A device for installing wall base, such as carpet base, the device including a body member having a handle extending upwardly from the upper surface of the body member and graspable by a user to apply pressure to the body member during use of the device to install the wall base; and a pair of roller units mounted to the body member, wherein one roller unit is positionable to be urged against the flooring surface and the other roller unit is positionable to be urged against the wall base while the device is moved in a direction generally parallel to the length of the wall base to enable the user to apply pressure to the wall base to urge it against the wall.

Flooring wall bases are commonly provided by lengths of relatively rigid materials (e.g. wood or hard plastic) or flexible materials (e.g. flexible plastic, rubber, or strips of carpet) having widths of from about 3 to about 6 inches, most typically from about 31/2 to about 5 inches. Such flooring bases are typically attached along the lowermost portions of a vertical wall adjacent the wall-floor intersection using fasteners such as nails or staples or an adhesive applied between the base material and the wall.
As will be appreciated, when using adhesive to attach the base to a wall it is important to firmly press the base against the wall during installation. This is often difficult and awkward given the position of the base relative to the wall and floor.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved device for installing a wall base.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device of the character described which facilitates installation of a wall base using adhesive to vertical wall surfaces.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device of the character described which is uncomplicated in construction and is economical and convenient to use.
With regard to the foregoing and other objects, the present invention is directed to a device for installing an elongate wall base on a wall extending at an angle from a flooring surface. In a preferred embodiment, the device includes a body member having a handle extending upwardly from the upper surface of the body member and graspable by a user to apply pressure to the body member during use of the device to install the wall base; and a pair of roller units mounted to the body member, wherein one roller unit is positionable to be urged against the flooring surface and the other roller unit is positionable to be urged against the wall base while the device is moved in a direction generally along the length of the wall base to enable the user to apply pressure to the wall base to urge it against the wall.
In another aspect, the invention provides a wall base installation device having a body member and a pair of roller units mounted to the body member. The body member has a thickness and oppositely facing upper and lower surfaces spaced apart by the thickness of the body member. The body member also preferably includes a first pair of spaced-apart supports extending outwardly from a first portion of the thickness of the body member to define a first recess bounded by mutually facing surfaces of the first pair of supports and the first portion of the thickness of the body member, and a second pair of spaced-apart supports extending outwardly from a second portion of the thickness of the body member to define a second recess bounded by mutually facing surfaces of the second pair of supports and the second portion of the thickness of the body member.
A handle extends upwardly from the upper surface of the body member and graspable by a user to apply pressure to the body member during use of the device to install the wall base.
The first roller unit is positioned within the first recess and has a first axle extending between the first pair of supports. The first roller unit preferably includes a plurality of independently rotatable roller members positioned adjacent to one another and substantially aligned in a parallel spaced-apart relationship to one another along the first axle of the first roller unit, the roller members of the first roller unit each being rotatable around the first axle of the first roller unit.
The second roller unit is positioned within the second recess and has a second axle extending between the second pair of supports. The second roller unit includes a plurality of independently rotatable roller members positioned adjacent to one another and substantially aligned in a parallel spaced-apart relationship to one another along the second axis of the second roller unit, the roller members of the second roller unit each being rotatable around the second axle of the second roller unit.
The first roller unit is positionable to urge substantially all of the first roller members against the flooring surface and the second roller unit is positionable to urge substantially all of the second roller members against the wall base, while the device is moved in a direction generally along the length of the wall base to enable the user to apply pressure to the wall base to urge it against the wall.
It is particularly preferred that the first axle and the second axle be disposed at an angle relative to one another which substantially corresponds to the angle between the wall to which the base is applied and the flooring surface intersecting the wall.
The device of the invention is particularly suitable for installing wall bases of the type secured to a wall as by adhesive. As will be appreciated, it is important during the installation of such bases to uniformly press the base against the wall to facilitate adhesive attachment of the base to the wall.
An important aspect of the invention relates to the provision of roller units which are angled relative to one another corresponding to the angle between the flooring surface and the wall to which the base is applied, which is typically about 90.degree.. This is advantageous to maintain substantially uniform pressure against the wall base while also minimizing installation time for installing the wall base.


Method and apparatus for modeling multiple instances of an electronic circuit using an imperative programming language description is described. In one example, a program is defined using an imperative programming language. The program includes multiple calls to a function. The function includes a persistent variable associated with an internal state of the electronic circuit. The function is configured to initialize the persistent variable based on at least one call path to the function in the program.

There is considerable interest in tools that translate a programming language description of an electronic circuit into a hardware description that can be readily implemented as hardware. Presently, tools exist that are capable of translating program code written using an imperative programming language, such as C, into a hardware description language (HDL), such as the Very high-speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) or VERILOG. The HDL representation of the electronic circuit can then be implemented for an integrated circuit using a standard implementation design flow. For example, the HDL representation can be synthesized, mapped, placed, and routed for a programmable logic device (PLD), such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA).
In some instances, it is desirable to use a program language description to model a hardware component having internal states, such as a state machine. Various imperative programming languages allow persistent variables. A "persistent variable" is a variable that can retain it value between difference calls to a function in which the variable is defined. For example, in the C programming language, a variable of a function can be declared as static to be persistent. A function having persistent variables can model a single instance of a hardware component having internal states.
Using a persistent variable in a trivial manner, however, does not properly model multiple instantiations of an electronic circuit. For example, to implement two instances of a hardware accumulator, two sets of states should be retained (one set for each instance). In traditional programming language semantics, however, two calls to a function designed to model an accumulator will share a single persistent variable. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a method and apparatus for modeling multiple instances of an electronic circuit using an imperative programming language description.


Provided is a mold configured to properly exhaust gas from a cavity and to prevent resin from entering into a vent hole, and a method for molding resin foamed molding using the mold. The mold (1) includes lower mold (2), upper mold (4), and core mold (3). The core mold (3) is provided at wall portions (3b), (3c) thereof with respective vent holes (6). Annexed members (7) are detachably attached to the outer surface sides of wall portions (3b), (3c). Each of the annexed members (7) has a tubular shape having an air passage in communication with the vent hole, and a sectional dimension smaller than that of vent hole (6). A nonwoven cloth (10) is attached to core mold (3) so as to cover each surface thereof facing the cavity, and cover wall portions (3b), (3c), thereby covering vent hole (6) from the cavity side.

There have conventionally been used foamed moldings such as soft polyurethane foamed moldings for interior parts example of which include a seat and a door of a vehicle such as an automobile or an electric train. In a manufacturing process of the foamed moldings, a certain amount of foam resin material for forming the soft polyurethane foam is supplied in the forming mold, first. Then, the forming mold is closed, and the foam resin material is foamed and cured. The foam resin material is gradually filled in a cavity while expanding, and forms into a shape corresponding to the cavity. In this process, if a gas such as carbon dioxide generated by air existing inside the mold or by a foaming reaction is not properly exhausted outside the mold, defects such as an underfill or a void can be formed in the molding.
Therefore, there is a known concept of providing a vent hole in the forming mold to exhaust the gas inside the mold. However, simply providing the vent hole may exhaust the foam resin material filled in the cavity outside the mold through the vent hole, thereby causing problems such as material loss and necessary cleaning of the vent hole.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, as a mold 30 configured to prevent a material from being exhausted from a vent hole, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-192831 discloses a configuration where the inside of a forming mold is provided with a plate-like slab having air permeability on which a non-air-permeability sheet 32 capable of covering a vent hole 31 is adhered, or provided with a nonwoven cloth 33. With this mold 30, gas flows out through the vent hole 31 via the slab or the nonwoven cloth 33, in the foaming process. When the inside of the cavity 34 is filled with resin 35, the foaming pressure of the foam resin material causes the non-air-permeability sheet 32 to press against the vent hole 31 to close the vent hole 31. As a result, the resin is prevented from entering the vent hole 31.    Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-192831

Mold and method for molding resin foamed molding


A method is disclosed treating a tumor in a host by administering an ultrapurified polymerized hemoglobin solution to the host and thereafter administering ionizing radiation, such as X-rays, to the tumor. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the hemoglobin is bovine hemoglobin.

