A system for controlling a machine may include a remote control (RC) input device configured to remotely initiate a RC enabled mode on the machine. The RC input device may subsequently establish a communication link with the machine when no other RC input device currently has a communication link with the machine. The RC input device may transition the machine to a RC reserved mode in which the machine is reserved for control by the RC input device, and transition a mode of control for the machine to a RC active mode from the RC reserved mode. The RC input device may selectively control the machine when in the RC active mode. The RC input device may also transition the mode of control for the machine to an autonomous mode from the RC active mode.

Mining and large scale excavating operations may require fleets of machines to transport excavated material (e.g., dirt, rocks, gravel, etc.) from an area of excavation to a secondary location. For such an operation to be productive and profitable, the fleet of machines must be efficiently operated. One way to efficiently operate a fleet of machines is to reduce the number of operators required to operate the fleet by, for example, operating machines in a remote mode and/or an autonomous mode.
A system for operating a machine in an autonomous mode is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,479 (the '479 patent), issued to Kemner et al. The '479 patent discloses a system and method for remotely controlling an autonomous mobile vehicle using a tele-panel to interrupt autonomous operation. In tele-operation, an operator controls the vehicle using a tele-panel (remote control). The transition periods between autonomous, manual, and tele-operation (remote control) are strictly controlled for safety reasons. When the vehicle receives commands from the tele-panel, the vehicle ceases autonomous operation and enters a tele-ready mode. Once in a tele-ready mode, the vehicle will not respond to commands from other tele-panels and cannot resume autonomous operations.
Although the '479 patent may increase the flexibility of available operational modes for a fleet of machines by enabling manual, autonomous, and remote control modes, the '479 patent may still be less than optimal. In particular, the remote mode (tele-operation mode) disclosed in the '479 patent can only be entered from the autonomous mode. As a result, the system and method of the '479 patent may require a fleet manager and other controls used to operate multiple machines in autonomous mode even if certain applications only call for the ability to remotely control a single machine.
The system and method of the present disclosure solves one or more problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art.

Controlling a machine in remote or autonomous mode


A method for assaying a substance is provided in which an optical image is obtained from spots of light emitted from a chemiluminescent material capable of undergoing a luminescent reaction. The method comprises: (a) a step of distributing solid particles on the surface of a support, the solid particles having a diameter of not more than 100 .mu.m and on its surface carrying an antibody being able to catch a catalyst previously bound to the second antibody (or its analogue, such as Fab') through binding an antigen, and the support being permeable to a liquid and capable of absorbing light emitted from chemiluminescent material; (b) a step of immersing the support into a solution containing the chemiluminescent material to bring the catalyst over the support into contact with the chemiluminescent material to cause luminescent reactions including fluorescence; (c) a step of two-dimensionally picking up an optical image including an image formed by luminescence and fluorescence, and converting it into electric signals; (d) a step of storing the measured two-dimensional image data of the optical image in a image processing device; and (e) a step of manipulating the stored signals to form a new image in the same processing device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for determination of a substance by measurement of light emitted from a specimen prepared based on an antigen-antibody reaction. In particular, the present invention relates to solid phase immunoassays by use of fine particulate materials.
2. Related Background Art
The antigen-antibody reaction is one of the reactions with a high affinity and high specificity. The immunoassay method using the antigen-antibody reaction allows to detect objects such as living tissues, cells, and bacteria, with high sensitivity. Further, the immunoassay method is simple in operation and applicable to various objects. Therefore, this method is widely used for measurements in biology and biochemistry. In recent years, various methods are being actively developed featuring such advantages, especially for ultrasensitive assays of trace substances; for example, interleukin 6 in human blood.
In conventional fine-particle solid phase immunoassay by light measurements, a point sensor is generally used to determine the intensity of signals from the sample. In enzyme immunoassays, for example, an enzyme activity is either transduced into fluorescent light or other emissions. And then the light can be detected by a fluorescence spectrophotomer and other instruments including a photomultiplier tube as a detector.
In point sensing with a point sensor, however, the measurement is affected by background noises emitted from the entire area of the sample's optical image. The noises typically come from contaminants in the sample. When the signal is weak in the point sensing, the sum of those noises across the image is much higher than the sum of the intensity of the signal from the object, providing a low S/N ratio. This makes high sensitivity measurement infeasible.
Maly, F. E., et al. (Anal. Biochem., 168 462-469(1988)) provides an immunoassay method in which a microtiter plate is used as the solid phase for objects, and the light emitted from each of the wells of the microtiter plate is detected by a two-dimensional detector. This method enables simultaneous detection of signals emitted from the individual wells. The method of Maly, however, is equivalent to a method of simultaneous point sensing for each of the wells. Maly discusses no countermeasure against the high background noise over the signals from the light-emitting reagent in the respective microtiter plate wells. Japanese Patent Application S63-201561 describes an immunoassay method that enable to obtain a two-dimensional optical image of fine particles and to counts the number of the particles. This method, however, is intended to determine the number of particles by binarizing the intensity of light signals from the fine particles, but is not directed to determine the total light intensity of an object with sufficiently high sensitivity with an improved S/N ratio.


In a method for recording reference fingerprint data for a person, at least two fingerprint images are recorded that depict at least partially different areas of one and the same finger of the person. Data from these images is stored in at least two alternative sets of reference fingerprint data that are to be used in checking the identity of the person. This method makes it possible to use a small sensor that only records partial fingerprints, both when recording reference data and when verifying, without the person having to make repeated attempts during the verification in order for the sensor to record the same area on the finger both when recording reference data and during the verification. In addition, a method is described for checking identity, in which method the fact is utilized that there are alternative sets of reference fingerprint data, and devices for carrying out the methods.

It has been known for many years that fingerprints can be used to check a person's identity. For the checking, a current fingerprint is recorded from the person whose identity is to be checked and this is compared with previously recorded reference fingerprint data. The checking can concern a verification of the identity of the person. In such a case, the current fingerprint is compared only with reference data for the person that the person whose identity is to be verified is purporting to be. The checking can also concern an identification of the person's identity. In such a case, the current fingerprint is compared with reference data for several different persons in order to determine whether the current fingerprint comes from any of these persons.
There are different types of sensors for recording fingerprints. The sensors can for example be optical, thermal, pressure-sensitive or capacitive. Traditionally, the sensors have had a surface with a size that makes possible the recording of a complete fingerprint. Particularly with regard to capacitive sensors, that are manufactured from silicon, the cost of a sensor is, however, greatly dependent upon the size of the surface of the sensor. There is therefore a desire to be able to make the sensors smaller.
EP 0 813 164 describes a thermal sensor that only allows a part of a fingerprint to be recorded. In order to record a complete fingerprint, the user passes his finger across the sensor which records images at a high frequency. The images, that partially overlap each other, are then combined into an image of a complete fingerprint. The identity check is carried out in the usual way on the basis of the complete fingerprint.
This sensor has the advantage that it has a smaller sensor surface than sensors that record a complete fingerprint with a single image. The disadvantage, however, is that it is more difficult to use, as the user must pass his finger over the sensor at a relatively even speed in order for the image to be clear. If the user passes his finger over the sensor slowly or even stops, the result will be impaired as the sensor is based on temperature differences that are evened out immediately if the finger is held still.
WO 00/49944, that was filed by the Applicant of the present application, describes the use of a small sensor that records a partial fingerprint, that is only a part of a complete fingerprint. According to this application, a reference fingerprint image is recorded using a traditional "large" sensor or using a small sensor with the images combined into an image of a complete fingerprint. For the identity check, on the other hand, only an image of a partial fingerprint is recorded. This partial image is compared with the considerably larger reference image in all possible relative positions in order to check whether the partial image corresponds to any partial area of the reference image and can thereby be assumed to come from the same person as the reference image.
This method makes it possible for the user to hold his finger still on the sensor during the identity check. The comparison of all overlapping positions requires, however, a certain processor capacity and can take a relatively long time. In addition, an essentially complete reference fingerprint must be stored. This can be a disadvantage, for example when the check is to be carried out on a smart card which normally has limited processor and memory capacity.
In other known methods for checking identity using fingerprints, a complete fingerprint is, however, not normally stored as reference fingerprint data, but instead the most relevant information is extracted from the fingerprint and saved as reference fingerprint data. For example, different partial areas of an image of a fingerprint can be saved as reference data.
WO 01/84494, that was also filed by the Applicant of the present application, describes in addition how the identity check can be divided between a smart card and a processing unit in order to minimize the operations that need to be carried out on the smart card and that therefore require processor capacity. More specifically, the reference data is divided in this instance into a public part, that can leave the smart card, and a private part, that cannot leave the smart card. The public part contains a partial area and coordinates that indicate the location of additional partial areas that are to be found in the private part. To carry out an identity check, a current fingerprint is recorded for the person whose identity is to be checked. The public partial area is transmitted from the smart card to the processing unit in which it is compared with the current fingerprint in order to check whether it matches anywhere in this. If such is the case, the relative positions (translation and rotation) of the reference data and the current fingerprint are determined. The coordinates in the public part of the reference data are hereafter used to determine the partial area of the current fingerprint that is to be matched against the partial areas in the private part of the reference data. These partial areas of the current fingerprint are sent to the smart card where the identity check is concluded. As an alternative to the public partial area, a set of special characteristics, so-called features, can be stored in the public part of the reference data and used in order to determine the relative positions of the reference data and the current finger-print.
If a small sensor, that is a sensor that only records a partial fingerprint, is used for this application, the problem arises that it can happen that the user places his finger on the sensor in such a position that only some of the partial areas or none of these at all lie within the sensor surface area. If this occurs, the identity check will not succeed due to the fact that there is an insufficient number of partial areas to compare. The user must then carry out a new attempt with his finger in a new position. A number of attempts can be required and this is of course inconvenient for the user.
SE 0102376-1, which was filed on 29 Jun. 2001 by the same Applicant as in the present application and which was thus not publicly available at the time of filing the present application, proposes a solution to this problem which consists of checking how well the reference data is aligned with the current fingerprint. More specifically, on the basis of where the public partial area is located in the current fingerprint and using the coordinates for the private partial areas, it is possible to work out whether the private partial areas are located within the sensor surface area and thus whether the identity check has the possibility of success. If such is not the case, an indication can be given to the user regarding how he or she is to move his/her finger in relation to the sensor in order to improve the alignment.

