A process and corresponding apparatus for dehydrating gas, especially natural gas. The process includes an absorption step and a membrane pervaporation step to regenerate the liquid sorbent.

Natural gas as obtained from the well contains water vapor. Before the gas can be passed to the pipeline, it must be dried to prevent problems such as hydrate or ice formation or corrosion.
Glycol dehydration, which is simple and inexpensive, is currently the most widely used method of dehydrating natural gas. The estimated number of glycol dehydration systems operating in the United States alone is at least 55,000.
In a typical dehydrator, wet gas is scrubbed with dry glycol to yield a product gas of lowered water dew point. The glycol absorbs not only water, but also aromatic compounds, such as BTEX, and other hydrocarbon vapors.
The water-rich or "spent" glycol is passed to a regeneration system, which typically includes a flash tank, where methane and other light gases are flashed off, a reboiler and a regeneration still column. The water-laden glycol is heated to drive off absorbed water, and dry glycol is recovered for reuse in the absorber. Unfortunately, this heating also vaporizes hydrocarbons that have been sorbed into the glycol, and these are expelled, along with the water vapor, in the hot overhead vent stream from the still column.
Although the major component is steam, this overhead vent stream may contain as much as 20 mol % or more of organic compounds, including aromatic and non-aromatic organic vapors. Of these organic compounds, a significant proportion maybe the aromatic compounds benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene, together commonly known as BTEX compounds. These organic emissions are now classified as Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs), and are subject to emissions regulations both in the United States and internationally.
There is, therefore, a need for a simple, reliable and cost-effective method to reduce or eliminate the release of these organic components.
So-called "enhanced" regeneration systems have been used to increase water removal from the spent glycol, and some of these systems can reduce HAP emissions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,536, to Texaco, describes an apparatus with a condenser unit in the reboiler overhead vent to condense hydrocarbon components and some water, thus venting a hydrocarbon-depleted water vapor stream. U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,552 describes a condensation system to recover liquid hydrocarbons and collect remaining hydrocarbon vapors for use as fuel for the glycol reboiler. U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,745, to Phillips Petroleum, describes the use of both a condenser and a phase separator to recover liquid hydrocarbons.
Another technique for glycol regeneration is stripping against a gas or steam. A typical configuration for a stripper is a packed or multi-tray tower, with the stripping gas normally flowing upward countercurrent to the descending liquid glycol. Depending on the stripping agent used, water, hydrocarbons, or both are absorbed from the glycol into the stripping gas, thus regenerating the glycol for reuse in dehydrating the natural gas.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,421, to OPC Engineering, describes a glycol regeneration process comprising flash evaporation to recover hydrocarbon components from the spent glycol, followed by heating and multiple stripping steps using a vaporized solvent as the stripping agent to dehydrate the glycol. U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,423, also to OPC Engineering, uses basically the same process, but includes condensation of a portion of the once-stripped glycol stream for additional removal of hydrocarbons.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,873, to Bryan Research and Engineering, combines condensation of the reboiler overhead with further treatment of the lean glycol stream by stripping against a sidestream of the dehydrated natural gas. U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,114, to Ebeling, uses a stripping step to remove hydrocarbons upstream of the glycol reboiler. U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,762, to Gas Research Institute, uses an integrated combination of condensation and steam stripping to produce dischargeable water, organic liquid and an organic vent gas that may be useful as fuel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,636, also to Gas Research Institute, adds potassium salts to the glycol to increase water absorption and decrease hydrocarbon absorption in the natural gas dehydration step. Since hydrocarbons are less readily absorbed, the glycol has greater water-absorbing capacity. The regeneration process also produces a leaner glycol stream and the water vapor vented to the atmosphere has a lower hydrocarbon content.
These and other processes can achieve low water concentrations in the glycol, which in turn provides good dehydration of the raw gas, resulting in low dew points in the treated gas. They can also reduce, but do not eliminate, BTEX and other HAP air emissions through the additional treatment step. However, most of these processes produce an additional gaseous or aqueous waste stream that requires on-site or off-site attention such as incineration, disposal, or further treatment.
Despite these efforts, a cost-effective regeneration technology that truly minimizes or eliminates HAP emissions has not been developed. There yet remains a need for such a process.
Membranes have for many years been known to be usable in pervaporation mode for dehydrating organic liquids. For example, many patents to GFT and others, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,720,717, 4,405,409 and 4,755,299, describe such separations using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membranes.
A large number of patents to Texaco also disclose pervaporation processes using membranes of various types for dehydrating organic liquids, such as organic acids. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,988 describes PVA membranes and processes for treating ethylene glycol/water solutions to reduce the ethylene glycol content in the permeate to low levels, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,022 describes a similar process using ion-exchange type sulfonated polyethylene membranes to produce a low-glycol permeate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,023, to Allied Signal, describes a process to treat spent deicing fluid (ethylene glycol mixture) using a combination of membrane distillation through a porous polytetrafluoroethylene membrane and reverse osmosis. U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,286, to Mitsui Engineering, describes an A-zeolite-type membrane for pervaporation applications, and includes sample data for dehydration of alcohols.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,519, to Membrane Technology and Research, describes a process including a condenser to condense the glycol reboiler overhead vent stream and recover liquid hydrocarbon components, followed by a pervaporation step of the waste aqueous stream to recover additional hydrocarbon components and vent a hydrocarbon-depleted water stream.


Reinforced directional drilling assemblies and methods of forming reinforced directional drilling assemblies are provided. Strengthening materials may be incorporated into a resilient layer and/or a polymer-based composite material within a directional drilling assembly to improve the durability and performance of a power section within the directional drilling assembly. Inclusion of strengthening materials within a directional drilling assembly may provide a method to detect the status of a power section and send a signal from downhole upon detecting status of the power section. Inclusion of strengthening materials also may provide a method to collect data about operating conditions, including pressure, temperature, torque, RPM, stress level, shock, vibration, downhole weight on bit, and/or equivalent circulating density to send to the surface or to MWD/LWD systems. The strengthening materials may collect data by themselves or in conjunction with a sensor.

Directional drilling involves the intentional deviation or steering of a drill bit to form a wellbore that follows a desired path. That desired path of a directional drilling assembly may be vertical, horizontal, or any angle in between or any combination of the three. The drill bit may be pointed in the direction that one wants to drill, which may be accomplished through use of a permanent or adjustable bend near the drill bit in a downhole steerable mud motor, also referred to as a progressive cavity positive displacement pump connecting the drillstring and the drill bit. Mud motors typically include a power section comprising a rotor and stator and a transmission section. The pressure of drilling fluid, also known as mud, pumped through the drillstring from the surface, creates eccentric motion in the power section of the mud motor that is transmitted by the transmission section as concentric power to the drill bit. By pumping mud through the drillstring to the mud motor, the drill bit turns while the drillstring does not rotate, allowing the drill bit to drill in the direction that it points.
In a mud motor, a rotor generally turns within a stator to generate the power that spins the drill bit in a downhole direction. Mud motors may use different rotor and stator configurations to optimize performance for a directional drilling assembly. Non-metal materials, such as composite materials, and/or resilient materials, such as elastomers, have come to be utilized in the fabrication of components in mud motors. For example, the stator of the mud motor may be formed of a composite material lined with a resilient material, such as an elastomer. However, severe operating and environmental conditions associated with oilfield applications where directional drilling assemblies may be utilized tend to degrade or induce mechanical failure of these materials forming components of mud motors. Further, when a failure occurs in the power section, such a failure often may not be observed until there has already been a structural breakdown in the power section.

