Aspects of the invention can provide a transflective liquid crystal display device of vertical alignment mode capable of suitably controlling the direction that liquid crystal molecules are tilted. The liquid crystal display device can include a liquid crystal layer interposed between a pair of substrate and transmissive and reflective display regions in each dot region. An insulating film for varying the thickness of the liquid crystal layer in the reflective and transmissive display regions is provided. On a substrate having the insulating film formed thereon, an electrode slit for controlling the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules can be formed in the reflective display region. Similarly, a convex portion for controlling the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules can be formed in the transmissive display region.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device and an electronic apparatus, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display device using vertical alignment type liquid crystals.
2. Description of Related Art
Related liquid display device can include a transflective liquid crystal display device operated in alignment direction, when a voltage is applied, of the liquid crystal molecule reflective and transmissive modes. As such a transflective liquid crystal display device, there has been proposed a transflective liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer is interposed between upper and lower substrates, a reflecting film made of metal, such as aluminum where light-transmitting window is formed, for example, is provided on an inner surface of the lower substrate, and the reflecting film also serves as a transflective plate. In this case, in the reflective mode, external light enters the upper substrate, passes through the liquid crystal layer, reflects from a reflecting film on the inner surface of the lower substrate, passes through the liquid crystal layer again, and exits from the upper substrate, so that display can be made. In the transmissive mode, light of a backlight enters the lower substrate, passes through the window portion of the reflecting film, passes through the liquid crystal layer, and exits from the upper substrate to the outside, so that display can be made. Therefore, a portion, of the region where the reflecting film is formed, where the window portion is formed, serves as the transmissive display region, and the remaining portion serve as the reflective display region.
In the related transflective liquid crystal display device, there can be a problem in that a viewing angle in the transmissive display is narrow. This problem is involved in the limitation that a transflective plate is provided in the inner surface of the liquid crystal cell in order to prevent parallax, and thus, the reflective display is performed with only one polarizing plate provided on observer's side, so that the degree of freedom in an optical design is lowered. In order to solve the problem, in "Development of transflective LCD for high contrast and wide viewing angle by using homeotropic alignment", M. Jisaki et al., Asia Display/ID W'01, p. 133–136 (2001), there is proposed a new liquid crystal display device using vertically aligned liquid crystal molecules. The characteristics thereof are as follows:                (1) A VA (vertical alignment) mode is employed. In the VA mode, liquid crystal molecules whose dielectric anisotropy is negative are vertically aligned on a substrate, and when a voltage is applied, the liquid crystal molecules are allowed to tilt.        (2) A multi-gap structure is employed. In the multi-gap structure, the thickness of the liquid crystal layer in the transmissive and reflective regions are made different from each other.        (3) An alignment division structure is employed. In the alignment division structure, the transmissive display region has a shape of regular octagon, and a protrusion is provided at the center of the transmissive display region on the opposite substrate in order to allow the liquid crystal molecules within the transmissive display region to be tilted in all directions.
On the other hand, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Heisei 11-242225 there is disclosed a technique for forming a slit in an electrode as alignment controlling means of liquid crystal molecules other than the aforementioned protrusion when the vertically aligned liquid crystal is used.
As described above, the direction that the liquid crystal molecules are tilted in the transmissive display region can be controlled using the protrusion provided at the center of the transmissive display region. However, a device for controlling the direction that the liquid crystal molecules are tilted in the reflective display region is not mentioned. If the direction that liquid crystal molecules are tilted is not controlled and the liquid crystal molecules are tilted disorderly, discontinuous lines, called "disclination", occur at the boundary between different liquid crystal alignment regions, so that afterimage may be generated. In addition, since the alignment regions of the liquid crystal have different viewing characteristics, there is a problem in that a spotted pattern may be generated as the liquid crystal display device is viewed from an oblique direction.
In addition, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Heisei 11-242225, the direction that the liquid crystal molecules are tilted is controlled using the protrusion or using a transverse electric field generated by providing the slit to the electrode. However, this approach is provided for only the transmissive liquid crystal display device, but it is not suitably provided for a transflective liquid crystal display device using alignment direction, when a voltage is applied, of the liquid crystal molecule reflective and transmissive modes.

Liquid crystal display device with first and second electrode slits and convex portions and electronic apparatus


In the public switched telephone network, an originating modem can identify an answering modem, e.g., as to the type of modem it is, by detection of a low-level identification signal sent from the answering modem. The low-level identification signal is hidden within an industry standard "answer tone," e.g., a CCITT V.25 answer tone of 2100 Hz. If the low-level identification signal is detected by the originating modem, the industry standard "handshaking" procedure is terminated and a non-standard handshaking procedure is implemented. If the identification signal is not detected by the originating modem, the industry standard handshaking procedure is simply completed.

This invention relates to data communications techniques used in modems. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and apparatus for an originating modem to identify an answering modem.
In a dial-up communications network, e.g., the public switched telephone network (PSTN), an originating modem does not necessarily know what type of modem will answer the data call. As a result, the originating modem typically assumes that all data calls are made to a "generic" modem and that all "initial handshaking" and initial communications must be done according to established industry standards like International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT) V.25. For example, in order to establish a data connection, the originating modem dials the telephone number of the location where the answering modem is located. The answering modem detects the ringing signals on the telephone line and answers the telephone call. At this point the answering modem places an "answer tone" on the telephone line. The originating modem detects the answer tone and then places an "originating carrier" on the line. When the answering modem detects the originating carrier, the answering modem places an "answering carrier" on the line and the initial handshaking process is completed, i.e., a physical data connection is established between the originating modem and the answering modem. From this point forward, the originating modem and the answering modem can execute additional handshaking and protocol procedures (like CCITT V.32) to further establish the desired level of connection, e.g. the desired baud rate, communications protocol, etc.
As described above, a data communications industry standard, like CCITT V.25, provides a common reference point whereby a modem manufacturer can ensure its modem will be able to communicate with modems produced by other manufacturers. However, in offering data communications services to a customer, the data communications industry standards may not provide all of the features that a customer may desire, or may not provide the features in a manner that suits a particular modem manufacturer. For example, a modem manufacturer may be of the view that a network management feature properly requires that a secondary communications channel also be established between the originating modem and the answering modem--however, available industry standards may not provide for this type of a secondary channel. Another example is to allow faster connection between the modems by shortening the time required to determine modem types.
As a result, after the establishment of the switched data connection between an originating modem and an answering modem, it may be desired to switch to a proprietary form of operation in order to offer non-industry standard features to a customer. Consequently, this requires that the originating modem and the answering modem be the same type of modem and requires these modems to perform some additional handshaking process in order to identify each other.
Various techniques have been disclosed in a number of U.S. Patents which provide for an originating modem and an answering modem to identify each other. U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,243, issued to Maxwell on Jul. 29, 1980, provides an ability to generally identify a modem as to the type of industry standard protocol it supports (as opposed to identifying a particular manufacturer's modem) by identifying the frequency of the originating carrier after the answer tone has been provided from the answering modem. U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,773, issued to Amundson on Jul. 14, 1987, discloses a technique for sending special characters after the physical data connection is established. These special characters, when detected, allow the originating modem and answering modems to identify each other for changing to a proprietary form of operation. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,498, issued to Copeland, III on Nov. 1, 1988, establishes a special mode for proprietary use by means of a special handshake procedure. For example, upon answering the telephone call, the answering modem will not provide the industry standard answering tone but, instead, provide a special sequence of characters. If the originating modem recognizes the special sequence of characters it will signal to the answering modem that it is of the same type, and both modems can then switch to a proprietary form of operation. However, if the originating modem does not recognize the special sequence of characters it will "time-out" and either assume a default operation or drop the line assuming that the no modem has answered.
As can be seen from the above prior art, there are basically two ways to provide identification between modems. One method first establishes the physical data connection before the originating modem and the answering modem attempt to identify each other through an additional handshaking procedure. Unfortunately, this only adds to the delay that already exists in establishing the physical data connection--a delay which is already on the order of 3 to 8 seconds depending on network delays. The second method uses a proprietary handshaking process before establishing the physical data connection, with the result that an incompatible originating modem may become confused and drop the connection. Consequently, it may be necessary to avoid any attempt at identification between the modems in order to eliminate this possibility--with the result that any non-standard industry features have to be manually administered when both the originating modem type and answering modem type are known a priori.

Technique for automatic identification of a remote modem


A reusable beverage container for hot or cold beverages is for use in vehicle beverage holders with receptacles sized for twelve ounce beverage cans. The container has a first lower portion of a diameter approximating or less than the diameters of standard twelve ounce beverage cans. A second upper portion is provided with a diameter larger than lower portion providing additional beverage capacity. A flange is formed between the upper and lower portions. One or more ribs substantially encircle the second upper portion. A handle is positioned sufficiently high on the upper portion so as not to interfere with the insertion of the lower base portion into the vehicle beverage holder.

