A protective enclosure for a portable electronic data storage device includes an outer shell having a base and a lid movable between open and closed conditions relative to the base. An insert is receivable within the shell. The insert has an interior compartment for accommodating the electronic data storage device and an opening formed through an upper end of the insert in communication with the compartment for extending the storage device therethrough.

Portable electronic memory and data storages devices known as flash memory are currently utilized in a wide array of products including cellular telephones, computers, digital cameras, modems, audio recorders, printers, portable music players, local area network switches, digital set-up boxes and embedded devices. When such media are transported and handled, they are subjected to wear and damage. Flash memory drives tend to be small and fairly delicate items that can be easily damaged if dropped or mishandled. It is therefore desirable to transport these items in a case or packaging that adequately protects them from damage. Unfortunately, flash memory drives are often carried loosely in the user's pocket. Not only are such devices apt to be damaged, they are also subjected to dust, debris and lint. Such debris can then be transferred by the drive, for example, to a computer's USB receptacle. The present invention relates to a new and unique protective enclosure that is especially suited for accommodating various types of flash memory media and which not only protects these items from damage and debris, but also presents an aesthetically appealing and classically attractive design appearance and feel.

Protective enclosure for an electronic data storage device


Generating a data structure based on time-series data stored within a data store comprises: generating a plurality of time frame nodes within a data structure having a member node associated with a particular member, each time frame node reflecting a particular period of time during which there are no changes to the content of drug nodes associated with the particular period of time. At least a portion of those drug nodes at least partially reflect merged data records reflecting the combined duration of a plurality of matching data records, wherein the duration of the merged data records are determined based at least in part on characteristic data stored within one or more of the identified matching data records. The time frame nodes of the data structure are generated based on determined changes in content of the drug nodes based on the merged data records.

Without underlying metadata that is associated with various data structures when those data structures are first created, existing storage databases lack resource efficient mechanisms for reorganizing, merging, or otherwise consolidating data structures stored therein. Because an ever-increasing number of data creating devices are utilized on a daily basis, a need constantly exists for new, resource-efficient systems and methods for merging data structures stored within storage databases.

Systems and methods for data structure storage and combination based on data structure content


An electrostatic transducer includes: a class-D power amplifier that amplifies an input signal; and a low pass filter that has a plurality of pairs of inductors and capacitors, is connected to an output side of the class-D power amplifier, and serves to eliminate switching carrier components included in an output of the class-D power amplifier. An electrostatic load capacitor of the electrostatic transducer serving as a driving load is disposed at a capacitor, which is closest to the output side of the class-D power amplifier, of circuit elements forming the low pass filter, an electrostatic coupling capacitor and an output transformer are interposed between the electrostatic load capacitor of the electrostatic transducer and an inductor closest to the output side of the class-D power amplifier of the low pass filter, and a damping resistor is connected in series to a primary coil of the output transformer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electrostatic transducer. In particular, the invention relates to an electrostatic transducer having a driving circuit, which is suitable for an electrostatic transducer that reproduces a sound having high directionality by outputting a modulated wave obtained by modulating a carrier wave in an ultrasonic band with a sound signal in an audible band, to a method of setting a circuit constant of the electrostatic transducer, to an ultrasonic speaker, to a display device having the ultrasonic speaker, to a directional sound system, and to a driving circuit of a capacitive load.
2. Related Art
An ultrasonic speaker can reproduce a sound having high directionality by outputting a modulated wave obtained by modulating a carrier wave in an ultrasonic band with a sound signal in an audible band. In general, a piezoelectric transducer is used as a transducer (transmitter) of the ultrasonic speaker. However, since the piezoelectric transducer uses a sharp resonance characteristic of an element, a frequency band thereof is very narrow even though high sound pressure can be obtained. As a result, in an ultrasonic speaker using the piezoelectric transducer, a reproducible frequency band is narrow, and accordingly, the reproduced sound quality tends to be poor as compared with a loudspeaker. For this reason, a variety of studies for improving the reproduced sound quality is being made (for example, refer to JP-A-2001-86587).
In addition, there is an ultrasonic speaker using an electrostatic transducer (refer to an example of an electrostatic transducer shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C) in which an electrostatic force is applied between an electrode of a vibrating film and a fixed electrode so as to vibrate the vibrating film and generate the sound pressure. The electrostatic transducer is characterized in that a flat output sound pressure characteristic can be obtained over a wide frequency range. Accordingly, in the ultrasonic speaker using an electrostatic transducer, the reproduced sound quality can be improved, as compared with the ultrasonic speaker using a piezoelectric transducer.
However, in the case of driving the electrostatic transducer in an analog amplifier, the following problems occur.
FIGS. 12A and 12B are views illustrating examples of a single end push-pull circuit. Referring to FIGS. 12A and 12B, it will be described about a difference between a case of driving a resistive load and a case of driving a capacitive load in a typical analog power amplifier. As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the typical analog power amplifier uses a single end push-pull circuit in which an NPN transistor Tr1 and a PNP transistor Tr2 are totem-pole-connected to each other at an output stage (power amplification stage) in an up and down direction. An output-stage transistor is configured to operate in a class AB (class B) or a class A. In addition, FIG. 12A illustrates an example of the case of driving a load resistor RL serving as a resistive load, and FIG. 12B illustrates an example of the case of driving a load capacitor CL serving as a capacitive load.
FIGS. 13A and 13B are views illustrating examples of a power loss occurring in an output-stage transistor (one side) of an analog power amplifier. Specifically, FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate the relationship between a collector current IC and a voltage VCE between a collector and an emitter of the upper transistor Tr1 shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B in the case when an output-stage transistor operates in a class B. In the case of the resistive load, the phase of an output voltage (load voltage) and the phase of an output current (load current) are approximately equal to each other, and accordingly, the collector current IC and the voltage VCE between the collector and the emitter of the transistor have an inverted relationship as shown in FIG. 13A. That is, the voltage VCE is a minimum when the output current IC is a maximum, and the voltage VCE is a maximum when the output current IC is a minimum.
In contrast, in the case of the load capacitor CL, the phase of the output voltage (load voltage) and the phase of the output current (load current) are different from each other by 90°, and accordingly, the phase of the voltage VCE and the phase of the current IC are also different from each other by 90° as shown in FIG. 13B. At this time, when the output current IC is a maximum, the voltage VCE is not a minimum but is high, and thus a large loss WQ occurs in the transistor. As a result, a power loss larger than in the case of the resistive load occurs in the transistor.
As described above, when an electrostatic transducer is driven by the typical analog power amplifier, the power loss in the output-stage transistor is larger in the case of the capacitive load than the case of the resistive load assuming that output power is equal. Consequently, in the case when the electrostatic transducer is driven by the analog power amplifier, a power amplifier having an output higher than in the case of driving the resistive load is required, which causes a problem in that an apparatus becomes large.
On the other hand, in recent years, a class-D power amplifier that causes an output-stage transistor to switching-operate has come into wide use as an audio power amplifier (for example, refer to JP-A-2002-158550). The class-D power amplifier is characterized in that a power MOSFET having low on-resistance is used as an output-stage element and it is possible to reduce a loss in the output-stage element by performing a switching operation on the MOSFET. Since the loss in the output-stage element is small in the class-D power amplifier as compared with an analog amplifier, a radiator indispensable to the analog power amplifier may not be prepared or may be made small.
Therefore, it is possible to realize a small and high-output amplifier. For this reason, the class-D power amplifier is often adopted in an amplifier for a vehicle or an amplifier for a portable terminal, in which miniaturization and low loss is required, an AV amplifier having a large number of output channels, or the like.
FIG. 14 is a view illustrating an example of the configuration of a typical class-D power amplifier. In the class-D power amplifier 21 shown in FIG. 14, a PWM circuit 41 modulates an input signal 40 to a high-frequency digital signal by using a PWM (pulse width modulation) method or a PDM (pulse density modulation) method and then a gate driving circuit 42 drives a class-D output stage 43. In the class-D output stage 43, the power MOSFET having low on-resistance is used such that the power MOSFET operates in a saturated region, that is, performs a switching operation (ON/OFF operation), by means of the gate driving circuit 42. While the power MOSFET is in an OFF state, a current hardly flows, and accordingly, the loss in the power MOSFET is almost zero. On the other hand, while the power MOSFET is in an ON state, a current flows through a load; however, since a resistance of the power MOSFET being in the ON state, that is, a so-called ON resistance is so small as to be within a range of several to several tens of milliohms, the loss in the power MOSFET can be suppressed to be significantly small even if a large amount of current flows. Accordingly, since the loss occurring in an output-stage element is very small in the class-D power amplifier 21 as compared with an analog amplifier, it is possible to realize a small and high-output amplifier.
As described above, the output of the class-D output stage 43 is a switching wave (modulated wave), the output of the class-D output stage 43 needs to be supplied to a load after eliminating switching carrier components by the use of a low pass filter. As the low pass filter, an LC filter in which the power loss is small is generally used.
Here, a case in which a capacitive load such as an electrostatic transducer is driven by the class-D power amplifier will be considered. As described above, in order to eliminate the switching carrier components, an LC filter is inserted behind a class-D output stage in the class-D power amplifier. Here, a capacitor C, which is a part of the LC filter, may be replaced by an electrostatic transducer. That is, the load capacitor C may be used as a part of the LC filter.
FIG. 15 is a view illustrating an example of the configuration of a class-D power amplifier that uses a fourth-order LC low pass filter. In the case of a typical audio power amplifier, a load to be driven, which is shown in FIG. 15, is a resistive component (load resistor RL). On the other hand, in the case when an electrostatic transducer is to be driven, it may be considered that a capacitor C2, which is a part of the LC filter, is replaced by the electrostatic transducer and the capacitor C2 is driven as the load capacitor CL.
Referring to the circuit shown in FIG. 15, in a fourth-order LC filter that is configured to include L1, C1, L2, C2, and RL and is terminated at one end of the circuit, examples of an output voltage (terminal voltage of C2), power supplied to a load capacitor C2 (CL), and a loss being consumed in a load resistor RL (used as a damping resistor) assuming that C2 is used as the load capacitor (for example, CL=5 nF) are shown in FIG. 16.
FIG. 16 is a view illustrating an example of a loss occurring in the load resistor RL when directly driving a load capacitor with a class-D power amplifier and an LC filter. As shown in FIG. 16, a flat output characteristic (output voltage) can be obtained with the load resistor RL having a proper resistance value. Instead, a loss much larger than the power (apparent power) supplied to the load capacitor occurs in the damping load resistor RL (refer to load resistor loss data in FIG. 16). As a result, an unnecessary loss occurs, and thus the circuit efficiency ranging from an amplifier to a load is lowered. In other words, in the case of driving a typical loudspeaker in the class-D power amplifier, a load resistor itself is a speaker and the unnecessary loss does not occur in portions other than a load to be driven, and as a result, it is possible to improve the circuit efficiency ranging from an amplifier to a load.
As described above, when directly driving the load capacitor C in the configuration of the class-D output stage and the LC filter which is a configuration of a typical class-D power amplifier for audio, an unnecessary loss occurs in the damping load resistor RL in the case of intending to obtain a flat output characteristic. As a result, a serious problem occurs in that the efficiency of the entire driving circuit is noticeably lowered. This is not preferable because the characteristic of the class-D power amplifier having high efficiency cannot be applied to a system.
FIG. 17 is a view illustrating a frequency characteristic of an output voltage in the case when there is no load resistor RL shown in FIG. 15. If the load resistor RL is removed or is changed to a resistor having a high resistance value in order to reduce the loss in the damping load resistor RL, a resonance characteristic of the LC filter becomes noticeable and the frequency characteristic of the output voltage largely varies as shown in FIG. 17. In an example shown in FIG. 17, since a characteristic around a driving frequency band of an ultrasonic speaker varies largely, it is not possible to stably drive the ultrasonic speaker with the characteristic described above.
As described above, in the case when the class-D power amplifier is used in a driving circuit of the electrostatic transducer, if a damping resistor is removed or is changed to a resistor having a high resistance value in order to reduce the loss in the damping resistor, the resonance characteristic of the LC filter becomes noticeable and the frequency characteristic of the output voltage largely varies as shown in FIG. 17. In the example shown in FIG. 17, since the characteristic around the driving frequency band of the ultrasonic speaker varies largely, a problem has occurred in that it is not possible to stably drive the ultrasonic speaker with the characteristic described above.

