An oscillator includes a transformer, a first capacitor, a first transistor, a depletion or native second transistor, and a current control circuit. The transformer includes a primary winding configured to receive an input voltage and a secondary winding configured to boost the input voltage to generate an output voltage. The first capacitor is configured to form an LC resonant circuit together with the secondary winding to cause oscillation operation, the first transistor is connected in series with the primary winding, and the output voltage is applied to a control terminal of the first transistor. The depletion or native second transistor is connected in series with the primary winding and the first transistor, and the current control circuit is configured to adjust a control voltage applied to a control terminal of the second transistor to control a current flowing through the first winding.

Recently, energy harvesting that derives power from energy in the environment (e.g. luminous energy, energy of ambient electromagnetic waves, mechanical vibrational energy and thermal energy) has become a hot research topic.
In order to utilize electric power derived from the energy harvesting as the power supply, for example, a DC-DC converter could be used to boost the voltage (for example, an ultra-low voltage of from several tens to several hundreds of mV) obtained from an ultra-low voltage generation unit (such as a photovoltaic electricity generator, an electromagnetic wave electricity generator, a vibration electricity generator, or a thermoelectric generator).
As described above, for utilization of electric power obtained from energy harvesting, the DC-DC converter (boost converter) could be used to boost an ultra-low voltage generated by the ultra-low voltage generation unit, and a voltage to drive the control circuit of boost converter is also obtained by the ultra-low voltage generation unit.
Specifically, a driving voltage for control circuit of the boost converter could be supplied by an auxiliary step-up unit that can boost the ultra-low voltage generated from the ultra-low voltage generation unit. The step-up unit further includes an oscillator and rectifiers.
In order to operate from ultra-low voltage, to ensure safety and to achieve high efficiencies, it is required that an oscillator in the auxiliary step-up unit be capable of oscillating from ultra-low voltage, regulating its output voltage amplitude and maintaining high efficiencies. However, the existing oscillators could not completely satisfy these requirements.
Conventionally, there have been various types of DC-DC converters applicable to energy harvesting.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. S62-022349
Patent Document 2: Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. H03-047067
Patent Document 3: Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Publication No. 2013-078111
Patent Document 4: Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2002-518989
Patent Document 5: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-152015
Patent Document 6: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-304231

Oscillator and power management apparatus


One or more systems, devices, and/or methods for providing and/or using a navigation/geographic feature are disclosed. For example, a method of operation of a navigation system may include providing a graphics user interface. A data representation of a geographic object, such as a path sign or icon, text, or character thereof, is provided in the graphics user interface. The data representation of the path sign may be provided as a feature of a navigation display. Input identifying a portion of the data representation of the geographic object is received. A navigation-related function is provided based on receiving the input.

The present invention relates to geographic data, navigation, and/or graphics and, more particularly, to one or more geographical models, such as used for navigation-related functions.
As the days go by, buildings, streets, and other features to support human growth and travel continue to be constructed or provided. Also, existing infrastructure, roads, and other environments are being adapted to accommodate more people and traffic. Such growth and development affects how people go from one place to another and what they see during their journeys.
Navigation systems and/or devices are used to help people travel. For example, a navigation device may provide useful guidance or route information, such as providing a route from an origin to a desired destination. However, features, options, and/or tools for improving navigation experiences as well as providing different ways to interact with navigation features may be desired.


In an optical transmission system, a first modulated signal with a first transmission bit rate is generated at the transmitting end by modulating a first carrier signal with the first data signal, using a nonreturn to zero coding, and a second modulated signal with a second transmission bit rate is generated by modulating a second carrier signal with the second data signal, using a return to zero coding. The first and second modulated signal are polarized orthogonally with respect to one another and combined to form an optical multiplex signal and transmitted. At the receiving end, the optical multiplex signal is conducted via a polarization control element to a polarization splitter which splits the optical multiplex signal into the first and second modulated signal. The first modulated signal is converted into a first electrical signal and the second modulated signal is converted into a second electrical signal, the spectral component of the first and/or the second electrical signal is determined at the frequency corresponding to the first transmission rate and from this at least one control signal is derived for controlling the polarization control element.

The present invention relates to a method for transmitting at least one first and one second data signal in polarization division multiplex in an optical transmission system which includes a transmitting arrangement and a receiving arrangement which are connected to one another via at least one optical fiber link section.
In optical transmission systems, the transmission capacity of existing optical transmission systems can be extended by transmitting the optical data signals in polarization division multiplex. To transmit optical data signals in polarization division multiplex, in each case two carrier signals which are respectively modulated with a data signal are generated in at least one transmitting arrangement with the same wavelength. The first and second modulated signals exhibit a mutually orthogonal polarization in this case. The mutually orthogonally polarized modulated signals are combined to form an optical polarization division multiplex signal. The optical polarization division multiplex signal is injected into the optical transmission fiber and transmitted via the optical transmission link to a receiving unit. At the receiving end, the two orthogonally polarized modulated signals are recovered from the polarization division multiplex signal in a wavelength-dependent and polarization-dependent manner.
One of the essential problems in transmitting optical data signals in polarization division multiplex is separating the two orthogonally polarized modulated signals precisely out of the polarization division multiplex signal. This requires the determination of a control criterion for controlling a polarization control element arranged at the receiving end from the received optical polarization division multiplex signal. The modulated signals transmitted in a mutually orthogonally polarized manner are separated with the aid of the controlled polarization transformer and, for example, a downstream polarization splitter or a polarization filter.
To control the separation of the two orthogonally polarized modulated signals at the receiving end, different control criteria are known. From the publication "Optical polarization division multiplexing at 4GB/S" by Paul M Hill et al., IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 4, No. 5, May 1992, the use of coherent techniques in combination with pilot tones for reconstructing or, respectively, separating the polarization division multiplexed optical signals is known. Furthermore, separating the polarization division multiplexed optical data signals via a correlation signal generated from the recovered clock and from the received optical signals is known from the publication "Fast Automatic Polarization Control System", Heismann and Whalen, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 4, No. 5, May 1992.
Moreover, a method for separating the two signals transmitted orthogonally polarized at the receiving end via the evaluation of the autocorrelation function of one of the signals transmitted is known from international application WO 01/65754 A1. In this arrangement the control of the polarization control element at the receiving end is determined with the aid of the extinction ratio of the respective transmitted signal, calculated via the autocorrelation amount.
An object of the present invention is to devise a novel method and optical transmission system for transmitting high-bit-rate optical signals in polarization division multiplex.

Method for transmitting at least one first and one second data signal in polarization division multiplex in an optical transmission system


An external reinforcing strap system for a bulk material cargo container liner comprises a plurality of vertically spaced, horizontally oriented reinforcing straps, or a plurality of horizontally spaced, vertically oriented reinforcing straps and a plurality of vertically spaced, horizontally oriented reinforcing straps, to have their tension levels individually adjusted in an independent manner in order to provide selected sections of the external reinforcing strapping system with requisites amount of tension. In addition, a substantially U-shaped reinforcing gusset system is also disclosed which provides the necessary reinforcement for the rear wall member of the bulk material cargo container liner but with a simplified structure effectively eliminating the aforenoted strapping system.

