In a method and apparatus for balancing a motor vehicle wheel comprising a wheel with pneumatic tire thereon, the wheel is clamped on to a measuring shaft of a balancing machine, and geometrical data of the wheel are sensed and stored. A measuring run is conducted for ascertaining an unbalance, and for determining at least one balancing vector in accordance with a balancing program selected depending on the type of wheel. The material of the wheel is detected with a sensor. The balancing program for determining the nature of balancing weight and its positioning in a balancing plane on the wheel is selected depending on the signal obtained in the sensing operation using the sensor. The balancing vector is determined in the electronic system of the machine for the balancing program. At least one balancing weight is then fixed to the wheel.

A typical form of procedure for balancing a motor vehicle wheel unit comprising the wheel itself such as a disk wheel and a pneumatic tire carried thereon provides that the vehicle wheel is clamped on a measuring spindle of a balancing machine and the geometrical data of the vehicle wheel are sensed by means of a sensing device and stored. At least one measuring run is effected for ascertaining unbalance of the vehicle wheel and for determining at least one balancing vector, involving evaluation of measurement signals outputted by measurement value sensors and the geometrical data of the wheel, in dependence on a set balancing program. At least one balancing weight is fixed to the vehicle wheel to compensate for the unbalance which is ascertained in that way.
A method and an apparatus of that kind are to be found in DE 42 29 865 C2.
Conventional balancing machines, for example Geodyna 5000 or Geodyna 5500, see the prospectus from Hofmann Werkstatt-Technik GmbH, Pfungstadt, Germany, imprint 9502101 03.94, have various balancing programs. The positioning of the one or more balancing weights on the disk wheel can be determined by means of such balancing programs. Usually there is a standard program for disk wheels consisting of steel and five selectable balancing programs for disk wheels comprising light metal or alloy, for example aluminum.
It will be noted at this point that the term light metal is used herein to denote wheels made of a light metal or a light metal alloy, for example aluminum, aluminum alloy or the like.
That ensures that, depending on the type of disk wheel involved, the balancing weights are positioned on the wheel in consideration of the requirements for optimum smoothness of operation and the visual appearance of the wheel, when carrying out the unbalance compensating operation. The choice of the appropriate balancing program is effected in dependence on visual assessment of the motor vehicle wheel by the operator of the machine. In general it is not possible to effect an assessment on the basis of the weight involved because the weight of the wheel is essentially determined by the tire fitted on the disk wheel. In that situation incorrect assessments may occur so that the wrong balancing program is then selected.
German utility model No 1 801 947 discloses a balancing apparatus in which balancing weights which are sorted in accordance with the size thereof, are kept in stock in containers or other storage assemblies. After a measuring run which involves determining the balancing weight that is required for a test body, the appropriate container or storage assembly which contains that balancing weight is identified by a respective marking device in order to make it easier for the operator to have immediate and ready access to the correct balancing weight.
DE 38 03 325 A1 discloses a method of balancing a motor vehicle wheel or the like, in which a stationary wheel which is clamped on to a shaft of a balancing machine is caused to oscillate and thereupon wheel-specific data which are obtained from sensor output signals from electrical sensors coupled to the shaft are compared to stored pattern signals which are characteristic in respect of different disk wheels. That procedure makes it possible to determine the respective type of wheel to be balanced.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,697,345 discloses the use of magnetic test balancing weights when balancing wheels with steel rims. A freely rotatable wheel to be balanced rotates into a given position, by virtue of its unbalance, under the effect of the force of gravity. One or more magnetic test balancing weights are applied to the rim flange to compensate for the unbalance, and then replaced by conventional permanently fitted balancing weights.

Method and apparatus for balancing a motor vehicle wheel


A process for making polyethylene having an uncommon but valuable balance of broad molecular weight distribution and a low level of long-chain branching is disclosed. The process comprises polymerizing ethylene in a single reactor in the presence of an α-olefin and a catalyst comprising an activator and a supported dialkylsilyl-bridged bis(indeno[1,2-b]indolyl)zirconium complex. The polyethylene, which has an Mw/Mn greater than 10 and a viscosity enhancement factor (VEF) of less than 2.5, is valuable for making blown films.

Many olefin polymerization catalysts are known, including conventional Ziegler-Natta catalysts. While these catalysts are inexpensive, they exhibit low activity and are generally poor at incorporating α-olefin comonomers. The large variety of active sites in Ziegler-Natta catalysts makes it difficult to control polymer architecture. To improve polymer properties, single-site catalysts, in particular metallocenes, are beginning to replace Ziegler-Natta catalysts.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,232,260 and 6,451,724 disclose the use of transition metal catalysts based upon indenoindolyl ligands. Indenoindolyl catalysts are remarkably versatile because substituent effects and bridging changes can often be exploited to provide polymers with tailored physical or mechanical properties. Unbridged indenoindolyl complexes (as exemplified in the '260 patent) usually provide favorable activity although they sometimes fail to provide polymers having high enough molecular weights. Bridged indenoindolyl complexes (as taught, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,908,972) readily copolymerize α-olefins and provide polymers with varying levels of long-chain branching. Some of the examples have very low long-chain branching (e.g., Example 15 reports no long-chain branching and Mw=90,700). For a discussion of long-chain branching in polyethylene, see Macromolecules 39 (2006) 1474 and references cited therein.
Copending application Ser. No. 11/899,090, filed 4 Sep. 2007, discloses a slurry process to make an ethylene copolymer having, among other attributes, low long chain branching. Indenoindolyl complexes, including dialkylsilyl-bridged bis(indeno[1,2-b]indolyl)zirconium complexes, are used. Hydrogen is not required, and the effect of including hydrogen on polymer molecular weight distribution is not discussed. In the examples of the '090 application, the polymers have narrow molecular weight distributions.
Copending application Ser. No. 11/899,113, filed 4 Sep. 2007, discloses a high-activity slurry process to make an ethylene copolymer with broad molecular weight distribution with certain indenoindolyl complexes, including dialkylsilyl-bridged bis(indeno[1,2-b]indolyl)zirconium complexes. Several of the polymers made have Mw/Mn values greater than 10, but the reference is generally silent regarding the long-chain branching content of the polymers.
Despite the industry's considerable experience with single-site catalysts generally and indenoindolyl catalysts in particular, there is a need for improvement. Often, to get broad molecular weight distribution, polymer blends are prepared, or processes utilizing two or more reactors are used. Catalysts that provide good incorporation of α-olefins also frequently produce polyethylene with too much long-chain branching, which adversely impacts polymer properties. Many processes that provide good incorporation of α-olefins do not incorporate the comonomer uniformly. The comonomer is either distributed unevenly in the polyethylene chain or is predominantly in the low-molecular-weight fraction.
Usually, a compromise must be made among properties. A valuable process would employ a single reactor and would provide polyethylene with both broad molecular weight distribution and low long-chain branching. Ideally, the polyethylene would demonstrate good processing and physical properties in the production of blown films.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A lattice of hollow bodies for forming a concrete floor slab comprises a plurality of hollow bodies. Each of the hollow bodies is coupled to an adjacent other one of said hollow bodies. Each of the hollow bodies has an outwardly extending reinforcement support for receiving a reinforcement member.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,747 which issued on Mar. 14, 1995, to Breuning et al. discloses plane, hollow, reinforced concrete floor slabs with two-dimensional structure and method for their production. Constructions developed by this technique will vary widely and with considerable profit replace conventional floor structures. The technique makes it possible to choose higher strength and stiffness, less volume of materials, greater flexibility, better economy or an arbitrary combination of these gains. The technique makes it possible to create a total balance between bending forces, shear forces and stiffness (deformations) so that all design conditions can be fully optimized at the same time. The technique presents a distinct minimized construction characterized by the ability that concrete can be placed exactly where it yields maximum capacity. The technique offers material and cost savings compared with the conventional compact two-way reinforced slab structure. The technique is suitable for both in situ works and for prefabrication.
International Patent Application Number PCT/CA2019/050148 discloses a structure where a plurality of hollow bodies are connected together in a lattice-like arrangement which is embedded in a concrete slab.

Lattice of hollow bodies with reinforcement member supports


Disclosed is a method, apparatus and computer program for a first client to facilitate collaborative editing of a document with a second client. The document contains data of a first data type and is accessible by a first application for processing the first data type. The first application is used to identify a portion of the document for review, The identified portion is extracted and provided to an application for processing data of a second type at the first client. This application is a messaging application. A second client is identified for performing the review and the identified portion is sent via the messaging application to the identified second client. Comments are received back from the identified second client and these comments conform to the messaging application's protocol. The comments are then interpreted back at the first client and the document is updated if appropriate.