Coinciding with the proliferation of fast food restaurants, consumption of beverages in vehicles by drivers and passengers have increased markedly. Several problems are attendant with consumption of beverages while driving. Spillage can occur when the beverage is placed in an unstable location or if the driver fumbles in trying to grasp the container. Additionally, if the beverage container is not readily accessible, the driver may have to take his attention away from the road in order to locate and grasp the container. Where hot beverages are involved the problems are compounded. If the container is not well insulated, the surface may be quite hot to the touch making direct grasping of the surface of the container difficult. When the container has a handle the driver may have to fumble around in attempting to find the handle without taking his eyes off the road. Obviously, any spillage of a hot beverage while driving could result in disastrous consequences.
Within the recent past automobile manufacturers have been designing beverage container holders as standard equipment. The holders typically consist of receptacles with a cylindrical depression and a depth approximately equal to the diameter of the cylindrical depression. Typically, the beverage holders are sized to fit only the standard twelve ounce beverage or soda pop cans with a diameter of approximately 21/2 inches. These beverage holders are very effective in securing the twelve ounce beverage cans or other beverage containers with similar diameters.
However, beverage containers, other than the twelve ounce cans, generally do not have similar dimensions as the standard beverage cans and therefore simply do not fit or are very unstable in these holders. This is especially true for the frustoconical shaped containers such as the common disposable fast food beverage containers. Many reusable beverage containers are similarly shaped. If these containers fit at all into the holder it is often a very poor fit with the container only partially in the opening or receptacle of the holder and no contact between the base of the container and the bottom of the receptacle. Such a situation can result in either the container becoming very unstable in the receptacle or the container may becoming lodged in the receptacle causing difficulty in removing the container.
Reusable beverage containers for hot liquids such as coffee cups or mugs are typically of a bowl shape and often larger diameter than the receptacles. Additionally, hot beverage containers typically have handles with a low attachment point usually located at or very close to the bottom of the cup or mug. This attachment point prevents insertion into the receptacle even where the base diameter is compatible with that of the receptacle.
There is a need for a reusable beverage container that provides a secure fit in the vehicle beverage holders that are sized for standard twelve ounce beverage cans. Such a container should have features to allow the driver to quickly and securely grasp and pick up the container, to minimize any fumbling, and spillage, and to minimize any distraction from driving. The container should have a capacity greater than twelve ounces and provide a drinking lip comparable in size to typical coffee cups or mugs.

Reusable non-spillable beverage container for use with vehicle beverage holders


A shoulder marching tuba having a compact slide arrangement for instrument spot tuning. The shoulder marching tuba includes an air inlet mouthpiece, an air outlet bell, and a series of airflow tubing and valves in fluid communication therebetween. The series of airflow tubing and valves include at least four pairs of tubes in sliding, telescoping engagement, wherein the four pairs of tubes are mounted in parallel arrangement and in sequential fluid communication. The first tubes of each of the four pairs of tubes are secured in a first bundle the second tubes of each of the four pairs of tubes are secured in a second bundle. One of the first bundle and the second bundle is mounted for sliding movement relative to the other of the first bundle and the second bundle for adjustment of musical pitch of sound issued from the shoulder marching tuba.

Brass instruments typically have a slide arrangement for quick, spot tuning. On larger volume instruments, such as tubas, a lengthy slide arrangement is required. This works for concert tubas, but not for shoulder marching tubas, which are held in a different, relatively unwieldy position. As a result, shoulder marching tubas are typically built without a slide, instead requiring the player to overcome tuning issues by varying his or her embouchure (lip shape) to pull a note into tune.


A virtual device management server manages location information and resource information about a virtual device server as server information. The virtual device management server receives a processing request and printer location information from a printer. Then, the virtual device management server selects a virtual device server for providing a Web service corresponding to the processing request on the basis of server information, the processing request, and location information about the printer to thereby assign the selected virtual device server to the printer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Web service system, a server management apparatus, and a Web service providing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Service creation methods that bring a plurality of Web services into association with a service bus have been proposed. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-9218 discloses a service bus association method that can utilize a Web service on the adjacent service bus through registration of node identifiers and location information for service buses.
However, if the service bus association method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-9218 is applied to a Web service system including an image forming apparatus, a server that provides a Web service corresponding to processing requested from the image forming apparatus, and a server management apparatus that manages the server, the following problems may arise. Depending on the application of the service bus association method, it is difficult for the server management apparatus to select as Web service, which corresponds to the location of the image forming apparatus and the processing content requested by the image forming apparatus, among a plurality of Web services and to provide the selected Web service to the image forming apparatus.
For example, a description will be given of the aforementioned difficulty using an example as follows. Assume the case where as server management apparatus that operates on a cloud manages a virtual printer as a server and a virtual device installed on the server provides a Web service corresponding to processing requested from an image forming apparatus. The virtual device functions as a processing execution unit that executes processing corresponding to a Web service.
When the server management apparatus assigns an image forming apparatus that has requested print processing to a virtual device that executes print processing, the main body of a virtual printer on which the virtual device has been installed is not limited to be arranged at the same location as that of the image forming apparatus or the location adjacent thereto. For example, when the image forming apparatus is located in Japan and the main body of the virtual printer is located in U.S.A., a time lag in the communication between the image forming apparatus and the virtual printer may occur. Thus, it may take a long time until a service utilizing resources of the virtual printer is received by a user of the image forming apparatus.
Also, when the resources of the server (virtual printer) managed by the server management apparatus vary, a Web service corresponding to processing requested by the image forming apparatus may vary. In such a case, depending on the application of the service bus association method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-9218, it may be difficult to select a Web service corresponding to processing requested by the image forming apparatus.

Web service system, server management apparatus, and web service providing method


Provided is an imaging apparatus that generates a signal based on the sum of signals output by a plurality of pixels, and a signal based on the difference between the signals output by the plurality of signals, and performs AD conversion on the generated signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus including a pixel having a photoelectric conversion unit, and an AD conversion unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-134867 describes an imaging apparatus having a plurality of pixels that each accumulates signal charge based on incident light. The imaging apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-134867 outputs, to a vertical signal line, a signal based on the sum of signals of the plurality of pixels.

Imaging apparatus, imaging system, method for driving imaging apparatus, and method for driving imaging system


