Improved sparge compositions for froth flotation separation, methods of using them, and uses thereof are described. The compositions are suitably used in the froth flotation of particulate material containing ultrafine particles, and are well suited to the froth flotation separation of finely comminuted poor (low-grade) ores. The sparge compositions comprise functionalized silicone containing functionality that is tailored to the chemical nature of a beneficiary or a gangue in the ore. Sparging of the compositions effects improved recoveries and purities of beneficiaries. Sparge compositions and functionalized silicones suitable for the froth flotation of iron ores containing silica and/or silicate impurities are described. Sparge compositions and functionalized silicones suitable for the froth flotation of ores containing sulfur compounds such as sulfides are also disclosed.

The invention relates to novel methods and compositions for improving the effectiveness of froth flotation beneficiation processes. In a beneficiation process, two or more materials which coexist in a mixture of particulate material are separated from each other using mechanical processes with/without chemicals. Often one of the materials, the beneficiary, is more valuable or desired than the other material, the gangue.
One form of beneficiation is froth flotation separation. In froth flotation separation the particulate material is slurried with water (or another solvent or solvent mix) and some chemicals, such as collector, regulators, depressors and/or activators, which are added to selectively make the targeted particles hydrophobic while others are hydrophilic or less hydrophobic. The slurry is then doped with frothing agent (frother) if necessary and sparged to form bubbles, which rise up out of the slurry carrying hydrophobic particles therewith and form a froth layer above the sparged slurry. The froth layer may then be deposited on a launder. The less hydrophobic material remains behind in the slurry.
Two common forms of flotation separation processes are direct flotation and reverse flotation. In direct flotation processes, the froth comprises the beneficiary or concentrate while in reverse flotation processes, the froth comprises gangue or tailings. The object of the flotation in either process is to separate and recover as much as possible of the beneficiary from the particulate material in as high a concentration as possible, which is then made available for further downstream processing steps. In froth flotation, a sparge composition comprising a slurry is sparged to form a froth layer and a sparged slurry. In a direct froth flotation, the froth layer comprises a concentrated beneficiary (a concentrate), and the sparged slurry comprises the tailings (concentrated gangue). In reverse froth flotation, the froth layer comprises tailings and the sparged slurry comprises the concentrated beneficiary. In direct froth flotation, the froth comprises more beneficiary than gangue, and the tailings comprise more gangue than beneficiary. In reverse froth flotation, the froth comprises more gangue than beneficiary and the tailings comprise more beneficiary than gangue.
Froth flotation separation can be used to separate solids from solids (such as the constituents of mine ore), and liquids or semi-solids from solids (such as the separation of bitumen from oil sands).
The prerequisite for flotation separation is the liberation of particles. For flotation of mineral ores, therefore, comminuting (grinding the solids up by such techniques as dry-grinding, wet-grinding, and the like) is often required to liberate minerals. Such extensive grinding or comminution results in a large proportion of ultrafine particles (less than 10 μm). The presence of such ultrafine particles, finely comminuted particulate material, represents a challenge for froth flotation. Ultrafine particles respond poorly to the conventional flotation processes. Poor ores typically contain less beneficiary disseminated more widely in the ore than is the case for high-grade ores, and as a result greater comminution of poor ores to liberate minerals is required than is the case for high-grade ores and more ultrafine particles are generated. Therefore, flotation separation of poor ores remains more challenging.
It would be an advantage to provide for froth flotation (including reverse froth flotation) improved methods and/or compositions that can be implemented in existing froth flotation installations for separation of beneficiary from ores. It would be an advantage to provide improved methods and/or compositions that can be used to concentrate beneficiaries from materials that contain ultrafine particles. It would be particularly advantageous to provide such methods and/or compositions showing improved recovery and improved grade of beneficiary for poor ores.

Functionalized silicones for froth flotation


Disclosed is a formulation for preserving the life of probiotic bacteria during passage through the stomach, while permitting their release in the intestine, and which has a low water activity and correspondingly long shelf life. These formulations are designed to retain potency up to the product expiration date. The formulation includes a substantially water-free mixture of probiotic bacteria with monovalent alginate salts, wherein the mixture has been formed and is maintained in a substantially water-free environment. The alginate salts include sodium-alginate and potassium alginate, but not divalent salts such as magnesium alginate or calcium alginate. Generally, an enteric coating (e.g., gelatin or cellulose encapsulation) for the formulation is provided.

Dietary supplements containing viable probiotic bacteria are increasing in popularity in the marketplace as their health benefits become recognized. These benefits, in addition to supporting intestinal health and function, include (depending on the bacterial strain selected) repopulating the gut after antibiotic therapy, offsetting lactose intolerance, supporting the immune system and reducing cholesterol. Lactic acid bacteria, primarily from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium genera, that are capable of improving or maintaining intestinal health and function are termed probiotic bacteria. Probiotic bacteria (referred to herein as probiotics) are sensitive to various environmental conditions such as pH, moisture, temperature, air and light. When these conditions are not properly controlled, the product's viability (measured in colony forming units or cfu), and therefore its efficacy, can be substantially reduced. Products with reduced viability and efficacy have been commercialized, which has contributed to probiotics as a class not achieving the same level of market acceptance as other health supplements.
New generation strains that adhere to intestinal epithelial cells and persist longer in the intestinal tract have appeared in the marketplace in the last few years; these strains are more efficacious compared to strains previously in use (old generation strains). Probiotic companies have isolated new generation strains directly from the intestinal tracts of healthy people rather than from cultured dairy products or other foods, which were common sources for old generation strains. These new, human origin strains are often more sensitive to processing conditions, such as fermentation, concentration and drying and, thus, require special handling in order to survive commercial preparation. Conventional processing techniques, developed largely for old generation strains, are often too harsh for these new generation strains.
Both new and old generation probiotic stains are sensitive to water activity (aw or aw), should be in a dry formulation, and to the low pH levels commonly encountered in gastric juice. A high water activity reduces product shelf-life while low pH will reduce cfus and thereby decrease product efficacy. Exposure of both new and old strains to gastric juice at pH 1.5–2.0 for 90 minutes caused reductions in cfu exceeding 99.99% (see Example 1 below). Thus, when dietary supplements containing these strains are administered in conventional capsules or tablets which degrade quickly in the stomach, most of the probiotic bacteria are killed in the stomach before they reach the intestinal tract, which is where they are expected to exert their beneficial effect. Many probiotic manufacturers recommend a substantial daily dose of 1–20 billion cfu which, apparently, is high enough to compensate for the loss experienced in gastric juice. But such a high overage in dosage adds significant cost and negatively affects marketability.
Water activity (aw) has a direct effect on the shelf-life of probiotic products. Values of aw of 0.07 or higher can dramatically decrease the shelf-life of probiotics. U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,295 and 4,927,763 disclose that when dry probiotic bacteria are blended in certain carriers such as inorganic salts (that adsorb less than 1% water by weight) along with 1 to 5% silica gel or 0.1 to 2% molecular sieve adsorbent, the resulting mixtures have an aw in the range below 0.30, such as 0.10 to 0.25. To maintain shelf-life, attempts to protect probiotics from pH sensitivity must also take into consideration the aw of the resulting formulation.
Past attempts to correct the pH sensitivity of probiotics by employing microencapsulation or enteric coating techniques have generally not proved to be protective from pH, and; in most situations, have resulted in deleterious water activities in the treated preparations (e.g., water activities of 0.07 or higher). Microencapsulation and enteric coating techniques involve applying a film forming substance, usually by spraying substances contained in water, onto the dry probiotics. Water should not be used in a post drying treatment of probiotics since the water activity increase will cause a corresponding decrease in shelf-life. And even if the mixture is subsequently dried, the water activity may remain high, as it is extremely difficult to remove water from previously dry probiotics. A high water activity means that the probiotic manufacturer can only guarantee potency at time of manufacture, not at the time of consumption.

Formulations to increase in vivo survival of probiotic bacteria and extend their shelf-life


In angiosperm and gymnosperm plants, overexpressing a SAMdc nucleotide sequence can decrease lignin content and, for plants with woody tissue, increase wood density.

