An apparatus for growing thin films onto a substrate by subjecting the substrate to alternately repeated surface reactions of vapor-phase reactants for the purpose of forming a solid-state thin film. The apparatus includes a reaction chamber pack into which the substrate is placed. The apparatus further includes at least two reactant sources, from which the reactants can be fed in the form of gas-phase pulses into the reaction chamber pack. The apparatus further includes reactant inflow channels for connecting the reactant sources to the reaction chamber pack. The reaction chamber pack, the reactant sources and the reactant inflow channels are all placed inside the same pressure shell. The reaction chamber pack and the reactant sources are each provided with individual heaters, which heat the reaction chamber pack and each reactant source, so that each heater is independently controllable from each other. Further, active thermal insulation elements thermally isolate the heaters from each other. These active thermal insulation elements are capable of controlling the internal temperature of the pressure shell independently from the temperatures of the reactant sources and the reaction chamber pack. The apparatus allows the temperatures of the reactant sources and the reaction chamber pack to be rapidly elevated and lowered, respectively, with low heat loss.

1. Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus according to the preamble of claim 1 for growing thin films on a substrate, in which apparatus the substrate is subjected to alternately repeated surface reactions of vapor-phase reactants for the purpose of forming a solid-state thin film on the substrate through said surface reactions.
The apparatus comprises a reaction chamber pack into which the substrate can be placed, at least two reactant sources from which the reactants used in the thin-film growth process can be fed in the form of vapor-phase pulses into the reaction chamber pack, reactant inflow channels suited for connecting the reactant sources to the reaction chamber pack, and outflow channels connected to the reaction chamber pack suited for removing the gaseous reaction products of the growth process and the excess reactants.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, thin-films are grown using vacuum evaporation deposition, the Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) and other vacuum deposition methods, different variants of the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method (including low-pressure and metal-organic CVD and plasma-enhanced CVD), or alternatively, the above-described deposition method of alternately repeated surface reactions called the Atomic Layer Epitaxy method, or in short, ALE. In the MBE and CVD methods, the growth-rate-affecting process variables also include the concentrations of the starting material inflows. To achieve a uniform thickness of the layers deposited by the first category of conventional methods, the concentrations and reactivities of starting materials must be carefully kept constant all over the substrate area. If the starting materials are allowed to mix with each other prior to reaching the substrate surface as is the case in the CVD method, for instance, a chance of their mutual reaction arises. Then, the risk of microparticle formation already within the inflow channels ol the gaseous reactants is imminent. Such microparticles have a deteriorating effect on the quality of the thin film growth. Therefore, the possibility of premature reactions in MBE and CVD reactors is avoided by heating the starting materials not earlier than at the substrate surfaces. In addition to heating, the desired reaction can be initiated using, e.g., a plasma or other similar activating means.
In the MBE and CVD processes, the growth of thin films is primarily adjusted by controlling the inflow rates of starting materials impinging on the substrate. By contrast, the ALE process is based on allowing the substrate surface qualities rather than the starting material concentrations or flow variables to control the deposition rate. The only prerequisite in the ALE process is that the starting material is available in sufficient concentration for film formation on all sides of the substrate.
The ALE method is described in the FI patent publications 52,359 and 57,975 and in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,058,430 and 4,389,973, in which also some apparatus embodiments suited to implement this method are disclosed. Equipment constructions for growing thin films are also to be found in the following publications: Thin Solid Films, 225 (1993), pp. 96-98, Material Science Reports 4(7) (1989), p. 261, and Tyhjiotekniikka Finnish publication for vacuum techniques), ISBN 951-794-422-5, pp. 253-261.
In the ALE growth method, atoms or molecules are arranged to continuously sweep over the substrates thus impinging on their surface so that a fully saturated molecular layer is formed thereon. According to the conventional techniques known from the FI patent publication No. 57,975, the saturation step is followed by an inert gas pulse forming a diffusion barrier which sweeps away the excess starting material and the gaseous reaction products from above the substrate. The successive pulses of starting materials and diffusion barriers of inert gas separating the former accomplish the growth of the thin film at a rate controlled by the surface chemistry properties of the different materials. Such a reactor is called a "traveling-wave" reactor. For the function of the process it is irrelevant whether the gases or the substrates are moved, but rather, the different starting materials of the successive reaction steps shall be separated from each other and arranged to flush the substrate sequentially.
When a hot-wall reactor is used, the wall is generally heated by mounting the heater elements and the insulation about a pressure-tight shell. Due to the elevated temperatures employed, inorganic fiber materials or bricks must be used as the insulation materials. The handling and mounting of such insulation release dust in the process equipment location. This poses a conflict with the conventional placement of deposition equipment in a clean room environment due to the risk of film growth disorders caused by dust particles becoming entrapped from the atmospheric air into the film being deposited.
Further, heating of the pressure shell of the deposition equipment also curtails the selection of usable materials fulfilling the requirements of resisting stresses from pressure and heat and being inert at said temperatures with respect to the chemicals occurring in the reactions. Conventional ALE reactors have the pressure shell made of borosilicate or quartz glass and stainless steel. The frameworks of the reactors have an elongated shape and the pressure shells contained therein are heated.
Typically, due to the poor heat resistance of the elastomer seals employed, the deposition equipment is designed with an elongated shape having the operation inlets/outlets placed at the ends to provide a sufficient thermal gradient between the hot parts and the seals of the equipment. In large apparatuses, the heated masses and required heating powers become substantial, and thermal gradients which are difficult to eliminate are formed between the different parts of the equipment. This makes the equipment dimensions larger, and while the different sources of reactants must be thermally isolated from each other by placing the sources enclosed in separate heater casings with an isolating air gap between the casings, the entire apparatus assumes an elongated shape with separate, outward protruding source tubes. The sources may also be placed so that the reaction space is followed by the sources arranged in-line. In such a construction, the highest-temperature reaction space is situated at the other end of the apparatus and the sources are placed inside the zones of the elongated reactor so that the source requiring the lowest temperature is situated in the zone of lowest temperature farthest from the reaction space. A problem herein arises from the control of temperature gradient (because the source at the reaction space end of the source is operated at a higher temperature than at the other end of the source) and from the increased length of the apparatus.
A tubular construction may also require the use of concealed joints which may be inaccessible to the operator thus preventing him from positively verifying successful completion of connections to the substrate holder (this is because the channels of the substrate holder are connected to the other piping within the hot reaction tube).
Due to poor performance of any bearings in a hot environment, the substrate holder must be elevated to the reaction space by a slide or lift mechanism. This results in formation of abraded material dust on the sliding surfaces and scratching of glass substrates due to possible jerks during the movement.
The above-mentioned drawbacks are accentuated in the processing of larger-area substrates, whereby the size and control of the equipment and its components become more complicated.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of conventional technology and to provide an entirely novel apparatus for growing thin films using the ALE process. It is a particular object of the invention to solve the problems associated with a heated pressure shell without compromising the benefits of a hot-wall reactor.


A hinge is disclosed comprising a mounting member for mounting to a stationary operational surface and having a hinge portion formed along the longitudinal extent of the mounting member. An elongate shaft is included having a hollow cross-sectional profile and formed along the longitudinal extent of the hinge portion. An elongate mouth is formed at the opening of the shaft and has a cross-sectional profile of smaller extent than the cross-sectional profile of the elongate shaft. A flap attachment member including an elongate hinge member is disclosed having a cross-sectional shape that conforms to the cross-sectional profile of the elongate shaft, and being received in the shaft and retained by the elongate mouth to thereby rotatably couple the flap attachment member to the mounting member.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document may contain material that is subject to copyright protection. This patent document may show and/or describe matter that is or may become trade dress of the owner. The copyright and trade dress owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the disclosure, as it appears on the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and trade dress rights whatsoever.
The present invention is directed to the field of hinges, particularly of the type used for watercraft trim flaps. Such trim flaps are used to change the attitude of a watercraft, to control the amount by which the bow of the watercraft comes up and down out of the water, particularly during acceleration procedures. Previous type trim flap hinges are made in a manner typical of other types of hinges, i.e. distinct male and female members are fashioned and cross-drilled, after which a bolt is inserted to hold the members together. This process is very labor-intensive, resulting in a finished product that is difficult and time-consuming to manufacture, and consequently expensive.
In view of the difficulties and drawbacks associated with the previous devices, there is therefore a need for a hinge that is quickly and easily manufactured.
There is also a need for a hinge that can be manufactured with reduced expense and improved efficiency.
There is also a need for a trim flap hinge having improved performance.
These needs and others are satisfied by the hinge of the present invention as disclosed herein comprising a mounting member for mounting to a stationary operational surface and having a hinge portion formed along the longitudinal extent of the mounting member. An elongate shaft is included having a hollow cross-sectional profile and formed along the longitudinal extent of the hinge portion. An elongate mouth is formed at the opening of the shaft and has a cross-sectional profile of smaller extent than the cross-sectional profile of the elongate shaft. A flap attachment member including an elongate hinge member is disclosed having a cross-sectional shape that conforms to the cross-sectional profile of the elongate shaft, and being received in the shaft and retained by the elongate mouth to thereby rotatably couple the flap attachment member to the mounting member.
As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and description are to be regarded as illustrative and not restrictive.