An apparatus for treating a waste solution which contains a nonvolatile substance such as a toner used for development of an electrophotographic film and a liquid which is difficult to volatilize at normal temperatures such as isoparaffin. The waste solution heated from below a multiplicity of vertically elongated guide chambers disposed in a waste solution container rises upward through the guide chambers in the form of vapor and is oxidized by a catalyst. After ignition, even if the heating of the waste solution by a heater is stopped, the waste solution in the waste solution container continues to be heated by oxidation heat.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waste solution treatment apparatus using a catalyst.
The waste solution referred to in this specification is a volatile waste solution which is difficult to volatilize at normal temperatures and contains a nonvolatile substance. For instance, an excess developing solution for electrophotography which contains nonvolatile substances such as a toner and the like and employs as a solvent a volatile liquid, such as isoparaffin, which is difficult to volatilize at normal temperatures. Or a developing solution for a wet process copying machine, a microfilm developing solution, a cleaner for automobiles, a cleaning fluid, a developing solution for an electrophotographic process, and a developing solution for magnetography, and other waste solutions that are produced after the use of various liquids having similar components.
2. Statement of the Related Art
In addition to the most commonly practiced process using silver halide, magnetographic processes and an electrophotographic processes are known methods of recording an image.
The magnetographic process is carried out as follows: First, a magnetic latent image is formed on a drum coated with a recording layer formed of a magnetic substance. A developing solution having hydrocarbon as a principal component is then applied to this magnetic latent image. In consequence, the magnetic latent image is developed into a visible image by a resin toner containing a powdered magnetic substance dispersed in the developing solution, and the image after being recorded is transferred to transfer paper, thereby obtaining a copy.
The electrophotographic process is implemented as follows: First, an electrophotographic film electrically charged and is then exposed to light so as to form an electrostatic latent image on the electrophotographic film. Then, a developing solution having hydrocarbon as a principal component and containing electrically charged toner particles is applied to the electrophotographic film so as to convert the electrostatic latent image into a visible image. After the electrophotographic film is dried, the image is fixed.
Thus, in both of these processes, a developing solution containing toner particles is used, resulting in an excess developing solution being produced when the developing solution is applied to the drum or the electrophotographic film. Accordingly, it is necessary to treat this excess developing solution in some way or another.
Accordingly, if an arrangement is provided such that the excess developing solution is recovered into a developing solution tank via a return pipeline so as to be used a plurality of times, it becomes unnecessary to provide treatment immediately. However, if this measure is adopted. there is a drawback in that the arrangement of the apparatus becomes complicated. Moreover, even if the excess developing solution is used a plurality of times, the fatigued excess developing solution must be unavoidably treated as a waste solution eventually.
For this reason, as a method of treating such a waste solution, a method has been proposed in which a lower end of a core composed of a bundle of fibers, or the like, is immersed in the waste solution. The volatile liquid in the waste solution is allowed to move to an upper end of the core by means of the capillary phenomenon, and the volatile liquid is burnt (oxidized) by using a catalyst provided upwardly of the core. According to this method, since the aforementioned waste solution has hydrocarbon as a principal component, a major portion of the waste solution can be converted to carbon dioxide and water. Since no flame is produced during combustion, this method is very favorable in terms of safety and the designing of the apparatus.
However, it has become clear that, with the above described method using the core, in the case of a waste solution containing a nonvolatile substance such as the aforementioned toner, the nonvolatile substance adheres to the surface of the core in the form of tar and consequently prevents the rise of the volatile liquid. As a result, the volatile liquid is burnt insufficiently or ceases to burn at all within a short period of time. Hence, with this method, it is difficult to burn the waste solution continuously and completely.
In addition, as developing solutions such as those mentioned above, liquids whose boiling point is substantially higher (150.degree.-200.degree. C. or thereabouts) than a normal temperature (15.degree. C.) are used to ensure safety, the developing solutions are very difficult to volatilize at a temperature close to room temperature. Accordingly, if an attempt is made to cause the volatile liquid in the waste solution to volatilize and burn the same in a state of vapor, it is necessary to heat the waste solution.
However, if heating is continued throughout the combustion, the energy cost associated with the apparatus becomes very large. In addition, since a measure must be provided to prevent the apparatus itself from reaching an abnormally high temperature by taking into account the radiation of resultant heat, the manufacturing costs of the apparatus increases significantly.


A level is provided with magnets spaced along the length of the level. The magnets function to secure the level to objects such as metal studs, metal beams, metal doorframes and the like when adjusting the attitude of such objects. A spring assembly is provided for each magnet. The spring assembly functions to absorb vibrations released through the object when the object is moved or jostled. The absorption of vibrations allows the magnet to remain in place for a secure attachment to the object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to hand tools. More specifically, the present invention is drawn to a level, which level is provided with magnetic devices for retaining the level in place.
2. Description of the Related Art
Of the many hand tools employed in the construction industry wherein metal framing members are utilized, the level is of paramount importance in that the viability of the entire structure is dependent on the correct horizontal and vertical placement of structural components such as floors, walls, foundations, roofs, etc. Often, the worker needs both hands free while attempting to observe and adjust the attitude of the framing members or other structural components. In such instances, it would surely be advantageous if the level would remain in place so that adjustments could be made and the level vials observed simultaneously. Thus, an inexpensive, easy-to-use, hands-free level would certainly be a welcome addition to the art.
The related art, as cited in the accompanying IDS, is rife with levels having magnetic securing means. However none of the cited inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to disclose a magnetic level as will subsequently be described and claimed in the instant invention.


A method and system for minimizing control channel contention in a communication system is provided. A subscriber unit relocator receives, via a broadband channel, a first access log indicating that the first subscriber unit had a first access failure on a narrowband channel from a first subscriber unit. The subscriber unit relocator targeted collects and receives, via the broadband channel, a second access log indicating that the second subscriber unit had a second access failure on the narrowband channel from a second subscriber unit. The subscriber unit relocator correlates the first access log, the second access log, and server data. The subscriber unit relocator adjusts parameters to minimize future inbound channel access problems.

In current Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems, control channel congestion is an ongoing problem. Unfortunately, in current LMR systems there is little that can be done to fix control channel congestion.
An attempt has been made to use ATIA (Air Traffic Information Access) data to address this issue. However, ATIA data is not sufficient in solving the control channel contention issue because the ATIA typically only logs successful transactions. The ATIA does not include information regarding failed requests from subscriber units that are caused by collisions or RF conditions.
Another issue with current LMR systems is that subscriber units typically transfer the internally logged data regarding the failed attempts and retries at the end of a shift. A server collects this data from multiple subscriber units and sends the aggregated data to a central server. Unfortunately this prevents real-time analysis from occurring on the control channel congestion issue.
Therefore a need exists for a method and system for improving control congestion, and in particular improving control channel congestion in real-time.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Method and system for improving control channel congestion


One aspect of the invention provides an ion-conducting membrane comprising an ion-conducting region and a non-ion-conducting region. The ion-conducting region is formed by a plurality of ion-conducting passageways that extend through the membrane. The passageways are filled with ion-conducting material and may be surrounded by non-ion conducting material. The membrane may comprise a substrate of non-ion-conducting material that is penetrated by openings, each opening providing a corresponding one of the passageways.

Ion-conducting membranes, including ionomeric membranes such as Nafion™, are an important component in membrane separation processes and electrochemical reactor systems including chlor-alklai cells, electrolysis cells and fuel cells. Such membranes act as ion conductors while preventing reactants from inter-mixing. In some applications, the ions conducted by such membranes are protons. The availability of materials which are solid and can conduct protons has allowed a breakthrough in the production of simple and robust fuel cell devices.
In typical prior art fuel cells, the ion-conducting membrane is an ionomeric membrane that fulfills several functions including providing ion conductivity, providing a barrier between reactants and providing a structural spacer that withstands the clamping forces necessary to seal the fuel cell.
The design of ion-conducting membranes for use in electrochemical cells typically requires balancing between two competing design objectives. Firstly, it is generally desirable to maximize the conductivity of the ion-conducting membrane to minimize operational losses. This first objective tends to favor ion-conducting materials which have high water contents and therefore approach liquid form. Secondly, it is generally desirable to provide a membrane that is robust and usable as a structural material within the cell to maintain integrity of the cell in the presence of differential pressures across the membrane. This second objective tends to favor ion-conducting materials which are solid and have high strength. It will be appreciated that these two design objectives often conflict with one another. Current practices for designing electrochemical cells involve making compromises between the design objectives.
An example of an ion-conducting material is Nafion™, which is typically provided in the form of sheets that may be as thin as 25 microns. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a Nafion™ membrane 8. Membrane 8 is a continuous sheet of ion-conducting material. Nafion™ membranes are susceptible to mechanical failure and are difficult to work with, especially if they are very thin. Another problem with materials like Nafion™ is that they are not dimensionally stable when used to conduct protons. Variations in water content of the membrane, which are inevitable during proton conduction, cause considerable shrinking and swelling. Electrochemical cells incorporating Nafion™ membranes must be designed to accommodate such shrinking and swelling.
Gore-Select™ is a composite perfluorinated material consisting of a homogeneously porous substrate filled with an ion-conducting material. U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,203 describes a membrane of this type. FIG. 2 schematically depicts a Gore-Select™ membrane 10 having a homogeneous substrate 12 filled with an ion-conducting material 14. Porous substrate 12 provides membrane 10 with some degree of structural integrity and dimensional stability, while ion-conducting filler 14 provides proton conductivity.
There remains a need for ion-conducting membranes for use in electrochemical applications, such as fuel cells, electrolysis cells, chlor-alkali plants and the like, which possess advantageous mechanical properties and desirably high ion conductivity.

Membranes and electrochemical cells incorporating such membranes


A shower curtain brace is provided for securing a lower portion of the shower curtain away from the shower stream when the shower curtain is extended across the shower entrance. The brace includes a bar with two ends perpendicularly oriented to a longer middle section. One end of the bar is pivotally mounted on a first wall of the shower so that the bar may move between a non-use-position in which the bar is substantially parallel and adjacent to the first shower wall, and a use-position in which the bar lies across the shower entrance approximately perpendicular to the shower walls. The distal end of the bar has a friction-reducing roller to facilitate contact and movement of the distal end against the curtain along the surface of the opposing shower wall. A clip is provided for mounting on the first shower wall above the hinge for capturing and holding the distal end of the bar when the brace is in its non-use-position. In actual use, the bar impinges against the lower portion of the shower curtain effectively pinning it against the top of the entrance ledge and preventing the shower curtain from moving into the shower stream or space. In a preferred embodiment, the distal end of the bar is approximately L-shaped so that the curtain can be fully extended and tautly held against the opposing shower wall, thus, sealing off the entrance and preventing water from exiting the shower compartment.

