A flexible magnetic disk drive is disclosed which has a stepper motor coupled to a data transducer via a steel belt motion translating mechanism for moving the transducer from track to track on the rotating disk in response to stepping pulses and a stepping direction signal from an external host system. In order to save power, the stepper motor is held deenergized while the disk drive motor is out of rotation, with the consequent possibility that the transducer may be displaced from the required track position on the disk while the stepper motor is held deenergized. Therefore, in order to always memorize the latest of the successive destination tracks commanded by the host system, a forward/backward counter is provided which counts the external stepping pulses in either direction depending upon the binary state of the external stepping direction signal. After the disk drive motor is set into rotation, stepping pulses and an stepping direction signal are generated internally for causing the stepper motor to automatically reposition the transducer on the memorized latest destination track.

Our invention relates generally to an apparatus having a data transducer or transducers driven by an electric seek motor for accessing any of a multiplicity of concentric annular record tracks on a rotating disklike record medium such as a flexible magnetic disk which may be packaged in cassette or cartridge form. More specifically, our invention deals with a method of, and means for, saving power in such a rotating disk data storage apparatus by holding the seek motor unenergized when the data transducer or transducers are not in track seek operation.
Generally, in rotating disk data storage apparatus of the type under consideration, the seek motor takes the form of either a voice coil motor or a stepper motor. Our invention particularly concerns apparatus of the class employing the stepper motor for causing the data transducer or transducers to move to any desired tracks on the disk or disks.
The stepper motor has a rotor that rotates in short and essentially uniform angular movements, rather than continuously, in response to stepping pulses supplied from a host system external to the data storage apparatus. The stepwise rotation of the stepper motor is converted by a motion translating mechanism into the linear stepwise travel of the transducer or transducers for track to track accessing on the disk or disks. There are, here again, two familiar examples of the motion translating mechanism: one employs a lead screw, and the other a steel belt. An example of steel belt type motion translating mechanism is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,611 filed by Ando and assigned to the assignee of the instant application.
The stepper motor need not be held energized throughout each period of operation of the data storage apparatus as the motor is used only for moving the transducer or transducers from track to track on the disk or disks. The continued energization of the stepper motor would involve a substantial waste of energy. It has therefore been suggested to hold the stepper motor unenergized when the transducer or transducers are out of seek operation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,706 filed by Shoji et al. and assigned to the assignee of our present application describes and claims such a power saving method and electronics for implementing the method.
We have found that the noted Shoji et al. U.S. patent has a drawback when the stepper motor is used in combination with the steel belt motion translating mechanism. The drawback arises because of the smaller detent torque exerted by the steel belt on the stepper motor than by the lead screw when the motor is disconnected from the power supply. Consequently, in event mechanical vibrations or shocks are applied to the stepper motor when it is unenergized, the rotor of the stepper has been very liable to be displaced with respect to the fixed motor windings, being no longer electromagnetically retained in the required angular position. Thus the transducer or transducers coupled to the rotor via the steel belt motion translating mechanism have been easy to be displaced from the required track positions on the disk or disks.

Power saving system for rotating disk data storage apparatus


A hand held breath analyzer is energized when a mouthpiece tube is put into position. An ejector mechanism expels the mouthpiece, which de-energizes the system. The insertion of the mouthpiece not only cocks the ejector mechanism but closes a cover on an exhaust manifold of a breath sample passage. The breath sample passage includes a sample chamber with a port to receive a sampling tube fitting, and an auxiliary port. The exhaust manifold is long relative to the length of the sampling chamber and terminates in an orifice by means of which ambient air is drawn across a thermistor. The sampling tube communicates with a fuel cell chamber, into which breath is drawn by a diaphragm pump arranged, in its normal, uncocked condition, to inhibit the entrance of contaminants into the chamber. The diaphragm pump is actuated in response to operation of the thermistor, through a relay-tripped toggle linkage. A flag, connected to one of the toggle members, blocks the path of light from a photocell to a photoreceptor, insuring that the diaphragm pump is properly cocked for use before a breath sample is attempted to be taken.

Hand held breath analyzing devices are in common use by police departments throughout the world. Such a device, with a now conventional fuel cell and pump chamber and circuit is described in Wolf U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,055, and a more detailed circuit arrangement is described in Wolf U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,026. These are merely illustrative, but their teachings are useful in understanding the present invention.
Police officers in the field are understandably somewhat reluctant to handle a mouthpiece dripping with the saliva of a suspected drunk. The breath of the subject is also likely to be loaded with moisture and contaminants that, with continued use of the device, tend to affect the operation of a thermistor in the breath path. Under field conditions, when it is likely to be dark and the weather conditions poor, it is desirable to have the operation of the device automated as much as possible, and to simplify the operation of the device from the patrolman's point of view, by minimizing the numbers of switches to operate and steps to remember. It is also desirable to insure that all the conditions precedent to the proper operation of the device be met before a sample is attempted to be taken. It is also desirable to prolong the useful life of the various elements, including the fuel cell, and to make the device as simple, rugged, and dependable as possible.


As methods for updating firmware, an information processing apparatus executes a first update method of acquiring update firmware from an external apparatus via a network, storing the acquired update firmware in a volatile memory, and updating the firmware of the information processing apparatus based on the stored update firmware, and a second update method of updating the firmware of the information processing apparatus using a method that is different from the first update method. Furthermore, based on the remaining amount of a battery, the information processing apparatus decides whether to permit both the update of the firmware using the first update method and the update of the firmware using the second update method, or to permit the update of the firmware using the second update method and not to permit the update of the firmware using the first update method.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that updates firmware, a method for controlling the same, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In current information processing apparatuses, it is possible to temporarily store firmware downloaded directly from a server and perform an update. These kinds of information processing apparatuses are provided with a flash memory that stores programs and setting data, and a random access memory that temporarily stores firmware to be used in updating. Also, the flash memory stores a main program and a firmware update program that reads out firmware from the random access memory (RAM), deletes a program stored in the flash memory, and performs writing control. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-271464 discloses a technique in which the charging status of a battery supplying power to a main body and a RAM is checked, and if there is insufficient charge, an update is not performed in order to ensure that the re-writing of the memory is performed completely without being interrupted partway through.
Also, in recent years, as tablet terminals, smartphones, and the like have become widely used, firmware has been updated by information processing apparatuses directly communicating with servers via the Internet for users who do not have personal computers. For this reason, information processing apparatuses have been equipped with two functions, namely a method of updating firmware using a dedicated application that operates with a personal computer, and a method of performing updating using firmware downloaded directly from a server.
However, the following problem is present in the above-described conventional technology. With the method of updating firmware using a dedicated application that operates with a personal computer, it is possible to resume the re-writing of the memory even if the re-writing of the memory is interrupted partway through. On the other hand, in the case where firmware that was downloaded from a server is stored in a volatile memory, if the power source is interrupted and there is insufficient charge in the back-up power source, the downloaded firmware will be lost. Furthermore, since the apparatus is started up in a firmware update mode, the firmware cannot be re-acquired by accessing the server. Accordingly, the firmware update cannot be resumed when the power source is restored. In other words, depending on the method for updating (acquiring) the firmware that is to be used in updating, it is either possible or not possible to resume the re-writing of the memory even if the re-writing of the memory is interrupted partway through. Accordingly, it is not effective to check the charging status of the backup power source in all cases.

Information processing apparatus, method for controlling the same, and storage medium


A booster seat (1) for children and infants and more particularly an improved feeding seat contains a tray (9) which can rotate around either arm of the seat (1) through a unique joint design. The tray (9) can be removed completely or used as a multi-position tray (9), whichever the operator prefers. Further, the tray (9) can be adjusted to fit smaller or larger occupants of the booster seat (1).

