The present invention provides an approach to increase yield and vigor in a plant. The present invention describes expressing a heterologous gene in a plant that control cytokinin expression under the control of a cell cycle regulated promoter.

One of the goals of plant genetic engineering is to produce plants with agronomically important characteristics or traits. Recent advances in genetic engineering have provided the requisite tools to transform plants to contain and express foreign genes. Particularly desirable traits or qualities of interest for plant genetic engineering include but are not limited to resistance to insects and other pests and disease-causing agents, tolerances to herbicides, enhanced stability, yield, yield stability, shelf-life, environmental tolerances, and nutritional enhancements. The technological advances in plant transformation and regeneration have enabled researchers to take pieces of DNA, such as a gene or genes from a heterologous source, or a native source, and incorporate the exogenous DNA into the plant's genome. The gene or gene(s) can then be expressed in the plant cell to exhibit the added characteristic(s) or trait(s). In one approach, expression of a novel gene that is not normally expressed in a particular plant or plant tissue confers a desired phenotypic effect(s).
Plant growth and development is controlled by a diverse array of phytohormones in response to endogenous signals and environmental cues. These molecules include auxins, gibberellins, ethylene, cytokinins, abscisic acid, brassinosteroids, oligosaccharides, jasmonates, salicylic acid, and polyamines. In recent years, the large-scale sequencing of plant genomes, together with extensive molecular, genetic and biochemical studies, has led to the elucidation of the biosynthetic pathways for cytokinin biosynthesis. This in turn has allowed for new approaches to crop improvement by manipulating the expression of genes regulating the plant hormone biosynthesis through novel combination of gene expression elements and structural genes. Prior work has shown through both forward and reverse genetic analyses that plant hormonal regulation is highly complex. This has made it difficult to develop transgenic plants with improved agronomic traits but without deleterious pleiotropic effects.
Isopentenyl transferase (IPT) is a gene that was first isolated from Agrobacterium tumefaciens T-DNA. It was shown that expression of IPT in transgenic plants resulted in elevated cytokinin accumulation, which was accompanied by morphological alterations of transgenic plants Expression of IPT in an entire plant has phenotypes that are not advantageous, causing dwarfing, reduced leaf area, and thicker stems (Hlinkova, E., et al., Biologia Plantarum, Vol.41: 25-37, 1998). Expression in entire plants also leads to stunting, loss of apical dominance, reduction in root initiation and growth, either acceleration or prolonged delayed senescence in leaves (depending on growth conditions), adventitious shoot formation from unwounded leaf veins and petioles, altered nutrient distribution, and abnormal tissue development in stems (Li, et al., Dev Biol 153: 386-395, 1992). When IPT is constitutively expressed at high level through either the CaMV 35S promoter or the native IPT promoter, the transgenic plants would develop severely retarded shooty morphology and would fail to root (Klee et al., Ann Rev Plant Phys 38:467-486, 1987). Whole plants transformed with IPT genes with weaker or controlled expression, such as the promoter of heat shock protein genes, also display the effects of cytokinin overproduction, such as uncontrolled axillary bud growth as a result of the loss of apical dominance, the development of small, rounded or curling leaves, and the retardation of root formation (Medford et al., Plant Cell 1:403-413, 1989; Schmulling et al., FEBS Letters 249:401-406, 1989; Smigocki, PNAS 85: 5131-5135, 1991; Hewelt et al., Plant J 6: 879-891, 1994; Smart et al., Plant Cell 647-656, 1991; Van Loven et al., J Exp Bot 44: 1671-1678, 1993; Faiss et al., Plant J 12: 401-425, 1997). It was also shown that low level of constitutive IPT expression, such as that directed by a heat shock promoter under non-inductive conditions, would be sufficient to induce abnormal plant growth and development (Medford et al., Plant Cell 1:403-413 1989; Smigocki, PNAS 85: 5131-5135, 1991). Remarkably, such deleterious pleiotrophs occurred even when some seemingly tissue or organ specific promoters were used to drive the IPT expression in plants. For example, when an auxin-inducible bidirectional promoter from the soybean SAUR gene was used to drive the expression of IPT in transgenic tobacco plants, the transgene-produced cytokinin was present in a tissue-and organ-specific manner. Yet the localized overproduction of cytokinins still resulted in a number of morphological and physiological off-types, including stunting, loss of apical dominance, reduction in root initiation and growth, abnormal leaf development, adventitious shoot formation from unwounded leaf veins and petioles, altered nutrient distribution, and abnormal tissue development in stems (Li, et al., Dev Biol 153: 386-395, 1992). When IPT was specifically expressed in developing seeds using a highly specific seed promoter, no seed size increase was observed (Roeckel et al., Transgenic Res 6:133-141, 1997). We show that, despite these and other teachings against expression of IPT in plants, the expression under certain cell cycle regulated promoters leads to advantageous phenotypes.

Transgenic plants expressing cytokinin biosynthetic genes and methods of use therefor


A low-cost sensor and apparatus comprising same, and a system for measuring force, comprising an end-effector having a first end and a second end on opposing sides of the end-effector; a first sensor located at the first end of the end-effector; and a second sensor located at the second end of the end-effector.

In the last decades, technological development has made the implementation of haptic devices possible. Indeed, computer performance is very important in order to simulate, through control systems, the feeling of force reaction, also known as haptic feedback. In haptic devices, the user's motion is sent to the control system, which then determines force feedback through its actuators. The flow of information is thus bidirectional, having a manipulator driving the input while physical feedback is expected as the output.
In rehabilitation, it has been shown that robotic automation could help to assist the standard physiotherapist methods. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/426,443, owned in common with the present application, describes a robot arm that is actuated to freely move in its workspace and to assist or restrain the motions of the patient during the different phase of training. Indeed, the link between the user's input and the robot's feedback has to be as precise as possible to closely match the sensation of real life situations. The goal is to simulate everyday life exercises without feeling the arm's inertia in order to help patients who suffered from a stroke to recover from upper limb paraplegia. In the worst cases, the robot should also assist the patient motion if its physical condition does not allow him to do so. The use of the robot reduces the physical assistance of a physiotherapist but also allows accurate monitoring of the progress made.
However, currently there are no efficient yet inexpensive sensors which allow sufficiently precise measurements to be made in order for accurate feedback to be provided.

System, method and apparatus for accurately measuring haptic forces


Embodiments provide methods, apparatuses and computer programs for a mobile transceiver 100 and for a base station transceiver 200 in a mobile communication system. The mobile transceiver apparatus 10 comprises means for receiving 12 a first configuration message from the base station transceiver 200. The first configuration message comprises information on a control region for the mobile transceiver 100. The control region indicates radio resources used by the base station transceiver 200 to transmit a control message to the mobile transceiver 100 on a control channel. The means for receiving 12 is operable to receive a second configuration message from the base station transceiver 200. The second configuration message comprises information on a search space. The search space indicates a subset of radio resources of the control region and the search space comprises a spatial radio resource. The mobile transceiver apparatus 10 further comprises means for controlling 14 the means for receiving 12 to receive the control message on the control channel based on the information on the search space and the spatial resource using the plurality of antennas 110. The base station transceiver apparatus comprises corresponding means for generating the first and second configuration messages and for transmitting the configuration messages to the mobile transceiver.

Demands for higher data rates for mobile services are steadily increasing. At the same time modern mobile communication systems, such as 3rd Generation systems (3G) and 4th Generation systems (4G), provide enhanced technologies, which enable higher spectral efficiencies and allow for higher data rates and cell capacities. One of the mobile communication systems currently under standardization by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, respectively.
In LTE, each data transmission is usually signaled to a mobile transceiver or User Equipment (UE) via a control channel known as the Physical Downlink Control CHannel (PDCCH). Since the UE is not aware in advance of the exact format of the PDCCH, nor the exact transmission resources used for it, it has to perform multiple blind decodings of different possibilities in each sub-frame to check for the presence of a PDCCH addressing said UE. The information provided using the PDCCH is also called Downlink Control Information (DCI) , and it may correspond to system information, random access control, paging and group power control commands. DCI formats may comprise a format for transmission of an UpLink Shared CHannel (UL-SCH) allocation, a transmission of a DownLink Shared CHannel (DL-SCH) allocation for Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO) operation, for a compact transmission of DL-SCH allocation for SIMO operation or allocating a dedicated preample signature to a UE for random access, a transmission control information of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) rank 1 based compact resource assignment, a very compact transmission of a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) assignment, a transmission with additional information of power offset, a transmission of DL-SCH allocation for closed and open loop MIMO operation, a transmission of a Transmit Power Control (TPC) command for an uplink channel, etc.
In Release 8 (Rel-8) of LTE, a UE monitoring the PDCCH needs to do 44 blind decoding attempts per sub-frame, which are arranged in two sets of transmission resources or coding combinations known as "search spaces", one is referred to as the Common Search Space (CSS), as it is shared between multiple UEs, and the other is referred to as UE Specific search Space (UESS). The number of blind decodes in the CSS in Release 8 is 12, while in the UESS it equals 32.