Shower curtains have been used for many years in many different types of showers to prevent water from escaping the shower space or area. Practically everyone who has ever taken a shower next to a shower curtain has experienced the frustrating problem of having the curtain move toward the primary shower space as if the curtain is drawn to the shower stream. The inward curtain movement interferes with the showering activity by decreasing useable shower space and by actually contacting and sticking to the person who is showering. Another problem caused by an inwardly drifting shower curtain is that water is allowed to escape through gaps between the curtain and the surrounding shower walls.
People often try to prevent the curtain from drifting inward by making the bottom portion of the curtain adhere to the wall of the shower stall. However, this approach is an unsatisfactory temporary solution to the problem because the curtain usually pulls away from the shower wall moving back toward the shower stream.


A set of critical nodes or links is identified on the network through which most of the shortest paths on the network occur. Each node compares their distance to end points on the network with a distance between the end points and each of the distinct critical nodes. Where the distance between the end points and the critical nodes is shorter than the distance between the end points and the node, the node is not on the shortest path and does not install forwarding state. Where the distance between the end points and the critical node is larger than or equal to the distance between the end points and the node, the node may be on the shortest path between the pair of end nodes and installs forwarding state. Installation of forwarding state may cause packet duplication, but determining forwarding state is dramatically simplified. The level of duplication may be reduced by selecting a larger number of critical nodes on the network.

Data communication networks may include various computers, servers, nodes, routers, switches, bridges, hubs, proxies, and other network devices coupled to and configured to pass data to one another. These devices will be referred to herein as "network elements." Data is communicated through the data communication network by passing protocol data units, such as Internet Protocol packets, Ethernet Frames, data cells, segments, or other logical associations of bits/bytes of data, between the network elements by utilizing one or more communication links between the network elements. A particular protocol data unit may be handled by multiple network elements and cross multiple communication links as it travels between its source and its destination over the network.
The various network elements on the communication network communicate with each other using predefined sets of rules, referred to herein as protocols. Different protocols are used to govern different aspects of the communication, such as how signals should be formed for transmission between network elements, various aspects of what the protocol data units should look like, how protocol data units should be handled or routed through the network by the network elements, and how information such as routing information should be exchanged between the network elements. Ethernet is one such well known networking protocol that has been defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) as standards 802.1 and 802.3.
A routing protocol such as Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) may be run on an Ethernet network as described in application Ser. No. 11/537,775, filed Oct. 2, 2006, entitled "Provider Link State Bridging," the content of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. In a link state protocol controlled Ethernet network, rather than utilizing a learned network view at each node by using the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) algorithm combined with transparent bridging, the bridges forming the mesh network exchange link state advertisements to enable each node to have a synchronized view of the network topology. This is achieved via the well understood mechanism of a link state routing system. The bridges in the network have a synchronized view of the network topology, have knowledge of the requisite unicast and multicast connectivity, can compute shortest path connectivity between any pair of bridges in the network, and individually can populate their forwarding databases (FDBs) according to the computed view of the network. When all nodes have computed their role in the synchronized view and populated their FDBs, the network will have a loop-free point-to-multipoint (p2mp) multicast tree from any given bridge to the same set of peer bridges.
Calculating a full set of multicast trees for each node on the routed Ethernet mesh network is a computationally intensive process. Additionally, storing the set of multicast trees requires significant memory resources. These same considerations may exist in other types of routed networks as well, such as in an Internet Protocol (IP) based network. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide another way of enabling multicast forwarding state to be determined to enable implementation of multicast on a routed network.

Utilizing betweenness to determine forwarding state in a routed network


A Mobile Streaming Camera is operable by an Operator for communication with one of more Remote Clients through a wireless network allows compressed communication of video and audio in both directions together with voice signals in a telephony type communication. The remote client is able to control the operation by voice signals or direct control. A video display at the Camera and at the remote client allows communication of additional data.

The Internet and several new technologies are combining to allow anywhere/anytime communications. High data rate wireless technologies such as IEEE 802.11 allow people to remain in touch electronically from virtually anywhere in the world. With the current state-of-the-art, it is possible for an individual to communicate with another individual or group, by exchanging electronic mail, using instant messaging services, or carrying on a conversation with Internet enabled telephones. With sufficient bandwidth, it is possible to send video over then Internet.
Existing video conferencing systems are beginning to exploit the ubiquitous connectivity of the Internet instead of relying exclusively on ISDN or other forms of dedicated communications links. Conventional videoconferencing systems have been designed in a way whereby the subject material must be brought to the conference—for example into a meeting room that has been equipped with a system, or to a PC that has been equipped to function as a videoconferencing system. In most cases, the subject material is an individual or group who wish to communicate in real-time with another individual or group. Some video conferencing systems also include the capability to send images of small devices that can be placed near the videoconferencing equipment. These systems cannot be used in many settings such as a factory floor, test lab or an inspection station where small size and complete mobility is required. Nevertheless, there is value in being able to participate in a video conference from these locations.
Another alternative for these types of locations is a wearable computer system where an operator wears a head-mounted camera and microphone, which connect to a wearable computer that is able to establish a communications session with a remote person. These systems are currently restricted in their functionality, and are cumbersome to use in most circumstances. Most workers will find that the inconvenience of needing to wear computing equipment will diminish the value that these systems offer. As such they are most suitable for specialized and somewhat rare circumstances.
What is needed is a streaming media apparatus that is truly portable with no wires of any sort that can be used as easily and quickly as telephone with the key difference being the addition of high quality, real-time video communications. Furthermore, the portable apparatus needs to incorporate the major functions of a traditional video conferencing system in a small package not unlike a traditional camera, that can be used from virtually any location whether this location is outdoors, or in an industrial environment such as a factory floor. This will allow the conference to be brought to the subject material, which will dramatically improve the usefulness of video-based communications.
Enterprises that engage in the development, manufacture and maintenance of expensive and complex products can take advantage of such a system to reduce the time to market and lower the costs of developing new products. Numerous issues arise during the product development process that slow down or completely halt the process. Missed delivery dates and cost overruns are typical outcomes. These outcomes are severe, given the time-to-market demands and multimillion dollar costs associated with the development and introduction of many new products. A mobile collaboration system that can "go to where the problem is" and provide real time video, audio and other collaboration tools to remote experts on their PCs where ever they are, has the potential to significantly reduce the time and cost required to resolve problems.
As an example, consider the scenario where a multi-million dollar milling machine has broken down. Lost revenues of hundreds of dollars an hour could result from the machine breakdown. On-site technical support is unable to fix the problem and the milling machine owner must call in a technical expert from the machines manufacturer to affect the repair. Technician availability, travel time and travel costs only amplify the problem. With a mobile video collaboration system, the on-site technician could take the digital camera out to the milling machine, connect to the manufacturer's technical expert back at their head office via the internet and have the expert guide him through the repair.
This scenario illustrates just one way this product can be used. Many other uses are possible.

Camera for communication of streaming media to a remote client


A vehicle 1 towing a trailer 4 is fitted with three video cameras 5, 6, 7 fitted to the rear of the vehicle and on each door mirror. A view from any camera can be presented to the driver on a display 11. A predicted trailer path, calculated in a computing unit 10, is also presented to the driver on the display 11 as guide lines overlaid on the camera view. The computing unit 10 is also configured to calculate a hitch angle by tracking the position of a trailer-mounted marker in the camera view.

This invention relates to maneuvering aids for vehicles and particularly for vehicles which are towing a trailer, such as a caravan.
It is known to equip vehicles with external video cameras for displaying to the driver an image of the surroundings in order to provide assistance with parking and reversing maneuvers. A track for a given steering angle can be superimposed on the displayed image including systems that display the view from a rearward-looking video camera onto a touch screen which is used to input a desired destination, such as a parking bay. Steering cues are also displayed on the screen for assisting the driver in the maneuvering operation.


An aircraft door sealing system comprises a resilient sealing element secured to an aircraft door arrangement first element and comprising a sealing lip extending from a sealing member. A rigid counter-bearing element is secured to an aircraft door arrangement second element and cooperates with the sealing element to seal a gap between the first and second elements. The counter-bearing element comprises a first portion cooperating with the sealing member and a second portion cooperating with the sealing lip. The sealing lip and the second portion are positioned relative to each other, and the sealing lip can be resiliently deformed, so that the sealing lip is applied to the second portion and a contact face between the sealing lip and the second portion is formed or increases, when an external pressure acting on an outer face of the sealing lip via the gap, exceeds a threshold value.

