The present invention is directed to a method for dynamically changing objects to be cached in accordance with the processes performed. More particularly, the method for selecting objects to be cached in a data structure of classes of objects hierarchically arranged in a plurality of levels (L1, L2, L3, . . . ) comprises the steps of: in response to that a first object (a) of a first class at a specific level (L2) refers to a second object (b) of a second class at a different level (L3), detecting classes belonging to the different level (L3); and specifying, as objects to be cached, objects (b, c, d and e) at the different level (L3) that have not yet been cached and that can be traced, starting at the first object (a) of the first class.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an object caching method, particularly to a data structure wherein classes of objects are hierarchically arranged in a plurality of levels, the caching of objects in the data structure, and the discarding of cached objects.
2. Prior Art
As the use of the Internet and Intranet has spread, various computer application programs are being executed in a distributed environment. In addition, object oriented techniques are being employed at the design and analysis stage for the development of application systems, and various data are being expressed as objects in the implementation and stored in distributed computers. Furthermore, computers, such as network computers (NCs) or portable PDAS, whose resources, such as main memories and computation capacities, are quite limited, are frequently being employed.
In such an environment, generally, a local terminal accesses to objects stored in a remote computer. However, taking into consideration the capacity of the terminal and the speed of a network, it is apparent that caching objects required by a terminal in the terminal is a good idea for a program that processes many remote objects. The required object, however, should not be cached as an individual object, but should be cached as one unit of objects constituting a network structure that will be accessed later. This reason can be derived from well-known characteristic of object oriented programming; that is, (1) a lot of messages are transmitted to objects during a process, and the objects which received the messages further may send messages to objects associated with themselves; and (2) as a result of repeating the above process, accesses to a lot of objects associated with each other is frequently performed.
Assume that one part of data in a database is employed as an object to be processed. In actual program development, specifically, legacy database systems are employed unchanged in many cases, and data in such a database can not be accessed as objects. Therefore, only data to be processed is converted into objects and they are copied to an accessible area. In this case, not only a single object but also the associated objects are required for the processing.
As described above, the procedure employed to determine which objects are to be cached has a great influence on the performance at the terminal. Some conventional methods for determining the range of objects to be cached will now be described.
In the object serialization in Java (trademark owned by Sun Microsystems), when a specific object is designated, basically, all the objects that can be reached from the object through references are to be serialized. The basic algorithm is as follows. If a reference to an object appears at the first time during the copying, a reference number is added to the object and the copying process is repeated recursively. As a reference to the same object appears, the number that was assigned to the object at the first appearance is transmitted instead of the object itself. In this manner, a network structure comprising objects that can be traced can be completely transmitted.
This method prevents the omission of objects, but predicting and controlling the quantity of data to be transmitted is difficult, and care should be taken when a network structure is transmitted that comprises many coupled objects. Java RMI (Remote Method Invocation) makes the control possible to a degree by using a transient value for the objects. However, since this is statically determined during the programming and can not be dynamically changed in accordance with various execution situations, this method lacks flexibility.
When the contents of a database are substantially converted into objects, a technique is employed where, although it depends on the architecture of the database system, a local pointer and a global pointer are used in the class definition to limit in advance the transfer range of the objects (see Container Object (xe2x80x9cData Model and C++ interface For Object Server Built Like Relational Database,xe2x80x9d Fukuda et. al., 45th Information Processing Meeting (latter half of 1992) (4), p.4-111) and Entity/Dependent (xe2x80x9cSan Francisco Project Technical Summary,xe2x80x9d IBM, http://www.ibm.com/Java/ Sanfrancisco)). However, it is difficult to dynamically change a target to be transferred and a transfer range each time processing is performed.
There is another method that employs a cluster concept to transfer all objects in an associated cluster substantially unchanged (see ObjectStore (xe2x80x9cUser Guide ObjectStore Release 3.0 For OS/2 and AIX/xlc System,xe2x80x9d Object Design Inc., January 1994, pp. 42 to 44)). According to this method, a cluster is specified when an object is instantiated in a secondary storage. Actually, when a hardware page in the secondary storage and in a main memory is employed as a cluster unit, calculations performed by a CPU during the transfer, such as tracing of the object references, are not required, and then more efficient caching is provided. However, since the objects in the cluster are transferred unconditionally, unnecessary objects may be transferred, depending on a method for constructing the cluster. Particularly when much transfer time is required in a distributed environment, the volume of the data communication involved is increased and the performance is deteriorated. In addition, while this method provides control to a degree (it enables selection of a policy for caching) by the cluster unit, it cannot cope with dynamic changes of objects during the execution, especially changes on an object network after the objects are instantiated.
For an application program or a framework, object designers implement a method of caching. If they prepare a program very carefully, this program is quite flexible and provides satisfactory effects. However, this requires a high degree of programming skill, and in particular, it is difficult to maintain the consistency of the reference relationship in the cache when the cached objects are released.
If caching is forcedly released while the above described network structure composed of the objects is being cached, this leads to the illegal release of objects and to the illegal accesses to invalid objects. This occurs because an object can be shared by different network structures, and referencing from one network to another is also possible. Therefore, a special garbage collection procedure for maintaining the consistency is required.
A mechanism for detecting the accesses to objects outside the cache uses hardware or software hooking (see ObjectStore (xe2x80x9cUser Guide Object Store Release 3.0 For OS/2 and AIX/xlc System,xe2x80x9d Object Design Inc., January 1994, pp. 9 to 11). In this system, the cache controller can detect such an access and invoke the cache routine without any extra control code in the application program.
The above described methods for determining the range of objects to be cached can not dynamically change objects to be cached in accordance with the various execution contexts.
Therefore, it is one object of the present invention to provide a method for dynamically changing objects to be cached in accordance with the various execution contexts.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for maintaining the consistency among whole cached objects even after the caching strategy changes dynamically.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a data structure in which objects to be cached can be dynamically changed.
It is a further object of the present invention to enable the customization of objects to be cached in accordance with the characteristic of an application program.
It is still another object of the present invention to reduce the dynamic calculation costs for determining objects to be cached.
First, an explanation will be given for a data structure which enables to dynamically change objects to be cached. At the least, classes of objects in the data structure is hierarchically arranged in a plurality of levels. Whether an object is cached or not is determined by the level of the class that the object belongs to. In addition, for each level, a class of a root object is defined that is an origin object for calculations to determine objects to be cached when a first object of a first class at a certain level refers to a second object of a second class at another level. Generally, the root object is either an object of a class at the certain level from which the references can be traced to the second object of the second class, or the second object of the second class.
Therefore, the root object may be either the first object of the first class at the certain level, which is a reference source object, or the second object of the second class in said another level, which is a reference destination object. At this time, the process for detecting the root object when determining objects to be cached becomes simple.
According to the depth of the process, a programmer of an application program can define classes hierarchically organized into levels to efficiently cache objects. In addition, this data structure may be defined by a user other than an application programmer because, in the caching process explained below, information inherent to an application program is not employed and caching is performed independently of the logic inherent to the program.
Furthermore, it is possible to define, for each set of the first and second classes, or for the first class, a group comprising classes of objects which can be directly or indirectly traced from the first object of the first class and belong to said another level when the first object of the first class at the certain level refers to the second object of the second class at said another level. In this case, not only the levels, but also the groups of classes, for which a reference between an object of a specific class and an object of another specific class is taken into account, are defined. Therefore, the groups of classes can be used to determine which objects are cached. That is, more detailed caching can be performed based on the reference relationship of objects.
When objects in the data structure in which only levels are defined are cached, following steps are performed: in response to that the first object of the first class at the certain level refers to the second object of the second class at said another level, detecting classes at said another level; and specifying, as objects to be cached, objects that have not yet been cached and that can be traced from the first object of the first class, and that belong to said another level.
A following step may be further included: specifying, as objects to be cached, objects that have not yet been cached and that can be traced from the first object of the first class except objects belonging to said another level and a reference destination object if a reference occurs between levels in an ascending order of levels to be cached. This indicates caching when there is a reference between levels in a descending order of levels to be cached.
When objects in a data structure in which object classes are hierarchically arranged also in groups are cached, following steps are performed: in response to that a third object of a third class at one level refers to a fourth object of a fourth class at another level, calculating a group defined by a set of the third class and the fourth class or the third class; and specifying as an object to be cached, an object of a class that has not yet been cached and that can be traced from the third object of the third class, and that belongs to the group defined by the set of the third class and the fourth class or the third class. As a result, caching consonant with the execution condition can be performed in accordance with the reference from an object of a specific class to an object of another specific class.
Furthermore, a following step may be performed: specifying, as an object to be cached, an object that has not yet been cached and that can be traced from the third object of the third class except objects of classes that belong to the group defined by the set of the third and the fourth classes or the third class and a reference destination object if a reference occurs between levels in an ascending order of levels to be cached. This indicates caching when there is a reference between levels in a descending order of levels to be cached.
The above described caching methods are performed based on the levels of the classes or the groups of the classes. However, the same object is not always cached, even in the same class. Thus, dynamic caching can be performed according to the execution status or the usage condition.
A method for discarding objects in a cache comprises the steps of: detecting a key object for a level n, wherein the key object is an object of a class at the level nxe2x88x921 in the cached order and refers to an object of a class at the level n; invalidating a reference from the detected key object for the level n to the object of the class at the level n; and discarding objects of classes that belongs to the level n and subsequent levels and that can be traced from the key object for the level n. In this case, the objects at the n-th level and the subsequent in the caching order are discarded based on the key object for level n, which is an object of a class at the nxe2x88x921-th level in the caching order and refers to an object of a class at the level n, so that the consistency of the reference relationship can be maintained. This method is initiated upon receipt of an instruction from another program and etc.
The above method can be implemented by a program or by a dedicated apparatus. Such a modification on the implementation is normally performed by one having ordinary skill in the art. It is also performed by one having ordinary skill in the art that the above described program and data structure are stored on a storage medium, such as a CD-ROM or a floppy disk.