Method and device for recording fingerprint data


There are provided a policy-based extensible markup language (XML) document print management method and system, using a policy object defining a print layout and an access authority to output data, on the basis of the information of a user requesting to print the XML document. The policy-based XML document print management method includes (a) requesting a policy object defining a printing layout and an access authority to output data to a policy management server, on the basis of information of a user requesting to print the XML document, in a policy agent; (b) receiving the policy object from the policy management server, interpreting the policy object, and obtaining policy information, in the policy agent; and (c) printing the XML document using the policy information, in the policy agent. Therefore, it is possible to determine a printing layout of an XML document and print the XML document, according to policy information. Also, by determining whether a user requesting to print the XML document has an access authority to the XML document on the basis of the policy information, it is possible to allow the printing job only to the user having the access authority.

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-75062, filed on Sep. 20, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a policy-based management method and system for printing eXtensible Markup Language (XML) documents. More particularly, the present invention relates to a policy-based management method and system for printing extensible markup language (XML) documents, using a policy object defining an access authority for output data and printing layouts, on the basis of user information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as eXtensible Markup Language (XML) has become popular as a tool for producing web contents, more companies and service agents create and manage business data, and the like using XML.
The eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is a page description language substituting for a HyperText Markup Language (HTML), being standardized by the WWW Consortium, and is generally referred to as 'XML'. XML has been developed to optimize a Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) for the Internet while extending link functions, for example, used in HTML, so as to have all the benefits of HTML and SGML.
In other words, the XML has a function for allowing a user to define new tags in HTML, as a method for solving the limitation of HTML and the complexity of SGML. Also, the XML, which is a subset having the practical functions of SGML, can be widely used in electronic publication, medical field, management, legal field, selling automation, digital library, electronic commerce service, and so on, as well as on the Internet.
Data defined in XML is processed using the XML that defines the data part of the data and an eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) that defines a description of the data. Here, the XSL is a language used for creating a stylesheet for describing how data transmitted through a web page using XML is shown to a user. XSL provides to a developer a tool capable of designating where and how to display data fields in an XML file. Like conventional stylesheet languages, XSL can be used to define styles of XML documents and also re-used for various XML documents.
In other words, data itself and a method for describing the data are separately created and managed. Recently, as XML-based contents have included a large amount of database managing corporate information or client information, policy-based management for XML data, such as access management and data output layout management, is increasingly required. However, existing XML-based and XSL-based data processing methods are not suitable to process various policies and accordingly CANNOT control and manage such policies independently.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 20040006744 entitled "System and Method for Validating an XML Document and Reporting Schema Violations", which is incorporated herein by reference, provides a method which detects logical errors for grammatical or specific contexts of XML documents using an internal validation engine. In the U.S. Patent Publication, a policy for automatically detecting errors and defects is described, however, policy-based management for printing of XML documents is not described.

Policy-based management method and system for printing of extensible markup language (XML) documents


A process for the manufacture of a lactam from an amino alkane nitrile and/or its hydrolysis derivatives, comprising reacting a solution comprising at least about 5% by weight amino alkane nitrile in water at a temperature of greater than or equal to about 350° C. and at a pressure of greater than about 250 bar. Optionally, a dilute acid may be added as a catalyst.

Epsilon-caprolactam (ε-caprolactam) is the main precursor for the preparation of nylon-6. Typically, industrial production processes for ε-caprolactam are multistep and produce ammonium sulfate or other by-products. Currently, approximately 95% of the world's ε-caprolactam is produced from cyclohexanone oxime via the Beckmann rearrangement.
A precursor material for cyclohexanone oxime is cyclohexanone. Precursor materials for cyclohexanone can include cyclohexane, phenol, and benzene. Accordingly, the first step (or steps) in the production of ε-caprolactam is often a series of reductions and oxidations to form cyclohexanone from cyclohexane, phenol, or benzene. Cyclohexanone thus produced is next reacted with a hydroxylamine salt, usually the sulfate, to form cyclohexanone oxime and ammonium sulfate. The oxime is then rearranged in concentrated sulfuric acid, and the resulting lactam sulfate salt is hydrolyzed to form ε-caprolactam and additional ammonium sulfate.
An alternative route to produce ε-caprolactam is from adiponitrile via 6-aminocapronitrile (ACN). This cyclization of 6-aminocapronitrile can be conducted in the liquid or gas phase, with or without a catalyst. In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 2,301,964 discloses a liquid phase cyclization of 6-aminocapronitrile at a temperatures of less than 380° C. and at reaction times of greater than 1 hour. U.S. Pat. No. 2,357,484, in turn, discloses a vapor phase process, having a short reaction time at temperatures between 150° C. and 500° C. Both processes use solid acid catalysts, which are prone to fouling, leading to increased operating and maintenance costs, as well as process downtime.
A. Krämer and H. Vogel., Chem. Eng. Technol. 21, 494-500 (1999) ("Krämer and Vogel")1 discloses a continuous hydrolysis of 6-aminocapronitrile in water to produce ε-caprolactam at temperatures of between 250° C. and 350° C. and at a pressure of 250 bar. Using a feed comprising 5% by weight of 6-aminocapronitrile and the balance water, the authors demonstrated a 45% conversion of 6-aminocapronitrile and 55% selectivity towards ε-caprolactam at a residence time of 100 seconds. Other work done in the 100 to 250 second residence time range indicates that increasing residence time increases conversion of 6-aminocapronitrile. In addition, the paper teaches that selectivity significantly decreases as reaction temperature increases beyond 380° C., and the data presented implies poor yields with this approach.
Methods for increasing the conversion of amino alkane nitrile with high selectivity to the corresponding lactam continue to be sought.


A folding seat for an aircraft has a backrest, a seat area and an armrest. The seat area is pivotable. When the seat area is pivoted, the armrest is pivotable downwards, the seat area and the armrest being coupled by at least one coupling element in the form of a bevel gear.

The present invention relates to a folding seat, particularly for a passenger cabin of an aircraft. In particular, the present invention relates to a folding seat for an aircraft, a seat group for a vehicle, an aircraft having a respective folding seat, as well as a method for guiding passengers to a seat of an aircraft.
Conventional passenger seats for aircraft have a support frame with a seat area, which is fixedly disposed thereon, and a backrest, which is disposed in the region of the back edge of the seat area. In aircraft, the passenger seats, preferably, form rows of seats, wherein two or more adjacently disposed passenger-seats or seats may be combined into a seat group, which is supported by a common support frame. Usually, an armrest is arranged at each side of a seat. The seat groups are provided as stiff units for the installation in the passenger cabins of the aircraft. In this respect, according to the requirements of the airlines, varying configurations may result, a highest possible capacity of seats being primarily aspired. One disadvantage of a passenger cabin having a great number of seats is that, due to the narrow longitudinal corridors of the cabin, also referred to as traffic area, between the rows of seats, the entrance and exit of the passengers require a high amount of time. Stagnation may particularly arise, if, in order to store their hand luggage in compartments above the seats, for example, the passengers remain standing in the corridor, whereby this will be blocked. Usually, the cabin corridors are too narrow to allow for a passage of two air passengers one besides the other. Particularly, a space between the rows of seats is difficult to access during cleaning works as well.
The ground time between consecutive flights of an aircraft, also referred to as "turn around" time, is of essential importance for the profitability of a commercial aircraft. Therefore, it is necessary that also in case of a high occupancy of seats in the passenger cabin, the traffic area be designed in such a way that a fast entrance and exit of the passengers is allowed for, and the amount of time for necessary ground works is minimized.