Wood Quality, as used by the pulp and paper industries, refers to a series of wood components that, at the end of the processing, affect cellulose yield. The most studied wood components affecting wood quality include lignin content, the proportion of monolignols siryngil and guaiacyl (S/G), the module of elasticity, spiral grain, fiber characteristics and wood density. T. Markussen et al., Wood Density Silvae Genetica 53: 45-50 (2004). Of these components, lignin content and wood density significantly impact cellulose yield.
Lignin Content
Lignin is one of the major products of the general phenylpropanoid pathway, and it is one of the most abundant organic molecules in the biosphere. Lignin accounts for 20-30% of the dry weight of trees and through a process called lignification, lignin is deposited in the cell walls of supporting and conductive tissues, thereby providing rigidity to the wood and structural integrity to tracheary elements. Baucher et al., Crit. Rev. Biochem. Mol. Biol. 38: 305-50 (2003). Lignification also occurs following microbial infection or wounding and protects tissues from pathogen penetration. Baucher et al., (2003); Boerjan et al., Annu. Rev. Plant. Biol. 54: 519-46 (2003); Crawford, LIGNIN BIODEGRADATION AND TRANSFORMATION, New York: John Wiley and Sons (1981).
Lignin's resistance to degradation significantly limits the use of lignocellulosic materials, as lignin must be removed during pulping and papermaking and this requires environmentally hazardous chemicals. Baucher et al., (2003); Whetten et al., Forest Ecol. Management 43: 301 (1991). Current research efforts aim to develop trees with reduced lignin content, thereby reducing the amount of chemicals needed for kraft pulping. Baucher et al., (2003); Sederoff et al., GENETIC ENGINEERING OF PLANT SECONDARY METABOLISM, New York, Plenum Press (1994).
Lignins are the result of dehydrogenative polymerization of monolignols, notably p-coumaryl, coniferyl and synapyl alcohols. Reviewed in Boerjan et al., Annu. Rev. Plant. Biol. 54: 519-46 (2003). Different plant species or cell types harbor lignin polymers composed of varying proportions of these three monolignols. For example, gymnosperm lignin is primarily composed of guaiacyl (coniferyl-derived) units, whereas angiosperm lignin is primarily composed of guaiacyl and syringyl (synapyl-derived) units. Grass lignin, on the other hand, is a mixture of guaiacyl, syringyl and p-hydroxylphenyl (coumaryl-derived) units. Campbell and Sederoff, Plant. Physiol. 110: 3-13 (1996). It is well known that the monomeric composition of lignin has a significant effect on its chemical degradation during industrial pulping. Baucher et al., Plant Physiol. 112: 1479-1490 (1996); O'Connell et al., Transgenic Res. 11: 495-503 (2002); Baucher et al., Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 38: 305-50 (2003).
Several steps in the monolignol biosynthesis pathway, leading to lignin synthesis, represent SAM-dependent methylation reactions, evidencing the importance of this methionine-derived substrate in lignin biosynthesis. SAM is synthesized from methionine by the action of one or more SAM synthetase iso forms and is used as a cofactor in many processes in plant cells besides lignification, such as DNA methylation and ethylene, biotin and polyamine biosynthesis. Ravanel et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95: 7805-7812 (1998).
Wood Density
In the assessment of raw-material quality for pulping, wood density is another important parameter. Wood density significantly influences the yield and quality of fibrous and solid wood products, as well as strength, machinability, conversion, wearability, and paper yield. Bamber and Burley, The wood properties of Radiata Pine. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau. Slough, p. 84 (1983). High wood densities are advantageous because they correspond to higher pulp yields on a raw-material volume basis, and to a better use of digestor capacity. From the vantage point of forest production, high wood density combined with high volume growth maximizes production on the unit area basis. Miranda et al., Forest Ecology and Management 149: 235-40 (2001).
While wood density is a critical factor in the profitability of kraft pulp production, increasing wood density is difficult because it is a complex trait that is not easily managed for breeding purposes. For temperate softwood, the average ring density depends on the earlywood and latewood proportion and the relative densities of each of them. Thus, improved wood density is the result of various combinations of components that could be changed by manipulating one or more components. Louz, Ann. For. Sci. 60: 285-94 (2003). Further adding to the difficulties associated with increasing wood density, hardwood tree improvement is a slow process because of the lengthy time needed for breeding a single generation. This process is made even more difficult by the changes that occur during the transition from juvenility to maturity.
Although the wood density is a complex trait, it presents great variations between trees as well as high heritability and reduced Genotype×Environment interactions. In analyzing wood densities in different species, it has been shown that wood density has a strong genetic component. Louzada and Fonseca, Ann. For. Sci. 59: 867-73 (2002).
There is consensus amongst the forest breeding community that if one could develop methods that allow early selection at the individual level, this would be of considerable value for increasing the genetic gain per unit time. In this regard, current research efforts are focused on identifying molecular markers that cosegregate with complex traits, such as wood basic density. Grattapaglia et al., Genetics 144: 1205-14 (1996). Most of these studies have associated quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with juvenile wood density. For example, four markers showed a consistent association with juvenile wood density in segregating populations of Pinus radiata. Devey et al., Theor Appl Genet 108: 516-24 (2004).
Accordingly, there is a continuing need to identify genes whose expression can be affected to increase wood density and decrease lignin in plants, in particular, woody tree species.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method for processing high priority packets and low priority packets in a network device includes performing arbitration on high priority packets until no high priority packets remain. Arbitration then is enabled on low priority packets. A packet size associated with the selected low priority packet is compared with a programmable threshold. Low priority packets are excluded from subsequent arbitration for a programmable duration when the packet size exceeds the programmable threshold.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data flow control systems and, more particularly, to traffic flow control systems and methods.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional network devices relay data units, such as packets, through a network from a source to a destination. Typically, a network device buffers the data units, for example in queues, and includes one or more arbitration subsystems to control data unit flow into and out of the queue.
Conventional arbitration subsystems often operate on a per-queue basis, and therefore do not take into account the unique characteristics of the traffic. Thus, certain types of traffic may block other types of traffic. For example, low priority traffic may continue to be sent to a processor, blocking high priority traffic before a flow controller can stop the flow of such low priority traffic.
Therefore, there exists a need for systems and methods for arbitrating traffic that minimizes traffic blocking.

Systems and methods for limiting low priority traffic from blocking high priority traffic


Switchover of a filtered and unfiltered pulse oximetry sensor is provided with gain controlled amplifiers controlled by separate gain control voltages that may change in opposite directions over a period of time. The outputs of the gain controlled amplifiers may be coupled to voltage-to-current converters whose outputs may be coupled in parallel. The parallel coupled outputs of the voltage-to-current converters may produce a current signal representative of the output of the gain controlled amplifier having the highest gain/signal.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive method of monitoring the percentage of hemoglobin (hereinafter "Hb") that is saturated with oxygen. A pulse oximeter may include of a pheripheral probe linked to a monitor that may be microprocessor controlled. The probe may be placed on a peripheral part of the body such as a digit (e.g., one finger or toe), ear lobe or nose. Within the probe, there are typically two light emitting diodes (LEDs), one in the visible red spectrum (e.g., 660 nm) and the other in the infrared spectrum (e.g., 940 nm). Using a transmission type sensor, these two beams of light pass through tissue to a photodetector. During passage through tissue, some light is absorbed by blood and soft tissue depending on the concentration of Hb. The amount of light absorption at each light wavelength depends on the degree of oxygenation of Hb within the tissue. By calculating the light absorption at the two wavelengths, the microprocessor of the monitor may compute the proportion of oxygenated Hb. A microprocessor of an oximeter may average oxygen saturation values over five to twenty seconds. The pulse rate may also be calculated from the number of LED cycles between successive pulsatile signals and averaged over a similar variable period of time, depending on the particular oximeter. A monitor may display the percentage of oxygen saturated Hb together with an audible signal for each pulse beat, a calculated heart rate, and in some monitors, a graphical display of the blood flow past the probe. User programmable audible alarms may also be provided.
From the proportions of light absorbed at each light wavelength, the microprocessor may calculate an estimation of the patient's SpO2 level. The monitor may then display the oxygen saturation digitally as a percentage and/or audibly as a tone of varying pitch.
Reflection pulse oximetry uses reflected, rather than transmitted, light on a single-sided sensor. It can therefore be used proximally anatomically, e.g., on the forehead or bowel, although it may be difficult to secure. Other than using specific reflection spectra, the principles are generally the same as for transmission oximetry.
Oximeters may be calibrated during manufacture and may automatically check internal circuits when turned on. Oximeters may be accurate in the range of oxygen saturations of about 70% to 100% (+/ −2%), but may be less accurate under 70%. The pitch of the audible pulse signal may fall in reducing values of saturation. The size of the pulse wave (related to flow) may be displayed graphically. Some models automatically increase the gain of the display when the flow decreases, but in these models, the display may prove misleading. The alarms usually respond to a slow or fast pulse rate or an oxygen saturation below 90%. At this level, there may be a 30 marked fall in PaO2 representing serious hypoxia.


Systems and techniques for efficient free-space finger recognition are herein described. A surface in a depth image may be identified. One or more blobs in the depth image may be identified. The identified blobs may be analyzed to determine if a blob intersects with an edge of the depth image and classified as a potential hand if the blob does intersect with the edge or classified as an object otherwise.

Perceptual computing (e.g., future computing) may include Projected Touch Surface (PTS) interfaces. PTS may use a projector to project user interface elements on a surface, such as a desk or a table. Because the surface itself may not be able to accept input, the PTS may use other sensors to observe interactive behaviors and use these as inputs. For example, the PTS may include a depth sensor to identify fingers (e.g., finger tips) moving (or being positioned) on or around the projected user interface to determine interactions with the interface.


