A glans sheath device having a reservoir capable of containing preferrably 8 cc""s of seminal fluid and having said reservoir compacted and packaged to be protected and remain compacted during coitus and able to deploy distally outward to contain seminal fluid flooding the reservoir. Restraining legs attached to the perimeter of the glans sheath flange tautly restrain the flange over a multiple-piece restraining tool so that the glans sheath can be easily handled during a flange to glans bonding operation. A protective backing covers over adhesive on the proximal surface of the flange to protect the adhesive prior to bonding.

This invention relates to the field of prophylactics known as micro-condoms, penile caps or glans sheaths as defined by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
Prophylactic devices which attach only to the glans penis are identified by the United States Food and Drug Administration as glans sheaths. These devices attach either by adhesive means or by restraining means such as a constricting grip. For those devices which adhere to the penis only about the tip, the reservoir volume of the sheath must be large enough in size to contain the quantity of ejaculate discharged into the reservoir. Roll-down condom prophylactics do not have this reservoir volume issue as the ejaculate discharge can fill into the full volume of the roll-down condom. A glans sheath reservoir which is unable to accomodate the produced volume of ejaculate becomes pressurized by the strong contractions of the muscles producing the ejaculation. This fluid pressure can easily compromise the bondline of the adhesive securing the glans sheath to the glans penis.
The instant invention is a glans sheath designed to have a reservoir volume capable of containing approximately 8 cc""s of fluid. The reservoir is packaged such that the reservoir is not distally positioned relative to the bonding flange once packaged, but is inverted proximally and folded over upon itself. Inverting and folding the reservoir evacuates air from the reservoir and protects the reservoir prior to its deployment.
Glans sheath prophylactics such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,677,225, 3,648,700, 4,320,752, 4,821,742, 4,869,269, 5,102,405, and 5,421,350 all have a fundamental flaw as a glans sheath. All of these devices provide no method of evacuating air from the resevoir volume during the manufacturing operation. Additionally, these devices do not take measures to ensure that the evacuated air remains removed prior to glans bonding. Without this critical step of evacuating the reservoir air prior to bonding, all of the ejaculate discharge entering into the reservoir volume competes with trapped air for space and this pressurizes the reservoir above ambient atmospheric pressure. This overpressure is great enough to cause localized failure of the bonded area of the flange of the glans sheath. This localized failure is identified as a small fissure separation of the adhered flange from the glans. Seminal discharge erupts through this small fissure, completely defeating the contraceptive intention of the device. Reservoir air evacuation is not an exercise that should be left to the user bonding the device to the glans. Evacuation should be included as a manufacturing step. The instant invention incorporates reservoir evacuation and reservoir packaging into the manufacturing process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,114 addresses both design issues of forming a reservoir large enough to contain a typical seminal discharge volume and packaging this reservoir volume to ensure that air evacuated from the reservoir volume remains evacuated prior to bonding. This design has other flaws.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,114 the protective retaining structure packaging the reservoir of the device must be mechanically affixed to the distal surface of the sheath flange. This manufacturing step lowers the reliability of the device in that the retaining structure must be mechanically attached to the bowl structure. Should the retaining structure physically separate from the bowl during coitus, it would have to be retrieved by a medical professional if it were to become lodged in a body cavity. Further, the retaining structure is designed to have a star shaped pattern which the bladder must be forced through as the bladder deploys. Depending on the rigidity of the retaining structure, this material will oppose the bladder attempting to deploy itself and the weaker path of resistance for the pressurized ejaculate becomes the bondline of the bowl adhered to the skin of the glans. Should the bondline fail by the creation of a fissure as described, the contraceptive intention of the patented device is defeated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,865 is a roll-down prophylactic which also inverts the reservoir during its manufacture. The fundamental flaw with this design is that the inverted reservoir cannot be rolled up or folded onto itself once inverted. This leaves the design with two options. The design can have a small enough reservoir that it is not necessary to roll or fold the reservoir to avoid damage to the reservoir during coitus. In this case, the reservoir will likely re-invert itself back to its original distal position once the user tries to apply the condom simply from air pressure inside the condom. A condom with a small reservoir as described does not offer much ejaculate containment volume and is essentially a commercially available condom with the small reservoir tip turned inside out. Ideally an inverted reservoir would be large enough to contain greater than 5 cc""s of fluid. A reservoir this large should be folded or somehow packaged to remain at the tip of the glans near the urethral opening once inverted. Without some variation of a restraining mechanism, such as a flap, to keep the inverted reservoir folded up, the reservoir will spring back to its elongated shape and will face proximally. Once the reservoir is sprung and extended proximally, the user can only push the reservoir off to the side during roll down application. Pushed off to the side, the reservoir will extend down the interior length of the condom rolled down onto the penis and is then firmly wedged between the glans or shaft of the user""s penis and the interior wall of the condom rolled onto the penis. Wedged in this fashion, the reservoir is completely useless as it cannot be deployed because it is constrictively trapped between the condom sidewall and the user""s penis. This is also an unsatisfactory option.
The instant invention discloses a glans sheath device which has a large reservoir volume to avoid overpressurization and the device is packaged so as to evacuate, fold and protect the reservoir without the addition of any external retaining structures to compromise reliability. During manufacturing the reservoir is inverted from its deployed distal position relative to the bonding flange of the glans sheath and instead lies in a compacted state facing the proximal direction of the device. In this orientation the reservoir is evacuated, folded and secured in place. By properly evacuating and folding the large reservoir during manufacturing of the instant invention, the reservoir is able to properly deploy when seminal discharge floods the reservoir yet the reservoir remains properly evacuated and constrained throughout coitus until reservoir flooding occurs.
Another issue which must be addressed is a method for handling a very pliable flange material. U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,625 by Winkler discloses a tool for tautly restraining the flange of that invention but does not utilize an efficient two-piece tool design as does the present invention. Winkler""s invention must rely on proper separation between the tool and the flange after bonding the flange to the glans. There is also a likelihood that Winkler""s design presents the opportunity for the flange to separate from the rigid tool before successful bonding which allows the creation of crevasses in the unbonded flange. The restraining legs of the instant invention differ in purpose from the force distribution strips of Winkler""s design. Winkler intends the force distribution strips of U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,625 to remain affixed to the flange material to distribute tensile forces pulling the flange away from the glans penis during coitus.
The invented device is a glans sheath contraceptive which covers only the portion of the glans penis immediately surrounding the urethral opening. The device provides an adhesive coated annular flange as a means of attaching to the glans penis a collapsed, proximally oriented, folded reservoir capable of deploying when pressurized and able to contain ejaculate once deployed.

Glance sheath prophylactic with inverted, compacted reservoir and method of manufacturing such a device


Disclosed is a plasma sampling interface for an inductively coupled mass spectrometer, comprising a housing having entry and exit openings for respectively introducing and releasing ions from the chamber, and a sampler mounted on the housing so as to be disposed adjacent to plasma generated by an inductively coupled plasma source, wherein the entry opening is provided in a cooling plate that is integral to the housing and that is formed from bronze. Also disclosed is a bronze cooling plate for receiving and cooling a plasma sampler in an inductively coupled mass spectrometer, and a mass spectrometer that comprises a plasma sampling interface as disclosed.

