An electrolytic solution, for use in an electrolytic capacitor, comprising a solvent and a solute wherein water accounts for 20 to 100% by weight of the solvent and the total solute content is from 1.5 to 44% by weight, and an electrolytic capacitor comprising a capacitor element, a case containing the capacitor element, and a sealant with which the case is sealed, the capacitor element comprising a pair of electrode foils each comprising a dielectric, a separator for isolating the electrode foils from each other, and the above electrolytic solution filled between the electrode foils.

Generally, a capacitor is a general electric part and has widely been used in power circuits and noise filters for digital circuits in various electric and electronic devices. Various electrolytic capacitors have been used and examples include an aluminum electrolytic capacitor, a wet tantalum electrolytic capacitor and the like. An aluminum electrolytic capacitor is expected to provide a particularly excellent function using the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will now be described with reference to this kind of electrolytic capacitor.
A conventional aluminum electrolytic capacitor can be produced by using an anode foil which is made by etching a high-purity aluminum foil, to increase its surface area, and anodizing the surface of the aluminum foil to provide a film, and a cathode foil whose surface has only been etched. The resulting anode foil and cathode foil are disposed opposite to each other and an element with a wound structure is made by interposing a separator (release paper) between the foils, followed by winding, and then an element made by winding the element with a wound structure is impregnated with an electrolyte solution. The element impregnated with the electrolyte solution is contained in a case (generally made of aluminum), which is then sealed with an elastic sealant, thus completing an electrolytic capacitor. An electrolytic capacitor may have a structure other than a wound structure.
In the above-described electrolytic capacitor, the characteristics of the electrolyte solution may be factors which decides the performances of the electrolytic capacitor. A conventional electrolyte solution for use in an electrolytic capacitor is generally prepared by dissolving, as an electrolyte, a carboxylic acid such as adipic acid, benzoic acid, etc. or an ammonium salt thereof into a solvent prepared by adding about 30% by weight or less of water to ethylene glycol (EG) as a principal solvent. Such an electrolyte solution has a specific resistance of about 1.0 Ω·m (100 Ω·cm). Such a specific resistance is insufficient for recent small, high-performance electrolytic capacitors. Thus, a highly conductive electrolytic capacitor having a low specific resistance is required.
Intensive studies have been made in this field to improve the characteristics of the electrolytic solution, and various electrolytic solutions for use in an electrolytic capacitor have already been proposed. Referring to the patent documents which have recently been laid open to public inspection, there have been proposed the following aluminum electrolytic solutions for use in an electrolytic capacitor.
An aluminum electrolytic solution for use in an electrolytic capacitor, which contains 20 to 90% by weight of water, comprising at least one ammonium salt compound selected from the group consisting of ammonium salt compounds such as ammonium formate, as a principal electrolyte, and 1% by weight or more of at least one carboxylic acid compound selected from the group consisting of carboxylic acid compounds such as trimethyladipic acid which has no fire point, wherein a solidification point is −10° C. or lower (see, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-188240).
An aluminum electrolytic solution for use in an electrolytic capacitor, comprising a solvent containing 35 to 100% by weight of water and a chelating agent (see, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-331886).
An aluminum electrolytic solution for use in an electrolytic capacitor, comprising a solvent containing 35 to 100% by weight of water and a bonded product formed by bonding phosphoric acid ions to a water-soluble complex comprising aminopolycarboxylic acid and ammonium (see, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2001-319833).
Aluminum electrolytic solution for use in an electrolytic capacitor, comprising a solvent containing 35 to 100% by weight of water, at least one of adipic acid and a salt thereof dissolved in the solvent, and a bonded product formed by bonding phosphoric acid ions to a water-soluble complex comprising tannin and/or a decomposition product of tannin and aluminum (see, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2002-83743).
An aluminum electrolytic solution for use in an electrolytic capacitor, comprising a solvent containing 35 to 100% by weight of water and a water-soluble aluminum complex bonded with phosphoric acid ions (see, International Publication No. WO00/55876).
It can be seen that these electrolytic solutions for use in an electrolytic capacitor and other electrolytic solutions have improved working life or durability at high temperature and other characteristics. However, some room for improvement is left. For example, a conventional electrolytic solution is inferior in noise removing ability and in charging/discharging efficiency because the equivalent series resistance (ESR) of a capacitor cannot be decreased sufficiently. Therefore, the resulting electrolytic capacitor cannot be used advantageously as an electronic part. Also an electrolytic capacitor using a conventional electrolytic solution has a problem that the electrical characteristics are unstable over a wide temperature range from a low temperature just above the freezing temperature to a high temperature and also the ESR drastically varies. Furthermore, a conventional electrolytic capacitor has a problem that swelling and liquid leakage from the case containing the capacitor element sometimes occurs and the working life at a high temperature is short.


Apparatus and methods for vacuum chucking a substrate to a susceptor. The susceptor comprises one or more angularly spaced pockets are positioned around a center axis of the susceptor, the one or more angularly spaced pockets having an inner pocket and an outer pocket. The susceptor can be configured as an intermediate chuck having one or more pucks positioned within the inner pocket or as a distributed chuck having one or more pucks positioned within the outer pocket. The one or more pucks has a center hole, at least one radial channel and at least one circular channel having chuck holes for vacuum chucking a substrate.

Wafer (or substrate) chucking is important during semiconductor manufacturing. Conventional substrate supports use center vacuum chucking to hold a wafer on a susceptor. Bowed wafers may not fully chuck on a conventional center-chucking susceptor. The degree of bowing and the direction of bowing may also affect the chucking force.
In some spatially arranged processing chambers, wafers may be subjected to rapid and frequent movement. The wafers are repeatedly subjected to high acceleration and deceleration forces as substrate supports are rotated. When a wafer is bowed, the chucking force is decreased and wafers can become de-chucked during movements causing damage to the process chamber and loss of yield. Additionally, the process chamber may be subjected to extended periods of down-time to repair broken components and remove de-chucked wafers.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for apparatus and methods to improve chucking of highly bowed wafers.


In order to improve a surgical appliance comprising a housing having at least one sealed cavity, and a drive unit arranged in the housing, such that the cavity can be sealed in a simple way, and the formation of germs can be reduced or these can be removed in a simple way from the cavity, it is proposed that a fluid connection be provided for forming a flow path into and out of the cavity, and that at least one sealing element be provided for closing the fluid connection to liquid fluids and opening the fluid connection to gaseous fluids.

The invention relates to a surgical appliance comprising a housing having at least one sealed cavity, and a drive unit arranged in the housing.
A surgical appliance of the kind described at the outset is known, for example, from DE 196 07 123 A1.
In the drill disclosed therein, provision is made for a battery to be inserted together with an electronic control unit of an electric motor of the drill into a receptacle provided therefor in the handle of the appliance and to be removed again for sterilization of the appliance. Sterilization of surgical appliances is necessary before they are used at a sterile operating site. However, sterilization at increased temperature, which is usually carried out in the form of a superheated steam treatment, may damage individual components of such appliances, especially electric parts. With the known drill, the battery and the electronic control unit can be protected against harmful sterilization influences, but there is still the problem that during cleaning of the appliances in a washing process with cleaning agent temperatures of above 90° C., sealed-off cavities are only completely tight in an ideal case and can only be permanently sealed to a limited extent.
Furthermore, surgical appliances with drive units always require passages, for example, for a drive shaft, and permanent and complete sealing of these makes high demands on the design and implementation of the sealing connections required therefor. Above all, these seals are also subjected to high mechanical stresses during sterilization as large pressure differences may then occur between inside and outside the sealed cavity. It has proven particularly disadvantageous that small amounts of steam or liquid can always penetrate in an undesired manner into the sealed cavity and can only be removed with difficulty. There is thus the danger that germs from the interior of the sealed cavity may get to a sterile operating site in the reverse direction.
The object of the present invention is, therefore, to improve a surgical appliance of the kind described at the outset such that the cavity can be sealed in a simple way, and the formation of germs can be reduced or these can be removed from the cavity in a simple way.


A shoelace management and retainment device for temporarily retaining the loop and free ends of a shoelace bow formed on a shoe when tied. An open ended cylindrical sleeve of yieldable material is attached to portions of the shoelace extending through the eyelets of the shoe. An insertion opening is formed along the longitudinal length of the device into which the bow portion and shoelace ends of the shoelace is inserted translaterally so as to be positioned therewithin and extend partially out through corresponding respective distal end thereof.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to shoes and specifically to shoelaces that are used to hold the shoes onto the user of a foot. A retainment knot and a releasable bow configuration is used to selectively and removably secure the ends of the shoelaces together after the lacing of the shoe and deals with the management and retainment of the tied shoelace in relation to the shoe itself.
2. Description of Prior Art
A number of prior art devices have been developed to address the issue of bow knot shoelace management which may come undone and interfere with the user, especially due to the rather increased length of modern shoelaces used on sport shoes and the like. Such devices can be seen, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,029,371, 5,293,675, 5,649,342, 5,924,177 and 6,988,289.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,371 is directed to a locking device for elastic laces in which aligned clamping teeth extend from an interlocking retainment disk through which the laces are inserted and then retained.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,675 discloses fasteners for shoelaces in which a pair of apertured blocks are used in combination through which the individual laces are passed in a specific order and a block orientation to retain the laces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,342 discloses a decorative attachment for securing laces together. A hinged enclosure having retainment engagement slits which are adapted to engage the shoelaces as they are pulled therethrough.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,177 a shoelace retention device is claimed which is removably secured on the laces for retaining the blow elements thereof.
Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,298 a footwear lace retention device is illustrated having lace insertion pocket with a closure flap overlying same.


