An investment cast, stainless steel chain link is provided for chains used in water and wastewater treatment. The chain link comprises a pair of spaced apart, elongated sidebars having forward ends and rearward ends. The forward ends are spread apart and are provided with outwardly and laterally extending bosses having transverse boss pin bores coaxially aligned with each other. The rearward ends are interconnected by a cylindrical barrel having a barrel pin bore extending through each of the sidebars. The sidebars are formed with outwardly and laterally projecting reinforcing ribs extending between the bosses and the barrel pin bore along a substantial length of the sidebars. A freely rotatable chain pin is inserted through aligned boss and barrel pin bores from either end thereof for interconnecting first and second pairs of sidebars. An arrangement is provided for preventing the lateral dislodgement of the chain pin from the sidebars.

Sludge, waste solids and scum collector mechanisms are commonly used in wastewater treatment tanks to remove debris and settled sludge from the bottom of collection tanks, to skim the floating grease and solids from the surface of collection tanks, and for removing grit and trash from wastewater and process streams. Typically, such collector and conveyor mechanisms include a pair of spaced apart continuously articulating chains trained over collector chain sprockets which are mounted on cross shafts supported on the sidewalls of the tank or equipment, and elongated transverse collector flights, scrapers and skimmers supported between the chains. One of the sprockets is driven so that the chain loops revolve to provide a succession of collector flights along a bottom of the mechanism as well as along the surface of the water in the mechanism basin to accomplish the collection, conveying, and skimming functions. Successive collector flights push and discharge scum, sludge and debris into collection areas of the tank or mechanism for removal.
Series 700 chains have been one of the process equipment mainstays in the municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment industry since the early 1900s. The Series 700 chain is used extensively in process waste solids and bio-solids removal equipment including rectangular chain and scraper sedimentation clarifiers, storm water collectors and clarifiers for grit, sand and debris removal in chain and flight grit collectors, chain and bucket grit collectors, grit elevators, and grit clarifiers, and for screening and removal of suspended debris, trash and rags in bar screens and trash rakes.
Until the early 1970s, Series 700 chain was only available in cast or fabricated steel. While this chain has a high initial ultimate strength and application working load (42,000 pounds and 4,200 pounds respectively), the chain suffers from rapid wear and loss of strength primarily from oxidation of the link material, chemical and biological induced corrosion, abrasive wear from contact with iron oxide fines (from corrosion within the chain link components), and from contact with grit and silica fines in the process streams. The average surface life for most equipment applications is seven years or less.
In 1975, Rexnord Corporation of Milwaukee, Wis. introduced the first plastic series 700 Series chain molded from acetal plastic to eliminate the rapid wear caused by corrosion and oxidation. While the plastic chain provides excellent service in most lightly loaded chain and scraper collection equipment and clarifiers, the chain has significant limitations with regard to ultimate strength and working load (6,000 pounds and 2,500 pounds respectively). This often limits effective service for CS (chain and scraper) collector equipment applications 250 feet or less in length.
All plastic chain and plastic chain pin materials have little abrasion resistance which renders standard plastic chains vulnerable to severe abrasive attack, and makes them generally unsuitable for sustained grit collector service. In some cases, the lack of abrasion resistance can also make plastic chain unsuitable for sustained cross collector service in rectangular collectors. In addition, the higher load requirements for grit collectors and screening equipment are often well above the rated working load of this chain, and may even exceed the ultimate strength of the plastic chain causing frequent service outages and catastrophic equipment failures.
Plastic materials are susceptible to attack from ultraviolet radiation and sunlight, can become brittle in severe cold, and have a high coefficient of expansion and contraction due to seasonal air temperature variations, and variable ambient water temperature. This makes the standard plastic chain generally unsuitable for applications where they are frequently exposed to the atmosphere, in other non-submerged applications such as storm water collectors, or in other applications with high temperature, or very high (caustic) or very low (acid) chemical pH concentrations.
As an alternate to plastic chain, and for corrosives applications with high working loads and temperature, some manufacturers developed welded or fabricated Series 700 chain link design, sometimes manufactured from grade 300 or 400 stainless steel bars, rounds and/or plate, in an attempt to reduce the effects of corrosion, and to a lesser extent, the effects of abrasion.
While fabricated stainless steel chains can approach the ultimate strength and working load of conventional cast chains, such designs, depending on the grade of stainless steel used, they have significant strength and working load limitations. Chain manufactured from 400 stainless steel, while more corrosion resistant than conventional cast steel chain, has a much lower corrosion resistance and strength than a cast 316 stainless steel link, even when the 400 stainless steel link is heat treated. Unlike 316 stainless steel alloys, grade 400 stainless steels undergo corrosive attack when exposed to a variety of acids, alkalis, chlorides and sulfide compounds, and gases commonly found in water and wastewater treatment.
All welded chain experiences carburization of the link material at the weldments, which results in stress risers and embrittlement of the link material. These factors contribute to stress fractures of the link material, and limit the ultimate strength and working load capacity of the these chains.
Welded and fabricated chains are labor intensive to manufacture which often increases the cost to the consumer beyond the point that it is cost effective when compared to conventional cast chain. To compensate for the additional cost of manufacturing, some fabricated chain designs utilize smaller chain pin diameters, thinner length sidebars, and less expensive materials. These result in reducing the ultimate strength, working load and service life of the chain.
From the beginning of chain link design, conventional steel chain designs have had non-rotating chain pins that are mechanically locked into the chain sidebars by means of a T-head shaped chain pin, or by using a riveted "HEAD" chain pin that is tightly press fit in place. These conventional chain pins often have flat or tapered ends machined into the opposite end of the chain pin which further locks the chain pin in place with the opposite chain sidebar. The chain pin cannot be installed from the opposite direction. On all other conventional chain designs, both the riveted head and T-head end of the chain pin and the opposite (cottered) end of the chain pin have an interference fit, and must be pressed into the chain sidebars by mechanical means. This requires the use of substantial mechanical force for inserting the pin, and some mechanical method for preventing the sidebars from bending and spreading as the chain pin is forced into the sidebars. This often requires the use of two people to complete this assembly task. Locking of the chain pin causes the load and wear to always be concentrated only on one side of the chain pin outside diameter and only on one side of the chain pin inside diameter as the chains articulate around sprockets. Since the chain pin is fixed in place, none of the rotating wear is distributed to the chain pin bosses at the open end of the link. The concentration of wear and load to reduced surface areas causes accelerated and one-sided premature failure of the chain pin outer diameter and the chain link barrel inner diameter.
In order to eliminate the corrosion and wear problems, and all of the other most common problems associated with conventional sand-cast, fabricated and plastic Series 700 chain in the water and wastewater industry, it is desirable to provide a unique investment cast stainless steel 720S chain link. The new chain meets and exceeds all current standards for Series 700 class welded steel chain, cast chain and attachments as established for the water and wastewater industry per American National Standard ASME B29.21M-1996.
Although investment casting has been alluded to in previous patents for other cast chain designs, this manufacturing process, especially as it relates to the use of stainless steel alloys, has never been perfected and used previously. Casting stainless steel is significantly different from casting conventional steel alloys.
The investment casting process does not readily release, disperse or diffuse the heat of the molten metal through the mold media, unlike the coarse grain sand used in the conventional sand casting process. Prior to the development of the present invention, no one has been able to control the variables of the investment casting process to achieve both high uniform strength and close dimensional tolerances required for the offset sidebar Series 700 chain link. Significant heat concentrations from the casting process must be dispersed from the chain link sidebars, and the round pin bosses at both the pin boss (open end) and the chain barrel (closed end).
It is further desirable to provide an investment casting process for stainless steel alloys that eliminates the heat concentrations and the formation of stress risers within and about the chain sidebars, the chain boss (open end of the link) and the chain barrel (closed end of the link), and that eliminates shrinkage and dimensional variations within and between the holes for the chain pin. It is also desirable to provide an investment casting process that holds the dimensional tolerances between the open end and the closed end pin holes within each link to within +/−0.010 inches, exceeding the +/−0.018 inches dimensional American engineering standard allowed for conventional sand cast steel chains.
In the formation of the chain link, molten stainless steel must be delivered into the mold in a rapid and uniform manner to assure uniform isotropic grain structure throughout the casting. The unidirectional flow pattern of the mold design also assures a linear (not transverse) grain structure parallel to the depth of the chain sidebar. In addition, the link must be cooled slowly and uniformly to prevent carburization and the formation of stress risers within the link, and to prevent the link from warping during the cooling stage. The link must also be cooled slowly and uniformly to prevent shrinkage of the link material that would compromise the close tolerances required between the link components.
It is additionally desirable to provide an investment casting mold structure which will overcome the aforementioned problems encountered in casting single or multiple chain links.

Investment cast, stainless steel chain link and casting process therefor


A towable mover includes a flexible mat and a hollow tow bar substantially contained in a sleeve at the leading edge of the mat. A tow rope is coupled to each end of the tow bar for towing. Couplings include a plug assembly securely received within the interior space at an end of the tow bar and a rope coupling assembly attached to the plug assembly. The plug assembly includes a resilient elastomeric cylindrical plug, the diameter of which swells when the ends are squeezed together by tightening a bolt. The rope coupling assembly is external to the tow bar and external to the sleeve. The sleeve is disposed between portions of the mat that may freely fold to allow passage through narrow spaces.