A number of improvements have been made in the booster seat art in recent years. More recently, improvements and modifications have been made to booster seats and feeding seats with feeding trays which allow a child to enter horizontally rather than vertically. Some of these booster chairs allow for complete removal of the feeding tray, only to reinsert the tray once the child was in their desired position. Other designs hinged the feeding tray with a single swivel only at one end and allow the rotation of the tray such that the child could enter the seating area, and the tray subsequently rotated back to its original position to lock into position and contain the child. These single swivel trays have been temporarily fixed at one end and hinged at the other allowing for little adjustability beyond the ability to rotate the feeding tray about a single axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,209 (hereinafter Quinlan '209) shows such technology in a portable baby carrier arrangement wherein a feeding tray is adapted to be removably attached at one end and hinged about an axis at the other. The tray opens vertically, that is, up and to the side relative to a seated child, and cannot be adjusted to account for the different size of potential child occupants. A rotating bar defines the rotation axis and also functions as a handle mechanism or as a brace. Importantly, Quinlan '209 can open only along the side opposite to the rotation axis and does not permit the adjustability of a multi-position tray.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 451,058 (hereinafter Koeser '058) discloses a single swivel design that may be rotated along the horizontal or vertical axes only on one side of the chair. The free end of the tray is attachable at the respective opposing arm of the chair, but in no manner does Koeser '058 teach the ability to rotate the tray either vertically or horizontally along that arm to which the free end is attached.
That arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 113,402 (hereinafter Crandall '402). Crandall '402 discloses a baby carriage in which a barrier is hinged at both ends by a shaft and slot design. A shaft is shown extending upwards from both arms of the carriage and the barrier contains slots or bores configured to receive the vertically extending shafts, such that hinging is not possible when both shafts are engaged in their respective slots. For the barrier to swivel at either end, the barrier must be removed from both shafts, and only one shaft subsequently engaged into its respective slot. The barrier cannot be re-engaged without inserting both shafts into their respective slots either simultaneously or with significant deformation to one of the shafts. Further, Crandall '402 cannot adjust the horizontal placement of the barrier relative to a child occupant of the seat.
A similar design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,140,211 (hereinafter Thomas '211) wherein a swing contains a tray pivotably connected at one end and configured to be attached at the other. The removably attached end contains a slot and shaft-like arrangement, but similar to Crandall '402, cannot independently rotate at either end and does not provide adjustability to account for a different sized occupant.
Several prior art patents have disclosed a single-swivel tray adapted to be attached to the arm of a chair, table or other base member. U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,526 discloses a single-swivel tray removably attached to an arm member for the purposes of providing health care. U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,737 discloses a similar single-swivel tray wherein the tray can be detached from a base member by the simple removal of two clips. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 1,324,503 discloses a single-swivel tray which can rotate away from the chair's occupant such that the occupant may place food on the tray and sit in the chair. The tray is subsequently rotated toward the occupant so the food may be accessed in a more comfortable dining fashion. U.S. Pat. No. 686,914 discloses a combination seat wherein single-swivel trays horizontally swing away from one fixed hinge. The seats contain book holders and other scholarly conveniences and are supported by a single post member.


An adjustable dumbbell featuring a handle containing an internal selection mechanism within series of nested weight units. The selection device is operated by a single action, in this case by turning a knob, which extends or retracts bars contained in the handle to attach a desired number of weight units to the handle.

Traditional dumbbells and barbells have been used for over a century for building body strength and continue to be used for general fitness, strength and endurance training, and physical rehabilitation.
There are two types of dumbbells: fixed and adjustable.
Fixed dumbbells are typically one solid piece of metal with a handle in the center. Fixed dumbbells present a problem for storage in limited space, being that usually two of each weight increment takes up a significant amount of room. Each set must also be purchased separately, making an entire set rather expensive. A set of fixed dumbbells is also not very portable, specifically moving the entire set is very inconvenient.
There are a variety of adjustable dumbbells designs, ranging from simple to very elaborate. Each of the existing designs has significant drawbacks. They stricken with one or more of the following problems: they take too much time to change weight, are not useable by someone with large hands, are unwieldy, are difficult to change weights, or pose a safety hazard.
The initial designs for adjustable dumbbells included individual disc-shaped weights with holes in the center that would slide onto a round bar and secured to the handle by means of some sort of locking collar. These collars might screw on, use a spring clamp, or have a collar with a threaded locking pin. If the collars are loose or loosen during use, they pose a safety hazard because the weights can fall off the handle.
Some innovative designs of adjustable dumbbells have appeared in the last decade. They use either an internal or external mechanism that attaches a desired number of weights to a handle. Although these designs show some promise, each has drawbacks and limitations.
These limitations include such elements as: external selection mechanisms which pose a safety hazard, mechanisms that are limited in their function, mechanisms that are overly complicated, mechanisms that prohibit general usefulness or user comfort, devices that would not be reliable or sturdy, or some combination of the above. Some concepts that the present devices uses are mentioned in previously submitted material, but are not put together to make a safe, versatile, durable and user-friendly mechanism. There is room among these innovations for further advancement in design and application.
The rack-and-pinion system is not a new technology. The present invention is unique in using not only the rack-and-pinion system, but combining it with a basic gear drive to extend the travel of the sliding elements, increasing the number of weights that the device may hold. This transmission system is also unique in that it further adds both safety and convenience of not having a users hand on the weight selection device during normal use.
The present invention utilizes specific design features that ensure proper function. Unlike previous devices, the present devices contains all of the following features: a rack-and-pinion device contained within the handle, a basic transmission for maximum travel of extendable elements, mechanisms for locking extendable elements in each incremental position, indicator of currently selected weight, and nested weight units that have bars attached to the sides of the plates for required support.
In summary, the present invention is the next generation of adjustable dumbbells, using both established concepts and new design features to create the simplest and safest adjustable dumbbell.


A gas laser includes an enclosure forming a first chamber, a second chamber and a lasing chamber which communicates through a first opening to the first chamber and through a second opening to the second chamber. The lasing chamber has a pair of reflectors defining a Fabry-Perot cavity. Separate inlets enable different gases to be introduced into the first and second chambers. A first cathode within the first chamber is provided to produce positive ions which travel into the lasing chamber and a second cathode of a pin-hollow type within the second chamber is provided to produce negative ions which travel into the lasing chamber. A third inlet introduces a molecular gas into the lasing chamber, where the molecular gas becomes excited by the positive and negative ions and emits light which lases in the Fabry-Perot cavity.

The present invention relates to gas lasers; and more particularly to gas lasers that are capable of continuous wave (CW) lasing action.
Gas lasers typically comprise a chamber containing a gas which emits light when excited by an electric discharge. An anode and a cathode within the chamber are biased to provide electrical excitation of the gas. Mirrors at opposite ends of the chamber form a Fabry-Perot cavity which causes the light emitted by the gas to lase. Some gas lasers are a closed system in that the chamber is sealed with the gas therein, while others have inlets and outlets with the gas flowing through the chamber.
It is often desirable in many applications of lasers to provide continuous lasing action, as opposed to pulsed action. However, conventional lasers can operate in the continuous wave (CW) mode only at certain wavelengths. Thus it is desirable to be able to enable continuous operation at a wider variety of wavelengths within the ultraviolet and visible spectra.

Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation


A multiprocessor system with power-on reset, comprising a plurality of printed circuit boards each provided with at least one processor, is provided. A power supply voltage monitor circuit is mounted on at least one of the printed circuit boards to provide a reset signal by detecting change of voltage when a power supply is energized. A first signal line serially connects the power supply voltage monitor circuit to all printed circuit boards, and a second signal line returning from the last printed circuit board may be provided, the processors having reset signal lines connected to the second signal line.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multiprocessor system which is provided with a plurality of printed circuit boards for power-on reset of processors when the power is turned on.
Generally, in the case of driving a processor, the reset processing is executed for initializing programs so that each of the programs is executed correctly when the power is turned on.
Particularly, each processor must be reset simultaneously in the multiprocessor system which executes the one process with a plurality of processors by respectively providing the processors in an of processing function.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 show a structure of a multiprocessor system of the prior art. FIG. 1 is a structure providing a plurality of processors in a single printed circuit board. The printed circuit board 1 is provided with processors 2.sub.1, 2.sub.2.
Both processors 2.sub.1, 2.sub.2 are respectively provided with a power supply voltage monitor circuit 3 to supply the power-on reset signal. Upon detection of 5V power supply voltage, the power supply voltage monitor circuit 3 outputs a reset signal. The processors 2.sub.1, 2.sub.2 are reset with the power-on reset signal of the power supply voltage monitor circuit 3.
The structure shown in FIG. 1 has a plurality of processors on one printed circuit board. Namely, a plurality of processors operate with a common power supply. Therefore, the printed circuit board is provided with only one power supply voltage monitor circuit. This monitor circuit supplies the power-on reset signal to each processor when the power is turned ON.
This structure is effective for executing simple processing with the multiprocessor. However, the structure which carries out complicated processing requires many input/output circuits in the periphery of processors. Therefore, provision of many processors on one printed circuit board results in problems.
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show the structure providing the processors on a plurality of printed circuit boards.
In FIG. 2, 4.sub.1 and 4.sub.2 designate printed circuit boards and these are connected with a connector 5.
The processor 6 and power supply voltage monitor circuit 7 are provided on the printed circuit board 4.sub.1, while the processor 6.sub.2 is provided on the printed circuit board 4.sub.2.
Here, when the power supply is turned on for the printed circuit boards 4.sub.1 and 4.sub.2, the power supply voltage monitor circuit 7 detects a supply of power source voltage and outputs the reset signal. With the reset signal of the power supply voltage monitor circuit 7, the processor 6.sub.1 is power-on reset and the processor 6.sub.2 is also power-on reset through a connector 5.
As shown in FIG. 2, the structure where a plurality of processors are reset by the power supply voltage monitor circuit 7 provided on one printed circuit board has merit in that a plurality of processors are reset simultaneously. However, when power is turned on while a fault is generated in the connector connecting the printed circuit boards, only one printed circuit board is reset and the other processors are not reset.
As explained above, here rises a problem that the system as a whole operates without control because the other processors are not reset.
FIG. 3 indicates a structure that the printed circuit board 8.sub.1 is provided with the power supply voltage monitor circuit 10.sub.1 and the processor 9.sub.1. The printed circuit board 8.sub.2 is also provided with the power supply voltage monitor circuit 10.sub.2 and processor 9.sub.2.
In such a structure, when the power supplies of printed circuit boards 8.sub.1 and 8.sub.2 are turned on, the power supply voltage monitor circuit 10.sub.1 provided on the printed circuit board 8.sub.1 power-on resets the processor 9.sub.1 provided on the same printed circuit board 8.sub.1.
In the same way, the power supply voltage monitor circuit 10.sub.2 provided on the printed circuit board 8.sub.2 power-on resets the processor 9.sub.2 provided on the same printed circuit board 8.sub.2.
In FIG. 3, each of the power supply voltage monitor circuits outputs a reset signal at a different timing because a voltage level of each printed circuit board becomes stable at a different time. When the power is turned on, a deviation of power-on timing for all processors occurs. It is therefore no longer possible to simultaneously reset the processors 9.sub.1 and 9.sub.2.
Therefore, the system employing the multiprocessor structure noted above results in a problem that the processor process cannot be realized stably.
The structure of FIG. 1 also results in a problem that the structure of the printed circuit board becomes large because a plurality of processors for different functions are accommodated on the one printed circuit board.
On the other hand, the structure of FIG. 2 does not result in a problem that the structure of the printed circuit board becomes large, because only one processor is provided on the one printed circuit board.
However, this structure results in a problem that sometimes occurs that the reset signal from the power supply voltage monitor circuit is not reset if connection between the printed circuit boards is bad in the printed circuit board that is not providing the power supply voltage monitor circuit.
Unlike the case where reset is not carried out as shown in FIG. 2 because connection between the printed circuit boards is not related, the structure of FIG. 3 results in a problem that if power-on timing deviates, the processors 9.sub.1 and 9.sub.2 are no longer reset simultaneously.

