A solar radiator is a structure producing two cross shades in corridors, it dissipates solar energy for protecting corridors from excess of solar energy, the average temperature on the soil in the corridors slows down considerably therefore there is a decrease of the evaporation of moister in such corridors, the solar radiator is suitable to produce at least two cross protective shades in the same corridor and is suitable to collect, transmit and dissipate passively, without causing pollution or using other power, at least part of the energy of the solar radiation that strikes its panels. The solar radiator is designed to protect corridors, crops and plants against excessive solar radiation and moister evaporation.

As it is known, the conditions of the atmosphere and life on Earth depend critically on the amount of irradiation received from the sun. Solar radiation is transmitted by irradiation, which occurs by means of electromagnetic waves which penetrate easily to the innermost layers of the atmosphere. This application of energy helps to determine the characteristics of the climates on Earth and in particular even differences in temperature of a few degrees Celsius have a great effect on climate.
This amount of heat sometimes reaches values which not only affect considerably the environmental and climatic conditions but even interferes directly with plant and animal life and with human activities connected to it, for example agricultural activities in arid or desert-like regions.
In the building sector, in order to deal with the excessive amount of heat sometimes transmitted to buildings and structures, some attempts have been made over time to devise various insulation systems, the most effective of which are based on building ventilated roofs, walls and windows. According to this constructive solution, the primary walls that actually constitute the buildings and coverings receive the superimposed addition of other walls, which are arranged further outward and are separated so as to form air spaces which dissipate at least partly the heat generated by solar irradiation, or walls covered with insulating material are used, or sunshades are installed.
Unfortunately, such solutions affect only the sectors mentioned above, whereas little has been done to reduce the effect of excessive solar irradiation on crops and soils in general, in which the greatest effort has been put into enhancing irrigation systems. However, it should be noted that irrigation water normally contains a certain quantity of salts, which over time tend to accumulate in the soil and become toxic for plants; therefore, it would be convenient to avoid the abuse of irrigation water, at least in order to slow the accumulation of these salts in the soil.


Film-formation rate can be increased in the pre-sputtering and in the subsequent sputtering onto a substrate or the like, and sputtering failures such as splashes can be inhibited, by making an Al-based alloy or Cu-based alloy spurting target fulfill the following requirements (1) and/or (2) when the total area ratio of crystal orientations <001>±15°, <011>±15°, <111>±15°, <112>±15°, and <012>±15° in the sputtering surface normal direction in the depth within 1 mm from the uppermost surface of the sputtering target is referred to as a P value: (1) the area ratio PA of <011>±15° to the P value: 40% or lower; and (2) the total area ratio PB of <001>±15° and <111>±15° to the P value: 20% or higher.

Al-based alloys and Cu-based alloys have widely been used, for the reasons of their having low electric resistivity and high processability, in the field of flat panel displays (FPDs) such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), electroluminescence displays (ELDs), and filed emission displays (FEDs). More specifically, Al-based alloys and Cu-based alloys have been used for interconnection layers, electrode layers, reflective electrode layers, and other materials.
For example, active matrix-type liquid crystal displays each have thin-film transistors (TFTs) as switching elements, pixel electrodes formed from conductive oxide layers, and a TFT substrate having interconnection lines which include scan lines and signal lines. The scan lines and signal lines are electrically connected to the pixel electrodes. For interconnection materials forming scan lines and signal lines, there have widely been used pure Al thin films or various Al-based alloy thin films such as made of Al—Nd alloys, or pure Cu thin films or various Cu-based alloy thin films such as made of Cu—Mn alloys.
For the formation of Al-based alloy thin films or Cu-based alloy thin films, a sputtering method using a sputtering target has widely been used. In the sputtering method, a plasma discharge is first formed between a substrate and a sputtering target made of a material (target material) having the same composition as that of a thin film material. A gas ionized by the plasma discharge is then impinged on the target material to beat out the atoms of the target material and these atoms are deposited onto the substrate to form a thin film. Unlike a vacuum vapor deposition method or an arc ion plating method, the sputtering method has a merit that it can form a thin film having the same composition as that of a target material. In particular, Al-based alloy thin films or Cu-based alloy thin films, which are formed by the sputtering method, can provide a solid solution of alloy elements which are not made into a solid solution under the equilibrium state, and can exhibit excellent performance as thin films. Therefore, it is an industrially effective method of forming a thin film, and the development of a sputtering target as its material has been promoted.
In recent years, for making a response to an improvement in the productivity of FPDs and other requirements, film-formation rate in the sputtering step has a tendency to be made higher than the conventional one. Increasing sputtering power is the simplest way to make film-formation rate higher. However, if increasing sputtering power, sputtering failures such as splashes (fine melted particles) may occur to cause defects in interconnection thin films or the like, which leads to adverse effects such as a decrease in the yield and performance of FPDs.
Thus, for the purpose of preventing the occurrence of sputtering failures, for example, the methods described in patent documents 1 to 4 have been proposed. Among them, all of patent documents 1 to 3 have been made on the basis of the viewpoint that the occurrence of splashes is attributed to fine voids in the texture of a target material. The occurrence of splashes is prevented by controlling the dispersion state of particles of a compound between Al and a rare earth element in the Al matrix (patent document 1), controlling the dispersion state of a compound between Al and a transition element in the Al matrix (patent document 2), or controlling the dispersion state of an intermetallic compound between Al and an added element in the target (patent document 3). Patent document 4 discloses a technique to inhibit the occurrence of surface defects associated with machine processing and to reduce arcing which may occur in the sputtering, by adjusting the hardness of a sputter surface, followed by finish machine processing.
Furthermore, patent document 5 describes a method of carrying out sputtering at a high film-formation rate by controlling the ratio of crystal orientations on the sputter surface of a sputtering target. It is described therein that if the content ratio of crystal orientation <111> when the sputtering surface is observed by an X-ray diffraction method is increased to 20% or higher, the ratio of target substances flying in the direction normal to the sputtering surface is increased to make film-formation rate higher. In the section of Examples, the results are described, which were obtained by the use of an Al-based alloy target containing 1 mass % of Si and 0.5 mass % of Cu.
Also, patent document 6 has no explicit description of film-formation rate, but describes that to extend the electromigration lifetime of interconnection lines and improve the reliability of interconnection lines, the content ratio of crystal orientation <200> when the sputtering surface is observed by an X-ray diffraction method may be increased to 20% or higher. In the section of Examples, the results are described, which were obtained by the use of an Al-based alloy target containing 1 mass % of Si and 0.5 mass % of Cu.
On the other hand, the applicant of this application mainly discloses a technique to inhibit arcing which becomes a problem when film-formation rate is made higher (patent document 7). Patent document 7 is directed to an Al—Ni-rare earth element alloy sputtering target, and suggests that if the area ratio of specific crystal orientations is controlled, arcing can sufficiently be inhibited.

Al-based alloy sputtering target and Cu-based alloy sputtering target


A method and system for automated network benchmark performance analysis which providing a highly realistic benchmark test representative of actual operation of specific software applications, without requiring installation and/or operation of the software applications during testing. Selected software applications generally utilized within a specific network are identified and representative transactions within those applications are executed while tracing the operation of the software application to identify and record input/output operations which occur during those transactions. The recorded list of input/output operations is then utilized to create a benchmark script for utilization in testing which has a high degree of verisimilitude when compared with actual software application operations. Benchmark testing is then performed utilizing the scripted input/output operations and highly accurate performance parameters such as throughput, transactions per second and absolute minimum, maximum and average response times may be determined. Additionally, performance parameter statistics for performance of a selected sequence of input/output operations characteristic of representative transactions may be determined and utilized as a more accurate benchmark for performance than individual response times.

