A powered riding trowel comprises a pair of releasable, protective, quick access hoods that may be unlatched to quickly expose the power means for service without structural disassembly. In a preferred embodiment, the twin hoods are hinged to the frame. The trowel seat is mounted on an upper planar surface of a releasable shroud disposed between the hoods. The shroud front and rear are preferably removably latched to the frame. Major portions of the shroud and the hoods are formed from rigid, supportive material having airflow pathways for cooling and ventilating the normally protected trowel interior. In an alternative embodiment both hoods are releasably coupled to the frame by spring biased latches.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to motorized concrete finishing trowels. More particularly, the present invention relates to motor powered riding trowels of the type classified in United States Patent Class 404, Subclass 112.
II. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been recognized by those skilled in the art that freshly placed concrete must be appropriately finished. Motorized riding trowels can fine finish plastic concrete on very large floor jobs soon after pouring. Motorized riding trowels have proven themselves in the industry. Their effectiveness for quickly and efficiently finishing large surfaces of wet concrete with either revolving blades or pans is undeniable, and such trowels are rapidly becoming the industry standard.
A typical power riding trowel comprises two or more bladed rotors that project downwardly and frictionally contact the concrete surface for finishing. These rotors are driven by one or more self contained motors mounted on the frame. The motors are linked to rotor gearboxes to revolve the rotors. The riding trowel operator sits on top of the frame and controls trowel movement with a steering system that tilts the axis of rotation of the rotors. The weight of the trowel and the operator is transmitted frictionally to the concrete by the revolving blades. The unbalanced frictional forces caused by rotor tilting enable the trowel to be steered.
As freshly poured concrete "sets," it soon becomes hard enough to support the weight of the specialized finishing trowel. While concrete is still "green" (i.e., within one to several hours after pouring depending upon the concrete mixture involved), power trowel pan finishing is required. Soon after panning, trowelling with power blades may begin as the slab adequately hardens. Numerous concrete finishing machines are known in the art for these purposes. Proper and timely finishing insures that desired surface characteristics including smoothness and flatness are achieved.
Power riding trowels should be passed over the surface being treated several times as the concrete sets. It is recommended that finishing pans be used first, when the concrete is relatively green, to achieve "super-flat" and "super-smooth" floors. The advent of more stringent concrete surface finish specifications using "F" numbers to specify flatness (ff) and levelness (fl), dictates the use of pans on a widespread basis. Pan finishing is normally followed by high speed blade finishing, after the pans are removed from the rotor blades. The trowel blades are adjusted to a relatively high pitch angle, and they directly frictionally contact the concrete surface. Rotors operate at high speed, in excess of one hundred-fifty RPM or more, resulting in a smooth, slick surface. High power riding trowels that quickly and efficiently finish large surfaces of wet concrete with either revolving blades or pans are rapidly becoming the industry standard.
Holz, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,484 shows a twin rotor riding trowel. U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,212, also issued to Holz, shows a three rotor riding trowel powered by a single motor. Although the designs depicted in the latter two Holz patents were pioneers in the riding trowel arts, the devices were difficult to steer and control.
Prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,220 owned by Allen Engineering Corporation, the same assignee as in this case, relates to an improved, fast steering system for riding trowels. Its steering system enhances riding trowel maneuverability and control. The latter fast steering riding trowel is also the subject of U.S. Des. Pat. No. 323,510 owned by Allen Engineering Corporation.
Allen Engineering Corporation Pat. No. 5,613,801 issued Mar. 25, 1997 discloses a power riding trowel equipped with twin motors. The latter design employs a separate motor to power each rotor. Steering is accomplished with structure similar to that depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,220 previously discussed.
Allen U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,257 depicts a twin engine powered riding trowel whose guard structure is equipped with an obstruction clearance system. When troweling areas characterized by projecting hazards such as pipes or ducts, or when it is necessary to trowel hard-to-reach areas adjacent walls or the like, the guard clearance structure may be retracted to apply the blades closer to the target region.
Allen U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,667 depicts a twin engine riding trowel using "contra rotation." For enhanced stability and steering, the rotors rotate in a direction opposite from that normally expected in the art.
Although large, high power trowels are respected for their speed, horsepower, and efficiency, there are other considerations that deserve attention. For example, modem high power trowels require periodic maintenance and inspection. Easy access to critical parts is desirable. Downtime can be minimized by proper design that eases mechanical service requirements. Those parts that are most likely to require service from time to time should be easily accessed. At the same time, ease of access should not denigrate safety consideration. Very hot parts, for example, should be shrouded properly to prevent bums. (And adequate airflow must be established for proper cooling.) Besides service efficiency, operator comfort must be a paramount design goal.
With extremely large pours, troweling (i.e., panning) may begin soon after placement, continuing to late in the evening. Very large jobs may require two or more riding trowels, as critical finishing should ideally be completed before the concrete reaches a predetermined hardness. Thus the work hours may be long, and operator comfort must be insured. While operating a typical riding trowel the operator is obviously exposed to vibration, noises, and heat. The operator needs a comfortable, adjustable seat. Ideally, the seat is readily accessible to the controls. Further, the seat, and the platform mounting the seat, should be designed to dissipate the considerable heat generated by the high power trowel engines. In multiple engine designs airflow and cooling considerations are even more important. An ideal arrangement is obtained by combining the operator seat supporting structure with a ventilation pathway capable of readily dissipating engine exhaust heat. While the support structure preserves operator comfort and promotes safety, it may be relatively quickly released and deflected out-of-the way to expose critical trowel parts for service.

Compartmentalized access shroud system for riding trowels


The system is for loading or unloading parts onto or from trays. The same system may be used for either function. A stack of trays loaded on a cart is wheeled into a first cart docking bay. A second cart is positioned in a second cart docking bay beside the first bay, to receive processed trays. A first tray elevator lifts the first cart and trays, or just the trays, to align the uppermost tray with a tray singulator and clamping mechanism. The tray is singulated, i.e. first supported at a lip by retractable opposing support rails and then separated from the stack by operation of the elevator to lower the tray stack, and is then clamped in a precise position. It is subsequently unclamped and shuttled laterally into alignment above the second cart, onto identical retractable support rails, where it is similarly clamped in a precise position. The next tray is then raised by the first elevator and singulated and clamped in position, so that there are then two precisely positioned trays, one above each cart and tray stack. A robot loads or unloads parts onto or from trays at either location, transferring the parts from or to a target location, such as a pallet on a conveyor passing through the system, for example. This loading or unloading takes place primarily at the shuttled tray. When the shuttled tray is completely filled or emptied as the case may be, it is unclamped, the second elevator is lifted to provide support for the tray, the singulator mechanism is opened to release the tray, and the tray stack is lowered, thus clearing the way for the next tray to be shuttled across. While the filled or emptied tray is being lowered, the robot can transfer parts to or from the tray above the first stack, thereby minimizing delays in the cycle.

This invention relates to automated handling of parts in an automated production system, either for loading the parts onto trays, or unloading the parts from the trays.
As one example, parts may be supplied on trays, and there may be a need to transfer those parts automatically from the trays to another location, such as to pallets which are conveyed past the unloading station. In the reverse situation, parts may arrive at a work station, from a manufacturing operation for example, and may then have to be automatically loaded onto trays for transportation to another location, whether elsewhere in the same factory, or at some remote location. There may be one part on the tray, or many parts, each at a specific location on the tray, which may be predefined or which could be detected by a vision system which is not itself part of the invention.

System for loading or unloading of parts onto or from trays


A monitoring apparatus is provided which can ensure the prevention of a paper break even in a poor installation environment. A light source (9) illuminates light (9a) on a lateral edge (1a) of wet paper (1) and a camera (5) captures light (9b) reflected therefrom. The camera (5) is a micro camera and completely covered by a camera box (10). The camera box (10) has an observation window (10a) which is made of a transparent member, at the lens side (5a) of the camera (5). The outer surface of the observation window (10a) is coated and an air curtain (12a) that flows from above to below prevents staining caused by mist. The air curtain (12a) is formed in such a manner that air that is continuously supplied inside a cover (11) flows along the outer surface of the observation window (10a) from an opening portion (11a). A color image obtained by the camera (5) is subjected to image processing in an image processing device (6) and the resulting image is projected on a monitor TV (7), so that variations of the release point (3) can be monitored. This allows for forecasting of a machine abnormality leading to a paper break.

