Hepatitus GB Virus (HGBV) nucleic acid and amino acid sequences useful for a variety of diagnostic and theraeutic applications, kits for using the HGBV nucleic acid or amino acid sequences, HGBV immunogenic particles, and antibodies which specifically bind to HGBV. Also provided are methods for producing antibodies, polyclonal or monoclonal, from the HGBV nucleic acid or amino acid sequences.

This invention relates generally to a group of infectious viral agents causing hepatitis in man, and more particularly, relates to materials such as polynucleotides derived from this group of viruses, polypeptides encoded therein, antibodies which specifically bind to these polypeptides, and diagnostics and vaccines that employ these materials.
Hepatitis is one of the most important diseases transmitted from a donor to a recipient by transfusion of blood products, organ transplantation and hemodialysis; it also can be transmitted via ingestion of contaminated foodstuffs and water, and by person to person contact. Viral hepatitis is known to include a group of viral agents with distinctive viral genes and modes of replication, causing hepatitis with differing degrees of severity of hepatic damage through different routes of transmission. In some cases, acute viral hepatitis is clinically diagnosed by well-defined patient symptoms including jaundice, hepatic tenderness and an elevated level of liver transaminases such as aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and isocitrate dehydrogenase (ISD). In other cases, acute viral hepatitis may be clinically in apparent. The viral agents of hepatitis include hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis delta virus (HDV), hepatitis E virus (HEV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV).
Although specific serologic assays available by the late 1960's to screen blood donations for the presence of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) were successful in reducing the incidence of post-transfusion hepatitis (PTH) in blood recipients, PTH continued to occur at a significant rate. H. J. Alter et al., Ann. Int. Med. 77: 691-699 (1972); H. J. Alter et al., Lancet ii: 838-841 (1975). Investigators began to search for a new agent, termed "non-A, non-B hepatitis" (NANBH), that caused viral hepatitis not associated with exposure to viruses previously known to cause hepatitis in man (HAV, HBV, CMV and EBV). See, for example, S. M. Feinstone et al., New Engl. J. Med. 292: 767-770 (1975); Anonymous editorial, Lancet ii: 64-65 (1975); F. B. Hollinger in B. N. Fields and D. M. Knipe et al., Virology, Raven Press, New York, pp. 2239-2273 (1990).
Several lines of epidemiological and laboratory evidence have suggested the existence of more than one parenterally transmitted NANB agent, including multiple attacks of acute NANBH in intravenous drug users; distinct incubation periods of patients acquiring NANBH post-transfusion; the outcome of cross-challenge chimpanzee experiments; the ultrastructural liver pathology of infected chimpanzees; and the differential resistance of the putative agents to chloroform. J. L. Dienstag, Gastroenterology 85: 439-462 (1983); J. L. Dienstag, Gastroenterology 85: 743-768 (1983); F. B. Hollinger et al., J. Infect. Dis. 142: 400-407 (1980); D. W. Bradley in F. Chisari, ed., Advances in Hepatitis Research, Masson, N.Y., pp. 268-280 (1984); and D. W. Bradley et al., J. Infect. Dis. 148: 254-265 (1983).
A serum sample obtained from a surgeon who had developed acute hepatitis was shown to induce hepatitis when inoculated into tamarins (Saguinus species). Four of four tamarins developed elevated liver enzymes within a few weeks following their inoculation, suggesting that an agent in the surgeon's serum could produce hepatitis in tamarins. Serial passage in various non-human primates demonstrated that this hepatitis was caused by a transmissible agent; filtration studies suggested the agent to be viral in nature. The transmissible agent responsible for these cases of hepatitis in the surgeon and tamarins was termed the "GB agent." F. Deinhardt et al., J. Exper. Med. 125: 673-688 (1967). F. Deinhardt et al., J. Exper. Med., supra; E. Tabor et al., J. Med. Virol. 5: 103-108 (1980); R. O. Whittington et al., Viral and Immunological Diseases in Nonhuman Primates, Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York, pp. 221-224 (1983)
Although it was suggested that the GB agent may be an agent causing NANBH in humans and that the GB agent was not related to the known NANBH agents studied in various laboratories, no definitive or conclusive studies on the GB agent are known, and no viral agent has been discovered or molecularly characterized. F. Deinhardt et al., Am. J. Med. Sci. 270: 73-80 (1975); and J. L. Dienstag et al., Nature 264: 260-261 (1976). See also E. Tabor et al., J. Med. Virol., supra; E. Tabor et al., J. Infect. Dis. 140: 794-797 (1979); R. O. Whittington et al., supra; and P. Karayiannis et al., Hepatology 9: 186-192 (1989).
Early studies indicated that the GB agent was unrelated to any known human hepatitis virus. S. M. Feinstone et al., Science 182: 1026-1028 (1973); P. J. Provost et al., Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 148: 532-539 (1975); J. L. Melnick, Intervirology 18: 105-106 (1982); A. W. Holmes et al., Nature 243: 419-420 (1973); and F. Deinhardt et al., Am. J. Med. Sci., supra. However, questions were raised regarding whether the GB agent was a virus which induced hepatitis infection in humans, or a latent tamarin virus activated by the GB serum and once activated, easily passaged to other tamarins, inducing hepatitis in them. Also, a small percentage of marmosets inoculated with GB-positive serum did not develop clinical hepatitis (4 of 52, or 7.6%), suggesting that these animals may have been naturally immune and thus, that the GB agent may be a marmoset virus. W. P. Parks et al., J. Infect. Dis. 120: 539-547 (1969); W. P. Parks et al., J. Infect. Dis. 120: 548-559 (1969). Morphological studies have been equivocal, with immune electron microscopy studies in one report indicating that the GB agent formed immune complexes with a size distribution of 20-22 nm and resembling the spherical structure of a parvovirus, while another study reported that immune electron microscopy data obtained from liver homogenates of GB-positive tamarins indicated that aggregates of 34-36 nm with icosahedral symmetry were detected, suggesting that the GB agent was a calici-like virus. See, for example, J. D. Almeida et al., Nature 261: 608-609 (1976); J. L. Dienstag et al., Nature, supra.
Two hepatitis-causing viruses recently have been discovered and reported: HCV, which occurs primarily through parenteral transmission, and HEV, which is transmitted enterically. See, for example, Q. L. Choo et al., Science 244: 359-362 (1989), G. Kuo et al., Science 244: 362-364 (1989), E. P. Publication No. 0 318 216 (published May 31, 1989), G. R. Reyes et al., Science 247: 1335-1339 (1990). HCV is responsible for a majority of PTH ascribed to the NANBH agent(s) and many cases of acute NANBH not acquired by transfusion. Anonymous editorial, Lancet 335: 1431-1432 (1990); J. L. Dienstag, Gastroenterology 99: 1177-1180 (1990); and M. J. Alter et al., JAMA 264: 2231-2235 (1990).
While the detection of HCV antibody in donor samples eliminates 70 to 80% of NANBH infected blood in the blood supply system, the discovery and detection of HCV has not totally prevented the transmission of hepatitis. H. Alter et al., New Eng. J. Med. 321: 1494-1500 (1989). Recent publications have questioned whether additional hepatitis agents may be responsible for PTH and for community acquired acute and/or chronic hepatitis that is not associated with PTH. For example, of 181 patients monitored in a prospective clinical survey conducted in France from 1988 to 1990, investigators noted a total of 18 cases of PTH. Thirteen of these 18 patients tested negative for anti-HCV antibodies, HBsAg, HBV and HCV nucleic acids. The authors speculated as to the potential importance of a non-A, non-B, non-C agent causing PTH. V. Thiers et al., J. Hepatology 18: 34-39 (1993). Also, of 1,476 patients monitored in another study conducted in Germany from 1985 to 1988, 22 cases of documented cases of PTH were not related to infection with HBV or HCV. T. Peters et al., J. Med. Virol. 39: 139-145 (1993).
It would be advantageous to identify and provide materials derived from a group of novel and unique viruses causing hepatitis, such as, polynucleotides, recombinant and synthetic polypeptides encoded therein, antibodies which specifically bind to these polypeptides, and diagnostics and vaccines that employ these materials. Such materials could greatly enhance the ability of the medical community to more accurately diagnose acute and/or chronic viral hepatitis and could provide a safer blood and organ supply by detecting non-A, non-B and non-C hepatitis in these blood and organ donations.