An amplifier circuit includes an amplifier having an amplifying device composed of GaN or a GaN compound semiconductor used for an active region, and a distortion compensation circuit that is connected to the amplifier, has an attenuation characteristic, and has a negative phase distortion.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an amplifier circuit that utilizes a semiconductor device in which GaN or a GaN compound semiconductor element (hereinafter, referred to as GaN-based semiconductor device) is employed for an active region.
2. Description of the Related Art
These years, the GaN-based semiconductor devices such as FET or HEMT that includes GaN, AlGaN, or InAlGaN, which attract attention, enable a higher output than other devices that include Si or GaAs. For example, the GaN-based semiconductor devices are expected to apply to mobile telephones or base stations of the mobile telephones, as described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-246471.
In order to put the GaN-based semiconductor devices to practical use, it is important to grasp the specific characteristic. However, actual studies of the GaN-based semiconductor devices have recently started and there are still many unknowns at present.
The inventor of the present invention has found that a positive phase distortion occurs on the GaN-based semiconductor device. Generally, it is ideal that an amplifying device amplifies the input signal to maintain a constant phase difference between the input and output, regardless of the relationship between the input signal and output power. However, on the GaN-based semiconductor device, the phase of the output signal is distorted as the output power increases, as shown in FIG. 1. There has been no proposal for the method of correcting the phase distortion in the amplifier circuit having the GaN-based semiconductor device.

Amplifier circuit, control method of the same, and amplifier circuit module


A compound represented by the general formula (I) or a salt thereof:

Avermectins are antiparasitic antibiotics produced by Streptomyces avermitilis. Four main ingredients (A1a, A2a, B1a and B2a) have been known, and among them, avermectin B1a is known to have potent activity (Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (KOKAI) No. (Hei) 3-254678/1991).
Various derivatives have been synthesized so far to provide avermectin derivatives having higher activity. However, these derivatives fail to have fully satisfactory antiparasitic activity. For example, a monosaccharide derivative as avermectin derivatives are known. However, these derivatives are known to have two to four fold weaker activity than corresponding disaccharide compounds (J. Med. Chem., 23, 1134-1136, 1980).

Abstract: wherein

Abstract: represents —CH═CH—, —CH2—CH2— or the like,

Abstract: between R1 and the carbon atom at 4′-position represents a single bond or a double bond,

Abstract: between R2 and the carbon atom at 5-position represents a single bond or a double bond, and for example, 1) when

Abstract: represents —CH═CH— or —CH2—CH2—, and

Abstract: between R1 and the carbon atom at 4′-position represents a double bond, R1 represents ═C(R11)(R12) (wherein R11 represents a lower alkyl group or the like and R12 represents a hydrogen atom or the like) or the like, and R2 represents a hydroxyl group or the like, or R2 may be combined together with the carbon atom at 5-position to form a carbonyl group, and 2) when

Abstract: represents —CH═CH— or —CH2—CH2—, and

Abstract: between R1 and the carbon atom at 4′-position represents a single bond, R1 represents —OCH(R1a)(R1b) (wherein R1a represents a lower alkyl or the like and R1b represents a hydrogen atom or the like) or the like, and R2 represents a hydroxyl group or the like.


A data manipulation method of a logical volume manager is applicable to data management of dependent snapshot volumes (SVs) of a logical volume manager. The data management method includes the following steps generating a plurality of SVs, defining the SV generated at first as a first SV, defining the SV generated at last as a last SV, and defining the rest SVs as middle SVs; selecting a middle SV; combining content stored in the selected middle SV into a neighboring SV; according to the combined SV, combining meta-data of the selected middle SV into meta-data of the middle SV; deleting the selected middle SV. The logical volume manager does not need copy the data again, thereby saving access time in data management.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a data manipulation method of a logical volume manager, and more particularly to a deletion manipulation method of a dependent snapshot volume of the logical volume manager.
2. Related Art
In order to store the data in a computer safely and effectively, many data storage techniques were proposed in the past, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) and logical volume manager (LVM). The LVM integrates multiple physical disks, considers the physical disks as a volume group, and partitions several logical volumes (LVs) from the volume group.
The LVM further provides a snapshot volume (SV) method. The snapshot is to provide a corresponding SV adapted to back up the data in real time at a specific time. The SV backs up the overwritten data in the LV instead of backing up all the data in the LV completely.
FIG. 1 shows the process for the data backup of the LV and the SV. Referring to FIG. 1, the process is as follows. Provide an LV (step S110), and the logical volume has a plurality of pieces of data. Add an SV (step S120). Write new data into a cache (step S130). Read the data in the LV before alteration (step S140). Write the data before alteration into the SV (step S150). Write the new data into the LV from the cache (step S160).
The SVs may be categorized into dependent SVs and independent SVs. The dependent SVs require a lower cost to implement (hardware and software) than the independent SVs. Therefore, many logical volume managing systems still employ dependent SVs. FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of the dependent SVs in the prior art. Referring to FIG. 2, the top of FIG. 2 represents the raw data in an LV. The time axis from the top to the bottom represents the time sequence of creating the SVs. In FIG. 2, a first SV, a second SV and a third SV are created sequentially. When the data in the LV changes for the first time, the first SV is generated. When the data in the LV changes for the second time, the second SV is generated according to the first SV and the newly changed part of the LV. Similarly, when the data in the LV changes for the third time, the third SV is generated.
Because the first SV makes reference to the second SV, and the second SV makes reference to the third SV, when the second SV is to be deleted, an error that the first SV cannot make reference to the second SV occurs. As for the whole logical volume managing system, all of the unnecessary SVs should be deleted completely.

Data manipulation method of logical volume manager


Improved non-cellular (e.g., Wi-Fi) link integration with a cellular (e.g., LTE) network is described. The improved link integration can relate to utilizing an eNodeB device (e.g., residing in a radio access network portion of a cellular network) as an anchor point rather than a packet data network gateway device (e.g., residing in a core network portion of the cellular network) utilized by other approaches. The improved link integration can maintain full compliance with or support for other approaches, and can reduce signaling overhead, simplify quality-of-service management, and/or provide a more rapid reaction to changes of access, particularly in cases where the eNodeB device and a non-cellular access point device are co-located.

Third generation partnership project (3GPP) standards define how non-3GPP access can be integrated into the long term evolution (LTE) cellular infrastructure in specification TS 23.402 and several additional documents. A number of architectural designs are specified for different application situations such as roaming vs. non-roaming, local breakout vs. home-routed, etc. However, such documents share the same fundamental approach. In this regard, a mobile device or other user equipment (UE) attached to a non-3GPP access network forms a "tunnel" to a packet data network gateway (PGW) in the evolved packet core of the LTE cellular infrastructure over the non-3GPP link and the associated access network, and uses the tunnel at the PGW as an integration anchor point.

Non-cellular link integration with cellular networks


A high density electrical connector to connect an electronic device and a printed circuit board includes a connector body disposed on the printed circuit board, several terminal channels disposed in the connector body, and several terminals disposed in the terminal channels. The printed circuit board has several contact points. Each terminal has an extending portion to connect with the contact points of the printed circuit board. Another end of the terminal has a joint generated by separating with a carrier. A method for assembling the high density electrical connector is also disclosed.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector. More particularly, the present invention relates to a high density electrical connector.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical connectors are common electrical apparatus that provide an individual connecting structure to stably transmit signals between two electronic devices. The signal and a current between the electronic devices are transmitted by a number of terminals, thus terminal design is quite important to the electrical connector.
Refer to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 illustrates an oblique diagram of an electrical connector of U.S. Pat. No. 6,464,537. The electrical connector 20 is an electrical card edge connector utilized to connect a daughter board and a motherboard 30. The daughter board is vertically inserted into a terminal channel 22 of the electrical connector 20 and is in contact with terminals 24 on both sides of the terminal channel 22 to connect the daughter board with the motherboard 30 via the terminals 24. The electrical connector 20 may have several baffles 26 disposed between the daughter board and the terminals 24 to guide the daughter board and protect the terminals 24 from a crashing deformation caused by improper assembly.
Refer to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 illustrates a lateral view diagram of an electrical connector of U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,561. The electrical connector 40 connects an electronic device and a printed circuit board 50. A butt terminal of the electronic device may be inserted into a terminal channel 42 of the electrical connector 40 and be in contact with a terminal 44 in the terminal channel 42. The terminal 44 may electrical connect the electronic device and the printed circuit board 50 by an extending portion 45 mounted on the printed circuit board 50. The electrical connector 40 may also have at least a baffle 46 disposed between the electronic device and the terminal 44 for guiding the electronic device and protecting the terminal 44 from a crashing deformation caused by improper assembly.
In the above electrical connector assembly, the terminals are connected on a carrier and inserted into the electrical connector from a downside to an upside. Then the extending portions of the terminals are separated from the carrier and mounted at the contact points on the printed circuit board to electrically connect the printed circuit board and the electronic device. However, computer peripherals and electronic devices are becoming smaller and therefore need for a high density electrical connectors is becoming larger. In the high density electrical connector, if one of the extending portions cannot be mounted to the contact point completely or properly, the high density electrical connector may not work well. Thus the smoothness of the extending portion is really important.
To separate the extending portions from the carrier, the extending portions are bent and a joint is generated on the extending portion. Separating the terminals from the carrier may cause a bending deformation to the terminals and reduce the smoothness of the extending portions and the accuracy of mounting the terminals onto the contact points is difficult to control.
Refer to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 illustrates a lateral view diagram of another electrical connector. The electrical connector 60 is utilized to connect a central processing unit (CPU). The electrical connector 60 includes an upper cover 66 and a base 67. The base 67 includes several terminal channels 64 and each terminal channel 64 may have a terminal 70 inserted. The upper cover 66 has several terminal passages 68 disposed corresponding to the terminal channels 64 respectively. The upper cover 66 may slide relative to the base 67. Butt terminals 70 of the CPU must be adjusted to the terminal passage 68, the CPU is then inserted into the terminal channels 64 to be in contact with the terminals 62 in the electrical connector 60 and to establish an electrical connection between the CPU and the printed circuit board.
In the electrical connector 60, the terminal channels 64 of the base 67 may fix the terminals 62. The terminals 62 may be inserted into the base 67 from an upside or a downside of the base 67, but the bending deformation of the extending portion caused by separating terminals 62 from the carrier may not be prevented when the terminals 62 are inserted into the terminal channels 64 from the downside of the base 67.
The upper cover 66 of the electrical connector 60 for the CPU may protect the terminals 62 from the crashing deformation when inserting the butt terminals 70 as the baffle 26 in FIG. 6. The bending deformation of the extending portion of the terminals 62 may not be solved and the upper cover 66 may complicate the structure of the electrical connector 60.
For the forgoing reasons, there is a need for a high density electrical connector to improve the mounting accuracy between the extending portion of the terminals and the printed circuit board and improve the fabricating quality of the electrical connector.


