Embodiments relate to a type of expression based on a particular theme. An aspect includes acquiring, by an electronic apparatus, from text data for learning, a subset of the text data associated with the particular theme and with particular time period information. Another aspect includes extracting text data containing negative information from the acquired subset of the text data. Another aspect includes extracting a word or phrase having a high correlation with the extracted text data or a word or phrase having a high appearance frequency in the extracted text data from the extracted text data. Yet another aspect includes determining that the extracted word or phrase is the type of expression based on the particular theme.

The present disclosure relates to a technique for detecting a type of expression based on a particular theme. Various embodiments also relates to a technique for detecting a type of expression based on a particular theme and a particular period.
The popularization of smartphones and tablets is allowing individual persons to easily send information through, for example, social networking services (SNS) (for example, Facebook®, or Twitter®. Such information includes various types of information ranging from information in an everyday conversation level to information having serious influences once scattered on the Internet. Examples of the information having serious influences include uncertain information, incorrect information, confidential information, and so on.
It is almost impossible to delete information once it has been scattered on the Internet. Accordingly, how to manage that information having serious influences is published on the Internet is becoming an issue.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Detecting expressions learned based on a theme and on word correlation and co-occurence


Sundial apparatus with overlying barrier grid.

The present invention relates to sundials. The present invention consists parts is a sundial that tells the time by a beam of light instead of a shadow and may be used for other purposes, e.g. harnessing solar energy.
Most sundials tell the time by a shadow cast by a rod (referred to as a "gnomon") or an edge (often called a "style"). The present invention uses a fine grid to project a beam of light that can indicate the time to the nearest minute or a nearest related sub-group of minutes e.g. five or ten minutes.


Apparatus for protecting the head of a person from an external force includes an inner shell which fits over the head of the person and an outer shell which fits over the inner shell. A plurality of bags which contain a pressurized gas are disposed between the inner shell and the outer shell. When an external force is applied to the outer shell some of the bags distribute and partially absorb the external force thereby reducing the force experienced by the person.

The heads of individuals can be subjected to dangerous impact loading in numerous professional and/or recreational activities. Typical activities include football, hockey, race cars, motorcycles, bicycles, construction, military, etc. Protection of the head and brain is critical when considering the impact that can occur in these activities. Various methods are utilized to mitigate head injuries. These generally consist of providing a helmet or other head covering which has a hard outer shell and some form of internal cushioning.
Existing helmet systems use a combination of foam and/or air (atmospheric based) shock absorbers to manage impact. The disadvantage of these systems is how efficiently they distribute the impact. For the most part, these systems do not absorb as much impact due to the fact that they are not predictably pressurized prior to the impact.


An insulated freight-transport container has a pair of longitudinally extending and parallel side walls, a top wall bridging the side walls, a front end wall bridging the side walls and connected to the top wall, and a rear end wall formed by a sill and a lintel attached to the top wall and defining a door opening therewith. A pair of doors are engageable with the opening to close same and a floor is formed of upper and lower skins and a body of insulation therebetween. The floor extends horizontally longitudinally from the door sill to the front end wall and bridges the two side walls. It is recessed below an upper edge of the door sill. A plurality of longitudinally extending rails fixed to the top door skin define a plurality of longitudinally extending air-conducting passage and have an upper surface level with the upper edge of the door sill.

A standard transcontainer for shipping produce, frozen food, or the like is basically an elongated parallepipedal box having a closed front end wall, a rear wall formed by a pair of doors, side walls, a top wall, and a floor. Most of the walls are formed as two metal sheets or skins sandwiching a mass of closed-cell insulation. The top skin of the floor is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending T-section rails that define longitudinal passages or slots. With containers of the so-called porthole type a cooler is hooked up to circulate cold air through the passages in the floor, thereby passing this chilled air around the freight inside the container.
The problem with this type of container is that it is difficult to load and unload. Getting a fork lift through the open doors and into the container is difficult, entailing climbing over the edge of the floor rails. The upper edge of the door opening is frequently down somewhat, so that getting the freight under this obstacle while still lifting it up for the floor is difficult, limiting the height of the freight that can be loaded.

Large-volume insulated shipping container


Two-way communication between a general purpose computing device, such as a PC, and a mobile terminal, such as a cell phone. The general device executes a conversation user interface through which a user enters a message. The message is sent to an intermediary communication service, such as a portal server, along with a mobile terminal identifier, such as a phone number. The intermediary service creates a mapping between the mobile identifier, a general device user identifier, and an extension to an intermediary device identifier, such as an extension to an SMS short code. The intermediary service sends the message to the mobile terminal along with the intermediary service identifier and the extension. The mobile device returns a response with the mobile identifier, the intermediary service identifier, and the extension. The intermediary service uses the mobile identifier and the extension to determine the general device user identifier and send the response.

Email is considered a store-and-forward technology in which a message is stored by a server of a network center and forwarded to a target device when the target device is powered and connected to a network such as the Internet. Email messages are usually not limited in length. Computer and Internet companies developed instant messaging (IM) to provide direct, two-way text and graphics messaging. Instant messaging is generally considered a distinctly Internet product, and also usually does not place any limit on the length of messages. Instant messages are generally not stored and forwarded like conventional email. Instead, instant messages are typically handled through a central server in a protocol that is usually separate from email or web traffic to provide direct communication between clients. Users typically run a resident client application that provides IM services.
Wireless phone companies developed short message service (SMS) to provide a text messaging compliment to voice communication services. SMS was generally designed for the thinner communication channel of the wireless environment. Message length is usually limited (typically 80 or 160 characters), and the receiver must have a compatible mobile phone. Messages are usually handled by a network center, since SMS is a store-and-forward technology. In the case of SMS, a message is temporarily stored by a server of the network center and forwarded to a mobile device when the mobile device is powered and connected to a network such as a cellular network.
Although SMS is considered a store-and-forward technology, SMS messages are delivered to the mobile client whenever the mobile device is powered and connected to the network, rather than when the user launches a client message service like email. Thus, SMS and IM systems allow users to send messages that are generally faster and more intrusive than email or other text messaging systems. Instead of waiting for the receiver to check a message center (mailbox), these messages are delivered whenever the receiver is accessible by a message server.
Instant wireless is a wireless version of instant text messaging in which information is being sent through wireless networks in real-time, rather than being handled through a store-and-forward mechanism. As indicated above, store-and-forward delivery is traditionally used in many email and batched transaction handling systems. Typically, a message is stored in a server and then after a pre-defined delay, it is processed and sent to the destination server where it is picked up by the recipient. Instant wireless may be considered a one-way, real-time, digital telephone message conversation (not voice) with an answering machine, using a wireless network. It is considered communication with an answering machine, because the recipient at his/her option may not respond instantly. Since the communication channel does not necessarily stay open between sender and recipient, instant wireless is generally not considered true two-way communication. However, instant wireless does send messages instantly, rather than wait for a batch to accumulate. A pre-requisite to instant wireless is that the destination device is turned on and connected through wireline or wireless connection. It generally takes less effort to write code for instant messaging than it is for store-and-forward messaging. It is also generally more efficient with regard to processing costs. However, instant wireless generally requires a more costly infrastructure.

Shortcut for establishing a communication channel with a remote device over a network


The present invention relates to devices and methods for the measurement of cell traction forces. In particular, the invention is based on the use of a soft substrate with cell adhesive micropatterns.

