The present invention relates to an extension pipe assembly for a vacuum cleaner. The disclosed extension pipe assembly comprises: a suction pipe including an external pipe and an external power supply pipe which is coupled to the bottom surface of the external pipe, and to the interior of which a movable member is coupled; a flexible pipe including an internal pipe and a power supply pipe attached to the bottom surface of the internal pipe, wherein the flexible pipe is coupled to the suction pipe such that the length of the flexible pipe is adjustable; and length adjustment means joined to the coupling portion between the suction pipe and the flexible pipe so as to lock or unlock the length adjustment function of the flexible pipe and of the suction pipe. The power supply pipe is formed into a single pipe, on both internal walls of which respective conductor plates are formed to as to contact the movable member. When the power supply pipe is inserted into the external power supply pipe, the movable member is inserted into the power supply pipe such that the movable member is movable and contacts the conductor plates to maintain a power supply state.

Generally, vacuum cleaner draws in dust or foreign matters on a floor through a brush assembly using a suction force which is generated when a fan motor, mounted inside the cleaner body, is driven.
Vacuum cleaners with improved cleaning efficiency have been provided, in which brushes mounted inside the brush assemblies are rotated by the motors to efficiently draw in dust or foreign matters.
Further, some vacuum cleaners have the brush assemblies equipped with steam generating devices for the purpose of steam cleaning.
In the above-mentioned vacuum cleaners, it is necessary that the power is supplied to the brush assembly to rotate the brush and drive the steam generating device. Accordingly, the vacuum cleaner additionally includes a power supply pipe in which a power line is provided to supply power to the brush assembly.
An example of a conventional pipe structure can be referred to the Korean Utility Model Registration No. 0270655 which discloses a pipe of a vacuum cleaner.
Referring to the Korean Utility Model Registration No. 0270655, a conventional pipe of a vacuum cleaner includes an internal suction pipe which draws in dusts or the like, an internal power supply pipe which includes a power supply means arranged near to a lower portion of the internal suction pipe to supply power to the brush assembly, and an external pipe having respective receiving portions integrally formed therein to receive therein the internal suction pipe and the internal power supply pipe, respectively.
Further, a separate power supply means is provided inside the internal power supply pipe, in which the power supply means includes a fixing member, a movable member and a cover. The fixing member includes hooks formed on both side portions to be inserted into the fixing holes of the cover and to thus form integrated power supply means. The power supply means formed as explained above is then insertedly assembled into the internal power supply pipe.
Further, in the conventional examples, the internal suction pipe and the power supply pipe and the external pipe are made from a metal material.
Accordingly, since a conventional pipe for a vacuum cleaner is relatively heavy, a user has inconvenience when using the vacuum cleaner.
Further, since the conventional pipes are made from metal material and the external pipe has respective receiving portions formed integrally, fabrication is relatively complicated and requires relatively high manufacture cost.
Further, since the pipe of the vacuum cleaner requires a separate power supply means independently from the internal power supply pipe, the configuration becomes complex, and fabrication and assembling become complicated due to use of many unnecessary parts.
Further, since the movable member has a power line fixing groove receiving therein the power line, and a plurality of stamping protrusions with triangular perpendicular cross sections provided to prevent separation of the power line from the power line fixing groove, fabrication is complicated, and supporting force may deteriorate when the movable member is slidably moved inside the power supply means. Further, the cutting edge may cut the power line when placed under pressure.

Extension pipe assembly for a vacuum cleaner


A support structure includes a mattress, a bottom sheet, at least one side guard and at least one positioning assembly. The mattress has a plurality of bladders. The side guard is disposed on any one lateral side of the top surface of the mattress. The positioning assembly can fix the side guard to the mattress. The side guard can protect two sides of a bedded person and prevent the bedded person from falling from the mattress. When the side guard is pushed by an external force, the bedded person does not fall into the vertical gap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a support structure, and particularly relates to a support structure having a mattress and at least one side guard stacked on the mattress.
2. Description of the Related Art
A support structure is applied to medical treatment for providing appropriate bedding for patients by filling air into the support structure or exhaust air from the support structure. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the prior art provides a support structure that includes a support layer 91, a bottom sheet 92 and two bolsters 93. The support layer 91 is received in the bottom sheet 92. The support layer 91 is composed of a plurality of inflatable cells. The two bolsters 93 are respectively disposed on two lateral sides of the support layer 91, and the height of each bolster 93 is larger than the height of the support layer 91. Each inflatable cell of the support layer 91 and each bolster 93 are connected to a pump via a pipe, and air is filled into each inflatable cell and each bolster 93 by operating a control device to properly inflate or deflate.
Because the two bolsters 93 are respectively disposed on two lateral sides of the support layer 91, the shape of each bolster 93 can change easily and each bolster 93 loses its protection function. When the air pressure in the bolsters 93 is insufficient, the bedded person will fall into a gap between the support layer and each side guard easily. Hence, it is dangerous for a bedded person to use the support structure of the prior art. Moreover, the size of the inflatable cell needs to be changed according to different sizes of the side guard. Hence, the manufacturer needs to make many different inflatable cells with different sizes. The manufacturing efficiency is bad and needs to be improved.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,044 discloses an air bed that includes an enclosure formed by a flat rectangular bottom panel, a lower vertical panel standing up perpendicularly from the periphery of the bottom panel, an upper vertical panel disposed above the lower vertical panel, a gusset connecting the lower and upper vertical panels, a rectangular top panel removably connected to the upper vertical panel, and a plurality of restraining straps, with one end of each restraining strap connected to the gusset along the left side of the enclosure and the other end of each restraining strap attached to the gusset along the right side of the enclosure. The enclosure has upper levels and lower levels separated by the restraining straps. Inflatable air tubes are inserted in each level. Each level of tubes includes bolster tubes inserted parallel and adjacent to the sides and ends of the enclosure, and cushion tubes which are disposed laterally across the enclosure in the rectangular space surrounded by the bolster tubes. Each tube has sheathing surrounding it to reduce noise when adjacent tubes rub against each other, and attachment means are used to prevent rotation of the tubes. An air pump provides air pressure to the inflatable tubes through a manifold block having several separate, variably controlled output ports. An air hose assembly connects the manifold's output ports to the various tubes so that certain combinations of tubes receive various amounts of air pressure. In addition, the invention includes a single level embodiment. However, the bolster tubes are fixed, not easy to move.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 7,107,635 discloses a fitted bed sheet that has a pair of roll guards mounted thereon to prevent a toddler or other person from rolling out of the bed. Each roll guard is removably disposed in a slip cover mounted on the sheet by a flexible strip of material, which allows each roll guard to move between a first position atop the sheet and a second position beside the sheet with the roll guard hanging from the flexible strip. Each roll guard is securable in the raised position by linking of fastener strips having hook and loop fasteners mounted on the slip cover and fabric loops mounted on the sheet. Each roll guard is removably mounted to the sheet via a zipper between the sheet and the flexible strip of material mounted on the slip cover. A plurality of elastic straps is mounted axially on the bottom of the sheet to help secure the sheet on a mattress. But the loop that is mounted on top panel of sheet is easy to be cut off by the horizontal force caused by the patient to move position.


A sheet-guiding device has a sheet-guiding element for a sheet-fed printing machine having an impression cylinder and a further cylinder adjacent thereto, the sheet-guiding element being disposed for guiding a sheet transported by the impression cylinder when the further cylinder is set-off from the impression cylinder. The further cylinder includes a cylinder selected from the group thereof consisting of an applicator cylinder for applying ink or varnish, respectively, to a sheet lying on the impression cylinder, and a tool cylinder for applying a finishing step to a sheet lying on the impression cylinder. The sheet-guiding element is disposed separately from the further cylinder and covers an impression zone of the impression cylinder.