Reinforced directional drilling assemblies and methods of forming same


This invention relates generally to a method of treating inflammation and associated diseases and disorders by administering an agent that inhibits glycogen synthase kinase 3 activity.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method of controlling the inflammatory response. The invention has broad applicability in inflammatory diseases or processes to control or alter inflammation.
2. Background Art
Inflammation is a complex stereotypical reaction of the body expressing the response to damage of cells and vascularized tissues. The discovery of the detailed processes of inflammation has revealed a close relationship between inflammation and the immune response. The main features of the inflammatory response are vasodilation, i.e. widening of the blood vessels to increase the blood flow to the infected area; increased vascular permeability, which allows diffusible components to enter the site; cellular infiltration by chemotaxis, or the directed movement of inflammatory cells through the walls of blood vessels into the site of injury; changes in biosynthetic, metabolic, and catabolic profiles of many organs; and activation of cells of the immune system as well as of complex enzymatic systems of blood plasma.
There are two forms of inflammation, acute and chronic. Acute inflammation can be divided into several phases. The earliest, gross event of an inflammatory response is temporary vasoconstriction, i.e. narrowing of blood vessels caused by contraction of smooth muscle in the vessel walls, which can be seen as blanching (whitening) of the skin. This is followed by several phases that occur over minutes, hours and days later. The first is the acute vascular response, which follows within seconds of the tissue injury and lasts for several minutes. This results from vasodilation and increased capillary permeability due to alterations in the vascular endothelium, which leads to increased blood flow (hyperemia) that causes redness (erythema) and the entry of fluid into the tissues (edema).
The acute vascular response can be followed by an acute cellular response, which takes place over the next few hours. The hallmark of this phase is the appearance of granulocytes, particularly neutrophils, in the tissues. These cells first attach themselves to the endothelial cells within the blood vessels (margination) and then cross into the surrounding tissue (diapedesis). During this phase erythrocytes may also leak into the tissues and a hemorrhage can occur. If the vessel is damaged, fibrinogen and fibronectin are deposited at the site of injury, platelets aggregate and become activated, and the red cells stack together in what are called "rouleau" to help stop bleeding and aid clot formation. The dead and dying cells contribute to pus formation. If the damage is sufficiently severe, a chronic cellular response may follow over the next few days. A characteristic of this phase of inflammation is the appearance of a mononuclear cell infiltrate composed of macrophages and lymphocytes. The macrophages are involved in microbial killing, in clearing up cellular and tissue debris, and in remodeling of tissues.
Chronic inflammation is an inflammatory response of prolonged duration—weeks, months, or even indefinitely—whose extended time course is provoked by persistence of the causative stimulus to inflammation in the tissue. The inflammatory process inevitably causes tissue damage and is accompanied by simultaneous attempts at healing and repair. The exact nature, extent and time course of chronic inflammation is variable, and depends on a balance between the causative agent and the attempts of the body to remove it. Etiological agents producing chronic inflammation include: (i) infectious organisms that can avoid or resist host defenses and so persist in the tissue for a prolonged period. Examples include Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Actinomycetes, and numerous fungi, protozoa and metazoal parasites. Such organisms are in general able to avoid phagocytosis or survive within phagocytic cells, and tend not to produce toxins causing acute tissue damage. (ii) Infectious organisms that are not innately resistant but persist in damaged regions where they are protected from host defenses. An example is bacteria which grow in the pus within an undrained abscess cavity, where they are protected both from host immunity and from blood-borne therapeutic agents, e.g. antibiotics. Some locations are particularly prone to chronic abscess formation, e.g. bone, and pleural cavities. (iii) Irritant non-living foreign material that cannot be removed by enzymatic breakdown or phagocytosis. Examples include a wide range of materials implanted into wounds (wood splinters, grit, metals and plastics), inhaled (silica dust and other particles or fibers), or deliberately introduced (surgical prostheses, sutures, etc.) Also included are transplants. Dead tissue components that cannot be broken down may have similar effects, e.g. keratin squames from a ruptured epidermoid cyst or fragments of dead bone (sequestrum) in osteomyelitis. (iv) In some cases the stimulus to chronic inflammation may be a normal tissue component. This occurs in inflammatory diseases where the disease process is initiated and maintained because of an abnormality in the regulation of the body's immune response to its own tissues—the so-called auto-immune diseases. (v) For many diseases characterized by a chronic inflammatory pathological process the underlying cause remains unknown. An example is Crohn's disease.
Examples of chronic inflammatory diseases include tuberculosis, chronic cholecystitis, bronchiectasis, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease), silicosis and other pneumoconiosis, and implanted foreign body in a wound.
Activation of innate immunity and promotion of inflammation are common responses to replication incompetent adenoviruses (Ad) now being developed as vectors for gene therapy (Jooss, K. (2003) Gene Ther. 10:955-963; Zaiss, A. K. (2002) J. Virol. 76:4580-4590). The complement system is central to both innate immunity and inflammation (Walport, M. J. (2001) N Eng J Med 344:1058-1066 and 1140-1144). Because it is comprised of multiple membrane-bound and blood factors, the complement system is of particular relevance in delivery of vectors administered intravenously. In fact, Cichon et al. showed complement was activated in a majority of human plasma samples when challenged with different adenoviral serotypes; complement activation was completely dependent on anti-Ad antibody (Cichon (2001) Gene Ther 8:1794-1800).
The complement mediated inactivation is a multistep enzymatic cascade which finally results in formation of a membrane attack complex (MAC) mediating the perforation of membranes and subsequent lysis of the invading organism. It is either initiated by antigen-antibody complexes (classical pathway) or via an antibody independent pathway which is activated by certain particular polysaccharides, viruses and bacteria (alternative pathway).
Human organs and cells themselves are protected to complement mediated lysis. This protection is achieved by expression of complement inactivation factors. So far, five human factors are known. CD35 (CR1) is released from the cells and acts mainly extrinsically. In contrast, CD59, CD46 (MCP), CD55 (DAF) and HRF are integrated into the cellular membrane. CD46 (MCP) is a classical transmembrane protein while HRF, CD59 and CD55 are GPI-anchored. These factors can interrupt the complement cascade at two different stages: DAF, CR1 and MCP act at an early stage of both the alternative and the classical pathway. In contrast, CD59 and HRF inhibit the assembly of the membrane attack complex, which is the final step of both pathways resulting in channel formation and lysis.
The early pro-inflammatory cascade can be initiated by endotoxin (also known as lipopolysaccharide, or LPS). LPS is one of the major constituents of the cell walls of gram-negative bacteria. Recognition of conserved microbial products, such as LPS, by the innate immune system leads to a variety of signal transduction pathways. These signal transduction pathways mediate the induction and secretion of cytokines that can regulate the level and duration of an inflammatory response. The systemic inflammatory response that accompanies endotoxic shock (caused by triggers such as the presence of LPS) is controlled by the levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Although the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by cells of the innate immune system play an important role in mediating the initial host defense against invading pathogens (O'Neill, 2000), an inability to regulate the nature or duration of the host's inflammatory response can often mediate detrimental host effects as observed in chronic inflammatory diseases. Additionally, in the early stages of sepsis, the host's inflammatory response is believed to be in a hyperactive state with a predominant increase in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines that mediate host tissue injury and lethal shock (Cohen, 2002). In this regard, the ability to suppress pro-inflammatory cytokines and/or enhance anti-inflammatory cytokines, i.e. IL-10, has been shown to severely reduce the toxic effects of endotoxin (Berg, 1995; Howard, 1993).
Past studies have identified that the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway can limit the production of TNF-α and IL-12 upon TLR-stimulation (Fukao, 2002; Fukao, 2002; Guha, 2002). Moreover, it has been demonstrated that the utilization of the PI3K pathway by a TLR2-agonist resulted in enhanced IL-10 production whereas the levels of IL-12 were reduced (Martin, 2003).
However, there remains a distinct need in the art for methods and compositions capable of regulating cytokine production, thereby controlling inflammation and associated disorders.

Methods and compositions related to regulation of cytokine production by glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3)


A power transmission mechanism for an automatic transmission, configured to establish seven or more forward speeds and one reverse speed. The power transmission mechanism includes four simple planetary gears, three connection members interconnecting two of the rotating members of the planetary gears, three clutches selectively connectable between two of the rotating members, and four brakes each operable to hold selectively against rotation one of the rotating members.

The present invention relates generally to automatic transmissions for automotive vehicles, and more particularly to a power transmission mechanism for an automatic transmission, configured to establish seven or more forward speeds and one or more reverse speed.
A Published Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-266138 (hereinafter referred to as "JP2000-266138") shows a power transmission mechanism for an automatic transmission, configured to establish seven forward speeds and one reverse speed. This power transmission mechanism includes a compound planetary gearset as an input section, a pair of planetary gears as an output section, three clutches, a one-way clutch, and four brakes. The compound planetary gearset on the input side includes a sun gear, a ring gear, a secondary ring gear, and a planet-pinion carrier supporting a short planet pinion in mesh with the secondary ring gear and a long planet pinion in mesh with the short pinion and the sun gear on the input side and with the ring gear on the other side. The power transmission mechanism is configured so that gear shift from one speed to another next speed is performed by changing only one of the engagement states of the torque transmitting mechanisms including the clutches and the brakes.


A proportioner having a body portion that defines a foam passage and a fluid passage. The proportioner also includes a restrictor assembly having a restrictor disk and an orifice plate having an opening for receiving the restrictor disk. The proportioner can further include a rod member connected to the restrictor disk and a clapper assembly connected to the rod member via a sliding interface. The clapper assembly can be configured to control a flow of the foam concentrate through the foam passage in proportion to a flow of the fire protection fluid through the fluid passage by moving the rod member to vary the distance between the restrictor disk and the orifice plate. The sliding interface can be disposed between a first guide and a second guide, and at least a portion of the restrictor disk is disposed in the opening.