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is an analytical method that is capable of detecting metals and certain non-metals at very low concentration, as low as one part in 1015 (part per quadrillion, ppq) on non-interfered low-background isotopes. The method involves ionizing the sample to be analysed with an inductively coupled plasma and then using a mass spectrometer to separate and quantify the thus generated ions.
The sample is typically a liquid solution or suspension, supplied in the form of an aerosol in a carrier gas, usually argon. The plasma is generated by ionizing the aerosol in carrier gas in an electromagnetic coil, to generate a highly energized mixture of argon atoms, free electrons and argon ions.
The plasma is generated in a plasma torch, which typically comprises a number of concentric tubes that form respective channels and is surrounded towards its downstream end by a helical induction coil. Plasma gas, typically argon, flows in an outer channel of the torch, and an electric charge is applied to the gas to ionize a portion of the gas. A radio frequency is applied to the torch coil, and the resulting alternating magnetic field causes free electrons to be accelerated, bringing about further ionization of the gas. Thereby, a plasma state is achieved with temperature in the plasma typically in the range of 5,000 to 10,000 K. The sample in carrier gas flows through a central channel of the torch and passes into the plasma, where the extremely high temperature causes atomization and ionization of the sample.
To form an ion beam from the sample ions in the plasma, the plasma is sampled through an aperture in a sampling interface operating under vacuum. This is done by providing a sampler in the form of a sampler cone (or sampling cone) that has a narrow aperture tip, usually about 0.5 to 1.5 mm in diameter. Downstream of the sampler cone, the plasma expands within the sampling interface as it passes through an evacuated expansion chamber within the interface. A central portion of the expanding plasma passes through a second aperture provided by a skimmer cone into a second evacuation chamber that has a higher degree of vacuum. Downstream of the skimmer cone, there are electrostatic lenses that extract ions from the plasma, thereby forming an ion beam. The resulting ion beam is then deflected and/or guided towards a mass spectrometer by one or more ion deflectors, ion lenses and/or ion guides. Sometimes, the ion beam will pass through a collision or reaction cell, for removing potentially interfering ions, before passing through the mass spectrometer.
The plasma is formed in the ICP source at atmospheric pressure. The sampling interface operates at reduced pressure, typically a few mbar. The flow of plasma into the interface is thereby driven by the pressure difference between the plasma and the expansion chamber within the interface.
The sampling interface is sensitive to deposits forming on the sampler cone, resulting in optical defects, noise or other artefacts in the obtained mass spectrum. Deposits can form on the sampler cone, in particular close to its tip, resulting in these artefacts, Clogging can originate in the sample itself, or it can originate in components of the sampling interface.
Conditions at the sample interface in ICP-MS are harsh. Due to the extremely high temperature at the plasma source (up to 10,000 K), the sampler cone needs to be cooled. This is typically achieved by mounting the sampler cone on a water-cooled plate (cooling plate) on the front end of the sampling interface, facing the ICP source. The sampler cone is typically formed from metals that are corrosion-resistant, have a high thermal conductivity and a high melting point. Typical metals used in the sampler cone are nickel and platinum.
The cooling plate is typically formed from copper, which has a very high thermal conductivity. To provide resistance against corrosion from the plasma, the cooling plate is usually plated with a corrosion-resistant plating, such as Ni.
The inventors have however found that the nickel plating on the cooling plate is susceptible to corrosion by aggressive chemicals. With time, corrosion of the coating is followed by blistering in the coating, which finally requires exchange of the cooling plate. However, degradation of the nickel plating can result in optical defects, particle deposition at the sampler cone and/or contamination by nickel isotopes in the analytical signal. A related problem stems from matrix deposition onto the sampler cone that causes signal drift during analysis of high matrix samples.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a sampling interface for ICP-MS that minimizes effects from corrosion or other degradation of the cooling plate.


A tile plow includes a horizontal beam and a shoe extending downwardly from the beam. The beam and shoe are supported on a rear wheel assembly, and a front linkage assembly. The beam and shoe are movable between a raised transport position and a lowered plowing position. The position of the rear wheel assembly and front linkage assembly is controlled by a slave hydraulic system for simultaneously raising and lowering the tile plow. A secondary hydraulic outlet adjusts the rear hydraulic cylinders relative to the front hydraulic cylinders. When the tile plow is laying a tile line, the rear wheels are positioned substantially behind the shoe.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tile plows. More particularly, though not exclusively, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for laying tile lines which improves over the prior art.
2. Problems in the Art
Most prior art tile plows are designed to attach to the three point hitch of a tractor. The prior art tile plow typically includes a shoe positioned behind the three point hitch and a pair of wheels connected to the tile plow and located in front of the shoe.
Prior art tile plows have various problems. When farmers buy high horsepower tractors, it is common to purchase the tractor without a three point hitch because that optional feature can add thousands of dollars to the cost of the tractor. In order for a user to use a prior art tile plow which attaches to a three point hitch, the user would have to purchase the expensive optional three point hitch. In addition, heavy equipment such as a tile plow, which is attached to the three point hitch may take a number of hours to attach and detach. Some prior art three point hitch plows are attached to a pull cart, then hooked to the tractor with a pin. With such plows, the weight distribution is changed and the tractor loses traction.
Prior art tile plows have wheels which are positioned in front of, or even with, the shoe. When the wheels go over any uneven terrain, the plow shoe will change its grade in accordance with the uneven ground. Therefore, a precise tile grade is very difficult to maintain with a prior art tile plow. In addition, when a tile plow encounters a large rock, the rock must be removed by a back hoe or the like. However, a prior art tile plow with the wheels in front of or even with the shoe, the wheels get in the way of the back hoe. It is therefore difficult to remove the rock which is blocking the plow. In addition, with the wheels in front of the shoe, an upward force may be applied to the tractor which reduces traction.
Prior art tile plows also include wheel assemblies and linkage arms that often cause clearance problems. The linkage arms are intended to keep the pitch constant. However, the linkage arms can obstruct the soil flow around the shoe of the plow. Also, with prior art tile plows, pitch adjustments are typically done manually.
Another problem encountered with prior art tile plows is in laying tile in the trench dug by the tile plow. To lay the tile evenly, it is important that the tile lay at the bottom of the trench. However, sometimes the tile will be raised slightly from the bottom of the trench due to dirt filling in underneath the tile. In addition, rocks falling into the trench on top of the tile will sometimes dent the plastic tile.
Another major disadvantage of a prior art tile plow is that if an existing tile line is cut while laying a new tile line, there is no way for the user to determine that the line was cut.
Therefore, it can be seen there is a need for an effective and improved tile plow.
Features of the Invention
A general feature of the present invention is the provision of an improved method and apparatus for laying tile lines which overcomes problems found in the prior art.
A further feature of the present invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for laying tile lines which uses a tile plow attached to the draw bar of a tractor which includes a wheel assembly disposed behind the shoe of the tile plow.
Further features, objects and advantages of the present invention include:
An apparatus and method for laying tile lines which includes a horizontal beam connected between the tractor and the wheel assembly.
A method and apparatus for laying tile lines which includes a tile plow having height adjustment hydraulic cylinders at the front and back of the tile plow for raising and lowering the tile plow while maintaining the horizontal orientation of the beam.
An apparatus and method for laying tile lines which includes the use of the tile plow having a wheel assembly which is disposed behind the shoe of the tile plow and has a substantially wide wheel span.
An apparatus and method for laying tile lines which includes a master/slave hydraulic system as well as a means for adjusting the cylinders relative to each other.
An apparatus and method for laying tile lines using a plow shoe with a very narrow profile to reduce the disturbance of soil by the tile plow.
An apparatus and method for laying tile lines which includes cutting edge extensions for identifying when an existing tile line is cut by bringing debris to the surface.
An apparatus and method for laying tile lines which includes a flexible flap attached to the rear of the shoe of the tile plow for holding the tile firmly in the trench while allowing dirt to filter slowly around the tile and preventing rocks from denting the tile as the dirt falls into the trench.
An apparatus and method for laying tile lines which includes a disc coulter for breaking up debris in front of the shoe.
These as well as other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification and claims.


A radiation analyzer includes a primary ray source that generates primary rays, an optical system applies the primary rays emitted from the primary ray source to a sample, an energy-dispersive radiation detector that detects radiation that has been generated from the sample when the primary rays have been applied to the sample, and a support that supports the radiation detector so that the tilt of the center axis (C) of the radiation detector with respect to the optical axis (Z) of the optical system can be changed.

The present invention relates to a radiation analyzer.
An energy-dispersive X-ray detector that may be provided to a scanning electron microscope (SEM), an X-ray microanalyzer (XMA), or the like is normally secured through a flange (i.e., interface) corresponding to one working distance and one X-ray take-off angle specified by the specification.
JP-A-8-222172 and JP-A-9-147781 disclose an electron microscope that includes a plurality of energy-dispersive X-ray detectors so that two or more different X-ray take-off angles can be used.
In recent years, the working distance specified by the specification has been reduced along with an increase in resolution of a scanning electron microscope. When the working distance is short, X-rays may be interrupted (blocked) by a pole piece when detecting X-rays using the X-ray detector (i.e., it may be difficult to detect X-rays). It may be possible to prevent such a situation by reducing the X-ray take-off angle so that the X-ray detector can be used at a short working distance, for example. In this case, however, the X-ray detection accuracy may deteriorate when measuring X-rays at a long working distance.
A plurality of X-ray detectors may be provided to a scanning electron microscope so that an X-ray detector that detects X-rays at a low X-ray take-off angle is used when the working distance is short, and an X-ray detector that detects X-rays at a high X-ray take-off angle is used when the working distance is long. Specifically, X-rays may be measured using a plurality of X-ray detectors at an optimum X-ray take-off angle that corresponds to the working distance. In this case, however, an increase in cost and size of the device may occur since a plurality of X-ray detectors are necessary.