The invention relates to a sheet-guiding device for a sheet-fed printing machine, more particularly, including an impression cylinder and a further cylinder adjacent thereto, the sheet-guiding device having a sheet-guiding element arranged for guiding a sheet transported by the impression cylinder when the further cylinder is set off or disengaged from the impression cylinder.
The published German Patent Document DE 431 87 77 C2 describes such a sheet-guiding device, which includes two blast-air tubes of which one is arranged in a wedge-shaped space upline of the printing zone, and the other is arranged in a wedge-shaped space downline of the printing zone of a printing unit that is not involved in printing. Although blast-air tubes arranged outside the printing zone and separately from a blanket cylinder can possibly be used to prevent thin paper sheets from striking the blanket cylinder not included in the in-line process in the region of the printing zone, this cannot be assured for pasteboard or cardboard sheets which are to be processed. There is therefore the risk that the board sheets, because of the stiffness thereof, cannot be kept at a distance from the blanket cylinder by the blast-air tubes in the region of the printing zone and will strike the blanket cylinder, due to which the fresh printed image on the sheets is smeared.
In the German Patent 197 19 624, a further sheet-guiding device is described which corresponds to the generic type thereof mentioned at the introduction hereto and wherein a sheet-guiding element is provided in the cylinder gap of a rubber blanket cylinder or varnishing blanket cylinder and covers the printing zone, as is shown in the drawings of the German patent. In an embodiment of the sheet-guiding element realized as a guide plate or tongue, although the rear or trailing edge of the sheet is able to slide along the sheet-guiding element without damaging the imprint or overprint when stiff sheets of board are being printed, sufficient free space is required in order to integrate the sheet-guiding element into the cylinder gap. The free space is generally not available, because the blanket clamping devices, which are arranged in the cylinder gap, themselves take up a great deal of space. For this reason, retrofitting of the sheet-guiding element to printing machines which are already in use is not possible.
In the published German Patent Document DE 196 03 666 C2, there is further described, as prior art, a safety guard device having a guard member which is pivotable into an interspace between a plate cylinder and a transfer cylinder in order to ensure effective protection during a non-stop printing-plate exchange. The safety guard device is provided for a web-fed printing machine, and the interspace is not located in the region of a printing zone of an impression cylinder.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a sheet-guiding device by which trouble-free passage of freshly printed or varnished sheets of cardboard or pasteboard through a unit not directly involved in the in-line process is ensured.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, a sheet-guiding device with a sheet-guiding element for a sheet-fed printing machine having an impression cylinder and a further cylinder adjacent thereto, the sheet-guiding element being disposed for guiding a sheet transported by the impression cylinder when the further cylinder is set-off from the impression cylinder, the further cylinder comprising a cylinder selected from the group thereof consisting of an applicator cylinder for applying one of ink and varnish, respectively, to a sheet lying on the impression cylinder, and a tool cylinder for applying a finishing step to a sheet lying on the impression cylinder, the sheet-guiding element being disposed separately from the further cylinder and covering an impression zone of the impression cylinder.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the sheet-guiding element has at least one of a sheet-sliding and a blower nozzle face directed towards the impression cylinder, the face extending over the impression zone, at least approximately concentrically with the peripheral surface of the impression cylinder.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the sheet-guiding element has at least one of a sheet-sliding and a blower nozzle face directed towards the impression cylinder, the face extending over the impression zone, at least approximately parallel to a tangential line extending to the impression cylinder through the impression zone.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the sheet-guiding element extends through a nip formed in the region of the impression zone between the impression cylinder and the further cylinder.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the nip has a nip width determined by a position of the further cylinder wherein it is withdrawn from the impression cylinder, and wherein a drive gear of the impression cylinder and a drive gear of the further cylinder are out of meshing engagement with one another.
In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the nip has a nip width enlarged by an alignment therewith of a cylinder gap of the further cylinder facing towards the rotating impression cylinder, and including a security device for securing the further cylinder against rotation out of the aligned rotary position thereof.
In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, the impression cylinder and the further cylinder are formed with respective peripheral circular arcs having a minimum spacing therebetween which is less than one tenth of a meter.
In accordance with an alternative feature of the invention, the impression cylinder and the further cylinder are formed with respective peripheral circular arcs having a minimum spacing therebetween which is less than one centimeter.
In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, the sheet-guiding device includes a mounting for mounting the sheet-guiding element so that the sheet-guiding element is movable into the nip.
In accordance with yet an additional feature of the invention, the mounting is constructed so that the sheet-guiding element is insertable into the nip at least approximately tangentially to the impression cylinder.
In accordance with still another feature of the invention, the mounting is-constructed so that the sheet-guiding element is pivotable into the nip at least approximately coaxially with the impression cylinder.
In accordance with another alternative feature of the invention, the mounting is constructed so that the sheet guide element is pivotable into the nip at least approximately coaxially with the further cylinder.
In accordance with still a further feature of the invention, the sheet-guiding device includes a remotely controllable actuator connected to the sheet-guiding element for displacing the sheet-guiding element into and out of the nip.
In accordance with still an added feature of the invention, the actuator is connected to the further cylinder for displacing the further cylinder into a position wherein it is withdrawn from the impression cylinder.
In accordance with a concomitant aspect of the invention, there is provided a sheet-fed printing machine having a sheet-guiding device constructed with at least one of the foregoing features.
Thus, the further cylinder cooperating with the impression cylinder and serving as the applicator cylinder can be a blanket cylinder or a varnishing blanket cylinder or a printing-form or varnishing-form cylinder and, when serving as the tool cylinder, can be a stamping, embossing, creasing or perforating cylinder. The impression zone extends axially parallel on the peripheral surface of the impression cylinder.
The impression zone is normally also referred to as the printing zone or line if the impression zone is formed with the applicator cylinder. An impression zone formed with the tool cylinder can be referred to as the contact zone or line, within the area of which the processing of the sheet located between the cylinders takes place. The sheet-guiding element is not applied to the further cylinder, as is provided in the aforementioned published German Patent Document DE 197 19 624 C1, but rather, in contrast with the latter, is applied separately from the further cylinder so that it can move on the sheet-fed printing machine and, for example, on the frame of the latter. As viewed in the radial direction of the impression cylinder, the sheet-guiding element is located directly above the impression zone thereof, so that the sheet conveyed through the inactive printing, varnishing or processing unit cannot strike the further cylinder with a sheet trailing edge within the region that is critical due to the proximity of the further cylinder to the impression cylinder, because the sheet-guiding element is located between the further cylinder and the sheet. Acting as a spacer, this prevents the sheet from coming into contact with the further cylinder during the passage thereof through the inactive unit.
Assurance is therefore always provided that the ink (varnish) previously applied to the sheet in at least one printing unit (varnishing unit) disposed upline of the inactive unit in the in-line process does not come into contact with the further cylinder and, therefore, not smeared thereby.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a sheet-guiding device for a sheet-fed printing machine, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Sheet-guiding device for a sheet-fed printing machine


An edge connector for a circuit board having a top layer and at least one layer underlying the top layer to form a composite structure. The edge connector comprises a first set of metallic tabs formed on the top layer in a row spaced from an edge of the top layer, with each of the first set of metallic tabs having a plating spoke associated therewith formed in the one layer underlying the top layer. A second set of metallic tabs is formed on the top layer in a row adjacent the edge. A metallic tab of the first set is positioned between a pair of metallic tabs in the second set, however, the surface area of the top layer between each pair of metallic tabs in the second set is substantially free of a plating spoke.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to techniques for improving the alignment between electrical contacts on a printed circuit board and an associated socket connector to thereby reduce shorts when the board is plugged into the socket.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical computer is highly modular. During a computer's useful life, one or more components are replaced either due to maintenance or system upgrades. To this end, most computer components are now designed to be "field replaceable" and are supported on a "pluggable" printed circuit board. The board typically includes a so-called "edge connector" having metallic "tabs" that mate with spring contacts located within a connector socket, which in turn is supported on a motherboard. Each tab should mate with a specific spring contact when the printed circuit board is inserted into the connector socket. Because of the dense spacing between tabs, however, when the board is inserted into the connector, it is quite common for a tab to "short circuit" by mating with the wrong connector contact. This causes an undesirable electrical connection.
In the past, this problem has been addressed through the use of so-called "card guides" that reduce the amount of play between the pluggable card and the connector socket. While the use of a card guide helps to position the board at a precise position in the connector, this approach does not always prevent shorts. Moreover, in many applications it is not practical to build a card guide that can maintain the tight tolerances required to properly mate the edge connector and socket.

Method for reducing shorts on a printed circuit board edge connector

International Business Machines Corporation

Lawrence, Jr.; Lloyd Archibald Barrington


For mapping sampled digital audio information onto a linear physical mapping space that is partitioned in a string of uniform-sized blocks, in particular, for variable-rate coded audio information that is distributed over successive audio units which are each composed from one or more audio packets, each block is supplemented with a block header for indicating an actual content of the block in question with respect to any constituent packet of the audio information.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for mapping sampled digital audio information onto a linear physical mapping space that is partitioned into a string of uniform-sized blocks.
2. Description of the Related Art
The invention relates generally to the field of digital audio encoding, and more specifically to a method for mapping sampled digital audio information onto a linear physical mapping space that is partitioned into a string of uniform-sized blocks. Present state of the art of digital audio encoding is the well-known Compact Disc system with its ramifications. Progress in storage technology and audio encoding technology allows an increase in the amount of audio information on a unitary medium such as conforming to the standard CD dimensions. A particular feature is variable-rate encoding, which, however, requires an easy accessible indicator organization for subsequent read-accessing of the string of Audio Units.

Method and device for interfacing variable-rate sampled digital audio information to a string of uniform-sized blocks, and a unitary medium so produced by a write-interfacing


In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for facilitating user-controlled management of webpage elements for dynamic customization of relevant information. In one embodiment and by way of example, a method includes receiving, in real-time, a request for performing one or more tasks relating to dynamic customization of webpage elements relating to a webpage package. The request may be received at a first computing device over a network. The method may further include performing, in real-time, the one or more tasks.