Solid tumor masses in cancer patients have been found to be heterogeneous in oxygenation and to contain regions of hypoxia. See Vaupel, P., "Oxygenation of Human Tumors", Strahlenther, Onkol. 166:377-386 (1990); and Adams, G. E., The Clinical Relevance of Tumour Hypoxia, 26(4):420-421 (1990). Recent studies in human tumors with oxygen electrodes have reaffirmed the occurrence of significant hypoxic areas within human tumors. Vaupel, P. ibid; Kallinowski, F. et al., "Tumor Tissue Oxygenation as Evaluated by Computerized-pO.sub.2 -Histography", Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 19:953-961 (1990); and Gatenby, R. A. et al., "Oxygen Distribution in Squamous Cell Carcinoma Metastases and Its Relationship to Outcome of Radiation Therapy", Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 14:831-838 (1988). Preclinical studies, both in vitro and in vivo, have established that hypoxia protects tumor cells from the cytoxic actions of radiation and chemotherapeutic agents and thereby may be a significant factor in therapeutic resistance. Adams, G. E. ibid; Sartorelli, A. C., "Therapeutic Attack of Hypoxic Cells of Solid Tumors: Presidential Address", Cancer Res. 48: 775-778 (1988); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Classification of Antineoplastic Agents by Their Selective Toxicities Toward Oxygenated and Hypoxic Tumor Cells", Cancer Res. 41:73-81 (1981); and Teicher, B. A. et al., "Classification of Antineoplastic Treatments by Their Differential Toxicity Toward Putative Oxygenated and Hypoxic Tumor Subpopulations in vivo in the FSaIIC Murine Fibrosarcoma", Cancer Res. 50:3339-3344 (1990).
Increased delivery of oxygen from the lungs can be a useful way of improving the oxygenation of solid tumor masses by altering the gradient of oxygen as it is absorbed from the vasculature and distributed into the tissue. Because of this, one strategy which has been attempted to overcome the problem of hypoxia in treating tumors involves the use of perfluorocarbon emulsions with oxygen or carbogen (95% oxygen/5% carbon dioxide) breathing. Holden, S. A. et al., "Addition of a Hypoxic Cell Selective Cytotoxic Agent (mitomycin C or porfiromycin) to Treatment with Fluosol-DA.RTM./Carbogen/Radiation", Radiother. Oncol. 18:59-70 (1990); Teicher, B. A. et al., "The Effect of Fluosol-DA and Oxygenation Status on the Activity of Cyclophosphamide In Vivo" Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. 21:286-291 (1988); Martin, D. F. et al., "Enhancement of Tumor Radiation Response by the Combination of a Perfluorochemical Emulsion and Hyperbaric Oxygen", Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 13:747-751 (1987); Teicher, B. A. and C. M. Rose, "Perfluorochemical Emulsion Can Increase Tumor Radiosensitivity"Science 223:934-936 (1984 ); and Teicher, B. A. et al., "Optimization of Perfluorochemical levels with Radiation Therapy" Cancer Res. 49:2693-2697 (1989). In preclinical solid tumor models, the use of perfluorocarbon emulsions with carbogen or oxygen breathing in conjunction with radiation therapy has produced positive results. Teicher, B. A. and C. M. Rose ibid; Teicher, B. A. et al., ibid; Teicher, B. A. and C. M. Rose, "Oxygen-Carrying Perfluorochemical Emulsion as an Adjuvant to Radiation Therapy in Mice", Cancer Res. 44:4285-4288 (1984); Teicher, B. A. and C. M. Rose, "Effect of Dose and Scheduling on Growth Delay of the Lewis Lung Carcinoma Produced by the Perfluorochemcial Emulsion, Fluosol-DA", Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 12:1311-1313 (1986); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Influence of Scheduling Dose and Volume of Administration of the Perfluorochemical Emulsion Therox.RTM. on Tumor Response to Radiation Therapy", Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., in press (1991); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Effect of Fluosol.RTM.-DA on the Response of Intracranial 9L Tumors to X-rays and BCNU", Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 15:1187-1192 (1988); Lee. I. et al., "Effects of Fluosol-DA and Carbogen on the Radioresponse of SCK Tumors and Skin of A/J Mice", Radiat. Res. 112:173-182 (1987); Martin, D. F. et al., "Effect of a Perfluorochemical Emulsion on the Radiation Response of BA 1112 Rhabdomysarcomas", Radiat. Res. 112:45-53 (1987); Moulder, J. E. et al., "Applicability of Animal Tumor Data to Cancer Therapy in Humans", Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 14:913-927 (1988); Moulder, J. E. and B. L. Fish, "Tumor Sensitization by the Intermittent use of Perfluorochemical Emulsions and Carbogen Breathing in Fractionated Radiotherapy", In: E. M. Fielden, J. F. Fowler, J. H. Hendry and D. Scott (eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Congress of Radiation Research, Vol. 1, p. 299, London: Taylor and Francis, Inc. (1987); Rockwell, S. et al., "Reactions of Tumors and Normal Tissues in Mice to Irradiation in the Presence and Absence of a Perfluorochemical Emulsion" int. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 112:1315-1318 (1986); Song. C. W. et al., "Increase in pO.sub.2 and Radiosensitivity of Tumors by Fluosol.RTM.-DA (20%) and Carbogen", Cancer Res. 47:442-446 (1987); and Zhang. W. L. et al., "Enhancement of Tumor Response to Radiation by Fluosol-DA", Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 10:172-175 (1984).
Further, some initial clinical trials of the perfluorochemical emulsion, Fluosol.RTM.-DA and oxygen breathing with radiation therapy have been carried out and some are still underway. Rose, C. M. et al., "A Clinical Trial of Fluosol.RTM.-DA 20% in Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck", Int. J. Radiat. Oncol, Biol. Phys. 12:1325-1327 (1986); Lustig, R. et al., "Phase I-II Study of Fluosol-DA and 100% Oxygen Breathing as an Adjuvant to Radiation in the Treatment of Advanced Squamous Cell Tumors of the Head and Neck", Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 16:1587-1594 (1989); Lustig, R. et al., "Phase I/II Study of Fluosol and 100% Oxygen Breathing as an Adjuvant to Radiation in the Treatment of Unresectable Non Small Cell Carcinoma of the Lung", Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 17sl:202 (1989); and Evans, R. G. et al., "A Phase I-II Study of the Use of Fluosol.RTM.-DA 20% as an Adjuvant of Radiation Therapy in the Treatment of Primary High-Grade Brain Tumors" , Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 1721:175 (1989).
The effect of perfluorocarbon emulsions in carbogen or oxygen breathing with certain chemotherapeutic agents has also been studied in preclinical solid tumor models. Teicher, B. A. et al., "Classification of Antineoplastic Treatments by Their Differential Toxicity Toward Putative Oxygenated and Hypoxic Tumor Subpopulations in vivo in the FSaIIC Murine Fibrosarcoma", Cancer Res. 50:3339-3344 (1990); Holden, S. A. et al., "Addition of a Hypoxic Cell Selective Cytotoxic Agent (Mitomycin C or Porfiromycin) to Treatment with Fluosol-DA.RTM. Carbogen/Radiation", Radiother. Oncol. 18:59-70 (1990); Teicher, B. A. et al., "The Effect of Fluosol-DA and Oxygenation Status on the Activity of Cyclophosphamide in vivo" Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. 21:286-291 (1988); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Approaches to Defining the Mechanism of Fluosol-DA 20%/Carbogen Enhancement of Melphalan Antitumor Activity", Cancer Res. 47:513-518 (1987); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Differential Enhancement of Melphalan Cytotoxicity in Tumor and Normal t+Tissue by Fluosol-DA and Oxygen Breathing", Int. J. Cancer 36:585-589 (1985); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Effects of Various Oxygenation Conditions on the Enhancement by Fluosol-DA of Melphalan Antitumor Activity", Cancer Res. 47:5036-5041 (1987); Teicher, B. A. and S. A. Holden, "A Survey of the Effect of Adding Fluosol-DA 20%/O.sub.2 to Treatment with Various Chemotherapeutic Agents", Cancer Treat. Rep. 71:173-177 (1987); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Effect of Various Oxygenation Conditions and Fluosol-DA on Cancer Chemotherapeutic Agents", Biomat., Art. Cells and Art. Organs 16:533-546 (1988); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Effect of Oxygen on the Cytotoxicity of Antitumor Activity of Etoposide", J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 75:1129-1133 (1985); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Effect of Fluosol-DA/O.sub.2 on Tumor Cell and Bone Marrow Cytotoxicity of Nitrosoureas in Mice Bearing FSaII Fibrosarcoma", Int. J. Cancer 38:285-288 (1986); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Effect of Fluosol-DA/O.sub.2 on the Antitumor Activity and Pulmonary Toxicity of Bleomycin", Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. 18:213-218 (1986); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Effects of Fluosol.RTM.-DA and Oxygen Breathing on Adriamycin Antitumor Activity and Cardiac Toxicity in Mice", Cancer 61:2196-2201 (1988); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Effect of Carious Oxygenation Conditions and Fluosol.RTM.-Da on the Cytotoxicity and Antitumor Activity of Bleomycin", J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 80:599-603 (1988); Teicher, B. A. et al., "Effect of Fluosol-DA/Carbogen on Etoposide/Alkylating Agent Antitumor Activity", Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. 21:281-285 (1988); Martin, D. F. et al., "Potentiation of Rat Brain Tumor Therapy by Fluosol and Carbogen", NCI Monogr. 6:119-122 (1988); and Kim. G. E. and C. W. Song, "The Influence of Fluosol-DA and Carbogen Breathing on the Antitumor Effects of Cyclophosphamide In Vivo", Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. 25:99-102 (1989). With many chemotherapeutic agents, very positive therapeutic results have been obtained and several initial clinical trials have been carried out with Fluosol-DA and oxygen breathing with single anticancer drugs. See Gruber, M. et al., "Phase I/II Study of Fluosol.RTM./O.sub.2 in Combination with BCNU in Malignant Glioma", Proc. Amer. Assoc. Cancer Res. 31:190 (March 1990); Carewal, H. et al., "Fluosol.RTM./Oxygen in Combination with Cyclophosphamide in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (NSCLC): Phase I Results", Proc. Amer. Assoc. Cancer Res. 30:271 (March 1989); and Meyers, F. et al., "Phase I/II Study of Fluosol.RTM./Oxygen in Combination with Weekly 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) in Metastatic Colorectal Carcinoma", Proc. Amer. Assoc. Cancer Res. 30:256 (March 1989).
Despite the initial success with the use of perfluorocarbon emulsions and carbogen or oxygen breathing in conjunction with ionizing radiation, these techniques have not proven entirely satisfactory. For example, perfluorocarbons have very limited oxygen-transport capability at ambient oxygen pressures. Blood delivers approximately 6% (v/v) oxygen to tissues at ambient pressures, whereas, at these same pressures, perfluorocarbon emulsions can only deliver about 2% (v/v).

