A system and method for controlling the traveling of a tape is provided. The system and method include passing data in a buffer to a channel input/output unit for writing the data to a tape. A determining unit determines if second data is to be written to the tape without performing a backhitch after first data is written to the tape. The determination unit also determines a state of the system before writing the first data to the tape and compares an amount of second data written to the tape prior to writing first data to the tape with an amount of second data expected to be written to the tape to an area up to a position on the tape where writing the first data commenced, for determining if the second data is to be written to the tape without performing a backhitch. A speed adjusting unit adjusts the speed of the tape to prevent a backhitch due to the buffer running out of data when the determination unit determines that the second data is to be written to the tape without performing a backhitch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method for controlling the traveling of a tape, and more particularly, to a system and method for controlling the traveling of a tape in a tape drive which temporarily stores data transmitted from a higher-level system and then writes the data to the tape.
2. Background Information
A tape drive for writing data to a tape such as a magnetic tape temporarily stores data in a buffer, and then writes the data from the buffer to a tape at a convenient timing for the drive. To ensure that all the data transmitted to the drive is written to the tape, a host transmits to the drive a command for forcing the drive to write the data (WriteFM Non Immediate command). Such forced write from the buffer to the tape is called "synchronization".
If the tape is not stopped after the synchronization, a gap occurs between the data written in the preceding synchronization and the data subsequently written on the tape. As a result, part of the recording area of the tape is not used. To use more of the tape, a "backhitch" operation, hereinafter backhitch, needs to be performed. A backhitch is a series of the following operations: reducing the traveling speed of the tape to temporarily stop the tape; moving the tape in the reverse direction; thereafter moving the tape in the forward direction again to reach a position to which the subsequent data should be written; and finally writing the subsequent data to that position. The writing of the subsequent data cannot be performed before this backhitch is completed. Since a backhitch requires approximately two to three seconds, influence of the backhitch on performance of the tape drive is significant.
As a technique for avoiding such a situation, a Recursive Accumulating Backhitchless Flush (RABF) has been proposed. For example, when receiving a synchronous request, a tape drive writes data that is stored in a buffer and has not been written yet to a tape, to a temporary recording area (ABF wrap) allocated on the tape, while the tape drive keeps the tape continuously traveling. Such writing is called backhitchless flush (buffer flush without backhitch). In backhitchless flush, no backhitch is performed, since during ABF wrap writing, a gap between the data written in the preceding synchronization and the data written in the subsequent synchronization is not considered as a problem. Concurrently, the tape drive performs recursive write, which performs operations of accumulating data in the buffer during ABF wrap writing, and of rewriting the data to a normal recording area (standard wrap) of the tape, when either the buffer or the temporary recording area becomes full. Thus, in the RABF, synchronization requires no backhitch for the subsequent synchronization. Accordingly, the time required for synchronization may be reduced. The RABF may substantially enhance performance of tape drives where a synchronous request is made at a high frequency with respect to data amounts.
Thus, the RABF may enhance the synchronization performance of tape drives where the data amount transmitted from a host in a synchronous request (such data amount referred to as a "transaction size" below) is small. Accordingly, data of a certain transaction size or larger leads to an increase in overhead during the operations of writing data in a different location for temporary recording and of rewriting the data to a normal location. In such a case, data can be written faster by performing a backhitch than the RABF. Accordingly, there is a need for a technique for enhancing synchronous performance in a case where a transaction size is large.
Additionally, a backhitch may be performed when the buffer runs out of data to be written to the tape before completing writing data of a transaction size. This backhitch allows the tape drive to start writing the data again from a position of the tape subsequent to the position the last data is written, avoiding the tape to continuously move ahead, so as not to waste the capacity of the tape. Accordingly, there is a need for a technique that reduces any decrease in performance due to such a backhitch.

System and method for controlling traveling of tape


A vehicle body of a vehicle with a rear engine includes a rear structure that defines a receiving space for the rear engine; an assembly support connected to the rear structure and having at least one recess for passage of air; an air-guiding device mounted on the assembly support and having a retractable and extendable upper part and additionally having a fixed lower part with at least one recess for the passage of air; and a protective grille inserted into the respective recess of the lower part of the air-guiding device. The protective grille is assigned a covering element that is configured to be shiftable relative to the protective grille in order to open up or to close openings defined by the protective grille.

DE 10 2013 112 003 A1 discloses a vehicle body for a vehicle with a rear engine. The vehicle body known from this prior art has a rear structure consisting of side parts and a rear paneling which defines a receiving space for a rear engine. Furthermore, the vehicle body known from the prior art comprises an assembly support which is connected to the rear structure, wherein the assembly support serves for receiving a retractable and extendable air-guiding device. According to the prior art, a plurality of recesses which serve for the passage of air in the direction of the rear engine are introduced into the assembly support, wherein the recesses of the assembly support are provided with a protective grille in order to prevent dirt, foliage or the like from penetrating in the direction of the rear engine. The protective grilles are visible to a greater or lesser extent depending on the position of the retractable and extendable air-guiding device. Openings defined by the protective grilles are always opened up.

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft


A self-breathing electrochemical oxygenerator includes an outer housing including an upper housing part and a lower housing part. A cavity formed by the upper housing part includes a battery installation cavity, a controller installation cavity and an electrochemical assembly installation cavity. Batteries are installed within the battery installation cavity. A controller is installed within the controller installation cavity. A self-breathing electrochemical pure oxygen generation assembly is installed within the electrochemical assembly installation cavity. An upper housing body of the upper housing part corresponding to the electrochemical assembly installation cavity has air holes. After the external oxygen output pipe is blocked, through timely manual operation, the pressure within the pure oxygen generation assembly is ensured to fall within a normal range, so as to ensure that the pure oxygen generation assembly works normally, thereby ensuring long service life of the oxygenerator.

Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the technical field of electrochemical manufacturing pure oxygen, and more particularly to a self-breathing electrochemical oxygenerator.
Description of Related Arts
The existing self-breathing electrochemical oxygenerator with publication application No. CN101967651A filed on Oct. 15, 2010 is described as follows. It comprises an outer housing which comprises an upper housing part and a lower housing part. The lower housing part comprises a battery installation chamber, a controller installation chamber, and a pure oxygen generation assembly installation boss. A side wall of the lower housing part has the air hole. The pure oxygen generation assembly installation boss has the oxygen outlet. The oxygen outlet is communicated with an external joint. Batteries are installed within the battery installation chamber. A controller is installed within the controller installation chamber. The pure oxygen generation assembly is fixed to the pure oxygen generation assembly installation boss. A positive electrode and a negative electrode of the battery are respectively connected with a positive electrode and a negative electrode of an input end of the controller via leads. An anode wire and a cathode wire of the pure oxygen generation assembly are respectively connected with a positive electrode and a negative electrode of an output end of the controller. A power switch is mounted on the controller. The upper housing part is mounted on an upper end of the lower housing part. After the external oxygen output pipe in the above structure is blocked, the pressure within the pure oxygen generation assembly is over high, so that the oxygenerator is damaged, thus the service life of the oxygenerator is shortened.


A keeper device design structure for dynamic logic used in integrated circuit designs includes a first keeper path statically coupled to a dynamic data path, the first keeper path configured to prevent false discharge of the dynamic data path during an evaluation thereof, and a second keeper path selectively coupled to the dynamic data path. The second keeper path is configured to maintain the dynamic data path at a nominal precharge level prior to an evaluation thereof, wherein the second keeper path is decoupled from the dynamic data path during the evaluation.