In the growing world of computing technology, developing websites and portal sites is well-known; however, such conventional techniques for performing such tasks require high programming skills that typically computer programmers and system administers possess and are above and beyond the skills of a typical end-user. Certain template-based solutions have been proposed to provide some control to the users; however, such control is extremely trivial and limited in nature, such as being limited to website color selection, etc.
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches.
In conventional database systems, users access their data resources in one logical database. A user of such a conventional system typically retrieves data from and stores data on the system using the user's own systems. A user system might remotely access one of a plurality of server systems that might in turn access the database system. Data retrieval from the system might include the issuance of a query from the user system to the database system. The database system might process the request for information received in the query and send to the user system information relevant to the request. The secure and efficient retrieval of accurate information and subsequent delivery of this information to the user system has been and continues to be a goal of administrators of database systems. Unfortunately, conventional database approaches are associated with various limitations.

Mechanism for facilitating user-controlled management of webpage elements for dynamic customization of information


A computer automatically identifies multiple occurrences of an abstract data type that is embedded within an object of metadata of another abstract data type (hereinafter “top-level” abstract data type), e.g. by recursively visiting each element of the top-level abstract data type. Then the computer automatically generates, for the top-level abstract data type, a tap-level description that contains a description of each embedded abstract data type. At several locations in the top-level description that correspond to occurrences of a given embedded abstract data type in the top-level abstract data type, the computer automatically inserts offsets that identify a common position where the single description of that given embedded abstract data type is present in the tap-level description. Use of multiple offsets that identify a common position of an embedded description reduces space. The space was otherwise occupied by multiple embedded descriptions in prior art's top-level descriptions.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,128,621, 6,112,207 and 6,377,953 are each incorporated by reference herein in their entirety as background.
As stated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,621, computer programming languages commonly represent information structures using abstract data types ("ADTs"). A detailed discussion of ADTs is found in a book by N. Wirth, entitled "Algorithms+Data Structures=Programs" (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1976), also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety as background. ADTs may be specified in a "create type" command to a database, as described in sections entitled "CREATE TYPE" and "CREATE TYPE BODY" in ORACLE 9i SQL Reference, Release 9.2, Part Number A96540-02 also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety as background. See also an article entitled "Object SQL—A Language For The Design And Implementation of Object Databases" by Jurgen Annevelink et al. in a book entitled "Modern Database Systems" published 1995, pages 42-68 also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety as background. See also U.S. Pat. No. 6,782,394 granted to Landeck et al. on Aug. 24, 2004 and 6,470,348 granted to Govindarajan et al. on Oct. 22, 2002 both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
An example that uses ADTs is illustrated in FIG. 1A. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1A, a programmer 101 issues to computer 100 a command to create ADT 111 called "Address" which contains four fields each of which has a data type, such as "char" and "integer" that is native to computer 100. In this example, all "char" fields (such as Street, City and State) store strings (for example up to 80 characters long). The field for a zip code is stored as an integer value that is 32 bits long. Such ADTs, which are initially defined by a programmer 101, are also referred to below as UPTs and they can be used to derive a more specific type of ADT from a base type (in Object Oriented programming terms). Specifically, a UPT is a pointer to an ADT where the ADT can be used to derive other types (that is it can be polymorphic). In the database system "Oracle9i" one would create this ADT using the create type SQL statement by having a "NOT FINAL" clause at the end.
Commands from programmer 101 are first converted into dynamic (run-time) objects called Type Descriptor Objects (TDOs) that are temporarily held in volatile memory and eventually stored persistently in a dictionary of a database. A TDO contains an Attribute Definition in the form of information shown in FIG. 1C including a pointer to, a Type Descriptor Segment (TDS). Each TDO holds metadata about a corresponding ADT that is defined by programmer 101. In the example illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the reference number for a TDO is obtained by adding 10 to a reference numeral that identifies a corresponding command to create the ADT. In this particular example, a command 111 to create Address ADT in FIG. 1A results in creation of Address TDO 121 in volatile memory 110 of FIG. 1B.
Referring to FIG. 1A, after issuing a command 111 to define the above-described Address ADT, programmer 101 may define one or more additional ADTs that use (i.e. inherit) the Address ADT. For example, FIG. 1A illustrates an ADT called "Person" which is created in response to a command 112 by programmer 101 to hold a character string field for a person's name and the just-described address ADT. Note that use of Address ADT in the definition of person ADT is accepted by computer 100 at this stage because ADT 111 was earlier defined by programmer 101. Note also that, if an ADT that is being processed (also called top-level ADT, i.e. ADT at the lowest depth) has multiple copies of an ADT embedded at different levels, then the corresponding TDO for the top-level ADT contains multiple copies of the same object. Specifically, each TDO of the prior art, as shown in FIG. 1B, holds all metadata required to interpret a data object of that ADT, including metadata for each embedded ADT. In the example, TDO 123 for an Employee ADT contains metadata not only for attributes of Person, but also for attributes of Address (which is an attribute of Person). Similarly, TDO 124 for the Manager ADT contains metadata for Person twice, once for the Person attribute in Manager, and another time for the Person ADT embedded within the Employee attribute in Manager. For this reason, when programmer 101 issues three commands 111, 112 and 113, prior art computer 100 prepares metadata describing the Address ADT three times, once in each of TDOs 121, 122 and 123.
TDOs 121-125 held in memory 110 also contain a pointer to a Type Descriptor Segment "TDS" that allows one to determine the attributes within the TDO object by use of an opcode. TDS is a description of metadata for use in interpreting the contents of object data, it has a length/data tuple describing each attribute. Note that an XML document that contains repeated definitions of object types may be parsed for representation in a database, with each XML tag or type is represented as a TDO in Oracle. TDSs are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,621 (incorporated by reference herein in its entirety). Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,621 describes a "pickler" that receives a TDS as input and prepares a serialized description that can be either transmitted or written to disk. U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,621 states that preferably, the TDO is a table of a database, and each TDS is a record or row of the table. The TDS comprises fields that correspond to attributes of the ADT. Each ADT attribute, if native to computer 100, when described in-line in the TDS can be represented in such a database as a column in the TDO table. As noted above, if an attribute specified in a "create type" command is itself an ADT (such as a UPT that contains native data types or one or more ADTs embedded therein), then that attribute is "flattened" on conversion into TDS. Note that the above-described ADTs (and hence the corresponding TDOs and TDSs) may support inheritance of the type found in an object-oriented language, such as C++. When inheritance is supported, an ADT in a TDO may inherit properties of a previously defined ADT.
As illustrated for an Address ADT in FIG. 1C, each TDO has several fields which are described next. A version field in FIG. 1C identifies the version (e.g. 1.0) in which the TDO is created. A schema name in FIG. 1C identifies the user who created the type (e.g. as "user1"). A name of the type (i.e. the name of the ADT) is identified, e.g. as "address". A version number in string form which is user readable is also included in the TDO, for displaying to humans. A type code which is the opcode for the ADT, indicates that the type is an integer, character, varray, nested table, or an ADT. The TDO also includes a TDS pointer which is the pointer to the corresponding TDS, such as Address TDS 162 (FIG. 1D) that can be used to pickle/unpickle the object. A flags field may indicate, for example, if inheritance is supported. The TDO has two additional pointers: one pointer is to a two-byte status of data for embedded attributes indicates whether or not the data is null and if null then the next pointer need not be used; another pointer is to a list of TDOs, and in this example the first element in the list is a pointer to the Street TDO, the next element is a pointer to the City TDO, the next element is a pointer to the Zip code TDO and the last element is a pointer to the State TDO.
One type of ADT is a User Picklable Type (UPT). A UPT is a collection of information that allows an application to store in an image form (e.g. binary), any data type that is not a natively-supported type. Examples of UPTs include non-final ADTs, nested tables or varrays. When an attribute of the ADT is a UPT, in one example, one of four special opcodes is used. The four opcodes indicate whether the attribute is a table to be pickled inline; a table to be pickled out-of-line; a varray to be pickled inline; or a varray to be pickled out-of-line. The opcode to be used for a UPT may be selected or declared by an application program at the time an ADT is declared. When an attribute of the ADT is complex, such as a UPT or a nested ADT that contains a UPT, a Collection opcode is stored in the metadata associated with the ADT. The Collection opcode indicates that a pickier should use collection images in writing the image as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,621.
Note that Oracle 9i supports two flavors of ADTs: inline types and out-of-line types. Both of these are called user picklable types. Inlined types are created without the "NOT FINAL" clause meaning that they cannot be used to derive other types. Out-of-line ones are created using the "NOT FINAL" clause. Collection and nested tables are also user picklable types.
In response to "create type" command 112, a prior art computer 100 generates a Type Descriptor Segment "TDS" 162 for Person ADT as shown in FIG. 1D (note that another TDS 161 was previously generated in response to command 111 and a copy of it is included in TDS 162 as discussed next). As illustrated in FIG. 1D, a Type Descriptor Segment 161 for embedded ADT is provided contiguously within Type Descriptor Segment 162 just before index definition at the end of Type Descriptor Segment 162, with an offset 163 provided in a location 164 that is in-line within TDS 162, specifically at the same location where the attribute would have been present if the attribute were native to computer 100. Offset 163 of a prior art TDS has a value that identifies a location that is within current description 122, typically a location that occurs just before an index definition within current description 122. Such offsets that point to locations within the same TDS that contains the offset, are referred to herein as "internal" offsets. All offsets used in prior art known to the inventors are internal offsets, which was done to ensure that each TDS is self-contained, thereby allowing the TDS to be copied to another computer or saved to disk, without concern that pointers (if used) become invalid on doing so.
When programmer 101 defines additional ADTs such as an ADT 113 called "Employee" that uses person ADT 112, the TDS that is automatically generated by computer 100 for storage in the database ORACLE is shown in FIG. 1E. Although ADT 113 is illustrated in FIG. 1A as being specified by programmer 101 to have only one attribute (i.e. the person ADT), the programmer may easily specify additional attributes such as Employee Identifier and/or Employee Salary (both of which may be integers).
In the example of FIG. 1A, programmer 101 also issues a command 114 for an ADT called "Manager" that uses person ADT twice, once to hold information about an individual who is a manager himself (or herself) and another time to hold information about employees that report to this manager. A TDS shown in FIG. 1F is automatically generated, e.g. by a type manager in the database system, from ADT create type command 114 (shown in FIG. 1A). Moreover, programmer 101 may define further ADTs such as ADT 115 called "CEO" that uses person ADT 112 three times as follows: once to hold information about the CEO himself (or herself) and two times as noted above to hold information about managers that report to the CEO. The TDS that is automatically generated from ADT 115 is shown in FIG. 1G.
The inventors (of this current patent application) note that there is redundancy in a prior art TDS that is generated by the above-described prior art method(s), as follows. The description of "Address UPT" is repeatedly embedded at three different levels, as shown in italics in FIG. 1G. The inventors note that the size of a TDS of an ADT that contains embedded ADTs can be reduced, if multiple embedded TDSs that are redundantly present at the different levels are eliminated, as discussed next.