For a conventional paper making machine, during operation, an operator periodically patrols and monitors it to check the operational state, so as to ensure stable operation of the machine. In order to detect the occurrence of a paper tear, for example, a paper-tear detecting sensor which is constituted by an infrared emitter arranged at the obverse side of running paper and a detector arranged at the reverse side of the running paper is installed in the machine. When the paper tears, the detector detects infrared light, so that the paper tear can be recognized.
With such a paper-tear detecting sensor, while a paper tear can be detected, its cause cannot be determined. For this reason, in recent years, a camera and a light source have been installed around the machine to monitor its state, and also, the monitored state is recorded in a video recorder or a digital memory, so that how the paper breaks can be replayed. In this manner, the operator can determine the cause. This approach, however, merely replays a recorded scene of the situation in which the paper tore, and thus cannot prevent a paper break or tear from occurring. Recently, paper machines have become increasingly faster, and thus it is important to minimize the occurrence of problems, such as paper breaks, in order to improve the production efficiency.
An approach for overcoming the above-described problems is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-154489. In this approach, a light source is arranged at one side of the paper surface of paper running on rolls in a paper machine and a plurality of cameras are arranged at the other side, and images of the light transmitted through the running paper from the light source are captured by the plurality of cameras. The amount of variation in release points of the running paper from a roll is quantitatively determined so that the paper machine is monitored for an abnormality.
With the above-described approach, however, release points across the entire width of the running paper are monitored by a plurality of cameras, and thus, when the image-capturing environment is poor due to, for example, the generation of a large amount of mist in the vicinity of a monitoring portion, it is difficult to determine the amount of variations in the positions of release points across the entire width. Further, since the monitoring equipment is installed at both paper surfaces of the running paper, when space for the monitoring portion is limited, it is difficult to install the monitoring equipment in practice. Although this approach is superior in that monitoring is performed using transmitted light that can provide a clearer image, it is inconvenient in practice.


No more than one user at any one time is allowed to access a distributed service for each User ID and password. A user is allowed initial access to the distributed service with a password. The use of the distributed service is then restricted to the user upon entering the password plus a random factor created by the user. A user record is created as a unique recorded registration.

Over the Internet, a service provider may provide a World-Wide Web site that is physically partitioned among a plurality of servers. Many servers charge users a subscription fee to access these sites, and users then provide a user name and password. However, when the information sources are spread over different machines, there is no easy way to detect that two different users are accessing the service simultaneously with the same username and password. Authentication services need to be provided that operate efficiently in a distributed environment and not only admit valid users but also reject simultaneous duplicate users.
Prior art that exists today are the proprietary services that are provided by private and publicly available companies on the Internet such as TEN (Total Entertainment Network) and Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard Entertainment provides an Internet lobby server called battle.net which is a free service to all users that have a CD of the Diablo game. It, therefore, authenticates users by detecting the presence of a file on the local machine. Diablo users can use this service to create a multi-user game over the Internet or locate and join an existing game. The service is free since users have already purchased the game as compensation. However, this process is easily compromised since the CD can be copied and multiple users can access the service without paying for the game. The overall goal is to provide a central Lobby in which users can open a game for others to see and join.
The Kerberos system, used by systems such as the Andrew File System (AFS) and MIT Project Athena, provides authentication services to access a set of distributed servers. The user presents credentials to a central server which provides access to any number of other servers. Again, no method is offered to detect duplicate users simultaneously accessing the system.
This disclosure provides a method to authenticate users and limit compromised passwords to provide a commercially viable service.

Method and system for authentication over a distributed service to limit password compromise


An uncured thermosetting composition which is capable of curing upon exposure to actinic radiation is disclosed. The composition includes an acetal diepoxide of the formula: ##STR1## wherein R and R' are individually an aliphatic epoxy, or a cycloaliphatic epoxy; R.sub.1 and R.sub.4 are individually an alkyl, substituted alkyl, aryl, aryl alkyl; and R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 are individually hydrogen, alkyl, alkoxy, substituted alkyl aryl, alkyl aryl, and cyclic alkyl; as well as a photoinitiator, and an inorganic filler. The composition of the invention may also include a second epoxy functional resin, a flexibilizer, and other adjuvants. Other aspects of the invention include the cured resin encapsulant and a method of recovering the resin from a circuit assembly.

Thermoset compositions such as epoxy resins are important in the manufacture and processing of circuit assemblies. The diverse number of applications include coatings, adhesives, structural materials, electrical insulation, as well as encapsulation and sealing. The attributes of epoxies include the combination of processability prior to curing with outstanding properties after curing. Epoxies generally have a low viscosity prior to curing, even in the absence of solvents. After curing, epoxies exhibit toughness, adhesion, and solvent resistance.
The attribute of epoxies also include intractability after curing. This intractability is the result of a curing reaction to convert a low molecular weight precursor to a polymer network of essentially infinite molecular weight. These attributes make epoxies ideal for use in the construction of circuit assemblies such as single-sided and double-sided circuits, as well as other types of surface mount technology including chip carriers, multichip modules and multilayer boards.
Examples of various polymer systems which are radiation curable include Day, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,439,779 and 5,439,766, Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,828, Tortorello, U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,595, Knudsen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,846, Koleske, U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,143, and Eckberg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,158, which all describe UV curable compositions that incorporate onium salts, epoxy monomers, epoxy novolaks, silicone epoxides, and polybutadiene epoxides, in addition to resin modifiers such as hydroxy compounds, and inorganic fillers. Miller et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,032 discloses radiation curable urethanyl prepolymers which polymerize in the presence of a cationic curing agent. Babich et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,251 discloses an epoxide photoresist which is curable in ambient conditions when combined with an organo-silicon and an onium salt.
Fisher, U.S. Pat. No. 2,895,962 discloses acetal epoxides synthesized from the reaction of polyhydric alcohols and ethylenically unsaturated aldehydes.
However, these compositions, once cured, form non-reworkable and intractable masses. The intractability of thermosets has become more of a liability because of concerns about the longitivity of circuit assemblies in the environments of use. Also, many manufacturers are taking responsibility for disposal or recycling of their products. Manufacturers may even be required to be responsible for disposal or recycling of products through government regulation.
Intractable thermosets are also not compatible with the concept of disassembly for purposes of disposal, repair, or recycling, whether the thermosets are used as structural components, adhesives, or encapsulants. If, however, the thermoset itself is designed for disassembly on the molecular scale, it is possible that the many advantages of the thermosets can be retained without the disadvantages of intractability. As demand increases for recyclable products, diepoxide materials which allow for reworkability may well offer a means of maintaining the utility of thermoset materials which offer repair, replacement, recovery, or recycling.
As a result, there is a need for photosensitive encapsulants which provide the requisite curing properties and physical stability once cured which are at the same time reworkable so as to allow for the recovery of various thermosetting systems.

International Business Machines Corporation


A source driver includes: a gamma voltage generator configured to receive a plurality of gamma reference voltages, a first common pre-emphasis voltage, and a second common pre-emphasis voltage, and to generate a plurality of gamma voltages based on the gamma reference voltages, a plurality of first pre-emphasis pulses respectively corresponding to pixels that emit light of different colors based on the first common pre-emphasis voltage, and a plurality of second pre-emphasis pulses respectively corresponding to the pixels that emit the light of different colors based on the second common pre-emphasis voltage; and a voltage supply unit configured to output one of the first pre-emphasis pulses and the second pre-emphasis pulses to each of a plurality of data lines, and to output data voltages to the plurality of data lines based on the gamma voltages.

1. Field
Aspects of example embodiments relate to display devices. More particularly, example embodiments relate to a source driver connected to a gamma reference voltage generator and a display device having the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Generally, a method of supplying a pre-emphasis voltage (or a pre-emphasis pulse) is used to reduce driving delay time. Also, a gamma reference voltage generator (e.g., a gamma IC) is integrated on (or mounted on) a display device separate from a source driver to simplify a source driver system. Then, the pre-emphasis voltage is generated in the gamma reference voltage generator, and is inputted to the source driver.
In a display device having RGB pixels, the gamma reference voltage generator includes at least 6 channels (or lines) to provide a pre-emphasis voltage to the source driver. As the number of channels of the gamma reference voltage generator increases caused by supplying the pre-emphasis voltage, connecting cables and production cost may increase and the display device may become complicated.

Source driver and display device having the same


A connector module collects or aggregates a group of cables having cable connectors, such as RJ45 connectors, into a single unit. With such aggregation, the connector module allows attachment or detachment of multiple cable connectors with multiple connector ports of a network interface circuit board at substantially the same time (e.g., during a single installation or removal procedure). The connector module, therefore, minimizes the amount time needed to install or remove individual cable relative to the network interface circuit board. Also, the connector module maintains the positioning of the connectors relative to the connector ports. Therefore, an operator can remove the connector module from the ports without having to track the positioning of individual cables and individual cable connectors relative to particular ports of the network interface circuit board.