Multiprocessor system with power-on reset function


A method for adaptively performing video decoding includes: performing decoding complexity management based upon bit stream information of an input bit stream, in order to determine whether to reduce decoding complexity of at least one component of a plurality of components within an adaptive complexity video decoder; and selectively reducing decoding complexity of a portion of components within the adaptive complexity video decoder. An associated adaptive complexity video decoder and an associated adaptive audio/video playback system are also provided. In particular, the adaptive complexity video decoder includes a plurality of components and a decoding complexity manager. When needed, the decoding complexity manager delays audio playback of audio information.

The present invention relates to video decoding, and more particularly, to a method for adaptively performing video decoding, and to an associated adaptive complexity video decoder and an associated adaptive audio/video playback system.
When an end user is viewing a video program utilizing a home theater system at home, encoded data of the video program is decoded for being displayed on a display panel of the home theater system, and the decoded results of the encoded data can be scaled up or scaled down to meet the size and resolution of the display panel. Typically, a decoding device of the home theater system can decode the encoded data with ease, no matter how complicated the algorithm for decoding the encoded data is, and no matter whether the resolution of the video program is high or not.
It would be very convenient for the end user to own a portable electronic device (e.g. a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA)) that can be utilized for viewing the same video program anywhere. However, when a research and development (R&D) team of a manufacturer is designing such a portable electronic device, some problems may arise. For example, the decoding capability of the portable electronic device may be insufficient in a situation where the algorithm for decoding the encoded data is too complicated and/or the resolution of the video program is high. In another example, the power consumption may be too high when one or more processing circuits within the portable electronic device operate at the highest operation frequency available. Thus, there is a need for highly efficient and cost effective video decoders, in order to play back video with acceptable quality using portable electronic devices with limited computing capability.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for adaptively performing video decoding, and associated adaptive complexity video decoder and adaptive audio/video playback system


A pair of saw blades includes a first blade, which is adapted to rotate in a first direction about an axis of rotation, and a second blade, which is adapted to rotate in a second direction opposite to said first direction about the same axis of rotation. Each blade has a blade body and cutting elements, which are provided along the periphery of the blade body and adapted to run close and in parallel to each other when the blades are rotating. A spacer, which extends into a space between the two blades, is attached to at least the blade body of one of the blades in order to support itself against and slide along a peripheral part of the other opposite blade.

In order to render cooperation possible of two saw blades, it is vital that a gap exists between their blade bodies. Traditionally this gap is created by turning down the adjacent sides of the blade bodies relatively to the periphery with the cutting elements, so that a circumferential ring is left along the periphery. This ring comprises both an unturned part of the blade body as well as said cutting elements.
One drawback of the state of the related art is that one when turning down must pay attention to that the lathe tool does not contact the cutting elements, because that might damage either the lath tool or the cutting elements. Furthermore the turning can give rise to stresses in the saw blade. Another drawback with the state of the related art is that one when optionally grinding the cutting elements must avoid contact between the grinding disc and the blade body, because one otherwise risks clogging of the grinding disc by the relatively soft material of the blade body.


The present invention provides a method of wireless telecommunication is provided. The method includes accessing a plurality of first data packets having a first size, accessing at least one second data packet having a second size, the second size being larger than the first size, forming a plurality of third data packets comprising portions of the at least one second data packet based upon the first and second sizes, and selecting at least one of the plurality of first data packets based upon the plurality of third data packets.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to telecommunication, and, more particularly, to a wireless telecommunication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional circuit-switched wireless telecommunication networks allow a mobile unit to establish a fixed connection, or link, to the network via a radio bearer. For example, in the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) protocol, a first mobile unit may form a fixed wireless telecommunication link with a second mobile unit via an air interface to a first base station, a first mobile switching center, a first radio network controller, a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), a second radio network controller, a second mobile switching center, and a second base station. Although the link is generally referred to as a wireless telecommunication link, persons of ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that the circuit-switched network may include wired and/or wireless connections between some elements of the network.
A single base station can establish a plurality of concurrent wireless telecommunication links with a plurality of mobile units using a plurality of channels. For example, in a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) protocol, each mobile unit may be associated with one of a plurality of orthogonal codes. The number of codes (sometimes referred to as the "spreading factor"), and thus the number of concurrent radio bearers that may be established by the base station, is typically limited by the data transmission rate. In general, the higher the data transmission rate, the lower the number of codes that may be supported by a base station. For example, a single base station may support up to 128 codes when implementing an Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) coding scheme that uses a coding rate of approximately 12 kbps. However, persons of ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that other factors, such as interference limits, soft handover overhead, and the like, may also influence the number of codes.
Voice and data may also be transmitted over a packet-switched network using a Voice over Internet Protocol (often referred to as VoIP). The Voice over Internet Protocol is increasingly common, at least in part because VoIP can handle voice and data communications homogeneously. Moreover, transmitting voice with VoIP may help reduce operational costs. In addition to conventional land-line telephones and cellular telephones, VoIP may be used to incorporate voice communications in devices such as personal data assistants, laptop computers, desktop computers, and the like.
To implement VoIP in a conventional wireless telecommunication network, the speech data frames are embedded in Internet Protocol (IP) data packets. The IP packet headers may increase the size of the data packets that are transmitted by the wireless telecommunication network. For example, the IP packet header for a speech data packet formed according to IP version 6 and using AMR 12.2 kbps coding would be about 300% of the size of a normal speech data frame. Consequently, the capacity of a packet-switched wireless telecommunication network would be reduced by a factor of about 3 relative to a circuit-switched wireless telecommunication network. In some instances, the IP packet headers may be compressed to reduce the overhead associated with transmitting speech data using VoIP. One compression method reduces the size of the IP packet header by removing predictable and/or static information from the header. For example, the size of the IP packet header may be reduced from about 60 bytes to about 2-3 bytes by reducing the information in the IP packet header to a sequence number, a context identifier, and a time stamp.
Not all IP packet headers may be compressed. For example, uncompressed or partially compressed IP packet headers may be sent when a mobile unit is being initialized or resynchronized, or when the network is recovering from an error. The uncompressed, or partially compressed, IP packet headers may include static and/or dynamic information that may be used to resynchronize the mobile unit or to recover from one or more transmission errors. FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates a conventional data stream 100 including a plurality of compressed data packets 105 and an uncompressed data packet 110. The vertical axis 120 indicates the size of the data packets 105, 110 and the horizontal axis 125 indicates the transmission time (or time slot) associated with the data packets 105, 110. The wireless telecommunication network is not generally able to predict when (or in what time slot) an uncompressed, or partially compressed, IP packet header will be required, so sufficient bandwidth should be reserved to transmit the uncompressed, or partially compressed, IP packet header when needed and/or requested.
One conventional technique for reserving bandwidth for the data packets that include the uncompressed, or partially compressed, IP packet header is to allocate a radio bearer that supports the data transmission rate required to transmit the uncompressed, or partially compressed, IP packet header without delay. This technique wastes a significant portion of the wireless telecommunication network resources because the spreading factor is then determined based upon the worst-case scenario in which the data transmission rate requirement for all data packets is determined based on the data rate requirement of the uncompressed, or partially compressed, IP packet headers. For example, as discussed above, the uncompressed IP packet header may be about 300% of the size of a normal speech data frame, so the required data transmission rate may be about triple the data transmission rate required to transmit compressed IP packet headers. Consequently, the spreading factor of a packet-switched wireless telecommunication network may be reduced by a factor of about three relative to the spreading factor of a circuit-switched wireless telecommunication network. Overall, this may degrade the wireless telecommunication network throughput by about a factor of three.
An alternative technique for reserving bandwidth for the data packets that include the uncompressed, or partially compressed, IP packet header is to allocate primary and secondary radio bearers having primary and secondary scrambling codes, respectively. In this technique, compressed data is transmitted using the primary radio bearer. The uncompressed or partially compressed IP packet headers, as well as the associated packet payloads, are transmitted using both the primary and secondary radio bearers.
Allocation of primary and secondary channels to carry uncompressed or partially compressed data packets has not yet been adopted in practice or as a wireless telecommunication standard, at least in part because of a number of recognized disadvantages. For example, allocating primary and secondary radio bearers may require important changes in the physical layer structure necessary to support transmission using a secondary scrambling code for the secondary radio bearer, such as specifying the distribution of the data over the primary and secondary codes and/or radio bearers. For another example, a loss of orthogonality between the primary and secondary scrambling codes may degrade the physical layer performance of the secondary scrambling code relative to transmitting the same data over two channels using a single scrambling code. For yet another example, the potential effects of interactions between the secondary scrambling code and the compression algorithm, which applies another scrambling code, have not yet been addressed.
Furthermore, adding a secondary radio bearer having a second scrambling code might not be sufficient to transmit the uncompressed, or partially compressed, IP packet header. As discussed above, the uncompressed IP packet header typically requires nearly 3 times the bandwidth of the compressed packets. Consequently, a third scrambling code might be required to transmit the uncompressed, or partially compressed, IP packet header, which makes the proposal more complicated and much more unlikely to be accepted as part of wireless telecommunication standards such as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project.
The present invention is directed to addressing the effects of one or more of the problems set forth above.

