of the linear predictive coefficients so that the time-domain envelope (time characteristics) and the spectrum (frequency characteristics) of this linear synthesis filter are the same as or close to the original impulse response. Using this compensated linear synthesis filter, the acoustic characteristics are added to the original sound. Because the time-domain envelope and spectrum are the same as or close to the original impulse response, by using this linear synthesis filter it is possible to add acoustic characteristics which are the same as or close to the desired characteristics. In this case, by making the linear synthesis filter a pitch filter and a short-term filter which are IIR filters (recursive filters), it is possible to form the linear synthesis filters with a great reduction in the number of filter taps as compared with the past. In this case, the above-noted pitch synthesis filter is used to control the time-domain envelope and the short-term synthesis filter is mainly used to control the spectrum.
According to the present invention, the acoustic characteristics are changed with consideration given to the critical bandwidths in the frequency domain of the impulse response indicating the acoustic characteristics. From these results, the auto-correlation is determined. In the case of making the change with consideration given to the above-noted critical bandwidth, because the human auditory response is not sensitive to a shift in phase, it is not necessary to consider the phase spectrum. By smoothing the original impulse response so that there is no auditory perceived change, consideration being given to the critical bandwidth, it is possible to achieve a highly accurate approximation of frequency characteristics using linear predictive coefficients of low order.
According to the present invention, filters are configured by dividing the acoustic characteristics to be added to the input signal into characteristics which are common to each position at which the sound image is to be localized and individual characteristics. In the case of adding acoustic characteristics, these filters are connected in series. By doing this, it is possible to reduce the overall amount of calculations performed. In this case, the larger the number of individual characteristics, the larger will be the effect of the above-noted reduction in the amount of calculations. By storing the results of the processing for the above-noted common parts beforehand onto a storage medium such as a hard disk, for applications such as games, in which the sounds to be used are pre-established, it is possible to perform real-time processing of input of the individual acoustic characteristics to the filters for each position by merely reading out the signal directly from the storage medium. For this reason, there is not only a reduction in the amount of calculations, but also there is a reduction in the amount of storage capacity required, compared to the case of simply storing all information in the storage medium.
In addition, in addition to storing the output signal of the filter to add the common characteristics to each position, it is possible to store into the storage medium the output signals obtained by input to filters for eliminating acoustic characteristics. In this case, there is no need to perform processing of the acoustic characteristics elimination filter in real time. Thus, it is possible to use a storage medium to move a sound image with a small amount of processing.
Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to move a sound image continuously by moving the sound image in accordance with the interpolated positions of a visual image which is moving discontinuously. Also, by inputting the user""s auditory and visual environment into an image controller and a sound image controller it is possible to achieve apparent agreement between the movement of the visual image and the movement of the sound image, by using this information to control the movement of the visual image and sound image.
According to the present invention, by compensating for the waveform of the synthesis filter impulse response in the time domain, it is easy to control the difference in level between the two ears. By doing this, it is possible to reduce the number of filters without changing the overall acoustic characteristics, making a DSP implementation easier, and further it is possible to reduce the amount of required memory capacity by only performing localization processing for the required virtual sound sources for the purpose of localizing the desired sound image.

Three-dimensional acoustic processor which uses linear predictive coefficients


A doctor blade system for printing units is disclosed, which is arranged for applying ink, or the like to a rotatable cylinder in a printing unit, comprising an elongated frame, having a support and at least one clamp, which frame is arranged parallel to and outside the cylinder and on which are mounted, on each clamp of the frame, an elongated doctor blade, which is arranged for operative wiping engagement against the cylinder, each clamping portion comprising an elongated slit into which a doctor blade is intended to be partly introduced and fixed by a clamp, wherein the clamp is resiliently arranged for providing a damping action for the doctor blade. A doctor blade clamping device is also disclosed, as well as a chambered doctor blade system, a printing unit, and a method for attaching a clamping portion of a chambered doctor blade frame.

