Disclosed is an apparatus for hair curling. The apparatus includes a base band comprising an inner surface and an outer surface. Further, the apparatus includes curl-forming elements disposed on the outer surface of the base band. Moreover, the apparatus includes connecting elements configured to connect the curl-forming elements to the base band, thereby creating closed loops between the base band and the curl-forming elements, wherein the curl-forming elements follow a contour of the outer surface of the base band. The curl-forming elements are configured to form an outer layer with respect to the outer surface of the base band, wherein the base band forms an inner layer with respect to the curl-forming elements, wherein a closed loop is provided between the outer and inner layers, wherein the closed loop is bounded by the connecting elements.

People all across the world have been curling and styling their hair since many centuries now. Specially, the grooming and curling of hair has been crucial for the females to meet the standards of beauty laid out by society, in most parts of the world.
Across the world, many methods of hair curling have been practiced. Hair curling devices such as foam rollers, plastic rollers and heated rollers are some of the most widely and frequently used devices for curling hair in females. To use these devices, the user's hair is divided into small sections at the root, the length of hair is then rolled neatly onto the roller, starting at the tip of the hair towards the root. The hair is later dried or set and the rollers removed. Conventional methods that include sectioning and rolling hair can be labor-intensive and inefficient. Typically, the user is unable to see the back or the lower crown of the head to skillfully administer sectioning and curling in these areas and thus requires a certain level of skill by the user in order to complete the job to a satisfactory level. Further, the hair is subject to pulling, tugging and tangling as the sections are divided.
Some users use flexirods and other curling rods to curl their hair. These devices involve wrapping a section of hair around a flexible rod-like device when wet, damp or dry. The hair must be sectioned and each section wrapped around the rod individually. While these devices may be easier to use than the rollers, sectioning the hair is still a requirement. Further, the flexirods can be cumbersome and heavy to carry around in the hair while the style dries and sets.
Further, some users use curling iron and flat irons to curl their hair. These devices involve manually taking a section of hair and seizing it with a clamping plate and wrapping it around the heated barrel for a short period of time until the hair mimics the curvature of the barrel. The hair is then unwound and released. Although these devices require less skill then roller, ironing the hair can be labor-intensive and time intensive, still requiring hair sectioning. Further, this type of direct heat can be extremely damaging to the hair. Further, the high temperatures of curling irons and other heated styling devices have resulted in sustained burns to the skin around the hairline, hands and fingers of the user that may accidentally get in contact with the iron.
Yet further, some users use a headband to curl their hair, which involves wrapping hair around a hairband. These are tricky to use. Typically, the user's hair may get tangled as the hair is wrapped around the band. Further, hair may be snagged and pulled each time the headband is lifted away from the head to wrap and grab the next section of hair causing tugging and potential damage to the hair. Users with longer hair typically run out of hairband space before the length of their hair is wrapped. Further, hair may get displaced and un-wrap, as the user wraps the opposite side of the hair around the band requiring clips and pins to prevent un-wrapping. Further, these devices can only produce one type of style and do not offer the user much flexibility in styling.
Due to the fact that hair curling has been employed since the beginning of modern society, there is a large body of empirical data that suggests that the most successful hair curling devices are the ones that give the user the most control. Further, the users require a device which is instinctive and which does not require the user to have good visibility of the back parts of their hair, thereby promoting user comfort. Hair curling also poses a high risk of hair damage. Sectioning, pulling tugging and yanking the hair are painful and often cause hair breakage. Therefore, an important issue surrounding hair curling is that of ease of use, user comfort and hair health.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus that provides a simple, fast, easy, pain free and effective method of hair curling, such that even unskilled individuals can use the apparatus on themselves. Further, there is a need for an apparatus that is light and easy to use while offering a variety of styles. In addition, there is a need for an apparatus that is simple, and does not require laborious sectioning.
The foregoing objects and advantages of the invention are illustrative of those that can be achieved by the various exemplary embodiments and are not intended to be exhaustive or limiting of the possible advantages which can be realized. Thus, these and other objects and advantages of the various exemplary embodiments will be apparent from the description herein or can be learned from practicing the various exemplary embodiments, both as embodied herein or as modified in view of any variation which may be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the present invention resides in the novel methods, arrangements, combinations, and improvements herein shown and described in various exemplary embodiments.


A method in a communication network including a communication channel includes generating a first message, where the first message includes a field indicative of a direction along which a quality of the communication channel is to be measured, causing the first message to be transmitted to a target device, and receiving a second message responsive to the first message, where the second message includes at least one channel quality metric.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
An ever-increasing number of relatively inexpensive, low power wireless data communication services, networks and devices have been made available over the past number of years, promising near wire speed transmission and reliability. Various wireless technology is described in detail in the 802 IEEE Standards, including for example, the IEEE Standard 802.11a (1999) and its updates and amendments, the IEEE Standard 802.11n, and the IEEE draft standards 802.15.3, and 802.15.3c now in the process of being finalized, all of which are collectively incorporated herein fully by reference.
As one example, a type of a wireless network known as a wireless personal area network (WPAN) involves the interconnection of devices that are typically, but not necessarily, physically located closer together than wireless local area networks (WLANs) such as WLANs that conform to the IEEE Standard 802.11a or the IEEE Standard 802.11n. Recently, the interest and demand for particularly high data rates (e.g., in excess of 1 Gbps) in such networks has significantly increased. One approach to realizing high data rates in a WPAN is to use hundreds of MHz, or even several GHz, of bandwidth. For example, the unlicensed 60 GHz band provides one such possible range of operation.
In general, antennas and, accordingly, associated effective wireless channels are highly directional at frequencies near or above 60 GHz. As a result, the distance separating a pair of communicating devices has a significant impact on the data rate that the pair of communication devices can support. Further, when multiple antennas are available at one or both communicating devices, an efficient beam pattern allows the devices to better exploit spatial selectivity of the wireless channel and, accordingly, increase the data rate at which the devices communicate. Generally speaking, beamforming or beamsteering creates a spatial gain pattern having one or more high gain lobes or beams (as compared to the gain obtained by an omni-directional antenna) in one or more particular directions, with reduced the gain in other directions. If the gain pattern for multiple transmit antennas, for example, is configured to produce a high gain lobe in the direction of a receiver, better transmission reliability can be obtained over that obtained with an omni-directional transmission.
In general, communication devices develop an efficient beam pattern through an exchange of information such as beamforming training data (one such technique is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/548,393, filed on Aug. 26, 2009 and entitled "Beamforming by Sector Sweeping," and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/091,914 entitled "Beamforming by Sector Sweeping," filed Aug. 26, 2008, both of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entireties). However, when a device attempts to discover other devices active on a communication channel, a beamforming pattern is not yet available. As a result, a communication device scans the channel in an omni-directional mode, and generally does not detect all activity occurring on the communication channel.
Activity occurring on a communication channel can include data transmissions such as broadcasts of beacons by a piconet central point (PCP), for example. On the other hand, activity can also include interference from such sources as adjacent stations in the same Basic Service Set (BSS) or a different BSS, other systems operating in the same frequency range (e.g., 60 GHz), radar pulses, etc. Some interference sources may be highly directional, especially at frequencies near or above 60 GHz.

Directional channel measurement and interference avoidance


Detecting Null symbols in a video data frame comprises sending OFDM symbols through a sliding windowed correlation process having a correlation window length proportional to a cyclic prefix length and a delay equal to a FFT size of the symbols, wherein output peaks of the process occur where two similar portions of the symbols coincide; checking peaks in windows sized equal to a duration of a symbol; determining whether the peaks are located in the middle of the windows; determining whether a shift has occurred in the location of the peak of a current window compared to in a second immediately previous window; determining whether the peak in a first immediately previous window is weak compared to that in a second immediately previous window; and declaring that a Null symbol exists in the first previous window when the shift has occurred and the determination of a weak peak exists.

1. Technical Field
The embodiments herein generally relate to mobile television (TV) technologies, and, more particularly, to null symbol detection in data frames transmitted on Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (T-DMB), and Digital Audio Broadcasting—Internet Protocol (DAB-IP) mobile TV standards.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the DMB mobile TV standard, each data frame consists of a number of data symbols in addition to a Null symbol and a phase reference symbol. Generally, the Null symbol is an all-zero transmission and it signals the start of the DMB frame. The presence of the Null symbol needs to be detected with great accuracy in order to achieve perfect synchronism with the transmitter and consequently, for the DMB receiver to work properly.
The traditional approach for detecting the presence of the Null symbol is based on detecting the energy of each received symbol. If the energy is below a specific pre-determined threshold, then a Null symbol is declared to be present. The main disadvantage of this approach is that it is not robust to noise and multipath in addition to the fact that the choice of the threshold value tends to require a lot of effort to be optimized for all different scenarios. Accordingly, there remains a need for a new technique for Null symbol detection in digital video data frames.