The present invention relates to a process for making high loft, nonwoven material by providing either natural and/or synthetic fibers, providing a low melt binder fiber, mixing the low melt binder fiber and the natural and/or synthetic fibers to form a web, cross-lapping the web, drafting the web with a drafter, heating the drafted web to a temperature sufficient to melt the low melt binder fibers, and cooling the web thereby forming a structural nonwoven material. The nonwoven batt can be cross-lapped between 2 and 10 layers and when the batt is cooled and has structural rigidity, the tensile strength in the machine direction is at least 50% of the tensile strength in the cross-direction. The batt weight is in a range of 0.25 oz/ft2 to 2.0 oz/ft2. The low melt binder fibers comprise 10 to 30 wt. % of the nonwoven batt and the synthetic and/or natural fibers comprise about 70 to 90 wt. %. This product is useful for nonwoven applications in indoor and outdoor furniture, quilting, bed covers and mattresses specifically.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high loft having balanced properties and a method of making the same for the production of nonwoven fabric. In particular, the present invention relates to a lightweight, high loft nonwoven fabric in which properties in the machine direction and cross direction such as resiliency (measured in terms of improved loft), and improved tensile strength are more uniform. Additionally, a process for making the high loft nonwoven is unique in that a drafter machine is employed, thereby increasing the efficiency of the production process.
2) Prior Art
High loft nonwoven fabrics are used in a wide variety of applications, for example, in indoor and outdoor furniture, bedding such as mattresses, and quilting. As such, there is always a need to improve the quality of nonwoven fabrics to enhance their function with existing uses, and to add their application to new uses. Moreover, from an economics standpoint, it is desirous to improve the process of producing nonwoven fabric in order to increase production rate.
High loft, nonwoven fabrics are principally formed of a polyester blend having a low melt binder. The low melt binder is either a bicomponent fiber, or a low melting fiber having a lower melting temperature than the polyester fiber, or a latex resin applied to the fibers, either as a spray or a powder.
Two principle characteristics of high loft nonwoven fabrics are product resiliency and tensile strength. Product resiliency refers to the capability of the fabric to return to its original shape after having been compressed. For example, it is desirable that a cushion, mattress, or similar item returns to its original form after use, such as after being sat upon by a person. Also, during shipping, the product is usually vacuumed down to reduce shipping volume. As such, it is important that the product returns to its original state upon unpacking.
Tensile strength refers to the capacity of the fabric to resist a load applied in tension and is measured in the machine and cross directions. Machine direction refers to the direction in which the nonwoven material is manufactured and processed, and cross direction is transverse to the machine direction.
Other important measures of quality include product uniformity, product compression recovery, and the amount of false loft exhibited by the product. Product uniformity refers to the degree of fiber alignment in both the machine and cross directions, such that the product possesses more uniform physical properties. Compression recovery and false loft are related to resiliency in that they affect fabric's ability to return to its original shape. For example, a fabric with false loft will have a high initial loft due to excessive voids within the fabric. Upon removal of an applied load, the fabric will be compressed into the voids and will not return to its original form.
In a conventional process for making high loft nonwoven fabric, wherein low melt fibers are used as the binder, polyester fibers and low melt fibers are blended together in a hopper, for example, and deposited onto a moving conveyor belt forming a batt. The speed of the conveyor belt determines the thickness of the batt. Movement of the conveyor belt naturally orients the majority of the fibers in the machine direction. However if higher tensile strengths are desired, more orientation in the machine direction will provide this effect. For example, the fibers may be carded to align the fibers more uniformly in the machine direction to give higher tensile strengths. To provide tensile strength in the cross direction a cross lapper layers the fibers over the machine direction laid fibers to thicken and strengthen the web. The web is then passed through an oven having sufficient heat to melt the low melt fibers, causing them to bind to the other fibers, thereby strengthening and improving resiliency of the web. After leaving the oven, the properties of the web are set in a cooling zone and the batt is wound for shipping to customers. This is the conventional process for producing the highest quality high loft product.
This conventional process is limited in that tensile strength of the web in the cross direction is higher than the tensile strength in the machine direction. Another drawback of the conventional process is that the low melt fibers typically constitute twenty percent (20%) or more of the web, by weight. These low melt fibers are more expensive than the polyester fibers, adding cost to the product.
A further limitation of the conventional process is that the production rate is limited by the cross-lapper. That is, the faster the production rate, the more inconsistent the fibers are laid when cross lapped. Moreover, the cross lapper is incapable of cycling back and forth at a speed sufficient to keep up with the speed of the other production components. This is particularly a problem for lightweight, nonwoven fabrics wherein inconsistently laid fibers reduce the fabrics' quality and diminishes physical properties of the product.
An alternative to using a low melt fiber as a binder in a conventional process for producing high loft nonwoven fabrics is to spray a latex resin onto the polyester fibers. The latex resin is applied in a spraying area sequentially located between the cross lapper and oven. Disadvantageously, the step of applying resin is also quite slow in comparison to the process speed of the remaining equipment, causing another process restriction point. Moreover, the latex resin causes the fabric to have a stiff feel.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a process for producing high loft nonwoven fabric at a faster production rate than conventionally accomplished. It is also an object of this invention to provide a product and process for producing high loft nonwoven fabric having comparable and in most cases superior quality, particularly having uniformity in tensile strength in the machine and cross directions. Further, it is an object of this invention to provide a product for making high loft nonwoven fabric that has improved product uniformity, enhanced compression recovery, and a reduction in false loft. Still further, it is an object of this invention to provide a product and process that produces a high loft nonwoven fabric, containing a reduced amount of low melt fibers, that is comparable or superior to fabric produced by a conventional process.
The present invention achieves these objectives in producing nonwoven fabric by adding a drafter within an existing high loft nonwoven process, between the cross lapper and oven. The drafter functions in its conventional sense, but its use in producing high loft nonwoven fabric is novel, thus producing novel products, and the benefits to product quality and increased production rate resulting therefrom was unexpected.
Drafters are known to those skilled in the textile art for producing thin fabrics. Drafters are typically used in processes which include needle punching, wherein the needle punching strengthens the web. However, their use in producing lightweight, high loft nonwoven fabric, is not known.
Applicant is aware of the following U.S. patents concerning a process having a drafter for producing nonwoven fabric.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,903, issued to Collins on Dec. 19, 1995, describes a hydroentangled, nonwoven fabric having comparable strength in the machine and cross directions. The process includes carding, cross lapping, drafting and hydroentaglement to create a thin fabric suitable for use in hospital gowns. The hydro entanglement step imparts comparable strengths to the fabric in the machine and cross directions. Since the process relates to manufacturing a thin fabric, there is no consideration of product resiliency.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,386, issued to Hughes et al. on Oct. 12, 1993, describes a process for making an entangled nonwoven fabric having balanced strength properties in the machine and cross directions and improved fire retardancy. These characteristics are achieved by cross-stretching the entangled fabric after the fabric has been wetted with an aqueous-based fire retardant composition and drying the wetted fabric while maintaining it in its stretched state.
Another example of a nonwoven fabric having comparable strength in the machine and cross directions is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,289, issued to Collins on Mar. 22, 1994. Collins discloses a spun bonded nonwoven web having spaced autogenous spot bonds, wherein spot bonds are distributed in a cornrow pattern to form a web having improved strength.
Conventionally formed high loft nonwoven fabrics have limited use since their tensile strength in the machine direction is significantly less than that in cross direction. Moreover, improvement is also desired in other measures of product quality, such as fiber uniformity, resiliency, compression recovery, and reduction in false loft.
Conventional processes for forming high loft nonwoven fabrics also have process components that limit production rate well below that of the remaining equipment. The cross lapper typically limits the rate of production in that it is incapable of obtaining the production speeds of the remaining equipment.
Conventional processes that spray resin as a binder onto the web have a production rate much slower than those that utilize low melt fibers because the step of applying resin causes a process restriction point. Also the oven cure residence time to dry and cure the sprayed binder resin impedes the production process compared with using low melt fibers. Using low melt fibers, on the other hand, is often more expensive than spraying a binder resin.


