An aircraft duct assembly comprising at least two ducts extending along a general direction of rectilinear extent, each duct being an electrical, hydraulic or aeraulic duct connected to a duct support. The duct support comprises a first slideway element configured to cooperate with a second slideway element to form a slideway in the general direction of extent of the ducts. The duct assembly can thus be inserted, after mounting, by translation along the direction of the slideway into an aircraft fuselage portion. The mounting of the duct assembly and installation thereof in a fuselage are simplified, and the duct assembly is more reliable.

Aircraft comprise, according to a conventional configuration, a, for example substantially cylindrical or bilobed, elongate fuselage based on a structure comprising an assembly of annular frames interconnected by straight longitudinal structural elements referred to as stringers and stiffeners.
Within the fuselage, at least one floor is formed. The floor is substantially horizontal when the aircraft is on the ground. The floor is generally intended for the movement of passengers and/or for the installation of the interior furniture in a passenger transport aircraft, or for accommodating a part of the cargo in a cargo aircraft. The space above the floor in which passengers or goods are installed is called the "cabin", whereas the space below the floor comprises the aircraft hold and also various systems (landing gear in their respective landing gear compartment, central region of the wing, etc.).
It is also below the lowest floor of the aircraft that there are provided most of the electrical, hydraulic and aeraulic ducts of the aircraft, and, in particular, the main ducts which run longitudinally from the front to the rear of the fuselage to distribute the electricity or the fluid in question to the consumers distributed within the aircraft.
The longitudinal ducts are thus arranged generally in a region situated just below the floor, on one side (or, where appropriate, on each side) of the aircraft.
Insofar as the floor is situated in the diametral horizontal plane of the fuselage, or below this plane, the region for routing the ducts has a substantially triangular cross section. More precisely, this region has a cross section substantially in the form of a right-angled triangle whose hypotenuse is curved (owing to the cylindrical shape of the fuselage). The region for installing the ducts is thus sometimes referred to as "triangle region".
While this region is very well adapted for installing the longitudinal ducts on account of its configuration, of its position and on account of the fact that it can be exploited only with difficulty for other functions, this region is nevertheless difficult to access and confined. This makes the laying of the ducts more complex, all the more so since they can be laid only in the form of successive butt-jointed portions. The butt-jointing and the connection of the ducts are sometimes complex to implement owing to the compensation required for the deviations due to tolerances in the shape and the positioning of the ducts. In addition, the connections between the various butt-jointed duct portions sometimes require tightening operations which are complex to carry out owing to the little space available to carry them out.
The fitting of the electrical, hydraulic and aeraulic ducts is therefore an operation which is complex, long and laborious for the operators.
The laying complexity and the poor work ergonomics in the duct installation region make mounting difficult, which is time-consuming and cost-generating.

Aircraft duct assembly with slideway mounting


The present invention discloses a manual electric generating device, which comprises an upper casing, a lower casing; a rotor, a fixed stand, a hollow cylinder, a coil for generating power supply; and a printed circuit board for processing and outputting the power supply. The power supply is outputted to a portable electronic device for charging its battery or lighting up its indicating lamp.

Please first refer to FIG. 6 for the diagram of the Taiwanese Utility Model Application No. 86212568 entitled "Improved twist trainer". In FIG. 6, an improved twist trainer 70 comprises a spherical hollow shell 73 comprised of a base 71 and an upper casing 72, a counter 80, a horizontal ring 74 disposed inside the hollow shell 73, and a rotor 75; characterized in that the counter 80 is disposed at the bottom of the base 71, and the horizontal ring 74 is disposed and rotated freely inside the spherical hollow shell 73, and the rotor 75 pivotally coupled to the horizontal ring 74 by a horizontal axle, and a circular groove 76 disposed on the rotor 75 and having a plurality of luminescent members 77 and a magnet 78 and passing through a sensor switch of the counter 80 when the rotor 75 rotates. An electric generator having a permanent magnet and a coil (not shown in the figure) is located between the horizontal ring 74 and the rotor 75 for supplying electric power for the luminescent members. Therefore, a pulling string 90 can be pulled to start the rotor 75 for its continuous rotation inside the shell 73, and the rotational force is used for training the wrist of the user, and also lighting up the luminescent members on the rotor 75 during its operation. In the meantime, the counter 80 senses and displays the number of rotations of the rotor 75.
Further, an additional Taiwanese Utility Model Application No. 86212568A01 entitled "Improved twist trainer" disclosed an improved wrist trainer, characterized in that the rotor comprises a plurality of conical ends protruded from the rotor itself, and the conical ends are disposed equidistantly with each other around the axis and the electric generating device to constitute fan vanes, so that when the rotor rotates, each conical end surrounds the axis and the electric generating device rotates and drives the airflow for heat dispersion. However, the foregoing wrist trainer during its rotation can produce power supply to light up the luminescent members, but it cannot output power supply to other portable electronic devices for their use, which is definitely a deficiency.


A DC powered water/moisture monitor suitable for use in combination with a Christmas tree stand to detect a low water/moisture level is provided. The alarm device set forth has application in many other fields including farmland moisture monitoring, house plant, soil moisture monitoring, water tank level monitoring inter alia. The device includes an alarm, a casing, electronic circuitry and sensors/probes/electrodes for detecting moisture/water. The unit is an integral unit and combines all of these features in a one-piece waterproof assembly. The arrangement is, therefore, portable and can be readily employed in a variety of different environments.

Fluid and humidity moisture sensors are well known in the prior art. For example, humidity sensors are frequently used to determine the moisture level of plant soil. Such humidity sensors usually have two metal prongs for insertion into the soil as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,386 issued to Bireley, Jul. 25, 1989 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,775 issued to Sheriff, Jun. 5, 1990. The prongs are usually inserted into a plant base so that the soil humidity can be measured between the prongs. Such devices are not applicable or useful in measuring of water level in, for example, a Christmas tree stand or other water tanks as well as in detecting of presence (or absence) of water in different household areas.
In the case of a Christmas tree or any other fresh cut plants, it is quite important to keep the level of water above the cut area of the plant so that the cut is not exposed to air. Upon exposure, the pores and vascular system of the plant draw in air instead of water. In the case where the air fills the vascular system to a certain height, a plant may lose the capacity to transport water to other areas of the plant which leads to the eventual death of the plant.
With respect to other advancements in the art, many devices have been provided with audio or visual indicators for indicating to a user the need for additional moisture/water. In particular, arrangements for Christmas tree moisture content have been proposed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,796,017, 5,410,839, 5,428,348 and 5,493,277. The apparatus discussed in these references teach complicated arrangements, some of which isolate the battery and the alarm or require a switch, etc.
The present invention avoids the complicated arrangements in the art to provide a simplified integral unit capable of being used in a number of different ways.


Silicon-containing layers for electrophotographic photoreceptors which have high mechanical strength, improved electrophotographic characteristics and improved image deletion characteristics even under conditions of high temperature and high humidity are provided. Such silicon-containing layers include silicon-containing compounds, which may be cross-linked, and siloxane-containing antioxidants that can be selected from hindered phenol antioxidants, hindered amine antioxidants, thioether antioxidants and phosphite antioxidants. Electrophotographic photoreceptors and electrophotographic imaging apparatuses containing such silicon-containing layers are also provided.