Method for treating a tumor with ionizing radiation


A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel region formed over a device isolation structure to form a semiconductor device including a SOI (Silicon-on-Insulator) channel structure, thereby decreasing ion implanting concentration of a channel region and improving tWR (Write Recovery time) and LTRAS (Long Time for Row Address Strobe) characteristics of the device.

The present invention relates to a method for fabricating a memory device. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for fabricating a semiconductor device wherein an epitaxial layer is formed over a device isolation structure of a recess gate region to form a semiconductor device including a SOI (Silicon-on-Insulator) channel structure, thereby decreasing ion implanting concentration of a channel region and improving tWR (Write Recovery time) and LTRAS (Long Time for Row Address Strobe) characteristics of the device.
FIG. 1 is a simplified layout of a conventional semiconductor device, wherein reference numerals 1, 3, and 5 denote an active region, a recess gate region, and a gate region, respectively.
FIGS. 2a through 2f are simplified cross-sectional views illustrating one method for fabricating a semiconductor device, wherein the cross-sectional views are taken along the line I-I′ of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 2a, a device isolation structure 20 is formed on a semiconductor substrate 10 having a pad oxide film 13 and a pad nitride film 15.
Referring to FIG. 2b, the pad nitride film 15 is removed. Ion implanting process is then performed on the entire surface to form a well and ion implantation region (not shown) in the semiconductor substrate 10. Next, a planarized polysilicon layer 25 is formed on the entire surface of the resultant.
Referring to FIG. 2c, the polysilicon layer 25 and the pad oxide film 13 are etched using a recess gate mask (not shown) as an etching mask to form a polysilicon layer pattern 25a and a pad oxide film pattern 13a to define the recess gate region 3 shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 2d, the semiconductor substrate 10 of the recess gate region 3 shown in FIG. 1 is etched to form a recess 35. The polysilicon layer pattern 25a is removed during a process for forming the recess 35.
Referring to FIG. 2e, the pad oxide film pattern 13a is removed to expose the semiconductor substrate 10. A gate insulating film 60 is then formed over the exposed semiconductor substrate 10. Next, a planarized gate conductive layer 65 filling up the recess 35 is formed. A hard mask layer 90 is then formed on the gate conductive layer 65. The gate conductive layer 65 includes a stacked structure of a lower gate conductive layer 70 and an upper gate conductive layer 80.
Referring to FIG. 2f, the hard mask layer 90 and the gate conductive layer 65 are patterned using a gate mask (not shown) as an etching mask to form a gate 99.
However, according to the above method for fabricating a semiconductor device, the gate is inefficient with respect to channel controllability. Moreover, reliability of the device is degraded due to a body effect as bias voltage level of the device varies.

Method for fabricating semiconductor device


A solid barrier, sound partition and privacy fence system including a plurality of interconnected fence panels whose ends are adapted to fit to pre-existing fence posts. The ends of the fence panels include attachment structure for releasably securing adjacent fence panels to one another around an existing fence post. The privacy fence system provides for installing a privacy fence that reuses existing cement anchored fence posts. The attachment structure may comprise either an interlocking fastening device or a threaded fastening device. The privacy fence may also include an optional fence post cap that is attached to the top portion of the existing poles. Each fence panel is constructed of a lightweight, one piece, molded material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to solid barriers, sound partitions, privacy fences and, more particularly, to barrier systems that may be attached to cement anchored posts from a preexisting cyclone fence.
2. Description of Related Art
Many homeowners have standard cyclone fences around their yards. A standard cyclone fence can keep unwanted visitors off of the property. A cyclone fence, however, does not provide much privacy for the user. The structure of a cyclone fence allows outsiders to look through the fence and see what is located in the yard.
There are several common types of privacy fences that prevent outsiders from looking into the area surrounded by the fence, thus providing the user with a heightened degree of privacy. Examples of common fences are described in the following patent documents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,757 issued to Kirkwood discloses a corner fence post clip. The invention is a device for attaching horizontal fence rails or a fence panel to tubular fence post. The device is an attachment member equipped with a top section in the shape of a hook that engages the open top of a tubular fence post. The attachment member is further equipped with a plurality of U-shaped clips that are adapted to receive the fence rails or panels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,988 issued to Eisele discloses a portable fence. The portable frame comprises a frame supporting a fencing net. A base element engages the bottom of the fence and holds it in a vertical position. A collapsible mechanism attaches the base element to the frame and permits the base to disengage from the frame on application of a predetermined force to the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,289 issued to Lancer, Sr. discloses a plastic multi-functional privacy fence. The fence is comprised of vertical slats that interlock along each adjacent edge to create an effective barrier against intrusions. The vertical slats are interlocked at mating seams and are attached to a frame that provides rigidity to the fence. The frame is comprised of horizontal rails that are attached by fasteners to vertical posts that are anchored to the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,080 issued to Vise discloses a fence system that includes a frame and a plurality of panels attached to the frame. The frame includes vertical posts and non-vertical rails. Adjacent panels are positioned on the frame to provide an overlapping area. A reinforcing member is positioned on the overlapping area. A fastener extends through the overlapping area of two panels to attach the panels to the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,689 issued to Wilson discloses a flexible and detachable fence apparatus. The fence comprises fence panels for providing a barrier, posts for vertically supporting the fence panels and posthole inserts for securing the fence to the ground. The fence panel is equipped with a connector means for securing the fence panel to the posts. The posts have receptacle means for receiving and interlocking with the connector means of the fence panel. Preferably, the connector means and receptacle means provide a mechanism for detachably securing the fence panel to the posts.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,428 issued to Simioni discloses a fence system including a plurality of wooden posts encased in sections of vinyl eaves, a frame constructed of galvanized track and stud elements, J-strips located on each end of the frame abutting the posts, and vertical panels formed of vinyl siding connected to each other and to the frame between the posts.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,828 to English comprises a prefabricated interlocking fence post. The interlocking fence post includes slots that slidably receive adjoining fence panels. A cap may be secured to the top of the post after the panel is slid into position. An L-shaped bracket on the outside of the post slot may be rigidly clamped to provide a variable-height attachment site for horizontal support rails.
The problem with existing privacy fences is that they are usually difficult to assemble. Another problem with the privacy fences occurs when a homeowner already has a preexisting cyclone fence in place and wants to replace it with a privacy fence. Normally the preexisting fence must be completely disassembled and removed before the new fence can be assembled. Then the homeowner must erect the new fence. This is both time-consuming and expensive. It would be much more efficient to adapt the existing fence into a privacy fence.
Therefore what is needed is a privacy fence system that can reuse the existing fence posts from the previous fence. What is further needed is a privacy fence system that can easily be assembled by a single person with common hand tools. What is still further needed is a privacy fence system that can adapt to existing irregularities in placement of existing poles. Finally, what is still further needed is a privacy fence system that can be non-destructably disassembled and moved.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


There is provided an actuator used in an optical system comprising a housing, a carrier disposed at least partly inside the housing, and a plurality of linear motion transducers coupled to the carrier and substantially evenly spaced around the carrier within the housing. Each linear motion transducer is able to produce linear motion when energized displacing the carrier relative to the housing to produce linear motion, tilting motion, or both of the carrier.

A lens actuator is used to optimize an image captured by an image capturing device of a camera by controlling the position and/or movement of a lens. For example, an auto-focusing technique can be used to bring into focus in an image the subject that the user desires to capture based on the distance between the camera and the subject. This can be realized by the displacement of the lens along the optical (lens) axis, or a z-axis, to control the distance between the lens and the image capturing mechanism. Another technique is vibration compensation control, which compensates for motion of the camera body, for example, due to the shaking of the camera. This technique typically requires the lens, or one or more of the multiple lenses in a lens module, to be moved relative to the image capturing device to cancel the motion of the camera.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0028320 published in the name of Osaka on 9 Feb. 2006 describes an example of an autofocus actuator. A lens actuator has a lens holder with a coil wound around the lens holder When an electric current is supplied to the coil, the magnetic field induced by the electric current through the coil interacts with that of a permanent magnet surrounding the lens holder, causing the lens holder to be displaced along the optical axis. This autofocus actuator using a coil and the magnet realises a one-dimensional movement of the lens holder to implement an autofocus function.
For the prior art, only autofocus function can be achieved. A need exists for a mechanism adapted to provide both autofocus and vibration compensation functions.

Actuator for linear motion and tilting motion

Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited


A portable multipurpose clipboard box equipped for securing and sectioning documents, holding keys, and dispensing tape.

The earliest form of a clipboard was patented in the 1870's and was referenced to as a board clip. The clipboard embodiment was originally a thin and rigid board with a clip attached for holding documents and providing little help other than a hard surface support to write on.
Since then, many attempts have been made to enhance the use of such clipboard to accommodate the needs of various businesses or individuals but have not sufficiently addressed the needs of property management or industries where documents and multiple keys are needed at the same time.
Some attempted solutions have incorporated a wide range of additions or modifications such as an overlapping section to hold additional documents, being converted into a clipboard box, adding a light, a calculator, barrels for bullets or tear gas, and ring binders to name a few.
However, these type of clipboard boxes are typically equipped with a hollow interior for carrying additional items but offer little to no organization or ability to secure items from becoming disarrayed.

Clipboard and key organizer with tape dispenser


Provided are proteins having NF-κB activity, which are used for diagnosing, treating or preventing diseases associated with the excessive activation or inhibition of NF-κB. Using plasmid pNFκB-Luc, cDNA encoding a protein capable of activating NF-κB has been cloned from a cDNA library constructed from human lung fibroblasts, and the DNA sequence and the deduced amino acid sequence determined. The protein, the DNA encoding the protein, a recombinant vector containing the DNA, and a transformant containing the recombinant vector are useful for screening a substance inhibiting or promoting NF-κB activation.