A boring tool includes a depth stop for regulating cutting depth of the boring tool. The boring tool has a shank and an elongated cutting head. The depth stop includes a sleeve body which is selectively, detachably fixed to a shank of the boring tool by a sleeve body attaching mechanism and a cutting depth regulating structure that is rotatably mounted to the sleeve body. A depth stop for regulating cutting depth of a rotary cutting tool having an axis of rotation includes a cutting depth regulating structure having circumferentially spaced, radially extending tines including a portion extending substantially in parallel to the axis of rotation and may be selectively, detachably fixed to the rotary cutting tool by a collet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved depth stop, removably attachable to a rotary cutting tool and particularly to a boring tool with an enlarged cutting head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Depth stops facilitate precision drilling by regulating the depth to which a drilling tool penetrates a work piece to an operator-selected distance. A typical depth stop includes a body that slips over a drilling tool and is removably attachable to the drilling tool, for example, by a set screw extending through the body. The stop is secured to the drilling tool at a selected position which defines the depth to which the drilling tool can penetrate a work piece. Once the stop comes into contact with the work piece, the tool can penetrate no further into the work piece. Because the stop is typically fixed to the drilling tool so that it can not rotate with respect thereto, the stop continues to rotate with the tool when it comes into contact with the work piece, thus marring the surface of the work piece. Marring is minimized if the portion of the stop that comes into contact with the work piece is rotatable with respect to the body of the depth stop so that when that portion comes into contact with the work piece, it stops rotating as the body and drilling tool continue to rotate.
Depth stops for drilling tools having rotatable contact structures are known in the art. Drilling tools such as drill bits, however, typically have a constant diameter along their length, at least for the portion of the drilling tool at which a depth stop would be attached. Certain boring tools, such as, for example, Forstner bits or multi-tip spur bits, have a substantially different structure as compared with conventional drill bits. Such bits may have an elongated, constant diameter shank portion, one end of which is inserted into and held by the chuck of a drilling machine. A cutting head located at the opposite end of the shank is a generally cylindrical structure of constant diameter, typically larger than the diameter of the shank. The cutting head may have radially and circumferentially extending cutting blades at its free end. The cutting head is also typically relatively short in axial length, and, therefore, attaching a depth stop thereto can be problematic.
Proficiency of the depth stop can be impaired by the presence of drilling debris around the hole being cut by the rotary cutting tool. Such debris can prevent the depth stop from contacting the surface of the work piece being cut, thus causing the depth of the hole regulated by the depth stop to be inaccurate. U.S. Pat. No. 3,000,239 proposes a depth stop structure comprising two diametrically opposed axially extending legs, the bottom ends of which contact the work piece to arrest advancement of the cutting tool into the work piece. Although debris may escape from between the legs, the device proposed in the '239 patent is merely sandwiched between an annular shoulder of the cutting tool and the chuck of the drilling machine; the device cannot be selectively fixed at a desired axial position along the cutting tool. Moreover, with only two diametrically opposed legs, the device is inherently unstable in the lateral direction.
In addition, fixing the non-rotating portion of the depth stop to the cutting tool by means of set screws extending radially into a body of the depth stop presents certain disadvantages. Installing, adjusting, and removing the depth stop is cumbersome and time consuming because of the need to tighten and loosen the set screw or set screws. Moreover, the set screw itself requires an additional tool, such as a screw driver or allen wrench. Also, a set screw tightened against a cutting tool can mar the tool itself, especially if the depth stop turns with respect to the cutting tool while the set screw is tightened against the tool. If the set screw is tightened against the cutting blades of a drill bit, the resulting marring of the blades by the set screw can impair performance of the drill bit.


The invention relates to a pebble bed reactor comprising a core cavity filled with spherical fuel elements and bounded by reflector material. Spherical fuel elements pass through the core cavity under the effect of gravity. Coolant gas flows through the core cavity in a descending or ascending stream. The coolant-gas lines provided for the purpose discharge laterally above the base of the cavity bottom. In the reactor according to the invention, coolant gas can be conveyed through the pile of fuel elements without problems over long operating times.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a pebble bed reactor comprising a core cavity which is filled with spherical fuel elements and bounded by reflector material, and through which spherical fuel elements pass under the effect of gravity and coolant gas flows in a descending or ascending stream.
2. Background Information
Pebble bed reactors are known. For example, a pebble bed reactor with graphite core is described in DE 31 49 794 C1. In pebble bed reactors, a pile of spherical fuel elements known as the pebble bed passes under the effect of gravity through a core cavity bounded by reflector material. Control of the nuclear reactor is achieved by neutron absorbers, for example control rods, which either are moved in bores in the reflector material or are inserted directly into the pile of spherical fuel elements for reactor control.
To replace spent spherical fuel elements, which are removed from the core cavity, the pile is refilled. Pebble outlet tubes are usually provided at the bottom of the core cavity for removal of spherical fuel elements. The fuel elements are fed toward the pebble outlet tubes via funnel-shaped depressions in the bottom reflector. Larger core cavities or core cavities with a central column of graphite in the pebble bed are equipped with a plurality of pebble outlet tubes.
Usually a stream of coolant gas, especially helium, is passed vertically through the pile of fuel elements. The direction of flow of the coolant gas can be the same as that of the direction of movement of the spherical fuel elements in the gravity direction (descending flow), but the coolant gas can also flow through the core cavity counter to the direction of movement of the spherical fuel elements, or in other words upward (ascending flow). For supply and removal of coolant gas, the core cavity is provided in the top and bottom reflectors with coolant-gas inlet and outlet orifices, which usually discharge into respective gas plenums, which are used to make the gas stream uniform, and especially to equalize the temperature in the coolant gas.
As the spherical fuel elements move through in gravity direction, the spherical surfaces become abraded. It is even possible for fragments of spheres to be formed and to accumulate at the bottom of the core cavity. Fragments of spheres are formed in particular when control rods are inserted into the pile and moved in the pile. Such fragments of spheres are mainly removed from the core cavity via the pebble outlet tubes, but they can also stick in the gas penetrations in the bottom reflector and cause fouling. In such cases, the coolant-gas flow can be greatly impaired.


A system for cutting to length at least two strands of long rolled products (3, 5) preferably coming from a hot rolling mill. The system includes shears comprising at least two rotatable drums (4,6), each drum having a cutter (8,8′,10,10′) arranged to cut simultaneously at least two strands of long rolled products into finished segments. The system further includes at least two movable guides (12,14), each including at least two channels, each guide arranged to receive and guide at least one strand (3,5) of long product. The guides are movable between a position wherein, in operation, the strands of long product are located in positions either outside of the trajectory of the cutters in a position wherein the strands cannot be cut or wherein the strands are located on the trajectories of the cutters and can be cut by the cutters.

The invention concerns a system for cutting to commercial length ferrous long rolled products coming from different strands of a rolling mill.
The invention may be used particularly, but not exclusively, in hot-rolling plants for the production of ferrous long products such as bars, rods or the like.
In order to produce finished long metal products such as bar, rod or the like, a plant comprises, among other devices, a plurality of rolling stands aligned along a rolling line to continuously roll billets received from a furnace or other like source.
A long product production plant can be configured to process simultaneously a plurality of strands. The strands are obtained by dividing or slitting the product when it is still hot at a given point of the plant, for example after a given number of rolling passes. The slitting is to increase the production rate of a plant without increasing the rolling speed of the last stands. After this slitting, the long metal product is divided in different strands which need to be subsequently treated.
After the last rolling stand, the product is generally cut into bar segments, which are subsequently cooled, for example in a cooling bed.
Therefore, there is a need for a simple, compact and efficient cutting means able to cut a plurality of strands coming from a rolling mill before their discharge onto a cooling bed.