Radiation analyzer including a support for tilting an energy-dispersive radiation detector


Disclosed is a method for detecting a hidden station in a specific station constituting a wireless communication network that includes receiving a frame after a lapse of an idle state interval longer than a predetermined waiting time; determining that there is a hidden station, if a size of the received frame is equal to a size of an Acknowledge (ACK) frame; and determining that there is no hidden station, if the size of the received frame is not equal to the size of the ACK frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a wireless communication network, and, in particular, to a method and system for detecting a hidden station in a wireless communication network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Of the standards for wireless communication networks, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards defines a hidden station. Assuming that a first station and a second station are performing communication with each other, and a third station, which is an arbitrary station, is observing the communication, the third station receives Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Units (PDUs) from the second station. The PDUs have a MAC address of the second station as a Transmitter Address (TA), and have a MAC address of the first station as a Receiver Address (RA). In addition, the third station receives PDUs from the first station. The PDUs have a MAC address of the first station as a TA, and has a MAC address of the second station as an RA.
However, it is possible that the third station has received a PDU from the second station but has failed to receive a PDU from the first station. In this situation, the third station can perceive the presence of the first station. In this situation, the first station is a hidden station for the third station.
Commonly, if a MAC frame including a MAC address is generated in a MAC layer, the MAC frame is transferred to a physical (PHY) layer, which is a lower layer, for transmission. In the PHY layer, a PHY PDU (PPDU), which is a basic PHY frame including the MAC frame, is generated and then transmitted through wireless resources. For purposes of providing a description herein, a format of the basic frame specified in the IEEE 802.11a standard will be utilized as an example of the structure of the basic PHY frame.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a basic PHY frame. Referring to FIG. 1, a Physical Layer Convergence Procedure (PLCP) preamble is comprised of a predetermined number of OFDM symbols, and is used in a receiver for detection of a received frame.
A PLCP Header corresponding to a Signal field includes a 4-bit Rate field, a 1-bit Reserved field, a 12-bit Length field, a 1-bit Parity field, a 6-bit Tail field, and a 16-bit Service field, and is modulated by Binary Phase Shifting Keying (BPSK) and comprised of one OFDM symbol encoded with a ½-rate convolutional code. Herein, the fields containing information important to the present invention include the Rate field indicating a data rate at which a PHY Service Data Unit (PSDU) including a MAC frame is transmitted, and the Length field of the MAC frame or the PDSU. The basic frame structure follows the standard, and a description of the fields other than the foregoing fields is known to those of skill in the art.
Meanwhile, a range where a frame can be transmitted is determined according to a frame data rate. A frame transmitted at a lower data rate can be transferred farther. Because the PLCP Header is generally transmitted at a lower data rate compared with the data or the PDSU, a range (header transfer range) where the PLCP Header can be transferred is greater than a range (data transfer range) where the data can be transferred.
Therefore, a description of hidden station detection according to the definition given in the standard can be given as follows, based on an assumption that a first station receives and decodes not only the PLCP Header but also the whole data frame. After the decoding, the first station recognizes from the decoded data frame that an RA of the frame is indicated as a hardware address, i.e. MAC address, of a second station. However, if the first station has never received a data frame having a MAC address of the second station as a TA, the first station regards the second station as a hidden station.
However, the first station can perceive use/nonuse of a corresponding wireless medium even with the use of the Rate field and the Length field included in the PLCP Header in order to detect a hidden station. That is, the first station has no need to detect a MAC address of a transmitter or a receiver, which it can obtain by receiving and decoding a data frame that cannot be transferred far as it is transmitted at a high data rate. Therefore, there is a need to newly define a hidden station and to efficiently detect the presence/absence of the hidden station.

Method for detecting hidden station in a wireless communication network and system therefor

Seoul National University Industry Foundation


A file server device is provided which has less chance of error in changing directory settings information. A file server device that has access to a client computer and a disk array device receives a directory settings file, and writes the directory settings file in a specified shared directory. The file server device chooses, as a migration destination candidate, a volume whose settings information matches new settings information of the shared directory which is set as specified in the directory settings file. The file server device migrates information in the shared directory whose settings information is changed to the volume chosen as a migration destination candidate.

This invention relates to a method of changing settings information of a shared directory, and more particularly, to a method of allowing a client computer operated by a user to send a request to change settings information of a shared directory.
File server devices, which enable multiple client computers connected to one another via a local area network (LAN) to share a file, are widely used in business organizations and the like.
A file server device provides client computers with a shared directory, an area in which a file is written.
Each shared directory is identified by an identifier unique throughout the network. An identifier assigned to a shared directory is called a shared directory address.
Once a shared directory address is specified and entered in an operating system (OS) or a file sharing client program that is run in the client computers, the client computers can store files in, or read files out of, a shared directory at the shared directory address.
A file server device may be mounted as a special-use computer.
There has been known a technique with which a computer running an OS executes a file sharing server program to assume the function of a file server device which provides a shared directory (see, for example, Non-patent Document 1: Jay Ts, Robert Eckstein, and David Collier-Brown, Using Samba, (U.S.) 2nd ed. (Sebastopol, C A: O'Reilly and Associates Inc., Feb. 2003), p. 1-3).
A file sharing server program receives, from a client computer connected to a file server device via a LAN, a request to access a file that is stored in a secondary storage system in the file server device, and uses a function of an OS run in the file server device to access the file stored in the secondary storage system.
The file sharing server program operates according to settings information which is described in a settings file stored in the file server device. The settings information is managed by an administrator commissioned by a user of the client computer.
The secondary storage system in the file server device is a single hard disk drive. Instead, a disk array device may serve as the secondary storage system when the secondary storage system needs to have a large storage capacity.
A disk array device is a combination of multiple hard disk drives to provide redundant virtual storage areas. Such virtual storage areas are called volumes.
One way to build a virtual hard disk drive by combining hard disk drives is a technology called redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID). There are several different methods to combine hard disk drives and those variations are called RAID types. The price per capacity and price-performance ratio of a volume vary depending on the RAID type.
The price-performance ratio is also varied depending on the specification of the single hard disk drive. Therefore, a RAID type and a single hard disk drive that are suitable to the use of the secondary storage system should be chosen. Another factor that can make the performance, capacity, and the like to vary is the specification of the disk array device itself.
In an environment where a large storage capacity is necessary, many file server devices are connected to a single LAN. A shared directory in such an environment is migrated among the file server devices to balance, for example, the access load applied to the individual file server devices. This improves the overall price-performance ratio of the computer system.
However, migration of a shared directory makes it necessary for a user of a client computer to specify and enter a new shared directory address assigned to the migrated shared directory in the client computer without fail.
Global name space (GNS) is a known technology to relocate a shared directory in this type of environment in a manner that makes the relocation transparent to client computers (see, for example, Non-patent Document 2: Jon William Toigo, The Holy Grail of Network Storage Management (Indianapolis: Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference, Oct. 2003), p. 61-64).
GNS is a technology for translating a logical shared directory address that is specified and entered in a client computer into a physical shared directory address at which a shared directory is actually located. GNS makes it possible to access a migrated shared directory by entering the same logical shared directory address that has been used prior to the relocation in the client computer, despite a change in physical shared directory address of the shared directory that accompanies the migration.
A user of a client computer may wish to change settings information of a shared directory such that the shared directory is placed in a file server device, a disk array device, a volume, or the like that has the optimum storage characteristics from the viewpoints of, for example, price per capacity and price-performance ratio according to the type, utilization state, and the like of files stored in the shared directory.
Conventionally, a user of a client computer accessing a file server device who wishes to change settings information of a shared directory notifies the administrator of new settings as well as the network address of the shared directory of which settings information is to be changed, and asks the administrator to change settings information of the shared directory.
Receiving the request, the administrator directly changes settings information of the shared directory or operates a management program or the like to change settings information of the shared directory. In short, the administrator changes setting information of each shared directory separately.
One of common ways for a user to request the administrator to change settings information of a shared directory is e-mail.
A Web server program Apache provides a user who publishes contents online with a measure to change settings information of a directory in which the contents are stored without the intervention of the administrator. Apache changes settings information of the directory storing the materials when a settings file which describes settings of the directory is stored in the directory (see, for example, Non-patent Document 3: Ivan Ristic, Apache Security (Sebastopol, C A: O'Reilly and Associates Inc., May 2005), p. 137-139).

File server that allows an end user to specify storage characteristics with ease


A method, apparatus, and computer program product for monitoring the performance of a system. The mechanism of the present invention provides an interface in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI) to communicate multiple layers of system performance data to an operator. An operator monitors this display of information and uses it to determine how to adjust the system to optimize system performance. This mechanism of the present invention provides immediate feedback to an operator by displaying a trail of metric points, wherein the metric points indicate the status of system performance over a period of time. In this manner, the display mechanism of the present invention immediately conveys to an operator whether the system is operating within predefined margins, the results of performance adjustments made to the system, as well as predictions or trends for the system.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to computer and data processing systems, and, more particularly, to the field of network computing. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to monitoring system performance and communicating detailed system performance data via an enhanced graphical user interface.
2. Description of Related Art
Computers have increasingly become a necessity of modern life, both for individuals as well as businesses. With the emergence of the Internet and with ever increasing competition in the marketplace, stand alone computers no longer provide the necessary services and capabilities users require. Many, if not most, companies need to share information between multiple groups, often located in different cities or even different countries. Networked computers provide for the transfer of information between computers, possibly dissimilar, joined together by means of gateways that handle data transfer and the conversion of messages from the sending computer to the protocols used by the receiving computer (with packets if necessary).
Consequently, networks have become cultural fixtures as sources of information have continued to enlarge and grow. However, as systems have continued to expand, their complexity has increased, making management of the networks difficult. For example, many companies employ networks that contain not several computers and devices, but hundreds of thousands of devices. Systems may comprise interrelated components, such as hardware, software, networks, data, connections, databases, processes, and procedures. Processes may use multiple technologies of disparate types. To manage these systems, an operator may monitor system performance in order to know where to update, configure, and adjust the system to increase customer satisfaction.
Current methods of monitoring and displaying system performance information consist of providing a static-type interface to an operator. The information is typically presented to the operator in a "stop light" or "speedometer" type of representation. However, these static interfaces merely provide a quick overview of the current status of the system. To obtain more detailed information regarding a potential problem, the operator must access reports or printouts containing the additional information.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method, apparatus, and computer program product for providing an enhanced display for communicating system performance data, whereby multiple layers of system performance information may be communicated to an operator in a quick and efficient manner.