Reducing memory used by metadata for duplicate user defined types


An apparatus removes clogs from a condensate drain line. The apparatus includes: a vacuum attached to the condensate drain line, the vacuum pulling the clog material from the drain line, a control unit, an apparatus inlet forming a sealed connection point attaching the vacuum to the condensate drain line, an apparatus outlet allowing for drainage of the condensate, the outlet disposed lower than the inlet, a housing formed from durable, weatherproof material with a watertight seal, and a power supply powering the vacuum.

It is known that air conditioning units generate condensate that collects in the air handler and is directed to a condensate drain line. Over time, the drain line can become clogged, either due to algae build-up or by other means due to water moving slowly or stagnating in the drain line. A clogged condensate drain line can cause the condensate to back up and collect in and around the air handler. This can further cause water damage to the surrounding building structures.
Prior attempts in the art to address the issue of clogged condensate drain lines operate by sensing that water is backing up and creating an open circuit, thereby shutting down the air conditioner until the clog is cleared. This type of solution is not desirable since it only activates after a clog has occurred. Furthermore, the shutting down of the air conditioning unit is not desirable since most homeowners would only know that the unit is non-functional and not even know about the clogged drain line.
Other attempts in the art deal with the draining of condensate by attaching a condensate pump to the drain line. These types of pumps are typically installed when gravity drainage is not possible or practical. This solution is not desirable because, as a pump, the system only operates by pumping the accumulated condensate to an outside drain. The pump operates on the presence of fluid and does nothing with respect to algae or other buildup in the drain line. Furthermore, with air introduced in the system, the pump may not operate properly, or as efficiently, as a vacuum system would to suck out any water or debris from the drain line.
Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus, system, and related method for preventing and eliminating condensate drain line clogs in air conditioning, refrigeration, and dehumidification equipment, which aims to overcome the above-stated shortcomings of the known art.


There is provided a headphone with a behind-the-head headband comprising at least one transducer and a behind-the-head headband for receiving the transducer. The behind-the-head headband further comprises first and second contact locations for resting against a temporal bone of a wearer of the headphone. The spacing between the transducer and the first or second contact location can be adjusted. By virtue of the possibility of adjusting the spacing with respect to the contact location the transducer can be positioned exactly over the auditory channel of the headphone wearer without pressure points on the ear.

a) Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a headphone with behind-the-head headband. Headphones with behind-the-head headbands represent headphones in which the headphone band is not worn on the head but at the back of the head.
b) Description of the Related Art
As state of the art, attention is directed in this matter to DE 198 10 582 A1.
As diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 5, a transducer 300 is hooked in position on the ear so that the band 100 or the behind-the-ear hook rests on the junction root of the ear. In that arrangement, the nape-of-the-neck band 100 stands away in the region of the nape of the neck as, if it were in contact therewith, it would interfere with movements of the head. In addition, the fact that the band 100 or the behind-the-ear hook rests directly on the root of the ear is found to be disadvantageous as perspiration and pressure points are quickly formed there, in particular at elevated temperatures, so that this involves a reduced level of wearing comfort. Furthermore, that arrangement is found to be disadvantageous particularly for people who wear spectacles, as spectacles generally also rest on the root of the ear so that it is not possible to wear spectacles and a headphone of that kind at the same time. As that arrangement does not provide that the transducers are directly pressed against the ears of the person wearing the headphone, only poor acoustics can be achieved. As most headphones with a behind-the-head headband have a rigid band-transducer system, the acoustics of that headphone are different in relation to each head so that a firm fit for the headphone and thus optimum acoustics can be achieved only in the case of very few people with appropriately matching heads and ears.
The corporation Koss markets a headphone SportaPro which can be used both as a conventional headphone and also as a headphone with a behind-the-head headband. That headphone has a behind-the-head headband with two contact points in spaced relationship with the two transducers. If that headphone is used as a headphone with a behind-the-head headband, those two contact points bear against the temporal muscle above the ear. In that case the behind-the-head headband is designed to be adjustable in length so that approximate adaptation to the corresponding head of the headphone wearer is possible, but that arrangement does not guarantee optimum contact pressure for the transducer.


A method for making a semiconductor device is described. That method comprises forming an oxide layer on a substrate, and forming a high-k dielectric layer on the oxide layer. The oxide layer and the high-k dielectric layer are then annealed at a sufficient temperature for a sufficient time to generate a gate dielectric with a graded dielectric constant.

MOS field-effect transistors with very thin silicon dioxide based gate dielectrics may experience unacceptable gate leakage currents. Forming the gate dielectric from certain high-k dielectric materials can reduce gate leakage. To ensure acceptable transistor performance, it may be necessary to form a transition oxide between the underlying substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer) and the high-k dielectric layer. If, however, there is an abrupt dielectric constant transition between the interfacial oxide and the high-k dielectric, the resulting film may be unreliable. A transistor with such a film may have an unstable threshold voltage (Vt) if the transition oxide breaks down quickly, when subjected to an applied field.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved process for making a semiconductor device that includes a high-k gate dielectric. There is a need for a process for forming a gate dielectric that does not show a sharp dielectric constant transition between a high-k dielectric and an interfacial oxide. The method of the present invention provides such a process.
Features shown in these figures are not intended to be drawn to scale.

Method for making a semiconductor device having a high-k gate dielectric


The active layer of an n-channel TFT is formed with a channel forming region, a first impurity region, a second impurity region and a third impurity region. In this case, the concentration of the impurities in each of the impurity regions is made higher as the region is remote from the channel forming region. Further, the first impurity region is disposed so as to overlap a side wall, and the side wall is caused to function as an electrode to thereby attain a substantial gate overlap structure. By adopting the structure, a semiconductor device of high reliability can be manufactured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a semiconductor device having a circuit constituted with thin film transistors (hereinafter referred to as a TFT). It relates to a constitution of an electro-optic device typically represented by a liquid crystal display panel, and an electronic equipment having such an electro-optic device mounted as a part thereon. The semiconductor device used in the present specification generally means all devices that can operate by utilizing semiconductor characteristics, and electro-optical devices, semiconductor circuits and electronic equipments are also included in the semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an active matrix type liquid crystal display device having circuits constituted with TFTs utilizing polysilicon films has been noted. In the device, electric fields applied to liquid crystals are controlled in a matrix form by a plurality of pixels disposed in a matrix to attain highly fine image display.
The active matrix type liquid crystal display device described above has pixels by the number of 1,000,000 or more as the resolution becomes higher as an XGA and an SXGA. Then, driver circuits for driving all of them is extremely complicated and formed with many TFTs.
Since the specification required for the actual liquid crystal display device (also referred to as liquid crystal panel) is stringent and it is necessary to ensure high reliability both for pixels and drivers in order to operate all the pixels normally. Particularly, if abnormality should occur in the driver circuit, a failure referred to as a line defect in which all pixels in one row (or in one column) are put to disorder.
By the way, it is considered that a TFT utilizing a polysilicon film has not yet been comparable with an MOSFET (transistor formed on a single crystal semiconductor substrate) used for LSIs in view of the reliability, and it has become considered that an LSI circuit can not be formed easily with TFTs unless the drawback point described above can be overcome.
The present applicant considers that the MOSFET has three advantageous features in view of the reliability and assumes the reason as below. FIG. 2A is a schematic view of an MOSFET, in which are shown a drain region 201 formed on a single crystal silicon substrate, an LDD (Lightly Doped Drain) region 202, a field insulation film 203 and a gate insulation film 205 just below a gate wiring 204.
This constitution provides three advantageous features in view of the reliability. The first advantageous feature is presence of a gradient in the impurity concentration from the LDD region 202 to the drain region 201. As shown in FIG. 2B, the impurity concentration increases gradually from the LDD region 202 to the drain region 201 in the existent MOSFET. It is considered that the gradient has an effect of improving the reliability.
The second advantageous feature is that the LDD region 202 and the gate wiring 204 overlap with each other. As the structure, a GOLD (gate-drain overlapped LDD) or an LATID (large-tilt-angle implanted drain) is known. This constitution can decrease the impurity concentration in the LDD region 202 and an electric field moderating effect is increased to improve the hot carrier resistance.
The third advantageous feature is that there is a certain distance between the LDD region 202 and the gate wiring 204. This is because the field insulation film 203 is formed in a state creeping just below the gate wiring. That is, since the thickness of the gate insulation film is increased only in the overlapped portion, an effective electric field moderation can be expected.
As described above, the existent MOSFET has several advantageous features over the TFT and, as a result, has high reliability.
Furthermore, it has also been attempted to apply the advantage of the MOSFET described above to the TFT. For example, the GOLD structure is attained by using a side wall formed with silicon in "M. Hatano, H. Akimoto, and T. Sakai, IEDM 97 TECHNICAL DIGEST, pp. 523-526, 1997".
However, the structure disclosed in this article has a problem that an off current (current flowing in an off state of a TFT) increases compared with the usual LDD structure, which necessitates a countermeasure therefor.
As described above, the present applicant considers that structural problems in the TFT give an undesired effect on the reliability (particularly, the hot carrier resistance) when comparing the TFT with the MOSFET.