A column select multiplexer circuit for a domino random access memory array including a plurality of column selector circuits for selecting a column from a plurality of columns of static random access memory cells.

Conventional static random access memory (SRAM) arrays include a differential sense amplifier for determining the resulting voltage difference between a bitline and bitline bar of a column of SRAMs. However, the differential sense amplifier is sensitive to process variations especially as the speed of accessing the SRAMs memory array increases. As a result, high speed embedded SRAMs in current processors are not keeping pace with processor speeds in general. As such, as processor designs increase in scalability, the speed of the embedded cache SRAMs negatively limit the overall speed of the processor.

Column select multiplexer circuit for a domino random access memory array


An arrangement for driving actuator coils for two or more driven devices employs a microprocessor or similar controller and an actuator driver circuit. The actuator driver circuit controls two or more relay actuator coils from a single microprocessor output terminal. This output terminal can provide a high, low, or pulse output signal. An amplifier switching device, such as a transistor, whose base is coupled to the output terminal of the microprocessor, drives the first relay actuator coil as its load. A rectifying diode is connected to one end of a capacitor and thence through a negative resistance device to a second relay actuator coil or other driven device. The coil impedances are selected so that the second coil has a significantly higher impedance than the first coil. When output pulses appear at the microprocessor output terminal, the transistor switch pulses on and off, and thus energizes the first coil. Flyback voltage pulses pass through the rectifier diode to charge up the capacitor until its voltage exceeds the threshold voltage of the negative resistance device. Then current flows to energize the second relay actuator coil. By selecting the appropriate pulse rate, the microprocessor can energize either or both actuator coils.

The present invention relates to energy preservation and transfer mechanisms, and to such mechanisms incorporated into control circuits, e.g., furnace controls. The invention is more specifically concerned with a control circuit with a gas valve relay driver circuit which will actuate a gas valve when all driver components are in proper order, but will fail to actuate the gas valve otherwise. The invention is also concerned with a circuit that actuates two or more devices, e.g., an inducer blower motor and a gas valve, from a single controller output.
In a modern gas furnace, one or more gas burners inject a gas flame through a heat exchanger, and the combustion gases are drawn through the heat exchanger by means of an inducer blower, which exhausts the combustion gases to a vent or flue. A pressure sensor associated with the inducer actuates a pressure switch to indicate a pressure differential between the exhaust and intake of the inducer. The pressure switch provides assurance that the inducer is functioning properly.
An indoor air blower forces air from a comfort zone past the heat exchanger to draw heat from the combustion gases. The warmed air is then returned to the comfort zone. A temperature limit switch on the heat exchanger is normally closed, and opens if the heat exchanger exceeds a predetermined temperature. This limit switch serves as a check on proper air flow and functioning of the indoor air blower.
A thermostat located in the comfort zone closes when the room temperature drops below a predetermined setpoint, and thereby signals a call for heat. When a call for heat is detected, control and timing circuitry for the furnace actuates the inducer blower and then initiates an actuation sequence which energizes a gas valve relay so that current is supplied to a gas valve. This allows combustion gas to flow to the bumers. At this time, igniters are actuated to light the burners, and the furnace begins to produce heat. An infrared detector, rectification or other mechanism is employed to ensure that there is flame after the gas valve is actuated. If no flame is present, another series switch interrupts the thermostat power and turns off the gas valve. Also, a rollback switch detects if flame is not entering the heat exchanger but is instead proceeding in the combustion air intake direction.
After the burners have been ignited for a predetermined time, the room air blower is powered up, and this creates a flow of warm air to the interior comfort zone.
Conventionally, 24 volt ac thermostat power is supplied through the series arrangement of the limit switch, thermostat, pressure switch, gas valve relay, and gas valve. Optionally, a pilot relay can actuate a line-powered gas valve relay.
As aforementioned, the limit switch, thermostat, and pressure switch are all disposed in series with the gas valve relay, so that no current can flow through the gas valve relay to actuate the gas valve, until the limit switch and pressure switch are both closed. This serves as a check that the room air blower and the inducer blower are functioning properly.
A safety problem can arise if any of the limit switch, pressure switch, or gas valve relay are for some reason locked into a closed condition. In those cases, the gas valve will continue to feed gas to the burners if the heat exchanger experiences overtemperature, or if the inducer fails to produce sufficient draft.
In a modem furnace control unit, such as is shown in Erdman U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,780, a microprocessor circuit has a multiplicity of inputs connected respectively to the series switches, with a separate microprocessor input coupled to the junction between each switch and the next successive switch or operating element. This means that, for each switch, the microprocessor requires a separate input circuit. As the cost of the microprocessor depends on the number of input circuits that are needed, the cost of the control circuit can become great. Also, a failure of any one of the input circuits can prevent the device from detecting a switch malfunction or failure condition. In addition, for each actuator device, that is, for each of the gas valve, the inducer blower, the room air blower, etc., the microprocessor requires a separate output. Again, the need for multiple output terminals further drives the cost of the microprocessor upwards.
Generally, whenever there is a call for heat, the controller should be able to check the conditions of the pressure switch and the gas valve relay before supplying current to the coil for the gas valve relay. This permits the control circuit to check for switch malfinction and indicate a service condition, if service or repair is required. In the conventional system, each switch has a connection to an associated input. As each switch goes from an open to a closed condition, the respective microprocessor input circuit goes from a low to a high level. Thus when there is a call for heat, the input circuit associated with the thermostat goes to a high, and the microprocessor then is alerted to turn on the inducer blower. This pressure switch closes after the inducer creates a pressure differential, and the associated microprocessor input goes from low to high. Then the gas valve relay is actuated, and the microprocessor input associated with the gas valve relay goes from low to high. This arrangement permits a positive check that the pressure switch and gas valve relay can both open and close.
The gas valve relay has an actuator coil with a driver circuit that is controlled by an output of the microprocessor. The gas valve relay driver circuit is typically designed so that if any of the driver components fail, the gas valve will not turn on. That is, the gas valve driver circuit must be constructed in such a way that the gas valve will not be turned on inadvertently. Clearly, this safety feature is necessary to keep the room space around the furnace from flooding with unignited gas, as that could present a danger of either suffocation or explosion.
One fail-safe gas valve driver circuit has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,574, granted Feb. 4, 1992, to Larry E. Wilson. In that arrangement, the driver circuit comprises a transistor or similar switching device with a collector load resistor coupled to a voltage source, the actuator coil for the gas valve relay, a capacitor tied in series between the collector of the transistor and the actuator coil, and a diode in parallel to the actuator coil. The furnace controller emits pulsating dc to the transistor to actuate the coil. The capacitor blocks straight dc from actuating the coil. If there is a failure in any of these driver components either in the nature of an open or a short, the circuit will deny current through the actuator coil, and the gas valve relay will fail to close. While this circuit is rather simple and straightforward, it does have a few drawbacks. For one, the capacitor is disposed on the coil side of the transistor, so the capacitor must be capable of absorbing large amounts of current. Therefore, a large and costly electrolytic capacitor is used, typically 50 .mu.f. Because of the high levels of current needed for the actuator coil, the pulsating dc produces a significant ripple on the capacitor. This shortens the life of the capacitor, causing frequent failures of the capacitor component. Likewise, high currents also appear across the diode, which can cause diode failure.
The system of the Wilson patent is also blind to the actual switch condition of the gas valve relay, and does not prevent gas valve actuation in the event that the gas valve or the gas valve relay contactor is frozen into a closed condition. Moreover, the microprocessor in the Wilson patent requires separate discrete output terminals for each relay actuator to be controlled, and this raises the complexity and cost of the microprocessor Further, at the output side, the actuation of the gas valve relay is not directly tied to the integrity of the blower motor relay or its driver circuit. Unfortunately, actuation of the gas valve when the inducer is inoperative or not actuated can lead to fire, explosion, or suffocation.
In these relay and actuator based arrangements, the flyback energy from the release of the inductor is considered to be an undesirable consequence of inductive switching. These arrangements routinely include a flyback diode in inverse parallel with the coilto attenuate the flyback energy. No one in this art has considered using the flyback energy for any useful purpose.
In Andrew Kadah patent application Ser. No. 08/629,167, filed Apr. 8, 1996, and in Andrew Kadah et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/622,266, filed Mar. 27, 1996, a controller circuit is described in which multiple input devices, e.g., switches, are interrogated at a single microprocessor input terminal. The microprocessor can interrogate the switch condition of each of the switches based on the presence or absence of a predetermined frequency at that single input. In particular, as each switch goes from an open to a closed condition, a variable oscillator circuit associated with the switches changes its output frequency or pulse rate. The variable oscillator output is applied to a single input terminal of the microprocessor. The rate of the variable oscillator output varies as a function of the closed or open condition of the switch elements. The microprocessor is programmed to sense the various switch conditions based on the rate of the input signal at the appropriate times as applied to the microprocessor input terminal. By using a single input terminal to monitor the switch condition of several switch elements, the microprocessor can be made more economically and more reliable.
Nevertheless, even with the reduced number of inputs as achieved in these earlier patent applications, separate discrete output terminals are required for each respective function. That is, the microprocessor requires separate output terminals for the inducer relay and the gas valve relay. It has not been possible previously to reduce the number of microprocessor output terminals needed for a given number of driven devices. In addition, second order failure mode protection has been elusive for these devices.