In electrophotography, an electrophotographic substrate containing a photoconductive insulating layer on a conductive layer is imaged by first uniformly electrostatically charging a surface of the substrate. The substrate is then exposed to a pattern of activating electromagnetic radiation, such as, for example, light. The light or other electromagnetic radiation selectively dissipates the charge in illuminated areas of the photoconductive insulating layer while leaving behind an electrostatic latent image in non-illuminated areas of the photoconductive insulating layer. This electrostatic latent image is then developed to form a visible image by depositing finely divided electroscopic marking particles on the surface of the photoconductive insulating layer. The resulting visible image is then transferred from the electrophotographic substrate to a necessary member, such as, for example, an intermediate transfer member or a print substrate, such as paper. This image developing process can be repeated as many times as necessary with reusable photoconductive insulating layers.
Image forming apparatus such as copiers, printers and facsimiles, including electrophotographic systems for charging, exposure, development, transfer, etc., using electrophotographic photoreceptors have been widely employed. In such image forming apparatus, there are ever increasing demands for improving the speed of the image formation processes, improving image quality, miniaturizing and prolonging the life of the apparatus, reducing production and running costs, etc. Further, with recent advances in computers and communication technology, digital systems and color image output systems have been applied also to image forming apparatus.
Electrophotographic imaging members (i.e. photoreceptors) are well known. Electrophotographic imaging members having either a flexible belt or a rigid drum configuration are commonly used in electrophotographic processes. Electrophotographic imaging members may comprise a photoconductive layer including a single layer or composite layers. These electrophotographic imaging members take many different forms. For example, layered photoresponsive imaging members are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,990 to Stolka et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes a layered photoreceptor having separate photogenerating and charge transport layers. The photogenerating layer disclosed in the 990 patent is capable of photogenerating holes and injecting the photogenerated holes into the charge transport layer. Thus, in the photoreceptors of the 990 patent, the photogenerating material generates electrons and holes when subjected to light.
More advanced photoconductive photoreceptors containing highly specialized component layers are also known. For example, multilayered photoreceptors may include one or more of a substrate, an undercoating layer, an intermediate layer, an optional hole or charge blocking layer, a charge generating layer (including a photogenerating material in a binder) over an undercoating layer and/or a blocking layer, and a charge transport layer (including a charge transport material in a binder). Additional layers, such as one or more overcoat layer or layers, may be included as well.
In view of such a background, improvement in electrophotographic properties and durability, miniaturization, reduction in cost, etc., in electrophotographic photoreceptors have been studied, and electrophotographic photoreceptors using various materials have been proposed.
For example, JP-A-63-65449 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses an electrophotographic photoreceptor in which fine silicone particles are added to a photosensitive layer, and also discloses that such addition of the fine silicone particles imparts lubricity to a surface of the photoreceptor.
Further, in forming a photosensitive layer, a method has been proposed in which a charge transfer substance is dispersed in a binder polymer or a polymer precursor thereof, and then the binder polymer or the polymer precursor thereof is cured. JP-B-5-47104 (the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined Japanese patent publication") and JP-B-60-22347, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, disclose electrophotographic photoreceptors using silicone materials as the binder polymers or the polymer precursors thereof.
Furthermore, in order to improve mechanical strength of the electrophotographic photoreceptor, a protective layer is formed on the surface of the photosensitive layer in some cases. Often, a crosslinkable resin is used as a material for the protective layer. However, protective layers formed by crosslinkable resin act as insulating layers, which impair the photoelectric characteristics of the photoreceptor. For this reason, a method of dispersing a fine conductive metal oxide powder (JP-A-57-128344) or a charge transfer substance (JP-A-4-15659) in the protective layer and a method of reacting a charge transfer substance having a reactive functional group with a thermoplastic resin to form the protective layer have been proposed. JP-A-57-128344 and JP-A-4-15659 are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
However, even the above-mentioned conventional electrophotographic photoreceptors are not necessarily sufficient in electrophotographic characteristics and durability, particularly when they are used in combination with a charger of the contact charging system (contact charger) or a cleaning apparatus, such as a cleaning blade.
Further, when the photoreceptor is used in combination with the contact charger and a toner obtained by chemical polymerization (polymerization toner), image quality may be deteriorated due to a surface of the photoreceptor being stained with a discharge product produced in contact charging or the polymerization toner remaining after a transfer step. Still further, the use of a cleaning blade to remove discharge product or remaining toner from the surface of the photoreceptor involves friction and abrasion between the surface of the photoreceptor and the cleaning blade, which tends to damage the surface of the photoreceptor, breaks the cleaning blade or turns up the cleaning blade.
The use of silicon-containing compounds in photoreceptor layers, including in photosensitive and protective layers, has been shown to increase the mechanical lifetime of electrophotographic photoreceptors, under charging conditions and scorotron charging conditions. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2004/0086794 to Yamada et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses a photoreceptor having improved mechanical strength and stain resistance.
Photoreceptors having low wear rates, such as those described in US 2004/0086794, also have low refresh rates. Low wear and refresh rates are a primary cause of image deletion errors, particularly under conditions of high humidity and high temperature. U.S. Pat. No. 6,730,448 B2 to Yoshino et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, addresses this issue in its disclosure of photoreceptors having some improvement in image quality, fixing ability, even in an environment of high heat and humidity.
It has been determined that, in electrophotographic photoreceptors, deletion of a developed image is the result of degradation of the top-most surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor. This deletion occurs when the electrophotographic photoreceptor is exposed to environmental contaminants, such as those typically found around the charging device of a xerographic engine. The image deletion increases under conditions of high heat and high humidity.
In typical electrophotographic photoreceptors, where the outermost surface comprises a solid state solution of a hole-transporting arylamine compound in a polymeric binder material, image deletion occurs when the environmental contaminants around the charging device react with hole-transporting arylamine compounds to form highly conductive species.
However, in electrophotographic photoreceptors in which the outermost layer is a siloxane-organic hybrid material containing a hole-transporting arylamine moiety, image deletion occurs when the environmental contaminants around the charging device in the xerographic engine interact with the siloxane component of the siloxane-organic hybrid material. A chemical reaction by which residual alkoxides of the siloxane components hydrolyze to form highly polar silanol moieties results from this interaction. These highly polar silanols, which reside on the outermost surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor and both attract and retain environmental contaminants formed by the charging device, which cause highly conductive zones to form on the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor. In the presence of high heat and/or high humidity, these highly conductive zones manifest as a deletion of the developed image.
Thus, the above-mentioned conventional electrophotographic photoreceptors are not necessarily sufficient in electrophotographic characteristics and durability, particularly when used in high heat and/or high humidity environments.
Thus, there still remains a need for electrophotographic photoreceptors having high mechanical strength and improved electrophotographic characteristics and improved image deletion characteristics even under conditions of high temperature and high humidity. In particular, there remains a need for an additive to siloxane-containing layers that will interact with the environmental contaminants formed by the charging device of the xerographic engine and prevent the contaminants from interacting with siloxanes residues and that will also prevent or decrease the deletion of developed images.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Silicon-containing layers for electrophotographic photoreceptors and methods for making the same


A method of fabricating a neuromorphic device includes forming a variable-resistance layer between a first terminal and a second terminal, the variable-resistance layer varies in resistance based on an oxygen concentration in the variable-resistance layer. The method further includes forming an electrolyte layer over the variable-resistance layer that is stable at room temperature and that conducts oxygen ions in accordance with an applied voltage. The method further includes forming a gate layer over the electrolyte layer to apply a voltage on the electrolyte layer and the variable-resistance layer, the gate layer formed using an oxygen scavenging material.

The present invention relates in general to neuromorphic devices having settable resistances and, more particularly, to neuromorphic devices that use a room-temperature, solid electrolyte to mediate the transfer of oxygen ions for resistivity control.
Technical problems such as character recognition and image recognition by a computer are known to be well handled by machine-learning techniques. "Machine learning" is used to broadly describe a primary function of electronic systems that learn from data. In machine learning and cognitive science, artificial neural networks (ANNs) are a family of statistical learning models inspired by the biological neural networks of animals, and in particular the brain. ANNs can be used to estimate or approximate systems and functions that depend on a large number of inputs and are generally unknown. ANNs can include deep neural networks (DNNs), convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and other types of neural networks. Crossbar arrays are high density, low cost circuit architectures used to form a variety of electronic circuits and devices, including ANN architectures, neuromorphic microchips and ultra-high density nonvolatile memory. A basic cross-bar array configuration includes a set of conductive row wires and a set of conductive column wires formed to intersect the set of conductive row wires. The intersections between the two sets of wires are separated by so-called cross-point devices.

Neuromorphic device with oxygen scavenging gate

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A vehicle stabilization device for use in stabilizing a vehicle to enable safe and rapid victim extrication operations by first responder and other personnel. The device includes a base plate for enabling its emplacement on an underlying support surface beneath the vehicle to be stabilized. First and second extender members, each having a base end and a distal end, are hingedly connected to each other at their distal ends. The base ends are rotably mounted to the base plate and are moveable toward each other from an initial spaced position. This reduction of spacing between the base ends acts in conjunction with the hinged attachment between the distal ends to increasingly incline the extender members with respect to the base plate and thereby increasingly elevate the distal ends above the base plate. A vehicle contact and support member is secured to the distal hinged ends, and elevates with the distal ends of the extender members until contact is made with the overlying portion of the vehicle. The drawn together base portions are retained in the position where contact with the vehicle is achieved, to provide stabilizing support to the vehicle.

In the fire and rescue service first responders arriving at motor vehicle accidents access victims' injuries. Depending on the nature of the injuries and type of accident the first responders usually demobilize the victims as a precaution. This includes neck and back stabilization. During this process vehicle stabilization also needs to be addressed. Vehicles are stabilized to eliminate the rocking motion caused by rescuers entering and/or removing the victim. The most common procedure used for vehicle stabilization involves placing wood or plastic blocks (cribbing) under the vehicle and removing the spring movement. The usual hardware for this operation is step chucks. These step chucks are bulky and use valuable compartment space in first responding vehicles. Indeed such cribbing is sometimes not carried in first responding ambulances or chiefs' vehicles because of space limitations. Furthermore this prior cribbing is difficult and time-consuming to emplace and is not capable of self-adjusting in its height as weight is removed from or shifted in the vehicle