Method and apparatus for wireless communication using voice over internet protocol


A pool cleaner for cleaning a pool includes a housing, a pump for drawing liquid from the pool into the housing through an inlet and expelling the liquid through an outlet when the pool cleaner is submerged in the pool, a filter for trapping debris that is in the indrawn liquid, and a propulsion system for propelling the pool cleaner along a submerged surface within the pool. A controller is configured to determine a position of the pool cleaner on a stairway of the pool, and to control the propulsion system to stop ascending the stairway when the pool cleaner is determined to have ascended to a highest permissible stair of the stairway.

Electrically powered or robotic pool cleaners may be configured to operate autonomously in a pool to move along the floor and walls of the pool while cleaning the liquid contents and interior surfaces of the pool. For example, such robotic pool cleaners may be configured to operate autonomously during hours in which the pool is not in use.
A typical robotic pool cleaner includes a housing or shell that encloses internal components of the pool cleaner. For example, a filtering system of the pool cleaner may include a filter or other device for cleaning water or other liquid that is drawn into the pool cleaner from the pool. A pump may provide suction for drawing water, which may include suspended debris, into the pool cleaner and to the filter. A drive mechanism may operate to propel the pool cleaner over the interior surfaces of the pool. A controller, typically programmable, may control operation of the drive mechanism and the pump. The controller typically includes one or more electronic circuits, including a micro-controller and power circuits for controlling the drive and pump motors according to a pre-programmed schedule. The controller may be programmed to operate the pool cleaner in accordance with inputs from various sensors.

Pool cleaner with stair identification capability


A method for indicating repeat occurrences of advertisements in media content may include one or more of the following. The method may include inserting a first descriptor element for a media content in a media presentation description (MPD) associated with the media content. The method may include inserting a second descriptor element for a repeat occurrence of the media content in the MPD. The second descriptor element may indicate that, during the repeat occurrence of the media content, the media content be presented from the beginning.

Television has been used to present media content, for example advertisements. Media content may also be presented through a computing device, for example a personal computer, a tablet computers, or a smartphone. A computing device may present the media content through a browser or through an application. The computing device may download the media content, either partially or entirely, before presenting the media content. The computing device may stream the media content. The media content may include one or more advertisements. The advertisements may be selected based on the media content being presented. The advertisements may be selected based on a user profile associated with the computing device.
Advertising may occur during breaks over the duration of a show. Advertising rates may be determined by a media content rating system, for example the Nielsen ratings. Media content distributors may distribute content to local affiliates and cable television providers nationwide. Media content may be distributed as video streams that may be rendered, for example, by a digital television system or a video on demand (VOD) system. The video streams may carry advertisements that may be shown at the national level, but that may also allow for regional and/or local advertisements to be inserted in the stream.


The present invention relates to a process for the catalytic preparation of melamine by decomposition of urea over particular solid catalysts using a main reactor and an after-reactor. A catalyst having a low Lewis acidity is used in the main reactor and a catalyst having an equal or preferably higher Lewis acidity is used in the after-reactor.

Melamine, whose structure is represented by the formula I,
is used for preparing melamine resins by reaction with carbonyl-containing compounds. The resins are used, inter alia, as plastics and in paints and varnishes. The preparation of melamine by decomposition of urea is a known reaction which is utilized in a number of variants by the chemical industry. A distinction is made in principle between the high-pressure process and the low-pressure process. The high-pressure process is carried out at pressures of >about 80 bar (abs.) and temperatures of >370° C. in the absence of catalysts.
However, the low-pressure process which is carried out at pressures from about 1 to 10 bar (abs.) and temperatures of from 370 to 430° C. is of greater importance in the context of the present invention. It is known that the reaction proceeds in two steps. In the first, endothermic step, urea reacts to form ammonia and isocyanic acid which trimerizes in a second, exothermic step to form melamine and liberate CO2. The following equations describe the individual reactions.6H2N—C(O)—NH2→6 HN═C═O+6NH3□H=984 kJ/mol6HN═C═O→C3N3(NH2)3+3CO2□H=−355 kJ/mol6H2N—C(O)—NH2→C3N3(NH2)3+6 NH3+3 CO2□H=629 kJ/mol
There are three main variants of the low-pressure process, which are described in greater detail below.
In the process of Linz-Chemie, the reaction is carried out in two stages. In the first stage, molten urea is decomposed in a fluidized bed of sand at 350° C. and 3.5 bar (abs.) to form ammonia and isocyanic acid. Isocyanic acid is subsequently converted catalytically into melamine at 450° C. and atmospheric pressure in a fixed-bed reactor. The catalyst is generally an aluminum oxide catalyst.
The DSM-Stamicarbon process is a single-stage process carried out at about 7 bar (abs.). Catalysts used are aluminum silicates which are employed as a fluidized bed. The fluidizing gas is pure ammonia which is recovered by work-up of the offgas.
Finally, there is the BASF process. Here too, the reaction is carried out in a fluidized bed using aluminum oxide or aluminum oxide/silicon dioxide catalysts at a low pressure (about 2 bar abs.). The gas used for the fluidized bed is recycled gas from the reactor which comprises NH3 and CO2 and has previously been freed of impurities, generally by treatment with a urea melt which takes up the impurities.
A problem which frequently occurs when carrying out all the abovementioned catalytic processes, which in principle offer the advantage of simpler, cheaper apparatuses compared to the noncatalytic processes, is the deposition of higher condensation products of melamine on the surface of the catalyst (coating). An example which may be mentioned here is melem (C6H6N10, 2,5,8-triamino-1,3,4,6,7,9,9b-heptaazaphenalene) which is a three-ring compound made up of three fused triazine rings. The excessive deposition of condensation products is associated with deactivation of the catalyst, requiring regeneration of the catalyst, for example by thermal treatment and/or treatment with steam, air or ammonia, but in an extreme case also making replacement of the catalyst necessary. Since, in addition, deposition of condensation products on the catalyst proceeds relatively quickly to give a steady-state concentration of these products, deactivation frequently occurs after a very short period of time, so that periodic regeneration is not feasible because of the short time intervals.
There have hitherto been no systematic studies nor knowledge regarding the properties or compositions which a catalyst used in the synthesis of melamine has to have in order to achieve a high yield or a low degree of decomposition.
JP-A 08 027 126 claims a γ-Al2O3 catalyst having defined acidity limits for the synthesis of melamine.
Thianranqi Huagong, 2001, volume 26, pages 23 to 25 (cited on the basis of CA 136:135396) discloses that active catalysts for the synthesis of the melamine can be obtained by mixing Al2O3 with zeolites or zeolites containing metal cations. The activity obtained is ascribed to the acidic centers of the catalyst.
However, it has been found that the use of catalysts having an increased acidity is not able to solve the problems of catalyst deactivation, in particular as a result of deposit formation, and the low conversions associated therewith.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a process by means of which it is possible to obtain high conversions and melamine yields without premature deactivation of the catalyst as a result of deposit formation occurring, particularly under the chosen reaction conditions.
We have found that this object is achieved by a process for the catalytic preparation of melamine by decomposition of urea over solid catalysts using a main reactor and an after-reactor, wherein a catalyst having a low Lewis acidity is used in the main reactor and a catalyst having an equal or higher Lewis acidity is used in the after-reactor.