Energy preservation and transfer mechanism

International Controls and Measurement Corp


Thermal interfaces and methods include an array of carbon nanotubes aligned substantively perpendicularly from a substrate. One method includes arranging metal catalyst particles with a particular ligand on a fluid surface of a Langmuir-Blodgett trough. This forms uniformly spaced particles with spacing based on the particular ligand. The uniformly spaced metal catalyst particles are deposited on a substrate and carbon nanotubes are grown on the particles using chemical vapor deposition. A thermal interface can be produced with a carbon nanotube packing ratio greater than fifty percent and used in a thermal switch or other device. In some methods, commercially available nanotubes are condensed on a substrate using carbon nanotubes with terminal carboxylic acids in solution and an amine monolayer on the substrate. Pretreatment of the nanotubes in a switch by applying heavy pressure between two surfaces results in good thermal conductivity between those surfaces at smaller operating pressures.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to using carbon nanotubes in a thermal interface to increase the heat flow between two surfaces, and, in particular, to using arrays of aligned or densely packed carbon nanotubes to improve thermal contact in a reusable thermal interface, such as a thermal interface for use in a thermal switch.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many applications that benefit from increasing heat flow between two surfaces. Heat transport is accomplished by phonons, quantized modes of vibration occurring in a rigid crystal lattice, such as the atomic lattice of a solid. The flow of heat between two surfaces depends on how well these phonons couple from one surface to the other, the inverse of which is described by the thermal contact resistance. The thermal contact resistance depends how well the two surfaces are bonded together. In many applications, however, the surfaces could be of different materials or fabricated with temperature restrictions, such as for electronic components, which can reduce the quality of the bond between the surfaces, and therefore increase the thermal resistance
In many applications the surfaces can not be bonded for functional reasons. For example, in a device that is subjected to alternating heating and cooling, the device may be connected thermally to a radiator to dissipate excess heat during a heating time interval, but disconnected to preserve heat, or thermally connected to a heat source, during a cooling interval. For example, such control of heating and cooling is required on a spacecraft, to balance heating from power dissipation within the spacecraft and from exposure to the sun, and to balance cooling during an eclipse while in the shadow of earth, or another planet. A thermal switch can be used to connect the device to a radiator to cool the device during a heating interval and to disconnect the device from the radiator to preserve heat during a cooling interval. The thermal switch may include two plates that separate to reduce heat flow to the radiator and that come into thermal contact to allow heat flow to the radiator.
When separate surfaces are brought into contact, heat flow between the surfaces, per unit area, depends, among other factors, on the fraction of that area in contact that allows phonons to couple from one surface to the other. One way to increase the area in contact is to highly polish the surfaces and ensure they are absolutely flat. However, even highly polished surfaces are rough at some length scale and the fractional area of contact is always less than one. In some approaches, the two surfaces are forced together under pressure, which increases the fractional area of contact. However, this approach is of limited effectiveness when the surfaces are made of rigid materials, such as copper or diamond, that do not deform sufficiently under the pressures that can be applied in practical circumstances.
Heat flow can occur not only at the contact areas, but also across the gap between the surfaces, via radiative heat transfer, thermal conduction or convection in the interstitial medium. However, there is no conductive or convective transfer of heat in vacuum.
In some approaches, the gaps are filled with an epoxy that permanently binds to the surfaces of both surfaces. The epoxy fills the gaps and provides a solid medium for the transfer of heat. Using this approach, the heat flow is controlled by the conductivity of the epoxy. The thermal conductivity of the epoxy can be increased by including conductive materials in the epoxy, such as metallic or diamond particles, carbon or graphite fibers. Graphite is a layered structure of carbon that is very thermally conductive in the plane of each layer. While suitable for many purposes, the use of an epoxy is unsuitable as a reusable thermal interface in which the two surfaces separate under some circumstances, such as in a thermal switch.
In some approaches, thermally conductive grease is applied to the contact surface of one or both surfaces. While grease allows the surfaces to be separated, adhesion and flow properties of the grease generally involve relatively large separation of the surfaces to break thermal contact. Grease may not be practical for devices that repeatedly break and establish thermal contact or in small devices such as micro-electromechanical (MEMS) devices.
Other highly conductive materials also have limitations with respect to utility as a thermal interface in a thermal switch. Diamond is known to have very high thermal conductivity. However, diamond is very rigid and does not conform to fill gaps in a surface; and it is very expensive. Thermal conductivity varies with temperature and isotopic purity from about 600 to about 2600 Watts per meter per Kelvin (W/m·K). Isotopically pure diamond produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is brittle.
Carbon fiber, such as K-1100, is a material known to have relatively high thermal conductivity, but not as high as diamond. Commercially available carbon fibers are made from pitch or Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor material and drawn onto fiber tow. Pitch fibers are treated to form graphite structures ("graphitized") by heating to high temperatures, near 3000° C. Overall thermal conductivity can be as high as 200 W/m·K.
Some thermal interfaces use carbon fibers, which can achieve thermal conductivities of 200 W/m·K along the fiber direction, arranged as a velvet on one or both surfaces. In some approaches, the carbon fibers are saturated with a phase change material (PCM) to conform to an uneven surface. A PCM changes from solid to liquid near some operating temperatures. In some approaches, the carbon fibers of the velvet are held erect in an epoxy or PCM on one surface and protrude above the epoxy or PCM to contact the other surface. For some applications carbon fibers can not be packed densely enough to provide sufficient thermal conductivity. Furthermore, carbon fibers are subject to bending and breakage, and may not be suitable for a thermal interface that is frequently reused or exposed to excess pressure.
Carbon nanotubes are large carbon molecules that are each akin to a graphite sheet rolled into a closed cylinder with a diameter of a few to tens of nanometers (nm, 1 nm=10−9 meters, m) and lengths of hundreds of nanometers to several micrometers (μm, 1 μm=10−6 m) or more. One or both ends are capped with a hemisphere of carbon atoms. Carbon nanotubes can be formed having one wall (single walled nanotubes, SWNT) or multiple co-axial walls (multiple walled nanotubes, MWNT). The thermal conductivity along the axis of a SWNT is higher than the thermal conductivity of diamond; SWNT thermal conductivity has theoretical values ranging from about 6,600 W/m·K to 37,000 W/m·K. A single MWNT has been measured to have a thermal conductivity of about 3000 W/m·K. Carbon nanotubes are strong and ductile and can compress under pressure without breaking and with less bending than carbon fibers. However, arrays of aligned carbon nanotubes in a configuration to provide thermal and mechanical advantages for a thermal interface are difficult to achieve.
In some approaches, carbon nanotubes are included in a thermal interface, alone or on the tips of larger carbon fibers arranged in a velvet (see for example, Timothy R. Knowles and Christopher L. Seaman, United States Patent Application Publication US 2002/0100581, Aug. 1, 2002, hereinafter "Knowles"). However, the nanotubes in Knowles are not densely packed. Packing ratios only up to about 50% are proposed. Therefore thermal conductivity of these interfaces does not approach the conductivity along the axis of nanotubes as closely as would more densely packed nanotubes. Knowles shows the construction of mops of tangled MWNT that have diameters of about 1 μm, or powders of non-continuous carbon nanotubes, deposited on the tips of carbon fibers with diameters greater than 3 μm. These structures can not achieve the thermal conductivity of MWNT between the two surfaces because heat has to pass through many different nanotubes and then through the lower conductivity carbon fiber.
Clearly, there is a need for a reusable thermal interface that increases heat flow between two surfaces over the heat flow attainable from the two surfaces in mechanical contact, and which does not suffer the disadvantages of prior art approaches.

Thermal interface and switch using carbon nanotube arrays


A method and control device for operating a brake-boosted hydraulic brake system of a vehicle, including ascertaining information relating to an increase or a decrease in an additional braking force exerted on at least one wheel in addition to a hydraulic braking force of the brake system, which increase or decrease is greater than a predefined minimum difference, altering an assistance force to a force introduction element, by a force difference, taking account of the ascertained information, so that the hydraulic braking force is altered to correspond to the increase or decrease in the additional braking force, and displacing a volume of a brake medium of the brake system between at least one accumulator chamber of at least one plunger and/or of at least one two-chamber cylinder and a volume of the brake system outside the accumulator.