In a powertrain including a multiple-speed axle assembly housed in an axle case, the mullet-speed axle includes an input shaft, an output shaft and a gearset having first and second members. The first and second members are adapted to produce a direct drive connection between the input shaft and output shaft when said members are connected mutually and to underdrive the output shaft in relation to the input shaft when said members are mutually disconnected and the first member is connected with the case. A coupling is provided for mutually connecting and disconnecting the first and second members and for connecting the first member with the case. A selector actuates the coupling to mutually connect and disconnect the members.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of power transmission in a driveline for an automotive vehicle. More particularly, it pertains to a multiple-speed final drive mechanism for use with a transmission mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
To improve fuel economy and performance of a powertrain equipped with a multiple-speed transmission, attempts are being made to increase the number of forward speed ratios produced by the transmission. Adding gears broadens the span from first to top gear and reduces the size of steps between gears. Small step sizes help to maintain engine speed closer to its optimal value. The transmission delivers power smoother, and reduces the need to maintain desired engine speed by adjusting the throttle position.
Various attempts have been made to increase the number of speed ratios produced by an automatic transmission by adding an auxiliary gearset in the torque delivery path at a location either before the existing planetary gearset or between a multiple-speed planetary gearset and the final drive gearset. The auxiliary gearsets are located coaxially with the engine crankshaft, or coaxially with the output shaft. An example of the former arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,503 assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
A two-speed axle mechanism is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,482, assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The two-speed axle of the '482 patent includes a planetary gearset, an overrunning brake, a brake band, and a friction clutch. Another form of the axle mechanism includes gears formed on the input shaft and output shaft, a planet gear wheel rotatably supported on a carrier, the gears of the wheel meshing with the gears on the shafts. A spring-applied clutch connects the output shaft to the carrier, and an hydraulically-actuated brake releases the clutch and holds the carrier against revolution on a casing. However, such an arrangement may require the axle to be drivably disconnected to ensure an acceptable change of the gear ratio of the axle.
A principal objective of a multiple-speed axle arrangement, according to the present invention, is to reduce the overall size, weight, complexity, and cost required to produce a manually or automatically operated drivetrain with five or more forward gear ratios. Further objectives include minimizing the cost and complexity of such a two-speed axle, while providing a two-speed axle which is shiftable during movement of the motor vehicle and maximizing the ability to control the axle electronically. A further objective is to provide two driving modes, namely a performance (or towing) mode and a normal (or economy) mode. A further objective is to provide a two-speed transfer gearbox in a four wheel drive vehicle which is shiftable while the vehicle is moving.


A flexible non-PVC, non-DEHP polyolefin container or bag for medical fluids has an elongated container body formed of polyolefin film. The container has one or more ports equipped with a polyolefin fill tube and port closure assembly. The container includes a concave seam on at least one of its longitudinal sides.

The present invention relates to the field of containers for holding medical fluids for administration to patients. As used herein the term "medical fluids" includes medical, biological and veterinary fluids. Thus the "patients" could be humans, fish, animals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, etc. More particularly, the present invention relates to flexible autoclavable intravenous (IV) fluid containers or bags and non-PVC polyolefin film for their construction. The invention provides long shelf life flexible IV fluid containers that have a low moisture vapor transmission rate and can be terminally sterilized using high temperature treatment, i.e., sterilized after filling to deactivate microorganisms inside the containers (e.g., autoclaving).
Over thirty years ago, the introduction of a flexible IV container raised the issues of water loss and port closure system integrity testing. A flexible container material system and suitable port closures had to be designed. The most common design selected was some sort of PVC mono-layer film container with a very low cost closure system. Placing another material with higher barrier properties as an overwrap around the filled container solved the issue of the water loss during shelf life. The entire system would then be steam sterilized and delivered to the customer for use.
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is a standard, widely used plastic packaging material used to manufacture flexible containers (bags and pouches) for the administration of small volume parenterals (SVP), often referred to as mini-bags; large volume parenterals (LVP); and various enteral nutritional and liquid preparations. These containers are often utilized for patient hydration and/or to supply pharmaceutical preparations, medicines, vitamins, nutritionals, and the like. Heretofore, PVC has proven to be advantageous because of its resistance to heat, which allows the containers to be terminally sterilized using high temperature treatment.
However, PVC also has its shortcomings. PVC films in the thickness range needed to be acceptably flexible for IV fluid containers typically do not provide a high moisture vapor barrier (MVB). The moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) of flexible PVC containers is so high that an overwrap is required to increase the shelf life of the fluids contained therein by providing improved moisture vapor barrier (MVB) properties, as compared to the MVB properties of PVC alone. In other cases, an overwrap is used to contain any leakage and help the port system of the flexible containers to survive autoclaving (i.e., high temperature treatment) or shipping and handling damage. In some cases, and particularly for SVP packages (or bags), multiple SVP packages are placed into one overwrap package. Disadvantageously, once the one overwrap package has been opened, the shelf life of the individual SVP packages contained therein is limited to approximately 30 days, because of the poor MVB properties of PVC. Thus, if a practitioner opens an overwrap containing SVPs, but does not use all of the SVPs in a timely manner, the SVP packages must be discarded approximately 30 days after the overwrap is opened. A similar shelf life problem exists with PVC containers for large volume parentals (LVPs), which are typically manufactured with an individual overwrap over each container. In either case, the overwrap represents added packaging cost and weight, contributes to environmental waste, and depletes petroleum and other resources.
As time passed and new materials and technologies were brought to the pharmaceutical industry, laminated or multilayer materials typically including three or more layers have come to the forefront for use in IV flexible containers. These materials incorporate an integrated overwrap type film layer to provide the flexible IV container with similar water vapor protection as the separate overwrap system.
To perform well, an intravenous medical fluid container must: 1) drain uniformly, preferably with a readable falling meniscus; 2) have minimal air volume so that patient air embolisms are not an issue; and 3) leave minimal residual volume upon draining so the patient accurately receives the prescribed amount of drug or fluid. Only if the container is flexible, can all of these objectives can be met simultaneously. A flexible container, as the term is used herein, means a container that collapses upon draining, such as a bag for example. Rigid containers, of course, do not change shape substantially upon draining. Semi-rigid containers have substantially the same shape in a filled state and in a drained state, i.e., they may deform some while draining but do not permanently collapse without application of external forces when drained. Semi-rigid containers or plastic bottles also require significant amounts of included air or venting to drain properly. Anyone who has poured milk from a semi-rigid plastic container or oil from a semi-rigid can will appreciate that semi-rigid containers tend to drain sporadically and often unpredictably unless properly vented. Undesirable reversing of flow or suctioning can occur with semi-rigid containers. Heretofore, flexibility has been pursued in conventional intravenous fluid containers by making the material or film of the bag or container very thin (i.e., on the order of a few mils), using a material with a very low modulus of elasticity, or both. However, low modulus materials or thin films tend to melt at temperatures lower than typical US or European autoclave temperature requirements, and have an undesirably high moisture vapor transmission rate such that an overwrap is required for each container.
Materials other than PVC, such as polyolefins (e.g., polyethylene or polypropylene), nylon, or a composite material, either laminated or co-extruded structure (including both monolayer and multilayer structures), and the like, have been proposed for SVP and/or LVP. One advantage is to reduce or eliminate the use of PVC because of environmental concerns. Another advantage of materials such as polypropylene or polyethylene is that they have better MVB properties than PVC. However, manufacturers and regulatory agencies have been hesitant to eliminate overwraps due to concerns regarding sterility and possible handling damage to and/or leakage from port closure system of polyolefin flexible medical fluid containers. Reliable, economical, longer shelf life, lower moisture vapor transmission rate flexible medical fluid containers have yet to be realized due to port closure deficiencies, the multitude of materials to be selected and/or blended, as well as the many, often conflicting design constraints that must be met. Among these constraints are cold impact strength for "drop tests", capability to withstand the high heat autoclave cycles required in the United States and Europe, USP requirements, drug concentration and assay requirements, allowed fill volume, filling equipment and manufacturing process tolerances, aesthetic appearance (clarity, gloss, haze, wrinkling), printability, drainability, and types and levels of extractables permitted.
Another advantage to replacing PVC with a material such as polypropylene or polyethylene is that products such as pure deionized water (U.S.P. for injection) cannot be effectively packaged in PVC because by-products from the PVC packaging material leach into the pure deionized water, contaminating it, whereas materials such as polyolefins can be formulated so as to minimize by-products that leach into the pure deionized water.
Access ports are commonly used in infusion solution containers to administer solutions to a patient, or to add medicaments or other solutions to the container prior to administration. Current solution containers typically may include a dedicated outlet port for solution administration to a patient and a dedicated inlet port for the addition of diluent or other ingredients to the container.
The outlet port is intended to be coupled to an administrative set and is therefore commonly referred to as the administrative port, whereas the inlet port is designed to permit the injection of therapeutic agents and nutrients into the partially filled container and is sometimes identified as the additive port. Such a container may contain a partial filling of a sterile solution such as saline or dextrose to function as a diluent for the injected additive. Alternatively, the container may house the drug and the diluent can be added by injection into the container through the additive port. The diluted drug or nutrient is then administered to a patient by means of the administrative port and an administrative set that may be either directly or indirectly (i.e., through another solution set) coupled to the patient. Strict limits or tolerances are often imposed on the assay or concentration of the drug to be delivered. Meeting these limits, especially if the filled container is stored for an extended period of time, is difficult if the moisture barrier of the container is too high.
Other challenges in the fabrication of flexible containers exist. Conventional flexible containers or IV bags have substantially straight longitudinal sides. The containers have an outer peripheral seam or weld that joins together the front and back portions of the container wall. The seam extends straight along the substantially straight longitudinal sides of the container and curves in a convex manner at the corners of the bag. However, changes in the path of the outer peripheral seam of the container at the corners can cause wrinkling and undesired tacking or blocking together of the material in the interior of the container at or near the corner.
Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide an improved medical fluid container.
A further object of the invention is to provide containers with port closure assemblies that improve the safety and ease of handling when fluids are to be withdrawn or introduced.
Another object of the invention is to provide a port fill tube configuration that increases container sealing reliability, as well as the ease and efficiency of manufacture.
A further object of the invention is to provide a container with container wall formed of a multiple layer polyolefin material selected so as to meet the demanding requirements for terminally sterilized IV containers.
A further object of the invention is to provide a flexible container with a longitudinal side seam configuration that is more ergonomic for handling purposes, and reduces wrinkling and undesired material tacking or blocking.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved method of fabricating and filling medical fluid containers.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved method of packaging and storing medical fluid containers.
A further object of the invention is to provide a container that weighs less than PVC but provides a better moisture vapor transmission rate.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Medical fluid container with concave side weld


Induction motors may have a rotor core assembly that includes a plurality of rotor laminations having an arrangement of vents therein. The arrangement of vents may provide increased airflow through the induction motor without adversely affecting the electromagnetic properties of the motor. The arrangement of vents includes first and second circular rows of vents, wherein each vent of the first row may be radially aligned with a respective vent of the second row, and each radially aligned pair of first and second row vents may be radially aligned with a respective conductor bar slot in the rotor lamination. The number of rotor bar slots may equal the number of first row vents and the number of second row vents. Systems and methods of facilitating ventilation in an induction motor are provided, as are other aspects.