Tissue homeostasis is highly dependent on cell spatial organization and mechanical balance. Cells attach on their microenvironment and exert traction forces via the myosin dependent contraction of their actin cytoskeleton. The level of cell contraction has recently been shown to have dramatic impact on cell physiology. It directs stem cells differentiation (Engler et al., 2006, Cell 126, 677-689). It also promotes cell growth and has been shown to be responsible for tumoral transformation (Paszek et al., 2005, Cancer Cell 8, 241-254). It is thus necessary to develop reliable and easy to employ methods to measure cell contraction level.
The two main methods to measure cell tractions forces are based on cell culture substrate deformation. They both have limitations in substrate fabrication and force analysis.
Among different methods being developed for force measurement, Traction Force Microscopy (TFM) is one of the most used. However, due to its rather complicate data processing step, this technique still remains exclusive to some specialized groups. Albeit all the materials needed to perform TFM are nearly routine equipments and reagents in ordinary biological laboratory.
The classical TFM proposed by Dembo and Wang (1999, Biophys J 76, 2307-2316) was done on poly-acrylamide (PAA) gel. Basically, PAA gel was prepared with fluorescent micro-beads incorporated inside. Then, the gel was activated by chemical crosslinkers (e.g. Sulfo-SANPAH) and coated homogeneously with extra-cellular matrix (ECM) protein to make the gel available for cell adhesion. When cells attached to the gel, due to the traction force exerted by the cell, the soft substrate deformed and thus the beads displaced. By comparing the image of the displaced beads and another image of the original beads position taken after detaching the cell (e.g., by trypsin treatment), one can obtain the displacement field. The traction force could therefore be obtained by solving a displacement-force inverse problem.
Due to the random positioning of the fiducial marker beads, an image of the relaxed beads position, which can only be obtained after detaching the cell, is always required to obtain the displacement field. This prohibits immediate visualization of cell traction. In addition, tracking of randomly positioned beads between stressed and relaxed images inevitably required manually intervention to correct false bead detection and linking which is rather time consuming. This method requires long numerical calculations and case specific regularizations to deduce the traction force field from the gel deformation field. In addition, PAA gel activation with sulfo-SANPAH is a quite variable step resulting in non homogeneous and non reproducible activation of the substrate. The experimental measure of fluorescent beads displacement is highly sensitive to focus drift (Marganski et al., 2003, Methods Enzymol 361, 197-211). Subsequent defects in automated bead tracking lead to large errors in force measurement (Sabass et al., 2008, Biophys J 94, 207-220).
Errors associated to bead detection could be overcome by using micropatterned dots array on the gel surface (Balaban, 2001, Nat Cell Biol 3, 466-472).
A second method, cell culture on micro-fabricated pillars, allows a much simpler and thus faster force calculation (du Roure et al., 2005, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102, 2390-2395; Tan et al., 2003, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100, 1484-1489). However the substrate requires several non-trivial microfabrication steps. In addition, micropillars do not support solvent dewetting, and substrate topography can affect cell behavior.
With both techniques, cells can move freely on the substrate. Therefore, they adopt every kind of shapes. This absence of geometrical constraints prevents any automated process for cell force measurement. They are therefore not appropriated for large-scale experiments.
Cell shape control using adhesive micropattern is an efficient method to overcome the above-mentioned limitations. Indeed, adhesive micropatterns coated with ECM allow the normalization of individual cell shape and an accurate control of the spatial distribution of focal adhesion and actin cables (Parker et al., 2002, FASEB J 16, 1195-1204; Thery et al., 2006, Cell Motil Cytoskeleton 63, 341-355; Thery et al., 2006, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103, 19771-19776). Appropriate geometries can impose stringent orientation constraints to actin assembly, reduce cell-cell variability and simplify the force calculation method by controlling the location of force application.
Micropatterning on PAA gel has been realized with stencils (Parker et al., 2002, supra; Wang et al., 2002, Cell Motil Cytoskeleton 52, 91-106), or microstructured stamps (Engler et al., 2004, Cell 126, 677-689; Tan et al., 2003, supra) but micropattern resolution is relatively low.
In both cases, micropatterning requires several microfabrication steps, making the whole process long and difficult to realize. In addition, pattern geometries that have been tried so far did not provide accurate control of cell force field.
Extraction of force from displacement data still requires non-trivial calculation. In addition to the non-trivial numerical calculation, cell shape and force distribution were highly variable. This makes large scale quantitative analysis impossible. In particular, the force measurement was still made from displacement of beads, thus suffering from the drawbacks mentioned above. Although the cell shape was controlled, the geometries chosen in their work couldn't regularize traction force distribution. Thus, forces were still randomly distributed, and substrate deformation was complex and differed from one cell to another.

Use of micropatterned soft substrate for measuring of cell traction forces

COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES


A method for coating a component of a turbo-machine. The method allows arranging a turbine rotor in the turbo-machine and introducing a coating material into the interior of the turbo-machine such that the rotor is coated. The rotor is rotated while it is being coated.

Components are often provided with layers in order to achieve a certain function, such as for example resistance to corrosion, oxidation and/or heat (thermal barrier). In this case, the coated components may also be rotating components, such as for example blades of a compressor or a turbine of a gas turbine installation which have layers protecting against erosion or heat. In the case of large machines, a rotor is composed of a large number of individual parts (a plurality of disks each having a plurality of turbine blades), which are coated individually or in groups, and consequently it takes a long time for all the individual parts to be coated.
JP 06 099 125 A discloses a coating apparatus in which the substrate is coated during rotation.
JP 06 219 762 A discloses a coating method in which a circular cutting tool is coated while it is rotating.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,921 discloses a process for applying a thermal barrier coating.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,585,569 B2 discloses a process for cleaning a compressor of a gas turbine in which dry ice is introduced into the turbine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,262 discloses a process in which a plurality of dismantled turbine blades of a rotor are coated all at once.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to overcome the above problem.

Process for in situ coating of turbo-machine components


A support frame for an exercise apparatus includes a base providing a fulcrum, and a moving arm member having a rotating portion located at one end thereof, and a swinging portion located at an opposite end thereof and equipped with a seat unit. The rotating portion is equipped with a wheel pedal unit and is rotatably supported on the fulcrum of the base. The swinging portion is swingable on the center of the rotating portion between a high position located far apart from the base, and a low position located in closer proximity to the base. The support frame is configurable to change the elevation difference between the seat unit and the wheel pedal unit in both a vertical direction and a horizontal direction. Thus, the elevation difference is relatively changed by means of moving the moving arm member relative to the base. This causes the relative position between the wheel pedal unit and the seat unit to change for allowing the user to exercise in a normal upright, or elevated, sitting exercise mode or a recumbent sitting exercise mode.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,215 discloses a multi-mode exercise machine 1, which includes an exercise base station 11, a pedal unit 12 mounted to the exercise base station 11, a cycle seat 13 supported on the pedal unit 12, an arm 14 pivotally mounted to the exercise base station 11 at one side relative to the pedal unit 12. Handlebars 15 are mounted to one end of the arm 14, and a second seat 16 is slidably coupled to the arm 14. A receivable pull rope unit 17 is pivotally mounted to the pedal unit 12, and a footrest unit 18 is pivotally mounted to the other end of the arm 14. The pull rope unit 17 includes a pull rope 171 passing around a guide roller inside the pedal unit 12, and a pull bar 172 connected to one end of the pull rope 171 and disposed outside the pedal unit 12.
When the arm 14 is set in a vertical position, a user can sit on the cycle seat 13 and hold the handlebars 15 with their hands, and then operate the pedal unit 12 with their feet for performing a first exercise mode. Alternatively, when the arm 14 is set in a horizontal position, the user can sit on the second seat 16 in a recumbent posture to hold the pull bar 172 with their two hands and then place their feet in the foot rest unit 18. By means of pulling up or letting off the pull rope 171, the second seat 16 is moved along the arm 14 for performing a second exercise mode.
The aforesaid prior art multi-mode exercise machine 1 can provide both upright and recumbent exercise modes. However, it must provide two seats (the cycle seat 13 and the second seat 16), two handles (the handlebars 15 and the pull bar 172) and two foot portions (the pedal unit 12 and the foot rest unit 18). Including two versions of each of these components disadvantageously complicates the structure and operation of this prior art exercise machine 1.


A compound strontium fluoroborate, nonlinear optical crystal of strontium fluoroborate, preparation method thereof; the chemical formula of the compound is SrB5O7F3, its molecular weight is 310.67, and it is prepared by solid-state reaction; the chemical formula of the crystal is SrB5O7F3, its molecular weight is 310.67, the crystal is of the orthorhombic series, the space group is Ccm21, and the crystal cell parameters are=10.016(6) Å, b=8.654(6)(4) Å, c=8.103(5) Å, Z=4, and V=702.4(8) Å3. A SrB5O7F3 nonlinear optical crystal has uses in the preparation of a harmonic light output when doubling, tripling, quadrupling, quintupling, or sextupling the frequency of a 1064-nm fundamental-frequency light outputted by a Nd:YAG laser, or the generation of a deep-ultraviolet frequency doubling light output lower than 200 nm, or in the preparation of a frequency multiplier, upper or lower frequency converter, or an optical parametric oscillator.

With a strong requirement of 193 nm lithography technology, micro-nano fine laser processing, and ultra-high energy resolution photoelectron spectroscopy and photoelectron emission microscopes and other modem instruments on deep UV laser light source (typically, with a wavelength below 200 nm), it has become a research hotspot recently to develop an all-solid-state deep UV laser light source in the international laser science community. To develop an all-solid-state deep UV laser light source, the deep UV nonlinear optical crystal is a very important element.
UV and deep UV nonlinear optical crystals currently used in industry mainly include LiB3O5 (LBO), CsB3O5 (CBO), CsLiB6O10 (CLBO), BaB2O4 (BBO) and KBe2BO3F2 (KBBF) crystals. LBO crystals have a wide range of light transmission, a high optical uniformity, as well as a large effective multiplication factor (3KDP) and a high damage threshold (18.9 GW/cm2). However, due to a relatively low birefringence (Δn=0.04-0.05), phase matching cannot be realized in the deep UV region, and the minimum harmonic wavelength is 276 nm. Similar to LBO crystals, the application of CBO and CLBO crystals in a deep UV region is also restricted due to a relatively low birefringence of CBO and CLBO crystals. Although BBO crystals have a larger nonlinear optical crystal coefficient and birefringence, but their application in the deep UV region is also restricted, since the shortest harmonic wavelength of BBO is only 204.8 nm due to a relatively high UV absorption cut-off edge (189 nm). KBBF crystal can achieves a direct sixth generation output of 1064 nm fundamental frequency light. However, KBBF crystals have a strong layered growth habit, and are very difficult to grow large-sized crystals, thereby limiting the application to an extent. Therefore, the development of a novel deep UV nonlinear optical crystal with an excellent comprehensive performance is in urgent need.