Non-A, non-B, non-C, non-D, non-E Hepatitis reagents and methods for their use


The invention comprises a downhole jet motor, and a method of using same, that can be utilized to drill or to clean a well bore or tubing. The jet motor comprises a power shaft partially surrounded by a control sleeve defining a blind annular space, closed at the upper end and open at the lower end to allow fluid discharge. At least one opening is provided in the drive shaft wall extending radially within the annulus region. Drilling or cleaning fluid pressure is directed to the at least one opening in the power shaft. The control sleeve provides a reaction structure in relation to fluid discharged from the at least one opening producing rotation of the drive shaft in relation to the control sleeve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a downhole drilling and cleaning apparatus. More specifically, the invention is directed to a motor and apparatus for cleaning out production tubing, for drilling oil and gas wells and like applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of hydraulically driven drill bits is known in the art as described in the following U.S. patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,727,276, issued to Diehl on Sep. 3, 1929, discloses a drill bit rotating at one speed and a body portion rotating at a second lower speed. Once the drill bit engages a hard formation the drill bit and the body combine and rotate at the speed of the body portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,860,214, issued to Yeaman on May 24, 1932, discloses a hydraulically rotating drill bit with exhaust passages through the bit body for the escape of impelling fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,133,603, issued to Lagacherie, et al on May 19, 1964, discloses a fluid driven-bit wherein fluid passes over an internal turbine. The fluid acts upon the internal turbine in order to rotate the drill bit.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,362, issued to Elbert, et al on Oct. 29, 1974, discloses a device for boring holes comprising a body having a front end and a rear end wherein forward drive means are provided at the rear end for receiving pressurized fluid. A boring head is rotatably mounted in the body and projects from the front end of the body. Passages direct fluid from the boring head to impart torque to the boring head.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,440,242 and 4,529,046, issued to Schmidt, et al on Apr. 3, 1984 and Jul. 16, 1985 respectively, disclose a drilling apparatus having nozzles functioning as cutting jets and passages discharging radially to generate torque for rotation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,916, issued to Lesh for on Apr. 7, 1992, discloses a fluid-driven tool wherein pressurized fluid is used to create rotation by force applied to internal helical vanes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,407, issued to De Lucia on Jan. 31, 1995, discloses a tool having three sections wherein lubricant is permitted to flow through orifices to lubricate the bearing assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,271, issued to Martini on Feb. 18, 2003, discloses a fluid-driven tool wherein pressurized fluid is used to create rotation by internal vanes.
The prior art does not disclose a downhole motor capable of generating rotational and thrust torque with radially-extending nozzles in cooperation with a control sleeve.
The prior art does not disclose a downhole motor capable of generating significant torque utilizing a fluid comprising either a liquid or a gas.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a downhole drilling and cleaning tool having a plurality of nozzles providing rotational and forward thrust in cooperation with a control sleeve.

Jet motor for providing rotation in a downhole tool


A method for controlling the respective input voltages transmitted to a servomotor that tilts the ladle such that the molten metal that flows from the ladle drops accurately into the pouring gate in the mold, a servomotor that moves the ladle back and forth, and a servomotor that moves the ladle up and down, by using a computer. In the method, a mathematical model of the area on which the molten metal that flows from the ladle will drop is produced, and then the inverse problem of the produced mathematical model is solved. In view of the effect of a contracted flow, the position on which molten metal drops is estimated by the estimating device for estimating the pouring rate and the estimating device for estimating the position on which molten metal will drop.

Conventionally, (1) a method to suppress vibrations of molten metal while it is being conveyed to a position for pouring it; (2) a method to suppress vibrations of molten metal that are caused by backwardly tilting it after the pouring is finished; (3) a method to control the speed of tilting a ladle such that a certain pouring rate is kept; (4) a method for quickly pouring a specific weight of molten metal; (5) a method for controlling the speed of tilting a ladle such that a targeted pouring rate is achieved; (6) a method for increasing an amount of molten metal that flows from a ladle in an early phase of the pouring by raising and lowering an outflow position of the ladle; (7) a tilting-type method for automatically pouring molten metal by using a fuzzy control; and (8) a tilting-type method for automatically pouring molten metal by using a fluctuation model with linear parameters, etc., are known as tilting-type methods for automatically pouring molten metal.
Conventionally, an apparatus based on methods (1) and (2) can prevent the surface of molten metal from vibrating while a ladle is being conveyed and while the ladle is being tilted. However, the methods do not relate to achieving a targeted flow rate while the molten metal is being poured. Methods (3) and (5) can control a weight poured of molten metal per unit of time. A specific weight of molten metal can be accurately poured by methods (4), (6), and (7). Method (6) is a pouring method for increasing the amount of the molten metal that flows from a ladle by lowering an outflow position of the ladle such that the time for casting is shortened. Those methods are the pouring methods that can accurately control the pouring rate and the weight of the poured molten metal. However, the position where the poured molten metal drops is not controlled by these tilting-type pouring methods. So, there is a problem in that the poured molten metal may drop outside a pouring gate of a mold. As a method for solving the problem, a method for controlling the position on which a liquid which flows out of a ladle drops by means of a feedforward control is known (see Patent document 1). The method given in Patent document 1 is effective. However, in the method, the position on which the liquid drops should be more accurately controlled.    Patent document 1: JP2008-272802

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for automatically pouring molten metal by tilting a ladle and a medium for recording programs for controlling a tilt of a ladle

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION TOYOHASHI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY


A sensor node detects a plurality of information-based events. The sensor node determines whether at least one other sensor node is an information neighbor of the sensor node based on at least a portion of the plurality of information-based events. The information neighbor has an overlapping field of view with the sensor node. The sensor node sends at least one communication to the at least one other sensor node that is an information neighbor of the sensor node in response to at least one information-based event of the plurality of information-based events.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for information-based self-organization of sensor nodes of a sensor network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Securing our borders as well as our facilities and community events are critical when the infiltration of a single individual can result in mass casualties. Individuals are armed now with unconventional weapons where the attack can follow closely behind the detection of the individual. The depth and accuracy of typical current surveillance systems are insufficient for these types of attack.
Wireless sensor networks are often touted as the future solution to these surveillance problems. The low cost of sensor nodes enables coverage of greater areas and redundancy for border and facility surveillance. The small form factor, wireless communication, and battery power enable a quickly adjustable and easily deployed system for time-dependent events. Concerns over limited bandwidth and processing have directed much research towards reducing its form factor and power use. Less byte intensive sensors such as acoustic, magnetic and seismic are pervasive in this community. Because of the low byte size of the information gathered by these types of sensors, it is feasible to transmit the information from these sensors back to a centralized base station for processing. Work in both wireless sensor networks and computer vision typically follows the conventional architecture of transferring data to a centralized base station for processing. When dealing with small amounts of information at controlled intervals, sending that information to the centralized based station data poll is feasible on the limited available bandwidth.
Conventional wireless sensor node platforms are typically limited by the inability to readily incorporate images and computer vision techniques where the relevant orthogonal information for surveillance resides. In addition, sending raw data from images to a centralized base station for processing could quickly overload the wireless communication. Therefore, there is a need for wireless sensor nodes which can process raw image data and communicate information regarding the images.
Research in communication has often focused on maintaining connectivity and maximizing bandwidth through the wireless channel between sensor nodes based on the cost in terms of power consumption of transmission and reception. However, using a conventional technique, a sensor node may send information about an event that cannot be used by a receiving sensor node. Therefore, power may be wasted by the sending and the receiving sensor nodes. Therefore, there is a need for an improved technique to establish communication links among sensor nodes that reduces communication. This technique should work with wireless sensor nodes.

Information-based self-organization of sensor nodes of a sensor network


A wire working machine and system are described with a working platform on which a rotatable mount with individually controllable wire working tool actuators is provided. The rotatable mount surrounds a workzone in which wire is worked with the tool mount being rotatable about the workzone to provide center line working of the wire. The rotatable mount is formed with removable segments each of which can support a tool actuator but can be removed to enlarge the workzone. The workzone extends through the working platform to enable a second rotatable mount located on the opposite side to form workpieces passed through the workzone. The working platform is movable in x and y directions to align with a wire preforming machine to form a wire working system with great versatility, accuracy and improved productivity.

Automatic metal wire working machines have been used for a long time. U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,518, for example, shows a bending apparatus for wire also referred to as strip stock. The apparatus uses a rotatable worktable that can rotate in response to a deformation force applied to the strip when it is bent. The worktable can be rotated to work on the strip from different directions. The tool is located on a slide carrier to adjust the tool relative to the center of the turntable. The strip is fed parallel to the plane in which the turntable rotates.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,819 shows a wire bending machine in which stock wire is fed parallel to the plane of a generally flat working platform on which various wire working tools are located to bend the wire. U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,517 illustrates a plurality of wire bending tools distributed around a rotational axis of a fixed platform. Each tool is geared to a ring gear so as to work on a strip material in a predetermined timed relationship with the ring gear rotation. The individual tools are mounted for quick individual removal or installation depending on the requirement for that tool. The strip or wire stock is fed in a direction that is generally parallel to the plane of rotation of the rotating platform. Operation of each tool segment is controlled by the rotation of the ring gear.