Bulk material cargo containers are conventionally utilized, at different times, to house or contain different fluid-like or flowable bulk cargo materials, such as, for example, dry bulk chemicals, powdered and pelletized resins, coffee beans, flour, grains, rice, sugar, and the like. The bulk material cargo containers are integrally formed within, for example, the cargo holds of ships, trucks, railroad cars, and the like, whereby the bulk cargo materials can readily be shipped or transported from one location to another. Alternatively, the bulk material cargo containers are utilized to temporarily store bulk cargo materials at a particular location prior to the continued transportation or shipping of the bulk cargo materials, or still further, prior to the unloading or discharge of the bulk cargo materials from the bulk material cargo containers. Since different bulk cargo materials are shipped or transported within a particular bulk material cargo container at different times, it is imperative that the bulk material cargo containers effectively be clean so as not to contaminate the materials, comprising a particular bulk material cargo load, with any residual materials which may have remained within the bulk material cargo container from a previously shipped or transported bulk material cargo load. Accordingly, in order to eliminate the necessity of cleaning each bulk material cargo container after a particular bulk material cargo load has been unloaded or discharged from a particular one of the bulk material cargo containers, it has become conventional within the industry to employ removable bulk material container liners within the cargo holds or the bulk material cargo containers whereby, after a particular bulk material cargo load is delivered to its destination and discharged or unloaded, the bulk material cargo container liner is simply removed from the bulk material cargo container, thereby again rendering the bulk material cargo container usable for carrying another bulk material cargo load without requiring a significant amount of cleaning of the bulk material cargo container.
Examples of bulk material cargo container liners, as used within bulk material cargo containers for shipping or transporting fluid-like or flowable materials are disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,896 which issued on Aug. 19, 1997 to Matias, U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,563 which issued on Aug. 6, 1996 to Matias, U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,476 which issued on Jun. 6, 1995 to Matias, U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,621 which issued on Jun. 29, 1993 to Matias, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,170 which issued on Aug. 11, 1992 to Matias. It is noted that each one of the aforenoted patents issued to Matias discloses an external strapping system for effectively reinforcing the rear wall member of the bulk material cargo container liner, and while the aforenoted removable bulk material cargo container liners, and their associated external strapping systems, have obviously performed satisfactorily from an overall point of view in connection with the achievement of their primary objectives, such removable bulk material cargo container liners, with their external strapping systems, exhibit several structural and operational drawbacks.
More particularly, as can best be seen from FIG. 1, which effectively corresponds to FIG. 16D to any one of the aforenoted Matias patents, it is seen that the external strapping system, characteristic of any one of the Matias patents, comprises a plurality of vertically spaced, horizontally oriented external reinforcing straps 66, and a plurality of horizontally spaced, vertically oriented external reinforcing straps 64 that are secured to the external surface portion of the rear end wall member 52 of the bulk material cargo container liner so as to effectively crisscross each other at a plurality of intersection locations 67 and thereby form a checkerboard arrangement that effectively divides the rear end wall member 52 into a plurality of sub-portions 53. The crisscrossed reinforcing straps 64, 66 are adapted to be fixedly connected together at their intersection locations 67 by suitable means, such as, for example, sewing, and the free end portions of the vertically spaced, horizontally oriented reinforcing straps 66 are adapted to be fixedly connected to oblique reinforcing straps 68 which may be connected to floor portions of the cargo container, as well as to cargo rings 60. It can therefore be readily appreciated that not only will some of the vertically spaced, horizontally oriented reinforcing straps 66, such as, for example, those horizontally oriented reinforcing straps 66 that are fixedly connected to the floor portions of the cargo container, not be able to be adjustably tensioned and then subsequently affixed to the floor portions of the cargo container so as to impart to such reinforcing straps 66 a requisite amount of tension in order to lessen catenary sag of such reinforcing straps 66 and the rear end wall member 52 of the cargo container liner, but in addition, similar structural drawbacks are characteristic of the horizontally spaced, vertically oriented reinforcing straps 67. Accordingly, while such a checkerboard arrangement of the reinforcing straps 64, 66 might well serve, for example, to prevent bursting of the rear end wall member 52 of the cargo container line, the lack of sufficient tension developed within all of the vertically spaced, horizontally oriented reinforcing straps 66, and within all of the horizontally spaced, vertically oriented reinforcing straps 64, does not effectively prevent the sagging or rearwardly directed outward bulging of the rear end wall member 52 of the cargo container liner whereby such disposition or state of the rear end wall member 52 of the cargo container liner can adversely impact upon the rear door members of the cargo container.
Furthermore, other conventional PRIOR ART bulk material cargo container liners utilize rigid bars that are disposed transversely across the external surface portion of the rear end wall member of the bulk material cargo container liner in order to effectively reinforce the same and prevent bursting or an outward bulging of the rear end wall member of the bulk material cargo container liner when subjected to the hydrostatic head forces characteristic of the bulk cargo material contained or disposed within the bulk material cargo container liner. While such a system is substantially satisfactory from a purely operational point of view, that is, from the perspective that the restraining bars satisfactorily reinforce the rear end wall member of the bulk material cargo container liner and restrain the same from impacting upon the rear doors of the bulk material cargo container, the restraining bars do present safety issues in that operator personnel must be extremely careful when standing behind the rear end wall member of the cargo container liner during the time that the operator personnel is monitoring the discharging sequence.
This is because the bars are pre-cut so as to have length dimensions of approximately ninety-four and one-half inches (94.50″) which corresponds to the distance defined between the bar fixation positions located internally upon the bulk material cargo container. This distance is subject to tolerances or differences based upon various factors, such as, for example, the particular bulk material cargo container manufacturer, the year in which the bulk material cargo container was built, the width of the bulk material cargo container bar channel, the condition of the bulk material cargo container, and the like. These factors, along with the hydrostatic head forces characteristic of the bulk cargo material, can contribute to significant bending of the steel bars which could therefore harm the operator in case the same comes loose from their restrained positions within the bulk material cargo container channels.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved bulk material cargo container liner, for use in conjunction with bulk material cargo containers, and within which bulk cargo materials are to be accommodated for shipping, transportation, and storage purposes, wherein the bulk material cargo container liner will comprise a new and improved external reinforcing or restraining strap or gusset system which will enable the aforenoted operational drawbacks characteristic of conventional, prior art bulk material cargo container liner restraint systems to effectively be overcome. More particularly, a need exists in the prior art for a new and improved bulk material cargo container liner, for use in conjunction with bulk material cargo containers, and within which bulk cargo materials are to be accommodated for shipping, transportation, and storage purposes, wherein the reinforcing or restraining strap or gusset system operatively associated therewith is safe to employ, easy to erect, and easy to adjust.

Reinforcing or restraining strap or gusset system for rear wall member of bulk material cargo container liner


Chromobacterium suttsuga sp. nov., a new species of the genus Chromobacterium which possesses insecticidal activity, is described. The invention also relates to insecticidally-active metabolites obtained from the strain and to insecticidal compositions comprising cultures of the strain and/or supernatants, filtrates, and extracts obtained from the strain, and use thereof to control insect pests.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new species of microorganism and use for biocontrol of insect pests. More particularly, the invention relates to a newly discovered species of Chromobacterium bacterium that exhibits insecticidal activity. The invention also relates to metabolites obtained from the strain that possess insecticidal activity and to insecticidal compositions comprising cultures of the novel strain and/or supernatants, filtrates, and extracts obtained from the strain, and use thereof to control insect pests.
2. Description of the Art
Many insects, in particular leaf-feeding and sucking insects, are pestiferous and are responsible for substantial crop losses and reduced crop quality worldwide. Exemplary pestiferous leaf-feeding insects include insects of the order Coleoptera (beetles) such as the Colorado potato beetle and corn rootworm. Exemplary pestiferous leaf-feeding insects in the order Lepidoptera include diamondback moth and gypsy moth. Exemplary pestiferous sucking insects include insects of the Bemisia genus, in particular, Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring (silverleaf whitefly).
The Colorado potato beetle (Chrysomelidae: Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say)) is found throughout most of North America and is a major insect pest of potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and other solanaceous plants. Larvae and adults feed on the foliage of the host plants. Adult Colorado potato beetles overwinter in the soil and emerge in spring and establish themselves on a plant, mate, and the females lay clumps of eggs. Larvae hatch from the eggs in about 4 to 15 days, and the insect can go from egg to adult in as little as 21 days. Depending on the geographic location of the pest in North America, the Colorado potato beetle can complete one to three generations per year.
Control of the Colorado potato beetle is critical to prevent or reduce the substantial crop losses and reduced crop quality caused by this pest. Annual control of the Colorado potato beetle on potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplant is about $115 million. Of serious concern is the fact that the Colorado potato beetle has developed resistance to almost every chemical insecticide used against it and is showing signs of resistance to B. thuringiensis. The average of a chemical control agent in the field before resistance begins to develop is estimated to be 3.5 years. Additional means to control this pest are needed as well as an alternative to B. thuringiensis for organic producers.
The corn rootworm (Chrysomelidae: Diabrotica spp.) are leaf beetles that feed predominantly on corn. The larvae cause the most significant damage through feeding injury to the corn root. Adult corn rootworm beetles can also cause substantial foliar injury and interfere with pollination. Control of corn root worm is very expensive with some estimates reaching $1 billion. The Western corn rootworm (Dibrotica virgifera virgifera) has been cited as the most destructive pest of continuous corn in the United States today. Treatment expense and crop losses from the Western corn rootworm cost U.S. producers more than $1 billion annually. Additional control measures are needed to control this serious agricultural pest.
The diamondback moth (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae: Plutella xyostella L.) is one of the most widespread lepidopteran pests on vegetable brassica crops world wide, causing annual losses in the order of $1 billion. Host plants include virtually all cruciferous vegetable crops, including broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. Similar to the Colorado potato beetle, the diamondback moth is resistant to many pesticides, including, in some cases, B. thuringiensis. Alternative control, particularly organically based pesticides, is needed for this serious agricultural pest.
Whiteflies [Homoptera/Hemiptera] are found worldwide in tropical and subtropical areas as well as temperate zones. They are plant feeders, with piercing-sucking mouth parts that penetrate leaf tissue and puncture the plant leaf veins and withdraw plant sap. Economic losses and plant pest status occurs as a result of plant feeding and reduced crop yields, transmission of plant-infecting viruses, and product contamination from excreted honeydew. Whiteflies are characterized by high reproductive rates, logarithmic population growth, multiple plant hosts, and dispersal within and between plant hosts in response to plant senescence, wind, and other factors. Their habitats are found within and around field crops such as cotton and cultivated vegetables. There are at least 37 species identified in the Bemisia genus. Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Homoptera/Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is one of the most serious economic pests attacking over 300 species of plants. The silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring, is an even more serious pest, attacking as many as 500 different hosts. These include commercially grown crops as well as ornamentals and many alternative weed hosts. Recently, the silverleaf whitefly has also been reported to be present in greenhouses. In addition, the silverleaf whitefly is more prolific than B. tabaci. In the U.S., damage due to just one species of whitefly, the silverleaf whitefly, has been estimated at $500 million. Poinsettia is one of its favorite targets. According to the Nursery Men and Landscapers Association, the nursery and greenhouse industry in 1997 was a ten billion dollar industry. Because the silverleaf whitefly attacks commercially grown crops as well as ornamentals and many weed hosts, it is particularly difficult to control. For example, in the irrigated desert crop-growing areas of Arizona and California, sequential planting of cole crops, curcurbits, cotton, and alfalfa offers a continuum of year-round susceptible host material and the opportunity for whiteflies to move within and among cropping systems to expand population development. Whiteflies are difficult to control with insecticides, and have developed resistance to some pesticides. Therefore, additional control methods for whiteflies are needed.
Biological control agents (biopesticides) can be an important addition or alternative to control using synthetic chemical pesticides and important in integrated pest management. Many factors are involved in a successful microbial control agent, including survival in the environment, mode of entry in the gut, and replication in the insect. Although some microbes (e.g., Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner) kill by toxins, the replicating organism also contributes to the overall control of the insect (Schnepf et al. 1998).
Strains of bacterial species that kill insects have been reported. Paenibacillus popilliae was the first bacterial pesticide (Milky Spore) to successfully control pest insects (Japanese beetles; Dutky, 1940). Various strains of B. thuringiensis are toxic to other scarab beetles (Ohba et al., 1992), Diabrotica spp. (Tailor et al., 1992), caterpillars, beetles, and mosquitoes (Schnepf et al., 1998). Bacillus thuringiensis has been used for control of the Colorado potato beetle as a foliar spray (Ferro et al., 1997) or in transgenic plants (Perlak et al., 1993). Heins et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,417,163 and 6,291,426, report compositions and methods for controlling plant pests including the Colorado potato beetle using a novel strain of Bacillus subtilis, AQ713. Serratia entomophila and Serratia proteamaculans (Jackson et al., 1993) cause amber disease in grass grubs and are being developed in New Zealand. Photorhabdus luminescens, with nematodes as a vector, has been described as pathogenic to Lepidoptera (Forst and Nealson, 1996). High molecular weight protein complexes isolated from P. luminescens are toxic to lepidopteran and coleopteran insects (Bowen et al., 1998; Guo et al., 1999). One of these complexes, Tca, has been shown to disrupt the midgut epithelium of tobacco hornworm larvae (Blackburn et al., 1998).
Many bacterial insect pathogens are not toxic enough for field control. Other than B. thuringiensis as discussed above, few other bacteria have been used to effectively control Colorado potato beetles (Onstad, 2001). Pathogens such as Serratia marcescens Bizo (Grimont & Grimont, 1978) or Spiroplasma leptinotarsae Hackett et al. (Hackett et al., 1996) while causing mortality of beetles in the lab, do not effectively control this pest in the field.
Successful fungal biocontrol agents for the Colorado potato beetle pest include Beauveria bassiana which has been the most successful in some areas such as Europe and the northern United States and under certain conditions such as early season applications in Virginia requiring high humidity and low temperatures (Groden and Lockwood, 1991; Poprawski et al., 1997; Martin et al., 1999).
Purple bacteria (Chromobacterium violaceum) have infrequently been isolated from insects, and have not been previously considered an insect pathogen (Bucher, 1981). This species of bacteria has been isolated from the digestive tract of the larger grain borer (Prostephanus truncatus) where they may be involved in cellulose digestion in this insect (Vazquez-Artista et al., 1997) forming a symbiotic rather than a pathogenic association. However, C. violaceum is mainly known for its production of a purple pigment, violacein, which has anti-microbial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Duran et al., 1983) and Trypanosoma cruzi (Duran et al., 1994).

