A multi-spectral seeker system for detecting radiation in the infrared (IR) band and a plurality of radio frequency (RF) bands suitable for use in a guided missile is disclosed. The IR and RF seekers are coaxially integrated on a single gimbaled platform and share a common aperture without significant performance degradation. In the preferred embodiment, the IR seeker uses a Cassegrainian reflector assembly with surfaces reflective to IR but transparent to RF signals. The first RF seeker uses a resonant dichroic reflector antenna which is transparent to RF signals at frequencies no closer than 0.5 octaves from the dichroic reflector system operating frequency. The second RF seeker may use any suitable RF antenna system although a planar-array of multi-mode spiral antennas or a standard flat plate slotted array are preferred. The second RF seeker may operate in an active, semi-active, or passive mode. The IR seeker means and both RF seeker means together provide coaxial seeking in a single aperture covering three frequency bands without significant loss of performance in the RF antenna and IR sensor. The material on which the parabolic reflector is formed is tapered in thickness as a function of radius to eliminate phase delays introduced by the curvature as seen by the second RF seeker.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention involves radio frequency (RF) and infrared frequency (IR) seeker systems. More particularly, this invention involves multiple RF and IR seeker means mounting on gimbals. The disclosed invention is suitable for use as a forward-mounted target emissions detector for a guided missile.
2. Description of the Related Art
Seeker systems using IR and RF detection means for guiding missiles to their targets are well-known in the art. Targets such as aircraft and cruise missiles have become increasingly non-cooperative to existing IR and RF seeker systems, whether active, semi-active or passive in design. Because any such seeker system is subject to exploitation of particular weaknesses by countermeasures, an effective guided missile must have several seeker means available for target acquisition and lock. This design strategy avoids the possibility of defeat by a single countermeasure.
In particular, virtually all missile seeker systems require IR seeker capability because of its high bearing accuracy. IR seeking means become more important as targets become more maneuverable and velocities increase, especially during the terminal phase of the encounter. But IR by itself is not sufficient for most long range incoming threats because (a) detection range is relatively short, (b) performance is not adequate in certain weather conditions, and (c) very effective countermeasures are available to a target that is aware of the attack. RF seeker systems have a long range all-weather capability but do not provide the tracking accuracy of the IR seeker system. Thus, for many battle scenarios, equipping a guided missile with a plurality of seeker modes can significantly increase the engagement kill probability over that of a single or dual seeker mode.
In the art, the commonly accepted method for designing a dual-spectral seeker system involves mounting the IR system in front of a RF antenna system at the forward end of the guided missile radome. The IR seeker means typically uses Cassegrainian optics and the RF seeker system typically uses a monopulse type antenna with the usual stringent directivity requirements of high gain and low sidelobes. The azimuth and elevation difference channel nulls and beam peak symmetry provided by the RF antenna system must give steering accuracy sufficient for the application. But merely placing an IR seeker system forward of an RF antenna seeker system will seriously degrade the RF antenna radiation parameters as is known in the art. These adverse effects include (a) reduced gain, (b) increased sidelobes, and (c) difference channel degradation in the form of null-filling and asymmetric beam peaks.
Because of this difficult problem, a number of schemes have arisen in the art which combine a single IR seeker with a single RF seeker system. Although long sought, coaxial integration of an IR seeker with two or more RF seeker systems without serious performance degradation to one or more such systems is presently unknown in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,972,743 issued to Svenson et al. discloses a combined infrared-radar antenna system using a Cassegrainian reflector and a RF antenna which is transparent to infrared radiation. This combination is not suited for high performance IR or monopulse RF operation because of unavoidable degradation resulting from interference between the two antenna systems. Neither does this design allow for a second RF antenna system mounted behind the combined RF-IR assembly because both the IR reflector and the first RF antenna is opaque to RF radiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,165,749 issued to Cushner discloses a single reflector for use in both a Cassegrainian IR system and an RF detection system. The RF seeker performance of this dual detector is necessarily compromised by the IR detection performance requirements and the design does not allow addition of a second RF seeker mode. U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,158 issued to Johnson discloses a stripline-fed slotted array with the center removed to make room for an embedded IR seeker system. This dual seeker system suffers in performance because of the removed center section of the array which seriously perturbs the amplitude distribution of the RF seeker system, causing significant sidelobe levels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,907 issued to Durand, Jr. et al. discloses a dual mode seeker system but does not teach the combination of the two systems into an integrated coaxial seeker assembly. A similar dual mode seeker system is disclosed in Japanese Pat. 62-879 by Yoshizawa. Neither system is intended for coaxial operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,527 issued to Winderman et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,885 issued to Saffold et al. both disclose a multi-spectral detection system which uses a Cassegrainian reflector for both IR and RF detection. In both patents, the detected IR and RF signals are separated by apparatus located behind the Cassegrainian reflector. Neither of these designs is suitable for addition of a second coaxial RF seeker system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,814 issued to Brumbaugh et al. discloses a combined RF/IR system using a common surface for radiating and absorbing RF energy and reflecting and focusing IR energy. This design uses an RF-transparent Cassegrainian mirror placed in front of an RF slotted array antenna to permit use of the full aperture area for the RF and IR portions of the combined detection system. But this design does not permit the addition of a second coaxial RF seeker system because the first RF antenna is opaque to all RF radiation. For obvious reasons, the patent neither teaches nor suggests the use of a second coaxial RF detection system integrated with the disclosed dual mode RF/IR system.
The multi-spectral imaging system of Droessler et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,454) employs a sub-reflector surface that is transparent to millimeter-wave RF and reflective to IR radiation. The imaging system has a relatively long focal length (f/d=0 .55) and, as such, requires a large aperture for achieving the desired field of view. Since this area must be kept open, it would be necessary for the array antenna which is placed behind the antenna assembly to have an opening at the center of its aperture as well if an attempt were made to add an additional RF antenna by the use of a dichroic surface for the main reflector. This extra opening would result in a significant compromise in the antenna's gain and side-lobe level characteristics, thus making it undesirable to add a second RF antenna behind the antenna assembly.
As this brief discussion shows, those practicing in the art have not solved the specific problem of integrating multiple coaxial RF seeker antennas without causing performance degradation so severe that the expected increase in kill probability is lost. This is so although the problem has been long known in the art, moving many to search for a solution.


Apparatus for increasing the distance between successive pairs of coaxial plain or filter cigarettes has a first rotary conveyor with axially parallel peripheral flutes which deliver pairs of cigarettes to a transfer station, a second rotary conveyor which receives one cigarette of each pair from the first conveyor by way of a third rotary conveyor and which receives the other cigarette of each pair from a delivering unit positioned to simultaneously move each other cigarette axially of and away from the one cigarette. The delivery unit has two parallel discs which are coupled to each other by cranks having pins provided with flutes for the transfer of other cigarettes from the first conveyor to the second conveyor. The discs rotate about a common axis or about parallel axes inclined relative to the axes of rotation of the first, second and third conveyors. One of the discs receives torque from a gear, a gear transmission or a cardan joint, and the other disc receives torque from the one disc through the cranks.

The invention relates to improvements in apparatus for manipulating rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus for changing the distance or spacing between sets (e.g., pairs) of coaxial rod-shaped articles including filter rod sections as well as plain or filter cigarettes, cigars, cheroots and cigarillos.
It is often necessary to transport rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry (hereinafter called cigarettes for short) in the form of rows of parallel cigarettes wherein each cigarette of one row is coaxial with one cigarette of each other row. For example, a modern cigarette making machine of the type known as PROTOS is designed to deliver to a filter tipping machine two rows of parallel plain cigarettes wherein each cigarette of one row is coaxial with a cigarette of the other row and the coaxial cigarettes form pairs of closely or immediately adjacent cigarettes. The spacing between such pairs of coaxial cigarettes must be increased in the filter tipping machine in order to provide room for the introduction of a filter plug or filter rod section of double unit length. Each of the thus inserted filter plugs is then connected with the adjacent plain cigarettes by an adhesive-coated uniting band consisting of so-called tipping paper, and the thus obtained filter cigarettes of double unit length are severed midway between their ends (i.e., across the convoluted uniting bands and across the filter plugs) to yield pairs of filter cigarettes of unit length each having a plain cigarette, a filter plug of unit length, and one half of the respective convoluted uniting band.
Spreading of pairs of coaxial cigarettes is also necessary in certain makes of filter tipping machines. Thus, when successive filter cigarettes of double unit length are severed to yield pairs of filter cigarettes of unit length, it is often necessary to move the filter cigarettes of each pair axially and away from each other so that each of the thus separated filter cigarettes of unit length can be conveniently advanced to a discrete testing conveyor to undergo one or more tests including ascertaining the integrity of its wrapper, the permeability of its wrapper to atmospheric air, the condition of the seam, the resistance of the tobacco filler to the flow of tobacco smoke and/or other parameters which are important to the manufacturer and particularly to the consumer.
Published German patent application Serial No. 38 17 740 discloses an apparatus wherein the spreading unit which is used to increase the spacing between successive pairs of coaxial cigarettes or analogous rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry employs two conical drums which taper in opposite directions. A drawback of such apparatus is that the conical drums occupy a substantial amount of space which is at a premium between a cigarette making machine and a filter tipping machine as well as in the interior of a filter tipping machine.