In today's society, there is frequently a need for users to collaborate in the production of their work. In the past, such collaboration was done using mechanisms such as meetings, the telephone and email. More recently instant messaging applications have proved to be another useful means by which collaboration can take place.
Such mechanisms however still require coordination of various users' suggestions and integration of accepted suggestions into an original design, document, presentation etc.
One option is to share the document with multiple users (e.g. via email or a shared repository such as that made available via Lotus Notes) and to use a facility such as "track changes" in Microsoft Word. Such collaborative working however involves each user loading the entire contents of the document on their machine and editing it in a suitable editor that has to be installed on the user's computer. For example Word documents are edited using Microsoft Word.
In addition to the examples given above, a number of companies facilitate the whole process with specially designed collaborative editing software.
For example, the MoonEdit program permits multiple editors to work on a document simultaneously, with each editor being assigned a different colour.
Microsoft® also provides Server Extensions for its Office suite which provide collaborative functionality. Users can publish their documents via the web and use inline discussions to discuss ideas within the context of a document itself. This is discussed by the Xhost company as part of their Microsoft Office FAQs.
Conferral also provide collaborative editing software. According to their press release, a document owner invites participants to join in the review process. Such software can be integrated on the inviter side within Microsoft Office. Having accepted the invitation, an invitee is provided with a secure connection back to the inviter's PC. Conferral advertise this software as needing no special editing software at the invitee end—all that is required is a web browser and Java™ functionality. (Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both.)
Such screen sharing software however tends to be relatively heavy weight. The user needs to remain connected to the inviter's PC and to receive frequent screen updates reflecting the entire document as users make concurrent edits. Such processing is network intensive. There is also a security risk incurred by sharing one's screen with another user—such software provides the other user with machine access.

International Business Machines Corporation


A method and system are provided for managing digital documents by using links to allow navigation between documents and to create associations based on bridges between various combinations of document elements and software. Each bridge includes at least one coupling. Each coupling includes a target token identifier and a supplementary token identifier which allow software users to navigate between target and supplementary documents or to invoke supplementary software routines. Linked elements, such as text or graphics tokens, can overlap partially or entirely. Embedded links are allowed, but are not required.

Increases in processing capacity and speed have enabled computing systems, both stand-alone and networked, to make information more widely available than ever. Many tools have emerged to promote the efficient management and presentation of information, but software users and developers agree that improvements are still needed.
The ability to present digitized information in a meaningful manner is critical. Current word processing and text editing programs use structured document architectures to provide control and flexibility while presenting information in a desired manner. One approach uses the Standard Generalized Mark-up Language ("SGML") specified in the 1986 International Standards Organization Standard No. 8879. Other mark-up languages are used in Folio infobases, Microsoft Word documents, Corel WordPerfect documents, UNIX troff documents, and various hyperlinks and hypertext.
Most mark-up languages provide "links" which associate a particular, pre-selected location in a primary text file with additional text, images, or other information. By following these links, a user receives additional information that expands or explains information contained in the given text. Application programs such as web browsers and indexed text viewers allow users to follow such links to additional information.
As shown in FIG. 1, links are typically created by embedding control characters, pointers, or other locating or addressing mechanisms 100, 102 within a primary file 104 of text or other information. Such embedded links 106, 108 associate additional information in the primary file 104 (or in other files 110, 112) with predetermined locations in the primary file 104 by working with viewing software to effectively attach the information to the location of the embedded addressing mechanisms 100 or 102. A link can associate a particular location in the primary file 104 with another file 112, or the link can associate a particular location in the primary file 104 with a specific position in the current file 104 or a specific position in another file 110. In general, the embedded links 106, 108 point outward from the primary file 104 to the additional information 110, 112 because the necessary addressing mechanisms 100, 102 are maintained at the "jumping off" location in the primary file 104.
However, maintaining the necessary addressing information 100, 102 within the primary file 104 has drawbacks. Both embedded links, and the viewing or other software that uses the links, must function correctly. This requires careful development and extensive testing. Because of the embedded nature of links such as the links 106, 108, the primary file 104 must be edited every time a change is made in a link. Accordingly, write privileges giving full access to the contents of the primary file 104 must be granted.
Allowing write access to the primary file 104 in order to edit embedded links may be difficult. The primary file 104 may be owned by a different individual or company than the owner of the additional information 110, 112 to which links point. Even if all the information is owned by one company, one group or division may be responsible for the primary file 104 while others are responsible for the additional information 110, 112. Furthermore, development of the primary file 104 may be separate from the development of the additional data or information 110, 112, with the final integration to be performed during an integration and testing phase. Therefore, obtaining the necessary knowledge and understanding of the specific implementation to successfully edit the primary file 104 may require the involvement of that file's developer(s) during the integration phase.
The primary function of links is to provide a mechanism for managing and organizing large amounts of information for dissemination to an audience. This is mainly done by implementing a navigational structure that lets the user traverse the information along well-defined paths. The specific navigational structure implemented is a critical factor in determining both the ease with which one manages and disseminates the information, and the ease with which one traverses and consumes the desired information. Widely-used navigational structures include hierarchical (FIG. 2), linear (FIG. 3), combination of linear and hierarchical (FIG. 4), linear with alternatives (FIG. 5), and web (FIG. 6) structures. These structures are typically implemented using embedded links, but after reading about the present invention those of skill in the art will appreciate that these and other navigational structures may also be implemented without relying solely on embedded links.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, conventional embedded linking implementations are rigid and inflexible because a specific location in the primary file 104 can associate with only one other source of additional information. Typical links 106, 108 are "one-to-one" in that they provide ajump from one location to only one other location. This limits the navigational structures which can be implemented, which in turn makes it harder to disseminate or obtain the desired information. For instance, the navigational structure shown in FIG. 7, which contains three links originating at a single location but jumping to separate destinations, is only approximated by an implementation such as that shown in FIG. 8. Limits imposed by conventional link implementations require the use of three close, but nonetheless separate, locations 800, 802, 804 as starting points.
Thus, it would be an advancement in the art to provide a system and method for providing a linking mechanism which allows direct access to multiple pieces of information from any one location in the primary file.
It would also be an advancement in the art to provide a system and method for modifying mark-up links without editing the primary data file.
Such a system and method for enhanced document linking are disclosed and claimed below.

System and method providing navigation between documents by creating associations based on bridges between combinations of document elements and software


A vehicle is supported on a horizontal support platform extending between two frames. As a winch is driven, a pair of cables raise the horizontal support platform upward along the frames. As the platform is raised, contact pads of the frames press against the sides of the cargo container, providing additional strength to the apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to apparatus for transporting vehicles. In particular, the invention relates to apparatus for raising and supporting a vehicle within a cargo container, such as a semi-trailer truck.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automobiles, pickup trucks, and other small vehicles are often transported on semi-trailer tractor rigs. Specially designed auto carriers usually provide two levels of vehicles to increase the capacity of the tractor.
Vehicles may also be transported within the trailer of a semi-trailer tractor rig. The enclosed trailer protects the vehicles from the elements and from vandalism. Most trailers are tall enough to accommodate a second level of vehicles, thus increasing the capacity of the trailer, if the vehicles can be stored within the trailer on two levels. There existed a need for an effective, easy to use apparatus for raising and supporting vehicles on two levels within a cargo container.
Many devices have been designed and used to raise vehicles to a second level. Auto mechanics are familiar with several types of lifts, for raising vehicles about seven feet into the air, so that the mechanics can access the bottom of the vehicle. Some of these apparatus involve a metal frame having four vertical support posts. A pair of horizontal support platforms extend below the vehicle and are connected in some way to the vertical support posts. A lift mechanism, such as a winch, raises the horizontal support platforms to raise the vehicle. The upper ends of the vertical support posts are connected together with horizontal supports in order to provide stability to the frame.

Apparatus for supporting a vehicle inside a cargo container


An electrical surge arrester includes an arrester block stack with a plurality of cylindrical surge arrester components arranged substantially coaxially to form a cylindrical stack of components having a longitudinal axis. First and second electrical conductive terminals are disposed at each end of the block stack and electrically coupled to the components. A spacer is disposed between each of the terminals and the plurality of cylindrical surge arrester components. A crimp pin is disposed in each of the metal terminals to plastically deform the terminals to compress the block stack. Rubber sheds can be directly molded around the device.

Conventional lighting or surge arresters are typically connected to power lines to carry electrical surge currents to ground, thereby preventing damage to lines and equipment connected to the arresters. Arresters offer high resistance to normal voltage across power lines, but offer very low resistance to surge currents produced by sudden high voltage conditions caused by, for example, lightning strikes, switching surge currents or temporary overvoltages. After the surge, the voltage drops and the arrester normally returns to a high resistance state. However, upon arrester malfunction or failure, the high resistance state is not resumed, and the arrester continues to provide an electrical path from the power line to ground. Ultimately, the line will fail due to a short circuit condition or breakdown of the distribution transformers, and the arrester will require replacement.
To avoid line lockout, disconnector assemblies are commonly used in conjunction with arresters to separate a malfunctioning arrester from the circuit and to provide a visual indication of arrester failure. Conventional disconnector assemblies have an explosive charge to destroy the circuit path and physically separate the electrical terminals. Examples of such disconnector assemblies are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,910 to Krause and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,057,810 and 5,113,167 to Raudabaugh, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,434,550 to Putt, U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,402 to Cunningham and U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,902 to Lenk, the subject matter of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Conventional surge arrester modules include a plurality of Bellville washers to keep compression on the blocks. The Bellville washers compress the blocks and take up the tolerance of the block stack as the block stack relaxes. Removing the Bellville washers requires another method for compressing the blocks.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved surge arrester with a mechanism for compressing the blocks of the block stack wrapped by a fiberglass material.

