Synchronous content sharing of media assets via an object data model propagated through a star network or a mesh network. Each user device updates a local object data model including information on the status of the media asset delivery, to achieve synchronization with the source data. Updates to the local object data model may be the result of direct connection between a user device and an application server via a network, or the result of indirect connections through peers in mesh networks, where the local object data model is shared through hops between peers in the mesh network if the direct connection is unavailable.

Sharing synchronized data between users can be a complex process, particularly for computer data. The complexity in part arises from the fact that computer data files can be very large. For example, users and applications commonly want to share audio or video information, text, pictures, games or other media data. Such media data files can be quite large and distributing large data files to multiple users or applications can place unachievable demands on network bandwidth and processing resources.
For example, in a conventional star network, each user establishes a connection with a source server, creating a hub and spoke model for data transfer. U.S. Pat. No. 8,750,305, incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes a star network architecture. Users share audio and video, text and pictures, games or other media assets by transferring data from the hub and across the spokes. In operation, the hub processes requests for data files by transferring the data files to the requestor as quickly as possible. To synchronize the distribution of data, the hub needs to transfer the data to the users quickly enough to have the data appear to arrive at each user at essentially the same time. Synchronizing data among users presents a unique set of challenges, with the load on the hub network increasing at least proportionally to the number of users.
For example, in the context of a presentation or a conference, with a star network each user establishes a connection with a hub network through a Wi-Fi connection. Each user-to-server connection allows data from transfer from the network to the user, but it also takes up bandwidth and processing resources and gradually impairs the ability of other users to access or access quickly the same data. This negatively impacts certain data transfer applications, such as a streaming media, or a running slide show presentation. In the extreme, some users may be unable to access data due to an inability to connect to the server. This is particularly problematic in classroom or conference settings where participants may wish to follow a presentation in real-time to take notes or interact with colleagues.
As an alternative to star networks, mesh networks have been developed to allow devices to work together to form a mesh and to transfer data from one device to another device via other devices in the mesh network. U.S. Pat. No. 7,710,986, incorporated by reference, describes a mesh network architecture. A mesh network does away with the hub present in the star network, with each connected device in the mesh forming a node. Information can then travel through a combination of nodes, bypassing any broken links or unavailable nodes. Through a mesh device, two devices which are not directly connected can still exchange information through other devices. An example of a mesh network is the Apple Multipeer Connectivity Framework, released in iOS7, which allows nearby iOS devices to communicate with one another even in the absence of common Wi-Fi network.
Mesh networks come with their own set of challenges, including the necessity to keep track of devices available in a mesh network, despite a potentially large number of devices entering, exiting and reentering the mesh network.
As a result, devices within the mesh network frequently use a ping, the sending of a signal to other devices, to determine the number and identity of devices effectively active within the mesh network. In the absence of a response to a ping, the unresponsive device is determined to have left the mesh network, or to at least be unresponsive. As the size of the mesh increases, the transfer of data between nodes, such as sending and receiving pings increases exponentially, creating data noise which is difficult to minimize. Thus, mesh networks can become resource constrained due to the overhead needed to track nodes in the network and the current state of the nodes.
As such, there remains a need for improved systems and methods for accommodating synchronous access by users to data presented by a leader.

Systems for allowing annotation in real time


An elevator emergency escape device provided with a brake fastened to the motor shaft and located in the mechanical control room. An action wheel is mounted on the motor shaft such that the action wheel is engaged with a transmission wheel provided with an action cable. An action rod that regulates the action of the brake is provided with a force applying device including a force output member that regulates the braking action of the brake through the action rod. The release of the braking system enables the elevator cab to be operated manually by pulling the action cable.

The normal operation of an elevator is vulnerable to interruption caused by various factors such as a mechanical failure, a power outage, a fire in the building in which the elevator is located, and so forth. The elevator passengers are therefore equally vulnerable to being trapped in the elevator. The situation can become worse if the elevator is disabled midway between two floors. The existing elevators are generally not equipped with a emergency escape device enabling the trapped passengers to operate the disabled elevator to safety.


In upgrading a concentrated executable computer code with an upgrade code, indexed lists are created for the concentrated code and for the upgrade code. The indexed lists have index references for code identifiers of code structures in the concentrated code and the upgrade code, respectively. The indexed lists are stored in a virtual table. The concentrated code is integrated with the upgrade code to form an integrated code. The virtual table contains an operable part referable by the integrated code such that when a code structure being executed originates from the concentrated code the indexed list for the concentrated code is stored in the operable part of the virtual table, and when a code structure being executed originates from the upgrade code the indexed list for the upgrade code is stored in the operable part of the virtual table.

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,780, Hewlett-Packard Company of Palo Alto, Calif., describes a system for concentrating executable computer software code. This system involves parsing the computer software code by means of concentrating software. The concentrating software achieves this by a series of scans of the computer software code.
The first scan identifies all unique classes referenced in the computer software code and includes the identifier of each such class into a "ClassList". The second scan searches for all unique methods (the identifiers of which are stored in a "MethodList") and the third scan searches for all unique Fields (the identifiers of which are stored in a "FieldList").
Every class identified in the ClassList is then scanned to determine whether there are references to further classes not recorded in the ClassList. If so, then the identifier for such classes is added to the ClassList. The process is then repeated in relation to the newly added classes. In this manner, all unique classes referenced in the computer software code are identified in the ClassList.
Once this scan has been completed, every class in the ClassList is again scanned, but this time to determine any further methods not recorded in the MethodList. If a method is found that is not included in the MethodList, then the identifier for the method is added to the MethodList. The process continues until all classes in the ClassList have been scanned for further methods.
A further scan is used to identify all further fields not included in the FieldList and add their identifier to the FieldList. This scan involves traversing all classes in the ClassList and every method in these classes to identify further fields.
The ClassList, MethodList and FieldList are then each sorted and reformatted into a canonical list form. Each class, method and field in the ClassList, MethodList and FieldList, respectively, is also assigned a unique index reference (typically an integer corresponding to the position of the corresponding identifier within the appropriate canonical list).
Local data referenced by each method of each class are then stored in an array for each class. The local data reference in each method is then replaced with the index value of the location of the local data in the array. The computer software code can then be executed with class, method and field invocations being resolved as part of the execution process.
The problem with this arrangement is that the use of index references to corresponding canonical lists hinders upgrading of the computer software code. To elaborate, the computer software code is in concentrated form while, typically, the upgrade bytecode will not. However, if the upgrade bytecode is in concentrated form, there is no guarantee that the canonical lists formed from concentration of the upgrade bytecode will be compatible with the canonical lists formed from concentration of the computer software code. There is also no mechanism for allowing the computer software code to be dynamically upgraded.
Accordingly, there is a need to allow concentrated computer software code to be dynamically upgraded without the need to reconcentrate the computer software code.

System and apparatus for dynamically upgrading concentrated executable computer software code

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP.


In order centrally to control devices arranged in a computer network, via a computer network-external data processing device, a central data processing device in which control sequences, each composed of a sequence of instructions, are stored in a memory is set up in the computer network. After one of the stored control sequences has been selected, the selection having been made by a control application which runs on the computer network-external data processing device and which has been downloaded by the central data processing device, the instructions of the selected control sequence are successively transferred by the central data processing device via the computer network to the respective devices to be controlled. A control unit implemented in the devices subsequently controls an application running on the respective devices.

