Embodiments of the present invention concerns an aperture antenna that comprises: a receiving element, which includes an aperture and is configured to receive, through the aperture, radio signals having frequencies within a given band of radio frequencies; a waveguide configured to receive radio signals from the receiving element; and a frequency selective structure, which is arranged between the receiving element and the waveguide, and comprises metamaterial structures that extend partially inside the receiving element and/or partially inside the waveguide and that are configured to cause the propagation, from the receiving element to the waveguide, of only the received radio signals that have frequencies comprised within a predetermined sub-band of the given band of radio frequencies. Furthermore, the frequency selective structure is configured to reflect back into the receiving element the received radio signals that have frequencies not comprised in the predetermined sub-band.

At present, reflector-type directive antenna systems that typically exploit horn antennas as feeding/receiving systems are used in satellite communications.
Horn antennas fall within the class of aperture antennas that, as is known, are antennas designed to radiate/receive radio signals through radiating/receiving apertures.
In particular, a horn antenna typically comprises:                a hollow metal radiating/receiving element with a rectangular/square/circular cross-section, which                    is known as a horn,            terminates, at a first end, with a radiating/receiving aperture, and            is configured to radiate/receive radio signals through the radiating/receiving aperture; and                        a waveguide, which is coupled to a second end of the radiating/receiving element and which is configured to receive radio signals received by the radiating/receiving element and/or to transmit radio signals to be radiated by the radiating/receiving element.
An example of aperture antennas is truncated waveguides used in antenna systems to radiate/receive radio signals, for example, in AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) antenna systems. In the case of a truncated waveguide, the radiating/receiving element is the end portion of the waveguide where the truncation is made that defines the radiating/receiving aperture.
As is known, satellite communications are implemented on radio channels characterized by bands of radio frequencies that are typically narrower than the operating bands of the horn antennas employed. These antennas are typically designed for wide-band operation, as the operating band of a horn antenna is directly connected to the monomodal bandwidth of the waveguide coupled to the horn.
Thus, a horn antenna, as it is characterized by an operating band typically wider than the radio frequency bands of the satellite channels, received both the narrow-band radio signals transmitted over the satellite channels and the noise present throughout the respective operating band. For this reason, horn antennas are characterized by a high noise figure. Regarding this, a longitudinal section of a traditional horn antenna 10 is shown schematically, and purely by way of example, in FIG. 1 (where the sizes shown are not to scale for simplicity of illustration).
In particular, in the example shown in FIG. 1, the horn antenna 10 is used in reception in a downlink satellite communication, i.e. a satellite communication in which the horn antenna 10 is used by a ground station located on the surface of the Earth (not shown in FIG. 1 for simplicity of illustration) to receive radio signals transmitted by an antenna system installed on board a satellite (not shown in FIG. 1 for simplicity of illustration).
In detail, as shown in FIG. 1, the horn antenna 10 comprises a horn 11 that, in use, picks up, or receives:                a radio signal that has been transmitted by the antenna system installed on board the satellite (henceforth called useful signal, for simplicity of description) and which typically has a narrow-band spectrum S(f); and        the noise that is present throughout the operating band of the horn 11, due to various factors and typically has a wide-band spectrum N(f).
In addition, always as shown in FIG. 1, the horn antenna 10 also comprises a waveguide 12 that is coupled to the horn 11 and that, in use, receives both the useful signal and noise from the horn 11.
FIG. 2 shows:                the narrow-band spectrum S(f) of the useful signal that is received by the horn 11 and propagates in the waveguide 12; and        the wide-band spectrum N(f) of the noise that is present in the operating band B1 of the horn 11, is received by the horn 11 and also propagates in the waveguide 12.
Thus, the use of horn antennas in satellite communications entails an undesired increase in antenna noise temperature with a consequent deterioration of the signal-to-noise ratio.
Therefore, in consideration of the large distance between the satellites and the ground stations, atmospheric effects, ground noise and the high noise figure of horn antennas, current satellite communication systems are obliged to use, especially for downlink connections, additional filtering devices and specific signal processing systems designed to maximise the signal-to-noise ratio.


A charging apparatus including a mounting portion on which a plurality of information processing apparatuses are mounted, a power transmission unit that transmits power in a non-contact manner to each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses placed on the mounting portion, and a control unit that receives a charge order instruction from at least one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses, and controls the power transmission unit to transmit power to each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses in an order determined based on the received charge order instruction.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a charging apparatus for charging a secondary battery installed in a mobile terminal with a wireless feeding method.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, charging apparatuses capable of charging a secondary battery in a battery pack installed in an information processing terminal such as a mobile telephone with a standardized wireless feeding method have been provided.
An exemplary operation of a charging apparatus in the related art will be described with reference to FIG. 20.
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a charging pad 102 in the related art charges a plurality of mobile terminals 101-1 to 101-3.
The planar charging pad 102 that is used as a charging apparatus includes a thin plate-like mounting portion 103, and can charge the mobile terminals 101-1 to 101-3 placed on the mounting portion 103 in a noncontact manner with power supplied from a power supply (not illustrated). The "noncontact manner" means that power (a radio wave) and a signal can be transmitted between each of the mobile terminals 101-1 to 101-3 and the charging pad 102 without direct electric connection between coils included therein.
The charging pad 102 includes a power transmission coil 104, and the power transmission coil 104 moves closer to one of the mobile terminals 101-1 to 101-3 and charges it. The charging pad 102 stores the order in which mobile terminals have been placed on the mounting portion 103. In a case where a plurality of mobile terminals are placed on the mounting portion 103, the charging pad 102 charges the mobile terminals in the order in which they have been placed.
Japanese Patent No. 4480048 describes a technique related to a charger for charging an electronic apparatus in a noncontact manner. This technique makes time intervals at which a signal for checking whether an electronic apparatus is placed on a charger in a rechargeable manner is generated different from intervals at which a command for checking whether the electronic apparatus requests recharging is generated. As a result, even when the battery voltage of the electronic apparatus is reduced after the charging of the electronic apparatus has been completed, the recharging of the electronic apparatus can be performed.

Charging apparatus for charging a secondary battery with a wireless feeding method


An inventory management, and a shipping/returns management system can be analyzed to determine various performance characteristics of an e-commerce operator, such as whether the latter maintains sufficient items to meet demand, whether distribution is occurring in a timely fashion, etc. The systems are analyzed using one or more anonymous proxy accounts.

Recommender systems are well known in the art. In one example, such systems can make recommendations for movie titles to a subscriber. In other instances they can provide suggestions for book purchases, or even television program viewing. Such algorithms are commonplace in a number of Internet commerce environments, including at Amazon, CDNOW, and Netflix to name a few, as well as programming guide systems such as TiVO. While the details of such algorithms are often proprietary, the latter typically use a number of parameters for determining a user's movie "tastes" so to speak, including demographics, prior movie rentals, prior movie ratings, user navigation statistics, comparison with other users, etc.
Recommender systems are often implemented as collaborative filtering (CF) algorithms. Such algorithms purportedly are "content" neutral, in the sense that they provide recommendations to a user for an item based on his/her similarity to another user (or users), and not with regard to the characteristics of the item itself. CF algorithms nonetheless may not be entirely "neutral, and may include subtle unintended (or even intended) bias in their recommendations. In some cases they may not recommend items that are "new" because CF systems tend to lag in their learning capabilities.
From the perspective of a subscriber or a content provider, determining the existence and extent of bias in a particular recommender system may be important. For example, a movie studio, a book publisher, a television program source (i.e., different types of content provider) may want to determine if a particular content service provider is accurately presenting recommendations to the right demographics group.
A recent article by Kushmerick titled "Robustness Analyses of Instance-Based Colloborative Recommendation"—13th European Conference of Machine Learning, 2002, incorporated by reference herein—makes mention of the fact that recommender systems can be potentially "attacked" by outsiders to artificially inflate or degrade ratings of items. This problem is treated as one of "noise" which can affect the reliability and reputation of recommender systems. A similar discussion is presented by Kushmerick et al. in another article entitled "Collaborative Recommendation: A Robustness Analysis"—ACM Transactions on Internet Technology, Special Issue of Machine Learning for the Internet—(publication date unknown), which disclosure is also incorporated by reference herein. Thus the problem of "noise" added to recommender system datasets is just beginning to be appreciated.
Notably, however, Kushmerick fails to consider the possibility of an internal "bias" which is intentionally introduced by the recommender system operator, or how to detect/measure the same. Such bias may be designed and built in by the recommender system operator based on a desire to alter—i.e., boost or reduce the marketability of certain items in exchange for some incentive from a third party. Since such bias is introduced by the operator, it is extremely challenging to detect from the outside. Nonetheless, the identification and measurement of such bias is clearly useful to outside parties to help gain an understanding of the relative fairness, reliability, reputation, etc. of recommender systems.
Furthermore, a content provider may want to test the adequacy and suitability of an inventory management and/or shipping system used by a particular service provider, to ensure that their stock of items is being adequately managed. From the perspective of a content provider, it is important to improve the efficiency of distributors who are effectively managing consumer demand for items by the content provider. One important parameter, for example, may be the issue of how quickly a recommender system for a particular vendor is able to assimilate and give recommendations on new items. The lack of data for new items is a known limitation of recommender systems, and yet the prior art does not describe any mechanism for comparing the performance of recommender systems in this respect.
In addition, the prior art does not consider how to determine whether a recommender system is complying with a particular preference policy which might be specified for recommendations. Such mechanism can afford a purchaser of such preference an opportunity to determine the performance of an online operator in achieving/satisfying a particular marketing/advertising criterion.
Finally, the prior art does not indicate how the effects of advertising can be correlated with recommender system behavior, or even how recommender system recommendations can be mined and exploited to improve online advertising campaigns. Accordingly, there is a present need for systems and methods for achieving such functions.