Method for selecting objects to be cached, method for discarding cached objects, and computer

International Business Machines Corporation


An assembled multi-functional shoebox comprises at least one rectangular box body. The rectangular box body further comprises a frame having a cruciform structure with each end having a right-angled isosceles triangle supporting plate; an upper cover firmly secured to an upper end of the frame; a lower cover firmly secured to a lower end of the frame; a plurality of doors between the upper cover and lower cover; a supporting plate; a hollow short shaft being protruded from the supporting plate; the supporting plate being rotatable; a seat being a drawer; a steel ball bearing being a center of the seat; a fan being installed below the bearing; a heat dissipating device and an ozone generator being supported by a supporter; a drawer for placing liquid, powdered deodorants, aromatics, the drawer having a plurality of small chambers arranged around a space of the seat.

Generally, conventional shoeboxes have only one side having a door for taking shoes so that the user is inconvenient as he or she takes shoes from the shoebox. If there are many people using the shoebox at the same time, then the inconvenience is more apparent. Moreover, generally conventional shoeboxes cannot be rotated so that users must walk to the side having a door. Moreover, since the shoes often have germs therein, or emits undesired odor, or are wet. These are unacceptable to the users. However, the conventional shoebox has no function of drying, sterilizing and perfuming.
Thereby, there is an eager demand for a novel shoebox which can improve the above-mentioned prior art defects.


A method for inspecting a light source module for defects includes preparing a board on which a light emitting device and a lens covering the light emitting device are installed. A current is applied to the light emitting device to turn on the light emitting device. The lens is imaged with the light emitting device turned on. A central symmetry denoting a symmetry of light emission distribution from the center of the lens is calculated based on the obtained image, and the calculated central symmetry is compared with a reference value to determine whether unsymmetrical light emission distribution has occurred. Various other methods and apparatuses for inspecting light source modules are additionally provided.

The present disclosure relates to a method of inspecting a light source module for defects, a method of manufacturing a light source module, and an apparatus for inspecting a light source module.
Voice of the customer (VOC) expectations have been adopted in the fields of light emitting diode (LED) displays and lighting, and here, value engineering (VE) influenced designs, aimed at reducing the thickness and costs associated with associated devices is important. In this regard, lenses are device elements that commonly satisfy the requirements of VE design. Such lenses serve to reduce an optical distance between an LED and a target plane and increase a pitch (space, distance, or gap) between LEDs.
Precisely assembling a lens and an LED is difficult, and may give rise to problems such as lens shift, caused as the center of the LED and the center of the lens are misaligned, and lens tilt, caused in cases in which a lens is tilted with respect to a horizontal plane. These assembly precision defects may result in optical uniformity defects known as mura. In addition, optical uniformity defects may also be caused due to problems in a lens itself or in a manufacturing process thereof.

Method of inspecting a light source module for defects, method of manufacturing a light source module, and apparatus for inspecting a light source module


An electronic percussion instrument modifies the effect applied to note generated in response to a strike based on the intensity of the strike. A plurality of patches are stored in the waveform memory. Each patch includes settings for the effects applied to each pad of the instrument. The patch also includes a setting indicating whether the parameters of the effects applied to the pads are to be modified in accordance with strike intensity. Subsequently, during performance, when a strike is detected the intensity of the strike is used to determine whether the parameters of the effect applied to the note are to be modified, and if so the parameters are modified in correspondence to the intensity of the strike. This allows the performer to easily modify the effect applied to the notes of the percussion instrument during performance.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to an electronic percussion instrument.
2. Background Technology
An electronic percussion instrument is described in Japanese Official Patent Gazette Publication Number 2614746. In this instrument a respective waveform is assigned to each of a plurality of pads. When a pad is struck, the waveform that has been assigned to that pad is read out, a musical tone is generated, and the performance is carried out. If the striking intensity on the striking surface reaches or exceeds a specified threshold value, an effect is applied in correspondence to the striking intensity.
However, with this electronic percussion instrument, the performance can be done using the effects that have been set in advance for each pad in correspondence with the striking intensity, but it is not possible to modify the effects during the performance. Therefore, in order to modify an effect, it is necessary to interrupt the performance and reset the effect parameters. The effect must then be tested to determine whether it is being applied in the desired manner. This makes adjustment during performance difficult. Also, adjustments that require the use of knobs or buttons and the like are difficult for a performer who must hold drum sticks in both hands.


The fruit picker separates a fruit, positioned within an intake end opening of a hollow tube, from its stem by extending a blade across the opening. With the stem forced against the wall of the opening, the tube is moved to separate the stem from the fruit. The movement causes the fruit to fall by gravity inside the tube through a discharge end to which a collection bottle is connected.

Fruits and in particular, berries, are often picked from trees and bushes by hand. There are several drawbacks of picking berries by hand: Firstly, the method is relatively slow and uneconomical. Secondly, some bushes may be so large that a person cannot reach all of the berries located inside or at the top of the bushes. Thirdly, some bushes have thorns which may scratch or injure the hands of the person picking the berries.
There is a need for and it would be desirable to have a light-weight berry picker for quickly and easily removing berries from bushes without bruising or crushing the berries and without scratching the hands of the persons picking the berries. Additionally, there is a need for and it would be desirable to have a berry picker to enable a person to pick berries which cannot be reached by hand and to have the removed berries collected in a storage container with minimal spillage and damage to the berries. These are the primary objectives of the present invention.


A two-component solvent-free polyurethane laminating adhesive for flexible packaging, including a First Component and a Second Component is provided. The First Component, which acts as a resin, includes a first vegetable oil based Polyol A in an amount from 20 to 40 weight percent, a second vegetable oil based Polyol B in an amount from 0.5 to 5 weight percent, and a Polyisocyanate C in an amount from 60 to 74 weight percent. The Second Component, which acts as a hardener, includes a first vegetable oil based Polyol A in an amount from 87 to 99 weight percent, and a Polyol E in an amount from 0.5 to 5 weight percent. The first vegetable oil based Polyol A is preferably a hydroxylated castor oil, and the second vegetable oil based Polyol B is preferably hydroxylated linseed oil.