The present invention relates generally to design structures for dynamic data paths and, more particularly, to a design structure for implementing dynamic data paths with interlocked keeper and restore devices.
Dynamic logic is one type of circuit design approach that is used to increase digital circuit speed, as compared to static complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) logic, for example. A CMOS gate is a fully complementary logic gate using both p-type and n-type devices configured to implement a desired logic function (e.g., a simple inverter). Static CMOS logic gates require large fan-in, which in turn causes large gate input capacitances that slow down the logic circuit. Furthermore, static logic gates use relatively slow p-type metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS) devices to implement a pull-up network, which further increases the capacitance of the gate input and slows rise times.
In dynamic logic circuits, a PMOS pull-up network is replaced by a single clocked PMOS transistor. Each clock cycle is divided into two phases, a "precharge" phase and an "evaluate" phase. During the precharge phase, an output node is unconditionally precharged to a high logic state. Then, during the evaluate phase, the output node either remains high or is conditionally discharged to low, depending on the current logic output level. The logic function is implemented by a network of n-type pull down transistors, which are controlled by their respective gate inputs in order to either maintain or discharge the voltage at the output node.
A transition period corresponds to the time between when the node is precharged and when the input signal is evaluated. During this time, the node may not be driven by any component but is instead "floating." As a result, the node is susceptible to leakage paths through the pull down devices, which could result in an erroneous evaluation of the input signal during the subsequent evaluation period. Thus, one existing approach to preventing false evaluations is the use of a "keeper" circuit that utilizes a pull-up transistor to maintain the precharge node at a desired logic level during the transition period. In this approach, the pull-up PMOS transistor of the keeper is coupled between the supply voltage source and the precharged node, with the gate of the transistor being coupled to the inverted node voltage. When the precharge node is precharged high, the inverter provides a logic low signal to render the keeper PMOS transistor conductive and thus maintain the precharge node high even after the precharge phase is complete.
Unfortunately, the increased leakage current associated with scaled technologies has forced designers to increase the size of the keeper devices in dynamic circuits to maintain nodes at the precharge state. In addition, the evaluation stacks must be made with longer device lengths or higher voltage thresholds to substantially reduce the leakage. Conversely, if the keeper is too strong, the pull down devices will have greater difficulty pulling down the output node during an evaluation phase. As such, the resulting slower performance of dynamic circuit topologies (as compared to static circuits) would arguably no longer justify the implementation of the dynamic logic. Further, self-resetting techniques typically employed for dynamic data paths are becoming very difficult to control because of the larger device variations and poor control of the evaluation and precharge periods. Accordingly, it would be desirable to be able to provide an improved dynamic data path that maintains acceptable levels of robustness.

Design structure for implementing dynamic data path with interlocked keeper and restore devices

International Business Machines Corporation


A press frame for use with a portable hydraulic power supply in which the power supply comprises a cylinder having a threaded end. The press frame comprises a c-shaped support member having a top arm and at least two bottom arms and an intermediate arm connecting the top and bottom arms. There is provided an aperture in the top arm for receiving a sleeve constructed so as to receive the cylinder of the power supply. There is also provided a lock to threadably engage the threaded end of the cylinder to releasably hold the cylinder in place relative to the press frame.

Hydraulic presses have any number of uses, from major industrial applications and settings to a basement workshop. Often a hydraulic press is needed at a location remote from an individuals workshop. For example, farmers and mechanics often require a hydraulic press out in the field or at a particular job site. There have thus been a number of portable hydraulic presses created, incorporating both the hydraulic power supply, the cylinder and ram and the press itself
In addition, different tasks often require different hydraulics or ram capabilities. Consequently, the industry has developed a number of portable hydraulic power supplies and rams, so-called porta-powers. However, the availability of the portable power supply and ram is only half the equation. It is required to have a press in which the ram can be seated and a workpiece to be manipulated can be placed. Often, even the portable hydraulic presses do not provide the ability to change the hydraulics or the ram or cylinder. Similarly, each different size porta-power requires a different size press to accommodate its particular ram and cylinder. For the farmer, small mechanic or machinist, this requirement has meant that several presses have to be purchased and kept on hand, a different one for use with a particular porta-power. This obviously defeats the purpose of having a portable hydraulic ram.
Attempts in the prior art to provide a portable hydraulic press include those described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,686,922 of Bley, issued Aug. 29, 1972, U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,181 of Beneteau, issued Nov. 6, 1979, U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,897 of Frank, issued Aug. 18, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 3,595,163 of Baumann, issued Jul. 27, 1971. The applicant is also aware of Canadian Patent 824,918 of Hydro-Air Engineering Inc., issued Oct. 14, 1969 and Canadian Patent 910,714 of Guenard, issued Sep. 26, 1972. However, none of the presses disclosed in any of these references provides for portability and the adaptability to various sizes of porta-powers, or different manufacturers of porta-powers and thereby different threads.


A three-state switch designed to be inserted in an ac supply circuit and associated with a state selection circuit. In a first state, the switch is open and does not allow current to flow. In a second state, the switch allows current of a first polarity to flow. In a third state, the switch allows a current of a second polarity to flow. The switch includes a cathode gate thyristor and an anode gate thyristor connected head-to-tail, the gate of the cathode gate thyristor forming a control terminal and being connected through a resistor to the gate of the anode gate thyristor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a three-state switch designed to turn on or off a current of a selected direction in an ac supplied load.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In some cases, for example when a load is a motor connected to an ac supply, it is desired to provide a switch which, when controlled, either turns off the current to the load, allows current to flow in only one direction, or allows current to flow in only the opposite direction, so that the motor stops or rotates in one direction or the other.
In the prior art, such functions were realized by complex switch and logic circuits.


Systems and methods for measurement and management are disclosed that provide complex measurements cost-effectively at very high accuracy. These methods and systems in some cases achieve measurement accuracy exceeding the accuracy of the reference standards they rely on, and eliminate expensive and disadvantageous recalibration procedures. The accurate measurements are integrated with management functions, applying the measurement data to meet objectives of the integrated system and workflow goals of its user. The disclosed systems and methods comprise an explicit or expressly represented model both of themselves and of candidate external systems to be measured and managed. The models may be configured and reconfigured by the owner-user through either local or remote means. The system intelligently reconfigures itself to adapt dynamically to the conditions of measurement and the user's and system's goals at each moment. In an embodiment, the system includes high-accuracy and reconfigurable components including a meter or control head adapted for user precision assembly and maintenance that computes and displays or communicates the measurements, displaying measurements in desired units, grouping functions according to ergonomic and cognitive principles based on the activity and workflow of a user in relation to the internal model. The use of models permits the system to compute and provide complex and inferred measurements of ultimate interest to the user, including quantities that cannot be directed measured and only can be determined through reasoning or computation by applying models to raw measurement data. The precision-assembly modular electromechanical design further permits an owner-user to precisely assemble, maintain, modify the apparatus and calibrate the equipment for accuracy.