Null detection in DAB, T-DMB, and DAB-IP systems


The present invention is directed to processes for making a crosslinked cation exchange polymer comprising a fluoro group and an acid group. The process allows the polymer to be efficiently made on a commercial scale, and the polymers are useful to bind potassium in the gastrointestinal tract of a human or animal subject.

Potassium (K+) is one of the most abundant intracellular cations. Potassium homeostasis is maintained predominantly through the regulation of renal excretion. Various medical conditions, such as decreased renal function, genitourinary disease, cancer, severe diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure and/or the treatment of these conditions can lead to or predispose patients to hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia can be treated with various cation exchange polymers including polyfluoroacrylic acid (polyFAA) as disclosed in WO 2005/097081, WO2010/022381, WO2010/022382, and WO2010/022383, each of which is incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
In the previous methods of manufacturing, batch or semi-continuous processes were used. However, such processes are not suited to commercial production of this polymer due to increased costs, and it was accordingly an object of the present invention to find a process for the preparation of cross-linked (2-fluoroacrylate)-divinylbenzene-1,7-octadiene polymer particles, which is suitable for a production process on the industrial scale. The aim was in particular industrial processes for the preparation of crude particles (crosslinkage), their washing, drying, preparation of salts, and the consistent coordination of these processes with one another in order finally to arrive at a preparation process which is as simple and efficient as possible guaranteeing the quality requirements (formation of by-products which is as low as possible) and high yield.

Continuous process for preparing polyfluoroacrylate particles


A system for effecting the braking of a vehicle. The system is intended to be used with a vehicle which has an axle coaxial with a wheel engaging the surface over which the vehicle travels and which is rotatable with that wheel. The braking system includes a closed hydraulic circuit and a pump in the circuit which has an impeller rotatable by the axle as the vehicle moves over the surface. The invention includes structure for selectively, and sequentially, increasing the restriction of flow through the hydraulic circuit so that, as flow is restricted, a back-pressure is induced in the pump to apply a drag to the axle in a measure commensurate to the amount the flow is restricted.

Transportation of commodities over ground is effected in a number of ways. Certainly, rail is one viable alternative. It will be understood, however, that trailer trucks are a significant alternative to rail transportation. The movement of items from one location to another location at some significant distance from the initial point is an important goal to be accomplished. Commensurate with the importance of this goal, however, is that the movement be accomplished in a safe manner. Accidents occur on highway systems at an increasingly alarming rate. Certainly, it is important in attempting to minimize accidents that vehicles traveling over roads be provided with adequate braking systems.
The problem is exacerbated in the case of trailer trucks. Because of the significant weights of their cargos, unique problems are introduced. Certainly, it is not sufficient that a cab be slowed down without applying direct braking power to the trailer being towed behind. If no braking power were applied to the trailer, the trailer would be carried, by its momentum, up and over a cab which has been rapidly decelerated by braking action in response to a hazardous situation.
Various types of systems for effecting braking of the trailer component of a tandem arrangement have been developed. One system employs air brakes. In such a system, pressurized air functions to effect movement of a shoe to engage and press against the drum of a brake at a trailer's wheel. Reduction in speed, thereby, occurs.
Another system employs electro-magnetic brakes. In this type of system, movement of a shoe is effected by employment of an electro-magnet which pulls a metal plate. Engagement of a shoe with the drum again creates friction to slow the vehicle.
A number of drawbacks exist with both of these systems, however. Stopping ability will be hampered as a result of excessive heat being generated as a result of friction. Consequently, the ability to slow and stop a vehicle will be reduced.
The present invention is a method and system which ameliorate the problems of the prior art. They employ hydraulic braking which augments the conventional air brake or electro-magnetic brake system of the vehicle.

Apparatus and method for braking a vehicle


A finger grip system is provided for obtaining maximum rotation and a resulting pronounced hook when releasing a bowling ball. The system includes drilled holes for receiving a bowler's middle finger, ring finger and thumb, the holes being spaced such that only fingertips may be inserted into the holes. Inserts are placed in the holes, the inserts having a resilient frictional character, and defined therein lips at the corner of a bottom surface and a wall of a central aperture. The inserts are sized to locate the lips such that dominant upward force applied by the fingers and thumb results from contact of finger and thumb tips rather than other parts of the fingers. Force applied in this manner results in increased rotation of bowling balls.

Bowling balls are provided with holes, as by drilling into the bowling ball, the holes serving as finger and thumb grips for a bowler to hold and throw the ball down an alley at bowling pins. These holes, for a conventional bowling ball, include holes for receiving the thumb, middle finger and ring finger of a bowler. Holes in a bowling ball are sized to provide a comfortable fit with fingers of a bowler. The holes are also spaced apart at a distance appropriate the spread of the bowler's fingers. This spread is determined by distances between the base of a bowler's thumb and the proximal interphalangeal joint (the joint nearest the palm) of the middle and ring finger of the user of the bowling ball. Uniformly throughout the prior art, the bowler inserts his thumb into the ball up to the base of the thumb and fingers into the ball up to the proximal interphalangeal joint. As such, a thumb hole is typically three inches or more in depth, and the finger holes are typically two inches or more in depth.
In order to knock down as many pins as possible, most bowlers seek to obtain a pronounced hook on the path of the ball, this type of delivery geometrically providing more rotation creating more revolutions and thereby the most pin action, or mixing of the pins after they are struck by the ball. To make the ball hook, effective contact between the fingers and the ball is necessary to deliver the ball in a manner such as to impart a lifting and twisting action on the ball, causing it to spin as it rolls down the lane.
Various finger inserts and other measures have been devised for use with bowling balls, primarily to enable an improved spin and a more effective hook. In general, the prior art insert devices have been used in combination with conventional drilled holes, which as stated typically extend to a depth of two inches or more for fingers and three inches or more for thumbs. As a result, contact of the fingers and thumb within the ball occurs the length of the fingers up to the proximal interphalangeal joint and length of the thumb within a respective finger or thumb hole so that contact with finger and thumb tips is not predominant.

Bowling ball insert providing finger tip gripping


A safety system in a portable tool (1) includes a pair of electrodes connected to a measurement and assessment unit, the measurement and assessment unit being an integrated circuit touch sensor device provided with a ground connector and with a sense electrode, wherein the ground connector is configured as internal floating ground connected to one electrode, the measurement and assessment unit configured for acquiring a reference capacity value measured between the two electrodes varies by a preset difference threshold with respect to the reference value, the safety signal being sent to a tool deactivation actuator.

As it is known, there exists portable work equipment, such as chainsaws and the like, which comprises moving cutting parts and which exposes users to a high risk of injury. As a matter of fact, while it is relatively easy to arrange shields and/or accident-prevention protection elements on fixed equipment and machine tools, so as to avoid any accidental contact with moving parts, this is not feasible on portable equipment.
Safety arrangements for chainsaws and similar tools have already been suggested, specifically dedicated to solving the safety problems connected with the use of such devices. In particular, two different approaches have been put forward, one based on a mechanical passive system and another one based on a remote-detection system. In both cases it is intended to promptly detect a condition of excessive closeness between an operator's limbs and the moving parts (such as the cutting chain of a chainsaw) to stop in time the operation of the tool and to hence limit the damage resulting from a possible direct contact.
WO2007060698, in the name of the same Applicant, shows an example of safety system for such equipment, wherein the approach of the remote detection of the relative position between cutting tool and operator is used.
In this publication it is suggested to use a radio-frequency transmission system for detecting the relative position of the operator with respect to the blade of a chainsaw. The receiving-transmitting system in radio frequency operates similarly to a condenser system, obtaining a signal proportional to the distance between two electrodes, one inserted in an item of safety clothing of the operator and the other one in the chainsaw blade portion.
In other prior art disclosures, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,975, the use of capacitive systems for detecting a capacitive difference between two electrodes for determining the relative distance thereof is disclosed.
However, these well-known systems generally require the use of suitable garments wherein a circuit and active electronic equipment are inserted which makes up one of the two capacitive plates of the system. Moreover, they do not have an optimal operation, because the emission of the safety signal is affected by environmental conditions (for example, air humidity, operator's mass and clothing, and others).
WO9712174 discloses another example of safety system applied—among other things—to a cutting tool. In this case, the distance between a receiver and a transmitter (possibly integral with an operator's body) is detected through the reading of the absolute value of a transmitted signal. This implies problems of sensitivity and adaptation to the specific conditions, so much so that a grounding arrangement is suggested in order not to trigger an undesired deactivation of the tool. Such system has proved cumbersome and poorly applicable in the field of portable cutting tools which are suited to operate in highly changeable conditions.
US2010180740 discloses a safety system provided with a calibration unit. The calibration unit is provided for changing the warning threshold of significant quantities detectable by a sensor unit, which sensor is hence intended for activating an emergency signal still upon the exceeding of an absolute (calibrated) threshold value of the detected quantities. This implies simply adapting the reference threshold to the boundary conditions, with loss of system sensitivity. Moreover, the calibration unit has a complex operation, resorting to a detection device separate from the sensor unit for detecting values of some reference quantities to be entered in a feedback loop and compared against default values prestored in a suitable memory. The use of absolute reference thresholds implies that the operator must cooperate, lying at a short distance from the tool for the calibration operation to be completed.