Compound strontium fluoroborate and strontium fluoroborate nonlinear optical crystal, and preparation methods and uses thereof

XINJIANG TECHNICAL INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS & CHEMISTRY, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES


A petroleum dispensing system having a dispenser data distribution system with controllable disconnectors for improving on the conventional wiring that connects dispenser data circuits to the system's site controls. The system includes an emergency stop control system, emergency stop disconnects, data wiring terminals, a circuit for connecting and grouping data signals, and dispenser data disconnect and bypass means.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to petroleum dispensing systems and, more particularly, to a dispenser data distribution system with controllable disconnectors for improving the conventional wiring connecting dispenser data circuits to the system's site controls and point of sale terminals.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Service stations for delivering fuel to automobiles include a plurality of fuel dispensers that are typically stationed adjacent to a convenience store. Each fuel dispenser is made up of a housing, a regulator or pump to control the flow of fuel through the housing, a fuel flow meter in the housing, a display on the housing to display the amount of fuel pumped through the housing, and a fuel hose with nozzle having a manual dispenser control for delivering fuel into an automobile's fuel tank.
A dispenser data distribution system comprises low voltage communication circuitry that conducts data signals between the plurality of fuel dispensers and at least one point of sales terminal that is typically inside of the convenience store. While present day service stations do include emergency shutdown circuits for the line voltage that operates the dispenser pumps, the prior art does not allow for emergency disconnection of the low voltage data communication circuitry from fuel dispensers. The lack of emergency shutdown for these low voltage data communication circuits still presents a significant safety hazard in that it has been discovered that low voltage communication circuits can act as an ignition source for volatile gases associated with the delivery of petroleum based fuels such as gasoline.
Moreover, conventional dispenser data distribution systems that provide a dispenser servicing disconnect switch do not provide any way to disconnect all data circuits for a select dispenser with operation of the single switch. The present invention overcomes this problem by providing a disconnector circuit in which the operation of a single selected dispenser control switch can control multiple data circuits for the selected dispenser. While a system for a single dispenser could be constructed, a system with switches and controls for multiple dispensers contained in a single system would be the most desirable.
It can be appreciated that fueling data distribution systems have been in use for years. Typically, fueling data distribution systems are comprised of a dispenser data distribution box used to connect dispenser data wiring to a dispenser site controller.
The main problem with conventional fueling data distribution systems is that they do not provide a disconnector circuit for disconnecting all of the data circuits from power supply sources in response to the operation of the electrical emergency stop system at the site. Furthermore conventional systems do not provide a disconnector circuit for individually disconnecting all of the data circuits for a single dispenser from supply source in response to the operation of a service control switch.
Yet, another problem with conventional fueling data distribution systems is that they do not provide any emergency disconnect circuitry for de-energizing additional data circuits such as intercoms, networking, and video circuits. Still, another problem with conventional fueling data distribution systems is that they do not provide any way of providing individual connection for all data circuits per dispenser. Therefore, additional connections have to be made manually by the installer.
While conventional dispenser data distribution systems may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for improving on the conventional wiring connecting dispenser data circuits to the site controls. Conventional dispenser data distribution system wiring does not provide any way of controlling dispenser data circuits by an emergency stop system. Additionally, conventional dispenser data distribution system wiring that does provide a dispenser servicing disconnect switch does not provide a disconnect circuit to disconnect all data circuits for a select dispenser with operation of the single switch.
Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved dispenser data distribution system that improves on the conventional wiring that connects dispenser data circuits to the site controls. Moreover, there remains a need for a dispenser data distribution system that includes an emergency stop system for disconnecting supply power sources from the dispenser data circuitry. In other words, the dispenser's data circuits should be de-energized by a single switch emergency stop system.

Dispenser data distribution system with controllable disconnectors


A multi-dimensional node or processor arrangement allows a similar number of nodes in a linear array to be arranged in a more compact form, thus overcoming a latency problem in communications between the most distant nodes/processors. The multi-dimensional arrangement also allows for multiple paths between nodes. This feature greatly improves survivability of the system, such that when one node dies there is always at least one other path that is available to get to the other nodes in the system. Thus, the system can continue to run and only the resources of the one node that died are lost. A first set of routing rules governs the migration of communications between a source node and a destination node around the node array when all of the nodes are functioning. A secondary set of rules displaces or modifies the first set when a node is not functioning.

Prior art multinode, multi-processor computer systems utilized one dimensional interconnect, or a linear array. This arrangement had two major problems. The first problem was the increased latency caused by the linear array. Extreme timing problems would occur when a processor on one side of the array attempts to access the resources of a processor on the far side of the linear array.
The second problem is related to the survivability of the system. If one node or processor dies or otherwise becomes unusable, the system would degenerate into a plurality of individual nodes or processors. The individual nodes would no longer share resources, more specifically, the nodes cannot access the resources, such as disk drives, CD drives, or other I/O devices, that are resident on other nodes.

Routing methods for a multinode SCI computer system


Embodiments of the present invention relate to a power generator comprising one or more fuel cells and a fuel, wherein the fuel comprises an alkali metal silicide.

Fuel cells, such as PEM fuel cells, use a simple chemical reaction to combine hydrogen and oxygen into water, producing electric current in the process. Traditionally, hydrogen may be produced by a chemical reaction between a fuel, such as lithium aluminum hydride, and water vapor. At an anode, hydrogen molecules are ionized by a platinum catalyst, and give up electrons. The proton exchange membrane (PEM) allows protons to flow through, but not electrons. As a result, hydrogen ions flow through the PEM to a cathode, while electrons flow through an external circuit. As the electrons travel through the external circuit, they can perform useful work by powering an electrical device such as an electric motor, light bulb or electronic circuitry. At the cathode, the electrons and hydrogen ions combine with oxygen to form water. The byproducts of the reaction are water and heat.
Fuels currently used in power generators, such as metal hydrides, have poor energy density. Pure alkali metals used as a fuel may theoretically improve the energy density of the fuel, but are pyrophoric and difficult to handle and store. Traditional fuels require high volume and/or high maintenance storage vessels which may also be a safety concern in many applications.

Silicide fueled power generators and methods related thereto


Aliphatic tetraketimine of the present invention are a novel class of compounds represented by the formula: ##STR1## wherein Et is ethyl, Me is methyl, and R is a residue of an aliphatic diisocyanate. The tetraketimine is made by condensing a novel ketimine with a diisocyanate. The ketimine has a free secondary amine after a polyamine selected from the group consisting of:. ______________________________________ H2N--C2H4--NH--C2H4--NH2, H2N--C2H4--NH--C2H4--NH--C2H4--NH2, H2N--(CH2)6--NH--(CH2)6--NH2, or tris(2-aminoethyl)amine ______________________________________. is reacted with a ketone.

Polyamines has found widescale application in the preparation of composites, such as nylons and other polyamides or heterocycles such as imides, oxazoles, or thiazoles. The usefulness of the polyamines, however, is sometimes impacted by their reactivity. To slow and to control their reaction, we have discoverd that the amine functionalities can be blocked with ketones to form novel ketimines. The ketimines might be used as latent moisture cure resins in epoxy coatings or in two-part polyurethane systems where the ketimine evolves to the polyamine and reacts with an isocyanate or reacts directly with the isocyanate, as described in Dr. D. Wicks et al., "The Direct Reaction Between Ketimines and Aliphatic Isocyanates," Water-Borne & Higher-Solids and Powder Coatings Symposium, Feb. 24-26, 1993, which we incorporate by reference.


A car power source apparatus is provided with a battery having a plurality of battery modules connected in series on positive and negative sides of a midpoint reference node, and a voltage detection circuit that detects the voltage of one or a plurality of battery modules with respect to the midpoint reference node of the battery. The battery midpoint reference node of the power source apparatus is connected to the voltage detection circuit via a plurality of reference connection lines. Further, one or a plurality of conduction detection circuits connect to the reference connection lines, supply a voltage to each reference connection line, and detect current. The connection status of each reference connection line to the midpoint reference node is determined by this conduction detection circuit.

This invention relates to a power source apparatus for powering the driving motor of an electric vehicle, such as a hybrid car or electric automobile, and in particular, relates to a car power source apparatus which can accurately determine detection circuit malfunction with a simple circuit configuration.
To increase power source apparatus output to drive an electric vehicle, it is necessary to increase battery voltage. This is because power output is proportional to the product of battery voltage and current. For example, power source apparatus batteries for hybrid cars and electric automobiles are extremely high voltage at 200V or more. In a high voltage battery, a plurality of rechargeable batteries are connected in series to form battery modules, and those battery modules are again connected in series to increase output voltage.
In this type of battery comprising a large number of battery modules connected in series, it is important to charge and discharge each battery module while preventing over-charge and over-discharge. This is because over-charge and over-discharge degrade a battery's electrical performance and shorten its lifetime. A car power source apparatus has been developed to prevent battery module over-charge and over-discharge by detecting battery module voltage and controlling battery charge and discharge (refer to Japanese Patent Application Disclosure 2002-199510).


Transmitting messages to mobile telephones includes determining a time a standard requires or permits a standard compliant transmission to be received by a user, and scheduling a transmission by a base station to the user in the future based on a distance between the user and a base station such that the transmission will be received by the user at the determined time. The distance between the user and the base station is a distance such that a propagation delay between the user and the base station is larger than a propagation delay accommodated by the standard.