Apparatuses, methods, and computer programs for a mobile transceiver and for a base station transceiver


A process for producing an olefin copolymerization catalyst, comprising the step of contacting, with one another, (A) a solid catalyst component containing a titanium atom, a magnesium atom and a halogen atom, (B) an organoaluminum compound and/or organoaluminumoxy compound, and (C) a nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocyclic compound, whose one or more carbon atoms adjacent to its nitrogen atom are linked to an electron-withdrawing group, or a group containing an electron-withdrawing group; and a process for producing an olefin copolymer using the an olefin copolymerization catalyst.

It is known in the art to combine polypropylene with an olefin copolymer such as an ethylene-propylene copolymer and an ethylene-1-butene copolymer, in order to improve impact resistance of the polypropylene. As a process for producing such an olefin copolymer, JP 3-205406A discloses a process for producing an ethylene-propylene random copolymer rubber by copolymerizing ethylene with propylene with use of a solid catalyst component obtained by contacting (i) a homogeneous solution obtained by contacting diethoxymagnesium with tetrabutoxytitanium, (ii) a specified electron-donating compound, and (iii) titanium tetrachloride, with one another.

Process for producing olefin copolymerization catalyst and process for producing olefin copolymer


Magnetic signature measurements are taken at various points corresponding to an original water depth beneath a ship. A computer processor receives and processes (i) this group of measured magnetic signature values and (ii) the designed magnetic signature value the sensing of which actuates the subject magnetic mine, implementing graph display management on a user interface display screen. According to the computer processing, some or all such measured magnetic signature values are extrapolated at different depths each greater than the original depth, thereby yielding several or many groups, each group being of extrapolated magnetic signature values associated with various points corresponding to the same depth, the groups collectively representing a three-dimensional arrangement of extrapolated magnetic signature values associated with various points corresponding to different depths. Each point is characterized as either actuating or non-actuating of the mine, and various perspectives of some or all such characterizations are displayed.

The present invention relates to magnetically responsive devices such as magnetic mines, more particularly to methods and apparatuses for evaluating the performance of a ship's degaussing system with respect to threats posed by magnetic mines that are situated in a marine environment.
A mine is an explosive device which is usually concealed either underground or underwater, and which is used primarily by military forces for defensive purposes. Mines typically are self-contained devices which include an explosive capability and a detonator (a firing mechanism for triggering the mine explosion), and which explode when touched by or approached by a target. "Minefields" are areas where mines have been placed. Generally there are two categories of mines, based on their situation, viz., "land mines" and "underwater mines" (synonymously referred to as "water mines," "submarine mines," "sea mines" or "naval mines").
An underwater mine is a mine which is situated in or on water or contiguously with respect to water or which otherwise bears physical or functional relation to a water environment. A typical underwater mine comprises an explosive charge positioned underwater and set to fire in response to the presence of a marine vehicle (e.g., a ship or submarine) in contact therewith or in proximity thereto. Underwater mines are generally laid in the water for purposes of damaging or sinking ships or of deterring ships from entering an area. "Moored mines" are underwater mines having positive buoyancy, typically held below the water surface at a pre-selected depth by a mooring (e.g., cable) attached (e.g., tethered) to an anchor (e.g., on a sea bottom). "Bottom mines" are underwater mines having negative buoyancy and resting on a seabed (e.g., at the bottom of relatively shallow water). "Floating mines" are underwater mines that are not entirely underwater but are visible on the surface.
Underwater mines are triggered either by direct contact or by indirect influence. Typically, when an underwater mine is triggered, an expanding gas sphere caused by the explosion sends shock waves through the water, these shock waves having deleterious effects on the nearby target marine vessel. "Contact mines" are actuated as a result of physical contact between the target ship and the mine's casing or one or more of the mine's appendages (e.g., rods or antennae protruding from the mine's surface). "Influence mines" are actuated either as a result of sensing an "influence field" emanating from the target marine vessel, or as a result of the target marine vessel's intrusion within an "influence field" emanating from the mine. Generally, influence mines sense changes in physical patterns in surrounding water, such as pertaining to magnetic fields ("magnetic mines"), pressure change ("pressure mines") or sound waves ("acoustic mines").
U.S. Navy surface combatant ships are equipped with degaussing systems comprising a set of current-carrying coils which are adjusted to reduce the ship's magnetic field and thereby reduce it's vulnerability to the magnetic mine threat. Currently, performance of U.S. naval combatant degaussing systems is determined by recording the combatant's magnetic field at a Magnetic Silencing Facility (MSR), measuring the peak field, and adjusting degaussing coil currents to reduce this peak field to less than a specified level.
However, magnetic mines do not operate by measuring the peak value of a ship's magnetic field; rather, magnetic mines operate by measuring the rate of change of a ship's magnetic field. In addition, many mines measure the rate of change in the ship's horizontal magnetic fields to determine when to actuate. Current methods for measuring combatant degaussing system performance may not reflect the combatant's actual susceptibility to the magnetic bottom mine threat.

Degaussing vulnerability display program

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The invention relates to a roof rack roof rack for a motor vehicle, having a roof rail profile. The roof rail profile is manufactured from a profile that has a constant cross-section in the longitudinal direction of the profile. Roof rail profiles with different designs can be formed from one and the same profile cross-section, namely by the shaping of a side or wall section present on the profile that delimits a passage. The roof rail profile, which preferably is designed as one piece, has different cross-sections in the longitudinal direction, namely unshaped surface sections and shaped surface sections.

The invention relates to a roof rack for a motor vehicle, having a roof rail profile, which preferably is designed as one piece. Two such roof rail profiles are placed on the roof of the motor vehicle and are attached to the roof by suitable fastening means.
It is known to manufacture roof rail profiles by extrusion and to match them to the roof contour of a vehicle by stretch bending and, if applicable, subsequent processing. Extruded profiles with different cross-sections are known for such a roof rack. However, all roof rail profiles manufactured by extrusion have a cross-section that is constant in the longitudinal direction on account of the manufacturing process. For design reasons, however, a cross-section that is variable over the profile longitudinal axis is also of great interest for vehicle manufacturers. Through the use of a hydroforming process, it is possible to change the cross-section of a tubular profile. To this end, both profile ends are sealed, and a forming medium is introduced into the profile at high pressure through the seal at one end.
In this process, the profile is fully enclosed in a tool that reproduces the negative of the outer contour to be achieved. As a result of the internal pressure, the profile expands until it rests against the tool wall in all areas. By means of such a method, a tubular roof rail can be modified such that the suggestion of railing feet arises at the profile ends and also in the profile center. However, this method has the disadvantage that tooling costs, facility costs, and unit costs of the method are very high. On account of the high pressures that are used, the expanded profile regions are subjected to high stresses and have a reduced wall thickness as compared to the non-expanded regions, which can cause problems during surface finishing, such as polishing or repolishing. Furthermore, such an expansion of the profile is only possible within narrow limits, since cracking may otherwise occur in the profile.