Landscaping, gardening, tree trimming and pruning, hunting, fishing and other outdoor tasks frequently require removal of debris, materials, catch and quarry. Trailers, wheel barrows, tractors with front loaders, crossover utility vehicles (XUVs), pickup trucks, trash cans and other containers are useful for such tasks. However, even if such vehicles and equipment are available, they have limits. Items must be lifted and carried into them. Additionally, wheel barrows and similar carts can be unstable and difficult to move. The same is true for trash cans and other containers.
In the past, various sleds have been devised to facilitate removal. The sleds include a sled body, such as a tarpaulin, and means for pulling the sled. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,878 describes a sled comprised of flexible ribbed polyethylene and a rope handle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,393 describes a flexible polyethylene sled with a transverse bar at the leading edge. In one embodiment, lines extend from the bar, for towing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,321 describes a reinforce tarp with grommets that attaches to a draft bar. The draft bar includes eyebolts. A harness made of lines connects the bar to a tractor. U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,698 describes a game tote (similar to a stretcher) for hauling hunted and killed animals (e.g., deer). The tote is a rectangular flexible sheet (e.g., canvas or other fabric) with sleeves formed along each edge. Each sleeve receives a pole assembly 145. The pole assemblies form a peripheral frame. A pivoting tow bar extends from the bar at the leading edge. U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,101 describes a hauling tarp, with a line running through grommets along each side and the back. When towed by the line, the tarp bunches up around the towed material (e.g., leaves). U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,414 describes a flexible sheet attached at the discharge collector of a riding mower. Ejected lawn debris collects on the sheet which is pulled around by the mower. U.S. Pat. No. 7,547,024 describes a game tote with a flexible sheet with grommets along each side for securing a storage tube and for securing game. The storage tube stores the rolled-up sheet when not in use. Tethers passing through grommets near the leading edge are used to form a pocket that will contain the tube, when the sheet is used for hauling. The tube provides a rounded leading edge, like that of a toboggan. U.S. Pat. No. 9,232,699 describes a towable lawn tarp that includes a waist belt, with grommets and clips for connecting to a line attached to the tarp. U.S. Pat. No. 9,550,512 describes a teardrop shaped towing mat with stiffening tubes on the converging sides. The trailing edge bunches up and folds forward as a load is pulled. U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/450,710 describes a large towed polymer sheet for catching snow from a snowblower, to protect the turf of a sports stadium. US Patent Application Publication No. 20120074679 describes a tarp with a rod or pipe attached to the leading edge and a line extending from the pipe to a handle. US Patent Application Publication No. 20130181416 describes a tarp with a hauling rig. The leading edge of the tarp is hemmed for reinforcement and provided with grommets. The rig includes a bar with a spring and clip to connect to each grommet in the leading edge of the tarp. The bar may be coupled to a handle for manual use or a tow coupling of a vehicle.
While useful for their intended purpose, these prior devices have shortcomings. Those that include a towing bar have a bar that extends substantially across entire leading edge. This configuration limits the size the of passage (e.g., gate opening) through which the device can be pulled. Those that include rope attached to a bar have rope attachment points between the ends of the bar. The narrow distance between the attachment points is conducive to instability. Additionally, hardware connecting a towing bar to a towing rope typically pierces the bar, compromises the strength of the bar, and protrudes from the bar in a manner that creates risk of snagging, tearing and injury.
A sled with a flexible base that can be rolled and folded and bent to fit through narrow openings is needed. A sled with a tow bar with attachment hardware mounted at and substantially concealed within the ends of the bar is also needed. A sled with rope attachment hardware that does not pierce the bar, compromise the strength of the bar, or protrude from the bar in a manner that creates risk of snagging, tearing and injury is also needed.
The invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems and solving one or more of the needs as set forth above.


A method and apparatus are disclosed wherein a plurality of electric fields and of orthogonal spray configurations of vaporized analyte are so combined as to enhance the efficiency of analyte detection and mass analysis. The invention provides reduced noise and increased signal sensitivity in both APT electrospray and APCI operating modes.

Liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry have proven powerful analytical tools in identifying molecular components of our world. Liquid chromatography is a fundamental separation technique. Mass spectrometry is a means of identifying xe2x80x9cseparatedxe2x80x9d components according to their characteristic xe2x80x9cweightxe2x80x9d or mass-to-charge ratio. The liquid effluent from LC is prepared for ionization and analysis using any of a number of techniques. A common technique, electrospray, involves spraying the sample into fine droplets.
Early systems for electrospray LC/MS utilized flow splitters that divided the HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) column effluent. As a result of the effluent splitting, only a small portion, typically 5-50 micro liters per minute, was introduced into the xe2x80x9cspray chamberxe2x80x9d. The bulk of the column effluent did not enter the spray chamber but went directly to a waste or fraction collector. Because electrospray/mass spectrometry (ES/MS) generally provides a concentration sensitive detector, it was not necessary to analyze the entire column effluent flow to obtain sensitive results. Results obtained by splitting are comparable in sensitivity to those obtained by introduction of the entire column effluent flow into the spray chamber (assuming equal charging and sampling efficiencies).
Such low flow rates enabled generation of an electrosprayed aerosol solely through the manipulation of electrostatic forces. However, the use of flow splitters gained a bad reputation due to potential plugging problems and poor reproducibility.
Newer electrospray systems generate a charged or ionized aerosol through the combination of electrostatic forces and some form of assisted nebulization. Nebulization is the process of breaking a stream of liquid into fine droplets. Nebulization may be xe2x80x9cassistedxe2x80x9d by a number of means, including but not limited to pneumatic, ultrasonic or thermal assists. The assisted nebulization generates an aerosol from the HPLC column effluent, while electric fields induce a charge on the aerosol droplets. The charged aerosol undergoes an ion evaporation process whereby desolvated analyte ions are produced. Ideally, only the desolvated ions enter the mass spectrometer for analysis.
A challenge in any assisted nebulizer system, is designing the vacuum system leading to the mass spectrometer such that desolvated ions enter, but relatively large solvated droplets present in the electrosprayed aerosol are prevented from entering. Several design approaches arc currently in use, but none has solved all the challenges. None of the assisted nebulization methods currently practiced provide reliable sensitivity along with robust instrumentation.
In conventional elect spray/nebulization mass spectrometry systems, the electrosprayed aerosol exiting from the nebulizer is sprayed directly towards the sampling orifice or other entry into the vacuum system. That is, the electrosprayed aerosol exiting from the nebulizer and entry into the vacuum system are located along a common central axis, with the nebulizer effluent pointing directly at the entry into the vacuum system and with the nebulizer being considered to be located at an angle of zero (0) degrees relative to the common central axis.
One previous approach directed at improving performance adjusts the aerosol to spray xe2x80x9coff-axisxe2x80x9d. That is, the aerosol is sprayed xe2x80x9coff-axisxe2x80x9d at an angle of as much as 45 degrees with respect to the central axis of the sampling orifice. In addition, a counter current gas is passed around the sampling orifice to blow the solvated droplets away from the orifice. The gas velocities typically used generate a plume of small droplets. Optimal performance appears to be limited to a flow rate of 200 microliters per minute or lower.
In another system, an aerosol is generated pneumatically and aimed directly at the entrance of a heated capillary tube the heated capillary exits into the vacuum system. Instead of desolvated ions entering the capillary, large charged droplets are drawn into the capillary and the droplets are desolvated while in transit. The evaporation process takes place in the capillary as well. Exiting the capillary in a supersonic jet of vapor, the analyte ions are subsequently focused, mass analyzed and detected.
This system has several disadvantages and limitations, including sample degradation, re-clustering, and loss of sensitivity. Sensitive samples are degraded due to the heat. In the supersonic jet expansion exiting the capillary, the desolvated ions and vapor may recondense, resulting in solvent clusters and background signals. While these clusters may be re-dissociated by collsionally induced processes, this may interfere in identification of structural characteristics of the analyte samples. The large amount of solvent vapor, ions and droplets exiting the capillary require that the detector be arranged substantially off-axis with respect to the capillary to avoid noise due to neutral droplets striking the detector. Removing the large volume of solvent entering the vacuum system requires higher capacity pumps.
Still another system gmerates the electrosprayed aerosol ultrasonically, uses a counter current drying gas, and most typically operates with the electrosprayed aerosol directed at the sampling capillary. Several serious disadvantages plague this configuration. The optimal performance is effectively limited to less than five hundred (500) microliters per minute. Adequate handling of the aqueous mobile phase is problematic. Furthermore, the apparatus is complex and prone to mechanical and electronic failures.
In another commonly ised system, a pneumatic nebulizer is used at substantially higher inlet pressures (as compared with other systems). This results in a highly collimated and directed electrosprayed aerosol. This aerosol is aimed off axis to the side of the orifice and at the nozzle cap. Although this works competitively, there is still some noise which is probably due to stray droplets. The aerosol exiting the nebulizer has to be aimed carefully to minimize noise while maintaining signal intensity; repeated and tedious adjustments are often required.
While the techniques are varied with respect to the type of nebulization assist, techniques can be broadly characterized along the lines of what process is used for accomplishing ionization of the analyte. Atmospheric Pressure Ionizationxe2x80x94Electrospray (API-ES or ES herein) and Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization (APCI) differ in the ionization mechanism. Each technique is suited to complementary classes of molecular species.
The techniques are, in practice, complementary owing to different strengths and weaknesses. Briefly, APT-ES is generally concentration dependent (that is to say, higher concentration equals better performance), and performs well in the analysis of moderately to highly polar molecules. It works well for large, biological molecules and pharmaceuticals, especially molecules that ionize in solution and exhibit multiple charging. API-ES also performs well for small molecules, provided the molecule is fairly polar. Low flow rates enhance performance. APCI, on the other hand, performs with less dependence on concentration and performs better on smaller non-polar to moderately polar molecules. Higher flow rates enhance performance.
At the most fundamental level, APCI involves the conversion of the mobile phase and analyte from the liquid to the gas phase and then the ionization of the mobile phase and analyte molecules. APCI is a soft ionization technique that yields charged molecular ions and adduct ions. APCI, as implemented in the hardware described herein, actually includes several distinct ionization processes, with the relative influence of each process dependent on the chemistry of the mobile phase and the analyte. What is desired is an assisted nebulization LC/MS configuration for APCI that operates in a complementary range of flow rates as does API-ES. What is further needed and wanted from the practitioner""s point of view is a mass spectrometry apparatus easily and interchangeably configurable for operation in either API-ES or APCI mode with increased sensitivity in both operating modalities. What is further desired is robust instrumentation that provides sensitive results without constant calibrating or other process interruptive maintenance procedures.
In one embodiment the invention relates to an apparatus for converting a liquid solute sample into vaporized and ionized molecules comprising:
a first passageway having a center axis, an orifice for accepting a liquid solute sample, an interior chamber within which the liquid solute sample is converted into vaporized molecules, and an exit for discharging the vaporized molecules;
a charged point voltage source having the point arranged adjacent to the first passageway exit which ionizes the vaporized molecules into ionized molecules;
an electrically conductive housing connected to a second voltage source and having an opening arranged adjacent to the first passageway exit wherein the ionized molecules formed by the point charge voltage source are interposed between the point charge voltage source and the housing;
a second passageway arranged within the housing adjacent to the opening and connected to a third voltage source, the second passageway having a center axis, an orifice for receiving ionized molecules and an exit, wherein the center axis of the second passageway is arranged in transverse relation to the center axis of the first passageway such that the ionized molecules move laterally through the opening in the housing and thereafter pass into the second passageway under the influence of electrostatic attraction forces generated by the second and third voltage sources.
In another embodiment the invention relates to an apparatus for converting a solute sample into ionized molecules, comprising:
a first passageway having a center axis, an orifice for accepting a solute sample, an interior chamber within which the solute sample is vaporized, and an exit for discharging the vaporized molecules;
a charged-point voltage source having the point arranged adjacent to the first passageway exit for ionizing the vaporized molecules;
a second passageway connected to a voltage source and arranged a distance from the exit of the first passageway, the second passageway having an entrance having a center axis, an orifice for receiving the ionized molecules from the first passageway, and an exit, wherein the center axis of the second passageway is arranged in transverse relation to the center axis of the first passageway such that the ionized molecules move laterally into the orifice of the second passageway under the influence of electrostatic attraction forces generated by an electric field; and
a housing adjacent to the second passageway wherein a voltage source is connected to the housing.
In another embodiment the invention relates to an apparatus for converting a liquid solute sample into ionized molecules, comprising:
(a) a first passage way having a center axis and an exit;
(b) a charged-point voltage source arranged adjacent to said exit of the first passageway;
(c) a second passageway having a center axis;
(d) a housing adjacent to the second passageway wherein a voltage source is connected to the housing;
(e) at least one additional voltage source connected to at least one of the passageways;
wherein the first passageway is capable of converting the liquid solute sample into vaporized molecules;
wherein the charged-point voltage source is capable of converting the vaporized molecules into ionized molecules;
wherein the additional voltage source results in a difference in potential thereby creating an electric field sufficient to move ionized molecules into the second passageway; and
wherein the center axis of the first passageway is positioned transverse to the center axis of the second passageway at an angle of from about 75 degrees to about 105 degrees.
In another embodiment the invention relates to an apparatus for converting a solute ample into ionized molecules, comprising:
a first passageway having a center axis, an orifice for accepting a solute sample, an interior chamber within which the solute sample is vaporized, and an exit for discharging the vaporized molecules,
a charged-point voltage source having the point arranged adjacent to the first assageway exit for ionizing the vaporized molecules;
a second passageway arranged a distance from the exit of the first passageway, the second passageway having an entrance having a center axis, an orifice for receiving the ionized molecules from the first passageway, and an exit, wherein the center axis of the second passageway is arranged in transverse relation to the center axis of the first passageway such that the ionized molecules move laterally into the orifice of the second passageway under the influence of electrostatic attraction forces generated by an electric field, and
an electrically conductive element connected to a voltage source, wherein the element is arranged adjacent to the exit of the first passageway and wherein vaporized molecules exiting the first passageway is interposed between the element and the entrance of the second passageway.
The invention provides the capability of ionizing effluent from conventional high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at flow rates of greater than one (1) ml/minute without flow splitting. The invention provides that ionization may be accomplished in a variety of manners, includinE atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) as well as atmospheric pressure ionization electrospray (API-ES).
As applied to API-ES, the invention further provides that desolvated ions be separated from comparatively large volumes of vaporized aerosol from the column effluent, and then, while keeping out as much of the aerosol as possible, introducing the desolvated ions into the vacuum system for mass detection and analysis. The invention provides the capability of separating desol vated ions from the large volumes of vapor and directing the desolvated ions from the ionization chamber (typically operating at atmospheric pressure) to the mass spectrometer (MS ) (operating at 10xe2x88x926 to 10xe2x88x924 torr). The inventive separation capability preserves instrument sensitivity because the maximum amount of analyte (in the form of desolvated ions) is introduced into vacuum system to be mass analyzed and detected. Furthermore, the inventive sensitivity is preserved without overwhelming the vacuum system with large volumes of liquid droplets or vapor.
Orthogonal ion sampling according to the present invention allows more efficient enrichment of the analyte by spraying the charged droplets in the electrosprayed aerosol past a sampling orifice, while dirccting the solvent vapor and solvated droplets in the electrosprayed aerosol away from the ion sampling orifice such that they do not enter the vacuum system.
As applied to APCI, the invention further provides that ions be separated from comparatively large volumes of vaporized column effluent, and then, while keeping out as much of the vapor as possible, introducing the ions into the vacuum system for mass detection and analysis. The invention provides the capability of separating desolvated ions from the large volumes of vapor and directing the desolvated ions from the ionization chamber (typically operating at atmospheric pressure) to the mass spectrometer (MS) (operating at 10xe2x88x926 to 10xe2x88x924 torr). The inventive separation capability preserves instrument sensitivity because the maximum amount of analyte (in the form of ions) is introduced into the vacuum system to be mass analyzed and detected, but incomplete solvent-to-apor phase change in the heater does not appear as noise, in contrast to the situation with the straight-on configurations of the prior art. Furthermore, the inventive sensitivity is preserved without overwhelming the vacuum system with large volumes of liquid droplets or vapor and residual liquid-phase solvent.
The noise level in an apparatus configured according to the present invention is reduced by as much as five fold over current systems, resulting in increased signal relative to noise, and hence achieving greater sensitivity. Performance is simplified and the system is more robust because optimization of the position of the first passageway, gas flow and voltages show less sensitivity to small changes. The simplified performance and reduced need for optimization also result in a system less dependent upon flow rate and mobile phase conditions. The reduced need for optimization extends to changing mobile phase flow rates and proportions. Practically speaking, this means that an apparatus configured to employ the inventive system can be run under a variety of conditions without adjustment.