There are several platforms available today to a system developer wishing to perform signal processing tasks. These platforms include General Purpose Processors (GPPs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and hardware. GPPs have become increasingly popular platforms for signal processing tasks for several reasons. GPPs, however, present challenges that are not present in traditional signal processing platforms. Even the DSP, which is the platform most similar to the GPP, remains significantly different in architecture and software environments. The differences are even more pronounced when considering the system context.
A DSP is typically placed in a board with a memory and an input/output (I/O) subsystem designed for high-speed data streaming. In contrast, GPPs are typically designed into boards with multilevel cache memory systems tuned for data reuse. GPP board I/O busses focus on interoperability and ease of system integration, rather than simplicity or raw data streaming efficiency. The end result is that GPP chips and boards present a variety of challenges, which a designer attempts overcome in order to achieve efficient signal processing.
It is an important object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for improving the performance of signal processing applications on GPPs and the like having jitter effects.


A method includes: obtaining a first sequence corresponding to a basic code length N0; determining N to-be-encoded bits, where the N to-be-encoded bits include N2 fixed bits, and N is greater than the basic code length N0; extending the first sequence to obtain a second sequence; determining locations of the N2 fixed bits in the N to-be-encoded bits based on polar channel serial numbers indicated by first N2 elements in the second sequence; and performing polar encoding on the N to-be-encoded bits to obtain encoded bits. The locations of the fixed bits in the N to-be-encoded bits are determined based on the second sequence, and the second sequence is obtained by extending the first sequence corresponding to the basic code length N0.

In a communications system, channel encoding is usually used to improve data transmission reliability, to ensure communication quality. The polar code proposed by a Turkish professor, Arikan, is the first high-performance code that has been theoretically proved to be capable of achieving a Shannon capacity and that has low encoding/decoding complexity. The polar code is a linear block code, and an encoding matrix of the polar code is GN. For example, an encoding process is x1N=u1NGN, where u1N=(u1, u2, K, uN) is a binary row vector with a length of N (namely, a mother code length), GN is an N×N matrix, and GN=F2⊗(log2(N)), and F2⊗(log2(N)) is defined as a Kronecker product of log2N matrices F2.
The matrix
      F    2    =            [                                    1                                0                                                1                                1                              ]        .
In the encoding process of the polar code, some bits in u1N are used to carry information and are referred to as information bits, and an index set of these bits is denoted as A; and the other bits are set to a fixed value that is agreed on by a transmit end and a receive end in advance and are referred to as fixed bits or frozen bits, and an index set of these bits is represented by Ac that is a complementary set of A. The encoding process of the polar code is equivalent to x1N=uAGN(A)⊕uAcGN(Ac) Herein, GN (A) is a submatrix obtained based on rows corresponding to indexes in the set A in GN, and GN (AC) is a submatrix obtained based on rows corresponding to indexes in the set AC in GN. uA is a set of the information bits in u1N, and a quantity of information bits is K. uAc is a set of the fixed bits in u1N a quantity of fixed bits is (N−K), and the fixed bits are known bits. These fixed bits are usually set to 0. However, the fixed bits may be set to any value provided that the value is agreed on by the transmit end and the receive end in advance. When the fixed bits are set to 0, encoding output of the polar code may be simplified as: x1N=uAGN(A), where GN (A) is a K×N matrix.
A polar code construction process is a selection process of the set A. This determines performance of the polar code. A polar code construction process is provided in the prior art and includes: determining, based on the mother code length N, that there are a total of N polar channels that respectively correspond to N rows of the encoding matrix; calculating reliability of the polar channels; and using indexes of first K polar channels with relatively high reliability as elements in the set A, and using indexes corresponding to remaining (N−K) polar channels as elements in the index set Ac of the fixed bits. Locations of the information bits are determined based on the set A, and locations of the fixed bits are determined based on the set Ac. Common measures of the reliability of the polar channel include an error probability, a channel capacity, a polarization weight, and the like.
In the foregoing polar code construction process, for a different mother code length N, reliability of polar channels is determined through online calculation, and further locations of information bits and locations of fixed bits are determined. The online calculation increases complexity on an encoding side.

Encoding method, encoding apparatus, and communications apparatus


A cabling spool for guiding or storing cable, such as is often employed in network racks or other cabling cabinets or enclosures to organize cable layouts and store excess cable, includes a spool body and an end flange. The spool body has a surface with a radius, sized to prevent a minimum bend radius of a cable from being exceeded. The end flange of the spool keeps cables passing about the spool body from leaving the spool. The end flange may be attached to the spool body in a number of positions, e.g., in an upward position, when a majority of cables pass over a top of the spool body; in a downward position, when a majority of cables pass over a bottom of the spool body. The end flange may optionally be rotated relative to the spool body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a management apparatus for cables. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device, such as a spool, for guiding one or more cables in a different direction and/or for storing cable slack. A spool is often used in combination with a network/equipment rack for managing fiber optic or other communication cables.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many types of spools, which are known in the art of cable guidance, organization and storage.
For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a spool in accordance with the prior art of U.S. Pat. No. 7,302,155, which is incorporated herein by reference. In FIG. 1, a first rack 1 and a second rack 3 support a plurality of brackets 5 holding ports 9, i.e., patch panels. Connectors on the ends of cables 7 are connected to the ports 9. The cables 7 extend from the ports 9 to spools 11. At the spools 11, the cables 7 are guided around the spool 11 and redirected to another port 9 or into an overhead conduit 13. Excess cable 7 may be wrapped multiple times about one or more spools 11.
FIG. 2 illustrates a spool in accordance with the prior art of U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,149, which is incorporated herein by reference. In FIG. 2, a network rack 6 (illustrated without ports, connectors or cabling to simplify the drawing) has a first track assembly 12 and a second track assembly 14 supported on opposing sides of the network rack 6. A first spool 16 is engaged within a first track 20 of the first track assembly 12. A second spool 18 is engaged within a second track 22 of the second track assembly 14.
The first spool 16 may be selectively slid up and down within the first track 20 and locked into a desired position by a user, such that the first spool 16 may be positioned at a most desirable position relative to the cables to be accommodated by the first spool 16. Of course, additional spools could be added to the first track assembly 12. Also, the operation of the second spool 18 in the second track assembly 14 would be identical.
FIG. 3 illustrates a spool in accordance with the prior art of U.S. Pat. No. 6,614,978, which is incorporated herein by reference. In FIG. 3, a network rack 30 supports a plurality of optical or electrical devices 32 with numerous ports to which plural cables would be connected. A plurality of first spools 34 are mounted adjacent to the devices 32. The first spools 34 have an upwardly directed end flange 36. The first spools 34 do not have any downwardly directed end flange. No downwardly directed end flange is present on the first spools 34 because, in use, cables only pass along the top of a spool body of the first spools 34 and there is no need to provide a downwardly directed end flange, which would add cost and occupy additional space in the network rack 30.
At the bottom of the network rack 30, a second spool 38 of a different design is provided. The second spool 38 includes an end flange 40 which extends both upwardly and downwardly from the spool body of the second spool 38. The end flange 40 extends in both directions because cables are intended to be directed across the top and bottom of the second spool 38, such that the extended flange 40 is needed in order to keep the cables on the second spool 38.
FIG. 4 illustrates a spool in accordance with the prior art of U.S. Pat. No. 7,298,952, which is incorporated herein by reference. In FIG. 4, third spools 42 of a design similar to the first spools 34 of FIG. 3 are employed. The third spools 42 have an upwardly extending end flange 44 to retain cables passing along a top surface of the third spools 42. FIG. 4 also illustrates a fourth spool 46. The fourth spool 46 has a downwardly extending end flange 48 to retain cables passing along a lower surface of the fourth spool 46. In practice, the fourth spool 48 is simply a third spool 42 mounted in an upside down fashion, such that the curved portion of the spool body and the end flange 48 face downwardly.


A method of manufacturing a folded airbag comprising the steps of: providing an airbag cushion; heating the airbag material, folding the heated airbag material; compressing the folded airbag material obtained in step c) and optionally cooling the compressed airbag.