Recently, complex flexible packaging is developed by industry players due to package strength requirement, food protection needs, labeling and appearance needs of package. The complex flexible packaging is prepared via the laminated films produced by so-called laminating adhesives (also called laminate adhesives). The current main stream of such a laminate adhesive is a two-component (or two-part) type polyurethane (PU) adhesive, composed of a first component base resin having an isocyanate (NCO) group ("First Component") and a second component curing agent (also called hardener) having one or more active hydrogen groups ("Second Component"). The two-part type polyurethane adhesive has excellent adhesivity, durability, and heat resistance properties. Further, it can be widely applied in the manufacture of film/film and film/metal foil laminates including multilayer laminates in food packaging industry and other industries.
Typically, the first component contains an isocyanate-containing polyurethane prepolymer obtained by the reaction of excess diisocyanate with a polyether and/or polyester containing two or more active hydrogen groups per molecule. The second component usually is a polyether and/or polyester functionalized with two or more hydroxyl groups or the like per molecule. The two components are combined in a predetermined ratio and applied on one of the film or metal foil substrates, which is then laminated to a second substrate. Application may be from a solution in a suitable solvent using gravure or smooth roll coating cylinders or from a solvent-free state using special application machinery.
Solvent-free or solventless laminating adhesives, that can be applied at 100% solids and that do not contain either organic solvents or water, have a distinct advantage because they can be applied and operated at very high line speed. This is due to the fact that there is no organic solvent or water which must be removed from the adhesive. The application speed of solvent or waterbased laminating adhesives is limited because the solvent or water must be effectively dried in an oven, or otherwise removed, and such solvent/water removal process is generally time-consuming.
In order to obtain NCO-terminated PU prepolymers, it is a common practice to react polyhydric alcohols with an excess of monomeric polyisocyanates—generally at least predominantly diisocyanates.
It is known that, irrespective of the reaction time, a certain quantity of the polyisocyanate used in excess reamains unreacted. The presence of monomeric polyisocyanate is problematical, for example, when readily volatile diisocyanates have been used as the monomeric polyisocyanate. "Readily volatile" as used herein represents the property of the substances having a vapor pressure of more than about 0.0007 mm Hg at 30° C. or at a boiling point less than about 190° C. (70 mPa).
Even at room temperature, the significant vapor pressure of volatile diisocyanates, such as 2,4-toluene diisocyanate (TDI), is a serious issue during spray application process. Since isocyanate vapor is toxic, the use of products with a high content of readily volatile diisocyanates involves elaborate measures on the part of the users to protect themselves, more particularly elaborate measures for keeping the surrounding air fit to inhale, as legally stipulated by the maximum permitted concentration of working materials as gas, vapor or particulate matter in the air at the workplace.
Because protective and cleaning measures generally involve considerable financial investment and operating cost, there is a need for products which, depending on the isocyanate used, have a low content of readily volatile diisocyanates.
Currently, the vast majority of adhesives marketed are based on petroleum derived components. The use of petrochemicals such as polyester or polyether polyols is disadvantageous for a variety of reasons. Because petrochemicals are ultimately derived from petroleum, the production of a polyol requires a great deal of energy, as oil must be drilled, refined, and processed to make the polyols. Moreover, petrochemical based polyols are subject to price fluctuations and availabilities of petroleum and natural gas. As the public becomes more aware of environmental issues, there are distinct marketing disadvantages in using petrochemical based products. With the continuously growing demand for "greener" products from consumers, there is a motivation to replace polyester or polyether polyols, as used in the production of polyurethane adhesives, with a more versatile, renewable, less costly, and more environmentally friendly component.
Efforts have been made to address these challenges. Bio-based oil sources such as soy oil, castor oil, palm oil, linseed oil, or chemicals derived from them for instance oleochemical polyols, are suggested as substitutes for the polyols in the second components of the urethane reactants, for manufacturing foams, elastomers, plastics, adhesives and other products, as they provide the promise of a relatively stable and renewable raw material source.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,624,244 and 6,465,569 disclose the combination of a multi functional polyol such as ethylene glycol and blown soy oil with an isocyanate to form urethane foam. U.S. Pat. No. 6,649,667 discloses the reaction of a mixture of polyester or polyether Polyol and a blown vegetable oil with an isocyanate in a reaction-injection-molded (RIM) process to produce closed cell polyurethane foam. U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,686 discloses polyurethane foam prepared by reaction of an isocyanate with a mixture of a blown vegetable oil and a polyether polyol. Because soybeans or the like are renewable, relatively inexpensive, versatile, and environmentally friendly, they are desirable as ingredients for foam manufacturers. Soybeans may be processed to yield fatty acid triglyceride rich soy oil and protein rich soy flour.
DE 44 01 572 A1 describes a two-component polyurethane adhesive based on an isocyanate component and on a polyol component, which contain an oleochemical polyol such as castor oil from 2 to 7 percent by weight, based on the oleochemical polyol, of at least one di- and/or trifunctional alcohol, the hydroxyl value of the alcohols or the mixtures thereof being 1,100 to 1,850. This adhesive is suitable for non-load bearing wooden structural members.
U.S. Pat. Publication No. 20040138402A1 discloses a two-component polyurethane adhesive for wooden materials comprising components A and B wherein A) a polyol mixture, containing at least a) 10 to 98 wt. % of at least one oleochemical polyol, b) 1 to 7.5 wt. % of at least one diol having a hydroxyl value of 400 to 2,000 and c) 1 to 7.5 wt. % of at least one tri-, tetra- or pentafunctional polyol having a hydroxyl value of 200 to 2,000, the wt. % of each of a), b) and c) based on the whole of the polyol mixture, and B) at least one polyisocyanate, wherein the NCO/OH ratio of components A) and B) is within the range of 1.5 to 0.9, and further comprising from 0 to 85 wt. %, based on the total weight of the adhesive, of at least one auxiliary substance; wherein the polyol mixture contains up to 60 wt. %, based on the total weight of the polyol mixture, of a resin homogeneously dissolved therein. The adhesive is useful for bonding of load bearing wooden building components.
U.S. Pat. Publication No. 20060276614A1 describes a bio-based multipurpose urethane adhesive in which the B side component is derived mainly from a vegetable oil, preferably soy oil. Preferably the vegetable oil derivative is a hydroxylated vegetable oil which is present in the B side component at a concentration from 65 to 98 weight percent. Optionally, a phosphated soy oil can be present in an amount from 0.1 to 15 weight percent to enhance the adhesive properties, particularly for use on metals. Also, water can be present in an amount from 0.1 to 10 weight percent with a slight amount of a surfactant to stabilize the mixture. Catalysts are included in the B side component to reduce the amount of the A side component and to accelerate curing of the adhesive. The A and B side components are admixed in amounts which provide from 40 to 90 weight percent of bio-based content in the adhesive.
CN101280167A discloses a solvent-free polyurethane laminating adhesive that could be processed at room temperature, comprises two components, where the hardener comprises 1%-10% weight percent of polyol a) with carbon chain length less than 12 carbon, at least two functionality 30% to 70% of polyol b) 20% to 70% of polyol c) modified by plant oil, and 0.01% to 1% of curing speed adjusting agent. The base resin comprises polyurethane prepolymers obtained by the reaction of 25% to 50% of polyol modified by plant oil or other polyester polyol or polyether polyol and 50% to 75% of diisocyanate.
Primary Aromatic Amine and Hazardous Effect:
In order to reduce the volatile effects of chemicals used in the laminating process, low-volatility diisocyanates, such as diphenylmethane diisocyanates (MDI), are typically used rather than high volatile diisocyanates TDI, wholly or partly. But the PU prepolymers based thereon have viscosities that are outside the range relevant to simple methods of application. Consequently, by adding an excess of diisocyanate monomers as reactive diluents, the viscosity of the polyurethane prepolymers could be reduced. Nevertheless, the incomplete reaction of the reactive diluents is capable of "migrating," even into the bonded materials. By contact with moisture (H2O), the isocyanate groups of migrated material may react to form primary undesirable aromatic amines (R—N═C═O+H2O→R—NH2+CO2).
Migrated material and side reaction are undesirable in the food packaging industry, because the passage of the migrated material through the packaging material can lead to contamination of the packaged food product. To avoid contamination, the laminates must be "migrate-free". Another unwanted side effect caused by the migration is the antisealing effect during the production of bags or carrier bags using laminated plastic film. Thus, substances and preparations containing, for example, more than 0.1% free TDI fall under hazardous material regulations and have to be identified accordingly. The obligation to do so involves special measures for the food packaging industry.
Accordingly, reactive adhesives that are suitable for the production of composite materials should have a suitable application viscosity, but not contain or release any volatile or migratable substances into the environment or packaged material as such could cause hazardous effects to human beings. The current invention addresses these issues.

Two-component solvent-free polyurethane adhesives


The invention provides an aqueous bleaching solution for substrate treatment comprising a source of oxidant and a suspended polymer matrix having a plurality of optically functional particles associated with one or more copolymers present in the polymer matrix. The plurality of optically functional particles are associated with the copolymer during polymerization of at least one hydrophobic and at least one hydrophilic monomer so as to form a polymer matrix useful to impart an aqueous bleaching solution with optically functional properties providing a benefit to the solutions during storage, use and application to substrates for treatment. In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, the suspended polymer matrix forms a substantially stable dispersion of the optically functional particles in the aqueous bleaching solution, and provides compositions, methods and kits for employing aqueous bleaching solutions having optically functional properties that are maintained over substantially long storage times.

Bleaches are used for various purposes such as deodorization, stain removal, brightening, whitening, disinfection, sanitizing, sterilizing, and the like. Bleaches are used to treat various substrates, including hard or non-porous surfaces, soft or porous surfaces and materials such as fabrics, textiles and clothing, by various means including wetting, wiping, spraying or immersion in bleaching solutions or their aqueous diluted forms, for example. Aqueous bleach solutions based on oxidants such as a hypohalous acid or peroxide are commonly employed for this purpose. For best results, the bleach solutions are employed soon after preparation when oxidant levels are at their highest level in order to achieve optimum bleaching action for the purpose desired. Commonly, however, bleach solutions are stored for prolonged periods between uses, and under conditions that may result in a loss of oxidizing strength that can reduce performance significantly over time. Storage factors such as time, temperature, packaging and exposure to light can decrease the stability of aqueous bleaches. In addition, other materials present, such as dyes, thickeners, polymers, dispersing agents and the like can also act to decrease the stability of aqueous bleaches and themselves be subject to the oxidative action of the bleach, resulting in substantially reduced performance and poor product characteristics.
One approach in the art to minimize performance loss is to incorporate materials in the form of solids in particle form to reduce interaction with the oxidant. Generally, such particles are limited to chemically stable materials that are themselves bleach resistant or have minimal effect on the oxidant stability. However, additional stabilizing and/or dispersing agents are required to overcome the otherwise inevitable physical instability that results from settling, aggregation and/or precipitation of such particles over time. Typically, dispersing and stabilizing agents act to suspend the particles against aggregation and settling, and achieve this by means of thickening, viscosity modification or network formation that tend to alter the rheology of the bleaching solutions. Thickened bleaches and bleaching gels are common examples of the resulting rheologies required when particulate coloring agents are used. The changed rheologies of the bleaching solutions results in changes to the processing, handling, pouring and dispensing characteristics, which limits their utility in certain applications, such as in spraying and dosing applications. Further, the additional materials added can negatively impact stability and add cost to the bleaching solutions.
In light of the foregoing discussion, there is a need for stable aqueous bleaching solutions having optically functional particles for providing functional benefits to the bleaching solution and substrates treated with the bleaching solution, where stable The aqueous bleaching solution should provide means enabling a stable suspension of the optical functional particles, and needs to be resistant to chemical degradation in the presence of an oxidant. Further, the aqueous bleaching solution should be stable without the requirement of using thickening agents, flocculants and/or dispersing agents and the like.