An operational circuit without using a clock signal to be used for a compressing or expanding circuit, which comprises a first and second DC signals different in polarity from each other are obtained in response to an input AC signal. The AC signal and a first DC signal are differentially amplified to obtain a first differential output signal, and the AC signal and a second DC signal are differentially amplified to obtain a second differential output signal. A rectified AC signal thus obtained is averaged to obtain an averaged rectified signal as well as to obtain a first and second signals in accordance with the averaged rectified signal. The AC signal and the first signal are differentially amplified to obtain a third differential output signal and the AC signal and the second signal are differentially amplified to obtain a fourth differential output signal. The third and fourth differential output signals are combined so as to be opposite in polarity to take out the product signal of the AC signal and the averaged rectified signal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an operational circuit to be used for compressing or expanding an amplitude of an alternating current signal with no use of a clock signal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a compressing circuit and expanding circuit realizable with MOS type integrated circuit, such a circuit that is provided with an analog operational circuit using a .DELTA..SIGMA. modulation circuit and a rectifying and averaging circuit has been proposed previously, an example of which is disclosed in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2-138609. The circuit thus disclosed has an analog operational circuit which comprises a .DELTA..SIGMA. modulation circuit composed of an A/D converter circuit and a first D/A converter circuit, a second D/A converter circuit and a low-pass filter.
An analog signal to be processed is converted through the A/D converter circuit of the .DELTA..SIGMA. modulation circuit into a digital signal in response to a clock signal and sent to the first D/A converter circuit. The digital signal is converted through the first D/A converter circuit into a first analog signal which takes a positive or negative value in response to a first reference signal and fed back to the A/D converter circuit as a differential input.
The digital signal outputted from the A/D converter circuit is also sent to the second D/A converter circuit to be converted into a second analog signal which takes a positive or negative value in response to a second reference signal and sent to the low-pass filter.
If at least one of the first and second reference signals is made an operational signal, an analog signal is outputted from the low-pass filter as the result of operation.
The first and second D/A converter circuits and the low-pass filter are made, for example, of a switched capacitor and an operational amplifier.
Such an expanding circuit that comprises the conventional operational circuit as explained above and a rectifying and averaging circuit is disclosed in FIG. 7 of the above-mentioned patent publication. The rectifying and averaging circuit comprises a rectifying circuit and an averaging circuit. As the rectifying circuit, for example, a full-wave or half-wave rectifier using a diode can be employed. The averaging circuit can be made, for example, of an operational amplifier having a feedback capacitor and a resistor. Besides, the rectifying and averaging circuit may be composed, for example, of a switched capacitor, a comparator and an operational amplifier.
With the conventional expanding circuit as explained above, an alternating current (AC) signal V.sub.IN to be processed is delivered to the .DELTA..SIGMA. modulation circuit of the analog operational circuit and the rectifying and averaging circuit. Here, if a signal obtained by rectifying the signal V.sub.IN is expressed as .vertline.V.sub.IN .vertline., and a signal obtained by averaging the same is expressed as [.vertline.V.sub.IN .vertline.], the signal [.vertline.V.sub.IN .vertline.] thus obtained by rectifying and averaging the signal V.sub.IN is sent to the second D/A converter circuit as the second reference signal. The analog operational circuit computes the product of the signals .vertline.V.sub.IN .vertline. and [.vertline.V.sub.In .vertline.], or K.sub.1 .multidot.V.sub.IN .multidot.[.vertline.V.sub.IN .vertline.] (K.sub.1 is a constant) to output as an analog signal V.sub.OUT through the low-pass filter.
Namely, if EQU V.sub.IN =X.multidot. sin .omega.t
where X is an amplitude, .omega. is an angular velocity and t is a time, the input signal [.vertline.V.sub.IN .vertline.] can be expressed as follows; .OJOFF[.vertline.V.sub.IN .vertline.]=K.sub.2 .multidot.X where K.sub.2 is a constant. Hence EQU V.sub.OUT =K.sub.1 .multidot.V.sub.IN .multidot.[.vertline.V.sub.IN .vertline.]=K.sub.1 .multidot.K.sub.2 .multidot.X.sup.2 .multidot. sin .omega.t
This means that an AC signal whose amplitude is expanded to (K.sub.1 .multidot.K.sub.2 .multidot.X.sup.2) can be obtained.
Such a compressing circuit that comprises the conventional operational circuit and a rectifying and averaging circuit is disclosed in FIG. 8 of the above-mentioned patent publication. The rectifying and averaging circuit used in this compressing circuit is the same as that of the expanding circuit already shown above.
With this conventional compressing circuit, the AC signal V.sub.IN to be processed is inputted to the .DELTA..SIGMA. modulation circuit of the analog operational circuit and sent through the low-pass filter to the rectifying and averaging circuit as the analog signal V.sub.OUT. Here, if a signal obtained by rectifying the signal V.sub.OUT is expressed as .vertline.V.sub.OUT .vertline. and a signal obtained by averaging the signal .vertline.V.sub.OUT .vertline. is expressed as [.vertline.V.sub.OUT .vertline.], the signal [.vertline.V.sub.OUT .vertline.] as the output signal of the rectifying and averaging circuit is sent to the first D/A converter circuit as the first reference signal. The analog operational circuit computes the quotient of the signals V.sub.IN and [.vertline.V.sub.OUT .vertline.], or K.sub.3 .multidot.V.sub.IN /[.vertline.V.sub.OUT .vertline.] (K.sub.3 is a constant) to output from the low-pass filter as the analog signal V.sub.OUT.
Namely, if EQU V.sub.IN =X.multidot.sin .omega. t EQU V.sub.OUT =Y.multidot.sin .omega. t
where Y is an amplitude, the output signal [.vertline.V.sub.OUT .vertline.] can be expressed as follows; EQU [.vertline.V.sub.OUT .vertline.]=K.sub.4 .multidot.Y EQU V.sub.OUT =(K.sub.3 .multidot.V.sub.IN)/[.vertline.V.sub.OUT .vertline.]=(K.sub.3 .multidot.V.sub.IN)/(K.sub.4 .multidot.Y)
where K.sub.4 is a constant. Hence EQU Y=(K.sub.3 /K.sub.4).sup.1/2 .multidot.X.sup.1/2
Therefore EQU V.sub.OUT =(K.sub.3 /K.sub.4).sup.1/2 .multidot.X.sup.1/2 .multidot.sin .omega. t
This means that an AC signal whose amplitude is compressed to {(K.sub.3 /K.sub.4).sup.1/2 .multidot.X.sup.1/2 } can be obtained.
With the conventional expanding and compressing ucircuits shown above, however, a clock signal is employed and as a result, there is such a problem that it is difficult to obtain a compressed signal or expanded signal having a good signal-to-noise ratio due to the effects of a clock noise.
In addition, the .DELTA..SIGMA. modulation circuit or switched capacitor type rectifying and averaging circuit becomes large in circuit scale and as a result, there arises such a problem that semiconductor integrated circuits to be used are unavoidably large in chip size as well as increased in power consumption.

Compressing and expanding operational circuit with no use of clock signal


Systems and methods for monitoring power in power distribution systems are provided. In one aspect, a system for monitoring power includes a power monitoring device that measures a value of at least one characteristic of power provided to a branch of a power distribution system. The power monitoring device includes an output that provides the value measured. The system further includes a controller having an input to receive the value measured and an output that couples to a first device powered by the branch to send a maximum power signal to the first device to command the first device to operate at a percentage of maximum power.

The proliferation of the Internet has created a need for large scale data centers that contain tens, if not hundreds, of racks of computing equipment, such as servers and routers. One of the major problems confronted by designers of these data centers is the requirement to route facility power to each of these racks of equipment. Typically, branch circuits from a primary or a secondary distribution panel are routed to groups of racks to provide power to the equipment in the rack. Each of the branch circuits is designed to provide a predetermined maximum power level or current, and the size of cabling used to route the power for a branch, and the size of circuit breakers used for the branch are selected based on this predetermined maximum power level or, more typically, predetermined maximum current.
Typically, it is desirable to design each of the branch circuits such that the total current drawn by the equipment coupled to any given one of the branch circuits is at some predetermined percentage (for example 50%) of the maximum current level for that branch circuit. This allows some flexibility to add additional equipment to racks and provides a safety margin below the maximum current level.
To properly design the routing of the branch circuits, it is desirable to know, with some accuracy, the current that is drawn by the equipment in the racks. Traditionally, the power or current drawn by computer equipment could be determined based on manufacturers' specifications and/or by making actual measurements of the current being drawn by the equipment.
These measurements and specifications are only useful for equipment for which the current draw is substantially static, which in the past was true for typical computing equipment. However, for newer computing equipment, the current draw is typically not static due to a number of factors including: 1) many computers utilize some form of power management strategy which minimizes the power (and current) consumption of the computer by turning off or slowing down subsystems within the computer when they are not in use; 2) cooling systems (i.e., fans) are often speed controlled based on air and component temperatures to reduce power consumption and acoustic noise generation; and 3) the amount of power drawn by the processors and memory systems in computers has increased steadily with the increase of speed of the processors, so that the power consumed by the processors and memory subsystems may exceed 50% of the total power draw of a computer. The power drawn by processors and memory systems is variable depending on the processing load, and since the total power of these systems may be a significant portion of the total power, the total power draw of a computer can vary significantly depending on the processing load on the computer.
The operating systems of most computers are capable of simultaneously performing multiple tasks by assigning segments of the CPU processing time to each of the tasks on a priority basis. Any remaining segments of the CPU processing time are occupied by an idle task in which the CPU can be halted and all associated clocks can be stopped to reduce the power draw of the computer. Further, some computers, for example, those that utilize the Windows® 98 or Windows® 2000 operating system, have an Advanced Control and Power Interface (ACPI) feature that allows the operating system to control power to fans and other devices in the computer to further reduce the power drawn by the computer. Because of the factors described above, it is not unusual for a more modern system to consume twice as much power when the processors are fully computationally loaded and operating in a warm environment, then when computationally idle and operating in a cool environment.
The variability of the power draw of computers complicates the electrical design of data centers. Computer manufacturers typically provide power ratings on nameplates. These nameplate values are typically maximum values that are determined based on the maximum power that a computer may draw when fully loaded with all options and with all subsystems operating at full load. Because of conservative approaches taken in determining nameplate values, they are often greater than even worst case values for a given computer, and accordingly are of little use to an electrical facility designer. While a designer may measure the current drawn by a computer or a set of computers to determine the power draw, it is typically not known at the measurement time, whether the computer is at full load or at what percentage of full load the computer is operating.
Several problems may occur when circuit branches are designed based on measured power draw values of computers. First, the wiring used in power routing circuits may be undersized for full load conditions, and second, when one or more of the computers powered from a branch are operated at full load, the current drawn may exceed the circuit breaker value for the branch, causing the circuit breaker to trip and disconnect power to the computers. For critical applications of computers, any such power interruption is often unacceptable. Further, to prevent power interruptions to critical computers, it is common to use uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) for these computers. Often, one UPS is used to power multiple computers or racks of computers. To properly size the UPS, it is necessary to know the power draw of each of the computers and other equipment powered by the UPS. The variability of the power draw in newer computers makes it difficult to properly size a UPS for these applications.