Disclosed is a thermoelectric material which is represented by the following composition formula (1) or (2) and comprises as a major phase an MgAgAs type crystal structure:(Tia1Zrb1Hfc1)xNiySn100-x-y  composition formula (1);(Lnd(Tia2Zrb2Hfc2)1-d)xNiySn100-x-y  composition formula (2);                (wherein a1, b1, c1, x and y satisfy the conditions of: 0<a1<1, 0<b1<1, 0<c1<1, a1+b1+c1=1, 30≦x≦35 and 30≦y≦35, and Ln is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Y and rare earth elements, and a2, b2, c2 and d satisfy the conditions of: 0≦a2≦1, 0≦b2≦1, 0≦c2≦1, a2+b2+c2=1 and 0<d≦0.3).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermoelectric material, and in particular, to a thermoelectric material comprising, as a major phase, a half Heusler compound having an MgAgAs type crystal structure. The present invention also relates to a thermoelectric element formed by using of this thermoelectric material.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, concomitant with the awareness of issues with respect to global environmental problems, there is increasing concern about a thermoelectric cooling element utilizing Peltier effect for achieving flon-less cooling. Likewise, there is also increasing concern about a thermoelectric generating element which is capable of directly converting unutilized waste heat energy into electric energy for the purpose of minimizing the quantity of carbon dioxide discharged into the atmosphere, in view of overcoming the problem of global warming.
As for the p-type or n-type thermoelectric cooling materials and thermoelectric power-generating materials to be employed for the manufacture of the thermo-electric elements, materials having a Bi—Te-based monocrystalline or polycrystalline structure are widely employed because of their excellent conversion efficiency. Even in the case of the thermoelectric materials to be employed under high-temperature conditions higher than room temperature, Pb—Te-based materials are employed for any of these p-type or n-type thermoelectric cooling materials and thermoelectric power-generating materials.
Pb (lead) included in the Pb—Te-based materials is noxious and hazardous to the human body and also undesirable in view of the global environmental problem. In the Bi—Te-based materials, Se is generally included as an impurity, which is also toxic to the human body. In view of the global environmental problem also, the inclusion of Se is undesirable. Te, which is employed in these material systems, is very scarce in deposits in the earth and hence it is difficult to supply it in sufficient amounts. Therefore, it is greatly desired to develop a thermoelectric material which is higher in conversion efficiency as compared with the aforementioned Bi—Te-based materials or Pb—Te-based materials, and is harmless to the human body.
The half Heusler compounds can be represented by a chemical formula ABX and is an intermetallic compound having an MgAgAs type cubic crystal structure wherein the B atom is inserted into the NaCl type crystal lattice of AX. The compounds having a structure of this type exhibit a high Seebeck coefficient at room temperature. For example, it is reported that TiNiSn exhibits a Seebeck coefficient of −142 μV/K, ZrNiSn exhibits −176 μV/K, and HfNiSn exhibits −124 μV/K.
Incidentally, the performance index Z of the thermoelectric material can be represented by the following formula.Z=α2σ/κ  (1)
In this formula (1), α is the Seebeck coefficient of thermoelectric material; σ is electric conductivity; and κ is thermal conductivity. The inverse number of electric conductivity can be represented by electrical resistivity ρ.
Z may have a dimension which is an inverse to temperature, and when this performance index Z is multiplied by an absolute temperature, it becomes a dimensionless number. Namely, this dimensionless number ZT is called "a dimensionless figure-of-merit" and is correlated with the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of thermoelectric materials in such a way that the larger the value of this ZT of the materials becomes, the higher the thermoelectric conversion efficiency will be realized by the materials. Namely, as the materials become more difficult in transmitting heat, but become easier in transmitting electricity, enabling the materials to exhibit a larger thermo-electromotive force, the materials become a thermoelectric material which is capable of exhibiting a higher thermoelectric conversion efficiency. For example, in the case of the Bi—Te-based materials which are known to exhibit the highest dimensionless figure-of-merit among the known thermoelectric materials, the dimensionless figure-of-merit thereof is about 1.0 at a temperature of 300K.
Although the aforementioned half Heusler compound ZrNiSn is capable of exhibiting a Seebeck coefficient of as high as −176 μV/K at room temperature, the electrical resistivity thereof at room temperature is as high as 11 mΩcm and still more, the heat conductivity thereof is as high as 8.8 W/mK. As a result, it is reported that the dimensionless figure-of-merit ZT of the ZrNiSn is as small as 0.010 and hence the thermoelectric conversion efficiency thereof is also small. In the cases of TiNiSn and HfNiSn, the thermoelectric conversion efficiency thereof is more inferior, i.e. about 0.007 for TiNiSn and 0.005 for HiNiSn.
Meanwhile, as for the half Heusler compound containing a rare earth element, there is known for instance HoPdSb. The Seebeck coefficient of HoPdSb is 150 μV/K at room temperature. Although the heat conductivity of HoPdSb is 6 W/mK, which is slightly smaller than that of the ZrNiSn, the electrical resistivity thereof at room temperature is as high as 9 mΩcm and hence the dimensionless figure-of-merit ZT of HoPdSb is only 0.01. It is also reported that the dimensionless figure-of-merit at room temperature of Ho0.5Er0.5PbSb1.05, Er0.25Dy0.75Pb1.02Sb and Er0.25Dy0.75PbSb1.05 is 0.04, 0.03 and 0.02, respectively.
The present invention has been achieved in view of the aforementioned problems and hence, one object of the present invention is to provide a thermoelectric material comprising as a major phase, a half Heusler compound, this thermoelectric material being capable of exhibiting a high dimensionless figure-of-merit ZT while making it possible to sufficiently suppress the heat conductivity and to maintain a high Seebeck coefficient and a low electric resistivity. Another object of the present invention is to provide a thermoelectric element obtained by using such a thermoelectric material.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Thermoelectric material and thermoelectric element


An antenna reflection structure including a plate, a side wall and a protrusion is disclosed. The side wall is generally perpendicular to the plate and the protrusion respectively. And a concave slot is formed by the side wall, the plate and the protrusion. The antenna can be fixed on the plate. The concave slot controls the transmitting direction of the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the antenna so that multi-reflection of the electromagnetic waves in the concave slot occurs and the electromagnetic waves can be transmitted in a desired single direction with the aid of the protrusion. Therefore, the antenna reflection structure can yield higher gain value and better directivity. In addition, the antenna reflection structure further provides the characteristics of being easy to process and minimize.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna reflection structure, and more particularly, to an antenna reflection structure having a concave slot.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an antenna reflection structure is mainly used to reflect and guide electromagnetic waves from an antenna to transmit in a desired direction. To achieve this goal, conventionally, spherical surface, paraboloid or other special curved surface is adopted as the reflecting surface of the antenna reflection structure. Thus, after the antenna sends out the electromagnetic waves from the focal of the curved surface, the curve surface reflects electromagnetic wave to transmit in a desired direction. Therefore, the directivity and the gain value of the antenna are enhanced.


A microscope imaging optical system has an entrance pupil on an object side and includes, in order from the object side, a first lens group including a biconvex lens and a negative lens having a concave surface on the object side, a second lens group including a negative lens having a concave surface on the object side, and a third lens group including a meniscus lens and a positive lens having a convex surface on an image side. The microscope imaging optical system satisfies conditional expressions 0.05<dp1/f<0.15 and 0.5<TT/f<0.9, where dp1 is the spacing between a lens, closest to the object, of the first lens group and the entrance pupil, f is the focal length of the microscope imaging optical system, and TT is the distance from the entrance pupil to the object image plane.

So-called light-field technology, in which information about the orientation of a light beam is acquired together with an image by disposing a lens array on the image plane of a lens, is available. Although this technology has been applied mainly to photographic lenses, application of this technology to microscopes has begun nowadays.
Application of the light-field technology to microscopes makes it possible to acquire three-dimensional information of a minute examination object with a single shot. Although three-dimensional information of a minute examination object can be acquired with, for example, a confocal microscope, it takes a long time until the final three-dimensional information is obtained because a three-dimensional image is formed by repeating processing for each and every cross-sectional image. In contrast, because the use of light-field technology allows three-dimensional information to be obtained in a short time, attention is focused on its application to microscopes nowadays.
In addition, efforts are also being made to enhance the function of microscopes by combining light-field technology and a technology called Coded Aperture (refer to, for example, Noy Cohen, Samuel Yang, Aaron Andalman, Michael Broxton, Logan Grosenick, Karl Deisseroth, Mark Horowitz, and Marc Levoy, "Enhancing the performance of the light field microscope using wavefront coding," Opt. Express" 22, 24817-24839 (2014).).
In this technology, a spatial filter, such as a phase mask having a particular pattern, is disposed at the pupil of an optical system, thereby enhancing the resolution in the lateral direction of three-dimensional information by processing an acquired image signal with a computer.
In order to acquire a light-field image, a microlens array is disposed on the image plane, and behind the microlens array, an imaging element is disposed. Also, the exit pupil of a microscope objective lens is generally imaged on the light-receiving surface of the imaging element via the microlenses. By doing so, which pixel of the imaging element a light beam is incident upon is determined by the orientation of the light beam incident upon the objective lens, and thereby information about the directions of light rays can be obtained.
As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, there are normally n×m pixels corresponding to each microlens, and an image of the pupil is formed in that region. To establish such a relationship over the entire screen, the light ray passing through the center of the exit pupil of the objective lens, i.e., the chief ray, needs to be parallel to the optical axis. In other words, image-side telecentricity needs to be achieved.
Many high-grade microscopes employ a so-called infinity-correction optical system, in which a light ray from the object image exiting the objective lens is collimated light. The light ray collimated by the objective lens enters an image-forming lens, and an image of the object is formed at the back focus of the image-forming lens.
In addition, when the above-described Coded Aperture technology is to be applied, a phase filter or the like is disposed at the pupil, and hence it is necessary to employ an optical arrangement in which the exit pupil of the objective lens, which is normally present in the interior of the lens, is temporarily imaged in free space.
More specifically, the following configuration, in order from the object side, is employed.
(1) Objective lens
(2) Relay optical system for imaging the exit pupil of the objective lens
(3) Image-forming lens
There is a known optical system in which the exit pupil of an objective lens is imaged in free space, and a filter, such as a pupil modulation element, can be placed there (refer to, for example, Publication of Japanese Patent No. 3544564 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2012-234056).