Induction motors are a type of electric motor that may generate a large amount of heat during operation. Excessive heat can damage internal components, limit the amount of power that can be provided by the motor, and/or adversely affect the longevity of the motor. Induction motors may have fans or radial vents that can remove at least some heat from the motor by drawing cooling air through various passageways in the motor. These passageways include axial vents formed in a rotor core assembly of the motor. Axial vents may be one of the more restrictive air passageways in the motor. While large axial vents may improve the cooling efficiency of a motor because they may allow more air to flow through, large axial vents also may adversely affect the performance of the motor by impeding and/or interfering with the flow of magnetic fields through the rotor. Therefore, a need exists to improve the cooling efficiency of induction motors without adversely affecting the performance of the motor.

Apparatus, systems, and methods for increasing airflow through induction motors


An air mattress with a pillow top is disclosed. The pillow top is received on and extends at least partially across at least one of planar face of the mattress, and is constructed and arranged to be held in a fixed position relative to the face of the mattress on which it is received. The pillow top may be removably or permanently affixed to the air mattress, as desired. In an embodiment, the pillow top is attached to an edge weld of the air mattress.

The use of air beds or air mattresses is well known, and includes the use thereof as a camping bed or mattress as well as for use in recreational pursuits, for example at the beach or poolside, or as temporary bedding for travelers and house guests. In order to make usage of the air mattress more comfortable as the user's skin may stick to the vinyl or plastic used to form the mattress, it is oftentimes desirable to shield or cover the face of the air mattress on which the user lies or reclines so as to insulate the user from the vinyl or plastic material of the air mattress. This is often done by placing a sheet or pad of some type on the sleeping surface or face of the air mattress. This may comprise, for example, a sleeping bag, a fitted sheet, or a conventional bed sheet placed on or about the air mattress.
A common problem that typically arises, no matter what type of padding or sheet is used, however, is that the air mattress size and shape likely varies from "standard" non-air mattress sizes such that conventional fitted or plain hemmed sheets will not fit well on the mattress. For example a fitted sheet of known construction tends not to stay wrapped about or received on an air mattress as air mattresses are typically sized smaller than a corresponding mattress size, for example a single or a full sized mattress, so that the fitted sheets still fit loosely about the air mattress and tend to be pulled off of the air mattress during use.
Additionally, most air mattresses are formed of a smooth-surfaced plastic material to which cloth sheets or sleeping bags will not adhere, such that the sleeping bag or sheets will slide on or over the air mattress rather than stay wrapped thereabout. Moreover, the size and shape of air mattresses, and in particular the face and perimeter wall portion thereof, tend to vary as the user moves on the mattress due to the compressibility of the air within the mattress and the flexibility of the mattress face and sidewall such that any padding or cover placed thereon tends to move or slide off of the mattress surface with the movements of the user.
One common example of a type of padding used on an air mattress, resorted to by a great many users, is to place a conventional sleeping bag on the mattress. Although sleeping bags are well padded, they are not generally adapted to be fit to, on, or about an air mattress, with the result that the sleeping bag moves or travels on or over the surface of the mattress during use. Also, sleeping bags may tend to be too thickly padded such that when used with an air mattress in a warm weather environment, the user may become too hot and thus sleep poorly or restlessly.
What is needed, therefore, but seemingly unavailable in the art, is an air mattress having a padded covering which may be placed on at least the sleeping surface or face of an air mattress and which will remain positioned on, i.e., resist movement off of, the air mattress during use.


Illustrative embodiments of power tools with spindle locks are disclosed. In one illustrative embodiment, a power tool may include a drive train including an output assembly, the output assembly including a spindle configured to support a tool element, a power source configured to selectively supply energy to the drive train to cause the output assembly including the spindle to rotate, a switch movable between a first position in which the power source does not supply energy to the drive train and a second position in which the power source supplies energy to the drive train, and a spindle lock configured to automatically engage the output assembly including the spindle when the switch is in the first position and to automatically disengage the output assembly including the spindle when the switch is in the second position, the spindle lock preventing rotation of the output assembly including the spindle when engaged.

Power tools, such as screwdrivers and wrenches, by way of example, typically include a spindle designed to support a tool element (e.g., a socket). The spindle (and, hence, the tool element) rotate when driven by a power source of the power tool. In many power tools, the spindle is free to rotate when not being driven by the power source. As such, these power tools do not allow a user to manually apply a load to the spindle of the power tool to, for instance, tighten or loosen a fastener above the capability of the power tool. While some power tools may include a lock for selectively preventing rotation of the spindle, such locks typically require manual engagement and disengagement by a user of the power tool.


An internal combustion engine having combustion chambers that rotate about a main shaft axis in a step-wise manner. A first and second rotors each have elongate pistons that are interdigitated so that when one rotor rotates with respect to the other rotor, some chambers between the interdigitated pistons are reduced in volume and other chambers are increased in volume. Respective one-way bearings connect the first and second rotors to the main shaft to incrementally rotate it. Fuel mixture and exhaust apparatus is connected to one end of the engine to feed a fuel mixture to the increasing-volume chambers and extract the exhaust from other decreasing-volume chambers. At the same time, yet other chambers are experiencing compression and ignition cycles. An oil pump is driven by the first and second rotors for circulating a lubricant from a reservoir, through the engine parts to be lubricated and then back to the reservoir to cool the lubricant.