Rotatable bottle or container capping machine for screwing threaded screw caps onto a threaded mouth portion of filled bottles or containers to close filled bottles or containers, and a method of operation thereof. The abstract of the disclosure is submitted herewith as required by 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b). As stated in 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b): A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification must commence on a separate sheet, preferably following the claims, under the heading “Abstract of the Disclosure.” The purpose of the abstract is to enable the Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. The abstract shall not be used for interpreting the scope of the claims. Therefore, any statements made relating to the abstract are not intended to limit the claims in any manner and should not be interpreted as limiting the claims in any manner.

1. Technical Field
The present application relates to a beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material, having a closing machine and a method for closing bottles, as described herein below.
2. Background Information
A beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material can possibly comprise a beverage filling machine with a plurality of beverage filling positions, each beverage filling position having a beverage filling device for filling bottles with liquid beverage filling material. The filling devices may have an apparatus designed to introduce a predetermined volume of liquid beverage filling material into the interior of bottles to a substantially predetermined level of liquid beverage filling material. The apparatus designed to introduce a predetermined flow of liquid beverage filling material further comprises an apparatus that is designed to terminate the filling of the beverage bottles upon the liquid beverage filling material reaching the predetermined level in bottles. There may also be provided a conveyer arrangement that is designed to move bottles, for example, from an inspecting machine to the filling machine. Upon filling, a closing station closes the filled bottles. There may further be provided a conveyer arrangement configured to transfer filled bottles from the filling machine to the closing station. Bottles may be labeled in a labeling station, the labeling station having a conveyer arrangement to receive bottles and to output bottles. The closing station and the labeling station may be connected by a corresponding conveyer arrangement.
Closing machines, in particular those with a rotating construction, for the closing of containers such as bottles, for example, with caps by screwing them into place are basically known (U.S. Pat. No. 2,076,631). The caps used in these machines can be made of metal (e.g. aluminum) for example, but they can also be made of plastic. These caps that are made of plastic are prefabricated with an internal screw thread with which they are screwed onto the external screw thread of the bottle which is provided on the mouth of the bottle for the closing, and they are tightened with a specified torque.
One construction that has become particularly common is one in which a plurality of screw-on units are provided in a rotating circulating rotor, the shaft of which screw-on units is rotated in realizations of the prior art by a pinion that sits on the shaft, which pinion runs along on a toothed rim that is installed non-rotationally on the stator. For its part, the shaft rotates the screw head, into which the cap has previously been fed in the conventional gripping engagement. As the rotor rotates, the screw-on units are moved downward one after another by their level control system toward the bottles below them and thereby screw the cap onto the bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,987,313 and EP 0521581 A1 disclose that each screwing unit can be provided with its own drive motor, the shaft of which is oriented axially parallel to the shaft of the screwing unit and is coupled to the screwing unit by a transmission. One disadvantage of such an apparatus is the complexity of the design and the resulting expense for the transmission coupling and the additional bearing points that must rotate with the apparatus, whereby the entire screwing unit still has to be moved toward the bottle.
In similar devices of the prior art, attempts have been made, by providing a small outside diameter of the screwing device, to increase the speed of rotation of the screw head independently of the speed of rotation of the rotor, to increase the throughput. In this regard, it is known that the shaft can be provided with a translation gearing between the toothed rim and the pinion which increases the speed of rotation. For construction reasons, given the extremely small amount of space available for the installation of the screw-on units in a screw-on device, however, this arrangement entails significant design problems. A similar construction is illustrated in EP0 690 020 A1. In this design, however, for the reasons disclosed in the patent, the gearing results in an undesirable reduction in the speed of rotation of the screw head. An additional similar construction is illustrated in DE 91 02 659 U1. In this construction, two gear sets are optionally engaged for different screwing depths, which results in a very complex construction.
Finally, the prior art also describes a device for the capping of bottles or similar containers with closing or screw caps that has a plurality of capping positions formed on the periphery of a rotor that rotates around a vertical machine shaft, to which positions the containers to be closed are transferred at a container inlet, and the closed containers are removed at a container outlet. Each closing position has a container carrier and a screw spindle that is provided on its lower end with a screw head and is mounted so that it can rotate around a container or spindle axis, which can be driven in rotation around its spindle axis by a drive, whereby the drive of the screw spindles can be adjusted or controlled in terms of the torque that is transmitted to the screw head and/or the speed of rotation of the screw heads.
The prior art also describes a similar device of the type disclosed in DE 20218523. In this device, special emphasis is placed on an exposed construction which is easy to clean, because the planned area of application of this closing machine is cold aseptic bottling.
To reduce the number of components and assemblies required and the resulting surface area, gaps, undercuts and slots to be cleaned, in this device, the capping heads are realized so that they are quasi-stationary vertically, and associated with each of these closing heads is a drive motor which drives the capping head directly, i.e. without additional gearing.
The bottles to be capped are thereby moved from a lower inlet position into an upper closing position, and are then moved into a lower discharge position.
With the teaching of DE 202 18 523, great progress was achieved with regard to the time and effort involved in cleaning, as well as in the safety and reliability of the process, in particular with regard to aseptic bottling, although further tests and analyses have demonstrated that there is additional potential for improvement.
With an increased demand for quality of the beverage to be filled into containers and its stability of durability, there is at hand a type of arrangement in which the handling positions are disposed in a closed space that is supplied with a special atmosphere. Such a space can be supplied with an inert atmosphere, for example, carbon dioxide, with a sterilizing atmosphere, or with hydrogen peroxide and thus can ensure a treatment of the beverage that is low in oxygen and low in germs, this being of paramount importance for the filling quality of the beverage. Such handling machines are known in many varieties in the beverage industry.
German Patent No. DE-PS 696,569 shows an arrangement in which a filling machine is disposed in a closed housing. The space that is provided in this manner is determined by the full size of the machine and has a substantial volume. German Patent Publication No. DE-OS 199 11 517 A1 shows a rotating filling machine that is fully disposed in a tightly surrounding housing that has a size that is determined by the size of the machine and, accordingly, the housing is also of substantial volume. German Patent No. DE-PS 198 35 369 C1 shows an embodiment in which the lower handling positions of container handling machines extend in sealed manner from above into a space that is supplied with a special atmosphere. This space is equipped so as to be accessed from below.
A further solution is disclosed in German Patent Publication No. DE-OS 197 31 796. The technical embodiment of this reference comprises a filling machine and a closing machine that are both disposed in a clean space or room that has a volume that is dimensioned so as to be so tight such that there is only space for maintenance at the filling machine and at the closing machine. By way of the reduction of the volume of the clean space, a lowering of the operating expense of the arrangement is to be attained. In addition, an immersion bath sterilizer is directly disposed at the clean space. This measure is to achieve, in contrast with European Patent No. EP 0120 789, to make the second rinser superfluous and to obviate associated operating and capital expenditures. This solution comprises overall the drawback that also in this embodiment there is suggested a clean space that fully envelops the filling machine, as well as the closing machine, and this arrangement requires a large amount of space and high construction and operating expenses. The desired extensive reduction in size of the constructive volume of the clean space that is sought in this teaching entails marked disadvantages, due to the diminished accessibility when maintenance is to be carried out.
The substantial volume of the space that is supplied with a special atmosphere is, accordingly, of disadvantage in the designs of the prior art. In the event of disruptions of operations, the space needs to be opened. It is then filled with normal ambient air and is correspondingly accessible to germs. The subsequent cleaning of the space prior to resumption of operations is largely determined by the surfaces and the overall volume of the space. In the case of the known large clean rooms, accordingly, the interruptions of operations, that are necessary due to disruptions of operations, or required relocation of machines, as well as the unavoidable cleaning of machines, last for hours.
From German Patent Publication No. DE-OS 101 45 803 A1 (corresponding to International Patent Publication No. WO 03/024860 A1, published on Mar. 27, 2003) and German Petty Patent No. DE-GM 297 13 155 U1, (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,867 issued to Karl on Feb. 22, 2000), it is finally known that the closed space is configured as an annular tunnel structure that moves about/or surrounds the carousel of the filling machine and the annular boiler, on the one hand, and by the stationary surfaces, on the other hand, whereby the carousel surfaces and the stationary surfaces are disposed in sealing manner atop one another or, respectively, with respect to one another by way of concentric seal elements. These known configurations already substantially reduce the required clean space.


An electrical contactor, and more particularly, but not exclusively, contactors having improved noise performance.