Microscope imaging optical system and light-field microscope including the microscope imaging optical system


A tool chuck is provided for rotary power tools that includes a dust seal for reducing the quantity of dust and cuttings entering the chuck mechanism. The tool chuck features an endcap affixed to the chuck body and a circular brush may be either permanently or removably engaged to the endcap. The circular brush comprises a multiplicity of either metallic or plastic bristles that contact the shank of a tool bit engaged in the tool chuck.

A variety of devices are known for use in the chucks of rotary power tools, such as hand held electric drills, to reduce the ingress of dust and cuttings from into the chuck mechanism. Elastomeric caps have been described for use at the bit receiving portion of a chuck barrel as dust guards to keep cuttings out of the chuck mechanism, as in Thessig et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,394, for the purposes of gripping the bit, as in Whitehead U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,108, and for achieving both bit centering and dust protection, Huff et. al. U.S. Pat. 5,135,241.
Such previously known elastomeric caps are subject to damage, for example, by being cut by the sharp edges of cuttings directed against the elastomeric material by the tool bit. Such elastomeric dust seals tend to abrade and wear where they contact the shank of the tool bit during normal use. Also, elastomeric dust seals may become brittle during extended use due to the heat conducted to the dust seal from the bit. Finally, in some cases elastomeric dust seals may be unable to readily conform to the flutes in the bit, and may thus permit dust or cuttings to enter the chuck through those flutes.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tool chuck having a dust seal constructed of a resilient, high strength material that is less likely to sustain damage from the sharp edges of cuttings emanating from the workpiece.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tool chuck having a removable dust seal that can be easily replaced during the lifetime of the tool chuck to provide a high degree of protection against the ingress of dust and cuttings into the chuck mechanism.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tool chuck having a dust seal that readily conforms to the shape of the tool bit, for example, by extending into the flutes of the tool bit, to thereby enhance the dust-protecting feature of the tool chuck.


A programmable controller senses the status of input devices and controls the state of operating devices in accordance with a stored ladder logic control program. A memory of the programmable controller contains message data and data defining a set of expected transitions of the status of selected input devices. An instruction of the ladder logic initiates execution of a machine language message program which causes the programmable control to inspect the states of the selected input devices to determine whether an expected transition has taken place. When one of the expected transitions occurs, the message data and an identification of the selected input device are sent to a personal computer connected to the programmable controller. The personal computer uses the the data from the programmable controller to formulate an alphanumeric message which is presented to the operator on a display device.

Programmable controllers are well known devices for operating industrial equipment, such as assembly lines and machine tools, in accordance with a stored program. In such controllers, the control program is stored in a memory and includes instructions which are read out in rapid sequence and executed to examine the condition of selected sensing devices on the controlled equipment, and to energize or deenergize selected operating devices on the controlled equipment contingent upon the status of one or more of the examined sensing devices. Other instructions are provided not only to manipulate single-bit input and output data representing the state of the sensing and operating devices, but also to perform arithmetic operations, timing and counting functions, and more complex processing operations.
Such instructions have become quite standardized in the industry and they are directly associated with the elements of a ladder logic diagram which is easily understood by control engineers. Program panels such as those, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,798,612; 3,813,649 and 4,070,702 have been developed to assist the user in developing and editing ladder logic control programs comprised of these programmable controller instructions.
Users of programmable controllers desire a mechanism to inform the operator of the controlled equipment when a fault occurs or when servicing is required. For example, a sensor can be provided to detect when the level of lubricant in a reservoir has dropped to a level at which replenishing is required. It is desirable for the programmable controller to send a message informing a maintenance person that the lubricant is at a low level. In another case, the controller could count the number of machining operations performed by a given bit, and notify a machinist that the bit is approaching the point where sharpening typically is required.
Ladder logic instructions have been devised to transmit data from the programmable controller over a communication network to another device, such as a host computer. These instructions commonly are used to send information regarding the manufacturing process, such as the number of workpieces processed by the controlled equipment or data acquired by the controller from its sensing devices. However, in order to use this capability the user of the system had to create numerous rungs of the ladder logic program in order to send even a simple message and users did not find this feature easy to use. The complexity of the previous messaging techniques tended to discourage individuals from sending messages to warn of low fluid levels, dulling machine bits and the like.

Programmable controller with an operator messaging function


A multi-functional hand weight for use by runners having a weighted body with a first end portion and a second end portion and a hand grip portion. The hand weight has sufficient weight for enhancing exercise. A signal means is provided for emitting either a light or sound signal. Switches are provided for controlling the light and the alarm. A battery selectively provides power to the light and alarm. A motion detection switch indicates a vertical orientation of the handweight by emitting light through the light transmitting first end portion and indicating a horizontal orientation by not emitting light through the first end portion.

Hand weights or arm exercisers are used by joggers to provide more effective use of workout time by exercising the hands, wrist, and arms while running or jogging. Proper use of the hand weights is essential to a proper workout. The inclusion of a biofeedback mechanism incorporated into the hand weight improves the effectiveness of any such workout.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,351,526; and 4,627,618 issued to Schwartz disclose aerobic hand weights having a hollow enclosure portion for carrying electronic circuitry for use in connection with exercising. Electronic circuitry may possibly be utilized with a timing device, a work load calculator, a stress-measuring apparatus, or the like. However, these configurations only provide numerical measurements during exercise and do not provide instant biofeedback which enables the user to maintain proper form or technique of the related arm movement to ensure a proper workout.
Running or jogging during hours when natural lighting is limited has become more common because of weather conditions and/or time constraints. As a result, it is necessary for improved safety that runners carry external light signals to improve their visibility to motorists and others. In addition, it is common for runners to carry whistles, air horns, or similar items to ward off potential danger as well as to attract attention if in peril.
Hand weights are produced with varying configurations. One configuration includes a wrist strap as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,057 to Wilson. The Wilson patent does not include either an alarm or a light to provide a measure of safety for the user. The wrist strap is provided merely as a means of preventing the user from dropping the hand weight should it slip from one's hand.
Another example of a hand weight design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,473 to Paquette which proposed combining the hand weight with a liquid container to enable the runner to obtain a drink from the hand weight. The Paquette device is essentially a D-shaped combination hand weight and water dispenser having a straight portion for gripping, and a hollow arcuate portion for water storage. The device includes a U-shaped reflector mounted on the arcuate portion. The Paquette patent utilizes a reflector as a safety feature. However, a reflector is effective only in a limited number of positions.
The prior art fails to provide runners or joggers with hand weights which serve a dual purpose of improving the safety of running during hours of limited lighting by providing an intermittent light for visibility and an alarm for warding off danger or attracting attention if in distress. Secondly, the prior art fails to disclose the concept of providing an intermittent light responsive to movement of the hand weight for providing immediate biofeedback. The intermittent light, in response to movement, signals the user to ensure a proper use of the hand weight for an effective workout.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.


A secure enclosure (10) for an automated banking machine includes a chest portion (12) and a moveable door (14). The door is supported on hinge assemblies (20, 22) which enable mounting and accurately positioning the door despite misalignment of the hinges. One hinge assembly includes a pin (156) which has a ball (186) thereon. The pin is accepted into a larger bore (164) of the other hinge assembly despite axial misalignment of the hinge and bore. The bore has an adjusting screw (188) movably positioned therein which engages the ball when the hinge assemblies are connected. Movement of the adjusting screw enables adjusting the relative positions of the hinge assemblies. In making the secure enclosure one hinge assembly is attached to the chest while the other hinge assembly is attached to the door. The hinge assemblies are connected to movably mount the door on the enclosure. The hinges are adjusted so that dead bolt projections (150) on the door engage aperture (62) when the door is in a closing position.