Apparatus for altering the spacing between pairs of coaxial rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry


An angular position measurement system including a continuous angular position sensor configured to provide a first signal representative of a continuous angular position of a rotating shaft, an incremental angular position sensor configured to provide a second signal representative of incremental angular positions of the rotating shaft, and a controller configured to calibrate the first signal based on the second signal to provide a third signal representative of a calibrated continuous angular position of the rotating shaft.

For precise control of electrically commutated engines and electrical drives, fast and accurate measurement of the angular position of the rotating motor or drive shaft is required. One conventional approach for measuring such an angular position is to use incremental angular position sensors, such as a tooth wheel or pole wheel type sensors, for example. While incremental sensors typically provide accurate measurement, even at high speeds, they provide only discrete (not continuous) angle measurements. Another approach is to use magnetoresistive type angle sensors, such as giant magnetoresistive (GMR) and anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) angle sensors, to measure the angular position. While such angle sensors provide continuous angle measurement, they typically do not provide the required accuracy, particularly at high rotational speeds. As a result, commonly employed techniques often involve using optical encoders or synchro-resolvers which, although providing accurate angle measurement, are complicated and costly.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for the embodiments of the present disclosure.


A starter that includes a motor portion that includes a motor shaft; a deceleration mechanism portion that is integrated with the motor portion, the deceleration mechanism portion includes a planetary gear that revolves around the motor shaft; and an output shaft that rotates integrally with a revolution of the planetary gear, wherein a bracket of the deceleration mechanism portion, in which a ring-shaped gear is formed at an inner circumferential surface so as to mesh with the planetary gear, is integrated with a casing of the motor portion by an intermediate bracket.

The present disclosure relates to a starter.
There exists a starter that starts a engine of a two-wheeled motor vehicle. The starter is constructed by integrating a motor portion that is provided with a motor shaft into a deceleration mechanism portion that is provided with a planetary gear that revolves around the motor shaft and an output shaft that receives a revolution of the planetary gear.
In order to secure a necessary deceleration ratio, the deceleration mechanism of the starter is constructed so as to be provided with a first deceleration mechanism that is composed of a first planetary gear that revolves around the motor shaft and a first output shaft that rotates integrally with a revolution of the first planetary gear, and with a second deceleration mechanism that is composed of a second planetary gear that revolves around the first output shaft and a second output shaft that rotates integrally with a revolution of the second planetary gear. As a result, the second output shaft can rotate while receiving the two-staged deceleration (see Japanese Published Unexamined Utility Model Application No. S63-164567 for example).


A network structure configures a blocking network having constraint against such a combination of said network input terminal and network output terminal as to make it unfeasible to further connect, when connecting first network input terminals to first network output terminals, second network input terminals to any one of the second network output terminals, and operation elements and the network output terminals are connected so as to minimize a constraint strength between the plurality of network output terminals inputting to the same operation element with respect to the constraint strength defined as the number of network input terminals contained in tuples of network input terminals to which the two network output terminals in the network output terminals can not be simultaneously connected.

The invention related to a network technology for connecting operation elements.
A coarse grain reconfigurable circuit is configured by a plurality of processing elements (PEs) having a variety of functions and an internal connecting network that connects the PEs, and actualizes a data transfer between the arbitrary processing elements by changing connection information for setting paths of the internal connecting network. Herein, the "coarse grade" implies a reconfigurable circuit built up between the processing elements in which a basic instruction is operation on a word-by-word basis.
An ideal network is a network that can set an arbitrary data path and has a small number of circuits to be used and a small number of circuit stages of the path. And a variety of networks are proposed. The network in which the path exists for every output destination from an arbitrarily selected input source is classified into (1) a blocking network, wherein in the case of setting a certain path, this path setting hinders other paths, i.e., connections between the output destination and other input sources through other paths are blocked, and (2) a non-blocking network, wherein in the case of setting a certain path, this path setting does not hinder other paths, i.e., the connections through other paths are not blocked. In the reconfigurable circuit, signals are outputted simultaneously from a plurality of elements, and hence the non-blocking network is ideal in terms of the data transfer.
The non-blocking network, however, requires a great number of wirings, and therefore the circuit gets into a large scale. For example, an n-input/n-output network needs switches of n2 in a crossbar switch network.
FIG. 1 shows an example of 3-stage Clos network defined as one of the non-blocking networks. The 3-stage Clos network shown in FIG. 1 requires switches of 3n1.5. In FIG. 1, eight tuples of 8-input/8-output crossbar switch blocks are formed per stage, and thus the 8-tuple crossbar switch blocks are provided at three stages.
In this case, an input count (the number of inputs) n=64, and an output count (the number of inputs) n=64, and therefore n0.5=8. A switch count (the number of switches) of the one crossbar switch block is given by 8×8=n0.5×n0.5, and these crossbar switch blocks are provided by 3 stages×8 tuples=3×n0.5. Accordingly, to generalize FIG. 1, the switch count becomes 3n1.5.
Generally, in the blocking network, the circuit can be downsized, and, in typical networks such as an omega network and a baseline network, the circuit can be actualized on a circuit scale on the order of 2n·log(n), however, some paths that can not be actualized simultaneously occur because of there being some paths blocked by setting one path.                [Patent document 1] Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 7-71353        [Patent document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2786246


A sealing valve is provided for a sensor that includes a sensing element and a sensor opening that exposes the sensing element. The sealing valve includes a housing that is configured to be mounted to the sensor such that an internal channel of the housing fluidly communicates with the sensor opening. The sealing valve includes a float element configured to float along a surface of the liquid. The float element is configured to move within the internal channel between an open position and a closed position. The float element is configured to close the sensor opening to the internal channel in the closed position. The sensor opening is open to the internal channel when the float element is in the open position. The float element is configured to rise with the surface of the liquid within the internal channel toward the closed position.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to sensors, more particularly to protecting sensors from exposure to a liquid.
Environmental sensing systems may include a variety of sensors for detecting the presence and/or concentration of various chemicals in various environments. For example, sensors may be used in hazardous environments for detecting the presence and/or concentration of hazardous (e.g., volatile, combustible, and/or toxic) gases.
At least some known sensors are used in environments where the sensor is exposed to one or more liquids. For example, sensors used in and/or around sump areas, holding areas, wells, and/or the like may be exposed to ground water and/or other liquids such as corrosive liquids, toxic liquids, acidic liquids, combustible liquids, fuels, petroleum based liquids, oils, and/or the like. A sensing element of the sensor may be exposed to the liquid when the surface level of the liquid rises to the height of the sensor and immerses the sensor. Splatter, waves, and/or other motion of the liquid are other examples of exposure of the sensing element to the liquid.
Exposure to the liquid may damage the sensing element of the sensor, which may cause the sensor to malfunction and/or fail. Accordingly, exposure to liquids may increase the maintenance, repair, and/or replacement costs of operating an environmental sensing system. Moreover, exposure to liquids may decrease the reliability of an environmental system when a sensor fails to detect the presence of a hazardous gas within a hazardous environment.


A coaxial connector for interconnecting two printed circuit cards, the connector comprising a cylindrical first connector element designed to be secured at one end to a first printed circuit card, and a second cylindrical connector element designed to come into contact via one end with a second printed circuit card, each connector element having a central contact and an outer contact separated by insulation, resilient means being interposed between the first and second connector elements and urging the central and outer contacts of the second connector element towards the second printed circuit card. The connector has annular bearing surfaces offset radially outwards from the central contact bodies and co-operating therewith to define a first volume in which a first spring is mounted, and annular bearing surfaces offset radially inwards from the outer contact bodies and co-operating therewith to define a second volume in which a second spring is mounted.