The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture


A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a gate conductive layer, a first mask layer, a second mask layer, and a third mask layer over a semiconductor substrate that includes a cell region and a peripheral region. The method also includes forming a second mask pattern and a third mask pattern using a gate mask. The method further includes trimming the second mask pattern in the peripheral region to form a fourth mask pattern having a size smaller than that of the second mask pattern. Still further, the method includes removing the third mask pattern, and patterning the first mask layer and the gate conductive layer using the fourth mask pattern as a mask.

1. Field of Invention
The invention generally relates to a semiconductor device. More particularly, the invention relates to a method for forming a gate in a semiconductor device.
2. Brief Description of Related Technology
As a design rule of a semiconductor device is decreased, a numerical aperture and a wavelength (λ) of a light source are increased to form a fine pattern. The exposure condition is advantageous in a cell region during a gate formation, but it is difficult to secure a depth of focus ("DOF") margin in a peripheral region so that there is a limitation on regulation of a gate critical dimension ("CD"). A trimming process is performed while the peripheral region is exposed, thereby independently controlling the gate CD over the cell region.
It is necessary to control the CD within 1 nanometer (nm) to pattern a CD of 45 nm, which is the minimum gate CD in devices beyond 65 nm. As a result, a photoresist trimming process is required. The trimming process reduces a width of the photoresist film by a dry etching method to define a desired width of a fine pattern.
However, because it is difficult to apply the trimming process in practice, the gate CD is adjusted with a mask. The mask includes an amorphous carbon material to improve durability and minimize loss resulting from a strip process.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor device


A power supply system for a computer system having a fan module that protects the power supply system from backflow from the fan module is disclosed. A power supply unit has an internal fan emitting an airflow from one end of the power supply unit. The power supply unit is mountable next to the fan module. The power supply system is mountable in proximity to an air baffle that diverts the airflow generated by the internal fan. An air tunnel is located on one side of the power supply unit. The air tunnel has an opening on one end for receiving the airflow diverted by the air baffle from the internal fan. The air tunnel has an opposite end in proximity to a second opening to divert the received airflow under the power supply unit.

Computing systems (e.g., desktop computers, blade servers, rack-mount servers, etc.) are employed in large numbers in various applications. High-demand applications, such as network based systems, data centers, or high-density finite element simulations, can stretch operational limits of hardware of a computing system, causing excess heat to be generated during operation. For example, a hard drive of a server, memory modules installed in the server, and processors of the server, etc., operating at high capacity can generate excess heat. Heat generated by individual components in the computing system is generally dissipated to avoid damage or performance degradation of the individual components. For example, excessive heat can melt interconnects of fragile electronics or can damage substrates of these electronics.
Thermal management is an important aspect of optimizing the performance of the computing system. Thermal management can be performed at the component level, for example, at the level of individual components that heat up. Central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), and dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) are examples of components usually considered when performing component-level thermal management. Other systems such as a fan wall of fan modules may be used to circulate air throughout the computer system.
In a typical server chassis arrangement of a computing system, power supply units (PSU)s are stacked on top of the fan modules in a fan wall. PSUs typically include a voltage regulator, AC/DC conversion components, and a separate fan. Because of the proximity of the PSU to the fan modules in the fan wall, the airflow created by the fans in the fan modules may affect operation of the PSU. As total power consumption for the computer system increases due to power requirement of more powerful components, high-performance fans for cooling the computing system must be provided to reach the cooling target of the computing system. However, the density and thus airflow impedance of PSUs also increases as total power consumption requirements increase. The increase in power consumption also requires more powerful internal fans in the PSUs to ensure adequate removal of heat and proper operation of the PSUs.
The airflow generated by the fans causes a circulation phenomenon from an outlet side to an inlet side of the PSU due to impedance of the PSU in the airflow and the imbalance between airflow generated by the fan modules in the fan wall and the internal fan in the PSU. This arrangement causes backflow from the outlet side of the PSU, thus impeding the cooling of the PSU.
FIG. 1A shows a bottom side perspective view of a prior art computing system such as a server 10 having a chassis 12. FIG. 1B is a side cutaway view of the server 10 that shows the components that require airflow for cooling. The chassis 12 is generally rectangular, having a front end 16 that is typically installed facing outward from the front of a rack. Various electronics components that generate heat are held by the chassis 12. For example, the components may include a hard disk drive 32, a CPU 34 with a heat sink 36, and a series of expansion cards 38. The front end 16 includes connectors that allow connections through cables as well as slots for easy installation of the expansion cards 38. An opposite rear end 14 includes power connections for a series of power supply units (PSUs) 20. The chassis 12 holds a row of fan modules 22 arranged in a fan wall 24 near the rear end 14. The fan modules 22 in the fan wall 24 generate airflow from the front end 16 of the chassis 12 to the rear end 14. In this manner, the airflow represented by arrows 40 carries away heat generated by the electronic components of the chassis 12. In this example, two power supply units (PSU) 20 are mounted on opposing sides of the chassis 12 on top of the fan modules 22. Each of the PSUs 20 provide DC voltage supply for the electronic components of the chassis 12. In this example, the PSU 20 includes an internal fan 30 to provide cooling for the internal components of the PSU 20.
One issue that faces server designers is that too many components such as hard disk drives and expansion cards near the front end 114 may result in an increase in system impedance that prevents proper cooling of the PSUs 20. FIG. 1C is a side cutaway view of the server 10 that shows the airflow generated by one of the fan modules 22 in the fan wall 24. As shown in FIG. 1C, the PSU 20 is located directly above the fan module 22. The PSU 20 has a greater length than the fan module 22 and thus extends further into the body of the chassis 12.
The fan module 22 includes a motor that rotates fan blades to generate airflow from the front of the chassis 12 to the rear end 14. The airflow generated by the fan module 22 is represented by arrows 40. The airflow 40 is forced out of the edges of the fan module 22 around internal components, such as the motor, that block airflow directly through the center of the fan module 22. The internal fan 30 cools the internal components of the PSU 20 by creating a similar airflow from the front of the PSU 20 to the rear of the PSU 20 at the rear end 14 of the chassis 12 as represented by arrows 42. The internal fan 30 of the power supply unit is less powerful than the fan module 22. The system impedance due to the large number of components in the chassis requires greater airflow from the fan module 22. However, the greater airflow generated by the fan module 20 represented by the arrows 40 forces air back through the PSU 20, partially diverting the airflow 42 generated by the internal fan 30. The airflow 42 thus reverses through the PSU 20 and joins the airflow 40 of the fan module 22. This results in inefficient cooling of the power supply unit 20, and may impede the operation of the power supply unit 20 due to overheating.
One current solution for the backflow of air is the provision of an independent airflow tunnel for the power supply unit to separate the system airflow path generated by the fan module from the power supply unit airflow path. FIG. 2A shows a cutaway view of an example server 50 with a fan module 52 and a PSU 54 with a dedicated air tunnel 60. Similar to the system 10 in FIGS. 1A-1C, the power supply 54 is located above the fan module 52. The power supply unit 54 includes an internal fan 56 for cooling internal components of the power supply unit 54. The dedicated air tunnel 60 has an open intake end 62 near the front end of the server 50. Another open end 64 is connected to the front end of the power supply unit 54.
The air tunnel 60 provides separation from airflow generated by the fan module 52 for the power supply unit 54. FIG. 2B shows the airflow generated by the fan module 52 as arrows 70. Airflow generated by the internal fan 56 of the power supply unit 54 is shown as arrows 72. The airflow for the power supply unit 54 flows from the open end 62 of the air tunnel 60 and flows through the power supply unit 54. Thus, the dedicated air tunnel 60 separates the power supply unit 54 and the airflow 70 generated by the fan module 52, and therefore prevents interference with the airflow generated by the internal fan 56. The airflow 72 may be generated unimpeded by the airflow 70 of the fan module 52 through the tunnel 60. However, the air tunnel 60 adds to the expense of the server since the air tunnel 60 must be fabricated as a separate component, and adds additional steps to the assembly process. Moreover, the dedicated air tunnel 60 occupies space within the server 50 and increases the difficulty of component layout placement and cable routing because less internal space is available.
Thus, there is a need for a mechanism that allows a power supply unit to operate at maximum efficiency despite the airflow from a fan module. There is also a need for a compact mechanical arrangement that prevents backflow of air while permitting an increase in available space in a chassis. There is also a need for an air tunnel that allows a redirection of airflow from the internal fan of a power supply unit.

