A bone plate for fixation of a fractured bone includes a first portion having a first longitudinal axis and a second portion having a second longitudinal axis. The second portion is angled with respect to the first portion. The first portion has at least one hole for receiving a bone anchor having a shaft. The hole has a first hole portion defining a first central axis substantially perpendicular to a lower surface of the first portion and configured to receive the bone anchor. The hole includes a second hole portion overlapping and in communication with the first hole portion from upper to lower surface defining a second central axis substantially angled with respect to the first central axis, and configured to receive the bone anchor such that the shaft is substantially angled with respect to the second portion of the bone plate so as to form a truss.

A bone plate is a plate that is fastenable to the surface of a fractured bone to support and/or stabilize the fracture as the bone heals. Bone plates may be attached to the bone with bone screws that extend from the plate into the bone. In some examples, the head of the bone screw is locked to the plate (e.g., by threaded engagement between the screw head and the bone plate) and in other plates the head of the screw is free to angulate with respect to the plate, such that the screw may be placed in the bone at a surgeon-selected angle. In yet other examples, the screw head may cooperate with the bone plate to provide compression or distraction of the fracture (i.e., to push the bone fragments towards or away from one another).
When treating certain types of fractures, such as that of the proximal portion of the femur, there may be high stresses at the bone-screw and/or screw-plate interfaces. Several different types of bone plates have been developed to accommodate these high stresses. In one example, sometimes referred to as a "blade plate," the bone plate may have a blade-shaped portion that extends approximately perpendicularly to the plate, and extends into a channel formed in the bone through the fracture site. In another example, a lag screw may extend from a barrel portion of the plate and through the fracture site. However these additional structures, for example the blade-shaped portion, may require additional support due to the redistribution of stresses from the loads experienced throughout the remainder of the bone plate.