1. Technical Field:
The present invention relates in general to performance measurement within a data processing system, and in particular to performance measurement methods and systems for analyzing input/output efficiency in a multiterminal network. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to methods and systems for measurement of input/output efficiency in a multiterminal network utilizing a benchmark test which emulates the input/output characteristics of selected software applications without requiring actual installation of those applications.
2. Description of the Related Art:
Performance monitoring systems within computer hardware or software systems are well known in the prior art. These known performance monitoring systems may comprise hardware devices interposed between multiple devices and a host system, such as the workstation controllers disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,171. These workstation controllers monitor and collect data during operation which may be utilized to determine processor performance and communications line performance for each workstation controller. Thereafter, this data is periodically sent to a database maintained by the host and utilized to calculate processor utilization and communications line utilization. In this manner, workloads within the system may be maintained at a desired level of evenness for enhanced system efficiency.
Software monitoring systems are also well known in the prior art. Such systems often utilize so-called "hooks" or uniquely identifiable software elements which are inserted into selected locations in a software application. During execution of the software application each time a hook is encountered performance data is recorded which identifies a selected software component and which may then be utilized to analyze the performance of the software application. Such systems work well in selected applications; however, the processor overhead required to process each hook often artifically degrades the performance of the application under examination.
The interralation between multiple terminals in a network, such as a large number of personal computers coupled to a server device in a Local Area Network (LAN), presents special problems in performance monitoring systems. The ability of a server device to provide service to multiple terminals, personal computers or the like is an important consideration in configuring a network and system architects often seek message systems for analyzing the input/output efficiency of server devices in order to determine the optimum server device for a selected network configuration.
The analysis of server device performance is generally accomplished in the prior art by the execution of a so-called "benchmark test" which is a representative set of programs and data designed to evalurate the performance of computer hardware and software in a given configuration. For example, both the PC Magazine and PC Week trade publications publish a LAN Benchmark Test which may be utilized to evaluate file server performance by executing an arbitrary set of input/output patterns and functions in a manner which is arbitrary or thought to be representative of actual input/output operations. Peter Norton Computing, Inc. of Santa Monica, Calif. also markets a Network Performance Test which operates in a similar manner. While these systems offer some insight into the operation of file servers within a network, the arbitrary nature of the input/output patterns and functions utilized may lead to an inaccurate appraisal of a file server's capabilities.
In an effort to overcome the artificiality of benchmark tests such as those described above, alternate benchmark testing systems have been proposed which operate as a shell encompassing an actual software application. In such systems, the underlying software application is executed and monitored during operation. While these systems represent an increase in the reality aspect of a benchmark analysis they are cumbersome to operate and require the use of an actual software application, with the concomitant concerns involved in licensing, installation and execution.
It should therefore be apparent that a need exists for a method and system for performing a benchmark performance analysis in a data processing network which accurately emulates the input/output characteristics of one or more specific software applications without requiring actual installation and execution of those applications.

Method and system for automated network benchmark performance analysis

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention provides methods of producing a pro-N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiesterαN-acetyl glucosimanidase (phosphodiester α-GlcNAcase), in mammalian cells deficient in the furin proteolytic enzyme and methods of making lysosomal bydrolases having an N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides methods of producing a pro-N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiester αN-acetyl glucosimanidase (phosphodiester α-GlcNAcase), in mammalian cells deficient in the furin proteolytic enzyme and methods of making lysosomal hydrolases having oligosaccharides modified with N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate.
2. Discussion of the Background
Lysosomes are organelles in eukaryotic cells that function in the degradation of macromolecules into component parts that can be reused in biosynthetic pathways or discharged by the cell as waste. Normally, these macromolecules are broken down by enzymes known as lysosomal enzymes or lysosomal hydrolases. However, when a lysosomal enzyme is not present in the lysosome or does not function properly, the enzymes specific macromolecular substrate accumulates in the lysosome as "storage material" causing a variety of diseases, collectively known as lysosomal storage diseases.
Lysosomal storage diseases can cause chronic illness and death in hundreds of individuals each year. There are approximately 50 known lysosomal storage diseases, e.g., Pompe Disease, Hurler Syndrome, Fabry Disease, Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis VI), Morquio Syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis IV), Hunter Syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis II), Farber Disease, Acid Lipase Deficiency, Krabbe Disease, and Sly Syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis VII). In each of these diseases, lysosomes are unable to degrade a specific compound or group of compounds because the enzyme that catalyzes a specific degradation reaction is missing from the lysosome, is present in low concentrations in the lysosome, or is present at sufficient concentrations in the lysosome but is not functioning properly.
Lysosomal Storage diseases have been studied extensively and the enzymes (or lack thereof) responsible for particular diseases have been identified (Scriver, Beaudet, Sly, and Vale, eds., The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Disease, 6th Edition, 1989, Lysosomal Enzymes, Part 11, Chapters 61–72, pp. 1565–1839). Within each disease, the severity and the age at which the disease presents may be a function of the amount of residual lysosomal enzyme that exists in the patient.
The lysosomal targeting pathways have been studied extensively and the process by which lysosomal enzymes are synthesized and transported to the lysosome has been well described. Komfeld, S. (1986). "Trafficking of lysosomal enzymes in normal and disease states." Journal of Clinical Investigation 77: 1–6 and Kornfeld, S. (1990). "Lysosomal enzyme targeting." Biochem. Soc. Trans. 18: 367–374. Generally, lysosomal enzymes are synthesized by membrane-bound polysomes in the rough endoplastic reticulum ("RER") along with secretory glycoproteins. In the RER, lysosomal enzymes acquire N-linked oligosaccharides by the en-bloc transfer of a preformed oligosaccharide from dolichol phosphate containing 2 N-acetylglucosamine, 9-mannose and 3-glucose. Glycosylated lysosomal enzymes are then transported to the Golgi apparatus along with secretory proteins. In the cis-Golgi or intermediate compartment lysosomal enzymes are specifically and uniquely modified by the transfer of GlcNAc-phosphate to specific mannoses. In a second step, the GlcNAc is removed thereby exposing the mannose 6-phosphate ("M6P") targeting determinant. The lysosomal enzymes with the exposed M6P binds to M6P receptors in the trans-Golgi and is transported to the endosome and then to the lysosome. In the lysosome, the phosphates are rapidly removed by lysosomal phosphatases and the mannoses are removed by lysosomal mannosidases (Einstein, R. and Gabel, C. A. (1991). "Cell- and ligand-specific deposphorylation of acid hydrolases: evidence that the mannose 6-phosphate is controlled by compartmentalization." Journal of Cell Biology 112: 81–94).
The synthesis of lysosomal enzymes having exposed M6P is catalyzed by two different enzymes, both of which are essential if the synthesis is to occur. The first enzyme is UDP-N-acetylglucosamine: lysosomal enzyme N-Acetylglucosamine-1-phosphotransferase ("GlcNAc-phosphotransferase"). GlcNAc-phosphotransferase catalyzes the transfer of N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate from UDP-GlcNAc to the 6 position of 1,2-linked mannoses on the lysosomal enzyme. The recognition and addition of N-acetylgluocosamine-1-phosphate to lysosomal hydrolases by GlcNAc-phosphotransferase is the critical and determining step in lysosomal targeting. The second step is catalyzed by N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiester-N-Acetylglucosaminidase ("phosphodiester α-GlcNAcase"). Phosphodiester α-GlcNAcase catalyzes the removal of N-Acetylglucosamine from the GlcNAc-pbosphate modified lysosomal enzyme to generate a terminal M6P on the lysosomal enzyme.
The present inventors have discovered that the phosphodiester α-GlcNAcase comprises a pro-peptide sequence between the signal sequence and the sequence of the active component of the protein sequence. This pro-peptide sequence is proteolytically cleaved to yield a mature active form of phosphodiester α-GlcNAcase. The activity of uncleaved phosphodiester α-GlcNAcase, i.e., containing the pro-peptide sequence was significantly lower than the activity of the phosphodiester α-GlcNAcase when the pro-peptide sequence was cleaved. The inventors have revealed that the pro-peptide sequence contains a recognition site for the site-specific protease Furin and that Furin mediates cleavage of phosphodiester α-GlcNAcase to it's mature form.

Expression of lysosomal hydrolase in cells expressing pro-N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiester α-N-acetyl glucosimanidase


This invention relates to a chair, particularly to one provided with a massage device positioned in a seat, backrest, thigh rest or armest. The massage device is composed of a frame and massage roller unit consisting of plural rows of massage rollers fixed in the frame. Two pivotal plates are provided with a center shaft hole for center shaft and two shaft holes respectively for a center shaft and two independent shafts to fit pivotally therein and string each row of the massage rollers. The center shaft is pivotally connected with the inner side of the frame, enabling the massage roller device rotate with the center shaft as a pivot. So when a user rests the body on the massage device, he/she shifts the body to get massage function by the massage surface of the massage roller device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a chair, particularly to one provided with a simple massage device positioned in a seat, backrest, thigh rest or armrest, having an additional function of massaging to the original function of sitting.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional chairs can be classified into three categories described below.                (1) A first kind of chairs shown in FIG. 1, is a simple chair 1 with a backrest and a seat made of slender bamboo, rattan or soft material, ordinarily used for dining or studying.        (2) A second kind of chairs shown in FIG. 2 is a chair 2 as a sofa made of springs and foam covered with leather for comfortable sitting, and subsequently costing higher.        (3) A third kind of chairs shown in FIG. 3, is a chair 3 like a sofa often seen in guest rooms or waiting rooms in high-class living houses and large hotels, possibly provided with a complicated massage device with a motor for both sitting and massaging, costing very high.