Semiconductor device having an impurity gradient in the impurity regions and method of manufacture

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


The fuel cell system is provided with a fuel cell, a fuel supply system for supplying fuel gas to the fuel cell, an injector for regulating the gas state upstream in the fuel supply system and supplying the gas downstream, and control means for driving and controlling the injector at a predetermined drive cycle. The control means sets the working state of the injector in response to the operating state of the fuel cell.

The present invention relates to a fuel cell system and a mobile article.
Fuel cell systems having a fuel cell for receiving reactant (fuel and oxidizing) gases to generate electricity have been proposed and are currently being put to practical use. Such fuel cell systems are provided with a fuel supply flow path to flow fuel gas supplied from a fuel supply source such as a hydrogen tank to the fuel cell.
Moreover, a pressure regulating valve (regulator) is generally provided in the fuel supply flow path to decrease the supply pressure to a constant value when the fuel gas supply pressure from the fuel supply source is extremely high. In recent years, a technique has been proposed (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-139984, for example) for varying the supply pressure of the fuel gas in response to the operating state of the system by providing a mechanical variable pressure regulating valve (a variable regulator) for varying the supply pressure of the fuel gas in the fuel supply flow path between two levels, for example.


The present invention describes an apparatus and method for aligning a pad/belt on a roller for use in chemical mechanical polishing using linear planarization. The present invention comprises an alignment sensor that senses the alignment of the pad/belt. The present invention additionally comprises a tensioner that tensions the pad/belt on the roller. And, a controller that controls the alignment of the pad/belt on the roller by controlling the tensioner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor wafer processing using a linear polisher for chemical mechanical polishing of the semiconductor wafers. More particularly, the present invention relates to aligning a linearly moving pad and belt combination on a roller used in the linear polisher.
2. Description of the Related Art
The manufacture of an integrated circuit device requires the formation of various layers (both conductive and non-conductive) above a base substrate to form components and interconnects. During the manufacturing process, it is often necessary to remove a certain layer or portions of a layer in order to pattern and form the various components and interconnects. Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is one technique for planarizing a surface of a semiconductor wafer, such as a silicon wafer, at various stages of integrated circuit processing. Other uses of CMP include planarizing optical surfaces, metrology samples, and various metal and semiconductor based substrates.
CMP typically uses a chemical slurry along with a polishing pad to polish away the specified materials or layers on a semiconductor wafer. The mechanical movement of the pad relative to the wafer in combination with the chemical reaction of the slurry disposed between the wafer and the pad provide the abrasive force with chemical erosion necessary to polish the exposed surface of the wafer (or a layer formed on the wafer) when subjected to a force pressing the wafer to the pad. In the most common method of performing CMP, a substrate mounted on a polishing head rotates against a polishing pad placed on a rotating table (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,732). The mechanical force for polishing comes from the rotating table speed and the downward force on the head while the chemical slurry constantly flows under the polishing head. Rotation of the polishing head helps in the slurry delivery as well as in averaging the polishing rates across the substrate surface.
One technique for obtaining a more uniform chemical mechanical polishing rate is to utilize a linear polisher. Instead of a rotating pad, a belt with a coupled pad moves linearly across the wafer surface. It is still necessary to rotate the wafer for averaging out the local variations; however, the linear polisher has a better global planarity over CMP tools using rotating pads. One example of a linear polisher is described in a pending application titled "Linear Polisher And Method For Semiconductor Wafer Planarization;" Ser. No. 08/287,658; filed Aug. 9, 1994.
A major problem with using a linear polishing tool for CMP is keeping the pad/belt combination (hereafter simply "pad/belt") aligned on the rollers. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art linear polishing tool 10 with a pad/belt 15. The polishing tool 10 comprises the spindles, 13 and 14. Coupled to each spindle are the rollers 32 and 34, and coupled to each roller are the roller pads 33 and 35. The alignment of the pad/belt on the rollers is very important in the uniformity of the wafer polishing. A small variation (or tolerance) in the alignment of the pad/belt on the rollers is acceptable and is currently about 1/16 inch or less, although the tolerance may increase or decrease due to a number of factors. A variation greater than the allowed tolerance, however, will produce an uneven planarization of the wafer, which could produce inoperable devices from the wafer (resulting in low die yields from the wafer). A larger variation in the alignment could even cause the pad/belt to miss or not planarize parts of a wafer. And in a worst case situation, a very large variation in the alignment could even cause the pad/belt to come off of the rollers, producing disastrous consequences to the semiconductor wafer and the tool itself.
A pad/belt generally will self align only when a number of factors are met. Some of these factors include the following: the spindles and rollers are perfectly parallel to each other, the pad/belt is perfectly flat (that is the pad/belt has no arch or sag in the middle of the pad/belt), and the circumference of both sides of the pad/belt are the same. Unfortunately, these factors are difficult to meet due to a variety of other factors including: the manufacturing of the pad and the belt and coupling them together, the high linear operating speed of the pad/belt, and the various forces applied to the pad/belt during the planarization process of the wafer. One example is the large shear and tensional forces applied to the pad/belt by the rotating polishing head with the attached wafer. Another example occurs during the manufacturing of the pad and or the belt that may introduce small variations into their respective surfaces or in their respective circumferences. And, another example is during the coupling of the pad to the belt if the respective circumferences are not within tolerance. The present invention overcomes the above problems by disclosing an apparatus and method for aligning a pad/belt on a roller used in a linear polishing tool used in CMP.

Method and apparatus for aligning and tensioning a pad/belt used in linear planarization for chemical mechanical polishing


This invention relates to a UV stabilized transparent acrylic composition. More specifically the acrylic composition is stabilized with a carboxylic acid compound, which prevents or delays deterioration of the acrylic composition from high intensity UV radiation. The carboxylic acid compound is preferably an alpha hydroxylcarboxylic acid compound. The delay or prevention of deterioration results in the transmission of more UV radiation through the acrylic composition for longer periods of time. The composition is especially useful for tanning and other applications requiring transmission of high levels of UV radiation and resistance to discoloration. It is also useful in optical cable, LCD displays, acrylic storage media, and in HID devices.

The use of UV transmitting acrylics has been growing each year, as a result of indoor tanning trends. The tanning operation requires a certain amount of UVB radiation (280-320 nm) to be transmitted through the acrylic sheet for effective skin tanning. The output of UV rays from a tanning lamp has been increasing to accommodate the consumer's needs for faster tanning, which adversely shortens the service life of commercial UV transparent acrylic sheet. Acrylics have been used to cover the UV lamps, since they are easy to care for, easy to fabricate, and they are one of the very few thermoplastic materials that can transmit a high percentage of the UV radiation below 300 nm region. For tanning beds, the acrylic sheet composition needs to have high UV transmission of at least 75% and preferably at least 80%, retention of UV transmission under high UV radiation, and chemical resistance. The historic problem with acrylics is that it is difficult to retain high UV transparency and clarity under strong UV radiation. The acrylic products will gradually lose their UV transmission and develop yellowness after exposing to strong UV radiation.
Several additives have been employed to stabilize acrylic compositions and retain UV transmittance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,756 describes the use of an aliphatic alcohol and a high boiling hydroxyl compound in polymethylmethacrylate to improve the UV radiation resistance of the polymer.
Hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS) are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,136. U.S. Pat. No. 6,716,950, and U.S. 2002/0052460 describe hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS) in combination with an additional active compound for the stabilization of acrylic resin against UV radiation. The active compounds include alcohols, water, vinyl esters, siloxanes and butyl lactate.
There is a need for acrylic composition UV stabilizers having better UV retention.
Surprisingly it has been found that the addition of a carboxylic acid compound as a UV stabilizer, and in particular an alpha-hydroxy acid compound, provides better UV stabilization to an acrylic composition than currently used stabilizers. Acrylic samples stabilized with lactic acid showed almost no loss of UV transmission and little yellowing after 3000 hours of UVB radiation, while acrylics stabilized with known stabilizers showed UV transmission losses of up to 80% of their original UV transmission.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Stabilized UV transparent acrylic composition


The present invention relates to an interaction training system of a robot with a Mixed Reality (MR) environment, and to a training system in which a robot including a camera and a sensor is driven in a training space and a virtual environment like an actual environment is provided to a trainee to train the trainee.