Method for multidimensional visual correlation of systems management data displaying orchesteration action threshold

International Business Machines Corporation


A pitch lock system for a wind turbine with a rotor having at least one pitchable or at least partially pitchable blade connected to the rotor at a interface, the blade having an outer blade part and an inner blade part, the blade parts being interconnected at an interface, having a pitch bearing construction with a first bearing ring and a second bearing ring for pitching at least a part of the blade in relation to the rotor. The pitch lock system has a movable toothed segment for interacting with at least one toothed element, and where the pitch lock system further includes an actuator for activating and moving the movable toothed segment into engagement with the toothed element, and thus, locking the pitch bearing construction and thus locking the pitch bearing in the actual position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pitch lock system for a wind turbine with a rotor, said rotor comprising at least one pitchable blade, said at least one blade being a traditional pitch blade connected to said rotor at a interface or being at least one partial pitch blade, said at least one partial pitch blade comprising a outer blade part and a inner blade part, where said blade parts are interconnected at a interface, said interface comprising a pitch bearing construction with a first bearing ring and a second bearing ring, for pitching at least a part of said blade in relation to said rotor, wherein the pitch lock system comprises a movable toothed segment for interacting with at least one toothed element, where said toothed segment is slideably connected with one of the first or the second bearing ring, and where said toothed element is in fixed connection with the other of the first or second bearing ring, and where the pitch lock system further comprises an actuator for activating and sliding/moving said movable toothed segment in a direction parallel to a radial direction of the bearing ring and into engagement with said toothed element and thus locking the pitch bearing construction.
2. Background of the Invention
It is well known that wind turbines have some kind of brake or lock system for braking and/or locking the rotor of the turbine in a specific position during repair work or other situations where there is a need for a secure stand still of the rotor. Also systems for locking the individual blades of a wind turbine in specific positions are known.
DE 10 2004 017 323 A1 teach a solution to the problem with slack and wear between the parts that are used for pitching a blade for a wind turbine into certain positions. The problem can be solved by using some kind of locking mechanism e.g. a bolt that is placed in a corresponding hole or by having some kind of brake mechanism build into the pitch bearing. Such a brake system can be a disc brake, a magnet brake or a drum brake. By using a bolt lock mechanism a very simple solution is obtained, but the blade can only be locked in predetermined positions and thus the solution is somewhat static. By using a brake system, the possibility to position the blade in a very specific position is possible, but installing a brake system is a rather complex job and further the system can not provide a foolproof locking of the blade.
US 2011/0044813 A1 also shows a pitch lock mechanism, for locking the pitch bearing system in a fixed position, but this system has the disadvantage that the pitch bearing only can be locked in one or more specific positions, which does not allow for dynamic and free choice of locking position. This system has the same drawbacks as the system discussed above.
EP 1 167 754 A2 concerns a locking mechanism for a wind turbine rotor, where the locking mechanism is integrated into a disc brake system. In one embodiment of the system, the disc is locked in a fixed position by a toothed segment, and in another embodiment the disc can be turned by the locking parts.
A brake or lock system for a pitch bearing construction on a wind turbine is normally arranged between the outer ring and the inner ring of a pitch bearing, which typically is a ball bearing. The outer ring will often be fixed to the hub of a wind turbine and the inner ring will be fixed to the blade. The blade will thus be able to be pitched—turned—in a longitudinal direction of the blade. This movement will often be facilitated by an electro motor and a gear unit or by a hydraulic unit. The unit will normally be acting with a sprocket on a toothed element on the inner ring of said bearing. The pitch bearing construction can be held in a given position, but at the interface between the sprocket and the toothed element is the teeth of the parts; there will always be some slack between the parts. Further the unit cannot provide a safe and secure mechanical locking of the pitch bearing construction.
As the above mentioned solutions the solution in EP 1 167 754 A2 is also designed to block a turning movement at certain specific positions. This can in one embodiment be done by pushing a toothed brake block into engagement with a toothed element on the slewing ring. It is however only possible to engage the brake block when it is aligned with the teeth on the toothed element. In other words the brake will only work if and when a full alignment of the two parts has taken place. Especially during repair work this is not always possible. If a pitch gear is blocked and has to be repaired or replaced it is very important to be able to perform a full locking of the inner ring in relation to the outer ring, before doing any work at the pitch bearing. This is not possible with any of the above mentioned solutions and thus a number of straps, pulleys and other tools must be taken in action, which is very time consuming an still does not provide a secure locking of the various parts.
None of the above mentioned systems show a pitch lock system for a wind turbine that solves the problem of preventing slack in the system and at the same time being a sturdy and robust locking system, comprising a mechanical lock, where the locking position is completely individual, meaning that the pitch bearing construction can be locked in every possible position.

Blade pitch lock system for a wind turbine


A distributed data transmitter (DTXR) which is an adaptive data communication microwave transmitter having a distributable architecture of modular components, and which incorporates both digital and microwave technology to provide substantial improvements in physical and operational flexibility. The DTXR has application in, for example, remote data acquisition involving the transmission of telemetry data across a wireless link, wherein the DTXR is integrated into and utilizes available space within a system (e.g., a flight vehicle). In a preferred embodiment, the DTXR broadly comprises a plurality of input interfaces; a data modulator; a power amplifier; and a power converter, all of which are modularly separate and distinct so as to be substantially independently physically distributable and positionable throughout the system wherever sufficient space is available.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates broadly to microwave transmitter architecture and components. More particularly, the present invention concerns an adaptive data communication microwave transmitter having a distributable architecture of modular components, and incorporating both digital and microwave technology to provide substantial improvement in flexibility of use; and has broad application in, for example, the transmission of data across a wireless link.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is often desirable to receive telemetry data from, for example, a system under test or otherwise monitored. Such data is typically transmitted using a prior art monolithic microwave transmitter having a unitary design of fixed shape and dimensions. Unfortunately, where the system was not initially designed to accommodate the transmitter, it can often be very difficult or impossible to integrate the transmitter into the available space. This is a particular problem where the transmitter must be enclosed within the system's existing housing, such as, for example, where the system is part of a flight vehicle. Furthermore, while it may be possible in such situations to undertake a substantial repositioning of the system's components to make space for and otherwise accommodate the transmitter, doing so is likely undesirably or prohibitively costly and time-consuming and may sufficiently change the system so as to undermine the very test meant to be performed. Thus, the physical characteristics of prior art transmitters are typically inflexible, making the transmitters physically unadaptable and unsuitable for use in a variety of applications or changing conditions.
Furthermore, even where space can be found or made within the system for the monolithic transmitter, any need to repair or replace the transmitter, such as when different operating characteristics are desired, requires that the entire transmitter be removed from the system. Unfortunately, the replacement transmitter, if it is of a different shape or size than the replaced transmitter, may not fit within the same space.
It will also be appreciated by those with ordinary skill in the art that prior art transmitters are notoriously inflexible with regard to their operating characteristics. Thus, prior art transmitters typically suffer from, for example, a rigid analog technology; limited data throughput; fixed data rates; fixed deviation; fixed spectrum; fixed analog modulation; and fixed power capacity, such that they are typically operatively unadaptable and not suitable for use in a variety of applications or changing conditions.
Due to the above-identified and other problems and disadvantages in the art, a need exists for an improved data transmitter.

Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, LLP


A cigarette-making machine of the tobacco-injecting type is provided that includes a tamper-holding mechanism. In one aspect, the tamper-holding mechanism provides for positively holding the tamper in its fully-retracted position. The tamper-holding mechanism includes a tamper-engaging member with a tamper-engaging portion and a bias. The side of the tamper includes a shoulder or projection that releasably interference couples with the tamper-engaging portion. In a first embodiment, the tamper-holding mechanism includes a tamper-engaging portion with a generally triangular-shaped body having a vertex that is urged against the side to releasably interference couple with the shoulder or projection on the side of the tamper. In another embodiment, the tamper-holding mechanism includes a tamper-engaging portion with a generally pentagonal-shaped body which is retained by a generally square U-shaped or C-shaped retaining portion that biases a vertex of the tamper-engaging portion to contact the side of the tamper.