Two-stage reactor for the production of melamine


The present invention provides a rolling bearing, for a tenter clip, which is capable of restraining deterioration of a sealing member even though the sealing member contacts ester oil, and is excellent in reliability and durability at high temperatures. A periphery of an outer ring of the rolling bearing for use in the tenter clip of a film-stretching apparatus is lubricated with the ester oil. In the sealing member which covers openings disposed at both axial ends of an inner ring and the outer ring of the rolling bearing, at least a portion of the sealing member which contacts the ester oil is made of (A) a fluororubber molding of a vulcanizable fluororubber composition which comprises a copolymer containing tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), propylene, and a to-be-crosslinked monomer consisting of unsaturated hydrocarbon, having two to four carbon atoms, in which a part of hydrogen atoms is substituted with fluorine atoms or (B) a fluororubber molding of at least one fluororubber composition selected from a vulcanizable fluororubber composition containing a TFE-propylene binary copolymer and a vulcanizable fluororubber composition containing a vinylidene fluoride-TFE-propylene ternary copolymer.

An example of an apparatus for molding a stretched film made of resin is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 shows an example of an apparatus for producing a biaxially oriented film made of resin. FIG. 5 shows a guide rail of a transversely stretching device of FIG. 4. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the apparatus for producing a biaxially oriented film has an extruder 9 for fusing and kneading resin, a die head (T die) 10 for shaping the fused and kneaded resin into a raw sheet and extruding the resin, a longitudinally stretching device 11 for longitudinally stretching the raw sheet, a transversely stretching device 13 for widthwise stretching the sheet which has been longitudinally stretched, and a drawing/winding device 14 for drawing and winding a biaxially oriented film stretched longitudinally and transversely. The transversely stretching device 13 has a pair of guide rails 12 which circulate, a plurality of tenter clips 15 which circulate on the guide rails 12 at regular intervals, and a device for heating the sheet.
As shown in FIG. 5, in the transversely stretching device 13, the longitudinally stretched sheet is widthwise stretched along large-width portions 12a, 12b of the guide rails 12 with both edges of the sheet being successively gripped by the plurality of tenter clips 15, while the sheet is being heat-treated to form a biaxially oriented film stretched longitudinally and transversely. As shown in FIG. 4, the biaxially oriented film is wound by the drawing/winding device 14.
A rolling bearing for the tenter clip 15 is exposed to a temperature of 200 to 250° C. inside the transversely stretching device 13 for heat-treating the sheet. Therefore as a lubricant for the rolling bearing for the tenter clip, generally fluorine grease is enclosed therein in consideration of heat resistance thereof.
Ester oil is often used to lubricate the guide rail 12. When the ester oil penetrates into the bearing in which the fluorine grease is enclosed, the fluorine grease leaks from the bearing because the ester oil has a higher degree of affinity for metal than the fluorine grease. As a result, the heat resistance of the bearing deteriorates. In the rolling bearing for use in the tenter clip, as a method for preventing the leak of the fluorine grease, a method of using a mixed oil of the ester oil and fluorine oil as a base oil is known (see patent document 1).
The method of using the mixed oil of the ester oil and the fluorine oil as the base oil is effective for preventing the leak of the fluorine grease. By using an appropriate material for a sealing apparatus of the bearing, for example, a sealing member of the bearing, it is possible to effectively prevent the penetration of the ester oil and the leak of the fluorine grease. In this case, as the sealing apparatus, a noncontact or light contact sealing member made of rubber is suitable. In consideration of an atmospheric temperature, generally fluororubber is used as the rubber material. As a fluororubber composition which is conventionally used as a material for sealing the bearing, generally vinylidene fluoride rubber (hereinafter referred to as FKM) such as a vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene binary copolymer (VDF-HFP), a ternary copolymer (VDF-HFP-TFE) obtained by adding tetrafluoroethylene to the above-described binary copolymer, and the like are used.
However, the above-described fluororubber compositions may swell depending on a state of contact with oil and a temperature because the fluororubber compositions have a high polarity and a high affinity for the ester oil. Generally the sealing member is made of a composite material consisting of a core made of a metal plate and rubber. When the rubber portion swells, a sealing portion of the noncontact sealing member contacts oil or in the case of the light contact sealing member, the tensional force of the sealing portion increases. As a result, there arises a problem that the rotational torque of the bearing increases.
Because the film-stretching apparatus is used at high temperatures, generally an antioxidant such as an amine compound is added to the ester oil serving as the lubricating oil for the guide rail to prevent oxidative deterioration thereof. When amine contacts the FKM, a crosslinking reaction occurs at the vinylidene fluoride of the FKM and consequently the rubber hardens and deteriorates.
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-301167


This invention relates to lamp fuel composition for colored flames and manufacturing method thereof, comprising solvents, coloring agents, capillary linkers, supporters, and flavors. The lamp fuel composition for colored flames presented by this invention provides sustained powerful flames of various colors, such as green, red, yellow, blue, or pink, producing a decorative lighting, wherein the said composition is prepared through a series of process, such as stirred-blending, heating, and then cooling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lamp fuel composition for colored flames and manufacturing method thereof. More specifically, this invention relates to lamp fuel composition for brilliant colored flames for interior decoration or various festivals, and desirable manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, wick-used lamp fuel for colored flames which have remarkable effect of interior decoration or festival decor is not reported, but without using wick, liquid combustion composites for luminous flames of various colors, such as red, green, yellow, blue, and the like is known art (CN U.S. Pat. No. 1,102,175). Although wick-used candle composites for colored flames refers to U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,922, such composites cannot been put to the practical use as lamp fuel because it is impossible to use the composites themselves as lamp fuel; metal salts in the composites are toxic; and highly inflammable solvents which dissolve the composites are not suitable for using as lamp fuel for interior decoration or festival considering the possibility of fire. Moreover, when burning such metal salts are charred and harden at lamp container, and hence cannot show action as a so-called wick of wick which absorbs up the lamp fuel on the principle of the capillary phenomenon, to result in a notable decrease in respect of the sustenance of combustion. In this invention considering above-mentioned problems, it is purposed that a harmless lamp fuel for colored flames and manufacturing method thereof can be provided, containing human-nontoxic luminous compounds instead of human-toxic metal salts.
Another purpose of this invention is to provide lamp fuel composition for colored flames, wherein the said lamp fuel composition can continuously produce colored flames in the similar state with lamp wick not hardening.
Further purpose of this invention is to provide lamp fuel composition for colored flames, wherein for interior decoration or festival the fuel lamp composition contains compounds of low inflammability in the fuel apt to cause a fire.
Finally, additional purpose of this invention is to provide lamp fuel composition for colored flames, wherein the combustion of the lamp fuel composition cannot be accompanied by any smells or fumes and the combustible materials may not pollute surrounding environment.
The purpose of this invention is achieved by using as lamp fuel and then evaluating the above-mentioned composition, which comprises solvent dissolving coloring agent which provides colored flames when burning, capillary linker, flavor, and supporter; and which is prepared through a series of process, such as stirred- blending, heating, and then cooling.
The lamp fuel composition for colored flames is characterized by the step of selecting luminous coloring agent;
the step of preparing alcohol solution;
the step of electrolysis at the established temperature, voltage, and current in the said alcohol solution;
the step of preparing thermally stable metal colloidal solution which is obtained by airtight-heating the solution prepared by the said electrolysis at high temperature and high pressure; and
the step of adding capillary linker, supporter and flavor to the prepared metal colloidal solution, or in another way after dissolving coloring agent directly in solvent, adding the said capillary linker, supporter and flavor to such colloidal solution, followed by stirring, heating, and cooling to prepare the above-mentioned lamp fuel composition.
The coloring agent of the lamp fuel composition presented in this invention is selected depending on a type of colored flames. The selection of such coloring agent results in producing a characteristic flame and intended decoration effect.
According to kind of coloring agent, the composition of this invention can provide one colored flames selected from the group consisting of red, green, yellow, blue, pink, violet, or light purple colored flames, and manufacturing method thereof can vary to some extent.

Lamp fuel composition for colored flames and manufacturing method thereof


An object tracking system which includes a plurality of camera devices, each of which captures image data, a plurality of thin-client processors, each of which is connected to a respective camera device via a local connection, each thin-client processor hosting a thin-client application that processes the captured image data to obtain two-dimensional foreground region information by using a background subtraction algorithm, and a server hosting an object tracking application that receives the foreground region information from each thin-client processor via a network and generates a three-dimensional visual hull corresponding to each foreground region represented in the received foreground region information, wherein the object tracking application generates identification and position data corresponding to each three-dimensional visual hull. The thin-client application uses two-dimensional object tracking to identify each object in the foreground region information, and sends each object identity to the object tracking application with the foreground region information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a system for identifying and tracking three-dimensional objects by utilizing a distributed system of thin-clients connected to cameras and a server which creates a three-dimensional visual hull for the objects recorded by the cameras.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, object detection using cameras is performed by a single stereo-type camera which sends the image information to a central processor that performs two-dimensional filtering and uses object templates to determine the position of an object. Other known camera systems include the use of multiple cameras wherein the image data from each camera is sent to a central processor that determines foreground centroid coordinate information for each camera and then triangulates the position of each object based on the collective centroid coordinate information.
The foregoing known techniques suffer from the problem of either using only two-dimensional data in the first example, or using only three-dimensional centroid estimates in the second example, both of which are known to result in unreliable object position estimates. In addition, both techniques fail to construct three-dimensional volumes of the objects being tracked to provide a more reliable estimation of the object size and movement relative to the background of the camera image. The aforementioned techniques also often have difficulty when attempting to track multiple objects, especially when the objects are near each other. Finally, the foregoing techniques are processing intensive because they use a central processor for performing all image processing and they are therefore limited in scalability.