Coaxial connectors are already known for interconnecting two printed circuit cards, such a connector comprising a cylindrical first connector element designed to be secured at one end to a first printed circuit card, and a second cylindrical connector element designed to come into contact via one end with a second printed circuit card, each connector element having a central contact and an outer contact separated by insulation, the central and outer contacts of the first and second connector elements having mutually-contacting cylindrical bearing surfaces, resilient means being interposed between the first and second connector elements and urging the central and outer contacts of the second connector element towards the second printed circuit card.
The first connector element is secured, in particular by soldering, to the first printed circuit card, and the second card is caused to press against the second connector element, which is thus moved relative to the first connector element, the contacts of the second connector element being pressed under the action of the resilient means against conductive zones provided on the first card.
A connector of that type in which the resilient means are elastomer O-rings is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,699,054, and a connector of that type in which the resilient means are compression springs is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,668.
Presently-known coaxial connectors are of a structure that means they present large variations in impedance along their length. In particular, in the connector described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,668, there is a high impedance zone at the central contact of the second connector element.
In addition, known connectors do not accommodate a large stroke in the relative movement between the connector elements, which means that the cards must be spaced apart with great accuracy.

Coaxial connector for interconnecting two printed circuit cards


An atmospheric deaerator unit having a vessel divided into an atmospheric section and a low pressure section, the low pressure section containing steam supply line for deaerating a water spray circulated from the atmospheric section through a water circulating line using a series of spray heads for spraying water into the low pressure section, the circulating line communicating between the low pressure section and the atmospheric section, the atmospheric section having a vent open to atmosphere with a vent condenser to purge vented non-condensible gases from the atmospheric section, and, the low pressure section being pressure protected by a water column conduit communicating between the vessel sections to return overflow water and blow-through excess pressurized steam and vapor from the pressurized section to the atmospheric section, the unit being controlled by a steam control valve using pressure of the pressurized section or water temperature in the atmospheric section.

This invention relates to an atmospheric deaerator unit for use in a boiler feedwater system for eliminating non-condensible gases from the boiler feedwater. Non-condensible gases are principally carried into the feedwater system by the addition of makeup water to compensate for losses during the steam cycle. Additionally, gases can be generated in the steam circuit, such as carbon dioxide, which is generated from carbonate salts reacting with metallic components in the steam circuit.
The atmospheric deaerator of this invention is of the type described in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,076 issued Oct. 6, 1987, entitled ATMOSPHERIC DEAERATOR UNIT, in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,487,611 issued Jan. 6, 1970, entitled SPRAY-FLOW DEAERATOR, and in particular, in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,406 issued Oct. 17, 1989, entitled JET SPRAY ATMOSPHERIC DEAERATOR.
Generally, deaerators are rated as either 0.03 cc/liter or 0.005 cc/liter deaerators. The latter being the most effective in removing dissolved gases. In general, to achieve a reduction of dissolved air and gases to 0.005 cc/liter, the deaerator must operate in a pressurized circuit. While the referenced patents entitled ATMOSPHERIC DEAERATOR UNIT, and JET SPRAY ATMOSPHERIC DEAERATOR, disclose two arrangements for achieving a high performance deaerator at atmospheric pressure, the deaerator of this invention provides an alternate solution for the problem of obtaining a high performance deaerator that is vented to atmosphere. Atmospheric deaerators are preferred for their safety features an their low cost in maintaining vessels at low temperatures and pressures.
The deaerator unit of the present invention is constructed with a divided vessel similar to the JET SPRAY ATMOSPHERIC DEAERATOR of U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,406 in which one side is steam pressurized to one to five psi. This small pressure differential allows for internal deaeration circuits that substantially reduce the venting of any steam and include simple temperature or pressure controls to maintain relatively constant temperature in the boiler feed water.


A mobile device performs a scanning operation for identifying a wireless network and receives from the wireless network a hotspot aggregator service identifier which identifies a hotspot aggregator service made available via the wireless network. The mobile device compares the received hotspot aggregator service identifier with one or more hotspot aggregator service identifiers stored in memory. When there is a match between the received and the stored hotspot aggregator service identifiers, the mobile device initiates a connection with the wireless network for receiving the hotspot aggregator service.

1. Field of the Technology
The present disclosure relates generally to techniques for use in providing access to aggregator services for a mobile communication device via a wireless network, such as via a wireless local area network (WAN) hotspot or similar environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In wireless communication networks, such as wireless local area networks (WLANs) which operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11-based standards, a mobile communication device may obtain communication services. While being mobile, the mobile device may exit and enter into new and different WLANs. The new or unknown WLAN may be a WLAN "hotspot" which provides a captive portal, where a user login or other user response will be required prior to the mobile device obtaining any useful services via the hotspot.
For a laptop computer, this operation is typically acceptable since the user often merely intends to use and "surf" the Internet, interacting with the keyboard of the laptop computer to invoke a Web browser application when desired. When the Web browser application is opened, this request is detected, which causes a request for a server site to be submitted in order to receive data of a desired website. The request is typically redirected by the hotspot for user login, after which the mobile device will obtain service, assuming the authentication is positive. However, for mobile devices which are intended primarily for voice telephony (e.g. cell phones), electronic mail (e-mail) communications, and/or other "push-type" data communications, such manual login may be undesirable and may not suitable for automatic reconnection at later times.
On the other hand, the popularity of Internet access through hotspots has led to the emergence of a new kind of entity: a hotspot aggregator. A hotspot aggregator provides wireless Internet access to its customers by renting a WLAN connection to the Internet (i.e. the "hotspot") from hotspot owners, e.g. coffee shops, hotels, and airports. In contrast to an ordinary telecommunications entity, a hotspot aggregator does not (necessarily) own the access networks, but rather relies on a network of independently owned and operated access networks. Examples of current hotspot aggregators are Boingo, The Cloud, iPass, and Airpath.
One or more aggregator services may be made available in a single hotspot. In any given hotspot, some aggregator services may be made available while others may not be. Some hotspots may only employ a single Set Service Identifier (SSID), and this makes it difficult for mobile devices to identify whether any particular aggregator service is made available in the hotspot. Thus, traditionally, an aggregator provides users with client software to aid in finding and signing in for service. Locally-stored directories of hotspot locations and details have also been provided, requiring some type of network connection for updates. Note however that these existing ways of obtaining service are specific to each particular aggregator, and therefore there is little flexibility for a mobile device to be made aware of and obtain one or more of a variety of different aggregator services in an easy and efficient manner. Also, each hotpot may require a different way of logging in for access (e.g. different web sites for login).
Accordingly, what are needed are methods and apparatus which overcome these and other related deficiencies of the prior art. Other types of networks and devices may experience the same or similar deficiencies.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and apparatus for use in facilitating access to aggregator services for mobile communication devices via wireless communication networks


A signal generation system for flame ignition and sensing. The ignition signal generation is adaptive for improving flame ignition while eliminating excess energy usage. High voltage signals for flame sensing may also be provided. If more energy or speed is needed for ignition signal generation, then the flame sensing signal generation portion may be disabled to increase the amount of available energy. Adaptation for ignition signal generation may be guided by the results of flame sensing. The flame sensing voltage may be regulated based on the flame current strength. The flame current may be controlled within an optimum range to reduce rod contamination rate and yet provide reliable flame sensing when the rod contamination built up. The adaptation may be algorithmic-based with the facilitation of a microcontroller. The system may provide the high voltage signals from a low voltage power supply, such as that of 24 VAC.

The invention pertains to ignition and sensing systems, and particularly to flame ignition and sensing systems. More particularly, the invention pertains to such systems having spark-type ignition.
The present application is related to the following indicated patent applications: entitled "Dynamic DC Biasing and Leakage Compensation", U.S. application Ser. No. 10/908,463, filed May 12, 2005; Ser. No. 10/908,465 entitled "Leakage Detection and Compensation System"; and entitled "Flame Sensing System", U.S. application Ser. No. 10/908,466, filed May 12, 2005; which are incorporated herein by reference.

Adaptive spark ignition and flame sensing signal generation system


A clothes dryer which comprises a housing, a rotatable drum for receiving the clothes and a bearing for rotatably receiving the drum in the housing. In order to protect the bearing from overheating, a cooling air device for cooling the bearing is provided.

This invention relates to a dryer with a rotary drum for receiving laundry and a bearing for rotary mounting of the drum.
Dryers are known in which a drum is arranged horizontally for receiving laundry, and is pivoted by pivot bearings. The pivot bearings are subject to high thermal loads which negatively influence the reliability and life of the bearings, particularly when they are arranged adjacent to ducts conveying hot process air.


A vehicle partition for separating front and rear occupant areas (or other restricted and permitted areas) in a vehicle having side air bags, the vehicle partition comprising a partition frame with upright portions spaced apart from the vehicle's respective inner side surfaces such that the partition does not interfere with deployment of the air bags. In some embodiments, access through openings defined by the spaced apart upright portions and adjacent vehicle side surfaces is restricted by cover members. In some embodiments, one or more portions of the partition frame are electrified to shock an occupant in a restricted area attempting to gain access to a permitted area through an opening in the partition.