Automated banking machines are known in the prior art. Popular automated banking machines often used by consumers are automated teller machines (ATMs). ATMs are increasingly used by consumers to conduct banking transactions. Common banking transactions conducted by consumers at ATMs include deposits, withdrawals, account transfers and balance inquiries.
Most ATMs include a secure enclosure. The secure enclosure is used to hold currency and other valuable items inside the machine. Deposits made by customers into an ATM are also preferably held within a secure enclosure until they can be removed by authorized personnel. The secure enclosure also preferably houses portions of the mechanisms used for receiving deposits and dispensing currency. The secure enclosure also preferably houses electronic components of the ATM which may be subject to attack by someone attempting to compromise the security of the ATM or the electronic communications network in which it is operated.
Secure enclosures used in automated banking machines are specifically made for the type of machine in which they are used. Such enclosures, unlike most common types of safes or vaults, include multiple openings through the walls of the enclosure. These openings are precisely positioned. Such precise positioning is necessary to cooperate with the components of the ATM outside the enclosure. For example, an opening through the secure enclosure is required to enable a currency dispenser mechanism within the secure enclosure to pass currency notes to the mechanism outside the enclosure that delivers the notes to the customer. Likewise a precise opening is required to pass deposit envelopes and other valuables from the deposit accepting opening and mechanism outside of the secure enclosure to the depository mechanism inside the secure enclosure. Similarly, wiring harnesses and other connectors for the electronic and alarm components within the enclosure extend through openings which must be accurately positioned to enable connection to other wiring or devices in the ATM that are outside the enclosure.
There are many types of ATMs. ATMs can be configured as lobby units, which are made to be used within the confines of a building. Other ATMs are made for "through the wall" installation which enables a user outside of a building to use the machine. ATMs vary in physical size due to a number of factors. ATMs that provide a wide variety of functions, such as passbook printing, ticket or stamp dispensing, check cashing and other functions must necessarily be physically larger than machines that do not provide such functions. Such multi-function machines generally have secure enclosures that are much larger than machines that have less capabilities. ATMs that provide a single function, such as dispensing cash, often require a much smaller secure enclosure.
The manufacture of various types of ATMs often necessitates that manufacturers of ATMs produce a number of types of secure enclosures. These enclosures may vary not only in physical size and configuration, but also in terms of position and variety of openings that are provided through the walls of the secure enclosure. Problems in production processes may arise when enclosures are assembled from panels of similar size. If care is not exercised, an incorrect panel may be assembled into the enclosure. Likewise an enclosure may inadvertently be made with two panels of the same type, such as two tops or two bottoms. Panels may also be reversed from the proper position. The potential for confusion increases when several enclosures of similar size are being manufactured from similar panels, which enclosures have different openings to accommodate the positions of devices in the ATM in which the enclosure is used. The improper manufacture of an enclosure generally results in a significant amount of scrap material, as well as wasted fabrication labor.
Thus there exists a need for a secure enclosure and a method of manufacturing a secure enclosure for an automated banking machine that is more reliable and economical.
Secure enclosures in automated banking machines generally include a moveable door which enables authorized personnel to gain access to the mechanisms, electronic equipment and valuables stored within the secure enclosure. A securing mechanism used in connection with such a door must be strong and highly resistant to attack by burglars. At the same time the securing mechanism must be readily opened by authorized personnel, who must be able to move quickly to perform servicing activities inside the secure enclosure.
The manufacture of a secure enclosure for an automated banking machine has traditionally required that a great deal of attention be paid to the hinges which are used to attach the moveable door to the secure enclosure. Hinges are often a site for attack by burglars. To achieve strong hinges, care has been exercised to assure that the hinges are securely attached to both the door and enclosure. Because the hinges are often two or more separate assemblies and must be permanently fixed in place, often by welding, it is common to connect the hinge assemblies first to either the door or enclosure, and then to the other component. This avoids misalignment but can be burdensome from an assembly standpoint.
When components of the hinge assemblies are attached to the door and enclosure in separate operations it is not uncommon to encounter situations where the hinges are slightly misaligned. In such circumstances it may not be possible to mount the door on the enclosure without considerable rework. Even if the door can be mounted on the hinges, it may not be properly positioned to enable closing the opening of the enclosure. Again, in such circumstances costly rework is required to make the secure enclosure suitable for use in an automated teller machine.
Thus there exists a need for a system and method for mounting a door on a secure enclosure of an automated banking machine that more readily accomplished. There further exists a need for a system and method for mounting a door on a secure enclosure of an automated banking machine in which a hinge does not pose a weak point that is vulnerable to attack by burglars. There further exists a need for a system and method for mounting a door on a secure enclosure of an automated banking machine that can be done despite misalignment of hinges which support the door.
Secure enclosures for automated banking machines also include, in connection with the moveable door, a locking bolt work. The locking bolt work is generally in a secure, locking condition when the door is closed. When authorized personnel act to open the door of the secure enclosure, such as by inputting a proper combination to a lock, the locking bolt work is moveable to a second unsecured condition. In the second condition of the bolt work the door is enabled to be opened so that components within the secure enclosure may be accessed.
Due to the incentive for burglars to attack ATMs, the bolt work and other locking mechanisms used in connection with the moveable doors of secure enclosures preferably provide a high degree of resistance to attack. However, providing enhanced security also often comes with a high degree of complexity. This increases the cost of the automated banking machine. Complex mechanisms can also make it more difficult for authorized personnel to gain access to the secure enclosure.
Thus there exists a need for a locking bolt work apparatus for a door of an automated banking machine that provides enhanced security, but which is also economical and can be quickly opened by authorized personnel.

Method of making secure enclosure for automated banking machine


The present invention relates to the novel compounds of the general formula (I) possessing dipeptidyl peptidase IV enzyme inhibitory activity, pharmaceutical compositions thereof, methods of using said compounds, processes for their preparation and intermediates of the general formulae (II), (IV), (V), (VII), (VIII) and (IX).

The enzyme, dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV), which is identical with the lymphocyte surface glycoprotein CD26, a polypeptide with the molecular mass of 110 k Dalton, is formed in the tissues and organs of mammals. This enzyme can be found, among others, in the liver, in the Langerhans islands, in the renal cortex, in the lungs, and in certain tissues of the prostate and small intestine. Significant DPP-IV activity can be observed furthermore in the body liquors (as for instance in the plasma, serum and urine). DPP-IV is a serine protease type enzyme, which has the unique specificity to cleave dipeptides from the N-terminals of the peptides, where the pre-terminal dipeptide is prolyl-alanine, or hydroxy-proline.
DPP-IV enzyme is responsible for the decomposition of the glucagon-like peptides, peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide-2 (GLP-2) in the body. The enzyme GLP-1 strongly stimulates the insuline production of the pancrease, thus it has a direct, favourable effect on the glucose homeostasis, therefore DPP-IV inhibitors are suitable for the treatment of non-insuline dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and for the treatment or prophylaxis of other diseases connected to the DPP-IV enzyme activity, including but not limited to diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidemia, dermatological or mucous membrane disorders, psoriasis, intestinal distress, constipation, autoimmune disorders such as encephalomyelitis, complement metiated disorders such as glomerulonephritis, lipodystrohy and tissue damage, psychosomatic, depressive and neuropsychiatric disease such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, schizophrenia, epilepsy, spasm and chronic pain, HIV infection, allergies, inflammation, arthritis, transplant rejection, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, tumors and stress-induced abortions. There are a number of DPP-IV inhibitors known in the literature, but they have disadvantages as regards their activity, toxicity, physico-chemical properties, stability and duration of action.
Our aim was to prepare new, effective and safe DPP-IV inhibitors having advantageous physico-chemical and biological properties.

Compounds useful for DPP-IV enzyme inhibition


A method is presented for obtaining information from a client for the benefit of a server using a particular communication protocol that the server does not implement. A primary server receives a client-generated request, and the primary server sends a first request to a secondary server as part of the processing of the client-generated request. While processing the first request, the secondary server determines a need for data obtainable from a client application that supports user interaction using a communication protocol for which the secondary server is not configured to implement. The secondary server sends a second request to the primary server for obtaining data that results from using the communication protocol. The secondary server subsequently receives the resulting data and continues to process the first request using the resulting data, after which the secondary server returns a response for the first request to the primary server.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved data processing system and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for multicomputer data transferring. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for multicomputer communication using assorted protocols.
2. Description of Related Art
E-commerce web sites and web applications perform transactions over computer networks on behalf of users. In an e-commerce web-based environment, computer systems often have authentication services as a form of electronic sentry gate while accessing a web site. A user must often pass through an authentication procedure to prove the user's identity to an appropriate level of certainty before obtaining access to most server-side resources. These authentication services may be implemented as a web server plug-in, a reverse proxy, or some other type of server-side component. To perform an authentication procedure, a protocol engine in a server-side component communicates directly with a client application using a protocol that is supported by the client application, such as HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP), thereby often requiring client-focus, i.e. some type of control of the processing flow for the authentication process from the client-side perspective, which may often include user interaction through the client application.
However, in order to enhance security or in order to address other types of concerns, some server-side components may be restricted from executing or implementing certain protocols, particularly advanced protocols that are used by authentication services for user authentication and attribute exchange that require communication with web browsers or similar types of client applications.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and a system for enabling server-side components to access implementation of certain communication protocols within other server-side components that have the ability to achieve interaction with users through web browsers and similar types of client applications.