Expression cassettes for expression of amphipathic (lytic) peptides in mammalian unicellular (e.g., cultured cells) and multicellular organisms are described, as well as transgenic unicellular and multicellular mammalian organisms having such a cassette stably integrated in their genetic material. In one embodiment, the expression cassette comprises a milk-specific promoter, which for example may be the beta casein promoter, linked in reading frame to control the expression of an amphipathic peptide encoding gene. This expression cassette is useful for production of amphipathic peptides in milk-producing cells and tissues. In another embodiment, the expression cassette comprises an interleukin regulatory sequence adjacently linked to control the expression of an amphipathic peptide encoding gene. The interleukin-regulated cassette is useful to produce disease-resistant animals.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to transgenic expression of amphipathic and lytic peptides in mammalian organisms, and particularly to transgenic mammalian unicellular and multicellular organisms having stably-integrated amphiphathic peptide-encoding genes whose expression is controlled by a tissue-specific mammalian regulatory sequence.
2. State of the Art
A class of cellular polypeptides known as "lytic peptides" or "amphipathic peptides" has been found to be active against various disease-causing agents including bacteria and viruses. These amphipathic peptides form complexes in the cell's outer coat or membrane, and a present hypothesis is that the complexes form pores which allow unregulated transfer of fluid and molecules across the membrane. According to this hypothesis, the cells die because of osmotic imbalances resulting from this unregulated transfer. Whatever the mechanism, the naturally occurring amphipathic peptides and various modified peptides having certain peptide sequence or structure in common with the naturally occurring amphipathic peptides have been found to have cytocidal activity against bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and various other microbial pathogens.
PCT patent publication No. WO 89/00194 (priority date U.S. patent application filed Jul. 7, 1987), by Jaynes et al., discloses numerous amphipathic peptides including both naturally occurring ones and modified amphipathic peptides. An earlier application by Jaynes et al., U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 07/889,225 filed Jul. 25, 1986, discloses vectors encoding certain amphipathic peptides and the production of disease-resistant transgenic plants containing gene sequences expressing such amphipathic peptides. The Jaynes applications also disclose use of amphipathic peptides for injection or application to a sick organism.
Quantities of amphipathic peptides or amphipathic peptide analogues sufficient for experimental use can be made on a peptide synthesizer. However, this method is not suitable for commercial production or even for amounts needed for clinical trials of amphipathic peptides as disease-treating agents.
Attempts have been made to produce amphipathic peptides by overproduction in various host species. Amphipathic peptides can be produced in insect cell cultures using the baculovirus-Spodoptera expression system, as the amphipathic peptides are native to these insect species and the insect cells are somewhat resistant to their toxic effects. Efforts to express amphipathic peptides in non-insect hosts have generally worked poorly, because of the toxic effects of the amphipathic peptides on the host cells or organisms. While Jaynes et al. were able to produce transgenic plants expressing an amphipathic peptide, their success is due to the difference in cell wall and membrane structures of plants, which render them insusceptible to attack by the amphipathic peptide. So far as the present inventors are aware, the only successful production of a transgenic mammalian organism containing an expressible lytic peptide gene is that disclosed in the related copending application Ser. No. 08/114,692 of White and Reed. These inventors were able to produce transgenic mice and transformed lymphocytes carrying an integrated lytic peptide-encoding gene under the control of an interleukin regulating sequence. However, these organisms were not particularly suited for achieving large-scale production of amphipathic peptides.
Further, the production of novel organisms by techniques of genetic engineering, including both unicellular and multicellular organisms and tissue culture cell lines, has been applied to achieve various objectives. For example, the "Harvard mouse" is a strain of mice which have been genetically altered to have increased susceptibility to the induction of cancer by damaging to a particular gene. Another example is the development of a bacterial strain carrying a foreign gene which confers the ability to "eat" petroleum and related compounds on the host.
Desirably, in a genetically-engineered organism, the foreign gene should be stably present in the germ cells of the organism so that it is transmitted to its offspring and to subsequent generations of the organism. Further, it is often desirable that the process of obtaining the transgenic organism not require integration of the gene at a specific site in order for expression of the gene to occur. This makes the process more reproducible, which is particularly important when dealing with alteration of multicellular animals where the generation times are generally long compared to those of unicellular organisms.
However, so far as the present inventors are aware, no one has yet been able to achieve a disease-resistant mammalian or other non-insect vertebrate unicellular or multicellular organism, having an expressible gene encoding an amphipathic peptidestably integrated into its genome. While Jaynes et al. were able to produce transgenic plants expressing an amphipathicpeptide, their success may be due to the difference in cell structure of plants, such as the cell wall and membrane structures, which make them insusceptible to attack by the amphipathic peptide. In contrast, in other prokaryotic and non-insect eukaryotic cells and animals, expression of an introduced gene for an amphipathic peptide can result in death or serious harm to the host cell. If the gene encoding the amphipathic peptide is under the control of a regulator that permits even low levels of expression, long-term growth of the host (or culture of the cell line) is difficult to achieve.
While their sensitivity is less than that of bacteria and most eukaryotic pathogens, mammalian cells are also susceptible to killing by amphipathic peptides. Unless the gene encoding the amphipathic peptide is under very tight control, leaky expression of the peptide has generally negative effects on host mammalian cells. However, if tight control is provided, one is faced with the problem of how to obtain selective and beneficial expression of the amphipathic peptide, otherwise the benefits of the integrated gene cannot be realized.
So far as the present inventors are aware, to date there have been no successful attempts to selectively express amphipathic peptides in a beneficial manner in particular mammalian cell types or tissues. Accordingly, a need remains for means to achieve such selective expression of amphipathic peptides in mammalian cells and organisms.
Nor are the inventors aware of any successful attempts to use a non-insect expression system, or a transgenic mammalian peptide expression system, for production of amphipathic peptides in large quantity. Accordingly, a need also remains for means to produce amphipathic peptides in large quantities.
Further, a need remains for a DNA cassette and method for producing mammalian and non-insect eukaryotic transgenic organisms having a stably integrated gene encoding an amphipathic peptide, with the gene being selectively expressed only under conditions such as disease states where expression is desirable and without significantly jeopardizing the general hardiness and well-being of the host organisms. A need further remains for such DNA cassette and method which is useful to transfect both unicellular and multicellular non-insect vertebrate organisms.

DNA cassettes for expression of lytic peptides in mammalian cells and transgenic organisms containing same


An imaging device has an intra-plane pixel summation unit and an inter-plane pixel summation unit. In the frame of interest, the intra-plane pixel summation unit sums the signals of the pixel of interest and selected highly correlated neighboring pixels to generate an intra-plane sensitized signal and a code indicating the pattern formed by the pixel of interest and the selected pixels. The inter-plane pixel summation unit selects pixels for summation from among the pixels positioned identically to the pixel of interest and pixels in the neighborhood of the identically positioned pixels in one or more frames neighboring the frame of interest on the basis of the agreement or disagreement of their pixel summing pattern codes and correlation of their intra-plane sensitized signals. In a Bayer array imaging device, enhanced sensitivity is obtained without causing color mixing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging device that can capture images with improved sensitivity in low illumination environments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some known imaging devices are configured to obtain improved sensitivity and an improved signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio by executing a function that sums all the digital signals for the preceding N pixels (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-184274, in particular paragraph 0010 on page 4).
A problem with these known imaging devices is that since they add the captured image signals from a continuous row of adjacent pixels, when a color imaging element is used, the colors mix and a color signal cannot be reproduced.
This invention addresses this problem with the object of enabling an image signal of sufficiently high sensitivity to be obtained without color mixing when image signals read from a color imaging element are summed.


A fire wall for defining an engine room and a tank chamber is disposed in a body. The fire wall is provided with a tool storage section. Direct conduction of heat from a hydraulic oil tank to the tool storage section is prevented. Even if hydraulic oil stored in the hydraulic oil tank becomes hot, increase in the temperature of the tool storage section is limited. A sufficient space for storage of tools is ensured.

