A superhard compact having an improved superabrasive-substrate interface region design for use in drilling bits, cutting tools and wire dies and the like. This compact is designed to provide an interface design to manipulate residual stresses to enhance the working the strength of the compact. The compact is provided with a network on interface features that share common walls to form cavities.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to polycrystalline diamond compacts (PDC) used primarily in the oil and gas industry for drilling. More specifically, this invention relates to polycrystalline diamond cutters that utilize a substrate interface design that comprises a network of closed features that extend from the face of the substrate into the superabrasive layer.
2. Description of Related Art
Polycrystalline diamond compacts (PDC) often form the cutting structure of down hole tools, including drill bits (fixed cutter, roller cone and percussion bits), reamers and stabilizers in the oil and gas industry. A variety of PDC devices, specifically substrate interface designs have been described and are well known in the art. Generally, these devices do not have interface designs that include a network of closed shaped features that share common walls.
A polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) can be manufactured by a number of methods that are well known in the art. The typical process consists of essentially placing a substrate adjacent to a layer of diamond crystals in a refractory metal can. A back can is then positioned over the substrate and is sealed to form a can assembly. The can assembly is then placed into a cell made of an extrudible material such as pyrophyllite or talc. The cell is then subjected to conditions necessary for diamond-to-diamond bonding or sintering in a high pressure/high temperature press. This detail is provided to familiarize the reader with the PDC sintering technology. For more information regarding the manufacture of PDC cutters the reader is referred to U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,623, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for the material contained therein.
There are a variety of U.S. patent documents that are helpful in providing a reader with general background information regarding PDC cutter design and manufacture. The reader is referred to the following U.S. patent documents, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for the material contained therein: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,527,998, 4,539,018, 4,772,294, 4,941,891, 5,370,717, 5,384,470, 5,469,927, 5,560,754, 5,711,702, 5,871,060, 5,848,348, 5,890,552, 6,011,248, 6,063,333, 6,068,071, and 6,189,634.

PDC interface incorporating a closed network of features


An apparatus including a support configured to receive a portable electronic device including a door and a first electrical connector; and a member, moveable relative to the support and configured to provide force to the door to open the door and expose the first electrical connector, the apparatus defining a cavity configured to receive the opened door.

Portable electronic devices, such as mobile cellular telephones, may be received by an apparatus that not only supports the portable electronic device but also electrically connects to the portable electronic device. Such apparatus are usually referred to as 'docking stations', 'docks' or a 'port replicator'.
Portable electronic devices may include a door that covers the electrical connector of the portable electronic device. In order to connect the portable electronic device to the apparatus, a user first opens the door with their fingers to expose the electrical connector and then connects the electrical connector to the electrical connector of the apparatus. However, such doors are relatively small and a user may find it inconvenient, or may struggle to open the door to expose the electrical connector of the portable electronic device.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an alternative apparatus.

Apparatus for electrically connecting to a portable electronic device


A computer-implemented method for selectively excluding data from compression prior to uplink to a telecommunication system. In an embodiment, the method analyzing a request by an application, executing within a device, to wirelessly uplink data to a telecommunication node. The method further includes establishing a set of logical channels assigned to the application. The method further includes transferring the data among one or more logical channels, of the set of logical channels, based on a status flag related to data compression corresponding to the data. The method further includes determining that the data is transferred via a compression-disabled logical channel, of the set of logical channels. The method further includes responding to determining that the data is transferred via the compression-disabled logical channel by bypassing a data compression function prior to preparing the data for uplink. The method further includes uplinking the data to the telecommunication node.

The present invention relates generally to the field of transmitting data to a telecommunication system, and in particular to managing compression of data to uplink to a next generation telecommunication node.
Mobile telecommunication systems were initially developed to provide a voice service while guaranteeing activity of a user. Mobile telecommunication systems have evolved to provide text and data services in addition to voice services. Increases in the number and demands of users of advanced mobile devices has generated a dramatic increase of traffic and higher-speed/bandwidth service requirements. For example, telecommunication advances have been key enablers for many technologies including video streaming and artificial intelligence (AI) to succeed by reducing or eliminating various limiting factors, such as sedentary operations, lower bandwidth communications, etc. Advances associated with fifth generation (5G) telecommunication technologies are expected to serve as enablers to push dependent technologies to higher level performance and capabilities through mobile bandwidths of 1 GBPS (gigabits/second) or greater, convergence of Internet-of-things (IoT) device access, etc.
5G new radio (NR) is a radio access technology designed as the wireless air interface of 5G networks. In 5G NR the medium access control (MAC) layer provides services to the radio link control (RLC) layer. One service of the MAC layer service provides logical channels to the RLC layer, which further enables the creation of multiple logical channels over a single radio bearer network using 5G network slicing models. Some logical channels carry control information and other logical channel convey data traffic from the 5G-enabled user equipment (UE) to a 5G network node (i.e., a base station). In addition, the 5G-enabled network node can utilize logical channels linked to the UE to process packets corresponding to different data at differing "quality of service" (QoS) among designated logical channels.

Selective compression of data for uplink to a telecommunication network

International Business Machines Corporation


To reduce EMI and current consumption in internal wiring after display data have been input to a data driver. Display data DN/DP constituted by RSDS signals input to a data driver in a first stage are converted to display data DA constituted by CMOS signals, subjected to primary inversion control according to a data inversion signal INV generated inside, and transferred into internal wiring 31 in a data capturing circuit 30. Then, the display data are subjected to secondary inversion control by a secondary data inversion circuit 33 disposed immediately before data registers 34 according to the data inversion signal INV, and then captured by the data registers 34. Further, chip-to-chip transfer of the display data DA and the data inversion signal INV to the data drivers in second and subsequent stages is performed through the internal wiring 31 and internal wiring 32. Then, as in the data driver in the first stage, the display data DA are captured by the data registers 34.

As dot matrix type display devices, liquid crystal display devices are used in various devices such as a personal computer due to their advantages of thinness, light weight, and low power. Color liquid crystal display devices with an active matrix system in particular, which are advantageous for controlling image quality with high definition, have become dominant.
The liquid crystal display module of the liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel (LCD panel), a control circuit (which will be hereinafter referred to as a controller) constituted from a semiconductor integrated circuit (which will be hereinafter referred to as an IC), scanning side driving circuits (which will be referred to as scanning drivers) and data side driving circuits (which will be referred to as data drivers), both constituted from ICs. Due to the higher definition of the picture quality of the liquid crystal panel and the larger size of the liquid crystal panel, the transfer speed of display data has become faster. When the transfer speed of the display data becomes faster, the frequencies of inversion of a clock signal and the display data in a unit of time will increase. When the clock signal and the display data are binary voltage signals (which will be referred to as CMOS signals) the amplitude of which changes (inverts) according to whether the signals are at a supply voltage level ("H" level) or a ground level ("L" level), there is a problem in which EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) noise and current consumption increase in wiring between the controller and the data drivers through which the clock signal and the display data are transferred.
As one method of solving this problem, a method is used in which primary inversion of the logic of display data constituted by a CMOS signal is performed by a primary data inversion circuit of a transfer source according to a data inversion signal INV, thereby reducing the frequency of inversion in the entire transfer wiring, and then secondary inversion for returning the logic of the display data to the original logic is performed by a secondary data inversion circuit of a transfer destination (refer to Patent Document 1, for example). In this method, when display data constituted by the CMOS signals having a 18-bit width of 6 bits by 3 dots (R, G, B) are transferred, a logic inversion change before or after each bit in the 18-bit display data from the "H" level to the "L" level or from the "L" level to the "H" level is detected by the controller of the transfer source. Then, when the number of the changed bits is 13 bits that is larger than half of the number of 18 bits, for example, a data inversion signal INV at the "H" level is generated. Then, the logics of 18 bits are inverted at the primary data inversion circuits for the 18 bits provided near output terminals of the controller, according to this data inversion signal INV. With this arrangement, in the transfer wiring with the 18-bit width, 13 bits of the 18 bits are not inverted, so that only five bits are inverted. The frequencies of inversion can be reduced, so that the EMI noise and the current consumption can be reduced. Then, in order to return the display data with the 18 bit width to its original logic state, the display data are inverted again to the logics of the 18 bits by the secondary data inversion circuits for the 18 bits, provided near input terminals of the data driver of the transfer destination.
As an other method of solving the above-mentioned problem, a low voltage differential signaling interface is employed. As its typical one, an interface using an RSDS (Reduced Swing Differential Signaling) system (which will be referred to as an RSDS interface) (refer to Patent Document 2) is used.
[Patent Document 1]
JP Patent Kokai Publication No. JP-P2003-84726A (FIG. 9)
[Patent Document 2]
JP Patent No. 3285332

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method and apparatus for efficiently executing nested transactions is herein described. Hardware support for execution of transactions is provided. Additionally, through the use of logging previous values immediately before a current nested transaction in a local memory and storage of a stack of handlers associated with a hierarchy of transactions, nested transactions are potentially efficiently executed. Upon a failure, abort, or invalidating event/access within a nested transaction, the state of variables or memory locations written to during execution of the nested transaction are rolled-back to immediately before the nested transaction, instead of all the way back to an original state of the variables or memory locations before an enclosing transaction. As a result, nested transactions may be re-executed within enclosing transactions, without flattening the enclosing and nested transactions to re-execute everything.