The transcription factor NF-κB (nuclear factor kappa B) plays an important role in the transcriptional regulation of various genes involved in inflammation and immunological reactions. NF-κB is a homo- or heterodimer protein which belongs to the Rel family. In unstimulated conditions, NF-κB normally resides in the cytoplasm as an inactive form by forming a complex with an IκB inhibitory protein (Inhibitor of NF-κB) to mask the nuclear transport signal of NF-κB.
When cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α stimulate cells, IκB is phosphorylated by IKK (IκB kinase) and degraded by the 26S proteasome through ubiquitination. The released NF-κB moves to the nucleus, where it binds to the DNA sequence called the NF-κB binding sequence and induces the transcription of the gene, which is under control of NF-κB is believed to regulate the expression of genes such as those for immunoglobulins, inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-1 and TNF-α), interferons and cell adhesion factors. NF-κB is involved in inflammation and immune responses through the expression induction of these genes.
The inhibition of the function or activation of NF-κB may inhibit the expression of many factors (proteins) involved in inflammatory or immunological diseases or other diseases such as tumor proliferation. Thus, NF-κB is a promising target for medicaments against diseases caused or characterized by autoimmunity or inflammation [see e.g., Clinical Chemistry 45, 7-17 (1999); J Clin. Pharmacol. 38, 981-993 (1998); Gut 43, 856-860 (1998); The New England Journal of Medicine 366, 1066-1071 (1997); TiPS 46-50 (1997); The FASEB Journal 9, 899-909 (1995); Nature 395, 225-226 (1998); Science 278, 818-819 (1997); Cell 91, 299-302 (1997)].
Extracellular information is converted into a certain signal, which passes through the cell membrane and goes through the cytoplasm to the nucleus, where it regulates the expression of the target gene and causes cell responses. Therefore the elucidation of the mechanism of intracellular signal transduction from extracellular stimuli to NF-κB activation is of very important significance, because it provides very important means of developing new medicaments or therapies against autoimmune diseases and diseases exhibiting inflammatory symptoms.
It is believed that the signal transduction pathway from certain cell stimulation to NF-κ B activation includes many steps mediated by various transmitters such as protein kinases. Therefore it is desirable for more efficient drug discovery to identify the transmitters which play a key role in the pathway, and to focus research on the transmitters to establish a new drug-screening method. Some signaling molecules involved in NF-κB activation have been identified [e.g., IKK, ubiquitination enzymes and the 26S proteasome described above, as well as TNF receptor associated factor 2 (TRAF2) and NF-κB inducing kinase (NIK)]. However, most of the mechanism of NF-κB activation remains unknown, and it has been desired new signaling molecules to be identified and further the NF-κB activation mechanism to be elucidated.


Provided herein are compounds identified as inhibitors of HDAC6 activity having the formula:

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) are a class of enzymes with deacetylase activity with a broad range of genomic and non-genomic substrates. There are eleven zinc-dependent HDAC enzymes classified based on sequence identity and catalytic activity.
Histone deacetylase inhibitors have been described and used in various therapeutic applications, including oncology, neurodegeneration, autoimmune disease, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and cardiac indications. However, many HDAC inhibitors are non-specific (i.e., they inhibit the activity of more than one HDAC with more or less the same affinity). When administered to humans, these so-called pan-HDAC inhibitors (e.g., SAHA and Panabinostat) exhibit significant adverse effects such as fatigue, nausea, diarrhea and thrombocytopenia. Thus, there is a need for HDAC inhibitors that selectively target a particular HDAC, such as HDAC6.

Fluoroalkyl-oxadiazoles and uses thereof

Abstract: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, that can be used to treat various diseases and disorders.


An implantable medical device is detailed that includes a housing enclosing an electronic circuit and source of power, and an optical unit sealingly coupled to the housing, the optical unit including a monolithic block made of a transparent ceramic material and comprising: a thin window defined by an inner surface and an outer surface, an outer mating structure for coupling a fiber optic to the monolithic block, and an inner mating structure for permanently coupling a light unit, and a light unit rigidly mounted in the inner mating structure of the monolithic block. The light unit includes a light element including one or more of an inner light source, and/or a photodetector, the light element and a fiber optic engaged in the outer mating structure are in alignment with a corresponding reference point located on the thin window.

Implantable medical devices (IMD) have been used for decades for treating a number of disorders, in particular heart and neurological disorders. One type of IMD's consists of neurostimulators, which deliver electrical pulses to a tissue such as a nerve, a muscle or brain tissue for diagnosing or treating a number of disorders such as Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, chronic pain, motor disorders, and many other applications. In its simplest form, a device for delivering such electrical pulses comprises an electrical pulse generator, stimulating electrodes and wires electrically coupling the electrodes to the electrical pulse generator. In many applications, the electrodes must be applied directly onto the tissue to be treated, requiring the use of an implantable device. It is clear that miniaturization of the IMD's is of paramount importance.
Rather than conducting electrical current from an IMD containing the electronics, control and power source, through electrical conductors to electrodes fixed to a target tissue, several applications have been developed using light to transfer energy from an IMD to the electrodes through fibre optics. An example is described in PCT/EP2015/053585. The light energy is transformed into electric current by photovoltaic cells, said current being delivered to electrodes for stimulating the tissue to be treated. In some applications, a tissue can be stimulated by directing a light beam directly on a target tissue as described e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,721,695 and 7,951,181. In optical stimulation applications, no electrode and no photovoltaic cell is required, since the light transmitted from the light unit through the fibre optic is directed onto the tissue to be treated.
Light can also be used to transfer information. Information can be transferred from one electronic component to another, or can be used for monitoring physiological functions of a human or animal body and sensing of various physiological parameters. For example, changes in light scattering of a light beam aimed at a target tissue can be provoked by potential variations in the tissue which are indicative of structural events in said tissue.
Because IMD's must be miniaturized, only small sources of energy are used, limiting their autonomy. A rechargeable battery can be used, of course, but the frequency of recharging the batteries must be reduced for two reasons. First, the service life of a rechargeable battery depends on the number of charging operations, as the capacity of the battery decreases with each new charging. Once the battery capacity becomes too low, the IMD must be replaced by a new one. The longer the period between two recharging operations, the longer the service life of the battery. Second, recharging a battery generally blocks the host of the IMD and prevents him from most non-static activities during the time required for the charging process. An example of recharging device is described, e.g., in PCT/EP2016/061722. For both non-rechargeable and rechargeable batteries, it is clear that energy cannot be wasted and the transfer of light from an emitter to a receiver must be as energy-effective as possible.
Another issue with IMD's is their longevity. In order to avoid having to replace an implanted medical device, it is desired that the service life time of an IMD be as long as possible. One of the major causes of failures of IMD's is infiltration of alien pollutants—in particular moisture—through degraded joints. A major issue are feedthroughs, commonly used for conducting electrical current from the outside of an IMD to the inside thereof and reversed. As its name suggests, a feedthrough is a pin extending through a wall of an IMD, bringing in conductive communication the inside of the IMD with the outer environment. Several feedthroughs are generally required and forming joints which are tight enough over a long period of exposure to the aggressive environment of a human or animal body is a challenge. Without surprise, feedthroughs constitute weak points of IMD's which are responsible for many recorded failures.
Feedthroughs can be used also to carry light between the inside and the outside of an IMD. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,280,870 describes an IMD comprising a fibre optic for transporting light between an outer fibre optic coupled to the IMD and the inside of the IMD. Alternatively, a window transparent to the light wavelengths to be transmitted can be installed between an outer fibre optic and the interior of an IMD containing a source of light, a photodetector, or an inner fibre optic. The window protects the interior of the IMD containing sensitive electronic circuits from the aggressive surrounding environment of the host body. Such windows must, however, also be sealed to the housing of the IMD.
A light coupling unit between an outer fibre optic and the interior of an IMD is therefore generally composed of: (a) an outer fibre optic, (b) a coupling device for coupling the outer fibre optic to the IMD, (c) a window or inner fibre optic sealed to a wall of the IMD, (d) a source of light or photodetector located inside the IMD, (e) often a lens is located between the outer fibre optic and the source of light or photodetector to change the properties of the light beam, such as for example, converging the light beam onto a focal point. The efficacy of the transfer of light between the outer fibre optic and the source of light or photodetector is greatly dependent on the alignment between the various components of the light coupling unit. The alignment is rendered even more essential in case the window is provided with a lens modifying the properties of a light beam. FIG. 1 shows the coupling efficiency in % plotted as a function of (a) the misalignment of a source of light with a lens provided at an inner surface of the window of a coupling light unit and (b) the misalignment of said lens with an outer fibre optic. It can be seen that a misalignment of the order of 30-50 μm of either component with the lens yields a brutal drop of the light transfer efficacy between an outer fibre optic and the interior of an IMD. Considering that the IMD must be miniaturized, thus reducing the size of batteries, which limits the IMD's autonomy and that recharging batteries is a cumbersome operation, it is clear that the coupling efficacy between a fibre optic and the interior of an IMD must be optimized. This is only possible with an alignment of the various components of a light coupling unit of within less than 50 μm, preferably less than 30 μm.
Joining an element to a support structure by welding, allows the positioning of such element to be controlled to a precision of about 100-150 μm. Referring to the graphs of FIG. 1, it is clear that it is insufficient for ensuring an efficient transfer of light energy between an outer fibre optic and the interior of an IMD.
The present invention proposes an IMD comprising an optical unit wherein the various components are aligned within less than 30 μm, yielding a most efficient transfer of light energy between a fibre optic and the interior of the IMD. The number of joints can be substantially reduced compared with state of the art IMD's, down to a single outer joint in preferred embodiments. These and other advantages of the present invention are described more in details in the following sections.