Vehicle partitions separating front and rear areas of a vehicle, such as in a law enforcement vehicle or a taxi cab, are known. Vehicle partitions are used in an effort to reduce the possibility that a rear seat occupant will harm or interfere with a front seat occupant, e.g., the driver of the vehicle.
Some partitions separate areas of the rear seat, e.g., into left and right areas, such that two persons can be separated from each other or a law enforcement dog can be separated from a person.
Many vehicles typically used in law enforcement are now equipped with side air bags. One category of side air bags is designed to reduce the risk of injury to an occupant's head and/or neck in the event of an accident. When triggered to deploy, these side air bags inflate to occupy spaces located generally along the inner side surfaces of the vehicle, including the side windows and frame members, in an effort to prevent or lessen injury from an occupant's impact with these surfaces.
There are side air bags that have a tubular shape when inflated, and others that are larger in size and loosely resemble a curtain window covering (referred to as "side curtain air bags"). Side curtain air bags for some vehicles can be designed to extend substantially the length of the interior, and particularly the length of the front and rear windows, when deployed. When viewed from either side of the vehicle, these side curtain air bags can extend from an area near the forward end of the front window rearward past the center pillar (usually the B-pillar, i.e., the portion of the body separating the front and rear windows), along the rear window and in some cases, beyond the rear window. Side curtain air bags are typically configured to deploy from the roof rail above the side windows. Other side air bags are deployed from the seats.
Conventional partitions have surrounding frames designed to fit closely to the sides and roof of the vehicles to reduce the chance that a rear seat occupant can reach around the partition with his hand or an implement. Proper functioning of side curtain air bags, however, requires unrestricted spaces opposite the windows to allow full inflation upon deployment.
It would be advantageous to provide a vehicle partition compatible with side air bags that still provides a measure of protection to front seat occupants. It would also be desirable to provide a sturdy partition mounting approach compatible with new vehicle interiors.

Vehicle partition compatible with side air bags


Distances between a query image and registered images are calculated for respective feature amounts, and weight values for the calculated distances are calculated on the basis of statistical amount of the feature amounts of the query image (S507). Similarities between the registered images and query image are calculated on the basis of the results obtained by weighting the distances for respective feature amounts by the calculated weight values (S508). Images similar to the query image are displayed as a list on the basis of the calculated similarities (S510).

Conventionally, the following image retrieval method has been proposed. That is, feature amounts associated with a color, brightness, shape, texture, and the like are extracted by analyzing an image, and are stored as indices in association with the image. Similarities between the feature amounts of an input image (query image) and those of a plurality of stored images are calculated to retrieve an image similar to the query image from the plurality of stored images (an image with a similarity closer to 100% is most similar to the query image).
When a plurality of feature amounts are used in image retrieval, a similarity is calculated by weighting those for respective feature amounts. For example, there are two different feature amounts (feature amounts 1 and 2), and let R1 and R2 be similarities for these feature amounts, and W1 and W2 be weights for these similarities. Then, a final similarity R between images is given by:R=(W1×R1+W2×R2)/(W1+W2)  (1)
If the weights W1=1 and W2=1, the two different feature amounts are treated equally. On the other hand, if the weights W1=3 and W2=1, an image similar to a query image is retrieved while attaching more importance to feature amount 1 than feature amount 2.
In order to implement high-precision image retrieval, it is necessary to appropriately set these weights. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-143080 (corresponding U.S. application Ser. No. 09/707,050) discloses a method of designating weights by the user. This method is effective in the following case. For example, when the user inputs a handwritten query image depending on his or her memory, he or she cannot precisely draw ambiguous features. In this manner, the above method is effective when the user can recognize that a specific feature between a query image and desired image is similar compared to other features and which feature is more similar.
Even when an image similar to a desired image is given as a query image, a feature to be weighted may be changed depending on the contents of the image. For example, a printed image of an original image is scanned by a scanner to obtain a scan image, and the scan image is used as a query image. At this time, obviously, the scan image is very similar to the original image.
For example, when images are line images drawn by simple line segments, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, a feature associated with a shape is distinguishable most easily, but color and brightness features are hard to distinguish since there are few such features. FIGS. 11A and 11B show examples of line images.
The user can visually determine a feature to be weighted in case of images formed by simple line segments, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B. Even in case of a line image of the same kind, when an image is formed by more complicated figures, and respective figures are hatched and shaded, a brightness feature and the like become also important.
That is, as an image has more complicated contents, it becomes harder to visually determine features and their weights.
In such case, it is difficult for the method of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-143080 to designate appropriate weights. Therefore, it is difficult for that method to attain retrieval with higher precision.
When a large number of queries are input to conduct a plurality of retrieval processes at the same time, if the method of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-143080 is applied, weights must be designated for each retrieval, thus imposing a heavy load on the user.

Information processing apparatus and information processing method


A system and method for obtaining selected image information from a digital image and providing that selected image information for selective handling. In one aspect, the present invention automatically locates and segments an item identifier from an image caught by a digital camera and provides image information related to the item identifier for processing. Alternatively, a user can designate what areas of an image comprise the item identifier of interest for further viewing or processing.

Item identifiers comprise visibly detectable unique image information, such as bar codes, encoded areas at the periphery of or incorporated into the image itself, and non-encoded yet unique image components which serve to identify or categorize an item or image subject. The information can be extracted automatically, for example by an optical scanner, or can be read or otherwise detected by a user. Independently-created item identifiers are employed by retailers to identify, track, and manage inventory items. If entered into a database, the item identifier can be cross-referenced to other relevant item information such as pricing, inventory, purchase terms, etc.
Barcodes are a ubiquitous form of item identifier. With the adoption of UPC as the standard for retail grocery stores in the late 1970's, barcodes have become a fast, easy, and accurate data entry method. A barcode encodes information related to an item with which the barcode is associated. Typically, a barcode is associated with an item by affixing the coded pattern of the barcode to the item or to the item's packaging. In order to use a barcode associated with an item, a retailer first extracts encoded information from the barcode using a barcode scanner. The extracted information may consist of an identification code such as a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU). Of course, instead of scanning the barcode, the identification code which may be printed beneath the barcode itself may be manually read and entered into a device via a keyboard. In either case, the detected code may then be used to retrieve a retail price of the item from a database, to update a location of the item in a database, to obtain warranty or other information regarding the item from a database, etc.
In view of the prevalence and usefulness of barcodes, many devices for extracting information from them have been developed for use by retailers and consumers. These devices include grocery checkout scanners, handheld scanners, and scanning pens. Peripheral modules capable of decoding barcodes are also being developed for devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and mobile telephones. Some of these devices are capable of extracting information from barcodes of several different formats. One system, the Cue Cat™ system by Digital:Convergence, operates by scanning a pen across a barcode from a product or advertisement to extract the code and then causing a World Wide Web ("Web") browser to access a Web page related to the product or advertisement. In view of the number and diversity of available barcode-decoding devices, the development and purchase of these devices represents a substantial capital investment by manufacturers and consumers alike.
Most of the conventional devices make use of laser based technology for reading the barcodes. A basic barcode reader consists of a laser scanner and a decoder, with a cable to interface the decoder to the computer or terminal. In operation, the scanner scans a barcode pattern and produces an electrical output that corresponds to the bars and spaces in the scanned pattern. A decoder then takes the digitized bar space patterns, decodes them to the correct data, and transmits the data to the computer over a wired or wireless connection, immediately or on a batch basis. Most laser based barcode readers have high power consumption due to the power requirements of the laser system in the scanner. Such power consumption requirements are an impediment to using laser-based barcode readers in small, low-powered devices, such as personal data assistants (PDAS) or cellular phones. Moreover, the use of the scanning devices has been, to date, limited to reading barcodes only and not to making use of the read/extracted information.
Existing technology for the use of extracted item identifiers and the associated item information has been detailed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/847,779, filed on May 2, 2001 and entitled "SYSTEM TO INTERPRET ITEM IDENTIFIERS" (YOR92001-0118). Therein a digital camera is used to capture an image of an item identifier and to transmit the image to a central server. In response to the transmission, item information is received from a central server. For transmission of image information, which are traditionally large files, image compression mechanisms have been developed, such as JPEG, TIFF, and GIF. The following reference describes examples of the state of the prior art: Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats, Second Edition, J. D. Murray and W. VanRypers, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., California, 1996.
The output of a digital camera is typically a JPEG-compressed color image. JPEG, one of the leading industrial image compression mechanisms, was designed for compressing either full-color or gray-scale images of natural, real-world scenes. JPEG is specially adapted for photographs, naturalistic artwork, and similar material, but does not give best results for lettering, simple cartoons, or line drawings. The JPEG compression process is "lossy," meaning that the decompressed image isn't quite the same as the original image. (There are lossless image compression algorithms, but JPEG achieves much greater compression than is possible with lossless compression methods.) JPEG is designed to exploit known limitations of the human eye, notably the fact that small color changes are perceived less accurately than are small changes in brightness. Thus, for compressing images that will be looked at by humans, such as the ones captured by a digital camera, JPEG is one of the most used standards for compressing the digital images.
One useful property of JPEG is the ability to vary the degree of lossiness by adjusting the compression parameters. Accordingly, an image creator can balance file size against output image quality, for example generating very small files when low image quality is acceptable as it is when indexing image archives. Conversely, if a better output quality is desired, the compression can be tailored to increase the output image quality to a satisfactory level.
Yet another aspect of image extraction, whether of an independently-created item identifier which is added to the image or of an item identifier comprising image content information, is the preference to allow a user to identify which image information is of interest as the item identifier for further treatment, whether it be further viewing, image transmission, or image processing. For mobile commerce, images have become an integral part of the communications; however, not all of the information contained in every image is of interest for the execution of mobile applications and/or for the sharing of information among users (i.e., shared image presentation in, for example, video-conferencing applications). Since most image compression techniques are not tailored to application-specific requirements, those techniques are often not useful for mobile commerce applications. What is needed is a way for users of mobile devices to indicate which portions of an image are item identifiers which are of interest to the application, thereby allowing selective processing (e.g., compression) and, a way to prioritize scarce bandwidth resources to support the transmission of necessary image data.
Another problem with mobile imaging devices is that the existing bandwidth is rarely sufficient to transmit the full quality images captured by standard digital cameras. Such images, uncompressed, can reach 2 MBs in size and can still be 200 KB when compressed. Even with a commonly available cellular communications connection of 9600 bits/second performing a successful, error free transmission, would still require ˜176 seconds to transmit a 200 KB photo image. Prior art methods for selective reduction of video data include U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,664 entitled "SELECTIVE REDUCTION OF VIDEO DATA USING VARIABLE SAMPLING RATES BASED ON IMPORTANCE WITHIN THE IMAGE," wherein regions are selectively reduced using variable rate sampling. However, the prior method is not user interactive and does not remove or segment image data.
It is desirable, therefore, and an object of the present invention, to provide a system and method for extracting selected image information as item identifiers for selective image handling.
It is another object of the invention to provide automatic item identifier extraction whereby embedded image information can be extracted by low cost, low power consumption means prior to JPEG compression and transmission.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a system and method whereby a user can designate an image area of interest within an image as an item identifier for further treatment.