Aircraft door seals are used to seal a cabin region which is located in an inner space of the aircraft with respect to an aircraft environment. An aircraft door seal which is suitable for use in a modern commercial aircraft must be capable of sealing a pressurized aircraft cabin region during flight operation of the aircraft in a secure manner with respect to the aircraft environment in spite of the considerable pressure differences between an ambient pressure and an internal pressure which is increased in comparison with the ambient pressure. Furthermore, the aircraft door seal must ensure that, in the event of a water landing of the aircraft, at least for a specific period of time, no or only little water enters the inner space of the aircraft.

Aircraft door sealing system and aircraft door arrangement


A neural network system is configured to receive an input image and to generate a classification output for the input image. The neural network system includes: a separable convolution subnetwork comprising a plurality of separable convolutional neural network layers arranged in a stack one after the other, in which each separable convolutional neural network layer is configured to: separately apply both a depthwise convolution and a pointwise convolution during processing of an input to the separable convolutional neural network layer to generate a layer output.

This specification relates to processing images using deep neural networks, e.g., convolutional neural networks.
Neural networks are machine learning models that employ one or more layers of nonlinear units to predict an output for a received input. Some neural networks include one or more hidden layers in addition to an output layer. The output of each hidden layer is used as input to another layer in the network, e.g., the next hidden layer or the output layer. Each layer of the network generates an output from a received input in accordance with current values of a respective set of parameters.
Convolutional neural networks generally include convolutional neural network layers and, in some cases, fully-connected neural network layers and other kinds of neural network layers. Convolutional neural network layers have sparse connectivity, with each node in a convolutional layer receiving input from only a subset of the nodes in the next lowest neural network layer. Some convolutional neural network layers have nodes that share weights with other nodes in the layer. Nodes in fully-connected layers, however, receive input from each node in the next lowest neural network layer.

Image processing neural networks with separable convolutional layers


Embodiments disclosed herein provide a vehicle with a protective panel. In one embodiment, the vehicle comprises a frame to which components of the vehicle are attached. At least one fender is attached to the frame. An opening is located on the at least one fender. At least one of a headlight and a light assembly is disposed at the opening. A suspension system is attached to the frame, and the suspension system comprises at least one wheel disposed adjacent the opening. A protective panel is attached to the at least one fender and is located adjacent the at least one wheel and the opening. The protective panel includes an upper panel and a lower panel. The upper panel is joined to the lower panel by a living hinge so that at least one of the upper panel and the lower panel is movable between and open position and a closed position.

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a vehicle having a protective panel. More specifically, embodiments disclosed herein provide a vehicle with a protective panel that includes a living hinge.
Many vehicles include a protective panel that reduces the likelihood that an outside element can enter or contact an inner portion or component of a vehicle. For example, the protective panel can deflect an outside element, such as debris, road splash and the like, thereby preventing the outside element from coming into contact with an inner portion or component of the vehicle. Such protective panels may protect headlights, other light assemblies and portions of a bumper from debris and road splash. Currently, such a protective panel may use two separate panels inside a fender to protect the headlight, other light assembly and bumper. When access to a headlight or other light assembly is needed, e.g. to change a light bulb, the entire panel may need to be removed from the vehicle. This needed removal can add to cost of manufacturing and maintaining a vehicle.
It is desirable to improve this current construction.

International Truck Intellectual Property Company, LLC


Carbonyl compounds, such as ketones, aldehydes, esters, amides, anhydrides and carboxylic acids are added to a material, particularly a liquid material as markers. Subsequently the carbonyl compound(s) are identified by measuring the absorbency peak(s) of the carbonyl compounds in the mid-IR range. Carbonyl compounds soluble in non-polar solvents and substantially insoluble in water are particularly suitable for tagging and identifying petroleum fuels. For use in petroleum fuels, the carbonyl compound(s) preferably contains no element other than carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Digital carbonyl marker systems, i.e., systems containing two or more carbonyl compounds in predetermined ratios, can be determined quantitatively with instruments, such as SpecTrace.TM. which measure absorbance in the mid-IR region.

The practice of tagging petroleum fuels with chemicals for purposes such as tax identification, brand identification, etc. is well established. Such markers are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,209,302, 4,735,631, 5,205,840, and 5,252,106. These markers are added to petroleum fuels at low levels, e.g., in the 1-100 parts per million by weight (ppm) range. Subsequently, the markers are extracted from the fuel with an acidic or basic aqueous solution and either undergo a chromophoric change caused by the extractant or are simultaneously or subsequently reacted with a reagent which causes it to undergo a chromophoric reaction. While markers such as these have been the standard of the industry, the wet chemistry involved poses certain disadvantages. In particular, the fuel sampled for identification, when exposed to the extractant, cannot be returned to its source. Though the amount of fuel taken for sampling is generally small, the sampled fuel, along with the extracting reagent, require disposal. Increasingly stringent environmental requirements prevent on-site disposal of even small amounts of fuel and fuel-containing specimens. Rather, such samples must be disposed of as hazardous wastes.
Because of the disadvantages of wet chemistry, there is a movement toward tagging and identification methods which are non-destructive in the sense that the fuel specimen may be returned to the reservoir from which it was taken. Recently, Morton International, Inc. has introduced a portable infrared spectrometer with data processing capabilities, sold under the trademark SpecTrace such that one, and preferably more than one, marker can be identified and quantified directly in a specimen of the fuel. As the fuel is exposed to no contaminating chemicals, the specimen can be returned to its source. This apparatus provides for simple and accurate quantitative testing of gasolines in the field.
Truly silent markers which are not visible at any concentration have also been proposed for invisibly tagging petroleum products. These markers are typically large organic molecules that have virtually no absorbance in the visible portion of the spectrum and that absorb and/or fluoresce in the near infrared to mark their presence in a fuel sample. U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,516 (Krutak et al.) and European Patent 0,656,929 (Albert et al.) describe such markers. In these references, the presence of such a marker is detected in the fuel by exposing the fuel to near infrared radiation and then either detecting the characteristic light absorption spectra of the marker or its emitted fluorescent light in the near infrared region with standard absorption or fluorescent detection equipment. While the detection procedure is much simpler, molecules or markers that are active in near infrared are large, complex, organic structures. Therefore, these markers are difficult and expensive to make. Furthermore, there are only a finite number of near infrared absorbing or fluorescing molecules that can serve as silent markers.
There is a continuing need for markers which can be identified spectrophotometrically for identification in SpecTrace or other instruments. There are a number of criteria for such markers. A marker should have at least one strong absorbency peak in a spectral region in which the fuel, fuel additives, and natural contaminants to the fuel do not absorb. Preferably, the marker is colorless so as to serve as a "silent" marker, although a lightly colored marker may be masked by dyes added to the gasoline. The marker must be non-reactive with the fuel and other fuel additives and must be in no way harmful to the engine in which the fuel is used. Although the marker is added to the fuel at a low level in the fuel, e.g., between about 0.25 and about 100 ppm, it is preferably highly soluble within the fuel. More importantly, a fuel marker should be insoluble in aqueous solutions or substantially so, preferably having a solubility in water of less than about 0.2 g per 100 ml. of water at 20.degree. C. The marker should not be easily removable from the fuel.
A variety of different markers are required for the petroleum fuel industry. With a wide number of taxing bodies throughout the world, a large number of petroleum producers and a variety of different petroleum fuel products, there is a need for individualizing marker systems for different products and different tax levels.
While petroleum fuels are perhaps the most commonly tagged materials, other materials are increasingly being tagged for identification and protection against adulteration. The variety of materials so tagged is expected to increase. Examples of materials that are or may potentially be tagged include refrigerant lubricants, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, liquor, soft drinks, paints, polymers, agricultural chemicals, and rubber. Each of such materials will have individual requirements.


A method and system of providing external transaction protection for a database using the database log or journal. The method involves creating a set of transaction templates which define transactions, using the templates to determine whether each record or entry in the journal represent part of a transaction, and maintaining a set of index file indicating transactions in progress. Each transaction template contains a number of filenames identifying files in the database affected during the transaction defined by the template. Each template also contains a key value representing one or more data fields in the database included in every action performed during the transaction. For each entry in the journal, a determination is made whether the entry belongs to a transaction based on the data fields represented in the entry and the key values associated with the templates. The index files are maintained by creating a new index file for each new transaction, adding data to a given index file from a journal entry which belongs to the transaction associated with the given index file, and deleting index files when transactions with which they are associated are complete. In the event the database is damaged, existing index files are used to determine which transactions did not complete before the database was damaged. The actions which were completed may be rolled back.