The present invention provides a differential gear capable of constantly ensuring a stable differential motion restricting force even in the case of a low rotational speed. In the present invention, when there occurs a difference in rotational speed between output side rotary elements, rollers are allowed to roll while being in contact with the confronting faces of the input side and output side rotary elements. The rollers move along rotational trajectories of the output side rotary elements while being restricted by a holder element from rolling toward the direction inclined by a predetermined angle relative to the rotational trajectories of the output side rotary elements. Thus, there occurs a frictional force between the rollers and the contact faces therewith, which results in a resistance to restrict the differential motion, At that time, the rollers generate a sliding friction in the course of rolling, thereby always ensuring a stable frictional force based on a dynamic friction even at a low rotational speed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a differential gear permitting a difference in rotational speed between right and left or front and rear driving wheels of a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional automotive differential gears are commonly of a type in which a pinion gear intervenes between a pair of bevel gears coupled to output shafts and the pinion gear is rotated upon a differential motion which may be caused by an application of external rotational force to the pinion gear shaft, to thereby permit the difference in rotational speed between the output shafts. Another type of differential gears are also known which have a differential motion restricting function for restraining one of the driving wheels from idling at the time of turning or during the traveling on the surface of road having a low frictional coefficient and in which a multiple disk clutch is disposed on the back side of the bevel gear and is pressed by a thrust force of the bevel gear to generate a frictional force, thereby achieving the transmission of a driving force.
For mechanisms such as a multiple disk clutch making use of sliding friction for power transmission, however, it was extremely difficult to limit the frictional force in a half-coupled state to a certain value. At the lower rotational speed, in particular, the differential motion restricting force has disadvantageously suffered from significant instability including an occurrence of so-called stick slip, that is, intermittent generation of static friction and dynamic friction on a clutch-to-clutch basis. Furthermore, an unstable frictional force will result in the generation of noise and vibration, which may adversely affect the running properties.


A workflow executing device executes the steps of: specifying a workflow; executing processes defined by the specified workflow; specifying an external process to be processed by a first external device from among the processes; specifying a device that stores account information requested by the first external device as a second external device in order to allow the first external device to execute the external process; generating a sub-workflow that defines a login process of logging into the first external device, a request process of allowing the first external device to execute the external process, and an execution result output process of transmitting the execution result to the workflow executing device; and changing the external process in the workflow to a workflow transmitting process of transmitting the sub-workflow to the second external device and an execution result receiving process of receiving the execution result from the second external device.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a workflow system, a workflow executing device, a workflow executing method, and a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with a workflow executing program. More specifically, the present invention relates to a workflow system including a workflow executing device that executes a workflow, the workflow executing device, a workflow executing method performed in the workflow executing device, and a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with a workflow executing program.
Description of the Related Art
Recently, a technique allowing a computer to process a workflow has been known. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-243203 describes a data processing apparatus including workflow storage means for storing a workflow indicating the content of a process to be performed on data, reading means for receiving data, identification information of a workflow applied to the data, and destination information of the data and reading out a workflow corresponding to the identification information from the workflow storing means, processing means for executing a process on the received data based on the workflow read by the reading means and distributing the data to a device on a network indicated by the destination information, and usability notifying means for, if an operation verification request is received together with the identification information of the workflow in the workflow storing means, allowing the reading means to read a workflow corresponding to the identification information from the workflow storing means, allowing the processing means to perform operation verification based on the read workflow, and giving a notice to indicate a result of the operation verification.
The data processing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-243203, however, merely gives a notice of the result of operation verification and cannot execute a workflow in the end when the processing means fails in operation. In particular, when a workflow defines a process to be executed by, for example, a cloud server, the workflow cannot be executed unless account information for logging into the cloud server is stored in a data processing apparatus that executes the workflow. If account information is stored in a data processing apparatus shared by a plurality of people, the people sharing the data processing apparatus know the account information, leading to a security problem.

Workflow system, workflow executing device, workflow executing method, and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with workflow executing program


A polymerizable monomer is provided which is represented by the following formula (1):

In image forming methods as typified by an electrophotographic recording method, a developer charged electrostatically (hereinafter "toner") flies to the surface of a photosensitive member by electrostatic force which accords with potential differences on the photosensitive member surface, and develops electrostatic latent images formed on the photosensitive member surface. Hence, it is necessary and indispensable to control charge characteristics of the toner. Then, as a method for providing the toner with proper charge characteristics, a method is known in which a binder resin of a developer bearing member (hereinafter also "developing roller") is incorporated with a charge control agent or a method in which a charge control agent capable of providing the toner with positive charges or negative charges is mixed into toner particles to control the chargeability of the toner.
Conventionally, as negatively charging charge control agents, metal complexes of monoazo dyes, metal complexes of salicylic acid, alkylsalicylic acids or benzilic acid and so forth are used (PTL 1).
In PTL 2, it is proposed that a binder resin of a developing roller is incorporated with such a negatively charging charge control agent and this can provide a positively chargeable developer with a sufficient charge quantity by triboelectric charging.
Recently, because of safety, concern about environments and a requirement for stabler charge characteristics, it is proposed to use as the charge control agent a resin having charge control function. In PTL 3, it is proposed that a resin having a sulfonic acid group is mixed in a binder resin of the developing roller to thereby improve the developer in its uniformity of triboelectric charging and its running stability.
It is also disclosed as reported in PTL 4 that, as a polymeric charge control agent, a polymeric compound composed of a monomer unit having a sulfonic acid group is mixed into toner particles to thereby improve the charging stability of the toner and the compatibility of the compound itself with a binder resin.
Meanwhile, in recent years, images to be reproduced are desired to be of much higher image quality, and faulty images have come into question, such that "fog" occurs where the toner comes into development at blank or white areas of images and that any streaky density non-uniformity occurs on images. What is a large factor of such a phenomenon is the occurrence of a toner having come charged to a polarity reverse to the desired charge polarity.
For the purpose of making a toner charged to a reverse polarity less form or keeping the toner from being so charged, PTL 5 discloses therein an example in which a salicylic acid metal complex is used as a charge control agent, and PTL 6 discloses therein an example in which a polymeric compound composed of a monomer unit having a sulfonic acid group is used as a charge control agent. PTL 7 further discloses therein an example in which a polymeric compound to the polymeric backbone chain of which a salicylic acid unit is directly linked is used in the toner.

Polymerizable monomer, polymeric compound, charge control agent containing the polymeric compound, and developer bearing member and toner which contain the charge control agent

Abstract: wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group; A represents —CO— or —SO2—; and the moiety represented by the formula (1) is, at the part shown by an asterisk *, linked to a moiety represented by the following formula (2), at any position of a, b, c or d thereof;

Abstract: wherein the sites among a, b, c and d at which the moiety represented by the formula (2) is not linked to the moiety represented by the formula (1) each has a hydrogen atom or a substituent selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group, an alkoxy group and a sulfonic acid group, or any of which may connect at mutually adjoining positions to form a ring.


A medium transport apparatus includes a feeding roller configured to rotate around a rotational axis. A guide rail extends along the rotational axis. A slider is supported by the guide rail and movable along the rotational axis. A rotatable pinch roller is configured to clamp medium between the feeding roller and the pinch roller to move the medium. A lever is connected to the pinch roller and movable to change a clamping state with respect to the medium between the feeding roller and the pinch roller. An arm is connected to the slider and configured to take an engaging position where the arm moves the lever to change the clamping state when the slider moves along the rotational axis and a standby position where the arm is not engaged with the lever when the slider moves along the rotational axis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medium transport apparatus, a printer including the medium transport apparatus, a plotter including the medium transport apparatus, and a combination of a printer and a plotter including the medium transport apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Background
Printer is an apparatus for printing on a surface of a sheet-like medium by, for example, ejecting ink droplets from a printer head while moving the printer head in anteroposterior and lateral directions relative to the sheet-like medium. Plotter (cutting plotter) is an apparatus for conducting the cutting process relative to a sheet-like medium by cutting the sheet-like medium into a predetermined shape with a cutter of a cutting head while moving the cutting head in anteroposterior and lateral directions relative to the sheet-like medium. Both apparatuses are already widely used in the industry. There is also known an apparatus having functions as a printer in addition to a plotter (a plotter with print function).
In these apparatuses, an arrangement called "uniaxial medium movement/uniaxial head movement" or an arrangement called "biaxial head movement" is usually employed as a mechanical arrangement for moving a head such as the printer head or the cutting head relative to the sheet-like medium in the anteroposterior and lateral directions. In the "uniaxial medium movement/uniaxial head movement" arrangement, the printing or cutting process is conducted by rotating the feeding roller and the pinch roller in a state that the sheet-like medium is clamped therebetween so as to feed the sheet-like medium in the anteroposterior direction, and moving the head in the lateral direction along the guide rail disposed in parallel with the feeding roller. In the biaxial head movement" arrangement, the printing or cutting process is conducted by moving the head in the anteroposterior and lateral directions.
In an apparatus having the "uniaxial medium movement/uniaxial head movement" arrangement, an important factor for ensuring the printing quality and cutting quality is that the sheet-like medium clamped between the feeding roller and the pinch roller is fed by a precise feeding amount in proportion to the rotation angle of the feeding roller. For preventing partial slippage and looseness of the sheet-like medium, especially a wide and thin sheet-like medium, roller assemblies each having a rotatable pinch roller are disposed above the feeding roller and are arranged at predetermined intervals in the lateral direction. As an example of such roller assemblies, there is an assembly in which the condition of clamping the sheet-like medium is changeable. For example, the assembly includes a clamp switch mechanism to switch between a clamping position where the pinch roller is pressed against the feeding roller to clamp the sheet-like medium and an unclamping position where the pinch roller is spaced apart from the feeding roller to cancel the clamping of the sheet-like medium. JP-A-2006-193303 discloses such an apparatus. The contents of this publication are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Further, another assembly includes a clamping pressure setting mechanism which can vary and set the pressing force (sometimes called as "clamping pressure") of the pinch roller against the feeding roller according to the material and thickness of the sheet-like medium.
However, in the conventional apparatus as mentioned above, an operator operates the appropriate lever whenever the condition of clamping the sheet-like medium is required to be changed. For example, in case that the sheet-like medium is a large leaf (single leaf) sheet-like medium, i.e., that an auto-feeding device such as a sheet feeder is not used, an operator should operate a clamp lever to change the pinch roller from the clamping position to the unclamping position for the purpose of preparing a new sheet-like medium.
In a multifunctional apparatus capable of minutely adjusting the clamping condition according to the material, shape, size, thickness, printing range, and the like of the sheet-like medium, a clamp switch mechanism and a clamping pressure setting mechanism are independently provided for every roller assembly and the clamping pressure can be set to a plurality of stages (for example, three stages such as high, middle, low). Accordingly, in case of processing sheet-like media having different materials, shapes, and/or sizes, it is required to operate the clamp lever and the clamp pressure setting lever of each of the plural roller assemblies for every subject to be processed. Though the multifunction for allowing fine adjustment can be obtained, there is a problem that the setting operation is complex. To solve the problem, there is an idea of providing an arrangement capable of moving the pinch roller and changing the clamping pressure according to an outside signal. However, this arrangement not only makes each roller assembly complex and large but also increases the cost of the entire apparatus and makes the control system complex because this arrangement should be applied to each of the plural roller assemblies.