The invention provides a process for treating nitrogen oxide-containing offgases from industrial processes, e.g. flue gases, for the purposes of removing and/or separating out the nitrogen oxides and/or for the purposes of reducing the nitrogen oxide content by means of chemical reduction of the nitrogen oxides, in particular a process for the removal of nitrogen oxides from offgases from industrial plants, wherein at least two different nitrogen-containing reducing agents are brought into contact with the nitrogen oxide-containing offgases or introduced into the stream of the nitrogen oxide-containing offgases. The present invention further provides an apparatus (plant) for carrying out this process.

The present invention relates to the technical field of treatment of offgases, in particular the treatment of offgases containing nitrogen oxides.
The present invention relates in particular to a process for treating nitrogen oxide-containing offgases from industrial processes, e.g. flue gases, for the purposes of removing or separating out the nitrogen oxides and/or for the purposes of reducing the nitrogen oxide content by means of chemical reduction of the nitrogen oxides. In particular, the present invention relates to a process for removing nitrogen oxides from offgases from industrial plants, for example power stations, in particular combined heat-power stations, or waste incineration plants.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to an apparatus for treating nitrogen oxide-containing offgases from industrial processes, e.g. flue gases, for the purposes of removing or separating out the nitrogen oxides or else for the purposes of reducing the nitrogen oxide content by means of chemical reduction of the nitrogen oxides.
Combustion reactions in the presence of air form metastable, generally toxic and reactive oxides of nitrogen, known as nitrogen oxides. The formation of nitrogen oxides occurs to an increased extent as a result of the combustion or thermolysis and pyrolysis of organic and inorganic nitrogen-containing compounds, which occurs in large-scale firing plants such as combined heat-power stations or waste incineration plants.
Nitrogen oxides, in particular the compounds nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide known under the term nitrous gases, which are also denoted by the abbreviated formula NOx, are not only toxic and lead to irritation and damage to the pulmonary system but also increase the formation of acid rain since they react with moisture to form acids.
However, the liberation of nitrogen oxides is also problematical for further reasons of environmental protection since firstly they promote the formation of smog and of harmful ozone near the ground and secondly act as greenhouse gases and increase global warming.
Owing to the negative effects of nitrogen oxides on health and the environment and not least due to the economic damage associated therewith, attempts have been made for a long time to minimize or prevent the liberation of nitrogen oxides in combustion processes. In the case of passenger cars, this is achieved, for example, by the use of catalysts which allow virtually complete removal of the nitrogen oxides from the exhaust gases.
To reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides from industrial plants, in particular large industrial firing plants, various processes for nitrogen oxide removal or denitrification (deNOx) which alone or in combination are supposed to bring about an effective reduction or avoidance of nitrogen oxides in offgases, in particular flue gases, have been developed in view of the prevailing legal position and also economic considerations.
The processes and measures for reducing the nitrogen oxide content of offgases, in particular flue gases, can be divided into primary measures and secondary measures.
In the case of the primary measures, the combustion process is controlled in such a way that the nitrogen oxide content of the resulting offgases is as low as possible; the nitrogen oxides should, so to say, not be formed at all. Primary measures include, for example, flue gas recirculation, in which the flue gas is recirculated to the combustion zone, and also air and fuel stages in which the combustion is controlled in such a way that various combustion zones having different oxygen concentrations are obtained. In addition, the formation of nitrogen oxides in flue gases can also be reduced by addition of additives or by quenching, i.e. by spraying in water to reduce the temperature during the combustion process.
In contrast to primary measures, which are intended to reduce the formation of nitrogen oxides, the use of secondary measures is intended to reduce the concentration of the nitrogen oxides in the offgases, in particular flue gases. Secondary measures include, for example, separation processes in which the nitrogen oxides are chemically bound or scrubbed out of the flue gas stream. However, a disadvantage of the separation processes is that large amounts of waste products, for example process water, which are often contaminated with further constituents of the flue gas are obtained and have to be disposed of, which costs money.
For this reason, secondary measures employed in modern industrial plants are usually processes which are based on reduction of the nitrogen oxides to elemental nitrogen and lead to only small amounts of waste products, with a distinction generally being made between catalytic processes and noncatalytic processes.
Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of the nitrogen oxides encompasses catalytic processes in which the nitrogen oxides are converted into elemental nitrogen with the aid of metal catalysts. In general, the best denitrification values are obtained by means of SCR processes, but the use of the catalyst makes the process significantly more expensive and less economically viable. In addition, the plants for carrying out the SCR process are extremely expensive not only to acquire but also to maintain since the sensitive catalysts have to be treated or replaced at short time intervals. Particularly in large firing plants whose fuel composition can often be determined only unsatisfactorily, for example waste incineration plants, there is always a risk of poisoning of the catalysts by impurities in the flue gas. This risk can be reduced only by means of additional costly measures.
Selective noncatalytic reduction (SNCR), on the other hand, is based on the thermolysis of nitrogen compounds, in particular ammonia or urea, which then react in a comproportionation reaction with the nitrogen oxides to form elemental nitrogen.
Compared to selective catalytic reduction, selective noncatalytic reduction is significantly cheaper to carry out: thus, the costs of acquiring and maintaining SNCR plants are just from 10 to 20% of the costs of corresponding SCR plants.
However, a problem with SNCR processes is that their effectiveness is less than the effectiveness of catalytic processes, so that, for example, in the event of a further reduction in the legally permitted limit values for nitrogen oxides in offgases, in particular flue gases, most SNCR plants will no longer be able to operate.
A further disadvantage of processes based on the selective noncatalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides is that the reducing agent has to be used in excess and does not react completely, so that the offgas contains an ammonia loading which is sometimes not insignificant. Excess ammonia in the offgas either has to be separated off or its content has to be reduced by means of process engineering measures to such an extent that release of the offgas stream into the environment is possible.
In addition, there are also processes which are based both on a catalytic mode of action and also on the use of reducing agents, but these processes, too, cannot overcome the in-principle disadvantages of the respective processes (high costs for the use of catalytic processes and low effectiveness for the use of reducing agents).

Process and apparatus for reducing the content of nitrogen oxides


A threaded insert installation tool includes an adapter assembly that connects a front and assembly with a driver. The threaded insert installation tool may be used in areas with limited access and may be operated with a battery-powered screwdriver. The adapter assembly may include a drive shaft that may have a segment square cross-section that may slide in linear direction within a square-hole sleeve assisted by a spring converting the rotary motion provided by the cordless screwdriver into a linear feed. The threaded insert installation tool may be suitable for, but not limited too, applications in the automotive, communication, aerospace, military and defense industries. The threaded insert installation tool may be used to install threaded inserts in tapped holes that are positioned in a space having an extended depth and a close proximity to surrounding walls, such as inside a cylinder or a barrel, for example, a missile shell.