Fire protection systems that use foam-based solutions typically inject a foam concentrate into a fluid stream (e.g., water stream) that is directed to sprinkler heads, monitors, nozzles, or other fire-fighting fluid discharge devices. Depending on the type of foam and/or the type of fire-fighting application, the concentration of the foam in the foam solution can be 1%, 2%, 3%, 6%, or some other desired percentage. "Fire protection solution" or "solution" as used herein means a mixture of foam concentrate and fire protection fluid (e.g., water). In some conventional systems, a proportioner that mixes the foam concentrate and the fire protection fluid (e.g., water) is used to ensure that the concentration of foam in the fire protection solution is at the proper ratio or percentage.
In typical fire protection applications, the flow rate of the firefighting solution can vary depending on the number of fire protection devices that are in operation. For example, the flow rate of the fire protection solution in some sprinkler systems can range from 50 gallons per minute(gpm) to 3000 gpm or higher depending on the number of sprinklers that have opened due to a fire. The flow rate can initially start at 50 gpm and progressively increase if the fire expands and opens more sprinklers. To this end, the proportioner must be capable of providing the proper percentage (e.g., 1%, 2%, 3%, 6%, or some other desired value) of foam concentrate to within a predetermined range in the fire protection solution for the designed range of flow rates for the fire protection system. Failure to maintain the desired foam concentrate percentage within the predetermined range can result in the fire protection system not meeting recognized standards for fire protection systems and/or the foam concentrate supply can be exhausted before the fire is addressed (e.g., extinguished). For example, if the proper foam concentrate percentage is not maintained, the fire protection system may not be compliant with the drain time and foam expansion value criteria of the Foam Quality Tests section of the UL 162 standard for a Type III nozzle and a foam concentrate, as published in "UL 162, Standard For Safety: Foam Equipment and Liquid Concentrates" dated Feb. 23, 2018 (hereinafter "UL standard") and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and with the drain time and foam expansion ratio criteria of the Low Expansion Foam Concentrate Extinguishing Performance section in the FM 5130 standard for a foam concentrate, as published in "Approval Standard for Foam Extinguishing Systems: Class Number 5130" dated January 2018 (hereinafter "FM standard") and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
A conventional proportioner can include a body with a first passage for the foam concentrate and a second passage for the fire protection fluid. The conventional proportioner can also include a restrictor assembly with a restrictor disk and orifice plate for controlling a flow of the foam concentrate. The restrictor disk is connected to a rod that can be moved by a clapper assembly to control the flow of the foam concentrate. Some conventional proportioners include a guide assembly with upper and lower guides to align the restrictor disk to the opening in the orifice plate. Conventional proportioners, however, can be affected by the viscosity of the foam concentrate such that the fire protection system is not able to meet UL and FM standards for certain flows. For example, a conventional 6-inch proportioner in a system using an alcohol resistant (ARC) foam concentrate may be limited to certain flow rates depending on the viscosity of the foam concentrate. To meet FM and/or UL standards, the fire protection system having the 6-inch proportioner may be limited to fire protection solution flow rates in a range between 750 GPM to 2300 GPM when using high-viscosity foam concentrates, e.g., viscosity of about 2400 mPas, rather than a full range of the proportioner, which can be, for example, 30 gpm to 2000 gpm for an exemplary six-inch proportioner, 50 gpm to 3000 gpm for an exemplary eight-inch proportioner, or some other range that corresponds to the full range of the proportioner. As used herein "high-viscosity" means a value greater than 1300 mPas at 25 degrees C. using a Brookfield LV spindle 4 at 60 rpm. That is, it is believed that conventional proportioners are not able to maintain the foam concentration at a proper percentage value or range to meet UL or FM standards for the full flow range of the proportioner when using high-viscosity foam concentrates. The flow of the foam concentrate into the fire protection fluid is typically controlled by the restrictor disk that obstructs the concentrate flow through an opening in the orifice plate. As the restrictor moves away from the opening, the concentrate flow increases. In some conventional proportioners, the restrictor does not go through the opening in the orifice plate. It is believed that such a configuration could limit the ability to precisely control the foam concentrate flow, especially for high-viscosity foam concentrates. In some conventional proportioners, the restrictor is configured to go through the opening in the orifice plate, but it is believed that the foam concentrate passage in such proportioners does not allow for proper flow of high-viscosity foam concentrates into the fluid flow, which can limit the proportioner to a limited flow range and/or the foam concentrates to those with a lower viscosity. Consequently, there is a need for a proportioner that can maintain the foam concentrate percentage in a firefighting solution at the proper value for a wide range of flow rates when using high-viscosity foam concentrates. "Wide range" as used herein means that a maximum rated flow rate for the proportioner is equal to or greater than 10 times the minimum rated flow rate for the proportioner.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional, traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one skilled in the art, through comparison of such approaches with embodiments of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present disclosure with reference to the drawings.

Proportioner for a fire protection system

Minimax Viking Research & Development GmbH


In an electron multiplying imaging device 1 with a solid-state image pickup device 10, a first multiplied image of incident light with a first light amount and a second multiplied image of incident light with a second light amount are acquired at a predetermined electron multiplication factor set in advance, and a luminance average value and a luminance variance average value of pixels included in the first multiplied image and a luminance average value and a luminance variance average value of pixels included in the second multiplied image are calculated. By using the calculated luminance average values and luminance variance average values, a conversion factor of the first and second multiplied images is calculated, and by using the calculated conversion factor and a conversion factor at a reference electron multiplication factor held in advance, an actual electron multiplication factor of the solid-state image pickup device 10 is calculated.

As a conventional imaging device, one with a CMD (Charge Multiplying Detector)-CCD image pickup device including a charge multiplying means is known. In such an imaging device, due to deterioration, etc., of this device, a difference may occur between a multiplication factor that a user sets and an actual multiplication factor in an imaged multiplied image. Therefore, a method is known in which in such an imaging device, a first signal value imaged with pixels corresponding to a shading region of the CMD-CCD image pickup device and multiplied by a multiplication factor of 1 is stored, and further, a second signal value imaged with pixels corresponding to the shading region and multiplied by a predetermined multiplication factor is stored, and by dividing the second signal value by the first signal value, an actual multiplication factor is calculated (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Method for measuring electronic multiplication factor


A method of auto-deskewing a titled original image is provided. Frist, obtain an original image by scanning to acquire values of pixels in the original image. Next subject the original image to a binarization process. And, set a datum line in the original image. Then determine a tilting angle on the basis of the datum line. Finally, adjust the original image on the basis of the tilting angle. Therefore, the tilting angle of the original image may be acquired to adjust.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a method of processing a digital image and particularly to a method of auto-deskewing a tilted image.
2. Related Art
In scanning an original document with a scanner, the original document is apt to be put in a tilted state, which is generally inconvenient for reading and has to process the scanned original document (inputted image). Therefore, inspection and correction of the tilted state of the inputted image are indispensible. In performing the operation of correction, a tilting angle of the inputted image has to be first inspected and then adjusted on the basis of the tilting angle so that the inputted image may be adjusted to a correct position.
Tilted image correction technology is a method of deskewing a tilted state of an image by inspecting the tilting angle of the tilt image and adjusting the tilting angle to a right angle through grid lines externally applied and textual direction in the image. This correction method may be used independently or used as a pre-process for an optical character recognition (OCR) process.
The image tilt correction method may be classified into a manual correction method and an automatic correction method. The manual correction is generally conducted through observation of the image by a user's eyes. In performing the automatic correction, the image is first analyzed, a tilting angle of the image is obtained, and then the image is automatically corrected from its tilted state. However, some traditional cut-away software used for this tilt correction purpose has the disadvantage of causing the corrected image to have saw-toothed edges.
The prior automatic tilted image correction methods comprise the projection profile method, the Hough transformation method, the cross correlation method, neighboring features clustering method, and so on.
The projection profile method is performed based on a structure energy function and provided a better correction result with respect to the textual areas in the image, but a poorer correction result with respect to the pictorial areas in the image.
The Hough transformation method is performed based on edge inspection and geometrical shape recognition with respect to the image, in which foreground pixels in the image are mapped in a space of the polar coordinates and values of the pixels in the space of the polar coordinates are accumulated so that the titling angle of the image is obtained. Similarly, this method may achieve a better effect only with the textual areas of the image.
The cross correlation method is conducted based on a concept of cross computation and corresponds to an algorithm of higher accuracy. This method provides solutions to the problems of varied main textual direction and blending of pictures and figures in the image. However, the algorithm adopted in this method has less precision.
The neighboring features clustering method is executed based on statistics, in which the problem of interference resulting from the pictorial area and the figure area in the image may be overcome and thus a better result may be obtained. However, since a relatively large textual area in the image is required for performing statistical analysis, an image having insufficient textual area may not have a good result since the insufficient features in the image may not provide sufficient statistical information.
The above-mentioned methods are the basic tilted image correction methods used in the field. Other methods are also available that are combinations of the concepts used in the above methods. From the above descriptions, it may be understood that the above methods have better effects with text images but relatively poor effects with images having larger pictorial and figure areas and smaller textual areas. Therefore, almost all prior tilted image correction methods are performed by relying on the textual areas but not the figure and pictorial areas, which have useful information for tilted image correction. Besides, most of the prior tilt correction methods are performed by making use of detailed contents and relations among the contents of the image but without making most use of a whole structure of the image, in which there is also information useful in determining the tilting angle of the image.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a method of auto-deskewing a tilted image which comprises textual, figure and pictorial areas.