The era of the fourth industrial revolution demands a rapid pace of change in the modern society that pursues technological innovation, and a robot and artificial intelligence have become one of the fields of interest in the modern society.
The robot has been developed for the purpose of replacing many of the tasks of humans, and in the near future, the robot is expected to take the place of saving lives and repairing collapsed facilities in disaster sites.
Disasters, such as fire, flood, and landslide, require very important measures and situation determination moment by moment.
In the disaster situation, ground driving robots, flying robots, such as drones, or various types of robots are developed and driven according to need, and a controller operating the disaster response robot remotely controls one or several robots at the same time.
In the event of a disaster, the ability to appropriately control the disaster response robot and a disaster coping ability of the controller are required.
An existing evaluation system for training and evaluating a disaster coping ability of a controller is mainly limited to training and evaluating an operation ability of a controller in a virtual environment.
There is a need for a system for training or evaluating an ability to operate an actual robot, give a well-timed command, and cope with various disaster situations.
In the system for training and evaluating the controller for the disaster situation, the key factor is to make the trainee actually operating a robot feel a virtual environment the same as the actual environment, but there is no system for controlling the robot so that the robot in the actual environment recognizes a disaster task in the virtual environment, so that there is a limitation in the virtual environment.
For example, in an actual virtual simulation training system called Live-Virtual Constructive (LVC), the training on tactics and the recognition of virtual enemies are the main points, so that an environment in which the actually operated robot is in contact with a virtual medium is not made, which is different from a disaster environment, and many other training systems having virtual simulation training systems do not actually use robots, so that there is a problem in that trainees feel different in the actual situation.

Interaction training system of robot with MR environment


A method, non-transitory computer readable medium, and access policy manager (APM) device that provides access to applications hosted by server computing devices to client computing devices each associated with an authenticated user. Interactions of the client computing devices with the applications are monitored to obtain usage statistics. The usage statistics are correlated with identifying information for each of the authenticated users or an indication of each of the applications. Notification rule(s) or parameter(s) of a request for information are applied to the correlated usage statistics. Based on the applying, a notification is sent to one or more of the client computing devices or at least a portion of the correlated usage statistics is sent to at least one of an application administrator or an APM administrator.

Enterprises hosting applications on server computing devices often deploy an access policy manager (APM) device as a standalone device or as a module of a traffic management device capable of providing additional services. APM computing devices can be configured to implement security policies and provide authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) services to manage user access to applications such as Exchange or SharePoint and/or remote desktops or other virtual application environments, for example. Traffic management devices including APM functionality as a module can also be configured to provide services such as accelerating, optimizing, and/or load balancing network traffic exchanged between client computing devices and the server computing devices.
However, administrators of networks including APM computing devices, and administrators of applications hosted on those networks, are unable to obtain meaningful insight regarding the operation or performance of the applications. Specifically administrators are unable to receive notifications regarding degraded performance or availability or efficient usage of applications, or to query an APM computing device to retrieve statistical information regarding user interactions with applications. Administrators are therefore unable to make informed decisions regarding network configurations, often resulting in a reduced user experience. Additionally, current secure access devices lack the ability to communicate application performance information directly to users and do not otherwise leverage user identity or other user information to assist administrators in communicating such information.

Methods for application management and monitoring and devices thereof


A voltage multiplier 10 comprises a series of multiplier stages 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d. Each multiplier stage, for example 12b, comprises a first input 16b, a second input 14b, a first output 16c and second output 14c. The first and second outputs of a preceding multiplier stage are interconnected with first and second inputs of a subsequent multiplier stage. Furthermore, each multiplier stages, for example 12b, comprises two series connected diode elements D5, D6 having the same current conducting direction. The two series connected diode elements D5, D6 interconnect the first input 16b and the first output 16c. The second output 14c is coupled between the two series connected diode elements D5, D6. Each multiplier stage, for example 12b, comprises a buffer capacitor C6 interconnecting the respective first input 16b and the respective first output 16c. At least some multiplier stages, for example 12b, comprise a push-pull capacitor C4 interconnecting the respective second input 14b and the respective second output 14c. The first input 16a of a first multiplier stage 12a and the first output 16e of a last multiplier stage 12d provide outputs for a load 42. The second input 14a of the first multiplier stage 12a provides an input for an AC voltage source. The buffer capacitor C3 of the first multiplier stage 12a comprises two series connected buffer capacitor parts C3a, C3b. An input 20 for the AC voltage source 34 is provided between the two buffer capacitor parts C3a, C3b.

Voltage multipliers or cascade rectifiers are circuits which comprise diodes and so-called push-pull capacitors that are charged by an AC current via the diodes. The diodes and capacitors are arranged in multiplier stages in such a way that the voltage from a positive peak of the AC current is added to the voltage of a negative peak in each stage and the output voltage is doubled in each stage.
High voltage rectifiers for medical x-ray imaging devices frequently comprise a high voltage multiplier which multiplies the output voltage of a high voltage high frequency transformer to reach a required high output voltage of, for example, up to 160 kV. A disadvantage of those circuits may be that the root-mean-square-value of the pulse-like shaped current in the diodes is substantially higher than the average current, which is responsible for the output power and thus the losses in the diodes are significantly increased.
Another disadvantage of these circuits may be that the total current in the push-pull capacitor increase towards the transformer which may generate a high stress in the transformer-side push-pull capacitors. This may prevent the usage of small size ceramic capacitors for the push-pull capacitors.
In WO 2007/017793 A1 a proposal was made how to mitigate the pulse-shaped current in the diodes by adding additional equalizing capacitors. The additional equalizing capacitors are not subject to a DC bias and thus may be very small and cheap. With the design of WO 2007/017793 A1 the push-pull capacitor must be charged via the diodes of the last stage and the center tap of the transformer since all other DC current paths are now blocked by capacitors.
Another proposal avoids push-pull capacitors of the first stage by not grounding the transformer and leaving it in floating operation at an average of half of the voltage of the first multiplier stage. This allows a removal of the first two push-pull capacitors and thus removal of some relevant part of the losses.


A new crystalline Form III of moxifloxacin monohydrochloride and processes for making the crystalline form as well as compositions, pharmaceutical compositions, and methods utilizing the crystalline form are described.

Moxifloxacin monohydrochloride is a synthetic broad-spectrum antibacterial agent. The active moiety, moxifloxacin has been shown to be clinically active against most strains of microorganisms such as aerobic gram-positive microorganisms including staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-susceptible strains only), streptococcus pneumoniae (penicillin-susceptible strains), and streptococcus pyogenes; aerobic gram-negative microorganisms including haemophilus influenzae, haemophilus parainfluenzae, klebisiella pneumoniae, and moraxella catarrhalis; and other microorganisms like chlamydia pneumoniae and mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Crystalline form III of anhydrous moxifloxacin hydrochloride and a process for preparation thereof


A system is for an aircraft including a plurality of rows of seats. The system includes a plurality of monitors, a plurality of arc fault circuit interrupters each of which includes three poles having a line terminal and a load terminal. Each of a plurality of electronic enclosures is capable of being energized from a corresponding one of the load terminals of a corresponding one of the poles of a corresponding one of the AFCIs. A panel holds the AFCIs. A single-phase power source powers the line terminals of the poles of the AFCIs. Each of the poles corresponds to one row of the aircraft. Each of the electronic enclosures corresponds to one of a plurality of zones. Three of the rows are disposed in each of the zones. One of the AFCIs is associated with a corresponding one of the zones.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to aircraft systems and, more particularly, to aircraft systems including arc fault protection. The invention also pertains to a method of arc fault protection for an aircraft system.
2. Background Information
It is known to employ thermal fuses between an avionics power source and the seat electronics boxes of an aircraft entertainment system, with one thermal fuse per corresponding seat electronics box. While this thermal fuse arrangement can deal with overcurrent conditions, it cannot respond to arc faults (e.g., line-to-line; line-to-frame).
During sporadic arc fault conditions, the overload capability of a circuit breaker will not function since the root-mean-squared (RMS) value of the fault current is too small to actuate the automatic trip circuit. The addition of electronic arc fault sensing to a circuit breaker can add one of the elements required for sputtering arc fault protection—ideally, the output of an electronic arc fault sensing circuit directly trips and, thus, opens the circuit breaker. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,710,688; 6,542,056; 6,522,509; 6,522,228; 5,691,869; and 5,224,006.
Aircraft circuit breakers have employed various mechanisms to indicate arc fault events. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,542,056 discloses a movable and illuminable arc fault indicator having a ring portion and two leg portions internal to a housing. When energized by an arc fault current assembly in response to an arc fault trip condition, an arc fault actuator moves one of the leg portions internal to the housing, which, in turn, moves the ring portion external to the housing. The arc fault current assembly includes a light emitting diode (LED) for illuminating the ring portion through the other one of the leg portions when the arc fault current assembly is properly powered and in the absence of an arc fault trip condition.
Application Ser. No. 11/129,909 discloses an arc fault circuit breaker including a first LED for a first status (e.g., an arc fault trip status) and a second LED for a second status (e.g., a health status). The first LED illuminates a transparent operating handle. The second LED protrudes through the circuit breaker housing and through a device key-hole in a panel.
There is room for improvement in aircraft systems.
There is also room for improvement in methods of arc fault protection for an aircraft system.