System(s) and method(s) for transferring print jobs from a multi-function device to an external storage device are described. The method includes detecting the external storage device by the multi-function device when the external storage device is connected to the multi-function device. The method further includes determining if there is a print job of a user in a print queue of the multi-function device and displaying an option to transfer the print job to the external storage device based on the determination. The method includes receiving an input from the user, the input is indicative of a selection of the option to transfer the print job. Also, the method includes automatically creating a pre-defined folder in the external storage device based on receiving the input and transferring the print job of the user from the print queue of the multi-function device to the pre-defined folder of the external storage device.

Typically, to print a document, a user selects a print command from an application program running on a host system to initiate print services on a multi-function device. The document submitted for printing is referred to as a print job. The multi-function device receives the print job and adds the print job to its print queue along with other print jobs, and then performs printing on a first-come first-served manner.
However, in certain circumstances, a multi-function device may not be able to execute or finish execution of a print job. For instance, the multi-function device may experience an error, for example, paper jam or fuser issue that requires the multi-function device to be serviced before resuming printing. As another instance, the multi-function device may run out of printing resources, such as paper, toner, etc., necessary to perform printing, which must be replenished before carrying out printing. As yet another instance, a user who has submitted a print job to the multi-function device may not wish to continue with the printing of the print job at that point of time owing to various reasons, such as the user may find image quality on printed sample documents of the multi-function device to be poor or the user may wish to run the print job at a later point in time as the user may be in a hurry or the user wishes to allow other users to use the multi-function device before him as his print job may consume more time. In such circumstances, the multi-function device may halt the printing operation, preventing the print job from being executed or prematurely ending the print job in progress.
Various print job redirection techniques have been employed in the past where a multi-function device redirects a print job of a user to another suitable multi-function device that is communicatively coupled through a network. The multi-function device redirects the print job to another multi-function device for execution when the multi-function device to which the print job has been sent is, for some reason, not capable of executing the print job. However, such print job redirection techniques are autonomous and do not take user's consent and preferences/reasons into account while redirecting the print job. Further, in an event of network failure, the print job redirection techniques fail to work. Further, the conventional print job redirection techniques may not work in situations where a user does not wish to continue with the printing of the print job by the multi-function device at that point of time owing to various reasons as discussed above. In view of the above, there is a need for improved methods and systems.

Methods and systems for print jobs transfer via an external storage device


The invention is a wheeled folding tray cart and method. The wheeled folding tray cart comprises a collapsible wheeled framework pivotally supporting a set of split shelves, each split shelf comprises a pair of half shelves. The wheeled folding tray cart moves between an open operating position wherein the set of split shelves are held in spaced-apart, stacked, horizontal orientation within the collapsible wheeled framework and a closed storage position wherein the collapsible wheeled framework is collapsed in manner to move each half shelf pair into an accordion-like, inverted “V”-shaped or accordion like configuration. An extension coiled spring attached to the collapsible wheeled framework assists in the movement of the wheeled folding tray cart between open operating position and the closed storage position. A sheath encloses at least a portion of the spring to provide resistance to the spring's movement to limit potential operator exposure to pinch injuries.

Folding wheeled tray carts may be generally used in a wide variety of industries, including but not limited to the food service and preparation industries, to transport a wide variety of goods. In periods of non-use, the folding wheeled tray carts may be placed in a folded or otherwise compacted state providing a smaller footprint for storage.
A folding wheeled tray cart may comprise a collapsible framework of suitable material (e.g., plastic, metal, etc.) standing on a set of castor wheels. The collapsible framework may pivotally hold a set of split shelves. Each split shelve could comprise of a half shelf pair. The folding wheeled tray cart have an operating position and a storage position. Moving into the storage position could have sections of the collapsible framework move closer together to allow a center section of the split shelves to move upward and allowing the corresponding half shelves to generally fold together like inverted butterfly wings (e.g., an upside down "V.) The wheeled folding tray cart's operative position may have the framework sections generally move further apart to drop down the center section of each split shelf and have the individual half shelf pairs lie horizontally flat.
The folding wheeled tray cart could further comprise one or more extension (e.g., tension) coil springs that could facilitate the movement of the folding wheeled tray cart between open and folded positions. Each extension coil spring could be located proximate to the top split shelf to respectively connect outer portions of the collapsible framework together. When the split shelves are in their horizontal operative positions, the extension coil spring(s) could be stretched to impart a bias for a movement of the split shelve. As the folding wheeled tray cart moved into the open operating position by the operator pushing down on the framework, top split shelves or both, a tension or bias exerted by the stretched-out extension coil spring(s) could bring about a snap down movement of the half shelve pairs just as they are reaching their full horizontal operative positions.
One possible issue with this kind of folding wheeled tray cart could be that movement of the folding wheeled tray cart towards the open operating position could initially presents a gap between the half shelves of a split shelf into which parts of the operator's hand (e.g., fingers) could protrude and could be significantly compacted (e.g., be pinched and suffer a crushing injury) as the cart's opening movement is completed. As the half shelving moves from an angled or canted position from about 15 degrees above horizontal (e.g., providing maximum stretching of the spring) down to horizontal position, the force of the extension coil spring(s) could increase to further force a sharp and sudden (snap down) closing of the gap. This danger has been recognized to the extent that significant number of folding wheeled tray cart manufacturers often place warning labels about this pinching danger on the folding wheeled racks themselves.
One possible solution to this matter could be the present invention that could comprise applying a double open-ended resilient sheath through which a respective extension coil spring could be placed so that at least the ends of the extension coil spring could extend out of the sheath to generally allow the extension coil spring to attach to respective outer sections of the collapsible framework. The sheath could impart resistance to the movement of the extension coil spring in a manner that may slow down the extension coil spring's movement when the extension coil spring is moving between a relaxed (storage) state to an extended (operating) state. The imparted sheath resistance could correspondingly slow the movement of the folding wheeled tray between the open and storage positions. In one possible embodiment, the sheath could slow the tray's opening-closing process to the movement midpoint between the two cart positions or spring states. At the movement midpoint, the operator may need have to exert more pressure upon the wheeled folding tray cart to complete opening of the folding wheeled rack. Slowing the opening process could give the operator more time to notice and remove any hand or other body portions from the closing gap to prevent crushing or pinching injuries or to otherwise place the operator's hands out of crushing danger.

Wheeled folding tray cart with safety device and method


An integrated circuit comprising: a processor; a plurality of external pins operatively coupled to the processor; and a permanently written memory operatively coupled to the processor, the memory having a plurality of regions each storing one or more respective boot properties for booting the processor. The processor is programmed to select one of the regions in dependence on an indication received via one or more of the external pins, to retrieve the one or more respective boot properties from the selected region, and to boot using the one or more retrieved boot properties.

Integrated circuits that include a microprocessor require a mechanism by they start up, or "Boot".
Since they include a programmable microprocessor, such ICs are flexible enough to be designed into a variety of products. However, different products may require the IC to behave in different ways. While the majority of these differences can be accommodated by making changes to software, a mechanism is still needed to load the necessary code into the IC at boot time. Unfortunately this very mechanism may also be application specific. For example, in some applications the boot code may be stored in one of several types of external non-volatile memory chip, while in others the IC may be expected to load its boot code using one of a variety of serial communications links.
It would be advantageous to provide a more flexible, configurable boot mechanism.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The nature of the method of treating multicomponent, composite and combined materials, consisting of organic and inorganic, non-metallic and metallic components and especially of waste from electronic and electric devices and equipments, consists in that the treated materials are pretreated by removing contaminating components containing toxic heavy metals and poly-chlorinated biphenyls, by grinding the waste to particles having the size of 5 to 25 mm at most, and they are subjected, in an inert or reducing environment at a temperature of 350° C. to 600° C. and at a pressure of 100 kPa to 10 MPa, to the action of blades of a rotational mechanism for 10 seconds to 10 minutes, and to the action of a moving bed of solid particles of a substance, performing whirling motion. In this way there occurs depolymerization, cracking and state transformation of macromolecular, solid and liquid organic fractions and their separation from the composite material in the form of organic vapors and gases, and disintegration of inorganic non-metallic fractions to small particles and increase of metal concentration in the inorganic phase.