Conventional computer interface devices, such as network interface circuit boards, provide a physical connection between a cable and an internal bus of a computerized device. Connection of the cable to the computer interface device allows data transference (e.g., data reception and data transmission) with external computerized devices. The cable includes a connector that inserts or "plugs into" a port of the computer interface device. The physical configuration of the port depends, in part, on the intended use of the port.
Certain computer interface device ports are configured as serial communication ports, such as for transmission of printer signals to a printer. The serial communication ports connect to cables having D-Subminiature (e.g., D-Sub) connectors. The D-Sub connectors include a series of pins in a single housing that insert within associated pin receptacles of the serial communication port. Connection of a cable having D-sub connectors between the serial communication port of a printer interface circuit board and a printer enables the printer to receive the printer signal from the printer interface circuit board.
Other computer interface device ports are configured as telecommunication type ports (e.g., such as for Internet connections) that connect to cables having latched cable connectors. For example, line cards that transmit and receive data via standard Cat5 cables having latched RJ45 connectors include groups of ports that physically and electrically connect to the RJ45 connectors. The conventional line cards include collections or groups of such ports or receptacles where each port connects to a single RJ45 connectors of a single cable. To allow communication between a computerized device having the line card and multiple external computer devices, each port of the line card requires connection to a separate cable and cable connector.

Method and apparatus for aggregating cable connectors


The present invention provides methods and systems for automatic detection of the location of cell colonies on a specimen slide, in particular under the coverslip of a specimen slide. Slide scanning can be performed using an automated microscope with motorized axes. The location of the colonies can be determined by image analysis, which is followed by automatically finding metaphase cells and associating them with each colony. The invention also provides an automated, Hough-transform-based method for identifying the location of the slide coverslip and, if desired, analyzing only the image area contained within the coverslip.

The present invention relates generally to automated microscopy, and more specifically to improvements in the automatic detection of cell colonies' location on a glass sample slide. Additionally, the glass sample slide may be covered with a coverslip that protects cell colonies from contamination and damage. The coverslip area is that area of a specimen slide where most of focus mapping, image capture and image analysis needs to take place, because cell colonies reside underneath the coverslip. Thus the edges of the coverslip, which denote the area of interest for automated microscopy, need to be reliably detected.
At the present, operators typically scan and analyze the entire slide even though colonies of interest may reside only on several isolated spots within the slide. Operators are required to manually identify colonies (by drawing around them) resulting in slow system throughput. Furthermore, focus mapping can be slow or inaccurate due to sparse cell populations on colony slides.
Some existing methods attempt automated cell analysis of biological specimens by detecting candidate objects. Each slide is first scanned at a low microscope magnification. Candidate objects are identified based on their color, size, and shape; and their location is recorded. The candidate objects are then scanned with higher magnification lens. Thresholding and focusing steps are performed, followed by the morphological processing to identify candidate objects of interest by comparing optical features of the candidate object of interest to a target blob. However, those methods do not use morphological methods that enhance the image of the colonies of interest, neither do they associate the metaphases with the colonies. They also do not disclose a coverslip detection.
Some other existing methods create a composite image from smaller images. Subsequent image analysis is performed only over the areas of interest within the composite image. Those methods also eliminate the edges that were created by the overlaps or similar imperfections between the subimages caused by mechanical alignment errors. Substantially, those methods could be viewed as bandwidth saving methods. They do not disclose background subtraction, morphological methods for colony detection, thresholding, association of metaphases with the colonies, or the coverslip detection.
An accurate identification of the edges of a coverslip on a sample slide continues to be a challenge. Presently, detection methods typically scan and analyze the entire slide, i.e. the areas under and outside of the coverslip, which can be inefficient and time-consuming. Or to reduce scan and analysis time the operators need to accurately place the coverslip in the same position on each slide so that a fixed scan area is applicable to all slides.
Some methods for detecting a microscope slide coverslip are known. For example, these methods can detect the coverslip by locating all four coverslip edges when those edges satisfy a set of predetermined criteria. However, those methods are rule-based and time consuming, and are not applicable to detecting a coverslip of unknown size and location.
Yet some other methods use non-linear Hough transforms to detect some features of the cell or objects within the cell (e.g., detecting nucleus centre, plasma membrane, etc.). Those methods also use an adjustment of the pixel intensity level to improve feature accuracy, presumably on the suspect edges of the objects of interest. However, those methods detect a presence of the objects within the cell, but not their precise outline, nor do they detect the edges of the coverslip.
Some other methods detect objects that are similarly shaped using a pre-existing shape library or they detect a grid-like arranged specimens on a slide using Hough transformation. The centroids of the specimen are detected using 2D peak detection algorithms. Column and row orientations are detected followed by the calculation of the overall grid intersection locations. The method can identify the specimens by finding their expected location in the 2D grid. However, those methods do not detect edges of the object (i.e. coverslip edges), neither do they perform any image enhancements, such as, for example, dark field subtraction.
There is therefore a need for systems and methods that accurately and automatically detect the location of the coverslip on a microscope slide as well as the location of cell colonies of interest underneath the coverslip.

Automated detection of cell colonies and coverslip detection using hough transforms


Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for managing and transmitting image data. Some embodiments are particularly suited to streaming JPEG 2000 images from a web server.

In many Internet and network applications, large image files are frequently transferred. These large image files must be transmitted from server to client with accuracy and speed. When connection speeds are not optimal, these images can take an inconveniently long time to download to a client. Using known methods, this extended lag results in high latency or delay before display of the complete image.
Image files can also be problematic when their size, resolution or other attributes are not optimized to the needs of the user.
JPEG 2000 is an image compression standard with the ability to support large images. JPEG 2000 also supports resolution, quality and region-of-interest scalability. Thus, the JPEG 2000 bitstream is scalable. However the server-client protocol to get only part of the JPEG 2000 bitstream is not defined. Details of the JPEG 2000 standard may be accessed by reference to JPEG 2000 Part 1 Final Committee Draft Version 1.0, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 1 N1646, March 2000 and JPEG 2000 Verification Model 7.0 (Technical Description), ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 1 WG1N1684, April 2000, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In JPEG 2000, an image consists of components. An image may be spatially divided into tiles and tile-components, where each tile is independently coded. A tile-component is then divided into resolutions and sub-bands. A resolution can be partitioned into precincts using rectangular grids. A sub-band is divided into code-blocks where each code-block is an independent coding unit. A precinct may consist of a rectangular region of code-blocks in all sub-bands of the same resolution. The coded data of each code-block can be distributed across one or more quality layers in the codestream. The data representing a specific tile, layer, component, resolution and precinct appears in the codestream in a contiguous segment called a packet.
There are two types of headers in the codestream as shown in FIG. 1. The main header 2 is at the beginning of the codestream. The tile-part headers 4 are found at the beginning of each tile-part 6, where a tile-part is a portion of the codestream that makes up some or all of a tile. The main header 2 provides information about the uncompressed image such as width, height, width of a tile, height of a tile, number of components, bit-depth of each component, etc. The main header 2 also provides the coding style default (COD) (e.g., decomposition levels, progression order, number of layers, code-block size, wavelet filter used, packet partition size, etc.), the quantization default (QCD), as well as some optional information such as region of interest, packed packet headers (PPM), a list of packet lengths (PLM), the length of every tile-part in the codestream (TLM), etc. The main header 2 is followed by one or more tile-parts 6 (each tile-part includes a tile-part header 4 and the tile-part data 8). Similar information can be included in the tile-part header 4 to override the default in the main header 2. The tile-part data 8 consists of packets 10, 12.
The lengths of the main header 2 and each tile-part header 4, and the length of each tile-part 6, can all be easily derived from the main header 2 or tile-part headers 4. In addition, the length of each packet 10, 12 can be obtained from the main header 2 or derived from the packet headers located in the main header 2 or in the codestream 14. Based on this information and the length of code-block contribution information included in each packet header, we can identify the locations/segments of the codestream for a particular code-block, precinct, resolution, component and layer. In fact, an index file can be generated to record this indexing information by parsing the codestream headers, including the main header 2, tile-part headers 4 and packet headers 14. This index file can then be used to facilitate the retrieval of a particular portion of the codestream.
For a given tile, the order in which the packets are interleaved is called the progression order. The interleaving of the packets can progress along four axes: layer, component, resolution and precinct. There are five allowable progression orders in the standard which are signaled by the COD and/or Progressive order change default (POD) markers in the main header 2.    1. Layer-resolution-component-position progressive,    2. Resolution-layer-component-position progressive,    3. Resolution-position-component-layer progressive,    4. Position-component-resolution-layer progressive,    5. Component-position-resolution-layer progressive.

Methods and systems for scalable streaming of images with client-side control


A bolt on drive assembly for a core drill which utilizes an improved high strength spoked reinforcer mounted beneath a disc. The disc and high strength spoke reinforcer are removably mounted on the tube by bolt fasteners. A drive connection is removably mounted and centrally located on a outer disc of the pair of discs. The drive connection is adapted to connect with a drive shaft to cause rotation of the tube. The system can also include a split in the disc when the high strength spoked reinforcer is not welded thereto thereby providing a means of water control. The high strength spoked reinforcer can be a separate piece that is bolted to the disc or can be integrally formed as one piece therewith. An adapter is provided that allows for standard drilling that fits into a recess in the center hub and is removable to expose the recess for attachment to a specialized drill motor, such as an A-flange.

Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates generally toward cutting implements and more particularly to the construction of a core drill.
Description of the Prior Art
Core drills are commonly used for drilling holes in hard materials, such as concrete and masonry. These holes are then used to support a structural member, such as a post, which is used on a support member for a building structure or for forming a large diameter borehole with the borehole being used for the passage of pipe lines or conduits. A typical core drill is constructed of hard metal, such as steel, and takes the shape of a tube with hardened cutting segments mounted at one end of the tube. The opposite end of the tube is closed generally by a solid steel plate with there being a drive connection mounted on this steel plate. The drive connection is to be connected to a rotating shaft of a drive machine which will cause the tube to be rotated and affect the cutting operation. The cutting segments at one end normally comprise diamonds but also it has been known to use silicon carbide. The diamonds are held together by a suitable resin adhesive.
The plate at the closed end of the tube is of substantial thickness, generally one half to one and a half inch thick. These core drills are frequently designed to be from six inches to thirty-six inches and more in diameter. The steel plate at the closed end is of substantial weight. It is important to have an extremely strong member at this closed end because all the force from the driving machine is being transferred to this member to the tube. The force encountered by the tube in cutting the hole in masonry and concrete is substantial so it is important that the plate at the closed end of the tube establish an extremely strong connection. However, most often these core drills are carried by a human from one location to another. The plate member at the closed end of a sixteen inch core drill is substantially heavier than the core drill constructed in accordance with this invention. That extra weight can make the difference as to whether a core drill can be carried by a single human from one location to another. It is readily apparent that the greater the diameter of the core drill the greater of the additional amount of weight. It would be desirable to design some type of closed end structure for a core drill which would be substantially lighter in weight than if a solid plate is used. Furthermore, there is a certain amount of deflection associated with the use of the core drill.
At times, when operating of a core drill, a plug of material, which would be normally masonry or cement, gets caught within the hollow chamber of the core drill adjacent the closed end plate. At the present time, access into this area is only provided through the open end of a core drill which means some kind of an elongated member has to be extended up through the hollow chamber of the core drill and this member wedged against the caught material and somehow loosen it to dislodge it. It would be desirable to construct a core drill so that the closed end portion of the core drill could be removed from the tube which would provide immediate local access to any wedged material that is caught within the hollow chamber and located directly adjacent the closed end.
The instant invention is an improvement over U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/799,615 in that the apparatus is modified to accommodate large drilling operations that utilize an A-flange motor attachment. The A-flange motor is the second most common drill motor standard in the construction drilling industry. The A-flange use a Ø6″ flange with a Ø5″ boss that slips into the A-flange receptacle, and (4) ⅜″-16 THD bolts to attach to the A-flange. The instant invention allows the operator to adapt to whichever drill motor is required for the job within minutes. application Ser. No. 12/799,615 provides a drive plate that requires a drill motor with a 1¼″-7 shaft. The drive plate is attached to the drilling apparatus using 6 ½″-13 THD button head cap screws. Once the drive plate is removed, it reveals the A-flange pocket and (4) ⅜″-16 THD bolts to attach the A-flange motor.

Bolt on drive assembly for a core drill with high strength spoked reinforcer


A guide structure and matching printed circuit card carrying cartridge provides hot pluggability functionality even when electronic circuit components need to be disposed in very tight spaces. The guide structure includes front and rear portions linked by slot-defining rungs. Front and rear apertures provide alignment and/or locking functions. The guide structure is easily manufacturable from a single sheet of metal which is stamped and formed to meet all desirable design specifications. A matching self-contained docking cartridge is provided with mating parts for these apertures. EMI shielding and cooling functions are also accommodated.