Electrostatic transducer, ultrasonic speaker, driving circuit of capacitive load, method of setting circuit constant, display device, and directional sound system


A lathe adapter/apparatus for reshaping surfaces of a brake rotor and eliminating run-out comprising an adapter plate assembly mounted on an adapter mounting member with a first fixed plate of the plate assembly defining a first planar end surface perpendicular to the axis of adapter mounting member and a second planar end surface that forms an angle with the axis. A movable plate is mounted on the adapter mounting member adjacent the fixed plate, the moveable plate defining a first planar end surface perpendicular to the axis of the adapter mounting member and a second planar end surface that forms an angle with the axis, the angled end surface of the first movable plate member engaging the angled end surface of the first fixed plate. A second plate assembly having plates with end surfaces substantially identical to the first plate assembly is mounted on the adapter mounting member and a cone and spring centering assembly is mounted on the adapter mounting member between the first and second plate assemblies for centering a brake rotor which is mounted on the adapter mounting member between the plate assemblies.

Motor vehicle brakes often utilize a plurality of opposing, pairs of pads on brake calipers to frictionally engage a rotor disc which is secured to and rotates with a vehicle wheel in a manner well known in the art. Preferably the braking surfaces of the rotors are planar and are oriented to be perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the vehicle wheel. Brake rotors are typically disc-shaped structures having two oppositely facing ring-shaped planar braking surfaces. Ideally, these two ring-shaped braking surfaces should be parallel, perfectly planar and should be mounted with respect to the axis of rotation of the vehicle wheel so that the two rotating parallel surfaces are perpendicular to the axis at all times.
In practice this ideal configuration is difficult to realize because the stacked tolerances of the hub and rotor assemblies, known in the industry as the "hubless rotor," frequently cause a wobbling of the disc brake rotor on the mounted running assembly, a condition that is commonly referred to as "run-out." In recent years, automobile manufacturers have been plagued with an increased incidence of excessive run-out, which commonly manifests itself in the form of increased brake pedal pulsation problems. Excessive run-out results in reduced braking efficiency and often in the premature wearing out of the brakes. Lateral disc run-out refers to lateral deviation of the planar surface of a rotor along a radial line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of rotation of the rotor from a plane extending through the radial line and perpendicular to the axis of rotation. The lateral run-out may not be the same on the two oppositely-facing planar braking surfaces defined by the brake rotor and, therefore, the run-out on each side must be measured and eliminated for proper brake functioning.
A number of devices have been devised and are well known in the art to help correct defects and deviations in the surfaces of brake rotors. One example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,662 to Besenbruch et al. which is directed toward a work holder assembly including adapter members having conical faces for engaging a disc brake therebetween or for engaging in a central hole of a disc. A rigid circular plat, with spaced threaded adjustable bolts bears on the face of the disc. Spacer members bear against the circular plate while the adapter members, plate and spacer members are disposed in axial alignment on the shaft. The rigid circular plate and adjustment bolts hold the work piece in axial alignment with the shaft, and correct distortion in the disc or end wall of the drum while preventing vibration of the work piece during dressing.
Another device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,900 issued to Callanan et al. for a brake lathe used for refinishing the inner cylindrical surface on a brake drum of the two outer side surfaces on a brake disc. The brake lathe has an indexable spindle so that its tool slide only needs to move in one direction so that the part being worked upon, be it a brake drum or a brake disc, can be oriented to the direction of movement of the tool slide.
Another device for turning a brake surface is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,691,880 issued to Ratteree et al. which describes a method and apparatus for turning the braking surfaces of a vehicle lug supported braking member, such as a brake drum or disc brake. The brake turning method includes the steps of supporting the braking member on a refinishing lathe so that its lug holes are concentric with respect to the rotational axis of the lathe, rotating the braking member, and engaging the braking surface of the member with the lathe cutting tool maintained at selected distances from the axis of rotation to redefine the braking surface concentric with respect to the circle defined by the lug holes in the braking member. The apparatus includes a backing plate which is carried by the lathe which defines an annular groove in the working face adapted to lie behind the lug holes and a clamping plate also adapted to be carried by the lathe in juxtaposition with the backing plate. The clamping plate is provided with a plurality cf support pins arranged to project through the lug holes of the braking member which is positioned between the clamping and backing plates to position the member concentrically about the rotational axis of the lathe.
A swing arm brake lathe is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,728 issued to Thiem. The brake lathe is for machining both brake drums and brake rotors wherein the tool carriage assembly is pivotable through an arc of about ninety degrees which allows the tool carriage to engage the friction surfaces of either a brake drum or rotor on a fixed spindle. In the drum machining position, the tool carriage assembly is approximately parallel to the axis of the spindle and when in the disc machining position the tool carriage assembly is approximately perpendicular to the axis of the spindle. The lathe further includes alignment means to assure proper alignment of the tool carriage assembly without the spindle, and release means to remove the tool carriage assembly from the remainder of the lathe for service.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,231 issued to Wossner describes a method and device for machining brake discs while the discs are still on the vehicle. The refacing of the worn brake discs is accomplished by connecting an outer drive with the disc or with the shaft on which the disc is mounted. This positions the machine tools with respect to the disc for refacing the disc. Two adjustable tools are fixed on a common transverse carriage and simultaneously machine two faces of the disc. Coupling and centering devices are arranged on either side of the refacing device and may be coupled consecutively with the disc on the two sides of the vehicle.
Other examples of machines and methods for correcting brake problems include U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,786 issued to Belinghausen et II., U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,454 issued to Mitchell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,137 issued to Obmann and U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,165 issued to Lanham. The '786 patent is directed to a method and apparatus for dampening brake lathe vibration. The '454 device discloses a method and an apparatus for dampening vibrations during the turning of a rotor by means of a pair of weights which respectively lie in inclined tracks and are held against the opposite faces of the disc by the force of gravity. The '137 patent discloses a device for unbalance correction of rotors and the '165 device is directed to rotatably holding a braking member having opposed braking surfaces for machining the surfaces.
The prior art does not provide an effective way to eliminate a common and potentially destructive problem; namely, the problem of how to easily eliminate disc brake rotor run-out. The present invention discloses a device and a method using the device for measuring a rotor for evidence of run-out before the rotor is removed from the vehicle, accurately marking the high portion of the rotor surface and then marking both the rotor and a portion of the vehicle hub to enable a service technician to replace the rotor in the same orientation after it has been removed and lathed to resurface the rotor. The inventive device enables the service technician to easily remove the surface defects on the rotor and comprises a brake lathe adapter that includes an adapter mounting, arbor and two pairs of adapter plates which are mounted on the adapter mounting arbor, each pair of adapter plates comprising a fixed plate and a rotatable plate. The fixed plates are mounted toward the respective ends of the mounting arbor and the moveable plates are mounted inside the fixed plates. Each plate has one offset or angled flat side surface that has been machined or cut at a one degree (1.degree.) angle and the pairs of plates are arranged on the mounting arbor so that the angled sides are adjacent. The rotor is mounted between the two movable inner plates and they are rotated on the mounting arbor to compensate for the rotor run-out before a rotor surface is lathed.