The present invention generally relates to threaded insert insertion tools and, more particularly, to a threaded insert installation tool for areas with limited access and to a method for installing threaded inserts in areas with limited access.
Threaded inserts, such as Heli-Coil® inserts (Heli-Coil® is a registered trademark of Emhart® Teknologies), provide positive means for protecting and strengthening all tapped threads. Threaded inserts are typically precision-formed screw thread coils of stainless steel wire having a diamond shaped cross-section. When the treaded inserts are installed into tapped holes, the threaded inserts provide permanent 60-degree internal screw threads that accommodate any standard bolt or screw. The threaded insert is typically larger in diameter than the tapped hole. During installation of the threaded insert with an installation tool, the installation tool applies torque to the insert reducing the diameter of the leading coil allowing the leading coil to enter the tapped hole. After installation, the threaded insert expands outwards with a spring force that permanently anchors the insert in place. When installed, a threaded insert provides a precision female thread of high surface finish and strength. Threaded inserts may increase the thread life of a tapped hole, especially in materials having a low hardness, such as aluminum, by eliminating the erosion of the thread due to friction. Furthermore, threaded inserts may make a tapped hole stronger by distributing the load applied to the threads by an inserted fastener evenly to each coil. Threaded inserts are typically available in two designs, the standard insert, which has a free-running thread, and the screw-lock insert, which provides a locking torque on the mating fastener using chord on one or more coils of the insert. Threaded inserts were invented in the late 1930's to provide a solution for the repair of aircraft engines. Currently, threaded inserts are used in automotive, communication, aerospace, military and defense industries. Presently, in many applications, for example in the aircraft industry, threaded inserts are part of the original design to prevent the need to repair threads of a tapped hole. Furthermore, the use of threaded inserts yields a much stronger assembly than a tapped hole of the parent material, for example, aluminum, could provide.
Installation of threaded inserts may be achieved with a driving tang, which is removed after assembly. To permit the removal of the tang, a notch is cut into the section of a threaded insert to provide a shear point. The driving tang is engaged in an abutment or slot of an insertion tool and prewound into a nozzle. After placing the insertion tool over the correctly tapped hole, further winding will install the threaded insert to the correct depth. After withdrawal of the insertion tool, the tang needs to be removed to allow a fastener, such as a bolt or screw, to pass through the insert. Threaded inserts may be installed into a tapped hole using an appropriate hand or power insertion tool. Hand tools are typically designed with a threaded mandrel and a driving contour that allows the correct and efficient installation of the threaded insert. Hand tools may be operated with an offset handle. Power tools typically consist of the same front-end assembly as manual operated insertion tools, which include a prewinder, a mandrel and spacers, an adapter, and a reversible motor. Existing hand and power insertion tools for threaded inserts may not be operable in tight spaces or spaces with limited access. For some applications, for example, for insertion of threaded inserts in a space having an extended depth and a close proximity to surrounding walls, such as inside a cylinder or a barrel, prior art insertion tools may be impractical. It may be necessary to remove the offset handle from a prior art manually operated insertion tool and to use an additional tool, such as a wrench, to operate the front-end assembly of the insertion tool.
Prior art threaded insert insertion tools include, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,114 issued to Newton et al. The insertion tool disclosed by Newton et al. may be used for insertion of a tang-free threaded coil insert into a threaded opening. The prior art insertion tool includes a blade, which is formed with a drive hook. Although the prior art insertion tool enables the insertion of a threaded coil insert fully within a threaded opening of a support structure such that the trailing end of the insert is flush with the external surface of the support structure adjacent to the opening, the insertion tool may not be suitable for insertion of threaded inserts in tight spaces and in close proximity to walls of a cylindrical structure.
As can be seen, there is a need for an installation tool for a threaded insert that may be used in tight spaces and spaces with limited access. Furthermore, there is a need for an installation tool that enables the insertion of a threaded insert into a tapped hole inside a barrel that extends for a length and that has a relatively small diameter.
There has, therefore, arisen a need to provide an installation tool for threaded inserts that may be used in areas with limited access. There has further arisen a need to provide an installation tool that may be power operated in areas with limited access. There has still further arisen a need for a method to install threaded fasteners in tight spaces where the tapped hole may be positioned in close proximity to a wall and at an extended depth.


Provided is a spliced-on connector system which includes a connector body, an incoming fiber which is spliced to the connector body, a splice sleeve which covers a splice point at which the incoming fiber is spliced to the connector body, and an extender tube which covers the splice sleeve. Also provided is a method of producing the spliced-on connector system; a holder including a depression which holds a connector body in a position in which the connector body is spliced to an incoming fiber, the holder being disposed inside a splicer which splices the connector body to the incoming fiber; and a splicer including a tube heater which heat-shrinks a splice sleeve over a splice point at which a connector body is spliced to an incoming fiber, the tube heater accommodating the connector holder which holds the connector body.

1. Field of Invention
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to a spliced-on connector system and a method, a splicer, and a connector holder for producing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A common way of terminating a cable for fiber to the premises (FTTP) applications is to splice a fiber optic pigtail onto a drop cable. In order to do this, some type of fiber management tray and procedure must be incorporated into the Optical Network Terminal (ONT). The fiber management process can require some skill to properly measure lengths and route the lengths inside the ONT. The measuring/routing process adds time and cost to the installation process.
Additionally, splicing on a pigtail is a different process from terminating either copper or coaxial cables. With both of these cables, the connector is placed at the end of the cable.
Another way of terminating cables at the customer premises includes using mechanical splices or field-installable connectors. However, mechanical splices and field installable connectors have not been proven to be reliable for long periods of time because of environmental changes. They also introduce back reflections which significantly affect the output of analog video systems and very high data rate digital video systems.
An alternative method is to use pre-terminated cables, but this method is very expensive.
Splicing on a connector is possible, but requires a specially designed connector and piece of equipment which is not very common in typical FTTP applications. In particular, fiber optic fusion splicers in wide commercial deployment have not had the functionality to terminate an optical fiber with a spliced-on fiber optic connector. More specifically, fiber optic fusion splicers have been unable to splice on a fiber optic connector that incorporates the splice point within the body of the fiber optic connector. As a result, an installer who wished to connect FTTP service at the ONT by cutting the feeder fiber optic cable to length and directly terminating the feeder fiber optic cable with a splice-on fiber optic connector was unable to do so.
A fiber optic fusion splicer specifically configured to use a specially designed fiber optic connector that incorporates the splice point in the body of the connector has been proposed. However, this forces an installer to buy new fusion splicing equipment. Additionally, this technical approach requires an installer to buy a connector that is specifically designed for one method of termination—splicing the connector onto the optical fiber cable using a specially configured splicer. Thus, an installer is unable to use industry standard connectors and industry standard fiber optic fusion splicers.

Spliced-on connector system and method, splicer, and connector holder for producing the same


A system, apparatus, and method (10) for detecting an electrical short condition in a dynamoelectric machine are described. The method includes determining an operating parameter of a dynamoelectric machine (14) responsive to at least one output signal of the dynamoelectric machine and providing a transfer function (16) for predicting a field current of dynamoelectric machine. The method also includes obtaining a value for a predicted field current (18) of the dynamoelectric machine from the transfer function and the operating parameter and identifying a shorted turn condition of the dynamoelectric machine responsive to a difference between the value of the predicted field current and a value of an actual field current of the dynamoelectric machine (24).

Certain types of dynamoelectric machines, such as DC machines or synchronous machines, may include a field winding excited by a DC voltage. A synchronous machine is a doubly excited dynamoelectric machine wherein a rotor carries a field winding excited by a DC source. The current in the field winding, or field current, depends on an armature current and a grid voltage. An excitation controller provides the control of the field current by controlling a voltage across the field winding. The purpose of field current to is to produce a flux that links the stator winding for inducing an electromotive force (emf) for generating electrical power.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical phasor diagram of a salient pole synchronous machine where Vt and Ia represent the stator voltage and stator current, respectively, during operation, δ represents a power angle, and φ represents a power factor angle. Id and Iq represent respective current components along direct axis (d axis) and quadrature axis (q axis). Xd and Xq represent the synchronous reactance along the d axis and the q axis, respectively. X1 represents leakage reactance, Em represents a total emf behind the leakage reactance, and E represents the total emf induced at a certain operating condition.
Over time, dynamoelectric machines, such as generators used to produce electricity, may become increasingly susceptible to field winding short conditions, such as shorted turns, that detrimentally affect operation of the machine. Conventionally, shorted turns are identified by performing periodic testing of the generator while operating at different loads. However, such testing may require the generator to be operated in a suboptimal mode or be taken off-line entirely while performing testing. On-line testing for shorted turns may be accomplished by monitoring a flux density provided by a flux probe inserted into an air gap between a rotor and an armature of the generator. Flux probe testing may require monitoring the generator over an extending period of time and over a wide variety of load ranges. However, a flux probe monitoring system may be prohibitively expensive and interpretation of the resulting flux density data is relatively subjective.

Apparatus, system, and method for detecting an electrical short condition in a dynamoelectric machine


A method is provided for preparing a precursor of a superconductor containing atoms of oxygen, atoms of copper and atoms of at least two other metals and sufficient atoms of oxygen so that up to, but no more than, one atom of copper is in the trivalent state, in which method there are blended together, in finely divided particulate state, components containing atoms of the metals in the desired proportion with at least one of the components containing oxygen in an amount above that which would put more than one atom of copper into the trivalent state and thereafter milling the components together in a high energy system to a maximum particle size of about 5 microns for at least 99 weight percent of the blend.