System and method for selective processing of digital images

International Business Machines Corporation


A film magazine comprising a housing having a film egress slot and a film ingress slot, a film supply spool rotatably supported within the housing proximate the film egress slot, and a film take-up spool rotatably supported within the housing proximate the film ingress slot, is characterized in that the housing has a pair of opposite ends that are spaced apart a maximum dimension of the housing, and the film egress and film ingress slots are positioned at the respective ends of the housing in order that a filmstrip connected through the film egress and film ingress slots to the film supply and film take-up spools must longitudinally extend between the film supply and film take-up spools a minimum length that is greater than the maximum dimension of the housing.

A "film magazine", as the term is widely used, refers to a light-tight container or roll film holder for holding various film lengths. One type of known film magazine that is intended to be attached to a camera, often at the back of the camera, includes a housing having a film egress slot and a film ingress slot, a film supply spool rotatably supported within the housing proximate the film egress slot, and a film take-up spool rotatably supported within the housing proximate the film ingress slot. Film magazines are illustrated in prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,036,385 issued Aug. 20, 1912, No. 3,482,681 issued Dec. 9, 1969, and No. 3,548,728 issued Dec. 22, 1970.


An efficient software implementation of the round function of the Data Encryption Standard (DES) involves mathematical transformations performed on the DES round function and the DES round key computation function that reduce the computation required to complete a DES round on general-purpose, embedded, and cryptographic processors. These transformations shift computation associated with the Expansion Permutation from the DES round function to the DES round key computation function. As a result, fewer instructions are required to compute the inputs of the DES S-boxes in the round function.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to encryption and decryption. The invention relates more specifically to a unique software implementation of the round function of the Data Encryption Standard to reduce required computation.
2. Description of the Related Art
An encryption algorithm provides data confidentiality by disguising data such that an outsider that obtains the disguised data cannot recover the original data with a reasonable amount of time and effort. The Data Encryption Standard (DES), described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,539, is a highly popular symmetric-key encryption algorithm. The DES encryption algorithm accepts a 64-bit plaintext block P and a 56-bit key K as inputs, and the algorithm outputs a 64-bit ciphertext block C. The plaintext block P is the data to be disguised, and the ciphertext block C is the disguised result. Similarly, the DES decryption algorithm accepts a 64-bit ciphertext block C and the 56-bit secret key K as inputs and the decryption algorithm outputs the 64-bit plaintext block P. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate DES decryption and encryption, respectively. Encryption is denoted as DES and decryption is denoted as DES−1.
DES is a symmetric-key cipher because the decryption key is equivalent to the encryption key. If DES is secure, an outsider cannot easily recover P given C without knowledge of the secret key K. In addition, an outsider cannot easily discover the secret key K given a plaintext block P and the corresponding ciphertext block C encrypted under K.
In the context of available computing power, DES suffers from insufficient key length. Given a plaintext P and the corresponding ciphertext C for some key K, an outsider can recover the secret key K by observing the results of the DES encryption of P using all possible values for K. This brute-force attack can be completed in a short period of time using a reasonable amount of computer hardware. To prevent such an attack, some communications and storage security systems employ Triple DES (3DES). Triple DES provides a larger effective key length than DES by sequentially encrypting a plaintext block with DES three times using three different keys.
DES encrypts a plaintext block in three steps, as illustrated in FIG. 3. First, DES performs a fixed initial permutation on the bits of the 64-bit plaintext block. The result of this permutation is then subjected to 16 identical rounds of permutation and substitution operations. The jth DES round, where 1≦j≦16, employs a 48-bit round key RK(j) that is deterministically generated from K. Lastly, DES performs a fixed final permutation on the output of the sixteenth round. The result of this final permutation is the 64-bit ciphertext block. Decryption proceeds in the same manner, but the 16 round keys generated from K are used in reverse order. More specifically, the jth round in DES decryption uses the round key RK(17−j).
FIG. 4 depicts the jth DES encryption round. The values L(j) and R(j) are the leftmost 32 bits and the rightmost 32 bits of the 64-bit input to the jth round, respectively. K is the 56-bit DES secret key. The encryption round proceeds as follows. R(j) is subjected to the Expansion Permutation, a fixed mapping of the 32 bits of R(j) to a 48-bit output. Since the number of bits in the output is greater than that of the input, some input bits are mapped to multiple output bits. The 48-bit result of the Expansion Permutation is then XORed with the output of the round key generation function F. F is a nonlinear function that accepts the 56-bit DES secret key K and the round number j as inputs; F outputs a 48-bit result, RK(j), which is the round key. The result of the XOR operation between the round key and the output of the Expansion Permutation is then divided into eight 6-bit blocks. These 6-bit blocks are applied as inputs to the eight DES S-boxes. Each S-box accepts a 6-bit input and outputs a 4-bit result, and the S-boxes represent fixed nonlinear functions of the input bits. The 32 output bits of the S-boxes are then subjected to the DES P-box Permutation. The P-box Permutation is a fixed bijective permutation that maps 32 input bits to 32 output bits. Lastly, the output of the P-box is XORed with L(j), and this 32-bit result is R(j+1) in the next round. The value of L(j+1) in the next round is simply the value of R(j) from the current round.
Implementing permutations in hardware is trivial: Wires representing input bits can simply be connected to wires representing the output bits without using any gates or other logic. In software, however, performing bit-level permutation is a difficult task. Instruction set architectures for existing general-purpose microprocessors do not include instructions that can be used to efficiently complete such permutations. Performing a bit-level permutation of an n-bit register can require as many as O(n) instructions on general-purpose RISC or CISC microprocessors.
The round key computation function F is difficult to compute in software, for F involves a bit-level permutation. In practice, however, the function F is rarely executed. A DES secret key K will often be used to encrypt/decrypt hundreds, thousands, or even millions of bytes of data. The 16 round keys corresponding to a secret key K can be computed once prior to the encryption/decryption of all the 64-bit blocks of the data rather than once for each 64-bit block. Hence, the computation cost of calculating F is usually negligible; the computation is amortized over the encryption/decryption of many data blocks.
The S-boxes are usually implemented as lookup tables in software. We refer to the input to an S-box lookup table as the index, and we refer to the possible outputs of the S-box as the table entries. To eliminate processing associated with the P-box Permutation, software implementations of DES often combine the P-box Permutation with the S-box lookup tables to form SP-box lookup tables. Each S-box outputs a 4-bit value, but the SP-boxes output a 32-bit or larger value in which the 4-bit S-box result is already permuted per the P-box Permutation. Hence, no explicit run-time processing is needed to complete the P-box Permutation: The permutation is built into the eight SP-box lookup tables. If the SP-box outputs are 32 bits in size, the 28 output bits that do not represent bits of the original 4-bit S-box output are set to zeroes. The results of the eight SP-box outputs can be combined by performing seven bitwise logical XOR or bitwise logical OR operations following the eight SP-box table lookups.
TABLE 1DES EXPANSION PERMUTATION3212345456789891011121312131415161716171819202120212223242524252627282928293031321
Table 1 illustrates the DES Expansion Permutation. The Expansion Permutation is easier to compute than the P-box Permutation in software, for most of the permutation involves 6-bit blocks rather than individual bits. Each entry represents a bit of the 48-bit permutation output; the entries are arranged in increasing order from left to right and then from top to bottom. The number in each entry indicates the location of the bit in the 32-bit input that is mapped to the output bit corresponding to that entry. For example, bit 2 of the 32-bit input R(j) is mapped to bit 3 of the Expansion Permutation output, as the numeral 2 appears in the third entry. Similarly, bit 12 of R(j) is mapped to bits 17 and 19 of the output. In straightforward software implementations of DES, the Expansion Permutation requires very little computation. The inputs to six of the eight S-boxes are simply the XOR results of six contiguous bits of R(j) with six bits of the round key R(j). Preparing the inputs to the first and the eighth S-boxes requires additional special computation due to discontinuities in the Expansion Permutation. For example, the first six bits of the output of the Expansion Permutation, which are involved in the generation of the input to the first SP-box, include bits from both the right and the left ends of the 32-bit value R(j). These discontinuities are easy to handle. On many RISC processors, only one assembly instruction—if any at all—per DES round is required to complete this special computation.
To improve performance of software implementations of DES for processors with large memory caches, the SP-box lookup tables can be combined in pairs to form four large lookup tables. By using four SP-box tables rather than eight, the number of table lookups per round is reduced from eight to four, and the number of bitwise XOR (or bitwise OR) operations required to combine the results is reduced from seven to three. Each of these large SP-box tables is indexed with a 12-bit input (from the combination of two 6-bit inputs) and contains 4096 entries. A table entry in a large SP-box corresponding to a 12-bit index W, which is the concatenation of two 6-bit indexes U and V, is the result of bitwise XORing the entry corresponding to the index U in the first small table with the entry corresponding to the index V in the second small table. If the size of a table entry is 32 bits, the total size of all four tables is 64 kilobytes. Large SP-boxes do not reduce the number of instructions required to complete the Expansion Permutation and the round key XOR operations, however.