Internal combustion engines provide a vital component in the generation of torque for use in powering other mechanical machines and systems. An internal combustion engine generally uses gasoline, diesel, natural gas, etc., as a fuel to develop power. Conventional internal combustion engines operate with four cycles, namely an intake cycle, a compression cycle, a power cycle and an exhaust cycle. With this type of engine, a connecting rod has connected at one end thereof a piston that reciprocates in a cylinder. The other end of the connecting rod is connected to a crankshaft that rotates as the piston(s) reciprocate. The crankshaft is connected to a flywheel that maintains the rotary momentum of the engine.
During the intake cycle or stroke of the internal combustion engine, the piston moves downwardly in the cylinder to pull in the fuel mixture through an open intake valve. The crankshaft rotates so that the piston is moved upwardly during the compression cycle to compress the fuel mixture in the cylinder, with the intake and exhaust valves closed. The power cycle is carried out next as the ignition of the compressed fuel mixture by a spark plug causes the fuel to burn and expand. The expanding gasses of the burned fuel mixture cause the piston to move downwardly in the cylinder, during the power cycle. The next cycle is the exhaust cycle where the rotating crankshaft drives the piston upwardly while the exhaust valve is open to force the spent gasses out of the engine. Each of the four cycles is carried out during two revolutions of the crankshaft. The rotating crankshaft continues to rotate and carry out the four cycles again. This same sequence is carried out with internal combustion engines having one crankshaft and many connecting rods and pistons driven thereby. In multi-cylinder engines, each revolution of the crankshaft can involve various pistons that undergo a power cycle at the same time as other pistons are undergoing other cycles, thereby providing a smooth delivery of power to the crankshaft. Many one-cylinder engines are used on utility equipment, such as lawnmowers. Four-cylinder, six, eight, ten and twelve-cylinder engines are frequently used in automobiles to provide torque for driving the power train.
Other types of internal combustion engines are of the two-cycle type in which an intake, compression, power and exhaust stroke all occur in one revolution of the crankshaft. In this type of engine, while the crankshaft and flywheel carries the piston upwardly, the bottom side of the piston creates a vacuum in the crankcase and pulls fuel into the crankcase through an open intake port, and at the same time fuel in the combustion chamber is compressed. During this upward travel of the piston, an intake and compression cycle are carried out. A spark from a spark plug ignites the compressed fuel and drives the piston down during the power stroke. As the piston moves down in the cylinder, the fuel in the crankcase is compressed, and an exhaust port is opened. During the remainder of the down stroke of the piston, the fuel mixture in the crankcase escapes around the piston to the combustion chamber where the fuel mixture pushes the spent gases out of the exhaust port. Thus, during the downward travel of the piston, a power and exhaust cycle are carried out. As the crankshaft continues rotation to force the piston upwardly again, another intake and compression stroke are carried out.
Other variations of four cycle internal combustion engines includes the radial engine developed for high performance World War II aircraft. This type of engine is similar to the four-cycle engine described above, but differs in the manner in which the piston rods are connected to the crankshaft. The radial engine has cylinders arranged like spokes of a wheel around a crankshaft hub. The diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that operates with four cycles much like that described above, but ignites the diesel fuel mixture using compression to heat the fuel to the flash point, rather than using a spark plug.
The Wankel engine is an internal combustion engine, but does not utilize reciprocating pistons. Rather, the Wankle engine uses a rotating rotor that is triangular with bow-shaped sides. The rotor rotates in an oval-like epitrochoid-shaped housing to provide an intake location, a compression location, an ignition location and an exhaust location. The spaces of the four different locations change as the rotor rotates in the oval housing. For example, the volume between one bowed side of the triangular-shaped rotor and the housing decreases while being connected to the fuel mixture intake. Then, as the rotor continues to rotate, the captured fuel mixture is compressed as the volume decreases, and when finally compressed to the maximum extent the fuel mixture is ignited by a spark plug. Then, on further rotation of the rotor, the spent gasses are compressed in a volume that is coupled to an exhaust outlet of the engine. Each of the three sides of the triangular-shaped rotor operate together with the oval-shaped housing to effectively provide three cylinders.
A different type of internal combustion engine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,307. This engine is constructed with a toroid-shaped cylinder with spaced-apart pistons that revolve in the annular-shaped cylinder. The engine block or covers in which the toroid-shaped cylinder is formed is stationary. Two sets of pistons are connected together by respective crank systems so that the sets of pistons move in the toroid-shaped cylinder independently of each other. The crank systems comprise a complicated arrangement of sun gears, connecting rods and crankshafts. The pistons move in a stepwise manner around the cylinder, i.e., one set of pistons are momentarily stationary while the other set of pistons move to thereby draw in a fuel mixture and compress it in some chambers or exhaust the spent gasses out of an exhaust port via other chambers. The combustion of the compressed fuel mixture then moves the one set of pistons while the other piston set is held momentarily stationary by the crank system. The crank system is mechanically complicated, as is other parts of the engine. The engine does not disclose a lubrication system nor a spark system to ignite a fuel mixture, but rather depends on the compression of the fuel mixture to ignite the same, much like a diesel engine.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that a need exists for a rotating combustion chamber type of engine that is less complicated and more easily constructed and thereby cost effective. Another need exists for an engine where the power producing components comprise two rotating rotors with interleaved pistons. A further need exists for a rotating combustion chamber engine that has a lubrication system that lubricates the rotating rotors, as well as a fuel delivery system that provides a fuel mixture to those rotating chambers that are carrying out an intake cycle. Yet another need exists for a rotating combustion engine that efficiently uses one-way bearings or other one-way rotation mechanisms to accomplish the stepwise rotational movement of the rotors.

Rotary engine with rotating pistons and cylinders


An abrasive tool includes a steel core having at least one cutting face which is knurled to provide a uniform texture of recesses of predetermined size. A single layer of abrasive grain such as diamond, synthetic diamond, and/or cubic boron nitride having a grit size which is less than the predetermined size of the recesses is brazed onto the cutting face so that the single layer of abrasive grain follows the texture of the cutting face to facilitate coolant and swarf transport for improved tool life, power consumption and workpiece surface finish.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to abrasive tools, and more particularly to grinding wheels having a single layer of abrasive bonded to a textured cutting face.
2. Background Information
Single layer metal bonded abrasives are used to form the cutting surfaces of various cutting tools such as core drill bits, diamond saw blades and single abrasive layer grinding wheels. These cutting tools are useful for cutting and abrading relatively hard materials such as metal, concrete, stone, ceramics and the like, as well as for drilling subterranean formations in oil and gas recovery. Such cutting tools are normally constructed from a core or blade support material such as steel or aluminum and a superabrasive such as diamond or cubic boron nitride (CBN) bonded to a cutting face of the core.
While effective in many of these applications, single layer bonded abrasive tools have not been particularly effective in some relatively difficult, precision grinding operations. An example of such a precision grinding application includes aerospace creepfeed grinding where thermal damage to the workpiece is problematic. Another example is bi-metallic engine block deck face grinding, in which blocks consisting of dissimilar metals such as cast iron with aluminum inserts, must be ground to precision tolerances. In this application, burr formation at the interface of the dissimilar metals is particularly troublesome. In both of these applications, it is difficult to apply coolant to, and remove the grinding swarf from, the grinding zone or point of contact between the wheel and workpiece.
One attempt to prevent chips from clogging the abrasive grain is disclosed in European patent application No. EP 0770457 A1. This reference discloses a grinding wheel having a number of pyramidal or truncated-pyramidal projections formed on a portion of a metal base. Super abrasive grains having grain sizes which are smaller than the heights of the projections are fixed to the surfaces of the projections. A coating film consisting of fluororesin is formed to at least partially cover the outer surface of the grinding face including the surfaces of the super abrasive grains, for "preventing deposition of a workpiece." The grains are bonded to the grinding face by electrodeposition or electroplating. While this construction may provide advantages in terms of chip removal in some applications, the use of the fluororesin layer adds complexity and cost to the manufacture of the grinding wheel. Moreover, electrodeposited bonds, although historically considered to be optimal for heavy duty use, have generally proven undesirable for use wheels adapted for precision grinding, particularly those which employ textured cutting faces. In part, this is because the bond has insufficient strength to resist the pressures of such applications, so that the abrasive grain and bond tend to break free or peel from the cutting face prematurely. This breaking or peeling tends to reduce tool life while the loose abrasive also tends to score the workpiece, thus degrading the quality of the surface finish. This phenomenon is particularly problematic in textured cutting faces as grinding contact is made with a relatively small number of grains (those on the apex of the projections), which accordingly experience relatively high grinding forces per unit area of contact.
One explanation for this relatively weak bond is that electrodeposited bonds serve only to mechanically entrap the individual abrasive grains and do not form a chemical bond with the grain.
Another disadvantage of this approach is that electrodeposition tends to attenuate the texture of a cutting face by permitting the grain to gather or collect in the recesses between projections. An example of this attenuation or collection of grains is shown in EP 0393540B1. One approach to address this problem would be to provide a greater degree of texture to the core supporting the abrasive, such as by milling a series of relatively deep grooves in the cutting face, to compensate for the attenuation. However, conventional milling operations tend to be time consuming and thus relatively expensive.
Brazed bonds are an alternative to electrodeposition and offer the potential advantage of improved bond strength. Historically, however, due to manufacturing concerns, brazed bonds have been selected less frequently than electroplated bonds for use in single layer superabrasive tools. Tools made using soft brazes have been typically directed to less demanding non-abrasive tool applications. Use of harder brazes has been discouraged because diamond and CBN abrasives tend to thermally degrade due to oxidation at the higher melting temperatures associated with these brazes. Moreover, the harder bonds provided by some brazed bonds such as molybdenum/iron alloys disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,673 tend to have a significantly different coefficient of thermal expansion than the diamond abrasive, which introduces certain stresses to the diamond crystals which are not relieved to the same extent as in softer, lower melting point brazes, thus tending to reduce tool life.
One example of a highly textured or contoured tool which utilizes a braze bond has been disclosed in commonly assigned International Publication No. WO 97/33714. This disclosure, however, is directed to cutting tools, namely saw blades, rather than to grinding wheels, and utilizes a substrate having a plurality of relatively large teeth coated with abrasive grain. These teeth-like geometric shapes must be milled into the core prior to brazing the abrasive onto the core, necessitating an expensive milling step, or other similar manufacturing step, to produce a profiled core for the tool.
A need thus exists for an improved grinding wheel having a single layer of abrasive grain and a textured cutting surface manufactured without expensive or difficult processes, which is adapted for use in heavy duty precision grinding applications.


This present invention discloses a cutting shield machine used for separating iron shells of connectors from a metal strip. The cutting shield machine includes a worktable, a separation apparatus located in the worktable, a carrying apparatus located in the worktable delivering the metal strip into the separation apparatus, a receiving box located in the worktable for receiving the iron shells from the separation apparatus, a crossing apparatus and a driving apparatus located in the worktable. The separation apparatus has a prop stand located in the worktable, a rotating portion with a columned portion capable of rotation and a pole are fixed in the prop stand in sequence in the transmission direction of the metal strip. The metal strip passes from the top of the rotating portion and the bottom of the pole or from the bottom of the rotating portion and the bottom of the pole.

1. Field of the Invention
This present invention relates to a cutting shield machine, and more specifically to a cutting shield machine cutting iron shells of connectors from a metal strip.
2. The Related Art
Conventionally, an iron shell of a connector is generally stamped from a metal strip by a mold. In order to plate, the iron shell is stamped and connected with the metal strip still, by this, the iron shell is plated conveniently in a plating apparatus. A breaking groove is arranged between the iron shell and the metal strip. To assemble an iron shell into a connector, a worker needs to bend the iron shell and separate the iron shell from the metal strip by the breaking groove. The productivity is increased by the breaking groove between the iron shell and the metal strip, but the iron shell is fetched from the metal strip by hand, therefore, the iron shell is easy to deform by hand.