Prior to the middle of the last decade, superconductivity was restricted to such extremely low temperatures that it remained, primarily, a scientific curiosity with little practical value. The discovery of superconductivity in copper oxide-based ternary and quaternary systems at relatively high temperatures has generated extreme interest in the prospect that superconductors might, at last, find a niche in commercial technology. There are, however, practical difficulties.
One of the most promising systems for high temperature superconductors is based on the formula REBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-x, where RE is a rare earth metal having an atomic number from 57 to 71, preferably yttrium, and x is a small number, less than 1. Murphy et al., Science, vol. 241 (1988) pp. 922-941, have provided an excellent review of the available processing techniques for the manufacture of YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-x high temperature superconductors. The Murphy et al. review indicates a number of difficulties in the processing techniques, including i) difficulties in achieving chemical homogeneity, ii) extreme brittleness and poor formability of the end and intermediate products, iii) "weak link" behavior arising from the tunneling of superconducting currents between isolated regions of superconductivity separated by thin non-superconductivity barriers, iv) the necessity for final oxygenation of the end product at 400.degree.-500.degree. C. and v) the presence of residual carbon.
For the synthesis of bulk YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-x superconductors, a broad spectrum of other processing techniques have been used, including (a) sol-gel processing (U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,109 of Liu and Barboux et al. Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 63, 1988, pp. 2725-29) (b) co-precipitation (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,956,340 and 4,904,638 of Dicarolis and Barboux et al.supra, (c) use of nitrate or halide precursors (U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,753 of McCarron III and Japanese Patent 63256519), and (d) freeze drying (S. M. Johnson et al., Advanced Ceramic Materials, vol. 2, 1987,(pp 337-42).
Other processes, based on processing of appropriate intermediate precursors and aimed at avoiding submicron inhomogeneities include (i) chemical oxidation of liquid or solid metallic alloys for EuBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7 superconductors (U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,808 of Yurek et al.) (ii) oxidation of mechanically alloyed YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7 powders (U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,085 of De Barbadillo II et al.) (iii) reaction of Y.sub.2 Cu.sub.2 O.sub.5 and BaCuO.sub.2 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,570 of Ogata et al.) (iv) reaction of Y.sub.2 BaCuO.sub.2, BaCuO.sub.2 and CuO (H. D. Kim et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., vol. 29 (1990) pp. 2711-14), (v) reaction of Y.sub.2 Cu.sub.2 O.sub.5 and Ba.sub.3 Cu.sub.5 O.sub.5 (Tachikawa et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., vol. 27, 1990, pp. L1501-1503), reaction of Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, BaO.sub.2 and CuO (U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,043 of Subramanian).
An objective of the present invention is to provide an effective and simplified process for making high temperature superconductors of the copper oxide family whereby there is significant improvement over the prior art in (i) chemical homogeneity achieved at better than micron level, (ii) impact brittleness problems at various processing stages are eliminated or minimized, (iii) carbon content of the superconductor is less than 0.10 weight percent, (iv) net shape processing can be achieved and (v) oxygenation of the end product is generally eliminated.
Sleight, Science, vol. 242 (1988), pp. 1519-1527, discloses that YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7 is not stable at any condition of pressure and temperature; and that therefore "the synthesis of YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7 requires two steps: first, YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.6+x is formed where x is approximately 0.5-0.8; and second, oxidation to YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7 is carried out at a lower temperature."
In accordance with the invention described below YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7 be synthesized in a single sintering step from a precursor; and there is no necessity for a separate post-sintering oxidation step, as indicated in the Sleight article.
Sleight, reveals with respect to Y-Ba-Cu-O systems that Y.sub.1 Ba.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.6 is not a superconductor, but an antiferromagnetic insulator which may be indicated with respect to oxidation states as Y.sup.III Ba.sub.2.sup.II Cu.sub.2.sup.I Cu.sup.I O.sub.6 where I is monovalent, II is divalent and III is trivalent. It contains no trivalent copper. As the oxygen content is increased above the 6-level, Cu.sup.III atoms appear in the system along with superconductivity at higher temperatures until an oxygen level of close to 7 is obtained. Above this level, or above YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7, additional oxygen results in the production of non-superconducting phase(s). In other words, superconductivity in such systems appears to require that some of the copper in the system be in the trivalent state, but not more than one of the three copper atoms in the formula can be trivalent if high temperature superconductivity is to be maintained.

Process for preparing shaped superconductor materials via nonequilibrium precursors


An apparatus for physical fitness physical strength, agility and endurance training. A controllable pressurized flow of fluid is first received via a hose to a source of the pressurized fluid. In response to this flow of fluid, a force is generated along at least one of a plurality of selected directions using one or more apertures or nozzles. The force is then transferred to a user of the apparatus so as to supply physical resistance training to the user. The apparatus further includes a user engaging mechanism that is connected to the propulsion system, and is configured to transmit exercise forces to an associated user. The apparatus further includes controls for controlling the magnitude and direction of the reaction force vector applied to the user engaging mechanism. Various embodiments of user engaging members, including blocking dummies, handles, gloves, helmets, shoes, straps or balls, may be attached to the propulsion system.

This application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/737,018, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS TRAINING" filed on Dec. 16, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,547,269 which claims priority of the provision application Ser. No. 60/435,619 entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS TRAINING UTILIZING FLUID JET REACTION FORCES" filed Dec. 19, 2002, the contents of which are incorporated herein.

Method and apparatus for physical fitness training


A toy construction kit, particularly a three-dimensional puzzle, including a plurality of generally regular polygonal construction elements that can be releasably assembled, through tab-and-slot, hinged interengagement, to form a toy construction. Each of the construction elements is formed from a resiliently flexible sheet of plastics material, for example, polypropylene. A single toy construction may include construction elements in regular polygonal shapes of triangles, squares, and pentagons with all of the sides of the elements having, the same length. The tab-receiving slots of the tab-and-slot engagement may be provided in flanges formed integrally with and projecting from the sides of the construction elements. Advantageously, a plastics hinge joining the tab to the side of one of the elements may be set back from the side of the element and joined thereto by short cut portions, the slot formed in the flange on the other element may be stood out from the side of the other element by a similar distance, and the ends of the slots may be arcuate to join the slot to the hinge. In the toy construction, the tab and flange will overlap their respective opposing elements on the same side of the joint.