A platinum temperature sensor includes a meandering pattern portion and outlet portions continuously connected to respective ends thereof which are defined by a platinum film which is formed on an insulating substrate. External electrodes are formed to cover the outlet portions as well as the ends of the insulating substrate provided with the outlet portions. Each of the external electrodes comprises a first layer containing platinum or nickel which is in contact with the outlet portion and with the insulating substrate, a second layer containing silver and platinum which is formed on the first layer, a third layer containing nickel which is formed on the second layer, and a fourth layer containing tin or solder which is formed on the third layer. The first layer suppresses diffusion of silver contained in the second layer, and the third layer improves heat resistance of the second layer, while the fourth layer improves solderability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a platinum temperature sensor comprising a platinum film which is formed on an insulating substrate, and more particularly, it relates to an improvement in an external terminal structure of such a platinum temperature sensor.
2. Description of the Background Art
A platinum temperature sensor comprises a platinum film which is formed on an insulating substrate of alumina, for example. In order to attain high resistance in a platinum temperature sensor with a small size, a platinum film is formed in a meandering pattern on an insulating substrate of a limited size, thereby increasing the line length provided by the platinum film. In order to implement such a meandering pattern, a method, advantageously employed is to form a platinum film extending entirely or substantially over the overall surface of an insulating substrate and then to form grooves in the platinum film to perpendicularly pass through the same, so that the remaining portion of the platinum film meanders along the insulating substrate.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a conventional platinum temperature sensor 10 which is obtained by the aforementioned method.
The platinum temperature sensor 10 comprises an insulating substrate 1 of alumina which is 99.6 % in purity, for example. A platinum film 2 is formed on the insulating substrate 1 by printing, sputtering or vacuum deposition, and grooves 3 are formed in the platinum film 2 by application of a laser beam or by dry etching, so that the remaining portion of the platinum film 2 meanderingly extends on the insulating substrate 1. Thus, the platinum film 2 defines a meandering pattern portion 4 which serves as a resistive circuit, and outlet portions 5 continuously extending from respective ends of the meandering pattern portion 4.
The meandering pattern portion 4 is coated with a glass coating film 6 of borosilicate glass, for example. On the other hand, electrode pads 7 of gold or silver-platinum, for example, are formed on the outlet portions 5 by firing, and lead wires 8 prepared from Pt--Ni clad wires, gold wires or platinum wires, for example, are welded onto the electrode pads 7. In order to ensure fixation of the lead wires 8,.glass coating films 9 are applied to cover the lead wires 8, the electrode pads 7 and the outlet portions 5.
However, the aforementioned conventional platinum PG,4 temperature sensor 10 has the following problems:
Due to employment of the lead wires 8, it is necessary to handle the platinum temperature sensor 10 with the greatest possible care because of the poor tensile strength of the lead wires 8.
Due to the lead wires 8, further, such a platinum temperature sensor 10 cannot be suitably mounted on a highly integrated circuit.


A compound electrode comprises a first layer that comprises at least one halide compound of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of alkali metals and alkaline-earth metals; and a second layer comprising an electrically conducting material. The second layer is disposed between the first layer and an electronically active material of an electronic device. The compound electrode can serve as a cathode for an organic light-emitting device or an organic photovoltaic device. The compound electrode can be produced to be substantially transparent.

The present invention relates generally to electronic devices having at least an organic active material and, in particular, to such devices having at least a compound electrode.
Efficient operation of electronic devices depends, among other things, efficient transport of charges across an interface between an electrode and an adjacent medium. Opto-electronic devices comprise a class of electronic devices and are currently used in several applications that incorporate the principle of conversion between optical energy and electrical energy. Electroluminescent ("EL") devices, which are one type of such devices, may be classified as either organic or inorganic and are well known in graphic display and imaging art. EL devices have been produced in different shapes for many applications. Inorganic EL devices, however, typically suffer from a required high activation voltage and low brightness. On the other hand, organic EL devices ("OELDs"), which have been developed more recently, offer the benefits of lower activation voltage and higher brightness in addition to simple manufacture, and, thus, the promise of more widespread applications.
An OELD is typically a thin film structure formed on a substrate such as glass or transparent plastic. A light-emitting layer of an organic EL material and optional adjacent organic semiconductor layers are sandwiched between a cathode and an anode. The organic semiconductor layers may be either hole (positive charge)-injecting or electron (negative charge)-injecting layers and also comprise organic materials. The material for the light-emitting layer may be selected from many organic EL materials that emit light having different wavelengths. The light-emitting organic layer may itself consist of multiple sublayers, each comprising a different organic EL material. State-of-the-art organic EL materials can emit electromagnetic ("EM") radiation having narrow ranges of wavelengths in the visible spectrum. Unless specifically stated, the terms "EM radiation" and "light" are used interchangeably in this disclosure to mean generally radiation having wavelengths in the range from ultraviolet ("UV") to mid-infrared ("mid-IR") or, in other words, wavelengths in the range from about 300 nm to about 10 micrometers.
Reducing or eliminating barriers for charge injection at the organic EL layer/electrode interfaces contributes greatly to enhance the device efficiency. Metals having low work functions, such as the alkali and alkaline-earth metals, are often used in a cathode material to promote electron injection. However, these metals are susceptible to degradation upon exposure to the environment. Therefore, devices using these metals as cathode materials require rigorous encapsulation. In addition, these metals can diffuse rapidly into an adjacent organic EL layer, leading to device performance decay.
Other opto-electronic devices, such as photovoltaic cells, can also benefit from a lower barrier for electron transport across the interface between an active layer and an adjacent cathode.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide cathode materials that efficiently allow electrons to move across an interface between the cathode and an adjacent material and, at the same time, substantially preserve the long-term stability of the device.

Compound electrodes for electronic devices


A steel material containing 0.01% to 0.07% C, 0.40% or less Si, 0.5% to 1.4% Mn, 0.1% or less Al, 0.01% to 0.15% Nb, 0.1% or less V, 0.03% or less Ti, and 0.008% or less N on a mass basis, Nb, V, and Ti satisfying Nb+V+Ti<0.15, Cm satisfying 0.12 or less, is heated to a heating temperature of 1,100° C. to 1,250° C., finish-rolled in such a way that the accumulative rolling reduction at a temperature of 930° C. or lower is 40% to 85% and the finished rolling temperature is 760° C. to 870° C., cooled to a cooling stop temperature of 500° C. or lower in terms of surface temperature at an average cooling rate of 30° C./s to 200° C./s in terms of thickness-wise center temperature, naturally cooled for more than 10 s after cooling is stopped, and coiled at a coiling temperature of 400° C. to 620° C.

In recent years, crude oil and natural gas have been being actively mined in severe corrosion environments, which have been withdrawn from development, because of soaring crude oil prices, needs for the diversification of energy sources, and the like. Crude oil and natural gas are actively mined in oil and gas fields in humid environments containing hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, chlorine ions, and/or the like or in frigid locations such as North Sea, Canada, and Alaska. Pipelines for transporting mined crude oil or natural gas are under active construction.
Pipelines tend to be operated at high pressure with large diameter for an increase in transport efficiency. In order to endure the high-pressure operation of such pipelines, transport pipes (line pipes) need to be thick steel pipes and UOE steel pipes made from thick steel plates have been used. However, high-strength welded steel tubes made from coiled hot-rolled steel sheets (hot-rolled steel strips) are high in productivity, are more inexpensive, and therefore have been recently used as transport pipes instead of such UOE steel pipes made from thick steel plates in accordance with strong needs to further reduce construction costs of pipelines. These high-strength welded steel tubes need to have excellent low-temperature toughness from the viewpoint of preventing the destruction of pipelines and further need to be excellent in so-called sour resistance including hydrogen-induced cracking resistance (HIC resistance) and stress corrosion cracking resistance in addition to these properties.
In order to cope with these needs, for example, Patent Literature 1 proposes a "method for manufacturing a steel sheet for steel tubes having excellent sour resistance". A technique described in Patent Literature 1 is a method, for manufacturing a steel sheet for steel tubes having excellent sour resistance, including finishing the hot rolling of a continuously cast product containing 0.04% to 0.16% C, 0.6% to 1.8% Mn, one or more of 0.06% or less Nb, 0.07% or less V, 0.03% or less Ti, 0.50% or less Mo, and 0.50% or less Cr, and about 0.3% or less Si at a temperature of 750° C. or lower; immediately performing quenching by cooling to a temperature of 200° C. or lower at an average cooling rate of 20° C./s to 80° C./s; and then performing tempering at 450° C. to 750° C. According to the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1, a high-strength hot-rolled steel sheet, dramatically enhanced in sour resistance, having a tensile strength of 540 MPa or more is obtained.
Furthermore, Patent Literature 2 proposes a "method for manufacturing a steel sheet for high-strength line pipes having excellent HIC resistance". A technique described in Patent Literature 2 is a method, for manufacturing a steel sheet, including heating a semi-finished product which contains 0.03% to 0.08% C, 0.05% to 0.50% Si, 1.0% to 1.9% Mn, 0.005% to 0.05% Nb, 0.005% to 0.02% Ti, 0.01% to 0.07% Al, and 0.0005% to 0.0040% Ca and which satisfies a Ceq of 0.32% or more to 1,000° C. to 1,200° C.; performing two-stage cooling comprising accelerated cooling to a surface temperature of 500° C. or lower after hot rolling is finished; interrupting accelerated cooling once so that the surface is reheated to a surface temperature of 500° C. or higher; and then performing cooling to a temperature of 600° C. or lower at a cooling rate of 3° C./s to 50° C./s. According to the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 2, a steel sheet which exhibits excellent HIC resistance and SSC resistance even in sour environments and which has a high strength equivalent to X70 or higher is obtained.
Furthermore, Patent Literature 3 proposes a "method for manufacturing a hot-rolled steel sheet for sour-resistant high-strength electric resistance welded steel pipes". A technique described in Patent Literature 3 is a method, for manufacturing a steel sheet for hot-rolled steel sheet for sour-resistant high-strength electric resistance welded steel pipes, including heating a semi-finished product which contains 0.02% to 0.06% C, 0.05% to 0.50% Si, 0.5% to 1.5% Mn, 0.01% to 0.10% Al, 0.01% to 0.10% Nb, 0.001% to 0.025% Ti, 0.001% to 0.005% Ca, 0.003% or less O, 0.005% or less N, and one or more selected from the group consisting of 0.01% to 0.10% V, 0.01% to 0.50% Cu, 0.01% to 0.50% Ni, and 0.01% to 0.50% Mo and which satisfies Px=[C]+[Si]/30+([Mn]+[Cu])/20+[Ni]/30+[Mo]/7+[V]/10≦0.17 and Py {[Ca]−(130×[Ca]+0.18)×[0]}/(1.25×[S])=1.2 to 3.6 to 1,200° C. to 1,300° C.; performing hot rolling at a finished rolling temperature not lower than (the Ar3 transformation point minus 50° C.); immediately starting cooling; performing coiling at a temperature of 700° C. or lower; and then performing slow cooling. According to the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 3, an electric resistance welded steel pipe with a high strength equivalent to Grade X60 or higher can be manufactured, a hot-rolled steel sheet with a thickness of 12.7 mm or more can be obtained, and an electric resistance welded steel pipe with high weld toughness can be manufactured using the hot-rolled steel sheet.