The present invention includes a boat having a seat with a pneumatically adjustable passenger ride-height, for a given passenger and/or an adjustable passenger weight range for a given ride height range and with an adjustable rebound damping mechanism, where adding air results in a lifting of the seat, and rotating a member results in change of the rebound speed.

The present invention relates generally to a ride-height and/or passenger weight adjustable shock absorbing boat seat pedestal, and methods of constructing and utilizing same.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a shock absorbing boat seat pedestal which uses an air filled portion, and liquid and gaseous matter combination filled portion, and methods of constructing and utilizing same.
The prior art includes at least the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,679 issued in 1995 to Mardikian entitled "PERSONAL WATERCRAFT AND BOAT WITH SHOCK ABSORBING FLOORBOARDS;"
U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,590 issued in 2001 to Patera entitled "PERSONAL WATERCRAFT SUSPENSION SYSTEM;"
U.S. Pat. No. 6,880,483 issued in 2005 to Fedders entitled "ACTIVE SEAT SUSPENSION FOR WATERCRAFT;" and
U.S. Pat. No. 7,549,387 B 2 issued on Jun. 23, 2009 to James Joseph Funk entitled "SHOCK ABSORBING SEAT PEDESTAL."
While these prior art methods have been known in the past and may have provided some utility to persons sitting in boat seats, they do have several problems, some of which are overcome by the present invention.


Consolidated billing in a wireless network is achieved by employing a processing node having storage capabilities for facilitating service creation and/or negotiation, and billing for those services in a wireless network, by associating user information and/or service information with network information. User information, service information, and network information, and their associated billing information, are provided periodically and dynamically into the storage. Using the processing node, user information and/or service information are associated with network information without having to access various network elements located throughout the network, to facilitate service creation and/or negotiation, and billing of services, to thus minimize network processing and network resources.

The creation and negotiation of services, such as data services, requires the extensive processing of user and/or service information along with network information. Service creation generally refers to the processing performed when the user requests a new service. Service negotiation generally refers to the processing performed when the user modifies a currently subscribed to service. Service creation and negotiation both involve an analysis of user information to determine if a particular user can be provided with the requested service, an analysis of service information to determine if the requested service can be provided to the particular user, and an analysis of network information, such as network resources, to determine if the network is able to support the providing of the requested service to the particular user. An exemplary conventional system and method of service creation and negotiation will be explained hereinafter.
FIG. 1 depicts an example of a conventional wireless network 1. A mobile station (MS) 2 is in communication with at least one base station (BS) 5. A base station 5 has multiple transceivers controlled by a base station controller (BSC) 10. The BSC 10 manages the radio channels and underlying hardware resources of all the base stations 5 under its control. The BSC 10 is in communication with an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network 20 having a selection distribution unit (SDU) 22 therein. Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is a network technology based on transferring data in packets of a fixed size. The packet size in an ATM network is smaller than those of older network technologies, allowing the transmittal of video, audio and other data over the same network while no single data type dominates a network communication line. The BSC 10 handles additional traffic channel assignment functionality and coordinates the activities of the selection distribution unit (SDU) 22 and the base stations 5 during setup, release, and handoff of radio channels for different service configurations.
Each base station 5 is also in communication with a mobile station controller (MSC) 40 via the ATM network 20 to establish and maintain communications between the mobile station 2 and the wireless network 1. The MSC 40 is operatively connected with the ATM network 20; the MSC 40 being responsible for, among other things, call and/or connection control and mobility management. In particular, the MSC 40 is responsible for, among other things, establishing and maintaining calls between the mobile stations 2, and calls between a mobile station 2 and a wireline station 50. A wireline station 50 is operatively connected to the MSC 40 via a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 45, so that communication between mobile stations 2, wireline stations 50 and the wireless network 1 can be established.
An Internet/Packet Data Network 30 is connected with the ATM network 20 via a data content analysis/interworking function (DA/IWF) module 25. The DA/IWF module 25 is an intermediary between the ATM network 20 and the Internet/Packet Data Network 30, providing users with, for example, packet data services. The data content analysis (DA) determines the data characteristics and its content such as the byte size of images, and how an image is quantized in the pixel or frequency domain. The data content analysis (DA) may consist of a number of possible transformations, decoding techniques or protocol conforming techniques to determine the type and possible content of the data.
A Web server 32, and other Web based interfaces, such as a computer workstation 34, are operatively connected with the Internet/Packet Data Network 30 to allow communication therebetween.
A home location register (HLR) 70 for supporting applications and services is connected with a Web server 66 for communicating Web-based data therebetween. The HLR 70 provides per-subscriber provisioning and profile transfer of various features. Thus, the HLR 70 is used to support the MSC 40, and assists in providing mobility management and enhanced service features by storing user information in, for example, a user profile which may list the services subscribed to by the user. Typically, the MSC 40 is connected to several databases, including the HLR 70. For each of the mobile units, the HLR 70 typically stores a mobile identification number (MIN) or International Mobile Subscriber Identification Number (IMSI), the mobile directory or phone number (MDN), and/or an electronic serial number (ESN).
In general, HLR mobility management functionality supports a wireless network's ability to deliver calls, enhanced services, information, and messages to customers no matter where they roam. This is achieved by maintaining a customer's service profile in the HLR 70 (or in other portions of the network) and using that profile to provide call processing instructions to the MASC's 40. The service profile may contain permanent information such as credit status, authorization period, and enhanced features the customer has subscribed to. The service profile also contains temporary information, such as the customer's current location. With these types of information, a HLR 70 can respond to call processing requests from any MSC 40, located anywhere.
The HLR 70 is accessed each time a subscriber places or received a call and is used to determine how to handle the call. When a subscriber roams to a different MSC 40 and registers for service, the serving MSC must build a visitor location register (VLR) for the subscriber if one does not already exist. In doing so, the servicing MSC 40 will request HLR information from the subscriber's home MSC 40 and use it to build the VLR.
Typically, the HLR 70 can use open standard interfaces to communicate with MSC's and other network elements, such as Short Message Service Centers (SMSC's).
The HLR 70 is also connected with the DA/IWF module 25 to allow communication of user information therebetween. Also, the HLR 70 is connected with the BSC 10 to coordinate the user's request from the mobile station 2 with the user information stored in the HLR 70.
In the conventional art, certain portions of the network contain user information, some other network elements contain service information, and different portions of the network contain the network's information and capabilities.
User information generally refers to specific aspects pertaining to a particular user, including information for billing the user. Examples of user information include, user profiles (e.g., user name, billing address, location, services currently subscribed to, etc.), user preferences based on how services should be provided (e.g., time of day when certain services should be received, receiving certain services only when in a particular geographical location, etc.), etc. In general, user information are stored in the HLR 70.
Service information generally refers to information for providing services and specific information about the services, including information for billing the user, based on the capabilities (such as bandwidth) required by each service to function properly. Examples of service information include, available services (e.g., voice transmissions, data transmissions such as information services, messaging, scheduling, etc.), available service options such as selectable levels of service quality (e.g., service quality based on signal-to-noise ratios, bit-error rates, etc.), etc. Service information is stored in several locations, such as in the HLR 70, the MSC 40, the BSC 10, etc. For example, the available service information may reside in the HLR 70, while the service capabilities and options may reside in the MSC 40 and the BSC 10.
Network information generally refers to information for network processing, including information for billing the user. Network information can be user-based or cell-based. User-based network information includes, e.g., network capacity based on the total number of current users, etc. Cell-based network information includes, e.g., network signal interference based on available bandwidth, available network resources required for services, available network resources for a particular cell, etc. Network information are stored in and accessed from different portions of the network, such as, the ATM network 20, the DA/IWF module 25, the BSC 10, etc. In the conventional art, the HLR 70 contains no network information.
In creating and negotiating services, user information, service information, and network information all need to be accessed and processed so that various users are provided with the services that are created and/or negotiated. The users also need to be properly billed for service creation and/or negotiation.
An exemplary conventional method of service creation and negotiation may begin with the user deciding to newly receive a certain type of data service, such as getting stock quotes. For example, say a user who travels extensively in New York and Boston wishes to always receive stock quotes at 12 noon each day while being in either city. The user would place his request to receive stock quotes in the above manner using his mobile station 2. The mobile station 2 communicates with the base station 5, and the BSC 10 receives the request from the base station 5. The BSC 10 then communicates with the HLR 70 to store the user request and obtain previously stored user information (user profile, user preferences, etc.) therein.
The ATM network 20 accesses via for example, the BSC 10, user information stored in the HLR 70 and notes that the user wants stock quotes every day at 12 noon in New York or Boston. The ATM network 20 communicates with the DA/IWF module 25, the MSC 40, the BSC 10 etc., in order to access various service information (service bandwidth requirements, service options, etc.). For example, the service bandwidth requirements for providing stock. quotes to the user at 12 noon each day in New York and Boston is verified. It may be found that if the user requests his stock quotes when in New York, the service needs to be provided at a particular service bandwidth, while the service requires a different service bandwidth when the user is in Boston.
The ATM network 20 further communicates with the DA/IWF module 25, the MSC 40, the BSC 10 etc., to access network information (available network resources, network support capabilities such as network traffic, signal interference caused in certain wireless network cells due to a large number of existing users accessing the network, etc.) for providing the user with stock quotes at 12 noon in New York and Boston. For example, the network information may indicate that the anticipated network traffic at the user requested 12 noon time period in New York will be extremely heavy, while the anticipated network traffic at 12 noon in Boston will be light.
In this manner, user information and/or service information (accessed and obtained from various network elements) are compared with network information (accessed and obtained from various network elements) to see if the newly requested service can be performed so that the service can be supported, provided, and billed to the user. For each user and for each service request, the ATM network 20, the DA/IWF module 25, the BSC 10, etc. cooperate to determine whether the network capabilities can allow the user to receive and be billed for the requested service. For example, if there are currently too many users on the network who have requested stock quotes or if there is a limit on the number of permitted users to receive stock quotes, the user will be informed that the network is at full capacity and asks the user to attempt access at another time.
If the user and service information and the network capabilities are such that the requested stock quote information can be provided and billed to the user, the network processing proceeds to access stock quote data. If, for example, the stock quotes are to be provided by a financial news organization having a Web server 32, the DA/IWF module 25 further communicates with the Internet/Packet Data Network 30 to receive stock quote data from the Web server 32 so that the user is provided and billed for the created service.
Like service creation, the user's request to modify (i.e., negotiate) a currently subscribed service is performed in a similar manner. For example, say the user currently subscribing to the previously established service of receiving stock quotes every day at 12 noon in New York or Boston wishes to modify this service so that he gets his stock quotes at 1 pm instead.
Service negotiation will begin upon the user placing a request via, for example, his mobile station 2. As with the process for service creation, the mobile station 2 communicates with the base station 5, and the BSC 10 receives the request from the base station 5. The BSC 10 then communicates with the HLR 70 to store the user request and obtain previously stored user information. The ATM network 20 accesses user information stored in the HLR 70 and notes that the user wants stock quotes every day at 1 pm in New York or Boston. The ATM network 20 communicates with the DA/IWF module 25, the MSC 40, the BSC 10 etc., in order to access various service information (such as service bandwidth requirements) for providing stock quotes at 1 pm in New York or Boston. The ATM network 20 further communicates with the DA/IWF module 25, the MSC 40, the BSC 10 etc., to access network information for providing stock quotes at 1 pm in New York or Boston. The various elements of the communications network, such as the base station 5, the BSC 10, the ATM network 20, the HLR 70, the DA/IWF module 25 and the MSC 40 all cooperate with one another to obtain the necessary user and/or service information and network information to determine whether the user can negotiate (modify) and be billed for his current stock quote service to be received at 1 pm instead of 12 noon.
As can be understood by those skilled in the art, receiving stock quotes is only one type of service that the user may request or negotiate through the wireless network. A multitude of other services can be provided as well. For each service creation or negotiation request, the conventional network processing of verifying the user and service information with the network capabilities needs to be performed differently, as different information are stored in different portions of the network. For example, the network processing for negotiating sports scores need not go through the Internet/Packet Data Network 30 if the sports scores are provided through non-Web-based methods, such as Over the Air Activation Service Provisioning (OTASP). This differs from the network processing and network elements used in, for example, getting stock quotes provided from a Web server, which requires Web-based network processing via the Internet/Packet Data Network 30.
Thus, network information, in addition to user and/or service information, are required to determine whether the user's desired modifications to his stock quote service can be negotiated between the user and the network. In this manner, services created or negotiated requires the separate accessing and separate processing of user and/or service information and network information, (as well as their corresponding billing information), stored in various locations of the network on a per user basis or per call basis. Additionally, the users may need to be billed separately for the various services created and/or negotiated on for example, a per user basis or per call basis.