Medium transport apparatus, printer, plotter and combination of printer and plotter


A method and an apparatus for removing mercury from contaminated soils and industrial wastes are provided. The removed mercury may be recovered. A furnace vaporizes the mercury containing portion and the vapors are condensed. In one embodiment, an individual heating stage volatilizes water vapor and other volatile contaminants, such as hydrocarbons, with substantial vaporization of the mercury-containing portion, subsequently, a second temperature higher than the first is employed to vaporize the mercury containing portion. In one embodiment, a metallic salt reacts with sulfur in the material to form a stable solid sulfur compound to reduce sulfur content in the gaseous effluent. The addition of a metallic salt may also be employed to react with mercury halides to release elemental mercury therefrom. The contaminated material is thereby converted from one which is hazardous due to mercury contamination to one which is non-hazardous. The effluent is treated to reduce environmental hazards in the same. The system is preferably provided on or in a vehicle so as to facilitate treatment of the contaminated materials at the site of the same.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to an improved method of removing mercury and mercury compounds from contaminated soils and industrial waste materials and an apparatus related thereto. More specifically, the invention relates to a system for (a) converting soils and industrial waste products that have been classified as "hazardous" because of their mercury content into materials classified as "non-hazardous" by removing the mercury and (b) recovering and recycling the removed mercury in a manner that minimizes environmental risk and undesired worker exposure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The disposal of soils and industrial wastes contaminated with mercury or mercury compounds has created major environmental and economic problems for industry. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA") has classified any industrial waste product having a leachable mercury content of 0.2 parts per million (ppm) or higher (as measured by the standard EPA TCLP Leach Test) as hazardous waste that must be disposed of in a secure hazardous waste land disposal facility. In addition, many state environmental regulatory agencies are requiring that soils contaminated with mercury must be treated to reduce the mercury content to levels equivalent to the background levels that existed in the soils prior to contamination before the that existed in the soils prior to contamination before the treated soils can be disposed of or used as a land fill material.
The relatively low mercury content and large volume of inert materials in contaminated soils and industrial wastes make economic recovery of the contained mercury difficult and the disposal of the contaminated waste extremely costly. As a result, there is a need for a method of removing mercury from soils and industrial wastes that (a) reduces the mercury content of said soils to at least the background level, (b) reduces the mercury content of said industrial wastes to 0.2 ppm or below, and (c) recovers the removed mercury in usable form thereby recovering some economic value and breaking the chain of liability inherent in disposal of mercury-containing wastes classified as hazardous by the EPA.
Mercury contamination of soil is especially acute in the area of metering station sites along natural gas pipelines where, for over 30 years, metallic mercury was routinely discharged onto the ground each time the mercury utilized in flow measuring devices was replaced or failure of said devices occurred. These contaminated sites are characterized by relatively low concentrations of mercury (100 to 2,000 ppm); substantial variations in soil constituents (such as clay minerals, iron/-manganese oxides and hydroxides, gypsum, jarosite, quartz, carbonates, organic and carbonaceous matter, and the like); and the presence of mercury in a wide variety of forms (such as metallic mercury, mercury oxides, mercury sulfides, methyl mercury, and the like). These site characteristics, individually and collectively, prevent efficient, complete and economical removal and recovery of the contained mercury and effective decontaminations of the treated soil. Efficient and economical decontamination of the such sites requires a mercury removal process that is capable of processing soils that very substantially in type and composition, and simultaneously removes the wide variety of forms and compositions of mercury that may exist in the soil. Such a system should reduce the mercury content of the treated soil to the background level of mercury (usually less than 1 ppm) normally present in that particular soil and permits recovery of the removed mercury in reusable form. The equipment should be sufficiently portable to be economically moved from site to site, thereby eliminating the need to transport large volumes of soil to a remote treatment facility in order to remove the mercury therefrom.
Similar problems are encountered when treating mercury-contaminated industrial and incinerator wastes which also vary greatly in mineral form and composition from site to site, contain relatively small amounts of mercury, and are located over a wide geographic area in quantities too small to permit economic recovery of the mercury contained therein.
The removal of mercury from ores and mineral-based materials by thermal means is well known in the art. The mercury contained in such ores and minerals is normally present in the form of metallic mercury that can be vaporized by heating the material to be treated at temperatures above the boiling point of mercury 357.degree. C. (675.degree. F.) or in the form of a crystalline mercuric sulfide (cinnabar) that must be heated to temperatures above 580.degree. C. (1,076.degree. F.) in order to release mercury vapor. See L. H. Duschak and C. N. Schuette, "The Metallurgy of Quicksilver", U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 222, 1925, Pp, 7-11. Vaporization of mercury from such ores and minerals is normally accomplished by heating the ores and minerals in retort furnaces, shaft furnaces, rotary kilns, or multiple hearth furnaces from which the mercury vapor produced is passed into condensers in which it is condensed and collected in metallic form. See L. J. Goldwater, "Mercury--History of Quicksilver, York Press, 1972, Pp. 53-54.
Normally the mercury concentration in the ores or minerals from which mercury is to be extracted is relatively high compared to the mercury concentration in contaminated soils. The mercury concentration in such ores or minerals is usually further increased prior to thermal treatment by such means as crushing, screen, and/or floatation in order to improve the efficiency and economics of mercury removal and recovery and to minimize the amount of mercury vapor discharged from the apparatus. See C. N. Schuette, "Quicksilver", U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 335, 1931, Pp. 63-65.
One known method for removing and recovering mercury from ores by thermal treatment of the ores and condensation of the mercury vapor resulting therefrom is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,615,363. It involves heating the mercury-containing ore in a non-transportable externally heated, hermetically sealed (relative to the heating source) chamber in which the mercury is vaporized and from which the mercury vapor is removed and transported into a cooled condenser by means of injecting a controllable flow of air into said chamber. The mercury vapor is condensed to form metallic mercury in the condenser by bringing the vapor into contact with the cool condenser walls and the surface of a cool pool of water located at the bottom of the condenser. The condensed mercury collects at the bottom of the water pool under the influence of gravity and is periodically removed therefrom. The gas from which the mercury vapor has been removed is discharged directly from the condenser without additional treatment. Although this and similar methods for removing mercury from ores by thermal means are capable of treating a wide variety of material compositions and recovering mercury from a variety of compounds as well as from metallic mercury contained in the ore, such methods (a) are normally designed to handle feed stocks containing relatively high concentrations of mercury, (b) normally require extensive preparation of the feed material prior to processing, (c) generate large volumes of dust, and (d) normally require large, bulky dust collection equipment to remove the dust from the gaseous effluent prior to discharge of the gases to the atmosphere. Accordingly, the equipment required to thermally treat large quantities of feed stock is normally large, non-transportable, and not generally suitable for removing small quantities of mercury from soils at widely scattered, remote geographic locations.
Methods for removing and recovering mercury from contaminated inorganic industrial wastes and industrial wastes containing organic matter by means of heating the wastes in a vacuum environment are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,087,276 and 4,468,011. U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,276 teaches the removal and recovery of organic industrial wastes containing mercury by heating a mercury-containing inorganic industrial waste material at a temperature of between 200.degree. C. (392.degree.) to 350.degree. C. (662.degree. F.) in a chamber maintained at a negative pressure ranging from 0.06 atmospheres to 0.1 atmospheres in order to vaporize the contained mercury. It also discloses recovering metallic mercury by condensing said mercury vapor in a condenser maintained at a temperature in the range of 20.degree. C. (68.degree. F.) to 50.degree. C. (122.degree. F.) and at a negative pressure approximately equal to that maintained in the chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,011 discloses a method of separating mercury from mercury-contaminated battery waste containing plastic organic materials. It involves heating the contaminated waste in a chamber maintained at a negative pressure in order to vaporize the contained mercury, continuously introducing nitrogen gas into the chamber, passing the nitrogen-rich gas containing the generated mercury vapor and organic vapor that exits said chamber through an afterburner in which the organic vapor is completely decomposed and the hydrocarbons resulting from this decomposition are combusted to form CO.sub.2 and water vapor. Subsequently, nitrogen gas containing the CO.sub.2, water vapor, and mercury vapor is passed through successive condensers in which the mercury is condensed and recovered as metallic mercury. The need to maintain a relatively high vacuum and the use of large quantities of inert gas make both of these heretofore patented techniques uneconomical for the recovery of small amounts of mercury from large quantities of contaminated soil and dilute industrial wastes.
Other known means for recovering mercury and usable mercury compounds from mineral feed stocks and industrial wastes include chemical treatment, electrolysis of solutions containing mercury salts, and/or precipitation of mercury ions from mercury-bearing solutions.
U.S Pat. No. 5,013,358 discloses a chemical method for recovering relatively pure elemental mercury from feed stocks prepared from a mineral concentrate or solid inorganic industrial wastes containing small amounts of mercury. It involves preparing an aqueous slurry of the feed stock, solubilizing the mercury contained in the slurry by chlorination of the slurry, treating the chlorinated solution with iron to reduce and precipitate solids containing elemental mercury, and separating the mercury from the precipitated solids.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,010 describes electrochemical means for recovery of metallic mercury from Hg.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 by means of dissolving the Hg.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 in an aqueous electrolyte containing HCl. It also discloses recovery of mercury from HgO by dissolving the HgO in an aqueous electrolyte containing glacial acetic acid.
U.S Pat. No. 4,012,297 discloses a chemical process for recovering mercury from solid and liquid industrial wastes generated during the production of chlorine and caustic in mercury amalgam electrolytic cells. The process consists of treating the solid waste with sulfuric acid, solubilizing the waste with an oxidant, treating the resulting mercury-containing solution to form solid mercury sulfide, separating and solubilizing the mercury sulfide, and returning the dissolved mercury to the electrolysis cell for reuse.
Although these known chemical and electrochemical means of removing and recovering mercury from mineral concentrates and liquid and solid industrial wastes can be used to process feed stocks containing low concentrations of mercury, they are not well suited to processing contaminated soils due to the lack of portability of the required apparatus and the wide variation in the chemical and physical make-up of the soils and the mercury species contained therein which cause significant processing difficulties. These difficulties, which result primarily from the unwanted dissolution of non-targeted metals and minerals, include (a) needlessly consuming large amounts of valuable reagents, (b) altering the dissolution kinetics in an uncontrolled manner, (c) contamination of the mercury-containing end product, (d) the need to dispose of and/or treat of large quantities of contaminated liquids, and (e) the possibility of producing another contaminated solid waste for disposal or treatment.
Other known techniques for treating mercury-contaminated soils and industrial wastes prior to disposal involve converting the contained mercury to relatively insoluble species and encapsulating the insoluble species such that the leachable mercury contained in the treated soil or waste is less than the limit established by the EPA in defining "hazardous waste". Various methods of stabilizing and encapsulating mercury compounds in treated soils and industrial wastes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,853,208, 4,844,815, 4,921,538, 4,977,837, and 5,037,286.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,208 discloses a method of physically and chemically encapsulating mercury species contained in mercury-containing industrial wastes by treating the wastes with an additive (i.e., mercaptan), an alkali metal silicate, and a setting agent such as cement such that, upon setting, the treated waste is rendered non-polluting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,815 discloses a method of reducing the leachability of mercury contained in industrial wastes that involves mixing the waste with elemental sulfur, a strong caustic, and cement kiln dust and allowing the mixture to cure prior to disposal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,538 discloses a method for recycling mercury-containing soils and industrial wastes that comprises combining the soil or industrial waste with a mixture of inorganic materials such as calcium oxide, silica, aluminum oxide, iron oxide, and magnesium oxide in proportions that result in a final mixture having a composition suitable for the production of Portland Cement, preparing a slurry of said final mixture, and heating the slurry in a cement kiln to a temperature sufficient to form a cement clinker that passes the standard EPA TCLP Leach Test pertaining to mercury leachability.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,942 discloses a method of preventing the leaching of soluble mercury species from deposits of mercury-containing materials by stabilizing the soluble mercury species by treating the deposits in situ with an inorganic sulfur compound such as a metallic sulfate or thiosulfate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,837 discloses a process and apparatus for reducing the leachability of mercury contained in incinerator ash by mixing the ash with a glass material and fusing the mixture such that the fly ash becomes vitrified by combining with the glass. Another method for limiting the leachability of mercury contained in incinerator wastes, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,286, is based upon mixing the wastes with Portland Cement, aggregating the mixture into balls, and creating a cement coating on the surface of said balls.
Although the aforesaid prior art methods and techniques of stabilizing and encapsulating mercury species contained in soils and industrial wastes are capable of significantly reducing the leachability of mercury from said soils and wastes, they greatly increase the volume of material requiring disposal and do not reduce the mercury content of the treated product, thereby extending the chain of environmental liability inherent in the disposal or re-use of the treated material.
None of the heretofore discussed prior art treatment methods or apparatus are adaptable to the economical, on-site reduction of the leachable mercury content in mercury-contaminated soils and industrial wastes, conversion of materials classified as "hazardous waste" to materials classified as "non-hazardous waste", and recovery of the removed mercury in usable form thereby ending the environmental liability related to the treated soil or waste.
There remains, therefore, a need for a practical method of (a) economically removing mercury from contaminated soils and industrial wastes that vary greatly in composition, physical form, and the species of mercury contained therein; (b) on-site conversion of mercury-containing soils and industrial wastes classified as "hazardous" to conversion products classified as "non-hazardous" by removal of the mercury therefrom; (c) recovering the removed mercury in usable form; and (d) thermally treating mercury-bearing soils and industrial wastes in a manner that permits control of the mercury, sulfur, and dust contents in the gaseous process effluent to a degree that the effluent is considered harmless to the environment and to persons practicing the method. Such a system incorporating these improvements would substantially reduce the cost of treating mercury contaminated soils and wastes and greatly reduce the environmental dangers inherent therein.