Injector-type cigarette-making machines are well known. As described and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,731,971, to Kastner for "Cigarette Making Machine," issued Jan. 24, 1956, such machines compress a portion of loose tobacco equivalent to one cigarette and then inject the compressed tobacco portion into a pre-formed cigarette tube. As is known, conventional injector-type cigarette-making machines include a crank arm which the user moves to operate the machine (i.e., compressing the loose tobacco and subsequently injecting the compressed loose tobacco), a tobacco chamber into which the loose tobacco is inserted, and a tobacco-compressing member (also known in the art as the tamper or cutter, hereinafter referred to as the tamper) which is coupled to the crank arm for translating movement in the tobacco chamber which causes compression of the loose tobacco according to movement of the crank arm. The pre-formed empty cigarette tube is held by a tube clamp at an end of a hollow nipple, which is in communication with the tobacco chamber, during the compression and injection of the portion of tobacco. Once the compressed tobacco is fully injected into the pre-formed cigarette tube (i.e., by moving the compressed tobacco from the tobacco chamber, through the hollow nipple and into the tube), the tube clamp releases the filled tube from the hollow nipple so that the cigarette may be smoked or stored for later smoking.
While such conventional machines have achieved substantial commercial success, one challenge with these machines is that, oftentimes, it is difficult for a user to load the machine because the tamper cannot be maintained in its fully retracted position without user intervention. Accordingly, to load a conventional machine with loose tobacco, the user typically maintains the crank arm in its initial position with one hand while filling the tobacco-receiving chamber with the other hand. As can be appreciated, this tobacco-loading technique is inconvenient and takes additional time because the user cannot freely use both hands to load tobacco into the machine. Furthermore, when using the aforementioned technique, there is the possibility that the user could unintentionally pinch the fingers of their hand loading the machine if their other hand holding the crank arm were to accidentally move the crank arm. To this end, an injector-type cigarette-making machine with a tamper-holding mechanism that positively maintains the tamper in a fully retracted position would be an important improvement in the art.

Cigarette-making machine with tamper-holding mechanism


A cable comprises a cable body (1) provided with a tubular cavity (2) for including a stack (4) having a number of fibre ribbons (5), and with a preferred bending plane (X-X), e.g. through two strength elements (3) located in the cable body on either side of the cavity (2). The cavity has a mainly rectangular cross section and is provided with a pair of opposite sidewalls (2.1, 2.2), at any rate substantially, parallel to the preferred bending plane (X-X). The stack also comprises a spacer (6), included in such a manner that the stack fills the tubular cavity with some play, and the pair of opposite sidewalls provide upper and lower bounds of the stack. The said sidewalls preferably have a slight transverse convexity. The cable may be manufactured complete. The cable may also be completed after prior empty installation of the cable body. The cable permits very high fibre densities and allows for upgrading.

The invention lies in the field of telecommunication cables having large numbers of optical fibres. More in particular, it relates to a cable having optical-fibre ribbons according to the preamble of claim 1.
Such cables are known per se, e.g., from references [1], [2] and [3]. With the cables described herein, there is included a tape-shaped stack of fibre ribbons in a tubular cavity located centrally within the cable sheath and having a substantially rectangular cross section. Strength elements applied on either side of the tubular cavity determine a preferred bending plane corresponding to a preferred bending plane of the stack located in the tubular cavity. The stack in the tubular cavity extends in the longitudinal direction of the cable.
In the type of cable of reference [1], the fibre ribbons are located loosely, one on top of the other, in the stack in the tubular cavity, which is preferably filled with a water-blocking material. In the type of cable of reference [2], the tape-shaped stack extends as a waveform into the tubular cavity. Said waveform on the one hand guarantees a surplus length to enable dealing with tensile forces and temperature fluctuations, and also rendering the reeling of the cable possible. On the other hand, such waveform may prevent tilting and/or turning over of the stack, while the fibre ribbons still lie sufficiently loosely in the tubular cavity. With said known type of cable, the remaining space in the tubular cavity may be filled up with a (very weak) filler as well. The type of cable known from reference [3] comprises a strength element which, due to its shape, determines the preferred bending plane, and in which the tubular cavity having the rectangular cross section is located. Said known types of cable have the restriction that the space available in the tubular cavity is utilised, or may be utilised, insufficiently for including as large a number of fibre ribbons as possible. Moreover, said known types of cable have the restriction that they are manufactured with a specific number of fibres, and that they do not offer the option, therefore, of adjusting the number of fibres per cable to a changing need after manufacture or installation.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided for a cable of the aforementioned type which, inter alia, embodies the option of dealing with the restrictions indicated above and relating to the known cables. For this purpose, the invention provides for a cable having optical-fiber ribbons of the above type, characterized as in claim 1. The dimensions of the tape-shaped spacer are such that the stack, including the fiber ribbons, can hardly turn over, or turn around. Moreover, it is possible to modify the number of fiber ribbons in the stack. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cable is characterized as in claim 2. As a result of such a transverse convexity of one or both sidewalls of the tubular cavity, which are parallel to the preferred bending plane of the cable body, it is achieved on the one hand that there is sufficient space for a fluid (gas or liquid) flushing through under pressure in order to be able to impel the spacer through the tubular cavity by the drag forces of such a flowing medium. On the other hand, said transverse convexity offers the option of a slight turning over of the stack and of a slight transverse bending of the individual fiber ribbons in the plane of the fiber ribbons in the stack, in the event that the cable body is subjected to curves and/or torsions, which do not correspond sufficiently to the preferred bending plane of the cable body. Such an option also promotes the capability of the cable to be reeled.
In a further preferred embodiment of the cable, the tape-shaped spacer is built up of a number of mutually separable layers. One or more of the mutually separable layers preferably consist of dummy fiber ribbons.
According to a second aspect of the invention, the object is to provide a method for modifying the number of fiber ribbons in a cable according to the invention. To this end, the invention provides for a method according to claims 9 for modifying, i.e. increasing or reducing, the number of fiber ribbons in such a cable.
According to a third aspect of the invention, the object is to provide a method for reeling a cable according to the invention. For this purpose, the invention provides for a method according to claim 14. Such a reeling method considerably reduces the extent to which undesirable tensions may occur in the optical fibers. In this case, particularly the aforementioned transverse convexity is advantageous.
In reference [4], there is disclosed a cable having a cable body provided with slot having a more or less rectangular cross section, in which there are loosely included an optical-fiber ribbon and a non-optical tape-shaped element having a surplus length evenly distributed in a undulatory pattern. The slot is further filled up with a water-blocking gel. The non-optical tape-shaped element serves to preserve the undulatory pattern of the fiber ribbon as well as possible.
In reference [5], there is disclosed a optical ribbon cable comprising a large number of cable veins. The cable veins have a body with a tubular cavity with a mainly circular cross section containing a stack of optical fiber ribbons sandwiched between two band-like fill-elements and embedded in a synthetic material in a fixed position.
The cable according to the invention may have been manufactured with a first number of fiber ribbons and a spacer, whereafter, in the event of a changed need, the number of fiber ribbons in situ may be adjusted in the installed cable. The cable body may also first be installed empty, e.g., in a duct or directly in the soil, using a conventional installation technique. Subsequently, a stack initially having a desired number of fiber ribbons and the spacer are introduced. Together with a spacer, the stack has, at least approximately, the height of the largest stack which may be introduced into the tubular cavity of the cable body. Said introduction is also effected using introductory techniques known per se, such as by blowing in using an air flow, or by flowing in using a liquid. For as long as a spacer is still present (i.e., the thickness of the spacer is greater than zero), the number of fiber ribbons in the stack may still be increased. This is done by removing the spacer present, and introducing one or more fiber ribbons to be added, whether or not together with a thinner spacer, into the vacated space. In this manner, the cable may be gradually completed at the installation site. Conversely, fiber ribbons may also be removed while applying a thicker spacer.
[1] GB-A-2215081;
[2] WO-A-91/00536;
[3] U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,730;
[4] EP-A-0407076;
[5] EP-A-0602447.
The references are considered to be incorporated in the present application.

Cable having optical-fibre ribbons and method for modifying the number of optical ribbons


Provided are methods and compositions for in vivo display and screening of peptides for antimicrobial activity. The methods can include expressing a random peptide library in a microbial cell culture and identifying clones in which microbial cell growth or survival is affected by the peptide expressed by that clone. Also provided are peptide antimicrobials identified using these methods and compositions.