To enable a driver of a vehicle to operate a brake input element of a brake system, for example a brake pedal, comfortably, a brake system generally includes a brake booster. The brake system with a brake booster is often referred to as a brake-boosted brake system.
A brake booster is configured to provide an assistance force which, in addition to a driver braking force exerted on the brake input element by the driver, brings about braking of at least one wheel. Suitable brake boosters are described, for example, in German Patent Application Nos. DE 10 2005 024 577 A1, DE 10057 557 A1 and DE 103 27 553 A1.
FIGS. 1A and 1B show schematic illustrations to explain a mode of operation of a conventional brake booster.
The brake system shown partially schematically in FIG. 1A has a brake input element 10 which is provided, for example, in the form of a brake pedal. By operating brake input element 10 the driver is able to apply a driver braking force Ff and a first adjustment travel s1 to a transmitting component of the brake system, for example to an input piston 12 (see equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 1B). In addition, driver braking force Ff may be sensed by a brake input element sensor system (not shown). The brake input element sensor system includes, for example, a force sensor for measuring driver braking force Ff and/or a travel sensor for ascertaining first adjustment travel s1 of an adjustable component of brake input element 10.
The brake system additionally includes a brake booster 14. Brake booster 14 is configured to provide an assistance force Fu so that the driver does not have to apply the force required to brake his vehicle entirely in the form of a driver braking force Ff. Assistance force Fu provided by brake booster 14 may, for example, be a function of driver braking force Ff.
Brake input element 10 and brake booster 14 are arranged in the brake system in such a way that at least driver braking force Ff and assistance force Fu produce a total braking force Fg. Total braking force Fg may, however, also include at least one further force. For example, brake booster 14 transmits assistance force Fu and a second adjustment travel s2 to an assistance piston 16 which is coupled, together with input piston 12, to a force introduction element, such as the reaction disk 18 shown. In the equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 1B, input piston 12 acts on a first point P1 and assistance piston 16 acts on a second point P2 of reaction disk 18. Points P1 and P2 may correspond to areas. For example, point P2 corresponds to an annular area in the case of a tubular assistance piston 16.
In that manner it is possible for total braking force Fg and a third adjustment travel s3 to be transmitted to a component disposed on the output side of the force introduction element, for example to output piston 20. In that arrangement, output piston 20 touches reaction disk 18 at a third point P3, or at a corresponding area.
A quotient x indicates the ratio of a first distance between points P2 and P3 and a second distance between points P3 and P1. In the case of an elastic reaction disk 18, reaction disk 18 is deformed at a driver braking force of Ff≠0 and/or at an assistance force of Fu≠0 (not illustrated in FIG. 1B). The deformability of reaction disk 18 may be given as elasticity e.
Output piston 20 is coupled to an adjustable component 21 of a master brake cylinder 22. A brake circuit (not shown) filled with a brake medium and having at least one wheel brake cylinder is connected to master brake cylinder 22. By changing a brake pressure in the at least one wheel brake cylinder, it is possible to exert a hydraulic braking torque corresponding to total braking force Fg, or a corresponding hydraulic braking force, on the at least one associated wheel.
German Patent Application No. DE 10 2007 030 441 A1 furthermore describes a motor vehicle brake system with a generator, and a corresponding method for operating a brake system having a generator. If, in addition to a hydraulic braking torque, a generator braking torque acts on at least one wheel, a simulation unit is to be actuated in such a way that a volume of hydraulic fluid corresponding to the generator braking torque is taken out of the brake system and temporarily stored in at least one accumulator chamber of the simulation unit in order to reduce the hydraulic braking torque by the generator braking torque. Correspondingly, on deactivation of the generator braking torque, the volume of hydraulic fluid is to be returned to the hydraulic brake system for an increase in the hydraulic braking torque.

Method for operating a brake-boosted hydraulic brake system of a vehicle and control device for a brake-boosted hydraulic brake system of a vehicle


A valve member assembly includes a housing, a check valve assembly, and a float valve assembly. The housing is a cup, a retainer and a bonnet releasably secured together. The check valve assembly is positioned within the cup, and the float valve assembly is positioned between the bonnet and the retainer. The valve member assembly can be easily assembled and inserted into a valve body.

Pressure vacuum breaker (PVB) valves are used to protect against back-siphonage in a wide variety of conditions such as in industrial plants, laboratories, laundries, swimming pools and lawn sprinkler systems. PVB valves prevent back-siphonage of water into a potable water supply. The PVB valve includes a one-way check valve which closes tightly when flow through the valve drops to zero, and an air relief valve that opens to break the siphon when pressure drops to 1 psi, thereby preventing back-siphonage. The PVB valve may also include a spring-loaded relief valve that, in the event of exposure to freezing temperatures, opens to release freezing water and protect the PVB body and internal components from damage. As the temperature increases above freezing, the relief valve automatically closes.


An adhesive varnish includes 100 parts by mass of a component A that includes a phenoxy resin including a plurality of hydroxyl groups in a side chain, 2 to 55 parts by mass of a component B that includes a polyfunctional isocyanate compound including, in a molecule thereof, an isocyanate and at least one of a vinyl group, an acrylate group and a methacrylate group, 5 to 30 parts by mass of a component C that includes a maleimide compound including a plurality of maleimide groups in a molecule thereof or/and a reaction product thereof, a component S1 including a low-boiling point solvent having a boiling point of not more than 100° C., and a component S2 including a high-boiling point solvent having a boiling point of more than 100° C.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an adhesive varnish, an adhesive film and a wiring film. In particularly, the invention relates to an adhesive varnish that, when being used as an adhesive etc., can provide excellent storage stability, adhesive properties and heat resistance and moisture-resistance reliability after the adhesion. Also, the invention relates to an adhesive varnish that, when being used as an adhesive film or a wiring film, can prevent the foam formation and curling during the drying.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, electric/electronic devices have become smaller to save space and lighter and internal wiring materials used therein are required to be fine and thin wirings to realize high density wiring. In addition, in order to reduce use of substances of concern, it has been progressively switched from conventional lead solder to lead-free solder. Accordingly, internal wiring materials are required to have improved heat resistance.
An insulation layer of the wiring member mentioned above is basically composed of a base film and an adhesive film (see, e.g., JP-A-H05-029399). Organic insulating films using heat-resistant films of polyimide, polyetherimide, polyphenylene sulfide or polyether ether ketone, etc., and heat-resistant composite films of epoxy resin-glass cloth or epoxy resin-polyimide-glass cloth, etc., are described as examples of the base film. For the adhesive layer, an adhesive containing a polyamide resin and an epoxy resin is disclosed.
However, the adhesive described in JP-A-H05-029399 has a problem that storage stability is poor due to high reactivity of an amino group present in a polyamide resin structure with the epoxy resin. In order to solve this problem, an adhesive composed of a phenoxy resin having epoxy groups at both terminals, acrylic rubber and a curing agent has been proposed (see, e.g., JP-A-2004-136631). The phenoxy resins of bisphenol A-type, bisphenol F-type, bisphenol AD-type, bisphenol S-type and copolymerization type having bisphenol A-type and bisphenol F-type are described as examples. The adhesive described in JP-A-2004-136631 has problems that adhesive strength is only about 0.5 kN/m even though the phenoxy resin considered to be relatively excellent in adhesive strength is blended and also solder heat resistance is as slightly low as 260° C.
An adhesive containing a thermoplastic polyurethane resin having a weight average molecular weight of 80,000 to 800,000, an epoxy resin and an epoxy resin curing agent has been disclosed as a measure of solving the above-mentioned problems (see, e.g., JP-A-2010-150437).
Although typical polyurethane resins have a problem in storage stability of the adhesive film because of high reactivity with epoxy resin, JP-A-2010-150437 describes use of a polyurethane resin having a molecular weight within a specific range to improve storage stability. Adhesive strength is 1.1 to 1.7 kN/m.
Meanwhile, it has been disclosed that an adhesive containing a polyurethane resin, an epoxy resin and a novolac resin having a specific structure has solder heat resistance of 300° C. (see, e.g., JP-A-2010-143988). However, it is known that the polyurethane resins used in JP-A-2010-150437 and JP-A-2010-143988 are generally depolymerized at a temperature of not less than 200° C. Heat resistance of polyurethane is generally 80 to 100° C. and there is therefore concern about use of adhesives containing a polyurethane resin in the industries and the field of automobile electronic devices which require high heat resistance.
An adhesive containing a (meth)acrylic-modified phenoxy resin and an epoxy resin and an adhesive containing a (meth)acrylic-modified phenoxy resin in the same manner, an urethane acrylate oligomer and a silane coupling agent have been also disclosed (see JP-A-2001-262111 and JP-A-2008-258607). The adhesive containing an epoxy resin described in JP-A-2001-262111 is excellent in heat resistance but has a problem that adhesive strength is as low as about 0.6 kN/m. Meanwhile, the adhesive containing a urethane acrylate and a silane coupling agent described in JP-A-2008-258607 is excellent in adhesion with metal conductors but there is lack of consideration of adhesion with polyimide films which are high heat-resistant base films.
Furthermore, for handling the adhesive film, it is important that curling is as small as possible and no tuck is present.

Adhesive varnish, adhesive film and wiring film


A fuel pressure control system for a vehicle comprises a pressure regulator module and a pressure increasing module. The pressure regulator module regulates a fuel pressure supplied to an engine to a first predetermined pressure during an engine running period. The pressure increasing module selectively increases the fuel pressure to a second predetermined pressure during the engine running period when a counter value is one of greater than and less than a predetermined final value. The second predetermined pressure is greater than the first predetermined pressure, and the counter value is set to the predetermined final value after the engine is started for a first time after being assembled.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Internal combustion engines combust an air and fuel mixture within cylinders to drive pistons, which produces drive torque. Air flow into gasoline engines is regulated via a throttle. More specifically, the throttle adjusts throttle area, which increases or decreases air flow into the engine. As the throttle area increases, the air flow into the engine increases. A fuel control system adjusts the rate that fuel is injected to provide a desired air/fuel mixture to the cylinders. Increasing the amount of air and fuel provided to the cylinders increases the torque output of the engine.
The fuel that is combusted by the engine is stored in a fuel tank. A low pressure pump draws fuel from the fuel tank. The low pressure pump pressurizes the fuel and supplies low pressure fuel to a high pressure pump. The high pressure pump further pressurizes the fuel and supplies the pressurized fuel to one or more fuel injectors.
An engine control module (ECM) controls the amount and timing of fuel injection, torque output by the engine, and other parameters. The ECM may also diagnose faults in one or more components of the vehicle. These faults may be used to, for example, notify a driver to seek service and aid a service technician in servicing the vehicle.