Traditional contactor design is composed of three main parts: control circuitry, main contacts, and the mechanical housing. Typically the control circuitry is designed to avoid creating and/or inducing "noise" or other unwanted disturbances on the main contacts which may occur due to the windings of the electro-magnet that move the main contacts. The contactor may for instance may include a plunger that is electrically isolated from a contact bridging bar. (Gigavac, Model/PN: HX21CCC.) The ferrous parts (i.e., housing) of the contactor are typically not isolated from the main contacts. While ferrous parts are not isolated, they are also not intentionally connected. This allows ferrous parts to float at some voltage that may or may not be the same as the main contacts. Typically this is not a problem; however, if the main contact voltage fluctuates, it can change by enough (while the housing does not change with it) that at a certain point the potential between the two will be great enough for a spark (capacitive discharge) to jump and cause the housing voltage to jump to a voltage closer to that of the main contacts. This in turn can induce an unwanted voltage in the control circuit. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for contactors which avoid such problems.


A `docking` method based on finite grid forcefield sampling makes use of fast evaluation of interaction energies between molecules, such as macromolecules and ligands. The forcefield used to calculate interaction energies utilizes a potential energy function composed of a 1/r dependent electrostatic term and a (6-12) Lennard-Jones term for Van der Waals interactions. Successful prediction of ligand position and determination of ligand-protein interaction enthalpy is done by mapping potential energy field components of one of the molecules onto a energy field component grids, and mapping interaction field components of another of the two molecules onto interaction component grids. By calculating a correlation between each potential energy field component grid and each interaction field grid, a plurality of grids of molecule binding energy values is obtained which represent a binding energy of the two molecules in the given relative rotation between the molecules for each relative translational positions in space between the molecules. At least one maximum of the binding energy values is determined and the relative translational positions for the maximum binding energy values are recorded. By rotating at least one of the molecules according to each relative rotation in a range of rotation, and by repeating the mapping for the rotated molecule and subsequently repeating the calculating and determining for each of the relative rotations, it is possible to select an energetically favorable one of the relative rotations and the relative translational positions to generate a position value for an energetically favorable binding site between the two molecules.

The development of computation tools for the determination of energetically favorable binding sites in macromolecules, referred to as "docking", has been of considerable interest during the past decade. These tools have been introduced to assist structure-based drug design. The approaches fall into two main categories, namely, qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative methods are restricted primarily to calculations based on shape, complementarity and consist of finding the best fit between two shapes. A computer program called "Dock" exemplifies this approach and has been described in the paper authored by B. K. Shoichet and I. D. Kuntz entitled "Matching chemistry and shape in molecular docking", which appeared in Protein Engineering, 7:723-732, 1993. Quantitative methods are based primarily on energy calculations seeking to determine the global minimum energy of the ligand binding interaction with the protein target. This approach is described in the paper by P. A. Kollman entitled "Free energy calculations: applications to chemical and biochemical phenomena", published in Chem. Rev. 93:2395-2417, 1993. Hybrid methods also exist in the form of calculating interaction energy between a given protein and small molecular fragments which are then assembled based on shape, complementarity criteria to form new molecules. This approach is described in the paper by P. A. Goodford entitled "Computational procedure for determining energetically favorable binding sites on biologically important molecules", published in J. Med. Chem, 28:849-857, 1985. More recently, a successful prediction was achieved in describing the binding of .beta.-lactamase inhibitor protein with TEM-1 .beta.-lactamase by employing both quantitative and qualitative methods as well as a combination thereof. This approach is documented in the paper by N. Strynadka et al entitled "Molecular docking program successfully predict the binding of .beta.-lactamase inhibitory protein to TEM-1 .beta.-lactamase", published in Nature Struct. Biol, 3(3):233-239, 1996.
When developing a computational tool for the determination of favorable binding sites in molecules, according to the quantitative methods, it is possible to simulate intermolecular movement by computing intermolecular forces to determine a preferred "docking" site between the molecules. It is also possible to calculate the energy of interaction between the two molecules to determine as the best binding site those sites which have the most favorable or minimum potential energy. The predictive accuracy of any quantitative method is limited by the resolution or precision of the model. In most calculations, a grid is used onto which the molecule structures are mapped. This mapping takes place with or without some kind of transfer function, e.g. a 1/r-function in the case of electrostatic potential description. The calculation of the interaction between the two molecules, such as calculating the potential energy between the two molecules, must be done for each relative position of the two molecules, namely, each relative translational position and each rotational orientation between the two molecules. Since the amount of computation is extremely high, the prior art approach has been to select a moderate grid resolution before performing a calculation of favorable binding sites between molecules.

Energetically favorable binding site determination between two molecules


Provided are a display panel and a display device. The display panel includes rows of pixels and a gate driver circuit; where a pixel among the plurality of rows of pixels includes a pixel circuit and the pixel circuit includes a light emission control terminal and a first scan drive terminal; the gate driver circuit includes stages of light emission drive devices, where each of the plurality of stages of light emission drive devices is disposed in correspondence to at least one row of pixel circuits and configured to provide a light emission control signal to the light emission control terminal of the pixel circuit; and the gate driver circuit further includes at least one stage of first scan drive device, where an input terminal of the first scan drive device is connected to an output terminal of the light emission drive device.

With the progress and development of science and technology and the improvement of people's standard of living, a display panel has been deeply used in various electronic products. Therefore, the display panel is manufactured in large quantity and an increasingly high requirement is imposed on the display of the display panel.
In the current manufacturing process of the display panel, how to improve the screen-to-body ratio of the display panel becomes a primary requirement for improving a display effect.

WUHAN TIANMA MICROELECTRONICS CO., LTD. SHANGHAI BRANCH


According to examples, an apparatus may include a processor and a memory on which is stored machine readable instructions executable by the processor to access test parameters of a patient; calculate average values for each of the accessed test parameters having a reference value range and assign binary coefficient values to the accessed test parameters based on comparison of the average value to the range limits; assign binary coefficient values to the accessed test parameters that do not have the reference value range based on a test parameter presence; generate a patient parameter matrix based on the assigned binary coefficient values; and apply statistical processing to the patient parameter matrix to make a diagnosis.

Making a medical diagnosis based on a large volume of medical test and patient-related data reflecting a state of the patient becomes a difficult task. Even if the data is classified and aggregated, the accurate diagnosis may not be achieved. In many instances important for accurate diagnostics data may be ignored, because some of the data is not comparable. A convention biochemical blood test produces many parameters measured in different measurement units, such as for example, hemoglobin is measured in g/dl, platelets are measured in E9/L, glucose is measured inmmol/L, and etc. At the initial stage of diagnosis, a doctor may decide how to classify all test data for a given patient based on the doctor's experience and intuition in order to determine key pathological parameters.
Given a large variety of test parameters and connections between the test parameters, the classification may not be sufficient and may not assist the doctor in making a correct diagnosis. The statistics-based methods may be useful for medical test data classification, but for a large group of patients. RF patent No. 2141247 issued in 1999 discloses a statistics-based method for diagnostics of infectious diseases. A variety of parameters are collected for a group of patients and mathematically processed to determine a set of key diagnostic parameters that may indicate a presence of illness in a patient based on deviation of the key parameters from a statistical norm. The main shortcoming of this method is a poor diagnostic accuracy of a none-infectious diseases in a single patient, because the diagnosis is made based on average data calculated on a large group of patients. According to the method disclosed in the above patent, in order to determine a cause or causes of illness, the factors affecting this illness are defined. However, these factors affect development of this illness not in the given patient, but over a large group of average patients. Accordingly, if the given patient is close to the average patient in terms of measured medical parameters, the diagnosis and possible causes of the illness may be determined fairly accurate. However, the further is a particular patient from the average patient, the less accurate the diagnosis and possible illness causes become. Accordingly, it is desired to have a system and method for automated diagnostics of a patient's none-infectious illness and for determination the causes of the illness for an individual patient based on the patient's test results.

Method and system for automated diagnostics of none-infectious illnesses


A new distinct variety of coleus, characterized by its compact, large, and symmetrically domed shape and its deep maroon color.

Although the coleus is a perennial of the nettle family, many gardeners treat it as a temporary foliage plant, to be enjoyed in full coloration but to be discarded when past its prime. This is due in part to the tendency of normal strains of coleus to fade in color under bright light even under adequate moisture level and other cultural conditions even though deeper shades are retained under shade and partial shade conditions. Also the coleus is generally easy to grow from new cuttings, making it easy to treat as a temporary or seasonal planting. Usually growth of the coleus plant is obtained by pinching.
While the coleus grows in a number of colors and shades varying from yellows, reds, oranges, greens and browns with numerous variegations which have been developed such as Pink Rainbow and Yellow Bedder there are no known varieties that approach the deep solid coloration of the coleus plant of the present variety.
Unpruned and untrained coleus plants of previous varieties do not generally grow to the large, symmetrically domed shape of the coleus plant of the present variety.