Advances in semi-conductor processing and logic design have permitted an increase in the amount of logic that may be present on integrated circuit devices. As a result, computer system configurations have evolved from a single or multiple integrated circuits in a system to multiple cores and multiple logical processors present on individual integrated circuits. An integrated circuit typically comprises a single processor die, where the processor die may include any number of cores or logical processors.
As an example, a single integrated circuit may have one or multiple cores. The term core usually refers to the ability of logic on an integrated circuit to maintain an independent architecture state, where each independent architecture state is associated with at least some dedicated execution resources. As another example, a single integrated circuit or a single core may have multiple logical processors for executing multiple software threads, which is also referred to as a multi-threading integrated circuit or a multi-threading core. Multiple logical processors usually share common data caches, instruction caches, execution units, branch predictors, control logic, bus interfaces, and other processor resources, while maintaining a unique architecture state for each logical processor
The ever increasing number of cores and logical processors on integrated circuits enables more software threads to be executed. However, the increase in the number of software threads that may be executed simultaneously has created problems with synchronizing data shared among the software threads. One common solution to accessing shared data in multiple core or multiple logical processor systems comprises the use of locks to guarantee mutual exclusion across multiple accesses to shared data. However, the ever increasing ability to execute multiple software threads potentially results in false contention and a serialization of execution.
Another solution is using transactional execution to access shared memory to execute instructions and operate on data. Often transactional execution includes speculatively executing a grouping of a plurality of micro-operations, operations, or instructions. During speculative execution of a transaction by a processor, core, or thread, the memory locations read from and written to are tracked to see if another processor, core, or thread accesses those locations. If another thread does alter those locations, the transaction is restarted and it is re-executed from the beginning. Currently, values of memory locations to be changed in a transaction are saved elsewhere, so if the transaction needs to be re-executed the original state of all memory/registers may be restored.
However, as transactional execution has progressed, software programmers have begun to use nested transactions, i.e. a grouping of instructions/operations to be executed within and part of another outer/enclosing group of instructions/operations. As a consequence, current hardware for support for nested transactions has resulted in inefficient execution of nested transactions.
For example, assume an outer transaction and an inner transaction nested within the outer transaction is to be executed. Current hardware support typically saves values of memory locations to be changed before entering the outer transaction. Yet, when executing in the inner transaction, if an abort or invalidating event occurs, the state of memory locations is usually rolled-back to the original state of the memory locations requiring a re-execution of both the outer and inner transaction. This simple example is magnified where more nested transactions exist within each other. Specifically, if an abort occurs within a nested transaction deep in a hierarchy of transactions, numerous nested transactions that were not associated with the abort would have to be re-executed for no reason.

Software assisted nested hardware transactions


Non-aqueous solid electrochemical cells with improved performance can be fabricated by employing an electrolyte having an electrolyte solvent which contains a carbonate having the structure R'OCOOR" where R' and R" are independently selected from branched alkyl groups with 3 to 7 carbons. A preferred solvent includes diisopropyl carbonate. The cells are particularly suited for low and high temperature applications.

Non-aqueous lithium electrochemical cells typically include an anode, a lithium electrolyte prepared from a lithium salt dissolved in one or more organic solvents and a cathode of an electrochemically active material, typically a chalcogenide of a transition metal. During discharge, lithium ions from the anode pass through the liquid electrolyte to the electrochemically active material of the cathode where the ions are taken up with the simultaneous release of electrical energy. During charging, the flow of ions is reversed so that lithium ions pass from the electrochemically active cathode material through the electrolyte and are plated back onto the lithium anode. Non-aqueous lithium electrochemical cells are discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,472,487, 4,668,595, 5,028,500, 5,441,830, 5,460,904, and 5,540,741.
Recently, the lithium metal anode has been replaced with a carbon anode such as coke or graphite intercalated with lithium ions to form Li.sub.x C. In operation of the cell, lithium passes from the carbon through the electrolyte to the cathode where it is taken up just as in a cell with a metallic lithium anode. During recharge, the lithium is transferred back to the anode where it reintercalates into the carbon. Because no metallic lithium is present in the cell, melting of the anode does not occur even under abuse conditions. Also, because lithium is reincorporated into the anode by intercalation rather than by plating, dendritic and spongy lithium growth does not occur.
Various factors influence the performance of electrochemical cells. For instance, electrolyte decomposition will occur with any solvent at high enough potential. In the case of lithium cells, the solvents are organic, aprotic, polar solvents. Conventional solvents are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,085,952, 4,925,751, 4,908,283, 4,830,939, and 4,792,504. Decomposition of solvents occurs at different rates and at different potentials. In the case of conventional exemplary carbonates, the solvent may be a cyclic carbonate or linear carbonate, yet the same decomposition mechanism applies at different rates. Exemplary organic solvents are .gamma.-butryrolactone, tetrahydrofuran, propylene carbonate, vinylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, dimethyl carbonate (DMC), diethyl carbonate (DEC), butylene carbonate, methyl ethyl carbonate, dipropyl carbonate, dibutyl carbonate, diethoxy ethane, dimethoxyethane, and dioxolane.
Loss of performance due to impurities and undesired side reactions has lead to the selection of solvents and salts which are less reactive with cell components. Unfortunately, this eliminates from use certain solvents and salts which perform better in a cell as compared to their less reactive counterparts. Therefore, what is needed is an understanding of the mechanisms causing undesirable loss of performance and reduce battery life cycle. Although interaction with metallic lithium has now been resolved by eliminating the use of the metallic lithium, yet there still remains the challenge of determining how to prevent undesired side reactions especially those involving formation of gas in cells.

Electrolyte solvent for lithium ion electrochemical cell


A structure of two interlocking members, such as two planks, comprises a first member having a pair of first rectilinear location edges and a second member having a pair of second rectilinear location edges, each first location edge comprising a pair of elongate flange formations which define therebetween an elongate recess and each second location edge having a tongue formation to engage in a respective recess of a first member by relative angular movement of the members, each flange formation of a first member comprising a longitudinally extending undercut zone and each tongue formation of each second member comprising a protrusion which is received in an undercut zone of one of the flange formations in an assembled condition of the members.

An example of a known technique for forming a joint assembly between two panels is described in GB-A-2117813. That document describes the use of a pair of strips secured to the edges of respective panels, for example by a dovetail joint. The connecting strips are provided one with a curved tongue and the other with a groove. One strip can be pivoted relative to the other for the tongue to enter the groove.
The structure of the present invention may comprise an assembly of two or more panels in which two panels are interlocked by an interposed connection member, or an assembly in which two panels are directly interconnected.
In one of its aspects the present invention seeks to provide a structure in which a pair of members, such as a panel and another member, or two panels, may be interconnected, and may subsequently be selectively separated in a controlled manner.


An apparatus for communication with a wireless network is provided. A video display unit is mounted on a seat back. The video display unit includes a processor, a video display electrically coupled to the processor, a component configured for wireless communication with the processor, and a receiver electrically coupled to the processor. A user interface is mounted on an armrest. The user interface includes a user input interface and a transmitter electrically coupled to the user input interface.

Airline passengers have come to expect the delivery of data and in-flight digital entertainment content to them in their seats. The common means of delivery is through video display units ("VDUs") embedded in a back of a seat in a row immediately ahead of the passenger. In one simple embodiment, in-flight movies are delivered to the VDUs from a central video transmitter. Data signals including audio or video programming are distributed to each of the seats by hard wires, such as coaxial cable, and are routed to the each of the VDUs.
For the sake of safety and convenience, cables supplying these signals are run in the overhead or under the floor, and supply signal to the seats via columns of wiring that emerge from the flooring for center row seating, and from the sidewalls for the lateral seating. Signals service a column of seats, with a daisy chain of wires going from seat row to seat row. The wires between these seat rows are carried in a raceway adjacent to the seat track, and are protected and covered by a seat track cover, usually a rubber type material. The coaxial cable arrives at its destination seat back, by passing the cable through the seat structure and allows the routing of the coaxial cable to the VDU in the seat back.
To allow the passenger to control the VDU, a passenger control unit ("PCU") is typically embedded in the armrest of the passenger seat. To enable the PCU, wire connections are routed from the passenger seat to the seat tray along the wire race to the preceding row of seats, and up to the VDU in the seat back immediately in front of the passenger seat. Each additional passenger seat generally entails similar connections.
Passenger demand has caused a need for even greater network service offerings. Rather than a single movie, passengers may desire a choice of several movies. Additionally, passengers may wish to have access to the Internet from their seat station. This increased data content is carried over the wired Ethernet-type conductor to the passenger interface. Wiring within the seat track raceway is either sized in length to fit the pitch of the seats, or there is a service loop of cable that allows limited flexibility in the positioning of the seats.
In many commercial settings, wireless networks have replaced the standard "hard wired" Ethernet network. To that end, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the "IEEE", has promulgated the standard 802.11 for wireless networking. This standard has been widely accepted. Manufacturers offer many 802.11-compliant products for wireless networking. Wireless networks offer the advantage of accommodating moderately-sized (256 users) per radio frequency channel. Therefore, where larger networks are required, more channels are used.
The recognized economies of wireless networks have made them an attractive vehicle for distribution of data in environments where individual wires are cumbersome. As demonstrated in the discussion above, an airplane cabin is such an environment. Therefore, there is an unmet need in the art for applying wireless network technology to providing the connection of numerous VDUs to a central server in an airline passenger cabin.