Scientific and engineering measurements are characterized by the attributes of precision and accuracy. Precision is representational and is measured in the amount of displayed or recorded detail, such as in the number of decimal digits used to represent a measurement number. Accuracy defines the correctness of a measurement, and typically is either exact or provided as a range or tolerance within which a measurement is deemed correct. For example, a measurement reported as "100+/−5%" is not in error if the true value of the quantity being measured was 103 rather than 100. In general accuracy is prized highly and more than precision, and it is an error to report more precision than is supportable by the accuracy of a measurement.
An example of electronic measurement equipment in use today is Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) and power meters that measure SWR and power of radio frequency (RF) signals such as may be present in radio transmitters, be carried by a transmission line or other circuit, or be sent to or received from an antenna. High-quality non-laboratory grade equipment available today typically achieves measurement accuracy of approximately 5% to 7%. Laboratory grade equipment that can achieve superior accuracy of approximately 1% typically costs ten to one hundred times more. Generally to achieve and maintain accuracy, such devices must be factory-calibrated and then sealed against intrusion or adjustment by the owner-user. The manufacturer thus effectively may retain monopoly control over accuracy, preventing the user from recalibrating their own equipment and permitting the manufacturer to demand a very high market price both for the equipment and for any subsequent adjustment or recalibration.
Even if high accuracy is initially achieved at the time of manufacture, due to the laws of physics there is drift over time in physical characteristics, and thus the accuracy, of measurement equipment. This creates a requirement for recalibration, and also for certification of calibration. Such certifications have a lifespan over which they are valid, and then they must be performed again. Modern highly accurate laboratory-quality equipment and methods thus often require use of a calibration and certification procedure authorized by an industry or national certification authority. For example, in the United States, standards for such certifications are established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the US Government, and recalibration following NIST methods must be performed at least every two years for the measurement system to be considered in calibration according to the standard. Typically this entails taking the equipment to be certified out of service, shipping it to a qualified laboratory where its error is measured and recorded, possible lab adjustment of the equipment until its measurements fall within the acceptable tolerance specifications for accuracy, and return of the equipment with a certification sheet confirming the accuracy of the device before and after it was calibrated. Thereafter the device is placed back in service by its user-owner. Such calibrations are expensive and time-consuming and cause the device to be unavailable for service for the duration of the certification process. Exemplary laboratory-grade measurement equipment routinely is advertised today on major manufacturer price sheets as costing thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, and a single recalibration and recertification by the manufacturer will be priced at 15% or more of the capital cost of the equipment. Thus the cost of ownership of such a measurement system over a decade can be roughly double the original purchase price due to recalibration and recertification fees alone. Even where laboratories other than the manufacturer are able to provide this service, they must own highly expensive high-accuracy equipment and can command a high price for their services, maintaining a market oligopoly that keeps the cost of accuracy high for the owner-user. It must be noted that this highly undesirable economics substantially results from the technical design flaws of modern measurement systems that provide no means for or even prevent owner-users performing their own reliable calibration to achieve and maintain high accuracy of their measurement systems.
Whether or not calibrated, existing measurement systems commonly are limited in their accuracy by non-fixed or nonlinear physical phenomena. For example, an SWR or RF power meter that achieves a stated accuracy at a specified frequency and power level will not provide that degree of measurement accuracy at other frequencies and power levels. To make their equipment useful under a wider range of conditions, manufacturers of existing equipment attempt to accommodate the inherent errors in their measurement systems by providing an error chart that documents for the user how inaccurate the equipment is under varying conditions. In essence these charts document the failure of the equipment to achieve its intended or stated measurement accuracy, and provide data according to which the owner-user may adapt the instrument's measurements to accommodate its design flaws and failings. For example, many modern measurement systems commonly have a printed table of correction factors taped or etched onto the outer surface of a device in the measurement system to inform the user how flawed the reported measurements are. The user then may perform arithmetic, or readjust the measurement equipment manually during each measurement activity, to account for the erroneous measurement data reported by the apparatus for the individual test conditions of that moment. If the measurement conditions change, for example entailing measurement at a different frequency, then a different correction factor (CF) must be calculated or dialed into the equipment at that moment to accommodate the inherent measurement error and inaccuracy of the equipment under the changed measurement conditions. This method is highly manual and is infeasible to apply under conditions of rapid change, such as when measuring SWR or power during an emergency, radio contest or other conditions wherein frequency is changed over a wide range on a moment-to-moment basis. It also is highly unsuitable for field operations, harsh environments, distributed and remote operations, and other common measurement situations that materially differ from working at a laboratory bench. Commercial recalibration of equipment today often correspondingly includes printing a paper correction chart and returning it with the calibrated equipment or, for some modern equipment, returning the correction factor chart to the owner-user in a digital format such as in an EEPROM. That is, the equipment is not corrected to provide fully accurately measurement data, but rather the equipment is returned from the calibration lab as inaccurate and its failure is quantified with an arithmetic correction factor. It is obvious that such a correction factor may be expressed as a list of points or as the parameters specifying an equivalent line, which are commonly known through simple algebra to be equivalent under assumptions of linearity. The assumption of linearity is used in existing equipment whether or not justified by the physics of the apparatus because it is easy, not because it is correct. A correct approach, yielding superior accuracy, would model the error measurements including their nonlinearity and/or according to the actual device physics.
Accuracy limitations in both modern equipment design and due to physics applies to sensors as well as meter equipment. In highly expensive electronic measurement systems today, for about the price of a new automobile, a user can buy a meter and sensor wherein the sensor component comprises a few cents worth of EEPROM memory that may contain empirical "correction factor" chart values or parameters. The sensor further may comprise associated electronics to sense frequency and temperature for the purpose of applying CF chart values or parameters to cause the sensor to report an adjusted value to any meter equipment to which the sensor is attached. Notably the sensor CF data are stored within the sensor. This approach restricts accuracy, utility, and effectiveness of the measurement equipment. For example, such electronics within the sensor must be regarded as fragile. Generally power must be supplied to the sensor's internal electronics to allow it to operate, preventing the sensor from conveniently working in harsh environments or a long distance from the meter component of the measurement system such as at the top of an antenna tower during an ice storm. The sensor also must be removed from service and resubmitted to a laboratory service for periodic recertification and its EEPROM contents updated to reflect sensor changes that have arisen due to drift over time and effects of its operating environment. Removing an in-service sensor can be highly impractical, expensive, or onerous if the sensor is in a harsh or unreachable environment, such as in a remote mountaintop radio repeater system or mounted several hundred feet above ground. These design factors limit the robustness and usefulness of such measurement equipment.
Mathematical, computational, and artificial intelligence models generally comprise descriptions of systems and methods. For example, a mathematical model can be defined as a mathematical "system" (i.e. collection) of equations, such as a system of linear equations or a system of nonlinear simultaneous differential equations. An artificial intelligence model may be embodied using a computable representation such as one of frames, cases, databases, forward- and backward-chaining rulesets and propositions, property lists, association lists, theorem prover representations, taxonomic tree structures, semantic network lattices or digraphs, and symbolic form. Computational models can capture and represent both the input-output relationships of computations to be performed and the applicable conditions and expected performance they provide. Models may be dynamic, that is time-varying. Dynamic mathematical models may be represented using either discrete or continuous mathematics, and may be implemented using discrete-time or continuous-time computation, for example, using difference equations or differential equations respectively. Models may be designed for simple replicative validity, or better for predictive validity, or most preferentially for structural validity wherein proper modeling of structure permits development of structurally-valid forecasts of true-world behavior even before it is observed. Models may capture and represent both structure and function, and both the qualitative and quantitative aspects, of the system or phenomena they model. They may be dynamic, capable of being changed or of changing and improving themselves through learning or other mechanisms both as to accuracy and performance and as to breadth of coverage. However, although such sophisticated models are known to varying degrees in fields such as numerical simulation, single-circuit simulation, and artificial intelligence, they are not employed in achieving high-accuracy electronic measurement systems.
Expensive modern measurement systems may offer multiple input or sensor "channels" permitting multiple independent sensors to be attached to the meter component and their recorded data to be viewed. However, existing manufacturers have failed to recognize that independence of the sensors is a restriction rather than a benefit. Often there are multiple places in one circuit or system under test where measurement points are appropriate, and particularly among which a comparison may be desired or required. In such circumstances the multiple independent measurements must be taken and recorded and then the user must manually perform the desired comparison or computation. Certain restricted classes of equipment, such as Vector Network Analyzers (VNAs), permit highly stylized and restricted "port"-based comparison of two different locations in a circuit. However these analyzers, and all measurement systems generally, comprise no explicit, variable, or user-definable internal model of the circuit being tested. Rather by design such systems impose a single implicit understanding or small restricted set of understandings of circuits on the user, such as that the quantity of interest is voltage difference or phase difference that may be measured across a simple bridge circuit or its equivalent. The opportunity for computing comparison measurements is correspondingly restricted, because the knowledge of the structure of the circuit under equipment under test is known to a human experimenter or technician but unknown and unknowable by the equipment, which comprises no means of expressing, modifying, or computing over an explicit model of the circuit under test.
As one illustrative example of a model, a radio transmission system generally comprises a transmitter or "exciter" creating a radio frequency (RF) output signal, a power amplifier, an antenna "tuner" and/or "balun" or other impedance matching transformer, an optional "dummy load" device for receiving and dissipating the transmitter's energy during test periods, one or more transmission lines, and one or more antennas. This human model-knowledge of the organization of a radio transmission system is held in the minds of users of such transmission systems, but is nowhere present in express form the measurement system apparatus used today to measure and manage them. Instead the user must extract individual arcane numbers from the measurement apparatus, then outside that measurement system apply their personal human model knowledge of the transmission system to compute manually the quantities of ultimate interest, such as overall system efficiency or other performance measures that help the user understand, characterize, diagnose, and improve the overall transmission system and each of its components. This is also true when the measurement system apparatus is integrated or incorporated as one of the transmission system components. For example, SWR and RF power meter and sensor apparatus are variously provided within exciters or antenna tuners, but no express model knowledge of connected components of the transmission system is provided or used, limiting the kind of measurements that may be reported to the user. Instead of informing the user directly about its overall performance or the comparative behavior of its constituent parts and how they interact to produce that overall performance, the measurements they produce only provide limited, basic data about that single test point in the transmission system. This is an essential failing of today's measurement systems. Owner-users of equipment they measure, such as transmission systems, want and need to understand whole-system performance, to know how to optimize characteristics and behavior of individual components that interact with each other, and to compute derived system-level quantities such as component efficiency, system efficiency, and Effective Radiated Power (ERP) that only can be determined by applying a system model to the raw data modern measurement systems provide, often requiring sensor readings from multiple test points. Today's measurements systems, containing no such model knowledge, cannot perform these analyses.
A solution to the longstanding need for better measurement and management further must provide an effective, informative, and intuitive user interface. Today most measurement systems have a few panel buttons, with many more of the measurement system's actions and options buried out of view in nested menus. Such systems are designed for the convenience of the manufacturer rather than to meet the cognitive needs of the owner-user. Such designs require a large number of button presses and scrolling around in menus and tedious "hunting" for a desired action or setting, or else provide only a handful of useful measurement functions. A better-designed system would provide a logically-organized collection of actions, such as in the form of front panel buttons or speech commands, that allow the user to quickly identify and activate the most-needed methods of the measurement system with immediacy and no confusion. Further, the cognitive organization of the user interface should sensibly and dynamically provide all, but only, the choices of actions, measurement units, and indications that make sense for the measurement activity currently under way. A model of the external system under analysis, stored and operable within the measurement system, could provide the context required for dynamic reconfiguration of the user interface to present always-meaningful choices, units, options, actions, alerts, status, configuration choices, and measurement data. The owner-user further must be able to provide, modify, and update model data and external system data using the measurement and management system's interface, whether such adaptations are provided via interaction with human-accessible display meter apparatus or via remote or networked tools that deliver and modify model and system data of the measurement management apparatus.
It will be understood that generally measurement comprises collecting or inferring data, and management comprises using data and goals to manipulate a system's effectors toward some objective or output result. These functions often interact and may be beneficially integrated into a single system in a coherent way. For example, a radio system antenna tuner is a device that serves as an impedance transformer between a radio transmitter and an antenna transmission line and attached antenna. It is common for an antenna tuner to have integrated measurement and management interface. The Heathkit SA-2060A and Heathkit SA-2500 antenna tuners are exemplary systems that comprise apparatus to measure and display SWR and forward and reflected RF power at the point where the tuner is inserted into a transmission line circuit. They also comprise manual or automatic capacitor and coil adjustment apparatus for managing and optimizing the impedance match between a transmitter and its transmission line and antenna. The antenna tuner system's management method depends essentially on the measurements the system makes on a continuous basis, so that measurement and management are interdependent. The SA-2060A permits a human to view the measurements on displays and apply those measurement data dynamically to manage and maintain the desired impedance match through manual interaction with its electromechanical front panel control interface. The SA-2500 comprises additional electronics to automatically adjust or "tune" its own components to maximize or minimize a criterion such as SWR that is dynamically measured by its integral measurement apparatus. Neither system comprises a model of itself or is capable of augmenting its own behavior through experience or use; nor do other antenna tuner systems or other measurement-management systems in the art today comprise such express models and capabilities.
Existing measurement system display methods and systems have significant cognitive limitations in their display of time-varying and scale data and their organization of user interaction that include limited-resolution simulated bargraphs such as may be painted onto an LCD display's pixels, numerical digital display of inherently analog measurements, poor display color contrast that limits rapid cognitive grasp of underlying measurement data, failure to group logically related functions in cognitively meaningful clusters associated with function and workflow, and inability to simultaneously present data as analog and digital to obtain the cognitive benefits of each format in a unified display. Further, current equipment provides for alerts in the form of a beeper, alarm or flashing a light when a simple direct-measured condition is exceeded, such as high SWR. This is only minimally helpful, since it is unable to distinguish expected vs. unexpected cases of a threshold being exceeded. For example, it is normal to have an initial SWR mismatch when a radio transmitter is used with an antenna designed for a different resonant frequency while tuning, but abnormal and potentially harmful to have the same measured SWR value when the system is believed to be tuned for proper operation. In essence the alert tells the owner-user what is already known to them and cannot distinguish meaningful from meaningless measurement data. This alerting failure results from the lack of a model of the equipment and its moment-to-moment intended usage.
There thus is a need for measurement systems that cost-effectively and accurately compute the measurements of ultimate interest to the measurement system user. In one aspect, these measurements can be integrated with management functions that apply the measurement data to meet goals defined by either the system or its user.
There is a need for measurement systems that comprise an explicit or expressly represented model of themselves and of candidate external systems to be measured, and further wherein the model may be configured and reconfigured by the owner-user, and which apparatus intelligently reconfigures itself to adapt dynamically to the conditions of measurement and the user's and system's goals at each moment.
There is a need for a reconfigurable display designed according to ergonomic and cognitive principles based on the activity and workflow of a user of the measurement and management system.