Doctor blades, such as chambered doctor blades, are extensively used in rotary-printing units, especially flexoprinting units, for applying ink, lacquer, adhesive or the like to a rotatable cylinder included in the printing unit. In a flexoprinting unit, for example, the chambered doctor blade serves to ink the screen roller. This occurs by filling the cells or recesses of the roller with ink by means of the chambered doctor blade. Such a chambered doctor blade is disclosed, for example, in International Application No. WO 93/24328. Chambered doctor blades of this type comprise an elongated frame with two elongated doctor blades, which are arranged alongside the roller in such a manner that the longitudinal axis of the chambered doctor blade defines an elongated chamber, which holds, for example, ink. When applying ink or the like to the circumferential surface of the roller, the chambered doctor blade is applied against the same. The function of each doctor blade changes with the direction of rotation of the roller. One of the doctor blades, namely the wiping doctor blade, wipes off excess ink, while the other merely has a sealing function.
The inking of the screen roller is essential to the printing process. It is of special importance that the screen roller is uniformly inked, which means that the distance between the roller and the doctor blades has to be accurately set. As a result, the chambered doctor blade, usually clamped in the machine frame of the printing unit, must exhibit good flexural and torsional rigidity.
Prior art chambered doctor blades therefore comprise a sturdy frame, which is usually solid and made in one piece, and on which the doctor blades are mounted. European Patent Application No. A-0 350 839 and International Application No. WO-A-89/07047, for instance, teach chambered doctor blades of this type.
Conventionally, such doctor blade frames are made of solid cast iron or aluminium, or compression-molded blanks of iron or aluminium provided with stiffening springs to reduce weight. However, these known constructions suffer from some serious drawbacks. First, the chambered doctor blade becomes very heavy and unwieldy and is thus difficult to dismount from the printing unit, e.g. when it is to be cleaned or replaced. It usually takes two people to dismount a cast-iron chambered doctor blade. Second, one casting mould is needed for each length of chambered doctor blade. Third, the cast-iron structure is naturally susceptible to corrosion, which constitutes a serious inconvenience, since the printing ink to be circulated in the chamber often contains corrosive components.
The market also provides doctor blade frames consisting of extruded aluminium sections in one piece, but these do not offer any satisfactory solution to the above problems. In order to withstand the contemplated strains and to obtain sufficient flexural and torsional rigidity, the aluminium sections must be comparatively thick, and the chambered doctor blade will thus become unnecessarily heavy. Furthermore, the aluminium sections are also liable to corrosion, since the printing ink often contains basic substances which are aggressive to aluminium.
In addition to the requirements discussed in the foregoing, the ink chamber naturally has to be sealed. The doctor blade that removes excess ink for the contemplated direction of rotation of the roller, is the operative doctor blade, and the other doctor blade merely has a sealing function. When the direction of rotation is reversed, it naturally is the other way around. The two doctor blades have to be applied against the circumferential surface of the screen roller in precisely the right way for the ink to be evenly distributed on the roller and to minimise the amount of ink dropping from the lower doctor blade (when this is the sealing blade). Moreover, special seals are required at each end of the chamber in this respect. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,995, which teaches a sealing unit placed at the end of an ink chamber and consisting of a pressure and labyrinth seal made up of several thin sealing lamellae of polymeric material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,673 teaches a chambered doctor blade device where the frame of the cambered doctor blade, in order to achieve a good stiffening and reinforcing effect, is composed of an assembly of interconnected metal sections. The frame composed of metal sections should form a flexurally and torsionally rigid unit which ensures a contact distance between the frame and the cylinder against which the doctor blades are to be applied. With such a design on the frame, the whole chambered doctor blade can be of much higher and more slender construction, without lowering the standards of strength.
The chambered doctor blade device, according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,673, with an internal chamber having clamping strips, strip-blade holder or single doctor blades, channels, as well as an external chamber, has too many parts, unnecessary inked surfaces and nooks with capillary slots which are difficult to access in order to achieve simple and effective cleaning of the printing unit.
A general problem with prior art doctor blade systems is that the doctor blades and the cylinder against which the blades are applied are worn out to quickly, which is costly and causes frequent changes of the blades and cylinders, and frequent cleaning operations.
Another problem which occurs in doctor blade systems is that when the doctor blade clamping portion breaks, the whole doctor blade system must be replaced or sent for repair.