A watercraft with at least one onboard propulsion engine includes at least two hulls and a wing-like deck structure spanning the two hulls (a floating wing). Port and starboard skirts combine with the deck structure to form port and starboard planing channels. The deck structure includes an upwardly facing surface that slopes downwardly toward an aft end of the deck structure in order to provide aerodynamic lift. Preferably, a speed-responsive exhaust proportioning system vents exhaust at vertical steps in planing surfaces on the hulls to reduce drag, increase lift, and reduce thermal signature. One embodiment includes hinged laterally extending deck extensions that an operator can raise to reduce vessel breadth during docking, upwardly extending barriers on the deck extensions that reduce the escape of wind laterally, and hinged flap structures disposed rearwardly that enable an operator to adjust vessel trim.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to powered watercraft, and more particularly to a super high speed watercraft having multiple M-shaped hulls and bow structure that enable performance at over fifty knots.
2. Description of Related Art
The term "M-shaped hull" as used herein refers to a boat hull falling within the scope of one or more claims of U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,250,245; 6,314,903; and 6,526,903. "M-hull craft" and "M craft" are watercraft that include one or more M-shaped hulls. The M-shaped hulls are designed to recapture the bow wave in order to use bow wave energy to create an air cushion for reduced friction drag. An M-shaped hull does this by including a central displacement section with a deck that extends laterally to support two vertical parallel skirts.
The skirts form planing tunnels on opposite sides of the central displacement section such that the skirts recapture the bow wave into the planing tunnels. The recaptured bow wave spirals through the planing tunnels, trapping incoming air and forcing it aft. The planing tunnel ceilings are sloped downward to the approximate water line about mid-ship so that they help compress the aerated water to form an air cushion for lift and reduced friction drag.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,868,798 describes a watercraft with an M-shaped boat hull that enhances the high-speed potential of M-hull craft by using one or more vertical steps in the planing surface of the displacement sections to further reduce friction drag. In addition, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/957,914 describes a watercraft having a self proportioning dual-exhaust system that is used to direct gas turbine or jet engine exhaust into the craft's planing surface at the vertical steps, thereby eliminating the vacuum drag and provide added vessel lift. These and other variations of the M-shaped hull have proven effective at the full range of speed, up to approximately fifty knots or so.
In test trials, a craft with a single M-shaped hull demonstrated a speed upwind 15% greater than downwind when operating at thirty to forty knots. That result indicates a dynamic wind lift with an M-shaped hull that increases with higher vessel speed, and it prompts one to think of super high speed watercraft, especially for anticipated future military applications. For super high speeds in the range of fifty to one hundred knots, however, the volume and velocity of wind entering the M-hull craft tends to destroy the bow wave spiral, with the incoming wind replacing the bow wave spiral as the means of forcing air aft under increasing pressure. Thus, the high-speed characteristic of the M-shaped hull is of significant interest, but a need exists for further refinements of existing M-shaped craft in order to enable performance at super high speeds.


Synchronization metadata is read from non-volatile storage. The synchronization metadata comprises indications of one or more synchronization targets. A synchronization target is a node of a clustered storage system. A synchronization cache is populated with the synchronization metadata. After populating the synchronization cache with at least a portion of the synchronization metadata, a connection to a network is established. After the connection to the network is established, a connection to a first of the one or more synchronization targets is established.

Aspects of the disclosures herein generally relate to the field of data storage, and, more particularly, to clustered storage systems.
A clustered storage system typically includes two or more clusters of one or more nodes. Clustered storage systems can be used to maintain a flexible architecture while also providing high availability (i.e., redundancy). Consider an example clustered storage system comprising two clusters with each cluster comprising two nodes. The first cluster is geographically located near a group of users (e.g., a company's office building) while the second cluster is geographically located a significant distance from the group of users (e.g., several hundred miles away). The clusters employ synchronization such that the data stored in the second cluster mirrors the data in the first cluster. For example, if the first cluster receives a write operation and associated data, the first cluster writes the data to storage devices associated with the first cluster. The first cluster also replicates the write operation to the second cluster, allowing the second cluster to perform the same operation. The second cluster thus writes the data to storage devices associated with the second cluster. If the first cluster becomes unavailable to the users (e.g., suffers a failure resulting in the first cluster being inaccessible), the users can access the second cluster instead. Because all changes to data are replicated to the second cluster, the second cluster can take the place of the first cluster until the first cluster is available again.


Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) precursor compositions for forming metal oxide high dielectric constant (κ) thin films. The precursor composition in one embodiment comprises a metal precursor having a general formula M(β-diketonate)2(OR)2, wherein M is Hf, Zr or Ti, and R is t-butyl. The precursor composition may also comprise a solvent medium selected from the group consisting of ethers, glymes, tetraglymes, amines, polyamines, alcohols, glycols, aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents, aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, cyclic ethers, and compatible combinations of two or more of the foregoing.