Dedicated air tunnel for power supply unit


A spring fastener for securing one or more sheets of material on another sheet of material having a first clip with inwardly extended barbs, and a second clip having two sides. One of the sides has a wide angle bent, while the other side has one or more embosses and/or recesses. The fastener also comprises a resilient elastic body extending from the vicinity of the base of the first clip to at least one of the embosses. Examples of resilient bodies are foamed or unfoamed plastisol or polyurethane. The substantially central part of the resilient body is effectively reinforced and held in position by a sealing promoter extending preferably from the vicinity of the base of the first clip toward a middle position between the first and the second sides of the second clip, thus providing to the fastener superior sealing performance.

A number of fasteners have been used in the past for securing one object on another object, as for example, securing an article such as for example a plastic sheet on a metal or other rigid plastic sheet. However, the fasteners being used presently are particularly designed for only a limited number of matching objects to be secured on each other. For sealing purposes, a secondary resilient sheet, or a resilient body attached to the fastener may be used.
Examples of conventional fasteners are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,158 (Gronau et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,789 (Fisher et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,611 (Murata); U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,170 (Schnabl); U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,789 (Leitner); U.S. Pat. No. 3,673,643 (Kindell); U.S. Pat. No. 2,825,948 (Parkin); U.S. Pat. No. 2,607,971 (Bedford, Jr.); U.S. Pat. No. 2,329,688 (Bedford, Jr.); U.S. Pat. No. 2,322,656 (Murphy), among others.
My co-pending application Ser. No. 08/943,879, filed Oct. 3, 1997, and the Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/028,089, filed Oct. 7, 1996 describe self adjusting spring fasteners, and they are both incorporated herein by reference. These fasteners may be used by themselves, or with a resilient sheet over the rigid sheet, or with a resilient body attached to the fastener.

Spring fastener of high sealing performance


The invention relates to a process for removing sulfur compounds from a hydrocarbon stream. The hydrocarbon stream is contacted with water, at supercritical conditions and also subjects an effluent hydrocarbon stream to separation techniques. The resulting hydrocarbon stream is substantially free of sulfur oxides, sulfoxides, and sulfones.

The oxidative desulfurization of fossil fuels and/or its fraction is a well-known method in the prior art. The sulfur compounds oxidize with an oxidizing agent in the presence of catalyst(s) to form sulfoxides and then sulfones. The sulfones are separated from the oil by various separation methods including extraction, adsorption etc. The separated sulfones must be disposed of properly or converted into more useful chemicals. In this case, the sulfone associated hydrocarbon molecules need to be partially or fully recovered in order to minimize the loss of the raw material. The sulfone disposal option is not a preferred one because it will result in a large yield loss and will have a negative impact on the environment and process economics.
There are many processing routes and/or chemistry proposed for the destruction or conversion of sulfones formed during the oxidative desulfurization of fossil fuels and/or its fractions. These routes/chemistry include coking, fluid catalytic cracking, pyrolysis, hydrocracking, hydrolysis, etc.
The use of supercritical water treatment has been reported as a pretreatment and/or conversion of heavy oils and carbonaceous materials for further refinery processing.
A supercritical fluid is a material which can be either liquid or gas, used in a state above the critical temperature and critical pressure where gases and liquids can coexist. It possesses unique properties that are different from those of either gases or liquids under standard conditions.
A supercritical fluid has both the gaseous property of being able to penetrate anywhere, and the liquid property of being able to dissolve materials into their components. It offers the advantage of being able to change density to a great extent in a continuous manner. On this account, the use of water in the form of a supercritical fluid offers a substitute for an organic solvent in many fields of industry. It is attracting wide attention in processing, particularly in waste processing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,887,369, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a process for treating a carbonaceous material that includes reacting the carbonaceous material and a process gas in supercritical water to at least hydrotreat and hydrocrack the carbonaceous material to form a treated carbonaceous material. The process is preferably carried out in a deep well reactor, but can be carried out in conventional surface-based reactors at a temperature of at least 705° F. and a pressure of at least 2500 psi. According to this invention, processes are provided for pretreating heavy oils and other carbonaceous materials, particularly to make such crude materials suitable for subsequent use in refinery processing.
Methods have been suggested for recovering liquid hydrocarbon fractions from various carbonaceous deposits utilizing water and in particular, supercritical water which results in increased yields of distillate and decreased levels of coke relative to straight pyrolysis. U.S. Pat. No. 3,051,644, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a process for the recovery of oil from oil shale which involves subjecting the oil shale particles dispersed in steam to treatment with steam at temperatures in the range of from about 370° C. to about 485° C. and at a pressure in the range from about 1000 to 3000 psi. Oil from the oil shale is withdrawn in vapor form and admixed with steam.
Most fuels for transportation are derived from crude oils, which is the world's main source of hydrocarbons used as fuel and petrochemical feedstock. While compositions of natural petroleum or crude oils are significantly varied, all crudes contain sulfur compounds and, most also contain nitrogen compounds which may also contain oxygen, but the oxygen content of most, crude is low. Generally, sulfur concentration in crude oil is less than about 5 weight percent, with most crude oil having sulfur concentrations in the range from about 0.5 to about 1.5 weight percent. Nitrogen concentration is usually less than 0.2 weight percent, but it may be as high as 1.6 weight percent.
The crude oils are refined in oil refineries to produce transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks. Typically fuels for transportation are produced by processing and blending of distilled fractions from the crude to meet the particular end use specifications. Because most of the crudes available today in large quantity are high in sulfur, the distilled fractions must be desulfurized to yield products which meet performance specifications and/or environmental standards.
Sulfur-containing organic compounds in fuels are a major source of environmental pollution. The sulfur compounds are converted to sulfur oxides during the combustion process and produce sulfur oxyacids and contribute to particulate emissions. Oxygenated fuel blending compounds and compounds containing few or no carbon-to-carbon chemical bonds, such as methanol and dimethyl ether, are known to reduce smoke and engine exhaust emissions. However, most such compounds have high vapor pressure and/or are nearly insoluble in diesel fuel, and they have poor ignition quality, as indicated by their cetane numbers. Purified diesel fuels prepared by chemical hydrotreating and hydrogenation to reduce their sulfur and aromatics contents, also causes a reduction in fuel lubricity. Diesel fuels of low lubricity may cause excessive wear of fuel pumps, injectors and other moving parts which come in contact with the fuel under high pressures. Mid distillates, a distillate fraction that nominally boils in the range 180° C. to 370° C., are used for fuel or a blending component of fuel for use in compression ignition internal combustion engines (Diesel engines) usually contain from about 1 to 3 percent by weight of sulfur. The specification for mid distillate fraction have been reduced to 10-50 parts per million weight (ppmw) levels from 3000 ppmw level since 1993 in Europe and United States.
In order to comply with these regulations for ultra-low sulfur content fuels, refiners will have to make fuels having even lower sulfur levels at the refinery gate so that they can meet the stringent specifications after blending at the gate.
Available evidence strongly suggests that ultra-low sulfur fuel is a significant technology enabler for catalytic treatment of diesel exhaust to control emissions. Fuel sulfur levels of below 15 ppm, likely, are required to achieve particulate levels below 0.01 g/bhp-hr. Such levels would be very compatible with catalyst combinations for exhaust treatment now emerging, which have shown the capability of achieving emissions of around 0.5 g/bhp-hr. Furthermore, NOx trap systems are extremely sensitive to fuel sulfur and available evidence suggests that they would need sulfur levels below 10 ppm to remain active.
In light of ever-tightening sulfur specifications for transportation fuels, sulfur removal from petroleum feedstocks and products will become increasingly important in years to come.
Low pressure conventional hydrodesulfurization (HDS) processes can be used to remove a major portion of the sulfur from petroleum distillates for the blending of refinery transportation fuels. These units, however, are not efficient to effect sulfur removal from compounds where the sulfur atom is sterically hindered as in multi-ring aromatic sulfur compounds. This is especially true where the sulfur heteroatom is hindered by two alkyl groups (e.g., 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene). These hindered dibenzothiophenes predominate at low sulfur levels such as 50 to 100 ppm. Severe operating conditions (i.e., higher hydrogen partial pressure, temperature, catalyst volume) must be applied to remove the sulfur from these refractory sulfur compounds. The increase of hydrogen partial pressure can only be done by increasing the recycle gas purity. Otherwise, new grassroots units must be designed, which is a costly option. The use of severe operating conditions results in yield loss, less catalyst cycle and product quality deterioration (e.g., color).
In order to meet ever more strict specifications in the future, such hindered sulfur compounds will also have to be removed from distillate feedstocks and products. This need drives the efforts to develop new non-conventional process technologies. Oxidation is one of the known methods to convert sulfur to its oxide form. The oxidized sulfur compounds are then removed by means of extraction or adsorption.
The sulfur compounds removed by extraction and/or adsorption contain sulfoxides and sulfones, mainly sulfones. Sulfoxides contain one oxygen atom on the sulfur, which is bonded to two carbon atoms, whereas sulfones contain two oxygen atoms on the sulfur atom, which is bonded to two carbon atoms as well. Because sulfoxides and sulfones are in the hydrocarbon structure, there is a yield loss if these two products are simply disposed off. If the carbon-sulfur bond is broken and sulfur is separated from the hydrocarbon structure, the hydrocarbons may be recovered from the sulfoxides and/or sulfones, increasing the oxidative desulfurization yield.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,595,778, which is incorporated herein by reference, after oil (Tb>280° C.) is been oxidized with ozone (O/S=1.9), over a heterogeneous catalyst V2O5—P2O5/kieselghur or a homogeneous catalyst of group IV to VI-B metals, the oxidized sulfur compounds are then treated thermally at 150° C.-400° C. or with a base (KOH) at 200° C.-370° C. or by HDS to recover the hydrocarbon.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,368,495, which is incorporated herein by reference, a hydrotreated diesel fuel is oxidized at 40° C.-120° C. and P=0.5-15 atm over a metal catalyst from Mo, W, Cr, V, Ti supported on a molecular sieve or an inorganic metal oxide using an oxidizing agent selected from the group of alkyl hydroperoxide, peroxides, peracetic acid, O2 and air. Sulfone compounds present in the fuel (no separation) are then removed using a decomposition catalyst such as acid catalysts e.g. ZSM-5, mordenite, Alumina, SiO2—ZrO2 or basic catalysts e.g. MgO, hydrotalcite at 350° C.-400° C. and 5-10 atm.
In WO03/014266 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference, the hydrocarbon stream is first oxidized at 90° C.-105° C. and P=1 atm for a period of time up to about 15 minutes using an aqueous solution of H2O2 and formic acid. After separating the oxidizing solution a hydrodesulfurization of the stream containing the oxidized sulfur compounds is then hydrotreated at milder conditions than the ones used in conventional hydrodesulfurization.
In a 2004 article in Energy and Fuels, 18, 287-288, T. R. Varga et al. disclosed that sulfones are converted in the presence of fluoride ions. In the article entitled Desulfurization of Aromatic Sulfones with Fluorides in Supercritical Water, the fluorides KF and NaF were used to convert sulfones in supercritical water. These reactions, however, were based only on model compounds.
A 1997 article by Katrizky et al in Energy and Fuels, (II (1), pp. 150-159), entitled Aqueous High-Temperature Chemistry of Carbo and Heterocycles 28.1 Reaction of Aryl Sulfoxides and Sulfones in Sub and Supercritical Water at 200-460° C., discloses a high conversion rate for specific sulfones at supercritical conditions in the presence of formic acid and sodium formate. The sulfone conversion reactions were, however, based only on model compounds. Considering the thousands of other molecules in the oil matrix, the impact of these compounds in the oil matrix is not accounted for.