System and method for cutting to length long rolled products coming from different strands of a rolling mill


An image forming apparatus, having a housing, a flapper swingable relatively to the housing between a first position and a second position; a pressure link swingable relatively to the housing and the flapper, a first contact surface arranged on the housing, a first urging member to urge the flapper to swing relatively to the pressure link toward the first contact surface, a second urging member to urge the pressure link to act on the flapper to tend toward staying in the first position, and a flapper switcher having a pressure applier movable between a pressing position and a separated position, is provided. The flapper is swingable relatively to the pressure link against an urging force from the first urging member, after the pressure applier presses the pressure link to move the flapper from the first position to the second position and when the flapper contacts the first contact surface.

Technical Field
An aspect of the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a swingable flapper.
Related Art
An image forming apparatus having conveyer pathways, which are branched at a branch point, to convey sheets in different directions is known. The image forming apparatus may have a flapper disposed at the branch point to selectively open or close the conveyer pathways and a switcher device to operate the flapper to change positions thereof. Further, for example, the image forming apparatus may have a switcher arm, which may be coupled to the flapper. When the switcher device applies pressure to the switcher arm, the switcher arm may move the flapper to swing.


A delta-sigma modulator includes two integrators. One of the two integrators is lossy. The lossy integrator may be a continuous-time integrator, or a discrete-time integrator. Use of the lossy integrator maintains stability of the delta-sigma converter over a relatively wide range of input signals.

Delta-sigma modulators are ubiquitous circuits that find application in a relatively large number of electronic circuits and systems. For example, one may use delta-sigma modulators in analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), digital-to-analog converters (DACs), and the like.
Advances in semiconductor fabrication technology, for example, the commonly available complementary metal oxide semiconductor process, have made producing delta-sigma modulators more wide-spread.

Apparatus and methods for safe-mode delta-sigma modulators


Various methods are provided for notifying a vehicle operator of various parameters based on an exhaust fluid level sensor of an exhaust fluid storage tank. In one example, the parameter is a consumption rate of the exhaust fluid. In another example, the parameter is an amount of fluid to be added to the exhaust fluid storage tank.

Vehicle systems may include an engine with an exhaust gas treatment system coupled in its exhaust passage in order to control regulated emissions. In some examples, the exhaust gas treatment system may include a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system in which an exhaust fluid, such as urea or ammonia, is added to the exhaust stream upstream of a catalyst such that NOx may be reduced by the catalyst. In such an example, the exhaust fluid may be held in an exhaust fluid storage tank which is periodically refilled. In some approaches, the exhaust fluid storage tank may be filled via a dispenser which includes an automatic shut-off of fluid flow such that the exhaust fluid storage tank is not overfilled. For example, a current level of exhaust fluid may be unknown, as a level sensor may only indicate if the exhaust fluid is above or below a threshold level.
The inventors herein have recognized the above issue and have devised an approach to at least partially address it. In one example, a method for a vehicle system includes sensing throughout a range an exhaust fluid level in an exhaust fluid storage tank, and notifying a vehicle operator of a parameter based on the sensed exhaust fluid level.
By sensing the exhaust fluid level throughout a range, such as from a near empty exhaust fluid level to a near full exhaust fluid level, various information regarding the exhaust fluid storage tank may be determined. For example, the parameter which is determined may be an exhaust fluid consumption rate or an amount of exhaust fluid to be added to the exhaust fluid storage tank. Further, the operator of the vehicle may be notified of the parameter via a display such that appropriate action may be taken. For example, when the amount of exhaust fluid to be added to the exhaust fluid storage tank is displayed on a dashboard of the vehicle, the operator may add an amount of exhaust fluid to the exhaust fluid storage tank such that the exhaust fluid storage tank is filled to a maximum level without overfilling the exhaust fluid storage tank. In one example, the exhaust fluid may be added to the exhaust fluid storage tank from a vessel such as a bottle without an automatic fluid flow shut-off. In such an example, the vehicle operator may pour a quantity of exhaust fluid into the exhaust fluid storage tank based on the sensed exhaust fluid level with a reduced possibility of overfilling the exhaust fluid storage tank.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

Methods for an exhaust fluid level sensor


A method of classifying fine particles includes: introducing a fine particle dispersion containing the fine particles to a micro flow channel having an inlet part and a collection part from the inlet part; moving the fine particles to an inner upper side of the micro flow channel by an electric field applied in a gravitational direction; and delivering the fine particle dispersion in a laminar flow state to the collection part. The delivering step includes classifying the fine particles according to differences in settling velocity among the fine particles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of classifying fine particles and, more particularly, to a method of classifying fine particles contained in fine particle dispersion by using a micro flow channel. Also, the present invention relates to an apparatus of classifying fine particles and, more particularly, to an apparatus of classifying fine particles contained in fine particle dispersion by using a micro flow channel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Methods of classifying fine particles include a dry classification method and a wet classification method.
The dry classification method may have high precision due to a large difference in specific gravity between the liquid and the fine particle.
On the other hand, according to the wet classification method, the difference in specific gravity between the liquid and the fine particle is small. However, the fine particles are easily dispersed in the liquid. Thus, high classification accuracy is obtained, especially, in a fine particle-size region. In both the dry classification method and the wet classification method, usually, a classifier has a rotary part. Further, it is a main stream approach to classify fine particles by utilizing the balance between a centrifugal force and an inertia force. However, due to the presence of the rotary part, related classifiers have problems of wear contaminants and cleaning thereof. A classifier for the dry classification method, which utilizes "Coanda effect" without a rotary part, has been commercialized. However, no classifier enabled to efficiently perform the wet classification method without a rotary part has been obtained.
Meanwhile, various methods of performing chemical reactions and unit operations in a micro-region have recently been studied. Methods and apparatuses of efficiently classifying fine particles without producing contaminants have been studied.
"Development of Method of Continuous Classification of Fine Particles Using Laminar Flow System in Microchannel", Proceedings of 69th Annual Meeting of the Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan, No. 201 has proposed a method and an apparatus of using a microchannel having a partly thinned part (a pinched channel) and utilizing the profile of a characteristic flow in the microchannel, so that fine particles in a direction perpendicular to the flow can be classified only by introducing the fine particles, as a method and an apparatus of classifying fine particles. This document has reported that this method can classify fine particles having diameters of 15 μm and 30 μm.
"Study on Behavior in Micro-Separator/Classifier by Euler-Lagrange Method", Proceedings of 69th Annual Meeting of the Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan, No. 202 has reported a method of separating and classifying fine particles by utilizing the difference in specific gravity between a fluid and a fine particle and also utilizing a centrifugal force and a lift force, which relate to the flow rate of the fluid, in a circular-arc-like microchannel that is rectangular in cross-section.
However, the former method, which classifies fine particles without utilizing a force of gravity and a centrifugal force, has problems of the settling and the sedimentation of fine particles onto the bottom surface of the channel in a case where the specific gravity of the fine particles is larger than that of a fluid. On the other hand, the latter method utilizes a centrifugal force and has good performance of classification in a case where the difference in specific gravity between the fine particle and the fluid. However, the settling of the fine particles is also facilitated. Thus, it is difficult to achieve both of the enhancement of classification efficiency and the prevention of the sedimentation of the fine particles and the blocking-up of the channel.
Both of the former method and the latter method have a problem that an amount of sediment increases and the flow channel is blocked up in a case where the classification is continuously performed for a long time.

Method and apparatus of classifying fine particles


A cargo management system for the interior of a vehicle having a removable hardtop may comprise two rails, a rack and a tray. The rails may comprise tie-down anchors. The tray may be secured to the rack using hook-and-loop fasteners.

Vehicle structures for carrying cargo, and particularly aftermarket cargo structures, are typically mounted on the exterior of a vehicle. Such structure may be mounted on the top, sides, back or over the hood of the vehicle. Any cargo affixed to the structure may be susceptible to environmental damage, theft, and the like. Mounting such structures to the exterior of a vehicle may also tend to reduce fuel efficiency, and adversely change the aerodynamic profile of the vehicle. There exists a need for a method and apparatus for a cargo management system suitable for mounting to the interior of a vehicle.


Various embodiments relate to a radio frequency transponder. In one embodiment, the transponder includes: a substrate and at least one planar antenna on the substrate, the antenna having a shape determining a corresponding resonant frequency of the antenna, wherein the antenna is configured to cause a phase difference between backscattered signals generated in response to excitation of the antenna by orthogonally polarized interrogation signals at the resonant frequency, and the phase difference represents a code of the antenna.

1. Field
The described technology generally relates to a radio frequency transponder, a radio frequency transponder system, and a process performed by the system. In one embodiment, the transponder is passive and the system may be used for identifying and tracking items where the transponders are in close proximity, such as when applied to books of libraries.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems are based around the use of an RFID tag which is a radio frequency transponder attached to an object and used to store a unique identification code for the object. The code is read from the tag by an RFID reader of the system. Most RFID systems employed in libraries use an RFID tag that includes an antenna and a microcontroller semiconductor chip that stores the unique identification code for the tag. In Australia, only about 6% of public libraries currently use RFID systems for identifying the items they hold. It is considered that one of the reasons for the relatively low adoption of RFID systems within libraries is the cost of the tags. The primary cost associated with tags including microcontrollers is the microcontroller itself.