Method of testing inventory management/shipping systems


A diamond bearing assembly comprises a support ring having at least one diamond bearing segment attached thereto. A plurality of bearing pads are disposed on the diamond bearing segment. The plurality of bearing pads have a plurality of flow micro-channels between the bearing pads. A flow channel is disposed in the support ring proximate the bearing segment, wherein the flow channel has a fluid flowing therethrough for cooling the bearing segment. In another aspect, a method of cooling a diamond bearing comprises disposing a plurality of bearing pads on a diamond bearing segment. The diamond bearing segment are attached to a support ring. A fluid flows through a substantially radial channel in the support ring to cool the diamond bearing segment.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to thrust bearings and more particularly to diamond bearing segments with cooling and lubrication channels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Diamond bearings have found application in oil drilling and other environments demanding high load carrying ability under extreme wear conditions. As used herein, the term diamond includes synthetic diamond such as polycrystalline diamond. When used as a thrust bearing, a pair of load carrying structures containing diamond pads, also called inserts, are arranged in opposition to bear against one another. One such common arrangement for a thrust bearing is shown in FIG. 1, where a load ring 1 has a number of individual diamond bearing inserts 2 disposed concentrically therein. The thrust load is carried by the bearing surface 3 of each insert.
The load carrying capacity of such a bearing is limited by the frictional heat build up in the diamond bearing inserts. The heat buildup is related to the unit area loading of the bearing insert and to the availability of cooling mechanisms to remove the heat generated. A thermal limit is eventually reached beyond which the inserts begin to degrade and ultimately may disintegrate. Replacement of any bearing in a downhole environment is undesirable due to the expense and downtime involved in pulling and repairing such equipment.
The methods and apparatus of the present invention overcome the foregoing disadvantages of the prior art by providing a novel bearing having an increased surface area for lowering the unit loading and integral flow channels for cooling the bearing.

Diamond bearing with cooling/lubrication channels


A device positioned near a user provides support to the user in sitting and standing positions. The user can move from sitting to standing, without assistance, even if the user is relatively weakened. The device includes (1) a base and tower, and provides support to the user when in-between; (2) a personal support coupled to the tower, and operated by a user control, such as a wheel or a motor. The tower can include padding or knee support so the user can lean against the tower.

Field of the Disclosure
This Application relates to devices and methods relating to a self-lifting device, such as providing easy self-lifting between sitting to standing positions, between positions involving lying down to positions involving sitting or standing, or between other positions. In possible implementations, the devices and methods are well suited to users who might otherwise have difficulty moving, particularly who might otherwise have difficulty moving themselves between sitting and standing positions, or other between other positions as described herein.
Related Art
Many persons have difficulty moving, particularly those who are chronically disabled, or who are temporarily disabled while ill or in hospital. Movement disabilities or limitations can occur due, at least in part, to one or more of a large number of possible causes, such as muscle weakness, nerve damage, paralysis, stroke, arthritis, obesity, or otherwise. When a person finds it necessary to move their position (such as, to move between a bed and a sofa to a wheelchair and back, or between a wheel-chair and a shower and back, or between a standing position and another position), this difficulty can pose serious problems. For example, this can apply to moving between sitting and standing positions, or between other positions as described herein.
One possibility is to enlist the assistance of health-care personnel, such as a nurse, a home health-care aide, or other health-care personnel. This possibility can have the drawbacks of financial expense, or of involving the presence of at least one, and possibly more than one, additional persons for the (chronically or temporarily) disabled person to perform their daily activities, and to get about in the world, without extraordinary difficulties not typically encountered by others. This possibility can also have the drawbacks of involving substantial additional time to move from one position to another, or involving the risk of injury to the disabled person, such as by falling and possibly being unable to get back up, with or without calling for help, which might not be feasible. This possibility can also have the drawbacks of possible lack of privacy in personal affairs. For example, the disabled person might be unable to move from a bed to a restroom without the assistance of a nurse or home-healthcare aide, and it might even be the case that no such person is available at a required time. This possibility can also have the drawbacks of risk of falling or risk of injury to the disabled person, from any one of a number of possibilities. For example, the disabled person might slip loose from the grip of health-care personnel, with the possible effects of falling and/or injuring themselves or others (such as health-care personnel in the vicinity).
One possibility is to use equipment that provides leverage from an immobile location. This possibility can have the drawbacks of involving bulky and expensive equipment. Bulky and expensive equipment might restrict use to specialized facilities, such as hospitals. This possibility can have the drawbacks of involving substantially immobile equipment, with the effect of creating a need to place the equipment where its use is most likely. Placing equipment in a fixed position, even one where its use is most likely, might restrict its use to only a few most important locations, such as near hospital beds. Even in relatively convenient circumstances, should the person needing the equipment be weakened, this possibility can still involve the employment of another person to assist with mobility, with at least some of the drawbacks associated therewith. Similar to the possibility noted above, this possibility can have the drawbacks of risk of falling or risk of injury to the disabled (or otherwise mobility-restricted) person, and/or others in the vicinity. This possibility can also have the drawbacks of providing only limited mobility to the disabled person. For example, most known equipment only provides specialized movement forms to the disabled person. For example, most known equipment does not provide a more generalized ability to move to and from a mobile platform, such as a wheelchair.
Some Drawbacks of the Known Art
Each of these issues, either alone or in combination with others (whether mentioned herein or otherwise), at some times, or in some conditions, can cause one or more problems with respect to mobility.


A system and a method create a pre-distorted signal y(k) from an interpolated broadband baseband signal x(k) for a transmitter power amplifier having at least three branches to which the signal x(k) is respectively connected on the input side. A first branch contains a distortion device for taking into account memory effects of the transmitter power amplifier to which the signal x(k) is supplied on the input side. Where 2=j=n, each other j-th branch contains the following serially mounted elements: a deceleration device with a signal x(k) supplied on the input side, a first adder, a digital low-pass filter, and a second adder, the output signal formed by the second adder being used to create the pre-distorted signal y(k). The distortion device pertaining to the first branch is connected, on the input side, to another input of the second adder of the second branch, and on the output side, to another input of the first adder of the second branch.