Method and apparatus for preventing overloads of power distribution networks


There is provided an information processing device to utilize a limited display area more effectively, and present display information in a more suitable mode, the information processing device including: a processing unit configured to determine an action of a predetermined object; and an output control unit configured to control an information amount of display information to be displayed on a predetermined output unit in accordance with a determination result of the action.

In recent years, information processing devices such as a smartphone and a tablet terminal have become widely available. On information processing devices such as a smartphone and a tablet terminal, various types of content are displayed. As a user interface (UI) for selecting each of such various types of content, for example, a UI configured such that a part of a list in which the plurality of pieces of content (display information such as images, icons, or thumbnails, for example) are listed is displayed as a display target, and by causing the list to be scrolled, content which is the display target can be changed has been proposed. When such a UI is provided, a user can select a desired piece of content by appropriately scrolling the displayed content list even under such a situation where all pieces of content to be selection targets do not fall within the screen, for example.
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an example of a UI that, by arranging a plurality of pieces of content as a list along a predetermined direction, causing a part of the list to be displayed as a display target, and causing the content list to be scrolled along the one direction, changes content which is the display target.

Information processing device, information processing method, and recording medium


A semiconductor device manufacturing unit is provided, wherein a cathode and an anode can be placed in a simple structure; wherein excellent film deposition and film thickness distribution can be gained; and wherein no cooling devices are required to be provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present intention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing unit and a semiconductor device manufactured by using the same, in particular, relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing unit characterized by the internal structure which is used to manufacture a semiconductor device by carrying out etching and film formation on a substrate by means of a plasma discharge of a reactive gas as well as a semiconductor device manufactured by using this semiconductor device manufacturing unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a plasma reactive unit wherein the uniformity of etching and film formation is improved in a plasma chemical technology as a conventional semiconductor device manufacturing unit (for example, see Patent Reference 1).
[Patent Reference 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2002-270527
As described in Patent Reference 1 a vertical type semiconductor device manufacturing unit as shown in FIG. 4 is known as a conventional general semiconductor device manufacturing unit.
A cathode 2, an anode 4 and a heater 24 for heating a substrate are fixed as structures to walls of a chamber that is subjected to the influence of external atmosphere in this semiconductor device manufacturing unit. The cathode 2 and the anode 4 make a plasma discharge occur and form walls of the chamber.
A structure made of an insulator is provided between the above described structures and the cathode 2 in an intervening form. Thus, this structure supports the cathode 2 and the anode 4 against the walls of the chamber.
An exhaust outlet is provided in the direction of one side around the periphery of the plasma discharge region formed between the cathode 2 and the anode 4. A cooling part 14 is provided to the lower portion of the cathode 2 and on the wall of the chamber. A glass substrate 1, which is an object to be processed, is fixed to a holder and the outer periphery of this holder is secured to the chamber walls.
Furthermore, the entirety of the chamber is formed of an aluminum alloy and the vacuum sealed portion of the cathode 2 and the vacuum sealed portion of a heater 24 which are effected by reactive radicals are covered with fluorine based rubber sealing material such as Kalrez in the case wherein an etching gas is utilized as a reactive gas.
Such a semiconductor device manufacturing unit is described below more concretely. That is to say a chamber is prepared as a reactive vessel and the anode 4 is placed inside thereof. The anode 4 makes contact with the heater 24 for heating the glass substrate 1, which is an object to be processed, to a constant temperature, for example 100° C. to 600° C.
Stainless steel, aluminum alloy or the like is utilized for the chamber and the anode 4, and ceramics or the like is utilized as a heat insulating material. Furthermore, the cathode 2 is placed so as to face the substrate 1 and this cathode 2 is supported by a cathode support 5 made of an insulator so as to be electrically insulated from the surrounding.
Here, it is necessary to set the interval between the cathode 2 and the anode 4 with a high precision in order to form a film with a uniform film thickness and film quality. Therefore, the cathode 2 is fixed by screwing peripheral portions thereof at regular intervals.
Stainless steel, aluminum alloy or the like is utilized as the material of the cathode 2. In addition, a great number of micro through holes are created in the surface of the cathode 2 facing the substrate 1 by means of piercing processing. The reactive gas supplied from a reactive gas introducing pipe 10 can be uniformly supplied to the surface of the substrate 1 by means of these through holes.
The substrate 1 is supported by a substrate support 15 in a stable manner and is placed on the surface of the anode 4 in the case of such a vertical type semiconductor device manufacturing unit. The cooling part 14 is placed outside of the heater 24 in order to restrict an increase of temperature in the chamber or of the vacuum sealing portions. This is because rubber sealing material such as Viton and Kalrez is used for the vacuum sealing portions and it is particularly necessary to cool these portions sufficiently.
An exhaust pipe 9 used for discharge space, a pressure controller 22 and a vacuum pump 21 are provided in order to freely control the pressure of the reactive gas within the chamber. A harm abatement device 23 for removing harmful substance from the exhaust gas is connected to the vacuum pump 21. In addition, a plasma exciting power supply 12, which is a power supply of high frequency and an impedance matching device 13 are provided in order to supply power of high frequency to the cathode 2.
Such a configuration makes a glow discharge occur between the cathode 2 and the anode 4 under the condition wherein the pressure of the reactive gas is controlled so that an amorphous film or a crystal film is formed on the substrate 1.
Several problems as described below arise with the conventional semiconductor device manufacturing unit described above.
The cathode 2, the anode 4 and the heater 24 for heating a substrate are fixed to the walls of the chamber causing an increase in thermal conduction to the outside and therefore a grounding and a cooling device (the cooling part 14) for the sealing portions become necessary. In addition, the cathode 2 is used as a wall of the chamber that is affected by the external atmosphere even though the cathode itself is required to be highly insulated and therefore, the cathode 2 becomes the large structure, and parts thereof become expensive and it becomes necessary to cool the cathode from the rear side by means of the cooling part 14. The heater 24 is also connected to a wall of the chamber and therefore, it becomes necessary to cool this connection portion.
Though the cathode 2 is supported by a wall of the chamber via a structure made of an insulator, it is difficult to secure the distance for grounding of this wall against the introduction of power and therefore, the plasma discharge is also easily affected by this wall. Though it is necessary to place the chamber wall as far away as possible from the cathode 2 in order to restrict such an influence to the minimum, such an implementation directly causes an increase in size of the chamber and therefore becomes a factor in the increase of cost.
In addition, the cathode 2 which is a structure of large scale must prevent leakage of the reactive gas in addition to secure of an electric insulation vis-à-vis the chamber wall and therefore vacuum sealing parts of a large scale become necessary leading to a great increase of cost.
Furthermore, though a rubber sealing material such as Viton or Karlez is used for the vacuum sealing portions in the case wherein a fluorine based etching gas is utilized as the reactive gas, effects of fluorine radicals are inevitable to the sealing portions of the cathode 2 and the anode 4 in the vicinity of the plasma discharge region and therefore, an expensive Karlez must be used.
In addition, an exhaust outlet is provided for only the direction of one side in the surrounding of the plasma discharge region and therefore, the conductance of the reactive gas is reduced, thereby making it difficult to replace a large amount of gas.
Moreover, the plasma discharge region is limited to one side of the front because power is introduced from the rear side. In addition, a problem with an insufficient grounding arises in the case of a vertical type substrate setting wherein the surrounding of the substrate 1 is fixed.
The present invention is provided in view of such circumstances and an object thereof is to provide a semiconductor device manufacturing unit wherein a cathode and an anode can be placed in a simple structure, wherein excellent film deposition and film thickness distribution can be gained and no cooling device is required so that the entire structure of the unit is simplified and reduction of cost can be implemented as well as to provide a semiconductor device manufacturing method using such a unit.

