A translator fixture for use in testing a printed circuit board including a plurality of translator plates for containing and supporting translator pins extending through the translator plates for positioning the translator pins for contacting test points on the circuit board, and a plurality of supports. Each of the supports includes a central portion and is mounted through a respective group of holes in the translator plates. The holes each include respective, substantially identically dimensioned central apertures that are oversized with respect to the central portions of the supports. At least one hole in each of the groups of holes includes at least one peripheral aperture extending outwardly from a periphery of the central aperture of the one hole. Each of the supports also includes at least first and second support surfaces extending from the central portion for supporting at least two translator plates, respectively, in spaced apart, substantially parallel relationship with each other. The second support surface is undersized compared to the at least one peripheral aperture.

Automatic test equipment for checking printed circuit boards has long involved the use of "bed of nails" test fixtures on which the circuit board is mounted during testing. A typical test fixture includes a large number of nail-like spring-loaded test probes arranged to make electrical contact between measurement channels in the test equipment and designated test points on the circuit board under test, also referred to as the unit under test or "UUT". Any particular circuit laid out on a printed circuit board is likely to be different from other circuits, and consequently, the arrangement of test probes for contacting test points on the board must be customized in a test fixture for that particular circuit board.
Board design and fabrication data is used to determine what specific board features are to be tested by the fixture. A grid test fixture is typically fabricated by drilling patterns of holes in several rigid and nonconducting plates assembling those plates with suitable fasteners and spacers to maintain said plates in a parallel, aligned position, and then mounting test pins or probes in the drilled holes. In a "determined" grid test fixture each plate has a hole pattern which is unique such that the test pin can only be inserted to provide an x, y and z translation between a unique feature on the UUT and a unique tester grid channel.
In preparation for test, the circuit board is then positioned on the fixture precisely aligned with the array of test probes. During testing, the pins in the fixture are brought into spring-pressure contact with the test points on the circuit board under test. Electrical test signals are then transferred between the board and the tester through the fixture so that a high speed electronic test analyzer which detects continuity or lack of continuity between various test points in the circuits on the board can perform the actual test.
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, in one such conventional translator pin fixture, the translator plates 25A, 26A, 28A, 30A, 31A, 32A are held together in spaced apart, essentially parallel relationship to each other by a plurality of rigid, cylindrical support post assemblies 10 mounted normally to the plates. Typically, each support post assembly 10 consists of an elongated shaft or rod 11 which extends through coaxial holes 16A, 16B, 16C and 16D drilled in the intermediate plates 26A, 28A, 30A and 31A, respectively, i.e., the plates in-between the top plate 20A and bottom plate 20B of the fixture. A plurality of stacked cylindrical spacers or washers 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D and 12E are mounted on rod 11. The diameter of rod 11 is slightly smaller than the diameters of the coaxial holes through which it extends, while the diameters of spacers 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D and 12E are larger than the diameters of the coaxial holes 16A, 16B, 16C and 16D whereby the plates are spaced apart, in essentially parallel relationship to each other. The fixture is held together by screws 22A, 22B through holes in the top and bottom plates and into threaded holes (not shown) in the top and bottom ends of rod 11.
Unfortunately, constructing the aforesaid type of conventional translator fixture is difficult, slow, and requires a significant amount of manual labor and parts inventory. These factors can significantly increase the expense and time of manufacturing this type of conventional translator fixture.
Another type of prior art translator pin fixture is shown in FIGS. 4-8. In this type of fixture 15, the translator plates 25, 26, 28, 30, 31, 32 are held together in spaced apart, essentially parallel relationship with each other by a plurality of support elements 100. Each of the support elements 100 has a planar top (proximal) end 106 and a planar bottom (distal) end 108. Ends 106, 108 include threaded holes 110, 111 for receiving screws 112 which pass through holes (collectively referred to by numeral 113) in the plates 25 and 32 so as to affix the top plate 25 and bottom plate 32 to the ends 106, 108 of each of the supports 100. As will be described more fully below, each of the support elements 100 is mounted through a respective group of coaxially aligned holes (each of which groups is collectively referred to by numeral 104) formed in the intermediate plates 26, 28, 30, 31 of the fixture 15.
In each of the groups of mounting holes 104, the holes increase in size in the direction from the top plate 25 to the bottom plate 32. In other words, in each group of coaxial holes 104, the holes (collectively referred to by numeral 126) formed in the bottom-most intermediate plate 31 are larger in diameter than the holes (collectively referred to by numeral 128) formed in intermediate plate 30, which holes 128 are larger in diameter than the holes (collectively referred to by numeral 129) formed in the next intermediate plate 28. Likewise, holes 130 formed in the top-most intermediate plate 26 are smaller than holes 128. Additionally, plate mounting holes 113 are significantly smaller in diameter than the coaxial holes 126, 128, 129, 130 formed in the intermediate translator plates 31, 30, 28, 26, respectively.
Preferably, each support element 100 is made of one-piece, molded plastic construction, and comprises a X-shaped longitudinal support rib 131 which extends from the top 106 to the bottom 108 end of the support element 100. Each support element 100 includes a plurality of disk-shaped support areas 132, 134, 136, 137 that are coaxial with the central portion 151 of the rib 131, spaced apart longitudinally along the length of the support element 100, and oriented normal to the rib 131. Support areas 132, 134, 136, 137 extend beyond the edges of the holes 126, 128, 129, 130, respectively, and engage and support the undersides of the intermediate plates 31, 30, 28, 26, adjacent to the holes 126, 128, 129, 130, respectively. A plurality of raised notches (collectively referred to by numeral 140) extend radially outward from rib 131 and are spaced apart longitudinally from the support areas 132, 134, 136, 137, by distances slightly larger than the thicknesses of the plates 31, 30, 28, and 26 so as to permit the plates to be locked snugly in-between the support areas 132, 134, 136, 137 and the notches 140.
As seen particularly in FIGS. 4 and 5, the transverse cross-sectional size of each of the support elements 100 increases in a step-wise fashion from the top end 106 to the bottom end 108 of the support element 100. Moreover, the transverse cross-sectional size of each of the support elements 100 in-between the top surface 106 and the first support area 137 is undersized compared to the holes 130 formed in the plate 26. At the first support area 136, the transverse cross-sectional size of each of the support elements 100 increases in step-wise fashion from that existing between the top end 106 and the first support area 137, so as to be oversized compared to the holes 130, but undersized compared to the holes 129. Between the first 137 and the second 136 support areas, the transverse cross-sectional size of each of the support elements 100 remains equal to that at the first support area 137. At the second 136 support area, the transverse cross-sectional size of each of the support elements 100 increases in step-wise fashion so as to be oversized compared to the holes 129, but undersized compared to the holes 128. Between the second 136 and the third 134 support areas, the transverse cross-sectional size of each of the support elements 100 remains equal to that at the second support area 136. At the third support area 134, the transverse cross-sectional size of each of the support elements 100 increases in step-wise fashion so as to be larger than the holes 128, but undersized compared to holes 126. Thereafter, the transverse cross-sectional size of each of the support elements 100 remains constant until, at the bottom-most support area 132, it increases in step-wise fashion so as to be greater than the holes 126, and remains constant thereafter to bottom end 108.
While assembly of prior art fixture 15 of FIGS. 4-8 may take somewhat less time and manual labor than the prior art fixture of FIGS. 1-3, the time and manual labor involved in construction of fixture 15 are still larger than desirable. This is due primarily to the fact that since holes 126, 128, 129, 130 each have different dimensions, a respective, differently sized hole typically must be formed in each of the plates 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31, in conventional fixture 15. Thus, in order to manufacture fixture 15, it is typically necessary to use multiple drilling apparatus having differently sized drill bits and/or to frequently change drill bits in order to form holes 126, 128, 129, 130, and/or inventory several different plates. Disadvantageously, this makes the expense, time, and manual labor required to manufacture fixtures larger than desirable.

Translator fixture for use in circuit board testing


A steamed wheat flour for use in the fried good to be reheated in an microwave oven contains starch not substantially converted into alpha starch, and has a gluten vitality of 0.80 to 0.92 based on that of untreated wheat flour and a gluten swelling power of 1.05 to 1.55 based on that of untreated wheat flour. A process for producing steamed wheat flour for fry-cooking, which comprises steaming wheat flour in a closed type high-speed agitator under pressure with saturated steam and under conditions of a residence time of 2-20 sec and a product temperature higher than 80.degree. C. but not higher than 92.degree. C.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to steamed wheat flour for fry-cooking which is suitable for use in the coating of fried goods such as "tempura" and brings about an improvement in the eating quality of the coating by reheating in a microwave oven when the fried goods using it gets cold; and production process thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
The coating of the fried goods such as "tempura" is desired to be brittle and crispy. With a view to obtaining such eating quality, it is the common practice to minimize the formation of gluten in the coating liquid for fry-cooking, for example, by 1) using wheat flour which contains protein as less as possible, 2) using cold water or ice water, 3) stirring water and wheat flour roughly with broad chopsticks to an extent that the undissolved lumps of flour still remain in the mixture, 4) cooling the resultant coating liquid and making full use of it in a short time, or 5) using protease.
Such conventional methods however do not bring about sufficient controlling effects for the formation of gluten and it is the present situation that the coating with satisfactory eating quality cannot be obtained. In particular, the fried good obtained by the conventional method shows marked deterioration in its eating quality when it gets cold, and even by reheating in a microwave oven, it inevitably becomes glutinous and sticky without brittleness.