Three-dimensional object tracking using distributed thin-client cameras


An apparatus and method for filling a continuous air filling type air enclosure with air comprises moving first an air cylinder film sheet onto a working platform, hot-sealing two outer films of the air cylinder film sheet using a hot sealing device to form an air filling passageway, moving an air filling head into the air filling passageway and then using a clamping apparatus to press the two outer films tightly to attach onto the air filling head to allow air in the air filling head to be filled into the air filling passageway and enter an air cylinder of the air cylinder film sheet via an air inlet of the air cylinder film sheet to cause the air cylinder to be filled with air and expanded.

Generally, when an article is packed material is always stuffed between the article and the container, typically a soft material such as foam or Styrofoam to provide the article with protective cushioning. However, foam and Styrofoam cause environmental protection problems. As environmental consciousness is currently rising Styrofoam is not a suitable cushioning material.
To solve the problem mentioned above, an air packing bag made by hot-sealing two sheets of thin plastic film is made. This provides cushioning protection for a packed article while it is being shaken. Air bag packing largely constitutes a plurality of air cylinders independent of one another, where each air cylinder has its own independent air inlet. Inflation must be carried out on the air inlet of each air cylinder, so that the air filling process consumes much time.
Please refer to FIG. 13. An air filling head Al disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,466 is stretched into two sheets of film A2 to carry out the air filling process by allowing air first to enter air filling passageway A3, and then to fill air cylinder A5 via air valve A4, causing air cylinder A3 to be filled with air and expanded. However, the two sheets of film are not attached to air filling head Al closely, causing the air filled through air filling head A1 to leak out. Not only is the air bag unable to be filled effectively, air cylinder A5 cannot be uniformly filled with air.
Please refer to FIG. 14. An air filling head A1 disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,410,119 is stretched into two sheets of film A2 to carry out the air filling process by allowing air to enter air cylinder A5, filling it with air and expanding it, and a hot sealing roller A6 is used to hot-seal the two sheets of film A2 to seal air cylinder A5 after the air filling process is completed. However, air filling head A1 can only fill one single air cylinder (A5), at a time. This not only results in low air filling efficiency, but also renders the air filling process ineffective due to the fact that air may easily leak while the air filling process is carried out to, resulting in air cylinders A5 filled with air and expanded, but unable to bear a strong blow.

Apparatus and method for filing continuous air filling type air enclosure with air


A method for testing a loss control material, the method including filling a testing environment in a testing system with a first fluid, injecting a loss control material in a second fluid into the testing environment from a first end of the testing system, thereby displacing the first fluid across the testing environment to a second end of the testing system, and monitoring a formation of a barrier created by the loss control material.

During the drilling of a wellbore, various fluids are typically used in the well for a variety of functions. The fluids may be circulated through a drill pipe and drill bit into the wellbore, and then may subsequently flow upward through the wellbore to the surface. During this circulation, the drilling fluid may act to remove drill cuttings from the bottom of the hole to the surface, to suspend cuttings and weighting material when circulation is interrupted, to control subsurface pressures, to maintain the integrity of the wellbore until the well section is cased and cemented, to isolate the fluids from the formation by providing sufficient hydrostatic pressure to prevent the ingress of formation fluids into the wellbore, to cool and lubricate the drill string and bit, and/or to maximize penetration rate.
As stated above, wellbore fluids are circulated downhole to remove rock, as well as deliver agents to combat the variety of issues described above. Fluid compositions may be water-based or oil-based and may comprise weighting agents, surfactants, proppants, and polymers. However, for a wellbore fluid to perform all of its functions and allow wellbore operations to continue, the fluid stays in the borehole. Frequently, undesirable formation conditions are encountered in which substantial amounts or, in some cases, practically all of the wellbore fluid may be lost to the formation. For example, wellbore fluid can leave the borehole through large or small fissures or fractures in the formation or through a highly porous rock matrix surrounding the borehole.
Lost circulation is a recurring drilling problem, characterized by loss of drilling mud into downhole formations. It can occur naturally in formations that are fractured, highly permeable, porous, cavernous, or vugular. These earth formations can include shale, sands, gravel, shell beds, reef deposits, limestone, dolomite, and chalk, among others. The occurrence of a stuck pipe, hole collapse, loss of well control, and loss of or decreased production may be encountered while drilling and producing oil and gas.
Lost circulation may also result from induced pressure during drilling. Specifically, induced mud losses may occur when the mud weight, for well control and to maintain a stable wellbore, exceeds the fracture resistance of the formations. A particularly challenging situation arises in depleted reservoirs, in which the drop in pore pressure weakens hydrocarbon-bearing rocks, but neighboring or inter-bedded low permeability rocks, such as shales, maintain their pore pressure. This can make the drilling of certain depleted zones impossible because the mud weight to support the shale exceeds the fracture resistance of the sands and silts.
Other situations arise in which isolation of certain zones within a formation may be beneficial. For example, one method to increase the production of a well is to perforate the well in a number of different locations, either in the same hydrocarbon bearing zone or in different hydrocarbon bearing zones, and thereby increase the flow of hydrocarbons into the well. Difficulties associated with producing from a well in this manner relates to the control of the flow of fluids from the well and to the management of the reservoir. For example, in a well producing from a number of separate zones (or from laterals in a multilateral well) in which one zone has a higher pressure than another zone, the higher pressure zone may disembogue into the lower pressure zone rather than to the surface. Similarly, in a horizontal well that extends through a single zone, perforations near the "heel" of the well, i.e., nearer the surface, may begin to produce water before those perforations near the "toe" of the well. The production of water near the heel reduces the overall production from the well.
During the drilling process muds are circulated downhole to remove rock as well as deliver agents to combat the variety of issues described above. Mud compositions may be water or oil-based (including mineral oil, biological, diesel, or synthetic oils) and may comprise weighting agents, surfactants, proppants, and gels. In attempting to cure these and other problems, crosslinkable or absorbing polymers, loss control material (LCM) pills, gels, and cement squeezes have been employed.


A device for displaying information in a hybrid vehicle comprises a display instrument that has multiple zones for displaying the current operating state of a combustion engine and of at least one electric motor in the hybrid vehicle. The power that the at least one electric motor can generate in a boost mode can be displayed in one of the zones. The display instrument includes a zone that can display the remaining time during which the at least one electric motor can be operated in the boost mode.

The invention relates to a device for displaying information in a hybrid vehicle, having a display instrument.
A device of the generic type is known from DE 195 33 829 C1. The display instrument here has a plurality of variable zone markings which can shift, for example, when the temperature of the battery supplying the electric motor with current changes.
The electric motor of a hybrid vehicle can be operated in a manner known per se in what is referred to as a boost mode in which the actual rated power is briefly exceeded. Such boosting can be used, for example, during an overtaking maneuver and can be triggered, for example, by a kickdown, that is to say complete depression of the gas pedal during which the maximum power of the drive is called. An example of such a boost mode is given in DE 10 2009 021 456 A1.
DE 10 2010 010 443 A1 describes a display device of a motor vehicle, in which device an available duration of boost of an electric motor of the motor vehicle is displayed in a central zone of a display field.
A further display device for a motor vehicle is described in DE 10 2007 030 524 A1. This presents a pointer which additionally signals the lack of driving capability in a first position and the driving capability in a second position.

Device for displaying information in a hybrid vehicle


A vertical blind (2) rail having an elongate channel (6) including a base wall (12) extending widthwise in a first direction between first and second base edges (14, 16), first and second side walls (18, 20) extending respectively from the first and second base edges to respectively first and second side edges (22, 24) in a second direction generally perpendicular to said first direction, first and second inturned flanges (26, 28) extending inwardly in generally said first direction from the first and second side edges respectively so as to define a slot (30) therebetween, wherein the vertical blind rail is formed by roll-forming a first elongate sheet into a cross-section partly conforming to the cross-section of an inner channel (10) of the blind rail, roll-forming a second elongate sheet into a cross-section partly conforming to the cross-section of an outer channel (8) of the blind rail, feeding the partly roll-formed first sheet for the inner channel into the partly roll-formed second sheet for the outer channel, and roll-forming the first and second sheets together to form the blind rail.