Semiconductor device manufacturing unit and semiconductor device manufacturing method

Abstract: A chamber 11 is formed so that the inside thereof can be controlled at a vacuum of an arbitrary degree. Anode supports 6 for supporting an anode 4 are placed at the bottom of the internal structure 8. The anode 4 is made of a material having a high electrical conductivity and a high heat resistance. The temperature of the anode 4 is controlled by a heater 24 so as to be in a range of from room temperature to 600° C. A cathode 2 is placed on a cathode support 5 so as to face the anode 4. The cathode support 5 is attached to an internal structure 8 made of a frame in a rectangular prism form provided within the chamber 11.


Embodiments provide a method of facilitating a payment transaction with a payment card of a customer. The method includes receiving a payment transaction request initiated at a merchant terminal. The payment transaction request comprising at least a merchant transaction amount associated with a purchase entered at a merchant terminal, a PIN of the payment card provided by the customer via a keypad and a customer transaction amount provided by the customer via the keypad. The method includes facilitating verification of facilitating verification of the PIN with a stored PIN. The method further includes, upon successful verification, determining whether the merchant transaction amount conforms to the customer transaction amount. The method further includes facilitating a payment transaction associated with the payment transaction request if the merchant transaction amount conforms to the customer transaction amount.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Nowadays, users prefer the use of banking cards, such as credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, etc., for performing financial transactions (e.g., payment transactions). The various banking cards are referred to herein as payment cards. The payment cards are increasingly used for making payments at point-of-sale (POS) terminals available at various facilities including, but not limited to, retail establishments (e.g., merchants like McDonald's™ or Walmart™) or businesses (e.g., ticket reservation centers) that handle cash or credit transactions.
With the increase in the use of payment cards in financial transactions, frauds associated with payment cards are also on the rise. One of the most common security threats associated with payment cards is Point of Sale (POS) related frauds. In a typical POS transaction involving payment cards, the cardholder reaches the POS counter and presents his/her payment card to an agent at the merchant facility standing behind the counter. Commonly, in a POS transaction, a cardholder, often, does not check to verify the transaction amount the agent has entered at the POS device. Also, if the user is a visually impaired individual then the user would have no knowledge or control over what transaction amount the agent behind the counter may have entered. In many instances, frauds may be committed by the agents behind the counters by entering wrong transaction amounts.
Moreover, there may be some scenarios when a POS terminal is not accessible to the cardholder, such as a restaurant. The cardholder hands over his/her payment card to a waiter at the restaurant along with the PIN of the payment card, who, in turn hands it over to the agent standing behind the cash counter. The payment card can be easily misused without the cardholder's knowledge and control.
Hence, in light of the foregoing discussion, there appears to be a need for a technique that facilitates a payment transaction with the payment card by verifying a transaction amount (payment amount) entered by the merchant.

Payment transaction methods and systems enabling verification of payment amount by payment card


An inverter, a sealing air duct, and a heat dissipation system are disclosed. The inverter includes: an enclosure having a first cavity and a second cavity that are isolated from each other and sealed; a magnetic conversion circuit including magnetic elements that is arranged in the first cavity; a power conversion circuit including power tubes that is arranged in the second cavity; a heatsink arranged at the bottom of the enclosure and located outside the first cavity and the second cavity; a sealing air duct arranged outside the second cavity, where the columnar pipeline is sealed at two ends, the bottom surface is formed by a side wall of the second cavity or a substrate of the heatsink, and the bottom surface includes an air inlet and an air outlet to communicate with the second cavity and the at least one columnar pipeline.

Heat consumption of a photovoltaic inverter mainly originates from a magnetic conversion circuit and a power conversion circuit. The magnetic conversion circuit generally includes a boost inductor and an inverter inductor. The magnetic conversion consumes a large quantity of heat, causes a high temperature, and is generally arranged at the top of the inverter. The heat generated by magnetic devices is directly transferred to the substrate of a heatsink and is dissipated through split radiation fins arranged at the top. The heat consumption of the power conversion circuit mainly originates from boost power tubes and inverter power tubes, consuming a large quantity of heat. Most of the heat consumption is directly dissipated through the heatsink. However, the remaining heat causes the air temperature inside the inverter to rise, consequently affecting the reliability and life cycle of temperature-sensitive devices such as electrolytic capacitors and a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD).
Most photovoltaic inverters use the casted and profile heatsink for heat dissipation. Therefore, only the temperature of power devices is reduced, but the air temperature inside a cavity fails to be reduced. Accordingly, to reduce the air temperature inside the cavity, generally, the size of the heatsink needs to be enlarged and the air volume needs to be increased. This increases the weight, size and noise of the inverter.
Therefore, a solution is desired for effectively reducing the air temperature inside the cavity and improving the heat dissipation efficiency.

Inverter, sealing air duct and heat dissipation system


A guard system for a coupling that connects a first component to a second component in a pressurized machinery system includes a coupling guard moveable between an open position, which allows access to an internal region of the coupling, and a closed position, which forms a seal surrounding the coupling from the first component to the second component. The system also includes a guide for directing movement of the coupling guard.

The present invention relates to connection members for components of pressure containing machinery and, more particularly, a coupling guard system for protecting and sealing an interior region of a coupling between components of the pressure containing machinery.
In existing close-coupled pressure containing machinery, the pressure containing device and structural support are combined into one unit. Historically, access to a coupling and its components has been limited due to generally small access ports in an outer casing of the coupling, which are provided for maintenance access. Combining the pressure sealing and structural support components leads to difficulty creating and maintaining a sealing surface between the co-joined equipment when sealing to contain low mole weight gasses.


The present invention is a method for improving resource allocation comprising the steps of identifying at least one criteria; Identifying sets of information wherein each set of information includes a unique unit of analysis (UOA-ID), a calendar/clock time (CCT), a CATVAR and a VAR Value; grouping each UOA-ID into an appropriate specific population (Type); identifying a Start Time wherein each UOA-ID has met said at least one criteria; forming at least one prospective or retrospective Cohort time segment for each UOA-ID based on their Start Time; placing the UOA-ID into the appropriate time segment; calculating an eligibility score for each UOA-ID for each time segment; calculating an Eligible Adjusted Variable Value; and generating at least one Output Expression.

Managing a business or an organization in a manner that creates long term value is a complex activity. Further, every business or organization has limited resources and the need for business to accurately monitor their costs and justify resource allocation to achieve specified outcomes in a future calendar time period (e.g., financial quarters) is becoming increasingly important. Unfortunately, the task of organizing business information to determine proper resource allocation is often extensive and troublesome to organize and it is often difficult or impossible for business managers to use this information to make proper decisions. Accordingly, businesses and other organizations typically either overspend their resources or do not avail themselves of statistical data and analysis that can be used to optimize their resource expenditures. For example, business establishments that serve a large number of customers generally have a problem analyzing their transactional information to develop trends in defined population over time. Such trends are desirable to effectively target and determine the effectiveness of various programs for the purposes of optimizing resource allocation to achieve specified outcomes over designed time periods. Further, while it may be known that certain cost reduction programs are hypothesized to be effective to reduce future costs, a need exists for an effective and scientific method and system for optimizing resource allocation that can be shown to achieve specified outcomes over time to maximize a business's investment.
Until now, most economic business models have relied on "calendar time" in determining resource allocation rather than using "experience time" where time is based on the start of an event and its duration (such as the day one purchased a car or the date/time an individual was bitten by a malarial infected mosquito, starting the individual on a "natural" course of fluctuating fevers). Thus, the experience of a population in any calendar time period will vary depending on when each individual "started" in this population. Accordingly, a business organization will be better able to analyze and evaluate the resources that will be necessary to achieve a specific outcome by first understanding this "Cohort Time" heterogeneity of any population during any calendar (or clock) time period.
By way of illustration, manufactures, such as automobile manufactures, are actively searching for ways to reduce the probability of realizing extensive repair costs under warranty. Despite dramatic improvement in new-vehicle quality at most major automobile manufacturers over the past decade, the reduction of warranty cost is a large area for potential cost reductions. While manufactures have developed sophisticated statistical tracking systems, until now there was no adequate method or system to assess available resources today to reduce specified outcomes (i.e., warranty costs) in the future.
Recently, the optimization of resource allocation has become particularly important for businesses engaged in the health care industry. Due to significant increases in health care costs, health care providers and service management organizations have become under increased pressure by customers to find ways of lowering or at least slow the rate of growth of health care costs. As a result of such pressure, health care providers have implemented numerous population-based programs, such as wellness programs, disease management programs, and other health-inducing and cost-reduction programs, designed to improve the overall health of the population thereby reducing, at least theoretically, overall health care costs. Such health care organizations, however, are in need of a system that can qualitatively analyze program performance in order to optimize allocation of health care services and expenditures over time to achieve specified outcomes.
Accordingly, a need exist for a method and system to qualitatively analyze cost reduction programs and for analyzing information for allocating resources to best serve a business' goals. In health care and product warranty work, the ventral issues are the same. An "individual unit" with a certain characteristic that makes it eligible for inclusion in a defined population, is entered into the population at a certain "start time" (clock or calendar time) and remains "eligible" for this population during a known and quantifiable duration of time. Furthermore, this population has a greater than zero probability of experiencing some event at a future time period, an event with some economic value attached to it. This event, the "individual unit," the date of the event, and the "cash value" of such event is captured by a transaction system. The method and apparatus transforms this information into usable estimates for resource allocation decisions needed to achieve specified outcomes.