One object of the present invention is to provide a doctor blade system which, despite its low weight, has sufficient flexural and torsional rigidity to ensure that a rotating cylinder is evenly covered, so that the doctor blade has an even contact against the cylinder.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a doctor blade system that is easy to clean and maintain.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a doctor blade system in which the stress on the doctor blade as well as the cells and cell walls of the rotating cylinder decreases.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a doctor blade system which facilitates simple, safe and fast change of doctor blades and end seals in and outside the printing press.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a doctor blade system which facilitates simple and quick change of ink without having to remove the chamber from the printing press.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a chambered doctor blade system which relatively easy can be renovated.

Doctor blade system, doctor blade clamping device, chambered doctor blade system, printing unit, method for clamping a doctor blade, and method for attaching a clamping portion of a chambered doctor blade


The present invention provides a live temperature-sensitive vaccine for Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. The present invention also provides methods of vaccinating a swine against colonization or infection of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae.

Porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) is an increasingly important cause of lowered swine productivity as characterized by slow growth, decreased feed efficiency, anorexia, fever, cough, and dyspnea. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, also called Mycoplasma suipneumoniae, is the causative agent of swine mycoplasmal pneumonia (also known as enzootic pneumonia, virus pneumonia, infectious pneumonia, and anterior lobe pneumonia of pigs). M. hyopneumoniae is a small, prokaroytic microbe smaller and simpler in structure than bacteria, but more complex than viruses. Unlike viruses, they are capable of a free living existence, through they are often found in association with eukaroytic cells as they have absolute requirements for exogenous sterols and fatty acids which generally necessitates growth in serum-containing media. M. hyopneumoniae is bound by a cell membrane but not by a cell wall. They have an extremely small genome, approximately 750,000 base pairs in length. The pig is the only known host of this mycoplasma.
Mycoplasmal pneumonia is one of the most prevalent swine respiratory tract diseases among the pig-raising countries of the world. Surveillance data from PigMon, a monitoring program that evaluates lesions in farms throughout the upper Midwest of the United States, identified pneumonia in 97% of the Midwestern swine herds, with  greater than 70% prevalence among the sampled animals (Dybvig 1992). Mycoplasmal pneumonia has a low mortality rate but a high morbidity rate (30-80%). The disease generally results in considerable economic loss, because it causes a depression in growth rate, inefficiency and sickness in animals.
The disease is transmitted from pig to pig through the nasal passages by airborne organisms expelled from infected pigs. The mycoplasma establish themselves deep in the apical and cardiac lobes of the lungs where they cause visible plum colored or gray lesions and cause difficulty in breathing and reduced weight gain. The primary infection by M. hyopneumoniae may be followed by secondary infection by other mycoplasma species (e.g., M. hyorhinus and M. floculare) as well as bacterial pathogens (Pasteurella and Bordetella species). These respiratory tract diseases caused by M. hyopneumoniae cause decreased weight gain at a time when animals are being fed for market. Thus, animals which have been infected with this organism will be worth less at slaughter than their non-infected counterparts.
Even though many farms have adopted multiple-site, high health programs, the prevalence of pneumonia has not declined markedly but may be changing in epidemiology. Due to the serious economic consequences of pig pneumonia, vaccines against, and treatments for Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae have been sought. Mycoplasma prevention in pigs is accomplished by a mixture of antibiotic treatment and vaccination. This approach has the drawback of being both expensive and unpredictable, with many farms showing little improvement following these procedures. Vaccination against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is a relatively recent introduction, with vaccines being available commercially only for the last 6-7 years.
Although Mycoplasma vaccines for pigs have been a huge commercial success, their merits under field conditions are still very much under debate. In general, these vaccines reduce average lesion scores of pneumonic lungs at slaughter, but do not impact the prevalence of affected pigs. That is, the same number of pigs are affected, but terminal lesions appear to be smaller. The impact of Mycoplasma vaccination on performance is even more suspect, with few, if any, papers showing a definite improvement in either gain or conversion.
The reason for the relatively unsatisfactory performance of these vaccines may be related to the fact that they are killed bacterins, together with the peculiarities of Mycoplasma infection in pigs. M. hyopneumoniae is a non-invading colonizer of ciliated epithelial cells. Because the organism does not invade the respiratory system, circulating antibodies elicited by the killed bacterins must cross the epithelial barrier and be secreted into the tracheobronchial lumen, a process that is difficult and ineffective. Mycoplasma bacterins must be able to elicit high levels of systemic antibodies, in order to be able to achieve this mucosal secretion. This, of course, requires relatively high doses of antigen and aggressive adjuvants, which makes these vaccines expensive and difficult to administer.