A method of storing a pattern matching policy and a method of controlling an alert message are provided. The method includes (a) generating a content structure as a sub-structure of a header combination structure of a stored traffic pattern which is a policy to be newly applied to a pattern matching apparatus; (b) determining whether a content of the stored traffic pattern is identical to a content of an original traffic pattern stored in advance in the pattern matching apparatus; (c) allocating a content index of the content of the original traffic pattern to the content of the stored traffic pattern if the content of the stored traffic pattern is identical to the content of the original traffic pattern; and (d) determining whether a header combination structure of the original traffic pattern comprises only one content structure or more than one content structure and allocating a header index of the header combination structure of the stored traffic pattern to the header combination structure of the original traffic pattern if the header combination structure of the original traffic pattern is found to comprise only one content structure. Accordingly, it is possible to efficiently use hardware memories with limited storage capacities and effectively perform a pattern matching function.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of using memories in a hardware pattern matching apparatus, and more particularly, to a method of storing a string value pattern matching policy and a method of controlling an alert message which can provide a considerable number of traffic patterns to hardware memories with limited storage capacities.
2. Description of the Related Art
As high-speed network infrastructure becomes widespread, the scale of damage to networks caused by malicious attacks has increasingly widened, leading to tremendous loss of time and economic resources. Now that a high-speed network environment such as a gigabit Ethernet environment has become reality, the demand for security analysis techniques capable of processing large amounts of data has grown steadily. In order to meet this demand, various efforts have been made to implement high-speed pattern matching techniques in hardware devices. However, existing pattern matching-based hardware security systems can apply only a limited number of traffic patterns to pattern matching due to their limited storage capacities.
In the meantime, a variety of security systems focusing on network attacks have been developed. With the advent of high-speed networks and an ever-increasing number of transmissions of large amounts of data over networks, the demand for improving conventional low-speed security analysis techniques has increased. In other words, in order to effectively respond to today's network environment which constantly changes in terms of speed and the amount of data transmitted over networks and which suffers a variety of network attacks, security analysis techniques capable of analyzing a considerable amount of data within a short period of time are needed. Improved security systems adopting such security analysis techniques must also be developed.
The performance of conventional security systems is generally low in terms of packet loss rate and attack detection rate. In order to address this problem, high-speed hardware pattern matching techniques which can provide a high-speed attack detection function, a firewall function, and a virus detection function have been developed. Most of the existing security systems, based on high-speed hardware pattern matching techniques, perform a rule-based pattern inspection and require a mechanism that makes it easy to instantly add or remove traffic patterns as required.
Also, the existing security systems, based on high-speed hardware pattern matching techniques, need methods of preventing the performance of the security systems from being adversely affected by the number of traffic patterns applied to pattern matching and the length of strings of traffic patterns. However, many thousands of attack detection rules are currently available wherein the length of strings considerably varies from one attack detection rule to another. For example, the length of strings of attack detection rules range from a minimum of 1 byte to a maximum of over 100 bytes. Therefore, it is difficult to apply a considerable number of attack detection rules to pattern matching without deteriorating the performance of security systems.
For example, attack detection rules are comprised of a header combination and a string, and strings generally occupy a larger memory space than header combinations. Attack detection rules, which have the same string and different header combinations, are highly likely to be classified as being different and are thus allocated to different memory zones.
Hardware security systems, unlike software security systems, have limited memory capacities. Therefore, hardware security systems are required to efficiently apply a considerable number of traffic patterns with their limited memory capacities. In order to address the problem of security with limited memory capacities, hardware security systems can use external memories, in which case, however, deterioration of the performance of hardware security systems is inevitable. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a method of efficiently arranging a considerable number of traffic patterns in a memory with a limited storage capacity.

Method of storing pattern matching policy and method of controlling alert message

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


The present invention relates to a selectively controllable microLED system, and more specifically, to a technology having a transparent microLED display skin that is formed to be worn on the outer surface of any one from among a specific device, a specific product, and a body part, having a master unit and a remote slave for controlling the transparent microLED display skin that are independently or respectively formed on one side of any one from among the specific device, the specific product, and the body part, and having a smartphone allowing a wearer to ultimately and selectively control the transparent microLED display skin, and thus the present invention enables the color of any one from among the specific device, the specific product, and the body part to be selectively changed according to the current situation of the wearer.

In general, in order to express unique designs in products or devices such as wigs, clothing, and ornaments as well as body nails, other logos, and the nails are polished with nail polish, or a separate device capable of emitting light in the same manner as the nail polish does is configured to attached so that the device is used for highlighting such part.
On the other hand, the ornaments may include rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, gloves, wristwatches, headbands, artificial nails wigs, hats and the like, and ornaments used for portable product may include umbrellas, parasols, dresses, fans, handbags, handkerchiefs, belts, and the like.
In some cases, the above-described ornaments, specific devices, body parts, products for interior design, and other devices, in general, are used by configuring a separate LED capable of emitting the light, however, in modern society, users perform a single design or a monochromatic light-emitting function, and therefore, when using for a long time, users are often getting bored or unsatisfied, therefore pursue new designs, and yet, it is inevitable that a lot of economic burdens is to meet needs for such users.
In a case where the interior design is being carried out, a plurality of specific devices, specific products, and wallpapers are usually filled. If such specific devices and specific products are purchased and disposed once, changes in position may be possible when necessary, and as for changing colors, the surfaces of specific devices and products may be changed by attaching colored sheets, however, it is not neat, and requiring intensive-labor, and is not capable of transform over several times, and is not capable of changing its design. Even for the wallpaper, when single wallpaper is configured to use, a unique design is created by providing the wallpaper with some features, a sense of monotony may inevitably exist using such limited designs.
In addition, an ornament, a specific device, a body part, and an interior design product or the like, which is configured with conventional light-emitting LEDs is the technology that is mostly expressed in a monotonous color, and in order to express in a variety of colors, there is a problem in that not only a plurality of LED lights are provided, but also requires to onerously change or recharge batteries frequently due to high power consumption, and economically low in efficiency.
Due to such a problem, a light-emitting system using a microLED that is low in power consumption with relatively high brightness is gaining attention lately, and the microLED is applied in a variety of fields and configured to be used in various products and devices.
As described in the conventional technology related to the microLED,
Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1926715 discloses a technique related to a method for manufacturing a microLED comprising the steps of: preparing a first substrate; forming a first electrode layer basic material that forms on the first substrate; forming a first conductive bonding layer material that forms on the first electrode layer basic material; forming a batch pattern that forms a first electrode layer and a first conductive bonding layer by collectively forming a pattern on the first conductive electrode layer basic material and the first conductive bonding layer basic material; and mounting a chip that mounts a first surface of a microLED chip on the first conductive bonding layer, wherein the chip mounting method comprises the steps of: forming a hydrophilic surface or a hydrophobic surface to form the hydrophilic surface or the hydrophobic surface on a first surface or a second surface of a microLED wafer or a plurality of the microLED chips; aligning a chip to float placing a plurality of the microLED chips in a water bath so that the hydrophilic surface is naturally aligned in the underwater direction or the hydrophobic surface is naturally aligned in the water surface direction; adhering at least one microLED chip with the vacuum pressure using a vacuum hole formed on a vacuum adhesion plate; and mounting the microLED chip adhered by releasing the vacuum pressure on the first conductive bonding layer.
Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1926714 discloses a technique related to a method for manufacturing a microLED comprising the steps of: preparing a first substrate that is formed on a first electrode layer; forming a first conductive paste on the first electrode layer; mounting a chip that mounts a first surface of the microLED chip on the first conductive paste; preparing a second substrate formed on a second electrode layer; forming a second conductive paste that forms a second conductive paste on a second surface of the microLED chip or the second electrode layer; and mounting a second substrate inverting the second substrate and mounting the second conductive paste on a second surface of the microLED chip; wherein the chip mounting comprises the steps of: forming a hydrophilic surface or a hydrophobic surface to form the hydrophilic surface or the hydrophobic surface on a first surface or a second surface of a microLED wafer or a plurality of the microLED chips; aligning a chip to float by placing a plurality of the microLED chips in a water bath so that the hydrophilic surface is naturally aligned in the underwater direction or the hydrophobic surface is naturally aligned in the water surface direction; adhering to at least one microLED chip with the vacuum pressure using a vacuum hole formed on a vacuum adhesion plate; and mounting the microLED chip adhered by releasing the vacuum pressure on the first conductive bonding layer.
Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1597707 discloses a technique related to a wireless powered lighting system comprising: a primary coil connected to the light-emitting device, a bottle cap that is used for sealing cover connected to the primary coil; a secondary coil corresponding to the primary coil; a bottle opener having a battery connected to the secondary coil, and a built-in wireless recharging unit for recharging the battery, wherein the primary coil is disconnected and light-emitting is stopped, when the bottle cap is damaged by the bottle opener.
The above-described conventional art focuses on improving productivity and reducing manufacturing time and cost, facilitating electrical or mechanical coupling, or implementing a light-emitting system without a built-in power source like a battery.
However, the above-described arts may, generally, improve the process of manufacturing a general microLED and have an effect on durability, but as described above, various transformations of such a specific device, a specific product, and a body part required for the microLEDs is a technology that is impossible to apply to places where used and is a technology that may not be customized to the taste of users, where situations are changing rapidly.