Steamed wheat flour for fry-cooking which is suitable for use in reheating in a microwave oven and production process thereof


The present invention relates to a fault information management system and method for implementing fault information management system for a vehicle. The present invention provides a fault information management system for a vehicle comprising: an interface for connecting a fault item; a first memory for storing a fault state; a memory for establishing a management reference for each fault item; a logic which manages fault information and fault history; and a second memory for storing a fault state.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fault information management system and method for implementing a fault information management system in a vehicle. In particular, when a vehicle controller fails, the fault information management system enables information and history thereof to be managed by a fault management logic and to be stored in a designated memory. The fault information management system is readily applied to fault management methods of various controllers by constituting a program module for managing fault information of a vehicle and adjusting a fault state transition by establishing a fault management reference for each fault item.
b) Description of the Prior Art
In general, a process for managing a fault of controllers and various sensors of a vehicle is defined as OBD (On-Board Diagnostics), and the enactment of the process thereof are different in each country.
According to the enactments, matters relating to a management of fault information for various controllers of a vehicle and a fault lamp are described therein. Basic information for a vehicle (rpm, engine temperature, etc.) that is stored when the vehicle is not operating is also specified therein. Therefore, the enactments are considered as being essential when developing a vehicle controller.
Since various controllers of a vehicle have a self diagnostic function, the controllers receive signals from various sensors attached to devices to be diagnosed and detect a function state of each device. The controller then stores a diagnostic code corresponding to the detected function state in the inside memory. However, it is a disadvantage that diagnostic codes stored in respective controllers can be sent outside (i.e. output) in various ways. Therefore, a fault information history of a vehicle sometimes cannot be managed properly.
The present invention provides a fault information management system which solves the problem described above.

Fault information management system and a method for implementing a fault information management system for a vehicle


An evaporation-assisted heat dissipation apparatus includes a heat sink, a fan, and a spraying member. The spraying member includes a water tank, a water transmitting tube, and a plurality of water output tubes. The water tank accommodates a heat-dissipating liquid which flows to the tops of the plurality of water output tubes via the water transmitting tube. The convex meniscus which is formed at the top of each of the plurality of water output tubes is atomized and blown toward the heat sink by the fan and the droplets attach on the heat sink. The droplets are evaporated from the heat sink and remove heat from the heat sink by doing so.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a spray type heat dissipation apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic devices in computers, such as central processing units (CPUs), generate heat during operation. Excessive amounts of heat causes deterioration in the operational stability of the devices and may cause damages to associated electronic devices. Thus, heat must be removed quickly to ensure normal operation of the CPU. A typical heat dissipation apparatus includes a heat sink mounted on a CPU to remove heat, and a fan fixed on the heat sink to generate airflow through the heat dissipation apparatus. The fan includes a plurality of fan blades and a motor in the center of the fan for rotating the fan blades. The typical heat dissipation apparatus occupies an large space in computers which may be undesirable.
Therefore, there is a need for improvement in the art.

Evaporation-assisted heat dissipation apparatus

ShenZhen Treasure City Technology Co., LTD.


A method includes, in a receiver, identifying an event that involves replacement of a ciphering key used by the receiver. In response to the event, at least a portion of a payload of an Internet Protocol (IP) packet received by the receiver is deciphered using the replaced ciphering key. A verification is made whether a predefined location in the deciphered portion of the IP packet, which is expected to specify an IP version of the IP packet, indeed specifies a valid IP version. Upon detecting that the location does not specify the valid IP version, a recovery process that recovers from improper replacement of the ciphering key is initiated.

The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) standards specified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) define the Ciphering mechanisms carried out in the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer of UMTS equipment. The RLC layer is defined, for example, in "Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Radio Link Control (RLC) Protocol Specification (Release 11)," 3GPP TS 25.322, version 11.0.0, September, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference. Ciphering in UMTS is defined, for example, in "3G Security; Security architecture (Release 11)," 3GPP TS 33.102, version 11.0.0, September, 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,582,768, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method in a receiver that includes receiving from a transmitter a sequence of communication packets. Carry data is encrypted with an encryption scheme. The encryption scheme depends on a counter value that is incremented independently by each of the transmitter and the receiver. Attempts are made to decrypt the data of a received packet multiple times using different, respective counter values, to produce multiple respective decrypted outputs. A decrypted output in which the data has been decrypted correctly is identified, the counter value is corrected, and the data of the received packet is recovered from the identified decrypted output.
The description above is presented as a general overview of related art in this field and should not be construed as an admission that any of the information it contains constitutes prior art against the present patent application.

Fast recovery from ciphering key mismatch


A convenient device, such as a mobile phone, provides a user interface for a system that generated personalised exercise programs and guides users through the exercises in a generated program. The generation of the program may be performed by the device providing the user interface.

People follow exercise programs for a variety of reasons. These reasons include maintaining general well-being, assisting a weight loss program and preparation for a particular sporting event, such as a marathon. Such programs need to be carefully formulated if the desired effect is to be achieved and the exerciser is to avoid injury.
It is known, for example from U.S. Pat. No. 6,635,013, to use a computer to provide a user with an exercise program. However, this system merely provides printed static instructions. Consequently, a person who requires more interactive exercise program development must employ a personal fitness trainer which is inconvenient and costly.

Apparatus and method for providing a user with a personal exercise program


Apparatus and methods for processing assets in a lockable container are disclosed. A decoupler receives information from the container or the asset in the container. The container may be associated with a security status, and the item may be associated with a processing status. The decoupler may move the container along a processing path in a sequence based on the security status of the container and/or the processing status of the asset. The decoupler may also lock or unlock the container while moving the container along the processing path. At least a portion of the processing path may be exposed to a magnetic field, which may lock or unlock the container and/o activate or deactivate a security tag associated with the container or the item. The decoupler may also write or read information to or from an RFID tag associated with the container and/or the asset. This information may be used in conjunction with benefit denial, audit, loss prevention, transaction management, and other similar systems.

The present invention relates generally to the field of retail and consumer merchandising, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for automated processing of retail and consumer merchandise in lockable containers.
The process of retail checkout is often a source of frustration for the consumer. Typically, retail checkout involves long wait times and interaction with inefficient or inexperienced retail clerks. In some instances, consumers must wait for several minutes to process a single item at checkout.
In addition, conventional checkout techniques are typically not integrated with inventory control or product activation. For example, security and audit tags, such as electronic article surveillance ("EAS") tags, typically are manually removed or deactivated at checkout by the retail clerk using a separate process. This results in audit and security tags being unintentionally left behind on purchased merchandise. A security tag that is left on merchandise not only frustrates the consumer, who has to return to a retail clerk to have the tag removed or deactivated, but also decreases productivity and checkout efficiency.
There is a general trend toward self-checkout in retail stores, libraries, and rental locations, allowing consumers to buy or rent a product with nominal wait times. Self-checkout allows consumers to expedite their checkout process and partially or completely remove the interaction with the retail clerk. Some of the these self-checkout systems integrate payment with the self-checkout process, as with conventional grocery self-checkout terminals.
Such systems may also process merchandise protected with a benefit denial device. These systems provide a consumer with a physical asset at a point of sale (which, as used herein, will also include a "point of rental" or any other distribution or return point). The consumer then uses security information to obtain a benefit from the asset. A benefit denial device may deny a benefit to an unauthorized asset user and provide the benefit or permit access to the benefit to an authorized asset user.
The security information may be provided to the consumer at the point of sale. The security information may be stored with the asset in a form that is unusable by or inaccessible to the consumer until the consumer pays for the asset. The consumer is thus denied a benefit of the asset until the consumer has purchased or rented the asset. An entity that holds a right, such as an ownership right, in the asset is called a rights holder or content provider. The rights holder or content provider conveys a right to the consumer and is thus provided with protection against piracy and unauthorized reproduction of the benefit. This is because, in some instances, a pirate would be required to obtain the security information before acquiring the benefit. Furthermore, if a pirate were to sell unauthorized copies of the asset and provide buyers with security information, the rights holder or content provider could deny the benefit to buyers who use duplicated security information or security information corresponding to a stolen asset. This is often the case with software products that require product activation over the Internet or telephone with a unique product key.
An asset may include, for example, consumer electronics, cosmetics, an audio cassette, a CD, a CD-ROM, a video cassette, a DVD or a mini DVD, or any other asset capable of being stored in a storage case or container. The storage case may be displayed in an environment in which potential customers, renters, or users pick up and examine the storage case to determine whether they are interested in buying, renting, or otherwise acquiring the asset.
Known benefit denial systems for assets require security information to be stored on a card. The card must be "swiped" at the point of sale. Swiping a card is time-consuming and decreases the efficiency of point-of-sale processes such as check-out. The card is also exposed to viewing and tampering. Tampering may defeat the effectiveness of a benefit denial system.
In addition, the return of an asset in a container, particularly a rental asset in a container, poses several problems for the retailer. The retailer must manually process and restock the returned asset. Typically, this involves reactivating an EAS or other similar security device, locking the asset container, resetting the benefit denial device, and restocking the container on the sales or rental floor. This process can be time-consuming and tedious for the retailer.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide improved apparatus and methods for processing and returning items at a point of sale quickly and efficiently.
It would be further desirable to provide apparatus and methods for preventing tampering with a device that retains security information.
It would be further desirable to provide apparatus and methods for verifying the security status of a container before the container leaves the retail or rental location.
It would be still further desirable to provide apparatus and methods for reducing risk of economic loss to an entity selling or renting an asset.