Arrester block module assembly and method


A portable privacy enclosure for sunbathing and other applications includes a bottom panel for engaging the ground or other underlying surface. A first pair of side panels are foldably attached to one longitudinal side of the bottom panel and a second pair of side panels are similarly attached to an opposite side of the bottom panel. A pair of opposing end panels are foldably attached to respective ends of the bottom panel. Each end panel extends between a respective opposing pair of the side panels. Fasteners are provided for releasably interconnecting each adjoining pair of vertical panels to hold the enclosure in an assembled condition.

Sunbathers often require some degree of privacy. Currently, a number of screens and privacy panels are available for sunbathing use. These products often utilize a fairly bulky and complex construction, which is difficult to assemble and disassemble. Moreover, most of the known products are not conveniently portable. A need exists for an improved sunbathing privacy screen which is convenient to set up and break down, easily stored and readily transportable.


An instantaneous current and instantaneous voltage of a three-phase coil of a brushless DC motor are detected, and the internal condition of a compressor is predicted from these detection values. The prediction about the internal condition of the compressor is made in such a way that motor driving torque which is a parameter of a motor model is identified and poor lubrication, liquid compression or the like is predicted from this identified motor driving torque. This enables it to make, in real time, a failure forecast, failure diagnosis etc. on the compressor.

Generally, refrigerant circuits for use in an air conditioner are constituted by a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve and an indoor heat exchanger which are all connected in series to perform operation on the vapor-compression refrigerating cycle. In such refrigerant circuits, operation is sometimes performed in inadequate conditions owing to acceleration/deceleration of the compressor, abrupt fluctuations in load, and defective operation of other apparatus than the compressor. If this happens, the compressor gets internal damage, resulting in a failure in the compressor.
To cope with this, the conventional refrigerant circuits of this type are designed to prevent liquid compression and the dilution of the lubricating oil, for example, by controlling the degree of superheating a suction refrigerant (hereinafter referred to as "the degree of suction superheat) in the suction pipe of the compressor.
The above refrigerant circuits control the temperature of the discharge pipe of the compressor so as to become equal to a temperature which is determined by making a comparison between the saturation temperature of the low-pressure refrigerant and the temperature of the discharge gas of the compressor, whereby degradation of oil inside the compressor as well as degradation of the magnets is avoided.
Concretely, Japanese Patent Publication Kokai No. 7-180933 discloses a refrigerator according to which, the temperature of the oil of the compressor and the pressure of the suction refrigerant of the compressor are detected and, according to the detection result, the solubility of the refrigerant dissolved in the oil is calculated. And, based on the solubility of the refrigerant, the operation frequency of the compressor is controlled, thereby preventing the dilution of the oil.
Also, Japanese Patent Publication Kokai No. 2001-99070 discloses a compressor having ultrasonic probes at the lubrication points thereof. Based on ultrasonic intensities detected by the ultrasonic probes, it is determined whether or not poor lubrication occurs.

Drive unit for compressor and refrigerator


An electronic device (120) is provided that comprises: a transceiver circuit (310) configured to send and receive signals; a memory unit (330) configured to contain testing, configuration, and calibration (TCC) code (440, 450, 460) used to define TCC functions in the device, and operational code (470) used to define operational functions in the device; and a device controller (320) connected to the transceiver circuit and the memory unit, configured to control the device in an operational mode in accordance with the operational code and operational instructions received via the transceiver circuit (650), and to control the device in a TCC mode in accordance with the TCC code and TCC instructions received via the transceiver circuit (635, 640). The device controller is further configured to permanently disable access to at least a portion of the TCC code in response to a disable instruction received via the transceiver circuit (645).

In any manufacturing process, it is desirable to perform some tests on a device before it can be certified as being in acceptable condition for use. For example, in a communications device it is important to test whether it can successfully send data to and receive data from a remote device. It may also be desirable to configure the device during manufacturing to set any variable parameters to ones that are proper for operational use. In a communications device this could include setting channels that are used, codes that are used, power levels, etc.
When performing this testing, configuration, and calibration, it is generally desirable to have a communication link between testing equipment and the device to be tested. This link can be used to pass testing or configuration instructions from the testing equipment to the device to be tested, or to pass some kind of acknowledgement of those instructions from the device to be tested to the testing equipment.
Devices have typically been provided with a dedicated testing link that is used during the testing, calibration, and configuration process. The connections for this link can then be sealed off after testing is complete, severely limiting a users ability to access it after purchase. This provide a relatively secure link for testing, but also increases the complexity, size, and cost of the final device.
Communications devices have an existing communications link, but this has not been considered a viable testing link because its use could open up a huge security gap, allowing the device to be improperly reconfigured or otherwise compromised in the future. In other words, if a testing device could connect up to the device under testing during a testing, configuration, and calibration process and perform testing, configuration, and calibration operations, then another device might be able to do so at a later time, long after testing, configuration, and calibration was completed. This is of particular concern when the basic communications link is used (as opposed to a dedicated testing link) because that basic communications link will remain in use during the life of the device.
And if the testing, configuration, and calibration operations were improperly accessed, the device could be reconfigured in ways that might be improper or even illegal. For example, an unscrupulous user might use the communications link to change the codes used, to change the frequency used, to increase the transmission power beyond regulatory limits, etc.
It is therefore desirable to provide a means by which a communication device's basic communications link can be used for testing a device, but in a manner that will not open it up to later security vulnerabilities.


A package substrate is provided that includes a substrate and a capacitor. The substrate comprises a cavity penetrating a core layer and metal layers of the substrate. The capacitor comprises electrode pads and is disposed in the cavity. One of the metal layers of the substrate includes a discontinuous metal plane, and the electrode pads directly contact the discontinuous metal plane.

A digital circuit such as a microprocessor includes numerous transistors that alternate between dormant and switching states. Such digital circuits thus make abrupt current demands when large numbers of transistors switch states. But power supplies cannot react so quickly such that the voltage on the power supply lead or interconnect to the die including the digital system may dip unacceptably. To smooth the power demands, it is conventional to load the power supply lead to the die with decoupling capacitors. The decoupling capacitors store charge that may be released during times of high power demand so as to stabilize the power supply voltage from the external power supply.
It is conventional to mount decoupling capacitors onto a circuit board but such a mounting location increases the circuit board footprint. Moreover, it desirable to place the decoupling capacitor as close as possible to the die it services. Mounting the decoupling capacitor further away from the die onto the circuit board increases the parasitic resistance and inductance undesirably. Thus, it is conventional to surface mount decoupling capacitors onto the package substrate for the die but such a mounting location increases the package substrate footprint. To increase density, it is also conventional to embed capacitors such as decoupling capacitors into the package substrate. The die may be mounted to the package substrate directly over the embedded decoupling capacitor, which advantageously reduces the parasitic resistance and inductance.
Embedded package substrate (EPS) capacitors are typically formed by cutting a hole out of a substrate, placing the capacitor in the core layer, filling the hole with material to hold the capacitor, and then coupling the capacitor to other components using through vias. FIG. 1 illustrates a package substrate 100 with an EPS capacitor 150 according to the prior art. The substrate 100 includes a core layer 102, a cavity 104, and a plurality of metal layers such as an M1 metal layer 106, an M2 metal layer 108, an M3 metal layer 110, and an M4 metal layer 112. EPS capacitor 150, which may comprise a multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC), is disposed in the cavity 104 and has electrodes 152, 154 disposed at its left and right ends, respectively. The remainder of cavity 104 may then be filled with resin 114 to secure capacitor 150 within substrate 100. The electrodes 152, 154 electrically connect with M1 metal layer 106 through a plurality of vias 116. Similarly, pads 152, 154 couple to M4 metal layer 112 through a plurality of vias 118.
Despite the reduced package footprint enabled by EPS capacitor 150 and its relatively short coupling distance to the associated die (not illustrated), there are a number of problems with such a conventional EPS approach. In particular, vias 116 as well as vias 118 are limited to the footprints for electrodes 152 and 154. The footprint (or surface area) of electrodes 152 and 154 thus limits the number of vias 116 and 118 that may be accommodated in package substrate 100. As the number of vias decrease, the current through each via increases and the resistance to the increased passage of current increases. Similarly, as current increases, the strength of the magnetic field increases and inductance associated with the current increases. The resulting parasitic inductance and resistance for the coupling to the associated die is thus undesirably high.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for package substrates with embedded capacitors having reduced parasitic inductance and parasitic resistance.

Plane connected embedded substrate capacitor


A composite document comprises a publicly posted composite document including a plurality of parts, a map-file for each participant in a workflow associated with the composite document, and a set of encryption keys. The encryption keys are associated with at least one of the plurality of parts and distributed via the map file to the participants. At least one of the parts of the composite document, associated with the encryption keys, includes workflow processing instructions. The workflow processing instructions are enactable by the multifunction printer independent of a server and automate at east some steps of the workflow for participant at the multifunction printer via resident functions of the multifunction printer.

With the advent of the information age, the volume of documents that have been created, stored, communicated has grown dramatically, while the complexity and variety of different types of documents has experienced equally robust growth. Furthermore, documents are often no longer used as unitary elements that are native to their specific formats. Instead, a typical use, e.g. a presentation, often involves using documents of a variety of different formats e.g. portable document file, word processor file, spreadsheet file, slide presentation file, portable audio file, video file, etc. These documents can be gathered together to represent a collection of documents, which we call a composite document. The secure creation, management, use, monitoring and disposal of such documents are a significant part of enterprise document lifecycles.