The present invention is generally directed to guides, guide assemblies and/or guide mechanisms for use in conjunction with pluggable cartridges for inserting printed circuit cards into and for removing them from printed circuit boards. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an integral guide structure which provides a guiding, alignment and locking function. Even more particularly the present invention includes a cartridge which mates with the desired guide structure so that cartridges are firmly locked into position to permit a self-contained actuation mechanism within the cartridge to slidably move a printed circuit card within the cartridge so as to forcibly mate a card edge electrical connector to a matching printed circuit board mounted connector.
The past twenty-five or so years have seen the development of ever smaller electrical circuit components at the chip level. However, to take fullest advantage of achievements in electrical circuit miniaturization, one must package the resultant printed circuit cards containing these chips in an efficient manner. Clearly, the packaging of printed circuit cards in tight spaces is a direct logical extension of increasing chip level circuit densities. It should also be noted that the tight packaging of integrated circuit chips on printed circuit cards and the correspondingly dense packaging of the printed circuit cards is a design goal that is carried out for more than just the convenience of compactness. Compactness provides shorter distances between circuit components which, in turn, serves the very desirable goal of being able to operate the circuits effectively at higher frequencies, thus increasing the speed of numerous different forms of electrical systems, including but not limited to data processing systems.
Moreover, mainly for reasons associated with long-term system operation and reliability, it is likewise very desirable to be able to easily insert and remove these printed circuit cards even when they are disposed in very tight spaces. The insertion and removal operations are also provided as an important part of a xe2x80x9chot-pluggabilityxe2x80x9d function which is very desirable for xe2x80x9con the flyxe2x80x9d repairs, replacements, maintenance and upgrades.
With increased circuit density there has also been a concomitantly driven increase in the number of power, signal and control lines which require electrical connections to be made between printed circuit cards and printed circuit boards. This means that the electrical connectors that carry these various electrical circuits between the cards and the boards have been required to carry more and more separate individual connections. A significant consequence of the increase in the number of individual electrical connections, all of which require surety of contact, is the corresponding increase in the force needed to insert printed circuit connectors into mating printed circuit board sockets. This aspect provides special design considerations for self-contained cartridges that carry printed circuit cards which are meant to be inserted into printed circuit boards via actuating mechanisms contained within the cartridge itself.
The increase in the number of connections also poses other problems in the design of desirably compact packaging systems, particularly those designed for easy cartridge insertion and removal. In particular, the increased number of connections results in the use of connectors with an increased number of pins and socket holes. Since these structures are present in larger and larger numbers, the pin-and-socket connections (or the like) are themselves packed together with smaller and smaller distances between them. This aspect of the packaging problem brings along with it the problem of connecting pin alignment for the purpose of physically connecting oppositely disposed mating pins and socket holes. Alignment failure can severely and permanently damage both the printed circuit card and the printed circuit board into which the card is to be inserted.
Also of note is the fact that one of the principle purposes of the present invention is to provide cartridges which are capable of this self-contained insertion actuation function. Even more particularly, the present invention employs cartridges which are designed to have no physical contact with any external structure except the printed circuit board itself. This means that cartridges of the present invention do not require any form of actuation mechanism which relies upon external structures such as an enclosure, cabinet or frame or upon any form of adaptation provided in a surrounding cabinet, frame or enclosure. This also means that there are no frictional elements disposed between the printed circuit board and its surrounding structures. And this is turn implies that the entire printed circuit board may be inserted and removed as an integral, fully populated structure, that is, with a full set of printed circuit cards inserted (within cartridges). However, this desirable feature makes cartridge design more difficult in that there still must be provided some mechanism for resisting insertion forces, however, slight they may sometimes be.
Additionally, if the printed circuit board is itself intended to be inserted and removed with its complement of printed circuit cards in place, it should also be substantially rigid particularly in those circumstances in which the horizontal dimensions of the board are large with respect to its vertical height. If the printed circuit board is wide and long but thin, then insertion in particular can result in undesirable bending and flexing of the board which is commonly referred to as xe2x80x9coil canning.xe2x80x9d
As an additional constraint on packaging design, it should be appreciated that, with increased circuit density, there is also a concomitant increase in power density and heat dissipation. Accordingly, packaging designs should be fully compatible with those aspects of system design associated with cooling functions. Also, to whatever extent possible, packaging designs should be: economical to produce; function smoothly; require little or no maintenance; be producible from inexpensive, readily available materials; and be reliably operable over a large number of insertion and removal operation cycles.
Yet one other concern arises in electrical systems as circuit feature size shrinks, operating frequencies increase and packaging densities grow larger, namely, the generation of electromagnetic interference (EMI). Electronic circuit packaging designs should thus also be compatible with structures and configurations that are employed to prevent the leakage of electromagnetic interference. To whatever extent possible, packaging designs should also include structures which actually contribute positively to the containment of electromagnetic interference.
Furthermore, it is noted that whatever guide and locking mechanism is employed, it is ultimately placed on the printed circuit board which is intended for printed circuit card insertion (and later removal, as needed or desired). Accordingly, the guide should be compatible with printed circuit board function and, if possible, contribute to its structural rigidity to counteract the above-mentioned oil-canning effect.
It is also noted that the present discussion refers to printed circuit boards and printed circuit cards. As contemplated herein, the printed circuit board is the larger component into which at least one printed circuit card is inserted for purposes of electrical connection. The present invention places no specific limits on either the size of a printed circuit board or the size of a printed circuit card. In the most general situation, a circuit board will be populated with a plurality of printed circuit cards. That is, the printed board will have a number of printed circuit cards inserted therein. Accordingly, as used herein, the terms xe2x80x9cprinted circuit boardxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cprinted circuit cardxe2x80x9d are considered to be relative terms.
Accordingly, the present inventors are presented with the following sometimes competing packaging problems: connector pin alignment, cartridge alignment, rigid connection to a printed circuit board, circuit board oil canning, dense and close packaging, cooling, electromagnetic interference shielding, hot pluggability, the desire to provide an easy-to-load cartridge for carrying printed circuit cards, mechanisms requiring a mechanical advantage for insertion and removal of printed circuit cards, the removal of fully populated printed circuit boards and the insertion thereof, and means to provide a cooperative EMI shielding arrangement in a system which provides circuit board guide mechanisms which do not require physical contact with a surrounding enclosure or cabinet.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a guide structure which is especially suited for insertion of self-contained pluggable printed circuit board cartridges comprises three major portions: a rear portion, a front portion and slot defining rungs extending between the front and rear portions. The rear portion includes at least one vertical tab with an alignment aperture in the tab. This aperture is meant to receive a corresponding alignment pin on the cartridge to be inserted. The guide structure also includes a forward portion which includes a step. The vertical portion of the step also includes at least one other alignment aperture. One or both of the alignment apertures also provides a locking function. There is also at least one pair of cartridge slot defining rungs extending from the rear portion to the forward portion with the pair of rungs being disposed on opposite sides of a matching pair of the alignment apertures, one of which is disposed in the vertical tab with the other aperture being disposed in the vertical step.
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the guide structure is formed from a single sheet metal stamping. The rear portion preferably includes a channel which act as a stiffening rib both for the guide structure itself and for the printed circuit board on which it is mounted.
The present invention also includes a mating printed circuit card carrying pluggable cartridge which is intended for use with the above-described guide structure. A desirable pluggable cartridge intended for such use preferably comprises a rigid frame with a printed circuit card having a pluggable electrical connector being slidably disposed within the frame. A lever mechanism, disposed between the rigid frame and the printed circuit card is provided for slidably moving the printed circuit card relative to the frame. A guide pin is externally affixed to the frame and a locking pin is preferable affixed externally to the frame. Thus, the cartridge is guided into and locked into a mating printed circuit-board-level guide structure so that the lever mechanism may be actuated to cause the pluggable electrical connector on the printed circuit card to mate with a corresponding connector on the printed circuit board.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide structures and mechanisms for densely package electronic circuit components while at the same time providing easy access and component replacement capabilities, especially for hot pluggability applications.
It is a further object of the present to provide a guide for use with cartridges containing pluggable printed circuit cards.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a design for a cartridge guide which is easily and economically fabricatable in the form of a single sheet of stamped metal.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a board level docking mechanism which provides guide, alignment, locking and holding functions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a guide mechanism for printed circuit boards which also serves the function of providing an added degree of stiffness to the circuit board on which it is mounted.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a board level cartridge guide mechanism which not only provides a certain level of electromagnetic interference shielding but which also cooperates with the inserted cartridge to meld together card level and board level shielding functions.
It is also another object of the present invention to provide a printed circuit card carrying cartridge which not only mates with but which also cooperatively interacts with a desirable board level guide mechanism.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a printed circuit card carrying cartridge which is capable of providing flow through air cooling passages.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a docking cartridge which is fool proof and which does not require the use of tools.
It is a still further object of the present invention to facilitate the packaging of electronic circuit components in tight spaces.
It is also another object of the present invention to be able to provide electronic circuit packaging design structures which facilitate easy insertion and removal of printed circuit cards.
Lastly, but not limited hereto, it is an object of the present invention to facilitate packaging designs for increasingly dense, fast and powerful electronic systems.
The recitation herein of a list of desirable objects which are met by various embodiments of the present invention is not meant to imply or suggest that any or all of these objects are present as essential features, either individually or collectively, in the most general embodiment of the present invention or in any of its more specific embodiments.
The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The invention, however, both as to organization and method of practice, together with the further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is an isometric view illustrating a cartridge of the present invention being inserted into a guide of the present invention which is disposed on a rigid printed circuit board with the guide also operating as a printed circuit board stiffener for increased rigidity;
FIG. 2 is an isometric view similar to FIG. 1 but more particularly showing a cartridge in a position in which the cartridge, though not necessarily the printed circuit card, is fully inserted into a mating printed circuit board slot in which it is aligned and locked;
FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a guide of the present invention incorporating a plurality of guide slots and, as preferred, from a single sheet of stamped metal;
FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a portion of the guide shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an isometric view showing a detailed view of the portion a FIG. 2 which specifically relates to the function of the guide pin;
FIG. 6 is a side elevation view illustrating the locations of the locking and guide pin structures particularly as they relate to their positions relative to the cartridge and the board level guide structure;
FIG. 7 is a side elevation view illustrating the interior construction of a cartridge of the present invention so as to particularly show the preferred actuating lever mechanism, the slidable mounting for the printed circuit card and the edge connector;
FIG. 8 is an isometric view illustrating the desired shape and arrangement for a snap-in locking pin;
FIG. 9A is a top view of an EMI shield spring employable in conjunction with the EMI shield system of the present invention; and
FIG. 9B is a side elevation view of the spring shown in FIG. 9A.

Auto docking/locking rack hardware for easy serviceability of printed circuit cards in tight spaces

International Business Machines Corporation


Disclosed is an apparatus and method for the mixing of two microfluidic channels wherein several wells are oriented diagonally across the width of a mixing channel. The device effectively mixes the confluent streams with electrokinetic flow, and to a lesser degree, with pressure driven flow. The device and method may be further adapted to split a pair of confluent streams into two or more streams of equal or non-equal concentrations of reactants. Further, under electrokinetic flow, the surfaces of said wells may be specially coated so that the differing electroosmotic mobility between the surfaces of the wells and the surfaces of the channel may increase the mixing efficiency. The device and method are applicable to the steady state mixing as well as the dynamic application of mixing a plug of reagent with a confluent stream.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to microfluidic flow devices and specifically to mixers and splitters of microfluidic flow.
2. Description of the Background
The application of microfluidic analytical devices to chemical or biological assays has developed rapidly over the last decade. Although microfluidic devices have been highly successful, several performance limitations exist, notably reagent mixing.
Most mixing devices rely on diffusive mixing, wherein the natural laminar flow effects and the reagent's inherent diffusion coefficient cause the reagents to mix. Therefore, the mixing chamber/channel is usually extended to lengths that will ensure a completely mixed outlet stream. This approach may be acceptable for low flowrates, but high flowrates (>1 cm/s) or low analyte diffusion coefficients (<10−7 cm/s2) will require excessively long mixing channels. The difficulty in rapidly mixing reagents results from the fact that the system is restricted to the laminar flow regime (Re<2000) and also because the feature sizes are too small (typically <100 μm) to incorporate conventional mixing mechanisms.
The lack of turbulence in microfluidic systems has led to device designs that utilize multi-laminate, or flow splitting techniques to accomplish mixing in channels of shorter length. These designs split the incoming streams into several narrower confluent streams to reduce the mixing equilibrium time. Once mixing is complete, the narrow channels are then brought back together into a larger main channel for further transport, processing, and/or detection. The effectiveness of the flow splitting concept is based on the fact that the equilibrium time scales quadratically with the width of the channel. For example, if the width of the channel decreases by two, then the equilibrium time and the channel length decreased by a factor of four, or 25% of the original length. However, even a mixing length of 25% may still be unsuitable for some applications.
Other techniques for mixing may rely on active mechanical mixing, such as stirring paddles and the like. For very small fluidic passages, such devices are extremely fragile and difficult to manufacture.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a device and method of mixing two confluent microfluidic laminar flows that did not require an excessively long channel to effectively mix the flows. Further, it would be advantageous to provide a splitting mechanism that may be able to split a stream of reagents into two streams of differing concentrations.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Commerce