High strength hot-rolled steel sheet for welded steel line pipe having excellent souring resistance, and method for producing same


A method and apparatus for estimating a lever arm correction between the wide beam antenna and the spot beam antenna in a navigational satellite system is disclosed. A prescribed satellite maneuver is used to increase the accuracy of the predicted satellite attitude in determining the lever arm, and lever arm corrections are provided from a ground segment to navigation receivers using curve fit coefficients to permit long range estimates and to minimize data transmission requirements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to space-based navigational systems, and in particular, to a control segment-based lever arm correction system applicable to navigational systems employing spot beams.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite system that transmits navigation signals that are received by ground-based GPS receivers and used to determine the position of the GPS receiver to a high degree of accuracy. GPS currently provides standard service to commercial receivers, and a higher accuracy service to military receivers authorized to receive such signals.
In current systems, the GPS navigation signal is transmitted via a wide beam satellite antenna disposed on each GPS satellite. The wide beam antenna permits any GPS receiver having a line-of-sight to the GPS satellite to receive the navigational signal, and when the navigation signal from a sufficient number of GPS satellites has been acquired, the GPS receiver can determine its position via a precision clock and well-known triangulation techniques.
Because GPS signals are also used in military applications, countermeasures can be expected to be applied in an attempt to reduce the effectiveness of the GPS system. One such countermeasure is jamming. To increase the effectiveness of the GPS signals in a jamming environment, a steerable high gain antenna may be used to transmit high intensity GPS signals via spot beams to areas where needed.
One difficulty with this approach is that the high gain spot beam antenna is typically physically displaced from the wide beam antenna, and consequently, the phase center of each antenna is also displaced as well. This displacement is known as the "lever arm" between the antennas, and left uncorrected, can negatively affect the ability of the GPS receivers to determine their position. Without any correction, the lever arm between the wide beam antenna and a 7 meter diameter spot beam antenna can contribute up to 4.4 meters of user range error (URE). Depending on the GPS satellite constellation, this uncompensated URE can produce up to nine meters (RMS) of vertical (altitude) navigation error, which is a factor of 10 higher than the performance of the current GPS constellation of 0.9 meters (RMS). In civil aviation applications, such errors are sufficient to result in loss of life, and in military applications, they can result in increased collateral damage, and increased sortie and weapon consumption to perform the same mission.
Further exacerbating this problem is the fact that in order to maintain proper Sun and Earth pointing, the GPS satellites are required to perform attitude maneuvers. Such maneuvers can be very large, particularly about yaw axis.
To achieve such high-accuracy navigation demanded for many missions, the GPS system must provide users with real-time corrections of the spot beam antenna phase center location relative to the Earth coverage antenna phase center, even while the spot beam antenna is moving to track specific terrestrial locations.
What is needed is an apparatus and method for computing a correction for lever arm related errors, and for incorporating this correction in navigation computations. The present invention satisfies these needs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Control segment-based lever-arm correction via curve fitting for high accuracy navigation


A flash drive including a storage module and a rotating member is provided. The storage module has a carrier, a first connecting interface, and a second connecting interface. The carrier has a groove. The first and the second connecting interfaces are assembled to the carrier and disposed backward from each other at opposite sides of the carrier along a first axis. The rotating member has a driving portion connected to the groove. The rotating member is rotated on a rotation axis, such that the driving portion is slid in the groove, and the carrier is moved along the first axis. A traveling path of the first connecting interface along the first axis is different from a traveling path of the second connecting interface along the first axis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flash drive.
2. Description of Related Art
With development of multimedia technology, produced digital files become larger in size. Although a conventional 1.44 MB floppy disk is easy to carry, a capacity thereof cannot meet current needs. Moreover, although a conventional disk-structure type hard disk can provide a large storage space, it is inconvenient to carry due to its large size. Recently, with the popularization of universal serial bus (USB) interfaces and the price reduction of flash memories, USB flash disks advantaged in large storage capacity, great compatibility and portability have been extensively applied to transmit data between various computers and storage devices.
A flash disk featuring in large storage capacity, plug-and-play, compact size and portability has taken the place of the floppy disk. The flash drive is electrically connected to a computer host and a storage module through a connector (e.g., a USB plug or an IEEE 1394 plug) by means of a storage component connected thereto.
However, in order to comply with various types of the electronic devices, the flash drive has be to adapted to different connection interfaces and commonly has two or more connection interface structures. Nevertheless, for users, the connection interfaces are subject to an issue of mutual interference if the structure of flash drive having the connection interfaces is not adaptively designed.
Nothing herein should be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art of any portion of the present invention. Furthermore, citation or identification of any document in this application is not an admission that such document is available as prior art to the present invention, or that any reference forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art.


An air bleed vapor system is provided having a primary vapor manifold connected to a fuel line take-off for providing a source of liquid fuel to the system. A vapor control module incorporates a precision needle valve for allowing metering of extremely small flowrates of liquid fuel into the vapor manifold. A pressure line is inserted into the PCV intake of a vehicle, and a secondary vaporization chamber is in fluid communication with the pressure line and the vapor control module, and provides an oxygen intake chamber into which an air-fuel mixture can be held at the pressure of the vehicle's crankcase ventilation system. Finally, a delivery vaporization conduit in the form of a linearly elongated chamber is in fluid communication with the PCV manifold of the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to intake systems for gasoline powered internal combustion engines and, more particularly, to an air bleed vapor system for atomizing such a vehicles positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known in the art, there are a number of devices available for assisting a vehicle owner in increasing fuel mileage. One category of such devices includes those that create increased turbulence within the intake, or exhaust, system of the vehicle's engine. Such devices appear to be targeted at creating a 'vortex' with the intent of generating more thorough air-fuel mixtures and, by extension, a more complete combustion. A second category utilizes magnetic fields in order to 'ionize' either fuel, the air, or the mixture, also in an attempt to urge a more complete combustion. And, a final category attempts to remove sludge and other impurities from the system, either by entrainment of such impurities in the lubrication system or through capture of blow-by in the PCV system.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,837,213, issued in the name of Burnett, discloses a power booster fuel saver of the vortex-air-intake type.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,964, issued in the name of Maurice, describes a vortex generating airfoil fuel saver describing an airfoil shaped body.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,674, issued in the name of Monteiro Vieira, discloses a device for passing the fuel line through a multidirectional magnetic field.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,113, issued in the name of Chen, discloses an air-rich fuel saver which provides a fuel rich airstream into a vehicle's carburetor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,508, issued in the name of Pena, discloses a fuel saver system for internal combustion engines which saturates the air portion of the air-fuel mixture with ether, alcohol or water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,623, issued in the name of Graham, discloses an air inlet fuel saver device for internal combustion engines that provides an aeration nozzle directing air into the throat of the carburetor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,406, issued in the name of Minor et al, describes a device that regulates the vacuum provided to the engine's intake manifold.
Consequently, a need has been felt for providing an apparatus and method of allowing for more efficient fuel-air mixtures to be created for increasing gas mileage in internal combustion engines.


A bottle opener for opening bottles of the type having a threaded cap secured to a threaded opening and a seal provided by sheet material secured over at least a portion of the cap and a portion of the bottle. The opener includes a cap engaging member for unthreading the cap and an edge movably positionable against the seal for disruption of the seal during unthreading of the cap.