The product document "Sonderausgabe telcom report and Siemens Magazin Com: ISDN im Büro—HICOM [Special issue telecommunications report and Siemens Magazine Corn: ISDN in the office—HICOM]", Siemens AG, Berlin and Munich, 1985, in particular pages 32 to 37, discloses a communications system with a private HICOM communications device in which it is possible to remotely administer or maintain the HICOM communications device from a control center which is external to the communications system, via what is referred to as an operations and data server connected to the communications device. Via the remote administration or remote maintenance it is possible, for example, to implement new applications for the communications device in the communications device without the use of personnel in situ so that, on the one hand, a shorter reaction time to requests for modifications from customers is obtained and, on the other hand, an increased level of availability of the communications device is achieved.
In modern communications systems, a communications device has multiple connections to a local computer network, referred to frequently in the literature as a LAN (Local Area Network), via which the communications device is connected to a multiplicity of data processing devices; for example, personal computers or what are referred to as workstations. Control and maintenance of the devices connected to such a local computer network is generally performed manually in situ on the respective devices.
Alternatively, Landru J. et al.: "Modular Open Network Agent for Control Operations" IEEE Network Operations and Management Symposium, US, New York, N.Y., IEEE Vol. Conf. 10, Feb. 15, 1998, XP000799531, ISBN: 0-7803-4352-2, discloses, in particular on pages 600 to 609, a universal network management subscriber interface by which access to a "Network Management Station (NMS)" connected to a local network can be carried out from an external data processing device. Here, an "HTTP request" is transferred from the external data processing device ("remote administrator with a web browser") to a "web server" arranged in the local network. The "web server" transfers a corresponding "CGI request" to the "Network Management Station (NMS)" which, in turn, transfers a corresponding "NMP request" to the device ("managed equipment") to be controlled. In response to the "NMP request", the device to be controlled transmits an "NMP response" to the "Network Management Station (NMS)" which, in turn, transfers a corresponding "CGI response" to the "web server". Finally, the "web server" transmits an "HTTP response" to the external data processing device at which the contents of the "HTTP response" can be displayed in the form of an HTML page. However, owing to the multiplicity of messages to be transferred and the multiplicity of devices involved in the method, the method described entails extremely high expenditure.
The present invention is, therefore, directed toward a method which makes it possible to control the devices connected to a local computer network from a central device with relatively low expenditure.

Method for controlling devices that are arranged in a communications network


A gas turbine and a method for combustion of a fuel in a gas turbine, conduct a flow of compressed air through the gas turbine from a compressor section to a turbine section. The fuel is fed to the flow in the compressor section and is burnt in the flow between the compressor section and the turbine section. The flow is subjected to a spin with a speed component at right angles to a movement direction of the flow when the flow emerges from the compressor section. The combustion of the fuel increases the speed component in the movement direction of the flow, causing the speed of the flow entering the turbine section to correspond to a value predetermined by the geometry of the turbine section.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for combustion of a fuel in a flow of compressed air which passes through a gas turbine from a compressor section to a turbine section, wherein the fuel is added to the flow in the compressor section and is burnt between the compressor section and the turbine section. The invention also relates to a corresponding gas turbine.
Such a method and such a gas turbine have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,630,678.
Published European Patent Application 0 590 297 A1 discloses a gas turbine having a compressor section, an annular combustion chamber and a turbine section. The compressor section provides a flow of compressed air which has fuel added to it in the annular combustion chamber after which the fuel is ignited and burnt. The flow is passed to the turbine section after the combustion has taken place. That document refers to the gas turbine as a "gas turbine assembly", the compressor section as a "compressor" and the turbine section as a "turbine". The different terminology is a result of the fact that the term "gas turbine" is not used in a standard manner in the specialist world. The term "gas turbine" may refer both to a turbine in the narrow sense, that is to say an engine which extracts mechanical energy from a flow of heated gas, and to a unit including a turbine in the narrow sense as well as a combustion chamber or combustion chambers and a compressor section. In the present context, the term "gas turbine" always refers to a unit which, in addition to a turbine in the narrow sense, that is always referred to as a "turbine section" in this document, also includes at least one associated compressor section.
Examples of burners which can be used in a gas turbine can be found in Published European Patent Application 0 193 838 B1, U.S. Pat. No. Re. 33896, Published European Patent Application 0 276 696 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,792. A combustion chamber in the form of an annular combustion chamber having a multiplicity of burners disposed in the form of an annular ring is described in Published European Patent Application 0 489 193 A1.
Further information relating to the construction of a combustion device which can be disposed between a compressor section and a turbine section of a gas turbine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,755,623; 3,019,606; 3,701,255 and 5,207,064. That information includes configurations for the implementation of combustion devices in which a flow of compressed air is carried with a spin and the combustion possibly also takes place in the spinning flow. Those documents also contain information about components, in particular about flame holders, which are intended to stabilize a combustion process.
One important source of thermodynamic losses is a pressure loss which occurs between the compressor section and the turbine section, that is to say over that region of the gas turbine where the flow of compressed air is heated by combustion of a fuel. That pressure loss is governed by the high level of structural complexity, which has always been accepted until now, to produce a combustion device in the form of one or more combustion chambers. Certain rules for reducing the complexity are known. In particular, the already mentioned Published European Patent Application 0 590 297 A1 discloses a so-called "annular combustion chamber" in which the flow is intended to maintain a spin, to which it is subjected in the compressor section, during the combustion of the fuel so that there is no need for any conventional stationary ring of blades at an inlet to the turbine section, in order to initially build up any spin required to operate the turbine section. Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. No. 2,630,678, which was cited initially, and according to which the fuel can be added in the compressor section itself.
In addition to the already mentioned measures for improving the thermodynamic process which takes place in the gas turbine, the increase in the specific power, that is to say the power emitted by the gas turbine per unit amount of energy supplied with the fuel, necessitates an increase in the turbine inlet temperature, that is to say the temperature of the flow after combustion of the fuel and upon entry into the turbine section. The turbine inlet temperature is limited by the load capacity of the components in the turbine section, which is governed in particular by the load capacity of the materials being used and the measures which may be provided to cool the components. Such measures are normally limited by the fact that air required for cooling must be tapped off the flow and is no longer available for combustion. The distribution of the temperature in the flow upon entry into the turbine section is also important. If the distribution of the temperature in the flow upon entry into the turbine section is not uniform, as must be assumed for every turbine produced to date, then the maximum temperature in the flow governs the maximum load on the components in the turbine section and, in order to operate the latter safely, therefore has to be kept below a critical limit while, in contrast, the mean value of the temperature in the flow is the governing factor for the quality of the thermodynamic process and, in particular, for that mechanical power which the thermodynamic process can provide for a given use of primary energy. It follows from those considerations that the specific power of a gas turbine can be increased, without any adverse effect on its life, if it is possible to homogenize the distribution of the temperature in the flow upon entry into the turbine section, and thus to raise the mean value of the temperature to the maximum temperature. Once homogenization has been carried out, the mean value of the temperature in the flow can be raised by increasing the use of primary energy until the predetermined load capacity of the turbine section is reached. The potential of such measures is considerable. Raising the mean value of the temperature in the flow upon entry into the turbine section by about 10.degree. C. can produce an increase in the specific power of more than 1%. Conventional gas turbines invariably have the potential for such measures since the difference between the maximum and the mean value in the distribution of the temperature in the air flow upon entry into a turbine section in such gas turbines is up to 100.degree. C.
The reason for the inhomogeneous distribution of temperature in a flow in a conventional gas turbine is normally the complex and inherently inhomogeneous treatment of the flow and of the fuel between the compressor section and the turbine section. That is true to a particular extent if the flow is split into flow elements and is fed to a plurality of combustion chambers or to a plurality of individual burners.
That is also true in conventional annular combustion chambers, which in each case largely dispense with any splitting of the flow but still provide a plurality of burners, that are necessary at a distance from one another and are intended to heat the flow.
Furthermore, it is necessary to take account of the fact that, in any conventional gas turbine, the flow of compressed air between the compressor section and the turbine section, that is to say where it is heated by combustion of a fuel, is carried without any spin. The major reason therefor is that such a measure can reduce the speed of the flow to a minimum. That is the easiest way to ensure stable combustion of the fuel, while providing maximum flexibility for the construction of burners and the like. In fact, conventional practice demands that guidance devices be provided at the end of the compressor section which extract from the flow any spin that exists downstream of the last rotating compressor stage and, in addition, the turbine section has to have a guidance device at its inlet, which provides the flow with a spin required to act on the first rotating turbine stage. The guidance device in the turbine section, in particular, is the most severely thermally loaded component and must have a correspondingly complex construction. In addition, some pressure reduction occurs even in that guidance device, and thus a temperature reduction, of the combustion gas in the flow. Accordingly, it is not the first rotating turbine stage that governs the maximum possible temperature of the flow, but the guidance device at the inlet of the turbine section which, in fact, does not extract any energy from the flow.
The considerations discussed in the last two paragraphs are of particular importance for modern gas turbines, which are always characterized by the fact that they largely make full use of the limits predetermined by the materials being used. That is done particularly to achieve the maximum possible thermodynamic efficiencies. Gas turbines for stationary use, which have ratings of between 100 MW and 250 MW, have compressor sections which are characterized by pressure ratios between 16 and 30, corresponding to temperatures of between 400.degree. C. and 550.degree. C. at the respective compressor outlet, and as a result of the combustion provide heated combustion gas which reaches temperatures of between 1100.degree. C. and 1400.degree. C. All of the temperatures require the greatest possible care in the construction of the combustion devices and turbine sections and full utilization of the limits predetermined by the materials being used. In particular, the temperatures quoted for compressor outlets must also be regarded as being critical in terms of possible self-ignition of the fuel that is added.