Workflow automation at a multifunction printer via a composite document

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


One embodiment of the present invention discloses a method for transmitting a control signal for device-to-device (D2D) communication with a second terminal by a first terminal in a wireless communication system, wherein the method is carried out by the first terminal and comprises the steps of: mapping control information for the D2D communication to a resource region for the D2D communication; and transmitting, to the second terminal, the mapped control information for the D2D communication with data for the D2D communication, wherein the control information for the D2D communication includes modulation and coding scheme (MCS) related information and hybrid automatic retransmission request (HARQ) related information, and the control information for the D2D communication can be mapped to at least one symbol except for symbol(s) to which a reference signal is mapped.

For cellular communication, a User Equipment (UE) located in a cell accesses an eNodeB (eNB), receives control information for data communication from the eNB, and then transmits and receives data to and from the eNB. That is, since a UE performs data communication via an eNB, to transmit data to another cellular UE, the UE transmits the data to the eNB and the eNB receives the data and transmits the received data to the other UE. Since a UE can transmit data to another UE only via an eNB as described above, the eNB schedules a channel and a resource for data communication and transmits channel and resource scheduling information to each UE. Although each UE needs to receive allocation of the channel and the resource for data communication from the eNB for the above-described type of communication between the UEs via the eNB, Device to Device (D2D) communication has a structure in which a UE directly transmits and receives a signal to and from a desired UE without going via an eNB or a relay.
When D2D communication for direct data communication between UEs is performed by sharing a resource with a legacy cellular network, each UE can perform D2D communication after a D2D resource is allocated.
Furthermore, a control signal for D2D communication needs to be transmitted and received between the UEs. Accordingly, each UE should transmit D2D control information to a peer UE, and the peer UE may receive D2D data based on received D2D control information.

Method for transmitting control signal for device-to-device communication and device therefor


Technologies are generally described for recovery of energy from engines. The described technology may be applied to systems, methods, and/or apparatuses. An example exhaust energy recovery apparatus (50) may include at least one thermal to electrical energy conversion element (60) having at least one side for thermal coupling along a substantial length (34, 35, 36) of an exhaust duct (30) for a combustion engine. The example apparatus (50) may also include a cover (52) located over at least a portion of the exhaust duct (30) adjacent to the at least one energy conversion element (60). A channel (53) may be formed between the cover (52) and an exterior portion of the exhaust duct (30), the channel having at least one inlet (54, 56) for admission of cooling fluid.

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.
In operation combustion engines (CEs) repeatedly ignite fuel-air mixtures in an enclosed space thereby generating continuous pulses or flows of extremely hot exhaust. The hot exhaust gases from combustion may be partially cooled during transit along the exhaust line and through various subassemblies integrated into the exhaust line or duct. Those subassemblies may, for example, include an engine gas condition monitoring bay, a catalytic convertor anti-pollution filter and one or more mufflers. The exhaust gases are finally dumped out of the system exhaust outlet(s) at temperatures still well above the boiling point of water—typically 140° C. or more.
This dumping of hot exhaust gas represents, apart from the composition of the exhaust gases, a significant energy wastage by combustion engines when considered in light of the calorific value of the fuel consumed. Engines equipped with a turbocharger harvest a little more of the energy in the flows of engine exhaust gas, but even after pushing the turbine blades of the turbocharger, the exhaust gas carries further energy in the form of heat.
Neither a turbine engine, a jet engine, a 2-stroke nor a 4-stroke engine's power cycles—whether petrol, diesel, aviation or gas-fuelled—is capable of utilising the waste heat remaining in the exhaust gases. In wintertime some of the waste heat can be harvested by a motor vehicle's internal (i.e. passenger cabin) heating system, but in summertime the waste heat may be completely unwanted and thus the waste heat appears principally at the exhaust outlet(s) of the vehicle, with smaller amounts emitted from the engine bulk in all directions by convection, conduction and radiation.


Botanical materials are dehydrated, ruptured and comminuted into particles by blades or whips in a fluidized bed. Particles separated from a drying gas are transferred to reduced pressure insulated vessels. Solvents dissolve components of the particles under precise temperature control. Solvents are recirculated and distilled to recover distillates. Distillates are refined by thermal and pressure changes to remove fats, waxes and contaminants and are fractionated to specific essential oils. The essential oils are tested, winterized, filtered, decarboxilated, polished, diluted and discharged into collection vessels. The collected essential oils are pumped through needles into sealed cartridges. The cartridges are tamper-proofed, printed and labeled with batch, botanical source, process, tracking and tracing information and codes.

Summary of Current Practices
Typical Process
The complete CO2 Supercritical Fluid Extraction process (SFE) for extracting essential oils from botanical material for use in edible, vaporized or topical products is typically as follows.                Harvest crop,        Dry,        Decarboxylate. This is an optional step. Some processes decarboxylate the dried, raw plant material before extraction, others decarboxolate after extraction.        Trim and grind,        Pack into an SFE extraction vessel,        Perform CO2 Supercritical Fluid Extraction using heat and pressure in the form of a supercritical fluid, to extract desired substances from the material and collect them in a container,        Dilute extract with an alcohol such as ethanol,        "Winterize" the extract solution chilling it to a temperature below 0° C.; preferably −15° C. to −25 C for 24 to 54 hours. This results in a slurry,        Filter slurry to remove waxes and impurities,        Distill filtered solution. This produces an oil commonly referred to as "honey oil",        Decarboxylate the honey oil. Cannabis oils are typically de-carboxylated at approximately 120° C., and        The de-carboxylated oil may be further refined using vacuum and filtering techniques sometimes referred to as "polishing".Optional Finishing Processes for Vaporizers
The polished oil is used as a concentrate for edibles, topical creams, or oil vaporizers, or it is further heated and dried to create a solid material for solid vaporization.
For oil vaporization, the polished oil is often diluted with polyethylene glycol (PEG), polypropylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, cannabis terpenes, or a combination thereof to achieve the appropriate viscosity and desired performance for the chosen vaporizer.
Shortcomings of the Current Practices
The SFE process yields a higher quality extract than other extraction methods, because SFE can be selectively tuned through heat and pressure to extract desired substances selectively and without leaving any harmful residual solvents. SFE is, however, a time and labor consuming process yielding variable results. This is partially due to the volatility of certain bio-botanicals such as cannabis whose properties and chemical makeup change with time and environmental conditions. The variability is also due to the variability of the multistep manual nature of the current process.
The variability leads to uncertain results for consumers. While variability may be acceptable to some people, medical marijuana patients and sophisticated recreational users need, or should be able to obtain, reliably consistent and predictable effects.
The material preparation phase of production includes trimming, drying, and grinding.                1. Nutrient rich plant parts are trimmed and separated from low nutrient parts like stalks, stems and roots to improve the efficiency of later operations. This is done by hand or with automated trimmers.        2. Drying removes water in order to prevent material degradation from natural causes, (e.g. mold), and to aid in the extraction process. Water content in the material interferes with and slows down the extraction process.                    a. Dehydration is performed by circulating air, especially dry air, at elevated temperatures over and around materials. This is an ancient method that is slow, inconsistent, unreliable, subject to ambient environmental conditions and prone to developing mold.            b. Freeze drying is an excellent method that preserves nutrient value, but is both capital and energy intensive making it unaffordable for many products.            c. Microwave drying is widely used for many food applications, but relies on heat created by the microwaves to dry materials. The heat created results in lower nutrient preservation.            d. Fluid bed drying is extensively used in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries, but it requires elevated temperatures at atmospheric pressure to dry resulting in significant losses in nutrient values.Current Fractionation Methods
The current methods of fractionating extract are:                Process the material at a high pressure and temperature, then separate the resultant mixed molecular weight through use of two or more separator vessels set at varying pressure drops.        Employ in-line gas chromatography to evaluate and direct the extract analytes at the particle level into collection vessels.        Employ in-line gas chromatography to characterize extraction profiles for use in a later purification process.
In practice, especially for certain botanicals like cannabis, none of these types of fractionation have been commercially successful other than for laboratory scale applications. In the first case, the mixed molecular weight extract tends to stick together and are not effectively separated by means of a pressure drop because the different molecular weight materials are cohesive, stick to each other, do not "pull apart from each other", and do not drop neatly into different separation vessels.
In the second case, while the extracts may be selectively extracted by a series of extract pressure and temperature fractionation steps, they are not separated from each other between process steps, subsequently mix together within the system, and therefore are not separated neatly before being directed to a series of collection vessels. Also, particle-level fractionation is a slow and expensive method. It is not suited to production extraction because the subject flow of extract is a mixture of analytes and a tangle of material with cohesive properties not easily fractionated at production speeds.
In the third case, the method is intended as a first step before purification of a target analyte in a subsequent.
Needs exist for better essential oil manufacturing.
Cannabis Authenticate Track & Trace Methods
There exist systems for tracking cannabis from seed to sale by use of cultivation lot numbers, radio frequency tags and/or barcodes. There exist systems for the collection of information about relevant grow information associated with plant material from cultivation lot numbers. The lot information, which will be referred to as its bio-history, can include among other things: its DNA, genetic history, nutrient feeding history, spectral energy exposure, as well as test data on contaminants and cannabinoid levels.
The effects of cannabinoids on humans, and other animals, are highly complex and personal in nature. Each human has their own unique endo-cannabinoid system, personal endo-cannabinoid profile and, cannabinoid receptors in the brain that respond uniquely when supplemented by ingestion of phyto-cannabinoids from cannabis. The cannabinoid receptors are involved in a wide range of physiological processes. There are some researchers who suggest that who we are as humans both physically and mentally is largely influenced by our endo-cannabinoid system.
The active compounds in cannabis are phyto-cannabinoids. By some accounts there are over 100 different phyto-cannabinoids present in varying amounts within cannabis plants. Each phyto-cannabinoid has different effects on humans, and these effects work in concert with each other in what is referred to as the entourage effect. Each cultivation lot of cannabis has a unique phyto-cannabinoid profile based upon the strain of the plant and its bio-history.
To add to the complexity, immediately after harvest the phyto-cannabinoid profile begins to change due to exposure from post-harvest spectral energy of all kinds, environmental conditions, and time. The method used to prepare cannabis products for use and the method of ingestion also affect: the cannabinoids delivered to the patient/consumer, the amounts of each absorbed, the rate of absorption and ultimately, its effects on the patient/consumer's experience. In addition, these effects can be affected by other drug interactions.
There is currently no system that effectively prescribes strains, or lots of cannabis, to patient/consumers. This leaves the patient/consumer to manage their own selection of products to use, method of ingestion and dosage amount. For a patient/consumer to get the desired effects, reference information is needed.
There is currently no system that allows patients/consumers easy access to that information, nor any system that allows them to read and/or share testimonials on their experiences and easily track their experience in a journal.
In addition, there is also need for a way for patient/consumers and regulatory agencies to: authenticate, track and trace products containing essential oil products from seed all the way to individually packaged products and; a method of reliably dosing essential oils and extracts into vaporized, edible and topical products.