System and method for verifying a security status of a lockable container


A method including providing a database with a plurality of items, each item having several attributes, and developing and displaying a cluster map (SOM) attribute plane from the items and attributes, including clusters of items having similar attributes. Selecting an attribute of interest and splitting the plurality of items into clusters of interest based on distribution of the selected attribute. Utilizing rule induction to provide a rule for each cluster of interest, drawing a line around adjacent items in the SOM attribute plane for each rule to form at least one complete fenced area in the display, and comparing fenced areas to clusters to separate statistically meaningful rules from statistically meaningless rules or coincidences.

SOM (self organizing maps) neural networks are known to be able to self-organize clusters of items based on similarity of their attributes, but it is not easy to understand the rational behind how the clusters are formed. Rule induction (RI) can find common attributes among clusters and derive rules that can be used to define the clusters, but you must have meaningful clusters to find meaningful rules, otherwise rule induction just finds contrived or coincidental relationships and useless or statistically meaningless rules.
Rule induction works very well in finding rules to define clusters in the case where the underlying relationships are basically from a single cause. However, when there are multiple interrelated underlying reasons acting in combination, rule induction has trouble finding the rules and generally derives very poor rules. However to evaluate the quality of rules takes a detailed review by a human expert and is very time consuming and error prone.
SOM networks can generally break down the multiple relationships into separate clusters and derive distinct groups that have a single attribute, say low performance, in common but this low performance is generally caused by several distinct `paths` or combination of other factors. However to evaluate the reasons behind these clusters, especially if many dozens or even hundreds of factors have been input into the SOM, takes a detailed review by a human expert and is very time consuming and error prone.
Hence there is a need for quickly showing the degree or match of rules between the items and the membership in each cluster of a SOM.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved computer implemented method of determining statistically meaningful rules.
It is another purpose of the present invention to provide an automated method to use SOMs to define clusters and rule induction to define rules among these clusters.
It is still another purpose of the present invention to provide an automated method to use SOMs to define clusters and rule induction to define rules among these clusters so as to find patterns and relationships, that neither could find on its own and to determine if the derived rules are statistically meaningful or are merely an artifact of the sample of items chosen to evaluate, i.e. statistically meaningless.

Method of determining statistically meaningful rules


Disclosed is an apparatus for quickly generating an error free MIB file of the type used by a SNMP manager to manage and display error and log trap messages received from agents reporting to said manager. This is accomplished by retrieving data from definition and template libraries to be used in conjunction with a network element database to correctly generate, element by element, a completed MIB file.

As networks have grown in size, the networks have become more difficult to manage (ie. monitor and maintain). It was determined that a network management protocol needed to be developed. A protocol initially developed as a quickly designed "temporary" solution to management difficulties was designated simple network management protocol (SNMP). Although improvements have been made to the original SNMP, improvement protocols, such as SNMPv2, still embody many of the essential features of the original SNMP.
While SNMP was designed as a temporary answer to communications problems between different types of networks, no better choice became available and SNMP became the network management protocol of choice. As a result, a large number of network entities (NE) are designed to be SNMP compliant. That is the NE acts as an agent that can receive messages from a network manager and supply responses to the received requests. These network information exchange messages are known in the art as protocol data units (PDUs).
Although there are several types of PDU messages, this invention is concerned with trap messages that are initiated by agents and are used for monitoring various network events such as terminal start-ups, shut-downs and other entity, typically software, events. In many instances, when such a trap message is received by a manager, an error defining message is displayed on a monitor in human readable form so that suitable action may be taken where action is appropriate.
If an NE is not designed as a SNMB compliant entity, the trap event or error messages must be translated to a common format that the SNMB managers can correctly interpret. An SNMP manager may be required to interact with many types of NEs such as routers, servers, repeaters and the like. The trap message is coded so as to be very compact and thus PDUs from two different NEs that appear to be identical may be indicative of entirely different events. To this end, a plurality of trap definitions are incorporated in management information bases (MIBs) that are used by a manager to correctly interpret the trap message being received. Typically a manager accesses a different MIB for each different type NE.
The writing of an MIB is a tedious process that requires one to follow a very stringent set of rules in developing the definition. For an NE that has many events that need to be monitored, the manual preparation of such a file takes thousands of hours. Since an SNMP manager will totally reject an MIB file that incorporates any type of format or syntactical error, many additional hours are often required to debug a defective MIB.
It would thus be desirable to be able to automatically generate an MIB having trap definitions for each of the alarms or logs for which trap messages are to be supplied by a given NE wherein the MIB is free of format or syntactical errors.
Sometimes an entity requires monitoring of new events or presently monitored events may require assignment of different interpretations. In such instances, it would be desirable to generate a new MIB with a minimum of effort and replace the MIB file in the appropriate SNMP managers.