The invention disclosed herein relates generally to database recovery systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for defining transactions based on a database log, keeping track externally to the log of transactions in progress at any one time, and recovering from system failures by at least undoing any actions performed on the database as part of transactions which were in progress at the time of system failure.
Database recovery is an important function of a database system. Data in a database can be lost or damaged due to various types of failures, including physical disasters (fires, floods, etc.), computer system crashes, software or human error, and physical failures in the media upon which the database is stored. To prepare for such failures, a backup copy of the database is usually stored on a secondary media, and the backup copy is periodically updated to match the database. Also, a log or journal is maintained which keeps track of changes made to the database, and the log is used in the event of loss or damage to the database to reproduce the changes made to the database since an earlier backup.
Another important feature of database systems is transaction protection. A transaction is generally a logical unit of work which comprises a set of actions forming a single logical operation. As a typical example, a transfer of money from one account to another account is a transaction which involves several discrete actions in a database--deleting the amount of money from a file representing the first account, adding the amount to another file representing the second account, and possibly updating other files such as files representing bank accounting records regarding the amounts of total funds in the bank's various types of accounts. If any one of these actions were performed without the others, the database would be inconsistent and would contain erroneous data. Therefore, the database system must have the capability to perform either all the actions or none of them, thus protecting the integrity of the transaction and the database.
A mechanism used to protect transactions is embedded commitment control. An application program or agent inserts special command lines in the database log which identify transactions and indicate the start and end of each transaction. For example, in certain database applications, such as applications based on Structured Query Language ("SQL"), a "START" statement or the like is inserted in the log at the beginning of a transaction and either a "COMMIT" or similar statement or "ABORT" (or "ROLLBACK") statement is inserted in the log at the end of the transaction, depending upon whether the transaction is to be committed (performed in the database) or aborted (not performed). The START, COMMIT and ABORT statements may be part of an SQL program embedded in an application program or may be inserted by the database manager system under certain conditions, for example, when a program completes successfully (COMMIT) or aborts prior to completion (ROLLBACK). Database management systems vary in the extent to which explicit transaction-related statements may be included in SQL programs or in which only external transaction control is available through external agents or transaction managers.
During database recovery, the recovery program scrolls through the log looking for records having the START and COMIT/ABORT statements. For each completed transaction having START and COMMIT statements, the program retrieves the records in-between associated with the transaction and performs a redo or roll forward by updating the database with the actions in the transaction if such actions have not already been performed in the database. For incomplete transactions having a START statement with no COMMIT, or for transactions ending with an ABORT, the actions in the transaction are undone or rolled back if they had already been performed in the database. The use of checkpoints in the log helps identify which actions have been performed in the database.
A simplified example of a portion of one type of existing database log having embedded commitment control is shown in FIG. 1. This example is used to illustrate the general operation of and problems associated with existing systems and does not necessarily represent an actual database log.
Among other possible data stored in the log, such as times and user login information, each record in the log stores a log sequence number ("LSN") which uniquely identifies each record, a Transaction ID which uniquely identifies each transaction, a Job ID which uniquely identifies the source of each job performed on the database (e.g., teller number, ATM number, etc.), and an Action to be performed, such as FETCH, UPDATE, INSERT, DELETE, etc. Some of these simplified fields may actually consist of a number of fields, e.g., the simplified Job ID field may actually consist of Job Name, User Name, and Job Number fields. Actions also include START, COMMIT, and ABORT statements which provide transaction protection as explained above and are used by the transaction management system. The START, COMMIT and ABORT statements may be inserted in the database and log by the application program or may be provided by the database management program. For Actions other than those related to transaction protection, additional information is stored including a filename of the file affected by the action and before and/or after images of the data representing the change to the data in the database.
If the log section shown in FIG. 1 is available after a system failure, the recovery program can identify that transaction 1 was completed because it has START and COMMIT statements (at LSN=001 and LSN=007), that transaction 2 was aborted, and that transaction 3 is incomplete because it has no COMMIT or ABORT statement. Thus, if all these actions were performed on the database before system failure, the recovery program allows the actions in transaction 1 to stand and rolls back the actions performed in transactions 2 and 3.
Another aspect of transaction protection is locking. Once a transaction has started, no other action should be performed on the files involved in the transaction until the transaction is completed or aborted, or else the database could become inconsistent. START, COMMIT, and ABORT statements can be used to determine when and which files are locked. For example, in the log section shown in FIG. 1, filename F1 would be locked until transaction 1 is committed or aborted.
A problem with existing transaction protection schemes is that an embedded agent or application program is required in the database managing program to dictate to the database the boundaries of a transaction and to insert the START and COMMIT/ABORT statements in the database log. However, if an application program does not contain such embedded logic, the database will not have fault tolerant transaction processing. For example, the simplified log section in FIG. 2 is similar to the log section in FIG. 1 except for the absence of a Transaction ID field and any statements defining the start or end of transactions. Alternatively, the Transaction ID may be present but filled with null or zero entries because of the absence of transaction control.
As a result, a recovery program could not by itself determine which actions constitute transactions and thus could not protect the transactions. For example, in FIG. 2 the recovery program would be unable to determine whether the log record identified by LSN=4 forms part of the same transaction as the record identified by LSN=3, forms part of a new transaction, or does not form part of a transaction at all.
Furthermore, application programs lacking embedded commitment control may also be unable to lock database files properly, resulting in the use and storage of inconsistent or incorrect data, as explained above.
Because the boundaries of transactions vary depending upon the application, the development of embedded commitment control requires particular knowledge of the type of work performed by the application and the nature of the business in which the application program is used. The development of commitment control can thus be expensive and labor intensive. In addition, a change in the boundaries of a transaction due, for example, to a change in the way work is performed, would require a change in the commitment control logic.
Another drawback of existing transaction protection schemes is that many of them require the recovery program to scroll through an entire log, which may be quite time consuming, in order to find the transactions and either redo the completed transactions or undo the incomplete or aborted transactions.
There is thus a need for a method for defining transactions in the absence of commitment control and for a method for protecting transactions during database recovery using logs generated by programs lacking embedded logic for setting transaction boundaries. The present invention provides these and other advantageous functions.

Method and system for defining transactions from a database log


An ultrasonic dental insert for an ultrasonic dental tool is provided. The ultrasonic dental insert includes a transducer, a connecting body, a hand grip, at least one O-ring and a removable tip. The transducer generates ultrasonic vibrations. The connecting body has a proximal end attached to the transducer and a distal end. The distal end has an engagement portion formed thereon. The hand grip envelopes at least a portion of the connecting body. At least one O-ring is for shock absorption, and is mounted between the connecting body and the hand grip and around the engagement portion. The removable tip engages the engagement portion.

Dental practitioners use ultrasonic dental tools (instruments) for dental treatments and procedures, such as scaling, periodontal treatments, root canal therapy, and the like. The ultrasonic dental tools typically include a handpiece coupled at one end (i.e., a proximal end) to an electrical energy and fluid source via a cable. The cable includes a hose to provide fluid (e.g., water) and conductors to provide electrical energy.
The other end (i.e., a distal end) of the handpiece has an opening intended to receive a replaceable insert with a transducer (e.g., magnetostrictive) carried on the insert. The transducer extends from a proximal end of the insert into a hollow interior of the handpiece. An ultrasonically vibrated tip extends from a distal end of the insert.
The tip of the insert is typically made of a piece of solid metal material which is machined to the desired shape and through which a fluid passage is drilled or otherwise formed for part of the tip length. Such metal tips often produce frictional heat while removing calculus and debris from the tooth and gum surfaces. Also, such metal tip may damage the tooth and/or the gum when applied inside the mouth of a patient. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a non-metal tip. However, as use of metal tips are sometimes desirable, it is desirable to provide an insert having an interchangeable tip, which can be either metal or non-metal depending on the desired application.

Ultrasonic dental insert having interchangeable plastic and metal tips


A protective mask is formed of an annular magnetic sheet. Such a sheet may be used to cover annular surfaces to be protected. Adhesive is formed on one side of the sheet. In use, a fluid impervious sheet is adhered to the first side and across the central opening of the annular magnetic sheet. A method of protecting a metallic workpiece during treatment, the metallic workpiece having a portion to be protected during treatment, for example a raised face of a flanged pipe, the method comprising the steps of magnetically attaching a protective mask to the portion of the metallic workpiece to be protected, the protective mask being formed of an annular magnetic sheet and treating the workpiece, such as by painting or sandblasting. A method of protecting a pipe during transportation of the pipe, the pipe having a flanged pipe end and a pipe bore, the method comprising the steps of magnetically attaching a circular protective sheet to the flanged pipe end over the pipe bore; and transporting the pipe.