Method for access by server-side components using unsupported communication protocols through passthrough mechanism

International Business Machines Corporation


A refrigerant compressor unit, including a compressor housing and at least one compressor element that is arranged in the compressor housing, is movable by bearing and drive parts, and operates in at least one compressor chamber, at least one lubricant supply point arranged in the compressor housing for at least one of the bearing and drive parts and/or compressor element, and a lubricant supply line to the at least one lubricant supply point, wherein the lubricant supply line has a lubricant storage chamber through which lubricant flows and in which a lubricant presence sensor is arranged for detecting the presence of lubricant in the lubricant storage chamber.

The invention relates to a refrigerant compressor unit, including a compressor housing and at least one compressor element that is arranged in the compressor housing, is movable by bearing and drive parts, and operates in at least one compressor chamber, at least one lubricant supply point arranged in the compressor housing for at least one of the bearing and drive parts and/or compressor elements, and a lubricant supply line to the at least one lubricant supply point.
Refrigerant compressors of this kind are known from the prior art.
Conventionally, in these the lubricant supply is monitored by way of lubricant flow sensors, which bring about a drop in pressure in the lubricant supply.
However, sensors of this kind impair lubricant supply and do not provide the possibility of responding as quickly as possible to an interruption in the lubricant.
The object of the invention is therefore to improve a refrigerant compressor unit of the kind mentioned in the introduction such that optimum supply of lubricant is possible and it is possible to optimise the response to an interruption in lubricant.


A housing designed to contain a logic circuit (15) comprising two shells (11a, 11b) each including a welding area (17a, 17b) having an appropriate geometry permitting ultrasonic welding, such that when both shells are assembled before a welding phase, they are shifted along a vertical axis (20). The supporting plate (13) comprises a mounting ear (23) while the shells comprise a receptacle (33a, 33b). During the welding phase, there is no concomitant contact between any of the upper face (26) and lower face (27) of the ear (23) and the corresponding bearing faces (34a, 34b) of the receptacles, owing to a shift (21). The shift is reduced and the concomitant contact takes place between the bearing faces (34a, 34b) of the receptacles and each of the upper and lower faces (26, 27) of the ear (23) only when the welding phase is completed.

This invention provides a housing designed to contain at least one fragile element, such as a logic circuit and to a process for providing an assembly process for such a housing.
More particularly, this invention relates to a housing exhibiting the shape of a credit card and is in the spirit of the expansion of logic circuit cards liable to fulfil several functions such as access cards to controlled areas, bank cards or others.

Housing for containing a fragile element such as a logic circuit


A computer implemented networking system and method for content-creating, sharing, and archiving, includes maintaining profiles for a plurality of users each having an account that stores and displays user-authored content posts that are quality controlled, and generating, for each user profile, a virtual structure (e.g. building or house) displayed via a UI, and including a main room and a plurality of sub-rooms each being associated with a respective category, and wherein the main room provides navigation to the sub-rooms. The approach includes generating the user-authored content posts for each of the users via posting templates that prompt a user to input and organize various content based upon the template guidance for the respective category to control the quality of the user-authored content posts. A prompting tool operates within the virtual building for each profile by displaying prompts within each of the sub-rooms and related to the respective category and includes a prioritized list of user tasks.

A social networking service (also social networking site, or SNS or social media) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationship with other people who share similar personal or career interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections.
A social network is distributed across various computer networks. Social networks are computer networks, linking people, organization, and knowledge. Social networking services vary in format and the number of features. They can incorporate a range of new information and communication tools, operating on desktops and on laptops, on mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones. They may feature digital photo/video/sharing and "web logging" diary entries online (blogging). Online community services are sometimes considered social-network services by programmers and users, though in a broader sense, a social-network service usually provides an individual-centered service whereas online community services are group-centered. Defined as "websites that facilitate the building of a network of contacts in order to exchange various types of content online," social networking sites provide a space for interaction to continue beyond in person interactions. These computer mediated interactions link members of various networks and may help to both maintain and develop new social ties.
Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, digital photos and videos, posts, and to inform others about online or real-world activities and events with people in their network. While in-person social networking—such as gathering in a village market to talk about events—has existed since the earliest development of towns, the Web enables people to connect with others who live in different locations, ranging from across a city to across the world. Depending on the social media platform, members may be able to contact any other member. In other cases, members can contact anyone they have a connection to, and subsequently anyone that contact has a connection to, and so on. The success of social networking services can be seen in their dominance in society today, with Facebook having 2.13 billion active monthly users and an average of 1.4 billion daily active users in 2017. Linked In, a career-oriented archive networking service, generally requires that a member personally know another member in real life before they contact them online. Some services require members to have a preexisting connection to contact other members.
Posting for the sake of posting is a habit hard to break. Most people routinely upload volumes of images, photos and videos without background stories to add meaning to them. This sort of posting requires nothing of its viewers other than to press a quick like and move to the next feed. We are all bombarded with online feeds of news, advertising and special offers that are superficial at best.
The popularity of de facto websites may be because there are no other choices. Users quickly assemble posts without much thought and what follows is a bombardment of advertising embedded in the scrolling feeds demanding the user's time to sort through them. The user receives a daily barrage of uninitiated posts. This excess of information is desensitizing. Users are sidetracked and satisfaction is left behind.
Other types of private networks or intranets for businesses, educational institutions, or research organizations, for example, are also limited in the methods for posting, sharing and archiving content.
Accordingly, there may be a need for an alternative to the typical social media network and/or other networking platform that supports and improves the sharing and archiving of meaningful content.
This background section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of typical technology that may be related to various aspects or embodiments of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be useful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects and embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in light of, and not as admissions of, the prior art.

Computer implemented networking system and method for creating, sharing and archiving content including the use of a user interface (UI) virtual environment and associated rooms, content prompting tool, content vault, and intelligent template-driven content posting (AKA archive and networking platform)


A latch mechanism in combination with a sensor assembly for use in latching a first structure to a second structure such as a panel to an aircraft. Also disclosed is a sensor assembly for use with a latch mechanism and a method of using a sensor assembly in combination with a latch mechanism. The latch mechanism and sensor assembly include a hook mechanism carried on a first structure and a keeper mechanism retained on a second structure. The sensor assembly is connected to the hook mechanism or the keeper mechanism or with both for detecting characteristics thereof. An output device of the sensor assembly is provided for at least indicating the condition of the sensor device. A power interface for providing power to the sensor assembly or recharging a power source of the sensor assembly or both. A display coupled to the controller for displaying information about the sensor assembly.

The present invention relates generally to the field of latch mechanisms and, more particularly, to a latch mechanism utilized in an aircraft in combination with a sensor associated with the latch mechanism.
According to the disclosure, a latch mechanism for use on an aircraft includes a sensor configured to report the status, load, position as well as other characteristics of the latch mechanism. Illustratively, one or more latches may be positioned on a cowl of an aircraft engine. The sensor signals to a processor or controller which in turn processes and provides signals to a display or an output terminal. The display or output is provided to a pilot or technician who can determine whether the latch is latched or unlatched, what loads are present in the latch, the overload history, date of manufacture of certain components, number of load cycles, as well as other information recorded by the latch mechanism.
Additional features of the disclosure will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of embodiments of the disclosed latch mechanism.