Sulfone cracking using supercritical water


An aerolysin nanopore or a nanotube is used for the electrical detection of peptides, proteins separated by at least one amino acid and other macromolecules such as polysaccharides or synthetic or natural polymers present in a preparation where said nanopore or nanotube is inserted into a lipid membrane which is subjected to a difference in potential greater than −160 mV, in a reaction medium having an alkali metal halide electrolyte solution with a concentration of less than 6M and at a temperature of less than 40° C., and where said use is intended to differentiate said peptides, proteins and other molecules according to their length and their mass. Application to the sequencing of peptides and other molecules to differentiate them according to their length and mass with an amino acid-level or monomer-level resolution and to medical diagnosis.

The principle of the electrical detection of the transport of molecules through a nanopore that may be a protein channel or nanotube inserted into a lipid membrane or nanometric hole pierced in a solid membrane is well known.
The membrane is subjected to a difference in potential that induces an ionic current through the nanopore in the presence of an electrolyte solution. The passage of a molecule through the nanopore, or the interaction of the molecule with the nanopore, induces a measurable drop in the current. The amplitude of this drop and its duration depend, in particular, on the conformation of the molecule, its size, sequence and chemical nature.
This sensitivity has been used to perform ultra-fast DNA sequencing (Branton et al, 2008, Nat. Biotech or Karlsson et al, 2015, Scientific reports).
Another, very promising, application relates to the possibility of determining the size or the mass of a molecule or a mixture of molecules thus performing mass spectrometry using a nanopore coupled with an ultra-sensitive electrical detection system.
The separation of a mixture of synthetic polymers has been demonstrated (Roberston et al, 2007, PNAS; Reiner et al, 2010, PNAS; Baaken et al, 2011, ACS Nano; Baaken et al, 2014, ACS Nano) wherein one chain size corresponds to an electrical current blockade signature. Recently, the separation of nucleotides between 2 and 10 monomers was observed for only one pure poly-desoxyadenosine, through an aerolysin nanopore (Cao et al, 2016, Nat. nanotech).
The use of the aerolysin nanopore is well known and Wilmsen et al, 1990, showed that the aerolysin formed a channel sensitive to electrical current in a lipid bilayer.
The document written by Stefureac et al, 2006, relates to the transport of peptides through aerolysin pores. Peptides of different lengths were observed, as were the differences in current blockade durations but no fine resolution was reached on an amino acid level.
The documents by Pastoriza-Gallego et al, JACS 2011 and Payet et al, Anal. Chem. 2012, relate to the dynamics of non-folded proteins (conformations) through an aerolysin nanopore. These studies essentially related to the determination of the conformations of big proteins (>370 amino acids) with the aerolysin associated with different current blockade durations. However, no fine resolution was proposed to distinguish two peptides or two proteins that differ by only a single amino acid.

Electrical detection process for peptides, proteins and other macromolecules


A sliding chair for assisting entering and exiting a bathtub provides assistance for handicapped or otherwise physically incapable persons in using a bathtub for bathing. A bathing chair is moved by a displacement mechanism from outside the bathtub to various positions within the bathtub. A chair support board supports the bathing chair in some positions, and slides along chair support rails into the bathtub.

Bathing is the washing of the body with a fluid, usually water or an aqueous solution, or the immersion of the body in water. Bathing may be done for religious, ritual or therapeutic purposes or as a recreational activity, but is most often done for personal hygiene. It is typical or common for people to bathe every day, often at the same time such as first thing in the morning or before going to bed at night.
Bathing for personal hygiene is a means of achieving cleanliness by washing away dirt and bacteria, and is additionally a preventative measure to reduce the incidence and spread of disease. It also reduces bodily odors. Where bathing is for the purpose of personal hygiene, bathing in a bathtub or shower is the most common form of bathing in Western, and many Eastern, countries. Bathrooms usually have a tap, and a shower if it is a modern home, and a large water heating pot. Water is taken from the tap or water heating pot and used in conjunction with soap and often a rag or sponge to clean a person's body. Soap allows otherwise insoluble particles to become soluble in water and then be rinsed away. Soap is an excellent cleanser because of its ability to act as an emulsifying agent. An emulsifier is capable of dispersing one liquid into another, immiscible liquid, or one that does not form a homogeneous mixture. For example, water and oil are immiscible. The human body produces oil on its skin, which attracts dirt. Soap acts to suspend the oil and dirt in water in such a way that the oil and dirt can easily be washed away.
A physical disability is any disability which limits the physical function of one or more limbs. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders and epilepsy. Mental disabilities may also impair a person's physical abilities. Entering and exiting a shower or bathtub generally requires the ability to use one's legs to move the rest of the body into the shower or bathtub area, especially in the case of a bathtub as stepping over the edge of the tub is generally required to enter the tub area. This act can prove challenging to people with less than optimal function of their legs as a result of injury, infection, illness, obesity or another cause of disability. Disabled persons must often have a second person assist them into the tub when they wish to bathe.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for a chair that is able to bring a person from outside a bathtub to inside a bathtub without requiring strenuous physical activity or the help of a second person.