In general, airbag packages are formed of a folded airbag and the folds have the tendency to unfold in the airbag housing thereby increasing their volume and causing packing problems both during assembly of the airbag module and during installation of the airbag module in a vehicle due to the limited space provided for it in the vehicle.
There have been several proposals in the art to solve these problems. The methods known in the prior art relate to manufacturing airbag packs by means of folding and pressing the airbag and heating the airbag prior to or simultaneously with the pressing step. It was proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,333,933B2 to insert the folded airbag in a moulding element and press the folded airbag to compress it while heating the compressed and folded airbag to a temperature comprised between 125° C. and 150° C. for at least 1-2 hours, then rapidly cooling the compressed airbag within the moulding element by at least 100° C.
A method of packaging an airbag for motor vehicles is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,205,797B2. The method comprises the steps of folding an airbag and at least partially wrapping it with an initially flexible cover to form an intermediate package, and simultaneously heating and pressing the intermediate package to form a compressed package having a stable shape by the fused fibers of the cover material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,676A discloses a method of folding an airbag to provide an airbag module with reduced size. Also this prior art document teaches the application of pressure to the folded airbag and heating the folded and pressed airbag. In particular, the folded airbag is pressed and simultaneously or subsequently, it is subjected to heat treatment. Alternatively, the folded airbag can be heated prior to the pressing step. The heating can be achieved by heating the ambient air to directly heat the airbag material and/or various pressing dies can be heated to heat the airbag material by convection.
The method for assembling a gas bag for a vehicle occupant disclosed in WO2017/029388 (A1) includes the compression of a rolled airbag or a folded airbag within a pressing device into an airbag package having a reduced volume and heating the rolled/folded airbag or the airbag package in said pressing device and cooling the airbag package that maintains its reduced volume.
A further method for forming an airbag cushion including a heating step is disclosed in WO 2016/069543 (A1). A folded airbag is placed into a vacuum bag and the air is evacuated from said bag by applying vacuum and a pressure on the airbag. The airbag cushion is compacted thereby and the vacuum bag containing the airbag is placed in a heating chamber to thermally set the shape of the compacted airbag.
Similarly to the above cited prior art documents, also US2012/0267880 A1, GB1202288 and US 2017/057446 (A1) A disclose a method for manufacturing an airbag comprising the step of simultaneously compressing and heating a folded airbag into a package that maintains its shape.
EP1031473A2 discloses a method for manufacturing an airbag package. A folded airbag is sealingly covered by a gas-tight film and vacuum is applied to evacuated air encapsulated below said film. During vacuum application the folded airbag is compressed, the action of the atmospheric air-pressure and heat is applied to thermally set the synthetic fibers of the airbag. When vacuum and heating applications are stopped, the gas-tight film is removed. The obtained compressed airbag has a reduced dimension wherein the folds are thermally set.
Thus, it is evident that conventional methods for preparing a folded airbag package having a reduced dimension requires apparatuses which allow the heating of the entire thickness of the already folded airbag and, accordingly, the heating may not be uniformly distributed in the thickness of the folded airbag and the folds next to the heating surface could be overheated with respect to the folds in the middle of the airbag pack within the pressing mould. In addition, the known methods require particularly designed pressing moulds to transmit heat around the external surface of the folded airbag or, if the heating is subsequently carried out to the pressing step, further manipulation of the already compressed airbag.
It is an aim of the present invention to solve the above problems and to provide a method for packaging an airbag cushion in a small package in a simple and efficient manner that allows maintaining the airbag in folded condition, i.e. providing a continuous dimension stability for the folded airbag.
The present invention provides a method of manufacturing an airbag mini pack comprising the steps of:                a) providing an airbag cushion made of fabric material;        b) heating the airbag cushion using infrared energy or another heat source;        c) subsequently folding the heated airbag material;        d) compressing the folded airbag material obtained in step c) and optionally        e) cooling the compressed airbag obtained in step d).
According to a possible embodiment of the present invention, the airbag cushion is continued to be heated also during the folding step in order to further improve the efficiency of the method of the present invention and to provide an airbag pack with much reduced dimensions.
The airbag material may be any type of material suitable to have a reduced stiffness by subjecting it to heating. The airbag cushion material may be coated or uncoated. Preferably, the airbag cushion is made of a fabric material. By way of non-limitative examples the following materials, useful in the present invention for the airbag cushion, are mentioned: polyamide (PA 66) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which may be coated, uncoated or partially coated.
The heating of the airbag cushion is carried out by any known means suitable to expose the airbag fabric material to a high temperature environment comprised between a defined range for example between +50° C. and 150° C. During heating the airbag cushion prior to the folding step, the heating is carried out by means of at least one heating element placed upstream of the folding device.
By means of examples the following heating elements are mentioned herein without any limitation of the scope of the present invention: heat mats, infrared sources, hot air, heating foils and other heating devices.
In a preferred embodiment, the airbag cushion is straightened by means of fastening a first portion of the airbag by fastening means, such as by a folding clamp, and introducing a second portion thereof into a folding device. The airbag cushion is heated before folding and, preferably, also during folding. The folded airbag is compressed by applying a predefined load and, finally, the compressed airbag is left to cool or is cooled by appropriate known means. The obtained compressed and folded airbag stably maintains its small volume.
It will be appreciated that the heating time and the heating temperature need to be adjusted to the type of airbag material and to the amount of layers which need to be heated. The adaptation of these parameters of the method of the present invention to the airbag material and to the fabric layer thickness requires ordinary skill in the art.
When the heating element is an infrared (IR) source, the distance of the external surface of the airbag material from the IR source should be defined in function of the airbag material type, the intensity of IR beam as well as IR beam length to achieve a sufficient warming up of the airbag material/layers and to prevent the airbag material from damage by strong heat impact. It has been found the shape of the airbag cushion does not influence the efficiency of the heat treatment by using an IR source, because the intensity and the shape of the IR beams can be controlled accordingly in a known way for a skilled person. Preferably, the IR beams are perpendicular to the airbag fabric material.
In particular, in case of using an IR source as a heating element, one extremity of the airbag cushion should be placed in the folding device and the exterior surface of the airbag material needs to be located in a defined distance from the IR source for ensuring a proper and reliable heating, i.e. warming of the airbag material, e.g. in a distance of approximatively 100 mm-150 mm. Should the IR source be too close to the fabric material, the heat transmitted by the IR beams would damage the airbag material, whereas should the IR source be located too far, the IR heat impact in the airbag material would not be sufficient to warm up the fabric to a temperature necessary to reduce the stiffness of the airbag cushion material. Should the heating element be a heated surface, such as a heating foil, said surface needs to contact the fabric material to transfer heat by heat conduction.
According to the method of the present invention, it is possible to heat the entire surface of the airbag cushion material or only a part thereof where the airbag material is too stiff for folding. In an embodiment of the present invention, where the heating of the airbag material is conducted also during folding, it is possible to heat only the area of the airbag material, which is effectively moving under the IR beam with a defined velocity experimentally set in accordance with the type of airbag fabric material, layer thickness and IR beams intensity. Accordingly, also a large surface can be heated with a relatively narrow IR beam during the folding step.
In general, it is sufficient to heat only one side of the airbag cushion with IR beams, because the IR beams are able to penetrate the fabric material to a certain amount of layers as known in the art thus it is possible to heat multiple layers from one side. However, in case of too many fabric layers, i.e. a high airbag cushion thickness, the penetration of the IR beams may not be sufficient, thus the heating should be carried out from multiple sides of the airbag cushion to reduce the time necessary for reaching the specified temperature. When the temperature of the airbag cushion material reaches a specified temperature, i.e. it is soft and has a reduced stiffness, the folding is initiated. Preferably, the heating is continued during folding up to the completion of the folding step.
Should the heating element be a heating surface, such as heat mats or heating foils, it advantageously contacts the surface of the airbag fabric material to transfer heat by conduction. Heating foils particularly suitable in the present invention are those commonly known and commercialised. The known conventional heating foils are applied to carrier plates which prevent the heating foil from folding onto the airbag surface. The heating foils are applied to the airbag surface and the airbag is heated up by heat conduction to a specified temperature where the airbag material is softened or has a reduced stiffness to minimise the airbag package volume. Preferably both sides of the straightened airbag cushion are heated to reach the specified temperature in a short time and the folding is started.
The airbag material should be warmed up to entrap heat inside the fabric material as well as inside the folded airbag cushion until the completion of the folding. According to the present invention the term "warm material" refers to an airbag fabric material which is softened to such an extent to transform a stiff fabric material into a soft one and to reduce the spring effect which occurs when the folded airbag does not maintain its compressed form. The term "warm material" should not be interpreted as a melted material which could cause adhering the folded layers. Therefore, the time and the temperature of heating should be set accordingly and in function of the thickness of the airbag material as well as the composition of the fabric used for the airbag.
The term "heating" as used in the present invention indicates the exposure of the airbag fabric material to a high temperature environment that helps in achieving a better foldability of said fabric material.
Many different folding techniques are known and used in the field of airbag folding. Any one of the known folding techniques can be applied in the method of the present invention for folding the warm airbag material without any limitation.
After the airbag is heated and folded in accordance with method steps b) and c) of the present invention, the heated and folded airbag is compressed by applying any technique known for a skilled person for compacting folded airbags under pressure. Similarly, also the cooling step e) of the method of the present invention can be carried out in accordance with conventional techniques known in the field of the present invention.
The compression of the folded and heat treated airbag can be carried out by applying any technique known for a skilled person for compacting folded airbags under pressure. Similarly, also the cooling step of the method of the present invention can be carried out in accordance with the conventional techniques known in the field of the present invention. The cooling of the compressed and warm airbag cushion is an optional but preferred process step, because it promotes retaining the small dimensions of the obtained airbag mini-pack.
According to another aspect of the present invention a system for packing an airbag cushion in a mini-pack is provided. The system for packing an airbag cushion comprises an airbag, a folding device, a compressing device, optionally a cooling device and at least one heating element provided upstream of said folding device. The airbag is preferably straightened by appropriate means known in the art.
Any known type of folding and compressing devices are suitable in the present invention with the condition that they allow the positioning of the heating elements for the straightened airbag upstream the folding device. The heating elements are placed in a distance to ensure a proper, uniform and reliable heating of the airbag fabric material and layers to a specific temperature that render the airbag fabric soft and warm to be easily foldable. Not limitative examples for heating elements useful in the present invention are heat mats, infrared sources, hot air, heating foils and other suitable heating devices.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus is provided for packaging an airbag cushion into a mini-pack. The apparatus comprising a folding device fitted with at least one heating element suitable to heat an airbag cushion, a compressing device and optionally a cooling device suitable to cool a warm folded and compressed airbag cushion. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the heating element is placed at a side of the folding device which is assigned to receive the airbag cushion to be folded.
The present invention provides a method and a system for packing an airbag cushion in a mini-pack, wherein the heating of the airbag material is carried out before and, preferably, also during the folding of the airbag cushion material. The heating of the airbag cushion according to the method of the present invention allows a uniform warming of the airbag material along its length and thickness (through the layers forming the airbag cushion) and providing a warm airbag material for easy and efficient folding and compression steps.
The method, the system and the apparatus of the present invention provide improved technical effects such as a uniform warming up of the airbag cushion before its folding wherein the folded airbag is warm and has a reduced stiffness during the folding and compression steps; easy folding of the airbag cushion having a reduced stiffness as well as simplification of folding and compression of the airbag in a very reduced volume.
The airbag package obtainable by the method of the present invention has very small dimensions and is able to permanently retain its shape. Preferably, the airbag mini-pack is folded in an airbag housing.