Examples of conventional work machines of this type include a hydraulic excavator comprising a movable undercarriage and an upper structure 1 (shown in FIG. 5), which is rotatably mounted on top of the undercarriage. A revolving unit is provided therebetween. The undercarriage is able to move by means of traveling devices provided at both sides of the undercarriage.
Many of the operational components of conventional working machines maybe housed in the upper structure of FIG. 5. For example, FIG. 5 illustrates a fire wall 6 disposed inside a body 2 located on the upper structure 1. The fire wall 6 divides the interior of the body 2 into an engine room 3 and a tank chamber 5. The engine room 3 houses an engine for driving a hydraulic pump, which is not shown in the drawing. The tank chamber 5 houses a hydraulic oil tank 4 and other relevant components. The hydraulic oil tank 4 stores hydraulic oil to be supplied to and discharged from hydraulic cylinders, which are not shown in the drawing.
A tool storage section 7 for storing tools (not shown) is provided at one side of the hydraulic oil tank 4, between the body 2 and the hydraulic oil tank 4.
A work machine having the structure described above presents a problem in that providing the tool storage section 7 at a side of the hydraulic oil tank 4 makes the tool storage section 7 subject to high temperatures when the hydraulic oil tank 4 becomes hot due to increase in the temperature of the hydraulic oil.
Providing the tool storage section 7 in a relatively narrow space between the body 2 and the side panel of the hydraulic oil tank 4 makes it impossible to ensure sufficient space for housing relatively large tools, such as a hammer.
In order to solve the above problems, an object of the invention is to provide a work machine which is capable of limiting an increase in the temperature of a tool storage section. Another object of the invention is to provide a work machine which ensures sufficient tool storage space.

Tool storage compartment of a work machine


A friction wheel drive for an internal combustion engine's a unit belt drive for a secondary unit includes a control system, a friction wheel that engages frictionally with an outer side of a belt in a wrap-around portion of a drive wheel of the internal combustion engine and that is controlled by the control system to engage or disengage frictionally with a drive wheel of the secondary unit, and a guidance system having an arc section for guiding the movement of the friction wheel with the control system. The arc section is arranged equidistant from the axis of rotation of the drive or driven wheel relative to the driven wheel to the outside of the belt in the wrap-around portion for turning the secondary unit on and off.

The invention relates to a friction wheel drive associated with a unit belt drive of an internal combustion engine for a separate secondary unit, wherein a friction wheel cooperating frictionally in the wrap-around portion of a drive wheel of the internal combustion engine or other unit is in frictional connection with a drive wheel of the friction wheel drive of the secondary unit, wherein furthermore the friction wheel is taken out of engagement with the aforesaid friction partner in case of need by means of a control system.
A system of this kind has been proposed in a general configuration in Patent Application P 102 36 746, not disclosed earlier, without giving a concrete construction of the control system for the needed adjustment of the friction wheel relative to the drive wheel or to the belt.
It is the purpose of the invention to show a management, simple and reliable in operation, for a controlled friction wheel between an engagement active for the secondary unit and a disengaged position.
This purpose is accomplished in accordance with one aspect of the present invention in that the friction wheel is disposed in variable positions in a guiding device arranged on the machine side adjacent to the drive wheel or driven wheel relative to the drive gear or to the belt exterior in its particular circumferential contact area by means of the control device in order to turn the auxiliary unit on and off.
With the invention, a simple and reliably working management is achieved for a friction wheel arranged especially on the belt side of the friction wheel transmission that is associated with the secondary unit.
In a first embodiment of the invention, a simple and stable management system is achieved by the fact that it comprises guide plates disposed on both sides of the friction wheel at the same fixed distance apart, with equidistant, arcuate slots in which the friction wheel is disposed for displacement by means of the control system being guided in sliding movement by axial projections.
In order to avoid out-of-round running of the driving or driven wheel including the outer side of the belt, due to machine dynamics, on the one hand, and on the other hand to prevent increased wear, it is proposed in a further embodiment of the invention that the guiding system be spring mounted on the machine side. This can be accomplished, for example, by means of a silent block-like or rubber-and-metal arrangement which also serve to compensate inaccuracies.
A further proposal describes the settings of the friction wheel that are possible for a variable driving of the secondary unit, the control system comprising a servo motor arranged on the machine side for acting on a bell crank which is in communication with the friction wheel through a coupling rod serving to turn the secondary unit on and off and accordingly under tension or pressure. With this embodiment the control system can be advantageously adapted according to the space conditions at the combustion engine.
In order to damp shocks delivered to the coupling rod in some cases by the friction wheel, provision is made according to the invention for the coupling rod to be formed from two sections telescoping together, which thrust against one another with spring action when the secondary unit is turned on.
In another embodiment of the invention, the guiding system is a guiding link including the friction wheel in equidistant arrangement, which is equipped with bearings with rubber elastic cushioning. It can be in communication with a control system configured as previously described.
The invention finds use preferentially in a secondary unit serving as a coolant pump for an internal combustion engine whose drive wheel is controlled by the friction wheel through the Motronic map-controlled servo motor governed by parameters of the internal combustion engine. The servo motor can, in a known manner, operate hydraulically, pneumatically, electrically or magnetically.
The variable drive of the coolant pumps can be controlled in the scope of the invention, for example, also by only a single parameter. Preferably the temperature of the coolant of the internal combustion engine serves for this purpose.