Engine startup fuel pressure control systems and methods


An apparatus for mounting spokes between a hub and rim of a spoke wheel comprises a hub support for rotatably supporting the hub and rim support rollers for supporting the rim concentrically around its axis. Motor driven rim rollers cause the rim to rotate about its axis. At least one rotatably driven, substantially radially directed screw driver is arranged for screwing nipples onto corresponding spokes through nipple holes in the rim. A CCD-camera and a measuring wheel are positioned near the screw driver for determining the position of the nipple holes in the rim. Control means serve to control the drive means for successively positioning nipple holes in front of the screw driver. The rim rollers for driving the rim are arranged at a small distance from the screw driver so as to minimize the disturbing movements of the rim at the position of the screw driver.

The invention relates to an apparatus for mounting spokes between a hub and rim of a spoke wheel, comprising a hub support for rotatably supporting the hub, rim support rollers for supporting the rim concentrically around its axis, drive means for rotating the rim about its axis, at least a rotatably driven, substantially radially directed screw driver for screwing nipples onto corresponding spokes through the respective nipple holes in the rim, measuring means near the screw driver for determining the position of the nipple holes in the rim, and control means for controlling the drive means such that the nipple holes are successively positioned in front of the screw driver.
Such an apparatus is described, for example, in European patent application 0 476 750 of applicant. In this apparatus the rim drive means consist of rim rollers adapted to engage the rim diametrically opposite the screw driver. It is found, however, that when the rim is driven on one side, the deformation and irregular shape of the rim cause it to not rotate truly about a center and the displacement of the rim on the other side is different from that at the position of the drive means. This difference will be corrected by the control which will take time, however, so that the contemplated high operational speed will not be obtained.

Apparatus for mounting spokes between a hub and rim of a spoke wheel


A fluid circulation system is disclosed, comprising a bidirectional motor, a first housing having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a second housing having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a fluid holding device coupled between the fluid outlet of the first housing and the fluid inlet of the second housing, a drive shaft operatively coupled to the motor to be driven by the motor, the drive shaft extending from the motor into the first and second housings and a first fluid transfer device mounted on the drive shaft within the first housing. The first fluid transfer device is operative to transfer fluid from the fluid inlet of the first housing, through the fluid outlet of the first housing and into the fluid holding device when the motor drives the drive shaft in a first direction. The system further includes a second fluid transfer device mounted on the drive shaft within the second housing, the second fluid transfer device being operative to transfer water from the fluid holding device, through the fluid inlet of the second housing and through the fluid outlet of the second housing when the motor drives the drive shaft in a second direction, the second direction being opposite the first direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a marine toilet system, and more particularly to a marine toilet system having a single bidirectional motor which drives a drive shaft, a first impeller mounted on the drive shaft for filling a toilet bowl with fluid and a second impeller mounted on the drive shaft for emptying fluid from the toilet bowl.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Marine vessel toilet systems have several operational requirements which are different from household toilet systems. One difference is that the bowl of the marine vessel toilet system is generally dry when the toilet is not in use, since the motion of the marine vessel could cause any water in the bowl to splash out of the bowl. It is also desirable to minimize the amount of water used to fill the bowl when it is used. This is because the toilet bowl is often evacuated to a holding tank for later disposal. Therefore, it is important to keep the amount of water held in the holding tank to a minimum. Furthermore, in some cases, the water input to the toilet bowl is drawn from the marine vessel's fresh water supply, in order to minimize any odors. Due to the finite amount of fresh water which can be stored on a vessel, it is important to minimize the amount of water used to operate the toilet system.
There are several different prior art designs of toilets for use on marine vessels. One design include toilets which use one pump for pumping water into the bowl of the toilet and a second pump for pumping water and waste from the bowl. Since this design requires two pumps, the toilet system is very heavy, expensive and more prone to malfunctioning.
Other designs use a single pump to both pump water into the bowl and to pump it from the bowl. However, these toilets require the use of a number of valves which are manually set to control whether the filling or emptying operation is carried out while the motor is running. Some examples of this design are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,329,932 and 1,888,842. U.S. Pat. No. 3,035,274 discloses a toilet system which uses a single pump to fill and flush the toilet simultaneously. U.S. Pat. No. 3,478,690 discloses a toilet system which utilizes a bidirectional pump which rotates a shaft in opposite directions in order to break up solid waste in the water while directing the flow of the water in one direction only. U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,264 discloses a toilet system which utilizes a vacuum device for filling and flushing the toilet. This system also requires the use of a number of manual valves for controlling which function is to be carried out.
While these designs are effective in filling and flushing toilets, they can cumbersome to operate, can be very heavy and very inefficient, can take up a large amount of deck space on a marine vessel, are more prone to requiring maintenance and can be very expensive.
There is therefore a need for a marine toilet system which is simple to use, occupies less deck space, operates efficiently, is less expensive to manufacture and is less prone to requiring maintenance.

Single motor, dual clutch marine vessel toilet


A system and method for organizing raw data from one or more sources. The content of the raw data is converted into an appropriate number system and stored in a format that facilitates the use of efficient mathematical operations. The number system is selected to handle each of the various elements, characters, or other representative indicia found in the raw data. Furthermore, the number system is selected so that the numerical data retains semantic significance with respect to the raw data. Once converted into the numeric format, the data is processed using various techniques to extract the best information from the raw data into a distilled database.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to database systems and more particularly, to a system and method for organizing data in a database system.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Computerized database systems have long been used and their basic concepts are well known. A good introduction to database systems may be found in C. J. DATE, INTRODUCTION To DATABASE SYSTEMS (Addison Wesley, 6th ed. 1994).
In general, database systems are designed to organize, store and retrieve data in such a way that the data in the database is useful. For example, the data, or subsets of the data, may be searched, sorted, organized and/or combined with other data. To a large extent, the usefulness of a particular database system, is dependent on the integrity (i.e., the accuracy and/or correctness) of the data in the database system. Data integrity is affected by the degree of "disorder" in the data stored. Disorder may occur in the form of erroneous or incomplete data such as duplicate data, fragmented data, false data, etc. In many database systems, from time to time, existing data may be edited and processed, and as a result, additional errors may be introduced. In some database systems, new data may be introduced. Additionally, as database systems are upgraded with new hardware and/or software, data conversion may be required or additional fields may become necessary. Furthermore, in some applications, the data in the database may simply become outdated over time.
Regardless of the preventative steps taken, some degree of disorder is eventually introduced in conventional database systems. This degree of disorder increases exponentially over time until eventually, the data in a conventional database becomes entirely useless. As a result, even a small degree of disorder eventually affects the integrity of the database system.
Unfortunately, identifying and correcting disorder in the data are often difficult, if not impossible, tasks particularly in large database systems. Traditionally, such tasks are performed manually, making these tasks time-consuming, expensive, and subject to human error. Furthermore, due to the very nature of the task, much of the disorder may go largely undetected. What is needed is a system and method for organizing data in a database system to overcome these and other associated problems.


A high-voltage electrical connector includes a strategically placed barrier that acts as an arc shield to reduce the ionization of materials during load break switching, reducing or preventing flashover. An electric stress graded interface design also reduces switching flashover and reduces the fault close energy. Mating features on the piston-contact element and inside the surrounding container accurately guide the piston-contact element as it travels along the container.

Conventional high voltage electrical connectors, such as bushing inserts, connect devices such as transformers to the electrical equipment of a power distribution system. Typically the electrical connector is joined to another electrical device of the power distribution system, such as an elbow cable connector, with female contacts of the electrical connector mating with male contacts of the cable connector. An exemplary operating voltage for such connectors is 25 KV. Safe use and efficient performance of such connectors depends on a combination of factors.
When the electrical connector and the cable connector are joined under a load (load make switching), an arc is struck between the contacts as they approach one another. This arc is acceptable since it is generally of moderate intensity and is quenched as soon as the contact elements are engaged. However, during load break switching, as the contacts of the electrical connector and the cable connector are separated under load, ionization of materials and/or local dielectric breakdown can occur, leading to flashover. Further, during fault closure or short circuit conditions, a substantial arc can occur between the contacts, possibly resulting in catastrophic failure of the electrical connector.
Conventional electrical connectors employ a piston, which is attached to the female contact of the electrical connector. During fault conditions the piston is forced by the pressure of ablative arc-quenching gases to rapidly move the female contact into engagement with the male contact of the cable connector, thereby minimizing the arc formed therebetween. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,059,879 to Krause and Zhao, which is incorporated herein by reference. Current piston-contact arrangements, and existing measures such as venting that address flashover, leave room for improvement.