Orthogonal ion sampling for APCI mass spectrometry


A communication system includes a plurality of devices, a plurality of communication relay apparatuses, and a management server. If the management server that has received from a cloud server a request to access a specific device has no communication session with a specific communication relay apparatus that has control over the specific device, the management server transmits a tunnel connection request to a substitute apparatus (another communication relay apparatus different from the specific communication relay apparatus) via a communication session between the substitute apparatus and the management server. The substitute apparatus transfers the tunnel connection request to the specific communication relay apparatus and causes the specific communication relay apparatus to return from a power saving mode. The specific communication relay apparatus then establishes tunnel communication with the cloud server on the basis of the tunnel connection request to relay communication between the cloud server and the specific device.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a communication system that establishes communication between a cloud server outside a LAN and a device inside the LAN, and a technique related thereto.
2. Background Art
There are techniques for interfacing between a server (cloud server) in a cloud and a device (e.g., an image forming apparatus) in a LAN.
One example is a technique for printing and outputting an electronic document stored in a server (cloud server) in a cloud, using an image forming apparatus in a local area network (LAN) (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-73578).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-73578 discloses a document output system (communication system) that includes an image forming apparatus (device), a communication relay apparatus (gateway), and a cloud server. In this system, an electronic document stored in the cloud server is transmitted to the image forming apparatus via the gateway, and printed and output by the image forming apparatus 10. Note that the gateway and the image forming apparatus (device) are provided inside the LAN, and the cloud server is provided outside the LAN.
A system such as described above has typically a firewall provided between an image forming apparatus (device) inside a LAN and a cloud server outside the LAN.
A request from the image forming apparatus inside the LAN to access the cloud server outside the LAN will pass through the firewall and will then be permitted.
On the other hand, reverse access or direct access from the cloud server outside the LAN to the image forming apparatus inside the LAN is blocked by the firewall. In other words, the cloud server cannot directly access the image forming apparatus.
In contrast, a technique is conceivable in which a message session (communication session) is established as an exception to the firewall between a management server outside a LAN and a gateway inside the LAN to allow a cloud server outside the LAN to access an image forming apparatus inside the LAN via the management server and the gateway.
FIG. 30 illustrates such a technique. Gateways 30 (30a and 30b) establish message sessions (511 and 521) with a predetermined management server 50 (see thick lines in FIG. 30) when activated, for example. When a cloud server 70 issues a request to access a specific device 10, the message session between the management server 50 and a certain gateway 30 (e.g., 30b) is used to transmit a request to establish tunnel connection (tunnel connection request) from the management server 50 to the gateway 30b. In response to the tunnel connection request, the gateway 30b establishes tunnel communication with the cloud server 70. Using the tunnel communication allows the cloud server 70 to access the device (image forming apparatus) 10 (via the gateway 30). The detail of such a technique will be described later.
This technique, however, requires the management server 50 and the gateways 30 to keep maintaining their message sessions in order to allow the gateways 30 to receive tunnel connection requests at any time from the management server 50. For example, continuous transmission of "KeepAlive" packets is necessary to maintain a message session using an extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP). Thus, power supply to a processor that transmits "KeepAlive" packets cannot be stopped, and the operating modes of the gateways 30 cannot transition to a specific power saving mode (e.g., a deep sleep mode in which power supply to the processor that transmits "KeepAlive" packets is stopped). In particular, in the case where there are a plurality of gateways, none of them can transition to the specific power saving mode.
As described above, in order for the plurality of gateways 30 to normally receive tunnel connection requests from the cloud server 70 via their individual message sessions with the management server 50, none of the gateways 30 can transition to a power saving mode, inhibiting a reduction in power consumption of the gateways 30 (communication relay apparatuses).

Communication system, management server, communication relay apparatus, and recording medium


A distributed computing system includes a plurality of processors and shared memory service entities executable on the processors. Each of the shared memory service entities is associated with a local shared memory buffer. A producer is associated with a particular shared memory service entity, and the producer provides data that is stored in the local shared memory buffer associated with the particular shared memory service entity. The shared memory service entities propagate content of the local shared memory buffers into a global shared memory, wherein propagation of content of the local shared memory buffers to the global shared memory is performed using a procedure that relaxes guarantees of consistency between the global shared memory and the local shared memory buffers.

A distributed computing environment includes a number of computing nodes, where each computing node can include one or more processors on which software modules execute. Data produced by some of the software modules can be retrieved by other software modules in the distributed computing environment.
To improve performance in the distributed computing environment, a shared memory can be implemented, where data produced by software modules can be stored for retrieval by other software modules. However, conventional shared memory architectures have various issues, including relatively high cost and/or inability to scale efficiently as the size of the computing environment is increased.

Providing shared memory in a distributed computing system

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An example dock leveler for a loading dock includes a position sensor system that not only senses upper and lower travel limits of the dock leveler's deck and/or lip but can also sense a plurality of intermediate positions between the limits. In some examples, the system includes one or more cable-extension transducers that provide a feedback signal that varies as a function of the deck's position relative to a dock platform and/or varies as a function of the lip's position relative to the deck. Such a position sensor system makes it possible to operate the dock leveler automatically with little to no manual intervention.

A typical loading dock of a building includes an exterior doorway with an elevated platform for loading and unloading cargo from vehicles, such as trucks and trailers. Loading docks often include a dock leveler to compensate for a height difference that may exist between a loading dock platform and an adjacent bed of the vehicle. Dock levelers typically include a deck with a front edge that can be raised or lowered to the approximate height of the truck bed. An extension plate or lip may extend outward from the deck's front edge to span the gap between the rear of the truck bed and the front edge of the deck, thereby providing a path that allows personnel and material handling equipment to readily move on and off the truck bed during loading and unloading operations.
In some known examples, the dock leveler includes a deck and/or lip that could pivot or translate as the dock leveler moves to its various positions. Such positions might include a cross-traffic position where the deck is substantially flush with the platform, an operative position where the deck and lip provide a bridge between the platform and the vehicle bed, an end-loading position where the lip is off the vehicle bed while the deck is either above, level with or below the bed, or various other positions. Moreover, certain dock leveler operations require the deck or lip to be in specific positions or ranges of positions. While a human operator can observe whether the leveler components are in such positions, it may also be desirable to automate leveler operations without the need for a human operator. Even in the absence of such automation, accurate determination of the position of leveler components throughout their range of motion could be used for other beneficial purposes such as, for example, providing signaling of leveler status or the presence or absence of safe loading conditions.

Dock leveler with continuous position sensing


A railcar asset management system proactively issues an alert or task when a pre-determined event occurs. The system may receive information regarding the location and status of a railcar from sensors on the railcar that may include a telematics sensing unit. A database in the railway telematics system stores the data regarding the railcar location and status information. The system determines whether an event has occurred and issues the proactive alerts and/or task. The system may communicate the proactive alert via e-mail, paging, PDAs or by cell phone and may provide interactive preconfigured web pages.

Just-in-time manufacturing is a popular method of controlling inventory costs. Just-in-time manufacturing delivers a product from a product manufacturer to a customer just at the time the customer needs the product. This technique is applied across a wide range of products and can be applied against bulk materials as well as specialty items. These products may be produced at one location and transported to a distant location.
In the case of bulk materials, a shipment is tailored for the most efficient mode of travel, making the use of a railcar or multiple railcars a likely option. A railcar is not only a suitable container for shipment, but the railcar also satisfies the requirement for storage since the railcar approximates the size of a suitable storage vessel capable of holding a vast amount of product. Customers often take delivery of a railcar and hold the railcar on their site for storage purposes, tapping the railcar and removing the product only when required for manufacture.
Such use of railcars causes logistical problems for the product manufacturer. The customer may hold empty or partially empty railcars and return the railcars at the customer's convenience. The product manufacturer will not realize that the railcars are partially empty until the railcars are returned, incurring further costs by taking the railcar off-line for emptying and cleaning when contamination may be an issue. Since the manufacturer must anticipate these situations, the manufacturer will ensure that there are an inflated number of railcars at its disposal resulting in extra capital costs.
Although the railway companies monitor and know the location of the railcars through proprietary systems such as the Lat-Lon® tracking system, there is no affirmative system, for example, that alerts the railway company, the product manufacturer or the customer, that a railcar is sitting in one location for an extended period of time, even when that railcar is empty at a customer's site.
Therefore, a need exists for an integrated Telematics system to provide the information technology to assist in monitoring and managing the railcars to provide an optimum flow of product from the manufacturer to the customer.


The present invention relates to a conduit adapter system comprising a conduit adapter that is assigned to an electrical connector assembly. The conduit adapter comprises a first shell and a second shell, wherein the first shell comprises first fixing elements and the second shell comprises corresponding second fixing elements. The first shell further comprises a pre-locking means that can be engaged with corresponding pre-locking means of the electrical connector assembly, to lock the first shell to the electrical connector assembly in a pre-assembled condition. A method of assembling such a conduit adapter system is also presented.

Conduit adapters are commonly used to protect electrical cables that enter or exit an electrical connector assembly. In particular the cables are protected from environmental influences, such as temperature, dust, moisture and/or the like. Still further conduit adapters can provide strain relief functionality and/or protect the cables from unallowed cable bending and thus prevent cable damages.
Conduit adapters can provide connecting means between cable channels, and in particular flexible cable channels and electrical connector assemblies. Conduit adapters are for example widely used in automobile applications, industrial applications and/or consumer electronic applications.
Conduit adapter systems known in the art typically include two separate parts that can be connected together to form the conduit adapter around the cable to be protected. Providing a two-part adapter allows the conduit adapter to be installed after the installation of the connector and the respective cable. However, in an industrial manufacturing process two separate parts are undesired, since the number of individual parts increases the complexity of the manufacturing process and in particular the supply process of the parts.
Therefore, the single parts of known conduit adapters are usually connected via a hinge, so that only one physical part has to be handled in the supply process. Known hinges are orientated at a longitudinal axis at the sides of the parts of the conduit adapter. This allows the parts to be rotated around an axis parallel to the cables of the electrical connector assembly, when the parts shall be connected. However, providing a hinge at the longitudinal axis, i.e. at the sides of the parts is disadvantageous, since there is less space to provide fixing means. Thus the fixing means on the hinge-side have to be designed smaller and therefore weaker, than the fixing means on the non-hinge-side of a conventional conduit adapter.
Still further, the connection between electrical connector system and conduit adapter is typically achieved by clamping or engaging the electrical conductor system when the two parts of the conduit adapter are connected. Thus, in order to finally mount the conduit adapter three parts, namely two conduit adapter parts and the electrical connector, have to be handled.
The object of the present invention is to provide conduit adapter systems and a method to assemble the conduit adapter systems, which overcomes the problems and drawbacks described above.
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.