Some waste materials, originating from electric and electronic equipment and devices (WEEE—waste electric and electronic equipment), for example printed circuit boards, integrated circuits, microchips, memory modules and other parts of electronic scrap have complicated composite structure, which presents a significant problem from the point of view of treating such waste material. Such composite waste materials contain valuable materials integrated with troublesome and dangerous substances in close proximity and must be processed separately for utilization or disposal. Nonferrous metals like copper, tin or lead, constitute a valuable component of electronic scrap, the content of these metals reaching up to 35% of the scrap weight. The electronic scrap often contains also noble metals, in particular silver, gold, platinum and palladium, wherein the noble metal content in some types of "high grade" integrated circuits may reach up to 0.3%.
On the other hand, complicated kinds of electric and electronic scrap often comprise troublesome and dangerous substances. Ceramics and plastics represent further components, constituting the waste, and they represent about 60% of their weight. The printed circuit boards, reinforced with glass fibers, often contain halogens, especially bromine, as a component of retardants of plastics and resins combustion. Nonseparated conductors are often isolated by PVC. In some waste materials of the electronic scrap it is possible to identify integrated capacitors, containing PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls). It is obvious that thermal treatment of such waste by standard metallurgical methods in the presence of air oxygen creates a risk of forming dioxins and furans, as well as other dangerous substances. Therefore, because of ecological, but also of economical reasons the metals as well as other valuable components of the composite waste must be separated to a high degree of purity before further utilization, what can be achieved only by extensive disintegration.
A good electronic scrap and composite waste recycling method must allow for separation of individual components in such a way that the obtained metals would contain minimum of non-metallic components and, simultaneously, it must allow recycling also for the organic fractions, especially plastics. From a pure mixture of nonferrous metals it is subsequently possible to obtain by standard metallurgical methods not only the prevailing metal-copper, but also other metals, like zinc, lead, tin, as well as silver, gold, platinum and palladium.
The presently known methods and techniques of treating and recycling multicomponent parts of waste electric and electronic devices and equipments which fulfill the above given criterion, can hardly be accepted from the ecological point of view, or they are economically highly demanding.
The most spread recent techniques of recycling composite and combined electronic scrap are based on physical, especially mechanical principles. The first stage of recycling consists usually of manual dismantling the device or apparatus and detaching simple parts. To eliminate contamination of the other components, it is necessary to remove from the composite parts, especially from the printed circuit boards, batteries containing heavy metals (nickel, cadmium), mercury switches, and PCB containing capacitors. This step is sometimes omitted or it is infeasible because of the component size. The waste composite material is subsequently mechanically disintegrated in several steps, usually in two- to four-rotor crushers, cutters and hammer mills, possibly in granulating machines. Metal iron is separated from the crushed material by a magnetic separator. The obtained crushed material without iron is subsequently sorted with the aim to separate the other metals from the remainder using various physical procedures. Vibrational sorting machine, sorting in air stream or electrostatic separators are often used. Some valuable individual components are separated from the remainder by flotation or similar methods utilizing the differences in density of the involved components and gravitation.
The products of mechanical recycling consist usually on one hand of concentrates of iron and nonferrous metals including undesired content of residua and organic substances, subsequent treating of which by metallurgical techniques is accompanied by adverse ecological consequences. On the other hand the products of such recycling are predominantly a non-metallic remainder and dust, which, as a consequence of their composition and content of residua, represent nonutilizable waste. The yield of metal recycling using the above classical procedures is limited and, moreover, a part of the noble metals becomes a part of waste, often dangerous, which makes up to 60% of the original waste composite material. Recycling of organic substances, especially macromolecular substances from composite electric and electronic waste do not belong to the worldwide background art.
Procedure, described by F. Ambrose and B. W. Dunning in the work "Accomplishments in Waste Utilization", 7th Mineral Waste Utilization Symposium, Chicago, Oct. 20-21, 1980, Washington, US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, is oriented at recycling military electronic scrap in the form of complete, undismantled switch boxes, as well as individual circuit boards. The waste is disintegrated in several stages in various devices and equipments and after each disintegration stage particles of the corresponding material are separated. Iron particles are separated magnetically and aluminum particles are separated in an eddy current separator. A cylindrical electrostatic separator may be used for treating a mixture of smaller metal particles and non-conducting residua. The final products of this treating procedure are iron, copper, aluminum, further metals and contaminated remainder, containing unseparated metals and residua. The metals may be, if necessary, refined or used directly as a starting raw material. The noble metals may be recovered by hydrometallurgical processes in specialized metal refineries. The residue cannot be usually utilized anymore and it must be treated as dangerous waste.
According to the method, described by K. O. Tillman in the work "Recycling betrieblicher Abfälle" ("Recycling industrial waste"), loose-leaf edition, July 1991, WEKA Fachverlag Kissingen 1990, isolated printed circuit boards, that have been detached from the devices, are first crushed in a two-rotor cutter crusher to particles less than 30 mm. Iron particles are removed from the resulting mixture using a magnetic separator. The remainder is cooled with liquid nitrogen to a temperature of −130° C., at which the plastic fractions become fragile. The cooled waste is ground in a continually working hammer mill and disintegrated to fine particles. The granulate is separated in a vibrational separator to a metal and a remainder fraction. The powder residue is accumulated and sent to a refinery for recovery of noble metals present. In a specialized metallurgical plant, copper is recovered, and the rare metals, present in the metal fraction, obtained in the anode mud after copper recovery, may be treated in a refinery for rare noble metals. The remaining fractions are not utilizable as raw material.
The above given methods do not ensure sufficient disintegration of the composite material and, moreover, the commonly used separation devices do not achieve sufficient level of separation. A consequence of this is that the metal fraction still contains a relatively high portion of residual materials, among others also halogens, what leads to formation of dioxins and furans during melting of metals. This reduces advantages of metal recycling from waste.
Moreover, the remainder fractions, considered to be waste, still contain 10 to 20% of metals, which fact may in case of waste thermal treating adversely influence the lifetime of the catalyst used for treatment of combustion gases.
Some disadvantages of the above procedures are eliminated by the methods described in the patent documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,040 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,054. These methods utilize, as the key operation of disintegration of composite materials, cryogenic treatment of the composite material, from which batteries, switches and capacitors, which contain harmful substances, are removed before the cryogenic treatment, and the material is ground to smaller particles. Liquid nitrogen is used as the cryogenic substance. Embrittled overcooled particles are discontinuously ground in a hammer mill, where the ground material is simultaneously separated on sieves into a fine and a coarse fraction. Coarse metallic fraction can be discontinuously taken away from the device. Of this fraction iron can be separated in a magnetic separator. The fine fraction is sorted based on the particle size into several narrow subfractions, which may be independently separated in a corona-roller separator in metallic and residual non-metallic particles. In the procedure, described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,054, supercooling the composite material in a cooling tank is optimized by adding it in discrete doses and by discontinuous withdrawing the supercooled material for grinding, whereby optimization of the liquid gas consumption, reduction in energy consumption, minimization of necessary human labor and working time are achieved.
Although the latter procedures yield metal concentrates of high purity, residual fractions with low content of metals, and they minimize emissions from the recycling process, they have a disadvantage that, in consequence of energy demandingness of cryogenic techniques, they approach the limits of economical acceptation because of high operation costs. Moreover, they do not allow utilization and recycling of non-metallic residua, especially organic fractions present in the composite materials.
Also known is the method of treating low-grade organic substances according to the SK patent No. 279 397, the nature of which consists in that the low-grade organic substances are subjected, at a temperature of 150° C. to 700° C. and at a pressure of 0.1 MPa to 2.5 MPa, to the action of a moving bed of solid particles which perform whirling motion, whereby the solid particles of a substance constituting the moving bed are set in whirling motion by intensive stirring.
The aim of the present invention is to eliminate disadvantages of the methods used so far, especially of the methods of recycling electric and electronic scrap, in which the key operation is disintegration of composite material.

Method of processing multicomponent, composite and combined materials and use of so separated components


A horticulture light fixture having a secure glass aperture and glass retention frame that is swingably hinged to provide easy and safe maintenance of the fixture and helps facilitate cleaning of the glass. The hinge portion is constructed from sheet metal that is formed during the fabrication of the fixture. The method of construction eliminates the need to install a separate hinge saving manufacturing time and expense. In a preferred embodiment, the glass retention frame is constructed from a single continuous sheet of metal, that is punched or cut into desired dimension and shape, formed or folded to hold a flat piece of glass, and installed using common pins that provide rotational motion for swingably opening and closing of the glass simplifying maintenance of the horticulture light fixture.

The use of artificial light to grow plants is well known in the art and many different types of grow lamps and horticulture light fixtures are utilized by the private and commercial gardener. A key problem in designing horticulture light fixtures is integrating user friendly maintenance features. The glass portion isolating the grow lamp from the plants gets dirty and needs to be cleaned. The grow lamp itself requires periodic replacement. The easiest and simplest way to perform maintenance is with the fixture hanging. Having a hinged assembly that swings open to provide access to the glass and grow lamp is necessary. Constructing the hinged assembly from inexpensive sheet metal during the forming process of the horticulture light fixture is advantageous and economical.