The invention relates to a filament excellent in incision resistance comprising as a primary component a polyethylene filament having a weight-average molecular weight of 300,000 or less and a ratio of a weight-average molecular weight to a number-average molecular weight (Mw/Mn) of 4.0 or less as determined in the state of a filament as well as a modulus of 500 cN/dtex or more, and to a fabric excellent in incision resistance, a fibrous material for reinforcing cement mortar or concrete, and a rope, each of which comprises the filament. The filament can be produced by drawing a non-drawn polyolefin filament which comprises a polyethylene having a weight-average molecular weight of 60,000-600,000, a ratio of a weight-average molecular weight to a number-average molecular weight (Mw/Mn) of 4.5 or less, and a rate of birefringence (Δn) of 0.008 or more, at a temperature not higher than the α-relaxation temperature of said non-drawn filament.

Conventionally, natural fibers (such as cotton) and the general organic fibers have been used as an incision-resistant material. Gloves made by knitting up those fibers etc. have been often used in the field which needs incision-resistant.
Then, knits, textiles, etc. which consist of spun filament of high strength filaments, such as an aramid fiber, for providing the incision-resistant function have been devised. However, there was dissatisfaction in the viewpoint of a hair omission or durability. Although trials which improve incision-resistance by on the other hand using metal fibers together with organic fibers or natural fibers as another means are performed, the drape of textures becomes hard by using metal fibers, and there is thus a problem that pliability is impaired.
For example, the fiber reinforced concrete which is made by kneading metal fibers, glass fibers, carbon fibers, polyvinyl alcohol fibers, or various olefin fibers to various cement mortar or concrete materials is developed as a method of improving the brittleness which is a defect in the structure material of cement mortar and concrete (for example, JP-B-58-18343, Japanese patent No. 2,510,671). However, although the reinforcing effect by adhesion with a concrete matrix is excellent, the fibers for these reinforcement, such as metal fibers represented by steel fibers, essentially have large specific gravity which results in a defect that a structure made thereof becomes heavy, and in addition, the strength of the structure is degraded due to generation of rust. Therefore, the fibers are unsuitable as structure material for such as harbor facilities or skyscrapers asked for a weight saving.
On the other hand, for inorganic fibers, glass fibers have an inferior in alkali resistance and carbon fibers have a problem in that the fibers become bended or cut during kneading. In addition, polyvinyl alcohol fibers or polyolefin fibers, especially polypropylene fibers which are organic fibers, are low in tenacity, and thus have a problem of reduction in slump due to a need to increase the incorporation of the fibers to a large extent for achieve a sufficient effect. Although polyethylene fibers with ultra-high molecular weight are excellent in strength or alkali resistance, the fibers have a problem in that stiffness of the fibers is low and they easily get twined with each other to become a lump during kneading due to the flatness of the cross section.
Conventionally, twists of synthetic filaments, such as vinylon, polyester filament, and nylon, have mainly been used for a rope. In recent years, although a monofilament of fluorocarbon or nylon, as well as the interlace of a nylon monofilament came to be used for the rope, the rope of the interlace structure of a nylon monofilament had an inadequate tensile strength and thus was sometimes broken in the ocean area especially with wild waves. In addition, an improvement was desired also in respect of wear resistance and durability. Further, since the tensile strength was not high enough, the rope itself should be thick inevitably and the nature for containment and handling were remarkably bad.
As a polyethylene filament with a high strength, there is known a filament which is produced from an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene by a so-called "gel-spinning method and melt spinning" and which has such a high strength and such a high elastic modulus that any of conventional filaments has never possessed, as disclosed in JP-B-60-47922 and JP-A-62-257414 for example, and this filament has already come into industrially wide use.
A high strength polyolefin filament produced by melt spinning is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,118. According to this patent, the process for producing a high strength polyethylene filament disclosed comprises extruding a polyethylene having a number-average molecular weight of at least 20,000 and a weight-average molecular weight of less than 125,000 through a spinneret which is maintained at the temperature between 220 and 335° C., then taking over the polymer at the rate of at least 30m/min. followed by drawing it at least 20 times at the temperature between 115 and 132° C. Thus the filament has a tenacity of at least 10.6 cN/dTex.
Moreover, JP-A-08-504891 discloses a high strength polyethylene filament which is produced by melt spinning polyethylene with high density through a spinneret, and then drawing the obtained fiber at the temperature of 50-150° C. The process for production is characterized in that the polyethylene provided for melt spinning is a homopolymer of ethylene which satisfies the conditions of having a weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of 125,000 to 175,000, a number-average molecular weight (Mn) of 26,000 to 33,000 and a polymer dispersibility (Mw/Mn) of less than five, as well as a density of larger than 0.955 g/cm3, and that the extent of draw ratio at the draw stage is at least 400%. This patent is characterized by controlling the polymer dispersibility and the density of polyethylene as a starting material to the above-mentioned value.
In addition, JP-A-11-269717 discloses a high strength polypropylene filament made from a crystalline polypropylene with a weight-average molecular weight of 200,000 to 450,000, although the tenacity of the high strength polypropylene filament obtained according to the patent is at most about 13 cN/dtex. This patent is characterized by blending two kinds of polypropylene as starting materials each of which has a different melt flow rate, performing melt spinning, and drawing said filament to 5 times or more under the draw temperature of 120-180° C., using a pressurized steam.
Production cost becomes very high from the industrial viewpoint since a mixture of a solvent and a polymer is used in gel-spinning and solution-spinning. That is, by the method currently disclosed in this patent, the concentration of polyethylene as a starting material is at most 50% or less, and thus is lacking in productivity. If a solvent is used, incidental facilities, such as an equipment for recovery/purification and the like, will certainly be needed, which is thus expensive. Additionally, it is not desirable in respect of environment.
Furthermore, with respect to a melt spinning, although some arts are known, a high strength of said filament is attained only by the very limited conditions for production.
The first purpose according to the present invention is to develop a new polyethylene filament which has the outstanding incision-resistance and to provide incision-resistant textiles comprising said filament as well as incision-resistant gloves, vests comprising said filament.
The second purpose according to the present invention is to provide a filament for reinforcing cement mortar or concrete and fibrous materials which are light and excellent in alkali resistance, and which are also excellent in flexural strength, durability, toughness, and moisture-proof.
The third purpose according to the present invention is to provide a new polyethylene filament rope which has a high strength and has a high rate of retention of strength in a humid condition.
The fourth purpose according to the present invention is to provide a process for producing a high strength polyolefin filament without using a mixture of a solvent and a polymer like gel-spinning or solution-spinning for the above-mentioned application and use of the filament.

Polyethylene filament and a process for producing the same


An electrical circuit can be formed at least in part using lumped or discrete circuit elements to provide an artificial transmission line structure that can mimic the electrical properties of a corresponding actual transmission line structure. Such an artificial transmission line structure can generally consume less area than an actual transmission line structure lacking such lumped or discrete elements. Such an artificial transmission line structure can be formed using two or more “unit cells” such as by cascading such cells as shown and described herein. The present inventors have recognized, among other things, that a unit cell of an artificial transmission line structure can include a t-coil section comprising magnetically-coupled inductors. Such an artificial transmission line structure can be used for applications such as phase shifting or to provide a delay line having a substantially constant group delay, among other applications.