Conduit adapter having a shell with fixing and pre-locking elements


A thermoplastic film for LCM tissue transfer is thermally coupled to a broadband energy-absorbing material. The broadband energy-absorbing material may either be introduced into the film composition as a dopant or may be in thermal contact with the film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to laser capture microdissection. More particularly, the present invention relates to broadband absorbing films for use in laser capture microdissection (LCM).
2. The Prior Art
The LCM technique is generally described in the recently published article: Laser Capture Microdissection, Science, Volume 274, Number 5289, Issue 8, pp 998-1001, published in 1996, incorporated herein by reference. The purpose of the LCM technique is to provide a simple method for the procurement of selected human cells from a heterogeneous population contained ion a typical histopathology biopsy slide.
A typical tissue biopsy sample consists of a 5 to 10 micron slice of tissue that is placed on a glass microscope slide using techniques well known in the field of pathology. This tissue slice is a cross section of the body organ that is being studied. The tissue consists of a variety of different types of cells. Often a pathologist desires to remove only a small portion of the tissue for further analysis.
LCM employs a thermoplastic transfer film that is placed on top of the tissue sample. This film is manufactured containing organic dyes that are chosen to selectively absorb in the near infrared region of the spectrum overlapping the emission region of common AlGaAs laser diodes. When the film is exposed to the focused laser beam the exposed region is heated by the laser and melts, adhering to the tissue in the region that was exposed. The film is then lifted from the tissue and the selected portion of the tissue is removed with the film.
Thermoplastic transfer films such as a 100 micron thick ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) film available from Electroseal Corporation of Pompton Lakes, N.J. (type E540) have been used in LCM applications. The film is chosen to have a low melting point of about 90 C.
The thermoplastic EVA films used in LCM techniques have been doped with dyes, such as an infrared napthalocyanine dye, available from Aldrich Chemical Company (dye number 43296-2 or 39317-7). These dyes have a strong absorption in the 800 nm region, a wavelength region that overlaps with laser emitters used to selectively melt the film. The dye is mixed with the melted bulk plastic at an elevated temperature. The dyed plastic is then manufactured into a film using standard film manufacturing techniques. The dye concentration in the plastic is about 0.001 M.
While the films employed in LCM applications have proved satisfactory for the task, they have several drawbacks. The optical absorption of a dye impregnated film is a function of its thickness. This property of the film may be in conflict with a desire to select film thickness for other reasons.
The organic dyes which are used to alter the absorption characteristics of the films may have detrimental photochemistry effects in some cases. This could result in contamination of LCM samples. In addition, the organic dyes employed to date are sensitive to the wavelength of the incident laser light and thus the film must be matched to the laser employed.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a film for LCM applications which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a simple LCM film to be used in an LCM instrument.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an LCM film which is very thin and can have very high optical absorption.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an optical quality LCM film which is not sensitive to the wavelength of the incident laser light.
A further object of the present invention is to provide optical quality LCM films of adjustable thickness.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an LCM film whose optical density can be adjusted so that sufficient light is transmitted through the sample to permit the sample to be viewed with back light illumination.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an LCM film which does not use an organic dye that might have detrimental photochemistry effects.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an LCM film which does not employ an organic dye which does not have to be dissolved into the EVA polymer at high concentrations.
A thermoplastic film for LCM tissue transfer is thermally coupled to a broadband energy-absorbing material. The broadband energy-absorbing material may either be introduced into the film composition as a dopant or may be in thermal contact with the film.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a film for LCM tissue transfer comprises a layer of a transparent support film; a layer of a broadband absorbing film; and a layer of a low temperature thermoplastic; the absorbing film having an overall thickness chosen to absorb a desired fraction of incident laser light.
According to this embodiment of the invention, the film consists of a sandwich of layers containing a transparent support film such as mylar or polyester, a broadband absorbing film such as a metal film of nichrome or titanium, and a low temperature thermoplastic layer such as ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA). The metal film thickness is chosen so as to absorb a desired fraction of incident laser light. A typical film may absorb say 10% to 90% of the incident light. The metal thickness is adjusted to provide this optical density by controlling the length of time of the sputtering deposition process. The metal absorbing layer can be sandwiched between two layers of EVA if desired.
A method for fabricating a multilayer film for LCM tissue transfer comprises the steps of: providing a support layer; forming a thin layer of a broadband absorbing film onto the support layer, the broadband absorbing film having a thickness chosen to absorb a desired fraction of incident laser light; and coating the broadband absorbing film with a layer of thermoplastic.
According to the method of the present invention, one embodiment of the film is fabricated by evaporating a thin layer of metal film onto the polyester support using a deposition technique such as sputtering. The film thickness is chosen so as to absorb a desired fraction of incident laser light, usually between 10% and 95%. The metal thickness is adjusted to provide this optical density by controlling the length of time of the sputtering deposition process. The polyester/metal film is then coated with a thin layer (a few to 100 microns) of EVA thermoplastic using a spin coater to achieve a uniform layer across the surface. The spin coating process can be repeated several times to adjust the thickness of the EVA film.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a thermoplastic film is doped with a broadband energy-absorbing material. The dopant concentration is adjusted so as to give a suitable absorption, usually between 10% and 95%, for the desired thickness of EVA film.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a broadband absorbing material is deposited on a substrate such as a cap for a biological analysis vessel. The metal film is deposited onto the bottom of a cap and then the cap is coated with EVA.

Broadband absorbing film for laser capture microdissection


Therapeutic compositions and methods for treatment of late-onset Gaucher disease are described herein. The compositions comprise compounds having activity as pharmacological chaperones for mutant forms of the beta-glucocerebrosidase. Methods of treatment involve providing therapeutically effective amounts of such compositions to subjects in need thereof.

Lysosomal storage disorders (LSD's) are a group of diseases resulting from the abnormal metabolism of various substrates, including glycosphingolipids, glycogen, mucopolysaccharides and glycoproteins. The metabolism of exo- and endogenous high molecular weight compounds normally occurs in the lysosomes, and the process is normally regulated in a stepwise process by degradation enzymes. For example, the enzymes beta-glucocerebrosidase and alpha-galactosidase are involved in the catabolism of glycosphingolipids.
A deficient activity in even one catabolic enzyme may impair the process, resulting in an accumulation of particular substrates. As part of lysosomal processing, the enzyme beta-glucocerebrosidase (referred to interchangeably herein as "GCase" or "Gcc") cleaves the terminal glucose residue from glucosylceramide. A deficiency in GCase—in the form of one or more amino acid mutations—results in the LSD known as Gaucher disease. In Gaucher disease, various forms of mutant GCase have reduced, little, or no glucosylceramide cleavage activity, depending upon the mutated amino acid or amino acids. The severity of this disorder is correlated with relative levels of residual enzyme activity and the resulting extent of accumulation of the substrate.
Currently, Gaucher patients are treated using an expensive enzyme replacement therapy at a cost of about $300,000 USD per year per patient, or by using non-specific substrate reduction therapy. With these treatments, the enzyme deficiency itself is not treated, but rather, the accumulation of substrate is treated by reducing the synthetic levels of all gangliosides.
What is needed is an efficient and less-expensive way to treat individuals having Gaucher disease. The present invention addresses and meets this need.
Bromhexine, and its metabolite ambroxol, are expectoration improvers and mucolytic agents used in the treatment of respiratory disorders associated with viscid or excessive mucus. They work to decrease mucus viscosity by altering its structure. Neither bromhexine or ambroxol have been known to have any activity relevant to the treatment of lysosomal storage disorders.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods of treating lysosomal storage disorders


A control device includes: a management information generation unit configured to generate or update logical-physical block address management information with respect to either data to be written to a non-volatile memory or data which has been already written in the non-volatile memory, the logical-physical block address management information indicating association between a logical block address and a physical block address on the non-volatile memory; and an access control unit configured to, during write of the data to the non-volatile memory, control write of the data as well as the logical-physical block address management information to a physical write unit of the non-volatile memory.