Method of manufacturing an airbag mini-pack


An anti-lock control system includes wheel speed detecting device, wheel acceleration/deceleration detecting device, vehicle pseudo-speed calculating device for calculating a vehicle pseudo-speed on the basis of a wheel speed detected by the wheel speed detecting device, storing device for storing a wheel speed or vehicle pseudo-speed at a sampling time at which the wheel acceleration/deceleration has become equal to or less than preset acceleration set at a value near "0" (zero), including "0" (zero), after passing a peak in the course of increasing of the wheel speed, speed difference calculating device for calculating a speed difference between wheel speeds or vehicle pseudo-speeds stored currently and last time in the storing device, lapsed-time counting device for counting the time lapsed from the last sampling time to the current sampling time, and division device for dividing the speed difference by the lapsed time to provide a value corresponding to a friction coefficient of a road surface. In this anti-lock control system, a value corresponding to a friction coefficient can be obtained with a good accuracy without any influence by an instantaneous behavior of a wheel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an anti-lock control system and, more particularly, to an anti-lock control system designed such that a value corresponding to a friction coefficient of a road surface on which a vehicle travels can be obtained, to enable an anti-lock control corresponding to the friction coefficient of the road surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An anti-lock control system is conventionally known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 44039/80, which is designed, such that, the magnitude of friction coefficient of a road surface on which a vehicle travels is judged by the magnitude of a peak value of an acceleration in the course of restoring wheel speed to vehicle speed. An anti-lock control system is also conventionally known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 155161/87, which is designed, such that, the magnitude of friction coefficient of a road surface on which a vehicle travels is judged by the magnitude of a restoring time between two speed points in the course of restoring of the wheel speed to a vehicle speed.
However, in the anti-lock control system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 44039/80, the magnitude of friction coefficient is judged by measuring an acceleration at a pin point, and in the antilock control system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 155161/87, a span between the measuring times is short. Therefore, in both such prior art anti-lock control systems, the judgement of the magnitude of friction coefficient is governed by an instantaneous behavior of the wheel. For this reason, it is difficult to judge the magnitude of friction coefficient, when the variations in wheel speed V.sub.w with respect to the vehicle speed V.sub.BL during travelling of the vehicle on a road surface of a low friction coefficient and the vehicle speed V.sub.BH during travelling of the vehicle on a road surface of a high friction coefficient are substantially equal.


The present invention involves an apparatus for making comestible units. The comestible units made in accordance with the present invention can include active ingredients and are capable of dissolving in the mouth of the consumer within several seconds. They are particularly useful as antacids and as delivery vehicles for biologically active ingredients, especially those which are ideally combined with antacid ingredients.

The present invention relates to the art of making comestible dosage units, such as tablets, which dissolve rapidly in the mouth.
Dosage units in the form of tablets are usually prepared by compressing a formulation containing a medicinal substance or drug and other ingredients, such as excipients selected for properties which facilitate production and use of the tablet. There are currently three known basic methods for preparing tablet granulations. These are wet granulation, dry granulation and direct compression. Both wet and dry granulations involve the formation of an agglomerate for feeding to a die cavity. Direct compression usually involves compressing a powder blend of an active ingredient with suitable excipients.
The preparation of formulations for tabletting by wet granulation is the oldest method and still the most widely used. Wet granulation involves many steps, including: milling of drugs and excipients, mixing of the milled powders, preparation of binder solution, mixing of binder solution with powder mixture to form a wet mass, coarse screening of the wet mass using 6-12 mesh screens, drying of moist granules, screening of dry granules through 14-20 mesh screen, mixing of screen granules with lubricant and disintegrant, and tablet compression.
Wet granulation is an expensive process because it requires many processing steps and involves considerable material handling equipment. Consequently, the process requires both energy and substantial space which should be environmentally controlled.
Dry granulation refers to the granulation of a powder mixture by compression without the use of heat and solvent. Dry granulation is used when wet granulation is not available because the drug is sensitive to moisture or heat.
Two methods are used for dry granulation. One method is slugging, where the powder is precompressed on a heavy-duty tablet press, and the resulting tablets or slugs are milled to yield the granulation. The other method is precompression of the powder with pressure rolls using a compactor.
Dry granulation has many disadvantages. It requires a specialized heavy-duty tablet press to form the slug; it does not permit uniform color distribution as can be achieved with wet granulation, where dye can be incorporated into the binder liquid; the pressure roll press cannot be used with insoluble drugs because this may retard the dissolution rate; and the process tends to create dust thereby increasing the potential for cross-contamination.
Direct compression tabletting has the least amount of steps. Direct compression is used in a process by which tablets are compressed directly from powder blends of the active ingredient and suitable excipients (including fillers, disintegrants, and lubricants) which are included in the mix to provide uniform flow into the die cavity and form a firm solid compression tablet. No pretreatment of the powder blends by wet or dry granulation procedures is necessary.
Although it has considerably fewer steps than either wet or dry granulation processes, direct compression also has many technological limitations. These limitations include primarily obtaining sufficient flow, and obtaining bonding of particles to form a strong compressed tablet. Low-dose drugs are difficult to blend, that is, uniform distribution of the drug is not easily attained and unblending sometimes occurs during the compression stage. High-dose drugs do not lend themselves to direct compression because of poor flowability and poor compressibility. A typical example would be some of the antacid drugs, such as aluminum hydroxide and magnesium carbonate.
When direct compression is used the choice of excipients is extremely critical. It is desirable that when using direct compression fillers and binders possess both compressibility and fluidity. In addition to compressibility failures, the process of direct compression also has disadvantages in the area of blending. Direct compression blends are subject to unblending in post blending handling steps. Differences in particle size because of differences in density between drug and excipient particles may also lead to unblending in the hopper or feedframe on the tablet press.
A disadvantage of all prior art process is the production of fines usually associated with making compression tablets. In the prior art, preparation of particles for formulation of tablets by compression results in a noticeable amount of fines, i.e., very tiny particles on the order of 150 microns and less. These fines can interfere with operation of apparatus for feeding tabletting machines as well as the operation of the tabletting machines. Often, it is necessary to conduct tablet production in a facility which is environmentally controlled to eliminate or reduce the fines. This adds to the cost of production of the tablets.
Moreover, a percentage of the non-compressed particulate is lost during production because there are fines dispersed and cannot be recaptured, and because some of the fines are not capable of being recovered for recycle.
In order to overcome the disadvantages associated with the prior art set forth above, technology has been developed by the common owner of the present application and U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,003. The commonly owned case discloses a unique procedure in which compression tabletting can be simply and accurately manufactured by "fuse and compression" steps. Fusion is achieved by flash flow processing the tablet ingredients to provide shearform matrix masses which are subsequently compressed to form comestible compression units. This process includes advantages of wet and dry granulation and direct compression but does not have the disadvantages associated with these prior art procedures.
Dr. Fuisz has several patents which relate to other unique delivery means. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,326, Dr. Fuisz discloses a fiber form of medicament-bearing product which can be compacted to form a sheet-like body. He cautions, however, that the compact body cannot be squeezed too much for fear of breaking the fibrous mass. There is no indication to form a compressed tablet as a medicinal dosage form.
Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,085 a spun fibrous cosmetic is disclosed as well as a compacted form of sugar fibers to form a sheet-like body which can be handled more readily. There is no indication to form a compressed tablet.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,856, a wafer-like structure is disclosed in which a medicament is distributed on or through spun fibers which are then chopped by passing through a conventional "food grinder" (Hobart hamburger grinder). The enclosed volume of the end product is less than 30%, and preferably less than 15%, of the as-spun volume of floss. There is no mention in the '856 disclosure to form a compressed tablet.
The use of compacted spun fibers in the same sense as in the patents mentioned above is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,421 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,492. None of these disclosures suggest formation of a compressed tablet.
None of the procedures described above provide a technique for forming a rapidly dissolving dosage unit which can be manufactured, shipped and sold to consumers. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method for preparing such a dosage unit.
Other and further objects will be realized by those skilled in the art in view of the following disclosure.