Method and system for analyzing resource allocation based on cohort times


A volatile organic compound (VOC) incinerator that is designed for installation in the exhaust airstream of VOC generating equipment. The incinerator includes an intake end, combustion chamber and an exhaust end. A flame baffle is disposed within the combustion zone to cause mixing of the VOC plus hot air mixture to increase efficiency and reduce fuel requirements. A temperature sensor is disposed within the combustion zone of the combustion chamber of the incinerator to monitor the combustion temperature to provide temperature signals to a controller. An air flow rate sensor is engaged in the intake end of the incinerator to provide air flow rate signals to the controller. The controller regulates the quantity of fuel injected into the VOC plus air mixture based upon the air flow rate signals and the temperature signals. A VOC detector is disposed in the intake end of the incinerator to provide a signal that turns the unit on or off depending upon the presence or absence of VOC's in the airstream.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices and methods for incinerating industrial waste compounds, and more particularly to devices that are installable within the exhaust ducting of industrial processing equipment to incinerate organic industrial waste products and having a flame baffle disposed within the combustion zone to aid in the incineration process.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Chemical processes used in the manufacture of microelectronic devices as well as other industries emit waste streams of materials known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) usually in low concentrations of an exhaust air stream. Such concentrations can be in the order of a few parts per billion to several percent. The majority of the waste streams however, contain VOC waste products that are in concentrations of fifty to 1000 parts per million. Such waste streams account for the release to the environment of thousands of tons per year on a global scale. The detrimental effects of these releases have become better understood in recent year and efforts to reduce them through better processing to minimize both the use and amount of VOCs released have become important. Even with these efforts, unacceptably high levels of VOCs are released on a daily basis. Equipment known as abatement devices are used to adsorb/absorb, react, recover, and convert the VOC wastes to prevent their release. Recent studies in states such as California show that waste streams containing low concentrations of VOCs can be very expensive to process. Often a limiting factor for regulatory agencies to require the use of abatement devices is the extremely high cost of converting each pound of VOC waste. Another is the production of reaction products which are as undesirable to release as the VOC being processed. One example of the latter is the production of oxides of nitrogen when flame is used to incinerate or otherwise convert VOC wastes. The South Coast Air Quality Management District located in Southern California currently limits the creation of no more than two pounds of oxides of nitrogen for each ten pounds of VOC destroyed.
Unlike U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/438,678 filed in Nov. 17, 1989 by myself and Jay R. Walker, the present invention does not attempt to measure or quantify the VOC's contained in a waste air stream. That technique of my prior application requires that the VOC concentration be high enough to have some positive fuel value or contain a VOC waste in sufficient concentrations as to require additional fuel to induce pyrolytic decomposition. Such concentrations are in the range of 0.1-1% before they become significant. Waste streams found in industry usually contain 0.001-0.1% thus severely limiting the application of the prior device. A national sampling of the electronic, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries showed that waste streams containing VOC concentrations of 0.1% or greater were the exception to the rule. Additionally, the nitrogen oxides produced by that prior device were in the order of several hundred parts per million, an unexceptionably high concentration. The present invention is designed to control the conditions of the reaction zone to allow greater than 90% conversion of VOC's and generation of nitrogen oxides equal to or less than 0.000025%. Using the criteria of 20% nitrogen oxide generation described earlier, waste streams containing less than 0.000125% of VOC's can be processed with this new device and still meet the most stringent existing regulations. A device patented by Brewer et al. in 1977, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,032, uses the temperature measured at the output port of the combustion chamber to control the fuel flow to the burner. Also Brewers device is designed to operate in a continuous mode and as such, the output temperature can vary as a function of system heating and cooling of air passing over the outside of the combustion tube. This variation has been measured to be in excess of forty degrees centigrade which interferes with proper monitoring of the reaction zone temperature.
Further prior art known to the applicant includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,056, issued Apr. 28, 1987 to Earl Vickery (one of the inventors of the present application) and Mark Yates. Other relevant prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,735, issued Apr. 24, 1984 to Birmingham et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,032, issued Jul. 26, 1977 to Brewer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,724, issued Dec. 15, 1981 to Micko; U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,653, issued Aug. 7, 1984 to Winner; U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,220, issued Oct. 31, 1978 to Bond et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,449, issued Nov. 23, 1976 to Childs; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,810, issued Jul. 8, 1985 to Lientz.


An airflow passage structure is applied to a fan. The airflow passage structure includes a sidewall and an airflow channel. The sidewall has uneven thickness. The airflow channel is defined by an inner surface of the sidewall, and includes a channel entrance and a channel exit. The channel exit is in communication with an airflow inlet of the fan. The diameter of the airflow channel is non-uniformly distributed.

Generally, in view of some reasons (e.g. safety), an additional airflow passage structure is extended from a small-size fan. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a fan assembly according to the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, the fan assembly 1 comprises an airflow passage structure 10 and a fan 11. The airflow passage structure 10 is substantially a straight tube-shaped structure with a uniform internal diameter D. An airflow channel is defined by the inner surface 101 of the airflow passage structure 10. The airflow passage structure 10 is installed at an airflow inlet 110 of a fan 11. The use of the airflow passage structure 10 may change the characteristics of the fan, comply with the layout size of the fan or increase the safety of the fan.
Since the direction of the airflow entering the airflow channel of the airflow passage structure 10 is not completely parallel with the inner surface 101 of the airflow passage structure 10, a portion of the airflow possibly stagnates within the airflow channel. That is, since some stagnation zones are possibly formed in the vicinity of the inner surface 101 of the airflow passage structure 10, a portion of the airflow whirls within the airflow channel. Under this circumstance, the performance of the fan is deteriorated, and the noise resulted from the fan is increased.

Fan assembly and airflow passage structure thereof


A family of hedge funds, serving as “feeder funds” into underlying single-manager hedge funds, formed to provide smaller investors with the ability to allocate and reallocate assets among alternative strategies, and this basic structure combining interrelated systems and methods for offering, redeeming, exchanging, valuing, reporting and servicing the same is a new approach. The system and methods described herein provide investors having less than ultra-high net worth portfolios with access to hedge funds and the potential valuable diversification to an overall portfolio, and the ability to customize their portfolio of hedge funds to their individual needs and adjust such portfolio over time as seen fit in light of changing financial needs and market conditions. This invention gives a wide range of investors access to hedge funds, creating economic value using a new source of stable investor capital for hedge fund managers, a value shared with investors through reduced costs.

This invention relates to hedge funds and systems and methods for offering and servicing the same. More particularly, this invention creates a low cost method for providing access to multiple hedge funds, as well as to the ability to efficiently allocate and reallocate capital among such funds, and in each case, to do so both more frequently and in smaller minimum amounts than would be possible investing directly in these hedge funds as opposed to doing so through this invention.
Hedge funds are privately-offered, highly specialized investment vehicles, to date generally available only to very high net worth individuals and institutional investors. Because they are privately offered, hedge funds are not subject to most of the portfolio and other substantive restrictions imposed on "investment companies" and "mutual funds" (publicly-offered investment funds which must, in the United States, be registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940). Hedge funds have the flexibility to trade a broad array of financial instruments in global markets—including taking both long and short positions as well as trading at a wide range of different leverage factors in all manner of securities, derivatives as well as other liquid and illiquid assets.
Hedge funds implement numerous different investment strategies. Among the most common of these strategies are: convertible arbitrage, distressed securities, equity arbitrage, directional equity (long/short), event driven, fixed income arbitrage, global macro and market neutral. There is no material limitation on the strategies which hedge funds may implement.
Because the "skill-based" strategies which hedge funds implement often have as much profit potential in declining as in rising markets, hedge funds are generally perceived to offer a potentially valuable element of diversification for a traditional portfolio of "long-only" stock and bond holdings (often concentrated in a single country's economy, whereas hedge funds are able to access global markets). Modern portfolio theory has established the long-term benefits of including "non-correlated asset classes"—as hedge funds are generally classified—in an overall portfolio. However, broadly diversified, individually tailored multi-hedge fund portfolios have to date been inaccessible to all but the extraordinarily wealthy because of the high minimum investment required, the difficulty of obtaining access to many of the most successful funds and the inability to exchange among unaffiliated funds.
Not only are hedge funds' minimum investments typically very large, but also such investments are typically illiquid. Hedge funds impose severe limitations on investors' ability to make as well as redeem investments (redemptions often being the only meaningful source of hedge fund investor liquidity as there is no market for many hedge fund interests). Redemptions generally are permitted as infrequently as quarterly, semi-annually or even only annually. Numerous funds impose even more restrictive redemption terms (e.g., a 2 to 3 year required commitment). Moreover, in order to redeem, advance notification, generally ranging from 30 to 90 days, is commonly required. Once a redemption has been permitted, many hedge funds do not pay the first installment of redemption proceeds until 45-60 days after the effective date of redemption, and in the case of a complete redemption by an investor it is not uncommon for a hedge fund to withhold up to 10% of the estimated value of the redemption proceeds until completion of the fund's annual audit (which may be more than a year after the redemption date). The illiquidity of hedge fund investments serves as a material entry barrier to smaller investors as, due to such illiquidity, they must have no need, contingent or otherwise, for the substantial amounts which they must invest in a hedge fund. Such illiquidity also increases the difficulty of participating in individual tailored, diversified portfolios of hedge funds.
Not only has the large minimum investment size and illiquidity of hedge funds made it difficult for most investors to participate in diversified portfolios of hedge funds selected individually by such investors, but also the material differences between hedge funds in features unrelated to the strategy implemented (e.g., redemption provisions, minimum subscriptions, tax reporting, etc.) have made allocating and reallocating among different funds the province only of specialized "funds of funds" managers capable of evaluating these differences and developing combination portfolios with overall structural attributes consistent with their portfolio objectives. These managers add significantly to the overall economic costs to investors as well as restricting or eliminating "investment transparency" as disclosure of the hedge funds included in the portfolios which they develop to investors would compromise the confidentiality of the managers' asset allocation strategies.
A more fundamental disadvantage of "funds of funds" managers is that "funds of funds" managers cannot select hedge fund portfolios with any single investor in mind, as opposed to the generalized portfolio objectives of the aggregate group of investors in their "funds of funds." However, different investors have very different particular objectives and risk tolerance levels as well as different core portfolios which they are seeking to diversify.
Another impediment to individually tailored multi-hedge fund portfolios has been that acceptance into a hedge fund into which an investor wished to reallocate capital has heretofore by no means been assured. The delays in obtaining such acceptance (and, in certain cases, the inability to do so) are disruptive of an asset allocation strategy.
The administrative entry barriers to smaller investors participating in diversified hedge fund portfolios have also been high. Private placements in general usually have complicated and burdensome subscription documents which must be signed by all investors. Privately-placed hedge funds have particularly complicated and burdensome subscription documents because investors must, for regulatory purposes, provide the sponsor with a number of representations and warranties peculiar to private investment funds in order to verify the subscriber's eligibility and allow them to subscribe. Completing and processing the necessary subscription documentation makes hedge fund investing procedurally difficult—typically the province of institutions and wealthy family offices with the resources to employ staff to perform this function.