The present disclosure relates to a control device, storage device, and storage control method and in particular to processing of management information for logical-to-physical block address conversion.
Storage devices using a non-volatile memory, such as a NAND flash memory, are being widely used. A non-volatile memory is being used in memory cards, solid state drives (SSDs), embedded multimedia cards (eMMCs), and the like used in, for example, electronic devices, information processing devices, and the like.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2009-70098, 2007-334852, 2007-193838, and 2007-58840 disclose storage devices using a flash memory.
In a non-volatile memory, physical block addresses (PBAs) are used as the addresses of physical storage areas. A physical block address is composed of a physical block, a physical page, and a physical sector. Multiple physical sectors form a physical page, and multiple physical pages form a physical block.
While erase is performed on a physical block basis, write (program) and read can be performed on a physical page basis.
The host or memory control unit specifies an address using a logical block address (LBA). A logical block address composed of a logical block and a logical page is associated with the above-mentioned physical block address. Thus, when access is requested, a logical block address is converted into a physical block address, so that access is actually made to the flash memory.

Control device, storage device, and storage control method


A fast active DCAP cell which has a short turn-on time, achieves a high capacitance density, and which minimizes leakage overhead during its normal operation mode is disclosed. The DCAP cell has a pair of PMOS transistors that have their drains connected to a gate of a PMOS transistor and their sources connected to the VDD rail. The drain and source of the PMOS transistor are connected to the VSS rail. Likewise, the DCAP cell has a pair of NMOS transistors that have their drains connected to a gate of an PMOS transistor and their sources connected to the VSS rail. The drain and source of the PMOS transistor are connected to the VDD rail. None of the gates of the transistors is connected to the VDD or VSS rail. This protects the gate oxide from being damaged by ESD surge currents.

The present invention generally relates to multi-threshold complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (MTCMOS) designs, and more specifically relates to a fast turn-on active decoupling capacitance (DCAP) cell which can be utilized in a MTCMOS design.
For MTCMOS designs, a very short turn-on time is required for each block which has been previously powered down. All DCAP cells in a MTCMOS block have to be fully charged before the block starts to function, which imposes a stringent limit on the turn-on time of a DCAP cell that could be used in MTCMOS block.
FIG. 1 illustrates one type of prior art DCAP cell. The cell 10 is passive, and provides that a passive resistor ("R1", identified with reference numeral 12 in FIG. 1) connects the gate 13 of an NMOS transistor ("C1", identified with reference numeral 14 in FIG. 1) to the VDD rail 16, and another passive resistor ("R2", identified with reference numeral 18 in FIG. 1) connects the gate 19 of a PMOS transistor ("C2", identified with reference numeral 20 in FIG. 1) to the VSS rail 22. The cell 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a short turn-on time, but in order to minimize effective capacitance loss which is experienced at high-frequency power noises, each of the two passive resistors 12, 18 have to be provided as being sufficiently large (area) enough to make their resistance sufficiently small, which consequently leads to the major drawback of a DCAP cell which employs passive resistors—low capacitance density.
FIG. 2 illustrates another type of prior art DCAP cell—an active DCAP cell. Like the passive DCAP cell 10 shown in FIG. 1, the active DCAP cell 30 shown in FIG. 2 includes an NMOS transistor 14 and a PMOS transistor 20. However, instead of using passive resistors 12, 18 like the DCAP cell 10 shown in FIG. 1, the active DCAP cell 30 shown in FIG. 2 uses two active transistors ("M1" and "M2", identified with reference numerals 32 and 34, respectively, in FIG. 2). When the DCAP cell 30 is fully charged, both of the transistors 32, 34 are in saturation mode and have a small resistance. Due to the transistors 32, 34 having a small resistance in saturation mode, they can be provided as being relatively small. In fact, the transistors 32, 34 in the DCAP cell 30 shown in FIG. 2 can be provided as being much smaller than the passive resistors 12, 18 of the DCAP cell 10 shown in FIG. 1. As such, the DCAP cell 30 shown in FIG. 2 successfully achieves much higher capacitance density than the DCAP cell 10 shown in FIG. 1, and ultimately reduces the chip die size. However, at the beginning of a charging, when the voltage level on the VDD rail 16 suddenly rises from 0 to VDD (due to, for example, the switch header cell being activated), because voltage across a capacitor cannot change immediately, the voltage at node "AN" (identified with reference numeral 36 in FIG. 1) remains at VSS while the voltage at node "AP" (identified with reference numeral 38 in FIG. 1) reaches VDD. Thus at this stage, both of the transistors 32, 34 are turned-off, leaving the NMOS and PMOS transistors 14, 20 to charge slowly as they receive very small leakage currents. It takes a long time to progress to the point to where AN and AP reach the threshold voltages of transistors 14, 20 and turn them on. Also, the turn-on time of the active DCAP cell 30 shown in FIG. 2 is highly dependent on the process, voltage and temperature corner, which makes the ability to control the activation of the MCTMOS block problematical.


A system for detecting fire or overheating includes a sensor including at least one material having a resistance with a selected temperature coefficient, wherein the resistance of the material is indicative of a temperature. The system includes further a device connected to the sensor to perform measurements on the material, wherein the device is configured to determine at least one parameter from the measurements and to analyze a dynamic behaviour of the at least one parameter to deduce status information including overheating and malfunction of the sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for detecting fire or overheating.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of different systems and methods for detecting fire or overheating are known. These systems are often used in engine regions, for example, of an aircraft, ship, helicopter, submarine, space shuttle or industrial plant, and more generally in any sensitive region where the risk of fire or overheating exists, for example, in a hold or bunker, train compartment or boiler.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,278 describes one type of detector that detects local or average overheating. The detector uses a gas which, when it expands owing to the effect of overheating, trips an electrical contact, thereby indicating that a mean temperature of the detector has exceeded a threshold temperature. Metal oxides with an absorbed gas distributed over the entire length of the detector provide, by a degassing principle, a local indication that the temperature exceeds the threshold temperature.
Another type of detector measures the resistance of a material having a negative thermal coefficient ("NTC"). The material may be implemented as a negative thermal coefficient cable. This type of detector is used for detecting local overheating.


The invention relates to a gravity measurement apparatus comprising a torsion balance bearing a test mass. The torsion balance has a predetermined center of mass and is rotatable around a predetermined rotation axis, wherein the torsion balance is asymmetric in such a way that the center of mass of the torsion balance is offset to the rotation axis of the torsion balance.

For a long time, it is well known in the state of the art to use torsion balances to measure gravity forces. These torsion balances are disclosed, for example, in Dorobantu, R.: "Gravitionsdrehwaage," IAPG/FESG No. 4, 1999. They comprise a horizontal balance beam, which is suspended from a torsion wire defining a rotation axis. The balance beam bears two test masses on opposite sides of the torsion wire so that the torsion balance is symmetric and the center of mass of the torsion balance is in line with the rotation axis of the torsion balance. Therefore, these conventional symmetric torsion balances compensate for the gravitational attraction g of the earth, so that differential forces can be determined using the so-called "Null measurements" (e.g. tests of the "equivalence principle" as disclosed in SMITH et al.: "Short-range tests of the equivalence principle," Physical Review D, Volume 61, 022001, 1999). The advantage of these conventional symmetric torsion balances is their very high precision with relative accuracies down to 10−13 (cf. SMITH et al.). However, the conventional symmetric torsion balances merely allow the measurement of differential forces, whereas the measurement of absolute values of gravity forces is not possible.
Further, symmetric torsion balances with more complex mass distributions (quadrupole or octupole) are known from V. B. BRAGINSKY, V. I. PANOV: "Verification of the equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass", JETP 34, 463 (1972). These torsion balances are commonly used for eliminating certain orders of gravitational fields.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a gravity measurement apparatus allowing the measurement of absolute values of gravity forces.
Further, it is an object of the invention to combine the high precision of the aforementioned symmetric torsion balances with the possibility to measure absolute values of gravity forces.

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Wissenschaften e.V.


Systems and methods for automated exchange of encryption certificates for transmitting and receiving encrypted email messages are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of communicating an encrypted email message includes providing a recipient identifier, creating an unencrypted email message, automatically querying a recipient email domain for a recipient encryption key corresponding to the recipient identifier, automatically receiving the recipient encryption key from the recipient email domain, automatically encrypting the unencrypted email message using the recipient encryption key, and transmitting the encrypted email message to the recipient identifier.