A transmission line structure can be defined as an electrical structure where the physical dimensions of the structure are comparable to or greater than a wavelength of a signal being conveyed by the transmission line structure. For example, structures that have physical dimensions (such as length) that are comparable to at least a tenth of a wavelength, at least a quarter of a wavelength, at least a half of a wavelength, or greater in extent, can be referred to as exhibiting transmission line characteristics. In another formulation, a transmission line structure can be considered an electrical structure where the electrical characteristics of the transmission line structure itself substantially affect or dominate the impedance seen by the source driving the transmission line structure, and the impedance driving the load at a distal end of the transmission line structure.

Artificial transmission line using t-coil sections

Analog Devices International Unlimited Company


A method and system for predicting server database requests by a client. A database contains a plurality of command sets likely to be sent by a client to a server. The server compares statements received from the client with command sets stored in the database. If the server recognizes a pattern with a command set stored in the database, the server predicts that the client will send this command set and executes the statements contained therein.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to distributed computer networks and more specifically to a method and system for improving data transfer between a client and server computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to the prevalence of distributed computer networks and development of mass storage and low priced disk devices, database systems of the server-client form have recently increased. Generally, a distributed computer system comprises a collection of loosely coupled machines (mainframe, workstations or personal computers) interconnected by a communication network.
Through a distributed computer system, a user or client may access various servers to store information, print documents, access databases, acquire client/server computing or gain access to the Internet. These services often require software applications running on the user's desktop to interact with other applications that might reside on one or more remote machines. Thus, in a client/server computing environment, one or more clients and one or more servers, along with the operating system and various inter-process communication (IPC) methods or mechanisms, form a composite that permits distributed computation, analysis and presentation.
In a typical distributed computer network, many clients are simultaneously coupled to the server. Server database requests by the many clients may occur concurrently thereby slowing the transmission of data to each of the clients. Conventionally, when a client issues a database request to the server, the server must wait until it receives all of the statements in the database request before it can start processing the request. This results in wasted processing time and creates unnecessary overhead in the network.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and system that allows a server to service client requests more efficiently and reduce the overhead time associated with servicing requests.

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention relates to liquid crystal displays used in television receivers and display sections of electronic apparatus and, more particularly, to a liquid crystal display in which a polymeric material included in a liquid crystal material is polymerized to impart a pre-tilt angle to the liquid crystal material. The invention provides a liquid crystal display in which gradation/luminance characteristics in an oblique direction are improved and in which reduction in luminance is suppressed. The liquid crystal display includes a TFT substrate and an opposite substrate provided opposite to each other and a liquid crystal composition including a liquid crystal material and a polymer sealed between the substrates. A pixel region of the liquid crystal display has a first sub-pixel formed with a first pixel electrode electrically connected to a source electrode of a TFT through a connection electrode and two second sub-pixels formed with two second pixel electrodes which sandwich an insulation film with the connection electrode to form a control capacitance and which are separated from the first pixel electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to liquid crystal displays used in television receivers and display sections of electronic apparatus and, more particularly, to a liquid crystal display in which a polymeric material included in a liquid crystal material is polymerized to impart a pre-tilt angle to the liquid crystal material.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a recent trend toward larger display screens in the field of liquid crystal displays having a liquid crystal display panel for the use of such displays as display sections of television receivers. For this reason, higher display quality is required for liquid crystal displays. However, it is difficult to achieve characteristics required for a display section of a television receiver using a liquid crystal display employing the TN (Twisted Nematic) method which has been the main stream of the field because of the narrow viewing angle resulting from the method. Under the circumstance, techniques other than the TN method are currently being put in use in order to achieve the property of a wide viewing angle. One of such techniques is referred to as MVA (Multi-domain Vertical Alignment) method. In an MVA type liquid crystal display, liquid crystal molecules in a liquid crystal layer sealed between two substrates combined in a face-to-face relationship are aligned perpendicular to the substrates, and the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules is regulated by protrusions formed on the substrates or slits, provided on a transparent electrode (ITO).
It is known in general that when the vertical alignment method in which liquid crystal molecules are aligned perpendicular to substrates, optical characteristics measured in a direction oblique to a direction normal to the display screen are different from optical characteristics in the normal direction. FIG. 11 is a graph showing characteristics of luminance relative to input gradations (gradation/luminance characteristics) of a vertical alignment type liquid crystal display. The abscissa axis represents input gradations (in gray scale), and the ordinate axis represents luminance (T/Twhite) normalized with reference to the luminance of display of white (TWhite). The curve in a solid line in the figure indicates gradation/luminance characteristics in a direction perpendicular to the display screen (hereinafter referred to as a square direction), and the curve connecting black triangular symbols in the figure indicates gradation/luminance characteristics in a direction at an azimuth angle of 90° and a polar angle of 60° to the display screen (hereinafter referred to as an oblique direction). An azimuth angle is an angle measured counterclockwise with reference to the direction to the right of the display screen. A polar angle is an angle to a line that is vertical to the center of the display screen.
As shown in FIG. 11, gradation/luminance characteristics in a direction oblique to the direction of a polarization axis significantly deviate from gradation/luminance characteristic in the square direction. For example, luminance in the oblique direction is higher than luminance in the square direction in the range of gradations from 0 to 210, whereas luminance in the oblique direction is lower than luminance in the square direction in the range of gradations from 210 to 255 or higher. As a result, when the screen is viewed in the oblique direction, there are small differences in luminance between input gradations, and the color of an image appears more whitish compared to a view of the same in the square direction.
A known solution to this problem is a liquid crystal display having a pixel structure including a pixel electrode electrically connected to a source electrode of a thin film transistor (TFT) for a pixel and another pixel electrode that is separated from the pixel electrode and insulated from the source electrode. In such a liquid crystal display, an electrostatic capacitance is formed by the pixel electrode insulated from the source electrode, the source electrode, and an insulation film sandwiched between the two electrodes. The pixel electrode insulated from the source electrode is driven by the electrostatic capacitance.
FIG. 12 shows a configuration of one pixel of a liquid crystal display having the pixel structure including two separated pixel electrodes. As shown in FIG. 12, a gate bus line 106 and a plurality of drain bus lines 108 are formed on a glass substrate 103, the drain bus lines extending across the gate bus line 106 with an insulation film (not shown) interposed between them. A TFT 110 is disposed in the vicinity of an intersection between the gate bus line 106 and a drain bus line 108, a TFT being formed at each pixel. A part of the gate bus line 106 serves as a gate electrode 110c of the TFT 110. An active semiconductor layer and a channel protection film (both of which are not shown) of the TFT 110 are formed above the gate bus line 106 with an insulation film interposed. A drain electrode 110a along with an n-type impurity semiconductor layer (not shown) underlying the same and a source electrode 110b along with an n-type impurity semiconductor layer (not shown) underlying the same are formed on the channel protection film of the TFT 110 above the gate electrode 110c, the electrodes facing each other across a predetermined gap.
A storage capacitor bus line 114 is formed to extend in parallel with the gate bus line 106 across a pixel region which is defined by the gate bus line 106 and the drain bus lines 108. A storage capacitor electrode (intermediate electrode) 116 is formed at each pixel above the storage capacitor bus line 114 with an insulation film interposed between them. The storage capacitor electrode 116 is electrically connected to the source electrode 110b of the TFT 110 through a connection electrode 111. A storage capacitor Cs is formed by the storage capacitor bus line 114, the storage capacitor electrode 116, and the insulation film sandwiched between them.
The pixel region defined by the gate bus line 106 and the drain bus lines 108 is divided into a sub-pixel 120 and a sub-pixel 122. For example, the sub-pixel 120, which has a trapezoidal shape, is disposed on the left side of a central part of the pixel region, and the sub-pixel 122 is disposed in upper part and lower parts of the pixel region and on the right side of the central part excluding the area of the sub-pixel 120. Referring to the disposition of the sub-pixels 120 and 122 in the pixel region, they are substantially line symmetric about the storage capacitor bus line 114. A pixel electrode 121 is formed at the sub-pixel 120, and a pixel electrode 123, which is separate from the pixel electrode 121, is formed at the sub-pixel 122. Both of the pixel electrodes 121 and 123 are constituted by a transparent conductive film such as an ITO. The pixel electrode 121 is electrically connected to the storage capacitor electrode 116 and the source electrode 110b of the TFT 110 through a contact hole 118 which is an opening in a protective film (not shown). The pixel electrode 123 has a region which overlaps the connection electrode 111 with a protective film and an insulation film interposed between them. In that region, an electrostatic capacitance Cc is formed by the connection electrode 111, the pixel electrode 123, and the protective film sandwiched between the electrodes 111 and 123.
A common electrode, which is not shown, is formed on an opposite glass substrate (not shown) provided opposite to the glass substrate 103. A linear protrusion 112a as an alignment regulating structure for regulating the direction of alignment of the liquid crystal is formed so as to protrude from the opposite glass substrate in a position opposite to the connecting electrode 111 diagonally extending in the figure. A linear protrusion 112b is formed so as to protrude from the opposite glass substrate in a position in which it is substantially line symmetric with the liner protrusion 112a about the storage capacitor bus line 114. Further, a V-shaped linear protrusion 112c is formed such that it is disposed above the pixel electrode 121 on the left side of the central part of the pixel region. The linear protrusion 112c is substantially line symmetric about the storage capacitor bus line 114.
At the sub-pixel 120, a liquid crystal capacitance Clc1 is formed by pixel electrode 121, the common electrode, and the liquid crystal sandwiched between those electrodes. At the sub-pixel 122, a liquid crystal capacitance Clc2 is formed by the pixel electrode 123, the common electrode, and the liquid crystal sandwiched between those electrodes. The liquid crystal capacitance Clc2 and the electrostatic capacitance Cc are connected in series between the glass substrate 103 and the opposite glass substrate.
When the TFT 110 is turned on, the source electrode 110b and the connection electrode 111 bear the same potential as a gradation voltage VD applied to a drain bus line 108, and the pixel electrode 121 in electrical connection with them also bears the same potential as the gradation voltage VD. A voltage originating from a potential difference applied between the pixel electrode 121 and the common electrode is applied to the liquid crystal capacitance Clc1. For example, when the voltage applied to the common electrode is 0 V, the voltage applied to the liquid crystal capacitance Clc1 is equal to the gradation voltage VD (=VD−0V). On the other hand, the pixel electrode 123, which is electrically insulated, is applied with a voltage that is obtained by dividing the gradation voltage VD based on the ratio between the liquid crystal capacitance Clc2 and the electrostatic capacitance Cc. The voltage applied to the pixel electrode 123 (represented by V1) can be expressed as follows.V1=VD×{Cc/(Clc2+Cc)}  (1)
As apparent from the above, there is a difference between thresholds of the pixel electrode 121 which is electrically connected to the source electrode 110b and the pixel electrode 123 which is insulated from the same. Consequently, gradation/luminance characteristics in an oblique direction are significantly improved. As shown in FIG. 11, the curve representing gradation/luminance characteristics in a square direction bulges downward. On the contrary, the curve indicating gradation/luminance characteristics in an oblique direction of an MVA type display in the related art is a mixture of a range in which the curve greatly bulges upward (the range of gradations from 0 to about 210) and a range in which the curve bulges downward (the range of gradations from about 210 to 255). Therefore, missing or spreading gradations can be generated depending on gradation data to be displayed, which results in variation of the color of an image. In the case of a liquid crystal display having the pixel structure shown in FIG. 12, a curve indicating gradation/luminance characteristics of the apparatus in a direction oblique thereto will include substantially no upward or downward bulge, and the apparatus will have significantly high gradation characteristics.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2003-149647
A liquid crystal display having the pixel structure shown in FIG. 12 can provide improved gradation/luminance characteristics in an oblique direction. However, as indicated by Expression 1, the voltage V1 applied to the liquid crystal capacitance Clc2 of the sub-pixel 122 decreases below the gradation voltage VD. Therefore, the absolute value of the luminance in an oblique direction of the liquid crystal display is smaller than that of a liquid crystal display without such a pixel structure. Further, since a pixel region of the liquid crystal display is divided into two regions, the disposition of the linear protrusions (bank-like structures) and slits in the pixel electrodes (gaps in the pixel electrodes 121 and 123) become complicated. A problem consequently arises in that the aperture ratio is substantially reduced to reduce luminance.