During treatment of raised face flanges of pipes used in the oil industry, for example during painting and sandblasting, it is required to cover the annular raised face and the interior of the pipe. Conventionally, this is done by using masking tape. But this is time consuming. What is needed is an improved manner of protecting metallic workpieces during treatment.
In addition, during transportation of pipes used in the oil industry, the pipe ends must be covered. Conventionally, this is done by placing plastic caps over the ends of the pipes. These plastic caps are hard to get on and off, and are prone to cracking. What is required is an improved cap for pipes.

Method of protecting a metallic workpiece


An air bag inflator has a cylindrical housing defining an internal space therein and having a convex portion protruding towards the internal space, and a cup member provided inside the cylindrical housing and having a cylindrical wall, provided with a vent hole that communicates inside the cup member with a space defined by the cup member and an inner surface of the cylindrical housing, and an end wall closing a first end of the cylindrical wall. The cup member is supported inside the cylindrical housing by making contact with the convex portion. An inflator assembly method includes, forming the convex portion, providing the cup member, and inserting the cup member inside the internal space of the cylindrical housing, such that the cup member abuts the convex portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inflator for an air bag used in an air bag system of an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
A gas generator for an air bag inflator includes a type that mainly uses a pressurized gas as an air bag inflating medium, a type that uses only a solid gas generating agent (in which a gas is generated by combustion of the gas generating agent) and a type that uses both the pressurized gas and the solid gas generating agent. In order to simplify the assembly process of all of these types, there are demands for reductions in the number of components and simplification of the assembly operation.
In an inflator disclosed in JP-A No. 2003-11769, which uses a solid gas generating agent and a pressurized gas, a cup member is required to separate a space for charging the gas generating agent from the remaining space. In FIG. 1 of JP-A No. 2003-11769, for example, a cup member is used as a gas generating chamber housing 114, and the gas generating chamber housing 114 is welded to a boss 130 at 146. When this type of welding method is used, a large amount of equipment is required for the welding, and hence there is room for improvement in terms of simplifying the assembly process.


A fuel injector includes an injector housing having a plunger assembly disposed within a central axial bore and including a lower plunger, an intermediate plunger, and an upper plunger. The lower plunger reciprocates within the central bore to meter a variable quantity of fuel and to inject this fuel during downward portions of the reciprocating motion. A timing chamber formed between the upper and intermediate plungers receives an amount of timing fluid to create a variable length hydraulic link between the plungers. The fluid is drained from the chamber through a drain passage at the end of the injection cycle. The timing chamber has associated with it a mechanism for changing the effective flow function of the drain passage, at a point in the cycle following fuel injection, to maintain a large downward pressure on the lower plunger to hold the lower plunger down and thus prevent additional, undesired fuel flow into the combustion chamber. In a preferred embodiment, the drain passage is located along the central axis of the intermediate plunger, and the upper plunger is provided with a projecting portion which moves into position as the timing chamber collapses to effectively constrict the drain passage, thus changing the timing fluid flow function to a function which provides greater fluid pressure in the timing chamber.

The need for increased fuel economy and improved pollution control have caused designers of internal combustion engines to seek substantially improved fuel supply systems. In response, unit fuel injectors providing precise, reliable and independent control over injector timing and metering have been developed and are widely used.
Fuel injectors of the "unit" type, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,909 to Perr, have a nozzle and a reciprocating injection plunger mechanically actuated by an engine camshaft to force fuel from the nozzle. The camshaft produces an advancing or downward force on the injector plunger (the direction toward the combustion chamber will be referred to herein as advanced or downward, although the injectors could be mounted with any physical orientation).
While effective for their intended purposes, such unit injectors were only designed to achieve injection pressures in the range of 15,000 to 20,000 psi. This range is not necessarily sufficient to achieve the high performance, low fuel consumption, and minimal pollution demanded of modern diesel engines.
In response to this increased performance requirement, very high pressure unit injectors have been designed. One such type of unit injector is shown in the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,986,472 to Warlick et al. and 4,721,247 to Perr. These injectors have an injector housing with a plunger assembly disposed within a central axial bore. The plunger assembly includes a lower plunger, an intermediate plunger, and an upper plunger. The lower plunger reciprocates within the central bore to cause a variable quantity of fuel to be first metered and then subsequently injected into the engine during downward portions of the reciprocating motion of the plunger assembly. A timing chamber formed between the upper and intermediate plungers receives timing fluid during the metering phase of the injection cycle so as to create a variable length hydraulic link between the upper and intermediate plungers. The amount of timing fluid can be adjusted to vary the timing of the fuel injection for enhanced engine operation. Injectors of this general type can be manufactured either as "open nozzle" unit fuel injectors or as "closed-nozzle" types having a pressure-operated valve mechanism for opening and closing the injector spray holes.
In high-pressure unit injectors, SAC pressures (the pressure of the fuel in the injection chamber just above the injector spray holes) as high as 30,000 psi or more are desired to assure complete fuel atomization. When an injector is designed to achieve very high SAC pressures at low engine speeds, there arises a danger that excessive loads will develop in the injector drive train. To control the upper limit of injection pressure, a pressure responsive valve such as disclosed in the '247 or '472 patents may be provided to drain timing fluid during downward movement of the upper plunger. Provision of a pressure-limiting valve allows the unit injector and associated camactuated drive train to be designed to provide extremely high injection pressures, for example up to 30,000 psi, even at low engine speed, without risking excessive pressure at higher engine speeds. The timing fluid which remains in the timing chamber as the lower plunger reaches its lowermost position must, of course, be discharged. It is desirable to "throttle" this discharge, however, to create a high "blowdown load" or pressure on the lower plunger to prevent the lower plunger from bouncing back at the end of its travel. Such undesirable bouncing of the lower plunger can cause secondary end-of-injection "dribbling of fuel" which can cause insufficient fuel combustion, pollution, and poor fuel economy.
To achieve a desired degree of blowdown load, a pressure release valve such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,499 has been provided, adapted to operate at the termination of injection. Such a valve would need, however, to have a different operating characteristic from that of the pressure relief valve of the '247 and '472 patents, which have valves designed to operate during the fuel injection event, i.e. where the lower plunger has yet to reach its lowermost position. Two such pressure relief valves, having different operating characteristics, would necessarily conflict.
This dilemma was partially solved in the '472 patent by providing a spillport located axially in the injector body so as to communicate with the timing chamber only when the lower plunger has very nearly reached its lowermost position. Careful control over the position and size of the spillport, plus control over the shape of the plunger profile which controls flow through the spillport (see FIGS. 14(a)-14(c) and columns 14-16 of the '472 patent) can result in highly desirable end-of-injection blowdown loads. As shown in the drawings of this patent, the pressure within the timing chamber of this type of injector would inherently be nonsymmetrical with respect to the injector central axis during blowdown. This lack of symmetry could lead to uneven wear.
Inherently, however, pressure produced by prior injector designs during blowdown is a function of engine speed. At low engine speeds in particular, this reduction in blowdown pressure may still permit an undesired upward movement of the lower plunger after injection of the metered fuel has been completed. This upward movement results in secondary injection, which is the leakage of additional, undesired fuel into the combustion chamber following termination of the main injection event. Because this secondary injection fuel is introduced too late in the combustion cycle to be burned effectively, it enters the engine exhaust stream as an incompletely combusted hydrocarbon component. This results in vehicle emissions characteristics that are undesirable in environmental terms. Also, this secondary injection fuel performs no useful work; thus, the secondary injection phenomenon results in poorer fuel economy than could be attained with a clean cutoff of injection.
The problem of secondary injection has sometimes been addressed by continuing to move the upper injector plunger downwardly after the upper plunger physically contacts the lower plunger and the lower plunger reaches its nominal end-of-travel position. In such injector systems, the lower part of the plunger .is actually "overdriven" to resiliently compress the injector drive train and temporarily deform the injector housing. The use of such large overtravel forces results in increased wear and fatigue effects on system components. As a result, injector components must be constructed more ruggedly and to closer manufacturing tolerances than would otherwise be needed, and the costs of manufacturing and repairing the injection system are increased.
Despite notable advancements achieved before, it has not been possible to produce a minimum-cost, highly reliable, hydraulically variably timed unit injector which form a blowdown pressure sufficient over a broad range of engine speeds to prevent secondary injection. Therefore, there is a need for a novel and improved unit injector design which meets these criteria.