Implantable medical device comprising an optical unit


Carbon black compositions comprising ethoxylated esters or polyethers and carbon black. The compositions may be produced by incorporating ethoxylated esters or polyethers onto fluffy carbon black in a pelletizing process to produce free flowing, low dust, attrition resistant carbon black pellets which are easily dispersible in most polymeric systems and impart to polymer compositions enhanced rheological and mechanical properties. The polymeric compositions have particular utility as semiconductive compositions or masterbatch compositions.

Carbon blacks produced by a furnace process generally have bulk densities ranging from 0.02 to 0.1 gram/cubic centimeter (g/cc) and are generally known as fluffy carbon blacks. Fluffy carbon blacks are generally easy to disperse in liquids, and in some polymeric systems. However, fluffy carbon blacks are generally cohesive and, hence difficult to handle for purposes such as conveying and weighing.
Fluffy carbon blacks are agglomerated by various types of mechanical processes, either in the dry state, or with the aid of a liquid to produce pellets with improved handling characteristics. Common liquid pelletizing agents are oil and water. The process of agglomerating fluffy carbon blacks to form carbon black pellets is generally referred to as pelletizing.
Unfortunately, generally utilized densification or agglomeration (pelletizing) processes have detrimental effects on the dispersion characteristics of the carbon black. Therefore it is recognized in the art that in pelletizing carbon blacks there is a fine balance between acceptable handling characteristics and ease of dispersion.
A process for pelletizing carbon black is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,065,371 which describes a typical wet pelletization process whereby the fluffy carbon black and a liquid, typically water, are combined and agitated until spherical beads are formed. These beads are then dried to reduce the water content preferably to below 1% to form carbon black pellets.
Prior art patents also disclose the use of binder additives in a wet pelletization process to further improve the pellet handling characteristics.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,850,403 discloses the use of carbohydrates e.g. sugar, molasses, soluble starches, saccharides and lignin derivatives as pellet binders in the range of 0.1% to 0.4%, by weight, based on the dry carbon black. The preferred drying temperature of the wet pellet is disclosed as 150.degree. to 425.degree. C. which together with the residence time is sufficient to carbonize the binder.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,586 discloses the use of a rosin emulsion as pellet binders as an alternative to carbohydrates. The preferred level of rosin binder is in the range 0.5% to 2.0%, by weight, based on the dry carbon black.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,639,225 discloses the use of sulphonate and sulphate anionic surfactants as pellet binders at levels of 0.1% to 0.5%, by weight, based on the dry carbon black.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,658 discloses the use of a fatty amine ethoxylate non-ionic surfactant where the level of ethoxylation ranges from 2 to 50 moles of ethylene oxide per fatty amine group. The preferred level of surfactant in the pelletizing water is in the range 0.05% to 5%, by weight, based on the dry carbon black.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,645,765 discloses the use of a fatty acid or rosin acid ethoxylate, non-ionic surfactant where the level of ethoxylation is 5 to 15 moles ethylene per acid group. The preferred level of addition on the carbon black is in the range 0.1% to 10%, by weight, based on the dry carbon black.
Soviet Union Patent No. 937,492 claims the benefits of using 0.1% to 5%, by weight, based on the dry carbon black, of an aqueous solution of a reaction product generated from urea and an ethoxylated alkylolamide. The preferred level of ethoxylation is 1 to 7 moles of ethylene oxide per alkylolamide molecule.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,809 discloses the reduction in pellet dust levels by incorporating 0.4% to 2.5%, by weight, based on the dry carbon black of an aqueous solution containing 0.001% to 0.1%, by weight, of a nonionic surfactant containing randomly repeating poly(ethylene oxide) and poly (dimethyl silicone) groups. Molasses is also included at substantially higher concentration (up to 2%, by weight) as a co-binder and nitric acid (up to 15%, by weight) as an oxidizing source.
The use of carbohydrates, rosin or surface active agents as disclosed in the above patents is focused towards improving pellet handling qualities. The patents do not disclose that the pelletizing treatments affected the performance properties of the carbon black in the final product applications, which are typically rubber orientated.
Japanese Patent No. 1,201,369 discloses the use of a carboxylic acid type amphoteric surfactant in a concentration range 0.001% to 0.1%, by weight, in the pelletizing water to produce carbon black pellets with low adhesion and excellent dispersibility.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,014,810 discloses the benefits of wet pelletizing a range of pigments, including carbon blacks, with a blend of a quaternary ammonium compound and a bis(-2-hydroxyethyl)alkyl amine. Improvements in dispersion rate, viscosity stability and antistatic properties are disclosed for the blend of surface active agents.
Pelletizing with oil, in the presence and absence of water is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,635,057, U.S. Pat. No. 3,011,902 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,967 as beneficial in improving the handling properties of carbon black pellets.
Several patents, including U.S. Pat. No. 2,511,901, U.S. Pat. No. 2,457,962, U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,807, U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,834, U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,012 and Japanese Patent No. 77,130,481 disclose polymers in emulsion, organic solvent solutions and in molten form as means of modifying the pellet properties of carbon black.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,288 discloses a fluidised granulation process for producing free-flowing dustless pigment granules in the absence of water. The organic component required to produce a dustless granule consists of two components, 5-20 phr of a non-aqueous granulating aid and a non-ionic surfactant for example sorbitan oleate ethoxylate as a second component. The bulk of the disclosure relates to producing free-flowing organic and inorganic pigments, including carbon black.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,652 also discloses a process for producing negligible dust preparations of organic dyes and optical brighteners. The process involves the dry blending, between 30.degree. and 80.degree. C., of the dye, or optical brightener, with 2-10%, by weight, of an adhesive selected from the group consisting of polyhydric alcohol (e.g. sorbitol); manitol; manitose; lactose; hydrated dextrose; neopentyl glycol; and polyethylene glycol with a molar mass above 3,000. Also included in the composition is 1-10% of a dusting aid selected from the group consisting of fatty acid ethanolamide; fatty acid amide; alkyl alcohol; substituted phenol; and polyethylene glycol with a molar mass between 200 and 1000.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,501 discloses a pigment concentrate, dispersible in plastics, which is prepared by combining 51-85%, by weight, of a pigment and 14-49%, by weight, of a waxy component. The waxy component is disclosed as being predominantly a natural, petroleum or synthetic wax which has been blended with either polyethylene glycol or a hydrocarbon resin to reduce the melt viscosity and allow better incorporation of the pigment.
Polyethylene glycol is previously known as an additive for direct compounding into thermoplastic compositions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,622 discloses the incorporation of 100 to 600 ppm of polyethylene glycol in the molar mass range of 600 to 20,000 (preferably 1300 to 7500) to reduce the breakdown of polyethylene during blown film operations which is observed as gel formation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,505, U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,671 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,849 disclose the use of polyethylene glycols in the molar mass range 1,000 to 20,000 as beneficial for reducing the heat and water-treeing characteristics in polyolefin compositions for electrical insulation. Similarly U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,139 extends this concept of water-tree reduction to include the polyethylene glycol in semiconductive polyolefin compositions containing carbon black.
Similar compositions are claimed in German Patent DE 27 23 488 where polyethylene glycol and other mobile additives are disclosed as being beneficial to reduce the interlaminar adhesion between the insulation layer and outer conductive layer in an electric cable construction.
Polyethylene glycol and branched ethoxylate molecules are disclosed as plasticisers for ethylene-acrylic acid copolymers in U.S. Pat. No. 3,361,702.
United Kingdom Patent GB 975,847 discloses the use of polyethylene glycol, or an aliphatic derivative, in an aqueous solution as a means of producing agglomerates of organic rubber chemicals. A dough is formed as an intermediate which is then converted into pellets and dried at low temperatures.