The search for new antimicrobials is a critical process as many species of bacteria are becoming resistant to multiple antibiotics.
Currently, the most active approach to finding new antimicrobials is the chemical modification of existing antibiotics, many of which are produced by bacteria or fungi. A significant drawback to this approach is that natural antibiotics and resistance to natural antibiotics coevolved, in part to protect the producing organisms.
Some peptide antimicrobials have been identified using standard antimicrobial screening technologies or by generating peptide libraries and screening for peptides that bind to a specific target. Examples of peptide screening technologies are phage display and ribosome display.
While these techniques can be effective at identifying antimicrobial peptides, there are drawbacks associated with their use. For example, the methods often use in vitro screening methods to identify antimicrobials that bind to known targets. This strategy does not identify antimicrobials that are effective based on interaction with an unknown or unchosen target. Moreover, in vitro screening assumes that a target's structure and its interaction with the peptide will be the same in vitro as in vivo. In many cases, however, there are significant differences between in vitro and in vivo conditions. Accordingly, there is room for improvement in techniques and methods used to identify new antimicrobial compounds.


There are a touch input sensing device and a touch input sensing method. The touch input sensing device includes: a plurality of sensing electrodes; and a controller obtaining sensing signals generated from the plurality of sensing electrodes through a plurality of sensing channels electrically connected to the plurality of sensing electrodes, wherein the controller calculates a difference value between the sensing signals obtained from the plurality of sensing channels connected to the mutually adjacent sensing electrodes among the plurality of sensing electrodes to determine a touch input. A weighting value is assigned to a difference value between sensing signals obtained from mutually adjacent sensing electrodes, based on which the coordinates, or the like, of a touch input are determined, thus significantly reducing the influence of noise and accurately determining a touch input.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and method of sensing a touch input and, more particularly, to a touch input sensing device and a touch input sensing method capable of accurately determining a touch input by significantly reducing the influence of noise.
2. Description of the Related Art
A touch input sensing device such as a touch screen, a touch pad, or the like, an input device attached to a display device to provide an intuitional user interface to users, is commonly employed in various electronic devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), navigation devices, or the like. In particular, recently, as consumer demand for smart phones has increased, the rate of the employment of touch screens as touch input sensing mechanisms, providing various input methods in a limited form factor, is gradually on the rise.
Touch screens employed in mobile devices may be divided into resistive touch screens and capacitive touch screens, according to how a touch input is sensed, and of these, capacitive touch screens, having a relatively long life span and easy implementation of various input methods and gestures, are increasingly employed. In particular, in comparison to resistive touch screens, capacitive touch screens can easily implement a multi-touch interface, and thus, they are extensively applied to devices such as smart phones, or the like.
However, in terms of the characteristics of a touch screen integrally provided in a display device, the touch screen is inevitably affected by noise generated by the display device. In order to significantly reduce the influence of this noise, on the touch input-sensing mechanism such as a touch screen, a specific shielding layer may be provided between sensing electrodes of the touch input sensing device and the display device. In this case, however, overall transmittance may be degraded and overall product thickness may be increased. Also, the presence of the shielding layer may block noise transferred from the display device, but it may be difficult to block any other noise from a different source, such as power noise, radio frequency (RF) noise, or the like.

Touch input sensing device and touch input sensing method


Systems and methods for delivering a first additive to an appliance are disclosed. The systems include a first storage container located in a pedestal, a first pump operatively connected to the first storage container and the appliance. A controller is configured to activate the first pump upon receiving an input. The first pump configured to deliver the first additive from the first storage container to the appliance. The methods include receiving a first input. The first input specifying an amount of the first additive to be delivered to the appliance. The first additive is delivered by activating a first pump in response to receiving the first input. Activating the first pump causes the first additive to be delivered to the appliance.

Current system for adding additives (e.g. soap, fabric softener, etc.) to an appliance (e.g. washing machine, dryer, etc.) utilize pumps to force air into a container housing the additive thereby increasing the pressure within the container. This increase in pressure forces the additive into the appliance. This increase in pressure can also cause rupturing of the container. In addition, the pumping of air into the container increases the risk of adding contaminates to the additive. Currently, the container is located inside an appliance cabinet and is not accessible to a user without disassembling the appliance. For example, if the container develops a leak, a homeowner or service person would be required to disassemble a washing machine to replace or repair the container.
Having the containers and other hardware (e.g. pumps, circuitry, and other connections) located inside the appliance cabinet also hinders routine maintenance such as cleaning the containers, lubricating the pumps. In addition having the containers located inside the appliance cabinet does not allow a user to alter the additive capacity. For example, the homeowner may want to load two gallons of soap and a half a gallon of fabric softener. If the appliance only has two one-gallon containers, then the homeowner's wishes cannot be accommodated. In addition, current delivery of the additives to the wash bath of the appliance utilizes manual feed of the additives into the respective containers.
Having the above problems in mind, there exist a need for systems and methods for delivering additives to appliances that don't require increasing the pressure within the containers, allow for easy access to the containers and other system components, are customizable based on user preferences, and facilitate easy maintenance.

Multiple compartments wash additives auto-dispenser in washer or dryer pedestal


A vial adapter is described comprising a housing, the housing comprising an expandable chamber to contain a volume, an internal passage in communication with the expandable chamber, at least one opening in communication with the internal passage, and an access member integral with the housing. A hollow spike comprising a proximal end is integral with the housing and a distal end. The spike comprises a vent lumen open at the distal end and a fluid lumen open at the distal end, the vent lumen is in communication with the internal passage and the fluid lumen is in communication with the access member. A first check valve restricts communication from the expandable chamber to the internal passage, and a second check valve restricts communication from the internal passage to the opening. Methods of reconstituting and/or withdrawing hazardous material using the vial adapter are described.

Within the medical industry, medical personnel may be required to handle cytotoxic drugs, sometimes on a daily basis. A class of cytotoxic drugs is cytostatic chemotherapy agents. It is generally believed that cytostatics and some antibiotics may cause health problems if inhaled or exposed to the skin. Exposure or inhalation may be through leakage, aerosolization, or vaporization into the working environment during handling of the cytostatics.
Freeze dried or powdered cytotoxic drugs, including cytostatics, may be contained within a vial or drug container of the type which is sealed by an elastomeric stopper assembly disposed in sealing relation within an opening in the drug container so as to enable reconstitution of the freeze dried or powdered cytotoxic drug and to contain them therein. The elastomeric stopper assembly may receive a needle of a diluent containing syringe or other piercing-type device to introduce liquid. When the diluent is added into the drug container there is a volume of solution within the drug container that may compress the headspace gas therein and increase its pressure. It is generally known that this increase in pressure may cause a release of the solution containing the cytotoxic drug during this or subsequent access of the drug container. Leakage or an aerosol effect may result in the outward passage of portions of the cytotoxic drug in the form of aerosol or droplets through the elastomeric stopper assembly. This leaking or aerosolizing action presents a highly dangerous situation to the healthcare provider reconstituting the cytotoxic material with a diluent and/or other persons nearby or who may come in contact with the environment later, such as cleaning personnel.
The extent of aerosolizing may be minimized but not eliminated in the case of a one dosage vial. For example this may occur when the injection of the diluent into the drug container, the subsequent mixing of the diluent with the powder in the drug container, and the subsequent refilling of the mixture of the diluent and powder back into the syringe all take place without removing the connector from the elastomeric stopper of the drug container until after the single dosage has been withdrawn, This procedure may likely result in leaving some liquid in the drug container and a pressure in the drug container that does not completely reduce to atmospheric pressure. Thus, under these circumstances the small but existing pressure at the time of connector removal after refilling may likely result in some aerosolizing. All of the above mentioned problems of affecting a separate reconstituting procedure with a single dosage vial are multiplied in the case of multidosage vials.
Potential cytotoxic material contact with the user may occur when an injecting connector is removed as it is likely that some of the hazardous material solution may escape or be expelled or aerosolized from the connector end of the along with any included air.


A scanning-type projection device is provided with an emitted-light-intensity control unit for controlling the light intensity of a laser light emitted by a laser light source unit, a polarization direction control unit for controlling the polarization direction of the laser light, a scanning unit for scanning the laser light and generating a display image, and a divergence unit on which the laser light scanned by the scanning unit is incident. The emitted-light-intensity control unit has a polarization control element for controlling the polarization state of the laser light, and a polarizing plate on which the laser light emitted from the polarization control element is incident, and the polarization direction control unit adjusts the polarization direction of display light incident on a projection surface by controlling the polarization direction of the laser light emitted by the emitted-light-intensity control unit.

A scanning-type projection device, which projects vehicle information on a windshield, has been developed such that the vehicle information is displayed on the front side of the windshield of the vehicle in order to enable a driver of the vehicle to read the vehicle information (display image), such as a speed, without moving eyes during driving.
PTL 1 discloses a head up display device in which a scanning-type projection device uses a semiconductor laser as a light source for projecting a display image. The head up display device includes the semiconductor laser, a scanning system and a screen, scans a laser light, which is emitted from the semiconductor laser, toward the screen, and generates the display image.
In the head up display device, in which the laser light is used as the light source, the visibility of the display image is deteriorated due to spectrum based on the laser light. PTL 2 discloses a head up display device which reduces spectrum due to the laser light. In the head up display device disclosed in PTL 2, microlens arrays, which are arranged double, are used. Since the microlens arrays, which are arranged double, diverge the laser light according to a refraction operation performed by a microlens regardless of a diffusing agent and surface unevenness, it is possible to reduce the generation of the spectrum.
In addition, in the head up display, in which the laser light is used as the light source, it is difficult to perform stable display due to the threshold characteristic of the laser light source when an image, in which luminance is low, is displayed. Here, PTL 3 discloses a head up display in which it is possible to stably display an image, in which luminance is low, by arranging a polarization control element and a polarization unit, which causes a laser light having a specific polarization component to pass, on the optical paths of the laser light.