Friction wheel drive associated with a unit belt drive of an internal combustion engine for a separate secondary unit

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft

Peugeot Citroen Automobiles Societe Anonyme


A system comprising a mail processing apparatus includes a number of processing stations such as for instance a printer and an inserter. In addition, the system comprises a control system which controls at least one processing station for assembling sheets to form at least one document to be mailed or for processing received documents. The system further comprises at least one external diagnostic device separate from the mail processing apparatus and a communication channel between the control system and the diagnostic device. The control system is arranged for performing diagnostic tests for detecting, for instance, malfunctions, deviations in performance and/or required preventive maintenance in a processing station. The diagnostic device initializes via the communication channel the performance of said tests and/or receives the results of the tests for further processing.

This invention relates to a system comprising a mail processing apparatus which comprises a number of processing stations including at least an envelope inserter or an envelope opener, and a control system which controls at least one processing station for assembling sheets to form at least one document to be mailed or for processing received documents, the system further comprising at least one external diagnostic device separate from the mail processing apparatus and a communication channel between the control system and the diagnostic device.
Such a device is known inter alia from European patent application no. 373969. With the apparatus according to European patent application no. 373969, postal items are prepared for dispatch.
Typically, use is made of such mail processing apparatuses when large amounts of documents, such as letters, invoices, bank statements, and the like are to be processed. This involves a problem in that no efficient method is available to ensure and provide that the apparatus functions properly at all times. Because in practice the mail processing apparatus is often used with a highly varying load, it has been found in prior art apparatuses to be difficult to predict when a malfunction is to be expected or to timely carry out preventive maintenance. This entails the problem that it may happen quite unexpectedly that the apparatus no longer functions properly, with the result that, for instance, in a business where the apparatus is arranged, major problems arise. Postal items which are not timely dispatched in a business or, once received, are not processed speedily for distribution over the various departments of the business may have disastrous consequences for business management. For that reason, it has long been desired to realize a system in which the chances of the mail processing apparatus failing and/or functioning suboptimally are particularly small. It is true that if preventive maintenance is carried out with an unduly high frequency, the chances of failure are somewhat reduced but this entails an undesired economic disadvantage. In addition, there is a desire to realize a system in which malfunctions, if any, can be rapidly remedied. In the system according to the European patent application, the control system of the mail processing apparatus generates diagnostic information about processing stations of the mail processing apparatus. The diagnostic information in question is therefore generated locally, i.e. by the mail processing apparatus itself. Such diagnostic information can, for instance, be that a malfunction has been detected in the software or hardware of the mail processing apparatus. The diagnostic information can also be that it has been concluded that maintenance is required. The diagnostic information thus generally locally is then fed via the communication channel to the diagnostic device. On the basis of the diagnosis made locally, the diagnostic device only makes a decision or establishes that a fault is present. Accordingly, the diagnostic device does not generate any new information, i.e. new diagnostic information with an added value from the received diagnostic information.
A disadvantage of the system is that in practice it has been found that the locally obtained diagnostic information is not always reliable and/or complete. A consequence is that, for instance, a maintenance crew for the diagnostic device may be sent out by mistake. It has also been found that in this way different processing stations make mutually different diagnoses. Accordingly, the treatment of different processing apparatuses will mostly not be uniform. Nor is it possible to obtain additional diagnostic information in the external diagnostic device when the available diagnostic information is found to be insufficient, since the acquisition of diagnostic information is carried out locally. Another disadvantage is that if it is decided to provide the system with new diagnostic facilities, every mail processing apparatus would have to be programmed anew to be able to locally generate the relevant new diagnostic information.

Mail processing system with diagnostic facilities


A method of degassing cavitation fluid using a closed-loop cavitation fluid circulatory system is provided. The procedure is comprised of multiple stages. During the first stage, the cavitation fluid is continuously circulated through the cavitation chamber, reservoir and the circulatory system while the fluid within the chamber is cavitated. A vacuum system coupled to the fluid reservoir periodically degasses the fluid. During the second stage, pumping of the cavitation fluid through the chamber is discontinued. Gases released by the cavitation process are periodically pumped out of the chamber and periodically eliminated by the vacuum system. A third stage, although not required, can be used to further eliminate gases dissolved within the cavitation fluid. During the third stage cavities are formed within the cavitation fluid within the chamber using any of a variety of means such as neutron bombardment, laser vaporization or localized heating. Once formed, the cavities are cavitated, thereby releasing dissolved gases within the fluid which can then be removed using the circulatory system and the attached vacuum system.