For protection of communication against interception by frequent pseudorandom changing of the distribution of transmissions on channels, an input distributive switch is installed before the channel division device of a transmitting system and a similar output switch is installed after the channel division device of a receiving system. The distributive switches are controlled by synchronized pseudorandom generators and while the input switch repeatedly changes the distribution of transmissions on channels, and thereby channel of each transmission, the output switch directs all signals of each transmission to a fixed circuit defined for reception of that transmission.

The present invention deals with protection of a transmission against unauthorized reception.
There are three ways to protect a transmission against unauthorized reception: changing data to be transmitted, changing signals and changing channels. The first way is known as encrypton, the second and the third are utilized in spread-spectrum radio communication. The two main spread-spectrum techniques are direct-sequence spectrum spreading and frequency hopping. In frequency hopping, the transmitter repeatedly changes the center or carrier frequency, which is a radio channel. All three ways of protecting communications often involve generation of a pseudo-random succession, that appears random while it is determined by a secret key. That makes a difference between an intended receiver provided with the key, and unintended one. A problem of frequency hopping is interference harmful for quality communication, especially for television and computers.
This invention relates to protection of multichannel systems such as telephone, cable TV, computer and multimedia networks. The systems may divide channels using frequency-division, time-division, code-division or wavelength-division, and transmit analog or digital signals by land using telephone cables or fiber optics, or through the atmosphere using microwave relay stations or satellite. The method of this invention consists in frequent changing of the distribution of transmissions on channels with a switch controlled by a pseudo-random generator. As a result, every transmission is wandering from channel to channel in a pseudo-random manner. This way of protection does not require additional channels and completely excludes mutual interference of transmissions. The method ensures a reliable protection by itself and gives a synergetic effect in combination with encryption because it makes the transmitted ciphertext inaccessible for attack.


A DNA sequence coding for oncofetal ferritin 1 (OFF1) as well as an amino acid sequence encoded by the DNA sequence. Pharmaceutical compositions may be prepared comprising the above-sequences for treating various diseases, for facilitating transplantations and for treating pathological pregnancies.

Iron is known to be an essential element of the makeup of every living organism, but may also become toxic at physiological pH values by virtue of its tending to oxidize, hydrolyze and precipitate as insoluble ferric oxide polymers. The protein ferritin, found in all living cells, is the body's means for ensuring that iron toxicity does not occur. Ferritin functions by storing iron in the cells in a soluble and readily available form. The iron stored in cells may then be mobilized whenever needed by the body, for example for erythropoiesis.
The name "ferritin" actually encompasses a number of individual isomeric forms which are characteristic of different tissue types. Each isoferritin has 24 subunits of two distinct types, being light subunits (L) and heavy subunits (H). These subunits differ in molecular weight, the light subunit being about 18 kDa, and the heavy subunit about 19–21 kDa. The isoferritins extracted from different tissues or organs typically exhibit different isoelectric points, with the isoelectric focusing pattern of human tissues forming a continuous spectrum: those tissues associated with high iron storage have ferritin at the basic end of the spectrum (e.g. spleen and liver), while iron poor tissues, (e.g. heart and placenta) and malignant cells have acidic ferritin. (Drysdale, J., Ciba Found. Symp., 51:41, 1976). The difference in isoelectric point appears to be related to the different distribution of light and heavy subunits in each type. Specifically, heavy subunits-rich ferritin are relatively acidic, and light chain rich ferritin are relatively basic (Covell, et al., in Ferritin and Isoferritins as Biochemical Markers, p. 49–65, 1984, Elsevier). Current studies indicate that the H and L subunits are encoded by a complex group of genes.
A specific type of acidic isoferritin has been shown to be characteristic of neoplastic cells and placental cells (Drysdale and Singer, Cancer Res., 34:3352, 1974). This protein is also known as oncofetal ferritin or placental isoferritin (PLF). Human placental ferritin has been shown to be composed predominantly of a single subunit type comigrating with a liver ferritin standard on SDS-PAGE (Brown et al., Biochem. J., 182:763, 1979). However, an immunoradiometric assay performed with anti-human spleen ferritin has shown tissue specific antigenicity for PLF (Brown et al., supra). A three subunit structure has been revealed for PLF (Moroz et al., G. I. Pat. Clin., 1:17–23, 1986). In addition to the L and H subunits characteristic of all ferritin, there is also a high molecular weight (43 kDa) subunit which appears to be unique for human placenta, and thus provides a potential site for identification of the placental isoferritin molecule as distinguished from any other type of ferritin.
Various ferritin isoforms have been isolated from normal and malignant tissues, the most acidic ones predominating in tumor and fetal tissues (Drysdale J., 1976, Ciba Found. Symp. 51:41; Arosio et al., J. Biol. Chem., 253:4451, 1978). It has been suggested that the assay or acidic isoferritin in the serum may be of value in the diagnosis of malignancy (Hazard et al., Nature, 265:755, 1977). Elevated concentrations of serum ferritin were found in patients suffering from a variety of malignant diseases, including acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) (Matzner et al., Am. J. Hematol., 9:13, 1980), hepatoma (Giannoulis, Digestion, 30:236, 1984) and recently Hodgkin's disease (Bezwoda et al., Scand. J. Haematol., 35:505, 1985). In assays based on antibodies HeLa cell ferritin, Hazard and Drysdale found higher concentrations of ferritin in sera from patients with various tumors than in the same sera assayed by antibodies directed against normal liver ferritin (Hazard et al., supra). Others have failed to demonstrate a consistent pattern of isoferritins in tumor tissues (Cragg et al., Br. J. Cancer, 35:635, 1977; Halliday et al., Cancer Res., 36:4486, 1976) or in sera obtained from patients with tumors (Jones et al., Clin. Chim. Acta., 85:81, 1978; Jones et al., Clin. Chim. Acta., 106:203, 1980).
Although publications concerning the existence of oncofetal ferritin or placental isoferritins have been evident at least since the year 1976, up until today the sequence of this protein and the gene encoding therefor were not known. This is probably due to the fact that the protein itself is hydrophobic and almost devoid of iron and as a consequence extremely sticky and not capable of sedimentation even by high speed centrifugation thus hindering its isolation and purification. In addition, the sequence of the gene coding for oncofetal ferritin could not be found in regular cDNA libraries, probably due to the fact that its expression in these libraries is extremely low. The protein is secreted only by the placenta during pregnancy or by cancer cells in malignant diseases such as lymphoproliferative disorders, breast cancer and in HIV infection.
Breast cancer is a malignant disease effecting different populations at a rate of one to every 9–13 of women. Early diagnosis of breast cancer is known to considerably improve the prognosis of the patient. Diagnosis of breast cancer is based today mainly on imagining techniques such as mamma graphs verified at times by biopsies. Blood-based assays of breast cancer have been reported in the literature, for example, biomarker such as CA 15.3 (Daly, L. et al., Comparison of a novel assay for breast cancer mucin to and CA 54 15.3 carcinoembryonic antigen, J. Clin. Oncol., 10:1057–65, 1992); the CA 549(2) marker (Dormers, I. J., et al., CA 549; a new tumor marker for patients with advanced breast cancer J. Clin. Lab. Anal., 2:168–73, 1988); and the marker CA M29 CEA (Duistrian, A. M. et al., Evaluation of CA M26, CA M29, CA 15.3 and CEA as circulating tumor markers in breast cancer patients. Tumor Biol., 12:82–90, 1991). However these assays, reported in the scientific community have not gained, to date, clinical significance (Werner M., et al., Clinical utility and validation of emerging biochemical markers from mammary adenocarcinoma, Clin. Chem., 39/11(B):2386–96, 1993).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,270 discloses an assay for the detection of breast cancer based on determination of oncofetal ferritin. The assay is based on binding of the oncofetal ferritin to specific monoclonal antibodies.
Pathological pregnancy is a term commonly used to describe a multitude of symptoms which create difficulties in carrying a child to term and include spontaneous abortion and miscarriage, premature contractions, toxemia, premature delivery. U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,434 discloses the fact that low levels or absence of PLF in pregnant women can serve as a marker for potentially high risk pregnancy. Detection of this state is again achieved by monoclonal antibodies which has PLF specificity. This patent also concerns treatment and prevention of actual and potentially pathological pregnancy by the administration of this protein. However, since the sequence of the protein was not known at the date of the patents, the treatment suggested involved administration of partially purified protein and not of recombinant pure proteins.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,571,678, 5,120,640 and 5,283,177 are all directed to methods for assaying the presence and evaluating the prognosis of acquired immunodeficiency associated with HIV induction, by determining levels of placental isoferritin by monoclonal antibodies.
All the above detection methods concern antibody-based assays. While such assays are known to be useful in conditions where the level of the protein to be detected is quite high, they are notorious for eliciting a false-negative answer where the protein level is low. Against this, assays based on amplification of mRNA (RT-PCR) are much more sensitive and can detect even minute expression of mRNA. Thus there is need today for a RT-PCR method for detection of oncofetal ferritin for detection of breast cancer and for diagnosis of high risk pregnancies at its early stage.
Furthermore, it would have been desirable to provide pure oncofetal ferritin protein prepared by recombinant processes for therapeutic and vaccination purposes.