Apparatus for making rapidly-dissolving dosage units


A power module according to the present invention includes a semiconductor device; a base part formed from an electrically conductive material on which the semiconductor device is mounted; a signal lead part formed from the same material as the base part, the signal lead part being electrically connected to the semiconductor device; and a thin plate lead part formed from the same material as the base part such that it is formed seamlessly from the base part and it is thinner than the base part, the thin plate lead part extending on the same side as the signal lead part with respect to the base part, wherein the thin plate lead part is electrically connected to a predetermined terminal of the semiconductor device via the base part such that it forms a potential detecting terminal for detecting a potential of the predetermined terminal of the semiconductor device.

A power module is known which is formed using a lead frame (profile lead frame) which includes an island part on which a semiconductor device is installed; lead parts which mechanically and electrically connect to the semiconductor device via bonding wires; and a coupling part which integrally couples the island part to the lead parts (see Patent Document 1, for example).
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2009-141053


The present disclosure provides a data processing method, a data processing device, and a computer readable storage medium. The data processing method includes: determining an encryption key according to first data; encrypting second data with the encryption key; and storing the first data in association with the encrypted second data.

As an important management and constitution part of a modern hospital, a Hospital Information System (HIS) is a software platform that mainly focuses on management needs of the hospital. In many implementations, the HIS is a comprehensive integrated information system designed to manage all aspects of hospital operations, such as medical, human, financial, legal issues, and corresponding service processing.

Data processing method, data processing device, and computer readable storage medium


A modified saddle D-ring having a loop of a varying radius for supporting a stirrup strap on a saddle. The stirrup supporting strap is looped around a lower span portion of the D-ring which has an upper span portion anchored to the saddle. The lower span has an upper surface that abuts against the saddle supporting strap and such upper surface includes first and second contiguous portions disposed at a preselected angle to one another with the length being greater than the width of the stirrup supporting strap. The D-ring includes an elongated curved loop extending forward at a varying radius depicting a parabolic curve. The elongated D-ring allows limited pivotal forward movement of the stirrup with respect to the saddle. One or more “T” shaped projections may extend upward from one a selected position at the bottom of the D-ring for adjusting and holding the D-ring in position.

A conventional western type saddle includes a framework or tree defining the shape of the saddle whereby the typical saddle tree is ridged and consists of spaced apart parallel bars connecting a horn, pommel and cantle with the seat disposed there between resting upon the bars. The tree is composed of wood, metal, plastic, fibreglass, synthetic material or combinations thereof. * The tree is usually covered with leather on all visible parts of the saddle. Trees differ in width of the gullet and bars, pitch of the bars (steep to flat), and length of the bars. The tree also influence the shape of the pommel and cantle on the seat on the saddle. The bars form the primary loading surface of the saddle and are designed for a particular type of horse. For instance a wider gullet sits lower on the horse while a narrow gullet sits higher is designed to fit a horse with higher withers. The seat may have foam rubber or other cushioning materials disposed between the tree and top layer of leather to provide additional comfort to the rider. Moreover the leather or foam padding may be used to alter the contours of the seat. Typically a breathable material such as sheepskin is placed on the underside of the saddle covering both the tree and the underside of the skirts. The cinch rings are attached to the tree as part of the rigging which refers to the arrangement of rings and plate hardware connect the girthing system for holding the saddle on the horse. The front rigging consists of metal cinch rings on each side of the saddle to which a long wide strap called a latigo is attached for holding the front cinch going around the heart girth of the horse just behind the elbows. The back cinch is placed around the wides part of the horse's barrel attached to the saddle by a second set of cinch rings. Latigos run through the cinch ring and back to the rigging. The cinch may be secured by a knot or buckle and hole arrangement. Leather or a nylon web is used for the latigo. A back cinch may be used and typically consists of heavy leather billet on each side of the saddle that buckles just tight enough to touch the underside of the horse. A belly strap may be used at the belly midline to prevent the back cinch from moving too far back.
Stirrup rigging is set or positioned for various degrees of comfort, flexibility and security depending on the rider's needs. The normal position for stirrup rigging is to set the front edge of the strap connecting the bottom ring, within approximately 1 inch forward of behind the centre of the pommel. The strap connecting the top ring is ¾ inch back from the bottom rings strap. The normal setting places approximately 60% of the rider's weight toward the rear and moves the weight of the rider toward the rear when they exert pressure on the stirrups providing a more secure seat position but doesn't allow the rider to easily stand in the stirrups. Setting the stirrup rigging back ½ to 1 inch from the cinch ring shifts more of the rider's weight more forward a the rigging is set farther back. The rider gains a mechanical advantage from where they push up from the feet beneath the rider's centre of gravity.
Modern stirrups come in a wide variety of styles, sizes and materials and are attached to most saddles by means of adjustable stirrup leathers, which can be altered in length to fit both the size of the rider and the need to remain over the horse's optimal centre of balance. Because a rider must be able to move his or her legs while riding, stirrups cannot be attached on the body of the saddle itself, but rather must be attached in a manner that allows the rider's leg a full range of motion. Therefore, stirrups are attached to a saddle by means of adjustable straps, called stirrup leathers. Depending on the design of a saddle, stirrup leathers may be attached to a "stirrup bar," a small forged steel bar embedded into the saddle tree, or may be wrapped around the bars of the tree itself. Because different riders are of different heights, and stirrups also may need to be adjusted up or down to accommodate different types of activity, stirrups leathers have buckles and holes that allow length to be adjusted. Conventional saddles have each stirrup supported by a strap that depends downwardly from a "D shaped ring" called a "D-ring" that takes the place of a stirrup bar that is securely anchored to the saddle.
Stirrup straps can be worn so that the smooth side of the leather faces the wearing surface, as the smooth side wears less quickly than the rough side. There are also alternatives to leather, including nylon, plastic covered nylon or leather over a nylon reinforced core. As the rider's whole weight must be carried at one side when mounting, one stirrup strap often becomes stretched longer than the other, usually the left one, because most mounting occurs on that side. While a simple adjustment of the leather can even up the stirrups. On a western saddle, with a heavier, permanently installed fender and stirrup straps that are more difficult to be switched, stretching is slower and less extreme, though it also occurs in this type of saddle. Any unevenness in the leathers can be managed by adjusting the stirrup length, and if necessary, by adding extra holes in the leathers to allow them to be buckled at an intermediate point between the existing prepunched holes provided by the saddle manufacturer.
Moreover, the stirrup of western saddle is difficult to remove or replace and the same stirrups usually are kept on for the life of the saddle. One type of arrangement utilizes the stirrup strap looping under a rod and a keeper. A strap with a buckle that wraps around the front and back of the stirrup leather, keeps the stirrup in place. Western stirrups are generally made of leather-covered wood, others of steel, aluminum, or even very strong fiber-reinforced plastic.
The D-rings are located between a lower pad portion of the saddle that rests on the horses back and an upper layer upon which the rider sits. The upper layer includes a flexible flap that overlies the D-ring and strap that attaches the same to the saddle. The stirrup support strap is looped around a lower span portion of the D-ring associated therewith and has a width that is essentially the same as the length of the lower span portion of the D-ring. This prevents sliding movement of the strap, relative to the D-ring, in a direction lengthwise of the horse on which the saddle is mounted. The stirrup straps are designed to hang straight down at a 90 degree angle with respect to the saddle.
Applicant has found that in some instances it is more comfortable for the rider when the stirrup support strap is allowed to move a limited amount relative to the D-ring. As an example some pleasure riders may have limited knee flexibility making it difficult for them to use the stirrup to mount the horse and/or use the stirrups while riding. Riders with leg problems can no longer flex their knees properly for the appropriate upright riding stance.


The invention relates to a spectrometer for X-radiation, including a disk which is impervious to the radiation and which has a first and a second surface provided with a plurality of channels or bores measuring a maximum of 50 .mu.m. The bores are disposed in such a manner that they extend from the first to the second disk surface and their extensions point toward a common line or a common point, with the common line or common point being located opposite the second surface. Also provided is a device with the aid of which the arching of the disk can be altered in such a way that the distance of the common line or common point from the concave surface changes.

The invention relates to a spectrometer for X-radiation.
It is known from physics textbooks (e.g. Christian Gerthsen: "Physik [Physics]," Ninth Edition, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York (1966), pp. 404 et seq.) that an X-ray beam (wavelength approximately 10-8 cm) is reflected with diffraction upon impact on a ruled grating (e.g. 200 lines/mm) at a flat angle (e.g. 10'). It is also known that radiation diffracts as it passes through a screen, with the diffraction being a function of the radiation wavelength.
A spectrometer for X-radiation comprising a disk which is impervious to X-radiation and is %provided with a plurality of channels is known from Rev. Sci. Instrum. 58 (1), 1987, pp. 43-44.
Known from Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B82, 1993, pp. 121-124 is a spectrometer for X-radiation that comprises an arched disk which is impervious to X-radiation and has a convex and a concave surface provided with a plurality of channels (capillaries) that point toward a common point.

by Alla Jakobi, Anna Jakobi, Helena Jakobi, heir/legal representatives


A method of processing a sequence of digital symbols comprises the steps of processing the sequence of digital symbols and determining an uncertainty in the processing. If the uncertainty exceeds a predetermined threshold, then the method further comprises the steps of processing at least two sequences of digital symbols wherein at least one parameter is set differently in each sequence, and deciding upon a calculated error for each sequence which sequence is used to generate an output signal.