Wireless data transmission in between seat rows in aircraft


Embodiments provide systems and methods to load balance using tenant affinities. A method includes configuring a load balancer with a set of tenant affinities, the set of tenant affinities including a tenant affinity for each of a plurality of tenants with respect to each of a plurality of computing nodes that provide services to users in a multitenant environment. Load balancing may include receiving a user request, associated with a tenant, for a service provided by the computing nodes, determining a highest tenant affinity computing node for the tenant using the set of tenant affinities and directing the user request to the highest tenant affinity computing node for the tenant.

A multitenant system may utilize any number of nodes to provide services to users associated with tenants in a multitenant environment. A multitenant system may utilize a load balancer to distribute user requests to nodes.
In a multitenant environment there may be any number of nodes that provide the same services.
In one example of load balancing, the load balancer assigns user requests based on which node has the least number of assigned users. For example, for a user request that has not been assigned to a node, the load balancer will assign the user request to the node with the lowest number of associated users, regardless of CPU usage. Based on the order and types of requests received, load balancing in this manner can result in one node primarily providing less CPU intensive services and another node primarily providing highly CPU intensive services.
Therefore, an improved mechanism for load balancing is required.

System and method for load balancing in a multitenant environment


A device and method for luring deer. The device includes first and second flexible strips. The first strip has first and second ends, and an absorbent middle portion. The second strip has first and second ends, and an absorbent middle portion. The first end of the first strip is attached to the first end of the second strip, and the second end of the first strip is attached to the second end of the second strip. A fragrant liquid having a scent which attracts deer is sealed in a brittle container, which is sandwiched between the absorbent portions of the strips. When the container is crushed, the liquid escapes and is absorbed by the strips, from which it emits a scent which lures deer to the site from which the scent is coming.

The present invention relates to animal bait. More particularly, the invention relates to a device and method for luring deer.
Deer feeders are commonly used for this purpose. However, such feeders are expensive to build and maintain, and are not portable. A need exists, therefore, for a portable, inexpensive device for luring deer to a hunter. The present invention provides such a device, as well as a method for using the device to attract deer.


A slim safety umbrella runner includes a push button having a pivotal portion formed on a bottom portion of the push button and insertably engaged in a pivotal cavity formed in a bottom rim of the runner, with the push button pivotally biasing a resilient protrusion resiliently formed on a runner sleeve of an umbrella central shaft, whereby upon a depression of the push button to disengage the runner from the resilient protrusion, the runner will be lowered for closing the runner.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,141 invented by the same inventors of this application disclosed a safety umbrella runner including a push button slidably held in the umbrella runner for disengaging a catch resiliently formed in an umbrella shaft for closing the umbrella. The push button as slidably held in the runner requires an operating "stroke" for reciprocating a plunger (41) of the push button within the slot (33) formed in the runner, thereby increasing the volume of the runner to be unsuitable for making a slim multiple-fold umbrella.
The present inventors have found the drawbacks of the prior art and invented the present slim safety runner and the multiple-fold umbrella thereof.

Slim safety runner and multiple-fold umbrella thereof


A riding board game controller for sending directional and non-directional control signals to an audio-visual game having a microprocessor-based host computer for sending audio-visual signals to a display device, the riding board game controller comprising: a substantially rectangular platform, pivotally supported along its central longitudinal axis on a playing surface and adapted to support an operator standing thereon, such that side-to-side pivoting of the platform can be performed by the operator; a biasing system, positioned between the platform and the playing surface, for biasing the platform away from the playing surface; a left dual-state switch, positioned between the platform and the playing surface, on the left side of the longitudinal axis, and activated by a pivoting of the platform to the left side; a right dual-state switch, positioned between the platform and the playing surface, on the right side of the longitudinal axis, and activated by a pivoting of the platform to the right side; a center dual-state switch, positioned between the platform and the playing surface, substantially along or near the longitudinal axis, and activated by a movement of the longitudinal axis towards or away from the playing surface; and a signal processor for converting signals from the left and right switches into directional control signals, for converting a signal from the center switch into a non-directional signal, and for sending the directional and non-directional control signals to the host computer.

The present invention relates to computer peripheral devices and, more particularly, to controllers for computers, games and computer game devices.
Typical computer games and video games generally include an audio-visual display device (e.g., a television monitor), a computer host or video game unit which transmits the simulation video and audio signals to the display device, a port for receiving a video game software or data, and at least one hand manipulated control device with which the game operator interacts with the video game. Such hand manipulated control devices exist in many forms such as a hand-held control pad, a keyboard, a joystick, a mouse, a trackball, and the like. Typically, hand manipulated control devices have directional controls for moving a character in the game and auxiliary controls for other activities such as causing the character to perform a certain act, such as jumping.
One type of hand-held control pad, for example, has four directional control push-buttons and a number of non-directional push-buttons. The push-buttons are dual state (on/off) buttons. Each directional button, when pressed by the operator, causes a corresponding directional action of the character in the video game such as turning the character to the right or left. Auxiliary push buttons, when pressed, cause non-directional actions such as jumping, punching, ducking, shooting, etc. oftentimes, a directional, and an auxiliary push-button can be used in combination to effect a certain action in a certain direction, such as causing the image to punch right or left, or moving the image to the right or left with greater speed.
Many computer games and video games are based on the theme of skate boarding, snow boarding, or surfing. Generally, these games require the player to control the riding board action through such hand-manipulated controls. The game would be more enjoyable and the simulation more realistic if the hand-manipulated control device could be replaced by a control device that requires the actual body movement and coordination of an operator riding a skate board, a snow board, or a surf board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,950 to Goo discloses a video game having a control unit in which the operator simulates riding a surf board. The game control unit of Goo is a surf board which is supported by a hemispherical fulcrum member and an inflatable annular tube which encircles the fulcrum for biasing the surf board to a substantially horizontal position over the fulcrum. The fulcrum encloses a gravity switch which makes electrical contact when the player pivots the surf board, and fulcrum, in certain directions. Consequently, while Goo discloses a video game control unit for simulating a surf board, the control unit has several disadvantages. The control unit is bulky and cannot be configured to substitute as a conventional hand-held control pad or keyboard. Further, the device provides directional signals only and thus is unable to send non-directional signals to the video game computer; and is unable to detect the magnitude of a directional pivot of the surf board, which would signal the image to execute a regular turn versus a sharp turn.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,906,192 to Smithard et al. discloses a skiing or snow-surfing simulator device. The device includes a control unit, which the player stands upon, a data processing means, and a visual display unit. In one embodiment of the control unit for the device (see FIG. 10), a pair of skis are coupled above a base unit with springs or compliant pads such that they pivot or move thereover. Analog linear movement sensors are mounted to the base, between the skis and the base, to detect movement by the skis and to produce signals indicative thereof. The signals are processed by the data processing means and transmitted to the visual display unit to display a simulated trajectory or track that is visible to the person standing on (playing) the control unit. A disadvantage of the Smithard et al. controller is that it requires complicated analog sensors and data processing means to process the analog signals generated by the sensors. Furthermore, the Smithard et al. controller is not adapted to replace a hand-manipulated controller required by conventional video-game devices; and thus, does not disclose any solution for inexpensively and easily converting movement of the player into directional and non-directional signals required by such video-game devices.
Finally, neither Goo nor Smithard et al. provide for connection of one of the hand-manipulated controllers thereto; and therefore, are not equipped to allow for additional features of play provided by an additional hand-manipulated controller.


The invention relates to equipment for pretreatment of catalysts and/or catalytic testing that makes it possible to establish the material balance of a chemical reaction in the presence of very small amounts of solid catalyst under operating conditions of industrial use.