Carbon black compositions and improved polymer compositions


According to the present invention, a self-diagnosis system for an image forming apparatus can make accurate fault diagnosis and is made smaller in size and higher in speed. For that purpose, a fault temporarily developed by the image forming apparatus is limited to a single fault assumption, all states which can exist on the image forming apparatus when the image forming apparatus develops the fault are previously simulated, and the results of the qualitative simulation are stored as a plurality of virtual cases in a virtual case storing portion 12. When the image forming apparatus is operated, detected values of sensors X, Vs and Ds are converted into fuzzy qualitative values, respectively, on the basis of membership functions stored in a membership function generating portion 13. The fuzzy qualitative values are compared with the virtual cases stored in the virtual case storing portion 12, to reason the cause of the fault. Accordingly, any of the virtual cases stored in the virtual case storing portion 12 is selected using the fuzzy qualitative values, thereby to make it possible to accurately specify the fault in a short time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an image forming apparatus having a self-diagnosis system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus so adapted that it can make self-diagnosis of the operating state and the like utilizing artificial intelligence and knowledge engineering which have been being extensively studied in recent years.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the development field of precision instruments, industrial machines and the like, expert systems utilizing artificial intelligence (so-called AI) techniques have been studied extensively in recent years for the purpose of realizing labor saving in maintenance work and long-term automatic operation. The expert systems include one for making self-diagnosis to judge whether or not an apparatus develops a fault and making self-repair of the fault developed by the apparatus.
However, the conventional expert system (an automatic control system and a fault diagnosis system) only basically operates an actuator corresponding to a sensor on the basis of an output of the sensor. Accordingly, it is not complete as a Self-Maintenance Machine (SMM).
Therefore, the applicant of the present application found a machine control method using diagnosis-repair reasoning on an object model based on qualitative physics and invented a new self-diagnosis and self-maintenance system for an image forming apparatus utilizing such a machine control method, to file a patent application (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. 130459/1992).
The self-diagnosis and self-maintenance system for an image forming apparatus according to the prior application has the following features:
(1) Detected values of sensors provided for an objective machine (an image forming apparatus) are converted into qualitative values and are used for control.
(2) The structure and the properties of the image forming apparatus are qualitatively expressed using a casual relation network of parameters (a parameter model) representing the property of the image forming apparatus.
(3) The qualitative values obtained by converting the values of the sensors are applied to the parameter model to make qualitative simulation for fault diagnosis and fault repair reasoning.
Specifically, fault diagnosis and fault repair based on the Qualitative Model based System (QMS) are made.
In the self-diagnosis and self-maintenance system according to the prior application of the applicant having such features, even if the image forming apparatus develops a fault accompanied by, for example, the change in structure, the fault can be flexibly coped with. The reason for this is that it is possible to dynamically change a control point and a control loop of the objective machine by utilizing the qualitative simulation.
In the above described self-diagnosis and self-maintenance system according to the prior application, however, there is a possibility that in converting detected values of sensors into qualitative values, errors occur in the conversion. The reason for this is that when the detected value of each of the sensors is converted into the qualitative value, a landmark is defined in a qualitative quantity space, and the detected value is converted into the qualitative value which differs depending on whether the detected value is larger or smaller than the landmark. Accordingly, the landmark must be correctly defined.
However, this landmark may, in some cases, be changed depending on, for example, the environment in which the image forming apparatus is used. In addition, there is a possibility that the detected value of the sensor itself is not necessarily a correct value depending on, for example, the limit of the measurement precision of the sensor.
In the conventional system, therefore, the conversion of the detected value of the sensor into the qualitative value which forms the basis for control varies. As a result, accurate qualitative simulation cannot be made, so that there is a possibility that errors occur in fault diagnosis and fault repair.
Furthermore, it cannot be said that the operation of the above described self-diagnosis and self-maintenance system according to the prior application as a practical machine built-in system is the most suitable in that the scale of the system is large and the speed of execution is low. Therefore, it is desired to decrease the size and increase the speed of the self-diagnosis and self-maintenance system.

Image forming apparatus capable of making self-diagnosis


A device and method for protecting an optical sensor of a vehicle are disclosed, wherein the sensor is protected from environmental pollutants which may adhere to an optical surface of the sensor if the sensor is exposed to them, and wherein the environmental pollutants are kept away from the sensor by an ultrasonic cleaning of the sensor surface using an ultrasonic field. The ultrasonic field of the ultrasonic cleaning is emitted by a protection device into the air to provide a protection zone around the optical surface of the sensor such that a contact of the optical surface with the environmental pollutants is avoided, wherein the environmental pollutants are moved and/or destroyed in the air away from the sensor if they enter the protection zone), and wherein the protection zone provides a contactless cleaning of the sensor.

An optical sensor of a camera requires a clear field of view for rendering a data acquisition of clear images. One aspect is to provide a clean surface at the optic or windshield of the sensor. The optical sensor can be contaminated by accumulating dust, stains or some other environmental contaminants at the optic of the optical sensor. The environmental contaminants may affect image clarity of the camera. The contamination on the sensor can be kept to a minimum by covering the optics after use for protection from the outside environment. However, the optics may be contaminated while the optics of the sensor are being used to render images. The operation of the sensor may have to be interrupted due to maintenance or cleaning of the sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,880,091 describes an automated ultrasonic cavitation cleaning in a liquid analysis system and measurement of a process liquid contained inside a container or flowing in a process line by means of an inline or side-stream optical system. A window is cleaned in a water tank by generating gas bubbles in the water that is contained in the tank. The gas bubbles are generated by generating ultrasonic sound waves that cause parts of the water to evaporate.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,684,938 describes cleaning of contaminated acoustic windows or transducers of an ultrasonic sensor by applying an acoustic cleaning signal to the acoustic ultrasonic windows which are used in the flow measurement of a fluid. The transducers of the ultrasonic sensor are cleaned by applying a low frequency vibration.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,452,672 describes removing particulate materials that adhere to internal optical surfaces of optical flow cells that are used for making scattered light measurements on liquid borne samples. The particulate materials can cause distortions of the scattered light signals to be measured from the illuminated samples within the flow cell. The particulate materials are removed or cleaned by applying an ultrasonic vibration.

Method for protecting an optical sensor of a vehicle from environmental pollutants


A drive substrate, including: an insulating substrate (10); an internal connection terminal (12b) made of ITO or IZO provided on the substrate (10); and a lead interconnect (14) that is connected to the connection terminal (12b) with one end thereof lying on the connection terminal and is led out to an outer edge of the insulating substrate (10) at the other end thereof, wherein a contact portion of the lead interconnect (14) with the internal connection terminal (12b) is formed of a barrier metal layer (15A) made of titanium nitride (TiN) and the nitride concentration thereof is between 35 atoms/cm2 and 65 atoms/cm2 inclusive.

In recent years, developed have been liquid crystal display devices that perform three-dimensional (3D) display by letting the right and left eyes of an observer visually recognize images viewed from different points of view thereby giving parallax, and some of such devices have been commercialized.
Among such liquid crystal display devices, there is one where a parallax barrier having light-transmitting regions and light-shielding regions formed alternately in a striped shape is combined with a liquid crystal display panel. With this parallax barrier, specific viewing angles are respectively given to a right-eye image and a left-eye image displayed by the liquid crystal display panel, whereby images corresponding to the right eye and the left eye are made visually recognizable if only viewed in a specific observation range in the space. Thus, an observer can recognize 3D display without the necessity of using a visual aid such as a filter system.
Moreover, there is known a 2D/3D switchable liquid crystal display device where a means for enabling or disabling the parallax barrier function is realized by a switching liquid crystal panel to permit switching between 3D display and two-dimensional (2D) display (see Patent Document 1, for example).
The switching liquid crystal panel is constituted by a pair of substrates bonded together with a frame-shaped sealing material and a liquid crystal layer sealed inside the frame of the sealing material. On the inner surfaces of the substrates constituting the switching liquid crystal panel facing each other, switch electrodes for switching of the parallax barrier function are provided in a parallax barrier region corresponding to a display region. A lead interconnect is connected to each switch electrode with one end thereof lying on the switch electrode. The lead interconnect extends through a frame region outside the parallax barrier region to be led up to a substrate edge. The lead tip end constitutes an external connection terminal, via which the lead interconnect is connected to an external circuit.
Recently, also, for display devices such as liquid crystal display devices, a touch panel has been widely used, which is placed on a display panel to serve as an input device for inputting information into the display device by performing various types of operations on the display screen using a finger, a pen, etc.
Such touch panels are classified, according to the operating principle, into ones of a resistive film method, a capacitive method, an infrared method, an ultrasonic method, an electromagnetic induction method, etc. Among others, a capacitive touch panel is known suitable for display devices because it comparatively less impairs the optical characteristics of display devices.
A capacitive touch panel has touch detection electrodes for touch position detection in a touch region corresponding to the display region. A lead interconnect is connected to each touch detection electrode with one end thereof lying on the touch detection electrode. The lead interconnect extends through a frame region outside the touch region to be led up to a substrate edge. The lead tip end constitutes an external connection terminal, via which the lead interconnect is connected to an external circuit.
In the switching liquid crystal panel and touch panel described above, the regions (parallax bather region and touch region) corresponding to the display region must be transparent to make the display image visually recognizable. Therefore, the switch electrodes and touch detection electrodes located in such regions are formed of a transparent conductive oxide such as indium tin oxide (ITO). On the other hand, the lead interconnects located in the region corresponding to the non-display region do not have to be transparent because they do not block the display image. As the material thereof, therefore, a high-melting metal such as titanium (Ti) and molybdenum (Mo) is suitably used for prevention of electrolytic corrosion reaction at the connection with the switch electrodes and touch detection electrodes made of a transparent conductive oxide (see Patent Documents 2 and 3, for example).

Electrode substrate including lead interconnect connected to transparent electrode, and display device and touch panel having the same


The present invention includes a method for a combined use of a local RTK system and a regional, wide-area, or global differential carrier-phase positioning system (WADGPS) in which disadvantages associated with the RTK and the WADGPS navigation techniques when used separately are avoided. The method includes using a known position of a user receiver that has been stationary or using an RTK system to initialize the floating ambiguity values in the WADGPS system when the user receiver is moving. Thereafter, the refraction-corrected carrier-phase measurements obtained at the user GPS receiver are adjusted by including the corresponding initial floating ambiguity values and the floating ambiguity values are treated as well known (small variance) in subsequent processes to position the user receiver in the WADGPS system.