Bottle openers have been provided for prying a cap off of the lip of a bottle. Typically, such openers include an edge which is engageable with the underside or bottom edge of the cap and an upward pressure is applied to the opener to deform the bottom edge of the cap to disengage the cap from the bottle. The seal between the cap and the bottle is disrupted and because the cap is deformed, the cap cannot be replaced on the bottle.
Many bottles, such as bottles for beer and wine coolers, have threads around the lip of the bottle and are fitted with caps that thread onto the lip of the bottle. Thus, it is possible to open the bottle by hand by twisting the cap instead of prying it open. Many people have trouble opening twist-off caps. Gripping, twisting or manipulating small objects such as bottle caps can be difficult for some people, such as people with arthritis. In addition, many people experience pain or discomfort when attempting to twist the cap off of a bottle. Because the bottle caps are typically made of crimped metal and the metal edges are often sharp, many people are unable to apply a sufficient gripping and twisting force to remove the cap with their bare hands without causing themselves pain or even injury.
Twisting the cap as opposed to prying it off allows the cap to be removed without deforming the cap. This is desirable to enable the cap to be replaced on the bottle to preserve the contents therein. However, this also represents a security risk, as the cap may be removed, the contents tampered with and the cap replaced. For security and aesthetic purposes, modern bottles also often have a paper or foil wrapper which covers the cap and neck of the bottle. The wrapper forms a detachable seal between the cap and the bottle. The bottle cap cannot be removed until the paper or foil wrapper has been cut or torn, breaking the seal between the bottle cap and the neck of the bottle. Thus, the bottle wrapper serves many purposes. It is decorative and often includes markings identifying the product. Also, because consumers are concerned about possible tampering of products, it can serve as an indicator of whether the bottle cap has been removed. Thus, an intact bottle wrapper seal indicates that the bottle cap has not been removed.
Removal of the cap generally leaves a significant portion of the paper or foil seal remaining around the lip of the bottle which may contact the mouth of the user and interfere with the drinking of the contents. Typically, the user must manually tear portions of the seal away from the area of the bottle adjacent the cap before consuming the beverage.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for removing and replacing twist-off type bottle caps from bottles of the type having a wrapper covering the cap and a portion of the bottle.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a device of the character described which enables removal and replacement of the cap without damaging the cap.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a bottle opener which is easy to use, especially for people who have trouble gripping, twisting or otherwise manipulating small objects.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a bottle opener which will prevent discomfort or injury to persons who experience pain when applying the force necessary for opening threaded cap bottles with their bare hands.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a bottle of the character described having ergonomics for effective and safe operation.
It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for the disruption of the paper or foil wrapper of the type forming a seal between the bottle cap and the neck of the bottle.
Having regard to the foregoing and other objects, the present invention is directed to a device for opening and closing bottles of the type having a threaded cap over a top opening of the bottle and a seal provided by a sheet material secured to the cap and at least a portion of the bottle. According to the invention, the opener includes a housing member having a generally U-shaped cross section, the housing member including an outer surface configured for grasping by a hand of a user and an interior portion configured to receive both the cap of the bottle and an upper portion of the bottle below the cap over which at least a portion of the sheet material is attached.
A cap engaging member is rigidly secured adjacent the interior portion of the housing for receivably engaging at least a portion of the cap when the cap is inserted into the interior portion of the body member such that when the body is moved opposite the threaded direction of the cap, the cap is caused to move with the cap engaging member to unthread the cap from the bottle.
A cutting surface, preferably provided by a steel ring having a sharpened edge, is positioned adjacent the inner portion of the housing and is positionable for contact with the sheet material at a location below the bottle cap for disruption of the sheet material during unthreading of the cap from the bottle.
In one embodiment, the housing includes a covering, such as a textured rubber sheet material attached to the outer surface of the housing. The lower edge of the covering preferably extends below the housing and includes a circumferential groove on its lower interior edge sized to retain the steel ring. During use of the opener, the lower edge of the covering may be squeezed by the user to urge the cutting edge of the ring against the paper or foil seal to cut the seal so that when the cap is removed, so is the portion of the seal above the cutting ring.
In another embodiment, the housing includes a leg portion which extends below the cap engaging member. This portion of the housing is relatively thin and is thus pliable such that a cutting ring received within a groove provided thereon may be urged against the bottle to cut the seal in a like manner.
As will be appreciated, bottle openers according to the invention are particularly advantageous in that they provide a larger gripping surface, i.e., taller and wider than the cap of the bottle. The bigger gripping surface is especially beneficial for persons who have trouble with gripping, holding, manipulating or applying force to small objects, such as people with arthritis or with tender skin that tends to be injured when gripping the sharp metal of the cap. In addition, the openers enable removal of both the cap and the seal in one motion, thus avoiding the need for the user to thereafter tear the seal to remove it from interfering with consumption of the contents of the bottle.


A polyoxyalkylene-organopolysiloxane copolymer is prepared by reacting a polyoxyalkylene allyl ether with an organohydrogenpolysiloxane in the presence of a platinum group metal catalyst. In one embodiment, a polyoxyalkylene allyl ether having a CPR value of less than 0.5 is used. In another embodiment, a polyoxyalkylene allyl ether having a CPR value of less than 5 is used and an acid is added for neutralization prior to the reaction. The copolymer can be produced while substantially eliminating solvents and additives or minimizing the amounts thereof.

It is well known to those skilled in the art that polyoxyalkylene-organopolysiloxane copolymers are produced through addition reaction of polyoxyalkylene allyl ethers with organohydrogenpolysiloxanes in the presence of platinum based catalysts, which reaction is commonly referred to as hydrosilylation.
The hydrosilylation reaction is generally carried out in suitable solvents for allowing the addition reaction to proceed smoothly, for example, alcohols such as ethanol and propanol and aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene and xylene.
JP-A 11-504379 uses as the reaction medium a hydroxyl-free ester solvent which is a liquid with a high boiling point. The use of such a low volatile solvent is advantageous because it helps the hydrosilylation reaction proceed and causes no substantial change in properties of the resulting polyoxyalkylene-organopolysiloxane copolymers even when the solvent is left behind, avoiding any danger like toxicity.
JP-A 2000-234025 describes that the relevant reaction is effected in the presence or absence of a solvent while an amine is added. The amine added can prohibit side reactions particularly when the polyoxyalkylene allyl ethers are terminated with hydroxyl groups.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,727 (JP-A 11-116670) discloses that the relevant reaction is effected in vacuum. The vacuum condition ensures formation of a high molecular weight copolymer of [AB]n type using a platinum catalyst, hexachloroplatinic acid and can suppress foaming upon solvent stripping.
For decomposing oxidative impurities which are present in the polyoxyalkylene allyl ether and interfere with hydrosilylation, it is effective to add ascorbic acid, citric acid or derivatives thereof as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3299154. This method improves the reactivity of hydrosilylation, but suffers from a problem. When ascorbic or citric acid is used in an amount enough to decompose oxidative impurities (at least 0.01 wt % based on the polyoxyalkylene allyl ether), there is also formed a product of ascorbic or citric acid directly reacting with ≡SiH groups on the organohydrogenpolysiloxane, which can give more or less detrimental effect on the performance of the resulting polyoxyalkylene-organopolysiloxane copolymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,398, U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,193, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,096 describe the addition of additives such as carboxylic acid salts for enhancing reaction activity or suppressing side reactions.
However, all the foregoing methods entail cumbersome steps. Since a noticeable amount of a third substance such as solvent or additive is added, it must be removed from the product after hydrosilylation reaction by such means as stripping or filtering.

Method for preparing polyoxyalkylene-organopolysiloxane copolymers


Latching fastener with male and female parts configured to separatably latch. One embodiment has a male part with a latch coupler, a female part with a bistable actuator and a plurality of latches with lower latch levers. To fasten, the latching fastener is configured so that when the female part is pressed down over the male part, the lower latch levers contact the latch coupler, the latch coupler pushes up the lower latch levers, causing rotation of the latches into a latched position. To separate, the latching fastener is configured so that in response to an actuator member of the bistable actuator moving from an upper to a lower stable position, the actuator member pushes down the lower latch levers, the lower latch levers rotate the latches to an unlatched position, and the lower latch levers push down the latch coupler, separating the male and female parts.

In the past, snap fasteners have been, for the most part, "friction fasteners" and as such, they have taken considerable force to fasten together. Generally, they are not secure fasteners, as the force to separate them is in general no more than the force required to fasten them. Faults of snap fasteners previously known in the art have lead to losses (e.g. articles falling from holsters or cases which use these fasteners to secure closures). These faults include critical dimensional tolerances, which if not maintained, produce difficulty in closure and failure to stay closed. Wear of the fasteners can change these critical dimensional tolerances, causing looseness and failure to stay closed.
Some previously known fasteners, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,538,557, are positive holding fasteners having female part with a resilient clamp including fingers that are engageable with a groove in the male part for separably coupling the male and female parts together. These fasteners, although positive in connection, are sometimes difficult to separate, because the resilient clamp is only about one half the diameter of the snap fastener and has a poor operating leverage ratio, it can be difficult to operate when made in small sizes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,768 was an attempt to improve the release of this kind of snap fastener by adding a separate booster spring to aid separation. However, it retains the fault of a poor operating leverage ratio and the small resilient actuator plate makes using the snap fasteners difficult when made in small sizes. Further, it is difficult to construct because the actuator plate is a part of the resilient clamp.
Various quick-release devises can be found in the known art for disengaging a load when the load is either attached or suspended from a hook. While many of these devices are suitable for some applications, they generally become difficult or become incapable of release actuation when built in very small sizes because the load exerted on the jaws of the device is often transmitted to the latching mechanism, jamming the mechanism. In addition to operational deficiencies the known art devices often are complicated and structurally heavy, in comparison to the loads they are able to carry. For these reasons, quick-release devices of the general type have limited application in very small sizes and have achieved limited acceptability in the field. Typical remote coupling or locking devices found in the known art are represented by the following: U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,576,352; 1,824,843; 2,894,763; 3,403,650; 4,379,579; and 4,613,180. These devices are primarily single point connection devices and do not offer stability for the connected device during release. Accordingly, there exists a substantial need for an electro-mechanical quick-release device which is efficient, effective and inexpensive to manufacture and can be made in micro sizes.