Sonoluminescence is a well-known phenomena discovered in the 1930's in which light is generated when a liquid is cavitated. Although a variety of techniques for cavitating the liquid are known (e.g., spark discharge, laser pulse, flowing the liquid through a Venturi tube), one of the most common techniques is through the application of high intensity sound waves.
In essence, the cavitation process consists of three stages; bubble formation, growth and subsequent collapse. The bubble or bubbles cavitated during this process absorb the applied energy, for example sound energy, and then release the energy in the form of light emission during an extremely brief period of time. The intensity of the generated light depends on a variety of factors including the physical properties of the liquid (e.g., density, surface tension, vapor pressure, chemical structure, temperature, hydrostatic pressure, etc.) and the applied energy (e.g., sound wave amplitude, sound wave frequency, etc.).
Although it is generally recognized that during the collapse of a cavitating bubble extremely high temperature plasmas are developed, leading to the observed sonoluminescence effect, many aspects of the phenomena have not yet been characterized. As such, the phenomena is at the heart of a considerable amount of research as scientists attempt to not only completely characterize the phenomena (e.g., effects of pressure on the cavitating medium), but also its many applications (e.g., sonochemistry, chemical detoxification, ultrasonic cleaning, etc.). A by-product of this research have been several patents claiming various aspects of the process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,796 discloses a cavitation chamber comprised of a refractory metal such as tungsten, titanium, molybdenum, rhenium or some alloy thereof. Acoustic energy is supplied to the liquid (e.g., lithium or an alloy thereof) within the chamber by six metal acoustic horns coupled to transducers. The tips of the horns project into the chamber while the rearward portion of each horn is coupled to a heat exchanger system, the heat exchanger system withdrawing heat generated by the reactions within the chamber and conducted out of the chamber via the metal horns. The inventors note that by removing heat in this manner, the liquid remains within the chamber, thus avoiding the need to pump the chamber liquid. An external processing system with a combination pump and mixer is disclosed for removing deuterium and tritium gases released from the cavitation zone and trapped within the chamber or tritium gases trapped within the Li-blanket surrounding the chamber and then reintroducing the previously trapped deuterium and tritium into the cavitation zone. Additional deuterium may also be introduced into the mixer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,341, a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,796, discloses a slightly modified, cylindrical cavitation chamber. The chamber is surrounded by an external heating coil which allows the liquid within the chamber to be maintained at the desired operating temperature. The system is degassed prior to operation by applying a vacuum through a duct running through the cover of the chamber. During operation, the inventor notes that graphite, dissolved in the host liquid metal, is converted to diamond. The diamond-rich host material is removed via an outlet duct adjacent to the bottom of the chamber and graphite-rich host material is removed via an outlet duct adjacent to the upper end of the chamber. Additional host material and graphite are added by lowering rods comprised of the host material and graphite, respectively, into the heated chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,173 discloses a sonoluminescence system that uses a transparent spherical flask fabricated from Pyrex®, Kontes®, quartz or other suitable glass and ranging in size from 10 milliliters to 5 liters. The inventors disclose that preferably the liquid within the flask is degassed and the flask is sealed prior to operation. In one disclosed embodiment, the cavitation chamber is surrounded by a temperature control system, thus allowing the liquid within the chamber to be cooled to a temperature of 1° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,104 discloses a shock wave chamber partially filled with a liquid. The remaining portion of the chamber is filled with gas which can be pressurized by a connected pressure source. Acoustic transducers mounted in the sidewalls of the chamber are used to position an object within the chamber. Another transducer mounted in the chamber wall delivers a compressional acoustic shock wave into the liquid. A flexible membrane separating the liquid from the gas reflects the compressional shock wave as a dilation wave focused on the location of the object about which a bubble is formed.
Although a variety of sonoluminescence systems have been designed, typically these systems do not provide a convenient method of degassing the cavitation fluid within a cavitation chamber without subjecting the fluid to potential contamination and/or loss. Accordingly, what is needed is an efficient and convenient cavitation fluid degassing procedure. The present invention provides such a procedure.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Degassing procedure for a cavitation chamber


Provided is a method for polymerizing a polymer precursor, comprising: contacting a polymer precursor with a lithium carborane catalyst and an initiator under polymerizing conditions. A reaction solvent may be used, but is not necessary. Also provided is a method of preparing lithium carborane polymers, comprising: contacting a lithium carborane polymer precursor having a terminal alkenyl or alkynyl group with an initiator and an optional reaction solvent under polymerizing conditions. Functionalized carborane anions are also provided.