Selectively controllable microLED system


An interconnect structure is centered around a substrate having multiple component contacts for receiving electronic components. Multiple conductive traces are provided over the substrate or in multiple layers of the substrate. Each conductive trace is connected to one of the component contacts. A programmable IC having a group of separate conductive leads is connected to the substrate. Two or more of the conductive leads are connected to corresponding ones of the conductive traces. The IC has programmable elements, such as electrically programmable elements, for selectively connecting the conductive leads, thereby enabling selected conductive traces to be interconnected so as to achieve a desired electrical function from the electronic components connected to the substrate. A test chip, an interconnect structure that contains the test chip, and a related test method are also provided.

Hybrid circuits and multichip modules are commonly used to connect electronic components for applications in instruments, computers, telecommunication equipment and consumer electronic products which require higher density and performance than the capabilities of printed-circuit boards. Typically, an engineer will design a hybrid circuit or a multichip module to carry the types of electronic components (including integrated circuits, transistors, and discrete components such as resistors, capacitors and inductors) necessary to implement the desired electronic function and to fit in the space available for the product. Consequently, each hybrid circuit or multichip module typically is custom designed. To design a custom hybrid circuit or a multichip module is expensive, takes time and requires custom tooling and the fabrication of prototype interconnect substrates. If errors are found in the prototypes, then the interconnect substrate must be redesigned. Such a process often delays the planned introduction of a new product. Bare dice, surface-mounted packages and electronic components are used with hybrid circuits and multichip modules, to provide high density. Shorter connection traces result in lower capacitances to drive shorter signal propagation delays, and higher performance. Testing of the integrity of the interconnects and the electronic components in the hybrid circuits and multichip modules is rather difficult. Attaching the probes of oscilloscopes and logic analyzers to observe the waveforms on the various pins of the electronic components during operation requires microprobing of fine lines and pads which is difficult. Many of the interconnects to be tested are imbedded and difficult to test. The use of test pads to access some of the imbedded traces takes area and often unintentionally overlooks important traces. The testing, diagnosis and debugging of hybrid circuits and multichip modules are complicated, time consuming and often delay the planned product introduction.
In the prior art, universal interconnect substrates which can be programmed to provide any desired interconnection pattern are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,297; No. 4,467,400; No. 4,487,737 and No. 4,479,088. The universal substrates in the prior art used interconnect architecture which could not be programmed or tested from external leads and which required probing of internal pads to program the connections or to test the integrity of the interconnects or the electronic components on the substrate. To optimize the number of internal pads for the programming and testing of the interconnects, prior art architecture has interconnects with excessive lengths and parasitic capacitances which reduced the speed of the connections on the substrates. The difficulties in testing and programming such universal substrates are time consuming and often increase the product development time and expenses. Other prior art (an article entitled "Active Substrate System Integration" by Wooley et al, at the Center for Integrated Systems at Stanford University, copyrighted 1987 by the IEEE) discloses the potential use of active circuits in the substrate to implement drivers, receivers, repeaters and power distribution circuits. Such circuits are custom designed for each case and are active during the operation of the electronic components and chips on the substrate to implement the desired function.
I disclose in my U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/410,194 filed Sep. 20, 1989, entitled "Field Programmable Printed Circuit Board", now U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,124, a printed circuit board of unique configuration combined with one or more special programmable integrated circuit chips (often called "programmable interconnect chips" or "PICs") to provide a user programmable printed circuit board capable of being used to provide any one of a plurality of functions. The active circuits in the programmable interconnect chips also provide test ports which offer powerful structures for testing the integrity of the interconnects, the electronic components and the system function.
The field programmable printed circuit board described in the above application substantially reduces the cost associated with developing complex electronic systems by providing a standard PC board configuration which is easily and economically manufactured. As disclosed in the above application, the designer of electronic systems utilizing the standard programmable PC board described therein will also utilize computer aided design software to determine the optimum placement of the electronic components on the programmable PC board and to determine the configuration of the programmable interconnect chip or chips to properly interconnect the electronic components so as to yield the desired electronic system.
In the present application, interconnect substrates for hybrid circuits and multichip modules with circuits in or mounted on the substrate are disclosed. These circuits enable the engineer by using external leads to electrically program the interconnects in the field and/or to connect any sets of nodes on the substrate to external test ports to test the integrity of the interconnects and the electronic components on the substrate and the system function. These circuits provide the benefits of the field programmable printed-circuit boards for applications requiring the density and performance of multichip modules and hybrid circuits. During normal operation these circuits in or mounted on the substrate can be disabled and the connections of the interconnects on the substrate provide the desired function.

Interconnect substrate with circuits for field-programmability and testing of multichip modules and hybrid circuits


A modular pier includes a plurality of modular pier sections. The plurality of modular pier sections includes at least a first pier section and a second pier section wherein the pier sections include a frame having a first end and a second end opposite the first end. The pier sections include a catch bar running transversely across the second end of the frame of the pier sections. The modular pier also includes latch assemblies located on the second end of the frame of the pier sections. The latch assembly of the second pier section is operable to engage the catch bar of the first pier section to connect the first pier section to the second pier section.

The present invention relates to a pier, and more particularly, to a removable pier of modular construction.
Piers are commonly used in water based activities such as boating, fishing, and swimming. In some climates a removable pier system is necessary so that piers can be removed before ice forms on a lake in the winter. Various pier structures have been designed that aid in the installation and removal of the piers. Typically, these piers are formed in sections that can be connected together to form a single pier assembly. In this way, each pier section is lighter and easier to handle. In addition to this, pier sections are easier to store during the winter.
In order to install piers formed in sections, it is often necessary for the assembler to physically get into the water to connect each additional section. Because of this, most people prefer to install or remove the pier at a time when the water is at a comfortable temperature to avoid having to get into the water when it is cold. Therefore, rather than being used, the pier is often in storage for a significant portion of the spring and fall season. A pier which could be installed or removed from outside of the water would be beneficial because it could be installed very soon after the ice has melted in the spring, and also could remain in the water until ice begins to form in the fall.
While some piers have been designed to be installed from outside of the water, they are difficult to install and often require great physical exertion. For example, some piers have been designed that require that a large pier section be maneuvered horizontally and pushed out into the water. These types of piers can be difficult to install, especially when the lake bottom is composed of mud, or boulders, or if there is a lot of lake vegetation. Other piers have been designed which require the use of cranes that use ropes or chains to lower or raise pier sections from the water. In addition, latching mechanisms for holding together multiple pier sections have many problems. Some latching mechanisms are too rigid, and therefore easily break. Other latching mechanisms are complex and require tools or levers for installation. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a modular pier that can easily be installed from outside of the water, that requires little or no physical exertion, which provides a strong but flexible latching mechanism, can be easily stored, and solves other problems of current pier systems.


An image synthesizer for a surround monitoring system for a vehicle includes a receiving module for receiving a first image from a first camera, a second image from a second camera, and a control signal from a control module; and a combining module for combining the first image and the second image in the overlapping region and, depending on the control signal, to generate a combined image, the control signal indicating a condition external to the vehicle.

Surround view systems for passenger cars showing the vehicle from a bird's eye view are available from several manufacturers. A few solutions are also available for commercial vehicles using multiple cameras to cover various sides of the vehicle. These multiple cameras produce two generally different images of the scene in an overlapping area, but the two separate images, e.g. of a single object, may confuse the driver. Thus, both images should be combined (synthesized) in the overlap area to obtain a combined image in a way that does not confuse the driver.
Available systems for commercial vehicles are based, for example, on concepts developed for passenger cars without adapting these systems to the particular needs of commercial vehicles.
There are several advantageous aspects in the environment of commercial vehicles that are not yet utilized in surround view systems.
In addition, conventional synthesizing devices as, for example, a surround view display, a mirror view display, or other displays blending together two camera images with different perspectives stitch together images statically.
By blending multiple images from different cameras around the vehicle in overlapping areas it becomes possible to create a seamless bird's eye view in these systems. However, a common issue with these surround view systems relates to the object visibility that is reduced in the stitching area. As a consequence of the blending, three-dimensional (3D) objects may disappear because the view of the 3D objects might be projected to the area blended-out from both views.
One prior art system is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,139,412 B2, wherein several camera views are synthesized into a bird's eye view in a static way. On the other hand, a dynamic surround view generation based on vehicle speed is discussed in JP 5124672 B2 or US 2013/162830 A1. According to these systems, when the work vehicle is in a stopped state, a first virtual projection plane is used to create the bird's eye view image, wherein an outer edge portion has an increasing height from a ground surface as a distance from the work vehicle increases. On the other hand, when the work vehicle is in a traveling state, a second virtual projection plane is used with an outer edge portion having a uniformly flat shape in height from the ground surface.
A general issue of these and other image synthesizing applications relates to the following situation. When an object crosses the area where two images are combined (i.e. crossing a stitching line or the blending area), the object visibility may reduce or only part of the object is visible. In the worst situation, the object can disappear completely in this area.
Therefore, there is a demand for an image synthesizer, which overcomes the this problems and generates a combined image that provides an improved visibility of objects in a surveillance area.