A probe system that has a probe body comprising at least three arms extending from a central region and a probe tip centrally located on the probe body in the central region. A substrate is proximate the probe body opposite the probe tip. A first electrode is positioned to provide a centrally positioned voltage across the probe body and the substrate and a second electrode set is positioned radially outward from the first electrode, to provide an outer voltage across at least one of the at least three arms and the substrate. The probe structure may have, for example, four arms. Methods of actuating the probe tip are provided.

With improvements in nanotechnology, new types of devices are being developed. One class of these devices utilizes one or more microscopic scanning probes to interact with a medium or substrate. These scanning probes can interact with the medium or substrate in different applications including digital storage applications where data is stored on the medium in various ways, microscopic imaging applications where the probe is used to scan a sample, or other applications suitable for use with a scanning probe.
In order to facilitate these scanning probe applications, the probe tip needs to be moved or actuated, for example to bring into operational contact with the medium or substrate. The invention of the present disclosure provides a probe design that improves actuation of the probe tip.

Probe with bi-directional electrostatic actuation


A pair of improved scissors is provided herein, which separates the blades and handles of the pair of scissors into individual parts. These parts are joined at the pivot point by a locking mechanism. By adjusting the locking mechanism, the included angle between the blades and handles of the pair of scissors can be varied easily in accordance the requirement of the application. In addition, with the present invention, the handles can also be replaced by those that are safer and more comfortable to operate. As such, the stress and burden of the user's fingers and wrist can be relieved in operating the pair of scissors.

(a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to scissors, and more particularly to a pair of scissors whose blades and handles are separated and, when joined together, can have different included angles between the blades and handles for various applications.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of conventional scissors consists of two sharp blades 30 screwed together. At an end of each of the blades 30, there is a handle 31 with a ring-shaped portion 32 for the penetration of fingers. Usually, each of the blades 30 and its respective handle 31 are substantially aligned in a straight line (i.e., the included angle is about 180 degrees) and made into a single object. In applications such as hair cutting, a user has to constantly and significantly twist his or her wrist in order to operate the pair of scissors in cutting the hair on the various parts of the head. This presents a serious physical burden to the barber or the hair designer. If the pair of scissors is operated continuously for an extended period of time, the user's fingers or wrist would be injured.

Scissors having separated blades and handles


A process for producing a cutting die having a metal base which carries a sharpened ridge extending along a predetermined path thereon, in which a supply of powdered metal and a laser beam are moved along the path so as to surface melt a thin layer of the metal base with the metal powder and thus form a band of fused metal powder along the path, this step being repeated to form additional layers metallurgically bonded to the base and to each other, until a ridge of metal is formed. The ridge is then sharpened to suit it for use in cutting. The ridge may have a top surface of harder material than the inner part of the ridge. The laser and powder delivery movements may be controlled by a CNC (computer numerical control) motion system. The invention includes novel dies produced by this process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing the cutting dies normally used in rotary and reciprocating die cutting machines. The dies are suitable for cutting a wide variety of shapes on paper, plastics, foils, diapers, etc.
2. Prior Art
It is usual to cut shapes from sheet material such as paper, plastics, and foils, using a cutting die which comprises a ridge or ridges of sharpened metal projecting from a base, and which cuts the material by pressing this against a plain anvil. Commonly, the dies are rotary, i.e. cylindrical, and are positioned in a die station equipped with an anvil roll, the material being cut when passing between the rotary die and the anvil roll while these rolls rotate in opposite directions. The ends of the die have slightly enlarged cylindrical surfaces termed "bearers" which contact suitable support surfaces to properly position the die. The die station also includes drives, support rolls, wiper assemblies for lubricant, and some means, usually hydraulic, to apply the proper cutting load between the rotary die and the anvil roll, and to adjust the height so that the machine can cut to a specific depth.
In some cases it is required that the dies be accurately enough made to cut only one or two outer layers of a paper laminate, leaving a backing layer uncut.
Cutting dies are usually made by machining metal away from a metal base to leave ridges which are then heat treated and sharpened. The machining operation is a major step and a major expense. For a rotary die, bar stock with a diameter slightly bigger than the biggest required diameter of the die is turned on a lathe. Required end and bearer diameters are machined, leaving the central area for the machining of the cutting pattern. This cutting pattern is first rough machined and then finished using a CNC (computer numerical control) milling machine. The entire die is made oversize to allow for the distortion which occurs during heat treatment. Depending on the complexity of the pattern and the height of the required cutting edges, the milling operation may take from a few hours to days or even weeks. For sharp corners, small diameter cutters are required, which further adds to the manufacturing time.
The machining operations are performed on the tool steel bar stock from which the die is made, when the material is in the relatively soft condition as initially received; the steel then requires heat treating to bring it to the required hardness of about RC 54-60. This usually means that the dies have to be sent out to a commercial heat treater. Although the heat treatment, namely hardening and tempering, can be done in a few hours, the return time from the heat treaters may be several days. Heat treatment is also problematical in that improper treatment may lead to cracking which destroys the die. Distortion also commonly occurs; this may need to be corrected or may mean that the die has to be scrapped.
After heat treatment, the die is ground to the finish dimensions on a cylindrical grinder. If the distortion caused by heat treatment is bad, centers have to be re-machined for proper grinding.
The final major operation is the sharpening process. The sharpened edges must be slightly below the bearer diameter. Edges are hand sharpened, by a scraping process, to give a sharpened edge at the specified diameter. The cross-section of the sharpened edge depends on the final application, and ranges from an inverted "V" with either acute or obtuse angle to a rounded top on the "V".
It will be clear that this standard machining operation is time consuming and expensive in relation to the amount of material which has to be removed, and that the need for heat treatment is also a disadvantage. The machining operation also imposes some limitations on shapes that can be cut, i.e. acute inside angles and sharp inside bends are not possible with conventional machining methods and may require special electro-machining.
The present invention provides a process which entirely or largely avoids the need for removing metal by machining; instead the invention provides for the addition of metal to a base. The need for conventional heat treatment is also avoided.


A method to increase the molecular weight of wood mannans and xylans comprising aromatic moieties comprises the steps: a) obtaining mannan and/or xylan from wood, b) subjecting the mannan/xylan to oxidizing conditions to convert at least a fraction of the aromatic groups into radicals and reacting said radicals with each other to obtain complexes of mannan/xylan with increased molecular weight. The method is easy and cost efficient and enables to upgrade small wood mannans and xylans that are important in the pulp and paper industry into larger mannans and xylans and more defined structures which makes their isolation easier and application areas broader. Another advantage is that separation of mannans and xylans from mannans and xylans with bound aromatic groups is provided. The wood mannans and xylans with increased molecular weight can be used for the manufacture of barrier films in packages, for instance for oxygen, liquids and gas.