DNA sequence encoding oncofetal ferritin protein


A restriction mechanism for a card is provided. The card includes at least one electronic component mounted thereon. The restriction mechanism includes a substrate, a slot, at least one latch, and at least one latch restriction member. The slot allows the card to be inserted in the slot. The latch is pivotally connected to one side of the slot. The latch is rotatable between a first position in which the card is locked in the slot by the latch, and a second position in which the card is allowed to disengage from the slot. The restriction member is used to prevent the latch from being rotated to the second position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a restriction mechanism, and more particularly, to a restriction mechanism for a card.
2. Description of Related Art
A typical memory card mounting apparatus is used to mount a memory card to a circuit board such that the memory card can be electrically connected with other electronic components for data signal transmission via the circuit board.
FIG. 1A is a schematic view of a conventional memory card mounting apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1A, the conventional memory card mounting apparatus 100 includes a slot 120 and two latches 150 pivotally connected to two sides of the slot 120. A circuit board 110 is mounted to an underside of the slot 120. A memory card 130 can be inserted into the slot 120.
FIG. 1B is a schematic view of the memory card disengaged from the conventional memory card mounting apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, in the conventional apparatus, a push member 152 is formed on a side of a top of each latch 150 for facilitating the operation by user's fingers. A locking protrusion 154 is formed on the other side of the top of each latch 150 opposite to the push member 152, for engaging in a locking notch 156 of the memory card 130.
More specifically, in operation, the memory card 130 is firstly inserted into the slot 120. The latches 150 are rotated such that the locking protrusions 154 are engaged in the locking notches 156 of the memory card 130 to secure the memory card 130 and prevent the memory card 130 from being disengaged from the slot 120. On the other hand, if the push members 152 are pushed to rotate the latches 150 outward, the locking protrusion 154 will be disengaged from the locking notches 156 of the memory card 130, and the memory card 130 can then be removed from the slot 120.
As described above, the conventional latches are designed for easily removing the memory card from the slot and easily mounting the memory card in the slot. However, in the conventional design, gap may still exist between the locking protrusion and the locking notch. Due to this gap, the memory card cannot be stably mounted in the slot and may wobble relative to the slot or even result in a poor electrical connection. In addition, since the memory card can be easily removed from the slot merely by rotating the latches, an unauthorized person may possibly steal a large amount of memory cards in a short time. Therefore, a memory card mounting apparatus that provides good mounting effect and also increases the difficulties stealing the memory card is desired.


The present invention provides a sheet convey apparatus with a sheet stacking plate, supply roller for conveying a sheet from the sheet stacking plate, a separating device for separating or supplying the conveyed sheet to a treatment portion, a conveyer for conveying the sheet on the treatment portion, a discharger for discharging the sheet from the treatment portion onto the sheet stacking plate again, and an apparatus body cover. The sheet stacking plate cooperates with the cover to form a substantially horizontal sheet stacking surface and is arranged immediately above the conveyor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet convey apparatus for automatically supplying and discharging a sheet to and from a treatment portion. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sheet convey apparatus adapted to automatically supply and discharge a sheet with respect to an image reading portion of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, laser beam printer (LBP), image reading apparatus, image recording apparatus and the like, and an image forming apparatus having such a sheet convey apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
FIG. 13 shows an example of a conventional sheet convey apparatus. The sheet convey apparatus shown in this example is an original (document) feed apparatus (ADF).
In FIG. 13, a platen glass 2 acting as an image reading treatment portion is fixed to an upper surface of a body 1 of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, LBP and the like. An internal construction of the image forming apparatus will be described later.
An original convey apparatus including the platen glass 2 is generally designated by the reference numeral 3 and is mounted on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus. The original convey apparatus 3 comprises an outer cover (main cover) 4, and an original tray 5 acting as an original stacking plate on which sheet originals S are stacked in such a manner that leading or tip ends of the sheet originals are inserted in an original inlet portion 20.
When a semi-circular sheet supply roller 6 is rotated in response to an original supply start signal, a positive feeding force is applied to a lowermost sheet original of the sheet original stack S on the original tray 5, and the lowermost sheet original alone is separated from the other sheet originals at a separation and supply portion comprising a feed roller 7 and a separation belt 8, and the separated sheet original is supplied into the original convey apparatus 3. The separated sheet original passes through a sheet path a, a pair of register rollers 9 and a sheet path b, and is sent between the platen glass 2 and a rotatable original convey belt 10.
The pair of register rollers 9 serve to correct the skew-feed of the sheet original by abutting the tip end of the sheet original against a nip between the rollers and also to provide the sheet supply timing with respect to the platen glass 2.
The rotatable original convey belt 10 serves to convey the sheet original on the platen glass 2, and extends between and wound around a drive roller 11 disposed at a left end of the platen glass 2 and a turn roller 12 disposed at a right end of the platen glass 2 in such a manner that a lower running belt portion is urged against the platen glass 2 by a plurality of urging rollers 13. The original convey belt 10 is rotated in an anti-clockwise direction shown by the arrow so that the sheet original conveyed between the platen glass 2 and the belt 10 from the sheet path b is conveyed along a sheet path c between the platen glass 2 and the belt 10 from the left to the right of the platen glass 2 while sliding on the platen glass. When the sheet original is conveyed to a predetermined set position on the platen glass, the original convey belt 10 is stopped, thereby automatically setting the sheet original at the predetermined set position. Then, image information on the sheet original set on the platen glass is read by a reading mechanism of the image forming apparatus. When the reading treatment is finished, the original convey belt 10 is rotated in the counter-clockwise direction again to shift the sheet original to the right along the upper surface of the platen glass 2. Then, the sheet original is discharged onto a discharge tray 16 disposed between the original tray 5 and the original convey belt 10 through a sheet path d, a pair of discharge rollers 14 and a discharge opening 15.
In this way, a cycle wherein the sheet originals S are successively supplied from the original tray 5 to the platen glass 2 one by one and are read on the platen glass and then are discharged onto the discharge tray 16 successively is automatically performed.
FIG. 14 shows another example of a conventional original convey apparatus (recirculating document feeder, i.e., RDF). The same constructual elements as those shown in FIG. 13 are designated by the same reference numerals and explanation thereof will be omitted.
As is in the apparatus shown in FIG. 13, sheet originals S stacked on an original tray 5 are separated one by one from the lowermost one by a sheet supply roller 6 and separation and supply portion 7, 8, and the separated sheet original is automatically conveyed to a platen glass 2 through a sheet path a, a pair of regist rollers 9 and a sheet path b to be set on the platen glass at a predetermined position. Then, image information on the sheet original is read. When the reading treatment is finished, a rotatable original convey belt 10 is rotated reversely in a clockwise direction to return the sheet original on the platen glass 2 to the left to introduce the sheet original into a return sheet path e. Then, the sheet original is discharged onto the non-treated sheet original stack S on the original tray 5 through a reverse rotation path f along a large reverse rotation roller 17, a discharge path g, a pair of discharge rollers 14 and a discharge opening 15.
A first supply, reading treatment and discharge cycle for the sheet originals S stacked on the original tray 5 is completed, a new supply, reading treatment and discharge cycle for the sheet originals returned onto the original tray 5 is started. In this way, a predetermined number of original convey circulations are carried out. In FIG. 14, there are provided a sheet path switching flapper 19 and a branch sheet path h. In case of both-face imaged sheet originals, each sheet original a first face of which was read is introduced from the reverse rotation path f to the branch sheet path h, so that the sheet original is re-supplied to the platen glass 2 with a second face thereof facing downwardly. Incidentally, urging rollers 18 serve to urge the sheet original against the large reverse rotation roller 17.
However, in the above conventional sheet convey apparatus as shown in FIG. 13, since an upper space above the discharge tray 16 is limited because of the presence of the original tray (sheet stacking plate) 5, the number of sheet originals to be treated is limited. If the number of sheet originals to be treated is increased, the apparatus becomes large-sized accordingly.
On the other hand, in the conventional sheet convey apparatus as shown in FIG. 14, since it is of circulating type, it is necessary to improve the re-supplying ability for re-supplying the sheet originals from the original tray 5, with the result that the original tray must be arranged with a large inclination angle, thereby making the apparatus large-sized.