A fact repository contains facts having attributes and values and further having associated annotations, which are used, among other things, to vet facts in the repository and which can be returned in response to a query.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains in general to searching collections of data and, in particular, to ways of adding detecting information in such collections of data.
2. Description of the Related Art
The World Wide Web and other information storage and retrieval systems contain a great deal of information. People have devised many ways of organizing and viewing this information.
As the retrieval and storage of information on the Internet continues to evolve, information is being stored in many different formats besides web pages. Moreover, in a very large repository of data, it becomes difficult to search the data in real-time. What is needed are new and advanced ways of accessing large collections of data from diverse sources, such as the Internet.


A frame is mounted to a front surface of a previously mounted mirror so that recesses in the back side of the frame receive protruding portions of fasteners which attach the frame to a supporting structure. Guide structures are temporarily mounted to the front surface of the mirror to facilitate the mounting of the frame to the mirror. The guide structures are used to suspend the frame in a position forward of the mirror. Then, while the frame is suspended by the guide structures, the frame is pushed toward the mirror so that the frame slides along the guide structures. As a result, adhesive strips, which are mounted to the back of the frame, engage the front surface of the mirror and become adhered thereto, so that the frame is mounted to the front surface of the mirror by the adhesive strips.

The present invention pertains to frames and, more particularly, to framing a premounted mirror.
It is prior art to frame a premounted mirror without unmounting the mirror, such as by cutting pieces from chair rail molding or ceiling molding, mitering the ends of the pieces, and then gluing the pieces to the margin of the mirror one at a time/piece by piece, and respectively end to end. The pieces are finished by painting or staining them.
This prior art technique has not been widely adopted because it has numerous shortcomings. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improvements relating to the framing of premounted mirrors.

Frame for mounting to a premounted mirror


A method for revocable token identifiers may be employed in a shared storage environment. An access server may generate access tokens and include revocable token identifiers previously obtained from storage devices. When clients present access tokens to storage devices during storage requests, storage devices may check the validity of access tokens by verifying that the revocable token identifiers were previously issued to the access server. An access server may request that the storage device revoke revocable token identifiers. Storage devices may deny any future storage requests including revoked token identifiers. Additionally, an access token may include instructions specifying operations for a storage device to perform in conjunction with a storage request. A trusted server may issue grantor tokens granting permissions for access servers to use when issuing access tokens. An access server may then include such a grantor token in access tokens that it generates and issues to clients.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to access tokens in distributed data storage environments and, more particularly, to secure block level capability tokens using revocable token identifiers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern distributed storage environments may include many storage objects connected via an interconnection network. An interconnection network provides the infrastructure to connect the various elements of a distributed shared storage environment. Within the storage environment, file system abstractions may be built on top of virtual storage (for example, logical volumes) that may be distributed across multiple storage devices. As the number of volume and file system abstractions grows, the complexity of the entire storage environment grows dramatically.
In order to limit bottlenecking and the resulting restricted data throughput, distributed shared storage environments may separate the actual storage of data from the management of that data. Storage architectures that employ this technique may be referred to as out-of-band systems. An access server, sometimes called a metadata server (MDS), may supply the required data management and control functions including, among others, file system mapping or virtualization, client authentication, and the granting access privileges. The data itself may be stored on various storage devices attached to the network, but not necessarily connected directly to the access server. Such storage devices may provide data storage functions without having to worry about the metadata or file system virtualization or management.
Client applications, or hosts, may initially contact the access server to request access to a specific file, dataset, or range of data blocks. The access server may, after authenticating the client and applying whatever data access policies are relevant, provide the requesting client node with information about what storage device contains that particular dataset. Client nodes may then communicate directly with the storage device when reading or writing data.

Secure storage access using third party capability tokens


A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program code for focusing an image. In one advantageous embodiment, a method is used to focus an image. Optimization is performed to identify an array of coefficients for a polynomial representing a phase correction in a manner that minimizes an entropy value generated by an entropy calculation for the image. The array of coefficients is applied to the polynomial to obtain a desired phase correction. A phase error in the image is corrected using the desired phase correction to focus the image.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to an improved data processing system and in particular to a method and apparatus for processing image data. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method, apparatus, and computer usable program code for focusing an image using data generated by a synthetic aperture radar.
2. Background
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar in which a beam is generated that may be used for applications such as, for example, remote sensing and mapping. In one application, a radar antenna may be attached to an aircraft. A single pulse or signal may be radiated from the antenna that may have different dimensions in the horizontal and vertical direction to achieve desired beam width. Often times, the signal radiated from the antenna may illuminate the terrain below the aircraft outwards towards the horizon. The amplitude and phase of the signal returning from a given location on the ground may be recorded.
Further, the aircraft may transmit a series of pulses as the aircraft travels. The results from these pulses may be combined. In other words, a series of different observations or phases may be combined through different processes to generate an image. This image may be, for example, a map of reflectivity including both amplitude and phase. In these examples, phase information is typically discarded. The amplitude information may contain information about ground cover in the same manner as a black and white picture.
Synthetic aperture radar images may be smeared in the cross range direction due to residual phase error. This smearing is also referred to as being defocused. The cross range direction is also referred to as an azimuth direction. The azimuth direction is perpendicular to the range from the synthetic aperture radar system to the target. This residual phase error may be caused by incomplete motion compensation, atmospheric effects, or some other source.
Autofocus is a function that may be used to produce focused images by estimating and correcting the residual phase error. Phase error may be introduced by navigation errors or other sources that may degrade the quality of the image. In these examples, autofocus may be used during image formation for estimation and compensation of the residual phase error that cannot be completely removed through motion compensation based on navigation data.
Various autofocus algorithms and techniques are currently available. These techniques, however, may be limited in performance or applicable situations. For example, map drift and phase difference methods are examples of parametric approaches that may be used to perform autofocus for processing radar data to create images. These types of methods measure the relative shifts of maps from sub aperture data blocks and use these measurements to estimate non-linear phase error based on piece-wise linear approximations.
Other methods include non-parametric methods, such as, for example, phase gradient algorithm and multiple discrete autofocus. These methods are simple, efficient, and capable of estimating high phase error. The performance of these types of techniques may be affected by the contents in the scene in which the image is made. Other examples of currently available techniques also include successive parameter adjustments, which uses a one dimensional search algorithm to update model parameters to the direction of improving image sharpness metric.
Map drift and phase difference methods are less sensitive to scene contents. These types of methods are limited in the order of phase error that may be estimated. For higher order phase error, full collection array data is divided into small data blocks. This processing leads to a reduction of signal-to-noise ratio. The maximal order that can be estimated is practically limited to around five with this type of technique.
Phase gradient algorithm and multiple discrete autofocus calculate the phase error profile from isolated point targets. However, with these techniques, distinguishing targets closely located in the azimuth from isolated targets cannot be perfect and using non-isolated targets may result in estimation error.
Another situation in which these techniques have difficulty is when the phase error varies spatially. As a result, the chances of having good isolated targets in a small image block are low. This type of situation may result in performance degradation. Further, inaccurate local phase error estimation also poses a problem in achieving phase continuity that is desired between divided small image blocks.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method, apparatus, and computer program product that overcomes the problems described above.