Systems and methods for offering and servicing hedge funds


A magnetic head structure has a coil and a magnetic pole allowing a magnetic flux generated by the coil to be transmitted therethrough and forming a magnetic gap. An insulating layer surrounds the coil, and a protective layer covers the insulating layer and the magnetic pole. The insulating layer has a volume equal to or greater than a value which is determined with respect to a thickness of the protective layer. It is preferable to increase the volume of the insulating layer as the thickness of the protective layer is made greater. By increasing the volume of the insulating layer, the protrusion of a portion of a floating surface of the magnetic head slider near the magnetic pole, toward the disk, is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic head structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
A magnetic disk apparatus includes a plurality of disks and a plurality of magnetic head structures arranged between the disks. The magnetic head structure is arranged in a magnetic head slider. The surface of the magnetic head slider facing the disk is called a floating surface. The magnetic head structure comprises a coil, a magnetic pole allowing a magnetic flux generated by the coil to be transmitted therethrough and forming a magnetic gap, an insulating layer surrounding the coil, and a protective layer covering the insulating layer and the magnetic pole, with these members being provided on a substrate forming the magnetic head slider. Also, a shield and a reading element (MR element) are arranged on the substrate.
When data are written into the disk, an electric current is supplied to the coil. The electric current flowing through the coil generates a magnetic flux, and the magnetic flux leaking in the magnetic pole writes data in the disk. Also, when data are read from the disk, data is read by the MR element. Recently, the flying height (amount of the floating) of the magnetic head slider has been reduced in order to increase the recording density, and the flying height is ten and several nm, for example.
In the magnetic head structure, the substrate is made of Al2O3—TiC, the coil is made of copper, the magnetic pole and the shield are made of a magnetic material such as NiFe, the protective layer is made of alumina, and the insulating layer is made of a resin material such as a photoresist. In this manner, the whole magnetic head structure is covered by a protective layer made of alumina, and the coil and the insulating layer, which have coefficients of thermal expansion different from that of the protective layer, are arranged within the magnetic head structure.
The coefficient of thermal expansion of alumina is 5.8×10−6, the coefficient of thermal expansion of copper is 17.2×10−6, the coefficient of thermal expansion of Permalloy as a magnetic material is 10×10−6, and the coefficient of thermal expansion of a photoresist is 30-70×10−6. The coefficient of thermal expansion of copper or a magnetic material is approximately two or three times greater than that of alumina. The coefficient of thermal expansion of photoresist is approximately 10 times greater than that of alumina.
When the temperature of the interior in the magnetic disk apparatus rises or when the temperature rises due to the supply of the electric current, thermal deformation may occur in the magnetic head structure due to the difference in coefficients of thermal expansion of the constituent materials of the magnetic head structure. Such thermal deformation may cause deformation of the floating surface.
In considering the deformation in the floating surface, the insulating layer comprising a photoresist and having the greatest coefficient of thermal expansion expands to the greatest degree, and therefore, such a phenomena occurs that a portion of the floating surface where the magnetic pole protrudes toward the disk. If the deformation in the floating surface occurs, the minimum amount of the floating of the magnetic head slider is substantially reduced, and it is possible that a portion of the floating surface near the magnetic pole contacts the disk, and the reliability may be reduced.
Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the protrusion of the portion of the floating surface near the magnetic pole toward the disk.
Conventionally, there is a proposal to reduce the protrusion of the portion of the floating surface near the magnetic pole toward the disk, by changing the materials of the insulating layer and the protective layer. For example, the protective layer is divided into two portions, in which a material having higher Young's modulus is used for the portion near the floating surface and a material having lower Young's modulus is used for the portion remote from the floating surface (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-306213, for example). Also, these is a proposal to use a resin having a lower glass transition temperature for the insulating layer (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-306215, for example). However, as there is a large difference between coefficient of thermal expansion of the protective layer and that of the insulating layer, as described above, the problems of the thermal deformation cannot be fundamentally solved even if a difference between coefficient of thermal expansion of the protective layer and that of the insulating layer is slightly reduced.

Magnetic head structure with insulating layer configured to reduce thermal deformation of floating surface towards disk


A hanging clothing assembly includes a hanger, a clothing item, and a hanging strap. The hanger has a body portion and an upper support portion. The clothing item has a free-hanging length and defines an upper portion configured to be worn over an upper body of a wearer and a lower portion configured to be worn over a lower body of the wearer. The upper portion of the clothing item is supported on the body portion of the hanger. The hanging strap is secured to the lower portion of the clothing item and is also releasably secured in a closed loop that extends about the lower portion of the clothing item. The closed loop is releasably secured to the hanger such that the lower portion is supported from the hanger and the clothing item defines a display-hanging length that is less than the free-hanging length of the clothing item.

Stores that sell, store, and display costumes, day-to-day clothing, and the like can encounter problems hanging such lengthier clothing products. Some retailers hang the products on clothing hangers with the products disposed in clear, plastic bags that have holes in them toward their bottom ends. To provide a more compact display, the products are hung on the hangers, the lower portions of the bags are brought up to the hangers, and the hook portions of the hangers are inserted through the holes at the bottoms of the bags.


A tail pipe protector for military vehicles is formed with a plurality of gs shaped and joined to form a structure with free ends on the legs that will adapt to the various types of tail pipes. The structure is clamped in position to hold the protector in place and the clamping results in the structure being rigidified by the same action.

1. Field of the Invention
In one aspect this invention relates to anti-sabotage devices. In a further aspect this invention relates to a device to prevent the insertion of a blocking member into the tail pipe of a military vehicle.
2. Prior Art
In general, commercial vehicles are not exposed to the hazards of sabotage by having the exhaust systems intentionally blocked. If there is an intentional or unintentional blockage, the system failure will cause an inconvenience but would not represent a clear and present danger. The situation for military vehicles is markedly different where a vehicle being rendered even temporarily inactive can have fatal consequences. Situations where military vehicles are being sabotaged have become increasingly frequent as military forces have assumed long term caretaker roles requiring the forces to occupy fixed positions in hostile foreign countries for extended periods of time. In such positions there exist numerous opportunities for civilian and paramilitary individuals to pass in close proximity to a vehicle with the intent to disable the vehicle for a short period of time in order to prevent the rapid deployment of the vehicle to the site of a disturbance or the escape of the force if subjected to hostile actions. Even a short hiatus in availability of the vehicle can expose the users to danger or prevent their being available for duty.
A military force generally uses a large number of different vehicles having markedly different tail pipe characteristics in diameter, shape and configuration with a variety of possible curves to be accommodated. It would be desirable to have a tail pipe protective device that could be used on any of the various military vehicles likely to be used in a policing action. Such a device would have a structure that prevents insertion of a blocking device or substance into the exhaust outlet of a tail pipe. This requires that at least a portion of the device be located at a distance from the terminus of the exhaust outlet. Further, the portion of the device attached to the tail pipe assembly must be easily deformed so as to conform to the outer surface of the particular tail pipe closely enough to be firmly clamped into engagement with the tail pipe to prevent the device from being disengaged.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


A Co alloy target comprising 1 to 10 atomic % of Zr and 1 to 10 atomic % of Nb and/or Ta, the balance being unavoidable impurities and Co, is produced by rapidly solidifying a melt of the Co alloy to produce an alloy powder, classifying the alloy powder to maximum particle size of 500 μm or less, and pressure-sintering the classified alloy powder.