The need by some businesses and organizations to exchange encrypted email among large numbers of users has grown from a nice-to-have feature to an important business requirement. For many such businesses and organizations, however, the current approach to the exchange of email encryption certificates presents a substantial impediment to the effective implementation of this requirement.
In many typical email encryption systems, in order for a sender to transmit an encrypted email message to a receiver, the encryption algorithm uses both a first (or public) key and a second (or private) key of the receiver. Thus, during formulation of the encrypted email message, the sender must have the public keys of all of the recipients of the message. Similarly, to properly de-encrypt the email message, the receiver must have the private key of his own. The public key information is typically exchanged between the sender and receiver using an encryption certificate. Prior art email encryption systems of the type described above are generally disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,760,752 B1 issued to Liu and Cook, U.S. Pat. No. 6,687,822 B1 issued to Jakobsson, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,105 B1 issued to Murota.
Current industry standards for transmitting email messages via the Internet do not include a standard for the automated exchange of encryption keys and encryption certificates necessary for the successful transmission of encrypted email. As a result, the exchange of encryption keys among users in the past has been accomplished manually and on an ad hoc basis. Typically, the current manual process for the above-described email encryption systems involves a first user digitally signing an email to a second user with a digital signature (or encryption certificate) that includes the first user's key. The second user then saves the first user's key and is thereafter able to formulate and transmit encrypted email messages to the first user. To read the encrypted messages, the first user must then obtain the second user's key via the transmission of another digital signature from the second user to perform the de-encryption.
Although desirable results have been achieved using such prior art systems, there is room for improvement. For example, when a sender desires to send an encrypted email message to a large number of users, the manual exchanges that must occur between the sender and each recipient add inefficiency (and therefore cost) to the process. As the number of intended recipients increases (e.g. hundreds, thousands), the manual approach becomes severely impractical, and as the number further increases (e.g. tens and hundreds of thousands), the manual approach becomes virtually impossible. This problem is further compounded when the respective keys of the email users of the organization randomly and non-uniformly expire or are updated by the individual users, or as new users are added

Systems and methods for automated exchange of electronic mail encryption certificates


This disclosure concerns fatty acid derivatives, pharmaceutical compositions comprising the fatty acid derivatives, and methods of using the fatty acid derivatives, for example, to treat inflammation, chronic itch, chronic pain, an autoimmune disorder, atherosclerosis, a skin disorder, arthritis, a neurodegenerative disorder, or a psychiatric disorder in a subject. In some embodiments, the fatty acid derivative is a compound, or a stereoisomer, tautomer, or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, having a structure according to:

Biological processes such as inflammation, itch, pain, autoimmunity, barrier dysfunction, degeneration, and atherosclerosis present ongoing problems for the medical field, partially in the context of patient treatment and evaluation. Although treatments for these diseases and conditions are available, they often fall short of demonstrated need. Accordingly, there is a need for new agents that can be used in a method of treating a subject having one or more of these diseases or conditions.

Abstract: wherein X is from 1-16 carbons in length, Z is aliphatic from 1-16 carbons in length, or is not present, Y is selected from:

Abstract: R1, R2, and R3 are independently hydrogen or lower alkyl, R4 is lower alkyl, hydroxyl, carboxyl, or amine, R5 is hydrogen, lower alkyl, or halide, R6 is hydroxyl or substituted thiol, and each R7 is independently hydrogen or fluoride or is not present and the adjacent carbons form alkyne.

The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services


A method and system for a programmable input/output transceiver is disclosed. A circuit in accordance with the invention includes a programmable transceiver. The programmable transceiver is configured and/or controlled to support an interface standard. A system according to the present invention includes a programmable transceiver and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) core coupled to program the programmable transceiver.

Today's digital systems interface with one another using a wide variety of interfaces. Each such interface is typically an implementation of an interface standard, which is defined by standards-making bodies such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) or American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and promulgated thereby. Standardization ensures that implementations of such interfaces interoperate correctly and provide acceptable performance, under expected conditions. This allows an end-user to interface one such digital system (e.g., a computer, a digital camcorder or camera, a cellular telephone, a scanner, a television set) with another digital system, with confidence that the digital systems will be able to successfully communicate with one another.
In designing such systems, manufacturers are thus faced with supporting this variety of interface standards, or a substantial subset thereof. The complexity this engenders becomes readily apparent, for example, when one examines any of the currently-available desktop computers. Such a computer will typically support interfaces that include the Universal Serial Bus (USB), IEEE 1394 (also referred to as "Firewire"), Ethernet (including one or more of 10/100/1000 Base-T), memory stick and the like. As will be appreciated, each such standard interface has not only its own protocol definition(s), but also its own requirements as to output impedance, termination impedance, data rate, signal voltages and other such characteristics, as can be seen in Table 1.
TABLE 1Characteristics of various interface standards.InterfaceDataOutputTerminationOtherStandardRateImpedanceImpedanceFeaturesUSB 2.0480 Mb/s 45 ohms 45 ohm1 pairPull-Down800 mV (p-p)(90 ohm18 mADiff.)5 V tolerantIEEE 1394a400 Mb/s100 ohms100 ohms2 pairDiff.Diff.2.8 V (max)+/−4 mA100 B-T100 Mb/s100 ohms100 ohms2 pairEthernet+/−1.8 VPAM5 modulation
In designing such systems, manufacturers tend to prefer using programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), as opposed to application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), for a variety of reasons. A PLD is a type of integrated circuit (IC) that includes configurable resources such as configurable logic blocks, configurable input/output blocks, a configurable interconnect structure, memories, multipliers, processors, etc. The configurable resources of a PLD may be configured to implement a wide variety of desired functions. Typically, configuration data stored in configuration memory cells may be define the desired function in a PLD. The advantages provided by PLDs includes their greater flexibility, ability to be reconfigured (providing the ability to update their capabilities (even in the field) and reducing inventory by allowing a single part to be used in multiple applications), cost to develop, and other advantages.
What is therefore desired is an interface circuit that can be configured to support a variety of interface standards. Preferably, such a circuit may be easily implemented in a programmable logic device, and may allowing for support of as many such interface standards as possible. It is also preferable that such a circuit allow for the individual use of some or all of its components, such that those components are available for use in designs implemented in the programmable logic device that do not require such an interface circuit.

Method and system for programmable input/output transceiver wherein transceiver in configurable to support a plurality of interface standards


Disclosed is a supplementary coil of a deflection yoke for a Braun tube. The supplementary coil forms a magnetic field of a pin-cushion type at a screen portion and a magnetic field of a barrel type at a neck portion at the same time. The deflection yoke includes a coil separator for fixing a relative position between horizontal deflection coils and vertical deflection coils by acting as an insulator. The supplementary coil also includes projections formed on inside surfaces of the neck portion and the screen portion of the coil separator. The supplementary coil is wound around the projections in the neck portion in a winding direction identical to a winding direction of the horizontal coil and wound around the projections in the screen portion in a winding direction opposite to the winding direction of the horizontal coil.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a deflection yoke for a Braun tube and, more particularly, to a supplementary coil of a deflection yoke for a Braun tube which can form a magnetic field of a pin-cushion form at a screen part and a magnetic field of a barrel form at a neck part at the same time.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a section of a Braun tube schematically showing a mounting position of a conventional deflection yoke.
Referring to FIG. 1, the Braun tube includes a panel 1 forming a front face of the Braun tube and a funnel 2, a front portion of which is melt bonded to the panel 1. The funnel 2 has a convergent portion with a neck part 2a formed at an end thereof. An electron gun 4 is provided in the neck part 2a for emitting electron beams 3 toward the panel 1, and deflection yokes 7 are provided on an outer circumference of the funnel 2 for deflecting the electron beams 3 to predetermined spots. Red, green and blue fluorescent material layers 5 of dot or stripe forms are coated on inside surfaces of the panel 1, and a shadow mask 6 is spaced a predetermined distance apart from the fluorescent material layers 5 in an inner side of the panel 1. Numerous minute holes are provided in the shadow mask 6 for selective passing of the electron beams 3. Each of the electron beams 3 passed through the shadow mask 6 collides on the fluorescent material layers 5 to reproduce colors on the surface of the panel 1.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the conventional deflection yoke shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 2, the deflection yoke 7 includes vertical deflection coils 9 for deflecting the electron beams 3 in a vertical direction, and horizontal deflection coils 8 (disposed on either side of the pusher part G) for deflecting the electron beams 3 in a horizontal direction, and a coil separator 10 for supporting the vertical and horizontal deflection coils 9 and 8, by acting as an insulator between the coils 9 and 8, and fixing a relative position between the funnel 2 and the vertical and horizontal deflection coils 9 and 8. The horizontal deflection coils 8 are, in most cases, wound in saddle forms and assembled into the coil separator 10, or wound in leading grooves(not shown) formed inside of the coil separator 10 for winding the horizontal deflection coils directly.
FIG. 3 illustrates a half section of the conventional coil separator 10 shown in FIG. 2, FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate different forms of magnetic fields each formed by the horizontal deflection coils wound on an inner circumferential surface of the coil separator 10 shown in FIG. 3, where FIG. 4A illustrates a barrel type magnetic field, FIG. 4B illustrates a pin cushion type magnetic field, and FIG. 4C illustrates a uniform magnetic field.
Referring to FIG. 3, of the deflection yokes 7, it is known that a neck part 10a with reference to a middle portion 10b of the coil separator 10 of the saddle type horizontal deflection coils 8 has an influence on convergence of the electron beams and a screen part 10c has an influence on distortions of the electron beams. The magnetic fields that the horizontal deflection coils 8 should form in each portion of the coil separator for an excellent convergence and prevention of distortions are shown in FIGS. 4A-4C. FIG. 4A illustrates a weak barrel type magnetic field 11, FIG. 4C illustrates a uniform magnetic field 12 in the neck part 10a shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B illustrates a pin cushion type magnetic field 13 of an appropriate strength in the middle portion 10b shown in FIG. 3, or a strong pin cushion type magnetic field 13 in the screen part 10c shown in FIG. 3.
In order to form the foregoing magnetic fields, in winding coils from the neck part 10a to the middle portion 10b, either a supplementary coil(not shown) is wound at the inner screen part 10c or a groove is formed on middle of the coil for forming a coil distribution which has discontinuity in the continuous winding of coil between the neck part 10a and the middle portion 10b of the horizontal deflection coils 8. If appropriate magnetic fields can not be formed with the aforementioned winding, the winding pattern on which the coil is wound is either claded by welding or grinded before winding the coil to form a desired magnetic field.
In the meantime, in case of a slit type horizontal deflection coil(not shown), which is another form of the saddle type coil, the coil is wound along a groove formed in the coil separator to form a portion of the magnetic field between the neck part 10a to the screen part 10c in which the magnetic field has a sudden change.
However, the deflection yokes of saddle type or slit type horizontal deflection coils have the following problems.
In case of the saddle type horizontal deflection coil 8, since the coil can not be wound to pass many different portions with respect to angles in winding the coil from the neck part 10a to the screen part 10c, distribution of the winding can not be formed with variety. In order to adjust a portion of the winding distribution of the horizontal deflection coil 8, though pins are provided in the screen part 10c and the neck part 10a, distribution in the middle portion 10b with which a convergence can be greatly adjusted can not be adjusted without restraint.
Therefore, in case it is intended to produce a winding of a general saddle type coil 8 of a desired characteristic, separate additional measures, such measures as attachment of a helper(not shown) together with the supplementary coil, cladding by welding or grinding of the winding pattern for discontinuity of the pattern, or adjustment of the winding distribution by pusher, is required.
Though the slit type horizontal coil has an advantage in free adjustment of the winding distribution, it has a disadvantage of taking too much time in production.