The invention relates to equipment for pretreatment of a catalyst and/or for micropilot-type catalytic testing that make it possible to establish the material balance of a chemical reaction in the presence of very small amounts of solid catalyst. It also relates to a process for pretreatment of catalysts and/or catalytic testing that is implemented in the equipment according to the invention.
The invention also relates to the use of the equipment according to the invention to solve problems that are associated with the use of catalysts in the areas of refining, petrochemistry, treatment or conversion of gas, or fine chemistry.
The evaluation of the performances of new solids in heterogeneous catalysis in reactions for converting liquid feedstocks in the presence of gaseous reagents should be carried out under a wide range of experimental conditions (pressure, flow rates, temperature, concentrations of reagents). The length of time that it takes to carry out the complete testing of a solid depends on, on the one hand, the dwell time of the reagents in contact with the catalyst, and, on the other, run-up times between each modification of the value of an experimental parameter.
The measurements of catalytic activity on a laboratory scale are frequently made in the gaseous phase on model substances that represent reactions under study. The study of the activity of small amounts of catalysts in the presence of industrial feedstocks that comprise at least one liquid product is generally done only in a batch reactor (autoclave). Very often, the amount of catalyst that is needed to carry out a test on a pilot unit which usually uses a catalyst volume of 20 to 1000 cm3 and whose reactor has a volume that is generally greater than 50 cm3 is not available.
The design of the small pilot installations (micropilot-type equipment) that are intended for the evaluation of the performance of new catalytic formulations in the conversion of liquid feedstocks relies on the miniaturization of industrial pilot units. The equipment generally comprises reactors that can hold several cubic centimeters of catalyst. The flows of reagents, liquid feedstock, and reactive gas are regulated with elements such as metering pumps and regulating valves. The separators that ensure the distribution of gaseous and liquid effluents are based on, as for the pilot units, the regulation of a liquid level. The order of magnitude of the dwell time of the feedstock in the reactor can be very high since the reactivity of the feedstock is low or the harshness of the treatment is increased. Thus, the hourly volumetric flow rates on the order of 2 hxe2x88x921 are commonly used. Such values, compared to the volumes of the reactors and systems for separation and collection, consequently have run-up times on the order of several days. The evaluation of the activity of a catalyst should cover a wide range of reaction conditions, which involves frequent variation of the operating parameters of the reactor (pressure, flow rates, temperature). A long regulating period after each modification of the value of one of these magnitudes severely penalizes the productivity of such an installation.
The applicant, who is confronted with the need for carrying out a number of catalytic activity tests under conditions that are identical to those of the industrial reactors, developed micropilot-type equipment and a process for testing and collecting samples for analysis that make it possible to obtain a quick response to each evaluation experiment. This purpose of the equipment and of the process according to the invention is achieved by a reduction of the run-up times that are associated with the small sizes and with the very small amount of catalyst, as well as by forced automation, compared to the pilots and test processes that are mentioned above. The equipment and the process according to the invention thus make it possible to collect samples of liquid or gaseous effluents that are separated after reaction for the purposes of complementary analyses, if necessary, unlike the equipment that is described in French Patents 2 583 519 and 2 529 472, all the while establishing material balances around a chemical reaction.
This invention therefore relates in particular to equipment for pretreatment of catalysts and/or for catalytic testing that makes it possible to draw up the material balance of a chemical reaction and therefore to evaluate the transformation of mixtures of liquid and gaseous products, in the presence of very small amounts of solid catalyst, in particular in granular or divided form, under operating conditions (reaction temperature, pressure, time of contact) of industrial use.

Micropilot-type equipment for catalytic testing process


A radio control transmitter capable of permitting the functions of various function switches to be set as desired through only a simple switching operation without requiring replacement of a wiring. Operation switches and operation functions which are desired to be shifted are selected by selecting switches and data on two operation functions are replaced with each other through two data holding registers, resulting in replacing the functions of two function switches with each other.

This invention relates to a transmitter for a radio control device, and more particularly to a radio control transmitter suitable for both industrial use and use for a model.
A conventional radio control transmitter generally has various functions for setting a movable range of a stick, a position of the stick and the like. The functions are adapted to be adjusted by operating a switch provided for every function.
Unfortunately, the conventional radio control transmitter has a disadvantage that a user fails to vary the function of each switch as desired, because a relationship between each of the functions and a switch for adjustment is fixedly determined. For example, supposing that the function of each switch is set for the convenience of a right-handed person, when it is desired to replace the functions of right and left switches with each other for the convenience of a left-handed person, it is required to vary a wiring in the radio control device.

Radio control transmitter with variable function switches


IBE extensions to IBE schemes may be provided by creating multiple instances of the same IBE scheme, where each instance has an associated IBE master key and corresponding IBE public parameters. During encryption, an IBE extension identity for each instance of the IBE scheme may be mapped to a corresponding component identity. A message may be encrypted using the component identities to create multiple ciphertexts. The ciphertexts can be combined and sent to a recipient. The recipient can request a private key. The private key may be generated by mapping the IBE extension identity into a component identity in each instance, by extracting private keys for each of the component identities, and by combining the private keys into a single IBE extension private key.

This invention relates to cryptographic systems, and more particularly, to identity-based-encryption extensions of identity-based encryption schemes that support secure communications.
It is often desirable to encrypt sensitive electronic communications such as email messages. With symmetric key cryptographic arrangements, the sender of a message uses the same key to encrypt the message that the recipient of the message uses to decrypt the message. Symmetric key systems require that each sender and recipient exchange a shared key in a secure manner.
With public key cryptographic systems, two types of keys are used—public keys and private keys. Senders may encrypt messages using the public keys of recipients. Each recipient has a private key that is used to decrypt the messages for that recipient.
To ensure the authenticity of the public keys in traditional public key systems and thereby defeat possible man-in-the-middle attacks, public keys may be provided to senders with a certificate signed by a trusted certificate authority. The certificate may be used to verify that the public key belongs to the intended recipient of the sender's message. Public key encryption systems that use this type of traditional approach are said to use the public key infrastructure (PKI) and are referred to as PKI cryptographic systems.
Identity-based-encryption (IBE) public key cryptographic systems have also been proposed. As with PKI cryptographic systems, a sender in an IBE system may encrypt a message for a given recipient using the recipient's public key. The recipient may then decrypt the message using the recipient's corresponding private key. The recipient can obtain the private key from an IBE private key generator.
Unlike PKI schemes, IBE schemes generally do not require the sender to look up the recipient's public key. Rather, a sender in an IBE system may generate a given recipient's IBE public key based on known rules. For example, a message recipient's email address or other identity-based information may be used as the recipient's public key. This allows a sender to create the IBE public key of a recipient by simply determining the recipient's identity.
Several practical IBE schemes have been demonstrated based on bilinear pairings. These bilinear-pairing-based IBE schemes fall into three classes: 1) full domain hash IBE, 2) exponent inversion IBE, and 3) commutative blinding IBE. Each of these classes of IBE scheme allows an identity-based public key to be used to encrypt data and allows a corresponding IBE private key to be used to decrypt data.
In some situations, it may be desirable to extend the capabilities of a basic IBE system. For example, in the context of the so-called Boneh-Franklin IBE scheme (which is an example of a full domain hash IBE system), a hierarchical IBE extension has been developed in which child private keys can be derived from parent private keys ("hierarchical IBE"). Another extension to the Boneh-Franklin IBE scheme that has been developed relates to dividing the IBE master secret into multiple shares ("threshold IBE"). In the context of the so-called Boneh-Boyen IBE scheme (which is an example of a commutative blinding IBE scheme), extensions have been developed for generating attribute-based private keys ("attribute-based IBE"), error-tolerant attribute-based private keys ("fuzzy IBE"), and private keys that can evolve forward, but not backward in time ("forward-secure IBE"). Threshold IBE and hierarchical IBE extensions to the Boneh-Boyen scheme have also been demonstrated.
The IBE extensions that have been proposed in recent years share a common goal of extending the notion of identity from its original atomic meaning (i.e., identity is indivisible and has no internal structures), to complex constructs of identity components on which certain operations can be performed. As described above, some proposed IBE extensions have known implementations. However, to temper this optimism, it should be noted that most of these extensions have been implemented in the context of only one IBE scheme (Boneh-Boyen), despite the availability of alternative IBE schemes on which to base IBE extensions. In particular, an entire family of very efficient IBE schemes (exponent inversion IBE schemes) has no previously known extensions.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide IBE extensions to the exponent inversion class of IBE schemes and to be able to generically construct IBE extensions for other IBE schemes.

Identity-based-encryption extensions formed using multiple instances of an identity based encryption scheme


There are provided compounds of formula (I)

Glucocorticosteroids which have anti-inflammatory properties are known and are widely used for the treatment of inflammatory disorders or diseases such as asthma and rhinitis. However, glucocorticosteroids in general may suffer from the disadvantage of causing unwanted systemic effects following administration. The side effects that are feared with glucocorticoids include suppression of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, effects on bone growth in children and on bone density in the elderly, ocular complications (cataract formation and glaucoma) and skin atrophy. Certain glucocorticoid compounds also have complex paths of metabolism wherein the production of active metabolites may make the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of such compounds difficult to understand. Whilst the modern steroids are very much safer than those originally introduced it remains an object of research to produce new molecules which have excellent anti-inflammatory properties, with predictable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, with an attractive side effect profile, and with a convenient treatment regime.
WO94/13690, WO94/14834, WO92/13873, WO92/13872, WO 97/24365, WO 97/24367 and WO 97/24368 all disclose glucocorticosteroids which are alleged to possess anti-inflammatory activity coupled with reduced systemic potency. Certain novel androstane derivatives are disclosed in WO02/12265, WO02/12266 (Glaxo Group) and WO02/00679 (Novartis), these three documents being published after the earliest priority date of this patent application.