System and method for enabling signal acquisition in a satellite positioning system (SPS) when signals from SPS satellites are attenuated by the operating environment of a SPS receiver. A preferred embodiment comprises a communications server (for example, communications server 220) coupled to a SPS receiver (for example, SPS receiver 210) at one end and a time server (for example, time server 225) by a public network (for example, the Internet 230). Preferably, the communications server 220 is coupled to the Internet 230 via a wireless network to facilitate maximum mobility and flexibility. The communications server 220 queries the time server 225 for the current time and then provides the current time to the SPS receiver 210. The SPS receiver 210 makes use of the current time to assist it in signal acquisition.

Generally, satellite positioning systems (SPS), (for example, Navstar or Global Positioning System (GPS) is a widely used SPS system), provide an invaluable service that has perhaps exceeded the imagination of the designers of the systems. For example, SPS systems are used in military applications (such as providing targeting information for smart bombs, navigation guidance for vehicles and foot soldiers, etc.), commercial applications (such as tracking delivery trucks, measuring the performance of vehicles, providing position location to a person on foot or in a vehicle, etc.), and medical and scientific applications (such as assisting in the location of persons in need of assistance, tracking animal migrations, etc.).
While SPS systems have become widely used today, there remains a major problem that hinders their use in certain situations. Since the satellites are in high-earth orbit (for example, the satellites in the GPS system orbit the Earth at approximately 11,000 nautical miles), the signals that are transmitted by the satellites are usually very weak by the time they reach a SPS receiver. Because the satellites must provide their own power (typically through the use of solar panels), the transmit signal strength cannot simply be increased, since doing so may consume more power than the solar panels are able to provide. Due to the relatively low transmit signal power, SPS signals are attenuated by thick foliage, buildings, tunnels, etc. to a point where the SPS signals fall below a minimum signal power threshold and becomes difficult (if not impossible) for the SPS receiver to detect.
When a SPS receiver is first turned on, it must be able to receive the transmitted signals from a certain number of SPS satellites (for example, in the GPS system, the GPS receiver should be able to receive the transmitted signal from at least three or four GPS satellites) before it can determine its position and the current time. Each satellite in the SPS system transmits a unique signal that can be used by the SPS receiver (in conjunction with signals from other SPS satellites) to calculate the SPS receiver's position and time. One of the most vital pieces of information that is transmitted in the SPS signal is a highly accurate timing signal. Along with the timing signal, other information (commonly referred to as ephemeris data) is transmitted by a SPS satellite. The timing signals transmitted by the SPS satellites are usually referenced to a particular time, for example, Greenwich Mean Time. The differences between the various timing signals received by the SPS receiver and its own internal clock are then used to calculate the position of the SPS receiver and the current time.
The low transmit signal power, when compounded with the natural attenuation (signal strength being inversely proportional to distance) of the transmit signals, may prevent SPS receivers from being able to acquire the signal that is transmitted from the SPS satellites (or from a sufficient number of SPS satellites). A low transmit signal power that is further attenuated by objects in the operating environment of a SPS receiver can slow down the acquisition process to the order of several minutes (or more) or it may prevent the acquisition from occurring altogether.
It has been noted that if a SPS receiver can be provided with an accurate timing reference (along with ephemeris data) through a source other than the actual signals transmitted by the SPS satellites, the acquisition process can be accelerated (or completed if it was previously unable to do so). Moreover, the more accurate the timing reference that is provided through an alternate source, the easier the acquisition process becomes.
A widely available communications network that can itself be used to provide an accurate timing reference (along with ephemeris data) is the cellular telephone network. Certain types of cellular telephone networks have highly accurate built-in clocks. For cellular telephone networks without built-in clocks, such clocks may be added at the cell-sites (base stations). One proposed solution for helping the SPS receiver achieve faster satellite acquisition makes use of an enhanced SPS receiver with a built-in cellular telephone network interface. The enhanced SPS receiver can then communicate with the cellular telephone network and obtain an accurate timing reference from a clock built into the cellular telephone network.
One disadvantage of the prior art is that although there exists a large networks of cellular telephone systems, only a relatively small number of them are equipped to provide the accurate timing reference. For the majority of the remaining cellular telephone systems, an accurate timing reference needs to be installed at high cost.
A second disadvantage of the prior art is that while large networks of cellular telephone systems exist, there are large parts of the world (rural and under-developed regions) where there is no cellular telephone coverage. Therefore, in areas with no cellular telephone coverage, the SPS receivers may still trouble acquiring the signals transmitted by the SPS satellites.

System and method for providing time to a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver from a networked time server


Provided is an anti-glare film having excellent anti-glare property, and suppressing white muddiness and scintillation, generation of cracks when attaching the films to polarizing elements and a fabrication process of liquid crystal cells, and changes of an anti-glare property over time. An anti-glare film comprises a light-transmitting substrate; and a diffusion layer having a surface roughness and provided on at least one surface of the light-transmitting substrate, in which the diffusion layer is obtainable by applying, on the at least one surface of the light-transmitting substrate, a coating composition including organic fine particles and a radiation curable binder that includes a (meth)acrylate monomer as an essential component, drying the composition to form a coating, and curing it, the organic fine particles in the diffusion layer have an impregnation layer being impregnated with the radiation curable binder, and the impregnation layer has an average thickness of 0.01 to 1.0 μm.

Image display devices such as cathode ray tubes (CRTs), liquid crystal display devices (LCDs), plasma display devices (PDPs), electroluminescence display devices (ELDs), and electronic paper are generally provided with optical laminated bodies for antireflection on the outermost surface thereof. Such optical laminated bodies for antireflection suppress reflection of images and decrease the reflectivity by light diffusion or interference of light.
As one of such antireflection optical laminated bodies, an anti-glare film including an anti-glare layer that has a surface roughness and is provided on a surface of a transparent substrate is known. Such a surface roughness of an anti-glare film diffuses ambient light, whereby a decrease in visibility can be prevented.
Conventional anti-glare films are known in which anti-glare layers formed by applying resins containing filler such as silicon dioxide (silica) on surfaces of transparent base films (see, for example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2).
For example, in such anti-glare films, a surface roughness is formed by adding cohesive particles, an inorganic filler and/or an organic filler in a resin; laminating a film with unevenness on an anti-glare layer; and phase separation using compatibility among compounds such as two or more different polymers, which constitute a binder.
In all such conventional anti-glare films, a light diffusion function and an anti-glare function are obtained by the effect of a surface shape of the anti-glare layer. In order to increase such an anti-glare function, the size of the surface roughness needs to be increased. However, the large-sized projection and depression increases a haze of a coating, whereby white muddiness is generated.
Further, the twinkling brightness which is called scintillation is generated on the surfaces of conventional anti-glare films, which results in a decrease in visibility of display screens.
In recent years, high definition liquid crystal displays have been developed. However, scintillation is generated in such high definition liquid crystal displays when conventional anti-glare films are used therein. Such scintillation is a serious problem.
Furthermore, in the conventional anti-glare films, cracks are generated during a process for adhering the films to polarizing elements or a fabrication process of liquid crystal cells, at, for example, an interface between light-transmitting fine particles and a light-transmitting resin that are included in an anti-glare layer. Furthermore, in the conventional anti-glare films, anti-glare performance and a scintillation state are changed over time due to the haze variation in response to temperature and moisture changes. Therefore, the conventional anti-glare films are less resistant to moisture and heat.
Patent Literature 3 discloses an anti-glare material obtainable by mixing a binder resin with resin beads in which 70% or more thereof is swollen with a solvent.
In an anti-glare film provided with an anti-glare layer including such resin beads that are previously swollen with a solvent, the adhesion at the interface between the resin beads and the binder resin is expected to be improved. Such an anti-glare film is expected to be used in high definition displays.
In such an anti-glare film provided with an anti-glare layer including resin beads that are previously swollen with a solvent, the adhesion at the interface between the swollen resin beads and the binder resin in the anti-glare layer is improved only by an anchor effect created at the interface. Therefore, the adhesion and the like can be further improved.
Patent Literature 4 discloses a method for producing a light diffusion film in which the density of light-transmitting fine particles, a coating composition, and the average particle size of light-transmitting fine particles are in a specific relation to one another. Patent Literature 5 discloses an optical film including light-transmitting particles having a certain average particle size that depends on the thickness of a light diffusion layer. Patent Literature 6 discloses an optical film including an anti-glare layer formed from a coating composition in which a binder and two types of resin fine particles different in particle sizes and swelling rates that satisfy a certain relation with each other are dispersed in a dispersion. Patent Literature 7 discloses a method for producing a light diffusion film, including a coating composition for a light diffusion layer. The coating composition includes light-transmitting fine particles, a light-transmitting resin containing a certain amount of a light-transmitting polymer with a molecular weight of 1000 or more, and a solvent.
However, Patent Literatures 4 to 7 do not disclose at all that light-transmitting fine particles are impregnated with a binder, and do not disclose at all, either the effect exerted by the impregnation of light-transmitting fine particles with a binder. Therefore, the anti-glare films disclosed in the patent literatures do not sufficiently achieve an anti-glare property, prevention of white muddiness, and prevention of scintillation.
Therefore, in conventional anti-glare films, generation of cracks at the interface between resin beads and a binder resin is required to be prevented at a high level in a process for attaching the films to polarizing elements and a fabrication process of liquid crystal cells. Furthermore, white muddiness is required to be reduced by reducing reflection at the interface between a binder and resin beads and scintillation is also required to be prevented by appropriately dispersing resin beads.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Anti-glare film, manufacturing method for same, polarizing plate and image display device