A regulating apparatus and a regulating method for regulating the internal pressure P.sub.i of a ventilated, closed volume subjected to variations in external pressure P.sub.e, the apparatus including at least two compensation circuits enabling the intake air flow rate q.sub.1 and the extraction air flow rate q.sub.2 to be adjusted in real time so that the difference between these two flow rates algebraically compensates for the leakage flow rate q.sub.f, and maintains the internal pressure P.sub.i inside the volume at a constant level.

It is recalled that the term "regulating" means maintaining the physical magnitude to be regulated at a predetermined constant value.
The apparatus of the present invention is suitable for being applied to two different categories of equipment.
A first category concerns regulating the internal pressure of any moving, ventilated vehicle subjected to variations in external pressure, e.g. consequent upon rapid changes in its aerodynamic field or upon variations in altitude.
By way of example, very high speed trains may be mentioned.
In this first category of equipment, unregulated variations in pressure would be physiologically unpleasant for the user.
A second category generally concerns any ventilated volume in communication with a varying external pressure.
In a vehicle or a volume in which internal air is renewed by air-conditioning or ventilation using external air, the internal pressure is close to the external pressure.
Variations in external pressure are passed on almost instantaneously to the inside of the volume because of the dimensions of the sectionals of the ventilation circuits. The time constant with which pressure variations are transmitted to the inside of air-conditioned or ventilated vehicles is thus often small, because of the very characteristics of the ventilation circuits.
By way of example, it is known that when a vehicle moving through the atmosphere passes close to an obstacle (a tunnel entrance, a bridge, various objects in the vicinity of the track or road, etc), or when going past another vehicle, the field of aerodynamic velocities that the vehicle conveys with it is deformed.
Such a phenomenon results in rapid variations in pressure on the external walls of the vehicle.
The higher the speed of the vehicle, the more pronounced this effect is, since the pressures are approximately proportional to the square of the speed.
In particular, when very high speed trains enter tunnels or cuttings, rapid variations in pressure occur on the external walls of the rail cars. These sudden variations propagate through the confined space constituted by the tunnel or by the cutting, and they are known as "pressure waves".
Furthermore, these pressure waves, which propagate through the external confined space, are reflected at its ends, thereby creating return pressure waves that are as large as the direct waves.
These variations are passed rapidly on to the insides of the vehicles mainly via the ventilation or air-conditioning circuits, which is very unpleasant for the passengers.
It is thus common to be subjected to pressure variations that can reach 2,000 Pascals in less than one second.
The invention is also applicable to any volume ventilated by means of an air intake circuit and of an air extraction circuit, the circuits being in contact with the external pressure, and regardless of whether or not the volume leaks.
By way of example, the volume may communicate with the outside other than via the above-defined circuits, e.g. via openings, permeable gaskets, doors or windows that are not completely sealed, W.C. vents, etc.
Variations in external pressure are generally transmitted very rapidly, almost instantaneously, to the volume via leaks but above all via the ventilation circuits which are often very permeable to such variations.
Such variations in pressure are generally not attenuated very much, and they can be physiologically unpleasant, as in very high speed trains.
The installations in question, whether they be stationary volumes or vehicles, are such that it is not possible to shut off the ventilation circuits for long periods during external pressure variations since a minimum level of air renewal must be provided
Similarly, it is not possible, for technological reasons, to achieve perfect sealing between the inside and the outside of the volume.

Method and apparatus for regulating the internal pressure of a ventilated, closed space subjected to variations in external pressure


An open-pore polyurethane foam support body (20) is impregnated in a single step with a solution of a thermoplastic adhesive dissolved in a solvent that is also a foam expander, or in two sequential steps first with a foam expanding solution and then, after the foam has expanded, with a solution of a thermoplastic adhesive, to form an adhesive layer (40) on the surfaces (25) within the pores (22) and passages (24) of the foam body (20). Sorbent particles (30) of activated carbon are introduced into the expanded pores until the expanded foam is packed to the desired density of carbon particle loading. The impregnated and loaded foam is then air dried at room temperature to evaporate the foam expanding solution until the foam body contracts to substantially its original volume. Following air drying, the foam body may be heated in an inert atmosphere at a sufficient temperature and for a sufficient time to remove any solvent that still may be coating the exposed surfaces of the activated carbon particles and also to soften the adhesive layer to further strengthen the resultant bonding of the activated carbon particles to the foam support body. The foam filter material 10 is unique in that at least a portion of the activated carbon particles 30 are mechanically bonded to the foam support body 20 by a mechanical locking resulting from the shrinkage of the expanded foam body about the particles 30, while at least portion of the activated carbon particles 30 are adhesively bonded to the foam support body 20 by the adhesive layer 40. A significant portion of the activated carbon particles 30 are both mechanically and adhesively bonded to the foam support body.

The present invention relates generally to filter material for removing contaminants from air or other fluid streams. More particularly, the present invention relates to a filter material formed of an open-pore foam support body having sorptive particles bonded to the surface of the open pores of the foam support body.
Filter materials formed of a porous substrate containing particulate material are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,238,056 to Pall et al discloses a filter material comprising a porous material substrate, having a proportion of pores ranging from greater than 25 microns up to about 150 microns in diameter, whose filtration characteristics are modified by impregnating the pores of the substrate with particulate material in an amount to reduce the pore diameter to less than 25 microns. The particulate material is deposited in the pores of the substrate by contacting the substrate with a fluid slurry of particulate material composed of a mixture at least 5% fibrous material, and preferably at least 25% of fibrous material, and nonfibrous particulate material. Pall et al disclose that any porous material whose pores extend from surface to surface may be used, including polyurethane and other forms, although the disclosed process is stated to be particularly useful for upgrading coarse filter media such as papers and nonwoven fibrous bats. Although Pall et al disclose that particulate material of any type may be used, including activated carbon as the nonfibrous particulate material, the preferred particulate material is composed of glass fiber as the fibrous component and diatomaceous earth of nonfibrous component.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,758 to Yoshida et al discloses a method of producing a polyurethane foam filter material containing an activated carbon adsorbent. According to the disclosed process, particles of activated carbon are precoated with a solid film of a selected polymeric material. A polyurethane foam-forming composition comprising isocyanates and polyesters and polyethers is reacted in the presence of the coated particles of activated carbon absorbent to form a foam filter material. The film of polymeric material coating the activated carbon particles may be removed after the formation of the foamed product by treating the foamed product with a solvent which dissolves the polymeric coating on the activated carbon material, but does not substantially dissolve the resultant polyurethane foam. If necessary, excess solvent may be removed by washing or other conventional practices and thermally drying the polyurethane foam filter material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,190 to Smolik discloses a process for the production of a filter material comprising an open-pore foam carrier having absorbent particles of different sizes fixed on the foam carrier and in the open pores thereof. According to the disclosed process, after a layer of adhesive, such as modified acrylates, polyurethanes, silicone rubber, polyvisylidene, polyvinyl chloride, polyamide and polyester granules and powders, is applied to the pores of the open-pore foam carrier by impregnating the foam carrier with the adhesive, the first relatively larger absorbent particles are applied to the foam carrier and introduced into the open pores thereof and thereafter, prior to the adhesive setting, the second relatively smaller absorbent particles are applied to the foam carrier and introduced into the open pores thereof. Thereafter, the foam carrier is passed through a drying apparatus at temperatures of around 150.degree. C. and those absorbent particles which are not fixed on the foam carrier or in the pores thereof are removed by suction.


A transmission element according to the invention for an actuating system integrated into an internal combustion engine provides a cam follower including a roller articulated on a shaft mounted on a piston suitable for sliding in a bore formed in a body of the transmission element is provided. The shaft having a body extending around a longitudinal axis, and includes at least one sacrificial tip attached on one of the ends of the body of the shaft. The sacrificial tip is made from a material having a hardness below the hardness of the material of the body defining the bore.

In the field of hydraulic, oil or gasoline pumps for internal combustion engines, pistons are generally actuated using rotating camshafts, the cams of which cooperate with cam followers. The cam followers generally comprise a roller articulated on a shaft mounted on the piston, which is suitable for sliding in a bore with which the cam follower forms a transmission element. The bore may be a chamber of a pump body. The shaft on which the roller is articulated is freely translatable along its longitudinal axis and is capable of coming into contact, or not coming into contact, with a wall of the bore in which the piston is mounted.
To avoid deterioration of the ends of the shaft or the surface of the bore, it is known from U.S. Pat. No. 7,793,583 to provide the ends of the shaft with curved surfaces suitable for coming into contact with the bore. Such a solution involves high friction and rapid wear of the bore.
It is known to stop the shaft axially relative to the piston, for example using elastic rings. It is also known to apply a coating on the ends of the shaft, in order to dampen the impact that may occur between the ends of the shaft and the bore. The production of a coating or placement of elastic rings requires additional production steps and creates a significant excess cost.
The invention aims to resolve these drawbacks by proposing a new transmission element whereof the cam follower has a structure allowing the damping of any impacts between the ends of the shaft and the bore more reliably and cost-effectively than in the state of the art.
To that end, the invention relates to a transmission element for an actuating system integrated into an internal combustion engine comprising a cam follower including a roller articulated on the shaft mounted on a piston suitable for sliding in a bore formed in a body of the transmission element, the shaft comprising a body extending around a longitudinal axis. This transmission element is characterized in that the shaft comprises at least one sacrificial tip attached on one of the ends of the body of the shaft and in that the sacrificial tip is made from a material having a hardness below the hardness of the material of the body defining the bore.
Owing to the invention, the potential friction between the ends of the shaft and the bore is damped by the sacrificial tips, which may deteriorate in contact with the bore without causing a failure on the cam follower. Furthermore, their hardness below that of the body defining the bore makes it possible to avoid damage on the surface of the bore.