Aircraft system and method of arc fault protection for an aircraft system


An endoscopic instrument includes a manipulating piece having a manipulating element, an instrument shaft having a section that is manipulable, wherein the shaft is coupled to the manipulating piece, a positioning element having a first rotational axis, a pulling element coupled to the positioning element and the section of the shaft, such that displacement of the positioning element actuates the section by transmitting a force via the pulling element, and an actuator coupled to the positioning element, such that actuation of the actuator displaces the positioning element by transmitting a force from the actuator to the positioning element. The manipulating element is coupled to the positioning element such that a force exerted onto the manipulating element transfers onto the positioning element and displaces the positioning element. The first rotational axis and a second rotational axis of the actuator are arranged at an angle less than 90° relative to one another.

The present invention relates to an endoscopic instrument comprising a manipulating piece having a manipulating element, an instrument shaft having a section to be manipulated by a user, wherein the instrument shaft is coupled to the manipulating piece, further comprising a positioning element having a first rotational axis, a pulling element which is mechanically coupled to the positioning element and the section of the instrument shaft, such that a displacement of the positioning element may achieve an actuation of the section by transmitting a force via the pulling element, and further comprising an actuator coupled to the positioning element, such that an actuation of the actuator may provide for a displacement of the positioning element by transmitting a force from the actuator to the positioning element, wherein the actuator comprises a second rotational axis, and wherein the manipulating element is configured such that a user may displace the positioning element by actuating the manipulating element and wherein the manipulating element is mechanically coupled to the positioning element such that a force exerted by the user onto the manipulating element may at least be partially transferred onto the positioning element and may provide for a displacement of the positioning element.
Endoscopic instruments having a flexible or rigid endoscope shaft are used in the industry as well as in the medical field. For example, flexible endoscopes are used in veterinary medicine when performing a gastro-endoscopic examination on larger animals. These endoscopes typically have at their distal end of the endoscope shaft a distal end section which ends in an end piece. The end piece is a distal part of the endoscope which is inserted into the body under examination. Typically it comprises the distal end of endoscope optics and sometimes channels for suction, cleaning and tooling as well.
In order to obtain the largest possible flexibility regarding the spatial positioning of the end piece during examination, the end section of the endoscope shaft is typically configured to be deflectable. By deflecting or, more general, by actuating the section relative to the remaining instrument shaft, in particular by bending or curving, a piece of the instrument shaft, in particular the end piece, can be aligned as necessary. When applying deflection the user has to apply caution to ensure that no tissue surrounding the end section is damaged. It is therefore crucial that actuating the section can be controlled very precisely.
The deflection of the section is achieved for flexible and rigid endoscopes according to the prior art via a pulling element, in particular via Bowden cables. The pulling element is coupled to a positioning element, in particular a steering gear. The pulling element is typically attached to a string wheel, which is configured to hold and guide a string looped around the wheel. By actuating the manipulating element at the manipulating piece of the endoscope the positioning element is displaced. A translatory displacement of the pulling element is achieved by a rotational displacement of the positioning element. The displacement of the pulling element in turn provides for a deflection of the section.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,895 shows an electric endoscope which is manipulated via a lever which is coupled to the positioning element. When the lever is displaced relative to the positioning element, a bending of the lever or a change in a resistance of a potentiometer is detected and thereby a support of the positioning element via an actuator is activated. The shown arrangement, however, cannot be handled well and requires a specific releasing mechanism in order to be able to manipulate the endoscope in case of a fault.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,331,924 is directed at an electric endoscope having a deflectable distal section. The manipulation of the endoscope is achieved via a track ball which is displaced via the thumb or the finger of a user and which displacement is detected via an electric circuit. Depending on the rotational displacement of the track ball, as chosen by the user, the control of a motor is determined in a deflection control, the motor providing for a displacement of the pulling element and thus a deflection of the distal section.
The disadvantage of such an electric endoscope is, however, that its manipulation is found to be less intuitive since the manipulation of an electric endoscope, for example when coming into contact with tissue, does not provide the same feedback as the user is used to from mechanical endoscopes. The same problem is present with electric endoscopes which are controlled via a joystick. As an example, reference is made to document U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,761. Electric endoscopes further have the disadvantage that they may be hard to retract from a cavity in case of a fault when the distal section is deflected.
For mechanical endoscopes the deflection of the section is achieved only via a mechanical force exerted by the user onto a handle provided at the outside of the manipulating piece of the endoscope. To achieve this, the positioning element is typically arranged in a fixed manner on a drive shaft of the handle. When the user actuates the handle, a rotational displacement of the positioning element results and in turn a translatory displacement of the pulling element.
Purely mechanical endoscopes may require significant forces for an actuation depending on the length of the endoscope and the spatial position of the endoscope shaft. In addition, the mechanical actuation of the section automatically provides a certain resetting force in the direction of the non-deflected position (null position) of the endoscope. Further, the section provides during deflection a spring-damper-system in connection with the pulling element which stores energy during tensioning and releases energy when relaxing. This may result in a lag in the displacement when starting or an additional displacement when ending the deflection of the end section. This results in the user setting the deflection of the section in order to view a certain location may only approximately or iteratively set the deflection.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve an endoscopic instrument as mentioned before such that the user obtains support during manipulation as is the case for an electric actuation, without the user losing the mechanical feedback of the endoscope. It is a further object that the endoscope can be continuously manipulated even when a fault of the electronic control occurs.


A system and method for associating a document with a concept are provided. One or more idea-electronic document associations is identified, wherein each idea-electronic document association is based on a user performance criteria relative to the electronic document and the idea. At least one of the one or more electronic documents is identified with a concept based on the one or more idea-electronic document associations, wherein the concept is related to the one or more ideas.

With the advent of the Internet, the amount of data accessible to users is far greater than what any person or entity could possibly identify or categorize through manual means. However, identification and categorization are needed to render the information usable. Because manual means are limited in scope and costly, automated systems and methods are needed to identify and process the vast quantities of available data.
Electronic text can be identified through automated means such as word searches in text-based documents such as the .html files that predominate the Internet. Indeed, the search engines that enable users to find data on the Internet typically use a word search. However, for electronic documents that are not in a text-based format, content identification and categorization become substantially more difficult. Optical character recognition (OCR) technologies can identify text in electronic documents that are not natively in a text format, such as .pdf files. Other imaging processes have been employed to electronically process either an image of a document or the electronic version of a document to identify the content of images. For instance, some software programs can identify the presence of flesh in an image and have reasonable success in separating pornographic images from images appropriate for all ages. However, such processes can be inaccurate, and they typically require substantial processing power. Further, such processes are entirely computer-based and therefore lack the pattern recognition capabilities, contextual knowledge, and judgment of the human brain.
These and other drawbacks exist with current systems and methods.

Method and system for mining image searches to associate images with concepts


A system and method for extracting headspace vapor is generally disclosed comprising pressurizing a vessel containing headspace vapor with a carrier gas and subsequently venting the sample mixture through an adsorbent trap and out a vent. A flow controller is employed to gradually increase the flow therethrough as the pressure drops as a result of the gradual depletion of headspace vapor in the vessel and, in certain embodiments, the flow controller maintains a constant flow rate. Due to the time saved, in some embodiments, multiple pressurization-venting cycles are implemented to maximize the amount of vapor extracted from the vial. Due to the constant flow rate, in certain embodiments, the pressure decay is monitored and compared to reference values in order to determine whether the sample vessel has a leak or other defect.