Method of implementing the data encryption standard with reduced computation

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An aspect of the invention provides a heat treatment method of a thermoplastic resin film comprising running a strip shaped thermoplastic resin film in a longitudinal direction and heating the thermoplastic resin film while holding the edge of the film in a width direction to conduct a heat treatment, wherein a tension of the thermoplastic resin film in the width direction is controlled to be constant. According to the aspect of the invention, since a thermoplastic resin film during a heat treatment is held with a constant tension in a width direction, the thermoplastic resin film during the heat treatment can be prevented from sagging or pulling excessively. Therefore, occurrence of variability of optical characteristics can be prevented, and thus a thermoplastic resin film excellent in optical characteristics can be produced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat treatment method of a thermoplastic resin film and an apparatus thereof, and particularly a heat treatment method of a thermoplastic resin film such as a cellulose acylate film used as a retardation film in a liquid crystal display device, and an apparatus thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Uses of a cellulose acylate film have been enlarged as an optical film for an image display device, typically, such as a liquid crystal display device and an organic EL display device in view of transparency, rigidity and optical isotropy thereof. An optical film for a liquid crystal display device is used as a retardation film by stretching the film to exhibit in-plane retardation (Re) and thickness direction retardation (Rth), other than as a protective film for a polarizing plate.
In a production process of a thermoplastic resin film such as a cellulose acylate film, there may be a case where a heat treatment is carried out while holding the both edges of the film in a width direction. For example, in case of film formation by a solution film formation method, in a drying step for volatilizing a solvent, a film is dried by heating while holding the both edges of the film in a width direction. When a film is transversely stretched in a width direction, the film is stretched in a width direction at a specified heating temperature while holding the both edges of the film in the width direction. Further, when a film is crystallized, crystallization is promoted by heating while holding the both edges of the film in the width direction (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 6-166089 and 8-244051).

Heat treatment method of thermoplastic resin film and apparatus thereof


Provided herein is a method for producing glass-ceramic sheets. The method includes texturing at least one surface of a first glass sheet, and stacking the first glass sheet and a second glass sheet. The first glass sheet and the second glass sheet are stacked so that the textured surface of the first glass sheet contacts a surface of the second glass sheet. The first and second glass sheets are cerammed. After cooling, the cerammed first and second glass sheets are separated. Also provided is a pre-form for producing glass-ceramic sheets. The pre-form includes a first glass sheet having a textured surface, and a second glass sheet contacting the first glass sheet. The textured surface of the first glass sheet is in contact with a surface of the second glass sheet.

Field
The present specification generally relates to methods of manufacturing glass-ceramic sheets. More particularly, this specification is directed to methods of manufacturing glass-ceramic sheets including stacking glass sheets having textured surfaces.
Technical Background
Thin glass sheets may be made by a thin-rolled process. To enhance the production capacity, the thin sheets created by the thin-rolled process are often stacked during the ceramming step. Additionally, a shorter ceramming cycle with a higher ceramming temperature may be used to reduce costs and production times associated with the ceramming cycle. The high temperatures used in the ceramming cycle and the number of stacked glass sheets may cause surfaces of the stacked glass sheets to fuse together. The more glass sheets added to the stack, and the higher the ceram temperature used, the stronger the adhesion between the thin glass sheets becomes. Separating the fused glass sheets after the ceramming process may result in breakage and, thus, product loss.
To address the above issues, barrier powders have been applied to the surfaces of the thin glass sheets that are in contact with one another. These barrier powders reduce the amount of fusion that occurs between the thin glass sheets. However, additional process steps are required to apply the barrier powder to the glass sheets before the ceramming process and to remove the barrier powder from the glass-ceramic sheets after the ceramming process. Thus, costs and production time are increased. Further, the barrier powders may leave contaminants in the ceramming chamber.
Accordingly, a need exists for methods of manufacturing glass-ceramic sheets that allows separating stacked glass-ceramic sheets and shorter ceram cycles without adding unnecessary process steps.

Method for reducing glass-ceramic surface adhesion, and pre-form for the same


Systems and methods discussed herein are directed to selecting and attaching to different cells within wireless communication networks when multiple cells are available. An electronic device determines that a 5G new radio (NR) radio access topology and a non-standalone radio access topology are available within a wireless communication network. The electronic device obtains a bandwidth index for the NR radio access topology and a bandwidth index for the non-standalone radio access topology and compares the two bandwidth indices. Based at least in part on results of the comparison, the electronic device selects one of either (i) the NR radio access topology or (ii) the non-standalone radio access topology and attaches to the selected topology.

Electronic devices are increasingly able to communicate with other entities, e.g., other electronic devices. Many of these devices are referred to as "connected devices," such as, for example, devices configured as Internet of things (IoT) devices, machine-to-machine (M2M) devices, etc. Such devices, as well as mobile communication devices, such as, for example, smart phones, portable computers, notebooks, laptops, etc., and other types of computing devices, both mobile and stationary, often communicate with other entities, e.g., servers, other similar devices, etc., over the Internet via wireless communication networks.
Wireless communication networks continue to evolve to provide better quality of service and user experience as the number of electronic devices operating within wireless communication networks increases. Thus, there are various operating protocols and operating standards that have been developed, and continue to be developed, for wireless communication networks. For example, there are standards related to third generation (3G), Long Term Evolution (LTE), fourth generation (4G), and fifth generation (5G) operating protocols. Often, electronic devices may be configured as non-standalone devices so that they may operate using different operating protocols within wireless communication networks. For example, an electronic device may be capable of operating according to 3G operating protocols, LTE operating protocols, 4G operating protocols, 5G operating protocols, as well as other operating protocols. Many of the operating protocols have been developed and/or adopted by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).
Thus, it may be necessary to determine which of the operating protocols provides the better quality of service and/or user experience for an electronic device when it is possible for the electronic device to operate according to multiple operating protocols within a wireless communication network, e.g., it is possible to operate via a cell within the wireless communication network operating in accordance with the LTE operating protocol or via a cell within the wireless communication network operating in accordance with the 5G operating protocol within a wireless communication network.