The invention relates to a system and a method for digital predistortion of a complex baseband input signal which is fed to a transmitted power amplifier to generate a high-frequency multicarrier transmit signal.
With newly introduced radio communication systems, such as the EDGE or the UMTS mobile radio system for example, linear forms of modulation are used in which a constant instantaneous power of a transmit signal is dispensed with. A maximum transmit signal amplitude which arises in a such case typically lies significantly above the average value of an associated transmit power.
In addition there are plans with the newly introduced radio communication systems to use multicarrier data transmission procedures (multicarrier approach) in which a plurality of transmit signals with different carrier frequencies are modulated with a high carrier frequency spacing and fed to a transmit amplifier. A coherent overlaying of all transmit signals in this case means that maximum amplitudes occur which lie far above the average value of the associated transmit power. A transmitter power amplifier must accordingly retain sufficient reserves of power for a linear amplifier operation.
Non-linearities of the transmit power amplifier effect the efficiency of the entire radio communication system. The non-linearities disadvantageously cause intermodulation products of which the carrier frequencies act as interference to disturb the carrier frequencies to be used. These disruptive interferences are suppressed by executing what is referred to as a predistortion of a power amplifier input signal. A distinction is to be made here between an "analog" and a "digital predistortion", with the digital predistortion offering easier reproducibility and higher flexibility.
A basic block diagram in accordance with the related art is shown in FIG. 13 for example.
A complex digital baseband input signal BEIS is connected both to a device for predistortion PRE of a forwards branch and also to a device for parameter estimation PPRE. In addition to the device for predistortion PRE the forwards branch contains a serial downstream compensation device COM, of a digital-analog converter DAC, a transmit filter causing linear distortions TxF, a modulator MOD and a transmit power amplifier AMP.
A broadband high-frequency multicarrier transmit signal is provided at the output of the transmit power amplifier AMP. The transmit power amplifier AMP is connected on the output side to a demodulator DEM arranged in a feedback branch. The feedback branch features a receive filter RxF following on from the demodulator DEM in series and an analog-digital converter ADC which is connected on its output side with the device for parameter estimation PPRE.
The device for parameter estimation PPRE forms parameters for a predistortion of the baseband input signal BEIS to be performed, with the parameters formed being transmitted to the device for predistortion PRE. With the aid of the compensation device COM linear distortions of the transmit filter TxF, of the modulator MOD and partly of the transmit power amplifier AMP are compensated for.
In the digital predistortion to be performed a restriction of a transmit signal bandwidth is necessary since with the device for predistortion PRE a static non-linearity of the transmit power amplifier AMP is assumed and simulated inverted. For precise implementation of the digital predistortion, taking into account the static non-linearity of the transmit power amplifier AMP at least one reproduction of a third or fifth harmonics of the multicarrier transmit signal is needed, in which case for the D/A converter DAC used at least one triple bandwidth of the multicarrier send signal is needed in the forwards branch.
The same applies to the A/D converter ADC in the feedback branch, to which a broadband predistortion output signal of the device for predistortion PRE is fed via the following modules (COM, DAC, TxF, MOD, AMP, DEM and RxF). For a multicarrier transmit signal with a bandwidth of 60 MHz, corresponding to the UMTS standard, very wide band and cost-intensive A/D converters or D/A converters are thus required.
In this case it should also be stated in conclusion that both the parameter estimation PPRE and also the predistortion PRE are performed with a sampling frequency which is determined by a clock frequency of the D/A converter DAC or of the A/D converter ADC used.

Arrangement and method for digital predistortion of a complex baseband input signal


An apparatus and a method that manage multiple inputs using a management module are disclosed. The input management apparatus and method is applied to a system that can handle an input made by at least one input device and an input made by executing at least one program. The input management apparatus according to the present invention, comprising: an event generation module, which generates a first event corresponding to the input; an input management information storing unit, which stores management information of the input; and an event management module, which, if the first event is generated, generates a second event referring to the input management information storing unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for input management, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for managing multiple inputs such as inputs made by input devices and inputs made by execution of programs.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional electronic devices and data processing systems such as computers, inputs are classified into key inputs made by input devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a remote controller, and a touch panel, and inputs made by execution of programs. The conventional electronic devices and data processing systems individually manage the inputs. That is, the conventional electronic devices and data processing systems separately manage inputs made by the input devices and execution of the programs.
Therefore, to manage all inputs made by the input devices and execution of the programs, the conventional electronic devices and data processing systems must have input management functions corresponding to each of the input devices and the programs. Accordingly, in systems having insufficient system resources, such as a set-top box and a kiosk, it is difficult for the systems to have a function capable of managing all inputs made by the input devices and the programs.
Also, in a conventional input management function, a function independently performing a limitation on an input made by each input device or each program is included. However, the conventional input management function cannot change the input made by each input device or each program to an action plan corresponding to an input made by another device or another program and cannot manage an input combining inputs made by a plurality of input devices and execution of a plurality of programs. As an example of the change in input, an action plan for an input A of a keyboard can be changed to an action plan for an input by a left click of a mouse. As an example of combining inputs, an action plan can be defined as an input combining the input A of the keyboard and the input by the left click of the mouse.

Apparatus and method for input management


A computer security system uses a plurality of co-operating software agents to protect a network against attack. Individual agents at each node the network co-operatively act to detect attacks and to share attack signatures and solutions via a message exchange mechanism. A global internal measurement of the overall health of the group of agents may be used as an indicator of a possible attack. In larger networks, the agents may be formed a plurality of separate autonomous groups, with a common group identity being automatically maintained by the message passing mechanism. Individual groups may be located by a system designer in separate cells or domains within the network, so that if one cell becomes compromised the rest of the network is not affected.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an intrusion detection system (IDS) for use within a computer network, and particularly to such a system that makes use of co-operative software agents.
2. Related Art
The advent in recent years of a number of increasingly powerful macro viruses, some of which have port-scanning capabilities, has demonstrated the inadequacies of most current static and manually-controlled security mechanisms for protecting computer systems. As viral and other attacks become increasingly common, and increasingly sophisticated, traditional systems are unlikely to be able to cope. Such systems are insufficiently flexible, scalable or reactive to be able to deal effectively with new and potentially unknown security threats.

British Telecommunications public limited company


The application, according to a desired image, of an absorbance controlling composition to a receiver having an imaging layer comprising a radiation absorbing component, such as a dye or pigment, with spectral absorbance properties susceptible to change on treatment with the absorbance controlling composition provides a method of imaging by which a desired image may be formed on the receiver, for example by jetting a solution of the absorbance controlling composition onto the receiver.

Traditional ink-jet systems involve jetting a solution of ink onto a receiver according to a desired positive image. For example, where the desired image requires light absorbance of a particular wavelength at a particular point, an ink having a dye capable of absorbing at that wavelength is typically applied to a receiver at a corresponding point to effect the desired absorbance. Accordingly, an image is formed by applying inks having dyes or pigments of known absorbance to a receiver to form an image with a desired spectral 'footprint' corresponding to the spectral properties of the dyes applied at the various points on the receiver. For many applications, this method is effective at accurately representing an image.
A problem with using ink-jet printing, particularly when forming high-density and/or high-resolution images is that in order to achieve a high-density image, sufficient material, e.g. dye or pigment, must be present to absorb sufficient light. The absorption depends on the amount of the material and its inherent optical absorption coefficient, as defined by Beer's Law. Many dyes have a high molecular weight and the optical density per gram is not necessarily high. In order to get sufficient density using such dye-based inks, relatively large amounts of dye must be applied to the receiver. In ink-jet printing, images are formed by jetting dyes in inks. However, there is a limit to the concentration of a dye that can be included in an ink to be jetted, because the dye must pass through small ink-jet nozzles and therefore must be a stable solution or a fine suspension of particles suitable for jetting. So in many cases, such as in the forming of masks for use in printed circuit board manufacture, it is not possible to use ink-jet printing to form the mask in a single application. This problem can be overcome by laying down more than one layer of ink, but this increases the time required to form the desired image. Alternatively, the hole-size in the ink-jet head can be increased in order to increase the amount of ink that can be delivered at one time or to increase the concentration of dye that may be included in an ink, but this leads to a disadvantageous loss in resolution.
Problem to be Solved by the Invention
It is desirable to provide a method by which high-density images can be formed by using a simple jetting technique, which is quick and effective. It is further, desirable that such a technique be capable of providing high-resolution images.
Furthermore, it is desirable that printed circuit board masks may be formed by a simple, fast and efficient ink-jet printing method capable of forming high-density high-resolution images, for use in the manufacture of printed circuit boards.
It is still further desirable to provide a simple, fast, efficient and reliable method of generating hard copy medical or X-ray images from digitally stored images.


Methods, apparatus, and systems for sharing resources across a plurality of computing platforms. Firmware provided on each platform is loaded for operating system runtime availability. Shared resources are presented to operating systems running on the platforms as local resources, while in reality they are generally hosted by other platforms. An operating system resource access request is received by a requesting platform and rerouted to another platform that actually hosts a target resource used to service the resource access request. Global resource maps are employed to determine the appropriate host platforms. Communications between the platforms is enabled via an out-of-band (OOB) communication channel or network. A hidden execution mode is implemented to effectuate data rerouting via the OOB channel such that the method is performed in a manner that is transparent to operating systems running on the platforms. The shared resources include storage, input, and video devices. The method can be used to support shared KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) resources.