High pressure unit fuel injector having variable effective spill area


A metamaterial is configured by arranging at least one element on a planar conductor plate, where the at least one element has a first conductor portion arranged a predetermined distance away from the conductor plate in a two-dimensional plane that includes the conductor plate, and a second conductor portion arranged so as to connect the conductor plate and the first conductor portion.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a metamaterial structure formed in a pattern on a printed circuit board.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, attention has been placed on research in metamaterial technology. The use of metamaterial technology makes it possible to construct materials having properties that do not exist in nature and have never been achievable before. Review has been underway for the application of metamaterial technology to electromagnetic bandgap structures (referred to hereinafter as "EBG structures"), structures having effects similar to a magnetic wall, antenna elements, structures for improving antenna characteristics (radiation pattern, etc.), RF devices, and the like.
For example, an EBG structure has been proposed as a method of preventing electromagnetic interference between electronic components and circuits (e.g., see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-040703). Technology has also been disclosed for reducing the thickness and size of an antenna by using the characteristics of an EBG structure to suppress mutual interference between antennas and causing the EBG structure to function as a magnetic wall as well (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-65371). There has also been a proposal regarding an antenna that utilizes a metamaterial structure (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-502131). Furthermore, there has been a proposal regarding a method of reducing surface current induced on the ground plate by an antenna (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-510886). Moreover, there has been a proposal for a configuration in which a capacitance forming conductor is provided in the configuration proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-510886 (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-16554).
Conventionally, there has been a proposal for a method of arranging metamaterial cells in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the ground plate, and there has also been a proposal regarding technology for reducing the size of such cells. There has also been a proposal regarding a method of constructing an EBG structure in the periphery of the ground plate of a circuit board. However, there has been a problem of the inability to realize a sufficient reduction in size with conventional technology.


The invention provides lighting fixtures, components for lighting fixtures and methods of assembling lighting fixtures. The invention involves the assembly of ornaments onto chandelier frame members without the use of hooks. The lighting fixture is sculpted by attaching ornaments to the frame in a fixed geometric pattern utilizing seating posts and retaining stops on the frame member. The frame member has an aligned position in which the retaining stops hold the crystals in place on the seating posts and a non-aligned position in which the retaining stops are moved whereby the ornaments can be placed on or off the seating posts without obstruction by the retaining stops. Preferably the chandelier is flexibly and elastically biasable into and out of the aligned and non-aligned position.

This invention relates to chandeliers and to sculpted ornamental arrangements for chandeliers and other lighting fixtures.
A chandelier typically is formed of a framework from which is suspended a plurality of crystal ornaments, forming the overall shape and appearance of the chandelier. The crystal ornaments typically are attached to a metal wire or "hook", which at one end has a loop that passes loosely through a hole in the crystal ornament and at the other end has a loop that passes loosely through a hole in the chandelier framework. In this manner, the crystal ornament hangs from the chandelier framework, in a single orientation which results from gravitational forces. It also is known to create "strings" of crystal ornaments, whereby a plurality of crystal ornaments are loosely held together end-to-end by a series of short hooks. Such strings of crystal ornaments also are suspended from the chandelier framework in a single orientation which results from gravitational forces. Virtually infinite chandelier designs are possible according to these prior art arrangements, although these designs are limited in that the orientation of the face of the crystal ornaments is determined always by gravitational forces. An example of a prior art chandelier framework is shown in FIG. 1 (prior art), with several ornaments or strings of ornaments hanging from the framework.
Referring to FIG. 1, a chandelier framework 20 is shown. The chandelier framework 20 includes a central post 22 carrying at its base lighting elements 24. Extending outwardly from the central post 22 is a plurality of spokes 26 which support rings 28. The rings 28, in turn, are for supporting a plurality of ornaments 30. The ornaments 30 are loosely attached to hooks 32 which are looped through openings 34 in the rings 28.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,460 represents an important advance in the art of chandelier design. This patent involves spring tensioning of strings of ornaments, whereby the strings of ornaments may be held in a predetermined pattern, fixed against gravitational forces. In this design, individual crystal ornaments are loosely attached to one another by short hooks or "bow ties", each bow tie comprising a pair of hooks, one of each pair passing loosely through an opening in adjacent crystals. Both ends of the string of crystals are attached to the chandelier frame member. A spring is interposed, at any number of locations, tensioning the string of crystal ornaments into a predetermined pattern opposing gravitational forces. An example of such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 2 (prior art).
Referring to FIG. 2, the chandelier has a central post 22' with a plurality of spokes 26' extending from the central post 22'. Attached to the spokes 26' are rings 28' for supporting ornaments 30'. The ornaments 30' are arranged as a string of ornaments, the adjacent ends of ornaments 30' held together by hooks 32'. One end of the string of ornaments is fixed to the lower ring by a terminal hook 32". The other end of the string of ornaments is attached to the upper ring 28' by a spring 38. The spring 38 tensions the string of ornaments to hold it in a predetermined pattern which opposes the forces of gravity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,325 represents another important advance in the art of chandelier design. This patent teaches an arrangement whereby the face of an individual crystal may be oriented at virtually any angle. In this arrangement, the chandelier hook is not fitted loosely through a hole in the crystal ornament, but instead is glued to the crystal ornament, whereby the face of the crystal then is fixed relative to the orientation of the shaft of the hook. A particular hook/ring engagement mechanism also is provided whereby the hook/shaft may be positioned, for example horizontally, with respect to the chandelier frame, rather than simply hanging vertically as in the prior art designs. An example of this arrangement is shown in FIG. 3 (prior art).
Referring to FIG. 3, a ring 28" is shown with a crystal ornament 40 attached to the ring 28" by a rigid hook 42. The rigid hook 42 is glued in a bore (not shown) in the crystal ornament 40, whereby the rigid hook 42 has a fixed angular relation to the crystal ornament 40. The rigid hook 42 engages openings 44, 44' in the ring 28", whereby the rigid hook 42 is held fixed with respect to the ring 28", extending radially outwardly in a horizontal direction therefrom. As will be understood, this permits the outwardly facing surface of the crystal ornament to be oriented at a preselected angle with respect to the chandelier frame (which is not vertical). This, in turn, permits the creation of "sculpted" chandelier designs having an overall shaped-appearance defined by the outward facing surfaces of the crystals which are not necessarily vertically aligned. An example of such a design is shown in FIG. 4 (prior art).
Referring to FIG. 4, a chandelier 46 is depicted. The chandelier is formed of a plurality of crystal ornaments 40 hanging from, spring tensioned upon, or supported angularly with respect to the chandelier framework (not shown). A sculpted pattern is provided, much like an ice-sculpture.
Although the foregoing technological advances permit "sculpted" designs far beyond those previously achievable, the manufacture of such a chandelier still is cumbersome in that crystal ornaments need to be precisely attached to their hooks, and hooks need to be attached to specially designed and oriented openings in the chandelier frame. As a result, these designs are time consuming and expensive to manufacture, and also time consuming to assemble. In addition, the process of repair and cleaning is difficult, particularly if it is necessary to access the internal region of the chandelier within the bowl formed by the crystal ornaments.
The present invention involves an entirely different approach to sculpted glass ornaments for lighting fixtures.


Disclosed is a degradable film (1) in which a barrier layer (3) is disposed on a surface of a water-soluble polymer layer (2). The water-soluble polymer layer (2) is made of a water-soluble polymer such as polyvinyl alcohol or polyvinyl pyrrolidone. The barrier layer (3) is made of silicon oxide or silicon oxynitride. The barrier layer (3) is formed on the water-soluble polymer layer (2) by a CVD process with the supply of a raw material gas containing a precursor of a substance that forms the barrier layer (3), an ozone gas with an oxygen concentration of 20 vol % or higher and an unsaturated hydrocarbon gas to the water-soluble polymer layer (2).

In recent years, the influences of plastic products dumped in the sea etc. on the natural environment and ecosystem have become problems. It is considered problematic that not only dumped plastic products themselves but also fine particles (called microplastics) generated by decomposition of pumped plastic products in the environment exert many influences on the sea and the ecosystem living in the sea.
For example, the report compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Aug. 4, 2018 reveals that: the amount of plastic waste generated in the world exceeds 300 million tons per year; and the damage caused to the tourism and fining industries by flow of plastic waste into the environment comes up to about 130 million dollars (about 1.4 trillion yens) per year. Further, the amount of plastic waste buried in the environment by dumping or landfill disposal is increasing and is estimated to reach about 130 million tons on the year of 2025.
Against a measure against these problems, a major U.S. coffee chain has announced that it will completely abolish the use of disposable plastic straws in stores around the world. The other companies are taking similar measures.
Furthermore, there have been proposed films in which vapor deposited coatings of silicon are applied to base films of polyvinyl alcohol (also referred to as PVA; the same shall apply hereinafter), respectively; as gas-barrier films capable of maintaining low oxygen permeability and water vapor permeability even under high-humidity conditions (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

Degradable resin molding and production method for degradable resin molding