1. Filed of the Invention
The present invention relates to metal precursors useful for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of high dielectric constant (κ) and/or ferroelectric metal oxide thin films.
2. Description of the Related Art
Zirconium and hafnium-containing silicates possess dielectric constant (κ) values in the range of from about 10 to 20, and therefore are highly useful as gate dielectric materials in various microelectronic structures and devices. Zirconium- and hafnium-containing ferroelectric or high dielectric constant complex metal oxides, such as Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 or (Ba,Sr)(Zr,Ti)O3, are also being considered for the manufacturing of microelectronic devices. For these latter applications dielectric constants in excess of 50 and, for ferroelectric materials, hysteresis polarization, are the properties that make these materials desirable.
In such applications, the choice of zirconium or hafnium source reagents is of critical importance for the successful chemical vapor deposition of high quality Zr/Hf-doped gate dielectric ferroelectric, or high dielectric constant metal oxide thin films.
Fabrication of high quality Zr/Hf doped gate dielectric, high dielectric constant and/or ferroelectric metal oxide thin films requires that the zirconium or hafnium CVD source reagents so employed produce a clean interface between the substrate surface and the Zr/Hf thin films deposited thereon. Deleterious occurrence of side reactions, e.g., when the substrate is silicon, produce predominantly silicon dioxide (SiO2), locally doped SiO2, and /or other surface impurities, are desirably minimized, because formation of such surface impurities reduces the capacitance and therefore compromises performance of the deposited gate dielectric, high dielectric constant and/or ferroelectric metal oxide thin films.
Further, the Zr/Hf source reagents must be thermally stable to avoid premature decomposition of such source reagents before they reach the CVD reaction chamber during the CVD process. Premature decomposition of source reagents not only results in undesirable accumulation of side products that will clog fluid flow conduits of the CVD apparatus, but also causes undesirable variations in composition of the deposited gate dielectric, high dielectric constant and/or ferroelectric metal oxide thin film.
Moreover, the Zr/Hf source reagents have to be chemically compatible with other source reagents used in the CVD process. "Chemically compatible" means that the Zr/Hf source reagents will not undergo undesirable side reactions with other source reagents, e.g., reagents containing silicon or other metals, such as Pb and/or Ti.
Finally, the Zr/Hf source reagents must be able to maintain their chemical identity over time when dissolved or suspended in organic solvents. Any change in chemical identity of source reagents in the solvent medium is deleterious since it impairs the ability of the CVD process to achieve repeatable delivery and film growth.
There is a continuing need in the art to provide improved Zr/Hf source reagents suitable for high efficiency CVD processes, for fabricating corresponding high quality Zr/Hf-doped gate dielectric, high dielectric constant and/or ferroelectric metal oxide thin films.

Source reagent compositions for CVD formation of high dielectric constant and ferroelectric metal oxide thin films and method of using same


An electric power steering system includes: a band-stop filter 15a having a transfer function G1(s) for suppressing resonance, and a phase compensator 15b having a transfer function G2(s). The above function G1(s) is represented by an expression G1(s)=(s2+2ζ11ω1+ω12)/(s2+2ζ12ω1+ω12), where s is a Laplace operator, ζ11 is a damping coefficient, ζ12 is a damping coefficient, and ω1 is an angular frequency. On the other hand, the above function G2(s) is represented by an expression G2(s)=(s2+2ζ21ω2+ω22)/(s2+2ζ22ω2+ω22),where s is a Laplace operator, ζ21 is a damping coefficient, ζ22 is a damping coefficient, and ω1 is an angular frequency. Furthermore, the above damping coefficients ζ21, ζ22 satisfy an expression ζ2124 ζ22≧1.Thus, a filter such as a phase compensator may attain a design freedom while preventing the increase of arithmetic load, whereby both the suppression of resonance and a good assist response in a normal steering speed region, for example, may be achieved.

The electric power steering system is designed to apply a steering assist torque to a steering mechanism by driving an electric motor based on a steering torque applied by a driver to a handle (steering wheel). More specifically, the electric power steering system provides a current control (feedback control) such that a target current may flow through the electric motor for generating the steering assist torque, the target current defined based on a steering torque detected by a torque sensor.
The conventional electric power steering systems include one which is provided with a stability compensator at a next portion of the torque sensor in order to improve the stability of a control system. Such an electric power steering system is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H8-290778. The stability compensator of the conventional system has a characteristic expression G(s)=(s2+a1s+a2)/(s2+b2s+b2), where s denotes a Laplace operator and a1, a2, a3, a4 denote parameters decided by resonant frequencies of a resonant system.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-216952, the present applicant has also proposed an electric power steering system which includes phase compensating means of the same type as a band-stop filter having a transfer function Gc(s) in order to serve a dual purpose of ensuring the stability as the control system and improving response. The above transfer function Gc(s) is represented by an expression Gc(s)=(s2+2ζ2+2ω2s+ω22)/(s2+2ζ1ω1s+ω12), where ζ1 denotes a compensated damping coefficient; ζ2 denotes a damping coefficient of a compensated system; ω1 denotes a compensated natural angular frequency; and ω2 denotes a natural angular frequency of the compensated system. The transfer function Gc(s) is set to a value such as to reduce or negate a peak of a gain characteristic of an open-loop transfer function for torque of the electric power steering system, the peak appearing based on natural vibrations of a mechanical system and a counter-electromotive force of the motor.
For example, a Bode diagram of the above phase compensating means is shown in FIG. 7. As apparent from a phase characteristic indicated by a solid line in FIG. 7, the above phase compensating means is capable of enhancing the stability of the system because the phase compensating means is adapted for phase advance in a frequency region higher than 20 Hz where the electric power steering system is decreased in stability margin due to the decline of the phase characteristic thereof.
The phase compensating means represented by the transfer function Gc(s) is of the same type as the band-stop filter. As seen from a gain characteristic indicated by the solid line in FIG. 7, therefore, the phase compensating means is capable of suppressing resonance (resonant frequencies: 10 to 30 Hz; in proximity of 'A' in FIG. 7) occurring in the system.
However, if the phase compensating means is excessively enhanced in the effect to suppress the resonance, the phase compensating means is decreased in gain in a normal steering speed region (frequency region in proximity of 'B' in FIG. 7) and also suffers an increased response lag in providing the assist (steering assist). Thus, steering feeling is adversely affected.
Specifically, the following problem occurs if the phase compensating means has an increased gain at the resonant frequencies on the negative-sign side in order to suppress the resonance. That is, the gain assumes negative values not only in proximity of the resonant frequencies but also in a broad frequency region about the resonant frequencies (a dot-dash gain characteristic curve in FIG. 7). What is more, the phase advance is increased in a frequency region higher than the resonant frequencies (in proximity of 'A' in FIG. 7), whereas the phase lag is increased in a frequency region (in proximity of 'B' in FIG. 7) lower than the resonant frequencies (a dot-dash phase characteristic curve in FIG. 7).
In order to minimize the response lag in the normal steering speed region B and to decrease the gain at the resonant frequencies, it may be contemplated to define the transfer function Gc(s) of the phase compensating means to satisfy ζ2<ζ1<1.
However, this approach cannot exclude floating-point arithmetic which poses a great arithmetic load on a controller (microcomputer). Hence, this approach is impracticable in the electric power steering system required of high-speed processing.
As described above, the transfer function Gc(s) may sometimes be unable to serve a dual purpose of suppressing the resonance and providing a good assist response in the normal steering speed region. Furthermore, an attempt to attain another desired characteristic encounters difficulties of reducing the arithmetic load and providing design freedom.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide the freedom in designing a filter such as a compensator and also to obviate the increase of arithmetic load, thereby serving a dual purpose of, for example, suppressing the resonance and improving the assist response in the normal steering speed region.


A helicopter dolly includes a platform defining a helicopter landing area, a plurality of rollers connected to the platform such that a vertical clearance is defined between the platform and the ground and a plurality of safety panels movably connected to edges of the platform so as to be movable relative thereto between raised and lowered positions. The safety panels cover the vertical clearance in the lowered position. A method of using a helicopter dolly includes arranging a helicopter dolly for a helicopter landing, moving a plurality of safety panels and a plurality of corner members to cover a vertical clearance defined between a platform and the ground and moving the plurality of safety panels and the plurality of corner members to uncover the vertical clearance after the helicopter landing.

Helicopter dollies are commonly used for landing and transporting helicopters on the ground. However, landing on a dolly can be extremely dangerous. Since it is difficult to see helicopter skids while trying to precisely land on the dolly, the skids may miss the dolly completely or can be caught in the space between the dolly platform and the ground. This landing mishap can cause helicopters to roll over and crash. Although various helicopter dollies have been used for helicopter landing, further improvements are possible.


Provided are an organic light emitting device (OLED) and lighting. The illustrative OLED may minimize light absorption of a reflective electrode layer and evanescent coupling by surface plasmon, and exhibit excellent emitting efficiency.

Conventionally, an OLED sequentially includes a substrate, a first electrode layer, an organic layer including an emitting layer and a second electrode layer.
In a structure known as a bottom emitting device, the first electrode layer may be a transparent electrode layer, and the second electrode layer may be a reflective electrode layer. In addition, in a structure known as a top emitting device, the first electrode layer may be formed as a reflective electrode layer, and the second electrode layer may be formed as a transparent electrode layer.
Electrons and holes are injected respectively by the two electrode layers, the injected electrons and holes are recombined in the emitting layer located in the emitting layer, resulting in generating light. The light may be emitted toward the substrate in the bottom emitting device, or toward the second electrode layer in the top emitting device.
In the structure of the OLED, indium tin oxide (ITO) generally used as the transparent electrode layer, the organic layer, and the substrate, which is conventionally formed of glass, have refractive indexes of approximately 2.0, 1.8, and 1.5, respectively. In such a relationship of the refractive index, for example, the light generated in the organic emitting layer in the bottom emitting device is trapped at an interface between the organic layer and the first electrode layer or in the substrate due to a total internal reflection phenomenon, and only a very small amount of light is emitted.