According to this invention, there is provided a blind rail having an elongate channel including an elongate inner channel for supporting or retaining blind components and an elongate outer channel having means for mounting of the rail, said inner channel being accommodated within said outer channel.
Also according to this invention, there is provided a blind rail, as defined above, wherein said elongate channel includes:
a base wall extending widthwise in a first direction between first and second base edges;
first and second side walls, extending respectively from said first and second base edges to respectively first and second side edges in a second direction generally perpendicular to said first direction;
first and second inturned flanges extending inwardly from said first and second side edges respectively in generally said first direction so as to define a slot therebetween; and wherein
said base wall, said first and second side walls and at least part of said first and second inturned flanges respectively include an inner base wall, first and second inner side walls and first and second inturned inner flanges of said inner channel.
Further according to this invention, there is provided a method of forming a blind rail as defined above comprising:
roll-forming a first elongate sheet into a cross-section partly conforming to the cross-section of the inner channel;
roll-forming a second elongate sheet into a cross-section partly conforming to the cross-section of the outer channel;
feeding the partly roll-formed inner channel into the partly roll-formed outer channel; and
roll-forming the first and second sheets together to obtain the blind rail.
In this way, the elongate channel of a blind rail can be formed by roll-forming and yet still have the inner cross-section formed independently of the outer cross-section. Internal functional features can be provided without being apparent on the outside of the channel and the external section can be shaped for a pleasing appearance without affecting the functional internal features. An inner channel can be formed from an elongate sheet of preferably metal material. An outer channel can likewise be formed from an elongate sheet of preferably metal material. Also the external section or channel can be shaped for different mounting methods while at the same time having a pleasing appearance. The inner and outer sheets together provide improved strength. Furthermore, they can be made of different materials according to requirements for internal and external features. Indeed, the outer sheet forming the outer channel can be coated for a pleasing appearance, without coating the sheet forming said inner channel.
Preferably, at a position intermediate said first and second base edges and said first and second side edges respectively, the sheet forming the inner channel at least one of the first and second inner side walls is folded back on itself so as to form an inwardly facing support flange extending inwardly in generally said first direction, whereby blind components can be supported or retained by the support flange. In the case of a vertical blind head rail these support flanges can be formed to support slat carriages. In the case of a horizontal blind the support flanges can be formed to accommodate the tilt-supports. In the case of a curtain the flanges can be formed to accommodate the curtain gliders, and in the case of a roller blind, provisions can be made to carry the central shaft.
In this way, internal support provisions can be created by the sheet forming said inner channel, such as for supporting vertical blind carriers, without any effect on the outer appearance of the elongate channel.
Preferably, at least one of said first and second base edges, the sheet forming the outer channel is folded back on itself so as to form a mounting flange extending outwardly in generally said first direction, whereby the mounting flange can be used to mount the head rail adjacent to an architectural opening.
Hence, the sheet forming said outer channel can be folded so as to provide means for connecting to a mounting bracket.
Preferably, the sheets forming a first outer side wall of said outer channel, between the first base edge and the first side edge, is spaced apart from said first inner side wall. Between the first base edge and the first side edge, said first outer side wall can have a generally convex or outwardly curved outer form.
Thus, at parts of the cross-section of the elongate channel, the outer channel can take a different form to the inner channel and leave a space therebetween. Hence, the outer sheet formed into the outer channel can form a pleasing outwardly curved surface, whilst leaving the internal functional channel wall flat.
Preferably, adjacent said mounting flange, the sheet of said outer channel forming said first outer side wall is folded back on itself forming an extension extending in generally upward direction so as to hide or cover said mounting flange.
In this way, the sheet forming said outer channel can conceal features of the inner elongate channel. In particular, where the first base edge is provided with a mounting flange, by folding the outer sheet of the first side wall of said outer channel back on itself forming said extension in generally an upward direction it covers or hides the first base edge, and thus the mounting flange will also be concealed when the blind rail is installed adjacent an architectural opening.
The innermost sections of the inturned flanges defining the slot are formed only from the sheet forming said outer channel, by being folded back on itself so as to overlap on the inside of the sheet forming the inner channel.
In this way, the inner channel is securely fixed within the outer channel and the outer channel provides a complete concealment of the inner channel.
At least one edge of the sheet forming the outer channel can be folded back on itself so as to be sandwiched between the respective sheets forming said outer channel and said inner channel.
This provides a secure fixing and prevents there being any sharp edges within the channel.
The sheet forming said inner channel of at least one of the first and second inturned flanges can include an inwardly facing deflection against which an edge of the sheet forming said outer channel abuts.
In this way, where the sheet forming said outer channel is folded onto the inside of the inturned flanges, it is prevented from sliding relative to the sheet forming said inner channel, since its edge abuts the inwardly facing deflection.
Other aspects, features, and details of the present invention can be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the drawings and from the appended claims.


Techniques and display systems that provide a tile display screen made up by adjacent constituent screens with a reduced level of visibility of a gap between two adjacent constituent screens.

This patent document relates to display systems that use multiple display screens to form larger display screens.
Large display screens can be formed by placing small display screens in an array. As an example, a image of 640×480 pixels can be displayed by arranging four images each having 320×240 pixels in a 2×2 array form. Examples for such display screens formed by smaller screens include a video wall where multiple TV sets are stacked in a two-dimensional array. Each TV set is controlled to display a portion of the full image and different portions of the full images are displayed by different TV sets.

Reducing visibility of inter-screen gap in tiled display systems


A hosiery donning aid apparatus comprises a body formed as a channel having interior and exterior surfaces and two outer edges extending along a longitudinal axis of the body. A frictional arrangement is provided consisting of a multiplicity of spaced from each other frictional ribs extending outwardly from the exterior surface in such a manner that a substantial gap separates each end of each frictional rib from the respective outer edges.

This invention relates to devices adapted to provide assistance to persons who are unable to don hosiery without help. More specifically, it relates to a hosiery donning aid apparatus having improved engagement with the hosiery item.
It is well known that people with various physical conditions have great difficulty dressing themselves. This often creates obstacles for them to live independently. Many people who suffer from back, hip or knee disorders find it difficult, if not impossible, to put on hosiery without assistance. To put on or don a foot covering such as a sock or stocking is frequently difficult due to the various combinations of leg and arm limitations that affect this activity. Examples of limited physical conditions include diminished range of motion in the back or knee, or leg strength, such that the foot cannot easily be brought into reach. Another example is limited hand strength or limited range of motion in the fingers of both hands. Such conditions make it difficult to widen the opening of the foot covering while simultaneously inserting the toes and heel of one foot into the opening. The difficulty may be pronounced for foot coverings such as a support stocking intended to fit snuggly on the foot.
Several kinds of devices have been proposed by the prior art and which are designed to alleviate the above discussed problems. These devices are adapted to provide assistance of such nature that a person who is unable to don hosiery without help need not require the services of another person.
Some of such devices are more effective than others, but many of them have certain drawbacks such as maintaining an article of hosiery on the device in certain position during and following insertion of a person's foot into such article. These problems encountered with previously known devices relates to the difficulty of immobilizing the device during application of the hosiery to the person's foot and leg.
It is also well known that physical disability makes it difficult to properly coordinate positioning of the foot within the hosiery item in such a manner that the toes and heel of a foot are properly situated within the respective portions of a stocking. One of the major functions of the prior art devices is to assist in this important task. However, after insertion of the available donning aid into the interior of the stocking it is quite difficult to coordinate and retain the required position of the aid within the interior of the stocking. In order to achieve this important task, a proper engagement has to be assured between the stocking aid and the interior of the hosiery items. The known devices for accomplishing these functions are often complex, expensive, and require a significant amount of hand strength for accomplishing this task.
Thus, there has been a long-felt unsolved need to provide a hosiery donning aid capable of retaining its position after being inserted within the interior of the stocking. There has also been a need for such devices which are simple, effective, easy to use and inexpensive to manufacture.

Friction arrangement for hosiery donning aid


A geared motor includes a rotor mounted rotatably to a motor housing and having an output shaft along a rotating axis, and a stator secured to the motor housing to surround the rotor. The stator has a plurality of angularly displaced core segments with wall areas confronting magnetic pole units on the rotor, and a plurality of windings wound respectively around the core segments to create a torque so as to drive the output shaft. A planetary gear assembly includes a sun wheel mounted on the output shaft, an annulus secured to the motor housing and having an internally toothed annular surface, and a planet wheel meshing with the toothed surface and the sun wheel. A rotary member is rotated by a speed reduction drive transmitted from the planet wheel about a transmitting axis aligned with the rotating axis.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a geared motor, more particularly to a geared motor, such as a brushless DC motor with a planetary gear assembly mounted thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional motor with a speed reduction device generally employs a coupler or a power-transmitting mechanism to couple an output shaft of the motor with an input rotating shaft of the speed reduction device so as to deliver a speed reduction drive. As the motion and/or power is transmitted from the motor to the speed reduction device through the coupler or the power-transmitting mechanism, mechanical loss will result due to friction. Moreover, since the conventional motor and the speed reduction device are designed and fabricated independently, and are assembled together with other power-transmitting elements, mechanism support frames, and corresponding fasteners, the resultant assembly has a large number of components, which not only increases manufacturing and maintenance costs but also affects the working precision of the assembly. In addition, the assembly as a whole is bulky.