Method and apparatus for operating a gas turbine, with fuel injected into its compressor


A knife assembly and chipping knife therefor. The knife is rotated about an axis and has a front side facing the direction of rotation. The knife has a single deflector ridge extending from the front side of the knife and two indexing features on either side of the deflector ridge, each corresponding to spaced apart, parallel cutting edges of the knife defining a plane.

In the use of cutting apparatus for processing logs to usable lumber, the log is forced into contact with a rotating cutting head of the apparatus that typically carries a plurality of removably clamped, elongate knives. The cutting head to which the knives are clamped typically falls into one of three classes of head shape, known in the art as disc, drum, and conical.
The apparatus spins at a relatively high rate compared to the rate of feed of the log, so that a single encounter between one of the knives of the apparatus and the log results in the displacement and removal of a relatively small portion of the log. With variations resulting from the variations in the rate of rotation relative to the rate of feed, the head geometry and the shape and configuration of the knives, this small portion is what is generally referred to in the art as a "chip" or a "flake" (hereinafter "chip") of more or less controlled dimensions. The chip often has commercial value in itself and is not simply waste material, as it can be used in the production of manufactured wood products such as oriented strand board.
Typically, the cutting head rotates at thousands of revolutions per minute, so each chip is removed quickly, resulting in large forces being applied to the knives. To maintain chip quality, it is important to maintain the position of the knives against these forces. So the prior art has provided numerous knife shapes, typically defined in cross-sections perpendicular to the elongate axes of the knives, that work in cooperation with the clamping members to help secure the knives. For use in disc style cutting heads, the knives are often double-sided, providing two parallel cutting edges on either side of the knife. This allows turning the knife to expose a fresh cutting edge when the exposed cutting edge becomes worn.
Schmatjen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,826, assigned to Key Knife, Inc. of Tualatin, Oreg., describes a double-sided knife having what have often been referred to as a pair of "deflector ridges" on the side of the knife that faces in the direction of rotation of the cutting head. The deflector ridges project from this side of the knife and therebetween form, essentially, a keyway or channel that indexes the knife to a suitably shaped inner clamping member that receives the bottom side of the knife. This indexing is an example of shaping the knife in cooperation with the clamping members to stabilize the position of the knife in the apparatus, and it also provides for easy installation of the knife into proper position.
Outer, curved transition portions of the deflector ridges further provide for guiding the flow of chips cut from the knife away from the cutting edge in such manner as to avoid damaging the chips as well as to efficiently "exhaust" the chips from the apparatus so that the required flow of material past the cutting edge is facilitated or at least not impeded.
The knife of the '826 Patent has a plane of symmetry (lying mid-way between the deflector ridges) such that the knife may be turned end-for-end to expose the alternate cutting edge.
Frick et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,951,313 shows a double-sided knife having two spaced-apart projections, where one of the projections extends from the side of the knife that faces toward the direction of rotation of the cutting head, and the other extends from the side of the knife that faces away from this direction. It can be roughly compared in general configuration, for present illustrative purpose, to the knife of the '826 Patent, cut along its plane of symmetry into two facing halves, where one of the halves is flipped 180 degrees. Thus, to expose the alternate cutting edge, the knife of the '313 Patent is turned 180 degrees about its elongate axis instead of end-for-end. Aside from this difference, the configuration provides no apparent purpose, and it has the disadvantage that one of the projections is always non-functional and therefore is simply dead weight.
While a number of different knife configurations have been proposed, that of the '826 Patent has been at least one of the most commercially successful because it provides a number of operational and manufacturing advantages. However, there remains a need for a knife assembly and chipping knife therefore providing for further improvements over the prior art.

Knife assembly and chipping knife therefor


The present invention provides a negative electrode for a lithium metal battery and a lithium metal battery comprising the same, the negative electrode comprising: a first negative electrode including a lithium metal negative electrode; and a second negative electrode which is disposed on the first negative electrode and includes a coating layer including a carbon-based material. By using the negative electrode for a lithium metal battery, a lithium metal battery can have an improved charge and discharge efficiency and life time.

Among currently commercially available secondary batteries, lithium secondary batteries are high-performance secondary batteries having highest energy density and may be used in various fields such as electric vehicles.
As a negative electrode of a lithium secondary battery, a lithium metal may be used. In a case of using the lithium metal as a negative electrode, unlike in a case of using graphite, a lithium film may be continuously formed, resulting in depletion of lithium. In addition, due to high reactivity of lithium, the lithium metal used as a negative electrode may be highly reactive with respect to a liquid electrolyte during charging or discharging and dendrite formation may occur on the surface of the lithium metal electrode, thereby degrading the life time and stability of a lithium secondary battery employing such a lithium metal. Accordingly, there is a need for improved lithium secondary battery in view of life time and stability.

Negative electrode for lithium metal battery and lithium metal battery comprising same


A system for remote installation of software is utilized to install peripheral software associated with a device driver during the installation of the device driver for a selected peripheral. In particular, a user installs a device driver for the selected peripheral installed from a remote computer. As part of the installation process, the device driver is configured to self-initialize and invoke an initialization entry point. The initialization entry point may be configured to point to a driver initialization description file which is read by the device driver. The initialization description file includes a name of the peripheral software and an installation method for the peripheral software. This information is utilized by the device driver to install the peripheral software according to the listed installation method.

The use of personal computers ("PCs") or workstations has increased as the cost of PCs has dropped. With the growth of the use of PCs, there has been an increase in the number and types of peripherals, e.g., scanners, facsimiles, etc., that may be interfaced with PCs.
There has also been a corresponding increase in support from the manufacturers of operating systems for PCs. For example, in the WINDOWS™ family of operating systems from Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington, WINDOWS™ supports many manufacturers and types of peripherals by providing device drivers for the supported peripherals within the operating system. In the WINDOWS™ family of operating systems, a device driver consists of one or more executable module(s) with a ".DLL" or ".DRV" file extension and any associated data files.
Device drivers provide a low-level interface to peripheral devices. Each device driver translates abstract device operations into actual device operations which are hardware-dependent and specific to the peripheral. For the peripheral to function with a PC, a user generally has to install appropriate device drivers for the connected peripheral. Typically, operating systems provide small software programs or utilities that assist in the installation of the device driver for a selected peripheral. As an example, for a user to install a supported printer, the user would execute an installation utility and provide the location of a PRODUCT.ENF file. The PRODUCT.INF is an information file that represents a manufacturer's product name of the printer in some unique way. The manufacturer of the printer has also provided the operating system manufacturer the device driver for the selected printer. The installation utility reads the PRODUCT.ENF file and installs the device driver from the operating system's media.
A device driver may also be installed by using a self-contained executable file, e.g., a "SETUP.EXE" file in the WINDOWS™ family of operating systems. In the self-contained executable file technique, a manufacturer of a peripheral supplies a floppy disk or CD-ROM ("CD") disc that includes a self contained program that will install the device driver of the peripheral. The user installs the software by inserting the media (i.e., the floppy or CD) and executing the self-contained executable file directly from the media. In this case, the custom-made self-contained executable file installs the appropriate necessary files, registers the device drivers with the operating system, and other actions necessary for the device driver to function correctly within the operating system of the PC.
The above-mentioned two techniques work well for users of PCs that may be directly connected with peripherals. In today's computing environment, networks often connect PCs with peripherals, which may complicate the installation of device drivers for the networked peripherals. For example, FIG. 5 illustrates a computer network 500 with a number of peripherals 502a . . . 502n and a number of PCs or workstations 504a . . . .504n. Each peripheral, as well as each PC, is interfaced with the network 506, which provides a communication path for each of the peripherals to communicate with each of the PCs. The network 506 also provides a communication path to a server 508 and a peripheral server 510. The server 508 may be configured to provide access to application software and/or data to the users of the PCs 504a. . . 504n. The peripheral server 510 may be configured to provide access to the installed peripherals 512a . . . 512n for the users of the computer network 500 as well as access to application programs and/or data. Typically, for a novice user to install a device driver for one of the installed peripherals 512a . . . 512n, the novice user would have to know which device driver and where the device driver is located to interface with the selected peripheral. Unfortunately, many novice users do not possess this information readily, which may lead to frustration, confusion, and a lack of productivity for the novice user.
Recently, attempts have been made to alleviate the above difficulties of remote installation of device drivers over a network. For example, the Microsoft Corporation developed a "Point and Print" technique. The Point and Print technique is based on a remote Point and Print server, which supplies device drivers for peripherals installed on a network. Any user on the network may install a device driver for a selected peripheral by selecting an icon representing that peripheral. Alternatively, a user may install a selected peripheral for the remote Point and Print Server by supplying a shared file to a built-in peripheral installer associated with the operating system of the PC. The device driver is then copied to and installed on the user's PC.
Although the Point and Print technique may ease the difficulty for the remote installation of device drivers, the Point and Print technique may not be adequate for installing peripheral software over a network. Peripheral software is any manufacturer provided software designed to accompany a device driver for a peripheral. Peripheral software may be configured to extend the capabilities of or access to the associated device driver. For example, peripheral software may be an application for remotely managing a printer including consumables (e.g., toner, paper, etc.), an application to monitor the state of the peripheral, an application to provide Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol ("TCP/IP") support for the peripheral or an application for displaying printer features to a user without requiring the user to visit a dialog box for the printer.
In the self-contained executable file or PRODUCT.INF technique, the peripheral software may be more easily installed since the manufacturer has directly supplied either the user or the operating software manufacturer with the appropriate device drivers and associated peripheral software. However, in conventional remote driver installation techniques, e.g., the Point and Print technique, procedure calls are limited to installation of the device drivers. The restriction of procedure calls consequently prevents the installation of associated peripheral software for the device driver from a remote computer. Accordingly, associated peripheral software for device drivers may not be installed using a current remote device driver installation.