Accurate and model-based measurement and management systems and methods


A new child restraining harness for restraining a child sitting on a chair. The inventive device includes an elongate flexible belt strap. A flexible crotch strap is coupled to the belt strap. Each of the ends of the belt strap is insertable into a loop space of a looped portion at the other end of the crotch strap. A pair of elongate flexible securing straps are coupled to the back region of the belt strap. A generally rectangular securing pad is provided for securing to a seat of a chair structure. The securing pad is detachably attachable to a bottom region of the crotch strap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to child restraining harnesses and more particularly pertains to a new child restraining harness for restraining a child sitting on a chair.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of child restraining harnesses is known in the prior art. More specifically, child restraining harnesses heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art child restraining harnesses include U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,869; U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,692; U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,464; U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,430; U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,521; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 343,257.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new child restraining harness. The inventive device includes an elongate flexible belt strap. A flexible crotch strap is coupled to the belt strap. Each of the ends of the belt strap is insertable into a loop space of a looped portion at the other end of the crotch strap. A pair of elongate flexible securing straps are coupled to the back region of the belt strap. A generally rectangular securing pad is provided for securing to a seat of a chair structure. The securing pad is detachably attachable to a bottom region of the crotch strap.
In these respects, the child restraining harness according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of restraining a child sitting on a chair.


A laser scanner includes a light emitter that generates a modulated light beam for measuring distance and red, blue, and green lights for capturing colors. The beam is collimated and directed to an object point with a steering mirror. Reflected light from the object point is directed by the steering mirror onto scanner optics. The reflected light is directed to an optical receiver that sends the first light in a first path and the second, third and fourth lights in a second path to a color receiver. The first light is demodulated to determine distance to the target. The second, third, and fourth lights are separated and measured to determine three color values. The color values are combined with the measured distance value to determine a color 3D coordinate for the object point.

The invention relates to a device for optically scanning and measuring an environment.
By means of a device such as is known for example from DE 20 2006 005 643, and which is designed as a laser scanner, the environment of the laser scanner can be optically scanned and measured. For gaining additional information, a line scan camera, which takes RGB signals, is mounted on the laser scanner, so that the measuring points of the scan can be completed by color information. The camera holder is rotatable. To avoid parallax errors, the camera, for taking its records, is swiveled onto the vertical rotational axis of the laser scanner, and the laser scanner is lowered until the camera has reached the horizontal rotational axis. This method requires a high precision of the components.
It is known to attach color cameras in or on laser scanners. Such scanners collect color information in a series of steps disconnected from the measuring of 3D coordinates of object points in an environment. The color information is, a later step, superimposed on the 3D coordinates using an interpolation and mapping method. In many cases, color data is incomplete and, in other cases, color data is not correctly aligned to corresponding 3D features. What is needed is a scanner having features that overcome these limitations.

Laser scanner having a multi-color light source and real-time color receiver


The number of recording layers of the loaded disc is determined using the blue laser light. If the number of recording layers is two, drawing is performed in the recording layer on the near side when seen from the laser light entering side, and demodulation is performed with the HDDVD decoder. If demodulatable, the disc is determined as a disc in which two HDDVD layers are arranged. If not demodulatable, determination is made on whether or not the data of the recording layer is demodulatable with the DVD decoder. If demodulatable with the DVD decoder, the laser light is switched to the red laser light and the number of recording layers is determined. If two recording layers are detected in this determination, the disc is determined as a disc in which two DVD layers are arranged. On the other hand, if one recording layer is detected, the disc is determined as a hybrid HDDVD in which one HDDVD layer and one DVD layer are arranged.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disc device capable of reproducing a two-wavelength two-layer disc configured by a first recording layer responding to a laser light of a first wavelength and a second recording layer responding to a laser light of a second wavelength longer than the first wavelength arranged in sequence from the back side when seen from the laser light entering side and so that the first recording layer is not optically detected when the laser light of the second wavelength is used; and a disc determining method suitably used for such a device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Presently, standardization of the next generation DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) using a blue laser light having a wavelength of about 405 nm is being forwarded. In such standardization, consideration is made on arranging two recording layers for the blue laser light (hereinafter referred to as "HDDVD layer") in the direction of the disc thickness. Further, consideration is made on arranging the HDDVD layer and the recording layer for the red laser light (hereinafter referred to as "DVD layer") in the direction of the disc thickness.
In the next generation DVD (hereinafter referred to as "hybrid HDDVD") in which the HDDVD layer and the DVD layer are arranged in the direction of disc thickness, the DVD layer is arranged on the near side and the HDDVD layer is arranged on the back side when seen from the laser light entering side. The HDDVD layer is formed with a material that cannot be optically detected by the red laser light. Further, the same format as that for the existing DVD is applied to the DVD layer.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-346348 discloses an optical disc including two recording layers and a driving device thereof.
Since the DVD layer in the hybrid HDDVD has the same format as the existing DVD, as described above, reading of data is performed as if a DVD were loaded when the drawing operation during recordation/reproduction is performed from the DVD layer on the near side. Since information indicating that the HDDVD layer additionally exists is not recorded on the DVD layer, the hybrid HDDVD cannot be appropriately determined only from the data read from the disc at the driving side. Thus, the optical disc device requires a means for making an appropriate determination when the hybrid HDDVD is loaded.
In the determination, since the HDDVD layer is not optically detected by the red laser light as described above, it is difficult to determine the hybrid HDDVD using the red laser light. Further, since the DVD in which two DVD layers are arranged, the next generation DVD in which two HDDVD layers are arranged and the like exist in addition to the hybrid HDDVD, a method for smoothly distinguishing such discs and the hybrid HDDVD also becomes necessary.