Methods of optimized video transfer are described in which display data is divided into a plurality of portions, each portion corresponding to a class of image data, and the different portions are encoded for transmission to a remote display device using different encoding schemes. In an embodiment, the composite display data is never rendered at the source device and instead portions of display data are generated by an application based on an advertised set of classes of image data. In other embodiments, the composite display data is stored in a framebuffer at the source device and is split into portions according to a classification of the display data. In various embodiments the classification may be performed based on sniffing graphics commands used to generate the composite display data and in other embodiments, the classification may be performed based on a rate of change of pixels in the composite display data.

Many systems involve the transfer of video data and examples include remote display systems where the display on a device, such as a mobile telephone, is transferred onto a remote display which may, for example, be a high definition monitor. This enables the display on a small form factor device to be viewed on a much larger screen.
The embodiments described below are not limited to implementations which solve any or all of the disadvantages of known methods and systems for video transfer.

QUALCOMM TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, LTD.


A service-system low-speed interface unit and a protection-system low-speed interface unit are each provided with an optical transmitting/receiving module adapted to communicate signals with a main terminal. The protection-system low-speed interface unit is provided with another optical transmitting/receiving module for communicating signals with a part-time terminal. This module is selectable by a changeover switch in the protection-system low-speed interface unit. The connected configuration in the service system and the protection system is changed to allow the main terminal to make communications using either the service system or the protection system. If the main terminal makes normal communications using the service system, the part-time terminal will be allowed to make communications using the protection system by selecting the optical transmitting/receiving module for the part-time terminal with the changeover switch in the protection-system low-speed interface unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a multiplex terminal station apparatus for use in an optical communications system and, more particularly, to a multiplex terminal station apparatus having a duplex-system configuration to maintain reliability.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical communications system with high-reliability requirements often uses a duplex-system configuration for optical terminal station apparatuses and transmission links for the purpose of preventing the system from going down due to failures in various pieces of equipment and transmission links used in the system.
When such a duplex-system configuration is used, a conventional system allows the service system (the currently used system) and the protection system to transmit the same information.
However, if the service system is normal, information transmitted by the protection system will be discarded. That is, if the service system is normal, the protection system is not practically used. Thus, the protection system is completely useless as long as the service system is normal.


A pet grooming aid comprises a flexible, elongate handle coupled to a head bearing rigid tines adapted to reach through a pet's fur to its skin. The handle includes a reservoir for treatment fluids, the reservoir being coupled through a gate valve to a manifold within the head that distributes the fluid to a tube within each tine. Squeezing the handle forces treatment fluid through the manifold and tines onto the pet's skin, while the gate valve prevents fluid flow when the handle is not squeezed. A recharge nozzle and cap on the handle opposite the head allows filling the reservoir without spilling fluid out the tines, and seals the reservoir for use.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to animal grooming aids and particularly to grooming aids for dispensing treatment or cleaning fluids onto animals. More particularly, this invention relates to a pet combing tool which dispenses fluids through rigid tines that comb through a pet's fur and deliver the fluid directly to the pet's skin.
2. Description of Related Art
Animal grooming involves not only shampooing and trimming, but also periodic pest control such as dipping or dispensing fluids such as flea, tick and other pest treatments. Pest control treatments, typically either powder or liquid, are applied to the pet's skin where they remain until washed or rubbed off. Typical liquid treatment dispensers provide a mist or light stream of fluid which is sprayed onto the surface of the animal's fur. It then must be combed or rubbed through the fur to reach the skin. Substantial portions of the fluid may be left on the fur, risking toxicity to the animal should it lick or gnaw itself after treatment. Means for dispensing treatment fluids directly to a pet's skin while leaving its fur dry would avoid such shortcomings.
Grooming also typically involves brushing and combing a pets's fur to remove debris, excess hair and other foreign materials. Some animals love the combing process while others quickly become agitated or tire of the unfamiliar contact. Even for those pets that enjoy it, many often become restless long before the combing and treatment steps both are finished. Means for combining the treatment and brushing steps would make pet grooming more efficient and enjoyable for both pet and groomer alike.
Many treatment fluid dispensers are simple bottles, with or without dispensing caps. Treatment proceeds by pouring a portion of the treatment fluid onto the pet's fur, setting aside the bottle and proceeding to work the fluid into the fur until it reaches the skin. To the extent that groomer contact with the fluid should be avoided, the groomer must either wear gloves or use a brush or comb to spread the fluid. Between the steps of dispensing the fluid and rubbing it in, substantial portions may run off and be wasted. Means for conserving fluids by dispensing it directly to an animal's skin, especially where the dispensing means itself includes a fluid reservoir, would increase safety and efficiency.