Methods and systems for generating an MIB file


An image tracker (10) that tracks an object (16) targeted for engagement by a laser weapon (12). The tracker (10) includes receiver optics (31) that receive radiation (30) from both a detected target (16) and a laser beam (14) incident thereon, and a polarizing beam splitter (44) that splits the radiation into a first beam of reflected laser radiation (46) and a second beam of detected target radiation (47). The polarizing beam splitter (44) reflects the first beam of reflected laser radiation (46) in a first direction for imaging purposes and linearly polarizes the second beam of detected target radiation (47). A beam polarizer (60) circularly polarizes the second beam of detected target radiation. A micromirror array (66) reflects the circularly polarized detected target radiation back through the beam polarizer (60) to linearly polarize the second beam of detected target radiation (47). Tracker electronics (33) adjust the reflectivity of the micromirror array (66) to ensure that the radiation incident on the array is at or below a predetermined irradiance threshold level. Therefore, the reflected laser radiation does not affect the imaging of the targeted object. The linearly polarized detected target radiation beam is then reflected by the beam splitter (44) in a second direction for imaging purposes. The tracker of the present invention enhances the probability of a target kill, as the actual laser beam hit spot (20) on the target is tracked relative to the target position.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to systems for tracking moving objects and, in particular, to a self-referencing, imaging tracker that separately images target and target hit spot radiation and, through use of a micromirror array, polarizes target radiation to ensure that only radiation at the target hit spot wavelength is imaged, thereby allowing a laser beam to be more accurately locked onto, and maintained at, a desired target aim point until a target kill is achieved.
2. Discussion
Image trackers are often used in conjunction with lasers or other weaponry to disable inflight missiles. Conventional image trackers presently employ only non-self-referencing schemes for directing a laser beam to a desired target aimpoint. In practice, this means that the laser beam direction in space is inferred from the tracker line of sight as the tracker tracks the missile.
Trackers using imaging, non-self-referencing techniques typically utilize one or more imaging devices, such as electronic cameras, that first determine an approximate, or wide field of view (WFOV) position, and then an instantaneous, or narrow field of view (NFOV), position of a targeted object. After capturing the target image in the NFOV's track gate, the tracker, under servo-loop control, follows the target. In most instances, the tracker is physically mounted on gimbals in a beam pointer. Therefore, the pointer line-of-sight also tracks the target if the pointer and tracker are properly boresighted.
Although conventional imaging, non-self-referencing trackers often provide adequate target location functions, a number of limitations exist with such systems. For example, in medium wave forward looking infrared (FLIR) based trackers, the laser weapon used for target engagement often interferes with the tracker imaging system, as instantaneous non-specular return from the laser hit spot on the object often blinds the camera, or, at least causes the camera automatic gain control to reduce camera gain to accommodate the bright laser hit spot, thereby losing all target image information. Typically, the laser-reflected power is some 40 to 60 dB greater than the target thermal signature. Additionally, with regard to long wave FLIR based systems, bright thermal energy from heated war heads may also blind such systems, causing the systems to lose track of the targeted object.
Solutions to the above problems include programming the system to select a laser aim point outside of the narrow field of view (NFOV) or the use of short wave infrared (SWIR) track bands with active illumination, causing the laser return to be invisible to the NFOV SWIR camera. If the laser aim point is selected outside of the view of NFOV however, the laser beam pointing must be determined by feed forward estimation. Such an aim point selection is undesirable, as it eliminates missile nose-kill possibilities, and is subject to estimation noise as explained earlier. Alternatively, if a short wavelength IR track band is used, the laser beam pointing must also be done via feed forward estimation. Such a scheme increases the susceptibility of the tracker to atmospheric disturbances.
Additionally, with non-self-referencing imaging trackers, the tracker line-of-sight must be accurately boresighted with the laser weapon line of sight. Due to the design of such systems, it has been found difficult to maintain an accurate bore sight under adverse environmental conditions.
Self-referencing trackers solve the above described limitations of the conventional imaging, non-self-referencing trackers by referencing the laser beam instantaneous position to the target image itself rather than to the tracker line-of-sight direction. Also, self-referencing trackers have lines of sight that need not be coaxial with the laser weapon, thereby subsequently minimizing the weight on the system gimbals and simplifying system transmit optics.
Presently, non-imaging self-referencing trackers, such as the systems disclosed in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/631,645, entitled "Laser Crossbody Tracking System and Method", and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/760,434, entitled "Laser Crossbody and Feature Curvature Tracker" ("the LACROSST patent applications"), both incorporated herein by reference, are known in the art.
Non-imaging self-referencing trackers are presently deployed as vernier trackers; that is, the trackers correct residual image jitter created by imperfect image tracker performance. Thus, the non-imaging tracker bears the major tracking burden for difficult targets, such as small artillery rounds or maneuvering cruise missiles. Non-imaging self-referencing trackers use the laser beam itself to seek and hold onto a glint, such as a cylindrical missile roll axis. Therefore, the laser beam positioning on the target becomes independent of tracker jitter in the jitter direction and within the non-imaging tracker track bandwidth.
Although non-imaging self-referencing systems provide certain advantages over imaging, non-self-referencing systems, there is still room for improvement in the art. For example, there is a need for an imaging, self-referencing laser beam tracker that can be locked onto a desired target aim point, whether or not a glint is present at that point, and held on the aim point at will. In addition, there is a need for an imaging, self-referencing tracker that provides maximum noise immunity from atmospheric optical turbulence through measurement of the laser beam position relative to the position of the target through the same atmospheric path. There is also a need for an imaging, self-referencing tracker that reduces or eliminates the pointing error associated with the estimated aimpoint offset associated with conventional open loop trackers by measuring an actual laser hit spot location on the target relative to the target itself.


An insulation package and method of formation including a functional layer, a breathable water repellant insulating layer, and a highly breathable microporous membrane layer having a network of pores. The functional fabric, the highly breathable insulating layer and the microporous membrane layer are laminated to one another to form a waterproof breathable insulated fabric.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to waterproof breathable insulation material and in particular such material for use in outdoor clothing and boots.
2. Description of the Related Art
Outdoor enthusiasts have continually demanded technically advanced gear to protect themselves from the elements. This demand resulted in the development of several waterproof, breathable fabric constructions where the fabric is typically laminated to thin films or membranes. Waterproof breathable fabrics have been used in performance garments for many decades and have proven to be a preferred performance component. Both the prevention of water reaching the body from outside the clothing, and the removal of vapor produced by the body are of great importance to the wearer in terms of comfort. However, the disadvantage to such fabrics has always been that although they are classified as being breathable, they do not offer significant moisture vapor transport. Further, most breathable fabrics tend to have very limited insulating properties. Still further, fabrics laminated to certain types of membrane types tend not be very flexible and generate noise when in use. Accordingly, despite their claims most waterproof breathable fabrics tend to be less breathable than desired, offer limited insulating properties so that they must be used in conjunction with some form of insulating material, and require the user to endure their stiff and noisy nature.
Insulating materials are often used in conjunction with or incorporated into performance garments to provide for thermal protection. However, most insulating materials do not provide for water repellency or alternatively provide water repellency at the cost of a corresponding diminution in thermal protection. PrimaLoft® insulation, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,992,327 and 4,588,635 and incorporated herein by reference, is unique to the synthetic insulation world in that it offers superior water repellency in addition to the thermal performance indicative of the micro and fine fiber construction.
However, PrimaLoft® insulation has been primarily used as a replacement for natural down with the added benefit that it is waterproof. Alternatively, PrimaLoft® batt has incorporated into clothing manufacture where it is a separate insulating layer. Often it is mechanically secured to other layers of woven or non-woven material for example through quilting. However, the PrimaLoft® insulation by itself does not have sufficient structural integrity, or aesthetic appearance to suffice as both an insulating material and an outer garment layer.
Another element of many waterproof breathable fabrics are monolithic membrane films, which are used to impart a breathable barrier to the fabric. Monolithic membranes promote the permeation of water vapor through the use of a hydrophilic polymer layer which absorbs the water next to skin and transmits it to the external environment.
Unfortunately, monolithic films typically experience significant swelling of the hydrophilic layer which significantly alters the vapor removal characteristics of the film and the comfort for the user. Further, although this type of membrane also has a very high tear strength, which is generally favorable in performance fabrics, this also results in extraordinary stiffness in a garment that is usually not viewed as a positive attribute.
Accordingly, there is a need for an waterproof, breathable, insulation material which provides superior water repellency or waterproofing characteristics coupled with superior vapor removal characteristics which will not swell and has sufficient tear strength, but which is not unduly stiff or noisy for the wearer.

Synthetic insulation with microporous membrane


A coaxial connector (1, 1′, 1″) for being mounted on a panel (300) includes a metallic bracket (10, 10′, 10″) defining a receiving space (11, 11′, 11″) therein, an insulative member (20, 20′, 20″) mounted on the metallic bracket and a contact terminal (30, 30′, 30″) received in the securing portion. The insulative member has a securing portion (21, 21′, 21″) received in the receiving space and defining a passage (210, 210′, 210″), and a mounting portion (22, 22′, 22″) integrated with the securing portion for being mounted on the panel. The contact terminal is received in the passage of the securing portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coaxial connector mounted on a panel and electrically connected with a mating electrical connector, and more particularly to a coaxial connector having an integrated insulative member instead of metallic shell for mounting on a panel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Chinese Publication Patent No. CN 1835299A filed on Mar. 1, 2006 discloses a coaxial connector electrically terminated with a coaxial cable. The coaxial connector includes a metallic bracket defining a receiving space therein, a contact terminal assembled in the receiving space of the bracket via a first insulative member, and a second insulative member assembled to the outer surface of the metallic bracket for being mounted on a panel.
In assembly, firstly, the first insulative member should be formed by a molding process and then assembled in the receiving space of the metallic bracket. Secondly, the second insulative member is assembled to the outer surface of the metallic bracket by another molding process. That would result in complicating the process of assembly the coaxial connector and increasing the cost of manufacturing the coaxial connector. Additionally, the engagement between the metallic bracket and the second insulative member is unreliable.
Hence, an improved coaxial connector is needed to solve the above problem.

Coaxial connector having an integrated insulative member


An opto-isolator with a correction circuit is disclosed. The correction circuit is configured to make adjustments for degradation of the light source of the opto-isolator. The correction circuit may comprise a photodetector for detecting degradation of the light source of the opto-isolator. When the light source degrades below a predetermined level, the correction circuit may be configured to make adjustments.

A galvanic isolator provides a means for moving a signal from one electrical circuit to another electrical circuit in a control system when the two electrical circuits must otherwise be electrically isolated from one another. Usually the two electrical circuits operate at different voltages, and thus, must be electrically isolated. For example, consider an application in which a 5V battery powered controller board is configured to control a motor circuit operating at 240V. In this example, it is essential to electrically isolate the 240V motor circuit from the 5V controller circuit, while permitting the 5V controller circuit to send or receive signals from the 240V motor circuit. In this type of application, an isolator may be used to provide voltage and noise isolation, while permitting the information exchange between the two circuit systems. Opto-isolator, also known as optocoupler, is one of the most commonly used galvanic isolators.
Generally, an opto-isolator comprises an optical emitter and an optical receiver. Over time, degradation may occur and optical signals emitted from the optical emitter may become weak, and eventually the optical emitter may fail to function. For many control systems, failure of such optical parts may be vulnerable and may be dangerous as the control systems may be relying on the optical signals to control fast moving motors or machinery parts. It may be desirable to take preventive steps to replace the parts before complete failure, or to address the degradation to prolong the lifetime of the opto-isolators.