Optical disc device and disc determining method


An actively tunable waveguide-based iris filter having a first part including a first portion of a deformable iris filter cavity having an inlet and an outlet; a second part operatively coupled with the first part and including a second portion of the deformable iris filter cavity having a deformable membrane operatively coupled with the first portion of a deformable iris filter cavity; the first portion and the second portion together forming the deformable iris filter cavity of the tunable waveguide-based iris filter; and means for moving the deformable membrane, whereby movement of the deformable membrane changes the geometry of the deformable iris filter cavity for causing a change in the frequency of a signal being filtered by the filter. The tunable filter is fabricated using a MEMS-based process including a plastic micro embossing process and a gold electroplating process. Prototype filters were fabricated and measured with bandwidth of 4.05 GHz centered at 94.79 GHz with a minimum insertion loss of 2.37 dB and return loss better than 15 dB. A total of 2.59 GHz center frequency shift was achieved when membranes deflected from −50 μm to +150 μm.

The present invention relates to micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) tunable filters and phase shifters.
Millimeter-wave systems have been applied in various security and sensing systems, including weather monitoring, automobile crash avoidance, and airplane landing guidance (e.g., see J. B. Mead et al., Proceedings of the IEEE, 82(12):1891-1906 (1994)). Tunable filters and phase shifters could play a key role in millimeter-wave applications, especially for multi-channel communication systems and electronically scanned antennas. Current methods for building tunable filters involve using solid-state varactors (e.g., see I. C. Hunter and J. D. Rhodes, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. MMT-30(9):1354-1360 (1982)). However, there are major disadvantages to this approach, namely high losses, unacceptable signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio, and rendered linearity. Over the past decade, radio frequency micro-electro-mechanical systems (RF MEMS) provided a better alternative for building tunable filters, which are necessary for multi-band receivers. For example, MEMS varactors have been employed by some in order to realize a transmission line with voltage-variable electrical length. Tunable filters with a 3.8% tuning range at 20 GHz and a minimum insertion loss of 3.6 dB are known (Y. Liu et al., International Journal of RF and Microwave Computer-Aided Engineering, 11(5):254-260 (2001)). Entesari et al. presented wide-band tunable filters using a digital capacitor bank for 6.5˜10 GHz and 12˜18 GHz ranges with an insertion loss varying between 5.5 dB and 9 dB (e.g., see K. Entesari and G. Rebeiz, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 53(8):2566-2571 (August 2005); K. Entesari and G. Rebeiz, IEEE Transactions of Microwave Theory and Techniques, 53(3): 1103-1110 (March 2005)). A reconfigurable low-pass filter was reported by Lee et al. using multiple contact MEMS switches. The values of the inductors and capacitors were changed independently while the filter cutoff frequency dropped from 53 GHz to 20 GHz (e.g., see S. Lee et al. IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters, 14(10):691-693 (2005)). Robertson et al. presented a micromachined W-band bandpass filter at 94.7 GHz without tuning capability (e.g., see S. Robertson et al., 1995 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest, 3:1543-1546 (1995)).
Techniques for building phase shifters are known. For example, ferrite materials have been utilized to change the bias field and to induce time delay of the transmitting electromagnetic wave. Other approaches include the use of solid state devices such as microwave diodes and FETs to control and manipulate the phase (e.g., see G. Rebeiz, et al. IEEE microwave magazine, 72-81, (June 2002)). While ferrite-based phase shifters consume low power, their fabrication process suffers from difficulties. Diode-based phase shifters possess advantages in their small size, their compatibility with circuit integration, and their high operational speed but typically come with high signal losses. Zuo et al. demonstrated a ferrite phase shifter with a differential phase shift of 90°/KOe.mm at a frequency of 20 GHz and an insertion loss of 0.75 dB/mm (e.g., see X. Zuo, et al. IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 37(4): 2395-2397, (July 2001)). Shan et al. reported a 90° nonreciprocal phase shifter at 12 GHz using an H-plane ferrite-slab loaded into a rectangular waveguide (e.g., see X. Shan, et al. International Journal of RF & Microwave Computer-Aided Engineering, 13(4): 259-68, (July 2003). Glance described a 14-GHz 4-bit p-i-n microstrip phase shifter with an insertion loss of 1.4 dB with a switching time of 1 nano second and switching power of 15 mW (e.g., see Glance, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, MTT-28(6): 699-671, (June 1980)). These efforts illustrate the importance of phase shifter development in scanned radar systems. Recently, MEMS technologies have been introduced to phase shifter design and implementation. MEMS technology could potentially offer low-loss and low-power consumption to solid-state phase shifters and a common scheme is to use MEMS switches to replace the solid-state switches. Hung et al. have developed a 2-bit wide band distributed MEMS transmission line phase shifter that can have discrete phase shifts of 0°, 89.3°, 180.1°, and 272° at 81 GHz with an average insertion loss of 2.2 dB (e.g., see J. Hung, et al., 33rd European Microwave Conference, vol. 3: 983-985, Munich (2003)). Lakshminarayanan et al. presented a scheme for an electronically tunable thru-reflect-line (TRL), using a 4-bit time delay MEMS phase shifter on coplanar waveguide (CPW) sections and reported a phase shift of 90°/mm at 50 GHz (e.g., see B. Lakshminarayanan, and T. Weller, IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters, 15(2): 137-139, (February 2005)).
However, nearly all the known tunable filters and phase shifter are discrete devices and lack the required resolution to continuously cover the desired band of operation. Furthermore, they suffer from high insertion loss. There is therefore a need for a MEMS-based tunable filters and phase shifters that do not suffer from the above shortcomings.

Waveguide-based MEMS tunable filters and phase shifters


Spline seals are disposed in circumferentially registering slots of adjacent arcuate packing seal segments disposed in grooves on inner hooks of a steam turbine diaphragm assembly. The spline seals extend in a gap between the endfaces of the segments and minimize or preclude steam leakage flows past the endfaces. The spline seals may be oriented in axial and circumferential directions to minimize leakage flow paths in a generally radial direction and/or may be inclined radially in a downstream direction to seal against steam leakage flow in an axial direction. The spline seals are disposed in the slots which may be formed as part of original equipment manufacture or may be machined in segments with spline seals provided as retrofits.

The present invention relates generally to diaphragm assembly interstage packing seals for steam turbines and particularly relates to segmented packing seals mounted on inner hooks of diaphragm assemblies and having spline seals for sealing the gap between the circumferentially adjacent endfaces.
A steam turbine has multiple stages. Each stage comprises a plurality of circumferentially spaced buckets about the turbine rotor and a plurality of nozzles forming part of diaphragm assemblies affixed to the stationary casing of the turbine. The nozzles and buckets are axially spaced from one another and disposed in the steam flow path. The diaphragm assemblies include inner hooks having dovetail-shaped grooves forming an annular groove for receiving interstage packing seals. The packing seals are mounted in the annular groove and carry axially spaced labyrinth teeth for sealing against the rotor. The packing seals are formed from arcuate segments disposed in the dovetail-shaped groove of the diaphragm assembly.
With steam turbine design, it is critical to minimize or eliminate any leakage paths within the turbine flow path and secondary leakage circuits. Because the packing seal segments are movable radially relative to the rotor, gaps appear between the endfaces of the segments and define steam leakage paths. These endface gaps can be sufficiently large to produce leakage between the high and low pressure regions on opposite sides of the diaphragm nozzles which can cause significant efficiency loss and loss of potential revenue for a power producer utilizing the steam turbine. The gap between adjacent seal segments is a result of the radial movement of the seal segments, machining tolerances, as well as thermal responses to the high temperature conditions during operation of the turbine. Accordingly, there is a need for seals in the endface gaps between packing seal segments in steam turbines to minimize or preclude steam leakage flows through the endface gaps.

Endface gap sealing for steam turbine diaphragm interstage packing seals and methods of retrofitting


Light, pulsed or continuous at a particular wavelength (e.g. 780 nm), fluoresces a specimen. The specimen may be combinations of an antigen (e.g. rubella) labelled with a fluorescent dye, unlabeled antigen or hapten and an antibody reactive with the antigen or hapten. The light polarized in a first direction (e.g. z-axis) parallel to the electric field of the incident light and in a second direction (e.g. x-axis) perpendicular to the first direction is measured. A second specimen is then provided with the antigen and the antibody but without the dye. The same light as discussed above excites the second specimen and polarizes the light. The light polarized in the first (z-axis) and second (x-axis) directions in the second specimen is measured. These measurements are processed in a microprocessor with the measurements in the z and x directions in the first specimen to identify the antigen or, when the antigen is known, to identify the concentration of the antigen in the first specimen. When the light is pulsed, the measurements are made in a time window beginning after the initiation, and terminating before the end, of the fluorescence of the combination of the dye, the antibody and the antigen. Determinations as discussed above but without unlabeled antigen or hapten may be made of the antibody instead of the antigen. When the light is continuous, it is modulated. Measurements are made of the phase shifts in the polarized light in the z and x directions as a result of the light modulations and the decay of the fluorescence.