System for installing peripheral software during peripheral installation

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A pressure monitoring system in which pressure in a container causes a slide which extends out from the container, to be moved against a group of springs in cascade formation and which are screened from microwave radiation. The extent of such movement, which corresponds to changes in container pressure, is measured by means of a light transmitter and a receiver which cause light to be reflected off a reflective surface of the slide and then analyzed. Also disclosed is a process in which the heating of a container is controlled as a function of the differential quotient of pressure over time.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device and a process for treating a chemical substance by heating under pressure comprising at least one container which can be closed so as to be pressure-proof and serves to accommodate the substance.
Devices and processes of this type are used for example for the decomposition, elemental analysis or dehydration of sample material arranged in one or more container(s) by heating, the pressure in the containers increasing as a result of the heating.
DE 38 18 697 C2 has disclosed a heating device for heating sample material in pressure-proof sample containers composed of a housing and a cover. In this device the heating power is reduced as a function of the inner pressure in the container. The pressure indicator used for this purpose is formed by a slide which is displaceable via a membrane by the pressure in the container, and a pressure sensor or switch which is connected to a control circuit for the heating power of the heating device. Preferably, the heating device is formed by a microwave oven.
Furthermore, DE 39 19 601 C2 describes a device for the decomposition by acids of a substance for elemental analysis in a microwave field generated by a microwave oven under controlled pressure in a sealed decomposition vessel. In the device disclosed therein, which exclusively comprises parts made of microwave-permeable material, a microwave-permeable, measured value sensor on the one hand is actively connected to a pin whose vertical upwards movement is a gauge of the increase in pressure in the decomposition vessel, or is detachably connected thereto, and on the other hand is connected to a pressure display device or control device for the microwave heating arranged outside of the microwave oven. The microwave-permeable measured value sensors used are those which operate mechanically via a lever, hydraulically, pneumatically (in each case in contacting fashion) or optically (in non-contacting fashion).
The optical measured value sensor proposed in DE 39 19 601 C2 consists in the simplest example of an optical transmitter and a receiver, which latter receives the light beam emanating from the transmitter until the beam path is interrupted by the upwardly moving pin. The absence of the received signal then triggers the switching off of the microwave heating. Equally, a reflector can be arranged at the upper end of the pin so that upon the overshooting of a specified pressure, light is thrown back from the reflector onto the receiver and the microwave heating is thus switched off.
As in the described prior art all the parts must consist of microwave-permeable material, it is not possible to use elements which are actually more efficient, for example for sealing the container and for the pressure detection.
Additionally, the known pressure detection systems do not permit adequate control of the reactions occurring in the containers. In particular in processes for the decomposition of organic substances, extreme exothermic reactions take place which under normal circumstances go totally out of control and are associated with an extreme rise in pressure and temperature which frequently leads to the destruction of the containers. It is not possible to damp these reactions in association with normal pressure detection as, at the instant at which the energy supply is switched off, upon the overshooting of a predetermined pressure limit value in general a certain part of the sample material has already reacted and the reaction continues automatically and in an uncontrolled manner.
The aim of the invention is to provide a device of the type described in the introduction with an improved pressure monitoring system in which moreover more efficient components composed of microwave-absorbent material can be used.
Additionally, a process is to be provided which, by virtue of the pressure monitoring, facilitates improved control of the reaction occurring in the containers so that the reaction can be substantially prevented from going out of control and the reaction can be continued in controlled fashion at a constant pressure.

Method and apparatus for measuring pressure in microwave heated vessels


A fluid cooled series/parallel battery pack is provided with a fluid flow system. A plurality of prismatic battery cells are arranged in parallel in two or more rows. Fluid flows in a series flow configuration from an upstream row of batteries to a downstream row of batteries. A bypass passageway provides additional fluid flow to an inner plenum located between the rows of batteries to reduce pressure drop and provide more uniform temperatures within the rows of battery cells.

High voltage battery packs comprised of prismatic cells, such as lithium ion batteries, may be provided in arrays that require cooling for efficient operation. Battery packs may be arranged in several ways including a parallel configuration in which all of the prismatic cells are aligned to be parallel to each other. Parallel fluid cooled arrangements have a common inlet plenum that provides fluid to each cell and into a common outlet plenum without passing other cells. In a parallel arrangement, all of the cells are evenly cooled to minimize cell-to-cell temperature differences. Parallel arrangements are difficult to package because they result in increasingly elongated configurations as the required voltage increases. In addition, venting requirements may make a parallel design unfeasible.
In a series arrangement, fluid flows from an inlet plenum past several battery cells or banks of battery cells before flowing into an outlet plenum. Series arrangements can be more easily packaged because the battery cells can be placed in several rows. However, fluid flowing through one cell passes through other cells in a series arrangement of battery cells. This approach leads to uneven cooling and large pressure drops across sequential rows.
Semi-parallel designs include batteries that arrange some battery cells in parallel and some in series in multi-row configurations. The minimum number of rows is two, but even this minimal number of rows may be adversely affected by excessive row-to-row pressure drop and cell-to-cell temperature differences from one row to another.
This disclosure addresses the above problems and limitations relating to battery cell arrangements and other problems as summarized below.

Electric vehicle battery with series and parallel fluid flow


A sequencing latch that prevents an intermediate slide member of a drawer slide assembly from protruding from a two-way cabinet or rack. A latching arm mounted to the intermediate slide member responds to forces exerted by cams attached to the inner slide member by moving in conjunction with the inner slide member until the latching arm is able to pivot through an aperture in the intermediate slide member and be engaged by a receptacle of the outer slide member. The use of dual cams and receptacle allows for bi-directional travel limitation of the intermediate slide member.