The global positioning system (GPS) uses satellites in space to locate objects on earth. With GPS, signals from the satellites arrive at a GPS receiver and are used to determine the position of the GPS receiver. Currently, two types of GPS measurements corresponding to each correlator channel with a locked GPS satellite signal are available for civilian GPS receivers. The two types of GPS measurements are pseudorange, and integrated carrier phase for two carrier signals, L1 and L2, with frequencies of 1.5754 GHz and 1.2276 GHz, or wavelengths of 0.1903 m and 0.2442 m, respectively. The pseudorange measurement (or code measurement) is a basic GPS observable that all types of GPS receivers can make. It utilizes the C/A or P codes modulated onto the carrier signals. The measurement records the apparent time taken for the relevant code to travel from the satellite to the receiver, i.e., the time the signal arrives at the receiver according to the receiver clock minus the time the signal left the satellite according to the satellite clock. The carrier phase measurement is obtained by integrating a reconstructed carrier of the signal as it arrives at the receiver. Thus, the carrier phase measurement is also a measure of a transit time difference as determined by the time the signal left the satellite according to the satellite clock and the time it arrives at the receiver according to the receiver clock. However, because an initial number of whole cycles in transit between the satellite and the receiver when the receiver starts tracking the carrier phase of the signal is usually not known, the transit time difference may be in error by multiple carrier cycles, i.e., there is a whole-cycle ambiguity in the carrier phase measurement.
With the GPS measurements available, the range or distance between a GPS receiver and each of a multitude of satellites is calculated by multiplying a signal's travel time by the speed of light. These ranges are usually referred to as pseudoranges (false ranges) because the receiver clock generally has a significant time error which causes a common bias in the measured range. This common bias from receiver clock error is solved for along with the position coordinates of the receiver as part of the normal navigation computation. Various other factors can also lead to errors or noise in the calculated range, including ephemeris error, satellite clock timing error, atmospheric effects, receiver noise and multipath error. With standalone GPS navigation, where a user with a GPS receiver obtains code and/or carrier-phase ranges with respect to a plurality of satellites in view, without consulting with any reference station, the user is very limited in ways to reduce the errors or noises in the ranges.
To eliminate or reduce these errors, differential operations are typically used in GPS applications. Differential GPS (DGPS) operations typically involve a base reference GPS receiver, a user (or navigation) GPS receiver, and a communication link between the user and reference receivers. The reference receiver is placed at a known location and the known position is used to generate corrections associated with some or all of the above error factors. The corrections are supplied to the user receiver and the user receiver then uses the corrections to appropriately correct its computed position. The corrections can be in the form of corrections to the reference receiver position determined at the reference site or in the form of corrections to the specific GPS satellite clock and/or orbit. Differential operations using carrier-phase measurements are often referred to as real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning/navigation operations.
The fundamental concept of Differential GPS (DGPS) is to take advantage of the spatial and temporal correlations of the errors inherent in the GPS measurements to cancel the noise factors in the pseudorange and/or carrier phase measurements resulting from these error factors. However, while the GPS satellite clock timing error, which appears as a bias on the pseudorange or carrier phase measurement, is perfectly correlated between the reference receiver and the user receiver, most of the other error factors are either not correlated or the correlation diminishes in wide-area applications, i.e., when the distance between the reference and user receivers becomes large.
To overcome the inaccuracy of the DGPS system in wide-area applications, various regional, wide-area, or global DGPS (hereafter referred to as wide-area DGPS or WADGPS) techniques have been developed. The WADGPS includes a network of multiple reference stations in communication with a computational center or hub. Error corrections are computed at the hub based upon the known locations of the reference stations and the measurements taken by them. The computed error corrections are then transmitted to users via communication link such as satellite, phone, or radio. By using multiple reference stations, WADGPS provides more accurate estimates of the error corrections.
Thus, a number of different techniques have been developed to obtain high-accuracy differential navigation using the GPS carrier-phase measurements. The technique with the highest accuracy is the RTK technique, which has a typical accuracy of about one-centimeter. In order to obtain that accuracy, however, the whole-cycle ambiguity in the differential carrier-phase measurements must be determined. When the distance between the user receiver and the reference receiver (baseline distance) is short, the RTK technique is highly advantageous because in this case, the whole-cycle ambiguity can be resolved not only accurately but also quickly. On the other hand, when the baseline distance is more than a few tens of kilometers, it may become impossible to determine the whole-cycle ambiguity and the normal RTK accuracy cannot be achieved. Another limitation of the RTK technique is that it requires a local radio link to be maintained between the reference receiver and the navigation receiver.
The WADGPS techniques that employ a carrier-phase differential method can also achieve very high navigation accuracy. The WADGPS differential techniques are also characterized by reliable long distance low-frequency communication links or by reliable satellite communication links. Thus, corrections can generally be communicated to navigation receivers without significant interruption. However, the WADGPS techniques usually treat the whole-cycle ambiguities as a real-valued (non-integer) variable and solve for a "floating ambiguity," which is usually very poorly defined until measurement data covering a time interval of significant satellite geometry change have been obtained. Thus, in a WADGPS application, a time interval as long as one or two hours is often required to solve for the "floating ambiguity" in order to yield an accuracy of less than 10 centimeters in the navigated position.

Method for combined use of a local RTK system and a regional, wide-area, or global carrier-phase positioning system


A spiral spring toy having a pulling string, a string windup spiral spring, first and second turning bodies, a driving spiral spring, a spiral-shaped guide groove and a floating means. The first turning body is connected with the driving spiral spring so that the driving spiral string biases the first turning body in a first rotational direction and rotation of the first turning body in a second rotational direction charges the driving spiral spring. The second turning body is connected with the pulling string and the string windup spiral spring so that the string windup spiral spring biases the second turning body in the first rotational direction. When the pulling string is pulled, the second turning body rotates in the second rotational direction and charges the string windup spiral spring. The spiral-shaped guide groove has an end portion and is provided on either the first or the second turning body. The floating means is provided on the turning body not provided with the spiral-shaped guide groove so that when the pulling string is pulled, the floating means contacts the end portion of the spiral-shaped guide groove causing the first and second turning body to rotate integrally in the second rotational direction. When the pulling string is released, the floating means floats through and copies the spiral-shaped guide groove so that the second turning body is restored before the first turning body and the string windup spiral spring is discharged before the driving spiral spring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spiral spring toy with a pulling string which includes a driving spiral spring charged by pulling the pulling string.
2. Description of the Related Art
Laid-open Japanese Utility Model Application 02-17192 is an example of a conventional spiral spring toy with the pulling string. The toy described in the Japanese Application has a driving spiral spring which is charged by pulling the pulling string. Various motions of the toy are thereafter actuated by the energy charged in the driving spiral spring.
However, in the above-described conventional spiral spring toy with a pulling string, the string which has been pulled to charge the driving spiral spring is gradually wound up onto a pulley by virtue of a restoration force of the driving spiral spring. Therefore, the following problems were encountered.
An unexpected dangerous condition could occur if the spiral spring toy with the string is installed on a crib, for example, and one who is other than a baby charges the driving spiral spring by pulling the string to therefore cause the toy to move in its predetermined motion, or play its music. When a conventional toy is used in this manner, the string could become entangled with a part of the baby's body when the string is rewound onto the pulley. On the other hand, shortening the length of the string to avoid this danger reduces the charge amount and, as a result, the operating time of the toy is undesirably reduced by a corresponding amount.
Moreover, if the spiral spring toy with a pulling string is hung from the ceiling, while the string is being rewound onto the pulley, the string is suspended, thus becoming an obstruction when someone passes closely, detracting from the appearance of the toy.
Furthermore, if the spiral spring toy with a pulling string is embodied as a walking toy or a travelling toy, the toy walks or travels while dragging the string. Here too, the string detracts from the appearance.


A microwave radiation antenna includes an antenna body having a microwave radiation surface; a processing gas inlet configured to introduce a processing gas into the antenna body; a gas diffusion space configured to diffuse the processing gas in the antenna body; a plurality of gas outlets provided in the antenna body and configured to discharge the processing gas into the chamber; a plurality of slots provided in the antenna body under a state where the slots are separated from the gas diffusion space and the gas outlets; and an annular dielectric member provided in the microwave radiation surface side of the antenna body to cover a slot formation region where the slots are formed. A metal surface wave is formed in the microwave radiation surface by the microwave radiated through the slots and the annular dielectric member and a surface wave plasma is generated by the metal surface wave.

Plasma processing is a technique essential for manufacturing semiconductor devices. In recent years, due to an increasing demand for high-integration and high-speed of the LSIs (Large-Scale Integration circuits), there have been efforts to miniaturize semiconductor devices constituting LSIs. Accordingly, there is a need for a plasma processing apparatus to cope with such miniaturization of semiconductor devices with LSIs.
However, in a conventional parallel plate type or inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus, semiconductor devices are damaged by plasma due to high electron temperature of generated plasma. Further, since a region having high plasma density is limited, it is difficult to perform uniform and high-speed plasma processing for semiconductor wafers with LSIs.
In this regard, an RLSA (Radial Line Slot Antenna) microwave plasma processing apparatus is proposed to uniformly generate a high-density surface wave plasma having a low electron temperature.
The RLSA microwave plasma processing apparatus generates a surface wave plasma by using a microwave and processes target objects by using the surface wave plasma. In the RLSA microwave plasma processing apparatus, a radial line slot antenna, i.e., a planar slot antenna having a plurality of slots formed therein with a predetermined pattern, is provided in the upper portion of a chamber as a microwave radiation antenna, and a microwave guided from a microwave source is radiated into the chamber kept at vacuum through the slots. Further, a dielectric microwave transmission plate provided below the slots. By an electric field of the microwave, a surface wave plasma is generated in the chamber and target objects such as semiconductor wafers are processed by the plasma.
However, in the RLSA microwave plasma processing apparatus in which the microwave is introduced from a ceiling wall of the chamber, it may be difficult to control a gas flow if a processing gas is supplied from a gas inlet provided in a side wall of the chamber, which may result in insufficient plasma uniformity.
In order to avoid this problem, there has been proposed a technique in which a dielectric member having a plurality of gas holes is placed under the radial line slot antenna as a shower plate and a processing gas is introduced into a chamber via this shower plate. This technique may allow the processing gas to be uniformly supplied to a space immediately below the shower plate, thereby providing uniformly formed plasma.
However, the aforementioned technique may cause a problem of converting the processing gas within a gas space of the shower plate into a plasma, which may result in a loss of microwave power and an occurrence of abnormal discharging.
In order to solve this problem, there has been proposed a configuration in which a cover plate made of dielectric material having a relative dielectric constant lower than that of the shower plate is interposed between a microwave antenna and the dielectric shower plate. This configuration reduces a variation in relative dielectric constant of the shower plate including the gas space, which may result in prevention of power loss and abnormal discharging in the gas space of the shower plate.
However, since the shower plate is still a dielectric, the aforementioned configuration cannot fully prevent gas in the gas holes formed in the shower plate from converting into a plasma by the microwave transmitting the shower plate, which may still result in power loss and abnormal discharging. However, a technique for forming a uniform plasma while avoiding this problem has not yet been realized.