Information Technology (IT) managers and Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are under tremendous pressure to reduce capital and operating expenses without decreasing capacity. The pressure is driving IT management to provide computing resources that more efficiently utilize all infrastructure resources. To meet this objective, aspects of the following questions are often addressed: How to better manage server utilization; how to cope with smaller IT staff levels; how to better utilize floor space; and how to handle power issues.
Typically, a company's IT (information technology) infrastructure is centered around computer servers that are linked together via various types of networks, such as private local area networks (LANs) and private and public wide area networks (WANs). The servers are used to deploy various applications and to manage data storage and transactional processes. Generally, these servers will include stand-alone servers and/or higher density rack-mounted servers, such as 4U, 2U and 1U servers.
Recently, a new server configuration has been introduced that provides unprecedented server density and economic scalability. This server configuration is known as a "blade server." A blade server employs a plurality of closely-spaced "server blades" (blades) disposed in a common chassis to deliver high-density computing functionality. Each blade provides a complete computing platform, including one or more processors, memory, network connection, and disk storage integrated on a single system board. Meanwhile, other components, such as power supplies and fans, are shared among the blades in a given chassis and/or rack. This provides a significant reduction in capital equipment costs when compared to conventional rack-mounted servers.
Generally, blade servers are targeted towards two markets: high density server environments under which individual blades handle independent tasks, such as web hosting; and scaled computer cluster environments. A scalable compute cluster (SCC) is a group of two or more computer systems, also known as compute nodes, configured to work together to perform computational-intensive tasks. By configuring multiple nodes to work together to perform a computational task, the task can be completed much more quickly than if a single system performed the tasks. In theory, the more nodes that are applied to a task, the quicker the task can be completed. In reality, the number of nodes that can effectively be used to complete the task is dependent on the application used.
A typical SCC is built using Intel®-based servers running the Linux operating system and cluster infrastructure software. These servers are often referred to as commodity off the shelf (COTS) servers. They are connected through a network to form the cluster. An SCC normally needs anywhere from tens to hundreds of servers to be effective at performing computational-intensive tasks. Fulfilling this need to group a large number of servers in one location to form a cluster is a perfect fit for a blade server. The blade server chassis design and architecture provides the ability to place a massive amount of computer horsepower in a single location. Furthermore, the built-in networking and switching capabilities of the blade server architecture enables individual blades to be added or removed, enabling optimal scaling for a given tasks. With such flexibility, blade server-based SCC's provides a cost-effective alternative to other infrastructure for performing computational tasks, such as supercomputers.
As discussed above, each blade in a blade server is enabled to provide full platform functionality, thus being able to operate independent of other blades in the server. However, the resources available to each blade are likewise limited to it own resources. Thus, in many instances resources are inefficiently utilized. Under current architectures, there is no scheme that enables efficient server-wide resource sharing.

OS agnostic resource sharing across multiple computing platforms


A railway waggon comprises on one hand a load carrier (2) composed of two carrying beams (12, 12') and an intermediate, load-receiving platform part (13), and on the other hand bogies (3) with wheels (4) for railway tracks (5). The platform part (13) is located on level with or below the carrying beams (12, 12'), which at their ends change into jibs (15, 15') located above the beams so that these may be applied on top of the bogies (3), without the platform (13) being markedly distanced vertically from the wheel base of the bogies. The load carrier (2) is on one hand coupled to the bogie via a joint (25, 26) in order to allow for relative turning motions between the bogie and the load carrier, and on the other hand detachably connected with each one of the bogies, in order to, in an inactive state in connection with loading and unloading, be able to be displaced with each end laterally. In this way, a removal of the load carrier to a laterally pivoted position is allowed for, in which a vehicle may be driven on and off the platform part in the area between the carrying beams (12, 12') of the load carrier.

Modern logistics rely to an increasing extent upon combined railway and road transports. Thus, a common way of distributing goods is to transport the goods a shorter distance in a near region on a lorry set to an existent railway, where the lorry set in its entirety is loaded upon a railway waggon comprised in a train unit, which in turn is driven a longer distance to the proximity of the place of destination, whereafter the lorry set is unloaded and driven a shorter distance on the road to the receiver. Combined railway and road transports of this type necessitate specially built railway waggons to fulfil the railway norms for train units. More specifically, the railway waggons must be constructed in such a way that the whole carriage with the on-loaded lorry manages the so called standard profile cross-section which is used to determine whether a train unit is able to pass, e.g., tunnels, subway crossings, short radius curves, etc.
The proposals for railway waggons for the above mentioned purposes are many and abundantly described in the patent literature. Hitherto disclosed constructions may be divided into two main categories, namely a first category that is based on the principle of driving the load vehicles one after the other onto a train unit, starting at one end of the train unit, the first road vehicle being driven along the train unit from one end to the other, and a second category that makes use of some sort of platform built upon the chassis of the railway waggon, said platform being turnable or pivotable relative to the chassis. Examples of railway waggons belonging to the first category are described in DE 41 12 995 and EP 293 359. Examples of waggons belonging to the second category are described in GB 2 198 405, EP 207 491 and SE 8206181-3.
In practice, a disturbing drawback of the railway waggons of the first category is that an arbitrary road vehicle cannot separately be driven off the train unit, i.e., a given road vehicle cannot be removed from the train unit without that either the vehicle in front of or at the back of the same has first been driven off the train unit. This drawback is not inherent in the railway waggons of the second category, in that individual platforms may be pivoted or turned relative to the appurtenant waggon without any connection with other waggons in the train unit, but in return of this such railway waggons have other serious disadvantages. Thus, long road vehicles may not be driven on and off the railway waggon without the platform protruding a considerable distance from the side or sides of the waggon. Moreover, the platform per se adds to the height; a fact that either involves that the waggon has to be equipped with costly arrangements for raising and lowering the platform relative to the waggon chassis, or that the railway waggon has to be made with extremely small wheels in order to manage the previously mentioned standard cross-sectional profile. However, small wheels restrict the maximal speed of motion of the railway waggon.