Another problem deals with the need to administer currently available vaccines by a double-dose injectable method. Such a double-dose method requires considerable pig handling, which is time-intensive and results in stress to the animals. As farms grow larger, double-dose, injection vaccination methods are becoming increasingly undesirable, with producers requiring an alternative vaccination method that does not require such handling.
Therefore, an ongoing need exists for a safe, effective vaccine against M. hyopneumoniae that is easy to administer.
The present invention provides an isolated and purified temperature-sensitive Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae bacterin. The bacterin may be ATCC deposit no. PTA-3549 (deposited in the American Type Culture Collection, 10801 University Blvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209, on Jul. 24, 2001).
The present invention also provides a vaccine preparation containing a live temperature-sensitive Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae bacterin in combination with a physiologically-acceptable, non-toxic vehicle. The bacterin may be ATCC deposit no. PTA-3549. The vaccine preparation may further contain an immunological adjuvant. Also, the vaccine preparation may contain at least one additional infectious agent. An infectious agent may be a virus, a bacterium, a fungus or a parasite. In particular, the infectious agent may be Borderella bronchiseptica, Pasteurella multocida types A or D, or Haemophilus parasuis.
The present invention also provides a method of inducing an immune response and/or protecting a susceptible swine against colonization or infection of a Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae by administering to the swine an effective amount of a vaccine preparation containing a live temperature-sensitive Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae bacterin in combination with a physiologically-acceptable, non-toxic vehicle. The vaccine preparation may further contain an immunological adjuvant. The vaccine may be administered by subcutaneous or intramuscular injection, oral ingestion, or intranasally. The vaccine preparation may be administered in one or more doses.
The term xe2x80x9cvaccinexe2x80x9d is defined herein in its broad sense to mean a biological agent used to produce active immunity. Vaccines generally employ one of four categories of antigens: live microorganisms administered via an unnatural route, live attenuated microorganisms, killed microorganisms and fractions or even a single antigen or product of a microorganism. In all situations, the goal is to present antigens without giving the disease. A number of different inactivating agents and means have been employed including formalin, azide, freeze-thaw, sonication, heat treatment, sudden pressure drop, detergent (especially non-ionic detergents), lysozyme, phenol, proteolytic enzymes and propiolactone. Examples of vaccines include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,894,332; 5,788,962; 5,338,543; and 5,968,525; and EP 571,648.
An immunological response to a composition or vaccine is the development in the host of a cellular and/or antibody-mediated immune response to the polypeptide or vaccine of interest. Usually, such a response consists of the subject producing antibodies, B cell, helper T cells, suppressor T cells, and/or cytotoxic T cells directed specifically to an antigen or antigens included in the composition or vaccine of interest. Vaccines of the present invention can also include effective amounts of immunological adjuvants, known to enhance an immune response.
Moreover, the goal of a vaccine is to provide protection against natural infection. A detectable immune response, such as producing detectable quantities of antibodies, may not necessarily be protective. Thus, while previous vaccines have been attempted to protect swine from infection by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, acceptable levels of protection have not been achieved.
An alternative to presently-available Mycoplasma vaccines for use in pigs is to use a live vaccine. Such a live vaccine would have many advantages. For example, local immunization could be achieved by delivering the vaccine directly to mucosal sites in an aerosol preparation, only one dose of vaccine would be needed, it would be cheaper to manufacture. The present inventors prepared temperature-sensitive mutants that fail to grow at normal pig temperatures but can grow in vitro at cooler temperatures.
Briefly, M. hyopneumoniae was mutated by being exposed to N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. The mutated M. hyopneumoniae was grown in Friis media, treated with nitrosoguanidine, and then grown on a Friis agarose plate for 10 to 14 days. Each plate containing well-separated colonies was replicated onto a nitrocellulose filter and used for epifluorescence to detect the presence of cytoplasmic LDH. Colonies not expressing LDH were selected and used for the animal studies. Organisms exposed to nitrosoguanidine were grown at 34xc2x0 C. Colonies were blotted onto nitrocellulose and transferred to agar plates and incubated at 39xc2x0 C. Colonies growing at 34xc2x0 C. but not at 39xc2x0 C. were selected and deposited with ATCC (ATCC deposit no. PTA-3549.).