Autofocus for minimum entropy through multi-dimensional optimization


A can body embossing apparatus has a first mandrel with a first tooling member adapted to receive thereon a can body and a second mandrel with a second tooling member reciprocally movable from a first position distal the first tooling member to a second position proximate the first tooling member. In the second position, the can body side wall is engaged between the first tooling member and the second tooling member. The first tooling member defines one or more recessed portions therein and the second tooling member defines one or more protuberances extending therefrom and adapted to correspond with the recessed portions. The first mandrel and second mandrel are in mechanical communication throughout the reciprocal movement of the second mandrel such that the first and second tooling members rotate continuously with respect to each other and maintain a substantially constant relative position with respect to each other. The continuous side wall of the can body is conveyed between the first and second tooling members to effect the embossing of the side wall resulting in the formation of decorative embossed features in the side wall.

A two-piece container of the type used in the beer and beverage industry consists of a unitary body and a can end. The unitary body is typically formed through a drawing and ironing process. The can end typically consists of an end shell that is converted into an easy open style end. After the can body is filled with a product the converted end is seamed onto the open end of the body. Two-piece cans are predominantly formed from aluminum sheet product and are the most common type of metal container employed by the beer and beverage industry. Of critical importance in the packaging industry is the desire to enhance the appearance of the container in order to achieve a heightened level of product differentiation and consumer acceptance.
Various attempts have been made to enhance the overall appearance of the two-piece drawn and ironed aluminum container. These attempts have been two pronged. On the one hand, various efforts have been made to increase the appearance of the decorated can through the use of additional colors in the graphic art applied on the can body. For example, the decoration of cans has gone from four colors to six colors and now presently to eight different colors that can be applied by a single can body decorator apparatus. On the other hand, efforts have been made to modify the appearance of the container itself by further forming the can body itself. For example, it is known to produce a fluted appearance in the side wall of a can body such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 283,011 and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 290,688. A method and apparatus for processing containers to produce the designs illustrated in the aforementioned patents is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,837, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth. However, when a can body having a fluted side is pressurized, the fluted appearance on the consumer side of the container is lessened and the overall fluted appearance of the container diminished. The full impact of the fluted side wall may not be realized until the beverage container is opened and internal pressure equalized with the ambient. Additionally, while the fluted features are applied in a predetermined physical pattern, the pattern itself does not have any congruous or predetermined relationship with respect to the graphics that have been applied previously to the can body. The fluted pattern and the existing graphics do not represent an integrated artistic whole that heightens the visual impact of the container. The application of the fluted features is random. Accordingly, there remains a long-standing goal in the industry to provide a method and an apparatus that will coordinate the application of such features as fluting with the container's art work. Likewise, it has been a goal in the industry to provide a method for enhancing the appearance of a can body, such that the can body retains the features even when the can's contents are maintained under pressure.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide both an apparatus and a method for the embossing of a can body side wall to enhance the appearance of the container wherein the embossing is applied in a predetermined manner that coordinates the embossing with the can's existing graphics or decoration.
It is also an object of the apparatus of this invention to provide a can body having features thereon that maintain their integrity even when the contents of the container are maintained under pressure.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an apparatus that can be readily integrated into a commercial can line to provide the selective and registered embossing of a decorated can body.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a can body that exhibits an enhanced appearance through the application of registered embossing to the decoration or graphic art previously applied to the can.

Apparatus and method for the registered embossing of containers


An automated method for analyzing seeds generally includes collecting image data from individual seeds using a seed sampling system, determining at least one characteristic of each of the individual seeds based on the collected image data, and removing tissue from each of the individual seeds using the seed sampling system. The method also includes, prior to removing the tissue sample from each of the individual seeds, adjusting at least one operational parameter of the seed sampling system based on the at least one characteristic of the seed from which the tissue is to be removed to thereby allow for generally consistent removal of tissue from each of the individual seeds. In some aspects, the method further includes analyzing the tissue removed from the seeds for presence or absence of at least one characteristic, and selecting seeds based on presence or absence of the at least one characteristic.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
In plant development and improvement, genetic improvements are made in the plant, either through selective breeding or genetic manipulation, and when a desirable improvement is achieved, a commercial quantity is developed by planting and harvesting seeds over several generations. Not all seeds express the desired traits and, thus, these seeds need to be culled from the population. To hasten the process of bulking up the population, statistical samples are taken and tested to cull seeds from the population that do not adequately express the desired trait.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/680,180 (filed Feb. 28, 2007); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,430 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,431 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,432 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,434 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,435 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/680,180 (filed Feb. 27, 2007); and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/680,611 (filed Feb. 27, 2007), which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, disclose apparatus and systems for the automated sampling of seeds as well as methods of sampling, testing and bulking seeds.

Automated high-throughput seed sampler and methods of sampling, testing and bulking seeds


Systems and methods for information storage replication are presented. In one embodiment, a namespace conversion process is performed. Node information regarding a file systems operation change is received. A changed node to pathname object conversion process is performed. An unchanged node to pathname object conversion process is performed. In one exemplary implementation, the changed node to pathname object conversion process and the unchanged node to pathname object conversion process utilize data structures that return the object indications and parent node indications. An object indication is inserted in a pathname.

Electronic systems and circuits have made a significant contribution towards the advancement of modern society and are utilized in a number of applications to achieve advantageous results. Numerous electronic technologies such as digital computers, calculators, audio devices, video equipment, and telephone systems facilitate increased productivity and cost reduction in analyzing and communicating data, ideas and trends in most areas of business, science, education and entertainment. Frequently, these activities often involve the storage of large amounts of information.
Modern systems typically utilize vast amount of information on which significant resources are expended developing, storing and maintaining the information. Ever increasing complex applications typically involve larger amounts of storage and rapidly expanding file systems. With the ever increasing complexity there are usually greater opportunities for disastrous information corruption and loss. Maintaining accurate replicated images of the information is very important. However, maintaining duplicate storage images is usually very resource intensive. Approaches that completely copy an entire storage image at regular intervals can result in significant delays and impacts on system processing and communication networks. Some traditional replication approaches are at a block level only. Some other traditional replication approaches utilize a rsync operation (e.g., Unix platforms) but result in large data movements and post processing (e.g., requiring more memory and longer time).
Traditional file systems often utilize a pathname of object indicators (e.g., directories, files, etc.) to identify information in the file system namespace. In an effort to streamline file system management some systems utilize internal designations to manage the namespace objects. For example, a file system can utilize node indications that correspond to namespace objects. The node indications can be used for internal file system management operations. However, the internal designations are not typically transportable to a replication storage system. For example, internal node indications or designations for a source storage image are not typically internally applicable to a corresponding target storage image.