An electronic device includes: a main body to which a rotating shaft is rotatably connected; a driving motor, provided on the main body, connected to the rotating shaft and configured to drive the rotating shaft to rotate; a flexible display screen, having a first side edge connected to the rotating shaft and capable of completely rolling the flexible display screen onto the rotating shaft or expanding the rolled-up flexible display screen, under a reciprocating rotation of the rotating shaft; and a sucking apparatus provided on the main body and configured to suck the electronic device onto a surface of a carrier.

With the development of the technology of flexible display screens, many electronic devices have a function of bending or deforming the display screen.
However, at present, the electronic products with flexible display screens generally only have a function of deforming the display screen, but cannot be stored quickly, and the electronic devices cannot be placed randomly. For example, the electronic devices cannot be directly fixed on walls, cabinet surfaces or glass windows, which limits the use scenarios of the electronic devices and cannot meet the usage requirements of the users.


An apparatus and method for obtaining a storage medium with a deeply customizable set of installed content. Soft assets (e.g., programs, songs, videos, etc.) that form the content are selected from among a much larger set of preinstalled soft assets previously stored on storage media, such as disk drives. In some embodiments, based on a user's selections, the non-selected assets are permanently erased from a storage medium, while the remaining assets are available as installed (wherein substantially no further processing is required to install them). In some embodiments, a new device uses the storage medium to provide its user with a fully functional device without the need to separately install the soft assets from a plurality of sources (e.g., from program-distribution CDROMS and the like). Some embodiments include the storage medium having the soft assets installed, and including a program that elicits selections from a user and erases non-selected assets.

General-purpose computers play a material role in just about every facet of life in industrialized societies. Computers assume a wide range of roles, from home entertainment center to communications device to business tool to research workhorse to the very engines driving an information-based economy, among many others. However, computers are strange beasts. For what other expensive product aimed at the general public is pretty much useless out-of-the-box and dysfunctional by design?
The problem with general-purpose computers is that they are just that: general purpose. To serve well in any of their very specific roles, a general-purpose computer must be loaded, customized, and configured to achieve the specific purposes of the individual or organization buying the computer. The first of these annoying tasks is done most often by an end-user (who is likely to be afraid of computers, let alone have any expertise in computer configuration) by sequentially installing into the computer a set of soft assets, that is, information and content including computer operating systems, programs, data, and percepta, whether in digital, analog, or other form. The second of these tasks is accomplished by the user entering user-specific data in response to questions and prompts that come up as the software is entered. The third of these tasks is typically taken care of by software, in particular, the associated program installation wizard, as it is installed.
As used herein, "percepta" are soft assets that, by convention, depict qualities, in contrast to "data" representing quantities. Percepta typically represent simple or complex sensory stimuli, of fixed or variable duration. Percepta are generally structured as individually selectable items of self-describing content or organized sets of one or more files. In some embodiments, percepta include digital representations of information, while in other embodiments, analog or other types of representations are used. Examples of percepta include still images (including paintings, drawings, and photographs), motion-picture and sound files depicting cinema and video, e-books, radio programs, music, ring tones, virtual-reality simulations, computer games, and fonts. In some embodiments, percepta may include representations of other senses, including touch, taste, motion, smell, proximity, temperature, and direction.
Several factors make appropriate customization by the end-user inconvenient and problematic. First, end-user choices are unfortunately limited by the characteristics of existing content-distribution channels. Content is obtained by uploading from physical storage, for example, from an optical-storage disk (e.g., a CD, DVD or HD-DVD) that is part of a "shrink-wrap" boxed product, or alternatively, downloading content from a network. Therefore, content choice is highly constrained, for example, by the limited physical shelf space available at a retailer and the related cost and profitability of inventory, or by the magnitude of the aggregate content and the bandwidth capacity of the network connection, if downloading.
Second, such customization is simply time-consuming. To customize a computer, the end-user accumulates content, such as computer programs, for installation in the computer. The installation of each acquired set of content is generally additive to, and independent of, the installation of other content. Thus, the user acquires content, installs content, acquires additional content, installs the additional content, and so on, until the computer attains a desired state of functionality. A fresh new computer can easily amount to a couple of days' drudgery while a user customizes it with even the most basic set of programs and content. Even with special-purpose computers such as MP3 or other audio players, digital personal video recorders, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital watches, and the like, the user must acquire content and perhaps acquire programs or other assets to customize the functionality of the user's special-purpose computer and make it personally and professionally useful.
Third, customization by the end-user can destabilize the overall operation of the computer. Over a quarter of all application failures are traceable to installation and configuration problems. Oftentimes, installation of a computer program includes installation of multiple requisite assets, such as fonts and required program elements that may be shared among programs. Such required program elements include code libraries (e.g., sets of software routines). In the Microsoft-Windows family of operating systems, these libraries are called dynamic link libraries or "DLLs". DLLs are periodically released by their makers in various versions, and these versions may vary in unpredictable and undocumented ways in their behavior. Thus, if installation of a new program installs a new DLL that overwrites and replaces a previous version of the same DLL on which a previously installed program depended, the proper functioning of that previously installed program is jeopardized.
Without careful attention to the pre-existing resources on a computer, installation of a new program can cause intermittent instability and malfunction in previously installed programs, conditions that can be nearly impossible to diagnose and remedy. This "flaky" and annoying phenomenon is so common in computers that it has been nicknamed, "DLL Hell."
Finally, customization of a computer by the end-user can be complicated, confusing, and demanding. Modern operating-system complexity exceeds the technical skills of all but a limited cadre of specially trained and certified individuals. Installation of computer programs calls for the end-user to select from a variety of settings and choices and provide sundry information. Such information can include choosing which components out of a number available are to be installed and selecting an appropriate storage region within the computer in which to install the program. While most installation systems provide guidance to the user in making such decisions, the instructions offered might be obscure or ambiguous, and error codes unintelligible to a layperson.
Frequently, the installation process must pause for the user to indicate a choice. A user is occasionally required to read and affirm a lengthy end-user licensing agreement. Other times, a user might need to separately enter a long, abstract code string, the user's name and address, or other information for validation and activation of every program. In some embodiments, the installation routine will mandate the user to shutdown and restart the computer, adding further delay. Each such action required of the end user represents undue complexity, an inconvenient delay and annoyance, and a potential source of error during the installation process.
The problem with computers is that, once customized for their intended use, they are as unique as are their respective users. While some manufacturers of computers provide some choices for customers, the choices are limited and rudimentary. For example, a manufacturer might give the customer a limited choice of operating system: (i) Microsoft Windows XP Home, (ii) Microsoft Windows XP Professional, or (iii) none. The manufacturer might also give the customer an equally limited choice of office suite software: (i) Microsoft Office Standard, (ii) Microsoft Office Professional, (iii) Microsoft Office Small Business, or (iv) none.
This generalized approach does not give a user access to the actual, specific products that they seek. Nothing currently offered by computer manufacturers even begins to address the necessary level of customization one sees with computers in actual productive use. Despite some offerings to the customer, limited to the lowest common denominator capable of supporting high-volume sales, customization of computers is still largely seen as the unaided responsibility of the purchaser.
Even the limited software routinely added to a new computer constitutes a production bottleneck. Major Electronic Contract Manufacturing (ECM), Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS), or Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) companies operate facilities throughout the world. At the ECM, hardware assembly, for example of a desktop computer, can take approximately fifteen minutes. Then, with the personal computer running for the entire software-load process, the operating system and other software are loaded, adding another ninety minutes or more to the manufacturing time. Manufacturers typically limit the choices available to select, since a random set of soft assets takes too long to install economically. They then leave it to the user to install and configure any soft assets not available in their limited choices.
Introduction to the Build-to-Order (BTO) Environment
A number of patents describe attempts to improve the customization of software on computers, sometimes referred to as a build-to-order process. Such a process typically uses "additive installation" wherein software packages are successively loaded and/or installed on a disk drive. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,207 "System and method of creating and delivering software" issued to Kroening, et al. on Jun. 27, 2000, and is incorporated herein by reference. Kroening et al. describe a computerized method for generating a custom software configuration for a hard drive of a computer system according to a desired software configuration defined by a purchasing customer. The system and method utilize an image builder for creating a disk image of the desired software configuration and transferring the image to a storage device. The storage device is connected to an image server that transfers the disk image (e.g., of a baseline software configuration) directly to the hard drive during a manufacturing and assembly process of the computer system. Once the computer system is assembled, the image server broadcasts additional data (e.g., of changes corresponding to the difference between the baseline software configuration and the desired software configuration) to the computer system via a wired or wireless connection.
As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,766 "Method and apparatus for windows-based installation for installing software on build-to-order computer systems" issued to Doran, Jr., et al., on May 7, 2002, and is incorporated herein by reference. Doran Jr. et al. describe a method for automated installation of software into a computer system including loading an operating system (OS). The OS is provided with a hook for initiating a windows-based install of prescribed software packages during an operating-system setup. At least one prescribed software package and a corresponding windows-based software package installer are loaded onto the computer system. The operating-system setup is then executed. Lastly, the windows-based install of the prescribed software package is initiated in response to the hook, the windows-based install being carried out according to the corresponding software package installer.
Introduction to Install and Uninstall Processes
Other patents describe ways of installing and/or uninstalling software. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,566 "Method and facility for uninstalling a computer program package" issued to Harikrishnan, et al. on Jun. 16, 1998, which is incorporated herein by reference. Harikrishnan et al. describe a computer program product having a facility for uninstalling itself. The facility only backs up a minimal set of files that may be affected by an installation of the computer program product. The facility dynamically adapts to different possible installations so as to only store compressed backup copies for the particular installation that is to be used. The facility leverages a number of installation files to determine what files to back up. When a program is uninstalled, the backed-up files are restored in an attempt to return the computer system to a state that existed before the program was installed, such that the backed-up files are again on the system in their original form.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,035 "Method and system for custom computer software installation" issued to Nabahi on Dec. 21, 1999 and is incorporated herein by reference. Nabahi describes a method for custom computer-software (additive) installation using a standard rule-based installation engine. Custom installation parameters are translated into a simplified script-language file by a system administrator. A software package is installed onto a client (end user's) computer using the installation engine, which is executed using commands stored in a rule-based instruction file. The rule-based instruction file (script) has been configured by the provider of the application software package, or created according to custom installation parameters by a system administrator, to control software installation by the rule-based installation engine. The script controls a sequence of installation events including (1) a file-copying event wherein files from the software package are copied to the client computer, and (2) an operating-system-modification event wherein operating-system parameters on the client computer are modified to allow execution of the software package.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,439 "File transfers using playlists" issued to Chowdhury, et al. on Feb. 15, 2000 and is incorporated herein by reference. Chowdhury, et al. describe a method for transferring data from memory to a file decoder for further processing, for example, a video file is decoded for presentation on a display device. A plurality of control functions are provided for access by a user or a user system in controlling the identity, sequence and flow of file transfers in order to optimize transfer efficiency in a data-transfer transaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,754 "System, method, and program for checking dependencies of installed software components during installation or uninstallation of software" issued to Curtis on Aug. 27, 2002 and is incorporated herein by reference. Curtis describes a method for installing a program onto a computer having an operating system. Dependency objects indicate a dependent component on which the program to install depends. The program processes the dependency objects before installing the program and determines an operating-system command that is capable of determining whether the dependent component is installed in the computer. The program then executes the operating-system command. An indication is made as to which dependent components have been determined to be not installed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,944,867 entitled "Method for providing a single preloaded software image with an ability to support multiple hardware configurations and multiple types of computer systems" issued to Cheston et al. on Sep. 13, 2005, and is incorporated herein by reference. Cheston et al. describe a hard disk drive of a computer system that is loaded with a preloaded image including an operating system, a number of application programs, and a device-driver installation routine, all of which are not dependent on the hardware configuration of the computer system. A hidden partition of the hard disk drive is also loaded with a number of device drivers, which are dependent upon the hardware configuration. During the first boot only of the preloaded image, the device drivers are installed by the device-driver installation routine.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/264,670 (Publication Number 2003-0110241) "System, method, and computer program product for uninstalling computer software" filed by Cheng, Jr., et al. on Oct. 4, 2002 is incorporated herein by reference. Cheng, Jr., et al. describe a method to update client computers of various end users with software updates for software products installed on the client computers. The system includes a service-provider computer, a number of client computers and software-vendor computers communicating on a network. The service-provider computer stores information in an update database about the software updates of the diverse software vendors, identifying the software products for which updates are available, their location on the network at the various software-vendor computer systems, information for identifying the software products stored in the client computers, and information for determining which products have software updates available. The client computers connect to the service-provider computer and obtain a current version of portions of the database. The client computer determines from the database which products have updates available. User-selected updates are downloaded from the software vendors' computers and installed on the client computer. Payment for the software updates is mediated by the service-provider computer. Authentication of the user ensures only registered users obtain software updates. Authentication of the software updates ensures that the software updates are virus free and uncorrupted. Changes to the client computer during installation are monitored and archived, allowing the updates to be subsequently removed by the user.
The above-described prior art, individually and in combination, fails to provide manufacturers and users with an adequate platform to specify and provide mass-produced customized digital appliances. These patents do not provide ways to quickly, economically, and reliably provide a particular user with installed versions of just those soft assets selected according to the user's desires from a large set of all available soft assets.
What is needed is an enabling technology for fast, scalable, automated dispensing of a customized set of digital software and other content into an information-processing device, in a non-intimidating manner that makes such assets immediately available for use.