The present invention relates generally to a decision feedback equalizer and in particular to a decision feedback equalizer using a multilevel Viterbi detector.
Wireless technology provides a plurality of applications for voice and/or data transmission. Today's cell phone networks offer a plurality of services for their customers including digital data services, such as, digital email, Internet access, etc. In future applications, such as third generation wireless networks, new digital data services will be provided. In particular, Internet applications will be highly improved and made more practical, for example, via high speed digital data transmission. Other digital data applications, not yet applicable in today's wireless transmission technology, will be adapted and implemented.
High speed wireless data application require high data throughput at a significantly lower bit error rate than voice applications. Bit errors in voice applications are usually easy to recover or do not need to be fully recovered due to redundancy capabilities of the human ear; whereas, digital data applications often highly rely on the correctness of the submitted data. The quality of data transmissions in a digital environment highly depends on the quality of the transmission channel. Under severe channel conditions, the mobile device throughput is markedly affected due to retransmission of erroneous data packets, thus affecting the entire network throughput. This situation may be ameliorated by the use of antenna diversity and more sophisticated signal processing algorithms.
According to the prior art, decision feedback equalizers are used to compensate for the effects of the transmission channel, which can vary depending on the environment. A basic decision feedback equalizer (DFE) consists of a forward filter, a feedback filter, and a decision device. Decision feedback equalizers are effective against severe intersymbol-interference. Intersymbol-interference is an effect that creates distortion of the transmitted signal in a specific way. In a sequence of positive and negative symbol pulses, intersymbol-interference is the distortion of a symbol pulse within a particular symbol period caused by the smearing or spillover of symbol pulses of preceding and/or succeeding adjacent symbol pulses into the particular symbol period. The spillover of the preceding and/or succeeding symbol pulses will add to or subtract from the symbol pulse in the particular symbol interval depending upon whether the adjacent interfering symbol pulses are positive or negative in value. In applications with mobile devices, intersymbol-interference occurs due to the multi-path profile of the mobile channel as well as the above mentioned smearing generated due to analog filtering. Unlike in linear equalizers, decision feedback equalizer's decision errors propagate in the feedback branch thus affecting the outcome of future bit decisions.
It is therefore desirable to provide an arrangement for a decision feedback equalizer which is highly suitable for high speed wireless data applications.


A Π-shaped clip with a top horizontal portion and a pair of integrally formed spaced apart vertical legs underneath. The legs define a spacing distance across their span and are inwardly compressible toward each other in response to a side force. The top portion has raised gripping means for frictional engagement. The clip is inserted into grooves of adjacent structural members secure them to a supporting structure.

There are a variety of decking systems on the market today. Most of the decking systems utilize some sort of fastening means to attach the structural members to the underlying joists such as a screw, nail or staple. Typically, the fastening means is installed directly through the top face of the structural members to the joist below.
The common method of securing the structural members to the underlying joists by directly fastening the structural member to the joist through the top face of the structural member has many drawbacks. First, the fasteners are visible, unattractive and take away from the façade or look of the natural wood. The fasteners may rust and discolor the structural members. A fastener may work loose and become a safety hazard to persons walking on top of the supporting structure. Finally, hammer blows to decking surface during installation of the fastener may cause damage and/or depressions that collect water. The collection of water may lead to splintering of the structural members, mold growth and the propagation of cracks starting at where the fastener installation occurs.
Another problem associated with the above is the potential for error during installation of the structural members because the installer cannot see exactly where the joists lie underneath the structural member. Resultantly, during installation of fasteners the installer may miss a joist or only partially strike a joist with the fastener and may have to back out the fastener or leave the fastener in the structural member and install yet another fastener to secure the structural member to the joist.
Another shortcoming is the potential for the structural members to loosen and move over time losing its uniform look resulting in loss of aesthetic appeal. In addition, the structural members may move to close the gaps between the installed structural members. The gaps between structural members are necessary to provide a means for rainwater or other liquids to drain from the supporting structure and for ventilation.
As a consequence of the foregoing, different types of fastening clip devices have been proposed to secure the structural members to the supporting structure invisibility without disturbing the appearance of the deck surface. According to the present invention an improved clip device is proposed which is easy to manufacture and simple to use. Additionally the clip device prevents lateral movement of structural members relative to one another and is designed to accommodate expansion and contraction forces to which the structural members are subjected by nature.

Clip device for attaching structural member to a supporting structure


A system for creating an image of a combination of a completion string in a wellbore. An image of the wellbore is received and created. In addition, modeled data of the completion string is also created and received. The wellbore image data is combined with the completion string model data to create an image of the completion string positioned in the wellbore. Based on the combined image of the wellbore and a completion string, possible problem areas and optimum production zones are identified. The wellbore and completion string are deflected based on relative characteristics of the wellbore and completion string.

This invention relates to imaging a completion string in a wellbore.
The geometry and orientation of the wellbore and how a completion string sits in the wellbore play a large role in determining the effectiveness of the completion during clean up, treatment, cementing/isolation, and production. Typically, a wellbore extending through a formation is not straight, but rather extends in a snake-like fashion through the formation. Such wellbores typically are spiral-shaped, which results from the rotary motion of the drill bit as the well is drilled.
Even wells which are considered "straight" have variations in deviation and direction. While these variances may be small, they can have an effect, as the clearances between the wellbore walls and the completion string or casing may be quite small. For example, an 81/2" inside diameter borehole will often have a 7" outside diameter casing set inside it. This leaves only 3/4 clearance on each side.
Problems associated with the unpredictable shape of the wellbore are more pronounced in highly deviated or horizontal wells, which are widely used currently to enhance reservoir production. It may sometimes be difficult to place a completion string, such as a casing, into the wellbore without damaging the completion string. The completion string is not always damaged, but in many cases production is affected or is not optimal.
Logging and imaging tools exist that determine the shape of the wellbore. One such logging tool is a dipmeter, which includes sensors to measure the variations of formation conductivity as the dipmeter passes through the wellbore. Further, the dipmeter has calipers that measure the size of the wellbore continuously, as well as other sensors to measure the deviation and direction of the well. Based on the recorded data, a three-dimensional image along with its position can be created of the wellbore. Other types of instruments can be used to obtain the needed geometric information. For example, a borehole geometry tool (BGT) is basically a dipmeter minus the sensors for taking conductivity measurements. An ultrasonic borehole imaging (UBI) tool works with a general purpose inclinometry tool (GPIT) to obtain the image and position of the well.
The physical characteristics of the geologic formations in the well as well as the amounts and locations of the hydrocarbons in the formation are determined by other logging type tools described elsewhere. In a vertical well, the length of the producing interval may not be that great. However, in a horizontal well, one of the purposes of making the section horizontal is to open up the interval to a long length. Under these conditions, the positioning of the completion string begins to play a large role in the effectiveness of the production as well as possibly how long it will last.
Knowledge of the size, shape, and orientation of the wellbore are an essential part in being able to predict what might happen downhole as the completion string is inserted into the wellbore.

Imaging a completion string in a wellbore


A tapered pole for supporting electric power lines, telephone lines, or an electric lamp which includes two tapered plastic, generally rigid sleeves positioned concentric to a longitudinal axis with the space between the sleeves being filled with a plurality of longitudinal generally continuous filaments encased in a solid plastic material; and a method of preparing such a pole by pushing or pulling the inside sleeve into an outside sleeve while filling the space between the sleeves with a liquid plastic material with reinforcing fibers or filaments being positioned into the space as movement occurs and the liquid plastic fills that space. The fibers are generally continuous and the per inch distribution between the ends of the pole are generally equal. End caps seal the ends against the weather elements.

The applicant has shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,004,574 and 5,405,668 various structural shapes of plastic rods and tubes which are reinforced in strength by the presence of fibers or filaments running lengthwise and being encased in the plastic. Methods for making such items are also disclosed in these patents. Among the uses for such technology is the making of poles to replace wooden poles that are getting more costly as less wood is available for such uses. Wooden poles are subject to deterioration from the atmosphere and from being buried in the soil. Plastic materials can readily replace wooden poles in many, if not all uses, and it accordingly is the primary purpose of this invention to provide a method for preparing poles, beams or other structural load bearing elements from plastic materials. In order to reduce weight and cost it is preferred that such poles, beams or elements be made hollow; and in order to provide sufficient strength for minimum volumes, it is preferred that the plastic material be reinforced by fibers or filaments generally running lengthwise of the element so as to provide flexural strength. This invention is useful for structural cantilever members, e.g., in airplane wings, spars or the like; masts or poles of any size or shape, e.g., power poles for high tension electricity, poles for lights, fence poles and poles and beams for all sorts of building or construction supports.

Tapered composite structural member and method of making same