Chromatography is essentially a physical method of separation in which constituents of a test sample in a carrier gas or liquid are adsorbed or absorbed and then desorbed by a stationary phase material in a column. A pulse of the sample is introduced into a steady flow of carrier gas, which carries the sample into a chromatographic column. The inside of the column is lined with a liquid, and interactions between this liquid and the various elements of the sample—which differ based upon differences among distribution coefficients of the elements—cause the sample to be separated into the respective elements. At the end of the column, the individual components are more or less separated in time. Detection of the gas provides a time-scaled pattern, typically called a chromatogram, that, by calibration or comparison with known samples, indicates the constituents of the test sample. An example of the process by which this occurs is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,252 to Hinshaw.
Often, the sample is first obtained using a sampling device, which subsequently transfers the sample to the chromatograph. One means of obtaining a sample and introducing it into a chromatographic column is known as "headspace sampling." In conventional headspace sampling, sample material is sealed in a vial and subjected to constant temperature conditions for a specified time. Analyte concentrations in the vial gas phase should reach equilibrium with the liquid and/or solid phases during this thermostatting time. The vial is subsequently pressurized with carrier gas to a level greater than the "natural" internal pressure resulting from thermostatting and equilibration. Then the pressurized vial is connected to the chromatographic column in such a way as to allow for the transfer of a portion of the vial gas phase into the column for a short period of time. An example of such a sampling device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,483 to Riegger et. al. An example of a chromatographic system employing such a sampling device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,786 to Hinshaw, which describes using a chromatographic injector between the vial and the chromatographic column.
Typically, it is desired to pre-concentrate the analytes in the sample, and occasionally, remove moisture therefrom, prior to introducing the sample into the chromatographic column. Accordingly, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,792,423 and 6,395,560 to Markelov, these systems will typically include some kind of "trap" for this purpose, which retains the analytes as they are carried through the trap, and which are later released from the trap, usually by heating, and swept into the chromatographic column.
Though various types of traps have been suggested, one particularly advantageous way to perform this pre-concentration (and possible moisture removal) prior to introducing the sample into a chromatographic column is through the use of an adsorbent trap. These traps, which adsorb the analytes and then subsequently desorbed those analytes, do not suffer from the same slow flow rates as on-line traps (such as cryogenic traps) that result from the impedance of the column. When using an adsorbent trap, a carrier gas can be used to first pressurize the vial and then, after pressurization, to carry the sample vapor through the trap, which will adsorb the analytes to be measured, and then vent out of the system, which is the simplest way to extract vapor from a vessel. Accordingly, numerous arrangements employing an adsorbent trap have been employed for the purpose of pre-concentrating the analytes of a sample extracted by a sampling device such as a headspace sampler. Examples of such arrangements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,482 to Markelov and U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,625 to Tipler.
However, these systems typically suffer from several disadvantages. One problem is that the process is slow. This is due to the fact that the pressure in the vial is proportional to the amount of sample in the vial. Therefore, as the sample vapor elutes from the vial, the pressure drops. Accordingly, the rate of flow decreases, resulting in undesirable vent times. Indeed, trials have shown that a 22 mL vial pressurized to 40 psig with helium can take longer than five minutes to effect a full extraction, even with high initial flow rates.
Another problem with current systems is that, in order to maximize performance with respect to resolution, sensitivity and inertness, it is generally desired to use capillary columns for chromatography. However, with capillary columns, the carrier gas flow rates will be low, so direct injection of large quantities of vapor is not possible. For example, an injection volume of about 100 μL is typical. A typical headspace sample vial, however, usually has a capacity of about 22 mL, with a maximum sample volume about half that. Therefore, only about 1% of the total headspace vapor is actually injected into the column. Accordingly, system sensitivity can be increased nearly 100× over current headspace sampling systems by increasing the percentage of the available headspace vapor that is actually injected into the column. This is particularly useful for applications requiring very low detection limits, such as environmental and other trace-level analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in a variety of sample matrices.
Yet another problem with current systems is that a headspace sampler is typically used to test a number of large number vials in sequence, and occasionally, a vial may have a leak or for some other reason may not contain the proper amount of sample, leading to erroneous analytical data. Accordingly, it is advantageous to review the pressure decay profiles for these vials—i.e. in the decay in pressure as a function of time. However, as previously mentioned, the pressure in the vial is proportional to the amount of sample present, and thus, a plot of pressure decay as a function of time results in exponential, rather than linear, profiles, making a determination of whether the rate of decay is appropriate difficult.
What is desired, therefore, is a system and method for extracting headspace vapor that reduces the time required to vent fluid through a trap. What is further desired is a system and method for extracting headspace vapor that increases the amount of sample vapor that is actually injected into a chromatographic column. What is also desired is a system and method for extracting headspace vapor that increases the ability to check for leaks in the sample vials and verify that the proper amount of sample is present therein.

System and method for extracting headspace vapor


A latching mechanism for a convertible top where a single drive mechanism engages and disengages multiple latching points. The latching mechanism serves not only to secure the convertible top but to pull down the top into position as it is being secured.

This invention relates generally to a means for securing movable panels, and more particularly to a latch mechanism for securing an automotive convertible top to a tonneau cover or trunk lid.
In the field of automotive design, various types of latches are used to secure movable body panels to the main portion of the auto body. For example, latches secure the doors, hood, trunk lid, convertible top five bow and tonneau cover. While a latch is obviously designed to secure the panel with respect to the rest of the auto body, latches also serve several other functions. Given that fit and finish are important customer design criteria, it is important that a latch secure the movable body panel so that it lies flush with the rest of the exterior body panels. Also, in areas such as the doors, trunk lid, convertible top five bow and tonneau cover, the latch must hold the movable panel such that it contacts weather sealing so that water and road debris do not infiltrate the automobile. However, the latch must also prevent the movable panel from being snugged too closely to the other body panels, or else the weather sealing may be damaged by excessive compression.
In the past, automotive body panel latches were comprised of striker pin and catch mechanisms employing springs or other such purely mechanical devices to secure the pin within the catch. While still used widely, these older latch mechanisms are being replaced by electromechanical latching mechanisms. In these newer forms of latches, the function of latching often includes a "pull down" function as well. However, the electromechanical systems currently available in the market today have several drawbacks.
One disadvantage of known latching mechanisms employing a pull down function is that separate mechanisms must be provided at each latching point. For example, it may be desirable to secure an automobile convertible top five bow along both of the outer corners of the five bow nearest the rearmost portion of the tonneau cover and rear quarter panels. An electromechanical system using screw motors would require two separate screw motors, one for each latching point.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide for a latching mechanism utilizing a pull down function which can employ a single drive mechanism for multiple latching points. It would be further advantageous to provide for a latching mechanism capable of providing both the latching and pull down feature in a single mechanism.


A method for managing a multi-wavelength passive optical network, comprising: an optical module extracting a module management signal from a reception signal input from an optical signal interface, where the module management signal carries a management message related to the optical module. The solution can solve the problem that an optical module of a multi-wavelength passive optical network in the related art cannot support the smooth upgrade of a related device to the multi-wavelength passive optical network.

In recent years, with access network users' increasing demand for bandwidth, an optical access technology for a passive optical network (PON) is gradually altered from a traditional time division multiplexing (TDM) technology to a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology. A multi-wavelength PON, such as a wavelength-division multiplexing PON (WDM-PON) and a time- and wavelength-division multiplexing PON (TWDM-PON), can meet a higher bandwidth demand by increasing the number of uplink and downlink wavelength pairs and using WDM or TWDM technologies. The WDM-PON has the advantages of abundant bandwidth, short time delays and good security and has unique advantages in application scenarios such as radio bearers or private network users.
In the multi-wavelength PON, an in-band channel is usually used to transfer a management message such as wavelength switching, wavelength allocation and ONU status monitoring between an optical line terminal (OLT) and an optical network unit (ONU). For example, in the existing art, the multi-wavelength PON manages wavelengths through physical layer operations, administration, and management (PLOAM) messages and ONU management and control interface (OMCI) channels. Alternatively, the WDM-PON system allocates wavelengths by expanding operation, administration and maintenance (OAM). In-band management reuses a physical channel of a data signal without need to modify physical layer hardware, so that the device configuration is relatively simple, but there are problems such as large delay jitters, difficulty in multi-rate compatibility and occupation of data channel bandwidth. Therefore, out-of-band management becomes another choice for management and control channels of the multi-wavelength PON. The International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) defines an auxiliary management and control channel (AMCC) in the Next Generation PON2 (NG-PON2) standard G.989.3. An out-of-band AMCC helps to achieve the wavelength calibration and registration of a non-calibrated tunable ONU for the TWDM-PON. Meanwhile, G.989.3 also defines an out-of-band AMCC of the point-to-point (PTP) WDM to manage a PTP network. There are several technical means of implementing the out-of-band AMCC. For example, the wavelength of the WDM-PON network is managed by using the second uplink and downlink wavelength pair different from the wavelength of the data signal, or the wavelength of the WDM-PON system is managed by the pilot tone modulation of signal light.
However, in the related solution for out-of-band management of the multi-wavelength PON, an optical module only transfers a management signal on a physical layer, and the parsing processing of the management signal needs to be performed through a corresponding management signal processing module (such as a medium access control (MAC) chip) in a device. However, the network devices currently used in networks such as mobile bearers and switches do not include this module. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve smooth upgrade of a related device to the multi-wavelength PON via reconstruction.

Method for managing multi-wavelength passive optical network, and optical module