Selecting a 5G cell within a wireless communication network


A closely adherent metal coating having a uniform thickness and substantially free from pinholes is formed on the porous surface of a bonded magnet to improve its oxidation and corrosion resistance without lowering its magnetic properties. The coating is formed by electroplating from an aqueous solution not containing chlorine, and having a pH of 5 or above. More particularly, the solution contains mainly nickel sulfate, an electrolyte in the form of an organic acid salt not containing chlorine, and a basic electrolyte not containing chlorine, and forms a nickel coating on the magnet surface.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of plating a bonded magnet, and to a bonded magnet carrying a metal coating thereon More particularly, it relates to a method of plating a bonded magnet with a metal coating which is good adhesion has uniform in thickness, has few pinholes, and imparts oxidation and corrosion resistance to the magnet without lowering its magnetic properties, and to a bonded magnet carrying a metal coating of high corrosion resistance on its surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Magnets can be broadly classified by their manufacturing process as sintered, cast and bonded magnets, and by their material as alloy magnets made of alloys such as Alnico, Sm-Co and Nd-Fe-B alloys, and oxide magnets made of e.g. ferrites. The sintered magnet is made by compressing a magnetic powder at a high temperature, and the cast magnet by casting a molten metal into a mold. The bonded magnet is made by e.g. the injection, extrusion or compression molding of a mixture of a magnetic powder and a synthetic resin as a binder.
The bonded magnets can be made easily in a wide variety of desired shapes and are, therefore, used for making a wide variety of electrical and machanical parts. They are, however, porous and are, therefore, low in corrosion resistance. After a long time of use, they are likely to have their surface and internal portions oxidized or otherwise corroded, and greatly lower their magnetic properties. It is, therefore, necessary to coat the surface of the bonded magnet in some way or other without lowering its magnetic properties. The bonded magnet is also low at mechanical strength and necessitates the coating of its surface so as not to crack or chip easily. The coating of its surface contributes also to giving it a pleasant or beautiful appearance.
The bonded magnets made of alloys consisting mainly of rare-earth and transition metals (hereinafter referred to as "bonded rare-earth magnets") are used for a particularly wide range of applications owing to their superiority in magnetic properties to the ferrite or Alnico magnets. They have, however, the drawback of being easily oxidized. This is particularly the case with the Nd-Fe-B alloy magnets. The bonded rare-earth magnets undergo a great reduction in magnetic properties as a result of oxidation when used in a highly humid environment, and essentially call for the coating of their surfaces.
Plating is a well-known method which is often used for coating a surface with a metal. There are a variety of methods including vapor deposition, hot dipping, electroless plating, electroplating and substitution plating. Electroless plating has the advantages of being capable of forming a coating having a uniform thickness, coating even the inner surfaces of pores, and being carried out at a low cost by using a simple and inexpensive apparatus. Electroplating has the advantages of being able to form a very adherent coating rapidly at a low cost. Nickel electroplating is particularly beneficial from the standpoints of corrosion resistance and industrial utility.
It is, however, difficult to achieve the desired oxidation and corrosion resistance of a bonded magnet by employing any conventional process for electroless plating or electroplating. Although we, the inventors of this invention, ascertained that the electroplating of a bonded magnet could improve its corrosion resistance to some extent (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11704/1991), its corrosion resistance has still been unsatisfactory for any use thereof under harsh conditions, as when it is used for a motor in an automobile.
We made a careful examination of the conventionally electroplated surfaces of bonded magnets, and found that the metal coatings had a by far larger number of pinholes than was macroscopically presumable, and that their corrosion started for the most part in or near the pinholes.
We have studied the reason why such a large number of pinholes are formed in the metal coating on the surface of the bonded magnet. The bonded magnet comprises a magnetic powder and a synthetic resin as a binder, as hereinabove stated, and both the magnetic powder and the synthetic resin are, therefore, exposed in the surface of the magnet. If the magnet is electroplated, the metal used for plating it is first deposited on the exposed magnetic powder, and as the deposited metal grows, it gradually covers the synthetic resin, which is not an electric conductor, until it finally covers the whole surface of the magnet. It is obvious from this process of deposition that the deposited metal forms a coating having a smaller thickness on the exposed synthetic resin than on the magnetic powder. Accordingly, pinholes are more likely to form in the coating on the exposed synthetic resin which is relatively far from the exposed magnetic powder. This is a phenomenon which is peculiar to the bonded magnet, and is apparently due to the difference in electrical resistance from one portion of its surface to another.
The bonded magnet having, for example, a nickel coating formed on its surface by ordinary electroplating is inferior in corrosion resistance to other materials that have likewise been plated. This is due to the fact that the nickel or ammonium chloride, or other chloride that the aqueous solution used for plating contains as the electrolyte penetrates the bonded magnet through its porous surface during its plating, stays in the interface between the magnet and the coating formed thereon, and eventually forms rust, etc. in their interface and the interior of the magnet.
The chloride which the aqueous solution for nickel plating contains promotes the surface activation of the anode and thereby the dissolution of nickel from the anode into the solution, and the removal of the chloride therefrom brings about a great reduction in plating efficiency. Although the application of a high voltage may enable nickel plating in a solution not containing any chloride, the flow of a high electric current to the surface of the material to be plated as a result of its contact with the cathode causes not only the seizure thereof and the formation of a metal coating not having a uniform thickness, but also the heavy polarization of the anode which results in an unstable plating operation. This is particularly the case with a material having a volume resistivity in excess of about 10.sup.-3 ohm-cm, such as a bonded magnet.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 42708/1990 discloses an electroplating process which employs an electrolyte composed of an organic solvent and not containing chlorine, as means for overcoming the above problems. The non-aqueous wet plating process which employs an organic solvent has, however, the drawback of being expensive, since the solution which it employs is expensive, and since the apparatus which it employs is complicated and expensive. Thus, there has been a strong desire for a process which employs an aqueous solution and can form a metal coating of good corrosion resistance on the surface of a bonded magnet.
Although electroless plating can be employed for forming a metal coating on the surface of a bonded magnet, it is still difficult to obtain any satisfactory corrosion resistance. This is particularly the case with a bonded magnet made by compression molding which contains a small proportion of a synthetic resin as a binder. It is assumed that an electroless plating solution penetrates a bonded magnet through its porous surface and partly remains in the plated magnet, and that if the solution is acidic or contains chlorine, it corrodes the plated magnet.
When a bonded magnet is plated, it is necessary for its surface to be clean and active, whichever method may be employed for plating it. If its surface is not clean or active, the metal with which it is to be plated fails to adhere closely to its surface. The bonded magnet, however, cannot be said to have a surface which is good for plating, since the oxidation of its surface by heating, the adherence of the binder resin, or a mold release agent to its surface, etc. occur during its manufacture. It is, therefore, usual to cleanse its surface with a strong acid, such as chromic or sulfuric acid, before it is plated. This treatment is, however, not good for, among others, a bonded alloy magnet. The acid not only dissolves and oxidizes the magnetic alloy on its surface and lowers its magnetic properties, but also penetrates the porous surface and interior of the magnet and partly remains in the plated magnet. The remaining acid is very likely to corrode the magnet and impair the adherence of a metal coating to it.

Method of plating a bonded magnet and a bonded magnet carrying a metal coating

Kanegafuchi Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha


A system for storing data includes a plurality of clusters located remotely from each other in which the data is stored. Each cluster has a token server that controls access to the data with only one token server responsible for any piece of data. Each cluster has a plurality of Cache appliances. Each cluster has at least one backend file server in which the data is stored. The system includes a communication network through which the servers and appliances communicate with each other. A Cache Appliance cluster in which data is stored in back-end servers within each of a plurality of clusters located remotely from each other. A method for storing data.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of the art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention. The following discussion is intended to provide information to facilitate a better understanding of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that statements in the following discussion are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
This invention builds a geographically distributed cluster of cache appliances. Clustered cache appliances providing global cache consistency have existed for years, in systems such as the Andrew File System, the Open Software Foundation's Distributed File System (called DCE DFS) and NetApp's FlexCache system. However, these systems take a very restricted approach to managing network partitions, which this invention remedies. In addition, none of these systems allow write-back caching along with strict cache coherence in the presence of network partitions.
The Andrew File System, for example, only provides synchronization with other users when a file is closed. Furthermore, once the file is closed, the file is written back synchronously to the back-end server, implementing a write-through policy instead of a write-back policy. The DCE DFS file system essentially operates in the same manner, writing data through to the file server when a file is closed. The NetApp FlexCache system only operates in write-through mode and handles network partitions by waiting for the partition's repair.
This invention, on the other hand, allows strictly correct behavior even when operating in write-back mode, and even when a network partition occurs. Its default behavior in write-back mode is for partitioned users to wait for the network partition to be repaired, before being able to read the modified data. Other operational configurations allow partitioned users to read older versions of the data during a partition separating the partitioned users from the latest version of the data. Yet other write-back configurations are described as well.