Microwave radiation antenna, microwave plasma source and plasma processing apparatus


In one embodiment, a first node may send an out-of-band message to a second node to request that the second node initiate an in-band echo request for a specified tunnel, e.g., toward one or more third nodes. Upon receiving the in-band echo request, one or more responding nodes (e.g., generally the third nodes) may send a response to the first node. This “directed echo request” technique may also be used in conjunction with a “reverse traceroute” technique.

It is often desirable to verify the connectivity between two or more nodes of a computer network. Connectivity verification protocol exchanges, such as, e.g., Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) echo messages ("pings"), Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo messages/pings, bidirectional forwarding detection (BFD) messages, "hello" messages, etc., may be used to generate request/reply messages to verify such connectivity between the nodes. For instance, a first node may send an echo request to a second node, which upon receiving the request, may return an echo reply/response to the first node. Generally, these echo request/reply messages may be sent between the nodes using a transmission protocol, e.g., using the Internet Protocol (IP), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) signaling, etc., or tunnels established therein.
Broadly stated, a tunnel is a logical structure that encapsulates a packet (a header and data) of one protocol inside a field, e.g., a data field, of another protocol packet with a new header. In this manner, a tunnel creates a transparent virtual network link between two network nodes that is generally unaffected by physical network links or devices (i.e., the physical network links or devices merely forward the encapsulated packet based on the new header). By this broad definition, one example of a tunnel is any MPLS Label Switched Path (LSP), and other known tunneling methods include, inter alia, the Layer Two Tunnel Protocol (L2TP), the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), and IP tunnels. A packet that is forwarded within a tunnel may generally be considered to be "in-band"within the tunnel. Conversely, a packet not forwarded within that tunnel may be considered to be "out-of-band" from that tunnel. Therefore, a message (e.g., an echo request/reply message) that is sent within the tunnel is referred to as an "in-band" message, while a message not sent within the tunnel is referred to as an "out-of-band" message.
Traceroute techniques have been developed as an extension to echo requests in order to trace the route (path) that a packet traverses between two or more nodes. Conventionally, a traceroute is performed by sending echo requests from a source node to a destination node that have progressively longer time-to-live (TTL) values. For instance, a first echo request with a TTL of "1" may reach the first intermediate node between the source and destination (a "next-hop" node). When the first intermediate node receives the echo request, it decrements the TTL to "0", and returns a message (e.g., an error message) to the source node (generally, with the address of the first intermediate node). The source node may then send a second echo request with a TTL of "2" that is received by the first intermediate node, which decrements the TTL to "1" and forwards the echo request to a second intermediate node (a "next-next-hop" node). The second intermediate node decrements the TTL to "0", and also returns a message (e.g., an error message) to the source node. The source node may continue to send subsequent echo requests with increasing TTL values until the route between the source and destination has been traced.
Traceroute techniques may also be used with tunnels (e.g., MPLS Traceroute) in a similar manner. For instance, assume the source node is an ingress to a tunnel, and that the destination node is the tunnel egress. The source node injects in-band echo requests with increasing TTL values into the tunnel. As described above, each successive intermediate in-band node (hop) that receives an expired TTL echo request replies to the source node accordingly (e.g., with an out-of-band reply).
While a conventional tunnel is established between a source end node and a destination end node, i.e., a "point-to-point" (P2P) tunnel, a multipoint tunnel, on the other hand, may be employed that connects one or more source end points to one or more destination end points, e.g., along a shared tree. The multipoint tunnel may be used in a manner similar to (and may complement) IP multicast, with packet replication at various nodes of the shared tree, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. A "Point-to-Multipoint" (P2 MP) tunnel, for example, has one source end node (ingress node) to source traffic onto the P2 MP tunnel, and multiple destination end nodes (egress nodes) to receive the traffic from the P2 MP tunnel.
In a conventional P2 MP tunnel traceroute, it is expected that all nodes n hops away (i.e., where "n" is the initial TTL value) will reply. As trace progresses, therefore, an increasingly large number (e.g., potentially thousands) of replies may be generated as the P2 MP tree "branches" (expands) toward the multipoint egress nodes (leafs). The source node typically processes all of these replies, which may pose a processing burden for that node. In particular, because a failure is detected by a lack of response from a node, any replies that fail to be processed by the source node may result in improper failure determination ("false positives"). Also, in the event an actual failure is limited to a few leaf (egress) nodes, the use of conventional traceroute may become especially egregious, since the failure is most likely close to the egress nodes.

Directed echo requests and reverse traceroute


A toilet seat and lid quick release hinge system utilizing a toilet seat and lid hinge hold-down screw with a release lever at the bottom. The hold-down screw has a head flange with diametrically opposed, outwardly extending projections. These projections engage a slot in the hinge mount of a toilet seat and lid hinge assembly, thereby releaseably holding the seat and lid hinge assembly to the toilet bowl.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toilet seat and lid quick release hinge system. Although embodiments of the invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for enabling quick release of a toilet seat from a toilet bowl, for releasing a toilet seat without undoing mounting screw or bolts from the toilet bowl and for putting down the lid when the seat is put down from a raised position.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A toilet seat generally requires more frequent replacement than a toilet bowl due to wear and tear, and a toilet seat can be replaced without replacing the entire toilet. A toilet seat also can be replaced to match any bathroom color scheme or motif.
In general, a toilet seat is affixed to a toilet bowl by placing mounting screws or bolts through a flange portion of the toilet bowl and by fastening screw nuts from the bottom surface of the toilet bowl to the mounting screws. Conventionally, to replace the toilet seat, each of the screws or mounting bolts needs to be unfastened from the washers and nuts. However, as mounting screws and bolts rust or corrode especially in a moist environment, the screws or the mounting bolts can be hard to loosen or unfasten. Furthermore, the nuts can recess due to the passage of time, making the nuts practically inaccessible and toilet seat replacement difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,295 to Hulsebus discloses a "Quick Release Seat Hinge With Swivel" formed of a "mounting post" fixed to the toilet bowl, a "hinge post" connected to the toilet seat, and a "latch member" that engages the hinge and mounting posts. The latch member is moved to "a latched position" to "directly or indirectly" engage the mounting post and hold the toilet down. The latch member is also "movable to an unlatched position wherein the latch member is directly or indirectly disengaged from the mounting post" to allow the seat to be lifted up from the mounting post. The latch member also has a "top wall" and, when the latch member is in the latched position, the top wall "substantially completely covers the mounting post". The hinge post and latch member form two, moving parts that must engage each other. Dirt and filth can enter the joints between these parts, which forms a breeding ground for bacteria. Moreover, the moving parts can become separated and lost or broken. What is needed is a toilet seat and lid quick release assembly with a hinge mount formed as a single piece and a quick release lever that engages the hinge mount from beneath.


A snowmobile has a frame including a tunnel, a least one ski operatively connected to the frame, a seat disposed above the tunnel, a fuel tank disposed on the frame, and an engine connected to the frame forwardly of the fuel tank. The engine has at least one cylinder, at least one intake port, at least one exhaust port, and a laterally extending output shaft defining an output shaft axis. An endless track is disposed at least in part under the tunnel and is operatively connected to the engine. An air intake system is fluidly connected to the at least one intake port. An exhaust system is fluidly connected to the at least one exhaust port. The exhaust system includes a muffler disposed between the output shaft axis and the fuel tank in a longitudinal direction of the snowmobile.

In snowmobiles, the muffler has conventionally been placed to the right side of the engine. Although this position allows the muffler to operate properly, the cowling surrounding the engine and its components needs to be relatively wide in order to accommodate the muffler.
The muffler also defines a fairly large volume in order to reduce the noise generated by the engine, and includes a complex system of baffles, chambers and noise absorbing materials, all of which result in a relatively heavy muffler. By placing the muffler laterally to the right of the longitudinal centerline of the snowmobile, the muffler generates a moment of inertia about the longitudinal centerline of the snowmobile which can have an adverse effect on the handling characteristics of the snowmobile.
In order to address this issue, in some snowmobiles, the muffler has been positioned completely in front of the engine compartment. In some snowmobiles having a four-stroke engine, the muffler has also been positioned at a rear of the tunnel. While these positions of the muffler have a better lateral distribution of the weight of the muffler about the longitudinal centerline of the snowmobile, the muffler is then completely in front of or behind the center of gravity of the snowmobile, thus increasing the moment of inertia about a lateral axis passing through the center of gravity, which can also have an adverse effect on the handling characteristics of the snowmobile.
Therefore, there is a need for a snowmobile having a muffler positioned so as to reduce moments of inertia resulting from the weight of the muffler.