Telescopic slides for file drawers and the like are often desirable for use in cabinets and other rack mounted applications. Such slides permit easy access to the interior of the drawer. The slides maintain the drawer in a horizontal position regardless of how far the drawer is withdrawn from the cabinet. A typical telescopic drawer slide has two or three slide members, often slidably secured to each other by sets of ball bearings riding in raceways formed on the slide members.
Three element telescopic slides normally include an outer slide member, an intermediate slide member, and an inner slide member. The outer slide member is connected to the cabinet or enclosure. The slide member affixed to the drawer is the inner slide member. The intermediate slide member is slidably connected to both the outer and inner slide members. In such a configuration, when the drawer is in a fully-open position the slide members will be positioned such that the intermediate slide member is extended relative to the outer slide member and the inner slide member is extended relative to the intermediate slide member.
In certain applications, it is desirable for a drawer to be able to be opened from both the front and the rear of a cabinet or rack. Such a drawer may be called a two-way drawer, the two-way drawer allowing access to the contents of the drawer from the front and rear end of the cabinet. The slide for such a drawer may be called a two-way slide. It is desirable in a two-way drawer to avoid having the intermediate slide member, which is connected neither to the drawer nor to the cabinet, from protruding from either end of the cabinet when the drawer is in a closed position. If the intermediate member does protrude from the cabinet and the drawer is in a closed position, users of the cabinet, or other people, may injure themselves by bumping against the protruding intermediate slide member. Equipment may also be damaged by bumping against a protruding intermediate slide member. The intermediate slide member may also be damaged in such a situation.
Furthermore, a typical drawer is supported by two slide assemblies, one at each side. It is desirable that the slide members of both slide assemblies extend in the same order. This is so because for a given total extension of the slide assembly the vertical deflection under a given load may be dependent on the specific relative extensions of the inner and intermediate slide members. If the two slide assemblies have not extended in the same order the drawer will have a tendency to tilt toward the weaker side.
A two-way slide assembly is disclosed in German Pat. DE 3930713 A1. An embodiment of such a two-way slide assembly is shown in FIGS. 1-4. This two-way slide has an inner slide member 11, an outer slide member 13 of substantially the same dimensions as the inner slide member 11, and an intermediate slide member 15 that fits within and between the inner slide member 11 and the outer slide member 13. All of the slide members 11, 13, and 15 are of substantially the same length. This two-way slide prevents the protrusion of the intermediate slide member 15 in the closed or retracted position through the use of end stops 17, 19, mounted on arms 21 near each end of the intermediate slide member 15.
The end stops 17, 19 are small wheels which run along raceways 23 and 25 of the inner slide member 11 and the outer slide member 13. The distance between the end stops 17, 19 mounted on the arm 21 is greater than the distance between raceways 23 and 25. At each end of the intermediate slide member one end stop 17 runs in a raceway 23 of the inner slide member 11 and the other end stop 19 runs in a raceway 25 of the outer slide member 13. Referring now to FIG. 4, the intermediate slide member 15 is prevented from traveling in one direction with respect to the inner slide member 11 due to the end stop 19 contacting the inner slide member 11.
When the slide is in the fully closed position, however, the end stops 17, 19 protrude from the ends of the slide. Additionally, the inner slide member 11, and outer slide member 13 are the same dimensions, thus preventing true telescopic action.
Mounting two slide members, namely the inner slide member 11 and the outer slide member 13, of substantially the same dimensions, with the intermediate slide member 15 mounted within them, necessarily increases the overall width of the slide assembly. The extra width is undesirable because it increases the necessary clearance between the drawer and the cabinet. Protruding end stops are also undesirable. Protruding end stops limit the possible extension of the drawer by requiring space in a closed drawer that would otherwise be available for the slide members. Protruding end stops also subjects the end stops to possible damage. Furthermore, the use of end stops does not provide for a method to sequence the extension of the slide members.
A telescopic drawer slide with a mechanical sequencing latch is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,775 by Jackie D. Parvin, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. This slide, however, does not provide for the possibility of two-way travel.


A carbon-carbon part is provided comprising a composite substrate having a plurality of discontinuous filamentized fibers and a binder that binds said filaments together to form a composite substrate, and a plurality of carbon atoms deposited onto the filaments at a predetermined temperature so that the binder is removed completely from said filaments and replaced by said carbon atoms to form a dense carbon-carbon part. A method for producing the dense carbon-carbon part is also provided.

This invention relates generally to carbon-carbon substrates and methods for producing parts using the substrates, and in particular, to a filamentized composite fiber substrate and method for producing a carbon-carbon part using the substrate.
A brake disc for an aircraft or an automobile requires a material having high heat resistance and long wear. For some applications, asbestos is used due to its heat resistance properties. In addition to asbestos, carbon may also be used, although conventional carbon-carbon brake products are expensive and historically restricted to aerospace or automotive racing applications.
Generally, a substrate of carbon fiber or carbon precursor may be used to produce a conventional carbon-carbon part with sufficiently high heat resistance values for use in, for example, an aircraft braking system. These conventional parts require a complicated time consuming process to produce a part with sufficient carbon to provide the necessary high temperature characteristics. These conventional carbon-carbon parts are expensive due to the complicated manufacturing process. There are a number of different types of substrates used to make conventional carbon-carbon parts including discontinuous carbon fiber molding compound, non-woven air lay carbon fiber substrates, woven carbon fiber substrates, or braided carbon fiber substrates.
To produce a conventional carbon-carbon part from a carbon fiber substrate that may be used, for example, for an aircraft brake disc, a plurality of carbon fiber substrates are available. These substrates may be stacked on top of each other to a desired thickness and then the stacked substrates may be needle-punched together, as is known in the art, to join or consolidate the substrates to each other by intermingling carbon fibers between the layers of substrates. This consolidation of the substrates creates a preform. The preform may then be batch carbonized, in which the preform is placed in an oven at 800 to 1100 degrees Celsius, to char the fiber of the substrate and increase the carbon content of the preform. Next, due to shrinking caused by the carbonization, the carbonized preform may be die cut to obtain the desired preform shape. These preforms may then have additional carbon atoms deposited on the carbon fibers of the preforms by using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. In the CVD process, the preform is placed in an evacuated chamber and a carbon bearing gas, such as methane, is introduced into the chamber which when subjected to temperature releases carbon atoms that settle/infiltrate into the preform. The CVD process may increase the carbon content and density of the preform. The preform may then be heat treated to reorient the carbon atoms to a more energetically favorable configuration, machined if necessary, and treated with an anti-oxidant to form the finished carbon-carbon part.
The conventional preform process, as described above, and the conventional carbon-carbon parts have several problems. First, the batch carbonization process is slow and time consuming, taking hours or days which increases the cost of the part. Second, the batch carbonized preforms made from conventional substrates have a limited amount of carbon fiber surface area available so that fewer carbon atoms generated during the CVD process are able to settle/infiltrate into the preform. The lower level of carbon atom pick-up during the CVD process may require that the preforms undergo additional CVD processing and surface grinding steps to achieve the desired density. Third, it is difficult due to the nature of the process to add chemical or material additives to the preforms for the enhancement of performance characteristics because the additives may only be added to the preform after the consolidation step. Fourth, any material removed from the preform during the shaping and die cutting processes cannot be re-used because there is no method for recycling this scrap material back into the preform manufacturing process. Thus, due to the above four problems carbon-carbon parts produced using the conventional preform process are typically too expensive to use for most commercial applications.
Another conventional substrate uses carbon fibers that are impregnated with a suitable binder and then the impregnated substrate may be compressed under heat and pressure to form the near net shape preform. The preform is then batch carbonized to char the binder via condensation of the binder into carbon. The binder may be liquid furfuryl alcohol polymer catalyzed with maleic anhydride. Once again, this substrate requires a batch carbonization process step in order to char the binder. Still another substrate for a carbon-carbon part uses carbon fibers, that may be oxidized polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers that may then be carbonized to form the carbon preform that may be subjected to the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. This substrate also requires a carbonization step.
None of these conventional materials for producing carbon-carbon parts permits the elimination of the batch carbonization step, which increases the cost of the final part. In addition, none of the conventional materials provide a sufficient surface area to permit an efficient rate of densification during the CVD process. The conventional materials also do not provide a method for recycling scrap pieces of the substrate for reintroduction into the preform process. As such, conventional carbon-carbon parts are too expensive to be used in most conventional commercial applications.
Thus, there is a need for a composite material substrate and a method for producing carbon-carbon parts using a substrate which avoids these and other problems of the known substrates, processes and carbon-carbon parts, and it is to this end that the present invention is directed.

Carbon--carbon parts having filamentized composite fiber substrates and methods of producing the same


An optical information storage medium includes a light transmitting layer, a first information storage layer, an intermediate layer mainly made of resin, a second information storage layer, and a substrate. The light transmitting layer, the first information storage layer, the intermediate layer, the second information storage layer, and the substrate are layered in this order from a reproduction light incident side. Each of the first information storage layer and the second information storage layer includes: a light absorbing film that absorbs reproduction light to generate heat; and a reproduction film that is heated by the heat generated by the light absorbing film so as to reproduce a signal shorter in mark length than a resolution limit of an optical system of a reproducing apparatus.