In an apparatus (1) having a housing (2) and having an electroacoustic transducer (14) accommodated in the inner housing space (9) and having at least one passage (28, 29) which traverses a housing wall (6, 7) and which, together with the inner housing space (9) and the rear volume (25) of the transducer (14), which rear volume (25) is open to the inner housing space (9), forms an absorption-circuit resonator which causes a dip (31) in the sound pressure versus frequency response(27), a compensator (32) for the compensation of the dip (31) in the sound pressure versus frequency response (27) is provided and includes the housing (2) being provided with a plurality of ducts (33, 34, 35, 36; 41) traversing the housing (2), each duct forming an acoustic friction.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a apparatus having a housing which bounds an inner housing space, and which has a housing wall provided with sound transmission openings and which can be applied to an ear in the area of the sound transmission openings in an on-ear mode of the apparatus, during which, a wall portion of the housing wall, in which the sound transmission openings are situated, can be covered with the ear, and having an electroacoustic transducer accommodated in the inner housing space and arranged adjacent to the sound transmission openings, the transducer having a front volume and a rear volume, and being capable of generating sound which can be emitted into the acoustic free space via the front volume and through the sound transmission openings, the rear volume being open to the inner housing space, and having at least one passage which traverses a housing wall and which, together with the inner housing space and the rear volume of the transducer, the rear volume being open to the inner housing space, forms an absorption-circuit resonator which causes a dip in the sound pressure versus frequency response when the apparatus operates in the on-ear mode, and having compensation means for compensating dip in the sound pressure versus frequency response.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such an apparatus of the type defined in the opening paragraph, is commercially available in various versions and is thus known. Such an apparatus is, for example, commercially available in the form of mobile telephones having the type designations S6 and S10. In the known apparatus, the compensation means for compensating dip in the sound pressure versus frequency response is formed by a digitally-operating electronic compensation circuit which is comparatively intricate and is, therefore, comparatively expensive, this apparatus further having the problem that the frequency range in which the dip in the sound pressure versus frequency response occurs may vary, the compensation provided by the electronic compensation circuit being at least significantly reduced or even lost.
It is an object of the invention to preclude the afore-mentioned problems and to provide an improved apparatus of the type defined in the opening paragraph, in which the desired result is achieved by simple compensation means.
According to the invention, in order to achieve this object in an apparatus of the type defined in the opening paragraph, the housing has been provided with at least one duct to form the compensation means, this at least one duct traversing the housing and being arranged outside the wall portion that can be covered with an ear, and adjacent to the rear volume of the transducer, and forming an acoustic friction.
By taking the measures in accordance with the invention, it is advantageously achieved, in a very simple manner, that the spurious absorption-circuit resonator is damped in such a manner that the undesired influence of the absorption-circuit resonator on the sound pressure versus frequency response in an on-ear mode of the apparatus is eliminated, or at least reduced to such an insignificant extent that no dip occurs in the sound pressure versus frequency response. A further advantage is that a correct and satisfactory reproduction of low-frequency signals is guaranteed with a comparatively small volume of the inner space of the apparatus, because the acoustic free space outside the apparatus, via the at least one duct, contributes to the reproduction of low-frequency signals, which facilitates the realization of an apparatus in accordance with the invention having minimal external dimensions. In practice, an apparatus in accordance with the invention has a plurality of such ducts, each forming an acoustic friction.
In an apparatus in accordance with the invention, each duct provided as an acoustic friction can be formed by a bore which traverses a housing wall and which, in the case of a plastic housing, can be formed during injection-molding of the housing. However, it has proven to be particularly advantageous if the housing comprises at least two housing sections which can be joined together, which adjoin each other in the area of a separating zone and have two wall portions in the area of the separating zone which adjoin one another in an acoustically impervious manner, and to form the at least one duct in the area of at least one wall portion, at least one trough-shaped recess which is open to this wall portion has been provided, this at least one recess being closed at its open side by the other wall portion. In this way, each duct forming an acoustic friction can be manufactured in a very simple manner and with a high precision, particularly if the housing is made of a plastic, in which case each recess can be formed during injection-molding of the relevant housing section.
In an apparatus in accordance with the invention it has further proven to be advantageous if the the housing has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and has a front main wall, a rear main wall, and four side walls, and the sound transmission openings have been provided in the front main wall, and the at least one duct has been provided in the area of a side wall adjacent to the transducer. Such a construction has proved to be very advantageous in practice.
The afore-mentioned as well as further aspects of the invention will become apparent from the embodiments described hereinafter and given by way of example and will be elucidated with reference to these embodiments.

Apparatus having a housing which accommodates a sound transducer and which has a passage


A terminal contact and clamp assembly has a cage clamp and an inner contact. The cage clamp has a top, a bottom, a through hole multiple bottom teeth and at least one protruding tooth. The bottom has an inner bottom surface. The bottom teeth are formed on the inner bottom surface. The at least one protruding tooth is formed on and protrudes up from the inner bottom surface and has a top end higher than the inner bottom surface. The inner contact is mounted in the through hole. The at least one protruding tooth deeply bites an exposed wire core of a cable and prevents the cable from slipping out of the terminal contact and clamp assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal contact and clamp assembly, and more particularly to a terminal contact and clamp assembly for a cable terminal block and a method for processing the terminal contact and clamp assembly. The terminal contact and clamp assembly securely and tightly bites and holds an exposed wire core at one end of a cable.
2. Description of Related Art
Cable terminal blocks are used generally in electronic devices for holding ends of cables so that the electronic devices are capable of transmitting power or electronic signals to other devices through the cables.
With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a conventional cable terminal block comprises a casing (90) and a contact and clamp assembly.
The casing (90) has a cavity (91) and a mounting hole (92). The cavity (91) is defined in the casing (90) for holding one end of a cable (99) having a wire core exposed at the end. The mounting hole (92) is defined in the casing (90) and communicates with the cavity (91).
The contact and clamp assembly is mounted in the cavity (91) and has a cage clamp (95), an inner contact (96), an outer contact (97) and a bolt (98). The cage clamp (95) is conductive, is mounted in the cavity (91) and has an inner bottom surface, a front open end, a rear open end, a threaded hole (953), a through hole and multiple bottom teeth (951). The threaded hole (953) is defined through the top of the cage clamp (95). The through hole is defined laterally through the cage clamp (95) and communicates with the threaded hole (953) and the front and rear open ends. The bottom teeth (951) are formed on the inner bottom surface with a punching process.
The inner contact (96) is conductive, is mounted through the rear open end of the cage clamp (95), cooperates with the cage clamp (95) to clamp and hold the end of the cable (99) and has an inner top surface and multiple top teeth (961). The top teeth (961) are formed on the inner top surface with a punching process and correspond to and cooperate with the bottom teeth (951) to clamp and hold exposed wire core at the end of the cable (99).
The outer contact (97) is conductive, is mounted through the rear open end of the cage clamp (95) and is stacked on the inner contact (96).
The bolt (98) is mounted through the mounting hole (92) and the threaded hole (953) and presses against the outer contact (97) and the inner contact (96) to clamp the exposed wire core at the end of the cable (99) with the cage clamp (95).
However, the bottom and top teeth (951, 961) formed with punching processes are not sharp so that the wire core of the cable (99) cannot be bitten tightly by the bottom and top teeth (951, 961) and would therefore slip out of the contact and clamp assembly.
With reference to FIGS. 9A to 9C, a conventional method for pressing the contact and clamp assembly comprises aligning a punch die (85) with a workpiece (80) as shown in FIG. 9A and punching a surface of the workpiece (80) with the punch die (85) to finish a product, as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C. The punch die (85) has multiple punching teeth (851) and multiple V-shaped grooves located respectively between adjacent punching teeth (851). The workpiece (80) is made of bronze or red copper. The punching teeth (851) on the punch die (85) punches in the surface to form multiple indents and multiple teeth (951, 961) arranged alternately with the indents. The pressed metal workpiece is processed later to form the cage clamp (95) or inner contact (96) and the teeth (951, 961).
However, the conventional method has following disadvantages.
1. When the punching teeth (851) punches the workpiece (80), material of the workpiece (80) cannot entirely fill the V-shaped grooves so that the teeth (951, 961) formed from the material filling into the V-shaped grooves are round instead of being sharp. Accordingly, the round teeth (951, 961) on the cage clamp (95) or inner contact (96) formed from the workpiece (80) barely bite the end cable (95) and easily allow the cable to slip out of the contact and clamp assembly, especially when the cable has a multi-core.
2. The workpiece (80) made of bronze or red copper with a low hardness as compared with iron or steel so that the teeth (951, 961) are round.
3. The wire core of the cable (99) may be a single core or a multi-core having a bundle of core elements. When the wire core is a single core, the contact and clamp assembly barely bites and holds the single core. However, when the wire core is a multi-core, the contact and clamp assembly hardly bites and holds the multi-core and the cable easily slip out of the contact and clamp assembly.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a terminal contact and clamp assembly for a cable terminal block and a method for processing a terminal contact and clamp assembly to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

Terminal contact and clamp assembly for a cable terminal block and method for processing the same


The invention concerns an input device including an input receiving panel and a stylus enabling an input, the input device sensing an input by means of capacitive coupling between a panel electrode on the input receiving panel and a stylus electrode on the stylus, and includes: a signal supply section supplying an input sensing signal to the panel electrode; a signal detecting circuit detecting a signal generated in the stylus electrode; and an input sensing section comparing the input sensing signal with the detection signal detected by the signal detecting circuit and sensing an input based on a result of the comparison. An input-sensing digital code is superimposed on the input sensing signal. This allows for further reduction in the possibility of false sensing caused by noise than conventional techniques.