A method of forming an electronic component package includes: forming electrically conductive traces for connecting first selected bond pads of a plurality of bond pads on a first surface of an electronic component to corresponding bonding locations formed on a second surface of the electronic component; coupling the first surface of the electronic component to a first surface of a lower dielectric strip; coupling the second surface of the electronic component to a first surface of an upper dielectric strip; forming lower via apertures through the lower dielectric strip to expose second selected bond pads of the plurality of bond pads on the first surface of the electronic component; forming upper via apertures through the upper dielectric strip to expose the bonding locations on the second surface of the electronic component; filling the lower and upper via apertures with an electrically conductive material to form lower and upper vias electrically coupled to the first and second selected bond pads of the plurality of bond pads on the first surface of the electronic component.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to the packaging of electronic components. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wafer level package and method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of Related Art
One form of an electronic component package included an electronic component such as an integrated circuit chip mounted to a substrate. For example, in a wirebond configuration, the rear surface of the integrated circuit chip was mounted to the substrate, e.g., with an adhesive. Bond wires were used to form the electrical interconnections between the bond pads on the front surface of the integrated circuit chip and the electrically conductive traces on the substrate.
As the art moved to smaller and lighter weight electronic devices, it became increasingly important that the size of the electronic component package used within these electronic devices be as small as possible. However, in the wirebond configuration described above, the traces of the substrate were fanned out around the integrated circuit chip, which placed a fundamental restriction on the minimum electronic component package size. Further, a large impedance was associated with the bond wires.
To allow a further reduction in the electronic component package size as well as to reduce impedance of the interconnections, a flip chip configuration was used instead of a wirebond configuration. In a flip chip configuration, the bond pads on the front surface of the integrated circuit chip were directly connected to the traces on the substrate with flip chip bumps, e.g., solder. This avoided the need to fan out the traces around the integrated circuit chip resulting in a minimum package size. Further, the use of flip chip bumps between the bond pads and the traces on the substrate minimized impedance.
However, the flip chip bumps between the bond pads of the integrated circuit chip and the traces on the substrate were subject to significant stress, e.g., due to differential thermal expansion between the integrated circuit chip and the substrate. Thus, failure of the flip chip bumps often occurred which, in turn, decreased yield and increased the cost of the electronic component package.
To minimize the failure of the flip chip bumps, an underfill material was often applied between the integrated circuit chip and the substrate and around the flip chip bumps. However, the application of the underfill material required an additional manufacturing step and materials, which increased the cost of the electronic component package.


A leak alarm system for a petroleum pipeline includes one or more detectors installed in the ground adjacent to a pipeline, each detector having a tubular enclosure with a diode light source and photosensor located at the opposed end of the tube. The tubular enclosure is fabricated of a microporous material that has microfiltration properties: it is hydrophobic, so that soil water will not enter the enclosure, but also oleophilic to enable petroleum and related substances migrate through the material of the tubular enclosure and accumulate therein. The petroleum-like materials scatter the beam and diminish the sensor signal, causing a leak alarm signal to be generated.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to leak detectors and, more particularly, to leak detectors for pipelines and tanks carrying petroleum products.
2. Description of Related Art
A persistent problem that plagues steel pipelines, (as well as tanks, and other vessels), is corrosion. Thousands of miles of oil pipelines are 75 or more years old. These are steel, and they are constantly corroding. Corrosion is a non-uniform process. Small and large corrosion holes appear at random places on pipes. There are various reasons: One is the non-uniformity of the steel due to localized impurities which cause electrolytic action and erosion of the steel. Another is the nature of oils which may contain water, sulfides, chlorides, and other oxidizing agents which collect locally to corrode piping. Deadhead pipelines, (pipes used intermittently) are particularly susceptible to local corrosion holes. There are many other factors that come into play, and the result is that practically all pipeline sections are observed to reach their end-of-life status with corrosion showing as small or large holes. That fact makes it difficult to statistically analyze the health status of a pipeline or a tank.
A reasonably rapid response system for monitoring and detecting oil spills and leaks would forestall oil spill losses, and it would prevent disasters. A few years ago, one such spill disaster caused enormous ecological damage and nearly a billion dollars of cleanup expenses. Smaller, very costly spills occur frequently, and oil losses also add up. Several patents describe methods of detecting oil spills. Some describe Infrared photography, a commercially available detection/monitoring system employs a cable which is placed under the pipeline to detect and monitor oil spills. Generally, the cost of placing a cable under an existing pipeline is prohibitive because pipelines are mainly underground and the excavation process is very expensive. The present invention is designed to be economically utilized for existing pipelines as well as new pipelines, and to provide means of detecting early stage leaks.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,889 by Mizuochi-Shoken describes a coaxial cable encased in a coating of petroleum permeable plastic which is hydrophobic: it will not allow water to penetrate the coating. When oil penetrates the coating, the capacitance between the cable conductors changes, and the change can be measured by an instrument such as a time domain reflectometer instrument. Various versions of this system are now manufactured by companies such as Raychem and Pentair-TraceTek and are presently commercially utilized for oil spill detection. This system has the disadvantage of requiring a system to measure small capacitance changes in a cable, and of locating the oil leak region of the cable. The present invention is designed to provide a simpler detection method and to avoid the complication of measuring capacitance changes. The output of our detector system is the closure of a contact or a voltage pulse either of which is much less expensive to implement in a detection system.

Method and apparatus for detecting and monitoring oil spills and leaks


A system for limiting the ingress of oil into an induction feed pipe provided in the cylinder head cover of an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The system provides a cylinder head cover including a cylinder head cover outlet, a top plate spaced from the cylinder head cover outlet, and a perforated deflector plate. The top plate and deflector plate define a chamber in communication with the cylinder head cover outlet.

An internal combustion engine typically has three chambers: the crankcase; the timing case; and the cylinder head cover. Each of these chambers must be openly connected to allow free flow of bypass gases and air movement during engine running.
In the engine, blow-by gas can escape past the piston into the crankcase where it mixes with airborne oil droplets. Rather than simply venting the blow-by gas to atmosphere, a closed breather system can be provided so that the blow-by gas is fed back into the engine induction system. This reduces the emission of unwanted gases.
It is desirable to include, in the breather system, means to retrieve oil contained in the blow-by gas and return this to the engine lubricating oil system for re-use. Otherwise the liquid oil, if allowed to enter the engine induction system (oil carry-over), can cause fouling of such components as turbocharger compressor vanes and engine poppet valves. Also, the liquid oil can form carbon deposits on the valves which can be detrimental to the performance of the intake air system. In addition, there will be a reduction in the volume of oil available for lubricating and cooling purposes.
A baffle may be provided in the cylinder head cover of the engine to impede oil carry-over. While this may lead to satisfactory performance in most applications, a particular problem exists for the engines of excavating work machines. Hydraulic excavators typically have an upper assembly that houses the engine, and a lower drive assembly. The upper assembly is rotatable relative to the lower assembly. Rotational acceleration or deceleration of the upper assembly leads to significant splashing of the oil within the engine which can increase oil carry-over.
It is known to provide a baffle having a perforated portion to limit oil carry-over. Such an apparatus is disclosed in EP 1,030,038. The apparatus includes a perforated triangular conduit fluidly connected to the breather gas inlet so as to allow the breather gas inlet to be located within the crankcase of the engine.
The present invention is directed to solving one or more of the problems set forth above.

Deflector for limiting the ingress of liquid oil


A carcass of a soccer ball or other inflatable game ball has a bladder with a valve for introducing air into said bladder; a fabric pocket layer located outside said bladder composed of a plurality of fabric pieces sewn to form a spherical shape, with a hole for the valve, the sewing thread for sewing said fabric pieces and the sewn margin being located in the inner side of said fabric pocket, and an opening being cut for reversing and placing the bladder being located on one of the fabric pieces; and an opening-cover adhered solidly on said opening for enclosing said opening. The surface of the manufactured ball is soft, with good tactility and the performance of ball-controlling is good. At the same time because there is no sewn margin left on the out side of the fabric pocket layer, no slight unevenness will exist on the surface of the fabric pocket layer, the ball will have a substantially perfect spherical shape, and can be easily controlled by athletes during a game.