In general, prior art fluorometers suffer from a common problem of being unable to discriminate between the generated fluorescent signal and the background noise. Certain types of conventional fluorometers discriminate between the fluorescent signal and the background noise on the basis of wavelength. This type of discrimination is generally not sufficient for many types of fluorescent signals.
Another type of discrimination can be accomplished using a time-gaged technique. In particular, these instruments are based on the principle of permitting the observation of the fluorescence or luminescence a short, and if desired a variable, time after the excitation period. Time gaged fluorometers therefore add an additional level of discrimination by viewing the signal fluorescence during an optimal time window. In the past, this technique generally employed a fluorophore of long decay time in order to allow the background fluorescence to decay. The long decay times produced relatively slow measurements and lost information afforded by the polarization. Furthermore, the measurements were clouded because they contained a considerable amount of background noise.
The time gaged technique is in general based on a phosphoroscope invented by Becquerel in 1867. In the Becquerel instrument, the luminescent substance is placed between two rotating discs which are mounted on a common axis and which have sector shaped apertures. The variable time gaging is achieved by an adjustment of the angle between a sector on one disc and a sector on the other. Subsequent refinements of the time gaging technique have been accomplished by the use of spark discharges, oscilloscopes, Kerr cells, supersonic cells and lasers.
The rotating disc invented by Becquerel was put into a conical configuration for a microscope by Jones as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,071,408 in 1937. Other more recent improvements have used electronic techniques. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,957 to Wieder provided for the gaging of a detecting circuit electronically and used a laser for excitation. In this way, as in other refinements of the Becquerel phosphoroscope, the gaging mechanism may be adjusted so that observation of the desired signal can be optimized within the limits of the phosphoroscope. Other prior art devices such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,360 to Mueller use electronic gaging to distinguish between species of differing decay times where two species are involved and one is a bound dye and the other is an unbound dye.
Several commercial instruments are currently available for the measurement of decay times or lifetimes. These instruments utilize nanosecond flash sources (electric spark in air at reduced pressure). One instrument introduces the output of a photomultiplier tube to a fast oscilloscope. Provision is made to match the experimental curve with a sum to 3 or 4 exponentials.
A second instrument excites the sample by repeated flashes from the source (such as at 5 kHz) and pulses the photomultiplier at progressively increased times after each flash. The output is fed into a recorder or computer to provide an intensity vs. time signal. In addition, this instrument is supplied with software to reconvolute the experimental curve by a well known method termed Linearized Least Squares Reconvolution.
A third instrument utilizes a flash source (typically at 1 kHz). A timer is started at the time of the flash and stopped when the photomultiplier detects a photon from the sample.
Subsequently, counts are accumulated in a series of time boxes giving a relationship leading to the decay curve for the fluorescence.
Both wavelength-based discrimination and time-based discrimination suffer by having background fluorescence superimposed on the signal with only an indirect means of segregating the background fluorescence from the signal. In addition, the use of dyes of long decay time effectively smears the desired signal over a long time period, thus making this signal hard to extract. Dyes of long decay time have inherently low extinction coefficients and therefore provide inefficient excitation of the fluorescence.
In co-pending application Ser. No. 751,746, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,9 filed and assigned of record to the assignee of record by Walter B. Dandliker on Jul. 1, 1985, for a "Fluorometer" of this application, a new type of fluorometer is disclosed and claimed which permits the signal from the fluorophore to be automatically separated from the background in an improved manner to produce an enhanced fluorescent signal. This enhancement of the fluorescent signal occurs by a particular instrument design, by the type of data collected and by a specific method used to process this data.
In co-pending application Ser. No. 751,746, now U.S. Pat. No. 4877965, a source such as a laser is pulsed to produce concentrated light energy at a particular frequency such as 780 nm. This light is directed to a specimen to obtain a fluorescence from particular fluorophore molecules in the specimen. This fluorescence continues for a period of time after the initiation of the fluorescence. A detector is provided to detect the fluorescence from the particular fluorophore molecules in the specimen. The detector is gaged to operate only for a particular period of time beginning after the initiation of the fluorescence of the particular fluorophore molecules in the specimen and ending before the completion of the fluorescence of the particular fluorophore molecules in the specimen. By gaging the detector in this manner, the signals produced from the fluorescence of the particular fluorophore molecules in the detector are enhanced relative to the signals representing background noise and the time dependence of these signals provides the information for a further discrimination between desired signal and background.

Transient-state luminescence assay apparatus


A heat-shrinkable film is made from a copolyester blend of 1 to 98.5 weight percent PETG copolyester, 98.5 to 1 weight DEG modified PET copolyester having a b* value of less than 15, 0.5 to 3 weight percent anti-blocking agent, and optionally, 5 to 15 weight percent crystallizable polyester. The PETG copolyester has a dicarboxylic acid component of at least 95 mol percent terephthalic acid and a diol component of 65 to 80 mol percent ethylene glycol and 35 to 20 mol percent 1,4-cyclohexane-dimethanol. The DEG modified PET copolyester has a dicarboxylic acid component of at least 75 mol percent terephthalic acid; a diol component of 10 to 50 mol percent diethylene glycol and 50 to 90 mol percent ethylene glycol; catalyst residues of 20 to 100 ppm manganese, 50 to 300 ppm antimony, 0 to 100 ppm titanium and 40 to 150 ppm phosphorus; and color control agent residues of (i) 40 to 100 ppm cobalt, (ii) 1.5 to 10 ppm of blue compounds of substituted 1,4-bis(2,6-dialylanilino) anthraquinones and 0.5 to 6 ppm of red compounds of anthraquinones, or (iii) 0.5 to 10 ppm of 1-cyano-3H-dibenz isoquinoline-2,7-diones.

Heat-shrinkable plastic films are used as coverings, to hold objects together, and as an outer wrapping for bottles, cans and other kinds of containers. For example, such films are used for covering the cap, neck, shoulder or bulge of bottles or for the entire bottles; for the purpose of labelling, protection, parceling, or increasing the value of the product; and for other reasons. In addition, such films may be used as a covering to package such objects as boxes, bottles, boards, rods, or notebooks together in groups, and such films may also be attached closely as a wrapping. The uses mentioned above take advantage of the shrinkability and the internal shrink stress of the film.
Shrink films can be classified into two categories as follows: (1) biaxially oriented film for over-wrapping wherein the film shrinks in both the x- and y-axis directions, and (2) uniaxially oriented sleeves which are widely used as tamper evident labels on food and pharmaceutical products and as primary labels on soft drink bottles. This film primarily shrinks in the stretched or oriented direction and has a little shrinkage in the unstretched or nonoriented direction. A 10 percent or less shrinkage in the unstretched direction is desirable to compensate the thermal relaxation of the shrink film during heating. Usually these films are made into a tube shape, and after being wrapped around a bottle or around more than one pipe, for example, the film is shrunk by the application of heat so as to wrap or to parcel together the object or objects.
The materials used for the films mentioned above include polyvinylchloride (PVC), polystyrene (OPS), oriented polyethylene, oriented polypropylene, hydrochlorinated rubber, and polyesters. PVC is the most widely used material due to its excellent shrink properties and clarity. However, environmental concerns exist with PVC. Replacement materials which are more environmentally friendly, have comparable heat-shrinkable properties and are substantially free of haze are desirous.
The prime choice to compete with PVC for shrink films has been copolyester blends of 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol modified polyethylene terephthalate (known as PETG), a low glass transition temperature polyester or copolyester such as diethylene glycol modified polyethylene terephthalate (DEG modified PET) and, optionally, a crystallizable polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The onset shrink temperature of these copolyester blends, while somewhat higher than the onset temperature of PVC, is close enough that existing shrink tunnels designed for PVC may be used. However, only up to 10 percent of the DEG modified PET may be used in the blends due to the occurrence of haze in the final heat-shrinkable film. The haze is caused by the high degree of yellow color in the DEG modified PET. Due to the nature of manufacturing technology, DEG modified PET, known commercially as EASTOBOND Copolyester 13162 available from Eastman Chemical Company of Kingsport, Tenn. has a b* color value (yellowness index) in pellet form of about 25. In order to increase the amount of DEG modified PET and possibly lower the onset shrink temperature of the polyester blends, a DEG modified PET would need to have a b* color value in pellet form substantially lower than conventional technology permits.
Thus, there exists a need in the art to have a heat-shrinkable copolyester film that has an onset temperature the same or lower than PVC film and does not produce undesired haze levels. Accordingly, it is to the provision of such that the present invention is primarily directed.