The increasing cost pressure in the pulping and other biomass utilizing industry as well as the increasing awareness of the problems related to fossil oil based products has led to the search of new renewable raw materials for energy and material applications. The use of for example renewable and easily degradable packaging films or fuels produced from wood sugars could result in significant decreases of the carbon footprint of these industries. Today's pulping processes give rise to discharges of oxygen demanding substances, which are normally taken care of in biological purification of the outlet water. It is costly to build such purification plants.
Lignocellulosic materials are complex structures consisting of a multitude of different kind of molecules that are bound to one another with chemical bonds. This causes significant problems in the fractionation, upgrading and the use of the molecules. There is no broad consensus among researchers about the existence of natural covalent bonds between lignin and hemicelluloses in wood. An often used view is that these bonds are formed during the processing of the molecules. Some new research data however have suggested that aromatic structures are covalently bound to cellulose and hemicelluloses through ester-, ether- or phenyl glucosidic bonds. This was reported by for example Iawoko and coworkers, Holzforschung, Vol 60, pp. 156-161, 2006.
Two types of phenolic polysaccharides are well known and characterized. Ferulated arabinoxylans have ferulic acid moieties attached to the polysaccharides and they are known to be present in grasses and cereals. Phenolic pectins can be found i.e. from beet pulp. It is also known that polysaccharides can be derivatized with e.g. aromatic compounds.
Barrier films are used in packaging to increase the shelf life of the product by keeping it away from odors, oxygen gas etc. Petroleum based and aluminum films are dominating the field but films made of renewable materials have gained a lot of interest in latest years. Starch based films are the most widely applied renewable polymers for this purpose but they are based on food based resources.
Different branched and non-branched polysaccharides (including but not limited to hemicelluloses) are together with lignin and cellulose the main constituents of wood (as well as many other lignocellulosic materials). They have been shown great potential as raw material for material and chemical applications as well as a feedstock for fermentations. Wood hemicelluloses such as mannans and xylans can be isolated from the process waters of mechanical pulping or from a pre-hydro lysis process with a price that is competitive with the petrochemical based equivalents. Considering the large size of this industry worldwide, it can be said that these hemicelluloses are available in great amounts, further advantages for the use of this raw material source include the renewable nature of the material as well as the fact that this material source is not part of the food production. Drawbacks of the hemicelluloses derived from these processes are that their molecular weight is very low and they exist in complex mixtures with other compounds in the process waters.
The international patent application WO 97/17492 describes a way to prepare a pulp strengthening agent and its addition to a lignocellulosic product. The lignocellulosic fiber product can be paper and paperboard originating from wood, flax, cotton, hemp, jute and bagasse and can be achieved through different pulping processes. The strengthening agent is achieved through treating a phenolic polysaccharide obtained from potato, corn, waxy corn, wheat, rice, sorghum, waxy sorghum, sago arrowroot or tapioca with an oxidizing agent that catalyzes the oxidation of the phenolic groups. The patent publication discloses in more detail the following types of polysaccharides that could possibly be applied: a) The phenolic polysaccharides such as phenolic starches and phenolic cationic starches are achieved through derivatization of the "parent starch", b) Phenolic celluloses into which phenolic substituents has been introduced, c) Phenolic polysaccharides derived from polysaccharides of the following types: pectins, galactomannans (guar gum or locust bean gum), arabinogalactan (from western larch timber), dextrans, acacia gum, xanthan gum, tragacanth gum and carrageenan. The phenolic polysaccharides disclosed in this publication are not obtained from wood tissues that are important in the pulp and paper industry, but mostly from cereal crops (monocotyledons) used in the food industry. Xylans and mannans obtained from wood (conifers and eudicotyledons) are not described. The patent application does not describe the use of the polysaccharides in barrier film production.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,101 describes a method for the production of a gelling agent for aqueous liquids for foodstuff, medical/medicinal or agricultural/horticultural applications intended for ingestion. The polysaccharide that contains phenolic hydroxyl groups intended for this application is obtainable from cereals (e.g. hemicelluloses from wheat or maize flour or bran) or from a plant that is a member of the family Cheniopodiaceae (e.g. pectins from sugar beet pulp). The phenolic hydroxyl groups are oxidized and the gelling phenomenon occurs. The produced material can exhibit excellent liquid-absorption and liquid-retention properties. The use of wood derived polysaccharides is not described nor is the use of the pro duct for material applications.
The international patent application WO2004/083256 teaches how to prepare food products, such as emulsions and foams by covalently linking combinations of a protein, a glyceride and a polysaccharide that contain covalently bonded phenolic residues. The polysaccharides (arabinoxylans and pectins) are obtained from sugar beet and cereals and they were thoroughly described by Lex Oosterveld, Carbohydrate research 300, 179-181, 1997 and thesis Lex Oosterveld, Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen Netherlands, Dec. 15, 1997, ISBN 90-5485785-4. It is to be noted that these polysaccharides are obtainable from cereals and sugar beets and not from wood and the application areas does not include material applications.
US patent application US2009311752 describes a technique for treating hydrolysates of lignocellulosic biomass with phenol oxidizing enzymes such as laccase in order to enhance growth of microorganisms that are sensitive to the inhibitory compounds in the biomass originating from lignin. There is disclosed the neutralization of monomeric, phenolic inhibitory compounds by, for instance, laccase treatment in the lignocellulose biomass after hydrolysis.
In general the documents reviewed above describes the use of the phenolic polysaccharides in the preparation of strengthening agents for pulp, gelling agents, medical/medicinal or agricultural/horticultural applications, emulsions and foams but not for the preparation of material products for i.e. packaging applications, neither is described the purification of polysaccharides from a mixed solution by utilizing the crosslinking method. Even more importantly the described polysaccharides in the above mentioned publications are mostly obtained from various agricultural crops (such as ferulated arabinoxylans, pectins and aromatic starches) that are well known to contain bound aromatic moieties. Wood hemicelluloses (mannans and xylans) and especially those derived from the process waters of pulping processes are not described.
In the prior art there is still a need to solve the problem with industrial production of high molecular weight mannans and xylans derived from wood (that are not derivatized). In the prior art there is also the problem with contamination of hemicelluloses by lignin. In the prior art there is further a problem how to separate mixtures of hemicelluloses with and without bound aroma tics groups.

Method to increase the molecular weight of wood mannans and xylans comprising aromatic moieties


A dispenser for dispensing sheet material from a roll has a storage section wherein at least one reserve roll can be stored on a storage mandrel until depletion of a supply roll positioned on a dispensing mandrel in a dispensing section. Upon depletion of the supply roll, the user may pivot and remove the roll core from the dispensing mandrel. Upon return of the dispensing mandrel to its dispensing position, under a spring bias, the dispensing mandrel displaces and thereby releases a spring arm holding the reserve roll in the storage position against the bias of a spring urging the reserve roll toward the dispensing section. Upon release, the spring pushes the reserve roll onto the dispensing mandrel for dispensing. The dispenser housing has an inner frame member slidable within an outer frame member between a nested position wherein respective ends of the storage and dispensing mandrel are adjacent each other and dispensing and roll transfer can occur, and a protruded position wherein space is provided between respective ends of the storage and dispensing mandrels to allow reloading of the storage and dispensing sections.

The present invention relates to the storage and dispensing of rolled flexible sheet material. More specifically, the invention relates to an improved toilet tissue dispenser which can store, transfer, and dispense a plurality of toilet tissue rolls in a simple and effective manner regardless of its mounted orientation.
Institutional toilet tissue dispensers are frequently sized and adapted to hold and dispense multiple rolls of toilet tissue. This is desirable to reduce maintenance costs and the possibility that a user may be left without toilet tissue. Existing multiple roll tissue dispensers can basically be classified into four groups.
A first group of multiple roll tissue dispensers expose concurrently two supply rolls to the user for dispensing. A problem with these dispensers is that typically both rolls will be depleted at a similar rate. This is a problem because it forces maintenance workers to replace partially used rolls in order to avoid a situation where a user is left without tissue. This increases waste and supply costs. Alternatively, if the maintenance worker elects not to replace the rolls until the rolls are depleted, the aforementioned problem of placing the user in a position of being without toilet tissue arises. Another disadvantage of dispensers concurrently exposing multiple rolls is that the exposure of the rolls to the environment makes them more susceptible to damage and vandalism.
Multiple tissue dispensers of a second group orient two horizontal rolls side-by-side and include a horizontal sliding cover which alternately covers one roll while exposing the other. Simple free sliding cover designs do protect the storage roll while a primary roll is being used, and serve to encourage depletion of one roll before the other. However, concurrent roll depletion may still occur so that the shortcomings of the first group are not eliminated.
An improved design incorporates a mechanism which requires the supply roll to be completely exhausted and the core torn off before the cover is allowed to be moved to expose the reserve roll. While this improved design eliminates the problem of concurrent roll depletion, it requires that the user perform a sequence of non-intuitive operations: tearing off the core and sliding the cover.
A third group consists of dispensers which protect a reserve roll until the supply roll is depleted and then automatically initiate an action to transfer the reserve roll into the dispensing position. U.S. Pat. No. 1,917,641 issued to Fairchild provides a double roll dispenser which accommodates two horizontal paper rolls coaxially upon a single mandrel. Upon depletion of the supply roll beyond a certain amount, a plate spring biased against an end surface of the reserve roll automatically ejects the depleted supply roll through an aperture in an end gate of the dispenser as the reserve roll is pushed into the dispensing position. This design eliminates the problem of concurrent roll depletion, but gives rise to other problems. With this type of dispenser the depleted core is ejected without warning and could startle the user. Also, this type of automatic ejection typically leads to clutter on the floor, as it is unlikely users will make an effort to find and pick up a core which has been ejected from the dispenser. Furthermore, a problem arises in that the spring biased plate is always pushing the rolls toward the end gate. This creates friction between the supply roll and the end gate, between the two rolls, and between the reserve roll and the spring. This friction could inhibit adversely the rotation of the supply roll when there is a reserve roll on the mandrel.
Another type of automatic ejection system of the third group is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,589 issued to Jespersen. This type of system supports paper rolls by trunnions located within the roll core. However, this system requires split core rolls which are not compatible with standard tissue dispensers.
Dispensers in a fourth group hold in a protected position a reserve roll until the user initiates an action to transfer the reserve roll into a dispensing position. There are three basic variations within this group, as described below.
Horizontal rolls stacked vertically is a dispenser configuration within the fourth group. These dispensers stack two or more rolls vertically with the rotational axes of the rolls extending horizontally, and drop the reserve roll or rolls from a concealed and protected storage position in the top of the dispenser into a dispensing position below. These manual dispensers usually require the user to push the exhausted supply roll backward or downward. A deficiency of these designs is that they do not force complete exhaustion of the supply roll.
Another configuration within this fourth group is horizontal rolls mounted side-by-side. Two such designs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,510,237, issued to Agamite, Jr. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,802, issued to Sieber. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,510,237, the user is required to first tear the core of the exhausted supply roll off the mandrel and then manually move the reserve roll to a dispensing position by pushing it with his or her finger inserted through a recess in the outer casing. One disadvantage of this design is that the step of tearing the core off of the mandrel is not intuitive, nor always easy to accomplish. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,802, the expended core is ejected out an aperture in the sidewall of the dispenser upon the sliding of a handle or button by the user to transfer a reserve roll to a dispensing position. Because the roll transfer requires the user to slide a handle or a button, this design is more difficult to use and is less sanitary than an automatic transfer device.
A third dispenser configuration within the fourth group stacks a plurality of rolls vertically with the rotation axes of the rolls also extending vertically, and protects a reserve roll until the user initiates an action to permit the reserve roll to fall into the dispensing position by gravity. Two such designs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,777, issued to Carroll and U.S. Pat. No. 3,484,052, issued to Clarke. A disadvantage of this type of dispenser is that users, being accustomed to the usual horizontal orientation of the dispensing roll, often dislike vertically oriented rolls. In addition, since these dispensers are gravity operated, they must be mounted vertically. This results in a tall and one-position only dispenser that can be difficult to mount conveniently, e.g., in a handicap-bar equipped restroom stall.