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


A system and method for automatically switching network connections to an appropriate network entity based on access rights possessed by a user of a wireless terminal. A switch recognizes the certificate provided by a terminal, and directs the connection to the service provider hosting a targeted secure service if the certificate proves to have the appropriate access rights. The switch directs the connection to an enrollment module if the certificate does not correspond to the service provider's required certificate, where the user can attempt to obtain the appropriate certificate from the enrollment module to ultimately access the targeted secure service.

Computer networking broadly refers to the data communication system resulting from linking two or more computing systems. Networking allows those who can access the network to share programs, data, network resources, database information, and to facilitate other functions such as e-mail and data backups. The need for immediate access to information has fueled the pursuit of more sophisticated networks and network applications to conveniently and efficiently communicate information.
Due to its vast reach, the global web of interconnected computers and computer networks referred to as the Internet has proved to be an invaluable tool in satisfying the need for on-demand information. The Internet is used as a business and personal tool to facilitate global e-mail, remote data access, research, etc. Its ability to deliver multimedia content has also established the Internet as an entertainment tool for playing games, delivering stream content such as video, audio and MP3, and the like.
Gaining access to the information available on the Internet conventionally required a hardware connection to the Internet. While the Internet allows users to access information via any computer or terminal connected to the Internet, the need for a hardware connection established an undesirable physical limitation to Internet information access—a particular impediment to users that spend a substantial amount of time on the move. As users become more dependent on information and services provided via the Internet, an integration of the Internet and the wireless domain becomes increasingly important.
Wireless networks, such as GSM, IS-136, IS-95, PDC, etc., have traditionally been used in connection with mobile telephone communication. These sophisticated wireless networks made possible another aspect of communication convenience, by allowing mobile telephone users to communicate with other mobile users and with landline telephony systems. However, a need to integrate information networks such as intranets and the Internet, with the portability and convenience of mobile devices, still existed.
This need gave rise to efforts to integrate the Internet and other networks with wireless network platforms. One solution is the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) which brings the convenience of the Internet into the wireless community. WAP bridges the gap between the wireline Internet paradigm and the wireless domain, to allow wireless device users to enjoy the benefits of the Internet across both platforms.
Generally, WAP is a set of protocols that accounts for characteristics and functionality of both Internet standards and standards for wireless services. It is independent of wireless network standards, and is designed as an open standard. The motivations for WAP are primarily a result of physical and logical limitations of small wireless devices, such as limited keyboards and displays, limited bandwidth, limited memory and processing capabilities, and limited battery power. A markup language, referred to as the wireless markup language (WML), is used for authoring services designed to fit these smaller, and often portable, handheld devices that have a considerably limited display area as compared to their desktop counterparts targeted by HTML. Another feature of WAP services is the availability of supporting more advanced functional tasks using WMLScript, which is at least loosely analogous to utilizing JavaScript in connection with HTML (HyperText Markup Language). The functional enhancements available through WMLScript include procedural logic and computational functions to WAP-based services.
WAP therefore allows desired information stored on a remote network to be delivered to the wireless device within the wireless network. For example, information available via the Internet can now be downloaded onto mobile wireless units, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, wireless pager, etc.
However, the ability to electronically communicate information, especially when communicated over the air (OTA), presents a variety of security issues. In order to maintain privacy and confidentiality in communications and e-commerce transactions, the computer and telecommunications industries have devised manners of providing secure connections. For example, in the Internet arena, security is often provided through the Transport Layer Security (TLS), which is a standardized name for the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). In wireless environments such as WAP environments, security is currently provided in the Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) protocol which is similar to the TLS, but includes differences relating largely to the low bandwidth requirements of current wireless communications.
In order to provide the requisite security for a particular wireless application or transaction, certain types of "certificates" are implemented. For example, authentication certificates may be granted where a user has been confirmed as an authorized user. Authorization certificates may be granted where it has been determined that a user has the authority to access or modify specific information. The authorization certificate may also include non-repudiation information, which refers to a manner of ensuring that a user cannot later deny that the user took part in the transaction.
In order for a user to access a particular secure service, the user may be required to obtain these certificates through proper registration procedures. If the user already has such certificates, for example through local storage on the mobile terminal, the user can access the secure service. However, if the user has not yet been provided with such certificates, they must be obtained before the user can access the desired secure service.
Currently, a user accesses the desired service through a WAP session via a first gateway when the user is equipped with the appropriate certificates to effect the desired communication or carry out the desired transaction. If the user does not have the requisite certificates, the attempted connection will be denied, and the user must obtain OTA WAP settings indicative of how to obtain the requisite certificates. The user must close out of the current WAP session, open a new WAP session, and obtain registration information via a second gateway. When the user receives the certificates, the old WAP settings must be delivered OTA to the user, the customer closes out of the current WAP session, and restarts a WAP session to access the desired service. Such a manner of obtaining the requisite certificates requires multiple WAP sessions through multiple gateways, and proves inefficient and complex for the user.
It would be desirable to provide a more efficient and convenient manner of accessing secure services, regardless of whether or not the user already has been authenticated and/or authorized to use such service. Thus, it would be desirable to avoid the aforementioned and other problems associated with prior art systems. The present invention provides a solution to the aforementioned and other shortcomings of the prior art, while offering additional advantages over the prior art.

System and method for managing network service access and enrollment


An exemplary power system may include an electric machine with multiple sets of stator windings, each set of windings being coupled through a separate switch matrix to a common voltage bus, and each of which may be spatially arranged in full pitch around the stator such that stator flux harmonics are substantially reduced. The reduced stator flux harmonics may be associated with phase current harmonic content. In an example application, such power systems may operate in a generating mode to transfer mechanical energy to electrical energy on a DC voltage bus. In some illustrative embodiments, the power system may provide both high-power and high-speed (e.g., 1 MW at 8000 rpm or above) motoring and/or generating capability suitable, for example, for on-board (e.g., marine, aviation, traction) power systems.

Some power systems may convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and/or convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. For example, generating systems can include a prime mover and an electromechanical element, such as an electric machine, that can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. Similarly, motoring systems can include a mechanical load coupled to an electric machine. Such systems typically include passive or actively controlled power electronic devices to process the electrical energy (e.g., by converting AC (alternating current) to DC (direct current) or vice versa). In addition, such systems can use transformers for isolation or for matching voltage levels in different sections of an electrical distribution network.

Electromechanical energy conversion systems


A method of treating viral infections, and in particular HIV-1, hepatitis B virus, and herpesviruses, is disclosed. The method comprises administering to a subject in need of such treatment an infection-combating amount of a phospholipid or phospholipid derivative.

A current treatment for combating human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infections is the administration of the nucleoside analog 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine (AZT) to an afflicted subject. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,232 to Rideout et al. HIV-1 infection treatment methods have also included the administration of ether lipid compounds in an amount effective to inhibit replication of the virus in infected cells, see, e.g., Kucera et al., AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses 6:491 (1990), and ether lipids conjugated with AZT and other antiviral nucleoside analogs. See PCT Application No. US91/04289 (published 26 Dec. 1991). These compounds appear to act at the plasma membrane to block the endocytic process of HIV-1 into CD4+ cells and the process of virus assembly, cell fusion and pathogenesis. They also can inhibit the activity of protein kinase C. Given the seriousness of HIV-1 infection worldwide, there is an ongoing need for new methods of combating HIV-1 infections.
Another virus of serious concern, hepatitis B virus (HBV), is one of a family of hepadnaviruses that cause acute and chronic liver disease, including liver cancer. HBV, which is found in the body fluids of infected persons, makes three antigenic proteins during multiplication in liver cells: hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg). These three virus antigenic proteins are important as markers for determining virus infection, as antibodies against the virus infection are made in response to these virus proteins in the blood. An HBV vaccine is available to prevent infection, and hyperimmune gamma globulin is available for temporary prophylaxis against developing HBV infection in persons at risk. Clearly specific antiviral agents are needed for treatment and control of HBV infections in humans.
Based on the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new treatment method for combating the effects of HIV-1.
It is another object of the present invention to provide compounds and pharmaceutical compositions for carrying out HIV-1 treatment methods.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a new treatment method for combating the effects of HBV.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide compounds and pharmaceutical compositions for carrying out HBV treatment methods.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Lipid analogs for treating viral infections

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


Provided is an optical scanning apparatus including: a deflector capable of deflecting an entering beam while switching an advancing direction thereof among a plurality of direction at a predetermined switching timing; a mirror array including a plurality of angle setting mirrors that are placed at angles different from one another on respective optical paths of the beams deflected by the deflector, each of the angle setting mirrors reflecting the beam while giving thereto a relative angle on the same plane for each optical path, and gathering the beam on the same point; and a first scanner that is provided so as to be swingable about an axial line perpendicular to the plane in synchronization with the switching timing, the first scanner reflecting each beam that is caused by the mirror array to enter the same point from a different direction and applying for scanning the beam along the same trajectory.