An apparatus to project toward a tree to disburse a pheromone, comprising: a releaser removably adjacent to a capsule via an extension; whereby said releaser and said capsule are disposed adjacent to each other in a deployable state, then the releaser separates from the capsule but is still connected via said extension whereby inertia causes said releaser to move away from said capsule into an attachment state, and related methods of applying a pheromone onto a tree branch.

Pheromones are released in agricultural environments, such as orchards and farms, to control insect reproduction and insect population so that plants and vegetation growth can be enhanced. In some cases, the pheromones are disposed in the upper ⅓ of trees to decrease invading insects in fruit crops, such as apples.
A pheromone is a chemical substance that is usually produced by an animal and serves especially as a stimulus to other individuals of the same species for one or more behavioral responses. Pheromones can be used to disrupt mating of invading insects by dispensing the pheromones or the pheromone scent in the air, so the males' cannon locate the females, which disrupts the mating process. Pheromones can be produced by the living organism, or artificially produced. This pest control method does not employ insecticides, so the use of pheromones is safer for the environment, and for living organisms.
Currently, the relevant art includes tying pheromones onto branches by use of the pheromones being imbedded within "twisty-tie" like products. Pacific Biocontrol Corporation, of Litchfield Park, Ariz. (pacificbiocontrol.com), makes and sells these types of pheromone products. These products require the user to manually, or by means of a rod-like extension, twist each product onto a branch, like one would apply the twisty-tie to close a trash bag. This is a labor intensive practice, especially for large orchards.
As can be seen, there is a need for faster way to apply such pheromone systems


A drive unit for operating a plastics injection machine includes a rotatably supported bushing intended for accommodation of an extruder screw and a rotor which includes a hollow shaft and is defined by an inner diameter sized to allow passage of the bushing and accommodated extruder screw through the rotor. The rotor is hereby detachably connected with the receiving member in fixed rotative engagement.

The present invention relates to a drive unit for operating a plastics injection machine.
Plastics injection machines of a type involved here include an extruder having an extruder screw for producing a plastic melt and a drive for operating the extruder screw, and an injection unit which receives the plastic melt for introduction into a cavity of a mold. A problem facing an operator of such plastics injection machines is the necessity to remove the extruder screw from the machine for cleaning purposes, when injection material needs to be changed or after the machine has cooled down. Removal of the extruder screw is conceivable in two directions. On one hand, the extruder screw may be withdrawn through the front of the extruder, i.e. in a direction away from the drive. This approach requires, however, a dismantling of the extruder and thus is very complicated and essentially impractical. As an alternative, the extruder screw may be withdrawn through the rear of the extruder, i.e. in a direction toward the drive. This approach requires, however, an undesired dismantling of the drive.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved plastics injection machine and in particular to so construct a drive unit to obviate prior art shortcomings and to allow a simple removal of the extruder screw.

Drive unit for plastics injection machines


A swivel inlet hose-drag irrigation machine is disclosed which utilizes an inlet elbow mounted in a swivel bearing on the cart to attach a water supply hose to the machine. The inlet elbow is mounted to the side of the four-wheel linear cart rather than behind the cart between the tires. The inlet elbow is free to rotate in a 180° arc so that the hose can be attached from either end of the cart at the side thereof. The machine also includes a pair of vertically disposed and rotatable rollers which are mounted at the opposite ends of the cart to push the drag hose out of the way of the tires of the cart so that the tires of the cart do not roll over the drag hose thereby eliminating any manual handling of the drag hose.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a linear move irrigation system and more particularly to a swivel inlet hose-drag linear irrigation machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a prior art linear move irrigation machine or system, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,551. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the prior art machine generally comprises an elongated water conduit which extends over the field to be irrigated and which is supported by a series of support towers spaced along the length thereof. Each of the support towers is self-propelled so that the conduit may be moved across the field to be irrigated. The linear move irrigation system such as disclosed in the '551 patent normally obtains water therefore from a canal or ditch which extends along one side of the field. The machine of the '551 patent is normally referred to as a ditch-feed linear with the water being drawn out of the ditch by suction. An engine driven pump is mounted on the machine and a suction inlet screen is mounted on the end of a pipe that extends down into the ditch. Another type of linear irrigation machine is what is referred to as a hose-drag linear irrigation machine. FIG. 3 illustrates a prior art hose-drag linear machine such as disclosed in Patent Application Publication US2006/0283507A1 published on Dec. 21, 2006. Hose-drag linear machines are supplied water through a length of polyethylene hose that drags behind the machine. The length of the polyethylene hose may vary depending on field characteristics and hose diameter, but is generally from 400 feet to 1,000 feet.
Hose-drag linear machines that pull large lengths of hose generally have four wheels and two motors (electric) to provide the traction and power required. The hose is typically attached to the machine at the rear of the cart, centered between the wheels. When the machine is reversed to travel in the other direction, the hose must be disconnected from the machine, dragged to the side (out of the machine's path), and dragged around in a loop to reconnect to the other end of the hose-drag cart. This is time-consuming and labor intensive and is a main reason that hose-drag linear machines are not used by more customers. In some cases, two-wheel hose drag units have been utilized, but the hose pull capability of those carts is limited due to the light weight thereof and the lack of traction thereof.

Swivel inlet hose-drag linear irrigation machine


A TFT substrate includes a substrate and at least a TFT disposed thereon. The TFT includes a semiconductor island and at least a gate. The semiconductor island has a source region, a drain region, and a channel region interposed therebetween. The semiconductor island has sub-grain boundaries. The gate corresponds to the channel region. A first included angle between an extending direction of the gate and a line connecting the centroid of the source region with the centroid of the drain region is not substantially equal to 90 degrees. A second included angle between the sub-grain boundaries in the channel region and the line connecting the centroid of the source region with the centroid of the drain region is not substantially equal to 0 degree or 90 degrees. Additionally, a method of fabricating a TFT substrate, an electronic apparatus, and a method of fabricating the electronic apparatus are also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate, an electronic apparatus, and methods for fabricating the same and, more particularly, relates to a TFT substrate in which a channel region has sub-grain boundaries and relates to an arrangement of the sub-grain boundaries, an electronic apparatus, and methods for fabricating the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, with an advancement of optoelectronic technologies and semiconductor fabricating technologies, a flat panel displays have been vigorously developed. Among the flat panel displays, a liquid crystal displays (LCDs) characterized by low operating voltage, no harmful radiation, light weight, and compactness have gradually replaced conventional CRT displays and become mainstream display products.
In general, the LCD can be categorized into an amorphous silicon TFT-LCD and a low temperature polysilicon TFT-LCD. Compared with the amorphous silicon TFT, the low temperature polysilicon TFT has a relatively high electron mobility (by two to three orders of magnitude, and therefore the polysilicon TFT not only can serve as a switch of a pixel, but also can be applied in peripheral circuit regions as a circuit for driving the LCD.
Practically, the TFT acting as the switch of the pixel and the TFT acting as the driving circuit require different properties. The TFT serving as the switch of the pixel is normally required to achieve high uniformity of electrical characteristics, while the TFT acting as the driving circuit should be characterized by high mobility of carriers and high electrical reliability. Here, device characteristics of the TFT are closely associated with crystallization forms and crystallization locations in the polysilicon layer. In particular, electrical performance of the TFT mainly results from the crystallization form of the polysilicon layer in a channel region.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional sequential lateral solidification (SLS) laser crystallization apparatus 100 for forming polysilicon. Please refer to FIG. 1, the SLS laser crystallization apparatus 100 includes a laser source (not shown), an optical system 110, and a substrate carrier 120, wherein the optical system 110 has a mask 112, and a modulator 114. The SLS laser crystallization apparatus 100 is an improvement of an excimer laser crystallization apparatus. Specifically, the highly-precise optical system 110 and the substrate carrier 120 capable of being moved within a sub-micro range for carrying a substrate 130 are additionally installed in the original excimer laser system.
FIG. 2A is a schematic view of a conventional SLS laser crystallization apparatus in which crystallization is being performed on a polysilicon layer. FIG. 2B is a schematic top view of the polysilicon layer fabricated by performing the crystallization as shown in FIG. 2A. Referring to FIG. 2A, through a mask design of a mask 112, laser beams penetrating slits S of the mask 112 are patterned and then emitted to an amorphous silicon layer 140 (α-Si shown in FIG. 1) on the substrate 130 via the modulator 114. Thereafter, referring to FIG. 2B, a polysilicon layer 150 (p-Si shown in FIG. 1) having a structure of periodic grain boundaries is formed by controlling regions of film sequential lateral solidification and grain boundary locations through the pattern design of the mask depicted in FIG. 2A. Here, the polysilicon layer 150 includes main grain boundaries (MGBs) and sub-grain boundaries (SGBs).
In general, the SGBs are often parallel to grain growing directions, while the MGBs are substantially perpendicular to the SGBs. Hence, when a line connecting the centroid of a source region with the centroid of a drain region is parallel to the SGBs, the carrier mobility in the channel region is improved. On the contrary, when the line connecting the centroid of the source region with the centroid of the drain region is parallel to the MGBs, the carriers are prone to be trapped in the SGBs, such that the carrier mobility in the channel region is reduced. In other words, the carrier mobility in the channel region is profoundly affected by the orientation of the MGBs and SGBs in the polysilicon layer having a highly anisotropic crystallization form.
However, to meet actual demands on partial layout of the TFT array substrate, the TFTs placed in various locations on the TFT array substrate may have the channel regions in different directions. For instance, the TFT disposed in a peripheral circuit region may have a different channel direction from that of the TFT disposed in a display region. In detail, the demand on layout of some of the TFTs disposed in the display region lies in that the directions of the channel regions in the TFTs are parallel to the MGBs of the polysilicon, while the demand on the layout of some of the TFTs disposed in the peripheral circuit region rests in that the directions of the channel regions in the TFTs are parallel to the SGBs of the polysilicon. Since the carrier mobility in the channel region is closely related to the crystallization form of the polysilicon, the anisotropic property of the polysilicon leads to variations in characteristics of the TFTs on the TFT array substrate, thereby deteriorating uniformity of electrical characteristics of the TFTs. As such, mura effects may be generated, and display quality is reduced.