Image synthesizer for a surround monitoring system

KNORR-BREMSE SYSTEME FUER NUTZFAHRZEUGE GMBH


In the manufacture of Printed Circuit (PC) boards, conductors are placed in a base layer of glass cloth. The conductors penetrate the thickness of the cloth and can be arranged to form a matrix or grid. The arrangement of cloth and conductors is then cured with resin with the wire lengths disposed within the cured board core. The wire lengths can be made flush with the board core surfaces and become the electrical conductors between circuitry on such surfaces. In one embodiment, the wire is removed leaving a finished hole ready for standard through-hole plating. These finished circuit boards can be stacked and laminated forming through, blind, or buried vias. One or more finished circuit boards with imbedded vias can be used as circuitry redistribution layers to avoid dense circuit patterns in applications such as in flip-chip mounting of integrated circuit chips. In another embodiment, the conductors are imbedded in the glass cloth with sufficient density to form a composite thick conductor. Other layers can then be laminated or built up on this composite and multiple vias can then be formed to the thick conductor using conventional techniques.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to semiconductor Integrated Circuit (IC) package manufacturing, and more particularly, to a process for manufacturing Printed Circuit (PC) boards, wherein electrical interconnections are imbedded within the boards during their manufacture, thereby eliminating the need for mechanical drilling.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is desirable to provide electrical interconnection between different layers of an IC package. These electrical connections, or vias, are usually formed during the manufacturing process by mechanical drilling.
To manufacture a PC board, strands of fibers (e.g., glass) are woven together to form a sheet of cloth. This cloth is then dipped in resin and thermally cured forming a cured board core. Copper sheets or other conductive materials are then plated or otherwise formed on the board core. The copper sheets are eventually etched into circuit paths for electronic circuitry to form the PC board. Vias are commonly created by mechanically drilling holes through the copper sheets and board core, then plating conductive material along the side-walls of the drilled through-holes. This process is performed after the board core is cured.
The vias formed by mechanical drilling are the single most time consuming and expensive process step in IC package manufacturing. Cracks can occur during normal operation due to stresses produced by temperature cycling. These cracks are usually caused by poor drilling that results in uneven via side-walls. Also, the combination of materials used in the manufacture of a PC board (e.g., glass fibers and resin) is difficult to drill through smoothly and cleanly after curing.
Furthermore, to make IC packages smaller with increased density, the mechanically-drilled vias must be reduced in size. Unfortunately, the size of a drilled via is limited by the mechanical limitation of the drill-bit diameter. Ultra-small drill-bits are expensive to manufacture and the useful life is limited. Moreover, sufficient plating of the via side-walls becomes more difficult as the aspect ratio (i.e., the ratio between a via diameter and its length) increases.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a process by which electrical connections may be made between layers of an IC package without resorting to mechanical drilling.

Method for making electrical interconnections between layers of an IC package


A system of devices facilitate the uninterrupted transport of a payload of persons (110) or cargo along a guide cable (180), or zip line, suspended from at least two support structures (120). Transfer mechanisms (800, 810) allow the cable to loop to a starting location or to transport between discrete endpoints. A trolley (200) carrying the payload may be powered by gravity alone, or a motorized assist may allow the cable course to be traversed without regard to relative elevations of cable supports. A motor may serve as a regenerative speed governor or braking device to charge a power supply for travel against gravity. The system enables one or more riders (110) to travel along the guide cable (180) at velocities desired for recreational purposes while assuming many body positions, such as prone, sitting or standing, to provide the sensation of flying like a bird.

In its simplest form a zip-line consists of a pulley that rides upon a suspended cable. The cable is generally stretched between a pair of vertical mounts serving as cable supports. Preferred supports include large trees, which may be selected from those growing on a slope, and towers, which may be erected upon a hillside or in a field. Generally one mounting point will be selected to be higher than the other by a suitable differential of elevation. Since the cable determines the trajectory of the pulley, it may be referred to as a guide cable.
For most applications the simple pulley is replaced by a trolley that rests upon the cable and is fitted to carry a payload as it moves freely along the length of the guide cable. When adapted for amusement purposes, a simple zip-line enables a user propelled by gravity to traverse from one end of the guide cable to the other, generally from the upper end to the lower end along an incline, by holding on or attaching to the freely moving trolley. The cable is usually made of high tensile steel, as would be used for a tram, with the cable thickness being sized according to the length of the run and size of the load. While some zip-lines are used in the logging industry, there is a growing interest in zip-lines for amusement or entertainment purposes, especially as a means to access unusual areas, such as a rainforest canopy, or in outdoor adventure camps.
In its extended form the presently described system relates to overhead trolleys, especially zip-lines and other cable-supported tram-like systems. A typical recreational setting, such as a park, will often use multiple cables to carry passengers down, or up, a slope with each cable being generally straight, having no mid-line turns. When the direction of a zip-line within a course is to be altered, the riders must disembark at the end of one cable segment and re-embark at the start of another, with alternate transportation, such as foot traffic or motorized cart between those two endpoints. Such discrete segmented operation is required by conventional cable systems because of the problems associated with guide cable supports or terminations interfering with the unobstructed movement of a trolley as it passes from one segment to the next.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A Ti-containing ferritic stainless steel sheet for an exhaust pipe flange member has a composition containing, in mass percentage, from 0.003 to 0.030% of C, 2.0% or less of S i, 2.0% or less of Mn, 0.050% or less of P, 0.040% or less of S, from 10.0 to 19.0% of Cr, 0.030% or less of N, from 0.07 to 0.50% of Ti, from 0.010 to 0.20% of Al, from 0 to 1.50% of Mo, and from 0 to 0.0030% of B, with the balance Fe and unavoidable impurities, has a K value of 150 or more, has a sheet surface hardness of 170 HV or less, and has a sheet thickness of from 5.0 to 11.0 mm. The K value equals −0.07×Cr−6790×Free(C+N)−1.44×d+267, wherein Free(C+N) corresponds to the solid-dissolved (C+N) concentration (% by mass), and d represents an average crystal grain diameter (μm).

An automobile exhaust gas flow path is constituted by various members including an exhaust manifold, a front pipe, a muffler, a center pipe, and the like. These members of an exhaust pipe are fastened with flange portions. FIG. 1 schematically exemplifies an external appearance of an exhaust pipe member having a flange portion. A flange member 2 is welded to an end of a steel pipe 1, so as to constitute the exhaust pipe member. The flange member 2 that is used in an exhaust pipe member is especially referred to as an "exhaust pipe flange member" in the description herein. The dimension and shape of the exhaust pipe flange member may slightly vary depending on the specification of the exhaust pipe, and the flange member is often produced by cold forging with a press mold. The flange member generally has a center large hole, through which an exhaust gas flows, and a hole for fastening with a bolt, and is generally subjected to cutting work.
For the exhaust pipe flange member, ordinary steels have been frequently used, but are being shifted to stainless steels in recent years from the standpoint of the corrosion resistance and the like. As the steel types applied thereto, there is a large need of a ferritic single phase steel types, which has a smaller thermal expansion coefficient and a smaller material cost than an austenitic stainless steel. Examples of the ferritic single phase steel types that is considered to be suitable for an exhaust pipe flange member of an automobile exhaust gas flow path from the standpoint of the material characteristics including the corrosion resistance, the heat resistance, and the like include a Ti-containing ferritic stainless steel.
A stainless steel material for being worked into an exhaust pipe flange member of an automobile exhaust gas flow path is often demanded to be a steel sheet having a large gauge thickness (for example, a sheet thickness of from 5.0 to 11.0 mm). However, in general, a ferritic single phase steel types has small low temperature toughness. In particular, a Ti-containing ferritic stainless steel is often pointed out as a steel types that is short in toughness in working from the steel sheet having a large gauge thickness to the flange member and in the severe impact test applied to the resulting flange member.

Ti-containing ferritic stainless steel sheet for exhaust pipe flange member, production method, and flange member

NIPPON STEEL STAINLESS STEEL CORPORATION


A computer-based system is provided for preventing unauthorized duplication of a particular software program among a plurality of active software programs executed on a computer. The system receives an indication that the computer is executing the particular software program, and then monitors operation of the computer to determine which of the plurality of the active software programs is being currently executed. When the system determines through the monitoring that the particular software program is not the currently executed software program, it disables execution of the particular software program.