Up to now, optical scanning apparatuses that can increase a practical scanning speed of a laser beam have been known (see, for example, PTL 1). An optical scanning apparatus described in PTL 1 includes: a beam splitter that reflects a laser beam, allows the laser beam to be transmitted therethrough, and branches the laser beam into a plurality of light fluxes; a half mirror that reflects the laser beams transmitted through the beam splitter; a scanner that applies for scanning the laser beams that are reflected on the beam splitter and the half mirror at different exit angles and are gathered on the same point; and a diaphragm that selectively allows the laser beams applied for scanning by the scanner to pass therethrough.
In the optical scanning apparatus described in PTL 1, the laser beams reflected on the beam splitter and the half mirror are simultaneously applied for scanning by the scanner, and only any of the laser beams is sequentially allowed to pass through the diaphragm. Consequently, during one swing of the scanner, the plurality of laser beams are sequentially applied for scanning while the irradiation range is shifted, so that the time required to scan a given area is shortened.

Optical scanning apparatus and scanning microscope apparatus


An insertion tube has a suction opening and a view window provided to an end surface of a tip thereof. The hood includes an outer wall and a partition wall mounted to the tip of the insertion tube. The outer wall projects from the tip so as to surround the end surface of the tip. The partition wall is provided to divide a cavity surrounded by the outer wall into two cavities, in such a manner that the suction opening and the view window are separately located in the cavities.

This invention relates to a hood which is mounted to the tip of an insertion tube of an endoscope.
Generally, the hood has a cylindrical wall surrounding the end surface of the insertion tube. A suction channel is provided in the insertion tube, which opens at an end surface of the insertion tube. The suction opening is located in a cavity surrounded by the cylindrical wall of the hood.
In order to remove the mucous membrane, an operator inserts the insertion tube into the human body so that the hood abuts the mucous membrane. Then, the operator performs a suction (via the suction opening). Since the suction opening is located in the cavity surrounded by the hood, the mucous membrane is sucked in the cavity so that the sucked mucous membrane forms a polyp. The operator cuts the polyp by means of a snare inserted through the suction channel.
During these process, the operator observes the mucous membrane through a view window provided to the tip of the insertion tube. Generally, the view window and the suction opening are provided on the same end surface of the insertion tube and similarly surrounded by the cylindrical hood.
However, when the suction is performed, the sucked mucous membrane reaches the vicinity of the view window, which may interfere with the view of the operator. With this, it is difficult for the operator to observe the mucous membrane well.


A capping device includes an external outer cap adapted to be removably fixed to the exterior face of a container neck, and an internal insert adapted to plug the opening of the neck. The insert is adapted to be fitted to the neck independently of the outer cap and before fitting the outer cap to the neck. When it is fitted to the neck, the outer cap is adapted to be permanently fastened to the insert. When filling the container, the insert may include means for retaining it on the neck adapted to connect the insert mechanically to the neck before the outer cap is fitted to the neck, thereby sealing at least the exterior peripheral surface of the free end of the neck against a cleaning liquid applied externally to the neck.

In a field that the invention does not concern capping devices of this type are known in which the insert is first added to and permanently fixed inside the outer cap, before thereafter placing on a container neck to be capped the combination consisting of the assembly of this insert and this outer cap. U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,995, GB-A-1 316 162 and FR-A-2 219 081 provide examples of this: in all cases, the proposed inserts are a priori incapable of being added to the free end of a container neck and retained in sealed manner if the outer cap of the device is not conjointly present with the insert.
In contrast to what has just been described, the invention specifically concerns caps for which the insert is designed to be fitted to the neck independently of the outer cap so that this insert is advantageously placed on the neck before the outer cap is fitted afterwards. EP-A-1 254 848 provides one example of such a cap. The preamble of the appended claim 1 is based on EP-A-1 254 848.
The benefit of such a cap structure is linked to sanitary considerations: accordingly, in EP-A-1 254 848, after a container is filled in an aseptic filling enclosure, the insert alone can be easily fitted, also in this aseptic enclosure, so as to hermetically seal the neck without biological contamination of the content of the container, before the container is transferred into a non-aseptic bottling area, in which the outer cap is fitted to the neck already plugged by the insert.
This being so, current capping devices, including that proposed by EP-A-1 254 848, do not provide a satisfactory solution for situations where, when filling the container, the exterior face of the neck thereof is soiled by the product with which the container is filled. Indeed, in the event of overfilling, product overflows the neck and runs down its exterior face. Runs can also be produced in the event of leaks or splashes originating from the filling system. The situation is the same for all products tending to foam up, such as beer. Moreover, for beer in particular, the formation of foam is even intended so that this foam occupies all of the free volume of the neck, above the surface of the beer, and thus expels the air initially present. In this case, considerable runs of foam systematically occur and therefore significantly soil the exterior face of the neck. The residues of the liquid, left by these runs, often lead to biological contamination of the neck of the container by yeasts or the like.


A decorative lantern evocative of enclosing a candle or other open flame type light source includes an imitation candle and a super bright light emitting diode hidden with the lantern to illuminate the imitation candle from outside. A wick having a polished tip produces a hot spot of reflected light to heighten the illusion of an open flame being present.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to decorative lighting and more particularly to a lantern housing an electrically powered imitation flame source.
2. Description of the Problem
Many people find candle and gas light pleasant. The flickering of light and movement of shadows across nearby surfaces generated by an open, flickering flame can be almost hypnotically soothing. As a result, candles have remained popular for generations since the invention of more practical electrical lighting, especially for decorative and mood setting purposes. This has remained so notwithstanding the hazard posed by open flames, the short service life of candles and the expense of supplying gas to exterior lamps.
Numerous electrically powered lamps have been proposed in the art intended to produce an impression of an open flame. Some lamps have included bulbs with plates producing irregular, low level electrical arcing while other lamps have been shaped as candles and topped with flame shaped bulbs. Producing an impression of realism however requires an appreciation of the conditions under which the device is used and the likely distances at which it is commonly viewed. Where the device is intended to resemble a candle a number of factors should be considered. These include the color of the light and the intensity of the light. The way in which the body of the candle picks up and scatters light can be critical to producing an impression of a flame.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,308 the inventors of the present application proposed an imitation candle incorporating a super bright, light emitting diode (LED). Super bright LEDs function as highly directional, near point sources. An emission color, such as amber, is selected for the LED to produce a light similar in color to that of a paraffin fed flame. A simple circuit using multiple oscillators running at close, but not the same, frequencies, creates a realistic, pseudo-random flicker for light emitted by the LED.
The body of the imitation candle of the '308 patent is preferably a translucent material. The translucent material surrounds the LED on the sides and top and serves to diffuse the light throughout the portion of the imitation candle at or above the height of the LED. The LED is positioned near the top of the body and causes the top of the imitation candle to be more brightly illuminated than the lower parts of the candlestick. This effect can be enhanced by positioning an opaque light block around the base of the LED to prevent diffusion of light into the lower portions of the imitation candle. These steps simulate the usual diffusion of light in a real candle. Recessing the top within the side walls presents the appearance of a candle that has already been burning for some length of time, which would serve to hide the flame behind an unmelted rim, were a flame present. The body of the imitation candle is preferably made from real wax to further enhance the imitation candle's realism.
The power consumption of super bright LEDs operated at low emission levels is low enough that long battery life can be achieved. Alternatively, rechargeable cells can be used in conjunction with a solar cell or other recharging means. A simple light sensing device can be used to turn the LED off during daylight hours and extend battery life in battery operated versions of the candle.
While the imitation candle taught in the '308 patent has been highly successful, different considerations come into play in producing a lantern intended to be electrically illuminated, but none-the-less giving the impression of having a flame source. Lanterns are often intended to serve both functional and decorative purposes. They tend to be seen from greater distances and provide an enclosure for the light source. These factors suggest that straight application of an imitation candle to a lantern, while potentially satisfactory, may be improved upon.


Methods for increasing energy in men and women include ingesting internally, twice a day, products that include, for women, multivitamins, multiminerals, high-calcium bone support products, high-ORAC super food products, and enzymes, and, for men, multivitamins, multiminerals, prostate support products, high-ORAC super food products, and enzymes.

Many nutritional and energy-enhancing products have been disclosed and offered for sale, but none of them adequately supports the human body's ability to efficiently use and create energy. There is a need for a product that provides vitamins, minerals, herbs, enzymes, and superfoods to meet the needs of men and women individually. The methods and products of this invention meet these needs.