Method for removing mercury from contaminated soils and industrial wastes and related apparatus

Pittsburgh Mineral and Environmental Technology, Inc.


An apparatus, including a bus having electrical power and data lines, and a plurality of location pads, which are positionable at different, respective locations with respect to a body cavity in which the object is located, and which are connected to the bus in series so as to receive electrical power and exchange data signals over the bus. Each location pad includes multiple radiator coils and driving circuitry configured to select, responsively to the data signals, different respective driving frequencies for the coils and to generate, using the electrical power from the bus, driving signals to drive the coils to produce magnetic fields at the respective driving frequencies. The apparatus also includes a console, which is configured to receive and process sensor signals from a magnetic sensor fixed to the object, in response to the magnetic fields in the body cavity, in order to compute position coordinates of the object.

A wide range of medical procedures involve placing objects, such as sensors, tubes, catheters, dispensing devices and implants, within a patient's body. Position sensing systems have been developed for tracking such objects. Magnetic position sensing is one of the methods known in the art. In magnetic position sensing, magnetic field generators are typically placed at known positions external to the patient. A magnetic field sensor within the distal end of a probe generates electrical signals in response to these magnetic fields, which are processed in order to determine the position coordinates of the distal end of the probe. These methods and systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,391,199, 6,690,963, 6,484,118, 6,239,724, 6,618,612 and 6,332,089, in PCT International Publication WO 1996/005768, and in U.S. Patent Application Publications 2002/0065455 A1, 2003/0120150 A1 and 2004/0068178 A1, whose disclosures are all incorporated herein by reference.
Documents incorporated by reference in the present patent application are to be considered an integral part of the application except that to the extent any terms are defined in these incorporated documents in a manner that conflicts with the definitions made explicitly or implicitly in the present specification, only the definitions in the present specification should be considered.
The description above is presented as a general overview of related art in this field and should not be construed as an admission that any of the information it contains constitutes prior art against the present patent application.