Method and apparatus for subtractive installation


An anastomosis device providing increased functionality, reliability and safety through the use of designs addressing potential puncture of an inflation balloon being used to hold and approximate tissue. The anastomosis device can include bladder retention structures configured to engage and retain tissue without pointed or sharpened surfaces that can rupture the inflation balloon. The anastomosis device can include a reinforced or otherwise protected inflation balloon to resist puncturing by a bladder retention structure. The anastomosis device can include a catheter wall profile selected to physically prevent bladder retention structures from being forcibly bent back so as to avoid potential contact with and puncture of the inflation balloon. The anastomosis device can include a catheter funnel with an internal spring for preventing kinking of the catheter lumen while providing for flexibility and stretch of the funnel to absorb pulling or shock force which can rupture the inflation balloon.

Anastomosis procedures are required for connecting or re-connecting certain body tissues, e.g., as part of a surgical procedure. Typically, these tissues define a body lumen such as a blood vessel, intestinal, digestive or urinary tissue that are severed and/or reconnected as part of a successful treatment. One representative example can include a radical prostatectomy procedure in which, a surgeon removes all or most of a patient's prostate. The procedure generally leaves a severed urethral stump and a severed bladder neck, which must be reconnected to so as to restore proper urinary functions.
A representative procedure describing the use of an anastomosis device in connecting a severed urethral stump and a severed bladder neck is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0070938A1, which is commonly assigned to the assignee of the present application, American Medical Systems of Minnetonka, Minn. Through the use of a combination of retention features including an inflation balloon and a plurality of tissue approximating structures described as extendable tines, the urethral stump and bladder neck can be aligned and retained in contact throughout a healing period for the tissue. While the urethral stump and bladder neck forcibly hold the tissue during healing, the anastomosis device provides a drainage lumen allowing bodily fluids and other materials to pass during the healing period.
While the aforementioned anastomosis device effectively reconnects tissue during surgical procedures, it would be advantageous to improve upon present designs to enhance the functionality, reliability and safety associated with use of anastomosis devices.

Anastomosis device having improved safety features


A system and method for application server with self-tuned threading model. A server queue is used as a priority scheme, including a number of entries therein associated with received requests, and which allows the entries to have expressed priorities or share values, instead of simply the number of threads. Flexibility is retained to express the threads in raw numbers whenever this might be desired, or to express constraints on the number of threads to be made available.

In a typical application server or web server environment, where there exists perhaps many hundreds or thousands of concurrent users (clients), each of these clients can send requests to the server. FIG. 1 shows an example of such an environment. A modern server 100 may have many processors, and many threads 102 servicing those processors. The threads take requests 110, 112, 114 from the clients 104, 106, 108, and apply them to the processors in a queue-like fashion. The actual number of threads used has a big impact on the performance of the server, and its ability to handle large numbers of users. However, figuring out the optimal number of threads is a complicated process.
One approach to this problem has been to add even more threads, so that the number of threads greatly exceeds the number of processors. This ensures that requests are almost immediately fed into threads, but doesn't ensure that those requests are quickly taken up by the processors. A more recent alternative has been to create thread pools, with a flexible number of threads operating within. The actual number of threads can then be fine-tuned by an administrator to provide the best performance for a particular runtime environment. However, this process is heavily dependent on the skill of the administrator, and, since it is largely environment-dependent and static, is of most use only for test-benching and marketing purposes. In real-life situations, the environments are so varied that this static approach is not satisfactory.
Accordingly, what is needed is a means for allowing a server to automatically determine and implement the optimal number of concurrent threads based on objective predictions for the workload. Because of the limitations of where an application server sits (above the operating system) this thread control cannot be embedded within the operating system, but must be able to exist at a higher level. Accordingly there should be a means for controlling the number of the threads in the application server, and the queues that feed them.

System and method for application server with self-tuned threading model