Methods and products for enhancing energy and nutrition in human beings


A high chair apparatus includes a chair that includes a pair of arm rails. A tray has an inner edge and an outer edge. Couples attached to the tray are adapted for removably coupling the tray to the arm rails. A plate has a same size and shape as the tray. A transparent plate has a rear edge, a front edge, a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge. The rear edge may be aligned with the outer edge of the tray. A lip is attached to and extends along the rear edge, the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge. A lower portion of the lip extending below the plate has an elongated notch therein. Each of a plurality of panels has learning indicia thereon that is selected from the group including shapes, letters and numerals. Each of the panels is selectively extendable in the notch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to high chair devices and more particularly pertains to a new high chair device that includes a tray that is adapted for displaying learning cards.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of high chair devices is known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,496 describes a tray that includes a depression therein for accepting smaller trays that include food dividers therein. Another type of high chair device is U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,172 having a transparent tray, which includes a game sealed therein and external actuators for actuating pieces of the game. A similar device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,542 and includes a tray having a plurality of depressions therein for receiving food containers and the like.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the need remains for a device that allows a person to place educational cards within a tray so that they may be viewed by a chilled seated in a high chair. This positioning ensures that the cards are always within view of the child and will provide an excellent opportunity to expose the child to the educational cards.


A transmission mechanism having a PTO transmission system and a traveling transmission system and used for a working vehicle, which is so constructed that a input shaft 8 is coaxially freely perforated through a hollow traveling clutch shaft 13, both ends of input shaft 8 projects from the traveling clutch shaft 13, one projecting portion is journalled between a bearing wall 1b of a front transmission casing 1 and a front bearing plate 4 for covering an opening at the front end of the wall 1b, and a selecting device A including a forward and rearward movement switching clutch B, as an embodiment of an auxiliary speed change device, is disposed at this projecting portion. At the front bearing plate 4 is formed an oil relaying unit 4a in which an oil passage for the forward and rearward movement switching clutch B is bored, so that an oil passage bored in a thick portion 1d of the outer wall connects through a hydraulic control valve unit 35 attached to the outer wall of the front transmission casing 1 with the oil passage of oil relaying unit 4a without need of piping. Meanwhile, a PTO clutch 9 is coaxially disposed with the input shaft 8 sequentially to the projection thereof, between the input shaft 8 and the PTO clutch shaft 9 is disposed a PTO assembly of combination of a hydraulic PTO clutch D and hydraulic PTO brake E, an annular groove 53c is formed on the outer peripheral surface, a rear surface portion of the drum 53 is rotatably mounted to a bearing wall 2a of the rear transmission casing 2, and abutting portion 53e is formed on the inner periphery of the brake drum 53 and made possible to abut against a stopper pin 61 projecting into a recess 2f at the bearing wall 2, thereby allowing the idling of brake drum 53 in a predetermined angle with respect to the bearing wall 2a.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a transmission mechanism which comprises a traveling transmission system and a PTO transmission system and used for a working vehicle, such as a tractor, and more particularly to a transmission mechanism which is provided in the traveling transmission system with an auxiliary transmission having at least two transmission stages, such as a forward and rearward movement switching and a high-low speed switching, and in the PTO transmission system with a hydraulic PTO clutch and a PTO brake for braking a PTO shaft following disengagement of PTO clutch.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional transmission mechanism for a working vehicle, such as a tractor, has a traveling transmission system having both a multi-stage transmission device and a PTO system transmission mechanism. In other words, a common input shaft transmits the power from an engine output shaft and is used to drive both the traveling transmission system and the PTO transmission system by using gears and the like. Conventionally, however, the traveling system transmission shaft and the PTO system transmission shaft are disposed in parallel to each other so that the separate spaces for transmission shafts of traveling and PTO systems are required to be axially disposed. In a case that the traveling system transmission device is the multistage transmission device, the disposing space thereof needs to be a considerably larger in part, whereby the transmission mechanism provided with both the traveling and PTO systems, the transmission shafts requires a further larger disposing space to that extent, and a housing for containing therein the mechanism must be of a large size.
Also, such the transmission mechanism for the working vehicle like the tractor is provided with both the traveling system and PTO system having the multistage speed change device, is well-known to be provided between the engine and the multistage speed change device with an auxiliary speed change device provided with at least two speed-change stages. For example, a transmission mechanism disclosed in the Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 5-26686 or the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 7-117507 is provided between the engine and the main multistage speed change device for the changing the speed of driving wheels with the speed change device for forward and rearward movement switching and for high-low speed changing.
The conventional traveling transmission mechanism is complicated in construction of assembling the main multistage speed change device, forward and rearward movement switching device and auxiliary high-low speed change device, in the same chamber, on the same shaft or on each shaft to be engageable with each other. For example, even when only the multistage speed changing device is intended to be applied with the maintenance work, both the multistage speed change device and auxiliary speed change device must be detached so that it is difficult that the auxiliary speed change device is detachably mounted.
In a case that such the auxiliary speed change device comprises a hydraulic clutch, supply structure for operating oil is complicated so that it is difficult to construct the hydraulic clutch to be easily detachably mountable. For example, the hydraulic clutch disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 6-297971 (in which the clutch is for PTO power change over), a valve for supplying the operating oil is built in a housing and a hydraulic oil pipe is interposed between the valve and the hydraulic clutch, whereby the piping must be removed when the hydraulic clutch is detached or mounted.
Meanwhile, such a conventional transmission mechanism for the working vehicle, which is provided with a PTO clutch of multistage plates and of hydraulic operation system and a brake mechanism for preventing inertial rotation are juxtaposed in the downstream side, is disclosed in, for example, the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 6-297971, in which the brake mechanism is so constructed that braked members assembled integrally with the PTO clutch piston come into press contact with one disc-like braking member freely fitted onto the transmission shaft in the downstream side of PTO clutch, so as to brake the downstream side transmission shaft; the PTO system transmission shaft (or the PTO shaft itself). Also, the braking members are freely fitted on the PTO system transmission shaft, but is admitted to be idle in a predetermined angle (rotation reversely to the driving direction), because when the PTO shaft does not operate at all during the disengagement of PTO clutch, the PTO shaft at the working vehicle side and the transmission mechanism at the working machine side are not well connected.
The conventional PTO transmission system has the brake mechanism which brings one disc-like braked member in press contact with one disc-like braking mechanism, so that, when in comparison with the multiple disc system, an impact increases and the durability deteriorates. The braking mechanism is freely fitted onto the shaft at the downstream side of PTO clutch and the braked members are built in the clutch piston, whereby the braked members and braking members of the brake mechanism must be separated. Furthermore, an operation quantity of the braked member is restricted to the stroke of the clutch piston, the stroke must be adjusted every assembly so as to take much time. The idling allowable mechanism in the predetermined angle of the PTO brake is complicated in processing at a wall portion of transmission casing and expensive to produce.

Transmission mechanism for a working vehicle


An improved spiral coupler including a plurality of parallel, coextensive conductive strips disposed in a planar spiral path, including a first strip having an input port and a direct or through port, a second strip having a coupler port and an isolated port and a first cross-over connection for bridging the strips from the inside to the outside of the spiral path to provide all four the ports external access to the spiral path.

With the dramatic developments of wireless telecommunication and satellite communication systems, there have been increasing demands for highly integrated RF and microwave circuits with better performance, smaller size and lower cost. Many of these systems use couplers, such as a 3-dB coupler and other directional couplers, in their microwave circuitry. Couplers of many types and variations have been developed for circuits processing signals at microwave frequencies. U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,024 was issued on Jun. 2, 1970 to Lange for an Interdigitated Strip Line Coupler. This coupler, also described in Lange, "Interdigitated Strip-Line Quadrature Hybrid", MTTS Digest of Technical Papers, Dallas, Tex., May 5-7, 1969, pp. 10-13, has become generally known as a Lange coupler. Since this early work on strip line conductors many variations have been developed.
These are variously described in Waterman, Jr., et al., "GaAs Monolithic Lange and Wilkinson Couplers", and Brehm et al., "Monolithic GaAs Lange Coupler at X-Band", both of IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. ED-28, No. 2, February 1981, pages 212-216, and pages 217-218, respectively; Tajima et al., "Monolithic Hybrid Quadrature Couplers (Braided Structures)", IEEE GaAs IC Symposium, 1982, pages 154 and 155; Kumar et al., "Monolithic GaAs Interdigitated Couplers", IEEE, 1983, pages 359-362; Kemp et al., "Ultra-Wideband Quadrature Coupler", IEEE Transactions, 1983, pp. 197-199; Shibata et al., "Microstrip Spiral Directional Coupler", IEEE Transactions, 1981, pp. 680-689; Lentz, "Compact Transmission Line Consisting of Interleaved Conductor Strips and Shield Strips", U.S. Pat. No. 3,162,717 issued Dec. 22, 1964; Oh, "Three Conductor Coplanar Serpentine-line Directional Coupler", U.S. Pat. No. 3,332,039 issued Jul. 18, 1967; Presser et al., "High Performance Interdigitated Coupler with Additional Jumper Wire", U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,754 issued Jan. 13, 1987; and Podell et al., "Spiral Hybrid Coupler", U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,345 issued Jan. 24, 1989. All of these above cited references are herein incorporated in their entirety by this reference.
These various forms of interdigitated and strip-line conductors provide coupling with various degrees of success for different fabrication technology.