An object of the present invention is to provide a method for conducting electric activation of an electric double layer capacitor, the method making it possible to increase the electrostatic capacitance and to decrease the internal resistance. The method is for conducting electric activation of an electric double layer capacitor in which nonporous carbonaceous electrodes containing graphite-like fine crystalline carbon are soaked in an organic electrolytic solution. The method at least comprises: charging the electric double layer capacitor at a constant current until the interelectrode voltage reaches a predetermined voltage which is not lower than the electrostatic capacitance developing voltage but lower than the rated voltage; conducting constant voltage charging for a predetermined time during which ions of solutes in the organic electrolytic solution are conceived to be adsorbed uniformly on the surface of the fine crystalline carbon at that predetermined voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for conducting electric activation of electric double layer capacitors in which nonporous carbonaceous electrodes are soaked in an organic electrolytic solution, and particularly to a method for conducting electric activation of electric double layer capacitors which show a behavior such that the electrostatic capacitance increases as the capacitors experience a voltage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Capacitors can repeat charging and discharging with a big electric current and, therefore, are promising as devices for electric power storage with high charging-and discharging frequency. Capacitors are, therefore, hoped to be improved in energy density, rapid charging/discharging characteristics, durability, etc.
The fact that carbonaceous electrodes are soaked in an organic electrolytic solution to form electric double layer capacitors is known. Michio Okamura "Electric Double-layer Capacitors and Power Storage Systems" 2nd Edition, The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Ltd., 2001, pages 34 to 37 discloses an electric double layer capacitor comprising a bath partitioned into two sections with a separator, an organic electrolytic solution filled in the bath and two carbonaceous electrodes, one electrode being soaked in one section of the bath and the other electrode being soaked in the other section of the bath. The organic electrolytic solution is a solution containing a solute dissolved in an organic solvent. Tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (Et4NBF4) or the like are disclosed as solutes and propylene carbonate is disclosed as a solvent. As the carbonaceous electrodes, activated carbon is employed. The activated carbon refers to shapeless carbon which has a veil, large specific surface area because it has innumerable fine pores. In the present specification, shapeless carbon having a specific surface area of about 1000 m2/g or more is referred to as activated carbon.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. H11(1999)-317333 discloses a nonporous carbonaceous material as carbonaceous electrodes for use in electric double layer capacitors. The carbonaceous material comprises fine crystalline carbon similar to graphite and has a specific surface area of 300 m2/g or less, which is smaller than that of activated carbon. Nonporous carbonaceous electrodes generate electrostatic capacitance in a mechanism completely (different from that of carbonaceous electrodes made of activated carbon. It is believed that application of voltage makes electrolyte ions intercalated with solvent between layers of graphite-like fine crystalline carbon, resulting in formation of an electric double layer.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-25867 discloses production of carbonaceous electrodes using needle coke or infusibilized pitch as a raw material. The needle cole refers to easily graphitizable calcined coke with well-developed needle crystals. Needle coke has a very high electrical conductivity and a very low coefficient of thermal expansion, and also has a high anisotropy based on its graphite crystal structure. Generally, needle coke is produced by a delayed coking process using specially-treated coal tax pitch or petroleum-derived heavy oil as a raw material.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2000-77273 discloses an electric double layer capacitor including nonporous carbonaceous electrodes soaked in an organic electrolytic solution. The organic electrolytic solution must have ion conductivity, and therefore the solute is a salt composed of a cation and an anion combined together.
The cations disclosed include lower aliphatic quaternary ammonium such as tetraethylammonium, tetrabutylammonium and triethylmethylammonium; lower aliphatic quaternary phosphonium such as tetraethylphosphonium; and imidazolium derivatives. As the anion, tetrafluoroboric acid, hexafluorophosphoric acid and the like are disclosed. The solvent of the organic electrolytic solution is a polar aprotic organic solvent. Specifically, ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, γ-butyrolactone, sulfolane and the like are disclosed.
An electric double layer capacitor including nonporous carbonaceous electrodes soaked in an organic electrolytic solution exhibits a charging/discharging characteristics different from that of capacitors using activated carbon as carbonaceous electrodes. The charging/discharging characteristics is described in Michio Okamura "Electric Double-layer Capacitors and Power Storage Systems" 2nd Edition, The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Ltd. 2001, pages 77 to 81. FIG. 1 is a graph showing one example of the behavior in which voltage changes with time when charging and discharging at a constant current are applied repeatedly to that type of the electric double layer capacitors (quoted from Michio Okamura "Electric Double-layer Capacitors and Power Storage Systems" 2nd Edition, The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Ltd., 2001, page 81, FIG. 3–15).
In the charging/discharging curve of FIG. 1, the voltage stands up within a short period of time in the first constant current charging started from 0 V, and the voltage increment becomes slow at around 2.2 V. In other words, the slope (dv/dt) is substantially constant before around 2.2 V, decreases quickly at around 2.2 V, and again is substantially constant after around 2.2 V.
In a constant current charging curve, an electrostatic capacitance corresponds to the slope of the curve. High slope values mean low electrostatic capacitances, and low slope values mean high electrostatic capacitances. So the initial charging curve of FIG. 1 shows that the electrostatic capacitance is small in an early stage of charging and that an electrostatic capacitance substantially starts to develop at around 2.2 V.
On the other hand, in the second and subsequent charging processes, the voltage increases monotonously and a constant electrostatic capacitance is obtained from the early stage of charging like conventional activated carbon electrodes. In other words, when this type of the electric double layer capacitors are first allowed to experience a voltage, the electrostatic capacitance of the capacitor increases and a large capacitance is successfully obtained.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2000-277397 and Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2001-223143 disclose methods for conducting electric activation of electric double layer capacitors. "Electric activation" means a first charging treatment of an electric double layer capacitor, namely, a process in which a polarizing electrode is first allowed to experience a voltage. This expression is used because the first charging treatment is considered to serve as activation by which an electrostatic capacitance is developed. These documents disclose that the electric capacitance of an electric double layer capacitor is increased through optimization of conditions for electric activation.
FIG. 2 is a graph showing one example of a charging/discharging curve of an electric double layer capacitor in a conventional electric activation method. In this method, an electric double layer capacitor is first subjected to a constant current charging until the interelectrode voltage reaches a predetermined voltage which is not lower than the rated voltage but is not higher than the decomposition voltage of the electrolytic solution, and then a constant voltage charging is conducted for a certain period of time. After a constant current discharging is conducted, charging/discharging is conducted under the rated current and the rated voltage.
However, for practical use as an auxiliary power source of electromobiles, batteries and power plants, electric double layer capacitors are demanded to have increased performances.

Method for conducting electric activation of electric double layer capacitors


An RFID reader/writer performs a radio communication with an RFID tag. An antenna for tag communication used in the RFID reader/writer is a beam scanning antenna that can perform scanning with the beam of a transmitted radio wave. The beam has a high directivity in a certain scanning direction. The scanning with the beam is performed so that a plane including the certain scanning direction intersects with a floor surface as a reflecting surface on which the strongest reflected wave is generated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for communicating with an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag through a radio wave (hereinafter, referred to as tag communication apparatus), an antenna used for the tag communication apparatus, a tag communication system, a scanning adjusting method for tag communication apparatus and a computer readable medium for scanning adjustment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, technology for RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) in which a tag communication apparatus as a reader and/or writer performs a radio communication with an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag (radio tag) has been progressively employed. Further, the RFID tag is anticipated especially in a field of physical distribution as an alternative of a bar code. Thus, the radio tag is expected to be widely used in near future.
As a communication system between the RFID tag and the tag communication apparatus, there are an electromagnetic induction system and a microwave system. The electromagnetic induction system is used in a frequency band such as a band from 125 k to 135 kHz or a 13.56 MHz band. On the other hand, the microwave system is used in a frequency band such as a 2.45 GHz band, and is considered to be used in what is called an UHF band of approximately from 800 MHz to 960 MHz.
Currently, the electromagnetic induction system has been progressively spread. However, generally, it is easier to extend a communication distance in the microwave system than in the electromagnetic induction system. Further, as the frequency band becomes higher, the size of an antenna of the RFID tag can be more reduced in the microwave system than in the electromagnetic induction system. Therefore, the microwave system is anticipated to be widely used in near future. Accordingly, an RFID tag and a tag communication apparatus of the microwave system have been also progressively developed.
As described above, in the microwave system, the communication distance between the tag communication apparatus and the RFID tag can be easily extended to from about several centimeters to about several meters compared to the electromagnetic induction system. Accordingly, a communication area which is an area where the tag communication apparatus can communicate with the RFID tag can be easily enlarged. However, when the communication area is enlarged, following problems arise.
As an antenna for tag communication which is an antenna of the tag communication apparatus, cases may be considered in which a nondirectional antenna or an antenna having low directivity is used and in which an antenna having high directivity is used. For instance, in JP-A-2002-151944, an RFID system using a Yagi antenna having high directivity is described. However, the communication area of the antenna having high directivity is narrower than that of the antenna having low directivity. Thus, it is difficult to construct a system in which a number of RFID tags can be read and written simultaneously with a small number of antennas.
On the other hand, as a configuration of a system in which a number of RFID tags are read and written simultaneously, configurations of antennas as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 are generally considered. FIG. 13 shows a communication area when the antenna having low directivity is used. FIG. 14 shows a communication area when the antenna having high directivity is used.
When the antenna having low directivity is employed, a wide communication area 101 can be covered with a small number of antennas 100. However, when the wide communication area 101 is covered with the small number of antennas 100, a number of RFID tags 102 exist in the communication area 101 at the same time. Accordingly, a collision of communication arises between the small number of antennas 100 and the number of RFID tags 102 for a number of times, and the quality of the communication is deteriorated.
Further, when the antenna having low directivity is employed, a incommunicable region in which the tag communication apparatus cannot communicate with the RFID tag is generated in the communication area due to what is called a multipath interference, in which direct waves from the tag communication apparatus and reflected waves from a floor surface or a wall surface interfere with each other. In this case, the RFID tag that cannot communicate with the tag communication apparatus may possibly be generated in the communication area, which is undesirable. Further, there is a high possibility that a communicable region in which the tag communication apparatus can communicate with the RFID tag is generated outside the communication area due to the multipath interference. This is not preferable when the communication area is desired to be limited to a desired area.
To overcome the above-described problem, it is considered that a position, a direction and an output of the antenna are adjusted so that the incommunicable region is not generated. However, since this adjustment needs to be carried out while confirming that the communication can be performed in each part inside the communication area, a lot of time and labor are required.
On the other hand, when an antenna 110 having high directivity is used as shown in FIG. 14, a communication area 111 covered with one antenna is narrower than that when the antenna 100 having low directivity is used as shown in FIG. 13. Thus, the generation of the collision of communication can be suppressed, and the deterioration of the quality of the communication can be suppressed. Further, when the antenna 110 having high directivity is used, an intensity of a radio wave propagated to the floor surface or the wall surface is suppressed. Thus, the problem generated by the multipath interference is avoided.
However, in order to cover a wide communication area with the antenna 110 having high directivity, a number of antennas are necessary as shown in FIG. 14. Further, the size of the antenna 110 having high directivity is larger than that of the antenna 100 having low directivity. Accordingly, the size of the antenna of the tag communication apparatus is extremely enlarged.