Apparatus for dispensing rolled flexible sheet material


Method and apparatus for printing on a printing substrate which is a web which is elongate in a longitudinal direction, wherein frames of a maximum printing format can be printed in a sequence on the web. The printing includes arranging a number of pages on sheets of a given sheet format, wherein the maximum printing format is larger in the longitudinal direction of the web than the sheet format, wherein pages which are adjacent in the longitudinal direction of the web are separate from each in the longitudinal direction of the web, imposing pages of more than one sheet into printing frames which are larger in the longitudinal direction of the web than the sheet format but not larger than the maximum printing format, printing the frames, and grouping the pages from the printed frames to sheets on which the pages are arranged as originally.

Some types of printers print on a web of a printing substrate which is elongate in a longitudinal direction, wherein successive frames are printed on the web. A number of pages which have a given size can be arranged on a sheet of a given sheet format, and consecutive sheets are printed on the web.

Printing on a web of a printing substrate


A virtual environment model of an inside of a room is created from a panoramic image thereof by performing the steps of:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for creating a virtual environment for experiencing a virtual feeling of a three dimensional space. The present invention also relates to a record medium having recorded thereon a computer readable program for making a computer to execute procedure for creating a virtual environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, there have been proposed various methods of creating a three dimensional virtual space by means of a computer graphics. For instance, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication Kokai Hei 9-187038, there is disclosed a virtual space creating method, in which an object is picked-up by an image picking-up means at different picking-up positions such that a part of the object is picked-up in a duplicated manner to obtain a plurality of images, parameters are calculated in accordance with respective picking-up positions as well as respective positions of an imaging lens, distance distributions of the object are derived by said plurality of images and parameters, and reconstructing a three dimensional model of the object by successively organizing said distance distributions and images by means of said parameters.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication Kokai Hei 9-244522, there is disclosed a three dimensional space creating method, in which three dimensional geometric data of an architecture is formed from plan views of the architecture by means of a separate modeling software, the thus obtained three dimensional geometric data is placed on a cylindrical space which represents a surrounding landscape, image mapping data is produced by denoting mappings between vertices in the three dimensional geometric data and corresponding characteristic points on photographs of an inside of the architecture and panoramic photographs of the landscape taken from terraces, and these three dimensional geometric data and image mapping data are stored as virtual space creating data. Upon creating the virtual three dimensional space, the three dimensional geometric data is projected on the image, and at the same time image information denoted by the image mapping data is displayed by texture mapping.
In the virtual space creating method described in the above mentioned Kokai Hei 9-187038, in order to derive the distance distributions of the object, for each of a plurality of images obtained by picking-up the object, it is necessary to detect a pick-up position and a lens position of the picking-up means. This necessitates rather cumbersome and time-consuming work. Furthermore, in this method, the three dimensional data may be taken into the computer with the aid of rather expensive distance measuring device such as a range finder, and therefore a cost of a whole system is liable to increase.
In the virtual space creating method described in the above Kokai Hei 9-244522, it is necessary to generate the three dimensional data of the architecture by means of plan views of the architecture and separate three dimensional modeling software. This modeling work is cumbersome and a user is subjected to a lot of work and time.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a method of creating a virtual environment in a simple manner.
A second object of the invention is to provide a virtual environment creating apparatus, in which the above mentioned virtual environment creating method can be carried out by means of a simple and less expensive structure.
Further, a third object of the present invention is to provide a record medium having recorded thereon a computer readable program which is to make a computer to execute procedure for creating a virtual environment in a simple manner.
A fourth object of the invention is to provide a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, wherein said computer data signal is constructed by computer readable program codes for producing a virtual environment from a panoramic image of an inside of an architecture or room in a simple manner.
According to the invention for attaining the above mentioned first object, a method of creating a virtual environment comprises:
a step of arranging a panoramic image of an inside of a room picked-up from a single view point on a cylindrical body in a virtual space such that information about an angle of view of the relevant panoramic image is reflected;
a step of arranging a ceiling plane and a floor plane of said room in said virtual space such that the ceiling plane and floor place are brought into contact with an upper plane and a lower plane, respectively of said cylindrical body;
a step of deriving a radius (r) of the cylindrical body from a circumferencial length of said cylindrical body corresponding to a length (L) of said panoramic image;
a step of deriving a height (H) of said panoramic image; a step of setting markers (Axe2x80x2, Bxe2x80x2) on the panoramic image, said markers corresponding to vertices (A, B) of a plurality of posts defining a shape of said virtual space, at said vertices the respective posts being brought into contact with the ceiling plane and floor plane, respectively on the virtual space;
a step of deriving heights (a, b) of said markers on the panoramic image; and
a step of deriving distances (Z) from a virtual view point (O) set in the virtual space to said posts (A-B line) and a height (w) of said virtual view point (O) from said radius (r) of the cylindrical body, said height (H) of the panoramic image and said heights (a, b) of the markers on the panoramic image;
wherein a virtual environment model of the inside of said room is created in accordance with said panoramic image.
In an embodiment of the virtual environment creating method according to the invention, in order to correct a variation in the height of view points during the production of the panoramic image, information about a height of another virtual view point in a direction of a line of sight which situates, viewed in a rotational direction on a horizontal plane, between lines of sight which have been used for deriving the heights of virtual view points is derived by an interpolation from the previously derived heights of the virtual view points.
In another preferable embodiment of the virtual environment creating method according to the invention, in order to correct a variation in a horizontal position of view points during the formation of the panoramic image, a position of a virtual view point having a viewing direction corresponding to a beam in the above mentioned virtual environment model created from the panoramic image is shifted in the horizontal plane on which said virtual view point is existent such that the beam is corrected to be straight in the virtual space.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, in order to utilize data of the panoramic image as texture information without preparing separate texture information, image information at a position of the panoramic image is texture-mapped as surface information onto a corresponding position of the virtual environment model constructed from the panoramic image.
According to the invention, a method of creating a virtual environment comprises:
a step of arranging a panoramic image of an inside of a room picked-up from a single view point on a cylindrical body in a virtual space such that information about an angle of view of the relevant panoramic image is reflected;
a step of arranging at least one of a ceiling plane and a floor plane of said room on said virtual space such that at least one of the ceiling plane and floor place is brought into contact with at least one of an upper plane and a lower plane of said cylindrical body;
a step of deriving a radius (r), a circumferencial length (L) and a height (H) of the cylindrical body as well as an angle of view (xcex8) at which said panoramic image is picked-up;
a step of setting, on the panoramic image, markers corresponding to vertices (A, B) of at least one post defining a shape of the virtual space, at said vertices the post being brought into contact with the ceiling plane and floor plane, respectively of the virtual space;
a step of deriving heights (a, b) of said markers on the panoramic image; and
a step of setting a position of the view point (H/2) of said panoramic image, and deriving a distance (Zp) from a virtual view point (O) in the virtual space to said post (A-B line) and a height (w) of said virtual view point (O) as well as a height (h) of said room in the virtual space from said position of the view point (H/2), said radius (r) of the cylindrical body and said heights (a, b) of said markers on the panoramic image;
wherein a virtual environment model within said room is created from said panoramic image.
In an embodiment of the above mentioned method according to the invention, a distance from the view point to the post in the virtual space is corrected under such a condition that said virtual environment model has a rectangular shape surrounded by four walls.
In another embodiment of the method according to the invention, in order to utilize data of the panoramic image information as texture information, said cylindrical body is corrected into a curved surface which is based on said angle of view, the image information of the panoramic image on the thus corrected curved surface is utilized as texture and is pasted as surface information at a corresponding point of the virtual environment model reconstructed from the panoramic image.
According to the invention, a method of creating a virtual environment comprises:
a step of arranging a panoramic image of an inside of an architecture picked-up from a single view point on a cylindrical body in a virtual space such that information about an angle of view of the relevant panoramic image is reflected,
a step of arranging two mutually parallel virtual planes of said architecture in said virtual space such that said two virtual planes are brought into contact with an upper plane and a lower plane, respectively of said cylindrical body;
a step of deriving a radius of the cylindrical body from a circumferencial length of said panoramic image arranged on the circumferencial surface of the cylindrical body;