Serially connected autonomous location pads


An apparatus for cutting a precision dado in a board includes a base member. The base member includes an adjustable clamp that surrounds a guide fence and which can move along the length of the fence. The fence is clamped to the board where desired for each dado. The base member includes a central area that is adapted to receive a dado guide bushing which is attached to a router having a router bit. The central area allows limited movement of the bushing and the router bit in the dado guide perpendicular to the fence. This allows the router bit, which is smaller than the width of the dado, to fully cut the dado in two passes. Setup of the dado guide to accommodate the width of a shelf to be inserted in the dado is described as is the precise location of the dado guide with respect to the board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, in general, relates to woodworking tools and, more particularly, to a guide for use with a router in the cutting of a dado.
Routers are used to cut dados, which are essentially channels, in boards for shelves and other similar purposes. It is important to make the dado cut precisely where desired to prevent damage to the board and also to ensure that all parts align, for example, that both sides of a shelf are parallel. This requires precise location of the dados on each side of the shelf.
Prior types of devices used to cut dados are generally referred to as "dado guides." However, prior types of dado guides have certain disadvantages. For example, one such type of product that is available from Accurate Woodworking Tools, LLC, 6991 Hollander Lane, Pickett, Wis., 54964, is referred to as their model "ACCURATE GUIDE."
It relies on a fixture (i.e., the guide portion) that slides along adjacent to a fence. The fence is clamped onto the board to be cut and the fixture is attached to a router by rods that extend away from the fixture. Accordingly, the router is disposed the width of the fixture plus the length of the rods away from the fence.
Two cuts are required for each dado on each board. The first cut is made with the fixture adjacent to the fence. This is difficult because there is no mechanism that ensures the fixture will stay adjacent to the fence. Accordingly, the fixture can pull away from the fence if the user is not careful. One moment of inattentiveness and the board is ruined.
However, there is another substantial disadvantage that occurs when the router is disposed a substantial distance away from the fence. This distance produces a moment arm when pushing on the router with respect to the fence. Accordingly, torque is produced that attempts to twist the fixture relative to the fence (i.e., the router wants to rotate in toward the fence). Absent a mechanism to hold the fixture in position proximate the fence, the fixture can rotate, thereby skewing the cut that is being made and again ruining the board.
If the fixture is adapted to engage with a fence (i.e., to surround a portion of the fence on both sides), then the torque that is produced tends to bind the fixture relative to the fence, making it especially difficult to urge the router along the longitudinal length of the fence.
Another disadvantage with prior art fixtures (dado guides) is that the attachment of the router to the fixture produces a relative, changing, and unpredictable distance between the two. It depends on how deep the rods are attached to the fixture and how deep the rods are inserted into the base of the router itself. There is no fixed distance from the router bit to the fixture. Accordingly, there is no way to determine where the cut will actually occur by use of the fixture. Careful measurement is required which is, at best, a guess that is anything but precise.
A further disadvantage is that after the first cut is made, a piece of scrap wood from the shelf or board that will be placed into the dado must be inserted into the fixture itself. This introduces an offset sufficient to displace the router further away from the fence an amount equal to the thickness of the board that will be inserted into the dado.
There are numerous disadvantages with this approach. The most obvious disadvantage is that there simply may not be a scrap piece of wood available if the entire length of the board placed in the dado is to be used. For example, a person can purchase several three-foot long shelves, already cut, and plan on using them to make a bookcase. There are no scrap pieces available in this instance.
First, the cutting operation must be interrupted (i.e., stopped) in the middle of each dado that is being formed and the fixture adjusted prior to finishing the dado. This is time consuming.
Second, the scrap wood must be inserted into a particular slot depending upon the size of the router bit and the thickness of the dado cut. If the scrap wood is inserted in the wrong slot, a dado that is too large can be produced, thus ruining the entire board (which likely is the side of a bookcase, etc.).
Third, after this adjustment is made, the router is displaced away from the cut that has already been made. If the dado extends from end to end, then there is no problem associated with this displacement. The next cut is made from beyond one end of the board extending past the other end.
However, if the dado is contained within the board (i.e., if it does not extend to the ends of the board), then, after having displaced the router further away from the fence, the new cutting position of the bit will interfere with the wood. This might result in possibly requiring a further changing of bits (i.e., to a new bit that can cut on its bottom) in order to penetrate the wood and allow finishing of the dado, after again changing back to the original bit (that cuts on its circumference, but not on its bottom). This greatly extends time to complete each dado.
There is another problem associated with the use of routers making two passes to cut a dado. The first pass is typically made in a first direction, and the second pass is typically made in an opposite second direction. In one direction, the router bit itself is rotating and tends to pull the router toward the fence. In the opposite direction, the router bit tends to urge the router away from the fence. Motion in either direction can ruin the board that is being cut. This is difficult, especially for unskilled users, in that sufficient skill and anticipation of the router-introduced forces are not yet developed.
Accordingly, there exists today a need for a dado guide that helps ameliorate these disadvantages. Clearly, such an apparatus would be a useful and desirable device.
2. Description of Prior Art
Dado guides are, in general, known and are similar to the above-described device available from Accurate Woodworking Tools, LLC. In general, the router is displaced away from a fence and produces substantial torque when pushed. The cutting procedure for each dado must be interrupted (i.e., it cannot be a continuous operation). Scrap boards are required to adjust the cutting width. A lack of precision in setup, as well as location of the actual dado, is inherent with all known prior art devices.
While the structural arrangements of the above-described devices, at first appearance, may have similarities with the present invention, they differ in material respects. These differences, which will be described in more detail hereinafter, are essential for the effective use of the invention and which admit of the advantages that are not available with the prior devices.


A print carousel for color images having a plurality of radial arms carrying objects to be printed incrementally reaching a corresponding number of work stations by sequential incremental rotation of the carousel by a certain angle, a silk-screen printing ink-pot functionally installed in several of said work stations alternately to work stations of drying/polymerization of respective silk-screen printing ink or paste applied in the work station precedingly reached by the object to be printed, has at least one of said work station equipped with a supporting structure for a color digital plotter mounted on slides running on radially oriented guides, from an outermost limit position to an innermost limit position. The radial arms have means for radially shifting the object to be printed from a first retracted position of crossing of said work stations equipped with the silk-screen printing ink-pots to a radially extended out second position, commanded upon reaching said digital color printing work station equipped with said plotter. Also provided is a double-technology print process.

The development of digital printing technologies by color plotters on textiles, leather, leather imitations, wood and alike materials, has made possible the printing of any kind of reproducible subject, whether an author's picture, a drawing, a logo or even a color photograph with a very high definition and chromatic rendition, through the acquisition of a digital image file from a scanner or from a source file or alike, an eventual graphical processing by common application programs for optimizing the driving of a color printing plotter. Moreover, digital printing is usable, within certain limits, even in presence of reliefs and/or depressions and may therefore be used even on manufactured clothing articles, in which hems, pockets, or sewings may be present in the area to be printed.
By contrast, it is practically impossible to digitally print by a common inkjet plotter color graphical compositions on dark or black supports. Another limitation of digital printing is the impossibility of forming features in relief or of introducing special effects such as for example: glitters, glues, expanded materials, in order to obtain peculiar esthetical effects in the drawing or graphical image to be reproduced on the printable support.
The traditional silk-screen printing of textiles and other supports has well-known limitations of resolution and chromatic rendering, having to reconcile these requirements with the use of a reasonable maximum number of silk-screen printing stencils needed for the sequential application of as many silk-screen printing inks or pastes, each application needing a drying step.
However, differently from digital printing, the traditional silk-screen printing technique permits the use of special inks or pigmented pastes and therefore the printing may be done on any surface even black without any problem. Moreover, glitters, glues, expanding materials may be included in the paste in order to produce special effects and decor features of the graphical composition been printed.
On a different account, the silk-screen printing technique barely tolerates the presence on the printing area of reliefs and/or depressions as may be produced by the presence of sewing lines, hems, pockets and the like in the printing area.
Notwithstanding the fact that for large quantities of articles to be printed with the same graphical composition, the silk-screen printing may yet be more economical than digital printing using an inkjet plotter, screen printing is burdened by problems and costs relating to the large amounts of waste it generates, such as waste fabrics, solvents, cleaning materials and above all by the large quantities of water that are consumed for washing with consequent costs of disposal, being classified as "special" waste because it contains dissolved or suspended metals, pigments, solvents and resins.

Print carousel for double technology silk-screen and digital color printing


The invention discloses a method of embedding information for high quality restoration of a media signal (typically an audio-visual signal) in a lower quality version of the signal. To this end, the signal x is encoded using a high quality encoder (Q2). The code sequences z produced by the high quality encoder are mapped into code sequences y that are associated with a hypothetical lower quality encoder (Q1). The latter code sequences y are transmitted. A simple decoder will decode the received sequences y, and thus reproduce a low quality version of the signal. A more sophisticated decoder is arranged to inversely map the received code sequences y into the code sequences z, that were actually produced by the high quality encoder (Q2). The sophisticated decoder will thus reproduce a higher quality version of the same signal.

One of the proposed methods for Digital Rights Management (DRM) of high quality audio content involves making only low quality versions available to unlicensed users. Licensed users however are provided with some additional information, typically a cryptographic key, that allows them access to an additional quality layer, so as to obtain the original high quality content. Typically the additional quality layer is provided as a separate and encrypted bitstream, i.e. separate from the low quality bit stream. An example of such a dual layer quality approach can be found in the DRM methods being proposed for DVD-Audio.
The presence of two separate bit streams poses a security risk because the encrypted high quality layer is easily traceable, and therefore accessible for cryptographic attacks. For example, by playing out the high quality layer of DVD-Audio, an attacker can try to exploit the observed relation between the encrypted and decrypted bit streams for retrieving cryptographic keys.