Prior art I/O-integrated displays include those which enable input by means of capacitive coupling. In capacitive coupling, a signal is fed to a tablet electrode provided on a tablet as an input receiving panel. As the tablet electrode is capacitively coupled to a stylus electrode provided in an input stylus as input means, the stylus electrode detects the signal. Thus, an input, as well as its coordinates, is sensed.
In capacitive coupling, however, the stylus electrode picks up noise in some circumstances, falsely recognizing it as an input. Here does a problem arise that an input is falsely sensed with no actual input.
To address the problem, Japanese published unexamined patent application 7-64704/1995 (Tokukaihei 7-64704, published on Mar. 10, 1995) discloses a technique attempting to avoid false sensing: an input stylus 101 has a stylus electrode 102 which is provided movable in the projection directions and a switch 103 which is turns on/off in accordance with the movement of the stylus electrode 102, as illustrated in FIGS. 17(a) and 17(b).
According to the technique, the switch 103 is off (an input is being made; FIG. 17(a)) when the stylus electrode 102 is pressed to the tablet 104 and on (no input is being made; FIG. 17(b)) when the stylus electrode 102 is distanced from the tablet 104. When the switch 103 is off, the stylus electrode 102 has a high input impedance due to a high-impedance resistor 105; when the switch 103 is on, the stylus electrode 102 has a low input impedance due to a low-impedance resistor 106 being inserted.
Thus, when the switch 103 is off, a high voltage level signal is detected through the stylus electrode 102; when the switch 103 is on, a low voltage level signal is detected through the stylus electrode 102. Accordingly, with such a configuration that an input is sensible when the detected signal has a high voltage level and not sensible when it has a low voltage level, no input is sensed when the stylus electrode 102 is picking up noise at a distance from the tablet 104. The technique can thereby avoid false sensing.
According to the technique, however, the switch 103 is off also when the stylus electrode 102 is pressed to an object other than the tablet 104. If the stylus electrode 102 picks up noise in such a state, a false sensing occurs as it did with older techniques.
The application further discloses more accurately sensing an input through discrimination between a detection signal and noise by comparing the detection signal with a predetermined threshold voltage. This indeed prevents false sensing if detected noise Ns is weaker than a threshold voltage Vth as shown in FIG. 18(a), but fails to do so if the detected noise level Ns is greater than the threshold voltage Vth as shown in FIG. 18(b).


A modular apparatus (10) for machining flat sheets, in particular glass, plate glass, or mirror sheets or sheets made from stone materials or the like, comprising machining moduli consisting of a first store (16) suitable for receiving sheets to be machined (25) and a second store (18) suitable for receiving machined sheets (27), a first grinding machine (12), and a second grinding machine (14) suitable for performing grinding machinings along the peripheral edges of said sheets (25), one or more further moduli for machining said flat sheets, if any, of the corner cutting, drill, or washing machine types, possibly associated with said first and second grinding machines (12, 14), and interface means for transferring said flat sheets between said machining moduli.

More specifically, the present invention refers to an apparatus for machining flat sheets and to a method according to which the mentioned apparatus operates, said apparatus being realized with the purpose of machining flat, glass or plate glass sheets, or mirrors or even flat sheets made from marble or granite, or other known stone materials.
Considering the specific case of glass, it is known that it is a material widely used in many sectors and for many and different applications.
Among the different types of glass, that referred to as flat glass is used both in the civil field and in the industrial field for implementing walls or for covering facades, for ornaments and floorings, for manufacturing decorative objects, and the like.
Furthermore, a glass sheet is either a single-layer or a multilayer one, i.e. a sheet resulting from the superposition of two or more flat glass sheets, possibly provided with films interposed therebetween and made from technopolymers of the polyvynilbutyral or PVB type or equivalent known materials used to obtain glasses featuring shatter-proof or bullet-proof properties or the like.
Flat glass sheets typically undergo different types of surface machinings such as, for instance, grinding machinings, aiming at eliminating the sharp and irregular edge of the glass sheet, corner cutting or drilling machinings, cutting machinings, washing machinings typically performed after the previously indicated machinings and before storing the machined flat sheets.
Such machinings are performed not only on glass or flat glass sheets, but also on sheets of different types such as, as indicated above, sheets made from stone materials.
Such machinings are performed manually or by way of appropriate machineries which are referred to as grinders or chamferers (for machining the peripheral edge), corner cutting machines or drills or even washing machines and the like.
If we consider an automatic machining and, for instance, a grinding machining, it is conventionally performed by loading the sheets, which are arranged vertically, onto the grinding machine, and the sheets are moved along a rectilinear direction, from a specifically designed transportation device, in the direction of a machining section wherein a set of variously arranged grinding wheels operate onto the edge of the sheet as a function of selected, specific machining parameters.
These machines perform the grinding machining onto each individual edge of the sheet and consequently said sheet shall be re-positioned time after time in order to perform the machining on all four edges of the sheet (assuming that such machining is requested along all the perimeter of the sheet).
The foregoing entails a number of major drawbacks related to the fact that re-positioning a sheet results in extending the machining times which, consequently, results in increasing manufacturing costs.
A number of technical solutions are based on the use of handlers which allow to handle the flat sheets to be machined.
For instance, document EP2939787 describes a method for machining flat sheets that uses a robot of an antropomorphic type for handling sheets from a store to a grinding machine, the robot supporting the sheet being machined while it is actually machined; such configuration, however, features a number of drawbacks related to the fact that the sheet is supported by the robot while it is machined, and consequently said robot will be subjected to stresses transmitted by the grinding machine during the machining and this affects the quality of the machining and the manufacturing costs and, also, results in drawbacks related to the fact that the robot is not able to process big size and/or very thick sheets.
Likewise, document DE202014010362 describes a machining configuration that uses two robots moving along a rail at the ground level and suitable for slaving grinding machines wherein, in particular, said robots support and retain the sheet during all machining steps; therefore, the same drawbacks are found as in document EP2939787.
In order to try to solve such drawbacks, grinding machines referred to as bilateral grinding machines have been developed, suitable for performing a grinding machining on all four edges of the sheet and internally to one and the same machining cycle.
More specifically, in this case, the grinding of the edges of the sheets takes place, the sheet being arranged according to a horizontal plane and the sheet is moved, first, between a first set of opposite grinding wheels which operate on two opposite and parallel edges of the sheet and, subsequently, while remaining arranged according to a horizontal plane, the mentioned sheet is rotated by 90° and moved between a second set of opposite grinding wheels which operate on the remaining two opposite and parallel edges of the sheet.
However, such grinding machines, even though they partially solve the problems of rectilinear grinding machines, feature a number of major drawbacks related to the fact that they feature substantial overall dimensions due to the fact that the sheets being machined are arranged and moved along a horizontal plane.
A further drawback consists in that they are complex constructionally because they require four sets of opposite grinding wheels which operate onto the opposite edges of the sheets, two by two.
Further disadvantageous is the fact that such type of grinding machine does not allow to manage a sheet edge grinding machining, for instance in the case that it is required to grind two adjacent, non-opposite edges, or even in the case that a sheet features a shape different from the square or rectangular one and, for instance, it consists of a sheet having a triangular or trapezoidal shape or the like.
In addition, the type of material and the speed of forward movement being equal, the quality of machining performed by a bilateral grinding machine is worse as compared to a normal grinding machine because, in the specific case of glass, said material has a better support on a grinding machine of the vertical type and, furthermore, a bilateral grinding machine makes it possible to always perform the same machining on the four sides of the sheet, whereas a vertical grinding machine makes it possible to perform different machinings on the sides, assuming the use of variable edge grinding machines, for instance two sides might be flat edge machined whereas the remaining two might be 45° chamfered.
An example of bilateral grinding machine is disclosed in document EP2687327 which makes reference to a bilateral grinding machine that performs a grinding machining on the edges of a sheet arranged according to a horizontal plane, said machining taking place by first operating onto a first pair or opposite edges and subsequently onto a second pair of opposite edges perpendicular to said first edges.
A further example of a sheet edge grinding machining by using a bilateral grinding machine is disclosed in document US2003/0181149 which makes reference to an apparatus consisting of a bilateral grinding machine for machining edges of sheets for LED screens.
The drawbacks bound to the sheet re-positioning problems, reported here above with reference to a grinding machining, are also found in performing other machinings, such as corner cutting or drilling or the like; as a matter of fact, a sheet that comes out from a grinding machine (be it vertical or bilateral) shall be re-positioned in order to perform a corner cutting; in the case of a bilateral grinding machine, for instance, a sheet shall be re-positioned according to a vertical plane after such machining.