Recent remarkable development of magnetic recording technologies has provided large-capacity drives with magnetic recording media having higher recording densities. However, longitudinal magnetic recording media widely used at present need small recording bits and thus high coercivity to such extent that recording cannot be conducted by magnetic heads, to have higher magnetic recording density. To solve these problems, perpendicular magnetic recording with high recording density has been researched.
Perpendicular magnetic recording is conducted on a recording medium whose magnetic film has a magnetization easy-axis vertical to its surface, with a small demagnetizing field in bits and little deterioration of read-write characteristics even at an increased recording density, thus suitable for a high magnetic recording density. Developed for the perpendicular magnetic recording is a double-layer recording medium with high recording sensitivity, which comprises a magnetic recording film and a soft magnetic film.
As the soft magnetic film for the double-layer recording medium, soft magnetic Co alloy films were proposed by JP 08-014889 B and JP 09-282656 A.
The formation of the soft magnetic films in the double layer media described in JP 08-014889 B and JP 09-282656 A is generally conducted by a magnetron sputtering method. The magnetron sputtering method comprises causing a magnetic flux to leak onto a target surface with a magnet disposed on the rear side of a target, and concentrating plasma in a region of the leaked magnetic flux to form a thin film at a high speed. Because the unevenness of crystal orientation and metal structure of a magnetic target leads to the unevenness of the leaked magnetic flux and thus the unevenness of a sputtered film in the magnetron sputtering method, it is important to develop a target with little unevenness. In the sputtering method, dust called particles is generated from the target during sputtering. It is thus important to suppress the generation of particles. Because there is an extremely brittle intermetallic compound phase, which tends to constitute the particles, particularly in the Co alloy target containing Zr, Nb, Ta, etc., it is extremely important to control the shape and distribution of the intermetallic compound phase.
Because Zr is not substantially dissolved in Co, brittle intermetallic compounds are formed even if Zr is added in a small amount. Accordingly, it is extremely important to control the structure of a Zr-containing Co alloy.

Co alloy target and its production method, soft magnetic film for perpendicular magnetic recording and perpendicular magnetic recording medium


A calibrator includes: a position calculator which calculates a relative position between a first detector and a second detector on the basis of detection signals acquired respectively from the first detector, the second detector, and a third detector positioned with respect to a scale attached to a rotating body; and an error calculator which calculates error information on rotational position information of the rotating body on the basis of the relative position calculated by the position calculator as well as the detection signals.

A rotary encoder which detects rotational position information is mounted on various devices such as a driving device (for example, a motor device) (for example, see Patent Literature 1 below). Techniques for finding a calibration value of an error in an angle detection device such as a rotary encoder have been proposed.

Calibrator, encoder, driving device, stage device, robot, encoder manufacturing method, and calibration program


A storyboard includes a sentence imprinted on it that has at least one missing word, and a hook and loop fastener is positioned in registration with the missing word. A plurality of mounting members, each of which has a word imprinted on its front side, is stored at a location remote from the storyboard and is detachably secured to a hook and loop fastener. A child selects a word from the remote location and attaches it to the hook and loop fastener on the storyboard to complete the sentence. The child then inverts the mounting member and views a picture on its reverse side to verify the meaning of the word. In a second embodiment, remote mounting members having words or pictures imprinted on them are stored under flaps that surround the storyboard and the child sequentially lifts the flaps, retrieves mounting members having words and pictures imprinted on them, and completes a sentence. The mounting members are then inverted to view pictures and words on their respective reverse sides that confirm the words and pictures imprinted on their respective front sides.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to a teaching aid. More particularly, it relates to a device that engages the attention of young children learning to read and to a method for using the device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Learning to read may be difficult for some young children because the printed word appearing on a page does not appear particularly attractive or interesting to them. If a child finds black letters written on a white page to be uninteresting, his or her reading skills will develop very slowly and perhaps not at all.
Many children who are not attracted to traditional reading material are physically oriented and prefer to manipulate items with their hands instead of abstract symbols in their minds.
What is needed, then, is a method and apparatus for teaching reading skills to young children that attracts and holds their interest. The apparatus should include bright colors and attractive pictures. Moreover, it should involve young readers in physical activity related to the reading process so that the learning process is not exclusively mental.
However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in this art how a new method and apparatus for teaching reading skills could be provided.

Apparatus and method for teaching reading skills


A method and apparatus for changing settable email parameters in a system supporting email using a wireless device, the system including a wireless electronic device and a wireless network. Provided is a way of changing email settings on the wireless device, and storing those changes on both the device and, as needed or desired, on the wireless network. The wireless network and wireless device are adapted to wirelessly communicate with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to handheld electronic devices and, more particularly, to a handheld electronic device including an e-mail function. The invention also relates to a method or a system of remotely controlling e-mail settings from such a handheld electronic device.
2. Background Information
Numerous types of handheld electronic devices are known. Examples of such handheld electronic devices include, for instance, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellular telephones, and the like. Many handheld electronic devices also feature wireless communication capability, although many such handheld electronic devices are stand-alone devices that are functional without communication with other devices.
Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is used to send messages over networks and over the Internet. Electronic messaging has become a ubiquitous means of communication for both business and personal use. Devices that process electronic messages typically maintain a message list identifying electronic messages received for reading and processing by the recipient. Such processing can include, for example, replying to, forwarding to others, deleting and filing the messages.
It is known to configure e-mail settings for wireless handheld electronic devices from a software utility at a desktop personal computer that interfaces with a wireless enterprise server over, for example, the Internet. Such e-mail settings may include, for example, e-mail filter settings, e-mail redirection settings, save copy of e-mail in a sent folder settings, e-mail auto-signature settings, and out-of-office reply e-mail settings. For example, an e-mail filter setting is a setting that blocks certain e-mail messages based upon user-selected criteria. An e-mail redirection setting enables and disables the redirection of e-mail messages from a user's normal e-mail system to the user's wireless handheld electronic device. Such settings may also redirect e-mail messages from selected folders (e.g., Inbox; Spam) in the user's normal e-mail system. An e-mail auto-signature setting enables and disables appending predefined text to an e-mail message that is sent from a wireless handheld electronic device. An out-of-office reply e-mail setting enables or disables sending a predefined reply e-mail message from a wireless handheld electronic device in response to an e-mail message that is received by such device. For example, the out-of-office reply e-mail setting is configurable via a program, such as, for example, Microsoft® Outlook® or Lotus Notes® on a personal computer. The other e-mail settings (e.g., auto-signature; redirected folders; e-mail redirection) are controlled via desktop software on a personal computer.
There exists the need for users of wireless handheld electronic devices to remotely control their e-mail settings from such devices without having to use a software utility at, for example, a desktop personal computer. Accordingly, there is room for improvement in wireless handheld electronic devices and related systems and methods.

Coordinated changing of email settings on wireless electronic devices and wireless networks


A lock device for a notebook computer includes a fixing seat, two overlapping locking members, two elastic members, a mounting ring, an extension cable and a lock unit. Thus, the notebook computer is locked onto a fixture by the lock device to prevent the notebook computer from being stolen easily. In addition, the notebook computer is locked by or unlocked from the lock device by rotation of a key, so that the lock device is operated easily and quickly, thereby facilitating a user operating the lock device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present relates to a lock device and, more particularly, to a lock device for a notebook computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A notebook computer has a smaller size and lighter weight so that the notebook computer is carried and stored easily and conveniently, thereby facilitating a user operating the notebook computer in any place. However, the notebook computer is carried away easily and quickly, thereby greatly causing inconvenience to the user.


First and second L-shaped brackets are secured to first and second computer peripheral units. The upright back portions of both of the brackets have holes or openings in them. With the first unit stacked on the second and their respective brackets aligned, a first male member of a connector device is snap fit in a hole in one of the brackets and a second male member of that device is snap fit in a hole in the other bracket. The two brackets and connector device form a connector assembly, which with (three) other similar assemblies, hold the stacked unit together. Bottom members, top cap members and/or center members can be snap fit onto the brackets to provide flexibility in use and to provide a smooth attractive outer appearance. According to one preferred embodiment, the assemblies can be disassembled without tools. The brackets, connector device, and the other members can be sold as a kit together with differently-sized brackets to accommodate different sizes (heights) of units.

The present invention relates to systems for interlocking computer peripheral modules or the like together in various horizontal and/or vertical stacking arrangements.
Computer systems today, both in the home and office, typically include numerous storage or other peripheral devices, such as CD ROMs, floppy disks, magnetic optical disk drives, and tape back-up systems, to be connected by wires or otherwise operated in conjunction with a computer (personal or Macintosh). It is important to organize and arrange these devices to be in efficient close proximity to one another, to minimize the horizontal as well as vertical space (the footprint) which they occupy, and to connect them together in the desired arrangement securely to prevent them from falling off of one another and/or off of desk or table tops. Unfortunately, the interlocking systems of the prior art do not provide for easy flexible use, easy locking and unlocking, and an attractive appearance.

Adjustable interlocking system for computer peripheral and other desktop enclosures

c/o JMR Electronics, Inc., 20400 Plummer St.