Terminal alkenes that do not contain activating substituents such as —O-alkyl, aryl (such as phenyl in styrene), cyano, carboxylic ester, or amide near the double bond are difficult to polymerize. These unactivated terminal alkenes are ordinarily stable indefinitely at room temperature in air. Much effort has been directed at improving the polymerization of unactivated terminal alkenes, such as the use of coordinatively unsaturated transition metal catalysts (McKnight and Waymouth 1998; Gibson and Spitzmesser 2003), the use of high pressure and temperature, and in some cases low-temperature cationic polymerization (Cheradame 1984; Sangalov et al. 2001). However, these methods are difficult to carry out and often produce low molecular weight polymers (Moad and Solomon 1995).
An improved method of polymerizing unactivated alkenes is needed.

The Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate


A ball-catching piece comprises a main body of the above-mentioned ball-catching piece, a thumb-supporting piece provided in a thumb stall in the above-mentioned main body of the above-mentioned ball-catching piece to allow the position of a thumb to be fixed and to allow a fixed position of the above-mentioned thumb to be free, and a band provided in the above-mentioned main body of the above-mentioned ball-catching piece to allow a push to be exerted on a hand and to allow the push to be eliminated in the hand-width direction along which the backside of the above-mentioned hand is received and supported. The above-mentioned thumb-supporting piece comprises a first strap with which the above-mentioned thumb can be pushed from the side of the first finger and a second strap with which the above-mentioned thumb can be pushed from a side opposing the side of the above-mentioned first finger; the above-mentioned second strap is inserted through a first through-hole formed in outer leather of the above-mentioned main body of the above-mentioned ball-catching piece and is then inserted through a second through-hole formed in the above-mentioned band; and the second strap is used to enable the above-mentioned band to push the above-mentioned hand.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ball-catching piece, particularly, such as a glove used to play, for example, baseball and softball.
2. Description of the Related Art
A ball-catching piece includes a thumb-supporting piece to enable the ball-catching piece to fit with the hand. A conventional thumb-supporting piece is merely formed of a strap with which a push is exerted on the thumb from the side of a first finger, hence allowing a portion of a thumb on the side opposing a first finger to be in push-contact with inner leather of a main body of the ball-catching piece.
According to the above construction of the conventional ball-catching piece, the thumb is merely pushed from the side of the first finger. As such, positional-fixing for the thumb is insufficient, therefore making it difficult to well fit with the ball-catching piece to the hand.
The present invention is made in view of the above-described circumstances. An object of the present invention is to provide a ball-catching piece that well fits with the hand.
According to a feature in the configuration of a ball-catching piece of the present invention, a thumb-supporting piece is provided in a thumb stall in a main body of the ball-catching piece to allow the position of a thumb to be fixed and to allow a fixed position of the above-mentioned thumb to be free, and a band is provided in the above-mentioned main body of the above-mentioned ball-catching piece to allow a push to be exerted on a hand and to allow the push to be eliminated in the hand-width direction along which the backside of the above-mentioned hand is received and supported.
The above-mentioned thumb-supporting piece is formed to include a first strap with which the above-mentioned thumb can be pushed from the side of a first finger and a second strap with which the above-mentioned thumb can be pushed from a side opposing the side of the above-mentioned first finger; the above-mentioned second strap is inserted through a first through-hole formed in outer leather of the above-mentioned main body of the above-mentioned ball-catching piece and is then inserted through a second through-hole formed in the above-mentioned band; and the second strap is used to enable the above-mentioned band to push the above-mentioned hand.
According to the configuration, the following operations and advantages can be produced.
The first strap is used to push a thumb from the side of the first finger, and the second strap is used to push the thumb from the side opposing the side of the first finger. The second strap is inserted through the first through-hole formed in the outer leather of the main bode of the ball-catching piece, and is then inserted through the second through-hole formed in the band. The second strap thus formed is used to push the band to the hand.
In this way, the thumb is pushed not only from the side of the first finger, but also from a side opposing the side of the first finger. This enables the position of the thumb to be stably fixed onto the main body of the ball-catching piece.
Furthermore, since the second strap is used to push the band to the hand, a portion of the hand on a wrist side can be stably fixed onto the ball-catching piece.
For example, in a configuration in which a band-dedicated position-fixing member that is different from the above-mentioned second strap is pushed to the hand, an increased number of components need to be used, and the configuration is therefore complicated.
According to the configuration of the present invention, however, since the second strap for pushing the thumb is used to push the band to the hand, the number of components can be reduced. Thereby, the configuration can be simplified, and concurrently, the push operation can be easily implemented.
Still furthermore, a single second strap is used to simultaneously fix the positions of the thumb and the portion of the hand in the wrist side. This enables the motion of the thumb to be more difficult with respect to a portion of the hand in the wrist side in comparison to a case in which two members are used to fix the positions independently of each other.
As a result, the present invention can provide the ball-catching piece that well fits with the hand.
According to another feature of in the configuration of a ball-catching piece of the present invention, a thumb-supporting piece is provided in a thumb stall in a main body of the ball-catching piece to allow the position of a thumb to be fixed and to allow a fixed position of the above-mentioned thumb to be free; and outer leather on a backside of the above-mentioned main body of the above-mentioned ball-catching piece, wherein the above-mentioned outer leather is formed in a such a manner as to cover a backside of a hand to allow a push to be exerted on a hand-insertion-opening-side outer leather portion for receiving and supporting a wrist side of the backside of the above-mentioned hand so as to push the above-mentioned hand, and to allow the push to be eliminated.
The above-mentioned thumb-supporting piece is formed to include a first strap with which the above-mentioned thumb can be pushed from the side of the first finger and a second strap with which the above-mentioned thumb can be pushed from a side opposing the side of the above-mentioned first finger; the above-mentioned second strap is inserted through a first through-hole formed in outer leather of the above-mentioned main body of the above-mentioned ball-catching piece and is then inserted through a second through-hole formed in the above-mentioned hand-insertion-opening-side outer leather portion; and the second strap is used to enable the above-mentioned hand-insertion-opening-side outer leather portion to push the above-mentioned hand.
According to the above configuration, the following operations and advantages can be produced.
The first strap is used to push a thumb from the side of a first finger, and the second strap is used to push the thumb from the side opposing the side of the first finger. The second strap is inserted through the first through-hole formed in the outer leather of the main bode of the ball-catching piece, and is then inserted through the second through-hole formed in the band. The second strap thus formed is used to push the band to the hand.
In this way, the thumb is pushed not only from the side of the first finger, but also from a side opposing the side of the first finger. This enables the position of the thumb to be stably fixed onto the main body of the ball-catching piece.
Furthermore, since the second strap is used to push the band to the hand, a portion of the hand on a wrist side can be stably fixed onto the ball-catching piece.
For example, in a configuration in which a position-fixing member that is dedicated for a hand-insertion-opening-side outer leather portion, which is different from the above-mentioned second strap, is pushed to the hand, an increased number of components need to be used. Thereby, the configuration is complicated.
According to the configuration of the present invention, however, since the second strap for pushing the thumb is used to push the hand-insertion-opening-side outer leather portion to the hand, the number of components can be reduced. Thereby, the configuration can be simplified, and concurrently, the push operation can be easily implemented.
Still furthermore, a single second strap is used to simultaneously fix the positions of the thumb and the portion of the hand on the wrist side. This enables the motion of the thumb to be more difficult with respect to a portion of the hand in the wrist side in comparison to a case in which two members are used to fix the positions independently of each other.
As a result, the present invention can provide the ball-catching piece that well fits with the hand.
Preferably, the configuration is built such that the above-mentioned first strap is inserted through a third through-hole formed on a side of a base-end portion of the above-mentioned outer leather of the above-mentioned thumb stall, and a portion of the above-mentioned first strap is tied in the outside of the above-mentioned outer leather not to come out of the above-mentioned third through-hole, thereby causing the above-mentioned thumb to be pushed;
and a portion of the above-mentioned second strap that has been inserted through the above-mentioned second through-hole is connectable to a side of a base-end portion of the above-mentioned outer leather of the above-mentioned thumb stall via a hook-and-loose fastener.
According to the above configuration, the following operations and advantages can be produced.
The above-mentioned first strap is inserted through the third through-hole formed on a side of a base-end portion of the above-mentioned outer leather of the above-mentioned thumb stall, and a portion of the above-mentioned first strap is tied in the outside of the above-mentioned outer leather not to come out of the above-mentioned third through-hole, thereby causing the above-mentioned thumb to be pushed.
In addition, a portion of the above-mentioned second strap that has been inserted through the above-mentioned second through-hole formed in a portion of the band (or, a portion of the hand-insertion-opening-side outer leather portion) on the side of the thumb stall is connected to a side of a base-end portion of the outer leather of the thumb stall via a hook-and-loose fastener to thereby push the hand.
Consequently, the present invention can provide the ball-catching piece that well fits with the hand.