Provided herein are deposition systems utilizing coated grids in an ion deposition process which provide more predictable erosion of the coating rather than erosion of the grid itself. Further, coatings may be utilized in which the coating material does not act as a contaminant to the deposition process, thereby eliminating contamination of the sample surface due to deposition of unwanted grid material. Also provided are methods of refurbishing a coated grid by periodically replacing the coating material thus protecting the grid itself and allowing a grid to be used indefinitely.

Ion Beam Sputtering, or IBS, is used in a variety of industries to deposit thin films of materials on a sample surface with controlled parameters (e.g. deposition thickness, structure, etc.). IBS uses an accelerated ion beam to dislodge particles from a target material, depositing the sputterant onto a sample. Typically, the ions are accelerated using a biased set of grids that electrostatically interact with a plasma to produce a beam directed at the target material. The grids used in these processes are typically made from a metal or carbon material (e.g. molybdenum, titanium, graphite, etc.).
While grid manufacturers strive to avoid interaction between the plasma and/or ion beam and the grids themselves, some interaction inevitably occurs in the form of either charge exchange or double ionization. Both interactions result in grid barrel erosion, which is the enlargement of grid barrel diameter. This enlargement causes two distinct problems in an IBS process. First, as the barrel diameter increases, the plasma beam's dimensions are altered and beam targeting is affected. Second, as the grid material itself is removed from the barrel due to interactions with the plasma or ions, the grid material can become a contaminant by acting as an unwanted secondary sputterant that is deposited onto either the target or sample surfaces.
For these and other reasons, grids are a problematic component in IBS systems, especially in applications in which grid contamination is a concern. Further, it can be difficult to determine when the above-mentioned problems are sufficient to necessitate replacement of the grid.
It can be seen from the foregoing that there remains a need in the art for grid systems for use with IBS or other deposition techniques with coatings which provide more predicable erosion due to beam interactions with the grid as well as reduced contamination via deposition of grid material on the sample surface. Further, there is a need for grid coatings that allow for the periodic replacement of the coating thereby providing continued protection of the valuable grid material.

Metal plating of grids for ion beam sputtering


According to one embodiment, an imprint method is provided. In the imprint method, minute objects adhering to a shot of a substrate, on which imprinting is next performed, are removed after delivering the substrate to the interior of an imprint apparatus and before dropping a resist onto the substrate. Thereafter, a resist is dropped onto the shot. Further, a template that is an original plate having a concave-convex pattern is brought into contact with the resist to form a resist pattern on the substrate according to the concave-convex pattern.

There is a case where when particles are generated at an imprinting step in manufacturing a semiconductor device, the particles adhere to a wafer substrate. When an original plate (a template) is pressed against the wafer substrate in this state, the template can be broken or a defect can occur in a circuit pattern in some cases.
Therefore, it is desirable at the imprinting step to press the original plate against the wafer substrate without any particles adhering to the wafer substrate.


Provided herein is a pad for treating eye conditions comprising a multipart container having an impermeable outer membrane sized to fit generally within the peri-orbital region and sufficiently flexible to mold to the eye; a first chemical in a first storage area in the multipart container; a second chemical in a second storage area in the multipart container, the first and second chemicals selected to have an exothermic reaction when mixed for producing a temperature suitable for treating eye conditions, the exothermic reaction providing the suitable temperature for a period of time suitable for treating eye conditions; and an inner membrane for initially separating the first and second chemicals, the inner membrane being renderable permeable, without causing the impermeable outer membrane to become permeable, to permit mixing the first and second chemicals to cause the exothermic reaction. This multipart container is covered with a soft, non-abrasive, lint-free material which is presoaked in a pH controlled antibacterial soap with or without an antibiotic.

There is a myriad of common eye diseases known in the field of Ophthalmology that necessitate the regular use of warm compresses applied to the periocular skin. The current gold standard of treatment for these conditions includes the simultaneous use of heat to unclog the openings of the eyelid sebaceous glands and increase blood flow to the affected areas, while massaging the eyelids with a non-irritating baby shampoo to wash off oily debris. A bacteriostatic antibiotic ointment is optionally used to cleanse the bacterial flora that reside at the eyelid margin and are believed to lead to these conditions. This set of steps has been proven to treat many of these conditions listed below and is currently the preferred means of achieving proper eyelid hygiene.
Eye diseases which can be treated in this manner include, but are not limited to, acutely infected/inflamed internal or external hordeola or chalazia (Styes), any form of microbioallergic disease (blepharitis, blepharoconjunctivitis, or conjunctivitis), any eyelid skin rash (e.g., as caused by Herpes Simplex/Zoster Virus, or contact dermatitis), orbital or preseptal cellulitis, acute dacryocystitis, meibomitis, dry eye syndrome, meibomian gland dysfunction, ocular rosacea, Staphylococcal hypersensitivity, contact lens related ocular irritation, cat-scratch disease, oculoglandular tularemia, and conjunctival tuberculosis or syphilis.
The inconvenience of this ritual is a common cause of poor compliance (and treatment failure) frequently encountered in clinical practice. Patients often use a warm tea-bag or a warm towelette that they hold under warm running water, both of which lose heat within mere seconds. Some run their eyes under hot tap water or try microwave-heated compresses with resulting second-degree burns severe enough that they have even been reported in the scientific literature (Eisman et al., Opthal. Plast. Reconstr. Sturg. 2000 July; 16(4):304–5). Needless to say, these methods of applying heat are not lengthy enough to be effective, and can be hot enough to be harmful to the delicate ocular adnexa.
Some users advocate the use of a boiled egg or a warm potato or rice wrapped in a thin towel to provide heat for a longer duration of time. This exercise is quite cumbersome, and may still burn the thin eyelid skin because of high and uncontrolled temperatures.
Also, many ophthalmologists recommend Q-tip applicators be used to scrub the eyelids and lashes with baby shampoo. Not only is this exercise tedious and inconvenient for even young, healthy individuals, but is quite a difficult task for the elderly, especially those who suffer from arthritis, those who fatigue easily, have poor near visual acuity, or those whose hands shake.

Device and method for exothermic treatment of eyelid diseases


A shared platform included in a device can be configured to execute instructions from a first application and a second application to operate the device. The shared platform can be configured to receive mode instructions from the first application indicative of operating in a test mode where the shared platform provides simulated responses to the first application. The shared platform can receive a request from the first application pertaining to an operation of the second application. The shared platform operating in the test mode can determine a response to the request from the first application based on a simulation of providing the request to the second application.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
An application in a mobile platform can be designed to solve a single activity or problem, and delegate other activities to other applications when needed. For example, an image editing application that edits an image may delegate capturing an image to a camera application, and sharing the image to an email application. Thus, a user of the mobile platform can receive an integrated experience and an application developer can focus on implementing the application's unique functionality.
Automating testing of interactions between two applications on the mobile platform can pose a problem due to the mobile platform preventing automated control of multiple applications by the same test procedure for security purposes. In one example, a test for a first application can fail due to a second application updating its user interface even if the second application continues to satisfy the contract of integration with the first application. In another example, a range of output from the second application may not be known by an author of the first application. Thus, in this example, the author of the first application may not be able to test specific cases (e.g., invalid output, boundary case, etc.).

Methods and systems for testing interactions between mobile applications


A method for immersion based inspection, the method includes: (i) receiving an article that comprises a wafer and a transparent element, wherein a first fluid substantially fills a space between an upper surface of the wafer and the transparent element; and (ii) inspecting the wafer by utilizing a lens that contacts a second fluid element that also contacts the transparent element.