Abstract: wherein    R1 represents O, S or NH;    R2 represents —C(═O)-aryl or —C(═O)-heteroaryl;    R3 represents hydrogen, methyl (which may be in either the α or β configuration) or methylene;    R4 and R5 are the same or different and each represents hydrogen or halogen; and     represents a single or a double bond;    and salts and solvates thereof;    process for preparing them, compositions containing them and their use in therapy.


A score of each of multiple pieces of reflection spectrum information included in a population is calculated using a first second principal component loading acquired by a principal component analysis, and a first group is classified based on the calculated score. Then, a score of each of multiple pieces of reflection spectrum information included in the population is calculated using a second second principal component loading acquired by a principal component analysis on a second population in which the reflection spectrum information of the first group is not included, and a second group is classified based on the calculated score. By performing a second principal component analysis using the second population, the second group can be accurately classified based on minute characteristics of each type of material included in the reflection spectrum information and the classification can be performed with a high accuracy.

So-called engineering woods, such as preserved woods, plywood, overlaid panels, and the like, are difficult to be reused without change, and are often treated as industrial waste. For the effective use of wooden resources, it is necessary to classify wooden materials based on whether the wooden materials can be reused or not, the types of wooden materials, and the like.

Method of classifying and discerning wooden materials

National University Corporation Nagoya University


A composition containing at least one NSAID formulated for topical administration to a mucous membrane and/or skin for prophylactic or symptomatic therapy. The composition may also contain an anti-irritant such as a non-nutritive sweetener, which improves compliance when applied to an oral or nasal mucous membrane. The composition may also contain a metalloproteinase inhibitor such as a tetracycline class compound at a neutral pH. The composition may be used for patients having or at risk for developing symptoms of viral infection such as cold sores, canker sores, or shingles, or for treatment of rashes due to allergies.

Many substances are commonly applied to the skin, mucosal tissue and to other tissues of humans and animals to treat the surface of the skin or tissue. Typical examples of compositions that are applied to the skin include cosmetics, sunscreens and the like. Other compositions often include a pharmaceutical agent such as an antibiotic or bactericide for treating the surface of the tissue.
Topically applied compositions are generally in the form of liquids, creams, pastes, lotions and gels. In many instances, the compositions that are applied topically contain various components which inherently cause irritation and inflammation when applied to the skin or the mucosa. The occurrence and frequency of the irritation can vary depending on the person, the specific components in the composition, and the concentration of components present.
Various compositions for oral use containing acidulants or buffers are generally known. Acidulants are typically included in oral compositions in small amounts as a flavoring agent or flavor enhancer. The compositions usually have a pH that is close to neutral to avoid irritation to the teeth. Various sweeteners are also added to enhance the flavor of the composition. Examples of various oral compositions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,627,980; 4,291,045; 4,291,017 and 5,912,274.
Common symptoms of irritation from topically applied compositions include itching, stinging, burning, tingling, tightness, redness and swelling. The irritation can be due to the direct effect on the skin or the mucosa of the active ingredient or the carrier, or in response to the immune system directly toward the chemicals or adjuvants alone or in combination with the skin components.
Many ingredients used in topically applied products are known irritants or are potentially irritating, especially for certain people with some allergies or sensitivities. Ingredients which can act as irritants include solvents, fragrances, preservatives, propellants, and pharmaceutical agents. Examples of common topical compositions that can cause irritation include exfolients and skin renewal agents, antiperspirants, antihistamines, anti-inflammatory agents, skin protective agents, insect repellants and sunscreens. Where more than one irritant compound is present, the effects can be additive. In addition, various components can interact with each other to cause irritation which might not occur when used alone.
Efforts have been proposed to attempt to find methods and compositions for reducing or eliminating irritation caused by the topical application of various compositions. For example, one such method attempts to reduce the irritation caused by hydroxy acids and keto-acids in topically applied products by adding a strong alkali base metal such as sodium or potassium hydroxide. The effect of the hydroxide is to raise the pH and to reduce the acidity of the composition. However, this approach has the disadvantage of reducing the effectiveness of the hydroxy acid to penetrate the skin and to reduce the effectiveness of the acid. Other hydroxides and organic amines have also been proposed to adjust the pH of the composition. However, raising the pH using these bases also reduces the effectiveness of the composition.
A further example of methods reducing irritation caused by topically applied compositions is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,625 to Hahn. This patent discloses the use of a strontium metal cation to reduce irritation. It is proposed that the cation interacts with the epidermis nerve cells to prevent or counteract the sensation of irritation by interfering with the irritation inducing components of the skin cells. The strontium cation is proposed to alter the ability of the epidermal cells to depolarize by blocking or interfering with ion channel or pump operation or by altering the transmembranal action potential. It has also been proposed that the strontium cation acts to inhibit or modify the action of skin cell protease or other irritation inducing components.
The human skin and mucosa tissue presents a complicated structural and sensory environment. The skin contains nerves and highly specific sensory cells that are specialized. These cells are developed to differentiate the stimuli leading to specific sensations such as pain. In addition, nerves in the skin are responsive to native or foreign chemicals such as proteases, prostaglandins, complement system molecules, allergens and the like. Agents that are effective in combating one stimulus are often ineffective against another stimulus.
Many pharmaceutical agents when applied topically produce a burning sensation, especially when applied to a cut or sensitive tissue. For example, various eye drops containing a pharmaceutical agent when applied to the eye result in a painful burning of the eye.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need in the industry for providing effective topical agents and a method of reducing or eliminating the pain associated with the topical application of various components.


Bracelet alert device used as a visual alert device that acts as a child safety/awareness imperative, worn as a bracelet. The device functions to prevent the tragedy of a baby being left in a hot car. The device has three signature, giant beads, a color matching functional carabiner for attachment with the male end of the auto seatbelt buckle, a color matching functional male end seatbelt adapter piece to fastened with the female end of the child safety seat belt buckle, and a matching “official child safety apparatus” tag, includes a card stock bookmark or a magnet, displaying a symbol and meaning of the various charms on one side and the instructions for properly using the said bracelet alert device the other side.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to alert devices, and more particularly to a detachable alert device and method of use for remembering children left in child safety seat.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
Increasingly, parents are becoming forgetful of their children, often unintentionally leaving them unattended in vehicles. Stressful daily lives with many tasks to perform cause a parent, or other person transporting children, to become distracted and inadvertently leave children upon departing a vehicle. Occasionally, the vehicle is shuttered and locked, even in hot weather, thereby potentially causing severe distress, injury, and/or death of a child left therein. In addition to injuries, children left alone in an otherwise unoccupied vehicle are potentially subject to kidnapping. With the need for multitasking, wherein many different needs are being addressed, and the consequent straining of the ability of a parent or caregivers to remember while busy and stressed, some form of reminding device would be advantageous.
A number of different types of reminder devices are available in prior art. For example, see: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/031,457, issued to Beardsley Victoria E provides a detachable alert device and method of its use. This device allows the user to remember a child left in a child safety seat, has an anchor element adapted to semi-permanently attach to the child safety seat. A reminder bracelet is adapted to removably attach to the anchor element and has a user engaging element adapted to removably attach the reminder bracelet to a user in a visible position; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/630,403, issued to Rachel Byrne, discloses a child safety alert device which includes a method for continuously alerting a user of a presence of a child in a car safety seat, the method including: providing an alert system including a continuous audible prompt, the alert system removably attached to the car safety seat; placing the child in the car safety seat; removing the alert system from the car safety seat; transferring the alert system to a location visible to the user, such that the user remains continuously alert to the presence of the child in the car safety seat, until the child is removed from the car safety seat; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/828,867, issued to Kalce Paul D teaches an electronic infant alarm system for automobiles for sounding an alarm when the driver seat is unoccupied. The system includes a pressure sensor pad for detecting the presence of a person in a car seat, and a belt buckle switch for determining whether a belt buckle is buckled into an infant car seat; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/160,648, issued to International Business Machines Corporation teaches a similar alarm system, integrated into a motor vehicle that triggers an alarm if the driver's door is open and the engine is turned off but there still is an occupant in the motor vehicle.
Therefore, it is readily apparent that there is a need for a seat belt restraint and alarm system and method of use thereof, wherein a parent or other caregiver who is leaving the vicinity of a vehicle is reminded of the fact that the seat belt securing the child, or the child's seat, is still engaged and that potentially hazardous condition exists for the child.
Accordingly, the present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.