A mist elimination device in the form of a hood for the removal of moisture from a gas stream treated by a WESP includes a series of gutters on the outer surface of the hood to trap liquid droplets and direct the moisture to channels to drain to the lower region of a housing. Gutters are also provided on the interior surface of the hood to catch liquid droplets carried by the gas stream into the interior of the hood.

Wet electrostatic precipitators (WESP) have been used for many years to remove dust, acid mist and other particulates from water-saturated air and other gases by electrostatic means. In a WESP, particulates and/or mist laden water-saturated air flows in a region of the precipitator between discharge and collecting electrodes, where the particulates and/or mist is electrically charged by corona emitted from the high voltage discharge electrodes. As the water-saturated gas flows further within the WESP, the charged particulates matter and/or mist is electrostatically attracted to grounded collecting plates or electrodes where it is collected. The accumulated materials are continuously washed off by both an irrigating film of water and periodic flushing.
This type of system is used to remove pollutants from the gas streams exhausting from various industrial sources, such as incinerators, coke ovens, glass furnaces, non-ferrous metallurgical plants, coal-fired generation plants, forest product facilities, food drying plants and petrochemical plants.
The elimination of free moisture (mist) from the gas stream discharging from the WESP is often provided by mesh pads or chevrons located at the outlet from the WESP. Both have problems associated with them. Mesh pads are best suited for the removal of entrained droplets from particulate-free stream, with high removals being achieved at low micron sizes. However, pads often suffer plugging problems where fiber, particulates and/or VOCs (tars and sublimates) are present in the gas stream. Chevrons provide a high efficiency entrainment separation with limit drop sizes of 15 to 25 microns, depending on gas velocity and blade spacing, but can also suffer from plugging problems. These problems, in turn, lead to regions of excessive velocity causing droplet re-entrainment and carry-over.