A method for using a standard cable to replace the proprietary cables currently used to connect radio components. The invention also includes the hardware provided to carry out the method. A pair of jumper boxes are provided. Each jumper box contains a control jack, a microphone jack, an audio jack, and a VGA jack. The control and microphone jacks are not directly connected to the VGA jack. Instead, the control and microphone jacks are connected to certain pins within a jumper pin array. The VGA jack is connected to other pins within the same jumper pin array. The user can place jumpers within the jumper pin array to connect selected pins within the control and microphone jacks to selected pins within the VGA jack. The two jumper boxes are connected using the VGA cable. One jumper box is connected to the radio, and the other jumper box is then connected to the remote components.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of communications. More specifically, the invention comprises a method for using an inexpensive VGA cable to connect a variety of different radio devices, along with the hardware used to carry out the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention has application to a wide variety of communication equipment. However, is it particularly suited to the field of amateur radio. FIG. 1 shows the major components of an amateur radio (excluding the antenna assembly). Radio 10 contains most of the electronics, including the transmitter and receiver. The user controls were traditionally mounted on the same housing. However—in recent years—many units feature a separate control panel which may be mounted on the housing or mounted separately. This separate panel is known as a "control head."
FIG. 1 shows such a configuration. Control head 12 is separate from radio 10. The control head contains knobs, message displays, input keys, etc. In most units, it contains all the elements a user needs to control the functions of the radio. Thus, the control head and the radio must be connected via a communication cable. Control cable 18 serves this purpose. The illustration shows a typical control cable. Amateur radio manufactures generally use one or more "registered jacks" to connect transmitter/receiver ("transceiver") units to microphones and remotely located controls. The term "registered jack" ("RJ") is a consequence of Bell System's requirement to offer competitors access to telephone systems in offices and homes. RJ standard jacks provide a method of interconnecting data or telecommunications devices to service providers. Although technically "RJ" refers to jacks, the term applies currently to both plugs and jacks.
Initially, RJ modular connections were named RJ11, RJ12, RJ21, RJ41, etc. However, they differed only in the number of positions and conductors. The RJ12 jack has six positions and six conductors and is often identified as "6P6C." The RJ11, which is physically identical to the RJ12, has only four conductors and is identified as 6P4C. Jacks are downward compatible with plugs having fewer positions. Thus, a 6P6C jack physically accommodates 4P4C plugs. However, only the inner 4 conductors of a 6P6C jack are connected to the 4P4C conductors. Similarly, an 8P8C jack accommodates 6P and 4P plugs. Because plugs with fewer positions fit into 8P8C jacks, an RJ jack with eight positions and eight conductors is ideal for interconnecting amateur radio devices that use 4P4C, 6P6C, and 8P8C plugs and jacks.
The de facto standard 8P8C jack is usually referred to as an RJ45, and that is the term this document will use to identify jacks 48 and 50 in FIG. 4. Thus, hereinafter, "RJ45" is defined as an 8P8C registered jack that accommodates registered jacks with fewer positions and/or conductors. Most amateur radio transceivers utilize RJ45 jacks, as defined in this paragraph, to connect microphones and control heads to transceivers.
First female RJ45 jack 24 is provided on radio 10 in FIG. 1. This receives the first male RJ45 plug 32 on control cable 18. The opposite end of control cable 18 terminates in second male RJ45 plug 34. This plugs into second female RJ45 jack 30 on control head 12. Thus, the user may locate control head 12 remotely from radio 10 by linking the two components with control cable 18.
There is no standard in the amateur radio industry for the function or even the number of conductors used in cable 18. Each manufacturer wires its cables independently of other manufacturers and, in fact, varies the wiring of connecting cables within its own product lines. Thus—referring back to FIG. 1—a control cable 18 furnished by one manufacturer to connect its control head to its radio will likely not work for a second manufacturer's radio or even a different radio in its own product line. Manufacturers will use the available pins on the RJ45 for different purposes, and to connect one radio's cables to another radio is not only likely to fail, but may seriously damage the radio.
Microphone cable 20 is likewise not standardized within the industry. It is connected to radio 10 by plugging third male RJ45 plug 36 into third female RJ45 jack 26 on radio 10. This allows microphone 14 to be located a desired distance away from radio 10. However, a microphone cable 20 from one manufacturer will likely not function with components furnished from a different manufacturer.
An example of the lack of standardization is provided by considering the pinouts the microphone RJ45 jacks of two specific radios offered by two prominent manufacturers within the industry—Yaesu and Kenwood. For the Yaesu and Kenwood models, the pin functions are as follows:
Pin NumberYaesuKenwood1GNDNONE2FAST+8 VDC3PTTGND4MICPTT5MIC GNDMIC GND6+5 VMIC 600 Ω7UPNONE8DOWNSERIAL DATA
From these two examples, one may easily perceive how using one manufacturer's cable on another manufacturer's product could cause many problems, including, in this case, destroying both microphones by applying voltages incorrectly.
The only standardized connection typically involves speaker 16, which is connected to radio 10 using speaker cable 22. The speaker cable 22 is connected by plugging male audio plug 38 into female audio jack 28.
The arrangement shown in FIG. 1 is now common for mobile amateur radio stations. The bulkiest item is radio 10, which requires connections for both high-current voltage and an antenna. Therefore, it is desirable to locate it remotely while keeping the components with which the user interacts (microphone 14, control head 12, and speaker 16) close by. Radio manufacturers provide kits for this purpose. Each kit would typically contain a control cable 18, microphone cable 20, and speaker cable 22.
FIG. 2 shows how such a remote location kit would be used to install an amateur radio in a car 40. Radio 10 is mounted in trunk 42, where its bulk does not present a problem. Control head 12, microphone 14, and speaker 16 are mounted near the vehicle's dash in a position that is convenient for the driver. These three components are then independently connected to radio 10 using control cable 18, microphone cable 20, and speaker cable 22.
Since the three cables needed are proprietary items sold by each manufacturer, they are often relatively expensive. In addition, if the user changes to another type of radio, at least the microphone cable and control cable must be removed and replaced with different types. It would be preferable to provide a system for standardizing the cables used for remotely locating a radio. The present invention provides just such a solution.


A reflector includes a substrate, a plurality of reflector structures arranged on or in the substrate and configured to reflect an incident electromagnetic wave. The reflector further includes an electronic circuit that is arranged at, on or in the substrate and configured to control an antenna when the antenna is connected to the electronic circuit.

Decoupled non-integrated solutions exist, where directional antenna, data processing and radio front end (i.e., electronic circuits) represent separate modules that are connected to one another. This connection is established via coaxial connections, conductive traces from the outputs of the electronic components, such as amplifiers, junctions from conductive traces to waveguides, bond wire connections or the same. Disadvantages thereof are the physical size of the overall system as well as losses as regards to weight and efficiency of the antenna system, such as losses in the junctions from electronics to antenna, matching losses, etc.
Integrated solutions realizing the electronics of data processing, radio front end and the transmitting and receiving antenna (feeding antenna), respectively, together on one printed circuit board are applied in so-called PIFAs (Planar Inverted F Antenna) or patch antennas based on printed circuit boards or on-chip antennas that radiate out of a chip housing. These antennas have a broad radiation, develop no high directivity and are hence unsuitable for radio relay applications. Phased array antennas also use the principle of integrated electronics in combination with radiating antenna elements on a printed circuit board but do not use reflector components for increasing directivity but use the combined radiation of many active antenna elements (e.g., patch antennas on the printed circuit board) in order to achieve directivity. This involves active electronics, phase shifters and a complex control network of the individual antenna elements.
In a different approach, so-called reflect array (e.g., an array of reflector elements) printed circuit boards with layers of integrated solar cells are used that are needed for energy generation, e.g., on a satellite. This is effected on the basis of passive electronics.
FIG. 14 shows a schematic illustration of a reflect array 102 including a substrate 104 and a plurality of scattering elements 106. A feeding antenna 108 arranged spaced apart from the reflect array 102 can emit a radio signal in the direction of the reflect array 102, wherein the radio signal is reflected by the reflect array 102.
The main reflector (reflect array 102) as well as optional sub-reflectors (further reflectors) can be implemented based on printed circuit boards with reflective metallic individual elements on a substrate with underlying metallic ground plane, i.e., reflect arrays. The reflective elements on the printed circuit boards have the effect of impressing a desired phase function on the incident radiation in order to model the function of a physically curved main and sub-reflector, respectively.
Accordingly, a concept for antenna reflectors and/or antenna devices allowing efficient operation of the same would be desirable.

Reflector having an electronic circuit and antenna device having a reflector


An orthopedic implant which generally includes a frame structure and a porous structure. Both the frame and porous structure at least partially define at least six surfaces which make a three-dimensional profile of the implant. The porous structure is positioned at least partially within the three-dimensional profile.

The spine is the axis of the skeleton upon which all the body parts "hang". In humans, the normal spine has seven cervical, twelve thoracic, and five lumbar segments. The lumbar spine sits upon the sacrum, which then attaches to the pelvis, and in turn is supported by the hip and leg bones. The bony vertebral bodies of the spine are separated by intervertebral discs, which act as joints but allow known degrees of flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation.
The typical vertebra has a thick anterior bone mass called the vertebral body, with a neural (vertebral) arch that arises from the posterior surface of the vertebral body. The central adjacent vertebrae are supported by intervertebral discs. The spinal disc and/or vertebral bodies may be displaced or damaged due to trauma, disease, degenerative defects, or wear over an extended period of time. One result of this displacement or damage to a spinal disc or vertebral body may be chronic back pain. In many cases, to alleviate back pain from degenerated herniated discs, the disc is removed along with all or part of at least one neighboring vertebrae and is replaced by an implant that promotes fusion of the remaining bony anatomy.
However, the success or failure of bony fusion may depend upon several factors. For instance, the spacer or implant or cage used to fill a space or change the orientation and distance between two naturally occurring bony structures must be sufficiently strong to support the bones under a wide range of loading conditions. The spacer should also be configured so that it is likely to remain in place once it has been positioned by a surgeon. Additionally, the material used for the spacer should be biocompatible material and should have a configuration that promotes bony ingrowth.


The invention provides crystalline forms of isopropyl alcohol solvate of dasatinib, methods for their preparation, and pharmaceutical compositions thereof.