a step of deriving a height of said panoramic image;
a step of setting markers on the panoramic image, said markers corresponding to points which situates on said two mutually parallel virtual planes at a same horizontal position;
a step of deriving heights of said markers on the panoramic image; and
a step of deriving a distance from a virtual view point in the virtual space to a straight line connecting said points on said two mutually parallel virtual planes at the same horizontal position and a height of said virtual view point from said radius of the cylindrical body, said height of the panoramic image and said heights of the markers on the panoramic image;
wherein a virtual environment model of the inside of said architecture is created from said panoramic image.
According to the invention, a method of creating a virtual environment comprises:
a step of arranging a panoramic image of an inside of an architecture picked-up from a single view point on a cylindrical body in a virtual space such that information about an angle of view of the relevant panoramic image is reflected;
a step of arranging at least one virtual plane within said architecture in said virtual space such that said at least one virtual plane is brought into contact with at least one of an upper plane and a lower plane of said cylindrical body;
a step of deriving a radius, a circumferencial length and a height of the cylindrical body as well as an angle of view at which said panoramic image is picked-up;
a step of setting, on the panoramic image, at least one marker corresponding to a point at which said at least one virtual plane intersects a straight line at right angles;
a step of deriving a height of said at least one marker on the panoramic image; and
a step of deriving a distance from a virtual view point in the virtual space to said straight line which intersects perpendicularly said at least one virtual plane and a height of said view point as well as a height of the inside of said architecture in the virtual space from said virtual view point, said radius of the cylindrical body and said height of said at least one marker in the panoramic image;
wherein a virtual environment model within said architecture is generated on the basis of said panoramic image.
wherein a virtual environment of the inside of said architecture is created on the basis of said panoramic image.
In order to achieve the second object of the invention, a virtual environment creating apparatus comprises:
an image display means for displaying a panoramic image;
a means of setting markers on the panoramic image, said markers corresponding to vertices of at least one post at which the post is brought into contact with a ceiling plane and a floor plane, respectively in a virtual space; and
a means for creating a virtual environment model corresponding to said panoramic image from the panoramic image and positional information of said markers on the panoramic image.
In order to attain the third object of the invention, a computer readable record medium, having a program recorded thereon, wherein said program is to make the computer execute the following procedures for producing a virtual environment from a panoramic image of an inside of a room picked-up from a single view point;
to arrange said panoramic image on a cylindrical body in a virtual space such that information about an angle of view of the relevant panoramic image is reflected and upper and lower planes of said cylindrical body are brought into contact with ceiling and floor planes, respectively of said room;
to derive a circumferencial length, a radius and a height of said cylindrical body;
to derive heights of markers set on the panoramic image, said markers corresponding to vertices of at least one post defining a shape of the virtual space, at said vertices the post being brought into contact with the ceiling plane and floor plane, respectively in the virtual space; and
to derive a distance from a virtual view point in the virtual space to said post and a height of said virtual view point from said radius and height of the cylindrical body and said heights of said markers in the panoramic image and to create the virtual environment model of the inside of the room from said panoramic image.
According to the invention, a computer readable record medium, having a program recorded thereon, wherein said program is to make the computer execute the following procedures for producing a virtual environment from a panoramic image of an inside of a room picked-up from a single view point;
to arrange said panoramic image on a cylindrical body in a virtual space such that information about an angle of view of the relevant panoramic image is reflected and at least one of upper and lower planes of said cylindrical body is brought into contact with at least one of ceiling and floor planes of said room;
to derive a circumferencial length, a radius and a height of said cylindrical body as well as an angle of view with which said panoramic image is picked-up;
to derive heights of markers set on the panoramic image, said markers corresponding to vertices of at least one post, at said vertices the post is brought into contact with the ceiling plane and floor plane, respectively in the virtual space; and
to derive a distance from a virtual view point in the virtual space to said post and a height of said view point from a position of said virtual view point set on the panoramic image, said radius of the cylindrical body and said heights of said markers on the panoramic image and to create the virtual environment of the inside of said room from the panoramic image.
According to the invention, a computer readable record medium, having a program recorded thereon, wherein said program is to make the computer execute the following procedures for producing a virtual environment from a panoramic image of an inside of an architecture picked-up from a single view point;
to arrange said panoramic image on a cylindrical body in a virtual space such that information about an angle of view of the relevant panoramic image is reflected and upper and lower planes of said cylindrical body are brought into contact with two mutually parallel virtual planes within said architecture;
to derive a circumferencial length, a radius and a height of said cylindrical body;
to derive heights of markers set on the panoramic image, said markers corresponding to points which situates on said two mutually parallel virtual planes at the same horizontal position; and
to derive a distance from a virtual view point in the virtual space to a straight line connecting said two points on said two mutually parallel virtual planes and a height of said virtual view point from said radius and height of the cylindrical body and said heights of said markers on the panoramic image and to create the virtual environment model of the inside of the architecture from said panoramic image.
According to the invention, a computer readable record medium, having a program recorded thereon, wherein said program is to make the computer execute the following procedures for producing a virtual environment from a panoramic image of an inside of an architecture picked-up from a single view point;
to arrange said panoramic image on a cylindrical body in a virtual space such that information about an angle of view of the relevant panoramic image is reflected and at least one of upper and lower planes of said cylindrical body is brought into contact with at least one of two mutually parallel virtual planes within said architecture;
to derive a circumferencial length, a radius and a height of said cylindrical body as well as an angle of view with which said panoramic image is picked-up;
to derive heights of at least one marker set on the panoramic image, said at least one marker corresponding to a cross point between said at least one of two mutually parallel virtual planes and a straight line which intersects said virtual plane at right angles in the virtual space; and
to derive a distance from a virtual view point in the virtual space to said straight line and a height of an inside of the architecture from a position of said virtual view point set on the panoramic image, said radius of the cylindrical body and said height of said at least one marker on the panoramic image, and to create the virtual environment model from said panoramic image.
According to the invention, in order to attain said fourth object, a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, wherein said computer data signal is constructed by computer readable program codes for producing a virtual environment from a panoramic image of an inside of an architecture picked-up from a single view point comprises:
a computer readable program code for arranging said panoramic image on a cylindrical body in a virtual space such that information about an angle of view of the relevant panoramic image is reflected and arranging two mutually parallel virtual planes in said architecture on said virtual space such that said two virtual planes are brought into contact with an upper plane and a lower plane, respectively of said cylindrical body;
a computer readable program code for deriving a radius, a height and a circumferencial length of said cylindrical body;
a computer readable program code for deriving heights of markers on the panoramic image, said markers being set at positions on the panoramic image corresponding to two points which situate on said two mutually parallel virtual planes at the same horizontal position; and
a computer readable program code for deriving a distance from a virtual view point in the virtual space to a straight line connecting said two points on said two mutually parallel virtual planes at the same horizontal position and a height of said virtual view point from said radius and height of the cylindrical body and said heights of said markers on the panoramic image to create a virtual environment model of the inside of said architecture.
According to the invention, a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, where said computer data signal is constructed by computer readable program codes for creating a virtual environment from a panoramic image of an inside of an architecture picked-up from a single view point comprises:
a computer readable program code for arranging said panoramic image on a cylindrical body in a virtual space such that information about an angle of view of the relevant panoramic image is reflected and at least one of upper and lower planes of said cylindrical body is brought into contact with at least one of two mutually parallel virtual planes in said architecture within said virtual space;
a computer readable program code for deriving a circumferencial length, a radius and a height of said cylindrical body as well as an angle of view with which said panoramic image is picked-up;
a computer readable program code for deriving a height of at least one marker-set on the panoramic image, said at least one marker corresponding to a cross point between said at least one of two mutually parallel virtual planes and a straight line which intersects said virtual plane at right angles; and
a computer readable program code for deriving a distance from a virtual view point in the virtual space to said straight line and a height of an inside of the architecture from a position of said virtual view point set on the panoramic image, said radius of the cylindrical body and said height of said at least one marker on the panoramic image to create a virtual environment of the inside of said architecture.