Provided are techniques for detecting a mapping, by a universal convertor, of a first character set to a second character set and of the second character set to a third character set; monitoring, logging, and analyzing code set conversion (CSC) operations; generating an updated character set conversion module from the first character set to the third character set in response to the detecting and a determination that the CSC operation exceed the predefined threshold; and storing the updated character set conversion module for utilization of subsequent processing of the first character set to the third character set.

Any particular computing system may employ one or more of potentially thousands of different code sets, also known as character sets, charsets and code pages. Converting strings of data from one code set to another is an important utility necessary in many computing systems, particularly in multi-national, server operation systems. Such a utility, or code set convertor (CSC), may be a first step in applications such as, but not limited to, information exchange, security authorization, data transfer and database access. CSCs are essential for providing reliable communications across computing platforms and networks. Thousands of CSCs are supported based upon different requirements and standards worldwide. Currently, a CSC is configured by selecting a specific CSC component that is specific to the source code set and the target code set. Finding, choosing and loading the specific CSC component are critical for services that require code set conversion.
UNIX servers, such as AIX®, use an open architecture to manage the tasks associated with code set conversion. An iconv application programming interface (API) is a well-known programming interface in UNIX-like systems for converting from one character encoding type to another. Although a new CSC can be added or modified in a system without rebooting the system, locating the correct CSC from among the thousands available can create a bottleneck on system performance. To reduce computing time and power usage, existing iconv APIs provide three (3) conversion algorithms and a four-level CSC lookup structure. One of the three algorithms is one-to-one mapping, i.e., A→N, which may also include transitive properties, i.e., A→X and X→N. A second algorithm involves programming based conversion, i.e., many-to-one or many-to-many. A third algorithm uses a combination of the first and second algorithms.
Universal Conversion Modules (UCMs) typically find intermediate converters when a simple CSC is not available. For example, when a code set A is needed to be converted to a code set N, one CSC may convert code set A to X and an intermediate CSC may convert X to C. Depending upon the number of intermediate CSCs, such a system may take double or triple the operation time of a single CSC.

International Business Machines Corporation


A convertible vehicle has a movable roof with a rearward roof part closed divided into a middle region including a rear window and two lateral outer regions. The middle region is upwardly displaceable with respect to the outer regions during the opening of the roof. The movable roof is configured such that the top end of the middle region is connected to the forward roof part, which is held above the rearward roof part when the roof is open. The lower region of the middle region is connected to a movement linkage to move this region upwardly relative to the outer regions during the opening of the roof.

In order to enlarge the trunk space remaining under a stowed roof, it is desirable with convertible vehicles in which the rear roof part is stowed at the bottommost position in the open roof position to stow the rear roof part as high as possible. However, this is limited by roof parts stowed thereover. In particular when the rear roof part has a roof part arched in the opposite direction disposed above it, the longitudinal edge regions of the roof parts frequently contact one another so that the rear roof part lying at the bottommost position cannot be stowed higher. However, space remains between said roof parts in the region at the center with respect to the transverse direction of the vehicle due to the arching in the opposite direction. It can therefore be sensible to divide the rear roof part and to displace it upwardly with respect to the outer regions during the opening of the roof so that the intermediate space is utilized and the remaining trunk space is enlarged.
DE 199 36 252 C2 shows a convertible vehicle of this type including a rear window which is connected to the lower ends of the outer regions in a pivotally movable manner and which can be pivoted relatively upwardly around the pivot joint of the lower connection in its upper region via a lever mechanism on the opening of the roof. In this connection, the upper end of the rear window, however, rises out of the connection to a roof part arranged at the front of it so that separate closing spigots or centering elements of like type must be provided for the sealing of this connection with a closed roof. The sealing between the roof parts is thereby made more difficult. In addition, the lever mechanism projects into the head region of the vehicle occupants and is inconvenient even with additionally provided trim. Furthermore, the raising of the rear window only relates to the rear end whereas the forward end remains fixedly connected to the outer regions so that the trunk space cannot be enlarged there. At the same time, the centering spigot or a similar part projects a long way to the rear into the trunk, whereby space is actually lost here.
It is the underlying problem of the invention to avoid the aforesaid disadvantages as much as possible in a generic convertible vehicle.