Electrical connector with arc shield, piston-contact positioner and electric stress graded interface


A computer-implemented method for uploading and storing a file. The file is automatically transcoded to the format(s) of registered device(s) associated with an entity. The transcoded files are thus prepared for download and access by the registered devices.

Many different computing applications rely on some type of storage medium for persistent storage of various kinds of application data. For example, common office applications and multi-media applications generally use application data of various types and formats, such as documents, spreadsheets, still images, audios and video data, among others. Frequently, such data are stored for repeated access or use on behalf of the owner/user. More recently, such data may be stored remotely, possibly using hardware storage resources that are maintained and operated by third parties.
Very often, the data that is stored by a user may be accessed by that user or authorized guests via a variety of different devices, such as cell phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, or other devices. These devices may require different formats for viewing or use on the particular devices. If such data is stored remotely, often that data may have to be transcoded to an appropriate format so that the data will be usable by the device seeking access.

Automatic transcoding of a file uploaded to a remote storage system


The invention concerns a method to produce a cage (1) for a rolling bearing (40), wherein the method comprises the steps of; —(10): providing an elongated metal profile (1) comprising a first and second distant ends (12, 13), wherein the metal profile (1) is essentially ring-shaped, —(20): subsequently joining the first and second ends (12, 13) of the metal profile (1) to thereby form a closed ring (1), —(30): forming in the closed ring (1) a plurality of openings (14) on at least one axial side face of the ring (1), wherein the openings (14) are meant to receive at least one rolling element (43) of the rolling bearing (40), and wherein the forming of the openings (14) is made by drilling from the axial side face of the ring (1). Furthermore, the invention regards a cage (1) and a rolling bearing (40).

Cages or retainers are well known for holding and maintaining rolling elements, such as balls and/or rollers, in rolling bearings. There are different ways of making a cage for a rolling bearing. One common way of making a cage, especially for larger bearings over 500 mm in diameter, is to start from a ring-shaped material and subsequently perform a machining operation to form pockets for the rolling elements. The starting ring material is often made by centrifugal casting, cold or hot rolling or even casted rings. This is complicated and expensive.


The present disclosure provides an expandable spinal implant comprising a plurality of moveable endplates pivotably connect to a housing.

The present disclosure pertains to the field spinal implants. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an expandable spinal fusion implant for use in spine surgery, an insertion tool for use with the expandable fusion implant and a measurement tool useful during spinal surgery.
The expandable spinal fusion implant may be used in combination with bone graft materials to facilitate fusion across the intervertebral region.


Apparatus for coupling a front end loader to a tractor comprising a longitudinally extending loader mounting frame for pivotally supporting a pair of loader boom arms. The frame comprises a pair of transversely spaced support arms, and a pair of forwardly extending members affixed to the support arms. A pair of front mounting pins extend from the tractor for coupling the forwardly extending members of the frame to the front of the tractor. A pair of rear mounting pins extending from the tractor, cooperate with a latch assembly for coupling each transversely spaced support arm to a corresponding mounting pin under conditions where the forwardly extending members are coupled to the tractor. The latch assembly includes a notch in each of the support arms for receiving a mounting pin and a latch plate for holding the pin in the notch under conditions where the pin is received by the notch. The latch plate is pivotally mounted on the support arm for automatic movement between open and closed positions under conditions where the mounting pin is received by the notch. A translatable holding rod moves from a disengaged position to an engaged position for holding the latch plate in the closed position.

Over the years it has been common for tractors to carry loaders to which a variety of attachments can be connected for a wide range of material handling applications in the industrial, agricultural and construction fields. Such loaders, usually mounted on the front end of a tractor, generally include a frame assembly, boom arms pivotally mounted on the frame, an attachment mounted across the forward ends of the boom arms, tilt cylinders coupled between the attachment and the boom arms, and lift cylinders coupled between the boom arms and the frame assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,940, issued Dec. 5, 1989 in the name of John O. Steinkamp, et al, is exemplary of a prior art tractor having a front end loader of this nature. In construction applications it is common to provide a tractor with a conventional loader attached to the front end while an excavating implement is also attached to the back end as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,162, issued Mar. 7, 1989 in the name of Derek K. Foster. In many other applications, the tractor includes a three point hitch for operating farm implements attached to the rear end.
Regardless of the application, in many instances it is desirable for front loaders to be removable because, even though other implements can be used while the loader is attached to the front end, handling and maneuverability of the tractor are usually enhanced with the loader removed. Thus, it is incumbent for a tractor to readily convert between a material handling vehicle with a front loader to a vehicle with an implement operative via a three point hitch, e.g., a mower. This frees up the tractor for performing tasks that can best be accomplished without the loader mechanism extending from the front. Brochure No. 31721080.89550.API, published by New Holland North America, Inc. in 1995, shows various front end loaders that are detachable from the tractor on which they are mounted.
As mentioned above, a variety of attachments, such as scoops, blades, forks, grapples and bale spears, can be utilized on front loaders. Regardless of the attachment, there is a need to attach and remove a front loader quickly and easily, as discussed above. But additionally, it is desirable to convert quickly and conveniently between these attachments to the front loader to effectively accommodate varying applications. U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,052, issued Sep. 20, 1971 in the name of James L. Schurz shows a typical prior art example of a front end loader in which the attachment is provided with a quick coupling device. This is one of the many examples of prior art mechanisms for quickly coupling attachments to front loaders.
In all known prior art apparatus of which applicants are aware there is no simple, convenient system for attaching and removing a front end loader in an effective manner without the use of tools. Even in those cases where loaders are removable and attachable there still exists the necessity of manually affixing a latch plate to securely hold the loader in place during operation. Likewise the plate must be manually removed when the loader is being detached adding a cumbersome step to the process. A known system of this nature is shown in "Installation Instructions Mount Kit #9863872", catalog number 41645800, a 1996 publication issued by New Holland North America, Inc., assignee of the present application. FIG. 3 on page 3 shows a clamp, designated by reference numeral 1, that in manually affixed to the loader frame.


Aspects provide photo-control receptacles having contact terminals via which control signals can be communicated. In one aspect, a photo-control receptacle is provided. The photo-control receptacle includes an interface having a neutral conductor and a line voltage conductor. Each of the neutral conductor and the line voltage conductor can form a first electrical connection for providing power to a photo-control via alternating current. The photo-control receptacle also includes one or more additional contact conductors adjacent to the interface. The one or more additional contact conductors can form a second electrical connection for providing control signals to the photo-control.

Control of street and area lighting may include a timing mechanism and/or a switching mechanism disposed in a solid-state control device or other suitable control device known as a photo-control. Control of a luminaire or other lighting device may include simple on/off switching Improvements to photo-control for controlling a lighting device are desirable.

Integral dimming photo-control receptacle


A system and method in accordance with the present invention allows blind and visually impaired users to quickly identify links to relevant material when “viewing” web pages that consist primarily of either plain text or images. By generating an aural or visual index to the links on the page being “viewed”, blind and visually impaired users can quickly jump to interesting sites that are linked from the current page without having to wait for the entire page to be voiced by a screen reader application.

It is a simple matter for most people to scan a web page that is displayed in a typical browser application such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and quickly identify links (by default, any underlined text) to other pages that might be of interest to them. This rapid identification of linked sites is exceptionally useful whenever you are viewing a page that consists primarily of plain text, yet has many interspersed links to other web sites that contain material related to the content of the page currently being viewed. Pages with this type of structure abound on the Internet. Examples include the results pages displayed by search engines and "summary" sites (for example, those that summarize press coverage on key happenings for the day and provide links to the original news articles at the end of each summary for future reference).
Rapid identification of links is also very useful when looking at pages that consist primarily of images where the links are embedded buttons or graphics on the page. The ability to scan web pages and rapidly identify links to associated material allows the typical reader to quickly jump to other relevant sites and thereby allows them to efficiently sift through the large volume of data available on the Internet until they find a page that contains exactly what they were looking for.
People who are blind or who have severe visual impairments cannot perform a rapid visual scan-based identification of links on a given page. Instead, they must typically listen to the content of the entire page as its voiced to them by a screen reader application, remember the links as they are voiced, and then select the one they are interested in after the entire page has been voiced. This is time-consuming and places high demand on that person's short term memory to remember all of the links while simultaneously attempting to pay attention to the rest of the page as it is being voiced. Furthermore, many web pages are not optimally coded for use with a screen reader application. This results in "raw" HTML or other meaningless information being voiced to the user when links on those pages are interpreted by a screen reader.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for allowing a person who is visually impaired to more readily hear or read link information presented on a web page. The present invention addresses such a need.

Method and system for providing an index to linked sites on a web page for individuals with visual disabilities

International Business Machines Corporation


Insulators (10A to 10C) according to the present invention include: a core material (11) that retains a space; a sheath material (12) that has a gas bather ability and encloses the core material (11) therein in a decompressed and closed state; and gas adsorbents (20A to 20D) enclosed in the sheath material (12) together with the core material (11). The gas adsorbents (20A to 20D) are each a copper ion-exchanged ZSM-5 type zeolite compact (21) which contains ZSM-5 type zeolite subjected to copper ion exchange, and is molded in such a manner that the density of the zeolite is higher than the density of the core material (11) decompressed and sealed in the sheath material (12).