Supplementary coil of deflection yoke for Braun tube


A mobile communications device includes: a telephone directory storage unit for storing a telephone directory; a comparator for comparing a service identifier included in a received message with a service identifier stored in the telephone directory; and an update unit for updating the telephone number stored in the telephone directory. If the service identifier corresponding to the telephone number received in the message matches the service identifier stored in the telephone directory, the update unit updates the telephone number stored in the telephone directory with the received telephone number.

When the user of a mobile communications device such as a mobile telephone or a portable telephone is away from the user's usual location, entries stored in the user's phone book that relate to local services, for example the local police station, taxi firm, or takeaway, have limited use. Therefore, a system whereby the number is updated to give a service appropriate to the user's location is helpful to the user.
There are already location-based information services available on a number of networks. These services are generally accessed through WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) or i-Mode®, and require the users to perform a relatively complex operation to reach the telephone number for which they are looking. This deters many users from making use of location-based services at all and for others, it limits their use to when there is no other choice.
Furthermore, for users to take advantage of such services, they must have relatively advanced handsets (portable telephones), which many users do not have, and also be happy to use more complex features, which many users are not.
Modern communications devices include a facility, typically known as a phone book, for users to store frequently used telephone numbers. Usually the phone book is provided with a "number" and corresponding "name" field. The user can easily find the desired number by using the phone book. The phone book data can either be stored in the mobile telephone itself, or in the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card which is in the mobile telephone, or in both. The data from these different sources are typically presented to the user in a single display, the data being combined into a standard format by the mobile communications device.
Following the implementation of phase 2 of the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard, many modern mobile communications devices allow for the broadcast of short message strings which uses the short message service (SMS) cell broadcast channels. The SMS cell broadcast channels are designed to enable the simultaneous delivery of messages to multiple users in a particular area. A message is only delivered to a mobile communications device if it is within a predetermined range of one of the network communications antennas. A similar service has been provided for in 3G (third generation) systems, known as the service area broadcast message, and those skilled in the art will appreciate the applicability of an embodiment of the invention to both GSM and 3G systems.
The cell broadcast and service area broadcast services are different from the traditional SMS service because the SMS broadcast services are geographically-restricted, one-to-many services whereas the traditional SMS service is a one-to-one or one-to-few service.
Although these channels are optional, they are widely implemented. At present, most carry information describing the area in which the cell broadcasting signal is located, for example the name of the nearest town, the local dialing code, weather conditions, or traffic reports and the like. The information is formatted and broadcast to the user in exactly the same way as the conventional point-to-point SMS.
The broadcast message includes formatting that indicates the intended message destination within the mobile station. For example, it can sent a message explicitly to the SIM card rather than the mobile telephone handset.
Finally, following the implementation of phase 2 of the GSM standard, SIM or universal subscriber identity module (USIM) cards can carry their own applications (application programs). This enables SIMs to have a "SIM toolkit application." SIM toolkits provide additional functionality to mobile phones. For example, they allow the user to pay for utility bills such as electricity bills or to access internet banking accounts. These may run automatically, or may be called by the user by accessing a special menu in the handset user interface. If such a menu is supported by the handset, the contents of the menu are provided by the SIM by way of the standards-defined SIM toolkit interface.

Mobile communications device and method of updating telephone directory of mobile communications device


A method and system for repairing an insulation blanket having a metallized fabric that becomes disbanded from an underlying layer of the insulation blanket. The method includes cutting a first slit in the metallized fabric near a disbanded portion of the fabric, inserting a repair material through the first slit such that the repair material is between the disbanded portion of the fabric and the underlying layer, and adhering the disbonded fabric and the underlying layer to the repair material to restore the functionality of the metallized fabric.

The present invention relates to a method of rebonding two layers of fabric. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of repairing an insulation blanket in which a metallized fabric layer has become disbonded from an underlying fabric layer.
Insulation blankets are commonly used in various parts of a gas turbine engine for thermal protection. The insulation blanket may be formed from layers of ceramic fabric and other insulative materials. A metallized fabric layer may commonly be used as an outer layer of the insulation blanket to protect the underlying insulative materials. However, over time, the metallized fabric layer may become disbanded from an underlying layer due to adhesive fatigue caused by pressure and temperature changes during operation of the engine.
In some cases, a detached area of the metallized fabric layer may be small enough that the fabric layer may be reattached directly to the underlying layer using known repair techniques, such as applying an adhesive to the detached area and curing the repair area. However, in some cases, the detached area may be so large that these repair techniques are not feasible, given that a certain percentage of the metallized fabric layer may need to remain unattached from the underlying layer. (This limitation is based on a potential need to maintain a porous barrier that air may flow through.) Alternatively, replacing the insulation blanket is expensive.
There is a need for a method of repairing an insulation blanket in those situations in which a large portion of the metallized fabric layer has become disbanded from the underlying ceramic fabric.

Rebonding a metallized fabric to an underlying layer


Systems and methods for location-aware scanning of an IoT beacon by a mobile device, and the authentication of the mobile device, are disclosed herein. The system detects when the mobile device is within a geofenced region associated with the IoT beacon and enables the scanning by the mobile device for signals from the beacon. Using the beacon signals received by the mobile device, the system detects when the mobile device and IoT beacon are sufficiently near one another. Once the mobile device and IoT beacon are sufficiently near each other, the system authenticates control of the mobile device over the IoT beacon by verifying an authentication key transmitted to a server.

Smart lock devices combine a traditional mechanical locking mechanism with electronic control capabilities, including the ability to control the smart lock from a connected wireless device. For example, a wireless device such as a smartphone may be used to lock and unlock the smart lock affixed to the door of a house or building. The wireless device and smart lock may communicate with each other using Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), ZigBee, or other wireless communication protocols. The wireless device and smart lock may communicate wirelessly, for example, to determine the proximity between the wireless device and smart lock, to authenticate that the wireless device is permitted to control the smart lock, to communicate control instructions (e.g., commands to lock or unlock the smart lock), etc.
For assorted reasons the wireless device and smart lock may not communicate effectively or efficiently. As a result, the user experience of using a smartphone to control a smart lock may be made less user-friendly. Thus there is a need for a system and methods that overcome these problems and provide additional benefits.
The drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. Similarly, some components and/or operations can be separated into different blocks or combined into a single block for the purpose of discussion of some of the implementations of the present technology. Moreover, while the technology is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific implementations have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, is not to limit the technology to the particular implementations described. On the contrary, the technology is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the technology as defined by the appended claims.

Location-aware beacon scanning and authentication for secure control of IoT applications


Disclosed herein are an electronic component and a method of manufacturing the same. In an electronic component having a conductor formed in an insulator and providing an external electrode electrically connected to the conductor on an outer surface of the insulator, a curvature of the external electrode in a via machining region is decreased at a predetermined level or less, thereby making it possible to decrease defect generation due to a glare-reflection of a laser.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electronic component and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In accordance with improved portability and high performance of an electronic device, while an effort to provide more functions in a smaller volume is continuously conducted, a technology embedding an electronic component in a substrate has been spotlighted as part of a next generation multi-functional and small package technologies.
As an example, Patent Document 1 discloses the circuit substrate in which the electronic component is embedded.
For example, in the case in which the multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) is embedded in the circuit substrate, an external electrode of the MLCC may be connected to a circuit pattern of the circuit substrate through a via. However, as a size of the MLCC is minimized, it is difficult to form the external electrode connected to the via so as to have a uniform shape. Therefore, a problem of reliable connection to the via, or the like may be generated.

Electronic component and method of manufacturing the same