Thin film transistor substrate, electronic apparatus, and methods for fabricating the same


In a camshaft adjuster for an internal combustion engine including a gear mechanism, an input drive element, a camshaft as an output element, and a brake mechanism for braking an adjustment input for the adjustment of a phase position of the camshaft, a coupling mechanism is provided for locking the adjustment mechanism at a particular phase position while the brake mechanism is inactivated.

The invention relates to an adjustment mechanism of a camshaft, to a device for use in an adjustment mechanism and to a method for operating an adjustment mechanism.
In order to change the phase position of a camshaft, hydraulic blade-type adjustors are known, but their adjustment speed and adjustment angle range are small. At low rotational speeds and at a low oil pressure, an adjustment is impossible. Passive electric adjustment mechanisms for camshafts permitting sufficiently high adjustment speeds and large adjustment angles have therefore already been proposed. DE 102 47 650 A1 discloses an electric adjustment mechanism of a camshaft which comprises a brake mechanism, a lever mechanism as the gear mechanism, and an adjustment spring. For the adjustment in a first direction, an adjustment input of the adjustment mechanism is braked. The adjustment in an opposite direction takes place via the adjustment spring. At a constant phase position, the brake mechanism has to operate counter to the adjustment spring, which may cause high brake losses.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a camshaft adjustment mechanism, a device for use in a camshaft adjustment mechanism and a method for operating a crankshaft adjustment mechanism in a simple manner, wherein furthermore there are no brake losses in the camshaft at a constant phase position or they are at least very small.

Camshaft adjuster for an internal combustion engine and a method for operating a camshaft adjuster


System and methods for deriving configuration information of network resources within a dynamically configured, distributed control plane are described. In one embodiment, the present invention can include a network management device that manages virtual network entities, such as virtual switch fabrics, where the network management device hosts a network management module. The network management module is configured to maintain identifiers for the virtual network entities and the control plane connectivity data of the network devices hosting the virtual network entities.

Some embodiments described herein relate generally to resource management, and, in particular, to deriving control plane connectivity data of network devices within a distributed control plane of a switch.
Some known networking systems include a centralized control plane that can manage resources connected to the networking system. For example, the centralized control plane can maintain a database associated with the physical location of the resources. Additionally, the centralized control plane can manage forwarding-state information associated with the resources. Such a centralized control plane, however, can become extremely large and unmanageable when a large number of resources are connected to the networking system.
Other known networking systems include a distributed control plane. Such known distributed control planes can be implemented at various nodes within the networking system. Such known distributed control planes, however, are not dynamically configured. As such, some nodes within the networking system can be largely under-utilized while other nodes within the networking system can be over-utilized. Accordingly, such networking systems do not operate as efficiently as desired.
Accordingly, a need exists for a networking system that can maintain control plane connectivity data of network devices for a dynamically configured distributed control plane.

Deriving control plane connectivity during provisioning of a distributed control plane of a switch


The invention relates to a process for distributing files, having the steps of receiving at least one digital file, transmitting the digital file to a location, and selecting at least one content provider. The process also has the steps of updating a content of the content provider to provide a reference to the digital file at the location, generating an updated digital file by adding information which identifies the content provider to the digital file when the reference to the digital file is selected at the content provider, and transmitting at least a portion of the at least one updated digital file to a client network.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a method for distributing digital files in which a digital file is stored at a predetermined location, and then updated to comprise information to identify a content provider when a user selects a reference, e.g., a link, to the digital file at the content provider, e.g., at a web site of the content provider.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vendor companies that sell products through the Internet network try to increase the likelihood that their webpage readily may be found by a user that is browsing the network and is interested in such products. A known method associated with obtaining this objective includes advertising the products on content web pages that attract users who are interested in a specific type of subject matter. These content web pages may be thematic pages about video games, cinema, music, computer programs, and the like. The advertisements are provided in the form of a link pointing to the vendor company's webpage, such that when a user selects one of the links, the user is redirected to the vendor company's webpage and the latter pays a fee to the content provider of the web pages. The fee is a function of the number of selections associated with the links. Nevertheless, for this method to be effective, the vendor companies are in contact with the content web pages, and these two entities organize the manner in which the content web pages include the advertisement links, and the manner in which the fee per user selection is paid by the vendor.
A known system addresses this issue by allowing any web page to include advertisers' advertisements and to receive a fee for it. Advertisers using this system may place advertisements in web pages of a "search network," e.g., Google's™ search network, or the "content network." The "search network" is formed by web pages, for example, Google's™ search box, in which a search may be conducted in the same manner as on Google's™ webpage. When a search is conducted, normal or "organic" results appear as well as advertisements in the form of "sponsored links." The "content network" is formed by web pages in which advertisements of certain advertisers whose products are content-related appear. A known system analyzes the content of the web pages that want to host advertisements and decides which are the most appropriate for each advertisement. The advertisements contain a link to the advertiser's webpage. Each time a user selects one of these advertisements using a link, the owner of the webpage hosting the advertisement obtains a fee from the advertiser.
Nevertheless, known systems cannot effectively prevent fraudulent selections that occur when the owners of the web pages hosting the advertisements themselves select the advertisements of their own page, for the purpose of increasing the fee that the advertiser will pay the owner. Another type of fraudulent selections include a company dedicating itself to repeatedly clicking on another company's advertisement for the sole purpose of quickly reaching the maximum budget established for the advertisement, and causing the automatic deactivation thereof, thereby denying potential customers from seeing the advertisement. The problem with fraudulent selections jeopardizes both the advertisers paying for useless selections and the owners of the web pages hosting the advertisements. Consequently, many advertisers refuse to use this system or limit the amount of money they are willing to pay for the advertisements to insubstantial amounts.
Another disadvantage of known systems is that they may not respond to the specific problems involved with the sale of digital files protected by intellectual property rights. In the case of computer programs sold on-line through the Internet, a user interested in acquiring a program normally will first download a free demonstration, e.g., trial, version of the program that the user may freely use during a trial period, and then the user acquires a use license if the user chooses to purchase a license for the product. The vendor company only earns money if the user acquires a license. If its webpage receives many user visits re-sent from other web pages in which the vendor company has an advertisement, and the users download the digital files, but then choose not to acquire a license, the vendor company must compensate the advertisers for the selection despite not making a sale.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,356 describes a system applied to the sale of digital files protected by intellectual property rights distributed in the form of demo versions and offering a solution to the problem of fraudulent clicks. This system is also based on a plurality of webpages containing an advertisement link to the advertiser's webpage, but it allows the advertiser to pay only for the clicks that have effectively resulted in a sale. To that end, when a user clicks on an advertisement link and is redirected to the advertiser's webpage, the URL address of the webpage hosting the advertisement-link is included in the redirection. This information is received and stored by the advertiser's webpage server and is added to the digital file when the user downloads it. So when the user gets in contact again with the advertiser's webpage to purchase a use license for said file, it is possible to know what webpage the advertisement-link that brought about the purchase of the license was on.
This system is not widely used because it presents several drawbacks. A first drawback consists of the fact that it is not designed to be globally applied: each advertising company must implement its own method to be related with content webpages and to include advertisement-links therein. A second drawback of this system is that in order to add the URL address of the referrer webpage to the downloaded file, said file is encapsulated in a wrapper and said information is added in the latter. The user does not directly download the digital file he had selected, but rather the wrapper containing it. This requires carrying out a recompilation process before the download and therefore a waiting time is introduced that is too long for the normal Internet download time scale. This is the main reason that this system was never carried out to practice.

Methods for distributions of digital files