Charged-particle-beam projection-microlithography apparatus and methods are disclosed for transferring a reticle pattern image to a substrate using a charged-particle beam. The apparatus comprises, along an optical axis in the trajectory direction of the charged-particle beam, a beam emitter for emitting the charged-particle beam toward the mask, a beam shaper for shaping the charged-particle beam so as to have a square or rectangular transverse profile and deflectors for directing the charged-particle beam onto the mask. If the beam shaper creates a charged-particle beam having a rectangular transverse profile, the deflectors of the pattern-transfer apparatus of the present invention operate so that the longer sides of the transverse profile of the charged-particle beam extend in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction. An axisymmetric projection-lens system converges, inverts and reduces the charged-particle beam which has passed through the mask, to form an image of the mask pattern on a substrate.

In charged-particle-beam (CPB) projection microlithography as used in the fabrication of integrated circuits, a circuit pattern defined by a reticle or mask is irradiated with a charged-particle beam. In recent years, CPB projection-microlithography apparatus ("pattern-transfer apparatus") have been developed to improve both the resolution of a transferred pattern and product throughput (i.e., the number of semiconductor wafers that can be processed per unit time). In "collective" pattern-transfer apparatus one or more entire die patterns formed on a mask are transferred onto a wafer in a single exposure. A "die" is a pattern coextensive with the bounds of an integrated circuit or other device to be transferred onto the wafer (usually multiple dies are exposed at respective locations on the wafer).
It is difficult to create a mask for collective pattern-transfer apparatus that provide the high resolution and circuit densities demanded in recent years. In addition, collective pattern-transfer apparatus have been unable to satisfactorily control the aberrations of the optical system through which the charged-particle beam passes, especially over a large optical field covering one or more die patterns. Consequently, "scanning" pattern-transfer apparatus were proposed (as described, e.g., in Japanese Patent Publication Number 7-32111), in which a pattern to be transferred is divided into multiple field segments (mask subfields). The die pattern image is typically transferred using a "step-and-repeat" transfer scheme in which the individual mask subfields are sequentially transferred to corresponding "transfer subfields" on the wafer. The transfer subfields are produced on the wafer surface in locations relative to each other such that the transfer subfields are "stitched" together in the correct order and alignment to reproduce the entire die pattern on the wafer surface.
Conventional scanning pattern-transfer apparatus using the "step-and-repeat" scheme typically include "reducing" pattern-transfer apparatus. In the reducing pattern-transfer apparatus, a deflector is used to sequentially scan the charged-particle beam along "scan fields" on the mask, wherein each scan field on the mask comprises multiple mask subfields. As a mask scan field is scanned, the pattern segment in each subfield of the scan field is transferred sequentially onto a wafer through a projection-optical system typically having a magnification ratio of less than unity. It is desirable for the projection-optical system to have few aberrations over a large optical field because the pattern segments formed in the subfields of the mask must be transferred onto the wafer with a high degree of precision.
To transfer each of the mask subfields onto the wafer with few aberrations while using a relatively large optical field, a conventional optical system uses a deflector combined with axisymmetric lenses. Such optical systems include Moving Objective Lens (MOL) systems and Projection Lithography with Variable Axis Immersion Lens (PREVAIL) systems. In both types of optical systems, a deflector is used in combination with lenses that are symmetric with respect to the optical axis. The MOL optical system is designed to reduce aberrations in a relatively large optical field by shifting the axis of the objective lens. The PREVAIL optical system is similar to the MOL system, but uses an "in-lens" objective lens, wherein the wafer is situated in the field of the objective lens.
Because in such conventional systems the deflector is asymmetric with respect to the rotational axis (i.e., the optical axis of the projection-optical system), rotationally asymmetric aberrations arise in the pattern image projected onto the wafer. Although these asymmetric aberrations can be electrically corrected, the correction mechanism is complicated and increases the manufacturing cost of the optical system.
In general, conventional scan deflectors for scanning the charged-particle beam along the scan fields on a mask are driven by a signal having a "saw-tooth" waveform. With such conventional scan deflectors, the scanning speed of the charged-particle beam typically decreases slightly as the beam moves in a direction away from the optical axis. As a result, the charged-particle dose to which mask regions are exposed increases with increased deflection of the beam from the optical axis. The resulting distribution of exposure energy (which equals the integral of the charged-particle-beam dose) on the corresponding wafer exposure area is not uniform.
Another problem with conventional scanning apparatus occurs during stitching together of the transfer subfields on the wafer to form complete fields. Such stitching procedures are prone to inaccuracy in the resulting pattern image. In the conventional scanning pattern-transfer apparatus, the pattern segments of adjacent transfer subfields must be precisely aligned relative to each other on the wafer as the pattern on the mask is scanned in the longitudinal direction of the mask scan fields.
In addition, conventional pattern-transfer apparatus generally adjust the focal point (i.e., the image-forming position) of the pattern image projected onto the wafer by regulating the driving current supplied to electromagnetic lenses of the projection optical system. However, because the response speed of conventional electromagnetic lenses is relatively slow, the scanning speed of the electron beam must be reduced whenever the focal point of the projected pattern image is adjusted. This limits the throughput of the pattern-transfer apparatus.
Further, with conventional reducing pattern-transfer apparatus, the intensity of the charged-particle beam fluctuates as the pattern density of the mask subfields varies. Consequently, the charged-particle-beam dose to which the wafer is exposed varies from location to location within a die, reducing the resolution of the transferred pattern image.
In addition, whenever the charged-particle beam source is an electron gun used in a temperature-controlled environment, the transverse intensity distribution of the electron beam varies. The transverse intensity distribution of the electron beam is typically a Gaussian distribution. Any such variation in electron-beam intensity may cause the intensity distribution of the electron beam to fluctuate on the mask surface. If the mask is scanned by an electron beam having a variable intensity distribution, the exposure energy (i.e., the dose of the electron beam) on the wafer surface varies, also reducing the resolution of the transferred pattern image.

Charged-particle-beam pattern-transfer apparatus and methods


A method in data storage involves receiving at a metadata server from a client device a BEGIN_WRITE request identifying data to be written by hashes, consulting, by the metadata server a deduplication table to determine historical nature of the data determined to be written, determining that the data was never previously written, was previously written by another client, or was previously written but failed a verification, sending to the client device write locations with tokens for the data, starting an authentication timer, and authorizing the client device to write directly to the data server using the authentication tokens and the authenticated write locations, determining that the data was previously written by the same client, or that the data was previously written and passed the verification test, notifying the client of this circumstance, and receiving from the client device an END_WRITE request.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the broad technical area of cloud computing, and pertains more particularly to write operations enabled through a metadata server.
2. Description of Related Art
Cloud computing, wherein users are enabled to read and write data to substantial data repositories, which may be remote and accessed over, for example, a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet network, and which may also serve a large number of distinct and separate users, are well-known in the art, and the technical area is rapidly growing, attracting new enterprises providing products and services. Many well-known enterprises, like Yahoo, IBM and Amazon, for example, offer cloud computing services which may be utilized by such users.
There are a variety of apparatus and services offered by enterprises engaged in this technical area, and many of the services offered are developed and sold to maximize certain features and to solve certain problems that have been discovered in development. There are, however, at the time of filing the instant application, still many difficulties and problems to be solved. One such difficulty is in controlling and verifying writes to data repositories for what are known in the art as untrusted clients.
What is needed in the art is a method and apparatus to provide out-of-path, content-addressed writes with untrusted clients in a manner that is efficient and that minimizes bandwidth requirements.

Out-of-path, content-addressed writes with untrusted clients