The present invention relates to a novel polygonal puzzle kit including a plurality of reversibly interconnectable polygonal construction elements that can be releasably assembled to form one or more toy-like, or other three-dimensional, constructions. Assembly performed from the kit may result in a three-dimensional puzzle-like toy.
In the known, commercially available prior art, there exists a toy construction kit which is available under the trade mark "POLYDRON." This kit comprises a plurality of planar, rectilinear construction elements which are manufactured from high density polyethylene by an injection moulding process. The "POLYDRON" construction elements are several millimetres thick, and are therefore substantially rigid. The kit includes generally triangular, square and pentagonal construction elements, and the sides of these elements are all of the same length. The elements can be joined releasably to one another by means of snap-together hinges which can be formed between abutting sides of contiguous elements. To this end, each side of each construction element has a recessed portion and a protrusion which can be mated, respectively, with the protrusion and recessed portion formed in the juxtaposed side of a contiguous construction element. The contiguous elements are formed with engaging lugs and hollows respectively on the protrusions and in juxtaposition with the recessed portions, which lugs and hollows are disposed on straight lines which are parallel to the respective juxtaposed sides of the construction elements. The lugs on one of the sides of two contiguous elements snap-fit into the hollows on the other side, so as to hinge releasably the two elements together.
The "POLYDRON" construction kit has the disadvantage however that the releasable hinges which can be formed between contiguous elements are fragile, in the sense that they readily become disconnected if any twisting forces are applied across the hinges. In view of the rigidity of the individual construction elements, this means that only strictly rectilinear constructions can be made using the "POLYDRON" system, and any attempt to force the elements into an arrangement whereby twisting forces are applied across the hinges, will result in the construction collapsing.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved construction kit comprising a plurality of generally rectilinear construction elements which can be used to form non-rectilinear constructions in which twisting forces may be exerted across the joints between juxtaposed elements, without the constructions falling apart as a result of such twisting forces.
In one aspect of the present invention therefore there is provided a puzzle construction kit comprising a plurality of construction elements that can be releasably assembled to form a construction, each of which construction elements is formed from a resiliently flexible sheet of plastics material and comprises a substantially rectilinear shape, which shape is provided with a releasable hinging joining structure on one side and a cooperating structure on another side, which hinging joining structure can cooperate with the cooperating structure on another of the construction elements for releasably joining the construction elements one to another, and to form a flexible hinge therebetween.
The construction elements of the present invention generally have central panels with perimetral shapes that are triangular, square, pentagonal, hexagonal, or some other regular polygonal character. In their unjoined, unassembled form, each such element nominally is substantially planar, and the elements are constructed in such a manner that hinging joinder between adjacent elements can occur generally via coplanar approaching relative motion. The sides which define portions of the perimeter in each element are equal in length. These characteristics offer an important kind of "building-block" modularity which permits just about any two elements to be brought together for assembly. From a construction point of view, it makes no difference which of each element's two faces ends up facing the same way in the assembly as either face in the other element. From a surface-decoration point of view, however, this may not always be true.
Recognized, additionally, to be a potentially useful construction element, is one in which the central panel is, effectively, a double square (elongate rectangle).
The inherent flexibility of the construction elements in accordance with the present invention means that the construction elements can be used to form constructions in which some or all of the construction elements may be distorted from their natural, planar conditions, without applying forces across the hinges between juxtaposed elements such as to cause the hinges to fall apart.
In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a three-dimensional toy construction made from a plurality of construction elements in accordance with the present invention.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the hinging joining structure may comprise a tab which is formed integrally with the shape, and is connected thereto by a plastics hinge. The cooperating structure may define a slot adapted to receive the tab. The tab and slot may be shaped such that in the fitted position, the tab is releasably retained in the slot for forming the joint between the two sides of adjacent construction elements. The use of such tab and slot joining structure, also referred to herein as inter-element connector structure, between contiguous elements means that the joints can be subjected to a certain amount of strain without falling apart. This is advantageous because it allows constructions made in accordance with the invention to be played with as toys after assembly.
In still another aspect of the invention each side of each construction element may be provided with a tab or a slot, such that in some constructions made using such elements, each side of each element may be joined to a side of a contiguous element. The resulting construction will thus have a monocoque design which lends it further robustness and "playability".
While, as will be explained, specialized construction kits may be made in accordance with this invention--for example, kits designed to produce certain specific objects--with these kits having certain specialized construction elements, the fundamental or basic non specialized construction elements have what is referred to herein as undefined connective relationships to other elements. This undefined connectivity is a modularization scheme which allows just about any two elements to be brought together and readily joined. Also, the elements have a certain amount of interchangeability.
As will be well known to persons skilled in the art, a plastics hinge is capable of being flexed many thousands of times without damage. In some embodiments, the construction elements may be formed from polypropylene. The elements may for example be die-cut from a flat sheet of polypropylene, which may be an extruded sheet. Alternatively, the elements may be injection moulded. Other materials may, of course, be used.
Usually, the construction kit in accordance with the invention will comprise largely triangular, square and pentagonal construction elements, typically a plurality of each--the fundamental elements mentioned above. These elements can be combined to form, for example, the five platonic solids. The flexibility of the polypropylene sheet material, and the plastics hinges between contiguous elements, enables a wide variety of other rectilinear and non-rectilinear constructions to be made in accordance with the invention.
The thickness of each construction element will usually be less than about 1.0 mm, preferably 0.5-1.0 mm, and typically about 0.8 mm. The sides of the triangular, square and pentagonal elements may all be of the same length. This unit length will vary from kit to kit according to the desired use of the kit, but may be 40 to 50 mm for example. A smaller side length, e.g., 20 to 25 mm, may be used for forming more intricate three-dimensional constructions in accordance with the invention.
In some embodiments, the tab-receiving slots may be provided in flanges formed integrally with and projecting from the sides of the shapes. Advantageously, the plastics hinge joining the tab to the side of one of the elements may be set back from the side of the element and joined thereto by short cut portions, the slot formed in the flange on the other element may be stood out from the side of the other element by a similar distance, and the ends of the slots may be arcuate to join the slot to the hinge. In the construction, the tab and flange will overlap their respective opposing elements on the same side of the joint. The hinge formed between the two elements permits the two elements to be hinged relative to one another, thereby to allow the formation of three-dimensional articles. Interestingly, the tab/slot/hinge joining structure proposed by the present invention allows for a situation wherein joinder of any three or more elements offers the possibility, in a final construction, for such joined elements to lie selectively either in a state of coplanarity, or, alternatively, in either one of two mirror-image, noncoplanar "cupped" conditions. These dispositional opportunities will be explained a bit more fully at a later point in this specification.
In other embodiments, each tab may be formed with two lugs which are spaced apart in the direction of the juxtaposed construction element side, and the distance between the extremities of the lugs across the tab may be slightly greater than the width of the slots, so as to form a snap-fit between each tab and slot.
One advantage of using polypropylene for making the construction elements in accordance with the present invention is that polypropylene can be surface decorated, e.g., by litho-printing which allows the production of a surface decoration of photographic quality. Any such surface decoration may be protected by an ultraviolet fixed varnish.
In yet another aspect of the present invention therefore each of the construction elements of the kit may be decorated on at least one surface in a manner appropriate for a particular assembled construction. For example, in some embodiments, the construction may be a model animal, in which case the individual elements may be decorated in a manner appropriate for the colours and pattern of the skin or coat of the animal concerned.
Each of the construction elements may be decorated on both surfaces, and in such cases, the decorations on the two surfaces will usually be different from each other, such that the elements can be used to make two "transformable" constructions; that is to say that one construction made using the elements with one surface showing can be "transformed" by disassembly and subsequent different reassembly to make the same or a different construction with the other surface showing. The ability of several kinds of groupings of joined elements to occupy, selectively, either (a) conditions of coplanarity, or (b) conditions of two different mirror-image cupped configurations contributes greatly to such a reassembly possibility.
Of course, each of the construction elements of the same shape may be decorated with identical surface decorations such that the elements of the same kind, from a "decoration" point of view, are interchangeable with each other. In yet another aspect of the invention however, each construction element may have a unique surface decoration in the kit, such that the elements have to be assembled in a predetermined arrangement. The degree of decoration difference between contiguous elements in the construction can be varied so as to make assembly in the correct fashion either easier or more difficult. In this way, the kit of the invention may constitute a three-dimensional puzzle in the manner of, say, a jigsaw.
Computer modelling may be used for designing the surface decoration to be applied to the construction elements of the kit, so as to ensure that the decoration applied to the two-dimensional construction elements, usually before they are die-cut from the extruded sheet, gives a satisfactory visual result when the construction is made in three dimensions. The design applied to the elements may include visual clues for assembly of the elements in the correct arrangement as in a conventional two-dimensional jigsaw.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, the construction kit may comprise one or more special construction elements appropriate to the construction kit concerned. These special construction elements may comprise, for example, body parts of animals, e.g heads, legs and the like, which can be fastened to the assembled "basic" elements to finish a particular desired construction.
These and other objects and advantages which are attained by the invention will become more fully apparent as the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Polygonal puzzle kit capable of three-dimensional construction, such as toy construction


An aspect of dynamic physical capacity allocation in an unbalanced content-addressable storage system includes initiating a scale up for a storage cluster. An aspect further includes determining a target number of hash-to-physical-location-on-disk (h2d) slices to be assigned to each data module (D module), and reassigning h2d slices assigned to D modules having greater than the target number of h2d slices to D modules having less h2d slices than the target number.

Computer data is vital to today's organizations, and content addressable storage systems (such as DELL EMC XTREMIO) (hereinafter "XtremIO") can support a rich set of advanced data services such as single data instance, compression, snapshots, etc., by decoupling storage access, logical volume address space, and physical on-disk location of data. In systems such as this, volume and physical layout metadata can offer tremendous flexibility in decoupling and virtualization. Logical volume metadata used with these systems can provide flexible mapping from logical address to data content references, also known as a hash handle. The logical volume metadata also can make snapshot and dingle instance storage operations highly efficient.
As a content addressable storage (CAS) system, XtremIO decides on physical data placement based on data signatures. The space of possible data signatures is equally divided between all data modules (D modules). This creates a challenge for unbalanced configurations, where D modules are expected to be responsible for unequal parts of physical capacity. If the data signatures' space was equally divided between D modules, the cluster would reach a physical space condition upon reaching out of space on D module with smallest amount of capacity available thereby preventing use of the larger physical capacity available on other D modules.

Dynamic physical capacity allocation in an unbalanced CAS system


Semiconductor wafer processing methods and apparatus recirculates etching solution from a lowermost point of a container hosting wafers through a filtration device and back to a point above the location of the wafers within the container. The container includes an inclined bottom wall and an outlet located below an uppermost portion of the inclined bottom wall.

During processing of microelectronic substrates, such as semiconductor wafers, selective stripping or etching away of a layer or portions of a layer or layers of the wafers may be required. A conventional technique, referred to as "wet etching" includes immersing a plurality of wafers into an etching solution and moving the wafers in various directions to enhance the etching process.
Accurate removal of material may depend on the processing time, the temperature of the etching solution and the composition of the etching solution. The temperature of the etching solution may be maintained at room temperature. The temperature of the etching solution may also be increased to improve the etching rate and to increase etching efficiency. Etching rate and efficiency may also be influenced by the cleanliness of the etching solution. In order to maintain clean etching solution, the etching solution may be recirculated and filtered using a pump and a filter.
FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a conventional wet etching apparatus for processing semiconductor wafers. The wet etching apparatus includes: an inner container 11 configured to receive semiconductor wafers 25; an outer container 12 connected to the upper peripheral portion of the inner container 11; and a recirculation line 13 in fluid communication with both the inner and outer containers. The etching solution is recirculated in the direction indicated by the arrow 19. Specifically, etching solution overflows from the inner container 11 to the outer container 12, down through the recirculation line 13 and filter 15, and is pumped back into the inner container via a pump 14. Discharge lines 17 may be connected to respective discharge valves 16, as illustrated, so that used etching solution, particles and other contamination generated during the etching processing can be discarded from the recirculation line 13. Accordingly, the inner container 11 may be provided with etching solution free of contaminants, particles and the like.
Unfortunately, various by-products of the etching process, such as photoresist particles, may subside on the bottom of the inner container 11. During recirculation of the etching solution, these particles may be forced up through the wafers, potentially contaminating the wafers. Because contamination may decrease production yields of the semiconductor wafers, there is a demand for a wet etching apparatus that can reduce recontamination of the wafers inside the wet etching apparatus during the etching process.