Sliding chair for assisting entering and exiting a bathtub


Web services may be provided by creating an electronic record of a contract for a service provider to provide web services meeting a web service category definition at a web services hub of a service domain, and providing a web service to a service requestor from the service domain responsive to the electronic record of the contract. A plurality of ports operative to provide web services meeting the service category definition may be identified at the web service hub, and the web service may be provided to the service requester responsive to identification of the ports. For example, a plurality of ports may be identified by polling at least one web services node subordinate to the web services hub to identify at least one service provided by the node, and updating a description of a service category, e.g., a WSDL document, responsive to the polling. A plurality of levels of web services nodes may be polled using a coordinated polling interval scheme to create an updated service view for the service hub.

The present invention relates to distributed computing systems, methods and computer program products, and more particularly, to systems, methods and computer program products for providing web services.
Web services are self-contained, self-describing, modular applications that can be published, located, and invoked across the Web. Web services perform functions that can be anything from simple requests to complicated business processes. Once a web service is deployed, other applications (and other web services) can discover and invoke the deployed service.
Web services may be informational or transactional, i.e., some services provide information of interest to the requestor while other services may actually lead to the invocation of business processes. Examples of publicly available web services today include stock quote services, services to retrieve news from web news sources, and currency conversion services.
Web services are typically deployed on the web by service providers. Service brokers may act as clearinghouses for services. Service brokers may act as matchmakers between service providers and service requestors, by helping service providers and service requesters find each other. Typically, a service requester uses an application programming interface (API) to ask the service broker about the services it needs. When the service broker returns results, the service requestor can use those results to bind to a particular service.
There are three common web services operations. Publishing and unpublishing involve advertising services to a registry (publishing) or removing those entries (unpublishing). The service provider contacts the service broker to publish or unpublish a service. A find operation is performed by service requestors and service brokers together. The service requestors describe the kinds of services they're looking for, and the service brokers deliver results that best match the request. A bind operation takes place between the service requester and the service provider. The two parties negotiate as appropriate so the requestor can access and invoke services of the provider.
Web services may be based on the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) standard data format and data exchange mechanisms, which provide both flexibility and platform independence. With web services, requesters typically do not need to know about the underlying implementation of web services, making it easy to integrate heterogeneous business processes.
Often, services are described by WSDL (Web Service Description Language) WSDL documents that are stored at web nodes. A WSDL document may be stored in numerous ways, such as in a file, in a DB2 XML Registry/Repository (such as the DB2 XRR(XML Registry/Repository)), or in a DB2 based UDDI Registry. UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, Integration) is a protocol for describing web services such that interested parties may easily discover them. Specifications for this registry and use of WSDL in the registry are available currently at www.uddi.org/. Service providers may register their services in a UDDI, specifying technical information about how to invoke the service.
The discovery and organization of services is typically a manual process, i.e., the burden is typically on the service requesters to locate, organize, and manage multiple contractual relationships. FIG. 1 depicts a conventional environment where service requesters SR1, SR2 develop individual usage contracts to consume specific services S1, S2, . . . Sj, and a service Sk through which services Sk1, Sk2, . . . Skm are provided. In such an environment, everything, i.e., the service instances, contracts, and bindings, etc., is specifically identified up front regardless of the scope of services.
A potential limitation of this approach is its static nature, which can reduce the flexibility that is generally desired for e-business application. For example, in such a conventional environment, a new service typically cannot be utilized until it has gone through the full publication process, and requesters have re-subscribed contracts and regenerated their stub codes.
Recently, flexible approaches have been developed based on the concept of a "service grid," wherein multiple instances of similar capability in nature can be grouped as one service representation. Service grid approaches are generally described in a series of articles "Business Service Grid, Part 1: Introduction," "Business Service Grid, Part 2: Implementing a Business Service Grid", and "Business Service Grid, Part 3: Setting Up Rules," published in February and April of 2003 by IBM on the World Wide Web at www.106.ibm.com/developerworks/ibm/library/i-servicegrid/, www.106.ibm.com/developerworks/ibm/library/i-servicegrid2/, and www.106.ibm.com/developerworks/ibm/library/i-servicegrid3/, respectively. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/298,962, entitled "System, Method and Program Product for Operating a Grid of Service Providers Based on a Service Policy," filed Nov. 18, 2002, also describes other service domain concepts.

Methods, systems and program products for delivery of web services using categorical contracts

International Business Machines Corporation


System and method for display of search results with variable presentation semantics in a search environment are disclosed. The method includes displaying search results of a search operation, the display comprising extracts of at least two search results such that the two search results have different presentation semantics from each other and wherein the presentation semantics of at least one portion of at least one of the search result is altered with respect to the default presentation semantics.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
It is commonly required in the field of Information Technology to provide a service that searches through data sources. The data source herein may refer to data and/or document(s) on the Internet, intranet, storage devices, and so on. In order to use a search engine, a user seeking information on a desired topic generally inputs a search query consisting of keyword(s) or phrase(s) relevant to the topic into the search interface of the search engine. In response, the search engine typically displays a report with a prioritized list of links pointing to relevant documents containing the search keywords. Oftentimes, a short summary of text i.e., extract/snippet is also included for each result. The extract/snippet is that portion or portions of the text in the document that contain the keywords from the search query.
While the popularity of search engines may rely on various factors; relevancy of the search results and the manner in which they are displayed play an important role in enhancing a user experience. Known search engines like Google®, Bing®, Yahoo® etc. typically display a search result page comprising multiple search results with similar presentation semantics. This is a disadvantage since search results differ from each other in type and/or size. One example of such disadvantage is a search result display comprising extracts in the form of a table with multiple columns. The search engines display the table extract in textual format and in same presentation semantics of the other search results. This may lead to sub optimal display of the search results.
Systems for searching the Intranets, Extranets, Local Area Networks, individual computers and even single documents also generally suffer from these same drawbacks.
In view of the above drawbacks, there remains a need to improve the process of presenting search results.

System and method for variable presentation semantics of search results in a search environment


A tool for and method to facilitate the replacement of wheels on track-and-wheel vehicles and equipment by lifting the track from the road-wheels in a quick, safe and efficient manner. A tool with an elongated section and two forked ends, each fork having a long prong and a short prong, the long prongs of both ends not being on the same side of the tool. In operation, one forked end is placed in notches in the lower track, and the other forked end is placed in notches in the upper track. The vehicle is then driven in a direction so that the tool acts as a wedge lifting the upper track off of the road wheel.

The present invention has particular utility with track-and-wheel driven vehicles used for general civil engineering or general military purposes. When a wheel fails or is damaged, it must be replaced. Currently, lifts are used to lift the wheel off of the ground and lower track. The upper track is lifted off of the top of the wheel using a chain that is attached to a manual winch which is hung over any suitable edge or corner that can be found on the vehicle above the track-and-wheel system.
Under ideal weather conditions on dry pavement, the old process requires three to four people, and approximately 45 minutes to one hour, on average, to complete. In unfavorable weather conditions and on more difficult terrain, the old process could require 5 persons and 3 to 5 hours. The number of personnel and time required using the old systems and methods are a tremendous disadvantage. This is especially true where time and personnel are critical, such as in battle or wartime conditions where loss of equipment and time delays cost lives.
Even under ideal conditions, the current method is not safe. The winch is simply hooked over any available comer and the risk of slippage of the chain or the winch is high. Additionally, the personnel must manually operate the equipment. Consequently, at least one person is placed at risk of potentially severe personal injury using the old method.
The present tool and method has tremendous advantages over the old systems and methods. First of all, the present invention performs the same task as the old methods in approximately 15 minutes and only requires two persons. The tool also costs less to manufacture, weighs less, can be stored and used more easily, does not require that the personnel be near the equipment during the lifting operation and has a greatly reduced potential for slippage.