Dasatinib, N-(2-chloro-6-methylphenyl)-2-[[6-[4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazinyl]-2-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl]amino]-5-thiazole carboxamide a compound having the following chemical structure:
also known as BMS-354825, is a drug produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb and sold under the trade name Sprycel®. Dasatinib is an oral dual BCR/ABL and Src family tyrosine kinases inhibitor approved for use in patients with chronic yelogenous leukemia (CML) after imatinib treatemant and Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL). It is also being assessed for use in metastatic melanoma.
A Preparation of dasatinib is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,596,746 B1; where the process is done by reacting compound 1 of the following formula:
with N-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine at 80° C. Several crystalline forms are described in the literature, these were designated forms H1-7, BU-2, E2-1, N-6, T1H1-7, and T1E2-1. Crystalline dasatinib monohydrate (H1-7) and butanol solvate (BU-2) along with the processes for their preparation are described in WO2005/077945A2. In addition US2006/0004067A1, which is continuation of WO 2005/077945 A2 also describes two ethanol solvates (E2-1; T1E2-1) and two anhydrous forms (N-6; T1H1-7)
The present invention describes the preparation of new forms of dasatinib.
Polymorphism, the occurrence of different crystal forms, is a property of some compounds and compound complexes. A single compound, like dasatinib, may give rise to a variety of crystalline forms having distinct crystal structures and physical characteristics like melting point, x-ray diffraction pattern, infrared absorption fingerprint, and solid state NMR spectrum. One crystalline form may give rise to thermal behavior different from that of another crystalline form. Thermal behavior can be measured in the laboratory by such techniques as capillary melting point, thermogravimetric analysis ("TGA"), and differential scanning calorimetry ("DSC") as well as content of solvent in the crystalline form, which have been used to distinguish polymorphic forms.
The difference in the physical properties of different crystalline forms results from the orientation and intermolecular interactions of adjacent molecules or complexes in the bulk solid. Accordingly, polymorphs are distinct solids sharing the same molecular formula yet having distinct advantageous physical properties compared to other crystalline forms of the same compound or complex.
One of the most important physical properties of pharmaceutical compounds is their solubility in aqueous solution, particularly their solubility in the gastric juices of a patient. For example, where absorption through the gastrointestinal tract is slow, it is often desirable for a drug that is unstable to conditions in the patient's stomach or intestine to dissolve slowly so that it does not accumulate in a deleterious environment. Different crystalline forms or polymorphs of the same pharmaceutical compounds can and reportedly do have different aqueous solubilities.
The discovery of new polymorphic forms and solvates of a pharmaceutically useful compound provides a new opportunity to improve the performance characteristics of a pharmaceutical product. It enlarges the repertoire of materials that a formulation scientist has available for designing, for example, a pharmaceutical dosage form of a drug with a targeted release profile or other desired characteristic. Therefore, there is a need for additional solid state forms of dasatinib.

Polymorphs of dasatinib isopropyl alcohol and process for preparation thereof


A system and method for relational scheduling of people and/or resources includes a process for relational scheduling of people and/or resources whereby a user desiring to schedule a meeting is provided the ability to designate participants and/or meeting resources desired for a meeting, and to give each desired participant and/or meeting resource an importance rating/score, including the ability to designate a given participant and/or meeting resource as mandatory. The user also defines meeting scheduling criteria including a meeting length and a meeting date window. This meeting request data is then used to search participant and/or meeting resource availability data to determine one or more meeting times within the user defined meeting scheduling criteria provide not only the mandatory meeting requirements, but also maximize the non-mandatory participant and/or resource rating/score for the meeting.

The coordination and scheduling of meetings and/or other events requiring multiple participants can be a very challenging, and often frustrating, task. This is due, in part, to the fact that scheduling a meeting not only involves coordinating with each of the participants, and fitting the meeting into each of participant's individual calendars, but also the scheduling of the various meeting resources necessary for the meeting to take place, such as a conference room, conferencing equipment, audio-visual equipment, etc.
In addition, for many meetings, some participants may be required, while other participants are highly desired, but not required, and other participants are invited, but their presence is not particularly important or mandatory to achieve the meeting's goals. Likewise, some meeting resources desired for the meeting are required, while other meeting resources may be desirable, but are not mandatory to achieve the meeting's goals.
Currently, many individuals and businesses use calendar and/or appointment management systems. Typically, calendar and/or appointment management systems provide a user with the ability to view available appointment times, view scheduled appointments, and/or schedule appointments through a user interface device and a user interface display screen. In addition, many calendar and/or appointment management systems can be configured to allow other parties to view available appointment times, view scheduled appointments and/or schedule appointments on multiple individual's calendars. Some calendar and/or appointment management systems also automatically find available time slots on multiple calendars and notify/invite each of the potential participants to a proposed meeting through the participant's computing system implemented calendar and/or appointment management system and/or e-mail.
In addition, many businesses also use conference room reservation systems. Typically, conference room reservation systems give a user the ability to view conference room availability and to reserve a conference room through a user interface device and/or a user interface display screen.
As a result of the capabilities discussed above, some currently available calendar and/or appointment management systems and/or conference room reservation systems are powerful tools for scheduling meetings for multiple participants. However, currently available calendar and/or appointment management systems and conference room reservation systems are typically not integrated and neither takes into account available meeting resources beyond a capability to choose a conference room and, in some cases, the seating capacity of the conference room.
In addition, while some currently available calendar and/or appointment management systems do provide the ability to designate some participants as mandatory, and others as optional, attendees, currently available calendar and/or appointment management systems do not factor in the number of non-mandatory participants available and/or the individual importance of those participants to the goals of the meeting. Likewise, currently available conference room reservation systems do not provide the user with an opportunity to choose a meeting time based on the greatest number of desired resources available and/or the individual importance of those resources to the goals of the meeting.

System and method for relational scheduling of people and/or resources


A method is proposed for installing system components in a portion of an aircraft fuselage. The method provides at least one planar structural arrangement to be secured on or in the aircraft fuselage, secures system components on the structural arrangement, couples system lines to the system components and arranges the system lines on the structural arrangement. The method includes positioning of the structural arrangement with the system components and system lines arranged thereon at a designated installation location of the structural arrangement, and mechanical coupling of the structural arrangement to the aircraft fuselage.

The installation of system components in an aircraft fuselage normally takes place following the manufacture of said aircraft fuselage. The individual system components are moved into the aircraft fuselage manually and secured at designated locations using tools and other resources. At some installation locations or portions of the aircraft fuselage, assembly can be hindered by confined installation space. It is known in the art, for example, for waste water tanks to be arranged in passenger aircraft in a tail portion of the fuselage and coupled to corresponding water, air and electrical lines. The size of the waste water tank and the comparatively low height of the installation space measuring less than 1.5 m mean that it is physically very difficult to carry out the assembly work. This furthermore results in an increase in assembly time, which can have a detrimental effect on other installation processes to be carried out in the aircraft fuselage.

Method for installing system components in a portion of an aircraft fuselage


A vehicle door assembly comprising includes a vehicle door panel, a vehicle door handle operably connected to the door panel so as to enable operation of a door latch by the door handle, and at least one sanitizer dispensing mechanism having at least a first nozzle coupled to the vehicle door panel and structured to discharge a sanitizing material onto an exterior surface of the door handle.

It is increasingly important for both medical and psychological reasons for people to feel that surfaces they touch will be sanitized to cleanse bacteria and viruses from the surfaces. Numerous users may come grasp handles of vehicle doors on a frequent basis. These handles may be rarely sanitized after use, and it may be burdensome for vehicle owners to manually wipe-down door handles after every use.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Ino.