During the last decades the sizes of wafer features has dramatically decreases. The dimensions of these feature is well below one micron and is expected to shrink during the next coupled of years. Accordingly, the importance of resolution enhancing microscopy solutions has dramatically increased.
The resolution of a microscope is dependent upon various parameters including the numerical aperture (NA) of the microscope and especially the numerical aperture of the objective lens of the microscope. The numerical aperture can be increase by increasing the refractive index of a medium between the wafer and the lens.
A brief description of immersion microscopy is provided in the following documents: "DUV Water Immersion Technology Extends Linearity First Results From the new 65 nm Node CD Metrology System LWM500 WI", F. Hillmann, H. J. Bruck, A. Bosser, www-vistec-semi.com; PCT patent application publication serial number WO 2006/113916 titled "Crytogenic immersion microscope" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,354 of Batchelder titled "Method for optical inspection and lithography".
One method of immersion microscopy includes placing a drop of fluid between an objective lens of an inspection system and between an inspected wafer. The inspection process includes scanning the wafer by introducing a relative movement between the wafer and the objective lens.
The upper surface of the wafer includes three dimensional features. When these features are being scanned the drop of fluid can be deformed and, additionally or alternatively, can loose fluid in an unexpected manner. In addition, the scanning speed can be limited in order to limit drop deformations.
It is further noted that this scanning can spread contaminations over the inspected wafer, some contaminations can be initially located at the wafer edges while other contaminations can result from the objective lens or other components of the inspection system.
The mentioned above fluid should comply with various contradicting results: (i) the fluid should not damage the wafer, (ii) the fluid should have a high enough refractive index, (iii) the fluid should be relatively transparent, and (iv) the fluid should be relatively viscose such as to be able to propagate over various features without breaking apart.
There is a need to provide an efficient method and system for Auger spectrometry.

Method and system for immersion based inspection


A tap-resistant security circuit. In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus includes a conduit including an electrically conductive wire surrounded by a gas-filled, gas impermeable sheath. At one end of the conduit is a pressure switch which is normally open but is maintained closed by the pressure in the gas-filled conduit. The other end of the conduit is sealed. If the gas-filled conduit is disturbed, for example, if an attempt is made to cut the wire, the gas within the conduit escapes, the pressure holding the switch closed drops and the circuit is opened. As a result, any attempt to by-pass or "tap" the wire results in the current through the wire being interrupted.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tap-resistant wiring and, more particularly, to a tap-resistant conduit especially adaptable for automotive anti-theft security systems. Such wiring may also be used to enhance security of communications networks.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Security is becoming increasingly important whether it is to prevent a car theft or the interception of confidential information from a "secure" telephone or data line.
Automobile security systems have continued to improve over the years but, in most cases, once the thief is in the car he will be able to start it by bypassing the ignition switch and "hot wiring" the car. More sophisticated systems using "smart" keys are more difficult to bypass but also may not allow the real owner to operate the car by due to a false negative if the system fails to identify the key properly.
With regard to communications, encryption technology also has improved but can possibly be broken and, sometimes, may result in problems between the parties trying to communicate. In addition, the cost may be prohibitive when many lines are required.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,436, issued to Gmeiner et al., discloses an installation for the protection of a line, such as a telephone line. The line is surrounded at least within its area potentially endangered by external influences by a coaxially arranged tubular member with the annular space disposed between the line and the tubular member filled with a control media which will trigger a warning indication in case of an unusual pressure change caused, for example, by mechanical damage to the outer tubular member. In the preferred embodiment, this invention is directed towards detecting damage to a vacuum-operated headlight adjustment system and alerting the driver.
Therefore, while Gmeiner et al. discloses a gas-filled conduit surrounding a wire to detect a failure, there is no suggestion of using the pressure of the gas to maintain the connection of the wire in its normal operating state and, when there is a break in the conduit, disengaging the wire contact to disable the circuit.
Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved tap-resistant conduit which does not normally require special circuity or encryption while, at the same time, is simple to install and will reliably prevent the operation of the circuit if an attempt to tap or hot wire the circuit is made.


A method for rating images to facitilate image retrival that includes, storing a plurality of digital image files in a digital memory; displaying the plurality of stored digital image files; permitting a user to select ratings for each of the plurality of displayed images, wherein the rating indicates how much the user likes each displayed image. Whereupon being responsive to the user ratings, user image values are provided for each of the the plurality of displayed images. Additionally, the user image values are stored as metadata in each of the plurality of stored digital image files corresponding to the plurality of displayed images, wherein the user image value uses a multi-point scale and wherein a maximum point value corresponds to a best rating.

Image metadata is well-known, and is useful in retrieving desired images from a large collection of images. The Kodak DC265™ camera formulates many metadata items, such as the date/time, camera lens setting, scene light level, etc. when the picture is taken, and stores this metadata within the Exif/JPEG digital image file. Unfortunately, this metadata cannot identify the subject of the photo, or whether this particular photo is one of the user's "favorite" photos. It is this latter type of information that is most useful in quickly and easily retrieving desired images from a large collection of pictures.
Many software applications allow the user to manually type in text, such as a "picture title" or "picture description," and store this text within the image file. This could be used to add a description including the people, events, or type of photo. The text strings from all images in the database could later be searched to retrieve images having the names, events, etc. of interest. Unfortunately, this is an extremely tedious method of adding metadata. In addition, since the user may type in different text to describe the same item (e.g. Matt, Matthew, or X-mas, Christmas) the database may not contain consistent names for the same picture categories. Some particular software applications, such as Image Expert 2000™ developed by Sierra Imaging Inc., allow the user to add keywords to captured images. The keywords are categorized as "location," "occasion," "photographer," and "subject." While viewing a group of thumbnail images, a user can create keywords in these categories and assign the keywords to one or more captured images by selecting the thumbnails and keywords. The keywords from all images in the database can later be searched to retrieve images that were assigned to those particular keywords.
Unfortunately, these conventional software applications make it difficult for an untrained consumer to categorize their images in a way that enables them to later locate their favorite images of a selected subject. What is needed is a simple, fast method for the user to add emotional or aesthetic based type metadata to a collection of images, and to use this emotional or aesthetic based metadata to retrieve images of interest.

Method for rating images to facilitate image retrieval


An AAL2/SSCS packet voice system multiplexes various forms of voice-band traffic including voice packets, fax packets, and data packets into a virtual circuit (VC). This AAL2/SSCS packet voice system executes a dynamic call admission algorithm that takes into account call type in deciding whether to admit a new call to the VC. In particular, this approach takes into account different bandwidth needs for different call types. The AAL2/SSCS packet voice system also performs bit or block dropping on voice packets to mitigate the effects of traffic congestion. The bit or block dropping is done based on the packet queue fill value exceeding at least one queue threshold. Further, the AAL2/SSCS packet voice system also dynamically varies a queue threshold as a function of capacity.

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks carry fixed sized cells within the network irrespective of the applications being carried over ATM. At the network edge or at the end equipment, an ATM Adaptation Layer (AAL) maps the services offered by the ATM network to the services required by the application. There are a number of industry standards and proposed standards covering various AALs. In particular, "B-ISDN ATM Adaptation Layer Type 2 Specification," draft Recommendation 1.363.2, November 1996, of ITU-T (herein referred to as AAL2) provides for efficient ATM transport of small, delay-sensitive packets in such applications as packet voice systems. AAL2 is partitioned into two sublayers, the Common Part Sublayer (CPS) and the Service Specific Convergence Sublayer (SSCS).
In an AAL2/SSCS packet voice system, the peak required raw bandwidth of voice, coded in accordance with ITU-T standard embedded ADPCM G.727 (hereafter referred to as G.727), is 32 thousands of bits per second (kb/s). However, other types of voice-band type traffic are also carried in this system besides voice itself. For example, G3 facsimile (fax) traffic may be conveyed requiring a typical bandwidth of 9.6 kb/s. Also, data traffic may be carried with required bandwidths of as much as 64 kb/s in the case of 56 kb/s modem technology.
As a result, an AAL2/SSCS packet voice system multiplexes a variety of traffic types onto an outgoing ATM virtual circuit (VC) pipe, which has a fixed bandwidth allocation in accordance with an ATM service category, e.g., ATM Constant Bit Rate (CBR), ATM Real-Time Variable Bit Rate (rt-VBR). (This bandwidth is typically fixed, or static, and negotiated with a distant ATM endpoint at setup of the VC.) Once the VC is set up, new calls may be admitted to the VC in accordance with a call admission algorithm. In this call admission algorithm, all traffic is treated in a homogeneous fashion in one extreme. A new call is admitted simply by comparing the current number of calls in the respective VC to a predetermined call threshold value. If the current number of calls is less than this call threshold value, then the new call is admitted. Otherwise, the new call is blocked.
Unfortunately, as new calls are admitted to the pipe, traffic loads may necessitate the use of congestion relief algorithms for the voice traffic such as bit dropping or dropping entire AAL2 voice packets. (It is presumed that only voice traffic is throttled to relieve congestion and that non-voice traffic is not targeted for packet dropping in order to provide for congestion relief.) For example, as congestion begins to occur, voice packets are typically queued for transmission in a buffer, or queue. If the number of these queued voice packets exceeds a predetermined threshold, bit dropping for voice traffic begins to occur in accordance with, e.g., G.727. If the congestion continues to worsen, then entire AAL2 voice packets are dropped. (Also, it should be noted that if the above-mentioned thresholds are too small, bit dropping occurs too soon, and if the above-mentioned thresholds are too large, bit dropping occurs too late. In this latter case, there is almost little, or no, benefit from bit dropping (in the context of G.727) because of the already incurred large packet delay by the time bit dropping begins to start.)

Method for call admission on packet voice system statistical multiplexing and dynamic voice encoding