The present disclosure relates to films having at least a first profiled layer and a second layer having an inverse profile of the first layer. Those films can be used as protection tapes for various surfaces. Exemplary uses of the films of the present disclosure include leading edge protection tapes for rotor blades.

Rotor blades, such as those in helicopters, wind turbines, and the like, are subject to varied environmental conditions, including erosion caused by the impact of airborne material, such as rain, sand, dust, and other debris. The leading edge of a rotor blade is particularly prone to damage by erosion. Examples of other articles used outdoors subject to similar erosion include certain portions of the fuselage or a wing of an aircraft.
The industry has sought ways of protecting against such erosion by means of films and coatings, among others. The application of those solutions on rotor blades, for instance, cannot be easily automated and is typically done by hand. In general, the application process can be time-consuming, especially when applying tapes or coatings to blades of large dimensions, as may be the case for wind turbines, whose blades may have a length greater than 30 m, or even greater than 60 m. The next generation of wind rotor blades are expected to have lengths of more than 100 m.
The use of protective coatings, in particular, has various potential disadvantages over the use of tapes, including non-uniform thickness, long curing times, uneven curing, and intense manual labor, among others. Additionally, in general, coatings are more susceptible to adverse environmental conditions during application. In operations and maintenance situations, where turbine blades have to be repaired in the field, repairs using coatings may need to wait until weather conditions are suitable or the repair may need to be done outside of the application window, which would result in poor material performance.
Typically, in the case of the films, the film is applied around the leading edge of the rotor blade and adhered to the blade by an adhesive. The outermost surface of commercial tapes is usually planar and, in its most basic configuration, comprises a polymer film as protective layer and an adhesive layer for attachment to the rotor blade.
Typical tapes for rotor blades have a rectangular profile. The inventors are aware that the edges of typical films, after they have been applied on the rotor blade, can be detrimental to the aerodynamic flow around the blade. The present disclosure relates to films that provide solutions to problems identified by the inventors with typical tapes known in the art.


A plate-link chain for a motor vehicle drive system. The chain includes a number of link plates hingedly connected with each other by rocker members that extend transversely to the longitudinal direction of the plate-link chain and are positioned in openings of the link plates. Curved contact surfaces are located on each of the rocker members and link plates, along which contact surfaces the rocker members and link plates are in contact with each other to transmit power. The rocker members are shaped asymmetrically in the height direction and are provided in contacting pairs. The link plate openings include at least one inwardly-curved region that is located above a contact point line extending through contact points of contacting rocker members of adjacent rocker member pairs that roll against each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plate-link chain, in particular for a motor vehicle drive system, wherein the chain includes a large number of link plates that a pivotally connected with each other via rocker members,
2. Description of the Related Art
In known plate-link drive chains the rocker members run transversely to the longitudinal direction of the chain and are positioned in openings provided in the link plates. There are curved contact surfaces situated on each of the rocker members and on opening surfaces of the link plates, along which contact surfaces the rocker members and link plates are in contact with each other to transfer power. The contact surfaces between rocker member and link plate are provided at upper and lower contact surface regions in the height direction of the rocker member, the opening in the link plate having at least one region that is curved in an inward direction.
The rocker members also have curved rolling surfaces, along which contacting rocker members roll against each other to transfer power. Further, the rocker members are shaped asymmetrically in the height direction of the rocker members, when viewed in a cross section extending in the longitudinal direction of the chain.
Such a known plate-link chain can be a toothed chain, which can be employed in a power divider transmission of a motor vehicle, for example, or as a drive chain for an auxiliary unit of an internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle. The plate-link chain can be designed as a toothed chain to transmit tractive force between a driving and a driven chain wheel. But a plate-link chain of the general type described above can also be employed as a means of transmitting tractive force in a belt-driven, conical-pulley transmission, or the like, for example, and can there transmit the tractive force by means of frictional contact between the ends of the rocker members and the conical disk surfaces of the two conical disk pairs.
A plate-link chain designed as a toothed chain normally includes a device for tensioning the toothed chain in the slack strand. The device for tensioning the toothed chain serves to prevent pulsating of the toothed chain due to vibration excitation, for example, and also to shape the entry process of the teeth of the toothed chain onto a chain wheel so that tooth skipping is prevented. On the chain wheels the toothed chain is deflected in such a way that the center of curvature of the portion of the toothed chain that is curved in the region of the deflection lies within the closed chain section.
In contrast, when a chain tensioner is in the form of a chain tensioning bar acting on the back of the link plates, for example, the toothed chain undergoes a curvature that differs from the curvature that occurs in the region of the deflection. The particular portion of the toothed chain that is acted on by the chain tension is curved in the opposite direction, and the center of curvature of that portion of the toothed chain lies outside of the closed chain section of the plate-link chain.
To limit the deflection angle of that swing-back mode from the stretched position, in known versions of plate-link chains for belt-driven conical-pulley transmissions, for example, and in toothed chains, there is provision for limiting the swing-back in the joint of the lower region of an adjacent link plate.
The mode of functioning here is such that a rocker member comes into contact with a region of the lower contact surface of the adjacent link plate. Thus the striking of the rocker member on the contact surface of the adjacent link plate occurs in a region that is already critically loaded in any event, due to the transmission of tensile force from the rocker member to the link plate. Hence, in the region of concentrated tension due to the transmission of tensile force, yet another additional overlay of forces occurs, and thereby also tension due to the swing-back protection. In the operation of the toothed chain that arrangement can result in increased wear and ultimately to early fatigue failure. The fatigue strength of the toothed chain is thus reduced.
Plate-link chains that were known in the past had symmetrical rocker members that were situated in openings in the link plates. Those known rocker members are symmetrical in construction in reference to a plane of symmetry that divides the rocker members into an upper and a lower half. As a result of that configuration, a distance from the inner peripheral rim of the link plate opening that receives the rocker members, to an outer peripheral edge of the link plate in the region of a so-called lower yoke is made smaller, and thus the cross-sectional region available for transmitting force is reduced in size.
In consequence, a concentration of stress appears in the region of the link plate between the opening of the link plate and the edge of the link plate, which ultimately results in a reduction of the service life and of the force-transmitting capability of the plate-link chain. To counter that problem, a plate-link chain is known that has asymmetrical rocker members in the direction of the rocker member height, and thereby ensures that the workpiece stresses that arise in the upper and lower contact surface regions between rocker member and link plate are significantly reduced, so that the service life of the chain is increased as a result.
With a plate-link chain of that type it is important that the asymmetrical rocker members are inserted into the openings in the link plates in the correct orientation, since otherwise the rolling surfaces of the rocker members that are intended for transmitting force cannot roll against each other as intended. As a result, jamming of the rocker members in the link plate opening can occur, and thus a malfunction that can result in failure of the plate-link chain.
To achieve the correct orientation of the rocker members in the link plate openings, a plate-link chain is disclosed in unpublished German patent application DE 10 2005 061 081.1. In that chain the link plates have a region in the plate opening that is curved in an inward direction, so that if the rocker members are oriented incorrectly an overlapping of the outside contour of the rocker members with the inside contour of the plate opening occurs, and the rocker member that is not in the correct orientation can no longer be inserted into the link plate opening. In that way erroneous installation of the rocker members in the openings of the link plates is avoided.
It has been found that that known plate-link chain already provides an improvement, compared to the plate-link chain described previously, in regard to additional stress at the stress-critical region in the region of the lower loop of the link plate. But even that known plate-link chain has room for improvement in regard to the stress in the described stress-critical region to protect against swing-back due to the striking of the rocker member on a contact surface of an adjacent link plate.
Consequently, an object of the present invention is to refine the known plate-link chain in such a way that the force applied to the plate-link chain due to the striking of the rocker member on the link plate to limit the swing-back angle takes place in a less tension-critical region along the link plate opening.

Plate-link chain for a motor vehicle drive system

LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG


The present application provides an apparatus and a method of welding a fabric material to a frame including for removable use in a door opening or a window opening. The method includes receiving the frame having an outer edge defining an interior space at a work surface. The fabric material is then extended across the frame, so that the fabric material to be welded to the frame rests on top and covers the interior space of the frame received at the work surface. An activated welding head is then moved across the work surface and the received frame, wherein the activated welding head is moved so as to trace proximate the frame along the outer edge of the frame, thereby adhering the fabric material to the frame at the outer edge.