Clarity and adjustable shrinkage of shrink films using miscible polyester blends


Methods and systems for testing fluid samples include a diffused air flotation (DAF) system and a jar. The jar includes a diffuser for injecting the diffused air into the jar and a tap for drawing a fluid out of the jar.

1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure is directed to the methods and devices for testing fluids such as water or waste water.
2. Background of the Art
Water testing may be performed for a variety of reasons such as to evaluate wastewater characteristics before or after treatment, determine whether a water source is suitable for domestic consumption, or suitability of water for industrial uses. One conventional form of testing is jar testing. In typical jar testing, several containers, or jars, are filled with water samples. Each jar may be treated with a different amount of a chemical selected to cause coagulation or flocculation. The samples may be stirred or otherwise agitated and observed for a period of time. The differences in reactions of the several water samples are evaluated during this time. Illustrative effects evaluated may include flocculation, settling, and turbidity. Some tests may also involve dissolved air flotation (DAF). In the DAF process, pressurized water having dissolved air is introduced into a container having a water sample that has chemically treated suspended matter (floc particles or oil and grease). The dissolved air forms tiny bubbles that adhere to the suspended matter, which then floats to the water surface. The floating material and the underlying water may then be tested.
Conventionally, these and other water tests are performed in separate test units, which is cumbersome and may compromise the quality of the tests as water samples are moved between test units. The present disclosure addresses the need to have a more efficient method and device for testing fluids such as water or waste water.


A system and method for adjusting the color of an application user interface (UI). A UI allows a user to define hue and saturation values used to adjust first RGB values of pixels determining the color of the UI. A media player application (MPA) calculates second RGB values as a function of the first RGB values and the defined hue and saturation values. The MPA compares the defined saturation value to a threshold saturation value. If the defined saturation value is less than the threshold saturation value, the MPA calculates third RGB values as a function of the second RGB values, and assigns the third RGB values to the pixels determining the color of the UI. If the defined saturation value is equal to or greater than the threshold saturation value, the MPA assigns the second RGB values to the pixels determining the color of the UI.

In general, most video displays and their adapters specify colors of a digital image being displayed according to a Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) scale. Digital images comprise a collection of picture elements or pixels arranged on a regular grid. Digital images can be defined as a gray scale image or a color image. A gray scale image is represented by a channel of specific brightness values at individual pixel locations. A color image pixel is represented by numerical RGB components that correspond to a particular color. These three RGB components are typically three 8-bit numbers for each pixel. Each 8 bit RGB component can have 256 possible values, ranging from 0 to 255 and the composite of the three RGB values creates the final color for that one pixel area. For example, a Black pixel has a RGB value of (0, 0, 0), meaning (Red=0, Green=0, Blue=0), a White pixel has a RGB value of (255, 255, 255), and an Orange pixel has a RGB value of (250, 165, 0). A Gray pixel has the property of having substantially equal values in RGB. For example, a pixel with a RGB value (220, 220, 220) is a light gray (near white), and a pixel with a RGB value (40, 40, 40) is a dark gray (near black). As such, there are approximately 256 shades of gray in a conventional gray-scale display.
The colors of the pixels in an image can also be represented using other values. One example is called "HSV". Under the HSV model, each color is represented by three values that express the hue, saturation, and value (HSV). The hue is defined as a particular position along a circular hue spectrum in which different colors are represented at different positions along a circle (See FIG. 4). The hue spectrum represents a full range of major hues in the following order: blue, magenta, red, yellow, green, and cyan. The saturation is the distance from gray which corresponds to the center of the circle, (e.g., the amount of the hue present). The value is the brightness of the color and brighter colors have higher values. Gray scale images contain only achromatic colors (i.e., images without a specific hue and with zero saturation).
In order to enhance a user's experience when viewing or using an application user interface (user interface), the user interface may include input controls that allow the user to customize various aspects of the interface's appearance. For example, the user interface may include slide bar controls or other mechanisms that allow the user to adjust hue and/or saturation levels of the user interface. As the user manipulates such controls, the color scheme of user interface is changed by modifying the hue offset and saturation scale of the pixels used to render the user interface. Previously, color adjustment of user interfaces was accomplished by transforming RGB values of pixels in the images into HSV values, adjusting the hue and saturation, and then transforming these adjusted values back to RGB values to generate the resultant image. This technique produces fairly good results when the saturation level is high and the color of the image is preserved. However, as the saturation is lowered and the colors become close to those of a grayscale image, the images lose contrast and appear to become "washed out." FIG. 1 is a screen shot of an exemplary user interface color-adjusted by conventional HSV to RGB conversion techniques. Images appear washed out because the human eye perceives different colors to have different relative brightness levels. For example, yellow appears brighter than blue even when the colors have the same mathematical brightness when expressed in RGB/HSV colors.
As a result there is a need for an improved system and method for adjusting colors in a digital image.

Interpolated color transform for changing color of an application user interface


A method, system and processing device for retiring data entries held within a store queue (STQ). The STQ of a processor cache is modified to receive and process several types of data entries including: non-synchronized (non-sync), thread of execution synchronized (thread-sync), and all thread of execution synchronized (all-thread-sync). The task of storing data entries, from the STQ out to memory or an input/output device, is modified to increase the effectiveness of the cache. The modified STQ allows non-sync, thread-sync, and all-thread-sync instructions to coexist in the STQ regardless of the thread of execution. Stored data entries, or stores are deterministically selected for retirement, according to the data entry type.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to processors and in particular to a technique for enhancing operations within a processor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A processor is a digital device that executes instructions specified by a computer program. A typical computer system includes a processor coupled to a system memory that stores program instructions and data to be processed by the program instructions. High level processor instruction execution may be broken down into three main tasks: (1) loading data into the upper level cache from memory or an input/output (I/O) device; (2) performing arithmetic operations on the data loaded from memory; and (3) storing the results out to memory or to an I/O device.
Of the three main tasks for processor instruction execution, storing, or writing the data to the memory (or I/O device) is the most flexible in regards to the latency of completing the task. Therefore, when there is a simultaneous request to access the upper level cache for loading and a request to access the upper level cache for storing, the loading operation is typically chosen to proceed prior to the storing operation. If multiple requests are made to load data, a request to store data to the cache may occur on consecutive processor execution cycles without success. The most common method of handling the occurrence of waiting to store data to the cache is to utilize a store queue (STQ). A STQ holds the data to be stored while waiting to access the cache.
Some STQs allow more recently processed data to write (or store) to the cache before data that has been waiting longer has been written to the cache. The process of younger data retiring (i.e. writing data into the cache) before older data retiring is known as out-of-order (OoO) operations. OoO STQs may introduce data integrity problems also known as store ordering hazards. For example, in a store ordering hazard, a younger data store to a given address may be retired prior to an older store to the same address. The data integrity problems resulting from the OoO STQ may result in a violation of the sequential execution model that is standard in processor architecture.
There are current methods of processing data stores to address the problems of OoO STQ, such as operations utilizing dependency vectors or synchronization identification (SID). Although dependency vectors are able to fully handle multiple synchronizing operations within an OoO STQ concurrently, use of these vectors does not scale well to larger (e.g. greater than sixteen entry) STQs. Although SID operations address the problem of processing synchronized entries from a particular thread, SID operations do not permit multiple all-thread synchronization operations to coexist simultaneously within a STQ. Dependency vectors and SIDs are effective in some aspects of STQ operations. However, the restrictions of SIDs decrease the efficiency of the processor instruction execution; thereby, decreasing the efficiency of the processor, and the lack of scalability when using dependency vectors in large STQs raises the area and power costs of the processor more than is desired.

Dynamic designation of retirement order in out-of-order store queue


A numerical control device includes a drive-shaft movement-amount estimation unit to estimate a first movement amount of a first object that is a target to be moved by a first drive shaft by using a first drive signal, an undriven-object movement-amount estimation unit to estimate a second movement amount of a second object in a three dimensional space, which is generated due to a drive force of the first drive shaft, by using the first drive signal, a correction-amount calculation unit to calculate a correction amount for the first drive signal on the basis of the first movement amount and the second movement amount, and a first correction-signal output unit to output a first corrected drive signal obtained by correcting the first drive signal by the correction amount to a drive unit to drive the first drive shaft.