Recently, an optical information storage medium processes a vast amount of information such as images, and therefore further increase of information recording density has been demanded. In order to satisfy the demand, the following techniques have been suggested: a super resolution technique and a multi-layer optical information storage medium. The super resolution technique is one of the techniques for improving information reproduction processing, and the multi-layer optical information storage medium is a medium having multiple information storage layers, each of which is recordable and reproducible individually. The super resolution technique is a technique for reproducing a signal shorter in mark length (the mark length depends upon an optical system and numerical apertures of a laser wavelength) than a resolution limit of an optical system of the reproducing apparatus. With this technique, information recording using a shorter mark length becomes possible, and therefore substantial recording density increases. This is due to the fact that a reproduction technique, not a recording technique, is an issue for increasing the recording density.
First, the super resolution technique will be described below. Conventionally, various optical information storage media (hereinafter, the media will be referred to as super resolution media) for reproducing a signal shorter in mark length than a resolution limit of an optical system of a reproducing apparatus have been suggested.
For example, a Japanese unexamined patent publication (Document 1) teaches a technique which enables an optical storage medium driving apparatus to reproduce a rewritable optical magnetic storage medium in which information is stored in a magnetic storage film in a magnetization direction. This technique is not applicable to reproduction of a read-only medium in which non-rewritable information is stored in the form of projections/depressions on a substrate. Another well-known technique may be a medium using a thermochromic dye mask layer whose optical characteristic (transmittance) changes depending upon temperature, which is provided on a reproduction light incident side of a reflection film (Document 2). This technique is applicable both to a rewritable optical storage medium and a read-only optical storage medium. The mask layer designates a layer inducing super resolution phenomenon, such as the following artificial reduction of laser spot.
The optical information storage medium used in the foregoing technique utilizes the fact that a laser spot produced by a reproduction laser emitted on a reproduction face generates a light intensity distribution, which results in temperature distribution. More specifically, in the optical magnetic storage medium according to Document 1, a reproduction layer is disposed on a storage layer, and a magnetic field generated in the storage layer in the reproduction process is transcribed only to a certain portion of the reproduction layer that corresponds to a high temperature portion of the laser spot. This makes it possible to reproduce a signal shorter in mark length than the resolution limit of the optical system. Further, in the optical storage medium according to Document 2, the temperature distribution or the light intensity distribution is generated within a reproduction laser spot produced on a reproduction layer that is closer to a reproduction light incident side than a reflection layer. As a result, the laser spot has optical characteristic distribution. For example in a case where the reproduction layer is made of material whose transmittance increases as temperature increases, only the transmittance of the high temperature portion increases. This artificially reduces the laser spot produced on the reflection layer, making it possible to reproduce the signal shorter in mark length than the resolution limit of the optical system.
The following describes the multi-layer optical information storage medium. In the multi-layer optical information storage medium, for example as disclosed in Document 3, a plurality of information storage layers are layered from a reproduction light incident side, in such a way as to dispose a first information storage layer from the reproduction light incident side, a second information storage layer thereon, and so on, therebetween having an intermediate layer mainly made of resin. In this structure, the information storage layers, except for the farthest information storage layer from the reproduction light incident side, are translucent layers, thereby allowing the reproduction light to be transmitted. Therefore, the reproduction light incident from the reproduction light incident side is focused on each of the information storage layers. Accordingly, the information recording density of the multi-layer optical information storage medium can be increased by increasing the number of the information storage layers.
As described above, these two methods have been suggested for increasing recording density of optical information storage media.
Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 180486/1996 (Tokukaihei 8-180486, published on Jul. 12, 1996)
Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 35012/2001 (published on Feb. 9, 2001)
Document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 235733/2000 (published on Aug. 29, 2000)
However, in the super resolution reproduction technique, the laser spot is artificially reduced, and therefore the utilization of the reproduction light becomes less efficient (the reflection light is certainly reduced). This limits the reduction of the laser spot, and therefore significant increase of the recording density cannot be expected (maximally to a double in line density).
Moreover, in many optical information storage media employing the super resolution reproduction technique, such as that disclosed in Document 2, that is applicable to a read-only optical information storage medium, the mask layer used therein causes a composition change or a phase change by directly absorbing light or heat. This tends to heavily burden the mask layer material, weakening the reproduction durability.
Further, normally, a reproduction film used in an optical information storage medium that adopts the super resolution reproduction technique to reproduce a signal shorter in mark length than the resolution limit of the optical system of the reproducing apparatus (hereinafter, the optical information storage medium will be referred to as a super resolution medium) is made of dye or phase change material. The dye or the phase change material is more expensive than film material normally used in an optical information storage medium. This causes a problem that the super resolution medium becomes more expensive than an ordinary optical information storage medium (with a single-layer information storage layer).
Meanwhile, the multi-layer optical information storage medium requires complex manufacturing processes, which extremely increases the cost. The following describes reasons therefor, with reference to an exemplary production method of the multi-layer optical information storage medium.
Production of the multi-layer optical information storage medium begins with formation of a first information storage layer, such as a storage film or a reflection film, on a substrate usually by, for example, sputtering in vacuum. Then back in the atmosphere, the first information storage layer is coated with, for example, UV-curable resin by spin coating. Then, a plastic stamper is bonded thereto, which is removed after curing the resin by ultra violet irradiation. As a result, grooves for tracking or irregularity such as pre-pits that represent information by its configuration are transcribed onto the surface of the intermediate layer (so-called a 2P process). Further, the second information storage layer is formed on the intermediate layer, and another intermediate layer on which irregular pattern is transcribed by the 2P process is layered thereon. The above steps are repeated according to the desired number of the information storage layers. At the end, a cover layer (light transmitting layer) is formed thereon.
As described above, the multi-layer optical information storage medium is manufactured through extremely complex steps in which the multi-layer optical information storage medium is passed on between the vacuum and the atmosphere many times. Moreover, the information storage layers have different film structures so as to adjust their reflectances. Therefore, in ordinary mass production in which the various layers are formed by transferring the medium in one way of production line, the vacuum film-forming apparatuses are needed as many as the number of the information storage layers. Moreover, a vacuum film-forming apparatus is extremely expensive, and its running costs are expensive relative to the other apparatuses used for producing optical information storage media.
Because of the above reasons, the multi-layer optical information storage medium becomes extremely expensive. This is apparent from the current price (Jan. 31, 2005) of a single-sided two-layer Blu-ray Disc (storage capacity: 50 GB) that is more than a double of that of a single-layer Blu-ray Disc (storage capacity: 25 GB). Usually, complication of production steps increases the costs much more significantly than a change of material of the information storage layers does.
As described above, the conventional methods for increasing information recording density in the optical information storage medium have many problems.

Optical information storage medium and optical information storage medium reproducing apparatus


A method, system and computer-readable medium for achieving a target compression ratio for binary images with a minimum of image degradation. Portions of the binary image are strategically replicated and used to replace adjacent portions of the image. This process is continued until a compressed version of the image data satisfies a target compression ratio.

Typically, digital image compression techniques are characterized as lossless or lossy. When an image's data file is losslessly compressed, its subsequent decompression produces a data file that is identical to the original. In lossy compression, the original and the decompressed file differ, but the differences may be acceptable if the essence or perceived visual quality of the decompressed image file is retained. When compressing a data file, a target compression ratio is often sought in order to produce a compressed file of manageable size. The compression ratio is the ratio of the size of the compressed data file before compression to the size of the data file after compression.
Data compression techniques are frequently used to compress either digital continuous tone images or binary images. Continuous tone images are images that have a virtually unlimited range of color or shades of gray. Binary images are black and white images that lack any shades of gray. Binary images use one bit to represent an image pixel. A pixel, also known as a picture element, is generally understood to be the smallest unit of an image that a particular image generation device can produce, store, or transmit. Many image output devices, such as digital printers, monochrome facsimile devices or raster image processors represent images in binary format.
The concept of introducing loss in continuous tone color images is well documented in the literature. One well-known example is the image compression standard for continuous tone still images developed by JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). Another example is the Wavelets algorithm. These, and others known techniques, define lossy image compression approaches that can be "tuned" to provide a wide range of tradeoffs between image quality and compression ratio.
For binary images, various well-known compression approaches exist such as those defined by CCITT, Lempel-Ziv and Deflate. However, these lossless methods often cannot provide adequate compression ratios for meeting the real-time bandwidths required to drive many high-speed printers and other electronic devices.

System and method for controlling compression ratio and image quality of binary images


The invention includes recombinant DNA compounds, vectors and methods useful for expressing an exceptionally rare, human, cytosolic phospholipase A.sub.2 (cPLA.sub.2) enzyme. The invention also includes a method for screening compounds to identify inhibitors of cPLA.sub.2 which is believed to partake in several disease processes.