Modular apparatus and method for machining flat sheets


Provided is a coated granular fertilizer, which includes a granular fertilizer and a resin coat that coats the granular fertilizer, in which the resin coat contains a urethane resin that is a polyaddition product between a polyisocyanate component and a polyol component, the polyisocyanate component includes an aromatic polyisocyanate, and the polyol component includes a castor oil-modified diol, an alkylene diol having 2 to 8 carbon atoms, and a compound having three or more hydroxyl groups.

In recent years, due to an increase in the average age of agricultural workers, a decrease in the number of workers, and an increase in the number of farmers with side jobs in Japan, there is a demand for fertilizer effect-regulated type fertilizers that can sustain elution of fertilizer components for a predetermined time period in accordance with the growth of plants, as more labor-saving type fertilizers.
Under such circumstances, coated granular fertilizers in which fertilizers are coated with various coating materials have been suggested. For example, Patent Literatures 1 to 8 disclose fertilizers obtained by using a polyolefin resin and an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer as coating materials (Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2); a fertilizer obtained by using a mixture of a polyolefin resin, a polyvinylidene chloride resin, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, and a sparingly water-soluble inorganic carrier as a coating material (Patent Literature 3); a fertilizer obtained by using an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer as a coating material (Patent Literature 4); a fertilizer obtained by using a styrenated alkyd resin and a phenol resin as coating materials (Patent Literature 5); a fertilizer obtained by using a styrene resin, a vinyl chloride resin, a vinylidene chloride resin, and the like as coating materials (Patent Literature 6); a fertilizer obtained by using a urethane resin in which a polyether polyol is used as a polyol component, as a coating material (Patent Literature 7); and the like. Furthermore, recently, coated granular fertilizers obtained by using easily degradable resins as coating materials have also been suggested in consideration of the global environment (Patent Literatures 8 to 10).

Coated granular fertilizer, method for producing coated granular fertilizer, and fertilizer compostion


Embodiments of the present invention are directed toward the field of spintronics, and in particular, systems and devices capable of performing spin coherent quantum logic operations. The inventive spin valve comprises two ferromagnetic electrode layers, and a non-magnetic conducting layer positioned therebetween. An external magnetic field B0 is applied in the Z direction, such that the two electrode layers are each magnetized in a direction substantially parallel to the external magnetic field. Rather than attempting to change the magnetization of one of the ferromagnetic layers, as is the case in prior art technologies, it is the direction of the electron spin that is manipulated in the present embodiments while the electron is traveling through the middle, nonmagnetic layer. One of the ferromagnetic electrodes may be the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). This configuration may further comprise a bias voltage source connected between the STM tip and the other ferromagnetic electrode, such that a spin polarized tunneling current is conducted between the two.

Recently, a new technology has emerged known as spintronics. Instead of conventional charge-based electronic devices, this technology uses electron spin to carry information, and thus offers opportunities for a new generation of spin devices. These devices will have the potential advantages of non-volatility, increased data processing speed, decreased electric power consumption, and increased integration densities compared with conventional semiconductor devices.
The giant magnetoresistance effect (GMR) was discovered in 1988, and is considered to be a very promising technology for spintronics devices. GMR is a quantum mechanical effect observed in layered magnetic thin-film structures composed of alternating layers of ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic layers. When the magnetizations of the ferromagnetic layers are parallel, the spin dependant scattering of carriers is minimized and the material has its lowest resistance, in contrast, when the magnetizations are anti-parallel, the spin dependent scattering of carriers is maximized and the material displays its highest resistance. The simplest GMR structure is the spin valve, which consists of two ferromagnetic layers sandwiching a thin nonmagnetic conductive layer. The flow of electrons in the spin valve is controlled by changing the direction of the magnetization of a part of the device. In previous spin valve structures, one of the two ferromagnetic layers was "pinned" by placing an anti-ferromagnetic layer in intimate contact with the pinned layer. The other ferromagnetic layer was "free" layer whose magnetization could be changed by applying an external magnetic field.
The basic principle GMR effect may be explained using a simple quantum mechanics picture, as illustrated in FIG. 1. In the ferromagnetic layers 10, 11A, the electron energy bands of spin up and spin down are split, which results in an un-balanced density of states for spin up and down at Fermi level EF. In the middle nonmagnetic layer 12, the density of states for spin up and spin down are even. The conductivity of the GMR structure may be expressed as follows:σ∝n1↑n2n2↑+n1↓n2n2↓  (1)where n is the density of states of spin up or down in the nonmagnetic layer 12 at the Fermi level, n1↑, n1↓ is the density of states of spin up, spin down respectively in the left ferromagnetic electrode (10), and n2↑, n2↓ is that corresponding to the right ferromagnetic electrode (11A). In FIG. 1A, the magnetizations of the two electrodes (the two ferromagnetic layers 10, 11A) are all in the up direction (parallel); the spin up electrons are the majority carriers, and the spin down electrons are the minority carriers. The magnetization of electrode 11A is reversed to the state shown as electrode 11B in FIG. 1B, however, and the spin up, down electrons become the minority, majority carriers, respectively. Assuming n+, n− as the density of states of for the majority, minority cases, respectively, the conductivity of parallel and anti-parallel structures may be written as:σP∝n2(n1+n2++n1−n2−)σsp∝n2(n1+n2−+n1−n2+)  (2)
The spin polarization is defined as P=(n+−n−)/(n++n−), and giant magnetoresistance is defined as GMR=(σP−σsp)/σsp. From equation (2), one may derive:
                              G                                                              M                                                              R                =                              2                                                                                P              1                                                  P              2                                            1            -                                          P                1                                                          P                2                                                                        (        3        )            This is same as the Julliere formula for tunneling magneto-resistance.


A system, product and process for building a package dependencies data structure. The method comprises determining a package instance identifier of the package to be processed. The package instance identifier is determined based on a unique identifier of the package to be processed and based on a unique identifier of a dependency sub-tree of the package to be processed in the package instance identifier. The package instance identifier is utilized to determine if a node representing the package to be processed exists or not. In case the node does not exist already in the data structure, the node is created and added.

Applications today contain many third party components. Code dependencies are pulled down from publicly available repositories that are associated with a programing language, a build system, or the like.
In some exemplary embodiments, code repositories may be typically focused on a specific programming language or runtime platform. Additionally or alternatively, the code repositories may be entirely dedicated to a specific programming language or runtime platform. As non-limiting example, Node Package Manager™ (NPM), may hold code packages written in JavaScript™ and consumed by applications running in a browser or on the Node.js™ runtime. As another non-limiting example, the RubyGems may hold code packages, known as Gems, written in Ruby™ and consumed by Ruby applications. Yet, another non-limiting example, Maven™, the veteran code package repository, may hold packages meant to be executed on the Java™ Virtual Machine (JVM), written primarily in Java™ and more recently in Scala™. As another non-limiting example, Docker images have image repositories, where each image is being built from multiple images as dependencies and each image contains the operating system binaries as dependencies.
In some exemplary embodiments, code packages may help programmers develop software faster by sparing them the need to create functionality that other developers have already implemented. Instead of writing such functionality, a developer may state the package she needs and may have it available as a library or module in her code. The sizes of the packages may vary. Some packages may be extremely big, such as providing the functionality of a full web servers (e.g. Express.js™). In other cases, the packages may be extremely small, such as a package providing the functionality of padding zeros to an integer (e.g. left-pad).
Additionally or alternatively, code packages, similarly to binaries, may often have dependencies of their own. The dependencies may be used by the developers of the package to get the same efficiencies mentioned above. As a result, consuming a single code package may in fact mean consuming many more, at times dozens, hundreds, thousands, or the like, of packages with it. Each programming language, runtime and package manager may handle the management of these direct and indirect dependencies differently. However, the concept of these recursive dependencies may exist in all.
In some exemplary embodiments, code packages may be a software, and accordingly may have bugs, such as but not limited to, security bugs and exhibit vulnerabilities which may be utilized by malicious users.
In some exemplary embodiments, code packages may be subject to different legal arrangements, such as different open source licenses (e.g., GPL™, MPL™, BSD™, or the like), different proprietary licenses, or the like.
It is noted that the term code generally refers to software in any form, such as but not limited to source code, software in binary form, open source software, software package, software binaries, or the like.

Building a package dependencies data structure