Disclosed herein is a pulley cover assembly for a motorcycle transmission which can securely support a pulley to minimize an shivering phenomenon thereof caused when a load is applied to the rotating pulley, thereby attenuating noise due to the shivering phenomenon and improving a rotational performance of the pulley. Further, the pulley cover assembly can ensure convenient clutch operation through the use of a hydraulic clutch operating mechanism. The clutch operating mechanism includes a hydraulic casing integrally formed at the pulley cover and having a hydraulic oil inlet passage and a hydraulic oil outlet passage, and a piston disposed inside the hydraulic casing while being fixed to an end of the clutch rod of the motorcycle transmission. Such a clutch operating mechanism is adapted to supply hydraulic power into the hydraulic casing to permit the piston to linearly move the clutch rod by a predetermined distance. The pulley cover assembly comprises a pulley supporting means positioned at one side of the pulley opposite to a transmission cover to permit the pulley to be securely supported at both ends thereof by both the pulley supporting means and the transmission cover.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pulley cover assembly for a motorcycle transmission, and more particularly, to a pulley cover assembly for a motorcycle transmission which can permit not only secure support of a pulley rotatably mounted on an intermediate shaft of the motorcycle transmission to thereby ensure smooth rotating motion of the pulley with an improved rotational performance, but also hydraulic operation of a clutch operating mechanism to thereby ensure convenient clutch operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, motorcycles perform transmission of rotatory power produced from a motorcycle engine via a motorcycle transmission. Then, the rotatory power is delivered to a driving pulley 1, which is connected to a driven pulley 2, mounted on a motorcycle's rear wheel, via a belt 3 as shown in FIG. 1, to thereby permit rotation of the rear wheel. The driving pulley 1 is located at one side of the motorcycle transmission so as to freely rotate on an intermediate shaft 4 of the motorcycle transmission. Such a driving pulley 1 is conventionally interposed between the motorcycle's front and rear wheels.
A pulley cover assembly 5 is fixedly mounted at one side of the motorcycle transmission, and as shown in FIG. 1, serves to cover and protect the driving pulley 1 while improving the appearance thereof. The pulley cover assembly 5 includes a clutch operating mechanism to permit engagement or disengagement of a clutch disc included in the motorcycle transmission.
Referring to FIG. 2 illustrating the interior configuration of the conventional pulley cover assembly 5, the pulley cover assembly 5 consists of a pulley cover 5a to cover and protect the driving pulley 1, and the clutch operating mechanism mounted at one side of the pulley cover 5a.
The driving pulley 1 is engaged at a rotational center portion thereof with teeth of an output gear 6 of the motorcycle transmission so as to rotate simultaneously with the output gear 6. A separation-preventing plate 15 is coupled to both the engaged driving pulley 1 and the output gear 6 to prevent unintentional separation of the driving pulley 1 from the output gear 6. The output gear 6 is supported on the outer circumference of the intermediate shaft 4 via bearings 7 in a rotatable manner. Consequently, the driving pulley 1 is supported on the intermediate shaft 4 so as to freely rotate about the intermediate shaft 4.
The pulley cover Sa defines an interior space suitable to accommodate the driving pulley 1 and is opened at one side thereof to permit access to the driving pulley 1. The pulley cover 5a, covering the driving pulley 1, is fastened to a transmission cover 8 by means of fasteners.
The clutch operating mechanism includes a case 9 attached to the outer side of the pulley cover 5a, and a fixed plate 10 and a moving plate 11 disposed inside the case 9. The fixed plate 10 is affixed to an inner surface of the case 9 by fixing means, while the moving plate 11, positioned to face the fixed plate 10, is supported by the case 9 so as to freely rotate about the same axis as the intermediate shaft 4.
To the moving plate 11 is fastened one end of a clutch rod 12. The other end of the clutch rod 12 is inserted through an axial through-bore centrally formed in the intermediate shaft 4 by passing through the pulley cover 5 and comes into contact with a connection rod 13, which is connected to a clutch disc (not shown) of the motorcycle transmission.
Meanwhile, a ball 14 is interposed between the fixed plate 10 and the moving plate 11. The ball 14 is seated in an inclined circumferential groove lib defined at a surface of the moving plate 11. A distal end 11a of the moving plate 11 opposite to the inclined circumferential groove 11b is connected to a clutch lever (not shown), provided at a motorcycle handle, via a wire (not shown).
With such a configuration, when a motorcyclist pulls the clutch lever, the wire, connected between the clutch lever and the moving plate 11, is pulled to rotate the moving plate 11. The rotation of the moving plate 11 causes the ball 14 to move toward a shallow side of the inclined circumferential groove 11b to permit the moving plate 11 to move far away from the fixed plate 10 toward a position as is shown in FIG. 2. Thereby, by movement of the rotating moving plate 11, the clutch rod 12 and the connection rod 13 cooperate to drive the clutch disc (not shown) of the motorcycle transmission to implement clutch operation. Conversely, if the motorcyclist releases the clutch lever, the connection rod 13, the clutch rod 12 and the moving plate 11 are successively returned to their original positions upon operation of an elastic restoration means provided at the clutch disc.
However, with the conventional pulley cover assembly 5 configured as stated above, since one side of the driving pulley 1 is in an unsupported unstable state although the other side of the driving pulley 1, which is rotatably mounted on a distal end of the intermediate shaft 4 protruding from the motorcycle transmission, is supported by the transmission cover 8, there is a problem of an shivering phenomenon on the distal end of the intermediate shaft 4 and on the pulley 1 when a driving load of the motorcycle is applied to the pulley 1. Such an shivering phenomenon induces undue noise, deteriorates rotational performance of the pulley 1, and results in wear or degradation of elements associated with a specific portion of the pulley 1 rotatably supported on the intermediate shaft 4, reducing the life span of the pulley 1.
Further, the clutch operating mechanism of the conventional pulley cover assembly 5 is inconvenient in use because it must be only manually driven through linear movement of the moving plate 11 caused by a pulling force of the wire.

Pulley cover assembly for motorcycle transmission


The present invention is directed to compounds having the Formulae (Ia-Ie), (II), (IIIa-IIId), (IVa-IVc), (Va-Vb), (VIa-VIe), (VII), (VIIIa-VIIIc), and (IX), pharmaceutically acceptable salts, prodrugs and solvates thereof, compositions of any of thereof and methods for the treatment of a condition associated with a dysfunction in proteostasis comprising an effective amount of these compounds.

Cells normally maintain a balance between protein synthesis, folding, trafficking, aggregation, and degradation, referred to as protein homeostasis, utilizing sensors and networks of pathways [Sitia et al., Nature 426: 891-894, 2003; Ron et al., Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 8: 519-529, 2007]. The cellular maintenance of protein homeostasis, or proteostasis, refers to controlling the conformation, binding interactions, location and concentration of individual proteins making up the proteome. Protein folding in vivo is accomplished through interactions between the folding polypeptide chain and macromolecular cellular components, including multiple classes of chaperones and folding enzymes, which minimize aggregation [Wiseman et al., Cell 131: 809-821, 2007]. Whether a given protein folds in a certain cell type depends on the distribution, concentration, and subcellular localization of chaperones, folding enzymes, metabolites and the like [Wiseman et al.]. Human loss of function diseases are often the result of a disruption of normal protein homeostasis, typically caused by a mutation in a given protein that compromises its cellular folding, leading to efficient degradation [Cohen et al., Nature 426: 905-909, 2003]. Human gain of function diseases are similarly frequently the result of a disruption in protein homeostasis leading to protein aggregation [Balch et al. (2008), Science 319: 916-919].
Dysfunction in proteostasis has been implicated in a diverse range of diseases including for example, neurodegenerative disease, metabolic diseases, inflammatory diseases and cancer. There remains a need in the art for compounds and pharmaceutical compositions to treat conditions associated with proteostasis dysfunction.


A system (100) for processing career development information is provided which comprises a plurality of career development files (112). Each career development file is associated with at least one other career development file. The system includes a user interface system (120) which receives a user selection of one of the career development files (112) and displays the selected career development file. The system also includes a career library production system (116) with which a curriculum designer can modify one or more of the career development files.

With the growth in the professional or white-collar class of workers in industrialized countries, there has been a commensurate growth in the demand for career development information. For example, an aspiring professional, such as a college student, may seek information regarding the skills required to enter a given line of work, such as engineering. As another example, an employed professional may seek information regarding the skills required to move from relatively low-level work into management, or to move from his or her current professional field into another profession. Armed with this information, the professional can compare his or her own aptitudes and skills to those required for a given profession to determine whether he or she is suited to the profession in question. The professional may also seek information regarding ways to enhance or develop certain skills so as to advance his or her career in a given direction.
Such career development information has typically been provided through books or other written materials, and through career guidance counselors who specialize in providing such information and advice to professionals. More recently, as computers have become more prevalent in homes and workplaces, attempts have been made to provide such information through computer-implemented systems. Such systems have typically been limited to providing career development suggestions and/or career paths based upon a generalized set of skills. Such systems typically have not been designed to provide career development suggestions based upon a skill or set of skills derived from a job description.
In addition, existing systems have typically been mass-produced for general distribution, and have not been customized to meet the needs of a particular user. For example, the career development suggestions provided by such a system typically have not taken into account, indeed have been unable to take into account, the career development resources available to a particular user, or the professional field in which the user is already employed.
Moreover, such systems have typically been distributed on a physical storage medium such as a CD-ROM or floppy disk, and therefore cannot be easily and routinely updated as new career development information becomes available. As a result, such computer-implemented career development information systems have been of only limited usefulness to professionals.

Method and system for processing career development information


Methods and apparatus are provided in which applications that run on different devices can be upgraded with migration of data to a new database format. A method of upgrading a first version of an application installed on a first device to a second version is provided, where first and second transaction logs for respective first and second schema versions are stored in respective first and second log containers on a server computer, and the first version of the application stores data in accordance with a first schema version, and further stores a cache of at least a portion of the first transaction log in a log database on the first device, migrating the log database to the second schema version, storing a duplicate copy of the first transaction log in the second log container, and rewriting the duplicate copy of the first transaction logs using the second schema.