Encoding and decoding a media signal with high and low quality versions


A spinal fixation access system includes a pedicle screw with extended tabs that form a single solid pedicle screw assembly. The surgical procedure associated with this invention involves making small, discrete incisions for the placement of select pedicle screws. The extended tabs of the pedicle screws retract soft tissue, muscle and the like to thereby provide visibility and access to the head of the pedicle screw. Through the extended tabs, instrumentation such as a spine rod, set screw and other required hardware may be delivered to the pedicle screws. A collar may be coupled around the extended tabs to provide stability to the construct and a platform for additional components of this invention. Once a spine rod is secured to the pedicle screws, a frangible joint joining the tabs to the pedicle screw assembly is broken off using appropriate instrumentation and the extended tabs may be removed.

This invention relates generally to spinal fixation devices and more specifically relates to a system and associated method for minimally invasive installation of pedicle screws and spinal rods of spinal fixation constructs.
The human spinal column is a highly complex system of bones and connected tissues that provide support for the body and protects the delicate spinal cord and nerves. The spinal column includes a series of vertebrae stacked one atop the other. Each vertebral body includes a relatively strong cortical bone portion forming the outside surface of the body and a relatively weak cancellous bone portion forming the center of the body. An inter-vertebral disc is situated between each vertebral body that provides for cushioning and dampening of compressive forces applied to the spinal column. The vertebral canal containing delicate spinal cords and nerves is located just posterior to the vertebral bodies.
A variety of types of spinal column disorders may be caused by abnormalities, disease, trauma or the like and result in debilitating pain as well as diminished nerve function in many cases. One known technique to address many such spinal conditions is commonly referred to as spinal fixation. Surgical implants are used for fusing together and/or mechanically immobilizing adjacent vertebrae of the spine. Spinal fixation may also be used to improve the position of the adjacent vertebrae relative to one another so as to alter the overall alignment of the spine. Such techniques have been used effectively to treat many spinal conditions and to relieve pain suffered by the patient.
One particular spinal fixation technique includes immobilizing the spine by using orthopedic spine rods which run generally parallel to the spine. Exposing the spine posterially and fastening hooks or bone screws to the pedicles of the appropriate vertebrae accomplish this. The pedicle anchors or screws are generally placed two per vertebrae, one at each pedicle on either side of the spinal column and serve as anchor points for the spine rods. The aligning influence of the rods forces the spine to conform to a more desirable shape. In many cases, the spine rods are bent to achieve the desired curvature of the spinal column.
Installation of such spinal fixation constructs conventionally requires a surgeon to prepare a long incision aligned with the spinal column of a patient. The pedicle screws, hooks or other anchors are then inserted into a number of vertebrae after which the spine rod is located with respect to saddles or U-shaped channels attached to the pedicle screws. The spine rod is then bent to match the relative position of the pedicle screw heads. Visualization of the accuracy of the alignment of the spine rod and the screw heads may be difficult because of visual interference from tissue and blood in the surgical field. Conventional surgical methods require a large midline incision and retraction of skin, muscle and other tissue to provide the surgeon with sufficient visualization of the pedicle bone structure.
Bending of the spine rod is performed once the screws are placed into the vertebrae and, therefore, visualization of the accuracy of the placement and configuration of the spine rod is very difficult. Improper alignment and inaccurate bending of the spine rod decreases the effectiveness of the fixation construct and often increases the surgical difficulty and time required for the surgery. In combination with the relatively long incision required for the installation of the spine rod, extended surgical procedures and related difficulties or complications are generally recognized as major contributing influences for extended patient recovery and less than optimal spinal fixation results.

Minimally invasive pedicle screw access system and associated method


A separator for alkali-zinc battery comprising a microporous membrane having alkali resistance, a part of the porous membrane having highly persistent hydrophillic property and the remaining part having water repellent property. In the part having hydrophillic property, precipitation of ZnO can be controlled sufficiently because of its large persistency of hydrophilic property so that dendrite short-circuiting in the battery can be prevented satisfactorily. In the part having water repellent property, O.sub.2 gas is permeable well through it so that a decrease in capacity of battery can be avoided.

The alkali-zinc battery has a high energy density and a high power characteristic. Because of a high solubility of zinc, however, zinc acid ions existing in electrolyte at the time of charging have deposited on an anode in dendrite form or spongy form, a short-circuiting piercing through the separator has taken place, or a shape change has occurred to minimize utilization factor; so that a cycle life of a battery has been short.
A micro-porous membrane comprising polypropylene, polyethylene etc. subjected only to surface active agent treatment has been used for a conventional separator for alkali-zinc battery. Such a separator has a desirable property for use in a sealed-type battery in which O.sub.2 gas is absorbed by a zinc electrode, because O.sub.2 gas is permeable through it. However, since it is subjected only to the surface active agent treatment, its hydrophilic property is weakened while it is immersed in electrolyte. Further, a mechanism wherein ZnO is gradually precipitated in micro-pores to bring about short-circuiting, i.e. a dendrite short-circuiting, can not be avoided sufficiently so that it is not suitable for an application requiring a long-term storage or a charge/discharge cycle life of a long period.
In order to improve the above disadvantages, there has been used a separator fabricated by a semi-permeable membrane and a micro-porous membrane placed one upon another. However, the permeability of O.sub.2 gas can not be expected in these membranes.


A spring-loaded assembly for coupling a connector to a computer component includes an assembly housing operable to receive a portion of a screw used to couple the connector to a chassis of an information handling system. The assembly further includes a sliding block disposed in the assembly housing and operably engaged with the screw. The sliding block is operable to move the connector between a first position and a second position. The assembly further includes a spring placed between the sliding block and at least one wall of the assembly housing. The spring operably provides an axial force to bias the connector to a first position, whereby coupling the connector to the computer component causes the connector to move to a connected position intermediate the first and second position.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Due to consumer demand for smaller, denser and more powerful information handling systems, manufacturers strive to implement new methods to meet these demands. One such method includes the development of easier plug-in connections for computer components. Typically, plug-in connections aid in assembly of information handling systems because the connections use design information such as specification criteria to align mounting holes for each component. When a computer component is placed in a mounting location, the plug-in connection for the component is located based on specification data. Because the location of the connection is known, designers can set the connector to align with the plug-in connection such that automatic plug-in or blind plug-in of computer components is possible. In one example, the location of a plug-in connection for a hard disk drive (HDD) is determined from dimensions given in a HDD specification.
Typically, the dimensions for any specifications are given with a certain amount of manufacturing variances or tolerances (e.g., +/−0.5 millimeters). By adding each measurement including tolerances between the mounting locations and the plug-in connections on the device, a location of the plug-in connection, plus or minus all of the tolerances, can be determined. Generally, the tolerances are insignificant. However, given the demand for smaller and denser components, tolerances are becoming a significant factor in determining the location of the device.
For instance, a plug-in connector having two millimeters (mm) of contact or wipe for connecting to a mating connector may require at least one millimeter of wipe or contact area for an adequate connection. If the tolerance is determined to be 0.5 mm, an adequate connection is formed because at least 1.5 mm of contact remains. However, if the measurement between the mounting location and the plug-in connection is based on different measurements each having a tolerance, the sum of the tolerances determines the total tolerance for placing the computer component. For example, if the sum of the tolerances were +/−1.5 mm, based on the two-millimeter connection, the available contact area for the connection would be 0.5 millimeters and not enough to meet the design requirements of the one-millimeter of contact.


Provided are a home bar and a refrigerator including the home bar. The home bar includes a home-bar frame, a home-bar door, and a damping hinge. The home-bar frame is mounted on a refrigerator door around an opening formed through the refrigerator door. The home-bar door is rotatably mounted on the home-bar frame for selectively opening and closing the opening. The damping hinge is detachably installed on the home-bar frame and is coupled to a side of the home-bar door for dampening a rotation force of the home-bar door. Therefore, the home bar can be easily repaired or replaced with low costs.