Apparatus and methods for rerecirculating etching solution during semiconductor wafer processing


To provide an information processing apparatus and an information processing method capable of easily calculating an error amount included in a measurement value.

In fields of medicine, biochemistry, and the like, flow cytometers are generally used in order to promptly measure characteristics of each of a large number of particles. A flow cytometer is a device that irradiates particles such as cells or beads flowing through a flow cell with a light beam, to detect a fluorescence or scattered light generated from the particles and optically measure the characteristics of each particle.
For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses detecting intensity of light in a continuous wavelength band as a fluorescence spectrum, in fluorescence detection of a flow cytometer (fine particle measuring device). In the fine particle measuring device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a fluorescence generated from fine particles is divided with use of a spectral element such as a prism or a grating, and the divided fluorescence is detected by a light-receiving element array in which a plurality of light-receiving elements of different detection wavelength band is arranged.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes: an extraction unit configured to extract each parameter variation that affects fluorescence intensity that is measured when a particle is irradiated with a light beam, from a database on the basis of a measurement condition; and a computation unit configured to generate a calculation formula representing an error amount included in the fluorescence intensity on the basis of the extracted each parameter variation.


A medical catheter includes an elongate catheter member defining a longitudinal axis, and a transverse axis transverse to the longitudinal axis, and having a proximal end and a distal end. The elongate catheter member includes an outer member and at least one longitudinal lumen within the outer member for passage of fluids. The outer member has an elongate opening therethrough in communication with the at least one longitudinal lumen and being spaced from the distal end and bound by wall portions of the outer member. The elongate opening permits fluids to pass between the at least one longitudinal lumen and locations external to the elongate catheter member, and defines a transverse dimension increasing from proximal to distal.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a catheter assembly, and, in particular, relates to a hemodialysis catheter adapted to facilitate bidirectional fluid flow.
2. Description of the Related Art
Catheters are flexible medical instruments intended for the withdrawal and introduction of fluids relative to body cavities, ducts and vessels. Catheters have particular application in hemodialysis procedures where blood is withdrawn from a blood vessel for treatment and subsequently returned to the blood vessel for circulation. Known hemodialysis catheters include multiple lumens, such as dual lumen or triple lumen catheters, permitting bi-directional fluid flow within the catheter whereby one lumen is dedicated for withdrawal of blood and the other lumen is dedicated for returning the treated blood to the vessel. During an exemplary hemodialysis procedure, a multiple lumen catheter is inserted into a body and blood is withdrawn through an arterial lumen of the catheter. The removed blood is directed to a hemodialysis unit which dialyzes, or purifies, the blood to remove waste and toxins. The dialyzed blood is returned to the patient through a venous lumen of the catheter.
Conventional hemodialysis catheters incorporate various catheter tip designs, such as a staggered arterial (inlet) and venous (outlet) design, to ensure blood returning to the patient will be expelled downstream from the arterial inlet which is located upstream to draw the blood from the subject. Unfortunately, poor flow performance is a common problem with hemodialysis catheters, typically, due to occlusion resulting from fibrin sheath formation, thrombus formation and positional occlusion. Flow occlusion is primarily caused by blockage of the arterial lumen. Resolving poor flow is required to deliver the dialysis treatment to the patient. Current measures taken to resolve flow occlusion include repositioning the patient, flushing the lumens and reversing the blood lines of the catheter to the hemodialysis unit. This, however, creates a situation where cleaned blood is expelled upstream relative to the catheter inlet, which undesirably increases the potential for clean blood to be drawn back into the catheter resulting in "recirculation" of the blood. "Recirculation" creates inefficient dialysis by increasing treatment time to reach prescribed blood cleanliness levels.


A clay slurry with a solids content of at least about 60 weight percent and a casting rate of at least 60 grams per hour, wherein the slurry contains from about 68 to about 74 weight percent of silica and less than about 0.8 percent of carbon. At least about 9 weight percent of the particles in the slurry are larger than about 44 microns, and at least about 5 weight percent of the particles in said slurry are larger than about 74 microns.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,812,247 and 4,812,248 of William Kohut describe a stable ball clay slurry that contained from about 50 to about 65 weight percent (by weight of dry ball clay) of silica. In the "comparative examples" discussed in such patents (see, e.g., comparative examples 10–89 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,427, at columns 39 et seq.), a discussion was presented of certain slurries made from clays with a silica content of 72 weight percent. Referring to columns 43 and 44 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,427, and in the examples 16, 17, 18, and 19 thereof, slurries made from clays containing 72 weight percent of silica were unstable, having a settling index of 0.11, 0.18, 0.16, and 0.18, respectively. By comparison, the stable ball clay slurry of U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,427 had a settling index of at least 0.9; but the maximum allowable silica content for such slurry was 65 percent.
The slurry described in the Kohut patents was not adapted to be used as a slip for casting. In order to make a casting slip, one must add kaolin, feldspar and flint to such slurry. The flint component is primarily comprised of crystalline silica, an ingredient which certain manufacturers have, for a variety of reasons, preferred not to utilize in their manufacturing processes.
It is an object of this invention to provide a clay slurry that can be used to make a casting slip with excellent properties and performance without the need to mix silica with such clay slurry or slip. It is another object of this invention to make such a slurry with a silica content of from about 68 to about 74 percent.
It is another object of this invention to provide a casting slip with a settling index of at least 0.9.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a casting slip whose viscosity properties are relatively stable, varying by less than about 5 percent over a period of 3 days.
It is another object of this invention to provide a casting slip whose viscosity properties vary less than about 5 percent over a period of 10 days.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a casting slip that can be used to make a cast green body that, when fired, will have less than 0.5 percent absorption.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A rigidized fiber filter element is produced from a precursor fiber web. The precursor fiber web contains heat-shrinkable fibers or binder fibers or both. The web is exposed to temperatures sufficiently elevated to cause shrinkage of the fibers or melting of the binder. After cooling the web, the filter elements produced are self-supporting, and may have densities up to 500 kg/m.sup.3 to improve filtration while retaining good functional characteristics for operating pressure drop and air permeability. Rigidized fiber filter elements can be constructed of one material, and thus may be suitable for recycling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to filter elements used to remove particulate matter from fluid streams. Specifically, the present invention is concerned with the provision of rigidized and densified fiber filters which do not require cages, rings or other fabric support hardware.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of filter elements made from fibers to remove particulate matter from gaseous streams is well known in the art. For example, fabric filter elements have long been deployed in bag houses, so-called because the fabric filter elements deployed therein are bag-shaped, adjacent to smoke or exhaust stacks in coal-burning electric power generating stations, to remove ash and other particulates from the exhaust gas stream before the stream as a whole exits from the stack.
It follows, of course, that periodically the filter elements must be cleaned to restore their permeabilities to some optimum value, as the particulate matter being filtered tends to accumulate on the upstream surface of a filter element, typically the outer surface of a bag-shaped configuration, reducing its permeability and the ability of the entire filter apparatus to handle the gas flow. This might be accomplished by shaking or otherwise agitating the apparatus holding the filter elements, and allowing the particulate matter to settle down on a tray or other receptacle beneath the apparatus for disposal.
Alternatively, pulses of air from a source at high pressure may be directed through the filter elements, in a direction opposite to that in which the gaseous stream being filtered normally proceeds, to dislodge the accumulated particulate matter from the filtering surfaces of the elements.
While it is necessary to clean the filter elements periodically to restore their permeabilities to desired levels, the cleaning operation itself contributes to premature fabric failure. This is often a consequence of the means used to mount the bag-shaped filter elements. Such means include cages, rings and other fabric support hardware, all usually made of metal. These rigid structures eventually cause the filter elements being flexed in a cleaning cycle to abrade and tear, producing holes requiring replacement of the filter element as a whole.
Cartridge filters are increasingly being used for industrial filtration. Cartridge filters are constructed from metal components which comprise end caps and a supporting frame and fabric or paper which forms the filter media. The number of components used in the construction and difficulty in breaking apart or compressing the elements make disposal of them difficult. The need for metal components also increases the weight of the cartridge, making handling and installation more difficult.
Accordingly, the provision of a rigidized fiber filter element, that is self-supporting and therefore does not require supporting hardware, would represent a significant advance to this field of technology. Such a fiber filter element would carry the added benefits of being readily and easily replaceable by those of a different size, in terms of length or cross-sectional area or shape, so that the filter area may be changed.
Filter elements being constructed of one material may be disposed of more easily. Lack of a supporting frame simplifies the breaking apart and compressing of the element for disposal. The element consisting solely of one material may be suitable for recycling or incineration as a means of disposal.

Method of making a rigidized fiber filter element