Tool for lifting tracks on track-and-wheel systems


The present invention is a post yard hydrant with controlled adjustable flow. The post yard hydrant includes a valve housing located below ground level for connection to a water supply under pressure, a head portion with an integral discharge nozzle positioned above ground level, and a casing portion with a first end connected to the head portion and a second end connected to the valve housing. The post yard hydrant further includes an operating rod disposed in the casing portion for reciprocation therein and an operating means configured to interact through a flow control linkage to reciprocate the operating rod. The flow control linkage is adapted to adjust water flow from a trickle level to a full pressure level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to hydrants and, more particularly, to in-ground yard or post hydrants.
2. Description of Related Art
Yard hydrants are installed in water systems to provide water sources remote from buildings. Typical yard hydrants have a main water supply valve, a dry pipe, a wet pipe and an activation handle. The dry pipe is secured to the main valve housing where the water line is connected below the frost line. The dry pipe then extends up through the ground to a comfortable operating position above ground level. The wet pipe is positioned within the dry pipe and its lower end activates the main valve to turn off and on the water supply. The handle is mounted to the top end of the dry pipe and is linked to the upper end of the wet pipe to raise and lower the wet pipe and thereby control the valve from above ground. The upper end of the wet pipe has a spigot which can connect to a hose or spray out the water directly. To turn off the hydrant, an operator moves the handle to move the wet pipe and close the valve. Any water in the wet pipe will drain out of the hydrant below the frost line and thereby prevent water from freezing within the hydrant. The Zurn Z1395 yard hydrant is such a hydrant design.
FIG. 1 illustrates the Zurn Z1395 prior art yard hydrant 1. Yard hydrant 1 includes a head section 3 with a discharge nozzle 5 and a water channel 7, a casing 9 and a valve housing 11 adapted for connection to a source of water supply under pressure from a pipe in a traditional relationship. A drain hole 13 is provided in valve housing 11, as is well known. Head section 3, casing 9 and valve housing 11 are typically assembled by threadable attachments to each other, with head section 3 positioned above ground level at a first end of casing 9, and valve housing 11 positioned below ground level at a second end of casing 9.
Head section 3 further includes an integral upper body portion 15 provided with an opening 17. An operating rod 19, with a plunger assembly 21 on its lower end, is disposed in casing 9, with its upper end extending upwardly through opening 17. A packing nut 23, in an embracing relationship with operating rod 19, is threadably secured in opening 17 to provide a watertight closure for opening 17. Operating rod 19 is adapted to be reciprocated in casing 9 to provide water flow control. A handle 25 is provided for effecting such reciprocation for operating rod 19. Head section 3 further includes an integral head section post 27, with a pair of horizontally spaced ears 29 and 29′ disposed in a spaced relationship above integral body portion 15. A linkage 31 includes a first end operably connected to the top of operating rod 19 and a second end extending between ears 29 and 29′. The top of handle 25 is secured to the second end of linkage 31 by a bolt 33 through holes 35 in ears 29 and 29′. By this arrangement, handle 25 can reciprocate operating rod 19 in a well-known manner. Yard hydrant 1 may optionally include a casing guard 37.
Currently, the yard hydrants of the type illustrated in FIG. 1 do not include an arrangement for controlling the flow of water from the hydrant. The above-described hydrants are only operable at full flow. Furthermore, while yard hydrants have been designed to allow for controlled adjustable flow, such yard hydrants are complex and difficult to manufacture.
Accordingly, a need exists for a yard hydrant that allows flow to be controlled from trickle flow to full pressure flow without substantially altering current yard hydrant designs. A further need exists for a kit that can be retrofitted to existing yard hydrants to provide controlled adjustable flow.

Post yard hydrant with controlled adjustable flow


A system, method and apparatus are disclosed for monitoring a mobile device en route to a destination. A user of a monitored device specifies geo-fence regions along a route to the destination. Entry and exit of regions triggers the sending of event notifications to a monitoring device. Event notifications may be sent if an estimated time of arrival changes due to delay. Event notifications may be sent if the monitored device deviates from a planned route by a threshold distance. Event notifications may be sent through a direct communication link between the monitored device and monitoring device or through a location-based service.

Most people have experienced the anxiety of waiting for a loved one to arrive safely at a destination. Typically, one knows the departure time, destination and estimated time of arrival of a traveler. When the traveler arrives safely at the destination, contact is made through telephone, e-mail or text messaging to confirm safe arrival.
There are instances, however, where a traveler's estimated time of arrival is delayed due to traffic, severe weather, flat tire or some other event. If the traveler is traveling on an airplane, a flight tracker application may be used to determine when their plane is estimated to arrive at a destination airport. If the traveler is traveling in a car, train, boat, bus or on foot, there is often no convenient way to know whether the traveler will be delayed or is in need of assistance without the traveler initiating contact or without the concerned individual making many phone calls to track down the traveler's whereabouts.

Monitoring a mobile device en route to destination


A lighting device employs an array of LEDs as a lighting source. The array of LEDs may be coupled in series between a power supply node and ground. In order to determine whether the input drive signal to the array of LEDs is a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal or a linear signal, the voltage across the string of LEDs is sampled and stored in a cyclical buffer. The variance of the samples stored in the cyclical buffer is then calculated and used to determine whether the input signal provided to the string of LEDs at the power supply node is a PWM signal or a linear signal. In one embodiment, the variance is compared to a predetermined threshold value to determine whether the input signal is a PWM signal or a linear signal.

In recent years, a movement has gained traction to replace incandescent light bulbs with solid-state lighting devices that employ more efficient lighting technologies. One such technology that shows tremendous promise employs light emitting diodes (LEDs). Compared with incandescent bulbs, LED lighting devices are much more efficient at converting electrical energy into light and are longer lasting. As a result, lighting fixtures that employ LED technologies are expected to eventually replace incandescent bulbs in residential, commercial, and industrial applications.
The growing popularity of LED lighting products has resulted in a large number of both LED lighting devices and LED lighting power supplies on the market. Generally, an LED lighting device includes a fixture designed around one or more LEDs, while an LED lighting power supply provides power to the LED lighting device. Current LED lighting devices are generally designed specifically for a single LED lighting power supply, resulting in incompatibility between different product lines and brands. Accordingly, there is currently very little flexibility provided to LED lighting consumers.
Additionally, while LED lighting devices offer efficiency and longevity improvements over their incandescent counterparts, LED lighting devices may also behave differently than incandescent bulbs. For example, the color temperature of the light emitted by an LED lighting device may be substantially different from that emitted by an incandescent bulb. The difference in behavior between incandescent bulbs and LED lighting devices may upset consumer expectations, thereby slowing the adoption of LED lighting products.
Accordingly, an LED lighting device is needed that is compatible with multiple LED lighting power supplies and capable of more closely imitating the characteristics of an incandescent bulb.

Detection of linear and PWM dimming in a solid state lighting device


Disclosed is an oxide catalyst for use in catalytic oxidation or ammoxidation of propane or isobutane in the gaseous phase, which comprises a composition represented by the Mo1VaSbbNbcZdOn (wherein: Z is at least one element selected from the group consisting of tungsten, chromium, titanium, aluminum, tantalum, zirconium, hafnium, manganese, iron, ruthenium, cobalt, rhodium, nickel, palladium, platinum, zinc, boron, indium, germanium, tin, lead, bismuth, yttrium, gallium, rare earth elements and alkaline earth metals; and a, b, c, d, and n are, respectively, the atomic ratios of V, Sb, Nb, Z and O, relative to Mo), wherein 0.1≦a<0.4, 0.1<b≦0.4, 0.01≦c≦0.3, 0≦d≦1, with the proviso that a<b, and n is a number determined by and consistent with the valence requirements of the other elements present. Also disclosed is a process for producing an unsaturated carboxylic acid or an unsaturated nitrile by using the above-mentioned oxide catalyst.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oxide catalyst for use in catalytic oxidation or ammoxidation of propane or isobutene in the gaseous phase. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with an oxide catalyst for use in catalytic oxidation or ammoxidation of propane or isobutene in the gaseous phase, which comprises, in a specific ratio, molybdenum (mo), vanadium (V), antimony (Sb), niobium (Nb), oxygen (O) and at least one element Z selected from the group consisting of tungsten, chromium, titanium, aluminum, tantalum, zirconium, hafnium, manganese, iron, ruthenium, cobalt, rhodium, nickel, palladium, platinum, zinc, boron, indium, germanium, tin, lead, bismuth, yttrium, gallium, rare earth elements and alkaline earth metals, wherein the Sb/Mo atomic ration (b) is larger than V/Mo atomic ratio (a), and the Sb/Mo atomic ratio (b) does not exceed 0.4. By the use of the oxide catalyst of the present invention in the oxidation or ammoxidation of propane or isobutene in the gaseous phase, (meth)acrylonitrile or (meth)acrylic acid can be produced with high selectivity and such high selectivity can be maintained for a long time, so that (meth)acrylonitrile or (meth)acrylic acid can be efficiently produced for a long time.
The present invention is also concerned with a process for producing an unsaturated carboxylic acid or an unsaturated nitrile in the presence of the above-mentioned oxide catalyst.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, there have been well known a process for producing (meth)acrylonitrile by ammoxidation of propylene or isobutylene, and a process for producing (meth)acrylic acid by oxidation of propylene or isobutylene. Recently, as substitutes for such processes for the ammoxidation or oxidation of propylene or isobutylene, attention has been attracted to a process for producing (meth)acrylonitrile or (meth)acrylic acid by a catalytic ammoxidation or oxidation in the gaseous phase, wherein propane or isobutane is used as a raw material instead of propylene or isobutylene. As catalysts for use in these processes, a number of catalysts have been proposed.
Of the catalysts proposed, especially, an oxide catalyst comprising Mo—V—Sb—Nb has been attracting attention, since such an oxide catalyst has advantages in that the catalyst comprises elements having a relatively low volatility, the catalyst can be used for a catalytic ammoxidation or oxidation in the gaseous phase at a low reaction temperature, and (meth)acrylonitrile or (meth)acrylic acid can be produced with relatively high selectivity and in relatively high yield.
Methods for producing (meth)acrylonitrile in the presence of the oxide catalyst comprising Mo—V—Sb—Nb (hereinafter, frequently referred to as an "Mo—V—Sb—Nb oxide catalyst") are disclosed in various patent documents, such as Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Specification Nos. 9-157241 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,750,760 and EP 0767164 A1), 10-28862, 10-81660, 10-310539, 10-330343, 11-42434, 11-43314, 11-57479, 11-263745, 2000-1464, 2000-143244, WO 0012209 A1 (corresponding to DE 1998325 T), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,043,185.
Methods for producing (meth)acrylic acid in the presence of the Mo—V—Sb—Nb oxide catalyst are also disclosed in various patent documents, such as Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Specification Nos. 9-316023, 10-118491, 10-120617 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,994,580 and 6,060,422), 10-137585, 11-285637, 11-343261, 2000-51693, 11-343262, 10-36311, 10-45664, 9-278680 and 10-128112.
Each of the above-mentioned Mo—V—Sb—Nb oxide catalysts, which are used for producing (meth)acrylonitrile or (meth)acrylic acid, comprises an oxide represented by the following formula (a):Mo1VpSbqNbrOm  (a)                wherein p, q, r and m are, respectively, the atomic ratios of V, Sb, Nb and O, relative to Mo.
The above-mentioned conventional Mo—V—Sb—Nb oxide catalysts can be categorized into the following two groups:
(i) catalysts in which the V/Mo atomic ratio is equal to or larger than the Sb/Mo atomic ratio, i.e., p and q in formula (a) above satisfy the following relationship: p≧q; and
(ii) catalysts in which the Sb/Mo atomic ratio is larger than V/Mo atomic ratio, i.e., p and q in formula (a) above satisfy the following relationship: p<q,
wherein the Sb/Mo atomic ratio is equal to or larger than 0.5, i.e., q in formula (a) above satisfies the following relationship: q≧0.5.
When the conventional Mo—V—Sb—Nb oxide catalysts mentioned above are used, (meth)acrylonitrile or (meth)acrylic acid is sometimes produced with a relatively high selectivity (hereinafter, (meth)acrylonitrile or (meth)acrylic acid is frequently referred to as the "desired product"). However, the selectivity for the desired product, which is achieved by such conventional catalysts, is not satisfactory.
Of the Mo—V—Sb—Nb oxide catalysts of group (i) above, oxide catalysts capable of achieving a relatively high selectivity for the desired product exhibits a disadvantageously low stability. Specifically, especially when the catalytic oxidation or ammoxidation in the gaseous phase is performed in the presence of each of such oxide catalysts in a recycling mode using a gaseous feedstock mixture having a high partial pressure of propane, the selectivity for the desired product decreases with the lapse of time.
In an attempt to improve the stability of the Mo—V—Sb—Nb oxide catalysts of group (i) above so as to maintain the selectivity for the desired product at a high level, the following two methods have been proposed:                a first method in which, using a reactor having a zone in which a gaseous mixture having a higher oxygen concentration than that of a gaseous reaction mixture produced is contacted with the oxide catalyst, the oxide catalyst is continuously oxidized to regenerate the oxide catalyst (see Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Specification No. 11-263745); and        a second method in which an Mo—V—Sb—Nb oxide catalyst of group (i) above produced by a process comprising preparing a raw material liquid mixture for the catalyst, followed by spray-drying and calcination is mixed with an aqueous solution containing Mo and Co to obtain an aqueous mixture, and the obtained aqueous mixture is spray-dried and calcined to thereby obtain a modified catalyst containing a large amount of an Mo—Co composite oxide (see Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Specification No. 11-57479).
Of the above-mentioned two methods, the first method is disadvantageous in that the process for the catalytic ammoxidation or oxidation in the gaseous phase inevitably becomes cumbersome. On the other hand, the second method is also disadvantageous not only in that the process for producing the oxide catalyst becomes too cumbersome, but also in that, even when silica is used to increase the strength of the catalyst, since the oxide catalyst produced in the second method contains a large amount of an Mo—Co composite oxide, it is difficult to cause the oxide catalyst to contain a satisfactory amount of silica which is needed to satisfactorily increase the strength of the oxide catalyst. Therefore, especially, it is difficult to apply the second method to the production of an oxide catalyst which is used for a reaction in a fluidized bed and, hence, is required to have a high strength.
With respect to the Mo—V—Sb—Nb oxide catalysts of group (ii) above, these catalysts have a disadvantage in that the selectivity for the desired product is low.
From the above, it is apparent that, by the conventional Mo—V—Sb—Nb oxide catalysts for the catalytic ammoxidation or oxidation, it is difficult to stably produce the desired compound with high selectivity for a long time.