System and method for storing data in clusters located remotely from each other


A new gutter covering system for keeping debris from accumulating in a gutter. The inventive device includes a length of net dimensioned for covering a gutter. The length of net is positioned over an open upper end of the gutter. The length of net has a long inboard edge, a long outboard edge, and opposing side edges. The inboard edge has a plurality of loops secured thereto and extending outwardly therefrom in a spaced relationship therealong. A plurality of side hooks are provided each having an elastic cord extending outwardly therefrom. Free ends of the elastic cords are secured to the outboard edge of the length of net in a spaced relationship therealong. The side hooks are extendable under a long outer side wall and a closed bottom end of the gutter and securing to a long inner side wall of the gutter. A pair of end hooks are provided with each having an elastic cord extending outwardly therefrom. The elastic cord of each end hook has a branched end for securement to opposing corners of the opposing side edges of the length of net. The end hooks are extendable under short end walls of the gutter and engaging the closed bottom end thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gutter screens and more particularly pertains to a new gutter covering system for keeping debris from accumulating in a gutter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of gutter screens is known in the prior art. More specifically, gutter screens heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art gutter screens include U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,377 to Faulkner; U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,920 to Sichel; U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,192 to Nothum, Sr. et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,640 to Creson; U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,551 to Manoogian, Jr.; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 338,948 to Fox.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new gutter covering system. The inventive device includes a length of net dimensioned for covering a gutter. The length of net is positioned over an open upper end of the gutter. The length of net has a long inboard edge, a long outboard edge, and opposing side edges. The inboard edge has a plurality of loops secured thereto and extending outwardly therefrom in a spaced relationship therealong. A plurality of side hooks are provided each having an elastic cord extending outwardly therefrom. Free ends of the elastic cords are secured to the outboard edge of the length of net in a spaced relationship therealong. The side hooks are extendable under a long outer side wall and a closed bottom end of the gutter and securing to a long inner side wall of the gutter. A pair of end hooks are provided with each having an elastic cord extending outwardly therefrom. The elastic cord of each end hook has a branched end for securement to opposing corners of the opposing side edges of the length of net. The end hooks are extendable under short end walls of the gutter and engaging the closed bottom end thereof.
In these respects, the gutter covering system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of keeping debris from accumulating in a gutter.


Disclosed are crystalline forms of L-Lys(Boc)-Phe-NH2 and Boc-D-Arg-DMT. The crystalline forms may be used in the synthesis of elamipretide.

Elamipretide (MTP-131) is a mitochondria-targeting peptide compound with therapeutic potential for treating diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Elamipretide contains four-amino acid residues and has been synthesized according to typical linear and convergent solution phase peptide synthesis methods. The synthetic routes to generate elamipretide that have been used to date require the preparation of various differentially protected peptides, such that certain protecting groups are selectively removed in order to subject the deprotected compound to peptide coupling, while other protecting groups remain to prevent unwanted side reactions. Even with protecting groups such coupling reactions and related steps generate impurities. Thus, there exists a need to develop new methods to purify elamipretide that allow the purification after coupling reactions. Crystallization of the desired reaction products are one method of achieving the necessary purification.

Crystalline dipeptides useful in the synthesis of elamipretide


The disclosure provides a service request processing method. A service consumer transmits a service request, including a plurality of service producer types, and an access order of service producer instances corresponding to the plurality of service producer types is determined. The service producer instances corresponding to the plurality of service producer types are controlled to process the service request according to the access order.

At present, in the enhancements for Service Based Architecture (eSBA) subject of a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) R16, the concept of a service communication proxy (SCP) is proposed. Communication messages between services are forwarded through an SCP. In addition, the SCP may perform proxy discovery. The SCP transmits a service discovery request to a network repository function (NRF) to discover a service producer list and select a service producer from the list.

Service request processing method and related apparatus

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


A non-aqueous ink jet ink for printing lithographic printing plates. The formulation provides for ink jet printing using a solvent based ink in a drop on demand printer. The ink exhibits excellent physical properties and good stability over a range of times and temperatures.

The present exemplary embodiment relates to a non-aqueous ink jet ink. It finds particular application in conjunction with the printing of offset and other lithographic master plates, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present exemplary embodiment is also amenable to other like applications.
Lithographic printing has long been the most widely used printing technique, especially for short to medium printing run lengths of 1,000 to 15,000. By the term "lithographic" is meant to include various terms used synonymously, such as offset, offset lithographic, wet lithographic, planographic, and others.
Lithography is the process of printing from specially prepared surfaces, some areas of which are capable of accepting lithographic ink, whereas other areas, will not accept the ink. The areas, which accept ink, form the printing image areas and the ink-rejecting areas form the background areas. In the art of photolithography, a photographic material is made image-wise receptive to oily or greasy ink in the photo-exposed (negative working) or in the non-exposed areas (positive working) on a hydrophilic background.
In the production of common lithographic plates, a support that has affinity to water or obtains such affinity by chemical treatment is coated with a thin layer of a photosensitive composition. Coatings for that purpose include light-sensitive polymer layers containing diazo compounds, dichromate-sensitized hydrophilic colloids and a large variety of synthetic photopolymers. Particularly diazo-sensitized systems are widely used. Upon image-wise exposure of the light-sensitive layer the exposed image areas become insoluble and the unexposed areas remain soluble. The plate is then developed with a suitable liquid to remove the diazonium salt or diazo resin in the unexposed areas.
To make a typical lithographic printing plate, a substrate is provided with a hydrophilic surface which is imaged with an oleophilic material corresponding to the pattern to be printed. The oleophilic material is typically a photosensitive photopolymer or diazo resin which is exposed to light by masking with a film negative. The exposed portions are rendered insoluble in a developer and the unexposed portions remain soluble. Insolubility is typically caused by cross-linking of the photopolymer, the rate of cross-linking enhanced by coating the photopolymer with an oxygen inhibition layer. After exposure the oxygen inhibition layer and the unexposed photopolymer are removed. Other negative working materials useful in this invention include diazo resins mixed with non-photosensitive polymers and resins.
The above described process is referred to as a negative working process because the unexposed material is removed. In a positive working process, the pattern to be printed is masked and the photosensitive exposed material is rendered soluble in a developer. Printing plates made according to either process are used on offset presses.
Presently, most offset printing plates are prepared by analog prepress techniques. Photo type-setters and conventional cameras containing silver halide paper and film generate positive texts and photographs which are eventually converted to film negatives for plate preparation. This process is labor intensive and costly. The computer has now made it possible to convert this prepress operation from an analog process to a digital process, thus eliminating substantial labor and raw material costs. Total digitization of information also makes it possible to eliminate the film negative step in plate preparation and go directly to the plate. There are several means of digitally imaging a plate directly. Two of the most promising methods use lasers or ink jet technology. Using lasers to image plates directly is very costly because of the sophisticated optics and their controls. Time is also a constraint with lasers because of the necessity for raster scanning. A further drawback to laser imaging is the need for expensive, high-speed plate coatings, most of which are commercially unproven.
Ink jet printing technology is much simpler and more cost effective. No optical beam deflectors or focusing optics are necessary. Ink jet heads can be easily integrated so that imaging time is minimized. The coatings on the offset plates needed in an ink jet plate maker can be standard negative working photopolymers with proven track records. High sensitivity silver halide coatings are not necessary.
In recent years, ink jet printers have replaced laser printers as the most popular hard copy output printers for computers. Some of the competitive advantages of ink jet printers have been low cost, reliability, and the ability to make color images without significantly increasing the cost of the printer. Both thermal ink jet and piezoelectric ink jet printing methods have been widely adopted for desktop computer printing. A third conventional type of ink jet printing, a continuous flow type method, has found acceptance in high quality color printing and proofing in graphics applications.
In light of the increased use of ink jet printers for producing lithographic printing plates, there is a continued need for durable, waterfast, and bleed resistant inks for use in such printers. More particularly, there is a continued need for a non-aqueous hydrophobic inks for use in the printing of lithographic printing plates.

Non-aqueous ink jet ink for imaging a lithographic printing plate