Before the present invention, there was no facile method for obtaining cPLA.sub.2 in substantial quantities. Human cPLA.sub.2 and a method of purification is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/573,513. Antibodies reactive with cPLA.sub.2 and methods for isolating and identifying cPLA.sub.2 are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/663,335. At best those methods are capable of providing only limited amounts of cPLA.sub.2 because of its scarcity in the cytoplasm of cells which naturally contain it. To illustrate the extremely rare nature of cPLA.sub.2 and to highlight the problem solved by this invention, it need only be mentioned that less than 100 ugs of cPLA.sub.2 exists in all of the cells present in an 80 liter culture of a human monocytic cell line. Thus, the present invention overcomes the difficulties of obtaining relatively large amounts of this rare and important enzyme.
Phospholipase A.sub.2 (PLA.sub.2) is the common name for phosphatide 2-acylhydrolase which catalyzes the hydrolysis of the sn-2 acyl ester bond of phosphoglycerides producing equimolar amounts of lysophospholipids and free fatty acids (Dennis, E. A., The Enzymes Vol. 16, Academic Press, New York,(1983)). Phospholipase A.sub.2 enzymes are found in all living species and form a diverse family of enzymes. Of those studied co date, the vast majority have a molecular weight of approximately 14 kDa, and their amino acid sequences show great homology.
The most abundant and commonly studied PLA.sub.2 enzymes are the secreted forms. These enzymes are produced within the cell, packaged into secretory vesicles and later released into the extracellular environment where they aid in the digestion of biological material. In contrast, cPLA.sub.2 is found in vanishingly small amounts, remains within the cell and serves in an entirely different capacity than the secreted forms. Thorough investigation of intracellular PLA.sub.2 s has been hampered by the extremely low concentration of these enzymes in cells (Vadas and Pruzanski, Lab. Investigation, 55, 4: 391 (1986)).
The ability to modulate receptor mediated cPLA.sub.2 activity via specific inhibitors is a desirable goal and may lead to new therapies for the treatment of asthma, ischemia, arthritis, septic shock, and inflammatory diseases of the skin. The inactivation or specific inhibition of cPLA.sub.2 activity associated with particular disease states will be of great use to the medical community. To accomplish this goal, cPLA.sub.2 presumed to be involved in the pathogenesis of certain diseases must first be identified and isolated. This has been done and was described in an earlier filed U.S. patent application mentioned above. The present invention provides genes which encode cPLA.sub.2, vectors and host cells which are useful for expressing cPLA.sub.2 and methods for expressing cPLA.sub.2.

Compounds, vectors and methods for expressing human, cytosolic phospholipase A.sub.2


A multi-terrain amphibious vehicle for travel across various types of surfaces and upon various bodies of water. The vehicle has an elongated longitudinally extending chassis having a bottom surface having a centerline. A plurality of left side propulsion units and a plurality of right side propulsion units extend inwardly toward the centerline and they are supported by the chassis. A vehicle body having a passenger compartment is mounted on the chassis. A source of drive power is mounted on the chassis. Power transmission structure connects the drive power structure to the driven axles of the respective left and right side propulsion units. The propulsion units each have a plurality of cam-shaped wheels mounted on each driven axle. The cam-shaped wheels are oriented on the driven axle so that there will always be an arcuate perimeter segment of one of the cam-shaped wheels positioned to contact the ground surface during each 360 degree rotation of the driven shaft.

The invention relates to vehicles capable of traveling across various types of surfaces. More specifically, it is directed to a multi-terrain amphibious vehicle that may efficiently propel itself across bodies of water and effectively traverse both even and uneven terrain without substantial loss of traction. The vehicle is capable of crossing from one type of surface to another without undue interruption during the transition.
In many applications of surface vehicles, both military and non-military, the vehicle is likely to encounter widely varied types of surfaces in transporting its payload. It may not only encounter both water and land surfaces, it may encounter land surfaces of greatly varied terrain and surface characteristics. In most cases, time and other resource constraints do not permit avoidance measures by which the vehicle may circumvent or otherwise avoid operation on surfaces for which the vehicle is not particularly suited. Consequently, the unexpected characteristics of the surface to be traversed often make for insurmountable obstacles which delay, if not all together halt, the vehicle's mission. Even where the vehicle is capable of traversing different types of surfaces encountered, efficient traversal may not be possible because significant reconfiguration of one or more parts of the vehicle would be necessary if it is to continue its travel across a surface of significantly different attributes.
Accordingly, there is a need for a versatile vehicle which is equally adept at traveling not only through water and on land surfaces, but also land surfaces of widely varied attributes such as unevenness, hardness, and salinity. There is also a need for a vehicle capable of overcoming abrupt transitions and surface characteristics without the accompanying need to incur undue interruptions in the vehicles operation.
Amphibious vehicles capable of traveling across both water and land surfaces are known in the prior art. The Hensley U.S. Pat. No. 1,100,238 discloses a combination automobile/boat vehicle. It has propeller wheels capable of travel over land as well as water. The wheels are mounted on shafts each having a sprocket gear driven by a gasoline engine. The Nelson U.S. Pat. No. 3,418,960 relates to vehicle wheels that are particularly adapted for amphibious vehicles when traveling on ground such as water saturated soil, sand or shingle, in which normal wheels tend to spin and sink and for the propulsion of such vehicles when on a body of water. At least ten different forms of wheels that could be used are illustrated in the various figures and they are described in the specification. All of these wheels have a basic circular outer radial surface and they rotate about a central axis.
The Headrick U.S. Pat. No. 3,628,493 discloses impeller wheels for amphibious vehicles. The Wakayama et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,354 discloses a toy car having detachable non-circular wheels attached to an axle driven by a spring motor.
The Siren U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,451 is directed to an amphibian vehicle having a plurality of wheels mounted on each side. Two drive trains are provided for separately driving the wheels on the respective sides of the hull. The drive trains can be driven at differential speeds to steer the vehicle.
The Legoy et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,269 is directed to a modular navigation vessel equipped with rotating floats.
The Harvey U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,831 is directed to a multi-terrain amphibious vehicle having a plurality of non-circular propulsion members rotatably coupled to a chassis assembly for propelling the vehicle across a given surface. That vehicle includes a control mechanism for controlling the rotational velocities and phases of the respective propulsion members such that the propulsion members are cooperatively rotated to collectively impart a predetermined speed and direction of travel to the vehicle.


Systems and methods are provided for online chats without displaying confidential information. A system sends, from a first online chat participant, an information request to a second online chat participant. The system receives, from the second online chat participant, a response based on the information request. The system notifies the first online chat participant of receiving the response from the second online chat participant without displaying confidential information of the response to the first online chat participant.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
Online chat refers to any kind of communication over a communication network that offers a real-time transmission of text messages from sender to receiver. Online chat messages are generally short, which enables other participants to respond quickly, thereby creating a feeling similar to a spoken conversation, which distinguishes online chatting from other text-based online communication forms such as Internet forums and email. Online chat may include point-to-point communications as well as multicast communications from one sender to many receivers. Online chat includes web-based applications that enable communication which is often directly addressed, but may be anonymous between users in a multi-user environment. Sometimes communicating confidential information during online chat is desirable. For example, a customer service representative may be using an online chat session to assist a banking customer and may need the banking customer to enter the banking customer's personal identification number, or P.I.N., to continue providing assistance. However, the banking customer does not want to disclose the confidential P.I.N. to the customer service representative. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide techniques that enable online chats without displaying confidential information.

Online chats without displaying confidential information


Systems and methods for conducting transactions across financial institutions are presented. More specifically, in one embodiment a financial transaction center may be provided such that transactions may be coordinated and controlled utilizing the financial transaction center. The financial transaction center may determine a financial institution associated received requests and issue requests to financial institutions. By coordinating the fulfillment of transactions between financial institutions through the financial transaction center a level of abstraction may be introduced whereby transactions may be conducted across financial intuitions without knowledge of host systems at the financial institutions or overly compromising the privacy or security of these host systems.