Windows and screens have been used to vary the degree to which the inside of a structure will be exposed to the outside world. Where windows whether open or closed will allow light to enter a structure, only an open window is intended to let air from the outside into the structure. However sometimes other items in addition to air will try to come in through an open window. For example, bugs, birds and/or airborne debris will sometimes also try to enter a structure through an open window. Some screens can be used to filter the transmission of some of the larger items from entering or exiting a structure with the free flow of air. Additionally and/or alternatively, some screens can be used to block and/or filter at least some aspects of the light that is passing through either an open or closed window.
Screens are often made from a mesh material, which is formed within a frame which is sized to correspond to and have a perimeter, which extends around the outer circumference of the opening. A frame will often provide the screen material with additional structure, so that it can be handled by a user when removing or installing a screen, as well as to help hold it in place once installed. At least some screens will generally try to minimize any visual obstruction, while also trying to filter out larger elements or particles, that the user does not want to be able to traverse through an open window. In other instances, it may be possible that the screen material, itself (i.e. whether formed from a mesh or a more uniformly solid material), will purposefully also provide some light filtering or obstruction, which could be effective whether the window was open or closed.
When the overall screen size corresponds closely to the size of the opening, installation of a screen can sometimes be a challenge. Generally, the screen needs to be able to clear any existing structure when being inserted, while also needing to be able to be sized so as to be readily retained within the structure while resisting the forces of any unwanted flow of creatures and/or material through the opening when the screen is installed.
At least one type of screen described in Altieri, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 9,234,388, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a type of screen that includes a frame made from a material that exhibits a memory as to size and shape, which can be temporarily deformed by compressing the overall shape of the screen by a user when attempting to install and/or remove the screen from an opening, but then the screen fairly readily returns to its original shape, when no longer being handled by the user. In Altieri, Jr., '388, the frame of the screen, when the mesh is secured to the frame, is kept under tension, which biases the frame toward its intended shape, which will generally correspond to the stretched size of the attached mesh material, and often will also be sized and shaped to generally correspond to the size of the opening. However, because the frame is to be maintained by the attached screen material under tension, so as to more readily hold its intended shape, the attachment of the screen or fabric material to the frame during fabrication and/or construction can sometimes be a challenge.
The present inventors have recognized that, by providing a work surface to receive the frame prior to overlaying the fabric material and welding the fabric material to the frame by moving a welding head across the work surface and the received frame, a suitable screen can be produced that provides for ready installation into an opening, and which will return to an undeformed state, which will allow the screen to readily stay in place, once installed. Similarly, a user can also readily remove the screen when desired, by applying a further deformation force, which allows the size of the screen to be temporarily changed so as to clear any obstructions that might limit the insertion and/or removal of the screen.

Apparatus and method of welding fabric material to a frame including for removable use in a door or window opening


A multiprocessor, multitasking digital processing system, having a host processor and a number of digital signal processors. Tasks are downloaded from the host processor to the digital signal processors, and are scheduled under the control of a scheduler program residing on the signal processors. Each task provides the scheduler with its processing characteristics, so that resources can be efficiently allocated according to the memory and processing requirements of the task.

Multiprocessing is a type of parallel processing that divides execution of separate programs among two or more processors. Multitasking is a special case of multiprocessing, which defines a software process, i.e., a task, to be a subprogram that may be executed simultaneously with other subprograms.
In a multitasking environment, the tasks and data structures of a job must be carefully partitioned to permit parallel execution without conflict. However, the availability of processors, the order of execution, and the completion of tasks are functions of run-time conditions of the system. Thus, multitasking is inherently nondeterministic with respect to time, although the tasks themselves may be well defined.
To ensure successful multitasking, once tasks have been partitioned, an operating system must be developed to provide efficient resource sharing. The assignment of resources to processes is referred to as "scheduling". Scheduling is especially important in systems that require real time response from real time input.
Most existing multitasking scheduling systems use a priority system, which is static in nature. The priority system does not account for a task's processing requirements, such as how long the task should take, how much memory it requires, or its memory needs in terms of time. The latter requirement is determined by how long the task can execute, using a given amount of memory, before it needs more memory.
Another approach to scheduling involves "time slicing", in which portions of a task are given a limited amount of time in which to execute. After this time, a portion of another task executes. Thus, if a task does not finish in its time, the processor is given to the next waiting task, and the unfinished task is rescheduled. A disadvantage of time sliced approaches is the overhead of context switching.
A need exists for a means of scheduling tasks so that resources are used efficiently without creating extra processing overhead.