Antenna, tag communication apparatus, tag communication system, scanning adjusting method for tag communication apparatus and computer readable medium


A recording condition on a media is optimized by introducing a new evaluation index. An apparatus for optical information recording and reproducing includes: a measurement means for recording codes including a specific code in a medium for optical information recording and reproducing, reproducing the codes from the medium for optical information recording and reproducing, and measuring, from a reproduced signal of the codes, a peak value of amplitude of a reproduced signal related to the specific code, the peak value being a maximum value or a minimum value of the amplitude of the reproduced signal related to the specific code; a statistic calculation means for calculating preset statistic by using a plurality of peak values at the same or different recording places, the plurality of peak value having been obtained by the measurement means; and a condition decision means for deciding at least one of a recording laser power condition and a recording pulse condition by using the statistic. The peak value and the statistic thereof serving as a new evaluation index are effective for evaluation of the apparatus for optical information recording and reproducing or setting of a recording condition in the specification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for optimizing a recording condition on a medium for optical information recording and reproducing.
2. Description of the Related Technology
The quality of recording in an optical information recording system is decided by a characteristic of an apparatus for optical information recording and reproducing (hereinafter, referred to as a 'drive'), a medium for optical information recording and reproducing (hereinafter, referred to as a 'media' or a disk), and a recording condition (including recording data rate, recording laser power, recording pulse, and effect due to disturbance). In addition, the quality of recording needs to satisfy a level at which recorded data can be accurately reproduced.
A recording condition optimization technique for obtaining the proper quality of recording has been known. For example, a method is generally known in which a recording pulse condition is fixed to a predetermined initial condition and when a condition of recording laser power has been changed, the recording laser power is optimized on the basis of the change of a reproduced signal. In addition, there is also a method in which a recording pulse condition is optimized by correcting a recording pulse on the basis of a measured value of a bit error rate of a reproduced signal under an optimal condition of recording laser power.
Moreover, a known method of deciding an optimal recording condition from a reproduced signal includes a method of selecting a recording condition such that an evaluation index (for example, Jitter) of a reproduced signal satisfies a minimum, maximum, or predetermined level.
For example, JP-A-2003-151219 discloses a technique of calculating a proper amount of correction when identifying a reproduced signal on the basis of an amplitude value of a reproduced signal sample. Specifically, information recording is performed on a medium for information recording and reproducing or reproduction of recorded information is performed by using a predetermined reproduced signal, a first pattern corresponding to a signal waveform pattern of the reproduced signal, a second pattern corresponding to a signal waveform pattern of a reproduced signal other than the first pattern, and a third pattern corresponding to a signal waveform pattern of a reproduced signal other than the first and second patterns. In this method, a first distance E1 between the reproduced signal and the first pattern, a second distance E2 between the reproduced signal and the second pattern, and a third distance E3 between the reproduced signal and the third pattern are obtained. Then, a first distance difference D2=E2−E1 between the first distance E1 and the second distance E2 and a second distance difference D3=E3−E1 between the first distance E1 and the third distance E3 are obtained. Thereafter, distribution of the first distance difference D2 and distribution of the second distance difference D3 with respect to a plurality of reproduced signal samples are obtained. Then, mean M2 of the first distance difference D2 and standard deviation σ2 of the distribution of the first distance difference D2 and mean M3 of the second distance difference D3 and standard deviation σ3 of the distribution of the second distance difference D3 are obtained. Then, recording compensation parameters are obtained from the relation of (σ2*M3+σ3*M2)/(σ2+σ3). On the basis of the recording compensation parameters obtained as above, recording waveforms with respect to the medium for information recording and reproducing are compensated. In the technique disclosed in JP-A-2003-151219, only the optimization of a recording pulse in the recording condition is performed.
In addition, JP-A-2005-216446 discloses a technique for reducing an effect due to a difference of characteristics between a rewritable optical disk and an optical disk recorder. Specifically, in a method of setting an optical recording condition of an optical disk recorder that performs record by optical modulation and performs reproduction of recorded information on the basis of a recording condition according to the recorded information, test writing is performed on a medium for optical recording and reproducing while changing a recording laser power parameter with respect to a shortest mark, the test writing is reproduced, a recording laser power parameter by which the quality of a reproduced signal has been increased is selected, test writing is performed while changing the recording pulse parameter with respect to the mark, and thus a recording laser power control parameter by which a desired quality (jitter or bit error rate) of a reproduced signal can be obtained is decided.
However, in the known method of optimizing a recording condition, if a characteristic of one or a plurality of components (for example, drive or media) that form an optical recording system is extremely poor, the quality of recording may not satisfy a predetermined level even if the recording is performed with optimal recording laser power and recording pulse condition. Furthermore, long adjustment time, large adjustment region, and the like are needed to optimize a plurality of recording conditions.
In addition, a PRML (partial response and maximum likelihood) method is adopted as a sign identification method of a high density recording system that uses a blue laser. In the PRML method, since sign identification is performed on the basis of amplitude information of an RF signal obtained by reproducing a recording pulse pattern, it is necessary to set a recording condition by the use of an evaluation index different from that in the related art in order to realize high-quality or stable recording.

Apparatus and method for optical information recording and reproducing


A safety mechanism for a hedge trimmer is disclosed. Thumb catches 1032, 1048, together with corresponding locking members are initially biased downwardly relative to corresponding actuator levers 1010, 1014, as a result of which actuation of a motor of the hedge trimmer is prevented. This prevents inadvertent one-handed actuation of the hedge trimmer. In order to actuate the hedge trimmer, the user holds one of the actuator levers 1010, 1014 the corresponding thumb catch 1032 or 1048 upwardly, which causes movement of the other thumb catch towards its release position to allow pivotable movement of the actuator levers 1010, 1014 relative to a handle of the hedge trimmer. Movement of one of the actuator levers 1010, 1014 relative to the handle brings the lever 1018 into engagement with the electrical switch assembly 1008 to actuate the motor of the hedge trimmer. When the actuator levers 1010, 1014 are released, torsion springs urge the actuator levers 1010, 1014 and locking members outwardly relative to the handle housing 1004, as a result of which the locking members are urged into a locking position to prevent further actuation of actuator levers 1010, 1014 until the thumb catches 1032, 1048 have again been slid out of their locking position.

The present invention relates to a safety device for a power tool, and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to an actuator assembly for preventing unintended actuation of a hedge trimmer, and to a power tool incorporating such an assembly.
Hedge trimmers are power tools for general garden use with an axially reciprocating blade comprising a plurality of teeth disposed adjacent a stationary blade, the teeth of the stationary blade providing a reaction force for the teeth of the reciprocating blade.
Most hedge trimmers are provided with two handles for a user to grip. This is generally for two reasons. Firstly, a hedge trimmer is easier to manipulate when held with both hands than when held with one hand. This provides the user with greater control over the hedge trimmer and therefore facilitates more accurate cutting. Secondly, a two handed grip is a safety feature. It is significantly easier to lose control of a hedge trimmer when holding it with one hand, and therefore a two handed grip allows much safer use of the hedge trimmer.
It is known to provide a safety mechanism for a hedge trimmer in which electrical switches for actuating the hedge trimmer motor are connected to both handles, so that the trimmer motor can only be actuated when both handles are held by the user. This prevents one-handed use of the hedge trimmer. However, hedge trimmers which can be actuated using one hand only are sometimes available, and such hedge trimmers suffer from the drawback that accidents may occur as a result of inadvertent one-handed actuation of the hedge trimmer.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome the above disadvantage of the prior art.

Safety mechanism for power tool and power tool incorporating such mechanism


Plural retainers are provided along each side of a tilt latch or pivot housing. The retainers each form an engagement surface that engages an edge of a notch in a window sash. The tilt latch retainers are flared upwardly and beveled rearwardly to facilitate installation longitudinally or vertically. The pivot retainers are flared downwardly and beveled rearwardly to facilitate installation longitudinally or vertically.

This invention relates generally to the field of window hardware and specifically to a tilt latch or pivot housing.
Double hung windows are provided with counterbalances for maintaining a sash in an elevated position. Springs or weights connected to the sash act as the counterbalance. Many window sashes are adapted for tilting inwardly for cleaning. The sash tilts on a pivot assembly at the bottom of the sash. Spring operated tilt latches at the top of the sash retain the sash in the vertical position and are released for pivoting of the sash. Latches, generally tilt latches, are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,975 to Simpson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,475 to Simpson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,835 to Nobes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,903 to Simpson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,311 to Gibson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,159 to Rogers, U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,020 to Andres, U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,286 to Bezubic, U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,579 to Maxwell, U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,353 to Simpson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,026 to Brown, U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,756 to Simpson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,597 to sterner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,048 to Winner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,778 to Simpson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,073 to Randall, U.S. Pat. 4,669,765 to Ullman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,989 to Dallmann, U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,083 to Mischenko, U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,240 to Schultz, U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,685 to Dallaire, U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,737 to Riegelman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,466 to Winner, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,291 to Schultz, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIGS. 10 and 11 show a prior art tilt latch housing. A housing 250 includes a bottom wall 254, side walls 256, a rear wall 258, and a top wall 260 defining a hollow cavity 262 opening at a front end of the housing. The top wall 260 defines a flange 264 at the top of the side and rear walls 256, 258. Retainers 261 project from the side walls 256 and rear wall 258. Each retainer is flared, that is, the retainer slopes outwardly from the wall to a lip 269 that defines a catch for engaging edges of a notch in a header rail of a sash. The space between the lip 269 and flange 264 defines a gap or short groove 263 for receiving an edge of the sash therein. A bottom retainer 270 projects downwardly from the bottom wall 254 near the front end of the housing 250.