The present disclosure relates to a home bar and a refrigerator including the home bar.
Refrigerators are home appliances used for keeping food at a low temperature. For this, a storage room is formed in a refrigerator, and the storage room can be accessed through a door. The storage room is kept at a low temperature by taking heat from the storage room using a refrigerant so that food can be kept fresh in the storage room.
Due to changes in dietary life and well-being trends, consumers prefer larger, multi-functional refrigerators, and various convenient refrigerators have been introduced in the market.
Recently, consumers prefer home-bar refrigerators that have a home-bar door attached to an opening formed through a refrigerator door. Food stored in the home-bar refrigerator can be easily accessed through the home-bar door without having to open the refrigerator door. In addition, power consumption can be reduced when the home-bar door is used.
In general, hinges are installed on both sides of the home-bar door for allowing a user to open the home-bar door by rotating the home-bar door. The hinges can be fixed in the home-bar door using an insulating material filled in the home-bar door or additional fastening members. The use of the insulating material is still necessary in the case where the hinges are fixed using additional fastening members.
Ends of the hinges protruding from the home-bar door are coupled to a frame disposed around the opening of the refrigerator door so that the home-bar door can be rotated on the refrigerator door.
Dampers can be included in the hinges to decelerate the home-bar door when the home-bar door is opened. In this case, the home-bar door can be smoothly opened.
However, the related-art home-bar door has the following disadvantages.
When the hinges are damages or broken, the hinges cannot be selectively repaired. That is, in this case, the whole home-bar door or the refrigerator door may be replaced.
In detail, since the hinges fixed to the home-bar door are covered with the insulating material filled in the home-bar door, the hinges cannot be detached from the home-bar door for maintenance. Thus, the whole home-bar door may be replace when the hinges are damaged or broken.
Moreover, if the home-bar door is configured not to be detached from the refrigerator for maintenance, the whole refrigerator door should be replaced when the hinges are damaged or broken.
As explained above, it is difficult and takes much money to repair the related-art home-bar door.

Home bar and refrigerator including the home bar


When a driver wants to stop a vehicle quickly, the driver depresses a braking pedal strongly. A stop switch is turned on. The deceleration of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined value. In this case, an electronic control unit ECU actuates a pump to send brake fluid from a master cylinder to a wheel cylinder. Thus, the hydraulic braking pressure applied to the wheel cylinder is increased to a level higher than that obtained by a driver's braking pedal depression. Accordingly, the braking force increases at a speed exceeding a driver's foot braking operation without any further burden on the driver. The braking performance can be improved with a prompt increase of the braking force in response to a strong braking operation. Furthermore, utilizing an increased braking force makes it possible to eliminate an imbalance between wheel braking behaviors.

1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a braking apparatus for automotive vehicles.
2. Related Art:
During a braking operation of a vehicle, a driver typically depresses a braking pedal to generate a hydraulic braking pressure that is applied to wheels of the vehicle for braking them. In an emergency case, the driver will want to stop the vehicle as quickly as possible. Therefore, the driver depresses the braking pedal strongly to generate a large braking force to be applied to the wheels.
However, as long as the braking operation is controlled by the depressing force of the driver's foot, the limited speed at which the braking pedal can be depressed will, to a certain degree limit the rate at which the strength of the braking operation can be increased. Therefore, the increase of the braking force is not satisfactorily fast. Even if an assisted braking device is provided, it merely amplifies the magnitude of a depressing force. The depressing speed itself is not increased sufficiently.
Furthermore, to stabilize a vehicle body during a braking condition, an adjustment of a braking force applied to each wheel is typically performed so as to lock front wheels early. For example, as indicated by a solid line in FIG. 20, a distribution between a front wheel braking force and a rear wheel braking force is usually designed or preset to cross a line representing a front wheel locking limit.
For this reason, there is a time lag between an initiation of an anti-skid control for front wheels and an initiation of an anti-skid control for rear wheels.
Accordingly, after the anti-skid control is started for the front wheels, a driver needs to depress a braking pedal by a significant stroke equivalent to a position Bm representing the maximum braking force for the rear wheels. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 21, a significant amount of pedal depression force is necessary. More specifically, in a section I of FIG. 21, the deceleration G is not increased regardless of an increase of the pedal depression force. Then, in a section II, the rear wheel braking force is gradually increased with increasing pedal depression force. Thus, the obtainable deceleration G is not so large.
An overly long period of time is therefore required to increase the braking force of all wheels to the maximum value. The braking performance will therefore be undesirably affected.
In other words, different behaviors of different wheels, if occuring during a braking condition, will cause a problem in braking performance. Even if all wheels are designed or preset to have similar behaviors at the beginning, such settings will be differentiated by a loading weight that flexibly varies the weight balance. In such a case, there is a possibility that a rear locking limit line may be crossed early. Therefore, setting the same behavior to all wheels from the beginning is extremely difficult.

Braking apparatus for automotive vehicles


A suspect user (110) seeks access to a network resource from an access authority (150) utilizing a passcode received from an authentication authority (130). Initially, an ID of a device is bound with a PIN, the device ID is bound with a private key of the device, and the device ID is bound with a user ID that has been previously bound with a password of an authorized user. The device ID is bound with the user ID by authenticating the user ID using the password. Thereafter, the suspect user communicates the device ID and the PIN from the device over an ancillary communications network (112); the authentication authority responds back over the ancillary communications network with a passcode encrypted with the public key of the device; and the suspect user decrypts and communicates over a communications network (114) the passcode with the user ID to the access authority.

A user ID and password often is required in order for a suspect user to gain access to a network resource from an access authority of a computer network. In such a system, the network resource may comprise an application, service, or device of the computer network, or even access to the computer network itself. The access authority may comprise a server of the computer network, which grants access once the user ID has been authenticated using the password received from the suspect user. Moreover, the access authority may Include security privileges for granting specific types of access by authenticated users, and the access authority may additionally perform the authentication of suspect users.
The increasing number of systems each requiring a user ID and password in order for a suspect user to gain access to a network resource ultimately confuses users. To reduce confusion, users typically choose easy-to-remember-passwords. Otherwise, users tend to forget complex passwords and record the passwords in easily accessible areas for later reference. For example, many users maintain a list of user IDs and passwords in a spreadsheet or text file on their computer or personal digital assistant. Programs even have been written to help maintain user ID and password combinations.
Enterprises, such as corporations, Internet service providers, portals, application service providers (ASPs), e-commerce providers, online financial services, etc., must manage user IDs and passwords for their users. Allowing users to employ simple passwords reduces security at a time when security attacks are increasing and are increasingly expensive when they occur. On the other hand, enforcing the use of complex passwords and requiring passwords to be changed frequently increases security, but also increases cost in the form of help desk and customer service calls for the resetting of passwords. The systems that have been developed to allow users to use personal information to reset a password automatically without human intervention tend to be less secure because personal information can be guessed or obtained surreptitiously. Some systems, for example, use information from credit reports—despite the fact that credit bureaus are in the business of proactively selling that information.
For user convenience, single sign-on systems also have been developed in which a user is able to authenticate to a single trusted authentication server, which then propagates that authentication to multiple access authorities. While the use of a single authentication server eases the user burden of remembering multiple passwords for accessing various network resources, such a system typically is limited to accessing network resources of a single enterprise. Such a system also is susceptible to a security problem known as "keys to the kingdom." If an attack gains access to the user ID and password required to authenticate to the authentication server, then access to all network resources relying upon that authentication server are compromised.
Stronger forms for authenticating user IDs also have been developed beyond the single-factor authentication employed in using passwords. Notably, hardware token such as USB tokens and time-based tokens—RSA's SecureID is an example—are now being utilized in some multi-factor authentication systems wherein these tokens are able to uniquely identify themselves. For example, a token utilizing physical access to a device and knowledge of a shared secret, such as a PIN, can construct a rotating key that matches a synchronized server key. Such a system is a "two-factor" authentication system because it requires something the user has, i.e., the token, in addition to something the user knows, i.e., the password. Unfortunately, each token in one of these two-factor authentication system is expensive, subject to loss, and typically restricted to use with one or more network resources of a particular computer network.
In view of the foregoing, a need exists for an improved multi-factor authentication system that overcomes one or more of the aforementioned disadvantages of current authentication systems. One or more of these disadvantages are overcome by one or more embodiments of the present invention, as described in detail below.

Wireless Key Identification Systems, Inc.


Provided is a contact lens including: a lens unit configured to be worn on an eyeball; an adjustment unit configured to adjust light to be transmitted through at least one of a first region that is a central portion of the lens unit and covers a pupil of the eyeball and a second region that is an outer side of the first region and covers an iris of the eyeball; and a control unit configured to control the adjustment unit in response to input of a trigger signal.

In recent years, contact lenses that are directly worn on eyeballs are practically used as visual sensation correction devices. Further, contact lenses are used not only for correcting visual sensation but also for changing appearance of eyes, and, in this case, lenses are colored.
Many colored contact lenses (color contact lens) have been used in recent years, and, usually, a user actually tries on a color contact lens to check appearance of his/her eye and determines which color of a lens suits the user. Herein, the following Patent Literature 1 discloses a system that simulates appearance of a user wearing a color contact lens and presents the simulated appearance in order to reduce economic and material waste of contact lenses for trial fitting.
Further, recently, the following Patent Literature 2 has disclosed an image display device using contact lenses. Patent Literature 2 proposes a thin image display device in which a display unit and a lens array unit are integrally provided on a curved surface, the thin image display device being shaped to be fully wearable on an eye such as a contact lens.
A contact lens having an ultraviolet (UV) filter is also proposed. Although sunglasses are also used to protect eyes from ultraviolet rays and intense light, the sunglasses do not cover whole eyes and are therefore ineffective in protection from lateral light. Wearing a contact lens having a UV filter can block entry of more ultraviolet rays.