For the preparation of a vaccine protective against infection from M. hyopneumoniae, the present invention employs live, temperature-sensitive bacteria. Many microorganisms lose their infectivity and change antigens when grown in culture for many generations. Indeed, the standard vaccine for polio is essentially a live polio virus which after growing in culture for many generations has mutated so that it no longer grows in nerve or brain tissue and thus has lost much of much of its pathogenicity. For this virus, the critical antigens have not changed.
Suitable strains of M. hyopneumoniae may be obtained from a variety of sources. Strains may be obtained from depositories such as the ATCC and NRRL. In view of the widespread dissemination of the disease, numerous strains may easily be obtained by recovering M. hyopneumoniae from lung secretions or tissue from sick animals and inoculating suitable culture medium.
The present live, temperature-sensitive M. hyopneumoniae, also called a M. hyopneumoniae xe2x80x9cbacterin,xe2x80x9d is employed directly as a vaccine. The effective amount will depend on the species, breed, age, size, health status and whether the animal has previously been given a vaccine against the same organism. The additional components in the vaccine and route of administration will also affect the effective dosage. Each batch of bacterin may be individually calibrated. The effective dosage is easily determinable by one of ordinary skill in the art by methodical trials of different dosages.
The term xe2x80x9cprotectingxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cprotectionxe2x80x9d when used with respect to the vaccine for mycoplasmal pneumonia caused by M. hyopneumoniae described herein means that the vaccine prevents the incidence of mycoplasmal pneumonia caused by M. hyopneumoniae, prevents the colonization of M. hyopneumoniae, or ameliorates or reduces the severity of the disease in the swine.
The dosage of vaccine to administer is easily determinable based on the concentration of bacterin, the route of administration and the condition of the animal. The effective amount is readily determined by one skilled in the art. The critical factor is that the dosage provides at least a partial protective effect against natural infection. Thus, an effective dose of vaccine is an amount of vaccine sufficient to afford protection in swine against mycoplasmal pneumonia. This dose will elicit an immunological response in a host animal.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, an effective dose of vaccine is determined to be about 106 to 109 colony forming units (CFU)/ml, and preferably about 106 to 107 CFU/ml. The active ingredient may typically range from about 1% to about 95% (w/w) of the composition, or even higher or lower if appropriate. The quantity to be administered depends upon factors such as the age, weight and physical condition of the animal considered for vaccination. The quantity also depends upon the capacity of the animal""s immune system to synthesize antibodies, and the degree of protection desired. Effective dosages can be readily established by one of ordinary skill in the art through routine trials establishing dose response curves. The subject is immunized by administration of the vaccine in one or more doses. Multiple doses may be administered as is required to maintain a state of immunity to the organism.
The vaccine preparation may include one or more adjuvants to heighten the immune response sufficiently to substantially prevent natural infection. Adjuvant refers to any substance whose admixture with an injected immunogen increases the response. Suitable adjuvants include but are not limited to surfactants, e.g., hexadecylamine, octadecylamine, lysolecithin, dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide, N,N-dioctadecyl-Nxe2x80x2-N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl-propane di-amine), methoxyhexadecyl-glycerol, and pluronic polyols; polanions, e.g., pyran, dextran sulfate, poly IC, polyacrylic acid, carbopol; peptides, e.g., muramyl dipeptide, MPL, aimethylglycine, tuftsin, oil emulsions, alum, and mixtures thereof. Other potential adjuvants include the B peptide subunits of E. coli heat labile toxin or of the cholera toxin. (McGhee 1993).
A widely used procedure involves the administration of inorganic gels, for example, alum, aluminum hydroxide, or aluminum phosphate. Some of the most effective adjuvants are water-in-oil emulsions, particularly those in which living or dead mycobacteria are suspended, e.g. complete Freund""s adjuvant. However, emulsions without mycobacteria (incomplete Freund""s adjuvant) are less irritating and are often used. To enhance immunogenicity of a bacterin, adjuvants containing aluminum hydroxide and/or DEAE dextran (diethyl amino ethylether dextran) may be used. The concentration of aluminum hydroxide may be very broad, in the range of up to about 1.5% depending on the route of administration. Concentrations in the range of 0.1 to 1.0% are more typical. Likewise the concentration of DEAE dextran may be wide, e.g., up to about 6% may be used. Concentrations of aluminum hydroxide and DEAE dextran in the vaccine may be from about 0.24% to about 0.39% aluminum hydroxide and about 1.5% of DEAE dextran.