Method and apparatus for creating virtual environment, and record medium having recorded thereon computer readable program for creating virtual environment

Abstract: arranging the panoramic image on a cylindrical body in a virtual space such that information about an angle of view of the relevant panoramic image is reflected;

Abstract: deriving a radius (r) of the cylindrical body from a circumferencial length of said cylindrical body corresponding to a length (L) of said panoramic image and deriving a height (H) of said panoramic image;

Abstract: setting markers (Axe2x80x2, Bxe2x80x2) on the panoramic image, said markers corresponding to vertices (A, B) of posts at respective corners of the room, at said vertices the posts being brought into contact with the ceiling plane and floor plane, respectively on the virtual space;

Abstract: deriving a distance (Z) from a virtual view point (O) set in the virtual space to a post (A-B) and a height (w) of said virtual view point (O) from said radius (r) of the cylindrical body, said height (H) of the panoramic image and said heights (a, b) of the markers on the panoramic image.


An analysis including a comparison is performed of first and second applications and a determination is made regarding whether the first is a counterfeit version of the second application, or vice-versa. Based on the analysis and comparison, and based on an assessment of the first application, an assessment of the second application may be generated.

This disclosure relates generally to computer security, and specifically, to collecting applications for portable electronic devices, and analyzing the applications through comparisons, correlations, and inferences.
Today's portable electronic devices, such as cellular telephones, smartphones, wireless-enabled personal data assistants, tablet PCs, netbooks, and the like, are becoming more common as platforms for various software applications. There are literally hundreds of thousands of mobile applications covering categories such as games, entertainment, music, movies, business, news, productivity, and many more. These applications are made available to consumers through online marketplaces such as the Android Marketplace, Apple AppStore, Amazon AppStore, and many others. An application may be offered for free or require payment. Developers may be compensated through commissions, the placement of advertisements in the applications, or both.
However, while there are many positive software applications available on the market, the ability to interact, install, and operate third party software inevitably leaves the device susceptible to vulnerabilities, malware, and other harmful software applications. Unlike desktop computers and other less portable computing devices that can install and run antivirus software to protect against harmful software applications, portable electronic devices lack the processing power or resources for effectively running analogous software.
There exist many unscrupulous people who engage in software piracy and hacking. Many of the application marketplaces are flooded with unauthorized application copies or versions. Everybody suffers. The developer fails to receive compensation and may not have the resources to continue research and development on other products. The unauthorized version of the application may have been modified with a virus or other malware code. Thus, the consumer suffers.
Therefore, there is a need for improved techniques and systems for computer security, including mobile application security.

Comparing applications and assessing differences


A banknote reader for initiating a service operation of a vending machine (6) comprises an installation housing of side plates (1) and a money container (11). An interior (14) between the side plates (1) has devices (15; 16; 18; 19; 21; 22; 24) for aligning, transporting, checking and rejecting banknotes (8) and are arranged as modules at predetermined locations along the transport path of the banknotes (8). The installation housing has exchangeable front parts (2; 3; 24) and has on opposite narrow sides (9; 12) a flap 13, which can be pivoted for maintenance work and contains a built-in control device (25), and a connecting opening (10) to the money container (11), respectively. A minimal design of the banknote reader comprises at least a transport system (15), an entry channel (16) for aligning the banknotes (8), a drive unit (22) of the transport system (15), a checking device (18) for recognising genuine banknotes (8), and the control device (25).

U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,736 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,744 describe compact banknote reading devices for installation in vending machines, which are housed together with a banknote container in a space-saving manner in the same frame.
It is also known (DE-OS 20 28 649 and DE-PS 29 19 620) to arrange downstream of the checking device a temporary store for the banknotes recognised and accepted by the checking device. With a banknote reader of this kind an instruction can be implemented only when the amount required for the service, which is composed, for example, of several banknotes, is already in the temporary store.
CH-PS 661 603 and the patent specifications mentioned above disclose the arrangement of checking devices that scan the banknotes using an optical or magnetic process, and means for transporting the banknotes. The banknotes are stacked in, for example, money cassettes known from CH-PS 658 736, which are secured against theft of the banknotes. A stacking device is disclosed in Research Disclosure, December 1984, RD 24820.
The devices described in those patent specifications have the disadvantage that each of the designs described is tailored to the needs of a specific customer, requires a relatively large amount of space and does not permit simple changes to the construction.
The problem underlying the invention is to provide an inexpensive banknote reader that does not have those disadvantages but can easily be adapted to customer-specific requirements and is maintenance-friendly.
The invention provides a banknote handling device wherein one or more components are readily exchangeable modules so as to facilitate mounting of the device in multiple orientations.


A manifold bracket assembly has a bracket body and multiple filter heads. The filter heads are mounted on the bracket body, and each filter head has an outer casing, a filter connector, two keyed tabs and two tab fasteners. The filter connector and the keyed tabs are securely mounted in the outer casing by the tab fasteners. The filter connector has multiple hose connectors. The keyed tabs are mounted respectively in two tab holes in the filter connector, and each keyed tab has a key block formed on the inner surface of the keyed tab. Accordingly, the filter heads can be easily and conveniently connected with each other by hoses connected to the hose connectors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manifold bracket assembly and, more particularly, to a manifold bracket assembly for a modular encapsulated water treatment system.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional water treatment system is applied for filtering water before providing to a user and substantially comprises a manifold bracket and multiple filters to provide different filtering effects to the water. To connect water passages in the filters, a water channel is formed in the manifold bracket. Because the inlets and outlets of the conventional filters may be at different horizontal levels, the water channel in the manifold bracket is formed as a 3D-form to connect the inlets and outlets of the filters. To form the water channel in the manifold bracket, multiple mounting brackets are mounted in and stacked inside the manifold bracket. Each mounting bracket has at least one passage formed in the mounting bracket, such that the water channel is implemented by the passages in the mounting brackets.
However, the passages in the mounting brackets are only able to construct a specific water channel. To form different water channels, different mounting brackets in different passage arrangements are needed. To design and to arrange the passages in the mounting brackets to form a water channel in a complicated form are difficult. Furthermore, the conventional manifold bracket with a water channel implemented by mounting brackets is difficult to connect with a water control electric device, such as flow controller or pressure gauge. Therefore, the conventional manifold bracket is not versatile in use, and the cost for manufacturing the conventional manifold bracket is high.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a manifold bracket assembly to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

Manifold bracket assembly for a modular encapsulated water treatment system


A composite cable includes at least two flexible resin tubes through which a refrigerant flows, and a plurality of signal lines or a plurality of signal line units including a plurality of signal lines. The plurality of signal lines or the plurality of signal line units is disposed annularly around the resin tubes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composite cable used for transmitting electric signals from an ultrasonic probe etc. More specifically, the present invention relates to a composite cable having a refrigerant pipe, and a composite cable processed product using such a composite cable.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inspection device using an ultrasonic wave is utilized, for example, in a tomographic inspection in a medical field or in a defect inspection of various structural objects. Such inspection devices that use ultrasonic waves conduct a kind of image inspection method in which an internal state of a target object is inspected in a nondisruptive manner by applying ultrasonic waves to the target object and converting the reflected ultrasonic waves into images. Especially in the medical field, since it is possible to observe a motion of each soft tissue in real time without a radiation exposure, such inspection devices are frequently used.
Such a medical inspection method using ultrasonic waves is an inspection method in which an ultrasonic probe having a piezoelectric vibrator is applied to a human body, ultrasonic waves are irradiated, and the ultrasonic reflected waves are received. The piezoelectric vibrator is disposed inside a tip portion of the ultrasonic probe where a human body is to be applied. A transmitting and receiving circuit is also disposed in the vicinity of the tip portion of the ultrasonic probe so as not to be affected by noises. Therefore, a temperature of a portion where the piezoelectric vibrator is disposed may become high, whereby a patient may suffer from burns or an operator may have trouble in handling. Recently, higher performance and higher function are expected, and when a multi-channelization proceeds, a heating value at the tip portion of the ultrasonic probe becomes larger.
Therefore, there is a problem in that a sufficient heat radiation cannot be obtained only by heat radiating to a rear side of the ultrasonic probe with a heat conducting member. In order to improve the heat radiation, there has been proposed a configuration in which a cooling jacket is wound around the ultrasonic probe, and refrigerant is circulated in the cooling jacket, thereby coercively cooling the ultrasonic probe (see, e.g., JP-A-2005-027737).
In the cooling configuration disclosed in JP-A-2005-027737, a flexible circulation tube is used for circulating the refrigerant through the cooling jacket, and the circulation tube is clamped along a signal cable for transmission to and reception from the ultrasonic probe. In an application of an ultrasonic inspection device, good handling ability is required. However, since the circulation tube disclosed in JP-A-2005-027737 is provided separately from the signal cable, the handling ability is not good. In addition, even if the circulation tube and the signal cable are simply integrated in a composite manner, there are problems in that an insulation coating of the signal cable may be adversely affected by a dew condensation that is likely to be generated on an outer surface of the circulation tube through which the refrigerant flows, and in that bending property etc. need to be considered.

Composite cable and composite cable processed product