During machining with a machine tool, operation of a drive shaft may cause mechanical vibrations and thus degrade the machining accuracy or the quality of a machined surface. Particularly, in a case where a movement direction of an object moved by a drive shaft is different from a mechanical vibration direction, even when a feedback control is executed on the drive shaft to suppress deviation in the movement direction of the object moved by the drive shaft, deviation due to mechanical vibrations in a direction different from the movement direction of the object moved by the drive shaft can still not be suppressed. A technique has thus been proposed to suppress vibrations caused by operation of a drive shaft and generated in a direction different from the movement direction of the drive shaft.
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a linear motor control method for controlling a position or a velocity of a movable member by detecting a relative position or relative velocity between the movable member and a member to be moved using a position or velocity detector. This control method uses a linear-motor vibration compensatory model including a linear-motor vibration model and a vibration compensator transfer function. The linear-motor vibration model includes a center-of-gravity position transfer function and a rotational amount transfer function. A thrust of the movable member is input to the linear-motor vibration model, while the center-of-gravity position of the movable member and a displacement due to rotation of the movable member detected by the detector are output from the linear-motor vibration model. The linear-motor vibration model outputs a relative position that is the sum of the center-of-gravity position of the movable member and the displacement due to rotation of the movable member. A displacement due to rotation of the movable member detected by the detector is input to the vibration compensator transfer function, while a thrust compensation value is output from the vibration compensator transfer function. A thrust that is a difference between a thrust command and the thrust compensation value is given to the linear-motor vibration model thereby to compensate vibrations that are generated at the relative position.


A hemming apparatus is provided for use with a robot in performing a hemming operation. The hemming apparatus comprises a support housing which mounts to a machine and has a pressurizable interior chamber having forward and rearward portions. A slide member includes a piston which is disposed in the chamber, and a plunger extends outwardly from the piston. Means are provided for attaching the housing to a nose having a central passageway. A bearing shaft is disposed within the central passageway, and means are provided for connecting the bearing shaft to the plunger. A hem roller is attached at the end of the bearing shaft. The rearward and forward portions of the chamber are connectible to a source of fluid pressure such that adjusting the chamber pressures moves the piston, thereby causing the bearing shaft to drive the hem roller into engagement with a work piece.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hemming sheet metal and more particularly to a hemming apparatus and method for forming a generally flat hem between two metal panels. Even more particularly, this invention relates to a roller-type hemming apparatus for edge hemming vehicle closure panels, such as hemming door, hood, trunk, and deck lid panels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the automotive industry, hemming machines are conventionally used to attach two metal panels together. These metal panels include, for example, the metal panels to form the automotive hood, door panels, quarter panels, and the like.
Hemming machines are disclosed in the patent prior art, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,387, issued Dec. 7, 1993 to Sawa; U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,277, issued Jul. 30, 2002 to Wiens; U.S. Pat. No. 6,983,633, issued Jan. 10, 2006 to Holmgren et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,447, issued Dec. 26, 2006 to Toeniskoetter; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0229666, published Oct. 20, 2005 to Toeniskoetter.
A conventional roller hemming apparatus is mounted to a multi-axis controllable robot and may include a hem roller carried by a support. The roller hemming apparatus is adapted for hemming a bent portion of a workpiece, such as a door panel, which is positioned on a hemming die. The workpiece is hemmed by rolling the hem roller, under pressure, along the bent portion. The conventional roller-type hemming apparatus is used for continuous hemming along the contour edge of the workpiece.
In order to achieve good hemming with a conventional hemming apparatus, the robot must move the hem roller along the edge of the workpiece at a constant distance from the hemming die. However, a robot is not comprised of a perfectly rigid body. Therefore, when the hem roller is positioned against the edge of the workpiece, the robot may be deflected by its own resiliency or by a resistive force exerted by the edge of the workpiece itself. This results in a fluctuation of the pressing force applied by the hem roller onto the edge of the workpiece, and therefore imperfect hemming of the workpiece.
Various approaches to compensate for fluctuating pressing force have been proposed. For example, springs have been used. However it has been observed that springs alone have proven to be inadequate.
In addition, traditional hemming rollers having a single roller only enable the user to hem simplistic workpiece such as those having open areas. However single roller hemming apparatuses are not capable of hemming a workpiece with complex configurations.
Additionally, certain workpieces having complex geometry may be difficult to hem. It is costly to reconfigure robot-controlled hemming apparatuses because it is time consuming with respect to labor expenses. In addition, customized tooling required to reconfigure the mounting of the robot is expensive. To overcome this problem, some roller hemming apparatuses provide two rollers on a common spindle. The first roller is used for the actual hemming, while the second roller is used to guide the first roller relative to the workpiece.
Additionally, as work progresses, oftentimes the circumference of the hemming roller may become nicked, thus resulting in an imperfect hemming.


Wireless networking devices scan for available channels and gather data about the channels and the RF environment. Using this information, each wireless networking device determines a cost value for each available channel and a quality value for its overall RF neighborhood. Each wireless networking device select the channel with the best cost value as a candidate channel for use. The wireless networking devices may submit channel requests to the arbiter for approval. If two or more wireless networking devices are requesting the same channel, the arbiter assigns the channel to the wireless networking device with the worst RF neighborhood quality. The arbiter informs the wireless networking devices if their channel requests are approved. If a wireless networking device's channel request is not approved, the wireless networking device will rescan the remaining available channels to select a different candidate channel to be approved.

The invention relates to the field of wireless networking devices and specifically to systems and methods of configuring wireless networking devices to operate in close proximity to each other. Many organizations provide wireless networks to their users and/or the general public. Often, multiple wireless networking devices, such as wireless access points, are required to provide effective wireless network access to users over large physical area. For example, there may be large numbers of wireless access points operating together to provide wireless network access within one or more buildings, a campus, or even neighborhoods and cities.
Typically, wireless networking devices such as wireless access points communicate using one or more RF channels. As the physical density of wireless access points increases, interference between multiple wireless networking devices using the same or overlapping channels becomes more likely. As a result of channel interference from both other wireless network devices as well as other sources of radio interference, the network performance for users decreases.
One way to mitigate channel interference is to assign neighboring wireless networking devices to different or non-overlapping channels. Prior approaches have typically operated in a centralized manner or a distributed manner. Centralized approaches gather data from most or all of the wireless networking devices and use this complete view of the wireless network to determine a satisfactory assignment of channels to the wireless networking devices. The downsides of this approach are the need for a central entity to collect data from all of the networking devices, process network data, and determine channel assignments.
Distributed approaches to channel assignment rely on wireless networking devices to select an optimal channel for itself or to negotiate channel assignments between themselves. However, the former approach results in a sub-optimal channel assignment over the entire network and the latter approach requires the exchange of numerous messages between wireless networking devices. Additionally, this approach may take a long time to converge to a stable channel assignment. Furthermore, small changes in the RF environment may lead to a ripple effect, causing channel assignment changes across the entire wireless network.

Distributed channel selection for wireless networks


A garment hanger having a connecting element consisting of a protrusion on one hanger arm which fits snugly into a receiving hole on a second hanger arm so that the hanger can be opened and locked closed to receive and secure a garment.

This invention relates to a garment hanger, and more particularly, to a garment hanger having a connecting element so that the hanger may be opened and closed at one end to receive and secure a garment.
Various types of garment hangers which can be opened and closed are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,817,621 to Harding shows a rod which fits into a circular notch in a corresponding arm and is pulled down into a locking position. U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,733 to Schmednecht shows a dowel-like projection on a hanger arm which can be fastened into a groove on a hanger rod to lock the device. Other patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,275 to Wendorf and U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,228 to Bisk show more complicated devices for locking hanger arms.
Other hangers known in the art which accommodate folded garments are designed to grab a garment with clasps that lock onto to the ends of a garment, causing unwanted wrinkles and crimping of the garment. Further, the known hangers are too large to hang smaller sized garments, such as baby clothes and the like and are made from heavy materials such as wood and metal.
None of the known devices provide a smaller sized garment hanger made from lightweight material and having a simple connecting element which can be locked into place by pushing a protrusion on one arm through a receiving hole on another arm for a tight fit.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger which can be opened and locked closed by means of a connecting element consisting of a protrusion on one hanger arm which fits snugly into a receiving hole on a second hanger arm.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger which is lightweight and small enough to accommodate smaller garments.
The foregoing object is achieved and the disadvantages of the known garment hanger designs are overcome by providing a garment hanger in accordance with the present invention. The garment hanger includes a neck portion; a suspension element extending upwardly from the neck portion; a top arm molded to the underside of the neck portion; a bottom arm molded to one end of the top arm and connectable to a second end of the top arm; and a connecting element consisting of a protrusion molded to and extending perpendicularly from the second end of the top arm, and a hole positioned on the bottom arm for receiving and securing the protrusion.
The protrusion is formed from two symmetrical half portions, each half portion including a top portion and a base portion, wherein the top portion has a larger diameter than the base portion. The two symmetrical half portions can be angled apart from or aligned parallel to each other. The protrusion can also be formed from a single piece instead of from two symmetrical half portions.
The hanger can be made from bendable plastic, such as polypropylene, polystyrene, resin or the like. The neck portion has an area of at least 0.5 inches squared so that it can accommodate a sticker, indicating, for example, the size or brand of a garment on the hanger. The top and bottom arms of the hanger can be between 4 and 10 inches long, depending on the size of garments to be placed on the hanger.