Housing assembly with beveled retainers for installation in a window frame


An HCCI engine has the ability to operate over a large load range by utilizing a lower cetane distillate diesel fuel to increase ignition delay. This permits more stable operation at high loads by avoidance of premature combustion before top dead center. During low load conditions, a portion of the engines cylinders are deactivated so that the remaining cylinders can operate at a pseudo higher load while the overall engine exhibits behavior typical of a relatively low load.

Engineers and other scientists are constantly seeking new strategies to reduce undesirable emissions from internal combustion engines. Among these undesirable emissions are particulate matter, NOx and unburned hydrocarbons. One strategy that has proven promising for drastically reducing these undesirable emissions, especially NOx, is known as homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI). This strategy typically involves mixing distillate diesel fuel with air in an engine cylinder before autoignition conditions arise, with the aim of causing the mixture to combust at about top dead center. Due in part to combustion occurring at relatively lower temperatures without a flame front or locally rich concentrations of fuel, this strategy can produce extremely low emissions. However, an HCCI strategy creates new problems that must be overcome if the engine is to have the ability to compete performance wise with typical diesel engines.
One problem that has been particularly difficult in overcoming relates to the ability to operate an HCCI engine at relatively high loads. Due in part to the relatively high reactivity of commercially available distillate diesel fuel having a cetane number on the order 45 to 55 and its associated relatively short ignition delay, and the inherent limits associated with controlling ignition timing, premature ignition at high loads before top dead center can sometimes occur. When this happens, extremely high pressure rise rates can occur in the engine cylinder. These extreme pressure rise rates can often exceed the structural integrity limits of the engine, possibly to the extent of destroying head gaskets and even breaking the head free of the engine block in extreme circumstances.
Thus, limitations for achieving HCCI at high loads can be attributed in part to premature ignition of the charge prior to top dead center, such that combustion is accompanied by compression. As stated earlier, this leads to substantial pressure rise rates and sub-optimal combustion phasing from a thermo dynamic standpoint. Various strategies, such as cooled exhaust gas recirculation, reduced compression ratio, and injection timing can be effective in suppressing ignition, and hence, prevent excessive rise rates at higher loads. However, these strategies each compromise thermal efficiency. Furthermore, low compression ratios can make cold start of an engine a serious challenge. The use of heavy amounts of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) also poses a significant challenge to current air system technologies.
The present disclosure is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.

Extending operating range of a homogeneous charge compression ignition engine via cylinder deactivation


A motor vehicle transmission having at least two transmission groups and a method for operation of the transmission in which a mechanism is provided for maintaining traction force during gearshifts. A first friction clutch is an intermediate-gear clutch connected to a driveshaft of the motor and to a main transmission shaft which is connected with a transmission output shaft, the second friction clutch is a change-under-load clutch connected to the driveshaft and to a loose wheel of a second gear constant of a splitter group, and the third friction clutch is a change-under-load clutch connected with the driveshaft and with a loose wheel of a first gear constant of the splitter group. A direct connection can be formed in the transmission between the driveshaft and the main transmission shaft by way of the intermediate-gear clutch and the gear constants of the splitter group can be shifted, under load, by the change-under-load clutches.

Multi-group transmissions consist of two or more transmission groups, usually arranged in series, by combining the groups a large number of gears can be produced. Increasingly, they are designed as automated gearshift transmissions consisting, for example of an input group, a main group and a downstream range group. Such transmissions are used particularly in utility vehicles since they provide an especially fine gradation of gears, for example 12 or 16 gears, and are highly efficient. For a smaller number of gears, configurations with only a main group and an input group or a main group and a range group are also possible. Furthermore, compared with manual gearshift transmissions they are characterized by a high degree of operating comfort and, compared with automatic transmissions, their production and operating costs are particularly economical.
By virtue of their structure conventional multi-group gearshift transmissions, like all manual or automated gearshift transmissions not shifted under load, undergo a traction force interruption during gearshifts since the force flow from the drive motor is always interrupted by disengaging a clutch to disengage the engaged gear without load, to synchronize the transmission and the drive motor in a neutral position to a connection speed, and then to engage the target gear. Since the vehicle is rolling during the traction force interruption, undesired speed increases or decreases can occur. In addition fuel consumption can increase. Whereas with passenger motor vehicles the traction force interruption, which affects the driving dynamics, is as a rule perceived only as annoying, for example during upshifts in a driving style of sporty orientation, in the case of heavy utility vehicles the driving speed can be reduced to the point where an upshift is made impossible and, on uphill stretches, undesired downshifts, creep-driving or even additional starting operations may be necessary.
From DE 10 2006 024 370 A1 by the present applicant a traction-force-supported automated multi-group transmission with a splitter group as its input or upstream transmission, a main group as its main transmission and a range group as its output or downstream transmission is known. The structure of this known multi-group transmission with its input transmission and the main transmission enables a direct gear to be engaged as an intermediate gear during a gear change. For this, a direct connection is temporarily formed between an input shaft of the input transmission and a main shaft of the main transmission by means of a change-under-load clutch. This renders the main transmission and the splitter group free from load, so that the engaged gear can be disengaged, the transmission synchronized and the target gear engaged. During this the change-under-load clutch transmits the motor torque to the transmission output, and a dynamic torque that is released during a speed reduction between the original and target gears is used to compensate the traction force interruption to a large extent. The change-under-load clutch can be positioned between the input transmission and the main transmission or between an ordinary starting clutch and the input clutch. The gear ratio of the intermediate gear is determined by the direct connection of the input shaft to the main shaft. Although the starting clutch can remain engaged during the gearshift operation, it is present as a separate starting element.
Furthermore, from EP 0 933 558 A1 a variable-speed transmission of a motor vehicle having a countershaft structure is known, in which one of the gears, preferably a 2nd gear, is arranged on an auxiliary shaft. To reduce the jerk caused by the traction force interruption during a gearshift operation, in addition to a conventional starting or separator clutch, a friction clutch is arranged on the transmission input, which acts upon this gear via the auxiliary shaft. The two clutches can for example be made as a double clutch, such that a transmission input shaft connected to the starting clutch is surrounded coaxially by a hollow shaft connected to the friction clutch. When actuated the friction clutch, via a drive input gearset, transmits motor torque to the auxiliary shaft, on which a gearwheel of the gear is mounted, which is engaged with a gearwheel on a transmission output shaft.
During a gearshift from an engaged gear to the auxiliary shaft gear, i.e. for example from the 1st to the 2nd gear, the friction clutch is engaged, i.e. the auxiliary gear is engaged. As a result of the speeds produced, the torque flow via the separator clutch is reduced so that the torque path of the gear engaged becomes load-free and the 1st gear can be disengaged. If now the transmission is in the auxiliary-shaft gear, then in the next gearshift, i.e. for example from the 2nd to the 3rd gear, the target gear is engaged while the separator clutch is disengaged and the separator clutch is then engaged, so that now the torque path of the auxiliary-shaft gear becomes load-free and the friction clutch can be disengaged again. All gearshifts in which the auxiliary-shaft gear is the original or the target gear can therefore be carried out under load and thus without traction force interruption. Furthermore, in gearshifts between gears that are directly adjacent to the auxiliary-shaft gear, the shift jerk can be reduced by operating the friction clutch in a slipping mode. For other gearshifts a traction force interruption still takes place in the conventional manner.
The transmission described in EP 0 933 558 A1 serves the purpose of improving the shifting comfort, in the lower gears which are particularly prone to jerky shifting, with the least possible cost and effort. In that respect it can fulfil its set objective completely. However, the traction force support is limited to certain gearshifts. But in the case of a multi-group transmission with a fine gradation and a large number of gears, traction force interruptions in all the traction upshifts and traction downshifts, i.e. in the higher gears as well, can have a disturbing effect. Besides, an additional auxiliary shaft and its drive input gearset demand a corresponding amount of structural space, which in group transmissions usually comprising two countershafts, is not always available or can only be made so with difficulty.