Recently, in view of importance of preventing warming that is a global environmental problem, energy saving has been desired in various fields, and energy saving has also been promoted for consumer appliances. For example, for freezing refrigerators, an insulator having excellent insulation characteristics is desired in view of efficient utilization of cold heat. One example of the above-mentioned insulator is a vacuum insulator having a vacuum insulation structure.
The vacuum insulator includes a core material that retains a space, and a sheath material that insulates the space and the outside air from each other. The vacuum insulation structure is realized by eliminating the gas in the internal space of the sheath material by evacuation. As the core material, generally a powder material, a fiber material, an open-celled foam, or the like is used.
Here, recently, requirements for vacuum insulators have been diversified, and vacuum insulators with further high performance have been required.
The insulation principle of the vacuum insulator is that air which conduct heat is removed as much as possible to reduce heat conduction by gas. Accordingly, as one method for improving the insulation performance of the vacuum insulator, the internal pressure is made lower to suppress gas heat conduction due to collision of molecules. However, the vacuum degree that can be practically achieved at an industrial level using a vacuum pump is approximately 0.1 Torr (about 13.3 Pa). Therefore, it is substantially difficult to achieve a high vacuum of 0.1 Torr or more even though the internal pressure is to be made lower.
As another method for improving the insulation performance of the vacuum insulator, the gas in the vacuum insulation structure is removed. The inside of the vacuum insulator is in a state of low pressure in substantially vacuum, but some gas may be generated in a small amount from the core material, the inner surface of the sheath material, or the like, or a small amount of air may permeate/penetrate from the outside into the inside of the vacuum insulator with time. Specifically, such gas components include nitrogen, oxygen, moisture, hydrogen and the like, and existence (generation or penetration) of these gas components at the inside is a factor of causing degradation of the insulation performance of the vacuum insulator with time. Thus, when these internal gas components can be adsorbed and removed, the initial insulation performance of the vacuum insulator can be improved, and insulation performance with time can be satisfactorily maintained.
As a gas adsorbent used for this purpose, for example, a vacuum maintaining device using a Ba—Li alloy as disclosed in Patent Literature 1 has been proposed. The vacuum maintaining device has a configuration in which a first pellet formed of a Ba—Li alloy and a second pellet including a drying material are stacked and stored in a container for the purpose of maintaining vacuum in an insulating jacket, and reactivity to a gas such as nitrogen is exhibited even at room temperature.
The applicant of the present application has proposed an insulator using a gas adsorbent formed of copper ion-exchanged ZSM-5 type zeolite as disclosed in Patent Literature 2. The insulator includes at least a core material, a sheath material having a gas barrier ability, and a gas adsorbent, wherein a vacuum insulation structure is realized by decompressing the inside of the sheath material. The gas adsorbent is used for adsorbing air in an internal space of the sheath material to maintain the decompressed state of the internal space.
Copper ion-exchanged ZSM-5 type zeolite has an excellent adsorbing capability for nitrogen and oxygen as air components, or moisture. Accordingly, when the gas adsorbent is one using copper ion-exchanged ZSM-5 type zeolite, air components that cannot be eliminated by a vacuum pump, a gas generated at the inside of the vacuum insulator, and air components, moisture or the like that permeate/penetrate from the outside to the inside with time can be satisfactorily adsorbed and removed. As a result, the vacuum insulator can exhibit excellent insulation performance.
Zeolite is generally in the form of a powder, and a large number of techniques for producing a zeolite structure by molding a raw material containing zeolite have been proposed. Specifically, for example, Patent Literatures 3 and 4 disclose that zeolite particles, an inorganic binding material for binding the zeolite particles, and an organic binder are mixed, and the mixture is extrusion-molded and then fired to obtain a porous zeolite structure.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A three dimensional stacked nonvolatile semiconductor memory according to an example of the present invention includes a memory cell array comprised of first and second blocks disposed side by side in a first direction, and a driver disposed on one end of the memory cell array in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. First select gate lines in the first block and first select gate lines in the second block are connected to the driver after they are commonly connected in one end in the second direction of the memory cell array in a relation of one to one.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a three dimensional stacked nonvolatile semiconductor memory.
2. Description of the Related Art
BiCS (Bit Cost Scalable) technology is known as a technology for suppressing a bit cost of a semiconductor memory by increasing the capacity thereof by a three dimensional structure (refer to, for example, "Bit Cost Scalable Technology with Punch and Plug Process for Ultra High Density Flash Memory" 2007 Symposium on VLSI Technology Digest of Technical Papers. p. 14).
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory to which the BiCS technology is applied (hereinafter, called a BiCS memory) has a feature in that it not only has a three dimensional structure but makes bit cost scalability possible so that a bit cost can be reduced in proportion to an increase of the number of stacked layers by devising a device structure and a process technology.
In, for example, a NAND flash memory to which the BiCS technology is applied (hereinafter, called a BiCS-NAND flash memory), a memory capacity, which greatly exceeds the limit of the memory capacity of a NAND flash memory having a two-dimensional structure, can be realized by increasing the number of cells in a longitudinal direction which comprise a NAND column by increasing the number of stacked layers.
However, since the BiCS memory which is represented by a BiCS-NAND flash memory has a unique device structure, there are many problems to be solved to practically use the BiCS memory.
An increase of a peripheral circuit is exemplified as one of the problems.
In the BiCS memory, although a memory cell array is arranged as a three dimensional structure, a peripheral circuit is arranged as a two dimensional structure like a conventional structure. Further, select gate lines on a bit line side must be disposed in one block according to a memory cell array structure specific to the BiCS memory.
Accordingly, in the BiCS memory, the area of drivers for driving the select gate lines on the bit line side is increased by the number of the select gate lines in one block as compared with a nonvolatile semiconductor memory having a two dimensional structure in which it is only necessary to dispose one select gate line in one block.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Three dimensional stacked nonvolatile semiconductor memory


The present disclosure provides a liquid eyeliner and a manufacturing method thereof. The liquid eyeliner includes following components by weight: acrylic acid octyl acrylamide copolymer or propylene ester octyl acrylamide copolymer ranging from 4-9%, propylene glycol provided ranging from 5-7%, ethylhexylglycerin ranging from 0.1-0.6%, butanediol ranging from 1.5-4%, sorbitan oleate ranging from 1-2%, emulsifier ranging from 1.4-2.2%, polydimethylsiloxane ranging from 6-9%, polyvinylpyrrolidone ranging from 3-4%, sorbitan sesquioleate ranging from 1.2-2%, butylated hydroxytoluene ranging from 0.1-0.2%, methylparaben ranging from 0.1-0.3%, propylparaben ranging from 0.05-0.15%, phenoxyethanol ranging from 0.6-1.2%, essence ranging from 0.1-0.3%, carbon black ranging from 1.5-2.8%, iron oxide black ranging from 30-45%, deionized water ranging from 22-30%, and plant extract ranging from 0.1-0.3%.

Everyone is pursuing beauty. Women in Asia like to use an eyeliner to outline a more pleasing eye makeup, showing three-dimensionality of the eyes, making the eyes look deeper. As a make-up product, the eyeliner has become a "people's product."
Compared with a conventional eyeliner, a liquid eyeliner has advantages such as precise fit, smoothness, and softness. Because the liquid eyeliner is liquid, it can draw the eyes with beautiful luster and with a three-dimensional effect. However, the eyeliner is prone to uneven liquid volume or discharges either too much or too little when applied, whereas the liquid eyeliner is more maneuverable and more and more popular with consumers.
The conventional eyeliner mostly consists of organic components, and its role is only to personalize modification and beauty, and there is no additional function. With enrichment of beauty products and upgrading of technology, there is a need for an eyeliner product that not only takes beauty of the eyes into account, but also comes with special functions, such as auxiliary fixing false eyelashes.

Liquid eyeliner and manufacturing method thereof

HANGZHOU OCEAN PEARL INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD


A system for merging text with distributed multimedia information comprising a processor, a network interface, a display, and a memory. The memory is configured to cause said processor to receive a request in said browser application to present said distributed multimedia information; launch said multimedia file presentation application; validate said distributed multimedia information; pass a pointer to said distributed multimedia information to said media command interrupt layer; and display said multimedia information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of use of presenting multimedia information using a computer network. More particularly, the present invention relates to presenting distributed multimedia information.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, content providers who wish to provide multimedia data such as video and audio data to users over a network such as the Internet must be cognizant of the size of the multimedia data to be transferred as most users will not be willing to endure the length of time required to transfer large files. In addition, transferring large files poses other problems in cases where users do not have a stable network connection. This leads to interrupted information transfer, which in turn results in wasted bandwidth and time to perform re-transfers.
For example, assuming no control information overhead and perfect line conditions, a file that is one megabyte (MB) in size will take approximately 5 minutes to transfer using a modem having a transfer speed of 28,800 bits of second. However, under normal conditions, accounting for overhead data and imperfect line conditions, the transfer often takes much longer. With multimedia data files becoming larger in order to contain the length of materials desired, including book audio and video data, the time required for transferring these files are also becoming larger.
Although advances in communications networks have been made to increase the transfer speed of these files, the rate at which files are growing is still outpacing the rate at which transfer speeds are increasing. Consequently, content providers must design "web-sites," which are comprised of files containing hyper-text markup language (HTML), digital audio and video information, so as not require a significant amount of time or network resources to load. Unfortunately, this means that content providers have to use lower quality versions of multimedia files, which has been subjected to some data compression schemes, to present their messages.
The network constraints described above are not acceptable for applications where large multimedia files must be transferred. For example, in a web-site containing various advertisements for cruise ship utilizing audio/video information in addition to text, a content provider might desire to play a sample video for each cruise package in which a user expresses an interest. However, with the current level of network technology that is available to a majority of users, this desire is not achievable.
A proposed solution is to pre-distribute the multimedia data using removable media to an interested user which will allow the user to have any necessary information locally and thus by-pass a download of large multimedia data files. The user can then view video or listen to audio in conjunction with using a browser application to access a content provider's web-site without having to wait for the multimedia to be transferred over the network. However, a solution is necessary to provide integration of the display of the local multimedia information with the information that is displayed in the browser application.

Method and apparatus for using distributed multimedia information


The bidirectional clocking apparatus provides automatic sensing of whether a reference clock being generated by another circuit needs to be divided down to a lower frequency. If this is true, the clock is divided down to a lower frequency and sent out to other circuits requiring the lower frequency clock. If the lower frequency clock is already generated from another circuit, the apparatus accepts this clock for use by other circuits. Only one terminal is required for either sourcing or accepting this lower frequency clock signal.

A microprocessor typically requires an external clock to operate. This clock can be sourced by a reference oscillator that may have a higher frequency that is divided down to a lower frequency for use by the microprocessor or other circuitry requiring a clock.
To reduce manufacturing costs, different models of an electronic device can share the same printed circuit board with only certain components being changed. The different components may require different clock frequencies for proper operation. The different models may also require the clock in different parts of the circuit. These changes would require changing the reference oscillator clock circuit and the board layout each time a different clock is needed. There is a resulting need for an apparatus that automatically senses the clock and directs a modified clock output to the appropriate location depending on the clock's frequency and source.

Bidirectional clocking apparatus with automatic sensing


A system for monitoring fissile material contents inside of a nuclear reactor can include at least a first neutron detector positioned outside a radiation shield and configured to detect a plurality of neutrons originating from the reactor core and having passed through the radiation shield, and configured to generate a first output signal, and a controller communicably linked to the first neutron detector to receive the first output signal and a power output of the nuclear reactor.

Nuclear reactor safeguards measures are used to verify that nuclear material is not diverted from peaceful uses. Scenarios for diversion of nuclear material from peaceful uses can take a number of forms, such as undeclared changes in the rate of plutonium production within a reactor, undeclared reductions in the level of irradiation of fuel to facilitate later removal of fissile material, or the actual diversion of fissile material from the reactor. Safeguards monitoring systems are currently in place at some of the world's power reactors, at research reactors worldwide, and at other nuclear facilities that fall under the International Non-Proliferation Treaty. Existing safeguard systems tend to be indirect means that do not involve the direct measurement of the fissile isotopic content of the reactor, but instead consist primarily of semi-annual or annual inspections of coded tags and seals placed on fuel assemblies, and measures such as video surveillance of spent fuel cooling ponds and the like. Direct measurements are typically made off-line, before or after fuel are introduced into the reactor. Real-time, online quantitative measurements of reactor core power and isotopic composition have been demonstrated in more recent times with relatively large and relatively expensive anti-neutrino detectors. This technique is generally based upon variations in detectable antineutrino yield from differing isotopes. However, count rates of anti-neutrino detectors tend to be relatively low, and may have a relatively very high background noise level.
US patent publication no. 2016/0195622 relates to an apparatus for detecting the presence of a nuclear reactor by the detection of antineutrinos from the reactor that can include a radioactive sample having a measurable nuclear activity level and a decay rate capable of changing in response to the presence of antineutrinos, and a detector associated with the radioactive sample. The detector may be responsive to at least one of a particle or radiation formed by decay of the radioactive sample. A processor associated with the detector can correlate rate of decay of the radioactive sample to a flux of the antineutrinos to detect the reactor.
A publication, J. S. Beaumont et al., Nature Communications, vol. 6, article no. 9592, describes the use of neutron and gamma radiation imaging outside of reactor shielding for the purpose of diagnosing the neutron distribution in a nuclear reactor, for ensuring safe and efficient burnup of the reactor fuel. In this publication, no method is developed for monitoring reactor core fuel inventory for the purposes of nuclear material safeguards.

System and method for stand-off monitoring of nuclear reactors using neutron detection

Atomic Energy Of Canada Limited / Energie Atomique Du Canada Limitee


Method and apparatus to prevent system deadlock in a dispatch system by monitoring link activity. The dispatch system is comprised of a set of remote units which communicate with each other by broadcasting one at a time to the group. A remote unit communicates with the other remote units through at least one base station. A communications manager grants a remote unit exclusive system talker status upon request through the base station servicing the requesting remote unit. The base station monitors a series of data from the remote unit designated as the system talker to detect voice activity. The base station sends a surrogate request to the communications manager to relinquish the system talker privilege if the voice activity falls below a predetermined threshold.

I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to dispatch systems and, more particularly, to the implementation of a dispatch system in a cellular system.
II. Description of the Related Art
In a wireless telephone communication system, many users communicate over a wireless channel to connect to other wireless and wireline telephone systems. Communication over the wireless channel can be one of a variety of multiple access techniques. These multiple access techniques include time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), and code division multiple access (CDMA). The CDMA technique has many advantages. An exemplary CDMA system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307 issued Feb. 13, 1990 to K. Gilhousen et al., entitled "SPREAD SPECTRUM MULTIPLE ACCESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM USING SATELLITE OR TERRESTRIAL REPEATERS," assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference.
In the just mentioned patent, a multiple access technique is disclosed where a large number of mobile telephone system users, each having a transceiver, communicate through satellite repeaters, airborne repeaters, or terrestrial base station transceiver subsystems using CDMA spread spectrum communication signals. In using CDMA communications, the frequency spectrum can be reused multiple times permitting an increase in system user capacity.
In the CDMA cellular system, each base station transceiver subsystem provides coverage to a limited geographic area and links the remote units in its coverage area through a cellular system switch to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). When a remote unit moves to the coverage area of a new base station transceiver subsystem, the routing of that user's call is transferred to the new base station transceiver subsystem. The base station-to-remote unit signal transmission path is referred to as the forward link and the remote unit-to-base station signal transmission path is referred to as the reverse link.
In a typical wireless telephone communication system, the remote unit may employ a vocoding system which encodes voice information in a variable rate format. In a variable rate system, the data rate may be lowered due to pauses in the voice activity. The lower data rate reduces the level of interference to other users caused by the remote unit transmissions. At the base station a vocoding system is employed for reconstructing the voice information. In addition to voice information, data information alone or a mixture of the two may be transmitted by the remote unit.
When a remote unit is producing its own data for transmission, a internal vocoder produces from digital samples of the voice information encoded data at four different rates, e.g. approximately 8,000 bits per second (bps), 4,000 bps, 2,000 bps and 1,000 bps, based on voice activity during a 20 millisecond (ms) frame. Each frame of vocoder data is formatted with overhead bits as 9,600 bps, 4,800 bps, 2,400 bps, and 1,200 bps data frames. The highest rate data frame which corresponds to a 9,600 bps frame is referred to as a "full rate" frame; a 4,800 bps data frame is referred to as a "half rate" frame; a 2,400 bps data frame is referred to as a "quarter rate" frame; and a 1,200 bps data frame is referred to as an "eighth rate" frame. A vocoder which is suited for application in this environment is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,796, entitled "VARIABLE RATE VOCODER," issued May 9, 1995 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. When the remote unit receives data from an outside source such as a terminal equipment unit, the remote unit continues to process the data in this variable rate frame format.
When the original cellular telephone spectrum licenses were issued by the government, one of the restrictions on use of the spectrum was that the carriers could not provide dispatch services. However, because of the great advantages of the CDMA system and the inherent expense and problems of deployment and maintenance of private dispatch systems, the government is re-examining this issue. The government itself would benefit greatly from such services.
Whereas typical wireless and wireline telephone service provides point-to-point service, dispatch services provide one-to-many service. Common usage of dispatch services are local police radio systems, taxicab dispatch systems, Federal Bureau of Investigation and secret service operations, and general military communication systems.
The basic model of a dispatch system consists of a broadcast net of users. Each broadcast net user monitors a common broadcast forward link signal. If a net user wishes to talk, he presses a push-to-talk (PTT) button and he is granted system talker privileges. Typically the talking user's voice is routed from the reverse link over the broadcast forward link. Ideally the dispatch system allows landline and wireless access to the system. When the remote unit user has finished speaking, he releases the PTT button. In response the remote unit generates a push-to-talk off indication which terminates the privileges and frees the system for use by other system users.
If the push-to-talk button on a remote unit becomes stuck down, the remote unit may be granted system talker privileges. System resources are thus expended and other remote units may be prevented from accessing the system because the remote unit with the stuck push-to-talk button is blocking the system. This type of scenario is referred to as system deadlock and it is, of course, a highly undesirable state. The present invention is a method and apparatus for detecting system deadlock and truncating its deleterious effects.

Method and apparatus for monitoring link activity to prevent system deadlock in a dispatch system