DEAE dextran is commercially available in a variety of molecular weights. While the examples use DEAE dextran with a molecular weight of 500,000 daltons, different sizes may also be used as an adjuvant. Dextran sulfate has been used as an adjuvant but the results were less impressive.
The optimum concentrations of aluminum hydroxide and DEAE dextran would be readily determined by those using this invention by varying concentrations of each in the presence of fixed concentrations of the other and determining which is most protective.
The bacterin, whether it is with an adjuvant or not, may be admixed with a acceptable vehicle for vaccination. Well known examples include sterile water, saline, or buffered solutions. Additional agents to improve suspendability and dispersion in solution may also be used. Many conventional vehicles for carrying a vaccine are known and are mentioned in the references above. It is within the abilities of those skilled in the art to select appropriate vehicles depending on the route of administration and condition of the recipient animal.
Immunization may be performed by any of the methods well known to those skilled in the art such as oral, intranasal, aerosol and injection (either IM, SC, IV, ID or other method). The route of administration depends on the animal being vaccinated, vaccination history and convenience of the person administering the vaccine. The preferred route of administration is intranasally. For example, the vaccine may be administered via aerosol vaccination (Murphy 1993). This route of administration is preferred because the nature of protective immunity for M. hyopneumoniae may be local (pulmonary) immunity and cell-mediated immunity in preventing the disease rather than from circulating antibodies. Presentation of antigen (vaccine) to the respiratory tract immune system may stimulate a local immune response. Therefore localized administration of the vaccine may be more effective. Further, by administering the vaccine as an aerosol in an enclosed barn or space and allowing the pigs to inhale it, reduces the labor involved in vaccinating large numbers of animals in intensive production systems. Aerosol vaccination also, referred to as spray vaccination, is currently used on a commercial basis to effectively vaccinate poultry against certain diseases.
Repeated vaccinations may be administered at periodic time intervals to enhance the immune response initially or after a long period of time since the last dose. The time interval between vaccinations varies depending on the age and condition of the animal. For initial vaccination, the period will generally be longer than a week and preferably will be between about two to three weeks. For previously vaccinated animals, approximately annual, before or during pregnancy inoculations may be performed.
M. hyopneumoniae bacterin may be used alone or in combination with other vaccines for convenience or enhanced results. The combination vaccine preferably provides protection against plural infections. Of particular interest is the combination of M. hyopneumoniae and Borderella bronchiseptica and Pasteurella multocida types A and D because all three cause significant disease in swine. Additionally, such combinations do not interfere with each other in their ability to stimulate a protective immune response. These other vaccines may be inactivated by entirely different means. The other vaccines to be combined with M. hyopneumoniae bacterin should also be compatible with the same adjuvant used for M. hyopneumoniae bacterin.
Lung score or lung lesion score refers to the extent of lesions detectable in lung tissue. The scoring system is carried out as described by Goodwin and Whittlestone (1973) Br. Vet. J. 129:456-462.
Intranasal formulations may include vehicles that neither cause irritation to the nasal mucosa nor significantly disturb ciliary function. Diluents such as water, aqueous saline or other known substances can be employed with the subject invention. The nasal formulations may also contain preservatives such as, but not limited to, chlorobutanol and benzalkonium chloride. A surfactant may be present to enhance absorption of the subject proteins by the nasal mucosa.
Oral liquid preparations may be in the form of, for example, aqueous or oily suspension, solutions, emulsions, syrups or elixirs, or may be presented dry in tablet form or a product for reconstitution with water or other suitable vehicle before use. Such liquid preparations may contain conventional additives such as suspending agents, emulsifying agents, non-aqueous vehicles (which may include edible oils), or preservative.
To prepare a vaccine, the live, temperature-sensitive M. hyopneumoniae are isolated. The amount of M. hyopneumoniae may then be adjusted to an appropriate concentration, optionally combined with a suitable vaccine adjuvant, and packaged for use.

Temperature-sensitive live vaccine for Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae