A measuring device, comprising: an input circuit having a supply line and a return line. Energy supply occurs over a line-pair. Input voltage is applied to the measuring device via the line pair. A series regulator for controlling an electrical current flowing via the line-pair, a shunt regulator installed in a parallel branch, and an apparatus for controlling a voltage drop across the series regulator are provided.

Measuring devices of this type are applied especially in industrial measurements and control technology, as well as in automation and process control technology for measuring process variables.
As a function of the process variables to be measured, today, a great number of different measuring devices are applied for this, such as e.g. pressure-, temperature-, flow- and/or fill level measuring devices.
These measuring devices deliver an output signal, which corresponds to the measured value of the registered process variable. This output signal is transmitted in an industrial plant to a superordinated unit, e.g. a central control unit, such as e.g. a control room or a process control system, connected to the measuring device. As a rule, the entire process control of the manufacturing- and/or treatment process running in the industrial plant occurs via the superordinated unit, where the output signals of various measuring devices are evaluated and, based on the evaluation, control signals are produced for actuators, which control the process flow.
Preferably, measuring devices are applied, which are connectable to the superordinated unit via a single line-pair, via which the energy supply of the measuring device as well as also the signal transmission between the measuring device and the superordinated unit occurs.
The signal transmission of these devices, which are frequently referred to also as 2-wire measuring devices, occurs preferably according to standards usual in the industry.
According to one of these standards, the signal transmission occurs by setting the electrical current flowing via the line-pair from the measuring device to an electrical current value representing the measured process variable, which is then evaluated by the superordinated unit and correspondingly interpreted. For this, today, the electrical current is regularly controlled to values between 4 mA and 20 mA as a function of the measured process variable. Additionally, a communication signal can be superimposed on this electrical current representing the measured process variable. Thus, the electrical current is modulated about the value predetermined by the process variable in accordance with a predetermined communication protocol. Widely used for this today is the communication protocol defined by the HART standard, in the case of which there is superimposed on the electrical current lying between 4 mA and 20 mA a high-frequency oscillation of +/−0.5 mA carrying the information of the communication signal.
Forming another group are measuring devices connectable to a digital data bus. In the case of these measuring devices, the electrical current flowing through the line-pair is set to a predetermined electrical current value independently of the measured process variable, and there is superimposed on this electrical current the communication signal in the form a high-frequency oscillation. Known standards for this are the PROFIBUS, FOUNDATION FIELDBUS and CAN-BUS standards.
Measuring devices of this type usually have an input circuit with a line-pair composed of a supply line and a return line also connectable to the superordinated unit. During operation, energy supply of the measuring device and signal transmission, especially of an output signal representing the process variable, occurs between measuring device and superordinated unit on this line pair.
Connected to the input circuit is a measuring sensor supplied with energy via the input circuit and serving for determining the process variable and for producing a measurement signal representing the process variable.
The input circuit includes, for example, a series regulator installed in the supply line for controlling an electrical current flowing via the line-pair, and a shunt regulator connected after the series regulator and installed in a parallel branch connecting the supply line with the return line. The measuring sensor is connected to the input circuit behind the parallel branch in parallel with the shunt regulator. The shunt regulator is in the simplest case a Zener diode, via which the voltage applied to the input of the measuring sensor is predetermined.
Available to the measuring device via the line-pair is, as a rule, only a very limited amount of energy, as determined by the applied input voltage and the electrical current set by the series regulator.
Accordingly, today, especially in connection with measuring sensors with high energy requirement, such as e.g. measuring transducers of fill-level measuring devices working with microwaves or with ultrasound, methods are applied for efficient use of the available energy.
To this end, German Patent DE 10 2006 046 243 A1 discloses a method, in the case of which the measuring sensor is operated as needed, and, in times when it is not required, it is switched off or placed in a stand-by mode.
In international published application, WO 02/07124 A1, a measuring device for measuring a process variable is described, in the case of which the measurement activities of the measuring transducer are matched to the power available via the line-pair.
The measuring device includes a line-pair composed of a supply line and a return line connectable to a superordinated unit. During operation, energy supply of the measuring device and signal transmission, especially of a measurement signal, between measuring device and superordinated unit occurs via the line-pair, and an input voltage is applied to the measuring device. A measuring device variant is described, which has an input circuit with an electrical current stage installed in the supply line for controlling the electrical current flowing via the line-pair, as well as having a circuit connected after the electrical current stage and lying in a parallel branch connecting the supply line with the return line. This circuit serves to take exactly sufficient electrical current that the voltage drop across the electrical current stage is as small as possible for lessening the power loss. Correspondingly, the voltage drop across the electrical current stage is reduced to a minimum value required for operating the electrical current stage.
A further example of a measuring device is described in international published application WO 00/75904 A1. In this case, the energy supply and the output of the measured process variable occur via a single line-pair. Also in such case, the measuring device includes an input circuit, via which the thereto connected measuring sensor is supplied with energy. The input circuit includes an electrical current controller installed in the incoming supply line, which controls the electrical current flowing via the line-pair to a value representing the process variable. Behind the electrical current controller, a switching power supply is provided in the line-pair, via which the measuring transducer is fed. Also, in the case of this measuring device, the electrical current draw of the measuring sensor is controlled in such a manner for lessening the power loss that the voltage drop across the electrical current controller is as small as possible. In the case of switching power supplies with an input-side capacitance, abrupt changes of the electrical current value to be controlled could, due to the energy stored in the capacitor, lead to the fact that the output of the electrical current controller lies at a higher potential than its input. In order to prevent this, there is placed before the electrical current controller between the two lines of the line pair a further electrical current controller, which is used exclusively when required for preventing this problem.
The procedure described in the state of the art of holding the voltage drop across the input-side series regulator as small as possible offers the advantage that basically more energy is available for the measuring transducer.
It is, however, also, depending on application, connected with considerable disadvantages. One problem is that these measuring devices are more disturbance sensitive due to the small voltage drop across the series regulator. Thus, e.g. voltage fluctuations of the input voltage, such as can arise e.g. from external disturbances, from digital communication signals superimposed on a bus, or from fluctuations of the energy consumption of other bus participants connected to the same bus, can be cancelled less adequately by the series regulator, the lower the voltage drop across such is.
A further problem is that the input impedance of the measuring device is determined decisively by the voltage drop across the input-side series regulator.
A low input impedance leads, however, in the case of a connection of the measuring device to a bus, to an increased loading of the bus. If there are a number of measuring devices connected parallel to one another on a bus, then the maximum number of measuring devices connectable to the same bus is decisively limited by their input impedances. The lower the input impedances of the measuring devices, the smaller is the maximum number of connectable measuring devices parallel to one another on the same bus.
Moreover, low input impedances lead to an increased attenuation of communication signals superimposed on the electrical current flowing via the line-pair to be received by the measuring device.

Measuring device for measuring a precess variable in industrial measurements and control technology


The present invention is a system and method for initiating conference calls via an instant messaging system to reduce the effort required to initiate and manage the call. The system uses an IM connection between a requesting party and a conference call server to inform the conference call server of the desire to initiate the conference call. The conference call server may initiate the conference call by having involved parties called by a conference bridge, thus reducing the effort required by the parties to join the call.

Business meetings where the differing perspectives of the participants provide the value of the meeting have been conducted for a long time. As the costs associated with travel have increased, companies have turned from face to face meetings to meetings allowing participants to be separately located, including telephone conferences, video conferences, and more recently through on-line meetings.
As traffic congestion grows in every part of the country, and software tools improve, companies worldwide are recognizing that it is possible to have effective meetings on-line. There are various forms of real-time, or on-line, collaboration. The simplest form is instant messaging. The ability of messaging software to tell another user who is available at a given moment is called "presence". Presence awareness has been proven to eliminate up to 35% of voicemail, and as much as 30% of email, particularly long threaded discussions. Because of this, instant messaging has become the fastest growing form of communication in history. Gartner predicts over 200 million business users will be using some form of enterprise instant messaging by the end of 2005, an increase of over 100 million users from 2003.
Instant messaging has its roots in the consumer industry, but is virally working its way into corporations. Consumer messaging systems typically offer no security, no IT control over usage, and no reporting capabilities. Nor do consumer systems offer tracking history of conversations, a requirement of a number of federal statutes, from the SEC to Sarbanes-Oxley to the new medical HIPPA requirements. There are no clear leaders in the corporate instant messaging market, although the opportunity has been recently showcased by the entrance of Microsoft and IBM.
Oftentimes, messaging leads to the requirement for one or more meetings with the participants. Historically this required travel, which lengthened the business processes and significantly increased costs. With the advent of various forms of desktop application sharing, it is now possible for multiple users to "see" the same desktop at the same time. This "real-time" collaboration market is just emerging, and is estimated by Collaborative Strategies to be about a $6 billion market, with an average annual growth rate of 64% through 2005, and is expected to add 20 million users to its ranks in the next several years.
In a recent Deloitte Consulting survey of 300 of the Fortune 1000, collaboration was top priority with 75% of respondents. While less than 30% were using some form of collaborative tools today, 80% of respondents said they would implement some collaboration capability by 2005. According to a recent Yankee Group survey, companies will save $223 B over next 5 years by collaborating over the Internet.
Because of the size of this emerging opportunity, Microsoft recently acquired a company called Placeware, for $180 million, to provide software for on-line meetings. Placeware has been renamed and is now being offered by Microsoft, coupled with Windows 2003 server, as Microsoft Live Meeting. Microsoft internally calculates that they will save over $43 million this year alone in time and travel costs if just 1 in 5 meetings are conducted on-line. Microsoft will spend over $300 million this year promoting Live Meeting, and joins IBM with its Lotus Sametime product, WebEx, and another 3 dozen smaller competitors.
The commonality of all of the collaboration products is that once the users begin their on-line meeting, they use a number of tools. Many of them require some form of application sharing, and all of them require some form of accompanying communication, from instant messaging to conference calls. Although instant messaging is sometimes used for extended conversations, most of the time the discussions are brief. 'Conversations' between a number of participants that become more involved are dependent upon the typing skills of each participant, which leads to the need for everyone to join in a conference call.
Similarly, real-time collaboration products imply the need for a conference call. MS Live Meeting, IBM Lotus Sametime, WebEx, and a host of other software products all make an assumption that once you are sharing a document or spreadsheet, the users are on a conference call so they can discuss it. This brings real value to the meeting, yet the integration of the call into the collaboration process has not yet been addressed.
In the past, the problem with integrating telephony products into software has centered on integration with the PBX. In large part this is because the call initiator's computer needed to pass the various telephony commands to the PBX, and no two PBX's are alike. This requires system integrators, and up until now has reduced the scalability of the opportunity.
Furthermore, most PBX systems can only join a few users in a conference call. They cannot join many parties, leaving the originators the option of creating either a "meet me" or an operator assisted conference call. Because the users must typically dial a central number, such as a toll free number, and enter a passcode, it is difficult to make the calls spontaneous. Yet, the needs of both instant messaging and on-line meetings demand it.
A further concern arises regarding the security of a conference call using the call in model. Any caller knowing the call in number and passcode may enter into the conference call, without the knowledge of the other members of the call. Although it is possible for the call service to monitor the number of connections, the call service may be unable to ascertain the identity of callers, such as where the calling number is blocked. Furthermore, even if the identity of participants were disclosed to a call originator during a conference call, such information could be a distraction during the conference call.
Conference calls today fall into 2 categories:                1. "Meet Me" calls—These conference calls involve all users of the call dialing, via a publicly switched telephone network (hereafter "PSTN"), cellular telephone, or via a voice over internet protocol network, a central phone number or ANI to a conference bridge and entering a personal identification number (hereafter "PIN") or pass code to join the call. These calls may be may be set up by an originating user by going to a web site to set up the call, through calling an operator and setting the call up, or setting up a static DNIS to which all users may dial on occasion.        2. Host-initiated Calls—These calls involve the host originating calls to all of the participants. In order to accomplish this, the host must initiate the call one of two ways:        a) either the host enters an ANI on his telephone and through pressing a combination of buttons has that party joined to the call, and repeats this process for each conference call participant, or;        b) the host types in the phone numbers of all the expected participants, either to a web site after which the web site will initiate a conference bridge and dial all the participants, or manually provides them to an operator who initiates the calls to the participants.
These methods are inefficient, in that they require a conference call requester or party to the conference call to manually inform either the parties to the conference call, or the conference bridge itself, of parameters, passwords, and phone numbers for the call.
Instant messaging (hereafter "IM") systems employ a client-server model on Internet protocol (hereafter "IP") networks to deliver text chat and other information to distributed users in real-time. Instant Messaging client software may be loaded onto a user's workstation or may be used in a web browser, and may allow a user to log into a remote Instant Messaging server. Once a user has logged in, business rules may be used to determine which other users are available to communicate with the first user in the instant messaging system. Many IM systems allow users to create lists of other users that they commonly communicate with. When a user in such a list logs into the IM system, the server informs the list owner that a user in their list has logged on and is available to chat. In addition, Instant Messaging systems provide directory services that permit the users to search for another user. Once a user has the address of a second user, the first user can request a collaborative chat session with the second user. The second user can choose to either accept or reject the chat session. After the session has been accepted, the users may be able to communicate in a private or public chat session by typing text messages to one another. The message can be either transmitted through a central server, or directly between users (peer to peer) once the first user has determined the availability of the second user from the IM system. These chat sessions may take place over an unsecured IP network. Further extensions of IM allow multiple participants to be involved in a chat session.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for initiating a conference call


A method of separating a liquid from a liquid-laden solid material includes providing a trough having a deck defining a support surface with passages extending through the support surface. The liquid-laden solid material is deposited onto the support surface so that the liquid-laden solid material is supported by the support surface. A vibratory force is applied to the deck to separate a substantial portion of the liquid from the liquid-laden solid material. The liquid separated from the liquid-laden solid material is directed under gravity force through the passages extending through the support surface. The solid material is conveyed along the support surface by the vibratory force to a solids discharge point.

The need for separating liquid from a liquid-laden solid material may arise in a variety of applications. As crude oil is refined, for example, a residual material known as petroleum coke may be generated. Petroleum coke is a granular solid that is highly combustible. It is typically created in a coking drum having removable end caps, wherein a single piece of petroleum coke remains lodged inside the drum. To remove the petroleum coke from the drum, the end caps are removed and a hydraulic drill is inserted through a center of the piece of petroleum coke. The hydraulic drill first passes axially through the drum to create a two to three foot bore through the center of the petroleum coke. The drill is then pivoted so that its head is aligned radially with respect to the drum axis, and the drill is rotated to cut through and dislodge the petroleum coke material located nearer the drum. During the drilling and cutting processes, water is typically used to assist removal of the coke from the drum. Eventually, all of the petroleum coke and water will drop out of the bottom of the drum.
Further processing of the petroleum coke and water has typically included passing the material through a screen into a pit. The water and the petroleum coke is then pulled out of the pit and discharged into an evaporation field. Once the water content is sufficiently reduced, the petroleum coke is then loaded into rail cars which ultimately discharge the coke onto a conveyor. Consequently, the petroleum coke must be handled at separate transfer points, such as from the pit to the evaporation field and from the evaporation field to the conveyor. Furthermore, such handling often requires the use of rail cars which are overly expensive and time consuming to use. Still further, the use of evaporating pits requires a substantial amount of time for the water content of the petroleum coke to drop to a level sufficient for further handling, transport, and/or use.
Some petroleum coke dewatering processes are known which attempt to use screens to retain the solid material while allowing the liquid to pass through. Such systems may employ conventional or vibrating screens. A common problem with such screens, whether conventional or vibrating, is that solids suspended in the liquid tend to clog the screen, thereby interrupting the dewatering process.

Method of separating liquid from liquid laden solid material


An apparatus and method are disclosed for supporting a flat belt member. The apparatus includes a drum member rotatable about a longitudinal axis of rotation and comprising an outer support surface that generally increases in diameter from a first end region to a central region and decreases in diameter from the central region to a further end region. The central region includes a groove in the support surface which extends circumferentially around the drum member. A ring member is located in the groove.

Media depositories are used to receive media items from a customer. One common type of media depository is a sheet media depository for receiving items of media in sheet form. For example, such items of media can be currency notes, cheques, tickets, giros, receipts or the like.
Sheet media depositories are used in automated teller machines (ATMs) and other self-service terminals. Other such self-service terminals are vending machines, change machines, teller units, cash recyclers or the like. The sheet media depositories are used to identify, validate and store or return deposited sheets.
Some sheet depositories are capable of receiving a bunch of sheets in a loading area and then picking individual sheets from the bunch so that each sheet can then be identified and validated individually prior to storage of the validated sheet within a depository or returned to a customer. These depositories are sometimes referred to as bunch sheet depositories. Bunch sheet depositories may transport the bunch from a loading area to a picking area or the picking area may be adjacent to the loading area.
Bunches of items of media such as currency notes and/or cheques are thus deposited by a user and, subsequent to a user agreement step and item verification step, these items are stored semi-permanently within a self-service terminal until security staff or bank staff come to empty the storage unit. The storage unit is sometimes referred to as a stacking bin. Alternatively, when an input item is identified as being an illicit or damaged item, the item is stored in a storage unit referred to as a reject bin.
In prior known ATMs, teller assist units and other self-service terminals or the like which may or may not include a depository, items such as cheques or currency notes are thus driven through a sheet transport system using pairs of rollers and/or belts that pinch the items and rotate to drive items along a pre-determined pathway. Often, at a final pair of rollers, the items are pushed into a stack of items being stored or dispensed. Because of the flexible nature of the items, it is difficult to ensure that transported items of media reach a desired destination.
Another problem which is well observed in prior art systems is observed when a crown roller and flat belt system are utilised to drive items of media along a transport path. Such systems have traditionally experienced a long history of issues relating to the belt moving a reduced distance relative to that applied by a crown roller. This is due to slippage between the crown roller material and a flat belt. It is also known that such systems are susceptible to belts being pushed offset to a crown profile by operator action which can result in the belt falling off the crown surface. Roller and flat belt systems are also prone to the belt accidentally becoming offset without any operator intervention.


A solid-state drive (SSD) carrier comprises a front structure, a first side structure extending perpendicularly from a first end of the front structure, and a second side structure extending perpendicularly from a second end of the front structure. The front structure and the first and second side structures defining an internal volume sufficient to contain an SSD conforming to any one of a plurality of different SSD form factors. At least one light pipe extends through in the front structure, and is configured to direct light from an indicator LED on a front face of the SSD to a location on a front face of the front structure.

Computing system datacenters may include compute systems including solid-state drives ("SSDs") for data storage. Certain enterprise and data center standard form factors ("EDSFFs") for SSDs may be preferred. Various EDSFFs may have differing physical dimensions, card edge placement, mounting hole locations, and light emitting diode ("LED") indicator placements.
It is emphasized that in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion or illustration.

Adaptable carrier for enterprise datacenter solid-state drives

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


The present invention is related to a method for enhancing the immunogenicity of an antigen in a mammal by introducing into the mammal an antigen or a portion thereof and administering to the mammal a treatment that increases antigen presentation in a lymphoid organ.

In principle, the adaptive immune response can provide protective immunity to almost any non-self substance. In spite of this enormous potential, only a few dozen effective vaccines currently exist in the face of countless infectious agents, tumors, and disease processes that might be controlled by the induction of immunity to the pathogenic entity. Two factors are involved in determining a vaccine's efficacy: 1) the use of antigenic epitopes able to confer protective immunity, and 2) immunogenicity, or the capacity of the vaccine to induce an immune response to the antigens contained therein. In the last decade, it has become increasingly clear that the immunogenicity of an antigen depends largely on its presentation by dendritic cells.
Dendritic cells are not only the most potent antigen-presenting cells identified to date, but apparently the only ones that can activate naive (previously unstimulated) T cells in a primary immune response (Banchereau and Steinman 1998 Nature 392:245–252). Activation of naive T cells is necessary if a vaccine is to produce full T cell immunity and optimal antibody responses. Dendritic cells have this capacity due to their expression of high levels of the ligands required to activate naive T cells—namely, MHC:peptide complexes, co-stimulatory molecules and intercellular adhesion molecules (Sprent 1999 J Immunol. 163:4629–4636).
The problem for vaccine development is that dendritic cells are rare. They comprise approximately 1/400 cells in secondary lymphoid organs, 1/500 white blood cells and <1/1000 cells in most non-lymphoid organs. Their scarcity is compounded by the low frequency of naive T cells able to respond to any single antigenic epitope, or MHC:peptide complex, estimated to be 1/105 to 1/104 (Mason 1998 Immunol. Today 19:395–404). Hence, induction of an immune response depends upon antigen reaching one rare cell that must then interact with another rare cell, which would seem to militate against the development of immunity.
Naive T cells continuously recirculate through lymph nodes via the bloodstream (Gretz et al. 1996 J. Immunol. 157:495–499), whereas immature dendritic cells are relatively stable residents of non-lymphoid organs (Cowing and Gilmore 1992 J. Immunol. 148:1072–1079). Immature dendritic cells express low levels of surface MHC and co-stimulatory molecules and, as such, are only weak stimulators of T cell activation. However, these cells are actively pinocytic and phagocytic, enabling them to sample their environment for the presence of potential pathogens. When exposed to appropriate stimuli, immature dendritic cells are mobilized. Local tissue-specific adhesion molecules are down-regulated, permitting the cells to disengage from the tissue and migrate via afferent lymphatics to draining lymph nodes (Banchereau and Steinman 1998 Nature 392:245–252).
During their migration to lymph nodes, immature dendritic cells undergo "maturation" to become potent inducers of T cell activation. Maturation is characterized by 1) down-regulation of pinocytosis and phagocytosis, and 2) increased surface expression of MHC molecules that are loaded with peptides newly derived from proteins recently taken up from the environment. The expression of co-stimulatory molecules and intercellular adhesion molecules is up-regulated during maturation, while the pattern of chemokine receptor expression is altered, enabling the migrating dendritic cells to follow the correct route to the paracortical, T cell-rich areas of the draining lymph node (Banchereau and Steinman 1998 Nature 392:245–252). Once induced to migrate from their tissue of residence to the regional lymph node, mature antigen-bearing dendritic cells will be positioned to be encountered by antigen-specific naive T cells present in the recirculating pool of lymphocytes.
Langerhans cells are perhaps the best studied of the immature dendritic cells and serve as a prototype of immature dendritic cells in non-lymphoid organs. They reside in the epidermal layer of the skin and mucous membranes, where they are present in higher frequency (i.e., 1 to 2%) than the immature dendritic cells found in other non-lymphoid organs. Langerhans cells are bound to neighboring keratinocytes via the homophilic adhesion molecule E-cadherin (Udey 1997 Clin. Exp. Immunol. 107(Suppl. 1):6–8). This bond must be attenuated before the Langerhans cell can become mobile. Signals known to mobilize immature dendritic cells (e.g., IL-1, TNF-α, and LPS) have also been shown to decrease the expression of E-cadherin on Langerhans cell-like dendritic cells, inducing the loss of E-cadherin-mediated adhesion (Jakob and Udey 1998 J. Immunol. 160:4067–4073). Once released from surrounding keratinocytes, Langerhans cells pass through the basement membrane of the epidermis into the dermis, enter afferent dermal lymphatics and migrate to skin-draining lymph nodes. As detailed above, during this migration, Langerhans cells mature to acquire very high levels of surface MHC, co-stimulatory and adhesion molecules, and begin to express chemokines that attract naive T cells (Banchereau and Steinman 1998 Nature 392:245–252). Once in the draining lymph node, Langerhans cells remain there for a few days and then disappear (Ruedl et al. 2000 J. Immunol. 165:4910–4916).
Whether mature antigen-bearing dendritic cells will be encountered by and activate naive T cells in the lymph node is likely to depend on three factors: 1) the number of antigen-bearing dendritic cells that enter the node, 2) the density of MHC:peptide complexes expressed on their membranes, and 3) the frequency of antigen-specific T cells in the recirculating pool. Activation of naive T cells is a stochastic process, and the magnitude of the response increases with increasing density of MHC:peptide complexes on the antigen-presenting cell (Reay et al. 2000 J. Immunol. 164:5626–5634; Wherry et al. 1999 J. Immunol. 163:3735–3745). Similarly, the initial encounter between a dendritic cell and a naive antigen-specific T cell is most likely stochastic and should increase with increasing frequency of either cell type. For example, an administration of antigen that resulted in no detectable interaction between antigen-bearing dendritic cells and antigen-specific T cells in normal mice, was found to be immunogenic in mice that had an artificially high frequency of antigen-specific T cells (approximately 1/103) due to the transfer of T cells containing an antigen-specific T cell receptor transgene (Manickasingham and Reis e Sousa 2000 J. Immunol. 165:5027–5034). Based on the preceding considerations, a critical component of vaccine immunogenicity is the capture of vaccine antigens by rare, immature dendritic cells and the induction of their maturation and migration to draining lymph nodes, in numbers sufficient to be encountered by rare, antigen-specific T cells.
The induction of dendritic cell migration is a complex process that is incompletely understood at present, but certain signals have the capacity to mobilize or induce the migration of immature dendritic cells from their tissue of residence. They include the pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α and IL-1, and bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (Kimber et al. 2000 Brit. J. Derm. 142:401–412). These signals, along with GM-CSF and other cytokines, initiate the maturation process as well. Physical trauma to a tissue, such as surgical excision, also may induce the migration and maturation of resident immature dendritic cells (Steinman et al. 1995 J. Invest. Dermatol. 105:2S–7S).
The paucity and functional immaturity of dendritic cells in non-lymphoid organs may explain why injection of an aqueous solution of most protein or peptide antigens results in little or no immunity and can even result in immunologic tolerance (Davila and Celis 2000 J. Immunol. 165:539–547; Garza et al. 2000 J. Exp. Med. 191:2021–2027; Liblau et al. 1997 Immunol. Today 18:599; Weiner 1997 Immunol. Today 18:335). Only a few dendritic cells are likely to be exposed to the antigen; and, in the absence of a stimulus for dendritic cell migration and maturation, those cells may never reach regional lymph nodes for recognition by recirculating T cells. Conversely, if the antigen is presented by cells that lack co-stimulatory and adhesion molecules, antigen-specific T cell tolerance can ensue. Genetic vaccines, comprising DNA or RNA encoding the antigen(s), also require processing of the protein product by host dendritic cells (Iwasaki et al. 1997. J. Immunol. 159:11) and thus are subject to the same constraints.
In summary, there is a need for an effective method to a) promote the capture of vaccine antigens by rare, immature dendritic cells, and b) induce the maturation of antigen-loaded dendritic cells and their migration to draining lymph nodes, in numbers sufficient to be encountered by rare, antigen-specific T cells. Such a method would function as an adjuvant to generate an adaptive immune response to an otherwise weak or non-immunogenic administration of antigen.

Method to enhance the immunogenicity of an antigen

Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies


A polling procedure providing the capabilities to assign and dynamically modify a user's communication parameters (i.e., response allocation and polling rate) based on the user's bandwidth requirements. In addition, the polling procedure instructs the users to delay their responses as a function of round-trip propagation delay and remaining response allocation for previously polled users to ensure that poll responses from separate users do not overlap.

A. Generally
In communication networks such as cable television systems, it is often desirable to access information from individual subscriber terminals coupled to the network. For example, in a typical two-way cable television system, each subscriber is provided with an addressable converter that enables the selective reception of authorized television programs. Recent advances in the CATV industry have enabled the provision of pay-per-view services, wherein the cable television customer has an opportunity to select specific programs such as first-run movies. The information provided by the user station in this type of setup is limited.
However, other features available on CATV systems including shop-at-home, bank-at-home, viewer opinion polling, home multimedia PC applications and video conferencing require that the user station be more active in communicating with a communication control center. To be useful, a communications protocol selected for use with a CATV system wherein the user station's communication needs are variable desirably provides for efficient use of the available resources (e.g., data transmission bandwidth). Moreover, the system should desirably be upgradable if more bandwidth is available and/or the maximum bandwidth required by the user increases (e.g., HDTV).
Different applications require different bandwidth and delay requirements. Voice requires approximately 56-64 kilobits-per-second (kbps) for telephone quality but higher quality may require as much as 256 kbps. A video signal compressed using the MPEG-1 standard requires about 1.5 Megabits-per-second (Mbps) and other compression schemes that provide a higher quality video signal may require as much as 5-9 Mbps. HDTV quality requires approximately 20 Mbps.
Bandwidth requirements for data vary over a wide range. An application providing stock quotes may have a low bandwidth requirement (kbps) while the transfer of files over the network may require a much higher bandwidth.
In addition, while voice and video have stringent real-time delivery requirements, data usually does not. For example, a bandwidth of 1.5 Mbps can be provided by allowing the user station to send a packet of size 1.5 kilobits every millisecond or a packet of size 1.5 Megabits every second. While the latter may be acceptable in the case of a file transfer application, it would not be acceptable for a video conference where smaller packets have to be sent more frequently.
In an interactive environment, a user's bandwidth requirement may vary during a connection. For example, a user could be in the middle of a voice call and may want to add video to the call. This could cause his bandwidth requirement to go up, for example, from 250 kbps to 5 Mbps which, in turn, may cause the user station to change from sending 5 kilobit packets every 20 ms to sending 20 kilobit packets every 4 ms.
As mentioned, a solution to efficiently sharing available bandwidth needs to take into consideration the potential of users with varying bandwidth requirements. Current methods such as systems employing frequency division multiple access (FDMA) or time division multiple access (TDMA) can only allocate in multiples of a predetermined minimum frequency band or time slot, respectively. Moreover, TDMA requires all the users to have time synchronization, which adds complexity to the system. This is inefficient in the case of applications with variable bandwidth requirements.
B. Background Regarding CATV Topology
FIG. 1 shows a typical CATV system comprising at least one headend 102 connected to a plurality of hubs 104a-d interconnected in a star-like topology. The connections between hubs 104a-d are provided for redundancy purposes. The above connections have been made either by coaxial cables (coax), microwave links or optical fibers, although optical fibers are expected to be the medium of the future.
Emanating from each hub 104a are trunks 106 (typically 40-50) which serve a group of homes. Although current trunks are typically coaxial cables, they too are being replaced by optical fibers. Optical fiber trunks terminate at an optical node 108 which receives the optical signal, converts it to a coax compatible signal and transmits it to the homes.
Replacing much of the interconnections with optical fibers will likely increase the bandwidth available on the coax from approximately 300-400 MHz to 1 GHz. This will enable the provision of a few hundred digital PPV channels and interactive services like video-conferencing and home shopping in addition to the usual cable channels.

Method and system for an efficient multiple access polling protocol for interactive communication

International Business Machines Corporation


An electron beam apparatus is configured for dark field imaging of a substrate surface. Dark field is defined as an operational mode where the image contrast is sensitive to topographical features on the surface. A source generates a primary electron beam, and scan deflectors are configured to deflect the primary electron beam so as to scan the primary electron beam over the substrate surface whereby secondary and/or backscattered electrons are emitted from the substrate surface, said emitted electrons forming a scattered electron beam. A beam separator is configured to separate the scattered electron beam from the primary electron beam. The apparatus includes a cooperative arrangement which includes at least a ring-like element, a first grid, and a second grid. The ring-like element and the first and second grids each comprises conductive material. A segmented detector assembly is positioned to receive the scattered electron beam after the scattered electron beam passes through the cooperative arrangement. Other embodiments, aspects and features are also disclosed. The apparatus is configured to yield good topographical contrast, high signal to noise ratio, and to accommodate a variety of scattered beam properties that result from different primary beam and scan geometry settings.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for electron beam imaging.
2. Description of the Background Art
The two most common types of electron microscopes available commercially are the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the transmission electron microscope (TEM). In an SEM, the specimen is scanned with a focused beam of electrons which produce secondary and/or backscattered electrons as the beam hits the specimen. These are detected and typically converted into an image of the surface of the specimen. Specimens in a TEM are examined by passing the electron beam through them, revealing more information of the internal structure of specimens.
Bright field imaging and dark field imaging are often used in the context of TEMs. A bright field image may be formed in a TEM by selecting electrons from a central diffraction spot to form the image. A dark field image may be formed in a TEM by selecting some or all of the (non-central) diffracted electrons to form the image. The selection of electrons may be implemented using an aperture into the back focal plane of the objective lens, thus blocking out most of the diffraction pattern except that which is visible through the aperture.
Dark field imaging is typically less commonly used in SEMs. In SEMs the terminology is used to describe imaging modes yielding contrast sensitive to the surface topography. "Dark field imaging" and "topographical imaging" expressions can therefore be used interchangeably. In general, dark field images are those obtained using electrons emitted from the sample surface at high polar angles and a given range of azimuthal angles. The definitions of the polar angle θ and azimuth angle φ in relation to the scattered electrons emitted from the specimen are shown by illustration in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, the specimen plane is the x, y plane. The z-axis is normal to the specimen plane. This type of image preferentially shows the sample surface topography by highlighting protrusions and depressions in the surface via shadowing or highlighting. This is analogous to the contrast generated by imaging a surface from an angle as it is illuminated normally by light.
A conventional SEM dark field detection system has a below-the-lens configuration 200 as depicted in FIG. 2. In a below-the-lens configuration 200, so-called "external" or "side" detectors 204 are positioned below the objective lens 202 at the bottom of the electron beam column (near the specimen). Under certain conditions, secondary electrons (SE) emitted at higher polar angles (i.e. closer to the surface), which are generally more sensitive to surface topography, will preferentially reach such below-the-lens detectors 204. Images formed with such detectors show the topography of the surface with an azimuthal perspective defined by the detector positioning with respect to the primary beam optic axis and the sample/wafer plane.
Unfortunately, the below-the-lens configuration is incompatible with final (objective) lens arrangements that immerse the specimen in magnetic and/or electric fields. These fields are needed for minimizing lens aberrations and obtaining the best resolution images, but they interfere with the collection efficiency of below-the-lens detectors 204.
In addition, the polar angle discrimination threshold is not well controlled for such below-the-lens detectors 204 because the electron energy and emission azimuth can affect the polar angle acceptance of the detector 204.
Dark field imaging may also be performed by tilting the sample/wafer plane normal vector away from the primary beam optic axis. Such tilting may be accomplished by tilting the wafer or column and has the effect of changing the angle of incidence of the primary beam. The secondary electron signal detected, either by a side channel detector or a conventional in-lens detector, shows topological DF contrast according to how the primary beam angle interacts with the surface features on the sample/wafer.
Various previous behind-the-lens configurations for an SEM dark field detection system have been employed that are compatible with final lenses with immersion electromagnetic fields at the specimen. These previous configurations distinguish between the different angular components of the secondary-electron emission after it has been captured by the electro-magnetic field and traveled up into the column beyond the final lens.
A typical behind-the-lens configuration 300 for an SEM dark field detection system is depicted in FIG. 3. A typical behind-the-lens configuration 300 uses off-axis detectors 304 similar to those shown in FIG. 3. These may be separated (as shown) or joined together to form a segmented detector. These detectors 304 are located "behind" the objective lens 302. In other words, the detectors 304 are located on the opposite side of the objective lens 302 to the specimen. Various detector geometries and associated electron optics have been used previously to detect scattered electrons with polar angle discrimination. However, behind-the-lens configurations have generally shown inferior dark-field (topographical) contrast compared to below-the-lens implementations.

Apparatus and method for obtaining topographical dark-field images in a scanning electron microscope


A structural steel having excellent brittle crack propagation resistance, according to one aspect of the present invention, comprises, by wt %, 0.02-0.12% of C, 0.01-0.8% of Si, 1.7-2.5% of Mn, 0.005-0.5% of Al, and the balance of Fe and inevitable impurities, wherein an outer surface part and an inner center part thereof are microstructurally distinguished in the thickness direction, and the surface part comprises tempered bainite as a base structure, comprises fresh martensite as a second structure and can comprise austenite as a residual structure.

Various structural materials used in shipbuilding, architecture, offshore construction, line pipes, and the like extend in usage environment to deep sea and polar regions, thus requiring high strength, thickening, and high toughness characteristics. However, in general, as a thickness of a steel sheet increases, performance of stopping propagation of brittle cracks decreases, and thus, a technique for improving the performance of stopping propagation of brittle cracks of high-strength thick steel sheets used in extreme environments is required.
Referring to a process of propagating brittle cracks in steel, it may be seen that brittle cracks occur at a systematically vulnerable center part and propagate. In the case of forming a fine structure on a steel sheet, it may be possible to slow down an occurrence and propagation of brittle cracks, but in the case of a thick plate, a sufficient effect cannot be expected in compacting the structure through cooling and rolling or the like due to a thickness of the thick steel sheet.
Patent document 1 proposes a technique for suppressing propagation of brittle cracks by grain-refining a surface part of a steel, but the surface part is mainly composed of equiaxed ferrite grains and elongated ferrite grains, and thus, the technique cannot be applied to a high-strength steel having a tensile strength of 570 MPa or higher. In addition, in Patent document 1, in order to grain-refine the surface part, a rolling process must be essentially performed in the middle of recuperating heat in the surface part, which makes it difficult to control the rolling process.
(Patent document 1) Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-020835 (published on Jan. 23, 2002)

Structural steel having excellent brittle crack propagation resistance, and manufacturing method therefor


Module management software receives a request from the browser for a presentation composed of at least one module. The module management software transmits a request for module data associated with the module to a first server that caches the module data after retrieving the module data from a website. The module management software then receives the requested module data from the first server and transmits a request for each of the resource files described in the module data to a second server that caches each of the resource files after retrieving the resource file from an external (or internal) website. Each request for a resource file can be handled by a corresponding thread. The module management software delays transmission of the module data to the browser, if any requested resource file is not received within a time limit derived at least in part from a service level agreement.

As discussed in co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/116,195 entitled "Algorithmically Generated Topic Pages" and co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/116,198 entitled "Micro-Bucket Testing for Page Optimization", now U.S. Pat. No. 8,126,930, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference, presentations in browsers can be composed of modules with rich media such as images, video, and audio. An example of such a module is a Wikipedia article on a particular topic, which might be presented in a web page related to that topic by a provider or website such as Yahoo! or Google in a browser. Another example is a rich multimedia advertisement.
Presenting such media to a browser entails significant latencies, even over a broadband connection. Moreover providers, such as Yahoo! and Google, have service level agreements (SLAs) that include requirements involving such latencies. For example, a service level agreement might require that a specific web page be displayed "within 800 milliseconds, 99.85% of the time."
Web caches significantly help in reducing these latencies. However, cache misses are inevitable in a world where web pages are added and changed almost continuously. If cache misses are frequent enough, SLA requirements might not be met and revenue might be lost.


A system for backing up and restoring information includes at least one storage device, a primary server for granting and denying a global lock to devices requesting access to the at least one storage device and at least one secondary server including internal tables for storing information relating to storage in the at least one storage device, the at least one secondary server requesting a global lock from the primary server, wherein after the global lock is granted by the primary server, the at least one secondary server checks its own internal tables to determine whether access to the at least one storage device can be granted.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to backup systems and in particular, to systems and methods for providing information backup.
2. Description of the Related Art
Backup storage devices are used for backing up information on servers and other network machines or devices. Backup storage devices are often used to backup various types of information including, for example, files, databases, system information and files, etc.
When one backup storage device is shared among a plurality of host devices, problems may arise when accessing the storage device to read or write to it. An example of a local area network (LAN) including backup storage is shown in FIG. 1A. The LAN includes one or more workstations 5a-5n, one or more servers 6a-6n and at least one backup storage device 7 interconnected via a network 9. Each of the workstations 5a-5n and servers 6a-6n my utilize different operating systems. Backup storage device 7 may be, for example, a tape device such as a tape library. If host devices such as the workstations 5a-5n or servers 6a-6n are sharing the same storage device 7, each operating system may attempt to store data in the same location on the storage device 7. In this case, data required by one host device might be overwritten by data from a subsequent write by another host device. In addition, some operating systems may store special information at specific addresses of the storage device 7. Some other operating systems may require that any attached storage devices have identifying information stored in one or more portions of that same area of storage. This results in conflicts and difficulties in providing such shared storage. A controller may be used to control access to the storage device 7. However, should the controller crash, the storage system data may be permanently lost.
Multiple storage devices may be provided for backing up data on host devices. However, managing multiple storage devices in an efficient and effective manner allowing backup and recovery for multiple hosts can be time and resource consuming and can utilize much of the bandwidth of the LAN or wide area network (WAN).
A storage area network (SAN) may be used to free up bandwidth on the LAN or WAN. A SAN is a high speed storage network of shared storage devices. A SAN makes all storage devices available to all hosts on the LAN or WAN, saving valuable bandwidth on the LAN or WAN.
FIG. 1b depicts a SAN environment. The SAN includes a plurality of distributed servers 2a-2n, connected to one or more storage devices such as backup libraries 4a-4n, via a high-speed network 3. The backup devices 4a-4n may include, for example, tape libraries each including a plurality of storage media, a picker and one or more read/write devices for reading and writing to the storage media. The distributed servers 2a-2n and the backup devices 4a-4n may be interconnected via a high speed/high volume network 3 that may include various high-speed switches and/or bridges. With this type of environment, there are several ways that the servers 2a-2n and backup devices 4a-4n can be shared. For example, one of the servers 2a-2n may act as a chief arbitrator granting access of backup devices 4a-4n to all other servers. This is often referred to as a master/slave system. In a master/slave system, the intelligence lies with the master and the master has sole discretion and decision making authority regarding when and if to allow servers to access a backup device. The master creates and maintains information regarding the state of each of the devices on the network.
One problem with the master/slave system is that if the master crashes, it may take a lot of time and effort to configure another server as the master. All other servers will wait until another master server has been designated and configured by the system administrator. The new master will then re-inventory the network, and build up information regarding the state of each device on the network. This can be a time consuming and costly procedure.
Another approach is to partition access of a backup device among the servers, so that each server is capable of accessing only the drives and slots in the library within its partition. However, this system may not make the most efficient use of the backup devices.
In many backup operations, the backup application reads the data from the primary storage device to the server memory, does necessary formatting, and sends it to the appropriate backup storage devices. These processes involve heavy utilization of CPU, IO channels and the system memory. It is quite possible that when backup operations are in progress, the servers may not be able to perform any other application processing. This is one of the reasons why system administrators prefer to perform backup at a time when the application load on the server is at a minimum. It would be beneficial if the backup operations could be performed without requiring heavy utilization of the server system, thereby freeing up the server even during information backup.

Systems and methods of information backup


An area on board of a vehicle, in particular of an airplane. The area has a compartment and an opening providing access to the compartment. The area includes a curtain arranged to be drawn in a closed position in which the curtain covers the opening. The curtain includes at least one magnetic curtain element provided along a lower edge of the curtain, and the area includes at least one magnetic opening element positioned along a lower edge of the opening, which at least one magnetic opening element and at least one magnetic curtain element are arranged to attract each other when the curtain is in the closed position.

Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates to an area on board of a vehicle, in particular of an airplane, the area providing a compartment, wherein the area comprises an opening providing access to the compartment. More specifically, the disclosure relates to a crew rest area on board of a vehicle, in particular of an airplane, the crew rest area providing a resting place with a bed for a crew member of the airplane, wherein the crew rest area comprises an opening providing access to the crew rest area. The disclosure further relates to an airplane comprising such an area.
Brief Discussion of Related Art
Crew rests areas comprising resting places, are relatively small areas inside an aircraft providing places to rest or sleep for crew members during flight. A crew rest area may comprise one or more resting places. The resting place may also be referred to as a bunk.

Crew rest area on board of a vehicle, in particular an airplane

Zodiac Aircatering Equipment Europe B.V.


A dynamically changing, multi-color liquid crystal display for electronic watches or other design apparel items is provided. The liquid crystal displays incorporated within the watch or designer apparel item can be adapted to provide various colored images such as geometric images, animation images, customized images, designer labels, logos, etc. on colored backgrounds or alternatively provides a color changing capability that is aesthetically pleasing and fashionable. Moreover, the dynamically changing watch or other designer apparel item allows for the electronic control of the color appearance of the liquid crystal displays as well as electronic control of the liquid crystal display images, such images being generally independent of the time of day.

The present invention relates generally to an electronic timekeeping apparatus and/or designer apparel items which exhibit color changes independent of the time of day. More particularly, the invention relates to an electronic timekeeping apparatus or other apparel or novelty item having electronic control means that create dynamic color changes of a liquid crystal display.
A wide variety of electronic timepieces utilizing liquid crystal display elements for time indication have been developed with great commercial success. Most of these electronic timepieces indicate the time in the form of numerals or in what is often referred to as a digital time display. More recently, the related art have fashioned liquid crystal displays for electronic watches that represent time in an analog or conventional type form.
Much of this related art in the field of electronic timekeeping devices with liquid crystal displays offers a variety of designs and configurations of the liquid crystal display elements that dynamically change to indicate the time-of-day. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,887 issued to Fukumoto (Jul. 20, 1976) shows an electronic timepiece composed of many liquid crystal display elements arranged in hour and minute indicating sections which are selectively activated in various display patterns so that the time is indicated in an analog form.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,159 issued to Nobel et al. (Jul. 15, 1980) which discloses an electronic timepiece with a liquid crystal display simulating a conventional mechanical analog timepiece. The liquid crystal material in Nobel et al. disclosure is activated in selected areas to change the appearance of the display to simulate movement of hands in an analog timepiece.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,294 issued to Freeman (Jul. 22, 1980) is one of many United States patents which disclose an electronic timepiece composed of many liquid crystal display elements that when activated simulate the positions of the hour and minute hands in an analog timepiece. Freeman utilizes 24 or 60 individual minute display elements shaped to combine with 12 or 24 hour display elements which are selectively activated to represent the indicated time in analog form.
Other related art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,385,842 issued to Wiesner (May 31, 1983) which discloses an electronic watch which has a liquid crystal display that presents an analog indication of time in a conventional presentation of hour, minute and second hands that circulate around the watch face. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,046 issued to Nishimura (Mar. 6, 1984) that utilizes an analog display comprising conventional mechanical hour and minute hands together with a liquid crystal display wherein the activated segments of the liquid crystal display are isolated or separated from the analog display area.
Still other designs have introduced color changing schemes for providing indication of time as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,217 (Mar. 3, 1987); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,141 (Nov. 17, 1987) both issued to Havel, which show variable color digital and analog timepieces, respectively. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,013 issued to Bik (Jul. 13, 1993) which utilizes multiple liquid crystal display elements that change color to indicate time in a non-conventional form.
Many existing liquid crystal displays used in timepieces utilize conventional twisted-nematic (TN) displays that generally have a black on grey appearance. In addition, polarizing films, both external and reflective are typically incorporated within such devices which tends to diminish the brightness of the display and limit the viewing angles at which the display is clearly visible. Color appearance of the liquid crystal display is introduced through the use of colored filters, colored background lighting, and the like. However, when the appearance of color is incorporated with such timekeeping devices, the colors are often preselected and static.
The above-described and related references typically employ liquid crystal displays that include static background display elements coupled with active or dynamic time indicating display elements. As such, the aesthetic presentation of the liquid crystal display is limited by the functional aspect of the device.
More recent advancements in liquid crystal displays have disclosed the use of guest dyes within the liquid crystal material to provide color modulation. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,301 issued to Donald Brewer (Feb. 22, 1994) which suggests the broad concept of using color modulation liquid crystal displays in a wristwatch in some manner. Such modulation produces a continuous gradual change from one color to another color at a fixed frequency, which fixed frequency is relatable to the time of day, i.e., relatable to the passage of time. The '301 Brewer patent suggests, for example, that the color of a watch face change at a manually-settable fixed rate of between 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz. A rate change at 0.1 Hz, for example, would produce one color change every 10 seconds, while a rate change at 1 Hz would produce one color change every second.

Dynamically changing liquid crystal display timekeeping apparatus


A reformer exercise apparatus comprises a rectangular frame, a movable carriage mounted on the frame for supporting a user an elongated elastic member extending between the frame and the movable carriage for biasing the carriage toward the one end of the frame, and a U shaped trapeze bar assembly removably fastened to the reformer frame via outwardly open T shaped slots in each reformer frame rail. The trapeze assembly includes a support bracket assembly slidably disposed in the slot to fasten a trapeze leg to the reformer frame. the support bracket assembly permits the trapeze assembly to be folded parallel to the reformer frame for storage and transport, and rigidly fastened to the reformer frame in an upright position during use.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of exercise equipment in which a movable carriage is utilized to at least partially support a user's body, commonly referred to as a "reformer", and more particularly to a reformer that incorporates a trapeze frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
Joseph H. Pilates, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,621,477, originally developed the concept of using a wheeled platform carriage connected to a resistance device such as a set of weights in conjunction with a stationary frame to provide a variable resistance against which a user could push with his/her feet or pull with the arms while in a sitting or recumbent position in order to exercise the major muscle groups of the user's trunk, legs and/or arms. Since that time Joseph Pilates developed many changes and improvements in the design of such an apparatus, and more recently, have been evolved by his students and others. U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,005 and my patents referred to above are representative of the current state of evolutionary development of these changes that have taken place since 1927.
The current reformer type exercise apparatus includes a wheeled platform carriage, which rides on a generally rectangular wooden or metal frame. The above referenced patent discloses examples of wood framed reformers. An example of a metal frame reformer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,033 to Merrithew. The carriage, which rides on the frame, is connected to a series of parallel springs or elastic members, which are in turn connected to a foot end of the rectangular frame. The carriage rides on parallel rails or tracks typically mounted to the inside of or incorporated into the longer sides of the rectangular frame. This carriage has a flat, padded upper surface and typically includes a pair of spaced, padded, upright shoulder stops and a headrest at one end to support the shoulders and head of the user when he/she is reclined on the carriage. An adjustable foot bar, foot support, or footrest against which the user places his/her feet is mounted to the foot end of the rectangular frame. The user can then push against the footrest to move the carriage along the track away from the footrest against spring tension to exercise the leg and foot muscle groups in accordance with prescribed movement routines. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,338,276, 5,607,381 and 5,681,249 disclose reformers and several footrest arrangements and adjustable headrest assemblies for this type of exercise apparatus.
There are a number of exercises that are best performed on what is conventionally known as a "trap table". A trap table is of similar size as a reformer, having a rectangular frame and a cushioned rectangular upper surface, raised about three feet off a supporting floor for a user to either sit or lie on. A vertical support bar is fastened to each corner of the frame. Each bar extends about four feet above the frame and a horizontal rectangular tubular frame joins the upper ends of each of the support bars to form a rigid structure. Attachments to these bars, such as springs, padded handles and a trapeze swing bar permit a variety of exercises to be performed by a user that could not otherwise be performed on a reformer. The trap table is large, providing a platform about three feet above a supporting floor, with the tubular frame extending four to five feet above the user surface. One of the drawbacks, however, of the trap table is its size. Thus there is a need for a reformer type of exercise apparatus that can be efficiently stored which also has the capabilities for the user to perform exercises that could heretofore only have been practiced on a trap table.

Reformer exercise apparatus having a trapeze bar


[Object] The object is to present a technical solution for a bank to disclose information on a deposit account directly to a third party.

Information on bank deposit accounts is widely understood as one that should be kept confidential. As the number of such crimes as bank transfer scams increases in recent years, the personal identification is required by the law in opening a new bank account, and information on bank accounts is held securely with personal information such as name and address.
Even when someone inquires to a bank whether a bank account exists or not as informing the name of a specific person or corporation, the bank never teaches the account number, and the bank never discloses such account information as the balance to the third party either. A bank account balance certification service is known. In this service, however, a balance certificate is delivered only to the owner of an account. There has been no concept that a bank discloses it directly to a third party.

System and method for virtual currency remittance

Abstract: [Solution Means] The owner of a virtual currency address or real-currency deposit account provides a disclosure key to a disclosee (third party). The third party accesses a disclosure server 6 by operating a disclosee terminal 7, and transmits a disclosure request with the disclosure key. The disclosure server 6 accesses to an opener bank server 1, 8, acquires the virtual currency address owner information or the instant real-currency deposit account balance information, transmits it to the disclosee terminal 7, and make it browsable on the disclosee terminal 7.


A battery pack for providing electrical power to a commercial tractor/trailer vehicle has two 12-volt high-CCA batteries connected in parallel and two 6-volt deep-cycle batteries connected in series to power 12-volt electrical accessories such as devices for creature comforts. The two 12-volt high-CCA batteries provide sufficient cold cranking current for starting the engine of the vehicle. The two 6-volt deep-cycle batteries connected in series are used to power electrical accessories such as devices for creature comforts when the engine is not operating. A switch connects the serially connected 6-volt deep-cycle batteries in parallel with the 12-volt batteries for charging when the engine is running and isolates the 6-volt deep-cycle batteries from the 12-volt high-CCA batteries when the engine is off. The two 12-volt high-CCA batteries may alternatively be replaced with one large 12-volt high-CCA battery.

Unlike most automobiles, commercial tractor/trailer vehicles typically utilize large diesel engines requiring substantial amounts of short-term power (e.g. about 1800 amperes) to start the engine. Such large current demands result from, among other things, the requirements of the fuel injection systems of such engines. In order to satisfy the large current demands of the diesel engines, commercial tractor/trailer vehicles are typically equipped with battery power systems including a plurality of high cold-cranking-ampere (CCA) batteries connected in parallel.
Supplying high cold-cranking current is not the only requirement for battery power systems used in commercial tractor/trailer vehicles. Such systems must also provide electrical power during times when the engine is not running. Of course, while the engine is running, ample electrical energy is usually provided by the alternator to operate such electrical devices as communication equipment, radios, lights, and other creature-comfort devices including microwave ovens, electric blankets, televisions, video tape recorders, etc. However, when the engine is not running, if any electrical devices are to be powered, they must be powered by the battery power system or an alternative system.
In earlier battery power systems, 12-volt batteries were utilized to both start the engine and run any electrical appliances when the engine was not running. Such systems experienced very significant problems, in that the electrical appliances would run the batteries down to the point that they would be unable to start the engine when required. This often occurred if the electrical appliances were run for a long period of time. In order to prevent this situation from occurring, systems were developed to isolate some batteries from the electrical appliances during times when the engine is not running. Those batteries would then only be used to start the engine.
Presently, a so-called "3+1" battery power system is used to start the engine and power any electrical accessories when the engine is off. This system uses four "Group 31" 12-volt batteries which are typically enclosed in a battery box. "Group 31" refers to the size and shape of the battery which is the industry standard for commercial tractor/trailers. To guarantee sufficient cold-cranking current, three of the Group 31 12-volt batteries are connected in parallel and used only for starting the engine. The remaining battery (the "+1" battery) is used exclusively for the key-off operation of the electrical accessories. When the engine is off, the accessory battery is isolated from the starting batteries. After the engine is started, the accessory battery is switched in parallel with the starting batteries so that it can be charged by the engine's alternator.
Although isolation power systems such as the 3+1 battery power system ensure sufficient starting power by preserving the charge on the starting batteries, such systems work at the expense of providing power for electrical accessories while the engine is off. As a result, several alternatives have emerged to deal the limitations of these battery power systems. For example, a small minority of tractor/trailers are equipped with small diesel-powered generators to supply electrical energy to the appliances while the main diesel engine is off.
Where the tractor/trailer is not equipped with such generators as is the usual case, the drivers may elect to run the engine while they are resting or may choose to run the accessory battery down until it completely runs out of energy. Since running the engine is very expensive and potentially dangerous, many drivers choose to completely drain the accessory battery. Due to such repeated over-discharging, the accessory battery in a 3+1 battery power system cannot be fully recharged in many instances during normal operation of the vehicle. This causes a significant reduction of service life of the accessory battery. In fact, it is quite common for accessory batteries to need replacement every two or three months.
The fundamental problem with 3+1 battery power systems is that they fail to provide key-off power for an adequate amount of time. For example, during cold winter nights, a driver may depend on an electrical blanket to keep warm. Even if the driver decides to let the accessory battery run until it is out of energy, the driver will loose power well before he or she is ready to drive again. Typically, the accessory battery is at a low state of charge when asked to provide power, which significantly reduces the time the driver may use the blanket. In such a case, the electrical blanket will cease to work during the night. This is obviously unacceptable.


An operating apparatus has a manually operable touch-sensitive surface with an associated actuator system for providing a haptic feedback signal on the basis of a touch, which represents triggering operation, on the surface. The actuator system can be used to provide a haptic feedback signal upon release of the pressure on the surface. The feedback signal is provided on the basis of a sensed change in the contact area of the finger pushing the surface.

The invention relates to an operating apparatus having a manually operable touch-sensitive surface with an associated actuator system for providing a haptic feedback signal on the basis of a touch.
Such operating apparatuses having a touch-sensitive surface are used in many different ways in the form of what are known as touchscreens or touchpads. They can be used wherever the surface is intended to be used to input control commands and the like, for example on control panels or monitors, but also on portable equipment such as mobile telephones, tablet PCs, laptops and the like.
Such operating apparatuses are a combined input and output appliance in which the operation or program execution of an appliance, as indicated above, can be controlled directly by touching particular surface regions defined by a displayed image. In this case, control is usually effected using the finger, but it is also possible for it to be carried out using a stylus.
Usually, a touch-sensitive surface of this kind or a touchscreen of this kind comprises three elements. Firstly, the touch sensor, in addition an associated controller and also a software driver. Downstream of the touch sensor there may be a screen on which the image defining the sensitive input regions is displayed, said image being visible through the two-dimensional touch sensor, that is to say the actual touch-sensitive surface. The touch sensor itself usually has a touch-sensitive layer, comprising optical glass or a flexible polyester layer. In order to sense a signal-generating touch, a current usually flows through or via this surface, and this, in the event of touch with the finger or the like, brings about a voltage change or a signal swing that is sensed and evaluated in order to ascertain the touched position and hence in order to capture an input command. The controller is used to sense such user inputs on the touch sensor, that is to say ultimately the touch-sensitive surface, and to forward them as signals, which signals are processed by the software that is installed on the appliance in order to interpret the touch-related signals delivered by the controller.
The design of the touchscreen or touchpad, that is to say the touch-sensitive surface itself, may differ depending on the underlying technology. By way of example, resistive touch surfaces are known, comprising an outer plastic film layer and an inner glass or plastic pane, which are separated by spacers. The areas associated with one another are coated with an indium tin oxide layer (ITO layer). ITO is a translucent semiconductor. A low test voltage that is used for actuation is applied to one or both ITO layers. When the outside layer is now pushed locally, the result is local electrical contact between the ITO layers, and an electrical resistance is produced, the effect of which on the voltage ratio of the voltage tapped off allows ascertainment of the touch point relative to the respective margin of the layer. The basic design of a resistive touchscreen of this kind is known.
A further basic design is that of a capacitive touch surface. This comprises a glass substrate coated with a transparent metal oxide, usually again an ITO layer. The corners of the sensor are provided with electrodes to which a test or operating voltage is applied that is used to produce a uniform electrical field. The surface is statically charged by the latter. A touch with a capacitive medium, which is what a finger is, triggers charge transfer. Capacitively bound charge transfers to the finger, and there is a flow of current that is measured at the corners of the touchscreen. There is therefore a disturbance in the electrical field, and the flow of current is in direct proportion to the position of the touch. The associated controller again senses the relevant signals, and the software evaluates them.
A third basic design that is known is also optical touch surfaces. These comprise a matrix comprising light-emitting diodes and photodetectors. The light-emitting diodes shine on the detectors on the opposite side. A touch on the surface interrupts the beam of light and hence caters for a measurable signal drop that can readily be resolved locally. That is to say that the controller locates the touch point. This basic touchscreen design is also sufficiently well known.
In addition, touch surfaces are known that provide the user with a haptic (tactile) feedback signal when he has successfully made a signal input and he releases the pressure on the surface. This haptic or tactile feedback signal serves to perceptively signal the successful signal or command input to the user. To this end, a suitable actuator system is provided. Inertial actuators are known for this, usually comprising a motor that turns an eccentrically mounted mass, or comprising a spring/mass system that is capable of oscillation.
Alternatively, piezoelectric actuators are known, which can be produced in a very thin design with a very fast reaction time. The use of a piezoelectric actuator of this kind, which may also be of pane-like design, for example, involves the touch surface either being bent or being pushed against another area, so that a displacement movement is produced.
Such an actuator system can thus be used to set the touchscreen or the touchpad, that is to say the touch-sensitive surface, in motion such that there is a haptically perceived "click" for the user upon the exertion of pressure on the surface. It is then possible both for pushing the surface and for releasing the pressure on the surface each to produce a separate actuator-like movement. To emulate the mechanical click as realistically as possible in this case, it is necessary to allow the actuator system to be triggered as promptly as possible. Whereas the "push" click can be recognized in relatively delay-free fashion by compressive force sensors situated under the touchscreen or touchpad, the "release" click, that is to say the removal of the finger from the surface, can involve delays on account of the sluggish system mass, as a result of which an imprecise click sensation is produced.

Actuating device having a touch-sensitive surface which can be manually operated


A multi-layered product having an embossed interior layer is disclosed along with a method of making the product. The multi-layered product has a first layer with an interior surface, a second layer with an interior surface, and a third layer sandwiched between the first and second layers. The third layer has a first surface and a second surface, and has a thickness there between. The third layer is embossed into a waffle pattern having a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of recesses. Each of the plurality of protrusions and recesses is adjacently aligned and horizontally offset from one another. The plurality of protrusions form a horizontal plane, at the first surface, which is positioned above a horizontal plane formed by the plurality of recesses, at the first surface. The product also has an adhesive which secures the three layers together.

Multi-layered products, such as various kinds of packages, and absorbent material such as industrial wipes, paper towels, paper napkins, etc. are known in the art. Absorbent paper products having multiple layers have been marketed for many years. Such known industrial wipes, paper towels, paper napkins, etc. vary in basic physical structural characteristics such as layer construction, basis weight, limpness, stretchability, surface texture, softness (hand) and the like. Many such prior art structures, however, lose their strength upon becoming wetted and begin to delaminate and/or disintegrate in use. Increasing the bonding area between the adjacent plies of most current multi-layered structures is undesirable due to the fact that the product becomes stiffer, thereby losing its softness and drape, and, depending upon the particular adhesive employed, may become less absorbent.
Another disadvantage with many of the currently available multi-layered structures is that they tend to lose their bulk upon becoming wetted, thereby, detracting from the product's stability and hand. Loss of these desirable features is deemed to be a strong negative factor by most consumers.
A further drawback is that many multi-layered products are constructed with at least one layer which is not biodegradable and/or compostable. Such products are not totally environmentally friendly and are becoming less acceptable by consumers who are demanding green products. Many consumers are demanding that packages formed from multi-layered material be totally biodegradable.
Now, a multi-layered product having an embossed interior layer has been invented which can retain its bulk and softness even when wetted. This multi-layered product exhibits high strength and superior caliper when both wet and dry and is totally biodegradable and/or compostable. This multi-layered product is especially useful in forming biodegradable packages. A method of making this product is also disclosed.

Multi-layered product having an embossed interior layer and a method for making the product


A method and apparatus for enabling a real time video encoding system to accurately deliver the desired number of bits per frame, while coding the image only once, updates the quantization step size used to quantize coefficients which describe, for example, an image to be transmitted over a communications channel. The data is divided into sectors, each sector including a plurality of blocks. The blocks are encoded, for example, using DCT coding, to generate a sequence of coefficients for each block. The coefficients can be quantized, and depending upon the quantization step, the number of bits required to describe the data will vary significantly. At the end of the transmission of each sector of data, the method and apparatus of the invention compare the accumulated actual number of bits expended with the accumulated desired number of bits expended, for a selected number of sectors associated with the particular group of data. The system then readjusts the quantization step size to target a final desired number of data bits for a plurality of sectors, for example describing an image. Various methods are described for updating the quantization step size and determining desired bit allocations.

The invention relates to the transmission of quantized data through a communications channel, and in particular, to the transmission of block encoded video or image data through a bandwidth limited communications channel.
Most image and video compression systems, at some point, must decide how to allocate available transmitter bits to the image or frame of video to be compressed. A variety of methods have been developed by those working in this field to predict how many bits are needed to achieve some average distortion over the frame. Unfortunately, these methods assume a model for the statistics of the data to be compressed which seldom accurately represents the true underlying statistics, and the actual bits generated will generally differ from the number predicted. If the actual number of bits is less than the predicted number of bits, some bandwidth of the communications channel is likely to be wasted. On the other hand, if the actual number of bits is greater than the predicted number of bits there may result either buffer overflow and a resulting loss of information and increased distortion of the reconstructed image, or frame skipping while these extra bits are transmitted from transmitter to receiver. If a precise number of bits is required, one can iteratively converge to the "optimal" allocation by repeatedly encoding the image and adjusting the bit allocation. This is not suitable, however, for real time systems, which often have time to encode each image frame only once.
In accordance with a recently adopted standard (CCITT H.261) for encoding image data representative of a sequence of two-dimensional arrays of image data, the two-dimensional array is divided into a plurality of blocks, each block being an 8.times.8 sub-array of image representing data. Each block of data is encoded in accordance with the standard and is transmitted to a remote receiver which reconstructs the encoded blocks and thus reconstructs the entire image. The CCITT H.261 standard provides for 31 different quantizer step sizes for use in the encoding process. During the encoding process, varying the quantizer step size will dramatically change, over the full range of available step sizes, the number of bits needed to code a sequence of blocks. In accordance with the standard, the encoder sends a quantizer step size to the receiver for each so-called "Group of Blocks" (GOP). The encoder can also change the quantizer at the "macroblock" (MB) level using a so-called MTYPE signaling of a new quantizer step size followed by 5 bits of quantizer information. Thus, if one were able to accurately predict the needed step size, the number of bits used to describe a complete image can be reasonably controlled.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for accurately optimizing the number of bits transmitted for an image to achieve a selected target number of bits when the image is complete. Other objects of the invention are methods and apparatus for selecting an initial quantizer step size, and accurately and precisely controlling step size so that the number of bits allocated to the image does not provide either an overflow condition or an underflow condition.


Flame-retardant, thermoplastic copolymers and processes for making them are disclosed. The compositions are copolymers of a vinyl aromatic monomer, a vinyl phosphonic acid derivative, and optionally, an unsaturated organic diacid, ester, or anhydride that are grafted onto a rubber. Processes for making polymers having high molecular weight, good mechanical properties, and a high level of evenly distributed, chemically incorporated vinyl phosphonate flame retardant are also disclosed.

Thermoplastic polymers, such as polystyrene, styrene-maleic anhydride copolymers, and impact-modified versions of these, have many uses. Often, the usefulness of these materials is limited by their inherent combustibility. One conventional approach to improving flame retardancy of thermoplastics is to add high levels of halogen and/or phosphorus-containing salts, compounds, or polymers. These flame-retardant additives can adversely impact certain physical properties of the thermoplastic polymers, such as heat resistance, impact strength, and tensile strength. Also, the additives can lose their effectiveness by leaching out of the polymer. Halogenated flame retardants are particularly troublesome because they can produce toxic and corrosive gases in a fire.
A second approach to making flame-retardant thermoplastics is to chemically incorporate the halogen or phosphorus into the polymer chains. This can be accomplished after polymer synthesis, for example, by reacting the polymer with a phosphorus reagent (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,635). Preferably, chemical incorporation is effected by preparing the polymer in the presence of a copolymerizable phosphorus- or halogen-containing monomer. Although chemical incorporation is usually preferred over the additive approach, it has several drawbacks. Special, expensive monomers may be needed; many of these monomers lack the favorable reactivity ratios required for copolymerization to give polymer products that have a high enough level of phosphorus or halogen to be sufficiently flame retardant.
Kraft et al. (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,725,509 and 4,014,836) teach copolymers useful as flame-retardant additives for thermoplastic polymers. The copolymers are made from a halogen-containing unsaturated monomer (vinyl halide, halogenated styrene, etc.) and a bis(hydrocarbyl) vinyl phosphonate. Optionally, the copolymer includes one or more other copolymerizable monomers such as .alpha.-olefins, acrylates, dicarboxylic acids or anhydrides, vinyl aromatic monomers, and the like. The copolymer additives can be used as flame retardants for a wide variety of thermoplastics.
Younes (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,444,969 and 4,571,418) teaches copolymers of vinyl aromatic monomers, bis(hydrocarbyl) vinyl phosphonates, and imide derivatives of unsaturated anhydrides (maleimide, N-phenylmaleimide, etc.).
Brunner et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,571) teach flame-retardant copolymers of a bis(hydrocarbyl) vinyl phosphonate, an unsaturated monomer, and acrylic or methacrylic acid.
Unfortunately, the poor mechanical properties of vinyl phosphonate polymers, especially those that incorporate a large amount of phosphorus, limits their usefulness per se as flame-retardant polymers.
Flame-retardant thermoplastic polymers are needed. Preferably, the polymers have both high phosphorus content and good mechanical properties. Also desirable are flame-retardant compositions that incorporate the flame retardant into the polymer chains so that additives are not needed.

Flame-retardant thermoplastic copolymers based on vinyl phosphonate derivatives grafted onto rubber


A continuous loop of thermally conductive material is provided with a first portion in frictional contact with a casing of an electronic device and a second portion located within a cooling region. The loop is advanced such that the first portion is located within the cooling region and the second portion is in frictional contact with the casing.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of computers and more particularly to cooling of computer components.
Direct access storage devices (DASDs) are increasing in power and as a result are emitting more electromagnetic interference. In order to pass electromagnetic compatibility these DASDs require additional protection which drastically decreases airflow to the DASDs.

Cooling an electronic device using a thermally conductive loop

International Business Machines Corporation