Oxide catalyst for oxidation or ammoxidation


The present invention relates to a method of near real-time band jamming prevention, which provides a vehicle controller with the ability of examining autonomously the communication band between itself and a remote guidance and control apparatus, so that the vehicle controller can judge the jamming extent suffered by the communication band between the vehicle controller and the remote guidance and control apparatus. Thereby, the vehicle controller can execute corresponding actions in accordance with the judgment result of the method of near real-time band jamming prevention according to the present invention. In particular, when multiple vehicles operate synchronously and operators of the vehicles have no time to handle at the same time, the method of near real-time band jamming prevention according to the present invention provides the vehicle controllers with the ability of judging autonomously the communication band with preferred received signal strength intensity. Thereby, the channel for data link between the vehicle controller and the remote guidance and control apparatus is maintained normally and continuously.

Radio-frequency (RF) technology is a transmission technology having been used for a long time. It is applied to various radio broadcasting and wireless network applications. Radio broadcasting is a widely known application technology. In early days, radio broadcasting includes frequency-modulation (FM) and amplitude-modulation (AM) broadcasting stations. Nowadays, radio broadcasting further includes digital broadcasting, such as digital video broadcasting (DVB) and digital audio broadcasting (DAB). Wireless networks provide users with the ability of wirelessly connecting to the networks with electronic apparatuses supporting the network transmission interface, thereby increasing mobility and convenience for users using the electronic apparatuses. However, no matter radio broadcasting or wireless networks, the problem of band jamming is inevitable. Accordingly, quality of data transmission in radio broadcasting or wireless networks will be affected by jamming sources. Besides, unmanned vehicle systems using radio interfaces for data transmission or control signals will be thereby affected by jamming sources as well.
Unmanned aerial vehicle systems include at least an aerial vehicle, at least a remote guidance and control apparatus, at least a data link, and a payload. Normally, the data link of a relatively complete unmanned aerial vehicle system possesses communication channels in a plurality of frequency bands for ensuring signals transmitted between the remote guidance and control apparatus and the unmanned aerial vehicle will not lock out. The application technologies of modern remote guidance and control apparatus and the data link have developed to the extent that a guidance and control station can operate a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles of different models synchronously, or a guidance and control station can remotely guide and control a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles of the same model synchronously. When a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles operates synchronously and is remotely guided and controlled by a single remote guidance and control apparatus, operators of the remote guidance and control apparatus can not judge immediately communication quality according to the communication conditions between the unmanned vehicles and the remote guidance and control apparatus for executing corresponding correcting processes. In particular, when the communication signals between the unmanned vehicles and the remote guidance and control apparatus is jammed by unidentified strong signal waves, it is even necessary to perform corrections for improving communication quality.
Although in general, unmanned vehicles possesses the ability of autonomic lockout motion, when the communication signals between the remote guidance and control apparatus and the unmanned vehicles are lost, the remote guidance and control apparatus will not be able to acquire the locations of the unmanned vehicles. In particular, under the situation of a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles operating synchronously, the communication conditions between the remote guidance and control apparatus and the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles are more complex. If the communication signals between the remote guidance and control apparatus and one of the unmanned vehicles are lost, the unmanned aerial vehicle with signals lost will impact with other unmanned aerial vehicles, or the unmanned aerial vehicle with signals lost will impact with manned aerial vehicles, and thereby irretrievable disasters will result. Accordingly, when a single remote guidance and control apparatus remotely guides and controls multiple unmanned vehicles that are operating under complicated environment with a plurality of data links, jamming on the data link between each of the unmanned vehicles and the remote guidance and control apparatus by other data links is inevitable. Consequently, unexpected out-of-control situations on the unmanned vehicles will result.
FIG. 1A shows a schematic diagram of uplink jamming on an unmanned vehicle system according to the prior art, and FIG. 1B shows a schematic diagram of downlink jamming on an unmanned vehicle system according to the prior art. The difference between FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B is that the jamming source 10 in FIG. 1A drives directly the unmanned vehicle 20 unable to receive the control signals of the remote guidance and control apparatus 30 smoothly, and consequently causes the remote guidance and control apparatus. 30 unable to control the unmanned vehicle 20 smoothly. The jamming source 10 in FIG. 1B jams the remote guidance and control apparatus 30 from transmitting control signals to the unmanned vehicle 20, and thereby causes the remote guidance and control apparatus 30 unable to detect the status of the unmanned vehicle 20 smoothly. Besides, in addition to unmanned aerial vehicles, there exists a plurality of manned aerial vehicles in the air. There also exists at least one frequency band of communication channels between each of the manned aerial vehicles and the corresponding ground control station. Thereby, the frequency bands used by the plurality of manned aerial vehicles are a plurality of jamming sources for the communication channels between the unmanned aerial vehicles and the remote guidance and control apparatus. Therefore, it is necessary that the unmanned aerial vehicles or the remote guidance and control apparatus 30 are capable of judging unjammed frequency bands, and of switching the communication channels therebetween to the unjammed frequency bands, so that the remote guidance and control apparatus can continuously control the unmanned aerial vehicles.
According to the problems described above, a novel method of jamming prevention capable of overcoming the traditional drawback of signal loss between the remote guidance and control apparatus and the unmanned vehicles, and of preventing near real-timely jamming sources affecting communications therebetween is highly desired. The method of near real-time band jamming prevention for remote guidance and control apparatuses with multiple frequency bands according to the present invention can solve the problem describe above.

Method of near real-time band jamming prevention

Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology Armaments Bureau, M.N.D.