Geared motor with planetary gear assembly


A route inquiry method in ASON for implementing the route inquiry by the network element NE1 which has a protocol controller (PC) and a connection controller (CC) but without a route controller (RC) or routing database (RDB) having no enough information includes: NE1 sends a protocol message of Route Request to the remote NE2, then the NE2 obtains the route result according to the Route Request, and returns the result to NE1 which launches the Route Request by protocol message of Route Response; the PC of NE1 sends the route result to the CC of local network element after receiving the Route Response protocol message.

Optical networks, such as OTN (Optical transmission network), WDM (Wavelength-division multiplexing), SDH (Synchronous digital hierarchy) or SONET (Synchronous optical network) have been widely applied in the telecommunication field.
Recently, the automatic switched optical network (ASON) is one of research hotspots in the field of optical networks. The concept of ASON is offered by ITU-T G.8080, and the function of ASON is achieved through a specific Control Plane (CP). ITU-T G.7713 specifies the framework to implement distributed calls and connections in ASON and offers the implementation criterion for automatically establishing, modifying and deleting the calls and connections. Standards such as ITU-T G.7715 offer the implementation model and method for the route inquiry of connection (the route inquiry described in the following refers to the route inquiry of connections, unless especially declared).
However, the published ITU-T G.7715 and ITU-T G.7715.1 apply the model shown in FIG. 1. In this route model, when a certain network element (NE) in ASON needs to query the route of connection, the Connection Controller (CC) which is responsible for the connection control (including establishment, deletion, modification, and so on) sends the Route Request to the Route Controller (RC) which is responsible for route inquiry and calculation, and then the RC calls a route algorithm (a typical route algorithm is Constrained Shortest Path First, shortly CSPF) according to the Route Request and calculates the route based on the routing database (RDB) of the node and returns the route calculation result (Route Response for short) to the CC.
However, the RDB of a node is generally hard to have the complete route information of the whole ASON, thus the model shown in FIG. 1 can not meet the requirements of route inquiry and calculation. Therefore, the model shown in FIG. 2 is offered in the related technology in recent years, and the model is derived from the model shown in FIG. 1, that is, when the CC of a certain NE in the ASON launches a Route Request of a connection to the RC, the RC will call CSPF according to the Request and implement the route calculation based on the RDB of the node. If the related route can not be found, the local RC will transmit the Route Request to another related ASON NE having a more complete RDB through protocol control component (PC for short). The RC of the other related NE calls CSPF after it receives the Route Request through PC and completes the route calculation based on the RDB of the node, and returns the Route Response to the ASON NE which launches the Request. This ASON NE will return the Route Response to its CC.
ITU-T G.8080 suggests that the CP in ASON should apply a flexible framework, that is, any ASON NE may lack a certain component, e.g., RC. Therefore, if a ASON NE without RC which needs to query the route, the route inquiry can not be implemented by either the method shown in FIG. 1 or the one shown in FIG. 2.


A data transfer control device, which transfers a large capacity of data speedily and sequentially, has three buffers that are used as a WR (write) buffer, an intermediate buffer, and an RD (read) buffer. To send data sequentially, the data transfer control device switches-over the buffers in one of the following three ways (A), (B), and (C), using determination flags indicating whether the buffers store effective data (data not yet referenced). A buffer control device switches-over (A) the WR buffer and RD buffer if a WR buffer effective flag 33 is on and an intermediate buffer effective flag 34 and an RD buffer effective flag 35 are off, (B) the WR buffer and the intermediate buffer if the WR buffer effective flag 33 and the RD buffer effective flag 35 are on and the intermediate buffer effective flag 34 is off, and (C) the intermediate buffer and the RD buffer if the intermediate buffer effective flag 34 is on and the RD buffer effective flag 35 is off.

Conventionally, a data transfer control device with a triple-buffer configuration is known. For example, Patent Document 1 introduces a data buffering device configured in such a way that the buffer in which the most recent data is written can be referenced by priority. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of the data buffering device described in Patent Document 1. In this configuration, three physical buffers, 222, 224, and 226 are used as any one of the write buffer, read buffer, and storage buffer based on the information stored in a buffer information register.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the buffer switching algorithm described in Patent Document 1. The flag in a buffer switching request register 214 is set to 1 when a data supply unit 100 has written data, and the flag in a buffer switching inhibition register 216 is set to 1 while data is being read by a data reference unit 110. When a buffer switching request is generated, the device checks the flag in the buffer switching inhibition register 216 (step S12). If the flag in the buffer switching inhibition register 216 is 0, the flag indicates that the read buffer is not used. In this case, the read buffer and the write buffer in which the most recent data is written are exchanged (step S14).
On the other hand, if the flag in the buffer switching inhibition register 216 is 1 in step S12 described above, the flag indicates that the read buffer is being used. In this case, the storage buffer and the write buffer area exchanged. After that, a storage buffer effective flag 215 is set to 1 (step S16) to indicate that data more recent than that in the current read buffer is stored in the storage buffer.
If the buffer switching inhibition register 216 is changed to 0 in step S10 described above, the flag indicates that the data reference unit 110 has finished reading data. Therefore, if the storage buffer effective flag 215 is 1 and data is stored in the storage buffer, the read buffer and the storage buffer are exchanged (step S20). If the storage buffer effective flag 215 is 0 and data is not stored in the storage buffer, the current read buffer stores the most recent data and therefore the buffers are not exchanged (return to step S10).
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Kokai Publication JP-P2001-282650A

Data transfer control device, image processing device, and data transfer control method


An image forming apparatus is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developing device, a gap retaining member and a control unit. The control unit decreases a potential difference according to an increase in the drive amounts of the image bearing member and the developer bearing member. The decrease is based on a difference according to an increase in at least one of the drive amounts of the image bearing member and the developer bearing member. The control unit is also configured to determine whether to execute a mode based on information about at least one of the driving amounts of the image bearing member and the developer bearing member from when the developing device is initially installed or the developing device is replaced.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus employing an electrophotographic method or an electrostatic recording method. In particular, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile, which includes a retaining member that retains a gap between an image bearing member and a developer bearing member.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile using an electrophotographic method includes a developing sleeve disposed in a position opposing a photosensitive drum. The photosensitive drum is an image bearing member on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and the developing sleeve is a developer bearing member which carries and conveys the developer. The image forming apparatus then generally performs a developing process in which the electrostatic latent image is visualized using the developer.
An image forming apparatus employing a two-component developing method uses a two-component developer in which non-magnetic toner and magnetic carrier are mixed at a predetermined ratio. When such an image forming apparatus performs the developing process, the photosensitive drum and the developing sleeve are disposed opposing each other with a predetermined gap (i.e., an S-D gap) between each other. A developing bias is then applied to the developing sleeve, so that the developing process performed using the toner in the developer. In such a case, if the S-D gap is too wide, electric field intensity between the photosensitive drum and the developing sleeve is reduced, so that it becomes more difficult to perform the developing process. On the other hand, if the S-D gap is too narrow, the electric field intensity becomes excessively great, so that an abnormal electrical discharge becomes easily generated, and image defect such as ring-shaped dots may occur.
To solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-175321 discusses an image forming apparatus that retains the S-D gap within a predetermined range as follows. A gap retaining member is disposed at an edge portion of the developing sleeve to abut on the drum surface.
However, a problem arises in the image forming apparatus including an image forming unit that attaches the gap retaining member to the developing sleeve to abut on the photosensitive drum as discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-175321. More specifically, there is friction against the gap retaining member due to rotation of the photosensitive drum or the developing sleeve. As a result, the gap retaining member becomes abraded, so that the S-D gap changes. In particular, abrasion is significant in the image forming apparatus in which a peripheral speed difference is set between the photosensitive drum and the developing sleeve that are disposed opposing to each other. The peripheral speed difference is set to convey a large amount of developer in a developing unit, i.e., the portion in which the photosensitive drum and the developing sleeve are disposed opposing each other, to improve developing performance. If the S-D gap becomes narrow due to abrasion of the gap retaining member, it becomes difficult for the two-component developer carried on and conveyed by the developing sleeve to pass through the S-D gap. Retention of the developer thus occurs in an area around the S-D gap.
The developer includes the magnetic carrier of which a thin layer is coated on the developing sleeve and is carried by a magnet disposed in the developing sleeve. If retention of the developer occurs in the area around the S-D gap as described above, the developer moves to a position in which the magnetic force of the magnet cannot hold the developer including the magnetic carrier. The developer including the magnetic carrier then overflows from a developing device, and eventually a transfer material to which the magnetic carrier attaches becomes discharged from the image forming apparatus. Further, the magnetic carrier that has overflowed from the developing device is conveyed to a transfer unit or a fixing unit along with the toner image, so that the image forming apparatus main body becomes greatly damaged.

Image forming apparatus having controllable potential difference