Scheduling system for multiprocessor operating system


An optical add/drop filter for wavelength division multiplexed systems and construction methods are disclosed. The add/drop filter includes a first ferrule having a first pre-formed opening for receiving a first optical fiber; an interference filter oriented to pass a first set of wavelengths along the first optical fiber and reflect a second set of wavelengths; and, a second ferrule having a second pre-formed opening for receiving the second optical fiber, and the reflected second set of wavelengths. A method for constructing the optical add/drop filter consists of the steps of forming a first set of openings in a first ferrule; inserting a first set of optical fibers into the first set of openings; forming a first set of guide pin openings in the first ferrule; dividing the first ferrule into a first ferrule portion and a second ferrule portion; forming an interference filter on the first ferrule portion; inserting guide pins through the first set of guide pin openings in the first ferrule portion and second ferrule portion to passively align the first set of optical fibers; removing material such that light reflected from the interference filter from the first set of optical fibers is accessible; forming a second set of openings in a second ferrule; inserting a second set of optical fibers into the second set of openings; and positioning the second ferrule with respect to the first ferrule such that the second set of optical fibers receive the light reflected from the interference filter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for use in wavelength division multiplexed systems, and more particularly to the design and fabrication of optical add/drop filters for wavelength division multiplexed systems.
2. Discussion of Background Art
Fiber optic systems are used to transmit information for high performance communications systems and to interrogate sensors for a variety of applications, including monitoring chemicals and monitoring biomedical parameters. Generally, most such applications benefit from the ability to transmit multiple wavelengths down a single fiber optic cable for wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) systems. The amount of information transmitted down a single fiber is limited by technology and cost constraints on the transceiver units installed on the cable ends (the units that convert between electronic and optical signals). More wavelengths allow more information or more sensor discrimination, without the need for increasing the number of fiber cables. Avoiding an increase in cabling is advantageous because it keeps the cable connection size down (important for minimizing sensor size and for reducing space occupied by connectors on communications boards/cards), and because in some applications (notably network applications) it avoids the need to install more cable to an existing infrastructure, which in general is very expensive. Also, for high performance computer interconnects, the ability to transmit multiple wavelengths enables the destination of an in formation packet to b e simply encoded by mapping destination onto the optical wavelength. This in turn can enhance the performance of the interconnect significantly (see A. J. DeGroot et al, xe2x80x9cHigh performance parallel processors based on star coupled WDM optical interconnectsxe2x80x9d, Proc. 3d Intl Conf. on Massively Parallel Processing using Optical Interconnects, IEEE Computer Society, Oct. 1996).
For this reason, multi-wavelength filter technology has become very popular in telecommunications systems using SINGLE-MODE optical fiber, and a wide variety of products are currently on the market (eg: Ciena, Di-Con, OCA, etc.). In this environment, single mode fiber is used to enable hi-speed transmission over long distances (10 km and above). It""s use, however, substantially increases the cost of components (transceivers, wavelength filters) because it has a small optical spot size which results in very stringent alignment tolerances on the components. Single-mode (xe2x80x9cmonomodexe2x80x9d) fibers are also not attractive due to the high component cost of single-mode optical components, and lens approaches are less attractive because they add piece parts (cost) and bulk, leading to exceedingly bulky arrays.
For many other applications, however, it is preferable to use MULTI-MODE optical fiber, which has a spot size about 10xc3x97 larger than single mode fiber. This reduces component cost substantially (but limits transmission distance to about a kilometer at 1 Gbit/sec bandwidth). For these lower-cost systems, component cost is an important consideration, and it is important to achieve a low cost for the wavelength multiplexer. Single mode demultiplexers typically cost $1000/wavelength/fiber end, which is prohibitive. These components also will not work within a multimode system due to incompatibilities between single- and multi-mode fiber.
Parallel optical interconnects over multimode fiber (MMF) ribbon cable are emerging as a robust, high-performance data link technology (See, Y. -M. Wong et al., J. Lightwave Technol. LT-13, 995 (1995); M. Lebby et al., Proc. 1996 Electron. Components and Technol. Conf., p. 279 (1996); and, K. S. Giboney, Proc. SPIE Optoelectron. and Packaging IV (Feb. 1997)). This technology has primarily been implemented as single wavelength, point-to-point links, and can be significantly enhanced by wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to increase both point-to-point bandwidth as well as create more complex interconnect topologies and routing approaches. The combination of byte-wide transmission for high channel bandwidth with WDM for interconnect routing is particularly attractive for ultrascale computing platforms (See, R.J. Deri et al., Proc. 3d Massively Parallel Proc. using Opt. Interconn., p. 62 (1996)). Research in this area suggests that WDM transceivers for point-to-point links can be realized (See, S. Y. Hu et al., in Proc. 1997 IEEE LEOS Annual Mtng., paper TuJ4 (1997); and, C. Chang-Hasnain, in Proc. 1997 IEEE LEOS Annual Mtng., paper WJ1 (1997)). Exploiting the potential richness of WDM networks, however, also requires a low-loss routing fabric which includes small footprint add/drop multiplexers. Low insertion loss is also critical for this technology because the transceivers exhibit link power budgets well below that of telecom WDM systems and because the multimode fiber cabling precludes the use of optical amplifiers. While high-performance filters can be realized for single-fiber applications (See, L. Aronson et al., presented at OFC ""97 ), achieving high-performance devices with ribbon cable is significantly more complicated. Complications arise from the MMF""s high NA=0.275 and large core (62.5 xcexcm), which render array collimation difficult, and the difficulty of maintaining good filter performance at the high angles of incidence needed to minimize loss in a 3-port (2-output) device.
In response to the concerns discussed above, what is needed is a design and fabrication method for optical add/drop filters in wavelength division multiplexed systems that overcomes the problems of the prior art.
The present invention is an optical add/drop filter for wavelength division multiplexed systems and methods for constructing same. The add/drop filter consists of a first ferrule having a first pre-formed opening for receiving a first optical fiber; an interference filter oriented to pass a first set of wavelengths along the first optical fiber and reflect a second set of wavelengths; and, a second ferrule having a second pre-formed opening for receiving the second optical fiber, and the reflected second set of wavelengths.
A first method for constructing the optical add/drop filter consists of the steps of forming a first set of openings in a first ferrule; forming a first set of guide pin openings in the first ferrule; inserting a first set of optical fibers into the first set of openings; dividing the first ferrule into a first ferrule portion and a second ferrule portion; forming an interference filter on the first ferrule portion; inserting guide pins through the first set of guide pin openings in the first ferrule portion and second ferrule portion to passively align the first set of optical fibers; attaching the second ferrule portion to the interference filter; removing material from the ferrule portions and interference filter such that light reflected from the interference filter from the first set of optical fibers is accessible; forming a second set of openings in a second ferrule; inserting a second set of optical fibers into the second set of openings; and positioning the second ferrule with respect to the first ferrule such that the second set of optical fibers receive the light reflected from the interference filter.
A second method for constructing the optical add/drop filter consists of the steps of forming a first set of openings in a first ferrule; inserting a first set of optical fibers into the first set of openings; cutting a slot into the first ferrule; removing predetermined portions of the ferrules and interference filter; inserting an interference filter into the slot such that light reflected from the interference filter from the first set of optical fibers is accessible; forming a second set of openings in a second ferrule; inserting a second set of optical fibers into the second set of openings; and positioning the second ferrule with respect to the first ferrule such that the second set of optical fibers receive the light reflected from the interference filter.
A third method for constructing the optical add/drop filter consists of the steps of forming guide pin openings in a first block; forming sets of openings in a first, second, and third ferrule; inserting sets of optical fibers into the sets of openings; forming guide pin openings in the first, second, and third ferrules; inserting guide pins through guide pin opening in the first block, and the first and second ferrules such that a first set of light wavelengths from the optical fibers in the first ferrule are passed into the optical fibers of the second ferrule; and inserting guide pins through guide pin opening in the first block, and the third ferrule such that a second set of light wavelengths from the optical fibers in the first ferrule are passed into the optical fibers of the third ferrule.
The apparatus and method of the present invention are particularly advantageous over the prior art because a means for realizing a low-cost wavelength multiplexer for an array of multimode optical fibers is taught. The array is useful because it can mate directly to high-performance transceivers designed to achieve high bandwidth by transmitting simultaneously over several multimode fibers within a multimode optical parallel optical interconnect (POI) fiber array. Alternatively, the array can be cut into individual elements after assembly, thereby providing a batch processing for single-fiber cables. Additionally, the present invention uses fiber ferrules with holes to contain optical fibers instead of surface-machined grooves or channels. This saves cost by reducing fiber-to-block mounting costs, avoids need of adding cover mounts to the fiber blocks, and enables use of injection molding for inexpensive block manufacture and ready adaptation to guide pins.
As a result, this invention demonstrates a simple fabrication approach for compact, high-performance WDM filters which are compatible with existing byte-wide transceivers. The filters are constructed from widely available ferrules to minimize alignment and connectorization costs, and exhibit low loss, sharp skirts, reasonable crosstalk suppression, and a negligible mode selective loss. Such a design is suitable for channel separations as small as 15-30 nm, and 5-10nm with some modification. The invention directly enables several WDM interconnects, including chordal rings. More significantly, in combination with recent advances in byte-wide WDM sources, the present invention will enable byte-wide WDM fabrics with appreciable source routing capability and high channel bandwidth.
The present invention is useful within communications systems where each optical wavelength carries different information. This includes multiplexers, demultiplexers, interconnects of computing nodes within a large parallel processing system, and local area networks between such a processing system and user workstations and/or archival storage. The present invention is also useful within interconnects of a high performance xe2x80x9cembeddedxe2x80x9d processing system for mobile platforms. Importantly, the present invention provides a means to enhance the bandwidth of local area networks without having to upgrade cable infrastructure.
These and other aspects of the invention will be recognized by those skilled in the art upon review of the detailed description, drawings, and claims set forth below.

Optical add/drop filter for wavelength division multiplexed systems

The Regents of the University of California


An alarm sensor can be located at a premises, for example a smoke detector mounted to a wall or ceiling of a building. In response to an alarm event, such as detection of a level of smoke indicative of a fire hazard, the alarm sensor can send a wireless notification directly to a remote recipient that is offsite from the premises. The recipient could be a smart phone or other handheld cellular device carried by a homeowner on vacation, for example. The alarm sensor can be either originally manufactured with remote notification capabilities or retrofitted after installation for remote notification. In some cases, the alarm sensor can be networked with other alarm sensors located at the premises. For example, an alarm sensor having remote notification capabilities can receive alarm notifications from other alarm sensors for relay to the remote recipient.

Numerous types of ceiling or wall mounted smoke detecting devices are in common use in homes and businesses. Such devices may be powered by integrated batteries; low voltage electrical power wired to the unit from either a dedicated transformer or an alarm security panel; or commercial power, such as 110 volts alternating current ("VAC"). Most such smoke detecting devices sound an alarm local to the site of the detected smoke conditions, but some may also trigger reporting via an alarm security panel to which the smoke detecting device is connected.
Conventional technologies for such smoke alarm detectors date to U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,862 granted to Koju Sasaki on Oct. 9, 1970 and may include technology disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,288 granted to William Webb, Jr. on Jan. 18, 1977. Some conventional smoke detecting devices that are connected to alarm security panels may report smoke detection events to a remote monitoring entity by using communication capabilities of the panel. In contrast, conventional smoke detecting devices that are not connected to alarm security panels are generally incapable of reporting events to a remote monitoring entity. In such devices, reporting is generally limited to sounding an alarm at the site of the detected smoke conditions, which may or may not be detected by a nearby person. In many situations, this local alarm mechanism may offer a less than ideal level of notification capabilities for individuals and property monitored by the smoke detecting device.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,258 issued to Fred Bucy, Jr. on Jun. 29, 1976 includes disclosure relating to the use of continuous wireless radio frequency signals to interconnect surveillance system detectors to a receiver included within a central console which has an antenna in the attic or overhead, or in a crawl space under a building. U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,246 granted to Stephen M. Martin on Oct. 3, 1977 includes disclosure relating to connecting a smoke detecting device to an alarm security panel via short-range wireless signals.
However, known conventional smoke alarm detectors lack suitable provisions for reporting events from an intermediary or secondary smoke alarm detector to primary smoke alarm detectors equipment via short-range wireless radio signals. Additionally, conventional smoke alarm detectors lack suitable provisions for reporting events directly from a smoke alarm detector to a remote monitoring center or other site via long-range wireless signals, such as digital cellular telecommunications systems, without the use of intermediary onsite equipment, such as an alarm system panel. The absence of such provisions reduces the utility of existing smoke alarm detectors. Furthermore, their reliance upon intermediary onsite equipment, such as alarm system panels, introduces complexity and expenses associated with installation, service, and maintenance.
Accordingly, there are needs in the art for improved alarm detectors, including with improved communication and networking capabilities. For example, need exists for a smoke alarm detector that can directly send event alerts via commercial wireless digital data telecommunications channels, such as digital cellular telecommunications systems, to a remote monitoring entity, without intermediary equipment, such as an alarm system panel. Fulfilling this need could potentially lower installation costs and support cost effective solutions for protection. As another example, need exists for a retrofit apparatus that enables existing and already installed smoke alarm detectors to, without onsite intermediary equipment, directly send event alerts via commercial wireless digital data telecommunications channels, such as digital cellular telecommunications systems, to a remote monitoring entity. Fulfilling this need could potentially also lowering installation costs and support cost effective solutions for life, safety and property protection by enabling the re-use and salvage of existing installed smoke alarm detectors.
A capability addressing one or more such needs, or some other related deficiency in the art, would enhance detection and reporting of alarm events.

Alarm sensor supporting long-range wireless communication