Process and device for preparing for analysis a gas mixture consisting of at least two components. The gas mixture is passed through at least two adsorption beds (3', 4'). At least one adsorption bed loaded with at least one constituent is fitted in a desorption device located upstream of the inlet system of an analyzer unit in which the constituent(s) are desorbed by lowering the pressure and/or raising the temperature.

Analysis of a gas mixture is facilitated when the mixture is separated into various fractions before analysis proper. Illustratively a sample of respiratory air is prepared for mass-spectroscopy analysis in that the person from whom the alveolar air, that is the air from the actual lung, is to be investigated, is made to inflate a collecting pouch holding about 1 ltr.
Prior to being introduced into the ion source of the mass-spectrometer, the breath sample must be prepared physically. So far and illustratively this has been done using a cold-trap. The respiratory air to be analyzed first arrives at a trap cooled with frozen methanol wherein the water vapor is frozen out and then this air passes into a second trap cooled with liquid nitrogen where the carbon dioxide is frozen out. At this location the gas components that did not freeze, in particular nitrogen, oxygen and noble gases, are removed using a vacuum pump. Next the second cold trap is heated to allow the frozen carbon dioxide to evaporate, and it is then moved through an intake system into the ion source of mass spectrometer.
Especially with respect to routine use on a large scale, the above described method of sampling, storage and preparation incurs substantial drawbacks:
Sampling entails a substantial risk of handling errors. PA1 Only a small quantity of air representing a fraction of the exhalation is sampled; however, the marked carbon dioxide does not necessarily accumulate in the lung in a uniform manner in time and space; in this respect the above method fails to be integrating. PA1 Even though only one random sample has been taken, the sample vessel of 50 ml remains fairly large; this entails space problems if, for instance, eight samples are taken per patient and at the same time samples from several patients must be shipped and stored. PA1 The system requires liquid nitrogen which as a rule is unavailable in medical labs and therefore entails special costs of operation. PA1 The system of cold traps demands careful maintenance and is not easily automated; ice formation at different sites makes is susceptible to malfunctions; in the event of malfunction, the entire analytical the system of cold traps is capital-intensive. PA1 Sample preparation is time-consuming.

Method and apparatus for preparing a gas mixture for purposes of analysis and application of the method


In a microstrip antenna, a dielectric member is disposed on a grounded conductive plate. A patch antenna element is disposed on the dielectric member. Each of a plurality of conductive rods has an electrical length corresponding to one quarter of a wavelength at a resonance frequency of the microstrip antenna. The rods are arranged on an edge portion of a face of the conductive plate facing the patch antenna element, with an interval which is an electric length corresponding to a half or less of the wavelength at the resonance frequency, such that each of the rods extends perpendicularly to the conductive plate while one end thereof is electrically connected to the conductive plate.

The present invention relates to a microstrip antenna having a planar patch antenna element.
An example of a related-art microstrip antenna will be described referring to FIGS. 4A to 5.
As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a dielectric substrate 12 is placed on an upper face of a ground 10 formed of conductive metal, and a planar patch antenna element 14 is placed on an upper face of this dielectric substrate 12. Passing through the ground 10 and the dielectric substrate 12, a core conductor of a feeding cable 16 is electrically connected to the patch antenna element 14. A feeding point 18 of the patch antenna element 14 is at a position offset from a center of the patch antenna element 14.
For the directivity of the microstrip antenna having the above described structure, a high gain can be obtained in an upward direction, and a half power width can be narrowed, as shown in FIG. 5.
In a case where the above described microstrip antenna is arranged, in an electrically spaced manner, on a metallic conductor having a larger area than the ground 10, the directivity largely changes. An example of such an arrangement will be described referring to FIGS. 6A to 7.
As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, in a case where a metallic conductor 20 having a large area has been provided below the microstrip antenna, in an electrically spaced manner from the ground 10, the ground 10 and the metallic conductor 20 will be electrically coupled to each other, and a directivity having a decreased gain in an upward direction and a large half power width will be observed, as shown in FIG. 7. According to experiments, in a case where a distance g between the ground 10 and the metallic conductor 20 has an electric length of 1/10 to 11/12 of resonant frequency λ of the microstrip antenna, the half power width is largest, and in a case where the distance g is larger than ⅛ of the resonant frequency λ, almost no influence of the coupling appears. It is apparent that in a case where the distance g is zero, and the ground 10 and the metallic conductor 20 are electrically connected to each other, the metallic conductor 20 acts as the ground 10 having a large area, and the directivity is directed upwardly.
Moreover, the directivity is influenced not only by the metallic conductor 20 having such a shape as expanding around the entirety of the ground 10, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-314323A discloses that the directivity is influenced, also in a case where the metallic conductor 20 has a rectangular shape of which short sides are shorter than the size of the ground 10, and long sides are longer than the size of the ground 10.
The microstrip antenna is employed, for example, as a GPS antenna and an antenna for ITS (Intelligent Transport System). In a case where this microstrip antenna is mounted on a vehicle, the microstrip antenna is usually arranged on a roof of a vehicle body or a dashboard made of metal plates. Consequently, the roof or the dashboard will act as the metallic conductor 20, and the directivity of the microstrip antenna is influenced. Under the circumstances, there is such an anxiety that a desired directivity cannot be obtained, depending on a manner of arrangement.


A process for preparing a piperazine derivative represented by the formula (V):

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for preparing piperazine derivatives. More specifically, the present invention relates to a process for preparing piperazine derivatives which can be suitably used as preparation intermediates of mirtazapine, which is useful as an antidepressant.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Mirtazapine is a compound which is useful as an antidepressant. Conventionally, there have been known piperazine derivatives as preparation intermediates for mirtazapine. As a process for preparing a piperazine derivative, there has been known a process comprising reacting 1-methyl-3-phenylpiperazine with 2-chloro-3-cyanopyridine in the presence of potassium fluoride (Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. Sho 59-42678).
However, since this process uses potassium fluoride, there are some defects in this process that apparatus in which glass is used or apparatus having glass-lining cannot be used in the process because glass is eroded away, and that industrial productivity is poor because tar is generated in the reaction solution in a large amount, thereby making it difficult to take out a desired piperazine derivative.
In addition, as a process for preparing 1-methyl-3-phenylpiperazine, which is an important preparation intermediate for the above-mentioned piperazine derivative, there have been known a process comprising reacting styrene oxide with N-methylethanolamine in water (Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. Sho 53-15520); and a process comprising methylating 2-phenylpiperazine with methyl iodide (U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,705).
However, the former process has some defects in the aspect of productivity because isomers are formed, so that a complicated treatment such as column separation is necessitated. In addition, the latter process has some defects that its industrial productivity is poor because 1-methyl-3-phenylpiperazine cannot be obtained in high yields, and a large amount of acetone is necessitated.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the prior art described above. An object of the present invention is to provide a process capable of industrially easily preparing piperazine derivatives which are useful as preparation intermediates of mirtazapine, and 1-methyl-3-phenylpiperazine, which is an important preparation intermediate thereof, without requiring complicated procedures. These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.
According to the present invention, there are provided:
(1) a process for preparing a diol compound represented by the formula (I):
comprising reacting styrene oxide with N-methylethanolamine in an aprotic polar organic solvent;
(2) the process for preparing a diol compound according to item (1) above, wherein the aprotic polar organic solvent is dimethylformamide or 1,3-dimethylimidazolidin-2-one;
(3) a process for preparing a dichloro-compound represented by the formula
comprising chlorinating the diol compound obtained in item (1) above without isolating the diol compound;
(4) a process for preparing a salt of a dichloro-compound represented by the formula (III):
wherein HX is an acid,
comprising treating the diol compound obtained in item (1) above with an acid to form a salt, and chlorinating the resulting salt;
(5) a process for preparing 1-methyl-3-phenylpiperazine represented by the formula (IV):
comprising reacting the dichloro-compound obtained in item (3) above or a salt of the dichloro-compound obtained in item (4) above with ammonia;
(6) a process for preparing a piperazine derivative represented by the formula (V):
comprising reacting 1-methyl-3-phenylpiperazine with 2-chloro-3-cyanopyridine in an aprotic polar organic solvent in the presence of a base and an alkali metal halide; and
(7) an oxalate of a piperazine derivative represented by the formula (VI):

Process for preparing piperazine derivatives

Abstract: comprising reacting 1-methyl-3-phenylpiperazine with 2-chloro-3-cyanopyridine in an aprotic polar organic solvent in the presence of a base and an alkali metal halide. The piperazine derivative and its oxalate are compounds useful as preparation intermediates of mirtazapine.