Customers or potential purchasers of software programs often desire to test the programs before determining whether or not to purchase them. This may occur because written literature does not adequately provide the customer with a feel for the functionality of the software program when in operation. The written literature simply describes the program, and customers often want to actually work with the software program in order to determine if they want to buy the program.
Some software vendors provide demonstration programs of their software programs for sale. These demonstration programs are not the fully operating version of the software program. The demonstration program simply contains some of the functionality of the full software program in order to provide the customer with a feel for the functionality of the program. Since the demonstration version is not a fully operating version of the program, however, it does not provide a customer with a complete picture of the program's functionality. Therefore, demonstration versions are limited in how they may assist a customer in deciding whether to purchase a particular software program.
Recently, some software vendors are providing fully operating versions of software programs which a customer may sample. These software programs are intended to be securely stored on a particular storage medium. Therefore, when a customer samples a fully operating version of a program, the program being sampled is securely maintained by another program which seeks to prevent the customer from obtaining a free copy of the sampled program.
These software vendors typically distribute the programs to be sampled on some type of transportable storage medium. For example, a software vendor may provide a floppy diskette on which is contained the program to be sampled. The diskette may be locked due to changes to the physical storage medium such that the customer may not obtain a free copy of the program. Other software vendors provide a CD-ROM which stores a large number of programs which may be sampled. The CD-ROM also contains a program which manages and in effect supervises the sampling of the programs such that a customer may not obtain copies of the programs without first purchasing them and obtaining particular unlocking codes.
These distribution systems for sampling fully operating versions of programs, however, are generally limited in that they do not provide for on-line distribution. These systems typically distribute the programs on some type of transportable storage medium, such as a CD-ROM or hard disk drive sold with a computer. This type of distribution can be more burdensome to the computer user, because an on-line distribution channel is more easily accessible, since the computer users need simply "dial up" a network or bulletin board.
These systems for providing the sampling of fully operating versions of programs are also limited in the security provided to the programs being sampled. For example, they typically prevent unauthorized copying of programs by dividing the program or removing portions of the program such that a secure "key" is required to reassemble the program and thus operate it. These methods, however, require that one tamper with the program, which can make the program unstable. In addition, these methods typically do not work with all applications. For example, some applications use a checksum program to prevent damage from computer viruses. These distribution methods change the format of the program, which can result in the checksum virus check incorrectly returning a error or message that the program is corrupted.

System for preventing unauthorized copying of active software


In a reclaiming apparatus (106) that includes an airtight container (106a) as an absorbent storing unit that stores a part of an absorbent that absorbs CO2 included in an exhaust gas and a heating unit that heats the absorbent stored in the airtight container (106a), a part of the absorbent stored in the airtight container (106a) is distributed, and a gaseous body is brought into counterflow contact with the absorbent that is distributed. As a result, since the gaseous body is brought into counterflow contact with a part of the absorbent stored in the absorbent storing unit, an absorbent component volatilizes and is separated from a degraded material, and the absorbent component can be extracted from the degraded material, whereby a loss of the absorbent can be reduced.

In recent years, as a source that causes global warming, a greenhouse effect that is caused by CO2 was pointed out, and a countermeasure thereof has been an international urgent task for keeping the global environment. Sources of the generation of CO2 reach all the fields of human activities that incinerate fossil fuels, and the request for suppressing the discharge of CO2 tends to be stronger. In accordance with this, a method of eliminating and recovering CO2 contained in exhaust gas by bringing the exhaust gas of a boiler into contact with an amine-based CO2 absorbent such as an alkanolamine aqueous solution and a method of storing recovered CO2 without discharging it into the air for power generating facilities such as thermal power plants using a large amount of fossil fuels have been aggressively researched.
Conventionally, in Patent Literature 1, a method of eliminating CO2 (carbon dioxide) and SOx (sulfur oxide) that are included in the exhaust gas is disclosed. This method includes: a denitration process in which NOx (nitrogen oxide) contained in the exhaust gas is reduced so as to be denitrated; a desulfurization process in which SOx contained in the exhaust gas is desulfurized by being brought into contact with calcium carbonate included in sludge; a de-CO2 process in which CO2 included in the exhaust gas is absorbed into an absorbent by bringing the exhaust gas for which the denitration process and the desulfurization process have been performed into concurrent contact with an amine-based absorbent (alkanolamine aqueous solution) at an absorber; and an absorbent regenerating process in which a lean solution acquired by eliminating CO2 from a rich solution that has absorbed CO2 at a regenerator is returned to the absorber. In this method, in order to prevent a situation in which a heat-stable salt generated by oxidizing alkanolamine with oxygen included in the exhaust so as to be degraded or reacting alkanolamine with remaining NOx or remaining SOx and a degraded material including a solid matter such as a dust included in the exhaust gas are accumulated within a system through which the absorbent passes, reclaiming is performed in which the absorbent is heated in a reclaimer, the degraded material is concentrated as sludge, and the degraded material is eliminated from the absorbent.

Reclaiming apparatus and reclaiming method


A seat reclining apparatus for a vehicle, including a stationary bracket and a movable bracket provided integral with a seat cushion and seat back, respectively. The movable bracket is equipped with a driving device. A speed-reduction unit is provided including an input shaft, a stationary member and a movable member. A forward-inclination mechanism is provided including a lock plate, an engaging-disengaging device and a restrictive device. The engaging-disengaging device is adapted to bring the lock plate and the movable bracket into one of an engagement state and a disengagement state. The movable bracket is connected to the stationary bracket through the speed-reduction unit and the forward-inclination mechanism. The seat reclining apparatus is further provided with a limit switch for powering off the driving device when the movable bracket and the lock plate are brought into the disengagement state.

This invention relates to improvements in a seat reclining apparatus for a vehicle, in which an electrically operated type-seat reclining apparatus provided with a forward-inclination mechanism is arranged to be the same in basic arrangement as a manually operated type-seat reclining apparatus thereby to enable commonality of most of components.
In a seat reclining apparatus for a vehicle, a differentially transmitting mechanism (or a differential gear) is employed as a mechanism for adjusting the angle of inclination of a back seat, so that the back seat can be electrically and rotationally moved at a high reduction ratio.
A seat reclining apparatus for a vehicle, employing the arrangement of the differentially transmitting mechanism, is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2005-278983. In addition to an operation for changing the angle of inclination of the seat back, this seat reclining apparatus for the vehicle is further adapted to instantaneously make the seat back fall forward, for example, when an occupant gets on a two door or coupe type vehicle to take a rear seat from a front door (or when an occupant in the rear seat gets off such a vehicle at the front door). This seat reclining apparatus is arranged as follows.
The commonly known seat reclining apparatus as disclosed in the above patent publication is arranged including: a base plate provided on a seat cushion side; an outer toothed plate attached through an eccentric shaft in such a manner as to be rotatable relative to the base plate and not to be eccentric relative to the base plate, and having external teeth; an inner toothed plate having internal teeth including one or two more number of teeth than the outer toothed plate; an arm plate provided to be integral with the inner toothed plate and attached to a seat back; and a motor provided to the seat back for driving the eccentric shaft. The eccentric shaft has eccentric sections supporting the inner toothed plate and the arm plate eccentrically rotatable relative to the outer toothed plate, and is to move a mesh portion (where the inner toothed plate is meshed with the outer toothed plate) along the circumference.
In the above-discussed seat reclining apparatus, the base plate and the outer toothed plate are in a relationship, in which a first pin and a latch plate are brought into contact with two extending parts of the outer toothed plate so as to lock the outer toothed plate. Further, a relationship among the outer toothed plate, the inner toothed plate and the arm plate is such as to be able to rotate the inner toothed plate and the arm plate together within a range in which second and third pins can be brought into contact with the two extending parts.
More specifically, when an operation is carried out for changing the angle of inclination of the seat back, the outer toothed plate is locked by the first pin and the latch plate, and additionally the inner toothed plate and the arm plate are rotated relative to the outer toothed plate in either of two directions by the motor and a differentially transmitting mechanism. In another operation for inclining the seat back to fall forward, the latch plate is rotated to release the outer toothed plate, thereby allowing the inner toothed plate and the arm plate to fall forward together with the outer toothed plate. When the seat back is pulled to be raised up, the inner toothed plate and the arm plate are pulled to be raised up while the outer toothed plate is rotated back into position. With this, the latch plate is reset so as to lock the outer toothed plate again.


The present invention provides a thrust bearing assembly and a horizontal skid utilized in a horizontal pumping system. In one embodiment, the thrust bearing assembly comprises a cylindrical open housing, at least one radial ball bearing, at least one rotating seal, and at least one axial thrust bearing. The axial thrust bearing does not have to be completely submerged in lubricant.

Horizontal pumping systems are used as surface pumps to boost fluid pressure at specified volumes in applications such as water injection into a disposal well, and lifting of brine from mines to the earth's surface. Such horizontal pumping systems usually comprise a multistage centrifugal pump horizontally mounted to a skid and driven by an electric motor.