The data processing platforms utilized by financial institutions to manage or otherwise process user accounts and associated information of transactions pertaining to these accounts have been developed over a number of years and may have a correspondingly long lifespan. These data processing systems may offer a certain range of functionality, however, in many cases these legacy systems are incompatible with one another. Consequently, at present, financial institutions are not easily or directly able to view data or conduct transactions between themselves, as different financial intuitions may utilize different types of data processing platforms. This limitation may severely limit the value financial institutions can create for their customers and may adversely impact their own operating efficiencies as well.
More specifically this limitation may prevent or hinder the ability of a financial institution to conduct transactions (e.g. viewing account information, moving funds between accounts, withdrawing or transferring funds from an account, etc.) in conjunction with other financial institutions. These types of transactions include bringing together a user's accounts from different financial institutions into a single view. Currently this capability is limited to screen capture-style inquiry only and may require the knowledge of a user's password at each individual financial institution at which a user holds an account. It would be extremely valuable for financial institutions to offer to their customers the ability to operate on all of their accounts from different institutions simultaneously and perform transactions between or among these accounts them. Additionally, when conducting a transaction at one financial institution with respect to an account at another financial institution such as the cashing of a check or the transfer of funds a financial institution can either hold the funds and wait for the funds to settle, which is inconvenient for the customer, or it can assume risk in making the funds available to the customer before it gets paid.
Incompatibility between host systems at financial institutions may also cause problems for the management of multiple financial institutions in tandem. For example, where a financial institution acquires another institution and thus needs some level of dual financial institution reporting and visibility the incompatibility of host systems at the respective financial institutions may be problematic.
Existing methods for conducting inter-financial institution transactions are severely limited in that they typically rely on manual modes of communication, such as telephone, to verify the existence of and availability of funds across institutions or they rely on screen scraping methods which provide only static, non-actionable data. Or temporary information that can change before the information is acted on, thus increasing risk to the financial institution. Additionally, manual settlement may be required in conjunction with these methods in order to reduce risk for the financial institution. This requirement may consequently reduce the intended benefit to the consumer and does not provide the financial institution or end users with a mechanism for executing transactions through online applications. Furthermore, these types of transactions may be limited in scope, such that only a highly specialized slice of financial data is reviewable, and that slice, as mentioned above, may be non-actionable.
Thus there is a need for efficient systems and methods for coordinating and conducting transactions between and among financial institutions.

Method and system for an inter-financial institution transactional network


The liquid ejecting head includes a printing element board having a plurality of printing elements for producing energy used to eject liquid, a contact board having a contact terminal for electrically connecting to a liquid ejection printing apparatus, and a functional element, and a plurality of lands which are provided on a face of the contact board where the functional element is mounted, and to which terminals of the functional element are connected. In addition, a wiring member connects the printing element board to the contact board, a first terminal is configured to be electrically connected to the printing element board, and a second terminal is configured to not be electrically connected to the printing element board, with both terminals disposed on one edge of the contact board. A first wiring connects the contact terminal to the first terminal, a second wiring connects at least one of the plurality of lands to the second terminal, and insulating resin covers an edge face of the second terminal positioned on the one edge of the contact board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid such as ink, a method of manufacturing a liquid ejecting head, and a liquid ejection printing apparatus equipped with a liquid ejecting head, and more particularly, to a liquid ejecting head provided with a functional element, a method of manufacturing the liquid ejecting head, and a liquid ejection printing apparatus including the liquid ejecting head.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that a liquid ejecting head provided in a liquid ejection printing apparatus has a functional element. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-79655 discloses a liquid ejecting head provided with a memory element as the functional element. In the configuration of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-79655, a memory element is attached to the back face opposite the face where a wiring member (electric wiring tape) connects a printing element board including printing elements to various terminals on a contact board that electrically connects the liquid ejecting head and the liquid ejection printing apparatus.
Since the conducting portions of the terminals are exposed to the outside, the exposed portions are plated in order to prevent corrosion of the exposed portions. Electroplating is typically used for the plating, and involves applying a voltage to the conducting portions of the deposition target terminals when depositing the plating film. When electroplating, plating leads (wires) are required in order to apply a voltage to the conducting portions of the terminals.
Plating leads may be categorized into functional element-specific plating leads for plating the conducting portions of the terminals specific to functional elements, and other plating leads for plating the conducting portions of all other terminals. These plating leads are respectively disposed at positions on different edges of the contact board, and are respectively cut off from the contact board after being used as electrodes in the plating deposition step. Doing so exposes the cut edges of the plating leads at the edges of the contact board. If a conductive substance such as ink adheres to these cut edges, there is a risk of unexpected leaks or shorts between terminals.
In order to avoid this problem, the related art covers the cut edges of the plating leads for the terminals that transmit high-voltage printing element driving signals, with insulating resin or other material. Meanwhile, the cut edges of plating leads that apply a voltage to the conducting portions of the functional element-specific terminals are often not covered with insulating resin, because these leads transmit signals of low voltage compared to the printing element driving signals.
Recently, more various functional elements compared to previous functional elements have come to be used. For example, functional elements having signal terminals with long voltage application times compared to previous functional elements have come to be used. In these conditions, an apparatus is more susceptible to the effects of conductive substances adhering to the cut edges of functional element-specific plating leads compared to the case of using functional elements configured as in the related art. Consequently, also for the cut edges of plating leads used to plate the conducting portions of functional element-specific terminals, it is required to take some kind of measures for preventing leaks and shorts.
As discussed above, in an arrangement of the related art, the functional element-specific plating leads and the other plating leads are disposed on respectively different edges of the contact board. For this reason, additionally applying an insulating resin or other material to the cut edges of the functional element-specific plating leads requires adding a new step to the process of the related art, which only applies insulating resin to the cut edges of the other plating leads. Thus, there is a risk of lowering the manufacturing efficiency of the contact board, and by extension, of the liquid ejecting head.

Liquid ejecting head and liquid ejection printing apparatus


Provided are a cognitive function improving agent effective for improving cognitive function such as memory and learning ability, and a method for evaluating or selecting the cognitive function improving agent. The cognitive function improving agent comprises a GIP function inhibitor as an active ingredient.

In recent years, the ratio of the elderly to the total population has increased, and a decrease in memory and learning ability with aging and, further, an increase in dementia as a disease have become problems. Examples of the primary disease of dementia include degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, cerebrovascular disorders caused by cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, etc., brain tumors, head injury, infectious diseases, and metabolic diseases. In particular, the number of Alzheimer's disease patients is significantly increasing with the progress of aging. Alzheimer's disease causes, for example, a sudden decrease in short-term memory retention, a decrease in memory, and personality disorder and is therefore a social problem from the viewpoint of nursing care.
Alzheimer's disease involves, for example, atrophy and loss of brain tissue and causes a decrease in a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. Although the pathogenic mechanism has not been revealed yet, it has been reported that senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles appear in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, and studies are being conducted from both aspects of amyloid β protein present in the center of senile plaques and tau protein which is a component protein of neurofibrillary tangles.
Conventionally, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are used for treating dementia and Alzheimer's dementia but do not fundamentally treat dementia, and it is still difficult to say that the inhibitors have sufficient effects.
GIP (gastric inhibitory polypeptide or glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) is a gastrointestinal hormones belonging to the glucagon/secretin family. GIP is called incretin, as with GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1), and is secreted by K cells present in the small intestine upon intake of lipids or carbohydrates.
GIP is known to promote insulin secretion from pancreatic β cells and to enhance the uptake of glucose into fat cells in the presence of insulin. Accordingly, the action of GIP is considered to be partly responsible for obesity. It has been reported that obesity is actually suppressed by inhibiting the functions of GIP (Non Patent Literature 1).
Furthermore, it has been reported that GIP is partly responsible for insulin resistance (Non Patent Literature 1). When insulin resistance occurs, glucose-absorbing effects mediated by insulin are reduced, and as a result, causing hyperinsulinemia. Hyperinsulinemia is recognized to be a primary cause leading to occurrence of various lifestyle-related diseases including obesity, and prevention and improvement of insulin resistance are important also from the aspect of reducing the risk of lifestyle-related diseases.
However, there is no report that GIP has a relation with cognitive function, and it is not known at all that cognitive function can be improved by decreasing the blood GIP concentration.    (Non Patent Literature 1) Miyawaki K., et al., Nat. Med. 8(7): 738-42, 2002


An embodiment of the invention provides a multi-bit flip-flop. The multi-bit flip-flop includes a clock input pin, a clock buffer circuit, and a plurality of flip-flops. The clock buffer circuit is used to receive a first clock signal received from the clock input pin and provide a second clock signal and a third clock signal according to the first clock signal. Each of the plurality of flip-flops is used to receive the second clock signal and the third clock signal and store data according to the second clock signal and the third clock signal. Therefore, the multi-bit flip-flop is designed such that makes each of the plurality of flip-flops to share the same clock.

A flip-flop only can store a bit of data. When it wants to store multi bit of data, it must combine several flip-flops for use, which are collectively called a "multi-bit flip-flop". Since a clock path is one of the most complicated parts of the overall circuit design in the current multi-bit flip-flop, how to improve the clock path of the multi-bit flip-flop and effectively reduce the clock amplitude is an important issue in the art.

Multi-bit flip-flop and electronic device