Sheet convey apparatus with horizontal sheet stacking plate above convey means


A system for controlling reset in discrete event simulation is disclosed. The system includes a simulator configured to effect the discrete event simulation, the simulator having a plurality of shared executable files, a memory configured to store the simulator for execution, an operating system having a loading/unloading facility, and a control program configured to effect a reset operation by directing the operating system to unload the simulator from the memory and then reload the simulator into the memory using the loading/unloading facility.

The present invention generally relates to event simulation and, in particular, to methods and systems for realizing reset in discrete event simulation.
Simulation is used to obtain information or validate/invalidate hypothesis about the events being simulated. Generally, event simulation is iterative in nature. During a simulation session, a common sequence of events is simulated for some amount of time. The simulation state is investigated periodically. Based on the investigation results, one or more simulation parameters may be modified before the simulation is started again from the beginning. Reset is the act of starting the simulation again from the beginning. Reset is helpful during a simulation session where the discovery of certain information is made at a particular time. Upon such discovery, the simulation may be reset and then run again from the initial state based on the newly discovered information. Consequently, providing the ability to reset a simulation is an important capability for discrete event simulation tools.
Typically, prior solutions for implementing reset during simulation are programmatic. One such programmatic solution for achieving reset is to provide a set of functions that effect assignments to "0" for each simulation variable in each program included in the simulator. When reset is desired, a control program calls these functions. It is programmatic in the sense that the actual act of reset is made possible by the manual creation of specially designed program functions ("reset functions") that make one or more assignments to the simulation variables in order to return the simulation to its initial state.
The programmatic approach has a number of disadvantages. First, it is common practice to include initialization actions in the initialization routines of a program. For the programmatic approach to work, these routines must be either explicitly called again or initialization code needs to be created in specially designed reset functions. Secondly, a public interface for creating and calling these functions has to be provided if the simulator is allowed to include simulation modules that are created externally. In most cases, the user of a simulator can create their own programming code that is called by the simulator. This code has its own variables that are part of the simulation state. For reset, these variables need to be reset to an initial state, such as, "0". The simulator controls the reset action. As a result, the simulator has to know how to call the reset functions in the code provided by the user. The ability to call the reset functions has to be provided for via a public interface. Information relating to the public interface is usually made available to the user by a documentation manual. Finally, there can be millions of variables in a simulator. Each needs to be re-assigned for true reset to occur. The chances of a programmer omitting some of the necessary assignments increase as the simulator becomes more complex. Thus, for complex simulators, programmatic reset is an error-prone strategy that becomes less maintainable every time the simulator is extended as part of the normal software development life cycle.
Hence, it would be desirable to provide methods and systems that are capable of, amongst other things, realizing reset in discrete event simulation in a more efficient manner and avoiding the disadvantages of prior art systems as described above.

Method and system for realizing reset in discrete event simulation


An expandable tubular element for use in a wellbore formed in an earth formation, the tubular element having a first radially expandable tube and a second radially expandable tube. The tubes are arranged in a manner that an end portion of the second tube extends into an end portion of the first tube, wherein a selected one of the end portions has a reduced resistance to radial expansion per unit length compared to a remainder portion of the tube to which the selected end portion pertains.

In a conventional well several casing strings are run into the wellbore as drilling proceeds, whereby each subsequent casing must pass through the previous casing, and therefore must be of smaller diameter than the previous casing. A consequence of such scheme is that the available wellbore diameter through which tools or fluids can pass, becomes stepwise smaller.
It has been proposed to alleviate this problem by installing each subsequent casing in a manner that a relatively short upper end portion thereof extends into the previous casing, and thereafter radially expanding the subsequent casing to an inner diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the previous casing. Since the upper end portion of the subsequent casing extends into the lower end portion of the previous casing, the two overlapping portions must be expanded simultaneously. Consequently the expansion force/pressure required to expand these overlapping portions is significantly higher than for the remainder of the lower casing, therefore there is an increased risk that the expander becomes stuck in the overlapping portions of the casings. Also, in case of hydraulic expansion, there is a risk that the fluid pressure required to move the expander through the overlapping portions rises to an unacceptably high level causing the already expanded casing section to fail (e.g. connector failure or pipe burst).

Expandable tubes with overlapping end portions


Methods and apparatus for transparently switching a local instance of a UMTS protocol-based call from a first card or module of a media gateway to a second card or module of the media gateway, such that the remote end of the call is not aware that the call has been switched between the first and second cards or modules. Moreover, initially establishing call media flow may include implementing two timers of different duration during which call-initialization is retried if no Positive-Acknowledgement of call initialization is received, where a shorter-duration timer is relied upon to attempt retries if a Negative-Acknowledgement is received, and a longer-duration timer is relied upon to attempt retries if neither a Positive-Acknowledgement nor a Negative-Acknowledgement is received.

Switchover is an important feature of media gateways to support scheduled in-service upgrade and to handle unexpected card failures. When a working service module or card of a media gateway fails, the media gateway must include provisions to move or "switchover" active channels onto a backup module or card. Moreover, it is desirable that the switchover be transparent to the remote end of any active calls, but this can be hard to achieve in some cases, such as in IuUP-based calls used in UMTS networks.
That is, at least according to the standard IuUP protocol state machine, a UMTS IuUP call instance cannot be transparently switched from one service card over to another service card because, to transit from the Null state to the Transfer Data Ready state, an IuUP call instance must go through the Initialization state, and must send out a new IuUP INIT message to the remote peer and receive a positive acknowledgement.
There is also a need in this area of technology for significantly reducing call drop rates and increasing service provider revenue. For example, when a packet (IP or ATM) network has high packet loss, the IuUP/NbUP INIT messages to initiate a UMTS call are often lost, and cannot reach the far-end peer. One or more retries may be attempted but, eventually, after a configured timer expires without receiving any positive acknowledgement message, the local end stops sending the INIT messages, and the call is dropped. In another scenario, when the local end starts to send INIT messages but the far-end has not yet been set up, the INIT messages sent by the local end will be dropped by the far end. Again, one or more retries may be attempted but, eventually, after a configured timer expires without receiving any positive acknowledgement message, the local end stops sending the INIT messages, and the call is dropped.
The standard UMTS IuUP protocol fails to handle these scenarios properly because it does not differentiate between the "NEGATIVE Acknowledgement" case, which means a definitive negative response, and the "No Acknowledgement" case, which means lack of any positive or negative response and may need additional time for retries. A single timer is used for both cases, which is usually small in order to speed up the decision at the "NEGATIVE Acknowledgement" case, but not sufficiently long to accommodate the "No Acknowledge" case.

UMTS call handling methods and apparatus


A system and a related method are disclosed for matching space launch vehicle, satellite, and mission hosted payload opportunities utilizing multi-level, priority algorithms. The potential matches include numerous mission-matching scenarios, e.g., 1) matching hosted payload and host spacecraft, and 2) matching spacecraft(s) and launch opportunities, to include rideshare opportunities. The matching opportunities can be pursued by any interested project team, e.g., hosted payload, spacecraft, and space launch vehicle.