Multi-group transmission of a motor vehicle


A positioning method positions a flexure whose front end side is joined to an outside frame with respect to a load beam, keeps the positioned state of the flexure and load beam, plastically deforms the outside frame to bend the front end side of the flexure so that the position of a tongue of the flexure is adjusted to the position of a dimple of the load beam, and joins the flexure and load beam to each other to keep the position adjusted state of the tongue.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of positioning a head attaching part of a flexure of a head suspension relative to a supporting part of a load beam of the head suspension, a method of manufacturing a half-finished head suspension, and a half-finished head suspension.
2. Description of Related Art
A head suspension supports a read/write head to write and read data to and from a hard disk in a hard disk drive. The head suspension includes a load beam and a flexure. The load beam applies load onto the read/write head at a front end thereof. The flexure is laid on and joined to the load beam, to support the flexure.
The flexure has a conductor pattern that is connected to the head. At a front end, the flexure has a tongue serving as a head attaching part on which pads (electrodes) of the conductor pattern are arranged. The tongue has a front face to which the head is attached and a back face that is in contact with and is supported with a dimple as a supporting part formed on the load beam.
In a hard disk drive, the head of the head suspension slightly floats from a hard disk when the hard disk is rotated at high speed, to write and read data to and from the hard disk. At this time, the head swings around the dimple, to stabilize the attitude of itself.
To surely stabilize the attitude, the head must precisely be positioned relative to the dimple. The requirement for the head positioning preciseness is becoming severer as requirements for higher speed, higher capacity hard disk drives are increasing.
To meet the requirements, JP2010-40116A discloses a technique of correctly positioning the tongue, i.e., the head attaching part of a flexure relative to the dimple of a load beam.
This related art forms a reference hole in each of the flexure and load beam and inserts a positioning pin into the reference holes. The reference hole on the flexure is defined with a conductor layer portion of the flexure. The conductor layer portion is formed together with a conductor pattern in the same layer.
The related art positions the flexure and load beam relative to each other with the use of the reference holes and positioning pin, thereby positioning the conductor pattern and dimple with respect to each other. With this, the related art correctly positions the tongue relative to the dimple in accordance with a head attaching position decided on the head attaching part based on positions of pads of the conductor pattern.
The related art, however, has a problem that the reference hole of the flexure defined with the conductor layer easily deforms because the conductor layer is made of soft material such as copper. If the reference hole deforms, it is impossible to precisely position the tongue with respect to the dimple.
In addition, the related art must prepare a clearance between the reference holes and the positioning pin and such a clearance deteriorates the positioning accuracy of the tongue with respect to the dimple.

Method of positioning head attaching part of head suspension and method of manufacturing half-finished head suspension


A press fabric includes a substantially flat inner sleeve having first and second ends; and an outer sleeve around the inner sleeve and comprising at least one machine direction yarn wound around the inner sleeve and defining first and second seam loops at the first and second ends of the inner sleeve. A method for making the fabric is also disclosed.

The invention relates to fabric for paper making machines and, more particularly, to a seam press fabric.
Paper is conventionally manufactured by conveying a paper furnish, usually consisting of an initial slurry of cellulosic fibers, on a forming fabric or between two forming fabrics in a forming section, the nascent sheet then being passed through a pressing section and ultimately through a drying section of a papermaking machine. In the case of standard tissue paper machines, the paper web is transferred from the press fabric to a Yankee dryer cylinder then creped.
Paper machine fabric or clothing is essentially employed to carry the paper web through these various stages of the papermaking machine. In the forming section, the fibrous furnish is wet-laid onto a moving forming wire and water is encouraged to drain from it by means of suction boxes and foils. The paper web is then transferred to a press fabric that conveys it through the pressing section, where it usually passes through a series of pressure nips formed by rotating cylindrical press rolls. Water is squeezed from the paper web and into the press fabric as the web and fabric pass through the nip together. Press fabrics generally comprise a batt of fibers needled to a base fabric. In the final stage, the paper web is transferred either to a Yankee dryer, in the case of tissue paper manufacture, or to a set of dryer cylinders upon which, aided by the clamping action of the dryer fabric, the majority of the remaining water is evaporated.
The base fabrics of press felts are woven endless, whether they are seamed or not, such that the yarns of the weft in the loom lie in the machine direction of the fabric on the paper machine. The weft yarns weave back and forth continuously between the laterally extending edges of the fabric and form a seam loop at the reversals on one side. The two ends formed are then joined together on the machine by means of a pintle wire.
Press felts consist of multiple layers which are secured together by needling. This works by mechanically locking the constituent batt fibers into various layers and in so doing holds them together. In addition, the batt fiber gives a homogenous paper support surface.
Thus, in the paper making industry, paper making felts or fabrics are used to carry the cellulosic material as it is formed into paper, and one such fabric is an endless woven base with a pin seam for securing the ends of the fabric together once the fabric is in place on the machine.
Numerous disclosures have been made in connection with manufacture of pin seam fabrics, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,283,165, 6,000,441, 3,283,388 and 4,495,680 as non-exhaustive examples. These teachings and others tend to be costly and slow, and the need remains in the industry for reduced cost and faster delivery time.
It is the primary object of the invention to provide a press fabric which meets these needs.
Other objects and advantages will appear below.


Articles, including fiberboard, are made from a pumpable, flowable slurry including alpha-calcined calcium sulfate hemihydrate anchored in pores of host particles, alpha-calcined calcium sulfate hemihydrate, a silicone compound, magnesium oxide, and water. The magnesium oxide catalyzes the reaction of the silicone compound into a silicone resin. In a preferred method of making a water resistant fiberboard calcium sulfate dihydrate is combined with the host particles and water to form a slurry which is heated under pressure to calcine the calcium sulfate dihydrate to form alpha-calcined calcium sulfate hemihydrate. After relieving the pressure, a silicone compound and magnesium oxide are added to the slurry. The slurry is dewatered to form a filter cake, which is then formed into a desired shape and allowed to set.

Gypsum products are commonly used in industrial and building products, particularly gypsum panels or wallboard, due to their ready availability and low cost. By dehydrating and rehydrating gypsum, also known as calcium sulfate dihydrate or landplaster, it can be formed into articles of many useful shapes. Gypsum products are fire retardant, at least in part due to the association of two water molecules with each calcium sulfate molecule. Without reinforcing materials, formed, dry gypsum is relatively brittle, and cannot support heavy loads or sustain impacts of significant force.
The addition of host materials, such as wood or paper fibers, is known to improve the tensile and flexural strength of wallboard. However, the reduction in calcium sulfate dihydrate and the addition of flammable material reduces the fire retardency of the finished product and is more costly.
Attempts to make particle reinforced gypsum products without paper facings, such as fiberboard, have not yielded the improvements in strength that were expected. While not wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the lack of bonding between the gypsum particles and the reinforcing particles allows separation at the interface, and the inability of the composite to form a sturdy board.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,677 to Baig, it was disclosed that a strong composite product could be made by mixing calcium sulfate dihydrate with wood particles prior to calcination of the gypsum. After a dilute slurry is formed of gypsum and particles, it is heated under pressure to at least 140° C. to convert the calcium sulfate dihydrate into the alpha form of calcium sulfate hemihydrate, also known as stucco or plaster of Paris. The alpha form used in this process is characterized by the formation of elongated, acicular crystals. As the crystals form, some of them will form within pores, cavities and other imperfections in the particle surface. When the slurry cools, the stucco rehydrates, forming an interlocking matrix of gypsum crystals and reinforcing particles.
There has also been a considerable amount of work on improving the water resistance of gypsum products. Hydrocarbons, including wax and asphalt are suggested to reduce water uptake in U.S. Pat. No. 2,198,776. Inorganic materials including metallic soaps and silicones have been used as coatings on the surface of the finished gypsum product. Water-resistance of products using wax, for example, is not very reproducible. Results from the current wax system used at the manufacturing facility is variable, so the wax is overused (at a higher overall cost) to safely keep the immersion values within an acceptable level.
The prior art teaches that siloxanes are useful when added to the slurry in the form of an emulsion. A siloxane emulsion was added to fiberboard products in U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,262 to Englert. The stable emulsion was added to the aqueous slurry of gypsum after calcinations then rehydrated. A filter cake was formed by dewatering the slurry, pressing the filter cake over porous surfaces. The cake was then allowed to set, then dried in a conventional kiln. However, this board lacked the strength that was expected.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fiberboard panel having improved water resistance combined with higher strength.

Fiberboard with improved water resistance