This application claims the priority of P.R. China Application No. 2004/100489226 filed Jun. 9, 2004, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a game ball carcass and a game ball utilizing said carcass, such as a football (soccer ball), as well as methods of making game ball carcass and game balls. In this application, the term "carcass" refers to an inflatable ball bladder and a reinforcing layer as a composite unit.
Conventionally, balls for ball games having a construction where air is confined, such as soccer ball, volleyball and handball, include a bladder made of rubber where air is confined, a reinforcing layer and a skin layer composed of leather. According to different manufacturing methods of the carcass and the skin layer, balls for ball games can be categorized into hand-stitched balls and laminated balls.
A hand-stitched ball for a ball game such as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,590, is composed of a bladder made of rubber and a skin layer. The bladder is made of rubber which air can not permeate, and by enclosing compressed air through a valve it forms a spherical hollow bladder body. The skin layer is obtained by sewing a plurality of leather panels in such a manner that marginal edges of the leather panels are folded inward and sewn together with threads (about 10,000-denier thread) to form a spherical body. This kind of ball for a ball game is sewn by hand. The leather panels are made of artificial leather or genuine leather. 3 to 4 pieces of fabric (liner-material) are adhered to the back of the artificial leather to enhance the strength. There is no reinforcing layer or fabric pocket layer covering the bladder in such a structure.
Said hand-stitched game balls show merits such as softness, good tactility, easiness for using and good controlling performances. But on the other side, three-dimensionality of the sphere and the thickness (about 4 to 5 mm) and hardness of said leather panels make it impossible or impractical for sewing-machine-making, only hand-stitching is possible or practical. Hence the following problems arise: because of the differences of familiarity and skills of sewing between different operators, the efficiency to produce such kind of game ball is low, the price is high, and quality problems such as differences in weight and size, and deviation from complete spherical shape occur. The defective rate is 2 to 3 times the defective rate of later described laminated ball, with unfavorable durability and inclination of deformation.
The inner pressure of a soccer ball is about 1.0 kg/m2, and impaction of several hundred kg is applied to the ball when kicked. Therefore seams of the ball may come apart and the ball becomes larger than standard dimension, or becomes deformed. Further, during the impaction, threads may rupture and the bladder may protrude. Generally speaking, the durability of hand-stitched balls is below ½ to ⅓ of the durability of the later described laminated balls.
The laminated balls, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,648, include: a similar bladder made of rubber as the bladder of said hand-stitched ball, a reinforcing layer composed of several-thousand meters of nylon filament extending in multiple directions on the bladder (the structure of filament winding is called winding-structure), a covering rubber composed of sulfureted rubber covering on the reinforcing layer, and a skin layer composed of a plurality of leather panels adhering to the covering rubber.
The bladder and the reinforcing layer as a composite unit can be called a carcass.
The quality of the ball (weight, size, sphericity, the performance of shape-keeping and durability) is improved by said reinforcing layer. Said covering rubber firmly adheres leather panels onto the carcass.
Because of said structure of said laminated ball, it can be manufactured mechanically and the efficiency of productivity is higher with less difference in weight and size, and the price is low, with good sphericity and outstanding durability. The disadvantage is its hard tactility and when the ball is touched pain will be caused. Because of its hardness it is difficult to be controlled; therefore sophisticated techniques can hardly be performed during the playing of games with the ball.
Because of the reason of hardness of the laminated ball, impaction of kicking can only be absorbed by the stretching and contracting of the nylon filament making the reinforcing layer, while the performance of absorbing impaction of nylon filament is unfavorable.
Several strategies have been proposed for resolving said problems.
A ball is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,545, comprising: the same bladder as said two kinds of balls, the same reinforcing layer composed of several-thousand meters of nylon filament, and a skin layer made in such a manner that marginal edges of the leather panels are folded inward and sewn together with threads (about 500-denier) by a sewing machine. This time because of the existence of a reinforcing layer wound with nylon filament, no liner material is necessary for the leather panels, hence thin (about 1.0-1.5 mm) and soft leather panels can be sewn by a sewing machine. The composition of said bladder and nylon filament wound on said bladder (i.e. carcass) is inserted into the leather sphere of leather panels sewn by a sewing machine.
Said structure can be manufactured mechanically with outstanding sphericity and durability.
However, because of the reinforcing layer of winding-structure being the same as in a laminated ball, disadvantages such as hardness and uneasiness in controlling have not been eliminated. At the same time, because threads are thinner and lay on the surface, they can be cut when the ball collides with a grain of rock or a gravel in the playing field surface. Also sewing holes on leather panels are easily split. Further, because of visible threads between the leather panels, it is easy to give an impression that the balls have been manufactured in a rough way.
Balls for ball games of the following structure have been further proposed for resolving problems associated therewith.
A ball of the following structure is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,781: 12pieces of fabric trapezoid are sewn together along their margins to form a fabric pocket layer of spherical shape as a reinforcing layer, only one side of the twelve fabric pieces is left un-sewn, and the only one side serves as a hole for placing a bladder, then the fabric pocket layer is reversed through the hole to put sewn margins into the inner side and place said bladder into the fabric pocket layer through the opening. Then the only one side of the opening is sewn from outside and leather panels are adhered onto the sewn fabric pocket layer i.e. onto the carcass. Finally compressed air is supplied through the valve (not shown on figures).
This last mentioned structure can be manufactured mechanically, the efficiency being high, the price being low, with outstanding sphericity and durability. The reinforcing layer is composed of fabric pieces, and, due to the diagonal effect of fabric, the ball shows good tactility and can be easily controlled. Diagonal effect means that when the fabric is stretched from an angle, e.g. 45°, deviated from opposite longitudinal and latitudinal threads, the fabric will show great flexibility. Therefore the performance of stretching and contracting during impaction is favorable.
However, in said improved method, the only one side of the opening is sewn from the outside of the fabric pocket. Slight unevenness on the surface of the fabric pocket caused by said outside sewn margin will appear on the surface of the ball through the leather panels, and disadvantages such as swinging on flying and anomaly in rolling and bouncing exists. Also the appearance is bad due to said unevenness and gives an impression of roughness. Further, for ball games such as volleyball, handball and the like, in which fine tactility of finger tips is important, the slight unevenness is quite a serious problem.
An object of certain preferred embodiments of the present invention is to resolve the problems due to the slight unevenness at the sewn margin of the opening of the reinforcing layer of the carcass of a game ball, such as the uneasiness of ball-controlling and the low qualities such as bad appearance and tactility.
Whereas current techniques give rise to said problems, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a carcass of a game ball, the sewn margins of the opening of which lie in the inner side of the fabric pocket, with no slight unevenness caused by said sewn margin on the surface of fabric pocket layer. The productivity is high, and qualities such as sphericity and tactility are good.
Another object of certain preferred embodiments of the present invention is to provide a game ball containing said carcass, which improves the ball-controlling of the game ball.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, a game ball carcass is provided which includes: a bladder with a valve for introducing air into said bladder; a fabric pocket layer located outside said bladder comprising a plurality of fabric pieces sewn to form a spherical shape, with a hole for the valve; the sewing thread for sewing said fabric pieces and the sewn margin are all located in the inner side of said fabric pocket, and an opening being cut for reversing and placing the bladder is located on one of the fabric pieces; and an opening-cover for enclosing said opening.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, the ball carcass opening-cover is adhered solidly on said opening.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, said hole for the valve is located at a position of the opening-cover.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, the cut opening is ring-shaped, said opening-cover is anoriginal opening part of said cut fabric piece, and said valve opening of said fabric pocket layer is located on said opening-cover. The cutting line forming said opening is an unclosed ring, and the opening-cover has a base of fabric connecting to the fabric piece.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, the cutting line forming said opening is of a multiple cross shape, hence forming several pieces of opening-cover connected to the fabric piece on the base, and said valve opening of said fabric pocket layer is located at the cross point of said cutting line. Through the reinforcing cloth adhered onto the inner side, said opening-cover encloses said opening.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, said valve opening and the opening for the bladder might lie in the same fabric piece. According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, reinforcing cloth is set at said opening for the bladder. Said opening-cover may be integrated together or separated from the opening for the bladder. Said opening-cover is adhered by adhesive onto the opening on the fabric pocket layer. Sewing lines are pre-printed onto said fabric pieces of the fabric pocket layer, and sewing will be along said lines. Said bladder is composed of rubber.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, a game ball is provided which comprises in sequence from an inner to an outer side: a bladder with a valve for introducing air into said bladder; a fabric pocket layer located outside said bladder, and a skin layer comprising a plurality of panels; a plurality of fabric pieces sewn to form a spherical shape, with a hole for the valve; the sewing thread for sewing. said fabric pieces and the sewn margin are all located in the inner side of said fabric pocket, and an opening being cut for reversing and placing the bladder is located on one of the fabric pieces; and an opening-cover for enclosing said opening.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, said game ball skin layer is a skin layer of an adhesion structure formed by skin pieces adhered onto the fabric pocket layer directly or through the covering rubber, and said skin layer is sewn by a sewing machine. A counter weight of similar weight as the weight of the valve and valve house are placed opposite to the valve in the fabric pocket layer or the bladder. Said ballast can be made of rubber or fabric. Sewing lines are pre-printed on the fabric pieces of the fabric pocket layer.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, in the carcass of the game ball in the game ball, because the fabric pocket layer can be sewn totally by sewing machine, the productivity is high. Because of the fabric pocket layer being outside the bladder, the manufactured ball is soft and of good tactility. At the same time because all of the sewing margins which can reshape the ball are left in the inner side, no slight unevenness is left on the surface of the fabric pocket, and the ball appears to be a complete sphere, obtaining good ball-controlling as well as keeping the spherecity.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Game ball carcass, a game ball, and methods of making same