As cloud computing and portable computing devices have grown in popularity and capability, there has been a proliferation of applications storing data on network servers, with users accessing the data via multiple different versions of applications that may use and expect different formats for the data. Users expect their existing applications to continue to work, while being able to upgrade the applications to add new features, which may involve changing the structure of the data that is stored.
Applications that store data can use schemas to define the structure of the data. When an application is upgraded to a new version, the schema may change to accommodate application features. To allow the upgraded application to continue to use existing data created with the previous version, existing data that conforms to one schema can be migrated to an updated version of the schema. In cloud computing, a user may have several devices, such as a desktop computer and a mobile device, that are used to access data stored on a server. The cloud computing environment provides for sharing data among multiple devices, so that separate copies of the data need not be maintained on each device. An application such as a word processor can run on each device, and changes to data stored in the cloud made on one device appear automatically on the other devices, so users need not be concerned with copying and merging changes to data made on different devices.

Schema versioning for cloud hosted databases


A method and apparatus for estimating bandwidth of laser output light is described which may include a dispersive element producing a dispersed output having a plurality of spectrum images from at least a portion of the laser output light. An array of light detecting elements is oriented to receive the dispersed output together with a shifting mechanism that moves the array, the dispersed output, or both, relative to each other. Electronics may be provided for determining the widths of at least two spectrum images at different phases of registration between the spectrum images and light detector elements and for averaging the widths to estimate a laser output bandwidth. The-spectrum images formed by the laser output light may be under-sampled, e.g., in the spatial or time domains.

During a bandwidth-meter development project applicant's company determined that certain products (e.g., an ELS-7000 WSM wavemeter) has insufficient pixel sampling resolution when used at certain wavelengths. This insufficiency results in certain measurement errors, a root cause of which is an aliasing effect of the etalon spectrometer fringe image against the periodic grid of detector elements (e.g., a linear array of photodiodes). To reduce the level of certain measurement errors connected with undersampling of the spectrometer fringe image applicants propose certain modifications to wavemeter technology. Such wavemeter technology may be utilized, e.g., in measuring the spectral purity of line narrowed DUV laser system output laser light pulses, e.g., in excimer and/or molecular fluorine gas discharge lasers.
JenaOptik (Zeiss) uses a similar technique in their CCD cameras for microscopy (ProgRes products).
Ben-Esra, et al., "Jitter camera: high resolution video from a low resolution detector," IEE (2000) and Wuttig, et al., "Subpixel analysis of double array grating spectrometer," published in Descour/Schen, Imaging Spectrometry VII, Proc. SPIE, Vol. 4480 (2002) pp. 334-344 discuss aspects of image resolution techniques aspects of which may be useful according to aspects of embodiments of the present invention, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
To better understand aspects of the problems associated with under-sampling and aliasing in the present context, reference is made to FIG. 5. In FIG. 5a there is illustrated an example of a linear array 100 of photodiodes each representing an imaging pixel and a pixel in the output image of an example of a known center wavelength/bandwidth detector, such as those referenced in the patents and applications noted above. The pixels are labeled from convenience of reference X, x+1, x+2, x+3, x+4 and x+5. Assuming that an image of a light source represented by two square waves, A and B, as shown in FIG. 5b, of photonic energy are incident upon the array 100 so as to just illuminate two pixels x+2 and x+3, i.e., there is no spillover into the adjacent pixels x+1 on the left side or x+4 on the right side sufficient to register any detected intensity during some intensity sensing integration period. As shown in FIG. 5e the output of the detector using typical intensity sensing circuitry could be interpreted as the very same two square wave pulses 1 and 1′ shown outlined by solid lines in FIG. 5e.
Turning to FIG. 5c, there is represented the same two square wave pulses A and B spatially phase shifted by about ½ a pixel width. In this event, the integrated intensity out of pixel x+2 will only be one half of what it was in the first example noted above, as illustrated in FIG. 5e by a dashed line defining an output 2. the output for pixel x+3 will remain the same, as indicated by the dashed line for output 2′, and now pixel x+4 will have an output where it had none before, at a level of about ½ that of the output of pixel X+3. The output of the detector for such an input integrated by the photodiodes X+2, X+3 and X+4 in the linear array 100 could be interpreted as a saw tooth shaped image as denoted by the dashed line triangle in FIG. 5e.
Finally for an alignment as illustrated in FIG. 5d, the illumination of pixel x+2 is reduced to about 30% of what it was in the alignment of FIG. 5b and the illumination of pixel x+4 is about 70% of the illumination of the pixel x+3. These are represented by the dotted line outlines of the intensities for the pixels x+2 and x+5 and the dotted line triangle of FIG. 5e.
A similar version of these phenomena cause the differences in the outputs illustrated by way of examples in FIGS. 2 and 3. A very simplified version of the sampling of an interference fringe image of the type shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is shown schematically for illustrative purposes in FIG. 6. FIG. 6 illustrates in a very simplified fashion the sampling of a fringe from an interference pattern in a typical known bandwidth detector. The representative pixels in a linear array of a photodetector are again labeled X through x+5 for convenience. As shown by way of illustration the points on the intensity curve for the fringe, e.g., points a, B and C, e.g., on one side of a peak of the intensity of the fringe pattern may be sampled by pixels X, x+1 and x+2. These may on average integrate an intensity that indicates approximately the respective points on the curve of the fringe peak.
Several problems with under-sampling are illustrated in FIG. 6 illustratively and schematically and not to scale. First, the max of the fringe peak may be determined to be either C or D, or both if they are equal in intensity which the real maximum is labeled MAX. Thus determining some threshold intensity bandwidth measurement, e.g., full width at 80% maximum ("FW80% M") may occur at the intensity value labeled FW80% M′ in FIG. 6 because the real peak is not detected. further the error between where the real peak is and the detected peak can be seen to vary as the number of pixels in relation to the field covered by the image of the fringe increases.
Some prior art wavemeters have employed peak estimating algorithms, e.g., taking, by way of example the values for pixels x+1, x+2 and X+3, points B, C and D on the fringe curve and doing a parabolic estimate of the actual shape of the curve to derive something closer to the actual intensity maximum MAX, which, as illustrated can also be in error, e.g., being determined by such a parabolic estimation algorithm to be INT MAX. Further, as shown illustratively and schematically and not to scale, in FIG. 7, assuming the detector circuitry determines that INT MAX is very close to the actual MAX, the nature of the detector output reading with under-sampled spatial distribution of pixels in the linear array can result in an error in detecting the width at the selected threshold intensity. Typical known algorithms for determining the width at a selected FWX % M, e.g., FW80% M use an interpolation between sampled points on the fringe curve, e.g., points B and C. the interpolation may be linear, as shown in FIG. 7, in which event, wherever along the line between point B and point C where it is determined by the readout electronics that the threshold intensity occurs, e.g., 80% of the max, in addition to the possible errors cause by the limitations of the finite pixel array noted above, the point on the interpolation line is separated from the actual point on the curve by an error ΔFWXM. As can be seen from the exemplary representation of FIG. 7, if the number of pixels is doubled (the pixel width halved) this error can be reduced, but still exists.
These errors can be exacerbated by the impact of the undersampling using a finite pixel count and by movement of the image on the linear array grid of photodetectors, as noted above.
Some prior art wavemeters have employed more sophisticated interpolation algorithms, e.g., using a polynomial, e.g., Ax2 +bx to simulate the curve between the sampled points, e.g., B and C, to beer estimate the width of the fringe intensity curve at the point along the curve at which the threshold occurs, but even these are subject to errors of the type noted above.
To add to this, the width of the fringe intensity curves varies (gets narrower) at the extremities of the fringe pattern being sampled, so that, as shown by way of example in FIG. 8. applicants have found, s illustrated in FIG. 8 that, e.g., along a linear array of photodiodes used to sample the fringe intensities of a given fringe, the number of pixels illuminated decreases. Thus, the apparent bandwidth distance, e.g., at some threshold, e.g., FW20% M increases in the fringes closer to one extremity of the linear array 100. Applicants have also found that this trend is somewhat tolerable and can be determined for a given wavemeter and corrected for by subtracting an amount determined from the trend shown in FIG. 8 (some algorithms simulate the actual trend curve and some use a simple linear correction which in older system may have sufficed. However, even with such correction applicants have found that the above noted errors due in part to undersampling and tie resultant aliasing as well as some other adverse impacts some of which may not be fully appreciated or understood at this time by applicants cause the sever fluctuations in apparent fringe width shown by the lighter graphical representations in FIG. 8.
Applicants propose certain improvements to sampling and readout of fringe widths at the desired threshold values as noted below.

Bandwidth measuring device for high pulse repetition rate pulsed laser