Sending space systems into orbit is technically challenging and unforgiving, where even the most minute miscalculation or anomaly can result in a failed launch or even the destruction of costly satellites. As such, factors such as performance characteristics and launch reliability are driving considerations for government and commercial users. However, these factors tend to adversely influence other important concerns such as launch schedule and cost. Thus, access to space continues to be a challenging endeavor. Nonetheless, as communications and sensor technologies continue to develop, the demand for affordable space access will grow.
For decades, NASA and the Department of Defense have funded numerous initiatives focusing primarily on reducing the cost of access to space. However, launch costs continue to be a challenge, which suggests that focusing solely on the development of lower-cost launch services on its own is not sufficient to meet the ever-increasing commercial and government demand for access to space.
Typically, satellite system owners purchase access to a launch vehicle in order to obtain access to space. The extraordinary costs associated with launch vehicles make it cost prohibitive for small companies and budget restricted government agencies to gain access to space. This unavoidable constraint means alternative solutions to meeting demand and lowering cost is required.
Launch providers also face significant scheduling challenges. The launch provider must integrate a variety of mass and volumes in a dynamic launch environment, as well as adapt the launch profile to accommodate a wide range of orbital altitudes. The launch provider's desired efficiency level must be considered as well. Ideally, launch providers endeavor to schedule each launch to maximize the payload capacity. However, each scheduled launch necessarily runs the risk of less than ideal utilization due to potential complications or changing variables. Launch providers are hesitant to schedule a launch unless there is a high probability that all available capacity will be utilized. This also causes problems for launch providers designing new launch vehicles.
Current scheduling approaches also adversely affect access to space for many users. For example, design, manufacture, and testing of all the spacecraft need to be aligned to execute on an established schedule. The time required to take a project from the design phase to an operational launch can take many years in order to comply with designing a spacecraft for current or anticipated launch vehicle parameters. Additional complications arise when confirming payloads to lock in the launch manifest. Sometimes the companies seeking access to space encounter budget uncertainties, program cancellations, changes in business plan/scope, internal uncertainties, or the funding gates do not align with schedule requirements.
Current systems and methods are directed at scheduling secondary or hosted payloads to launch with primary payloads on spacecraft. A hosted payload is defined as a payload on a spacecraft that performs functions not attributed to the primary mission of the satellite. Usually, primary payloads must launch their spacecraft at a precise time in order to meet an increased commercial demand in communications, or to replace a timeworn satellite. In these scenarios, the primary mission may not require full use of the satellite's payload capacity in terms of size, weight, or power, underutilizing the value of the satellite to the owner/operator.
Often times, smaller companies wishing to send hosted payloads into space are waiting for numerous variables associated with their payload to align with the variables associated with the primary payload and its associated spacecraft. These variables include: preferred orbit, average payload power required, payload size (volume), payload mass, required on-orbit date, preferred field of view, and mission design life.
In the past, matching across space projects was a complicated endeavor, wrought with any number of pitfalls, to include schedule, budget, and performance risk. When such project matches have been pursued in the past, substantial coordination is required in development and transfer of information very early in the projects with the hopes of minimizing or reducing such risks. However, such information is rarely consolidated and substantial time and effort is required to assess the feasibility of potential matches, which distracts project members from primary duties or does not fully uncover the complete set of opportunities, further dissuading project managers from identifying and pursuing such opportunities.
Therefore, there exists a need for a system and method of pairing commercial or government payloads and spacecraft with space missions with available capacity in either launch or on-orbit hosting. The present invention fulfills these needs and others.

System and method for matching of space launch, satellite, and mission payload opportunities


Medical apparatus, including a local medical tool and a remote medical tool, located remotely from the local medical tool. The apparatus includes a lockable joint, physically connected to the local medical tool, that is operable in a locked state or in an unlocked state. A handle is physically connected to the lockable joint, so that in the locked state of the joint, movements of the handle are directly transferred to corresponding movements of the local medical tool. The apparatus includes sensors that are configured, in the unlocked state of the joint, to measure motions of the handle with respect to the lockable joint. The apparatus also includes a controller, which in the unlocked state of the joint receives indications of the motions of the handle with respect to the lockable joint, and which is configured to apply the indications to generate corresponding motions for the remote medical tool.

Many medical procedures are relatively intricate, requiring substantially simultaneous operation of numbers of complex pieces of equipment. In many cases the simultaneous operation is achieved by having two or even more physicians operating the equipment together, during a single procedure. Having more than one physician operating different pieces of equipment is expensive. In addition, a high level of communication between the different physicians is necessary in order for the multiple operations to be efficient.


A propulsion and stabilization system comprising a series of FIG. 8 coils mounted vertically on the walls of the guideway to provide suspension, lateral guidance and propulsion of a magnetically levitated vehicle. This system further allows for altering the magnetic field effects by changing the relative position of the loops comprising the FIG. 8 coils either longitudinally and/or vertically with resulting changes in the propulsion, the vertical stability, and the suspension.

This invention relates to magnetically levitated vehicle (maglev) and propulsion systems and more particularly to maglev systems in which "FIG. 8" coils or windings are mounted on vertical walls to provide suspension, lateral guidance, and propulsion for the vehicle. The invention further includes changes in the coil patterns to provide propulsion when the vehicle coil is symmetrically placed about the horizontal midplane of the "FIG. 8" coil. In addition, the invention provides for changing the spacing between the upper and lower coil whereby increasing the spacing between the upper and lower loops of the "FIG. 8" coil provides one with the capability to partially control the stable range of vertical suspension and to partially control the vehicle suspension stiffness.
Maglev development began more than two decades ago in the United States, Germany, Japan, Canada and England. In the United States, renewed interest has been directed toward magnetic levitation transportation systems in view of such factors as energy conservation, high speed transportation at ground level, economic and environmental problems associated with conventional systems, and competition from West Germany, and Japan.
The use of an electrodynamic suspension to provide levitation in maglev systems is well known in the prior art (see further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,828, issued Oct. 7, 1969, to Powell et al). A number of methods of using magnetic forces to suspend, guide, and propel vehicles have been described in the literature. There are two basic suspension concepts that are based on the use of magnetic forces. One called the Electromagnetic System (EMS) utilizes the attractive force between controlled d.c. electromagnets and ferromagnetic rails while the other called the Electrodynamic System (EDS) utilizes the repulsive force between eddy currents induced in non-ferromagnetic metal conductors and superconducting magnets (SCM's) operating in the persistent current mode and moving relative to the conductors. Generally, the SCM's or the electromagnets are mounted on the lower part of the vehicle, while the iron rails or non-ferromagnetic metal conductors are mounted on the fixed guideway. The propulsion system most frequently used for either the EMS or EDS suspension is the linear synchronous motor (LSM). The LSM consists of windings placed on the guideway that are energized by an external source of three phase or multiphase power. The 3-phase or, in the alternative, multiphase excitation of the windings produces a traveling magnetic wave that interacts with the onboard magnets and moves the vehicle along the guideway at a synchronous speed, a speed equal to that of the traveling magnetic wave.
The repulsive levitation, suspension, force is generated by the interaction between a rapidly changing magnetic field generated by superconducting magnets aboard the moving vehicle and eddy currents induced in the guideway conductor. The guideway conductor can be made of a continuous sheet of a non-magnetic conductor, such as aluminum, or of discrete coils, loops or slotted hollow tubular type structures of similar material.
A special suspension concept that is based on the EDS is called "null-flux" suspension. It was invented by J. Powell and G. Danby in the late sixties and patented in 1969, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,828, as referred to above. The concept was invented as a way to reduce the electromagnetic drag force that is inherent in any suspension system that relies on eddy currents in the conductors. The concept also results in a stiffer suspension system than non-null-flux approaches. The heart of the null-flux system is a series of shorted "FIG.-8" coils. The "FIG.-8" coils may be vertically oriented on the guideway or folded over so that the upper and lower loops of the "FIG.-8" are parallel to each other. When an energized coil, for example an SCM, passes midway between the loops, no net current is induced in the loops because they are cross connected or counter wound hence the term "null-flux". When the SCM is displaced from the midplane or neutral position relative to the upper and lower loops, a large net current is induced in the loops and a strong repulsive force acts to restore the SCM to the neutral or "null-flux" position. Some maglev design concepts utilize the same vehicle magnets to perform more than one of the basic functions, suspension, guidance, or propulsion. This multiple tasking occurs when the vehicle magnets interact with suitable guideway mounted devices. Some additional concepts, as described in the literature, also include multi-use guideway-mounted coils. For example, the Japanese "Linear Motor Car" developed at the Japanese Railway Technical Research Institute and currently being tested at the Miyazaki Test Track applies externally excited three phase power to a set of vertically-mounted guideway coils for lateral guidance and for propulsion of the vehicle. A Canadian conceptual design also uses such a set of dual purpose, guidance and propulsion, coils mounted on the guideway. In both designs, a separate set of guideway-mounted coils is used for suspension. In addition, both concepts require that the propulsion and guidance coils mounted on opposite vertical walls must be cross-connected to provide lateral, null-flux guidance.
In the invention described herein, the vehicle-borne magnets interact with a single set of coils mounted on vertical guideway walls to produce a form of "null-flux" suspension, lateral guidance, and when the guideway mounted coils are excited with multi-phase power from an external source, propulsion as well. The lateral guidance is not of the "null-flux" type and does not require cross-connecting of coils mounted on opposite sides of the walls of the guideway. The lateral guidance forces arise naturally in this invention because of the interaction of the field from the vehicle-borne SCM's with the eddy currents induced in the "FIG.-8" coils producing both a vertical force component for the suspension, and a force normal, horizontal, to the coil plane for lateral guidance.
It is an object of this invention to employ a "FIG. 8" coil system attached to the guideway to provide suspension and lateral guidance to a SCM equipped vehicle.
It is a further object of this invention to longitudinally offset one loop of the "FIG. 8" coil from the other loop to provide propulsion as well as suspension and lateral guidance to a SCM equipped vehicle.
Another object of this invention provides for altering the spacing between the loops of the "FIG. 8" coil to partially control the vertical stability range and the vertical suspension stiffness.
Additional advantages, objects and novel features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following and by practice of the invention.

Integrated null-flux suspension and multiphase propulsion system for magnetically-levitated vehicles

The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy